Duplus

Chapter 49

———Third Person's POV———

A car was made ready. Sumayya and Lexie hopped in the four seater, broken down vehicle and a driver from Amir's men took charge of the driver's seat. Jaber spent the last few minutes relating the plan to Sumayya and how to signal for danger if anything went wrong. Lexie seemed lost in her thoughts, imagining the moment she would finally get a glimpse of Senior again.

She was confused about what to feel. Her heart raced and her stomach had been tied into a knot but she couldn't decide if it was because of her longing to meet him or the dreadful thought that he wasn't the same person she knew. Or the horror that Amaani was right about him.

A few meters away from the thin track wounding out from the forest where the black car stood, Amaani looked at her comrades with Camari tucked behind her shoulder. She was in deep thought and Camari inquired about it only to get a light head shake in response. "Nothing much. I'm just thinking."

Camari raised an eyebrow, wanting her to expand on what "thinking" meant and what she was so occupied with. She didn't get the chance to say anything because Sufiyaan walked up to them.

"They're heading out again, huh? I just pray it goes well." He remarked, snapping Amaani out of her trance. "Yeah."

"Honestly, I'm glad Lexie is going with Sunayya. Sir Amir is right. We can't deal with Lx2 on our own. It's good we got his help before we got caught in a much bigger problem." He sounded quite calm like a solution had been worked out for a long pending unsolved problem. Amaani knew he was relieved for Saira and she wanted to have a talk about it with him before they moved out. But she quickly realised that she probably wouldn't have much time to do it.

"I hope we're doing the right thing." Her sentence made Sufiyaan's calm face switch into a frown. Camari just listened with intent.

"What makes you say that? I have a good feeling about this, Maani. Uncle Amir proved to be a life saver and now it's like we have a strong support on our side. He's a government worker! It's definitely a big upgrade."

Amaani gave him a look he couldn't decode and her silence stressed him. "Don't you agree?" He pressed.

Just then, the engine of the car behind them switched on, signalling that the plan was officially in action. All of them looked towards the fading black car through a puff of smoke that emitted from its rear. "They're gone." Amaani said like it was a cause of concern. "May Allah cover them in His shade of protection." She proceeded to blow some Arabic supplications on them from afar for their safety.

"Ameen." Sufiyaan added.

Camari just continued to look at the car in the distance as if muttering her own prayers. She knew she had to stick close to Amaani from then on because it was just the two of them. Amaani may trust Sufiyaan but for her, all the men there were total strangers except Jaber, who she had a hint was trustworthy.

They moved back into the tent after Jaber once the car had been driven off out of sight. That was where Amir showed them a circular device. "This is our tracking device. We can follow their location from here. But unfortunately, it's a bit outdated so we need to be within a five mile radius for it to be able to pick up the car's signals." He explained to Usama who nodded with every word.

"That means you and Sufiyaan have to set out soon if not immediately. I've made sure to tell Abu Aqeel, the driver to take the path that isn't too obvious. Traders take that route to escape from the Kazefaandrian soldiers but only in extreme circumstances. It's quite out of the main road and has easy access to the community's inner Bazaar. Perfect for our plan."