Trapped

Chapter 11

"How dare you!", yells the black haired guy in pure anger that Alisha recognises easily. She knows its him, even though he has his back facing her but she knows it in her heart. It has to be him with his same hair, the same height and with the same level of smoothness in his voice.

She is saved, is her next thought and she doesn't even budge from her place on the concrete ground. The moment she looks up at the group of men, they appear panic-stricken and paler. The fear on their features is so evident that it makes her wonder, what is so frightening about this saviour of hers? She just keeps witnessing the scene unfolding in front of her and this man seems to scare off people just by looking at them. Strange. The men scurry away as quick as they can, taking her fear with them. "Thank you." She couldn't resist herself from showing her gratitude but before she could say anything else, he turns around, making her gasp at what she has just found out.

"I am sorry, I didn't intend to startle you." He said with his voice as smooth as silk to her. But she had yet to digest the fact that it was not the one she has hoped for, but a man with similar features. How can it be that this unknown man held the same velvety tone in his voice, the same height and the same hair, all at once yet still appears so different when encountered face to face? It bothered her to some level but she was more than thankful to him for his arrival at the perfect timing that resulted in her safety. She could see the difference in his features when he approached her, giving her a hand to get her back on her aching feet. Now that she is face-to-face with him, she could clearly see how his dark brown eyes had a hard and determined look compared to the softness of the hazel eyes of the man she knew. She wondered if she should ask him about her acquaintance but then realisation hits her about how they never exchanged names.

"Ma'am, are you alright?" His words brings her back to reality and she just nods in reply. "Do you need any help?" His voice nonchalant and professional; it lacked the warmth that her stranger friend possessed. She breathes in once and explains how she has lost her way and if he can just guide her back to the right street.

The man helped her willingly, dropping her off just in front of her house in just a few minutes, saving her any more trouble. She has a feeling that she should rush into her house as quickly as she can but his dark eyes holds her gaze, pinning her down to the very ground she stood on. "Thank you, Mister... uhm.." She trails off as he stares at her through the window of his car. "Alan." He completes her sentence with a small smile; more of lips pressed together in a thin line curving upwards a bit at each corner rather than a proper smile. "Mr. Alan.. It was really nice of you to drop me home-" She speaks slowly, first testing his name on her tongue but is soon interrupted midway by him. "Not a problem, Miss but I would rather prefer you get inside that house of yours before you land yourself in some other trouble. It's getting colder anyway."

And he's gone. As soon as his words stopped tumbling out of his mouth, he pulled up the glass on his window and drove away with thrilling speed, leaving a dumbstruck Alisha standing outside her house. "How can he- So arrogant, that man!" She whispers yells to herself as she pulls out the keys from her bag and unlocks the door. This man, though similar looking, was a contrast to her stranger friend and her mind kept comparing both the entities.

I know I was being totally awkward in front of him but at least he could have acknowledged my words. And what does he think of himself! 'Get inside before you land in some trouble', that jerk... And that's the most of the words she keeps mumbling while she does her routine and settles down on her couch with a bowl of warm soup. But he helped me, I shouldn't be thinking in such a manner about him. Maybe he was getting late or maybe that was his way of expressing concern. New words replace her previous angry thoughts and she realises that she should stop thinking about it.

Every channel she switches to, it shows the same news of the accident and how the transportation has been affected badly. She decides then, to ditch her work tomorrow and sends a quick voice message on the office's landline number. Now she can rest but the scenes from the previous hours disturb her, a lot.

She puts on a music channel and keeps watching it until her mind has completely forgotten about the encounter with those evil men because she doesn't need to be reminded of what could have happened. Her tired eyes begins to droop with heavy eyelids and soon she is asleep on her couch with a sweet and soft melody playing on her television, a perfect lullaby to her exhausted mind.

While this lady rests after a horrible day, Zayn is again on his mission but only this time he's alone. He wished he could have Max by his side but that could be risky, way too risky. He rarely gets a chance like this when he is all alone on a mission, to do things in his own way. He walks towards a telephone booth with long strides. His long overcoat flaring behind him as he walks and his hair being caressed by the chilly wind that has taken over the city with the approach of November. As soon as inside the booth, he checks his surroundings and dials the number after being assured that no one is watching him.

The phone keeps on ringing and there is no reply from the other side which gets on Zayn's nerves because it has been three weeks since he has been trying to contact this person and yet no response. He breathes in a deep breath to calm his agitated nerves that are itching to hit something or rather someone.

He hangs up, knowing there will be no response and leaves the booth to get back on his work. He has to sneak into the secret base of the dealer to make a real deal this time for gaining weapons and that too without his partner in crime. He is surprised that his boss has trusted him enough for him to do it alone which never happens, not usually. Though he is alert, he knows it can be a trap too because he is the latest to join the gang which was two years ago.

He slips into the dark alley that will lead him to the secret location. Today, it will be easier for him because the whole police department is busy helping civilians and they won't even get a glimpse of something of this level happening tonight. That's the reason this moment was chosen for the deal, totally foolproof. He exchanges glance with the bulky guard and jerks his head towards the door. The guard checks him for any weapon but finds none and lets him in. He is standing in a large dark corridor with barely any source of light. He follows the path and soon reaches a brightly lit room, painted in pastel shades, this room resembles more of a reception area of a hotel except there is no receptionist but a man waiting on a plush couch.

"You are here for the deal, aren't you?" The medium height man inquires him and he only nods in response. The man asks him to follow him to the inside room where he reveals a secret passage which leads them to the main area. This is where each gun lay peacefully on the cases but ready to bore a bullet through anyone that comes in their way.

The man shows him the order that Zayn's boss made a few weeks ago and after going through the guns encased neatly, he nods curtly, throwing him two bundles of cash. "Remaining payment after delivery." Zayn states and turns around, walking straight out of this place. He soon has his cell on his ear calling his boss.

"The packages looked good, Sir. Gave him 25% of the money." He speaks quickly as soon as his boss picks up and waits for the next instruction. "Okay. Meet up with Max, he will tell you." His boss replies quietly and hangs up before Zayn can ask him anything else.

He is back on the streets, moving quietly on silent nights towards the pub Max mentioned on the call. The moment he enters the pub, the bright flashing lights blind him for a second but he soon recovers and makes his way to the bar where his friend is waiting for him. "Hey mate!" Max calls out to him once he spots the black-haired lad walking towards him. Zayn smiles in acknowledgement and leans against the bar counter before speaking, "So, what's next?" "Our race that was postponed due to some stupid reasons." Max replies with a mischievous smile which soon brings a shiny glint in Zayn's eyes. "I thought boss had some other work for us too." "Oh yes, he has but that will take only few minutes and after that.. be ready to lose, Zaynie boy." To which, Zayn just smirks starting to walk towards the exit because he can barely contain the itch to race on his beauty of a bike.

"Game on, Maximus." And those words left Max amused.

*****

I am extremely sorry guys for the infinite delay, once again which was totally unintentional. You can blame my finals but finally, I am on my break and will be posting more updates.

And a big big big Thank you to all who read this and have waited way too long for the updates.

Regards,

A.R.