Operation: Dard and Devotion

34 | Anxious & Absorbed

However, the blinding brightness did manage to temporarily conceal the two other tanks that trailed behind the first one.

Murtaza kept his foot firmly on the breaks, believing that there was no point in moving forward. "Well, that's the end of this," he muttered.

"Guys, don't panic," I said suddenly while Ahsan looked at me incredulously. "Murtaza, keep driving."

He spun around in the driver's seat to gawk at me. "Are you out of your mind?"

The others watched me carefully as I explained myself. "When they come close to us, just follow my lead."

"No, no." Ahsan shook his head, most probably remembering that the last time I had told him to follow my lead, he had been declared pregnant. "Tell us what's on your mind before anything happens."

"For all they need to know," I began. "We were all captured by Al-Tho'baan and now we're trying to escape. Just play along with that story and none of us will face consequences."

"Will that even work?" Murtaza glanced at me warily.

"It will, only if you all keep up the act. One faulty move and we're done for."

Ahsan and Murtaza exchanged uneasy looks as the tanks approached.

"No, it won't work," Ahsan declared.

"Yes, it will!" I insisted desperately. "Tell them you killed Faizan too and that will further prove that you just wanted to escape from Al-Tho'baan's clutches. After he died, you took his jeep and were planning to drive us away to some safe haven. Just tell them you were brought to the terrorist group against your will and that you are willing to give them information. You won't get in trouble then!"

"It won't seem like we joined the group against our will if we were caught killing others on camera, uncovered," Ahsan mumbled, staring at his clasped hands.

The tanks were nearing.

"But that was two years ago! They won't remember that now."

"Really? They won't remember identified Al-Tho'baan militants whose faces were crystal clear on TV with the bold heading, Wanted: Dead or Alive?"

"That was the heading?" My shoulders slumped. "You didn't tell me that."

"It was implied," he said briskly. "I say we should just give in to them. We're outnumbered by a total of three tanks and perhaps there will be more. It would be idiotic to think we can escape now."

I turned my head to fully face Ahsan. "Why are you giving up so easily?"

"It's called giving up intelligently," he corrected me. "It's best to surrender now or else all of us will be thrashed in jail if we don't willingly cooperate."

"But...but we are so close."

"-And yet so far away," he completed the sentence.

Crossing my arms, I failed to come up with other alternatives. "What do you think will happen to us?"

Ahsan shrugged slightly. "The kids may get sent to a refugee camp, and you may be able to go back to America if you do what I told you to do."

"And what about you?"

He avoided my gaze and gave my hand a squeeze. "I don't know."

"Ahsan," Murtaza called out. "We have kids in the jeep. Behave yourself."

Ahsan gave him a murderous scowl. The latter quickly spun around.

I chose to ignore Murtaza's outburst. "So this is it," I said to nobody in particular.