T h i r t y S e v e n
This one is for Ilmlover
:)
Live your life like every day is Ramadan and the Akhirah will become your eid.
☆
Mashal
Just as the car drove up the ramp into the silver airplane, I heard Minahil cough beside me.
"Minahil are you okay?" I asked in distress as she slowly opened her eyes.
Her skin was back to its original colour and her heart was pumping enough oxygen in her blood.
"W-where am I?" She asked, still groggy by her unconsciousness.
"Easy." I said, helping her to adjust in her seat comfortably. "Don't worry I won't scream at you right now but once you're fit, I'll probably kill you."
I was glaring daggers at Minahil and she was staring back at me in confusion when Humna decided to speak, "Welcome to A-447. Late Mr Naeem Ansar's private plane which is now in Alnihayya's possession."
"What private plane?" Minahil yelped, lifting her heavy head with difficulty.
I controlled the urge to say that my father was not 'late', he was still alive and will have a long life in sha Allah.
"Humna how did we end up here? Why didn't we have to go through the airport security?" I asked out of stress and worry as I realised what she meant. The last thing I wanted was to be considered an illegal terrorist and get caught by the police.
"We came through the private entrance and all they know is that this car is empty"
I glanced out of the window in curiosity. It was dark outside as if someone had turned off the lights in the airplane. I could hear the clicking of the automatic door as it closed behind us.
"But still they can't just let us go without checking."
"Miss Mashal if that had been the case then how do you presume mafias and smugglers work?"
I swallowed my worry. Humna was right. All those strict rules are only for the civilians, for these special organisations and rich people, there seem to be no rules.
"Wait." Minahil took a deep breath, gathering her strength before she shouted, "WHY THE HELL ARE YOU TALKING TO THIS CAR AND HOW THE ACTUAL F*** WAS IT DRIVING WITHOUT A DRIVER?"
"Miss you're not allowed to swear in this car." Humna voiced as soon as Minahil finished her outburst.
"Shut up you mixture of metals and uselessness!" Minahil spat rudely.
"Miss I am made of aluminium metal and composites of carbon fibre along with silicon hoses. No uselessness was harmed in my making."
"Stop it Minahil. You're talking to a machine." I said matter of factly. suppressing my laughter just when she was about to say something else to continue arguing with Humna.
I could already feel a headache making its way to me. How was I supposed to explain Alnihayya to Minahil?
My hands rose to my temples massaging them gently while I tried to think of a solution.
"Okay so Minahil it's a really long story and it might not make sense to you at first but I'm sure you'll believe it once you see it."
"Oh my God!" Her hand flew to cover her mouth in shock. "You are a billionaire smuggler aren't you? I knew it! That's why you cover your face so that the polic-"
"Shut up and listen!" I dejected harshly. I am quite irritated by people's assumptions. We need to learn to ask before assuming.
"How much do you know about Alnihayya?" I asked expectantly. I was hoping she knew a lot so that it becomes easy to explain everything to her.
"Hmm..." she murmured, rubbing her chin, "Nothing?"
I rolled my eyes and huffed, "I give up."
I had no idea where to begin. It had taken so long and been so difficult for me to understand Alnihayya. How could I explain it to someone who knew nothing about it?
"Can I try explaining?" Humna's robotic voice asked.
"Please." I mumbled and closed my eyes to get some peace.
"Alnihayya is a Muslim intelligence first created by Naeem Ansar in 1999. It's top investigative priority has been combating terrorism. With branches extending to about twenty countries we use out investigative and intelligence capabilities to neutralise terrorist cells and operatives all across the world, to dismantle extremist networks such as ISIS and Al Qaeda. Also, to cut off financing and other forms of support provided by terrorist funders who happen to be major political powers worldwide. Our overall goal is to defeat terrorism and eliminate it's sympathisers, bringing the victims to justice. We-"
"Okay okay I get it! Please stop this torture." Minahil groaned in annoyance making Humna pause her speech for which I was glad. Her robotic voice and vocabulary was a true irritation.
"So you are a part of Alnihayya and now we're going there?" She turned to face me.
"Yes" I sighed, realising that I had to tell her everything honestly now. "Naeem Ansar is my father. I was supposed to go to Alnihayya in this car when you decided to get in the bonnet and mess it all up."
"Ladies I hate to interrupt you but the airplane is going to take off now. Hold tight and don't make a single sound. As far as the airport knows, this airplane is empty. That is why the lights have been switched off.
Once we are in the air, then you can do whatever you want."
I pursed my lips and obeyed, securing my seat belt that I had previously taken off. Minahil looked distressed but for me, I had gotten used to this strangeness.
What I hadn't got used to though, was airplane landings and take offs.
I held on to dear life, clenching the leather seat as the plane rushed along the run way before finally taking off. I bit my lip to prevent myself from screaming while Minahil laughed at my reaction.
"Fighting terrorists huh? You can't even bear a plane take off." She chuckled.
I wanted to reply curtly but in that state I couldn't even imagine opening my eyes. I just couldn't help it! I felt nausea and a weird churning sensation in my stomach. Airplane take offs and landings had become my worst nightmare.
When the plane finally became stable, I opened my eyes and mumbled Alhamdulillah.
"Congratulations we are in the air now. According to my calculations we will be at Alnihayya in five hours fifty five minutes. You are welcome to leave the car and sit in the plane." Humna said in a smooth voice.
I turned to the door at my side and Minahil turned to hers. We wanted to leave the car and check out the plane.
"How do you open this thing?" I asked in frustration, searching for the handle.
To my surprise the doors flipped open automatically without me doing anything. I shrugged evasively and stepped out along with Minahil. The previously switched off lights of the plane turned on sensing our movements. All this automatic stuff was no longer shocking for me. It had become the norm but what we saw in the airplane was not the norm at all.
I glanced at Minahil with my mouth agape and she stared back with her jaw dropped. The airplane had no rows of seats, instead there were elegant red leather couches and plush sofas, mahogany coffee tables and silk curtains draped over the windows. I could tell that money had been literally rained over this plane. Large plasma screens in front of the couches which I could guess, aired all the channels in the world.
"Are you sure you're not a billionaire smuggler?" Minahil whispered with mirth in her tone.
Too stunned to reply to her, I walked up to what seemed like a huge double door refrigerator and pulled the door open. I stared at the food and it stared back at me. Cakes, fruits, ice cream, flavoured yogurt, chocolates, sausages, you name it, it was there in the fridge.
Not only that, the bottom shelves were lined with juices of almost all the flavours you could imagine.
And what do you get in a normal airplane? Meat which is actually rubber and a square piece of cake along with a tiny cup of water.
When I finally closed the refrigerator, stuffing a huge bar of snickers in my mouth and turned around, I could see Minahil lying on one of the couches. Her eyes were closed and a few strands of brown hair stuck to her beige lipstick. Her closed lids showed that her winged eye liner was on point.
I laughed inwardly at the sight.
She looked pretty even while sleeping. How was I going to tell her the bad news which would've been a good one if she was married?
°•°•°•°○●°•°•°•°
The boisterous blaring of something which felt like a bomb explosion jerked me out of my peaceful sleep. I jolted up, my heart pounding in my chest. "What happened?"
I glanced around to see Minahil up as well, with the same panicked expressions as me.
The sound finally died off and was replaced by Humna's voice, "I apologise for such a thrilling alarm tone but we are going to land in two minutes. I thought you would prefer to be awake when we land."
"Thanks a lot." I said sarcastically, falling back on the sofa. It was such a beautiful sleep that she ruined. I was actually listening to a nightingale's song in my dream.
"Couldn't you have something melodious as the alarm tone?" Minahil grunted.
"Miss I tried a nightingale's chirping but instead of waking you up, it relaxed you even more."
I sighed, realising that I wasn't dreaming when I heard that nightingale song.
Seeing Minahil sleeping had a contagious effect on me so I had fallen asleep as well. I had to stay up late for my exams so this sleep was like a debt.
The plane began tilting forward, preparing to land. My insides turned upside down. It was so terrifying. Minahil sat up straight stretching herself. She had no idea what she had just got herself into by sneaking into the car bonnet.
I couldn't even begin to imagine how Ibrahim or Zeyara will react to me taking her there.
Minahil went up to a window and pulled the curtain away, inspecting the run way where we were about to land.
"My God! Mashal you need to see this!" She shrieked, still staring out of the window.
I supressed the wave of nausea rising in me due to the landing and walked up to join her near the window.
Gazing through the window, my eyes met a surface of rocky mountains, huge boulders covered with moss and lichen sprawled on the wilderness. I couldn't see anything unusual until Minahil pointed at two huge jagged, uneven rocks which had started parting, creating an opening in that steep mountain range. The airplane was moving towards that, towards the dark hole the rocks had created by shifting.
"Where the hell is the run way?!" Minahil panicked, realising what the pilot was doing, steering the plane into that pitch black hole.
"According to my calculations you don't need to worry. The plane is moving at a sufficiently safe velocity for it's landing in the hidden entrance of the Alnihayya headquarters."
"Talking cars, extravagant planes and now a hidden entrance! This is getting exciting." Minahil chirped beside me as I gulped down my fear.
All I wanted now was this plane to land so that I could run up to Zeyara. I was positive that baba would've already informed him about my arrival. I was fantasising him to be there, standing with his hands in his pockets and his hair grown back, waiting for me to run up to him so that he can flung me up in the air. I felt an eagerness to see him that I hadn't felt ever before.
Just like in Ramadan, fasting suddenly becomes more difficult for the last few minutes before maghrib, than it had been for the rest of the day; waiting for Zeyara in these last few minutes was far worse compared to the waiting of all those past days.
It was so bad, that I was smiling like an idiot as the plane landed in the underground runway and the rocks shifted back to close the temporary opening. I would've screamed hysterically if it was any other time but today, all my mind was filled with, was Zeyara's voice.
"I didn't even bring my make up for touch ups." I heard Minahil complain when the wheels of the plane hit the ground.
"Ladies and machines welcome to Alnihayya!" Were the last words I heard from Humna before the air plane door rose up automatically and I flew out of it like a bird in full flight with a slight grin on my face.
I had expected to see Zeyara there, I had expected to see baba, I had expected to see Ibrahim at least but instead, my eyes were drowned in a sea of unrecognisable faces and rows of helicopters and fighter aircrafts. It had got to be the Alnihayyya airport, stretching so far and wide that I couldn't see the end. If the airport was so huge, what would be the size of the whole headquarters?
All I could see was hundreds of aircrafts, most of them with huge black propellers, elliptical fins and rudders on their backs indicating their purpose; war.
The ceiling overhead, opened and closed as many airplanes landed in that underground airport. Men and women stepping out of the landed planes, moved towards specific directions in small groups. They looked professional in everything, even the way they were talking to each other and the way they were laughing, clad in Alnihayya uniforms; black commando pants and jackets on a white shirt along with combat boots for the men. The same for women except the fact that their shirts were longer, extending to their knees and most of them were wearing a hijab as well. The ones who weren't, had their hair in a bun under a black pleated cap.
Aircraft landing noise, a previously recorded male voice in the PA system announcing the name of the flights arriving and welcoming each with the same message. 'Assalam o alaikum. Welcome to Alnihayya where freedom is precious than blood.' repeating in English first, then Arabic, urdu and loads of other languages I couldn't recognise and the chatter of the men and women filled the environment.
Everything in there, from the airplanes to the gleaming white tiled floor and the ceiling overhead had a similar logo on it that I had never seen before. Even the uniforms that the men and women were wearing had that logo on the front of their jackets at the left, right above their hearts.
I had never seen this logo on Alnihayya uniforms before. It seemed to be an entirely new addition.
A fire red bird with its wings spread out, barred in a golden bird cage. It was something I couldn't make any sense of but still felt intimidating.
"Mashal what is this place?" I heard Minahil ask from behind me. Her voice indicated that she was in more awe than I was.
"Alnihayya" I barely murmured as my eyes kept on glancing around, taking in my environment which looked like a crazy Sci fi movie scene. Even though we were in a mountain, hidden under rocks but the ceiling was of glass with huge yellow arch lights doing the job of the sun, providing light.
The planes kept on sweeping in and out, bringing Alnihayya members from all across the world. I could spot the Chinese, the Africans, the white and the south Asians from their features. Ibrahim was right when he said that Alnihayya extends to more than twenty nations.
"Mashal Naeem?"
An unrecognisable female voice, diverted my eyes to a girl who had just walked up to me. Wearing the Alnihayya uniform and a hijab, she had the exuberance of being young even though she was an adult. With the right amount of make up on her brown skin, perfect muscle definition and a height which made me tilt my head back to look at her face, confidence radiated out of her.
I nodded positively, feeling too insecure to reply. Seeing her so flawless made me feel imperfect.
"And you are?" She raised her brow, looking past me at Minahil with a questioning glare.
"Hey! I'm Minahil. Nice to meet you! I like your eye liner. It's the latest Bobbi Brown one right?" Minahil exclaimed and walked up to her, extending her hand out for her to shake.
The woman stared at Minahil's extended hand and then at her face without any hint of enthusiasm. "I don't shake hands with unverified people. Since you're here unfortunately you need to be checked and interviewed to make sure you are not an enemy spy or tracker. And it's MAC. I hate Bobbi Brown."
Minahil's face dropped along with her extended hand while I tried to figure out what MAC and Bobbi Brown were.
"Welcome to Alnihayya Miss Mashal." The woman addressed me after leaving Minahil stunned. "I'm Saddia, the fighting arts and weapons trainer for women. I hope you had a sound journey." She extended her hand out for me.
I glanced at her hand and then at Minahil's dropped face. I don't know where I got the courage to say that but I did. "I don't shake hands with unverified people."
Minahil chuckled beside me while Saddia stood stunned with her mouth agape. Within seconds she recomposed herself and pulled her hand back to her side. "Okay then I'll guide you to your room and Minahil to the security for her verification. You both need uniforms with your assigned ID numbers that you have to wear at all times while in the premises. Also, Miss Mashal our board of senior leaders are expecting to see you tomorrow so you have some time to rest."
Before Minahil or I could argue with her she took out a gadget from her pocket which looked a lot like a phone and tapped on it twice. "The transport carts will be here soon. I guess you're already acquainted with Humna so I won't need to do much briefing. They'll take you to your locations and after you're done, Humna can give you a tour of the entire headquarters. Any-"
"Questions? Yes a lot of them. What do you mean Minahil needs verification and where is Zeyara and Ibrahim?"
Saddia stared at me as if I had just spilled bull shit out of my mouth.
"Miss we have thousands of Alnihayya members. I have no idea who Ibrahim or Zeyara is and verification is essential for everyone. Even I had to go through it when I first joined Alnihayya. It would take half an hour and then she can go to her room."
I swallowed my urge to see Zeyara after her words. Once again, my expectations were shatttered.
'It's not maghrib yet Mashal. You can't break your fast.' I consoled myself.
I wanted to start dreaming about seeing him in the meeting with the senior leaders since Zeyara is also a senior leader but I didn't want to start expecting again and seeing my expectations shatter.
I glanced over at Minahil to see if she was okay with it and she nodded slightly before whispering in my ear. "Can we share one room? I don't trust her."
I supressed my chuckle and voiced Minahil's concern to Saddia. "We both would like to share one room please."
"Fair enough." She shrugged, "The carts are here. You may proceed now."
My eyes followed the direction she was pointing at and rightfully two transport carts as she calls them, were driving towards us without drivers which wasn't new for us now. The carts weren't like horse carts as their name suggests, they were more like golf carts. Tiny double seater battery cars to be exact. They stopped a few feet away from us.
Minahil glanced at me and I glanced back smiling, reassuring her that It was going to be fine. I stepped into one cart and Minahil boarded the other as Saddia watched.
"Humna Miss Mashal needs to go to her room and then if she wills, give her a tour. Her friend here needs to get verified so take her to the security and identification room." Saddia spoke out normally as if she was talking to a human.
"Alright ma'am." Humna answered from my cart, the same voice we had heard before in the self driving car as well.
The carts began moving after that. Mine went in a completely different direction to Minahil's. Cascading through crowds of Alnihayya. There were a number of glass elevators on one edge. Masses of people were waiting outside them to return. "I had no idea it was going to be so huge." I whispered to myself.
Humna heard it and replied, "I would advise you not to roam around. According to my calculations your confusion may lead you to get lost."
"Thanks." I murmured sarcastically. "Hey what does that symbol mean? That caged bird which is on every single thing? It's even imprinted on this cart."
My fingers grazed the cold logo on the steering wheel.
A red bird, a golden cage.
"According to the little information that I am allowed, the bird represents you humans and the golden cage represents your desires. You think you're free when you're really encaged by your desires."
I gasped, "That's.....beautiful."
"Yes that is. Our leaders decided we needed a symbol for Alnihayya, a flag like all the organisations have so they decided on this one."
Leaders.
Zeyara.
It's so frustrating to know that I'm so close to him now but I still can't see him.
Humna drove the car into a 'cart elevator'. It was also made of glass so when it started moving down the floors, I could actually see everything as it passed by. It wasn't a boring few minutes in a metal lift, it was actually an exhilarating thrill ride. There was a whole floor dedicated to food, one for the training, one for weapons, few more for purposes I couldn't understand, then finally we reached the basement which was supposed to be hundreds of rows of bed rooms for the members.
My jaw dropped when Humna announced, "Yours is room 987. Row E."
"987!! How many rooms are there? 1000?"
The cart kept on moving towards the row which was marked 'E'. People were walking out of their rooms and some walking in. It was like a proper hotel. The doors were all the same, heavy metallic with a keypad on the side to type in the password in order to open them.
"5000 rooms to be exact. Stretching all across Mt. Gerizim and Ebal but still there isn't enough space for everyone and they have to share."
I gulped taking in the information. It must've taken years and years to build this all up. There were rooms on my left and on my right as we moved through the coridoors. After about ten minutes of just driving in the coridoor, Humna finally stopped in front of a room. The door read '987'
I got off and walked up to the door with the keypad demanding a password from me.
"What's the passwod?" I asked.
"I had to set the password for you so I chose your wedding anniversary." The monotonous reply came.
I shuddered a bit, as the flashbacks from that day struck me.
You are-
I am what?
Beautiful.
I sushed Zeyara's thoughts away and typed in the password. The door unlocked and I walked in. The automatic lights switched on sensing my presence, allowing my eyes to scan the room.
The room was just like a hotel room with a king sized pure white bed, white cotton sheets, a sprawling leather sofa and what seemed like a huge screen on the main wall, the same kind of screen that was in Zeyara's room back in Manchester. There was also a speaker overhead which I guess was used for communication.
The bathroom was basic with white tiles and a shower booth. There was a wooden closet at one end of the room. I walked over to it and opened it.
Guess what?
It was full of Alnihayya female uniforms. They were all the same except that half of them had a different ID number printed on them. Probably half of them were mine and the other half were for Minahil.
There was a side table near the bed with a prayer mat and copy of the Quran on it, along with an arrow on the ceiling pointing towards the kaa'ba.
After inspecting all of that I walked out of the room to the cart. "Everything is perfect."
"I will send your dinner to your room since you have missed the dinner time when everyone eats together. Miss Minahil will be back soon. If you need me, I'll be in that plasma screen on your wall. In fact I am in all the Alnihayya tech."
"Okay." I nodded and then watched as the cart drove off out of my sight before I closed the door.
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O
Okay so this was long and boring. The next one would be amazing in sha Allah!
-Muskaan.