No one could understand the pain the woman was going through, as she waited with baited-breath for the doctor's verdict on her husband. The home she'd strived hard to build with love and care these past twenty-four years or so was crumbling before her very eyes... and she couldn't do a thing about it.
The merciless killers were patrolling around the whole area, terrorizing anyone and everyone passing by. Taking everyone hostage until they had the signal to clear out, the brutes had shown no mercy to the weakest of protests by the patients at the Hospital. The past ten minutes had been hell for everyone.
The top 'boss' had showed up at the hospital out of nowhere just when they had arrived. Shouting and screaming in hoarse voices had ensued afterwards, and the front-runner who had brought the gang over to the place had been shot repeatedly in the knees by an angry Conan. He knew it was a grave mistake on his part to let things go askew, the kind the mystery man wouldn't let go that easily. He had specifically asked for the couple... and not just for the woman, for she wouldn't have known half of what her old man knew. The 'boss' had been extremely angry at the mission leader, and had only calmed down moments ago. He was secretly afraid for his own life.
And the uncertainty, the insecurity, the fear... when Zareena couldn't take any of it any longer, she cried out, her hands entwined in earnest pleading, "Please let me talk to the doctor, I beg you. I... I wouldn't go anywhere, I promise. Just let me see my husband once, please." Conan clicked his tongue impatiently.
"Do you think I love doing this? Handling an overly emotional and, not to forget, a 'cracked' duo? No one's allowed to go in, woman! So shut it with the whining!!" He was fuming with anger and the suspense was keeping him on edge.
"If you can't be any help, either answer the lady respectfully, or keep your dirty mouth shut altogether, got it?" Avi scoffed angrily. All this time, she'd been trying to control herself from doing anything that might get the two, beloved people in her eyes, into any sort of predicament. But she couldn't take it all in and stay quiet anymore. Moreover, she didn't want to get the attention on herself because the moment their boss had entered the scene, she had sensed trouble coming her way. The man had been roving his eyes all over her openly and frequently.
"You are a feisty one, aren't you?" he said, now addressing her, and tilted Avi's face towards the light to take in her face properly. She swatted his hand away, and hastily distanced herself like he was some disease. "Don't you dare touch me, you freak! Keep your hands to yourself." "Now... now, you wouldn't want me to shove this lady beside you, in my car and drive off. That too without letting her see her beloved husband one last time before I finish him off for good. Would you?" He held her hands in his in a tight grip as he whispered to her, making Avi whimper in pain. She slowly shook her head in answer.
"Very well then, keep your big mouth tightly clamped in place. You would save yourself and every human being in this building a shitload of trouble if you do so," he said and immediately released his grip, making the girl lose her balance and stumble backwards.
At the same instant, the door to the OT opened and the doctor came out. His face was tired and wan with so much hard work that gloom spread throughout the whole corridor within a few seconds. Zareena hastily ran to his side, anxious to know how her better half was, if, he was still alive. She was afraid the news wasn't one she was prepared to hear. "What happened, doctor? Is...is he alive?" she asked. The old man didn't say a thing.
"Who found him out cold?" he finally asked. "It... it was me, doctor. I felt his nerve, it... it wasn't moving. Is anything the matter?" "You shouldn't have left him alone. When was the last time he was awake?" the doctor asked again. This time Avi spoke up. "It was around three or four hours ago. He fell asleep while talking. Why?"
"He was already dead since four hours ago when you brought him in," he replied in a low voice. The second she heard that, the old woman dropped all pretensions of self-control and crumpled on a seat nearby, almost toppling over its edge. Her vision blurred as tears began to run down her face, but she kept staring into space, immobile and unresponsive. "His beat hadn't been normal. I'm sorry for letting you know after such a long wait. I...I was engaged in another emergency, and I could only look at the patient just now. Maybe if you had already paid the money, I would've looked after him first. Needless to say, we tried to revive him, but, I'm afraid it was already too late."
Conan was at the doctor's throat in a trice. "Tell me, you f***in' old faker, would you have cared for the money... had there been your dad on the deathbed in place of somebody else's? All you and your 'swanky hospitals' care about is cash!" he spat. Avi knew the man had his own motives for saying all that, but on this point, she wholeheartedly agreed with him. These private hospitals did extract huge sums of money from common people, not caring if they could afford the treatment or not.
"Are you crazy?" the old doctor began. He was shaking, still... brave enough to argue with a seething professional assassin. But of course, he didn't know that lot. "I am telling you young man, he was dead long ago. I couldn't do anything about it, even if I'd immediately taken up his case!" he replied vehemently.
"And if you don't let go of my shirt in two seconds, I'm going to call the police." Conan laughed hard at that. It was a hollow menacing laugh, as if he was challenging the man to dare act upon his words. "You're lucky, I'm leaving you alive, you sh**ty geriatric!" He pulled out his gun as he threw those insults at the doctor, pointedly directing him to take a chair. Then he called one of his men, and ordered him to gag his mouth and tie up the man to the chair.
All this time, Avi kept by Zareena's side, trying to recall the woman to the real world, the one where she had to live in without her husband now. "He... he promised he'd always stay by my side, Avi," the old mother stuttered. "I know, aunty. I know," Avi replied, trying to soothe her down as she rubbed circles on her back.
"And... and then, he... he left me... alone." By now, the woman had broken down completely. She was sobbing so hard, she couldn't speak properly. "No, never say that. He didn't leave you alone, aunty. He's left you with Zahra, even when he couldn't gift you with a child of your own. She is the living proof of his love for you."
"I think you should give her the news," Avi suggested gently. "NO!" Zareena expostulated, her eyes growing wide in alarm. "I will do no such thing! And neither will you. She will die of devastation, Avi! How can you say so, knowing that she loved him dearly? She loved him far more than she could ever love me. Zahra was closer to him than she could ever be towards me! They were inseparable when she was little," she reminisced with a faint smile upon her haggard face. And then, she began relating sweet incidents from Zahra's childhood, most of which Avi had either been a part of, or, had heard before, a hundred times already.
"You've taken your time, woman. Now move!" Conan suddenly shouted, grabbing Zareena's hands and dragging her towards the exit. "No, please, don't do this to me," she begged. "Just let me see him safely buried. I promise I'll go wherever you want me to, afterwards. Please, let me do my duty one last time!" "I haven't got time for your tantrums, you crazy woman!" the brute shouted impatiently. "I'll get the locals to bury him somewhere," he added nonchalantly. "No. I want to see him properly buried and prayed for at the city burial grounds. Let go of me. Please, have mercy!"
"Let go of her, you fiend!" Avi screamed angrily, breaking away from the clutches of the man who held her by the arms. She was instantly by the woman's side. "Can't you see she's already breaking into a million pieces? What will you get by torturing her like this? She's told you she's not running away."
Conan let go of Zareena, and took hold of Avi's shoulders, pushing her hard into the wall that ran on one side of the gallery they were in. He was fed up with the loud mouth she'd got. "Don't. Make. Me. Do. Something. To. You. Girl!" he warned in a low, ominous voice, clenching his teeth. "Keep out of this, or I'll make you regret the day you were born. Is it clear to you?" Avi nodded, losing the fire from her eyes, as tears came rolling down her cheeks. Oh Lord! What had she gotten herself into?!
"Now both of you, listen carefully to whatever I say, for you'll repeat my instructions word-by-word when I'm done speaking." The duo was too afraid to react to that, and it made the barbarian blow his fuse. He shouted hoarsely, "Did you hear what I said?" and the two of them nodded frantically at the same time, scared out of their wits. "Well, then. By noon tomorrow, I want you to be done with the 'burial' thing. My people will be with you to monitor your actions all the while."
"And I do not want to hear any kinds of complaints from your side. If I'm even slightly disturbed by of the two of you, things will become exceptionally nasty, you mark my words. Now get up and march outside towards the car without attempting anything silly." "B...but, my husband? I...I can't leave him...." Zareena began, but Conan cut her short, "You're still at it, woman?!" he asked. His tone held a mixture of incredulity and annoyance. "My men will come for it in the morning."
"Now move."
💎💎💎
Trapeze, Clydesville.
All the next day, Zahra felt as if something was not right, but she couldn't quite place it. She kept feeling her forehead with her palm, but the temperature seemed almost just right. Even when nighttime came, she couldn't shrug off the queer feeling tugging at her stomach. Was it because of the fear or was the food at the Office canteen not agreeing with her stomach? No, it probably wasn't the latter, since everything had been freshly prepared. David took extra care of that, he had once told her.
And even to herself, she didn't want to admit that fear of uncertainty gripping her. She wasn't feeling a headache... or a stomach ache, for that matter. Then what was it? After wracking her brains for a little longer, she came to the conclusion that, maybe, she was just too tired than usual. Yes, that was probably it. And settling her mind on that thought, she pulled the covers over her eyes, trying to go to sleep.
But sleep seemed far, far away from her eyes. She was annoyed at her biological clock for keeping her awake! She felt tired, but still, sleep wasn't even remotely touching her eyelids, it seemed. What was it? Was it that Walworth guy? He hadn't shown up since about three-four days, and she acknowledged she was curious as to his whereabouts, but that was all there was to it.
Of course, she wouldn't make herself worried sick for him! That was clear. Was it her parents? Her stomach churned at the thought of them being in a fix or something. It seemed the most likely solution to her queasiness. Were the neighbors giving them a hard time? Zahra decided calling them would be the best thing to do.
Even after trying for several times, the bell kept going and there was no answer. What was the matter?! Worst case scenarios danced in her mind's eye, and Zahra tried hard to shake them off. They couldn't be asleep at this hour! It must be morning over there, and her parents were two 'early birds'. She fervently hoped everything was fine. And then she had a brilliant idea... to call Avi. Yes, she would know. 'And I would make her run to my house and check up on them if she wouldn't,' she resolved in her head. With shaky fingers, Zahra dialed her best friend's number and, surprisingly, she picked up on the third ring itself.
"Wow! Somebody got up real early, hunh. As far as I remember, you weren't really a morning person," Zahra commented. "Hey, Zee. I wasn't really very tired, so I didn't sleep much. How come you're calling right now?" Avi asked. Her voice was weary, as if she'd fought all night to stay awake.