Salam
Enjoy
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"You need to tell us what's going on. If our lives are at risk then our families lives are at risk too. We need to make sure they'll also brought here too, your highness." One of the Emirs pointed out.
Most of them had been Emirs longer than he had been king. Except for Fawzan. He succeeded Hamid after he was arrested as the Emir of Sharjah.
"My father has reason to believe that it's just your lives at stake." Karim spoke for his dad.
"And I have people watching your homes at this very moment." Salim assured them.
"You insolent fool! You drag us out of our homes with no form of explanation..."
Tawfiq slammed the table angrily.
"Do not test my last patience, Ridwan! Watch how you talk to my General and my brother or I'll ensure you have no use of that tongue." Tawfiq threatened the Emir of Ra's al-Khaimah.
The whole room fell silent. No one spoke.
Tawfiq smiled tightly a second later.
"Forgive my outburst. But my fellow dear trustworthy Emirs are being targeted and it's getting me a tad bit angry." Tawfiq smiled sarcastically.
"What do you suggest we do? Do we know the people after us? We need to find them quickly! This is treason! They have to be killed!" Hamza shouted.
"Killed? Isn't that a bit harsh? We don't know why they're after you but you want us to just find them and kill? Without a trial?" Karim arched a brow.
"You don't understand anything about ruling, boy! It's not your life at stake." Jamaad glared at Karim.
"You will not refer to my son as 'boy' , Jamaad. He's the crown prince and future king. Your future king. Honoraries are in place." Tawfiq's gaze was hard set on Jamaad, the Emir of Ajman.
"Forgive me, your highness. I'm just anxious about things." Jamaad bowed slowly.
"Don't be. This is one of the safest places in the country." Salim assured them.
"Najm Al'Uma was the safest place in the country. Maybe the world, yet people attacked the king. How do you explain that, General?" Hamza, the Emir of Umm al-Qaiwain.
"How do we explain that?" Tawfiq acted oblivious.
"I'd say someone was on the inside." Karim shrugged.
"Is there someone on the inside here? Working against you all to kill you before... well they kill them?" Tawfiq raised his brows.
All five Emirs looked at each other suspiciously. They were in this together yet they didn't trust each other.
"What are you saying, your highness? That one of us is a traitor?" Daud, the Emir of Fujairah frowned.
Of all the Emirs, Tawfiq had good relations with him.
Daud had been good friends with his father before he died and finding out he was part of the people working against him made him angry.
"I like you, Daud. I do favorites. I'm not my father. And you were my favorite at one point. I've invited you to my home so many times than any one else. I've come to yours just as much. I'd never call any of you traitors unless I have reasons to believe so." Tawfiq pointed out calmly.
"Or do you have a reason for me to think one of you is a traitor?" Tawfiq narrowed his gaze at Daud.
Daud wasn't a hard nut to crack. If he was cornered he'd do anything to get a way out. That involves giving out anyone he was working with.
"Are you the traitor?" Tawfiq asked.
Daud's eyes widened.
"Tawfiq..."
Tawfiq shook his head a bit angrily.
He and Daud were on first name basis but now they clearly weren't going to be on that basis anymore.
"Your highness..." Daud corrected quickly.
"Better."
"I'm not a traitor, your highness. You know me, and you know I'd never betray you. The one we should suspect is Fawzan. He's the one who succeeded Hamid. He had to be involved somehow in his escape and maybe he's trying to kill us too." Daud blamed.
Fawzan hadn't spoken since he arrived but being accused made him stand up abruptly.
"Me! You liar! You're the one trying to kill us, aren't you! And you're just accusing me because my predecessor was arrested for treason!"
"I'm with Fawzan! Daud might be trying to kill us all!" Jamaad supported Fawzan.
All the other Emirs took side with Fawzan still talking loudly and blaming Daud who was trying to defend himself now.
"Enough!" Tawfiq growled at all of them causing everyone to shut up in a second.
"It seems Sheikh Daud is the prime suspect, dad." Karim noted.
"It clearly seems so."
"Your highness..." Daud tried to speak.
"Don't continue your sentence if you know what's good for you." Tawfiq warned before smiling at the other four Emirs.
"I knew I could count on you all to find out the truth. What punishment is worthy of such heinous crimes against you. Speak it and I'll ensure it is carried out." Tawfiq offered.
"He deserves to die." Fawzan glared.
"Apart from death. He might be working with other, definitely. So we need him alive to get those people too." Tawfiq added.
"He should be arrested and kept here! Never to see the light of day!" Jamaad said.
"You know it's in levels right. Hamid was in level 2. Alone. The least threats are in level 5. Level 1 remains untouched since the opening of this place however." Salim explained.
"Take him there then! Take him deeper than where Hamid was. And when you find Hamid, they can be there together!" Ridwan stated.
"Are you sure? Level one is a bit...harsh. And he's a sheikh. A Royal. You believe he deserves such fate for attempting to kill you? Even Hamid that tried to kill my parents and I didn't get such fate." Karim stated.
"Don't forget, he tortured me. And he didn't even deserve level 1 then." Tawfiq added in the end.
"You said you'd give what punishment we decided on, your highness. Stick to your word."
Tawfiq sighed.
"Should have been a little forgiving at least."
"We've all decided, your highness. We want him at level 1 with hard labor and no chances of parole." Hamza spoke for all of them and they all nodded in agreement.
"I'll stick to my words then."
"Salim?" Tawfiq called.
Salim stood up from his seat.
"You're all under arrest. Your crimes are as follows; for being mastermind in the attack of Najm al' Uma, for funding criminals of the state to attempt to kill the king and his family, for the murder of Major Hassan, for supplying weapons to rebels in another country and thus instigating war in a country not even yours and for breaking your oath to the nation. You have the right to remain silent. For anything you say or do, definitely will be used against you in court. You have the right to an attorney and since you can afford funding criminals then you can afford finding your own attorney."
They were all confused.
"What sort of game is this!?" Ridwan frowned.
"As king and supreme leader, I do hereby strip you all of your rights to be Emir of your respective Emirates. And don't worry. I'll stick to my words and send you all to level 1." Tawfiq smirked.
"What is going on here! You can't arrest us!"
"What crimes are those! We're innocent of all of them."
"We don't know what you're talking about!"
"Rebels? Criminals? Funding them! Who gave you such stupid ideas!"
They were all shouting at the same time.
"I'm leaving!" Jamaad stood up and was about to head for the exit when Karim had him by the neck since he was closest to him.
"Where do you think you're going?" Karim seethed.
Jamaad started to struggle in his grip and Karim's hands only tightened around his neck causing him to struggle for breath.
"Stay calm, Jamaad. That 'boy' has been pushed to the edge by the likes of you. Push him any further and you'll end up with your neck being snapped." Tawfiq warned him.
And for the life of Karim, he was getting so close to snapping his neck.
"You can't keep us here!" Ridwan growled as he tried to confront Tawfiq but he was slammed face first unto the table by Salim. He pulled his hand behind him with another hand holding his head on the table.
The others all stood up.
"You're abusing your power! This is the act of a tyrant."
"Me? A tyrant?" Tawfiq chuckled. "Where have I heard that one before?"
"If I got a dollar for every time someone called me a tyrant, I'd be twice richer than I am."
"You...you foolish man! You think we're afraid of you!? You act all pious and just and we are here suffering...paying your foolish taxes! Who wouldn't want you dead...Hamid should have killed your wife and kid the first time he got the chance! We'll make sure they kill your daughter in law too...Trust..." Fawzan was in Tawfiq's hold before he could finish his revelation.
"You'll keep my family's name out of your mouth. If you dare to say a word about them...I'll forget level 1 and have your head." Tawfiq seethed.
"And oh...my daughter in law is safe. We have your golden boy Hamid and his wife right here in this building. Hopefully you'll all be good prison mates in level 1." Tawfiq added.
Fawzan was shocked to say the least. When did they arrest Hamid and Yasmine? How?
"I'll tell you the story another day." Tawfiq smirked.
Hamza and Daud tried to make a run for it but a bullet was shot right by their feet's to stop them. They looked up to the second floor of the room they were in. They were surrounded by prison guards and the military all armed and ready to shoot.
"Get back to your seats." Tawfiq growled.
They both moved slowly back to their seats.
Tawfiq let Fawzan go and Salim and Karim followed suit.
"I do hope you're ready to give out any other names I missed. I have a few CEO's in custody. Maybe if you're allowed to roam the grounds one day you'll bump into them." Tawfiq revealed.
"For now, please enjoy your new palace. It's the safest in the world." Tawfiq smiled with mocking eyes before turning to leave with Karim and Salim.
**
"That was exhausting." Salim commented.
"Tell me about it." Tawfiq chuckled.
They had arrived from the island a few minutes ago and had just gotten off the helicopter.
"I'd wanted to see Zaira but I have a few things to attend to at base first. Send my regards to her, Karim." Salim said.
"Sure. Will do."
"Tawfiq...I mean, your highness." Salim teased.
"Idiot." Tawfiq chuckled.
"See you later then." Tawfiq said to him before walking away with Karim.
Tawfiq draped his arm around Karim.
"So...you're not a virgin anymore right?" Tawfiq wiggled his brows suggestively.
Karim pushed his hands away from him.
"Ew...dad. I'm not telling you anything." Karim grumbled.
"Still a virgin then. All grumpy."
"All that time with Shamsiya and you two were just...still friends? Sharing a room...alone... and you were both able to stay away. So much patience and control." Tawfiq chuckled.
"I'm not talking about this with you."
Karim walked ahead.
Tawfiq only shrugged and kept walking.
After a minute of silence, Karim decided...why the hell not? They were both men right...but ew anyways.
"Before you two barged into my room, I was this close to getting a heart attack."
"Why?" Tawfiq moved closer.
"Well, you know...everything was fine and then all of a sudden everything wasn't and she looked so scared, dad. I thought I'd done something wrong."
"Scared...well that's a given...she's gone through a lot. Maybe she's just not over...it yet."
"I know. But she initiated everything. She made it seem like she was okay."
"I see. Try talking to her...or she could talk to someone else about how's she feeling." Tawfiq advised.
"She's not going to talk to anyone. She doesn't want to even tell me how's she's feeling. She definitely won't talk to Habiba. Maybe she'd talk to the twins but I doubt they'd understand her." Karim said.
"Just give her time to get back to herself or understand your side. Let her want to want your help. And she will. No one is fully independent. Let her come to you willingly." Tawfiq advised.
"What if she never relies on me?" Karim frowned.
"Then you accept it that way. Either way, let her know that you're ready to help her with anything. Or just help her without her knowing. I did that to your mother all the time."
"How do I do that?"
"I don't know." Tawfiq muttered.
"You saw how I told the twins to stay by her till we return? Yes something like that. They wouldn't have stayed any longer if I didn't tell them to. So yeah something like that."
"I hope you're right." Karim muttered.
"Salam. We'll drive." Karim said to the guard who handed the car keys to him.
Tawfiq arched a brow.
"Oh come on! I won't crash it." Karim whined.
"If there's so much as a scratch by the time we get home, I'm using your allowance to get a new car." Tawfiq threatened before moving to the passenger seat.
Karim didn't mind. If his allowance was used to buy a car, he still had money in his account and worst case scenario Samia had hers too. It's funny how a small child had an allowance.
Karim sat in the driver's seat and started the car for their journey home from the helicopter landing grounds.
~
Karim entered his room to find Zaira asleep and the twins sprawled out on the couch asleep as well.
He just chuckled and walked towards the bed and climbing it.
He made sure there was reasonable space between them before closing his eyes as well.
Sleep took him.
**
Karim was awoken by the sobs of someone. He opened his eyes to see Zaira sitting at the edge of the bed.
Karim sat up quickly and moved to her.
"What's wrong? Are you okay? Are you in pain? What's going on? Tell me?" Karim pushed.
Why was she crying? What had happened as he slept?
"I can't, Karim. I can't." She said through tears.
"You can't what? Zaira, tell me what's going on so I can help." Karim asked helplessly.
"I don't need your help! I can't keep this up. This isn't working!"
"What isn't working?"
"Us! Karim! Us! We'll never be compatible. We're different people from different worlds! And the quicker you understand it...the better. But I'm done. I'm so done."
Karim frowned deeply.
"What are you talking about! You're done? What the fuck do you mean by that!?" Karim growled.
"I'm sorry, Karim. But this is how it ends for us. I'm leaving."
Karim watched on confused as ever. What had he missed? Was it because he was insisting so much on helping her?
"Okay! Please. I won't ask you to accept my help anymore. You don't need to accept anything from me. Just don't tell me you're done with us. Just don't leave. Please, Zaira. You're everything to me." Karim pleaded.
"You're everything to me too. But...this...you and I...it will never work out. Let's not prolong the inevitable future and end it right here."
"Zaira...please. Please don't leave me too. Please. I'll do anything. I'll stop pushing you for things. I'll accept anything you want but please don't leave me."
"I'm sorry, Karim. I really am. I'll always love you but I've made my decision. You can't say anything to stop me."
"Please...just...please." Karim was lost of words.
What was happening? How did everything go down the drain so fast?
"I'm so sorry. Goodbye."
Karim watched on as she stood on her feet holding unto the wall for support.
"You're in pain, Zaira. At least stay until you're better. We'll talk about everything then...just don't go...stay...with me." Karim tried to talk her out of it.
He wanted to hold her...help her but that seemed to be the reason she was leaving now...so all he could do was watch.
"I can't." She mumbled and kept holding unto the wall to help her walk to the door. She managed to open it.
"If there was another way, I'd have taken it. But this is the only way we both end up unscathed in the aftermath. So please. Promise me. You'll let me go. It's the one thing I ask of you." Zaira turned to look at him. He had unshed tears in his eyes.
He shook his head.
"I won't promise you anything! If you leave, I'll find you either way and bring you back! You won't even be able to leave the palace without help." Karim was getting angrier by the second.
"I called Marilyn. She's waiting for me outside. I'll be fine, Karim. Don't worry about me. Just live your life like I was never around to mess it up. Forget me. Please, Karim. Just do that. Live for me." Zaira pleaded.
"I want to live with you! Nothing else!"
"I'm sorry. But I'm still leaving. Goodbye, Karim."
Karim watched in shock as she walked out of the door. He couldn't even go after her. What else could he say to make her change her mind... she had already made it up.
Karim let a tear drop as she disappeared out of his view and the door slammed shut.
Like everyone else...
She was gone.
The pain hit him like a train.
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