Soldier

twenty three

[Ahmed Shiekh's P.O.V.]

"What? You're insane, I am not gonna do that." I almost shouted at Raza.

"OK. No problem." He shrugged. "Ameena's home?" He furrow his brow.

Ughh such a devil he is.

"OK fine." I spoke while my jaws clenched together with my teeth.

He stretched out his legs to its full length and rest them on the huge glass table of my office.

"You're not change, Ahmed." He slightly tilted his neck. "You know a person with no changing ability, is a person sitting idle in the middle of the forest and expect a bunch of people to come and found him." He added in a concerning cum taunted tone.

I went forward to the table, leaned a little down and gripped him from his feet and spoke; "Change is not a show piece, its like a wave of the sea that thrill out the entire coast and every single grain of its sand, and all naked eyes see that wave; isn't a compulation."

I pulled his feet down the table, seated in my arm chair near the window, lifted my leg onto another, straightened my face and waited him to speak.

"You need to do what I need you to, so any argue is useless, utterly." He spoke after a few minutes.

"Why you want me to do this?" I shook my head in a shudder.

"Wrong question. You should ask who I want you to lead this operation?" He lifted his index finger and taught me like a teacher.

"Okay. Who you want me to lead this operation?" I shoot a fake smile, furrow my brow and tilted my neck.

"Hadi Khan."

"What? Have you gone mad? He's not just a junior but under learning right now." I widened my eyes over his demand.

I waited a few moments. "Listen Raza, it never happened in the history, I'll have to answer the entire board, the agencies, the media; I can't do this." I declared him of my official limitations.

"Come on, there are a lot things in history that'd happened first time." He said in entirely comical way. "And don't worry about the agencies and media leave it to me, even the board, I'll handle." Assurance was guaranteed in his tone.

He stood up and rested his hands in both his pockets and before reach the door hr turned his face on me;
"Believe me, you'll not regret on this act." His tone was utterly persuasive.

I can't helped but believed him. He's the most top rated reporter with most accurate facts and even I could not deny this.

I was twisting the pen in my fingers when Ameena brought a cup of coffee into my study. My attention immediately diverted to her. She arranged some fresh white tulips in the crystal vase and settled down in a chair near me with her own cup of coffee.

"Oh, I forgot." Ameena said and and stood up.

"This came on your name, earlier this morning." She handed me a violet colored envelope.

"Who brought this?" I asked inquiring the envelope.

"Courier service." She shrugged and went holding empty coffee mugs.

"Hadi Khan to Lead from front?"

I opened the envelope and found cutting of an Afghanistani Newspaper inside it. I wondered who can send me this? And why? I looked at the envelope for a hundredth time now to find if there's any stamp or address. But there was nothing on it.

"Raza I want to meet you now." I don't know what came to my mind that I dialed Raza.

"Okay. Come over my place." He hung up without asking what I need to talk him about.

I drove to his place that was in the farther corner of the huge walled city. I can barely find any shop there.

Its like he lives underground.

I thought why he live in such a non developed area, but his part of land was a denial of the facts related to the area he live around.

My car sharply swifted in the opened driveway that leads to the main entrance to his house. I parked my car in front of a giant wooden door that was almost touching the sky. The door was finely carved in traditional Chinoti design. By reaching nearer to the door I found its wood was no ordinary wood, but of sandalwood.

I rang the bell and Raza's voice swipe out from the intercom. I answered and the door automatically opened in a white marble floor huge hall. Its front wall was covered with an aquarium that was touching up the fall ceiling. To the left there was a counter of fine black marble from behind of which Raza welcomed me and instruct to sit on one of the stools aligned with the counter.

"Here." He offered me some fine English wine.

"Thanks." I pushed it away.

"I thought you drink." He frowned suspiciously.

"I used to.." I rolled my eyes.

"So, why here?" He directly came to the point.

I reached in a side pocket of my coat and dragged out the violet coloured envelope and pulled it to Raza.

He rested his empty glass onto the counter and reach the envelope.

"I found this today. Cutting of-"

"Cutting of an Afghan newspaper flashing the same headline." His face splashed a sparkle of happiness as he waited for the very moment.

"Why are you smiling?" I enquired intimidatingly.

"Just wait and see what's coming next. Ah do you now- wanna drink?" Ah! That devilish smile.

Did I done something wrong trusting this man? My subconscious frowned at me.
....