Sadia was lost in a daze.
Zameer closed her door and went to the driver's side.
Collateral? What does he mean by that? She kept thinking and thinking but she was just too confused.
Zameer started driving and it was only when her body jerked a bit from the movement of the car did Sadia come out of her confused trance.
"Yo-you....," she swallowed hard, leaning against the door as she turned to looked at Zameer. "You wouldn't.......possibly kill me.....,would you?" She inquired.
Zameer softly snorted. "No,"
Sadia almost breathed with relief but she caught him mutter lowly. "Not yet anyway."
Sadia went rigid. What's that suppose to mean?
"Wh-what do you-"
"You don't need to worry for now." Zameer interjected. "Just be rest assured that your life isn't in any danger as long as you do as I say." He told.
"An-d what exactly i-is that?" She asked in a broken stutter. "A-and, where are y-you taking me?" She inquired as she saw that they were on the main road but not going on the direction that led to Sadia's work place.
Zameer's eyes remained on the road but he noticed Sadia's confusion and worry. And she was right to be worried too.
Sadia's mind went blank for a split second. All the events of the day rewound in her mind. Collateral. Mafia wars. And when it clicked, panic bloomed in Sadia chest. She knew that the city of Karachi was a centre of many Mafia and gangster wars for the past two years now. And the army was already conducting military operations against them to restore the peace but so far it wasn't working. But.....what was she to do with anything? She wasn't a part of the military.....,
Unless, No, it couldn't be! her eyes widened. She thought and put two and two together; her father was a part of the intelligence now.
'I've been posted in the ntelligence this time...,'
Was she being taken because of her father?
And that's when she realised that she was being abducted.
"No! No!" She screamed and turned to the door, pulling on the handle frantically but it wouldn't open the door.
Sadia had no idea why she was being abducted, maybe it might have something to do with her father's work but it didn't matter. All she knew was that she had to get out.
"Please just let me go!" She screamed, losing all sense of composure.
Zamwer immediatky pulled over at a dark curb. Sadia tried to open her door but nothing worked. She started to beat on the glass window, screaming for help.
Zameer was calm. He had anticipated this reaction from Sadia. However, what he didn't expect was that she would react this soon. She had figured out the situation in a matter of minutes which was too fast. Usually, a regular person would be too shocked in fear and confusion to react but Sadia wasn't just a regular person, she was very intelligent.
Sadia kept on beating at the window, throwing punch after punch. What she didn't see coming in her panic stricken state was a cloth dosed in chemical being forced upon her nose and mouth. Automatically, she inhaled. The chemical was strong. She began to feel lightheaded, her body falling back to the seat limply.
What.....did he make me breath? She thought as her vision blurred, her muscles relaxed and felt heavy as led.
Zameer got out of the car and went to the passenger side. He pulled open the back door and then went for the passenger door, being careful since Sadia was still leaning against it. Bending down, he placed his arm beneath her shoulders and the other one under her knees and carefully pulled her up in his arms.
The first thing that he noticed was that she was so light, her frame thin and almost fragile as he cradled her against his chest. And the next he noticed was a pleasant floral scent coming from her scarf. Without even realising, Zameer's head bent down and inhaled her scent, his arms around her delicate body tightening. His heartbeat began to speed up. This was the second time that day he felt this way towards the young woman who was now in his arms. And he knew that it was wrong.
Zameer was a highly empathetic person when it came to women. And the more attention he was paying towards the young doctor, the higher the chances were of his guilt surfacing in and taking root. He didn't want to drag a poor innocent girl into the mess that her father created but he had no choice. He was already at risk of jeopardizing his job and his only way to achieve success in what he was planning on doing. So he focused on what he was doing and locked up his emotions.
Sadia's mind was hazy but she knew that she was being touched and held up. She tried to move but her body refused to respond. She felt herself being placed flat on her back and all her blurry vision could show her was the dark ceiling of the car.
She wanted to get up and run. But her body had given into the influence of the drug and soon, she drifted into unconsciousness.
***********
Zameer sighed and knocked at the door. He entered without a response. And as expected, he had found his boss seated behind his desk, leaning into the chair as his neck reclined back and his eyed remained closed.
The only light in the office was that on was that on the desk.
"Shehryaar?" Zameer called, his voice firm, his expression hard.
"Are you forgetting who you're talking to?" Shehryaar said without opening his eyes.
Anger exploded in Zameer and he went ahead and banged his hands on the hard desk surface.
"Not after what I saw today!" He yelled.
"Keep your voice down asshole. She's asleep." Shehryaar muttered under his breath. Zameer understood but that didn't mean he had calmed down, no far from it: his anger kept flaring.
"How could you do that to her?" He gritted through clenched teeth.
Shehryaar remained in his position: head reclined back and eyes closed but Zameer could read his expression. And that's what surprised him. His boss wasn't a man who would let anyone see his emotions. Hell, Zameer always thought that Shehryaar had no emotions. But from the locked jaw and taut facial muscles, Zameer could see his struggle. He was worried and Zameer could see that.
"What did you do?" Zameer stood straight. "You broke her, didn't you?"
Shehryaar breathed in deeply but didn't open his eyes.
"You did the exact thing that Shahzeb was afraid of." Zameer exclaimed, feeling his anger get replaced by sadness. "Are you happy with the results? Are you proud?" Zameer taunted and grew agitated when he saw that Shehryaar was unaffected.
"How could you, man?" Zameer almost choked, his voice getting heavy as he felt his emotions overwhelm him because he had never thought that a woman as strong as Anissa could break. But she was only human and on top of that, she was a woman. There was only so much she could take.
"Why did you break her? What did she ever do to you anyway? She's the one who saved your fucking life and this is how you repay her?"
On that, Shehryaar's eyes flew open and his gaze landed on Zameer. Zameer drew in a sharp breath when he saw his Boss's dark eyes flash with a myriad of different emotions. But as quickly as they came, Shehryaar masked them away and put on his cold stone mask.
"Have you taken care of the loose end?" He inquired, his tone cold and demanding. Typical Shehryaar. instead of addressing the issue that was more important, he decided to address another one instead.
Zameer also put on his professional persona and stood straighter, his hands locked behind his back.
"No, I didn't." He answered, his voice detached.
"What?" Shehryaar narrowed his eyes at Zameer. "What are you playing at? I thought you were good at taking care of loose ends."
"That i am."
"Then what's the meaning of this? Are you fucking with me?" Shehryaar growled.
"Of course not sir," Zameer responded, his face void of emotions, spitting the 'Sir' part but he remained in composure.
"Hear me out." Zameer claimed. Shehryaar leaned back into his seat and gestured with his hand. "This better be fucking good."
"Oh it is," Zameer let a self-satisfied smirk stretch on his lips.
Shehryaar's noticed and narrowed his eyes at him. "Then fucking speak already."
"She's General Abdul Rehman's daughter." Zameer told. Shehryaar's frowned in confusion. "So?"
"So," Zameer dipped his folded hands in his pant pockets and loosened his stance. "We can easily use her."
Shehryaar looked at Zameer until his frown disappeared and understanding replaced the confusion.
"I see. So she's the daughter of that fucker who's responsible for blocking the whole northern route?"
"Exactly."
Shehryaar's glare landed on Zameer. "This wasn't in her file." He seethed.
"I know. I deliberately kept this info out of your knowledge?"
"Can I ask why?" Shehryaar shot back sarcastically.
Zameer shrugged. "I was waiting for the right time."
Shehryaar's scoffed. "Fuck it, what do you have in mind for the woman? She knows too much."
"Actually not much but she will soon. And after we are done with her, I'll make sure to be rid of her." Zameer claimed. Somehow, the thought of having brought harm to the young doctor wasn't settling well with him but he tried his best not to let it bother him. She was just a job after all. He didn't know why it bothered him to think of hurting the young lady. He was a cold ruthless killer after all. Was it because she was a woman? Was it because he always had difficulty being abusive or murderous towards women? Or was it because of what he saw happen with Anissa? Was he growing soft for Dr. Sadia because of Anissa's influence? Could be. But he knew himself. He could easily control himself.
"What do you have in mind?" Shehryaar's inquiry pulled Zameer out of his reverie.
"We'll be using her as collateral. As long as the army agrees to cooperate, we won't harm her," yes, that thought sounded a little pleasant. "But," he paused, deeply contemplating his next words. Sighing, he willed himself into steel composure and stopped thinking.
"If they fail to meet our demands, then we send them her burnt corpse." He said, his eyes cold and his tone detached.
His chest felt tight upon saying something like that but this was what he was about.
This was after all, a simple price to pay gaining back his Saeen's trust. Shehryaar smirked and nodded in affirmation.
************
When Zameer got to the warehouse, he went straight for the holding cells. Sadia was still unconscious as she lay on the cold hard floor. Zameer couldn't help but feel pity for the young girl.
She was so delicate. He recalled how she felt, how pleasant she smelled when he carried her here.
Anissa's face kept on appearing in front of his eyes and his heart squeezed painfully. He hated it whenever he had to manhandle a woman. It just wasn't in him to treat women with roughness. That's one thing that he learned from his mother: to always respect women. Maybe in her memory, he chose to honour that wish but many times, he had to betray it and put it in the back of his mind. His job required for him to deal with any situation, even if he had to deal with women. And he did.
How pitiful really. Soon enough, she'll be subjected to something that she might've never thought of.
He was Zameer Shaikh: a cold blooded Assassin.
And now, he was about to put up that role again. It was useless to feel anything for his target. He had a mission in mind and he was about to fulfil it by any means necessary.
Zameer was of the Mafia. It didn't do him any justice to sympathise with his targets. So he shut off his emotions.
Sadia gained consciousness. She groaned when she felt her heavy head give way to a pounding headache. She opened her eyes and was greeted with darkness. Turning her head to the side, she saw a figure standing in a dim light. There were dark horizontal bars infront of the figure. Sadia tried to focus and when she did, she realised that it was a barred gate.
With a gasp, she shot up in a sitting position only to fall back down when her head started to spin from the sudden movement. Sadia realised that she was lying on the cold floor. Her white coat was messed up. Sitting up again, Sadia looked around. She was in a small cell. Reaching up, she quickly adjusted her scarf and tried to focus. Her vision was still blurred and her head felt so heavy but she tried to fight against the haze. Breathing in deeply, she tried to remain calm even though panic was slowly starting to take root as her senses started to function and her brain recalled what had happened with her.
She was in the office.....Anissa Ghulari reacted......Zameer Shaikh held her at gun point......didn't kill her....:collateral......She was abducted!
Sadia gasped in horror when she realized her situation. Her heartbeat spiked and cold sweat rose on her forehead. Her whole body began to shake.
"So, you're up."
Sadia cringed and stopped a scream from coming out of her mouth when she heard a cold familiar voice. She focused, it was the figure standing in the light.
It was Zameer.
"Wh-what-"
"Don't strain yourself." Zameer said, his voice even. Sadia focused more to read and expression and gasped, goosebumps crawling on her skin and her heart hammered loudly in her chest when she saw the look on his face.
His expression was unreadable, completely apathetic.
The air around him had changed, taken a more darker, dangerous and sinister.
Sadia always knew that Zameer Shaikh was a scary looking man. She was not only nervous around him but to some extent, she also feared him. But now, with the way he was looking at her, with blank dark eyes and a hard unreadable face, Sadia knew that she was done for.
"Pl-please, le-t me g-go."
Zameer didn't say anything. Sadia saw someone move and open the door of the cell. Zamwer stepped inside. Sadia tried to get to her feet but her legs were shaking so badly but she managed to get to her feet anyway.
"Pl-please," she shrank into the wall behind herself, not wanting Zameer to come anywhere near her as her hands came forward to guard her from the dangerous man.
"Relax, Dr. Sadia." Zameer said. Sadia felt chills run down her spine. She detected the respect in his tone when he addressed her doctor but the cold detached edge wasn't off.
"Have you come to realise your situation?" Zameer inquired.
Sadia stared at him with fearful eyes but nodded nonetheless.
"Good," Zameer stood with his hands behind his back, maintaining a good distance from her.
"No harm will to you, Dr. Sadia." He said, his tone so chilly, making Sadia's fear grow but from the serious look on his face, she couldn't help but believe that he really won't harm her but she wasn't one to blindly follow words; she used facts and the fact was that he was her abductor and abductor's don't go without harming their victims.
"Only as long as you cooperate with me with."
Sadia's breath hitched in her throat.
**********
Chapter 9 has been posted on Inkitt :)
the link is in my profile :)