Deceptions

Chapter 8

"Ayra! Come on!" I heard Taimoor calling. I quickly shut the laptop and shoved it into the drawer before getting up and running out. A dead mouse lay in the corner of the room, and its body was covered with ants and flies. I gagged and put a hand on my mouth before racing out.

Taimoor led me in the opposite direction of the way through which we had come in. We went down a flight of steps and burst through a door, which led to the parking lot behind the building. I took a deep breath of fresh air.

The building was dingy, messy, and stinky. The air inside was pungent enough to kill someone inhaling it for more than two hours. Taimoor led me to the car, and we got in.

"Saif? Can you hear me?" He said into his device.

I panicked, "What happened? Where is he?"

"I don't know. I lost connection with him when we were coming down," he told me, pulling his phone out and yanking the bluetooth device from his ear.

Fear gripped my insides as I remembered those files, screenshots, and videos. There was a high chance Saif was in danger.

"Pick up, man, pick up," Taimoor mumbled.

"Why are we in here? We should go look for him!" I exclaimed, yanking the door open and stepping out.

"Ayra! Wait!" Taimoor shouted, getting out and blocking my path. "Look, it can be dangerous. Saif will have my head if he finds out I let you go out and about the building."

"But he could be in danger! That man is not a simple conman, Taimoor. He's a hitman!" I said urgently, attempting to go around him, but he kept blocking me. "You have to let me go!"

"Ayra, let's -"

"Let you go where?" Saif's voice interrupted our argument. He had appeared behind Taimoor and was looking at us.

"Saif!" We shouted together. The two of us ran to him. Taimoor grabbed his arm and inspected for injuries while I grabbed his face and turned it around.

"Are you okay? Are you hurt? Did Junaid try something?" I said, panicking.

"He looks fine," Taimoor mumbled, lifting his arm.

"Would you two -" he grunted, pulling away. Then he turned to me. "Are you okay? Let's get out of here first."

We got back in the car, and Taimoor drove off. I sighed, slumping in the backseat.

"Did he see you?" Saif asked, peering at me through the rear-view mirror.

I shook my head, "I didn't see him either."

"What did you find?" Taimoor asked, taking a turn.

"A lot of stuff," I murmured. "He's a dangerous person."

"Why do you say dangerous?" Saif asked.

"Because he's not just shady or a conman, Saif. He's a hitman! A pay-to-kill person!" I exclaimed.

"What?" Taimoor sounded shocked. "How- What makes you say that?"

"I found videos, photos, and audios of him taking orders from people," I told them. "He did not even bother to properly guard all that."

"And you were in his apartment? What was I thinking bringing you into this," Saif sighed, putting his hand on his head.

We had arrived back home and were in the lounge.

"Did you see him? Meet him? This puts you in just as much danger!" I exclaimed.

"But I'm fine with it. However, if you're in danger, I'm not. I won't be able to work if something happens to you," Saif countered, looking at me.