Chapter 12: "Locked by the Crosswires"

The real action has began😈. Gear up and launch those comment shooters to start shooting them as your read!

13 April, 2019 (rough idea)

Written on 29 October, 2019

"We really don't have time!" her father said hastily as he zipped the bag and threw a trench coat at Salma. "You have to disappear."

"What?" Salma blinked, pausing mid motion while tying her shoes. Her father had just arrived from his office and rushed her on to get ready to go out.

"Agha Gul is on the way." He grabbed her scarf off the hook. "Quickly, Salma!" he urged realizing she wasn't moving. Salma fiddled with her shoes laces. "I got intelligence that his private plane will touch down in an hour. We are late with the information as is. He's been super secretive about his visit. You can't afford to waste any more time!"

"Why's he coming?" Salma asked, letting her father haphazardly help her into the trench coat. His haste was making her feel extremely frightened. "Why do I have to go? What about mum, and Asim --"

"Relax." Her father cut her short, realizing she was panicking. He turned her around to face him and grabbed her shoulders reassuringly. "It's going to be alright, okay? I've got everything under control."

Salma swallowed, trying to breathe normally. Mr. Rahman had started doing her buttons.

"Your mum is at Dawood's and Asim is upstairs, sleeping, so don't worry about them, they're --"

"--not leaving?" Salma's heart sank, recalling how she was asked leave before. "Dad! Where am I going? Am I flying to Turkey?!"

"No, of course not!" Mr. Rahman replied. "Stop panicking, will you?"

Salma did her belt, trying hard to maintain her composure. She didn't have to go into hiding? Or did she? She couldn't understand what her father was aiming at.

"I just want you to stay out of sight during Agha Gul's stay here," the Green Coat continued as he handed her her scarf.

"Why just me?" Salma asked, fixing the cloth on her head.

"From what we know, he's getting desperate. I think he was expecting your nikkah with Zayn to be over by now." He sighed. "It's tough getting intelligence out of Tor Mahal anymore but word is that he's coming with the intention of taking you away --"

Salma gasped, pricking her finger with a pin in the process.

"That's not going to happen!" her father added sharply, before pointing at her lack of movement. "Speed up!"

Salma fixed her scarf faster as her fingers began trembling worse than before. The mongrel wanted to drag her with him? The news made her heart pound manically. She felt dizzy.

"What we know so far is that he plans on inviting you and your mother to the Tor Mahal under the pretense of preparing for the Walima," Mr. Rahman continued. "It's not clear what he intends to do afterwards. He could air the rumor that your nikkah to Zayn is fake and attempt to fuel public anger towards you, or he could attempt to push you into a marriage with Ghamey like he did with Farhiya. Regardless, the best course of action right now is for you to not be around to comply or refuse any such invitations, should they be made."

"Makes sense." Salma nodded as she chewed on her bottom lip. "So where am I going --?"

Salma gave a start as the bell rang.

"Stay here." Her father frowned. He made his way to the front door with one hand in his pocket - around the trigger of a gun, Salma figured much to her trepidation - when they heard a rhythmic knock.

Knock. Knock-knock. Knock-knock. Knock. Knock. Knock!

A code, perhaps? Mr. Rahman let out a breath of relief.

"It's Burak," he told her. Still, he checked through the peep-hole before opening the door to let his colleagues in.

The Green Coat was dressed in charcoal pants, white shirt and a black knee-length coat. He flashed her with a radiant smile.

"Lwittle Pwincess!"

Following in tow was Spogmaé, a warm smile gracing her face when their eyes met. Salma's stomach did a flip. While she was tongue-tied by the aura of the two agents, they exchanged a quick salam with her before turning to their superior.

"Everything is ready. The route is clear and eyes in place," Burak reported.

"Spies?"

"Three up the street, one in each block leading the way to the main road," Spogmaé replied. "Don't worry, we'll get them off our tail."

Salma's father nodded.

"Let's not waste any more time." He reached for Salma's bag, ready to lead her out when he paused and looked around. "Where's the kid?"

Salma turned to him. He couldn't see her?

"Seriously?" Burak huffed. "He's late?"

Salma frowned.

"He? He who --"

The door-bell cut her a second time as her father's phone rang. He picked it up and he rushed to get the door.

"Yes, I'm coming," he said into the phone, then opened the door. "You do realize you're late? What happened?"

"Nothing major," came the reply as in stepped Zayn. Salma's eyes did a double-take. "Just some heavy traffic."

"Which route?" Spogmaé immediately asked, "You might want to avoid --"

"Why's he here?" Salma asked sharply, having finally found her voice.

Agent Burak, Spogmaé and Zayn all turned to her. The Green Coats eyed her skeptically, while Zayn looked annoyed, chewing on his inner cheek at her less than welcoming tone.

"He's going to accompany you," her father replied.

"Absolutely not!"

"Salma -- "

"But dad --"

"We don't have a choice!" he replied firmly.

Salma clenched her jaws, trying to bite down her arguments. Everything was happening too fast. She had trouble wrapping her head around it all. An awkward silence filled the room as everyone tried to pretend Salma hadn't just voiced her distrust for Zayn in his presence.

"I'll be outside," Zayn muttered, storming out of the house and slamming the door shut. The two agents exchanged awkward glances before they quickly shuffled out after him.

Mr. Rahman let out an exasperated breath.

"Do you really think this is right, dad?" she asked in a restrained tone.

"I understand your panic," her father replied, "but he's our best option right now."

"How much does he know?" Salma asked, trying to contain the tears of fear and frustration clogging her throat. If Zayn was being part of a mission, she was worried he now knew more than what Sarah had said he knew? He was getting sucked deeper into her mess and Salma did not like that.

"Enough for him to know it would have been safer and wiser had he not come here," her father replied with a grim look on his face.

Salma swallowed the lump in her throat. She knew she had already embarrassed herself and everyone else, and the clock was ticking.

"Give me something," Salma pleaded. She knew her behavior was uncalled for, especially in showing her true feeling towards being with Zayn and the worry it'd cause her father but she was desperate for some reassurance.

"An agent will accompany the two of you, don't worry," he replied. Picking up her back-pack, he wrapped a comforting arm around her shoulders and led her out. "He shouldn't be a problem."

"Is it Spogmaé?" Salma asked, sounding hopeful. With her around, she wouldn't mind ten Zayns.

"I'm afraid not." Her father sighed, as they stepped outside. "She's going to be covering your tracks. Burak will accompany you."

Salma bit her lip, trying to stump her discomfort. At least, she won't be alone with Zayn, she tried to reassure herself.

"Don't worry, Pwincess!" Agent Burak spoke up. He and Spogmaé were standing next to their vehicle, looking amused. Salma didn't realize they had heard her. "I'm stronger than her. You're safer with me."

Spogmaé scoffed, unlocking her car.

"Good luck." She smiled at Salma before driving off.

Salma's father gave her her bag.

"Stay safe." He smiled reassuredly, giving her a huge hug. "See you soon."

Sucking in a deep breath, Salma shouldered her bag and followed Burak towards Zayn's car.

***

The air around the small room was heavy with a tensed silence. The cracking fire did the talking as each of them followed their own train of thoughts. Salma stared out of the window, having turned her back at the two men. Zayn was doing his best to avoid her. Salma figured he was still upset about her humiliating response earlier, but she was too nervous about her family's situation to work out the energy to apologize to him.

After a four hours' drive, they had reached this cottage at the cliffs in the middle of nowhere. It was a small, bare space, with just one bedroom, a sitting room and a kitchen. The furniture was minimal, consisting of a bed, a couch and four straight backed chairs. The wooden interior and bare rooms reminded Salma of the shack they had stayed in when they were lost.

"Tea, anyone?"

Salma turned around to see the Green Coat walking in with a steaming kettle and cups.

"No, thanks," Zayn muttered while Salma chose to ignore him altogether.

"Up to you." Burak shrugged nonchalantly, pouring himself some steaming Qehwa. "I advise the both of you against hunger strikes and sleep deprivations though. It's not going to help --"

"Are they going to be alright?" Salma voiced her fears. Burak paused, his cup an inch away from his lips. "Dad looked panicked which is pretty unusual from him. He sent me away but what about them?"

Zayn glanced at her with concern. The agent released a breath and took a sip of his tea before answering.

"It's not going to be anything violent," he replied. "I can assure you of that. There'll be some tough discussions though, which made it essential to remove you from the scene."

"If it isn't going to be anything violent, why is Spogmaé out there? Why's there agents and spies surrounding my house?"

"Well," Burak said, lifting his cup again. "Both sides want to keep an eye on each other, and Spogmaé has more than two decades of experience on the field." Salma still looked stressed so he added. "Look, Agha Gul's target is you. His prime aim was to fly you back with him. By removing you from site, your father has now bought himself the time to deal with the problem."

"Are you saying that if she were home, Mr. Rahman would do nothing and just let them take her away?"

The Green Coat sipped on his tea, considering his question before quirking his brow. His piercing gaze now trained on Zayn.

"If she were to agree to go, he wouldn't be able to do much," he said quietly.

"That's nonsense!" Salma cried. "Why would I do that?"

The agent said nothing, busying himself with his drink.

"Agent Tufan," Zayn said. "What do you mean by that?"

The two waited but the Green Coat still kept his silence. Salma and Zayn exchanged a glance. Both of them had started panicking.

"What're you hiding from me?" Salma asked, the quiver in her voice was evident. "What is going on?"

Burak heaved a heavy sigh and put his cup down. He finally turned to her, looking grim.

"Look, according to the intelligence we received, Agha Gul was going to make you an offer that you could not refuse," he said.

"An offer?" Salma echoed. "What kind of an offer?"

"When you say offer, do you mean blackmail?" Zayn asked shrewdly.

Salma's eyes snapped back at the Green Coat. Her heart started pounding at a mad pace and her mouth became completely dry. How heavily was this disappearance going to cost her? What was Agha Gul going to do to threaten her into submission? Would he actually go through with his threats now that she wasn't there to negotiate?

"It could be blackmail, we don't know," the Green Coat replied. "Our spies said it was going to be an offer, so we'll be treating it as such. Regardless, your father figured he was better suited to out-play Agha Gul without you being there, so, here we are."

Salma bit hard on her bottom lip and clenched her fists, trying her best to steady her trembling hands. Fear snaked around her gut making her sick. So much was dependent on how her father dealt with Agha Gul now; her family's safety, her own safety, and all those agents who were putting their life's on the line.

"If they sent spies, did they expect us to leave?" Zayn asked.

Salma's eyes snapped to him and it hit like a ton of bricks.

Zayn.

Author's Note :

What just happened?! 😲 What did Salma realize about Zayn?! 😱 Things are about to get a bit topsy-truvy. Stay tuned!

I also wanted your help a tad. Like y'all helped me decide on Burak's character, give me some suggestions on Sarah's. Which ethinicity/nationality do you think Sarah is from? You can suggest your own country/nationality etc if you want☺️. I'll probably go with the majority's opinion if I can't decide on one so make sure to weigh in on the matter😉.

The previous deal stays. Top 100 ranking in mystery-thriller genre and I post a patrons-exclusive scene here😉.

Lastly, your support means the world to me. Head over to my Patreon page and make a pledge if your pocket allows. I keep you well fed, I promise 😋 Someone just kissed someone there😏.

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Lots of Love

J.