Good Kid-Bad Kid[COMPLETED]

Chapter 12 (Faris Bin Waleed)

He hadn't imagined the first time he'd see his daughter after 16 years would be in the worst possible circumstances. Despite this, as soon as Faris entered her room he could feel the overwhelming rush of fierce joy at the presence of his daughter before he even laid eyes on her.

She stood, a head shorter than him, looking small under his gaze. She had gorgeous brown eyes under dark lashes, golden toned skin and silky black hair that was wildly arranged around her head. Though she was wearing a very loose shirt and pants and looked very bedraggled, for him her appearance was the sweetest, most beautiful thing ever.

His daughter.
His life.

"Laila" he cleared his throat, "Assalamualikum"
She blinked, then flushed slightly seeming to realize she'd been staring at him, and looked down at her toes. "walaikumsalam" she replied quietly.
"How are you feeling?"
She looked up at him, her gaze full of curiousity, "I'm feeling much better, Sir, thank you for your hospitality"
He winced at the word Sir and scrutinized her words for sarcasm, but to his surprise there was none.
He felt a surge of relief. She was genuinely grateful to him, and that was a good start. He'd expected an angry young teenager, a lot of shouting and throwing things especially if that teenager was under the governance of such a woman as Ruba, but Laila was nothing like that. She continued to gaze at him, and curiosity was imminent so plainly he almost smiled.
"Your mother" he said finally, and her eyes immediately clouded over, "is currently undergoing surgery. She was hit with two bullets in the chest but luckily nowhere near the heart. However her condition is still critical, and you and I are both not allowed to see her right now"
He panicked inwardly as his daughter started crying, trying not to, but crying all the same. Behind him Badr slid a box of tissues across the room and left, closing the door behind him.
"W-why d-did she g-get attacked?" She sobbed, "She s-said we w-were s-safe"
He made to touch her shoulder but thought better of it, "sit" he said finally, "I owe you an explanation and this is a long story"
She obeyed, quieting with the exception of sniffing, gazing at him expectantly.

"Almost twenty one years ago, your mother and I got married, right here in New Forest. We both studied at university here: I got a degree in business management, she studied engineering. We were both top students in our fields, and both of us after marriage worked full time, made a lot of money, then spent the summer on vacation in Venice, Rome, Morrocco, Turkey...
I kept getting promoted higher and higher, until I was able to found my own bank and run it very successfully at my young age. Unfortunately this did not escape notice of a Russian originated local gang here, Buria. They were getting more and more powerful, and had spread out of New Forest also.
A few members began pestering me to take care of their money transactions and financial means because they knew how easy it was for me. It turned out it was not just the individuals that wanted this, but the top man was after my services. I didn't agree for a long time, but when the death threat was pointed at Ruba and my newborn child, I decided to seek help.
The police were no match for Buria, they were not then and are not now. The only thing that could combat the Buria was another gang. I sought help from New Forest's biggest underworld network, Cedochi. Cedochi was and is huge, I knew, but it is actually such a large network it stretches across America, some of Africa and Arabia even, and this city is a major checkpoint for it. If you compare Buria to Cedochi it would be as though one compared a seed to a watermelon. The Cedochi assisted me, and provided security for Ruba and yourself, but they wanted something in return.
It was the same thing all over again- they realized I had value and asked me to join them and repay them with my services. I offered a lot of money but they refused. I was at square one again and when I finally told Ruba what had happened she left the very next morning with you, angrier then I've ever seen her. She refused to take protection, and I never saw her again until last night."
He fell silent, and his mind travelled back to the private hospital where Ruba had been wheeled in, her eyes shut, blood everywhere. The pain of that image was seared into his heart, a hot poker in his brain.
"Buria men attacked my mom last night, didn't they?" Laila stated, breaking the silence, "because of- of you?"
He winced, "yes" and before he could stop himself he found himself saying, "but I had protection for her everywhere. There were men surrounding the area but Buria outsmarted us this once- the members were none on our records or anyone we'd ever seen before, in fact no one can recall their faces. They paid though" he added, "Badr caught them"
She jerked her head up, "that boy?! What does he have to do with anything?"
A smile tugged at his lips despite everything, "that boy is a Cedochi member who brought you here last night. I had my doctors tend to you immediately, but if he hadn't been there I shudder to think what would have happened"
she said nothing, but her expression softened slightly.
After a few minutes of silence she finally said, "where to from here?"
He smiled truly this time and her eyes widened a fraction.
"Tomorrow morning I'll take you to see your mother. Until then everything and anything in this house is at your disposal. I will send my guards outside for privacy's sake. By the way, your room is the first door upstairs, I hope you like it" he stood up, giving her a curt nod and left the room with a lot more warmth in his heart.