Amira's Pov
"Zohra, it's so nice to see you dear," Zuleikha cooed from the table, breaking the tension.
"Sorry I'm late, everyone,"she said, making her way around the table and walking towards Zuleikha. "I met a poor thing along the way, begging me for my touch and attention." She ran a meaningful hand over Yaqub's shoulders who happened to be in her way and stood behind the chair that was left for her. I would have laughed at how comical he looked resembling a fat tomato, embarrassment clear on his face as he adjusted his collar, attempting to loosen it. "I couldn't leave it to its fate now could I?" She winked, before emitting a sophisticated, almost sarcastic laugh.
I did not spare so much as a glance towards her until she stood next to Zohra, simply because I did not want to give her the attention she craved for, however she was one of the most beautiful women I had ever laid my eyes on. Her amber eyes had a natural lift giving them a cat like appearance, her slim facial structure gave rise to sharp cheekbones across her slim nose that lead to a healthy, plump pout painted in a perfect shade of nude. Her rich brown skin tone shimmered as she stood before me, her elegant features highlighted lightly in a shade of gold, and the shadows falling in the right places, shaping the contours of her face. Her supermodel figure was clad in a black suit which she wore with a white high neck blouse, and black stilettos, her height surpassing the women that she stood with. Zuleikha's guards were quite beautiful themselves, however, this new guest had power; she was not afraid to show her flirtatious skills, but still held herself with elegance and power, alluring like a flame that draws you in but burns you if you get close enough to touch.
"This is one of my most trusted clients turned ally Zohra, and she's got a way of doing things in her style. What we have is more than a partnership and it has proven nothing but beneficial for me."
"You spoil me Zuleikha," she says, even though a glint of pride is evident in her golden eyes. This woman is loyal to none but herself.
"I only speak the truth, my love. She also has inside information on our mutual enemy."
"It is true that I have had the chance to venture into the Mother's base and meet her in person." She clicks the remote control in her hand and the screen behind Yaqub flashes to life, showcasing a map with various routes and red marks to pinpoint locations. Scrolling the map in the north west direction, and mountain ranges began to intensify in the area with various lines intersecting the landscape. At a certain point she zooms in, where a ring is marked across a circular range of mountains, and the center of the ring is pinpointed in red.
"This ring of hills marks the location of the Mother's base. It is quite a remote area with no sign of civilization in the line of sight. Even though it would seem that absence of communities would make our entrance easier into the base, the security is pretty uptight and should not be taken lightly. If we truly want to take over the base then we need to override the security system, and disrupt the communication lines to throw their forces in a state of frenzy."
"It should be a piece of cake considering the network system in mountainous terrain," Salman interjects, nonchalantly. I admired his ability to look at problems that would look so complex to solve and turn them into something so simple, you would have questioned their existence in the first place. Having a friend with a perspective like him always helped me during politics and I was glad I still had him by my side even though our priorities had changed considerably. "The best that they will have is a local area network running on poorly held cable lines. I think we can manage that easily."
"Don't be so quick to judge, little one. Their network might be secluded to one area, but their connections aren't. And it's quite a strong one, mind you the access won't even display on your devices, even when you're inside the territory."
"It might not. Not for everyone, anyway," Salman replies, with a smug tone.
Zohra looks annoyed, probably because she isn't used to someone knowing more than her, and her ego would not allow that.
"There are passageways within the mountain that will help you enter the base in secret. However, you might as well need an alibi for your identity, because even though you might be nameless, it's never a good idea going into the enemy's territory as yourself. And who knows? You might find a good opportunity to reveal it later on." She winks at Jala before turning her attention towards me, Ali and Yousef.
"It would also be a good idea if the royal family could stay back, since they might have a better idea knowing about you kids, than these pawns you picked up at auction," she gestured towards Salman and Jala. I would have slapped her if we were not sitting in this meeting, for addressing them in such a derogatory manner, as if they were children of a lesser God. Sadly, I could not exercise such authority here mainly because I was not sure if Khan baba would approve and it was my first time meeting the leaders we were about to form an alliance with. My temper had done more damage than good, lately, so I figured it was better to sit quietly on this one even if each and every ounce of my being protested in doing so. I saw the same rage flash in Ali's eyes but chose to remain quiet, which was my biggest sign to back off since he was a regular member of these meetings, and was once again the right hand of Khan baba, in the mafia. He gave me a nod of approval which I returned; time for payback would have to come later.
"The only sign of human habitation seems to be further north west, in the form of a small village where a group of simple folk have put up their settlement," Zohra continued, navigating through the map and pointing in different directions. The charm of her personality had long worn off, and the only emotion I could feel towards her was anger and spite. "They wouldn't cause us any trouble if we steered clear out of their way, which I see no reason why we should, since our mission is to take over the base and return. However, the conquest part seems pretty unlikely with the forces that we have at hand. Of course, I mean no offense to the respected leaders sitting here but the Mother's base is a heavily guarded one and their troops are well trained. You might have known from your individual research, many of the powerful organizations have the help of the mafia and are mostly successful in their operations which are mostly concerned with chaos. Not to mention they have a vast network, with connections from all over the world that have helped them gather their recruitments and stay ready at all times. Their defense system is not one to be taken lightly."
"My lady, I understand that you have been inside the enemy's base and it is quite easy to be impressed by the weapons and artillery you saw there for someone who has never fought from the front lines," I told her in a sympathetic tone and watched as her expressions turned sour, bringing me nothing but peace and satisfaction. "However, the reach of Zulfiqar Khan is not one to be underestimated."
"Here sits Amira, the daughter of the former prime minister of Pakistan and the vice president of her party," Dawood chacha introduces me in a grand manner, one that I find quite comical as compared to the casual, affectionate way he usually addresses me in, and I try to hide my laugh while bowing my head before I realize who I am sitting with who may take it as a sign of weakness. I raise my head once more to meet the eyes of the members as Dawood continues to address them. "A deal has already been finalized with the armed forces of Pakistan, to use their equipment and artillery as well as any troop of highly trained soldiers to enter into the base. Our neighboring alliances have pledged their loyalty to us in times of hardship and have proven it time and time again. I, myself, was once the commander in chief of the soldiers in the Northern Village." He tells Zohra, finishing off with his introduction. "I assure you our forces are not one to be undermined or intimidated."
"Oh I know about the forces of your country. By the way, I am so sorry to hear about your father, Amira. I heard how he went down in ashes, and how the people are still mourning for their brave leader. Inside reports on the fire tell us that the fire was no accident but a planned assassination, including members of the armed forces." It was my turn to scowl, now. She brought my father's death into the discussion and was using it against me to get me riled up and lose control, but I was not going to give her the satisfaction of succeeding. " Are we supposed to place our trust on such cavalry that can't even be trusted to protect the leader of their own country? What will stop them from betraying us?"
"They can betray the prime minister of Pakistan, but they will not betray Zulfiqar Khan." I replied, coolly.
"Well, they killed his son and ruined his granddaughter."
"How can you be so sure about this? All you've heard is a rumor. Do you have evidence to prove your word?" The fact that she had the audacity to bring my family's name into the matter was as surprising as it was despicable and I could not believe Khan baba was tolerating it.
"Not at the moment, but the record of your country's acting leader's assassinations should be enough to get anyone suspicious. At the very least, his faithful daughter. I heard you were dealing with daddy issues before the incident happened." Her tone was mocking, almost accusing, enough to get my blood riled up. "Don't you think you should try and investigate the fire that took place? Or are you too afraid to go back because of your ruined reputation?"
"The only thing that is suspicious is the rather large amount of things you have heard about me. Who told you all of this anyway? Are all of you actually going to trust her and accept her word as the truth? "
"It is not my fault your security sucks. Like I said, the enemy might be closer than we think." She seemed completely unfazed by the suspicions I had raised, and remained adamant on her stance. I would have continued but thankfully Ali intervened, otherwise the situation would have gotten out of hand.
"Look, we have handled such deals before. We're not idiots, and they're not the only ones with the spies. They'll be wise to know this and think twice before messing with the Khan."
"So how do you propose we continue from here?" Yousef says, his fingers enclosed in front of him, while his forearms rested on the table.
"We create a plan. A clear plan with everybody's input and cut the crap. Everyone knows what happened the last time we got together. It's better if we don't repeat the same mistakes, twice."
"What happened the last time?" Jala asks, curiously.
"Civil war." Hussain replied, coldly.
"When the first batch of our soldiers will have been deployed, we will dispatch the rest of the crew at intervals that will camp at a nearby site until all the soldiers have reached the destination," Yousef chimes in again, grabbing the attention of the members.
"I will do you a favor and advise you not to take that route since it will be riskier and more time consuming." Zohra says, and tilts her lean figure towards the screen, navigating her way back on the map. She zooms out with the help of the remote control in her hand giving us a view of the ocean outstretched on the map. "If I were you I would take this route to the base, which might prove a bit time consuming,but otherwise safer than the prior one. It will also save you a lot of energy since your cargo and men can arrive in the same vessel. The soldiers will also have the time to preserve their strength"
"Will we have that much time, considering a few of us will already be in?" Salman asks.
"The route takes a little less than a month to reach the other side of the coast, about three weeks in total," A red line traced over what was supposed to be the sea, adjoining the two lands on the map. "This is approximately the time it will take to bring the weapons and the rest of the artillery from your part of the world, if It's being brought by air."
"Me and Ali can go back to Pakistan and finalize the deal with General Ahmed and see if everything is according to plan before taking off to the Northern Sea." I said looking over to Ali and Khan baba. "Khan baba, will have a last minute talk to confirm the agreement and stay up to date with the situation in case of any emergency."
"In the meantime me and Salman will try and gather as much information as we can and trace any weak points within the base that we can use in the war ahead," Jala says looking at Salman. Instead of fear or hesitation, I heard anticipation and excitement, and for some reason that gives me hope.
"Our troops will join before initiating the attack on the base," Yousef says, the quiver of excitement evident in his tone. I would be lying if I said I didn't feel it, too.
"I'd say we have a better chance of winning this then the Mother," Hussain remarks, looking at Dawood, and at this point I would agree.
"So, we have a deal then?" Yaqub addresses the leaders present on the table, interlacing his fingers together.
"I guess we do," Khan baba answers, picking up the silver pen and signing the papers.