Ali's POV
The plane began to descend lower as a new landscape came into view. The vast ocean, inhabited by huge glaciers of ice, turned to snow capped peaks and endless white plains. The troops traveling by the sea must have already reached the shores and would be waiting for our arrival. Murmurs buzzed around the plane, as the soldiers prepared for their take off and the battle ahead.
Some were loading their weapons and those who did not wear their landing gear yet, were strapping on their parachutes and backpacks, while all of them helped each other in doing their tasks, knowing fully well they might never see each other again. However, that did not stop them from smiling and throwing morbid jokes at one another, as if laughing on the face of fate, itself. If they were a least bit bothered by death, they were great at concealing it. Their previous animosity seemed forgotten, leaving me wondering how their friendships would have turned out if they weren't divided by us, the various mafia leaders and the personal issues between us, which they had no real connection with. Their resilience and unity renewed my faith and gave me strength to face the battle head on, without thinking about the circumstances.
I closed my eyes and the image of Khan baba flashed before my eyes, when he received the news that his son was taken captive by his worst enemy. It was only a fleeting moment of weakness I had witnessed him in, but it was enough to fuel my anger towards the Mother. "Show no mercy, son," he made me promise before our departure, with such wrath in his eyes that could burn through souls, and I had no intention of doing so.
I went to the cockpit section, where Amira was seated quietly, behind the pilot's seat with a stoic expression on her face, gazing out the window, as though lost in thought. Her eyes were swollen and she often worried her lower lip with her teeth, leaving behind scabs of blood. Anxiety had taken a toll on her, making her paler and thinner, eerily reminding me of the Amira when she first arrived in Egypt. She was more composed at the headquarters, but one could see the ice was breaking. The determination of a daughter she had before our flight to Pakistan, seemed to be replaced with confusion; something happened at the casino and she would not share it with anybody. She had barely eaten anything in the past forty eight hours, and everytime I woke up during the night, I saw her awake, either sifting through a file of papers, looking outside the window, or apprehensively watching the navigation screen in front of the pilot, like it would somehow make the distance smaller.
"How are you holding up?" I asked her.
"How you might expect," she replied with a rueful smile. Her eyes were watery, and her mouth was dry as she spoke. "Just barely."
"Hey," I said softly, putting a hand on her shoulder. "There's nothing to worry about. You know they won't harm him since they wanted us to come and get him, and they know Khan likes his things unscathed. We'll get Mr Suleiman on the plane in no time and bring him back to Egypt with us."
"And that's precisely what I'm afraid of," she said, her voice barely above a whisper and evading my eye contact. "Promise me, Ali. You'll take care of yourself. The destruction of the Mother, your life and the safety of our friends and soldiers will be your top priority, even above the life of my father. I'll take care of him myself. Promise me, Ali."
"No," I replied simply. "Not unless you give me a good reason to do so."
"This is not the time or place, Ali, just please trust me."
How could I? A few days ago she wanted nothing more than to rescue her father, ahead of all of us in planning the strategies and the outcomes. Now here she was, practically begging me to forgo my promise with Khan baba, transform our original plan that we had spent ours in devising and forget that our men were already inside the base ready to proceed with the mission, just a few minutes before our landing.
"Alright," I agreed with her. She clearly knew something that I did not, but she was not willing to share. I chose to take heed of her warning which was better than to regret it later. "However, the original troop assigned for the rescue will be with you for the sake of your safety and your father's."
"Thank you." She said, gratitude and relief evident in her voice. I nodded at her before turning towards the navigation screen and observed the pattern of the landscape. Black discontinuous lines represented terrains, areas unfit for landing. The scarce beige blocks up north, showed the residential areas, while the abundant green areas showed the plains, however the small red dot marked our destination, which was getting closer by the second. It was surrounded by an irregular circle, representing the ring of mountains Zohra mentioned in the meeting and the team present within the base told us to be careful with, since it can prove to be quite tricky to make your way through them into the base and there's a chance you might get spotted. However, it did not matter, because we were going there for attack, and not as spies any more. They are the ones who should be hiding and not us.
The ocean had disappeared completely and the ring of mountains was in sight now, the sharp precipices standing proud and cold, while the circular arrangement of the hills gave the impression of a clock of doom, slowly looming closer. The door slid open, blasting cool wind through the opening and filling the space within the plane. My vision became blurry as the wind continued to invade my face and body, piercing through the thick clothing. It had been a while since I experienced the anxiety of war and allowed it to grapple on my nerves. I thought about Salman and Jala who were inside the base right now, under Dawood chacha's care, discreetly keeping them and the boys together while keeping their morale high, and ensuring they proceed with the plan for the success of our mission. Jala's brothers were also going to be there, along with the troop that reached here through the sea. They heard about the war through our middlemen and clients that facilitated the trade of our goods in the region, and wanted to take part in it, in an attempt to strengthen their ties with Khan baba. They knew Khan's loyalty was worth it, but they were unaware of the price they would have to pay for it, when the time comes.
The soldiers stood next to each other, their murmurs now silenced with the anticipation of the upcoming battle, and gazed into the distance, each lost with their own thoughts. One by one, they began their descent into the vast dreary landscape forming a graceful pattern with their limbs splayed open in the freezing wind, as the vessel slowly drifted to form the desired circular path. They would be landing outside the ring of mountains, where the fighter jets will be stationed to prepare for the final take off for the attack.
Once all the soldiers were dispatched, the window was closed, before the pilot directed the plane towards the one hill that we were going to land behind, and lowered the nose of the plane to begin our descent, tilting it downwards and making me and Amira, the only ones standing in the plane, unsteady on our feet. We grabbed onto the head rests of the pilot seats and watched as the ground loomed closer, and closer. It is funny how we couldn't wait for the journey to be over, but now that our destination had arrived we were more terrified than ever.
The sun peaked from above the edge of the hill, as it overlooked the snowy plains we just stepped on, cherishing the feeling of solid ground beneath our feet which was a welcome change from the undulating floor of the plane. I walked away from the vehicle and gazed around our new surroundings, trying to make sense of the new landscape. Five fighter jets were parked several meters away, as promised by the Pak army, and along with them stood the soldiers, nodding in our direction as they acknowledged our arrival.
I spotted a small red cabin, around the corner of the hill, and upon approaching the soldiers, I learned it was a phone booth, which meant the signals were working here. I took out the earpiece from my pocket and activated the device before inserting it into my ear. After a few moments of crackling noises, I heard Amin's voice at the other end.
"Hello?"
"We're here," I told him.