I'm sick, in bed and it's raining...which obviously calls for an update. 

E N J O Y!

P.s. don't forget that this book is set in the year 2045.

#Chapter Forty Three#

Mystery POV.

Two weeks later.

I slid the balcony door open and walked into the chilling cold, bringing the cigarette up to my lips as I did and lighting it up. I used my foot to shut the door closed again and made my way over to the railing that was lined with snow. Carelessly, I used my bare hand to wipe some off and then proceeded to perch my elbows against the metal.

Perfect weather, I thought as the sky began to darken and the wind bit through my thin t-shirt. I brought the cigarette to my lips and took another long drag. With every breath, I felt my worries slowly slide away and the stress leak out of my body.

I always admired how something so poisonous could make you feel better.

The silence of the night was broken by the ringing of my phone. I pulled it out of my back pocket, annoyed already.

"What?" I barked into the phone.

"Hello boss. It's Waqas."

"Ah yes," I said, perking up. "And...how did things go?"

"Smoothly Sir."

"So the items are in their correct hiding spot?"

"Yes Sir."

"And the men. Are they ready for tonight?"

"We're all set to go."

I smiled. "Wonderful...and remember what I said. Up until I approach that stupid girl, I want all of you to be on your most discreet behaviour. If any one of you ruin this opportunity for me, I will end you with my own two hands. Do you understand?"

"Yes Sir."

"And Waqas?"

I heard him cough on the other side of the line. "Yes?"

"If anyone finds out about this...and by anyone I mean the Ahmad family. I'll know who opened their big mouth."

He cleared his throat. "I comprehend Sir."

"Good."

I ended the call and quickly focused my attention back on the cigarette. Within minutes I had finished my second one and after realising it was already six o'clock, I strode back into my room.

I opened my closet and pulled out my black suit. I slid on my bulletproof vest first before slipping on a white dress shirt. I followed it through with black dress pants, a bow tie and last but not least, my suit jacket.

I sprayed some cologne on my hand and rubbed it along my neck.

Looking up into the mirror, I smiled at my appearance.

Tonight, I'd get my vengeance on the people who deserved it the most.

####

Sameena's POV.

2030 Election Gala

As soon as I stepped foot out of the car, a microphone was shoved into my face and I literally staggered forward in surprise. Luckily, Tariq caught me before I face planted the cement.

Wouldn't even be surprised if that happened.

"Miss Ahmad, what do you think your father's chances are with this election, especially considering recent events?" A journalist yelled at me and I winced at the pitch of her voice.

"Miss Ahmad will not be taking questions," Salem's booming voice interrupted the throng of media outlets that were waiting on the side lines, trying to get my attention. I was already half-blinded by the flashing camera's so I was grateful when Salem, Ahmad, Omar and two other guards formed a protective circle around us as we made our way towards the entrance of the hall.

Tariq's arm made its way around my waist and I instantly leaned into him. He kissed my forehead and sent me a warm smile and I felt like it was too soon before he had to unwound his hands and let go of me.

"This way please." An usher materialised out of thin air and lead us towards our table for the night. We thanked him and made our way to where baba, Lia, Ziad, Sarah and Mira were already seated.

"You're late," baba said with a look of disapproval.

"Baba the event hasn't even started," I pointed out, moving to give everyone a kiss. Tariq shook baba and Ziad's hand before placing himself next to me.

"You know it doesn't look good."

I decided it best not to reply, partially because I couldn't be bothered but mostly because the smell of food was exciting my empty stomach. I wasted no time in digging in to the chicken teriyaki on my plate.

I heard Tariq chuckle from beside me.

"What?" I said with a mouth full of food.

"Sameena, at least swallow your food before speaking," Mira said with a disgusted scowl.

I blushed. "Sorry."

"You nervous about the elections 'amu?" Tariq asked baba, directing the attention away from me.

He chuckled in response. "No son. I've done this so many times that I'm no longer fearful of the outcome. Even if I lose this time round."

"You won't lose baba," Ziad said as he jiggled Abir on his knee.

"Only Allah knows son, only Allah. What's bothersome is trying to come up with a different speech every four years."

We all laughed at his expression. Tonight, every candidate including baba would stand up to offer a traditional speech about why people should vote for them and what they could offer to make life better for the everyday citizen. Results wouldn't be released for another week and I'd be lying if I said there wasn't a lot of tension.

I was in the middle of a conversation with Mira when I felt my phone vibrate from within my clutch. Wondering who would call me now, I pulled it out and frowned at the unknown number.

"Who is it?" Mira asked.

"I don't know."

I clicked the green 'answer' button and brought it to my ear.

"Hello?"

"Sameena? It's Faysal."

I felt my breath catch in my throat.

"Faysal?! How are you?" I asked, worry quickly lacing my tone. I got up from my seat and headed for the outside corridor as everyone's voices were echoing off the walls in here and I could barely make out his words.

Ahmad and Omar came with me and I made sure to stand a metre away.

"I'm...good. You know."

"Yeah," I whispered sadly. "I know."

"Listen, I've only got a minute before my time is up," he started and I was surprised at his tone of voice. He was scarily serious and I could even sense concern in his voice.

"What's wrong Faysal?"

I heard him inhale shakily. "I didn't get the chance to say this to you but...I really am sorry. For everything Sameena. I wish I had a good enough reason to justify my actions and the way I treated you but I don't. It was mere selfishness and jealousy." I didn't have to see him to know that he was being one hundred percent sincere. My heart ached for my cousin, a man I never really knew but despised nonetheless.

"I forgive you Faysal. At least you've learnt from your mistakes, right?"

"I'm sorry Sameena," he repeated and this time I couldn't help but feel like something was very wrong.

"Faysal I said I for-,"

"Promise me that you'll be careful OK?"

"What? Faysal you-,"

"Never go anywhere by yourself and don't take any risks tonight."

"You're scaring me. What's this all about?" I managed to get out. My heart felt like it would fly out of my chest and as if my body sensed sudden danger, my eyes began to jump from person to person around me.

"Just...just be safe. I'm sorry," he whispered brokenly one more time before shutting the phone.

"What!" I whisper-yelled to my phone.

My emotions were in turmoil. I was confused, worried and annoyed that Faysal was being so cryptic.

With one last glance at my phone screen, I turned back around and immediately searched for Salem.

"Salem, Salem, where are you," I murmured under my breath.

"Sameena, are you OK?" Ahmad jogged up to me and stood by my side.

"Um, yeah," I said, scanning the hall. "Why?"

"Well you look scared for one but you're also walking pretty fast considering you've got heels on."

"I'm looking for Salem, do you know where he is?"

"He went to check up with the guards who are scanning everyone as they walk through the detectors. He also said something about reading the guest list."

"Let me know as soon as he returns."

"OK," Ahmad nodded without asking any questions.

As I sat back down next to Tariq I couldn't help but feel extremely apprehensive. If it were a few months ago, I would have dismissed Faysal as just trying to rile me up, but with Al-Ghorban's appearance again and his involvement in the group, his warning hit home.

"What's wrong?" Tariq asked, no doubt sensing my uneasiness.

I hesitated. "I just got a call from Faysal...he was being really weird. He kept on telling me to be careful and repeatedly apologised for everything he's done. He really freaked me out," I admitted.

He frowned. "Are you sure he wasn't speaking in general terms?"

I bit my lip. "He could have been but I don't know...I got the feeling that he was trying to warn me about something."

Tariq grasped my hand and laced his fingers between mine. "Don't worry too much about it, I'm sure he was just feeling extra guilty. There are always guards crawling around you and you're never alone except for when you're at home." He kissed my hand. "And I'll always be with you. So don't worry." He gave me a reassuring smile and I took a deep breath.

"You're right." I sent him a smile of my own and leaned back into my chair. Mira asked me what was wrong and I gave her a fake response, not wanting to worry or ruin anyone's night.

The next hour went by quickly. Baba and two other members - one man and one woman - went up to speak, none of them exceeding the ten minute time limit. Dinner was served as they spoke and not too long thereafter, the dessert buffet opened up. Unsurprisingly, Mira and I were one of the first to attack the table like starving vultures and we laughed gleefully as we sat down, plates sky-high with diabetes inducing food.

Suddenly, the feeling of uneasiness began to crawl its way across my skin and I stared at my food in distaste, losing my appetite as quickly as it had come.

"Hey, have you seen Salem?" Mira asked, scrunching her eyebrows and turning in her seat to search for him.

I nearly choked on my water.

How could I forget! It's been an hour and still Salem hasn't returned?! I'm sure it didn't take that long to check up on his men and read over a name list.

"I'll ask Ahmad." I called his name out and he walked the few steps towards me.

"What's up Sameena?"

"What's happening with Salem? Hasn't he finished yet?"

Ahmad frowned and checked his watch, as if just realising that its been over an hour since he left.

"You're right...where is he?" he mumbled. "I'll call him now."

I waited with bated breaths as Ahmad held the phone to his ear.

"No answer," he said, staring down at the phone in confusion. "Salem always answers his phone..." he trailed off.

Tariq - who had been watching the whole exchange - shared a look with me.

"Where did you say he went again?"

"To the entrance hall."

"Why?" I questioned, unable to keep the fear from my voice.

"Well from what I know, Waqas called him over because there was a problem with one of the metal detectors."

Mira stood up. "I'll go to the entrance and look for him. I'm sure he just got caught up in something."

My eyes widened and I grabbed her hand before she could leave. "Umm, why don't you just let Ahmad go?"

"Because..."

She raised one eyebrow.

"Ahmad will convince him to come back if he's caught up in something," I said lamely and she chuckled at my response.

She leaned down to whisper in my ear. "If there's anyone that can gain Salem's attention and get him moving quickly, it's me."

I internally groaned. This was so not the time for her unneeded comments.

Knowing I couldn't stop her, I instead asked Omar to go with her. She gave me a questioning look before making her way around the table.

"I'm going to the bathroom." I threw my napkin onto my plate and made to stand up but before I could, Tariq held onto my hand pulled me back down.

His grey eyes held mine captive and one hand made its way to my cheek. "I need you to stop stressing," he whispered softly, bringing a finger up to rub the crease in between my eyebrow.

I exhaled and put one hand over his. "Is it that obvious?"

"To me, yes." He graced me with a dazzling smile. "Now I want to see that beautiful smile of yours again."

Despite the situation, I blushed and did just that. He pulled away reluctantly, finally giving me space to get up. I ruffled his gelled hair.

"I love you, you know that?"

He gave me a wink. "I know."

I laughed at his cockiness, before taking a deep, soothing breath and heading towards the bathroom.

I didn't even need to go, I just wanted a second of silence, to be able to hear my own thoughts. Thankfully, there was no one inside the toilet and I revelled in the quiet, fixing my hijab subconsciously and convincing myself that everything was going to be OK.

Salem should be back by now, I thought as I stepped back out.

Everything's going to be OK.

Little did I know, that as soon the bathroom door had shut behind me, a figure in a black suit would stride right up to me, pull out a gun and point it straight at my head.

"One peep and I pull the trigger."

####