HASAN
It was the first day of on-the-ground surveillance for the drug runners case. I woke up earlier than usual to offer an extra prayer and then got to work ahead of schedule.
Naina was back and she would join us to supervise Maheen like a handler. I was already in the car, checking emails on my work phone when both ladies got into the back seat.
"Plus, Hasan will be with you," Naina says as we get into the car. "He'll take care of you if anything happens."
I don't respond to their chatter, trying to focus on this important email from my supervisor.
"I'll be okay Naina," Maheen's voice pipes up. For so early in the morning, she's already full of mischief, which is evident in her voice. "Hasan's manicure is fresh, I won't risk ruining that for him."
I have to really compose myself to stop from laughing and encouraging this.
The agent who's driving us and Naina do laugh though and I can't stop from rolling my eyes.
"So," Naina's voice is low, presumably speaking to Maheen. "Zinat bhabhi bata rahi thi mujhe tumhari aur Saif ki baatein hui hain. Kuch socha tumne? Kaisa laga woh? (Zinat was telling me you and Saif have been talking. Has anything progressed? How did you like him?)."
Her voice is super quite and there's music playing in the car but I can hear almost all of it. My eyes shift to the rearview mirror and unfortunately Maheen catches me looking at her. Instead of looking away though, I hold her gaze, waiting for her answer.
"Yeah, he's nice," she absentmindedly responds to Naina.
"Nice? Oh come on, it's been like two weeks, you haven't figured out more than nice?" Naina asks confusedly. "Uss ne toh Zinat Bhabhi ko bol diya hai ke woh tumhe pasand karta hai. Tum bhi soch lo. (He's already told his sister he likes you. You should reflect on whatever you are feeling too). No pressure though," Naina pats her leg.
So that's who Saif is- Zinat's brother who apparently has been set up with Maheen.
I feel my jaw clench and take a deep breath to calm myself down. There was literally no reason to be annoyed by this revelation.
"Hasan," Naina's voice snaps me out of my thoughts. I turn my head slightly so she knows I'm listening. "I need to talk to you about the Tourquette case, let me know when you have time tomorrow or Monday."
I hum in agreement.
"I like this song," our driver-John- turns up the radio. It's a Bollywood song, something he has become familiar with driving me, Naina, and Namrata on missions.
Maheen starts to cough a little. It's more of a mangled laugh that comes out of her. I look over at her and notice she indeed is holding back a laugh, if her pink face is any indication.
"Yeah, nice song," she says, almost gaspingly.
I notice the song playing then. A Deepika Padukone song. I shake my head at Maheen, settling back into my seat.
Naina is looking between the two of us confusedly. "What's so funny?"
Maheen opens her mouth to say something decidedly stupid but I cut her off. "Nothing Naina, nothing is funny."
---
We were seated at a table outside of a street corner's café. Maheen was sitting across from me, staring longingly at the danish in front of her. But we couldn't eat anything of course, in case we had to start running it would be a choking hazard.
Naina was in the car, leading us and the other agents who were scattered around the block.
"You guys," Naina's voice comes through our ear pieces. "It looks weird that you're sitting there without talking and not eating. Act normal," she chides.
I press my ear piece's mic to respond. "Copy."
"I want to eat it," Maheen sighs desperately.
"But you can't," I remind her.
"But you can't," she mimics me in a high pitched voice.
I cross my hands together on the table, staring at her. She had her hair up in a tight bun, with her bangs tucked behind her ears. She was wearing a plain black shirt with black jeans but she had on some sparkly stuff on her eyelids that made them stand out more than usual.
"What are you looking at? Is there something on my face?" she touches her nose and cheek.
"Nothing, I spaced," I lie.
"So do you always dress so casually on missions?" she asks, examining my clothes now.
"When we need to blend in, we can't come strapped with guns," I point out sarcastically.
She nods thoughtfully as if I didn't just sass her out. "But you always dress like an old librarian. So this is actually you standing out," she snickers.
I guess I was indeed dressed differently today in my black t-shirt and blue jeans.
"It seems everything about us both is quite different now," I sigh, running a hand through my hair.
"Somethings never change though," she looked at me with that annoying little smile she always has on when she's messing with me. "Zindagi bhar kharoos ke kharoos hi reh jaoge. (You'll always be a stickler)."
"Phir bhi kharoos ke saath itni dosti ki thi tumne. (And yet, you were best friends with that stickler)," I remind her smugly.
"Thi. Dost thi. Mat maari gayi thi meri. (Was. Was your friend. I didn't have a brain back then)," she mutters.
Before I can respond, she tilts her chin at something behind me.
"Hasan," Maheen whispers. "Four o' clock."
I turn my head slightly, trying to see what she's looking at. "Naina," I press my in-ear mic. "Messi jersey, Black sneakers. You have eyes?"
"Affirmative," Naina says. "Agents secure the block," she announces to all the agents here today.
"Let's go," I gesture to Maheen. We get up, and I lead the way, following the man as he walks down the sidewalk.
"He's heading to the library," Maheen says. "It is the perfect intersection between two runners' paths."
I repeat what she just said to Naina, who commands us to follow.
The man stops suddenly and so I stop too, blocking Maheen before she goes further. The man looks left and right and then slips into an alleyway behind the library.
We follow quietly, watching as he walks deeper and deeper into the alley and then stops behind a garbage bin.
Maheen tugs at my t-shirt and points to a garbage bin we can also hide behind to watch. Maheen pulls out her phone and takes a video as a young man- probably a university student- walks into the alleyway from the other side, opening his backpack as he gets closer. The person we followed steps out slightly so we can see half his body. He opens his own backpack and takes out a small packet, covered in tape and newspaper.
Once the handoff is done, both men say something quietly to each other and leave the same way they come.
Instinctually, I press Maheen against the brick wall of the building, shielding her as the man walks by so he can only see my back.
The man walks past, scoffing at us as he probably-and understandably- assumes we're doing something very unlike what was actually happening here.
I look down at Maheen. Her eyes are buzzing with excitement, her cheeks flushed with the thrill of the mission. Slowly, her eyes shift to the left, looking at my arm that's leaning on the wall beside her head.
I hear her breath hitch, and her eyes go wider as they come back to meet mine.
"Mahee," my voice is a whisper. I don't actually know what I'm wanting to say, but I just feel like there's something that needs to be said.
"You guys are clear," Naina's voice sounds off in our ears.
Maheen pushes me away, "control yourself Hasan. I know I'm gorgeous but you can't be falling over me everywhere," her face is full of mirth. At least she's not mad.
"Shut up Maheen."