Keep Your Enemies Closer

~ melting ice and rising flames ~

Zaviyar had a smirk on his face when he walked out of the room. With his leather jacket thrown over his shoulder, he stopped only for a little while in front of Kashif. 

"Mene samjha diya hai Miss Rabail ko. Ab se jo hum karein gay, wo wohi karein gi. Tum fikar mat karo."

"Jee? Kesay?"

"Bas Kashif, kuch cheezein insaan tajarbay se seekhta hai. Kis insaan ko, kis waqt, kis kamzori se pakarna hai, seekh jao gay tum bhi."

Kashif looked at his boss, slightly impressed and slightly scared. 

"Fikar mat karo, tumharay khilaaf nahi istemaal karoon ga. Bas tum mujhe mauqa na dena ke mujhe ye karna paray."

He chuckled as he gave Kashif a pat on his shoulder.

"Sahab, aap ke itnay ehsaan hein mere sir pe. Aap ke liye to jaan bhi haazir hai."

"Acha bas bas. Ab tum ne sab se pehle Rabail ko kisi achi si, mehfooz jagah par muntaqil karna hai, koi safe sa thikana. Aur daihaan rakhna kisi cheez ki kami na ho."

"Theek hai, sahab. Mein bandubast karta hoon."

"Good."

He was climbing down the stairs when he remembered something, making him stop.

"Haan aur wo tumhara wala kaam kahan tak puhancha?"

"Chal raha hai sahab, jald aap ko khushkhabri milay gi."

Zaviyar smiled wholeheartedly as he got out of the abandoned warehouse. It was only once he was seated in his car and he took out the pictures and other pieces of paper from his pocket, that his face turn into a scowl. 

If what he was thinking was true, all hell was about to break loose very soon. 

~

"Shahzaib bhai, aaj mujhe bhi le chalein zameenon pe saath. Issi bahanay mein bhi seekh loon ga kaam."

Shahzaib looked him dead in the eye, his eyes burning with fire, and there was another emotion that Zaviyar couldn't quite put his finger at. Was it estrangement?

"Aaj nahi, aaj mujhe buhat kaam hai. Phir kisi din chalna."

"To acha hai na, aadha kaam aap ka mein karwa doon ga."

"Aaj mere paas itna faarigh time nahi hai ke mein tumhein samjhata phiroon, phir tumharay kaam ko recheck karta phiroon."

"Mein jaldi seekh jaaon ga."

"Zavi, kaha na aaj nahi. Jahan itnay din faarigh beth ke guzaray hein, kuch din aur sahi, hmm?"

Shahzaib patted him on the cheek before walking away. All Zaviyar could do was watch him leave. 

Later that day when he took a trip to the fields, he came to know that Shahzaib never came to the fields. Apparently he had taken Hammad and gone out of Jhalpur, something he had been doing very frequently. 

Zaviyar was left to listen to the complaints of the farmers and other workers as his brain tried to figure out what Shahzaib was up to. 

~

When he entered his room, he was drained - physically and mentally. He had been playing out numerous scenarios in his mind, and all of them led to the worst of conclusions. He just wanted to lie down, sleep and forget about it all. As if none of this ever happened. But he couldn't. This was a reality he had to live in throughout his life.