Jala's POV
Being undermined all my life by my parents, by my brothers, not to mention the society, I had begun to think they were right. Right about me being stupid, ignorant and weak. Tonight I was presented with an opportunity to prove them all wrong, including myself.
"I am yours to command, Master."
He tucked a finger under my chin and tilted my face up to meet his eyes. They widened a bit as they took in my appearance before giving me a condescending smile, and turned towards Hamza. "I expected no less from the king of the underworld. My men and women will take care of you," He says waving his hand in dismissal. I felt my heart rate accelerating at their departure, but kept my gaze trained on the floor. He stood up from the charpoy and made way towards another door in the room, with the drink still in his hand. "Come to my room and bring one of the drinks your boss has sent with you," he told me before exiting the room. I lifted the cloth covering the crate and picked up an expensive wine bottle and followed him outside.
The dull grey walls and concrete floors followed us in the narrow hallway, though a wide courtyard took place on our right as we made way for the chief's room. "Don't let anyone in," he instructed the two men standing on either sides of the door. The room was considerably smaller than the one we just left but more furnished. A desk stood next to the wall while a small cabinet hung over it, the glass on its surface showing everything it held. A bed lay on the opposite side of the room, a wooden armchair placed next to it and a small metal safe placed behind it. I doubted I would find anything of importance in this place, except maybe the safe. But first I had to handle other things first, such as the drunken man sitting on the armchair.
"Master?" I address him in a meek voice. He raised his head from his hands and momentary relief passed over him as he took in my appearance. Look for a moment of weakness and use it, I recall Ali's words. He did not need to remind me twice as this was the way things were before I met him. I had to look for these vulnerable moments to expect love and affection from my family.
I placed the bottle on the table and slid my hands up his outreached arms. "My lord," I say my voice barely above a whisper. Pouring half a glass of wine, I reach for the small vial tucked in my skirt and tipped a bit of the sedative encased within it, into the wine before handing it over to him. I sat at his feet once more before being swept up. "Not there," he said picking me up and held me within his arms. "I need you by my side tonight."
He took another sip of his wine and nuzzled his face into the nook of my neck. "You're so beautiful, so pure."I try to relax within his lap but fail to do so, not being used to the touch of the opposite gender, much less the touch of strange men. "To sate my desire or protect you from my own instinct, you make me question myself, my dear… what is your name, again?"
"Whatever you'd like to call me, sire."
"You're just too good," He laughs, before taking another sip. His eyes began to droop while his words became slurred. This was the last shot he needed before his head slumped against the chair. I carefully removed his hands from my torso, stood up from his lap before rummaging through the contents of the drawers and the shelf. There was nothing of importance in the shelf that was littered with bottles of pills, cigarettes and blank papers, while the drawer held bills and a bunch of keys. I inserted them in the slot of the safe one after the other and it clicked open at the third attempt.
Clothes hung over the objects that lay at the floor of the cupboard, and draped over me as I sought them out. There were three files and a black and red USB drive that lay on top of them. I skimmed over some of the papers that looked like terms and conditions of a contract to me as well as a layout of a map. I grabbed the files, USB and picked up the bills and a notebook that held records of their trading as well as some names (they said they wanted a lead so this might help, right?), and made my way towards the door when a voice in my ear stopped me in my track.
"How's it going?" Salman asked through the earpiece. "I wasn't expecting to hear from you, so soon," I replied, unable to stop myself from smiling. "You sound almost disappointed," though, I can almost hear the smirk in his voice.
"That's up to you to decide," I walk over to leader of the terrorist, Gul Badin, who is completely knocked out on the arm chair and oblivious to my presence. He's not for you to kill, I remind myself. "So when are the fireworks starting?"
"Well, someone sounds impatient."
"Oh believe me, I am."
"Right about… now."
A loud booming sound resonates across the room, as the ground shakes beneath me. Even Gul Badin stirs in his sleep. I make way for the door once more; before it is thrown open by a burly man with a furious expression on his face, while eyeing the files in my hands.
"Please, it's not what it looks like," I began weakly, taking a step back as he takes a threatening step forward.
"Come with me," he says, his voice leaving no room for argument as he snatches the files away from me. "Hey-"
"Now."
While his actions spoke a different story, the way his brows raised as he gave me a meaningful look told me he had a plan.
Ali's POV
Me and Salman entered the base in a bullet proof jeep, with a driver and the colonel by our side. There were other soldiers of higher ranks who came along with us, for extra power and to hold an advantage over the enemy. The participation of such individuals told us how important this mission was for the enemy.
"Do you have an insight on our target lady?"
"Roger that, boss," Salman replies, flashing his laptops screen towards me, showcasing a ravenous Jala in a black tank top, jeans and a strap across her torso holding her weapons, much like her training attire she wore back at home. Her gaze was focused, her figure poised and ready for battle as she took her aim. She looked so strong, all of her fears disappearing into the past, as she became part of this mission and the mission became part of her.
"I hope you're ready boys…" the colonel addresses us, hitting a button on the car's panel. "Charlie 561, what's the notification on our target?"
"Under control and taken care of. We are waiting for your signal, Colonel."
"Coming right up, Charlie 561." He hits the button again and switches on his earpiece. "Bravo 56, this is your cue to hit the missiles and get the men ready to deploy."
The driver pulled up the gears and we got out of the cars with our guns in our hands. There were more back up weapons in the trunk, in case of emergencies.
For the first time on the battlefield, I felt adrenaline rush in my veins, not out of fear but excitement. For the first time I was fighting for something I believed to be right.
An infantry soldier comes to greet us as we stop near the base and the colonel whispers something in his ear to which he nods in reply. The soldier takes a few steps forward, crouches down and pats the ground, as if searching for something. He gets a hold of it and pulls it upward. A lever.
The ground in front of us begins to sink and the removal of sand reveals an underground compartment. The compartment is lined with weapons and grenades that could prove handy in situations like this, so I stuff a couple of grenades in my pocket, a machine gun along with a spare magazine. Chaos has already begun above the bunker; the evidence comes in the form of a bloody body of the soldier who greeted us and pulled the lever. Who knew it would become his grave?
Our first martyr. Martyrs never die, though. My faith gives me strength as I make my way to the top, my gun poised in front of me, prepared for aim. I hand out one helmet to Salman and put one over my head, strapping it into place. With a nod at Colonel Ahmed, I climbed to a steady level in the bunker, Salman right behind me, and made out the positions of the lunatics firing away from their barrier, before taking aim.
The rest of the team were taking their hits from their jeeps because stepping onto the territory was a foolish risk to take at this point. I managed to hit three of their soldiers, while Salman took two, before we decided to step onto the field. The coast looked pretty safe to me, although we kept our guns ready and pointed towards any sign of movement on the barrier.
The bullet proof jacket on my torso will give me enough protection to make it to the front wall, provided I manage to avoid getting hit. I held my gun at forefront, and begin my march run towards the front wall. The silence after several minutes of continuous gunshots was deafening. I heard the cry of "Allah Hu Akbar!" From one of the openings in the walls, and two gunshots back to back. One was from the so called "mujahideen" and the other from Salman, who was following suit.
He was too stubborn to be left behind, and I was honestly surprised by his valor and expertise that he was showing on this mission. Not to mention, grateful for having the idiot beside me who just saved my life.
"Looks like your eyesight's getting weak, old man," he said, refilling his magazine. "Hardy, har har," I replied sarcastically, filling my own, before taking out the grenades in my jacket to fire when we got close enough.
"Now!" We blew them at the entrance to create confusion in the hell hole. Funny how they called themselves Muslims, when it is the Muslim population that seemed to be their prime target. And then the West had the audacity to associate us with these groups, when most of their expenses were funded by them.
We waited for the smoke to clear out, and checked the clearing to see if it was safe to enter, since the explosions damaged the structure of the building, which may cause further pieces to collapse. The heat was getting unbearable by the second, so I unclasped my helmet and threw it on the ground. A stupid move probably, but I had survived in countless fights without a helmet, there's no reason why I shouldn't survive this one against these lunatics. Even if I do, at least I would have a worthy reason. I died trying to cleanse this corruption that bloomed on the borders of my homeland. Not to protect the wealth and empire of my forefathers. Well adoptive forefathers, and their name.
But that's a story for another time.
These dogs need to be put where they came from. "Salman, you take these lads and look for Jala. You might even be conversing with her during this whole time, so try and reconnect. I will go look for Gul Badin."
"You mean alone? Are you mad?"
"He is one man. Most of them will be fighting there with Jala."
"Because she put him to sleep, and he was alone. There will be at least a dozen by his side right now, protecting their leader. At least take the men with you. I'll find Jala, myself."
"Do you really think he'll be surrounded by men at this hour?" I raised my eyebrows at him.
"Now if you're drama is over, then can we please proceed to what we were here to do?" One of the soldier speaks up.
"If I find you dead after this Ali, I'm going to kill you." He says before leaving.
His intelligence comes into question when he makes statements like these.
I check my cartridge, if its still full, and have a look around my surroundings. There's a good probability that the snake will be knocked out cold, but preparing for the worst has been ingrained in me ever since I was a little child.
Time to cut off the head of the snake.