I couldn't sleep that night. Every piece of information that I knew rushed to the front of my mind. Everything seemed to get mixed up. I dreamt of Rania and Hania screaming at me... Izzy getting hurt and Uncle EJ crying. I kept seeing Zaroon in the shadows, his face contoured from pain. I even saw the bangle boy from the market, his eyes filled with sadness.

Tired and thankful for concealers, I walked to the dining hall. I shuffled my way to the dining table. Thankfully, Hania and Rania were the only ones there.
"Rough night?" Hania asked as I sat down. I nodded and reached for my teacup. Rania groaned beside me, her face in a grimace. I took a sip of tea and the fog in my mind cleared up a little.

"What's up with you?" I asked her.
"Came up with different statements for every single Ferozeuddin event"
"Woah," Hania and I said at the same time.
"Yeah... so I'll email them to you, so you can go through them and I can sleep"
"When do you go back to work?"
"Next week. Hussein texted me this morning... things have slowed down because of the heat but everyone will be back next week"

"The boss man himself... huh" Hania muttered and I laughed.
"Right like Mr Bodyguard is any better"
"Hey!" I protested, my cheeks red.
"I knew it," Hania said pumping her fist in the air.
"There is nothing to know..." I said, spreading butter on my toast.
"Oh please they were talking all the way to her room," Rania said to Hania.
"How do you know that?" She waggled her eyebrows. Had she followed us? Why was I flustered?
"I know Salaar is hot... but Zaroon" Hania gave me a thumbs up.
"There is nothing there..." I said glaring at them as they laughed. Sighing, I gave up and started to go through my emails.

"Someone is here from Murad Saeed's office Begum Sahiba" I nodded to let them in. A young man, in a suit, walked into the office dragging a whole suitcase of files.
"Greetings Begum Sahiba... these are the documents from Murad's campaign"
"Goodness, is that all?" I said sarcastically. He shook his head and pushed his glasses back on the bridge of his nose.
"We have 3 more suitcases Begum Sahiba," he said, his tone serious.
I took a deep breath. "Bring them in"

I sat on the carpet, with the files fanned out around me. I had a highlighter in one hand and a file in the other.
"Someone's hard at work," Izzy said walking in. He whistled at the number of files I had spread around me. "I'm sorry, are we in college again?"
"God I wish I had put this much effort in college"
"True... where do I walk?" I pointed at the small path that I had made.
"The last time I worked this hard was when I was a new intern," I said. He laughed and came to sit beside me.
"What are we searching for?"
"We are searching for... any mention of the new revolutionaries, highlight that in yellow and the election data, should be in purple" he picked up the purple highlighter and started to highlight.

"I should put myself to use" the words were so reminiscent of what Ammi Jaan had said, I had to close my eyes to banish the image from my head.  We worked silently, side by side for a while. Taking a short break, he placed the papers in a neat pile and stretched.

"This probably not how you imagined your honeymoon to be like"

"Hahaha, true. I was a little disappointed but I get to spend time with you."

"Great, I'm the consolation prize," I said with a laugh.

"So... any plans for the fifth?"

"Feroze is going to be here so we'd probably be dealing with him... oh," I said realizing what he was talking about. "Birthday, right"

"You forgot about your birthday? Thing's truly are in a dire state"

"You have no idea... which reminds me, I forgot to ask you about this, but what is this new port tax thingy? What's going on down in the ports?" He raised an eyebrow and I explained what the shopkeeper had told me on Saturday.

"I don't know... I can ask around for you" he said, rubbing his temple.

"Please, I just feel so unprepared. I've got information coming in from multiple ends and I don't know where to look. It's a lot to take in"

"It can be overwhelming... but isn't every job? At least at the start?" I nodded, comforted by his words. "Also, I'm sorry about the Salaar thing, I should not have pushed"

"Since when were we this formal? It's fine. I know what you were trying to do... it's fine" he smiled. "By the way... what do I get this year?" he laughed at my eager expression.

"What's so funny? Woah. Elena... what is this?" Uncle EJ walked into the room with Zaroon. I shrugged and gave him a sheepish smile.

"She's pestering me for her present," Izzy said. I smacked his arm.

"I was not pestering, I asked. Politely"

"It's like the two of you are kids again. Remember how she used to study this way? Her face screwed up in concentration, her work spread out around her?"

"She also used to search for presents around the house" Izzy added, laughing at my expression.

I shook my head and gestured back to the files "Murad sent these... I was going through them"

"Anything valuable?" Zaroon asked. I nodded.

"I've... maybe figured out a pattern. We just need someone to attend the meeting"

"Salaar could do it" Izzy piped up.

"No"

"Why not?" Uncle EJ asked, leaning against the desk.

"Because he is our guest and I will not put him in danger"

"He was there when South Sudan declared its independence... a little meeting won't damage him" Izzy answered.

"I can't ask that from him"

"Why not? He's a new face... we can track him, listen in to his conversation" Zaroon said, his eyes bright. I looked at the three men in front of me.

"It is dangerous... maybe we should vote on it"

"We're all here," Uncle EJ said. I narrowed my eyes at him and texted Hania and Rania to come to the office. I would ask Ammi Jaan myself. They showed up five minutes later, out of breath and worried.

"What is it?"  Rania said rushing into the room.

"Defcon 5 means emergency right?" Hania said, standing near the door.

"Yup... we're calling for a vote. Izzy, Zaroon and Uncle EJ think that we should ask Salaar to be the person who infiltrates the new revolutionaries"

" Who's voting for Salaar to go?" everyone but Hania and I raised their hands.

"You guys are insane," I said, glaring at each and every one of them.

"You have to take a risk, Eli..."

"I have to, yes. Someone else? No."

"He's a big boy, if he doesn't want to do it he'll say no. And Zaroon said that he'll be protected" Izzy said, leaning his back against the wall.

"I'll go with him" a round of protests echoed around the room. "Wait, hear me out. I have to know who's doing what. I have to see it for myself. No one will recognize me there and we will have security. What could go wrong?"

"I mean... if she goes with him, in a disguise, she can pull it off" Rania muttered her eyes on my face. I gave her a bright smile. Hania muttered her agreement and Izzy sighed. Uncle EJ rolled his eyes. Zaroon just stared at me.

"It's decided then... now, who wants to help me get through these files" Everyone but Izzy left the room in a rush. "Looks like it's just us"

"It's always just us Eli," he said, swiping the highlighter on my face.

Later that evening, Rania and I sat together looking at Feroze's itinerary while catching up on the news. Rania had emailed our statement about Murad and uploaded it on our newly created twitter handle. We watched the different talk show hosts breakdown what that meant for the politics in the south.

"We'll be placing him and his team in the west wing... in the Gulzar Mehmood suites" she nodded and made a note on her pad. "Have we decided on the menu? Did Ammi Jaan talk to the chef?"

"Yeah, we went down to the kitchens today. They're so pretty" she said her eyes full of wonder. I  chuckled. "Have you been there?"

"Once. Where will he go? Will he hold a rally?"

"Yes and you are scheduled to appear with him on the sixth, you also have a joint conference with him on the seventh, he'll leave on the eighth. I don't feel comfortable with this. What he did and how he did it... are you sure you want to do this?"

"I'm fine Rania. Fake it till we make it right? All of this means I only have two days to figure out how the new revolutionaries work... I have to get in. Feroze gets here on Thursday and he'll be having lunch with the other families, in our home the same day. We lost Monday... I only have Tuesday and Wednesday"

"How would you get the knowledge? Providing he agrees, Salaar can only get you in... isn't there a VIP pass?" she said offhandedly. I looked at her.

"Rania, you're brilliant! There has to be something like that. Exclusive access... VIP passes. Come on, we have to ask Aziz!" I grabbed her hand and we ran down the stairs. I bumped into a solid wall of muscle. 

"Ouch," I muttered, feeling a set of arms come up to steady me.

"Are you alright Begum Sahiba?" Zaroon's voice cut through the dizziness.  My cheeks flushed from embarrassment.

"Are you okay Eli?"Rania asked and I nodded. Zaroons arms were still around me. I widened my eyes to silently ask him to let go. He understood and stepped back, the tips of his ears turning red.

"What's the rush?" he asked.

"We need to see Aziz"

"Aziz went out half an hour ago," he said. Damn it.

"Any idea when he'll be back?"

"I don't know... you should ask Andaleeb"

"And where is she?"

"I saw her in the kitchens" Rania and I nodded and went towards the kitchens. "Uh... ladies? The kitchens are that way" he said pointing to our left. Rania and I stared at one another, mortified. Zaroon sighed and led the way.

"I'll tell him to see you Begum Sahiba," Andaleeb said, her face neutral. Rania and I nodded. Zaroon stood behind us his arms crossed. As we walked out, he started to walk beside me.

"What was that all about?" he asked, his voice low.

"Rania thinks that getting in isn't enough and that we should aim to get a VIP'ish tour"

"That's... "

"Stupid, reckless?"

"Brilliant" he finished with a slight smirk.

"Why thank you, Major." Rania chimed in, her voice smug. I shook my head at her tone.

"Have you told your Uncle?"

"We wanted to know if such an option existed before telling anyone"

"Smart"

"Thank you, Major"  I replied, in my smug tone.

"Which reminds me... your birthday, do you have a present for Izzy?" Rania asked.

"Oh yes..." a wristwatch, the one that his father had worn. Izzy had always wanted the watch but it had vanished during the accident. For a while, it seemed like there was no way to track it. I had called in a favour from a friend in the London Police. He had tracked it down for me. Since the case was essentially closed and almost thirty years old, I now had it. It had been restored to its previous glory. I had planned to give it as a wedding present but figured a birthday was more appropriate.

"Tell us," she said excitedly.

"Only if you figure out what he has for me" she pouted. Zaroon chuckled.

"If she had her way, she'd ask every one of us to go and search for her presents before her birthday," she told Zaroon.

"But what about the element of surprise?" Zaroon asked.

"I think I've had quite enough of that," I said as we walked to the dining hall.

Ammi took some convincing. She gave up at my insistence. Every single person, including Salaar was all in on the plan. Uncle EJ and Zaroon devised the security plan. The meeting was to be held tomorrow and Aziz had agreed to help us. He would tell his friend that Salaar was a scholar with strong views. He was going to support the movement by providing party funds but he wanted to meet the leader of the movement first and he wanted to see him or her urgently. I was to be his fiancee.

I was iffy about that part.

"It won't be suspicious," Salaar said, his eyes lighting up with mischief. "Here, I'll help you wear the ring..." I took the ring Ammi Jaan had given him for this purpose and placed it on my ring finger.

"I can manage to put in on, thank you" I answered, rolling my eyes. A light laugh rippled in the room.

"It's a good look on you," he said, his eyes crinkling up. Izzy glared at Salaar and Rania tried to diffuse the situation.
"Uh... so Aziz's friend will take the two of you in and you'll ask to meet that person?"
"Pretty much" I answered, crossing my fingers.
"Hey man, you sure you can keep them safe?" Izzy asked Zaroon.
"On my life" he answered looking at me.