"No," I screamed. Dark blood covered the courtyard and bodies fell as several more gunshots were heard.

I sat up in shock.

Sweat beaded on my forehead and my head felt groggy. I raised my arm to wipe it away but stopped and winced when I felt a sharp tug. Blinking, I looked at my hand. My eyes widened. It was connected to an IV.

Huh, that was weird.

I gave my surroundings a once over. I was in my room. It seemed to be nighttime. I tried to sit up and lean on my headboard but grimaced when the headache intensified from the movement.

"Elena, honey. It's okay. I'm here..." I gasped when Ammi rushed in through the door.

"Ammi, I had a horrible dream. Uncle Bakht..." I croaked out, my throat parched. She grabbed a glass from my side table, avoiding my gaze and I knew.

The truth was unmistakable in her eyes. "It happened..."

"You need to rest honey"

"What happened?" I demanded. She took a deep breath and brushed my hair out of my face.

"Someone opened fire during the court proceedings. Mehr..." she choked back a sob and white flashed in front of my eyes. "He didn't make it. Two other people died. You fainted and they took you to the hospital. Your father pulled some strings and made them discharge you so we could take you home"

A tear slipped out and I sniffled."When? When was this?"

"Yesterday. You've been out for a day," A day? And it was nighttime? Had I lost all of Monday?

"How's Sam? Masooma Auntie, Ali..." my lip trembled and I collapsed back on the bed.
"They've gone to her mother's place. That's the safest for them"
"Even Sam?"
"She's with us. She didn't want to leave. The doctor gave her some pills, she went to sleep a while ago..."

I curled into my mother as she got in behind me, her presence comforting and heartbreaking at the same time. I listened as she let me know of the events that had transpired during my absence.

Uncle Bakht's funeral had been held while I was out. Both Sam and Masooma Auntie didn't want to delay the proceedings and I could not fault them for that decision.

Fortunately, Maryam Baji had made it in time and was now going through the house and Uncle Bakht's belongings, cleaning the house so her mother could come back and not be traumatized by what she saw.

A short while later, a nurse came in to check my IV and after she was satisfied, took it out and advised more sleep.

Hours later, I stared at the ceiling, my heart in a thousand pieces. I didn't know what to feel about any of this. He was gone. He was gone, forever. This whole mess screamed of a cover-up. This was an assassination. Uncle Bakht had been targetted.

Only two people would be brave enough to attempt this.

I ran my hand over my face and groaned. How were we going to get out of this mess? I reached for my phone, thinking of calling Razi only to frown at a message from an unknown number.

"Call me"

I checked the time. It was 10 pm. Slipping out of the covers, I closed the door and padded towards the window. I pressed on the screen and settled in on the armchair, my feet tucked underneath.

They picked up on the first ring.

"Elena"
"Haider?" I flinched, at how loud I sounded. "You messaged me?" I whispered, modulating my tone.
"Can I not?"
"No that's not why..." I backtracked, my eyes glued on the door. Why was I whispering?

"I wanted to check in on you. You were still in bed when I came over today"

"You came over?" I bit my lip in surprise.

"I had to see if you were okay" more tears bubbled up and I cursed my emotional state. My mind was a mess. "Elena. Don't. I know, Mehr Mamoon left us too soon but you have to be strong"

"My fault, if only I'd left this case alone..."
"Then we might have never found him"
"He was the prime witness. What will we do?"
"Gather more evidence and more witnesses"

More witnesses? What was he talking about?

"Are there more witnesses? What about the report? Did he send it to his department? How will we get that published on the 25th?" I asked, all of the questions hitting me at once.

"We need to think and come up with a plan"

"Do you know of any of the witnesses?" I pressed him further. Silence echoed from the other end and I took in a huge breath.

I opened my mouth to berate him when he answered. "I do," I raised my eyebrows, surprised.
"Okay. When do we go after them?"
"No"
"I'm not asking for your permission"
"It's a no"
"I'll find out a way"
"We," he emphasized the word. "Are not going after anyone"
"Haider. You come with me, or I do this alone. You know me well enough for that"

A frustrated sigh resonated through the phone. I could tell he was running his hand through his hair, trying to figure a way out.

"We don't have much time," I urged.
"Fine. But promise me you won't do anything"
"If you promise me that you won't leave me out of this..."

"Elena? Beta?" I jumped up and looked towards the shadow at the door.
"Abu?"
"Are you okay? Why aren't you in your bed?"

"I couldn't sleep..." I pressed the disconnect button on the call, feeling like a teenager. "I just can't stop thinking..."

"You and Sam both kid," he said enveloping me in his arms.
"Sam's up?" I asked, hugging him back.
"Uh huh, she just walked to her room"
"I should go and talk to her"
"Yes you should..."
"I'll see you in the morning Abu"
"See you," he muttered, the dark circles even more prominent then before. I watched him make his way, his head bowed. Uncle Bakht's death had taken a toll on him too.

I knocked softly on the door. "Sam? Can I come in?" A muffled yes broke my heart. As I pushed the door open, a cacophony of emotions hit me. Guilt, worry, pain. I walked in, my lower lip trembling from keeping the tears in.

She leaped into my arms, her head on my shoulder, clutching me tightly. I patted her head, running my fingers through her hair and guided her towards the bed.

She sat down, her brow pinched as she stared at her hands. Almost tentatively, she returned her gaze to me. Her fragility was breaking my heart.

"I..." I began.
"Don't. Just stay with me tonight," I nodded, she put her head in my lap. I took in a deep shuddering breath, running my hand through her hair in short motions, trying to calm her down. Borrowing each other's strength, slowly we fell asleep.

Tuesday came with dark clouds hanging over the house, literally and figuratively. I was on a sick leave, so work was the furthest thing on my mind. I worked out in the home gym, trying to ignore my jumble of thoughts.

A tentative knock on the door snapped me out of my haze.

"Elena. How are you?"
"Razi," I said, taking a break and going towards him. He gave me a hug and I relaxed into him.
"Cool home gym"
"I had this designed a few months ago," I answered stepping back and punching into the sand bag.

"You shouldn't punch that hard, your fingers aren't ready..." he began.

"I want to fight Razi. I want to find that bastard and pound him into the ground"

"Elena..." he warned. "You're losing yourself,"

I punched harder, ignoring his warning.

The gold turban glinted in the sun. Black and white coats. Crows flying ahead, gunshots...

Red flashed in front of my eyes and my shoulders burned.

"Elena! Elena... listen," I reacted without thought, slamming my fist into a very hard chest. I shook as tears blurred my vision. I hit again and again—

"Stop it." Haider? "Elena!"

He caught me by the shoulders, pulling me to his chest and folding his arms around me, trapping mine to my sides.

"Stop it, Elena, look at me! Look at me"

"There you are." A smile appeared on his face but it was all wrong and forced. He looked troubled.

"This wasn't supposed to happen! How did this happen..."I gasped, almost collapsing on the floor. He held me up, his arms secured around my waist.

"Babe..." I hiccuped and clutched at his T-shirt, curling into him.

"Don't. Do not pacify me. I will kill him. I will actually kill him dead," I gritted out, unclenching my hands.

"Not if I get to him first," he whispered darkly.

I looked up at him, embarrassed by my outburst. He looked at me, brows furrowed, and then his eyes widened just a fraction.

"You can not go after Jahangir Khan," he deduced. "We have no proof"

"The interior minister. That video. We have to do something!" I muttered, jerking away from him.

"Elena. Take a breath," Suddenly too tired to stand there and argue, I walked over to one of the two chairs placed in the gym. My chest was aching and heavy. Where had Razi disappeared? When had Haider arrived?

"We can't play this game Haider. I have no doubt that he was the one who sent the assassin. He could do that now, to any of us," I grabbed fistfuls of my hair. "They have that file, they know our case. They know who'll be targeted. How in the world are we going to get out of this mess? How will we win?"

"By playing your game," he answered cutting my rant short and kneeling in front of me.
"Huh?" Haider placed his hand on my knees.
"We have two and a half days," I closed my eyes at the time constraint. "We need to find those witnesses. Your father knows about them. We'll have to convince them"

"If Abu knows about them, so do they," I replied, placing my hands over his.

"Such little faith," he tsked. "You're talking to someone who rules the underground scene" I stared at him. The cocky tone and that damn smirk was back.

"He also has us," Waleed said coming into the room, followed by Sam, Razi and Inspector Nasir.

"What the..." I muttered.

"We're not letting them win Elena. The fight is still on. I won't let my father's death be in vain" Sam said striding forward. I got up and grabbed her by the shoulders.

"You've lost too much. Your mother has suffered too much, he'll come after her. He'll come after you! He'll come after all of you," I said circling the room. They gave me bland looks, unbothered.

Seriously, what was going on? Why weren't they afraid?

"He already came after us years ago. This is payback," Waleed answered, coming forward. "Also, I wouldn't want my so called Bhabi (sister-in-law) to deal with that jerk alone," he whispered and I gave him a mock glare, ignoring the jibe.

"He's done a lot of bad stuff to a lot of people. It's time they also came forward" Haider added, putting his arm around my waist. "And when he attacks, we'll be ready"

"They're going down," Sam announced, her arm around Razi's waist.

I gulped down the lump in my throat. This seemed like a suicide mission.

I met each of their eyes and saw the unwavering determination in their gazes.

"It's either do or die folks," I muttered, looking up at Haider.

His lips twisted into a feral smile that sent a chill down my spine. "Finally"

***************************************
Oooh, we're headed towards the end. Only a few more chapters left :D