#25

Tevray drove the car through the path among the camps. The boys and the men who were standing outside the camp were gazing at the car. Most of them were carrying AK-47 rifle on their back or in their hands including the teen boys too. Tevray stopped the car near a camp. Kadir Al Qasim (in his mid thirties) was sitting on a wooden chair in the camp. He was watching a news about a recent terrorist attack on the television. He had a black cap tied on his head. He had black lashes under his eye. Sharif (in his early thirties) was sitting beside him on the other chair. Sharif was carrying his AK-47 on his back and was having tea in a bowl. Qasim's rifle was leaned against the camp. Salim (in his late twenties) stepped into the camp.

He said, "Janab, Nasser has come."

Qasim turned to him.

Salim said, "There is an American too."

Qasim came out of the camp followed by Salim and Qasim. Tevray and Nasser were standing by the car. Qasim noted a briefcase carried by Tevray. Qasim locked his eyes with Nasser and nodded. They were about to proceed when they heard a crying noise. A trained militant, Nader (in his mid thirties) was holding the hand of a sixteen year old boy, Jawed.

Nader was dragging Jawed. He grabbed Jawed's neck and hurled him before Qasim's feet. He gave Qasim and adult magazine.

Nader said, "Janab, I found this from under boy's mattress."

Qasim turned over the pages of the magazine having photographs of the erotica models. Furiously he grabbed the boy's hair and pulled him up.

He asked, "What is your name?"

Jawed kept gasping and crying but didn't respond.

Qasim yelled, "What is your name?"

"Jawed Al Qureshi."

Qasim hummed.

"You know why you are here? Why we all here? We are here for a purpose. We are here because we have to prove the world what we are capable of. We are here because we are men. You are here to become a man, not a boy."

He threw the magazine on the ground.

"Burn the thing."

Sharif gave a matchbox to Jawed. Jawed kneeled down to the magazine. He tried to lit the matchstick. After the stick caught the flame he put the one under the magazine. The magazine started burning. He stood up.

Qasim said, "I am impressed. But other kids must learn from your mistake."

He looked at Nader who pointed his AK-47 to the boy's head. Before the boy could react he pulled the trigger and shot him. Jawed fell on the ground near the burning magazine and was bleeding from his head. Tevray tried to hide his fear behind his face while seeing the dead boy. Sharif pulled a table and kept it before the two chairs. Tevray kept the briefcase on the table. He unlocked the briefcase and took out a laptop. He turned on the laptop. He kept a router beside the laptop and connected it with a USB. He accessed a video call application. The screen turned black and displayed a buffering symbol as it was trying to connect with the receiver. Qasim sat on the chair. Tevray sat beside him on the other chair.

"We'll be connected with the interested party."

Yusuf Rehman appeared on the screen who was sitting inside the cabin of his office.

"Al-Qasim, I usually see this cruel face only on the news channel nowdays."

Qasim chuckled.

"I am too waiting Mr. Rehman to sit next to you and have reminisce about the days when you used to be in ISI and you used to invite me at your home."

He smiled.

Yusuf said, "Truly saying Qasim brother, Indians are still unable to forget that Ahemdabad factory blast that was carried out by you."

"I remember. The Indian media ran the same news for a month and recieved a lot of viewership."

"This is what they are actually good at. Just scream before the camera, fool the public, blame the government and garner views."

Qasim smiled.

"Well, I am curious to know what made my old fellow to come to me after a long time."

"We are planning something after carrying out a successful operation in Paris."

"Oh, the Paris one. The thing has made headlines all over the globe."

"Yup. This time we are planning it in Tokyo."

"How can I help you?"

"I need two proficient fighters from the group of your highly trained professionals."

"I have all my men ready. I can send them to your place anytime but I need to arrange flights and hotels for them."

"You don't have to worry about them. Mr. Morrison will handle all that stuff."

Qasim nodded.

"Okay."

"Mr. Morrison I'll contact you in an hour after confirming the date and place with Perkins."

"Sure. I am staying here till then."

Nasser was waiting outside the camp. Tevray walked out of the camp with the briefcase in his hand. He went to the car followed by Nasser.

Jiya (in her early thirties) was preparing morning tea in the kitchen. She was scrolling over the reels in her phone while the tea had just started boiling at a low flame on the gas stove. Her husband, Neel who had just woken up from sleep stepped in and came close to her. He gently grabbed her waist and kissed on her neck. A smile appeared on her face after being affectionated by her most loved person. She began to caress his cheek and then kissed on his lips. She kept the phone by the stove and turned to him. She kept her hands on his shoulder while he was still holding her waist and they started having liplock. The liplock lasted for a couple of minutes.

He said, "Look, I woke up before your morning tea."

She gave another smile. She turned off the gas stove and poured the tea into the cups. Neel's phone started ringing. He came to the bedroom where his phone was kept on the side table. He picked up the phone and attended the call.

"Hello."