2024

Chapter Two

August 22 2024

Under the black sky of New Times City he moved his hand from the pocket of his jeans hesitantly, jerking twice before committing to his next play. With shaking nerves and a shaking heart he softly placed the hand on the back of her dress on her lower spine. The girl smiled wistfully at the gesture, turning red on the sides of her cheeks, and for the first time that night she was lost for words.

'I, I, I' he stuttered. There were too many feelings surging through from his fingertips to his veins all the way to his heart.

'I had a good night too' she took control of the conversation. To most of the pedestrians walking past the aspiring couple looked like 2 strangers at the end of their first or second date testing the waters of each other's mutual feelings. Trying to gain the courage to be adventurous. But nearly none of the lookers knew the uncompromising history that brought them to this point.

'Did you like, still, uhh, ya know?'

'Jesus Christ Mike we have made worse decisions together in less time than it is taking you to spit out a sentence.'

His smile was modest, shy and gave everything away. 'When I invite you up for a cup of tea to finish the night of the way it should be, will you criticize me the whole time, or will you eventually give me a break?'

'That's the Mike I am used to.'

They stood staring at the door to his apartment embracing the innocent yet once forbidden intimate gesture. Absorbing the silence for all it was, it was their time. There was no rush to the undeniable ending, every step was exhilarating and too valuable to undermine.

'I don't think I ever want to give you a break.' She said calm, steadily and calculated. 'I don't think that's why we made it to here.' She looked up to the side of his face in the dim light, looking at him through memory rather than in the present.

'We haven't even made it inside yet and we're already dreaming.' He clutched her back tighter, trying to gain back the confidence he lost somewhere between the first time he met her right until this point.

'I didn't start dreaming today Mike, it's just that I can finally say what I have been planning for essentially years.'

'You have always been the one in control if you think about it.'

They turned to each other, as if trying to absorb the imperfections of each other's faces, as well as they knew each other's monsters in their closet they thought they almost completely shared.

But being within even a 200 meter radius of the late bloomers, as the stars aligned somewhere within their own universe, the power of their love must be felt by everyone.

'So' he broke the moment. 'My beautiful, strong willed Miss Amanda Bright, would you like to now enter my humble abode and have a cup of tea.'

'I think I would Mike, but tonight we deserve something more celebratory then flavoured hot water.'

Using his left hand, refusing to give up touching her even for the smallest moment, he unlocked the door and they finally disappeared together into the privacy of what would soon be home to both of them.

250 meters away, two men sit perched on a roof top. From here they can observe everything. However America isn't their home but they continued to crouch persistently, with aching legs and heavy eyes. They risked their faith for this exhibition. To be here wearing western clothes in a sinful land far away from where Allah's touch could help them. Their bodies were weathered by war, their faith however was strengthened.

The younger of the two men, Rahim was the first to break the long withstanding silence between them. At 27 years old, he had seen atrocities that were only too common on his land. And the horror of these events had aged him cruelly. 'Brother' his voice was patchy, broken. 'Brother now is our time while they are still so unsuspecting.'

Abrahem shook his head slowly in a sullen reply. 'We will wait.' Abrahem had a deeper voice, that could send chills down his enemies' spines back in the war days. 'We will give them tonight, because it will only make our revenge sweeter in the morning.'

Rahim's shoulders shrugged and shifted as he readjusted himself in his position. He was homesick and missed his family. Abrahem couldn't seem to understand or empathise with the feeling.

'We should rest' Rahim suggested. 'Tomorrow has been a long time coming Brother.'

'We will die before we fail Brother' Abrahem said out of habit. 'But I fear you are right, if we do not sleep now, it could be dangerous for us tomorrow. We will have to escape the city fast, and quietly.' By the time Abrahem had finished talking Rahim was already asleep.

As the sun rose the city bustled as people were slowly waking up and fighting their way to work. It would have been so easy to get lost watching the pedestrians. What were their stories? Did the lady with bright blue hair dye it because of a bad break up? Was her boyfriend abusive? Is she okay now? Where did that man buy his shoes? Was he well off financially to be able to afford them? Is he doing okay?

But it wasn't the sun that woke the two men, but a scream that pierced the air and could be felt deep in the stomach. It made the pedestrians stop for a moment, wonder about the girl before continuing their day. The scream had come from the enemy's accomplice Miss Amanda Bright.

The two men looked over the building to their target's position.

The lack of visual information made Abrahem restless, but he continued to be cautious. Never moving from his position, trying to hear a single word, or sound that could give him any information. Rahim sat next to him more curious than anything else. In his dazed state he could have sworn a red balloon floated up to him.

It would only be when the ambulance would arrive 20 minutes later that they would discover the incident. Michael Davis had been decapitated in his room while his lover slept. Someone had beaten them to their job.