Chapter 12

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"What do you want?" Haseena asks with a shake in her voice as she acts brave through her frightening eyes. "Money?"

Brian laughs. He laughs as if he has just heard the funniest joke of all time. "Well, I know you have money. I know Singh have money from her parents' insurance but that's not what I want. Don't you worry. I'll tell you just exactly what I want. I just need to consult that with your Detective Singh first."

It is musty and it is damp although the sun struggles to shine through tiny spaces between the wooded planks that boarded up the windows. Haseena's only company is the sound of the dripping water that echoes loud and clear. She is alone and she is scared. She tries to compose herself and gathers every piece of clues that might help her later; the number of steps she has made, the sound she can hear from the outside and the smell she has picked up. She tries but the more she tries the more desperate she feels. Her heartbeat is outrunning her breathing and the walls around her seems to be crushing in. She doesn't know what to do or say. She doesn't know if she should scream. Her voice is lost into the deep dark abyss of fright.

"Hey, lady." The peeled-paint door makes a creaking sound as it is opened to present the presence of one of the thugs. "Do you need anything? Water?"

"No." Haseena whispers as she stares at the man. "Where is Detective Singh?"

"You don't need water?" The man completely ignores her question. He stays for a few more minutes in case she wants to change her mind. "Coffee?"

"WHERE IS KARISHMA?" Haseena uses the last ounce of her energy to yell at the top of her lungs and hopes it gain her the answer she wants. At the very least, she just wants to know if Karishma is okay.

"So no coffee?" The man shrugs and leaves without trying or even paying attention to what Haseena really wants. "We have good coffee."

Meanwhile, Karishma smirks. Karishma smirks at the fainted sound of Haseena that is travelling from the first to the second floor of the house they were brought to. It takes minutes for Karishma to really realize of her whereabout. It should have taken her faster but with some drugs swimming in her system, that was the fastest she can ever be. Karishma is made to sat on the chair that is far from comfortable; right in the middle of the room facing towards Brian and the boarded-up window. She gets real sleepy and has difficult time moving around. Confusion is knocking on her door but her brain is pushing every drawer and every shelf to keep it away. Brian has planned everything to perfection and by drugging Karishma to be defenseless, his plan is getting closer and closer to be accomplished. Nothing can stop him now.

"She is really something else, isn't she?" Brian makes his remark as he perches on the window's stool. He looks at ease like  this is normal; like this is just another day at work. "I'm not surprised that you gradually have feelings for her. She doesn't even care where she is. She just wants to know where you are. What a Hollywood romance, don't you think?"

Karishma smirks with a tiny chuckle. She can't even sit up straight. The gravity somehow gets the best of her for now. She knows exactly what Brian has given her and she is counting down the minutes it wears out. He is not getting away with this. "I guess you made a wrong decision."

"Oh, no, Singh." Brian shakes his head almost immediately. He is not letting her look down on his plan. "She is well-known. Her daddy is a superintendent. I made the right decision, kid. Will you? Look, I like you. I genuinely like you. You're a great kid."

Karishma scoffs with what she has left. It is almost like she is drunk on something that will appear as alcohol in the autopsy and the thing that is neutralized her will not even leave a trace.

"So, I'll give you an offer -" Brian is interrupted by a couple of phones that are ringing at the same exact time. He grabs them from the window stool next to him but not to answer them, he just looks at them until the silence replaces the annoying tones. They are Karishma's and Haseena's phone. "Seems like they start to realize that both of you are missing. Oh. She uses your dog as her lock screen, kid. So. What I was saying. I'll give you an offer. You can save your own life and we can be heroes... or you can join your parents and I can be a hero."

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