Present Day:
Toronto, Canada
The inspection team continued to stroll around various parts of Toronto in order to find new leads and clues but those weren't enough. Today, the team decided to follow the FBI agent in case something pops up. To be a better judge of the whole situation Ahil and Saba also decided to tag along separately just to stay out of suspicion.
"Wouldn't it be better if we drive together?" Saba suggested Ahil as they both stood in the parking lot.
"You're better off with the prosecutors.... You should go with them" Ahil replied.
"You don't get to decide what I should do....If you don't want us to go together just say so.... I have no problem in driving alone" She sounded offended. She wasn't up for orders.
She waited few seconds to get an answer from him but all in vain. Just when she was opened her car's front door, Ahil spoke:
"Lets take my car"
He walked towards his car. When he was about to get in he looked at Saba who was still standing beside hers.
"What happened?.... Get in, we don't have that much time anyway" Ahil said softly. His tone was never dictating when he was around her, not today not 10 years ago, he knew very well that she ain't someone who would bow down her head in submission.
"Hmm..." She nodded as she marched towards the passenger's seat. The other second she was sitting beside him again, in his car, years later, both of them were the same but the time wasn't. She couldn't help the guilt that trickled down her throat.
They were heading towards Stratford which was approximately 2 hours away from Toronto. The suspect was attending an auction in Stratford so they thought it will be best if they keep an eye on his activities there. Minutes were passing by and both of them were silent, no talk, not a word, nothing. The silence was growing awkward between them. Ahil's attention was on the road ahead yet his subconscious was still not over the fact that Saba was sitting beside him, it hurt him a little but he didn't show it once.
Saba kept looking out of the window and sometimes her phone too, but she couldn't bring herself in initiating the talk this time considering the last conversation they had in the bar. She thought it would be the best to stay silent.
"Do you want coffee?" Ahil asked her as he pulled up near a coffee shop.
"Umm.... yes but I'll come along" Saba head out with him towards the coffee shop.
"May I have one hot triple shot espresso macchiato regular please?" Ahil spoke to the lady on the counter while Saba instantly looked at him. He changed big time she pondered. He wasn't a big fan of strong hot coffees but he changed over the years, she thought to herself.
"Umm.... I would like a regular iced brown sugar shaken espresso with sweet cream cold foam and caramel drizzle" She spoke her regular coffee order just as she liked. She was always an iced coffee girl all these years which he already knew.
After 5-10 minutes of waiting, their order arrived and both came back to the car. As Saba sipped through her coffee, she took note of the scars on Ahil's arm, that seemed like old stitches, each a few centimeters long. She couldn't help herself from asking:
"What happened here?" She pointed with her index finger, took another sip as she laid her eyes on his face.
Ahil looked down at his scar and said:
"Got in an accident few years back.... the stitches left some scars".
"Hmm..." she nodded.
"Was it bad?.... I mean.... was the accident severe?" She proceeded with caution, she didn't want to ask personal details as she had no right but she wanted answers for the sake of her brain.
"Hmm..." He said. Just a second later, he got a call and went busy.
"What would have happened?" Saba thought to herself. She tried her best not to care, as she should, yet she was still thinking about it. Deep down she still cared for him. Whatever had happened was a decade ago, to her he wasn't a colleague only, he was a friend too.
----------------------
After a two hours drive, they finally reached the destination. It was windy as hell. Saba was wearing an all black outfit, her cropped black jacket was warm but wasn't too much to stop the cold winds from penetrating through her clothes. She missed her coat which laid in her car's backseat.
(All Black Supremacy)
The auction started, the guests arrived. The team however were on another mission, finding the suspect. Half an hour passed, the hosts and the audience were engaging with another, a man dressed in a navy blue suite came a sat at the seat available in the end row. Ahil and Saba were sitting on the side tables of the room, separated from the main auction audience.
"There he is" Ahil said softly.
"He's fine as hell.... I mean he doesn't look suspicious to me" Saba exclaimed whereas Ahil remained quite.
After few of the items, bidding for an antique watch began. It wasn't too pricy yet people were bidding high on it. After few biddings, the situation went like:
"3000 dollars! Sold to the man in blue suite back there" the host yelled.
"Woah.... That watch must be something....Hmm" Saba said.
"Guess we'll find out" Ahil said.
As soon as the watch was sold to the agent, he stood and walked towards the exit of the room. One of the prosecutors followed him as well.
"Kidher jaa rahi ho?" Ahil asked Saba who just stood and picked her bag.
"Restroom" She replied. Though Ahil nodded yet he was a bit doubtful. Saba wasn't the type to use a restroom in such a scenario, of course she wasn't going to use it. The thought lingered in his mind and he went behind her.
Saba on the other hand made her way towards the parking lot. The guy who she was following was now no where to be seen. She made sure she seemed as if she had lost her way or something. She strolled here and there for a minute or so. Finally she saw the guy in the navy suite walking from a distance, busy on a phone call. She decided to take a u-turn in order to meet the man right in the middle of the lot. Deliberately Saba bumped into him such that he dropped his phone on the ground.
"I'm sorry I was looking for my keys and didn't see you coming" Saba said in a breath.
"I'll pick it up for you" Saba instantly bent down in order to pick his phone up that lied right in front of her feet upside down. When she was about to pick it up the guy in front got hold of it.
"No worries I got it" He replied and gave a nod as an indicator to part ways.
Saba saw him driving away.
"What did he say?" Ahil interrupted. The prosecutors also came with him.
"Hmm?..." Saba turned around and faced them.
"What did he say Saba?" he repeated.
"Nothing much.... I couldn't hear what he was saying on the phone" She said.
"Anything perhaps?" The prosecutor asked.
"Not really though.... But when he picked his phone I saw a name of the caller.... Steller CSIS" She said.
"Canadian Security Intelligence Service" Ahil responded.
"I'll track down this dude name Steller in CSIS, we may get something from it" the prosecutor replied.
After a short discussion they decided to leave for Toronto.
----------------------
Shortly after leaving the premises, they stopped over for food. Nearby was a small café, in front of which Ahil parked his car. The place being small itself, had all the seats reserved inside, so they had to sit on the table outside the café.
(Café aesthetic)
Winds were cruel that day. Saba tried her best not to shiver but soon her body gave out. While picking her coffee mug from the table her hands shivered. Ahil who was watching her all along knew what was going on with her. He went towards his car that wasn't parked very far, brought a jacket on his way back.
"Here.... Yeh pehn lo" He motioned the jacket towards her.
"No thank-you.... I don't need it" Saba said coldly.
"You need it and we both know it.... So stop being stubborn" he made another attempt.
"I am not wearing your jacket" as soon as the words left her mouth, instant regret crept into her.
"Don't worry it's not my jacket.... It's my friend's....I knew you wouldn't have taken mine anyway so I brought this from the car" He explained.
"Yeh rakhi hai.... Pehni ho toh pehn lena warna issi tarah kaanpti rehna" he added, placing the jacket right next to her.
Saba gave up after a minute or so and finally wore the jacket. Ahil kept his eyes on his phone all along, he didn't want to make her feel uncomfortable because of the stubbornness she just portrayed.
"Pata nahi kis ki jacket la kar dy di hai mujhe" Saba thought. She looked down on the jacket, it was a unisex jacket so it was a bit tricky to decipher whether it belonged to a man or a woman.
"Is he seeing someone?" She thought.
"I don't think so" Saba kept talking to her self in her own thought. Why was she even concerned? She didn't even know why it bummed her. Then she did the most ridiculous thing she could ever do, she sniffed the jacket. It had a masculine scent on it, she was sure of it.
"What the hell is wrong with you Saba?" She said to herself.
"At least it isn't a girl" She smiled while finishing off her sandwich.
----------------------
"I know I shouldn't say this but tumhein akele jany ki kiya zaroorat nahi thi" Ahil said to her as they were walking towards his car.
"It just happened.... Mein ny plan nahi kiya tha" She answered.
"Tum aur plan na karo?.... Anyways" He said.
"What do you mean exactly?.... That I am lying?" Saba stopped right where she was walking. She seemed pissed.
"You're making assumptions again" Ahil looked back at her.
"Last time when we talked, you said things similar this and even now you're mocking me one way or the other.... Tum ny jo kehna hai woh keh kiyoun nahi dete Ahil" She blasted.
Ahil took a few steps towards her, closing the proximity between them he said:
"Kia kahoun mein..... Hmm?" He asked.
"Wohi jo tum itne saaloun sy apny andar dabaye bethy ho" She spoke as she looked in his eyes.
"Aur mein kiya dabaye behta houn exactly?" He crossed his arms, taking another step closer to her.
"Don't try to act cool Ahil" She said frustratedly.
"What even Saba?" Ahil proclaimed.
"For God's sake just say it Ahil-" as she let out the words in aggression she took a huge step back, ignorant of the fact that a car was approaching from behind. In the matter of seconds, Ahil pulled her towards himself, holding her arms with both of his hands he looked at her face. Saba stood still in shock, still trying to comprehend what had happened, the fact that she was about to hit by a car or the fact that she was in his arms. They were standing way too close to each other, an unhealthy version for bitter exes especially. Ahil couldn't help himself from looking deep in her eyes, those eyes that once used to be his favorite book of all times, those eyes that once made him go crazy, now those were the eyes that inflicted physical pain onto him. His heart ached.
(Damn the eye contact)
"Tum bilkul nahi badli" He whispered while there eyes were still in contact, he retreated his grip and took a few steps back from her.
"Aur tum itna badal gaye ho keh I don't even know you anymore" She yelled as she watched him sitting on the driver's seat.
"Good for you then!" He yelled.
She sat in the car and they drove away in silence. This wasn't good at all. They both needed to keep a healthy distance between them or else they are going to drive each other nuts.