02. A long life to live

*****

Marwan let out a string of curses before glancing at the girls in front of him. All of them looked like deers caught in the headlights and for the first time he didn't find this expression hilarious, instead, his mind raced with the worst of the worst scenarios.

Their faces were drained of colour as they gawked at the men behind him with fear dripping from their eyes. The particular chestnut hair girl was shivering and the fact that he couldn't provide the sense of safety to the people whom he would have vowed to rescue was making Marwan curse his years of training.

His tensed posture remained still while he internally tried to calm himself.

Decisions made in haste could result in the most bizarre outcomes and he couldn't risk that happening.

His eyes scanned the area as fast as they could and thankfully, they were just a few minutes away from the darn exit!

He threw a look at the men behind him before turning his attention back to the frightened group.

"I will count till 3 and you all will run without any doubt. Do not turn back and race directly towards the black cars. You will be safe then. Am I clear?"

Each one of them gave him a nod, they were shivering in fear but yet he knew that they understood his words clearly.

"1."

"Arkanı dön serseri!"

(Turn around you rascal!)

"2."

Marwan whispered again as he motioned for them to make a small move with his eyes. He closed his eyes for a nanosecond before yelling out loud,

"3."

The girls all raced towards the door that seemed nothing but paradise to them at the moment while Marwan turned without a warning with his guns outstretched and ready to kill.

Loud bands soon showered the whole area as Marwan kept reloading his gun while trying to find something to shield himself from the bullets that were being sent his way.

"Allah! Aaj zinda bahar nikal de, sach bata raha hu ammi ke haaton ka bana karela bhi kha lunga!"

He prayed with utmost passion while ducking down to dodge the bullet that was millimeter away from blasting his head. The wooden table that was kept at the side seemed as a blessing in disguise and for once, Marwan wanted to marry the darn thing.

I mean, that's what a partner is for right? Protecting and providing comfort?

"Fuck!"

Marwan cursed in misery as his gun went out of bullets. He put a hand in his pockets in hopes of finding extra bullets but it seemed as though the fates were planning on taking revenge from him for all the times that he annoyed his fellow mates and refused her mother's not-so well cooked food.

"Aye zalim logo!"

He yelped when a loud band was heard directly next to his ears. The wall next to him that he was using for support now bore a small whole due to a burning metal that was meant to kill.

"Chal Marwan, alvida keh de is duniya ko. Jannat ko gale lagane ka waqt aa gaya hai."

He sighed to himself in dejection and with hunched shoulders sat on the ground. It was a pin drop silence for a while before he heard loud footsteps nearing him. His closed eyes snapped open as he changed his seated position from crossed leg to a squat.

A slight creak was heard and from the corner of his eyes he saw a hand nearing him but before the man knew what hit him, Marwan quickling caught hold of his wrist and bent in a painful angle, eliciting a pained scream from the man.

Luckily for Marwan, he was holding a gun that fell with a thud on the floor and Marwan was quick to grasp and shoot the said man on his knee caps.

Blood smeared around and the once silence was again filled with loud and displeasing shooting.

"Marwan! Gadhe ke bache!"

The said man's eyes widened in surprise as he got on his feets with a jolt and did a double take to confirm the person that stood in front of him.

Daiyan glared at his dumb friend who was giving him heart eyes. Marwan sighed dreamily and rounded about the table only to find the men that had uttered a language he couldn't understand on their knees. Some were bleeding while the one that looked like the leader of them all was looking furious.

"Ha! Take that. Tujhe kya laga? Marwan Qureshi aise hi tere hatho aa jayega? I have a long life to live, you idiot."

He cheered at the Turkish and Indian men in front of him and for once, all Daiyan wanted to do was smack the idiot on his head until he had gotten an ounce of sense in him.

Here he had his heart in his throat on seeing his only best friend in such a deathly situation and the guy in front of him was still spilling nonsensical jokes.

"Marwan, phite muh tera. Kaha tha na not to indulge in such a situation! Chup chap bahar nahi ja sakta tha!"

Daiyan all but yelled at Marwan while his team took away the unwanted men. Marwan looked at his best friend wide eyed and he was sure that if Daiyan were a cartoon character, his ears would be giving off steam at the moment with his face as red as a fire truck.

Daiyan Mirza was never this angry until and unless someone had messed up with his brain a big time and Marwan Qureshi seemed to have done just that.

"I didn't! They were trafficking young girls. Store room mein band thi saari. I was trying to get them out without anyone noticing but you know my luck, kabhi kabar toh man karta hai ki shrap de du ise."

Marwan chuckled to himself but only he found his words amusing. His eyes fell on his best friend and he gulped in fear as he watched Daiyan fisting his hands and with a loud,

"Ah oh!"

He made a run towards his team while Daiyan chased him like a mad man.

Looks like he messed up really bad this time.

*****

Marwan leisurely sipped the warm tea from the cup, if not for the occasional winces that he let out once in a while due to the fresh bruise on his left cheek, which by the way was a gift from none other than his best friend who was still glaring daggers at his poor form.

Allah! Khabees ghus gaya hai kya iske andar?

He thought to himself but did not dare say it out loud, lest he be once again graced by a punch on his fresh and clean right cheek.

He was still a young man and would rather not displace his facial bones and deform his handsome mukhda.

Not being able to tolerate the depressing silence anymore, he cleared his throat and looked at his mate with a bright smile who naturally did not return the favour.

"Waise, saari ladkiyan kaha hai? Are they doing better now?"

His last words came out with immense concern and Daiyan found his tough resolve cracking due to the fool of a friend that he has. The guy faced a near to death situation and he was worried about others. Shaking his head and relieving a heavy sigh, Daiyan nodded his head at Marwan who beamed at him, this time, successfully making Daiyan return his smile with one of his own.

The contentment of making at least one stranger's life better was invisible medicine that healed a lot of unseen wounds when it came to commandos like them. Their life wasn't guaranteed but when they saved a single person from the clutches of misery, it felt as though life was complete and it wouldn't matter if it was taken anytime now.

"They did look better the last time I checked on them. We have contacted four of their parents but the fifth one..."

Daiyan stopped in mid-sentence while a frown appeared on his once slightly relaxed features. Marwan mirrored his expression and repeated his friend's last words.

"But the fifth one..?"

Daiyan looked at Marwan and shook his head.

"She isn't cooperating. It seems as though she is shaken up pretty bad. Has not uttered anything since her arrival. Aliya is trying her best to cheer her up but all attempts are turning out to be futile."

Marwan recalled the doe-eyed girl that had left him stunned. Was it her? She wasn't as reactive as the rest of them even in the hallway, so it was natural for his needle to gravitate towards her.

"Let me talk to her."

Daiyan raised an eyebrow at his friend's determined tone and cocked his head to the side. He gave Marwan a weird look before nodding his head.

He walked out of the small cabin that they were residing in with Marwan hot on trail. The girls were in another room bigger than theirs with the female commandos and nurses to check on them.

Marwan watched in silence as Daiyan got inside the room, greeting the people inside with a nod. He motioned for Marwan to come in before motioning with his head towards the petite female that sat in the corner with a blanket wrapped securely around her form and a cup of what looked like water or maybe tea in her hands.

Marwan scowled at her for no particular reason before looking at Aliya, the female commando in charge of this case alongside the two men and she wore a grim expression of her own. Her eyes clearly looked distressed as she watched her seniors.

Incidents like this could leave a deep and traumatic impact on anyone and she just wished it wasn't what she was thinking. They were nightmares morphed in reality and she could only pray for the dainty looking girl to be alright. Physically she was but her inner turmoil was tough to detect.

Marwan cleared his throat for the umpteenth time to grab the said girl's attention but it seemed as though she was busy in her own thoughts.

"Hello? Koi hai?"

He tried to act as cool as he could but the girl remained silent and unmoving. He glowered at the girl and looked at Daiyan.

His lips pulled into a thin line as he walked up to his best friend and took his balaiya. Daiyan grimaced at his friend's antics and swatted his hands away while Marwan mentally put a kala teeka on his best friend's forehead before looking at the girl.

"Sach bata raha hu, mujhe lagta tha Daiyan se bada ignorant insaan duniya mein hai hi nahi, lekin aye haye, duniya mein toh isse bhi bade namune hai."

The said person glared at him but Marwan, being a professional at ignoring did just that and clapped loudly next to the girl's ear.

The sweet little thing let out a frightened scream as her hands let go of the cup and it fell on the ground, scattering into a million pieces just like her life.

Her wide eyes looked at the man next to her with utmost fear that made Marwan slap himself to oblivion (figuratively, of course.)

He passed her a sheepish smile but the girl just leaned back, trying to create as much distance as possible from the man in front of her.

Marwan seemed to have caught onto that and immediately straightened up before taking a few steps back. He gave her a wide and welcoming smile before starting a speech that he had thought of not 30 seconds back.

"Hello, main Marwan, your saviour and knight in shining armour but we can discuss that later. These are my colleagues aka best friends aka the people I tolerate with patience, which by the way is a very tough job."

He pointed at Aliya and Daiyan who glared together at him and it was so intense that it made Marwan chuckle fearfully before he passed them a sheepish look and resumed his speech.

"Ma'am, if you are still wandering through those unwanted corridors of the hotel, then please stop. You are safe. Safe and protected. Nothing can harm you as long as you are here and maybe even after that. We would love it if you would cooperate with us and share some simple details about yourself."

His voice was smooth and comforting. Something that the girl was craving for a very long time. Not the voice but the emotion.

Comfort. Safety.

Her eyes assessed him for a minute before she softly nodded her head. A beaming smile took over Marwan's features as he raised his chin with a proud look and clapped his hands once to show how pleased he was with himself.

"Very well. That's great. We can start off with a simple question. Can I- I mean we know your name?"

The female cocked her head to the side and Marwan mentally cooed at how cute she looked. Just like a deer trying to detect whether the photographer in front of her was worth her attention or not. She took in a short breath before whispering out in a hushed tone, something that Marwan would have missed if he wasn't paying close attention to her.

"Z-Ziah."

***********

Bechara Marwan, how does he tolerate such rukhe sukhe people in his life? I could never (cuz I am that rukhe sukhe people, lol..)

Anyways, humari pyari bachi seems to be a bit shaken up but koi nahi, her saviour is there to cheer her up! Lekin aye haye, who said it would be an easy task.

**********