I See Fire

5 | Nadine Escobar

"You need to be here tomorrow. There's a problem." The hefy Mexican man said through the screen of the laptop to Nadine.

"I can't. My family needs me here. Isn't Haroun there?"

No one needed her at the moment. Her fear was leaving and exposing her letter to the eyes of her prying family.

"But our security has been breached, Haroun was shot dead a few hours ago. We have a mole and he's bound to destroy us if we don't restructure the team and work to ensure their vigilance is enough to protect the family."

She struggled to speak. Her lips felt heavy but she managed and asked "Who do you think it is?"

"NT12."

"I knew they'd be back." She shook her head, looking downwards with pursed lips and intertwined hands "They never understood who they were messing with from the start."

"As the bosses' First Lady you're now the boss since he's gone. Tell us what to do next."

She looked up at her screen and her face changed from that of one in bereavement. She looked scary and calm, no smile on her face but her knuckles were about ready to tear down a wall "Go after each and every one of them and kill them."

"Yes Queen."

"It's Nadine now."

If Haroun was gone, she was also no more. Her consumption rate would increase now and she knew where her cretinous hobby would leave her; six feet under and she was fine with that if she could be buried beside his grave but that'd also mean her body flown to America which disconsolated her more because her family would never let that happen.

No one understood her relationship with Haroun. To the plain eye, they were just two childish people who stayed together through all their years of college but they were more than that and their love proved strong even in the most strained moment when she had to travel back to Nigeria.

Haroun cried more than she did and she consoled him and tried to explain she'd be back eventually—that is—after she tells her parents of her acceptance to marrying a man they knew not of.

She closed shut her laptop and moved to lock her door. Her phone buzzed, alerting her of Fajr time. She performed ablution, she prayed and poured a line of coke on her table. Her sleep was sound but her dream wasn't. A few hours later she woke up a widow, her need to keep a man dead inside her mourning chest.

"Can you drive them all to school today? Fred isn't coming in today." Their mother kindly asked, her sad eyes downcast, still red from crying the previous night but that wasn't Nadine's business anyways.

"Ok mama. But not Farouk. His way is not my way."

"Haba Nadine I don't have money for Uber everyday." Farouk protested.

"You'll have to manage with your legs." She marched out to the car, spinning the key chain in her hand.

"Mummy can you hear her?" Farouk pointed at her receding figure.

She sighed, anxiously. She'd been fighting a headache since she woke up. Sluggishly she went out to the car and knocked at the window of the car.

Nadine pulled the window down, waiting for her mother to speak.

"You have no where to be. Just take him."

"It's far mama."

"Just do it." She demanded. Not firmly but wearily and Nadine was just as sad but her feelings were elevated because of Haroun's death.

"Ok."

Farouk appeared from the doorway with Aamanee, Usama and Amira. They all joined Nadine, walking gloomily to the car and she drove off absentmindedly. Her mother noticed the shift in her attitude but didn't ask, she'd assume it was Zayda that was making her feel this way.