The Mark of Innocence II - Dark Angels
Chapter 2
As I walked into the office I heard my name being called out, it was Suzy my PA. A young girl with a heart of gold but also two left feet, it didn't matter what she was doing the girl was sure to trip or fall. 'Sir...one minute' I turned around and waited for her 'Good Morning Sir' 'Good Morning Suzy...what's the emergency' 'huh...emergency...what emergency?' 'You just called out to me from the other end of the building' 'oh yes...this came for you...a courier, it looked important so I thought I would give it to you straight away' I couldn't help smiling at my over efficient little PA 'thank you'.
Taking of my jacket I sat down and looked at the small parcel, the minute I saw the stamp my eyes widened, I felt my heart skip a few beats. It was from Jordan, and I knew that it was from Zack. I opened the parcel to find a mobile phone in it with a note 'we know where she is, keep this with you we will call you'.
I couldn't have been holding it for long when it started to vibrate, the screen flashed AZ02, that was Zack's tag. I hadn't spoken to him for years, my hands shook as I went to press the button.
'H...hello' 'Asad' his voice came and as soon as it reached my ears I felt a cold wash over me 'Zack...where are you? Are you two ok...is Ayesha with you?' 'We are fine...Asad we are on our way back...I will answer all your questions when we meet...I need you to do something, book a room at any low cost hotel under the name of Mr and Mrs Malik' 'did you two get married?' Zack started to laugh 'keep your questions for tomorrow...just text me the name and address of the booking from this phone do not use your own mobile' Zack was about to cut the call when I stopped him 'you know where she is...is she ok?' 'I don't know...but we are going to find out...see you tomorrow In Sha Allah'
There was no measuring of how fast my heart beat, I found myself struggling to breathe Zack and Ayesha were coming, and they knew where Zoya was. After 15 years my family were going to come back together again.
With low levels of concentration the day just wouldn't seem to end. When I finally got home I stripped my clothes off and stood under a cold shower in an attempt to calm down my spiralling emotions. All I kept thinking was about her, where she was, what she was doing, how she looked, if she had someone...no that couldn't be true. I could think anything but that, we may have been young, innocent and to the world outside naive but we knew what we felt, we knew what we wanted, and that was to be together.
As the morning sun rose I worked through the routine I had build up over the years; they were almost ritualistic or may be I was just obsessively compulsive, I guess the discipline of living in a certain way was so far embedded that no matter what you couldn't change it, I couldn't change.
Wearing casuals I pulled up the hood of my top and jumped on my bike. 4 Seasons Hotel, sounded nice enough but looked like a dump, it was perfect for what he wanted. I sat outside the coffee shop (if you could call it that) opposite the hotel and waited for my friend, my brother to finally come.
It had been almost 3 hours and still there was no sign of him 'sir, can I get you another coffee?' A small boy asked I was just about to say yes when I saw a taxi pull up, and I knew it was them 'no thank you, here...take this' the boys eyes widened 'sir it's only 50rs and this' I patted him on the head 'keep the rest as your tip...and don't tell your boss' I said giving him a wink.
I pulled up my hood again and took slow measured steps towards the taxi stopping a few feet away. Zack stepped out with a girl in a burkha, I knew he had sensed me as he paused and looked over his shoulder, I saw a small smile play on his lips as he turned back around and walked off with Ayesha.
As I was about to follow I felt the phone vibrate in my pocket 'behind the blue mosque in ten minutes'. As I stepped into the mosque I went to perform ablution before I stood in position, I had seen so much change in life almost forgetting who I really was but the one thing the remained and was consistent was Allah.
After finishing my Salah I looked up to see Zack and Ayesha walk towards a room situated towards the back of the mosque. As soon as I opened the door I froze, I couldn't believe it was them, without wasting a second more I crashed into him, if I knew how to cry I certainly would be. I looked up at Ayesha who gave me a heart warming smile before she came up to me and embraced me 'Bhaijaan...I can't...' She really couldn't bring herself to speak as she was overwhelmed with emotion.
'Asad, I thought it would be safer here' 'I know...all these years Zack...you going to tell me what's going on?' Zack took in a deep breath and gestured for me to sit down. 'Commando is alive' he said with caution, I didn't react as it didn't surprise me, deep down I knew he would be. 'He is hunting us Asad, hunting and killing us one by one...the information we hold...he can't keep us alive...I am not sure about anyone else but from our batch there are only 6 of us remaining' at this point I stopped, I looked at him and he knew exactly what I had asked 'as far as I know she is safe, and she is here Asad, in India' 'ho...how do you know...are you sure' '100% Bhaijaan, one of our informants saw her and confirmed' Ayesha said 'how long has she been here...where has she been all this time?' 'Only she can answer that...she was last seen on the west side of the city'.
I inhaled in as much oxygen as I could 'if commando is alive and is hunting us...this can't be safe, you two should never have come back, Zack you have just put yourself and Ayesha in danger' 'Asad, how could we have not come back...we were forced to become one and when we truly did become one there was no going back, we are marked as one, we breathe as one...we need find commando before he finds us Asad...it's payback time' I looked down at the hand Zack held before me and placed mine over his and so did Ayesha 'Ayesha will separate from me as of tomorrow our first priority is finding Zoya' 'Zack...if Zoya had been living here in this very city...why has she never come to me?' 'Asad...we don't know her story...if she knew she would have been her a long time ago...you will have to believe that she never knew...still doesn't know'.
I turned towards Ayesha and held her hands in mine 'you be careful' 'I will Bhaijaan, I always am...remember the quietest ones are the most deadliest' she said making me laugh. Ayesha was exactly that, her small petite figure meant she could fit through anything, her ability to blend in and disappear and then to kill in silence did make her deadly.
The next day Ayesha left the hotel and moved to the west side of the city, she promised to keep both of us informed of her every movement and she did. Ayesha started to move around the area where Zoya was last cited, she moved around with a small group of girls who lived in what the modern world called the city slumps. As she familiarised herself with the people and surrounding area she was able to use her skill to invisibly slide in and out of areas in her attempts to find her.
In the morning rush hour Ayesha made her way towards the small area that was known as corporate city, a small hub that comprised of tall buildings purposely build for corporate companies and business that were owned nationally and internationally.
'Come on Zoya...I know you are here...show yourself' as Ayesha continued her monologue she walked into one of the buildings. She stood a few feet away from the reception desk and started to read through the board that had names of companies and business firms and the floors they were situated on. As her eyes scanned the board she stopped, she looked back up a few places and started smiling 'ZAZA's House of Couture...really Zoya...a fashion designer' she said raising an eyebrow in amusement.
'Got her'
Zack and I stood in our respective rooms; Zack in his hotel room and I in my office. The second we received her text we smiled like there was no tomorrow, for Zack his sister was finally found for me, well it was the girl that dominated the one thing that kept me alive, my heart.
Edited by Saima-Syed - 10 years ago
Love Friendship Dating and Relationships
Bindi
14