Price of honesty
“What do you mean, sir?”
“Nothing,” Czar muttered, sighing. He placed the rose in front of her. “Price?”
She showed him a hand gesture indicating one.
He shrugged, glared slightly as confirmation, and she packed the rose neatly before giving it to him.
As he walked away to the other side of the road, Czar mumbled under his breath,
“She doesn’t seem like she’s here just to sell flowers…”
Elaya exhaled deeply.
“He looked suspicious…” she thought to herself.
Quickly—and carefully—she took a picture of him without attracting his attention and sent it to Ava.
“Our first suspect.” she texted.
Then she closed her eyes, trying to recall every detail of the man so she could sketch him before the image faded. She pulled out her sketchbook and began drawing:
Black doe-like eyes
Long black coat
Right eyebrow piercing
Right-side lip piercing
Brown shirt
Wide-leg jeans
Black watch
Louboutin boots
Jet-black hair
She noted everything and sketched him roughly.
“What was he doing near the crime scene…?” she wondered, poking her tongue inside her cheek. She squeezed her eyes shut.
“Elaya… you can’t make anyone a suspect just like that. What are you doing…?”
Her breaths grew heavy as she tried calming her racing thoughts.
“Give me strength, Ya Rabbi,” she whispered to herself.
Elaya looked here and there and then at the crime scene. Her eyes fell; people had already left the position, but she saw a woman in her mid-50s sitting there, crying, weeping silently. Elaya sighed and closed her eyes, and a line ran in her mind, a message… “Don’t ever run in this mission.”
Elaya started taking long breaths and put her hand on her chest when Ava’s message popped up.
“Love, let’s meet at 3 pm at Shah House. Government has given us to execute our mission.”
Elaya texted: Ok, I will be there.
It was around 2:45 when she closed this stand, and the woman was still there… sitting but silent. Elaya sighed. She wore her long cream-colour coat and went to this woman. The woman looked at Elaya and smiled in pain.
“He took my daughter,” she said in a low tone.
Elaya stood there silent… because she can’t talk, otherwise her secret of being not mute can get caught.
The woman again was seeing the blood stamps which were under those yellow lines, when the same man—Czar—came at the spot and looked at Elaya and then at the woman. “Brave lady, stand up. Someone will surely find him.” Czar sat on his one knee, looking sharp in the woman’s eyes. “No one has ever found him… it’s been years,” she said with suppressed tears while Elaya held the shoulders of this woman and made her stand up, passing a smile.
“This lady is mute,” Czar stood up and mentioned while looking at Elaya.
“Leave this place, young lady… your eyes.”
The lady said while looking at Elaya, and then the lady left, and Czar looked at Elaya once again.
“Walk with me, I need to tell you something,” he said, his tone straightforward, and started walking slowly. Elaya looked at the time. It was almost 3:15.
She held the arm of Czar. Czar looked behind. “Are you late? You wanna go somewhere?”
Elaya was shocked—like, can he read her? Elaya nodded.
“Shall I drop you there?” Czar questioned while looking at Elaya, who thought for a solid second and motioned her head as no.
Czar chuckled. “Okay, as you wish.”
He moved away while Elaya ran slowly.
Ava had sent 15 texts. “Where are you? Are you fine?” Elaya looked at her phone… dang, she had kept it silent while she was with that woman… then she forgot to keep the volume on.
Elaya face-palmed and increased her pace while she searched for the location of Shah House which was sent by Ava. A car stopped near her.
And Ava was inside. She went out of the car and hugged Elaya. “Ya Allah… I thought—” Ava stopped saying, and Elaya motioned, “Let’s get inside the car first.”
Ava nodded. They both sat, and then Elaya said, “I’m sorry, I had kept my phone mute.” Ava looked at Elaya and sighed. “Don’t do it again.”
“You are always on time; that’s why I got so much worried,” Ava said, driving. Elaya smiled, “My Ava… ik ik… I’m sorry,” Elaya smiled.
“That man actually looked suspicious… the way you described him and the way he was present at the scene,” Ava enquired.
“We never know… we can just suspect him. So have you put on extra cameras in the lanes of this highway?” Elaya asked while letting her head rest on the seat while leaning.
“Yeah, I have contacted all agencies who are in coordination with ours… They know we are here and government also is supporting us by providing all the necessary stuff. A hacker is also appointed for us,” Ava said while parking the car at Shah Ground. Elaya nodded.
They both went outside the car when 10 guards came and clicked their pics and sent it to the office, and in a second they got a text: “It’s them.”