27th February, 2031
06:00
Ratnodweep Resort
Sohel, Naomi, Mitali, and Jacob were standing in the reception. They bid farewell to Ovi. Ovi hugged Sohel and reassured him again that he did nothing wrong. Sohel walked up to Tahmid and attempted to say something.
But Tahmid turned around and went towards the driveway while saying, "Ovi, I'm leaving. Are you coming or not?"
Ovi ran behind Tahmid. Before getting out through the door, he turned back one last time and waved at Sohel with a sad face. As their car left the driveway, Sohel couldn't hold his tears anymore. Seeing him cry, Mitali was going to try to console him but before she could, Naomi reached Sohel. She hugged her.
Sohel asked Naomi, "Tell me, Naomi. Where did I go wrong? If I had never left would the situation be any better? Isn't it all my fault that I wasn't there to support him in his hard times that things turned out like this?"
Naomi stroked Sohel's hair as she said, "It isn't your fault. NWO is the one who made Naser do all of that. Not you. They are the ones who are guilty."
Hearing this, Sohel's face turned red from anger. Naomi let go of Sohel. Sohel wiped his tears as he said, "Unforgivable. They have to pay. They are the reasons I lost two of my friends. They have to pay... You guys go to my room. I'll be there with our gear in a moment."
Sohel got out of the hotel. Jacob left saying that he was going to get their breakfast. As the two of them went Sohel's room, Naomi asked Mitali, "Do you like Sohel?"
Mitali got flustered by the sudden question but handled herself. She replied, "So what if I do? We've been together all our life. After my parents died in the war, he and his dad were the only ones who supported me. A few years later uncle disappeared too. Then we only had each other. So is it weird for me to like him after sharing my whole life with him?"
They reached the room. They entered the room and sat on the couch. Naomi said, "No. It's not. But there is a small problem."
"What?"
"I like Sohel too."
Mitali had a hunch that was the case already but hearing it straight from Naomi's mouth had confirmed it for her. She looked at Naomi with a serious face as she asked, "Can you you tell me how?"
Naomi said, "While I was at the Academy, I was pretty serious about training. Making friends and having fun weren't any of my concerns. I thought those things would be just a waste of time. That's when I was forced to join Sohel's squad. He wanted to befriend me. At first, I admired him for his abilities but also disregarded him for his carefree attitude. But as I spent time with him and his friends I slowly started to realize making friends might be not that bad. And I also realized that I like him too. He made me remember howI once used to enjoy the company of people. So, I'm not going to give him away to you that easily."
Mitali was going to say something but that's when someone knocked on the door. Naomi got up and opened the door. Sohel entered the room with two suitcases. Behind him, Jacob entered with a waiter with a tray full of food. The waiter put the food down on the table and left with the empty tray.
Sohel put both the suitcases on the bed and opened them. Inside each of the suitcases, there were two boxes with each of their names written on it. Sohel turned around and said, "Each of you take your named box and open it. It contains one set of clothes made of Kevlar and chains. The fabric should stop a 7.62 bullet and absorb 30-40% of the impact. And a small firearm and a butterfly knife. for Mitali as we already have ours with us."
Mitali asked, "What do you guys use?"
Jacob answered, "We are allowed to have our weapons of choice. I use a Beretta M9, Naomi uses a Beretta 93R and as for Sohel he uses a Heckler & Koch M17."
Sohel then says, "For you, I've requested a Glock - 19. It's the standard issue service pistol of SNA. So eat up then go to your rooms and change. We'll meet at the reception at 0700."
After eating they went to their rooms and changed for the mission. Sohel put on a navy blue suit with a white shirt. Naomi wore an all-white suit. Jacob weared casual jeans, t-shirt and a jacket. Mitali wore navy jeans and a T-shirt with blazers. They meet up at the lobby at 0700. Sohel informed them that an SNA civilian vehicle is waiting for them at the entrance. All of them got out of the Resort and went towards the car.