ZAHANA

CHAPTER 5 - THE TIMER TICKS

Present Day

Evening- 17:30 Hrs.

Cottage Farmhouse, Delhi's Outskirts

'Would you please watch your driving?' she exclaimed.

'Sorry, had a busy and a very tiring day. So it's kind of difficult to focus.' He mocked.

'Oh yeah, you had a busy and tiring day while all you did was sit back and relax.' She pursed her lips and shut her eyes being filled withremorseupon realizing her mistake. She had gone a little too far with her words, perhaps the farthest she could have gone in that moment or to put it more accurately- ever. Not a single word of what she had said meant anywhere near what she had intended to say. Her intention had been to express gratitude with a bagful of love but was ruined, crushed to the core by her blabber.

'Sit back and relax, totally madam.' He replied sarcastically.

'Sorry, you know I didn't mean that!' She apologized.

'You know you never have to apologize to me unless required and trust me I'll tell you when it is.'

'Yeah right...' She wagged her hand at that consolation. 'But thanks for letting me do this. I feel a tad better now.' She said with a certain ecstasy in her tone.

'I hope you understand I would have never let you do this if it weren't for...' he stopped abruptly remembering something. Neither of the two uttered another word after that.

The business journalist in her was gone by the time they reached the highway. And so were the wheat complexion, green eyes, full red lips, long layered hair with a bang on the forehead, and thick eyebrows and eyelashes. What remained behind was exactly everything she had lived with for the past twenty seven years of her life, well almost. The same big hazel eyes, thin lips, brown wavy hair ending a tad below her shoulder, arched eyebrows under a broad forehead, and an angled jaw, something she got from her mother. All these when looked at separately were nothing unusual but together they made a perfect figure. Like someone with a white robe and a gleaming halo.

'Brace!'He said while taking a steep left towards the woods as the car went speeding down the slope. She held the upper handle stiffly until the pathturned plane again. A couple of minutes into the woods led them to a cottage farmhouse abnormally hidden to the human eye.

Though the whole deroute added an additional forty minutes when driven at a speed of a hundred miles per hour or more, that place still had its own perks. One, it was almost impossible to locate or extremely difficult, either of the situations ended in their favor affording them the prep time they would need in case of emergency. Two, it helped them work their own way, per their own means without any outside intrusion or camouflaging attempts. And three, it took the pressure of uninvited guests, identity disclosure, divulgence from the plan and any other possible drawbacks of living in the city, off his mind and helped him focus.

A small abrupt passage led them to their cottage. The cottage had been his choice which was more out of necessity and safety than an escapade off the city. A cottage specifically built for the wanderers and so was known by the choicest few with him being one of the men who knew the men which knew the men.

Fifty minutes had passed since her departure from the Transoms. This meant the time had arrived for them to trigger the final hypothetical missile out in the enemy territory and prompt the news they had been waiting upon hearing. Though per her idea, a little drama before the big release could be vividly entertaining. They strode out of the living room after dropping their stuff and stepped on the porch, taking the flight of stairs to the attic. He placed the laptops on the table and keyed them to life. Still holding bootlegged access to the cameras inside Transoms they enjoyed the show with sandwiches and lattes which Zahana had picked from Ed's café on her way out.