Posted:
amazing FF.. loved it to the core.. It is really awesome... read it fully and eagery wiating for your next update..
PART 6: Long part today
Asad gathered the bag of cocaine and walked out of Zoya's cabin quietly. Leaving the bag in her cabin would get her into trouble. After dropping it off at the office, he headed towards Rob's cabin.
KNOCK! KNOCK!
There was no reply. Given the precarious situation, he justified using his master key card and barged into Rob's cabin. Anticipating resistance, he pointed the gun provided to him by the cruise line.
"HANDS UP! COME OUT WHEREVER YOU ARE!"
It was one of the large luxury cabins, with lots of extra room. He searched everywhere but there was no response. Rob's king sized bed looked like it had been used since the evening shift had made the beds. Next, he barged into the bathroom, but there was nobody there.
Asad took the liberty of checking the closets and drawers for any clues but he had no luck.
It was past midnight; most guests were probably asleep in their cabins or busy at the midnight buffet on the top deck; where could Rob be? He decided to search the whole boat. Asad paged the ship's security system to keep an eye on the tall Oriental man in his early 20s.
As he ran out into the hallway, he felt his shoe crush something hard and metallic.
It was someone's iPhone.
The glass had cracked but the background picture looked familiar. There were two guys on the screen. Rob's face was clear but the other face was unrecognizable because of the crack on the screen.
He kicked himself for rushing; in his rush he didn't see the phone lying on the ground. Moreover, the phone was locked and he would have to wait to reach the port to find someone to break the passcode.
All night, Asad went on a relentless pursuit but couldn't find Rob anywhere.
As the sun rose on the beautiful horizon, he realized that they had docked at their first port- the scenic Monte Carlo/Monaco.
After a quick shower, he changed into a clean uniform, ready to report the bag of drugs and broken phone to the authorities on port.
Most passengers had already disembarked. As he walked out of the ramp, he was surprised to see police cars and an ambulance near the port. Onlookers had gathered around something on shore. He couldn't hold his curiosity.
"They found a dead body!" Someone informed him.
He tried to elbow his way into the crowd. No one doubted that he was not an official.
He recognized the dead body immediately. They were trying to pull him on a stretcher and take it to the local hospital for a post mortem.
"Looks like a passenger committed suicide last night. He probably jumped off the ship." He overheard the cops talking in French. Asad could understand basic French from his school days.
He felt sick to his stomach. No wonder he couldn't find Rob anywhere. Was he forced out of his cabin? His ruffled sheets on the bed and then his phone in the hallway were probably clues. The cops were clueless.
"We have taken another passenger in custody. The CC camera from the cruise shows that she was with the victim in the casino last night. No one saw the victim afterwards."
"She?" Asad's radar was on full alert, "it must be Ms Farooqui!" He gasped and shook his head in disbelief. This could spell trouble for Zoya. She wouldn't know how to defend herself from this situation. After being drugged last night, she wouldn't even recall most of her conversation with Rob.
Like a maniac, Asad ran away from the crowd and enquired about the local police station.
Within minutes, he was at the police station after taking a local cab.
Yes, he was right. Zoya Farooqui was in police custody! He could hear her screeching voice from behind the doors.
"I DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU ARE TALKING ABOUT! I AM INNOCENT!" Her loud screams in English fell on deaf ears inside the enquiry room, "I AM AN AMERICAN CITIZEN! HOW DARE YOU ARREST ME?" Asad shook his head, "there she goes again. Why can't she be a little calm? This would infuriate them further."
"Excuse me! Can I meet the person in charge of this case?" Asad asked a man behind a desk and then pointed towards the closed door.
"Sure!" The clerk nodded. Asad had an authoritative presence and like most people, the clerk nodded and obeyed the officer from the cruise ship.
"Merci!" Asad thanked the clerk and knocked at the door. He was summoned in after the clerk introduced him to the police inspector in charge.
Zoya was in handcuffs, tears smudging her mascara when he spotted her in the corner of the room. His heart melted; she looked helpless and distraught. They had probably dragged her from her cabin early this morning, as she was still wearing her clothes from the night before, her feet bare and silky, long hair ruffled all over her forehead and face.
Zoya couldn't believe her eyes when she saw Asad in the room. Tears of relief and joy gushed down her cheeks. She was still giddy from the night before; this all seemed so surreal. Was she really handcuffed, arrested by the police or was it all a nightmare?
"Excuse me officer, I have some information on Rob Chen's case. This girl is an innocent. I would appreciate if you would free her."
"I am sorry! Who are you?" The officer asked rudely.
"I am an officer from the ship."
"I am sorry..uh," he stared at Asad's nametag, "Mr. Khan, this is a criminal case now. You can give your statement to the police officer outside. We don't want any interference!"
"I am sorry but you can't arrest an American citizen without any evidence!" Asad retorted angrily.
"We don't need to be preached about the rules Mr. Khan! Now if you will give us a chance, we can carry on with our investigation with this young lady. PLEASE LEAVE!"
Zoya screamed loudly, "NO! PLEASE DON'T LET HIM LEAVE!" She tried to free herself from the burly woman cop holding her arm, but the cop forced her down to the chair, "SIT!"
Asad's body stiffened; he was outraged to see the big woman holding Zoya's frail frame down so forcefully. By now, two cops had circled their hands around Asad's arms.
Asad gave them a dirty look and jerked them off, "okay, I will leave!" He knew using force would be counterproductive; he didn't want to jeopardize any chances of freeing her.
Zoya was stunned; how could he just abandon her? Wasn't he abbu's private detective? Did abbu hire such a coward to take care of her?
"I HATE YOU!" She screamed loudly as Asad walked out of the room, "buzdil kahin ke! Aapko kya agar main yahan mar jaaun ya jail mein padhi rahoon. Mere abbu aapko kabhie nahin chodenge! Aapki wajah se main yahan aayi hoon!"
He clenched his fists; her words stung him fiercely, but he knew he had to keep his cool or else she would end up in jail, in a foreign land for a long time. Who knows, they could even charge her with murder. He would never be able to forgive himself; he felt partially responsible for her plight. He walked out of the room; his mind thinking of different strategies to get her out of there.
He turned around and whispered to the police inspector, "I don't want you guys to torture her. You know I can file a complaint against you."
"Mind your business officer. Take care of your passengers and let us take care of the criminals."
"We will find the truth in a bit." Asad gnashed his teeth and stepped into the lobby.
"Can I make a phone call?" He asked the friendly clerk.
The clerk smiled, "sure!"
Asad smiled and thanked him. Fortunately, he was able to get in touch with the headquarters of the Indian Navy.
After a chain of phone calls to the Indian Navy, Interpol
and American embassy, Asad was able to convince the police department in Monaco to give him a chance to present the evidence in favor of Zoya.
Meanwhile, Zoya yelled and cried inside. After wallowing for a long time, she laid her head on the table. With the drugs still in her system and her stomach empty, she fell asleep, sobbing and trembling.
The inspector took Asad to another room where they discussed the footage from the CC TV, Asad described the events from the casino, gave him the bag of cocaine and the cracked iPhone.
Fortunately, once they were able to break through the passcode, the iPhone had loads of valuable information regarding Rob and his contacts. Zoya featured in none of his contact lists or personal photographs. It was evident that Rob was gay, lived in New York and had received some threatening messages from an untraceable international number. Thankfully, the police didn't make the connection to Zoya's and Rob's address on the passport. That fact was still nagging Asad, but he would take care of it later. For now, his goal was to get Zoya out of there as soon as possible. Once they were on the ship, the authorities would have no legal right on her.
"So, looks like even Rob Chen is innocent. He was trapped by another gang. Wonder why they killed him?" The police inspector pondered over the evidence, "well Captain Khan, I am sorry I didn't realize that you are a Navy man. Thanks for helping out in this case. You may take the passenger with you. Ms. Zoya Farooqui is free to leave."
"Merci!" Asad shook hands with the inspector and waited anxiously for his troublemaker to arrive.
Zoya waddled out of the prison, half awake, with the help of the big woman officer.
"Thanks! I will take care of her now." Asad pulled Zoya out of the woman cop's clutches. He supported her head on his shoulder and hailed a cab. He let her rest her head on his shoulder as they sat in the backseat of the cab. She was fast asleep.
"Can you take us to the closest coffee shop please?" Asad knew she needed to eat and get over the hangover before she could be functional on her feet again. He felt a twinge in his heart when he saw the bruises on her wrist from the handcuffs. Softly, he caressed the bruise with his fingers and felt sorry for her. He felt a sense of comfort as her head rolled gently on his shoulder. Asad felt his eyes heavy; after a sleepless night, the cab ride was the most soothing sensation in a long time.
"WHERE ARE WE?" She suddenly woke up from her slumber and sat up, "AAP?"
A rude jolt woke him from his delirious state.
"Welcome to freedom Ms. Farooqui!" He sat up and glared at her angry face.
She scratched her hair and pulled them back, "ya Allah. Tho wo sab sach tha? Main sach much jail mein thi?"
"Jee!"
"Yeh sab aapki wajah se hua hai!" She pulled away towards the door of the cab.
"Blaming others for your problems is your favorite pastime activity, haina?" He asked angrily, "aur yeh bataaiye mujhey, mere wajah se aap jail kaise gayi? Was I at the casino last night? Was I the one fooling around with a certain Mr. Rob Chen? Was I the one who drank that spiked drink last night? Was I the one that the CC TV spotted you with Rob?" He glared at her.
"If you would not have followed me everywhere, I would have not ended up in the casino in the first place!" She retorted.
He kept quiet, clasped his hands firmly as he tried to suppress his rage. He had just gone through so much pain to get her released and she had the audacity to blame him for her problems.
"Thankless woman!" he mumbled.
She overheard his comment and averted her gaze sheepishly, "th-thanks for releasing me from j-jail. Waise yeh sab kaise aur kyun hua?"
The cab came to a halt outside a caf.
"Let's talk over coffee. I think we are both hungry and tired." He calmed down and paid the cabbie.
After freshening up in the ladies room, Zoya joined him at a corner table in the caf. His head was buried in the newspaper as he sipped on his coffee, ignoring the fact that she had settled back into the chair across from him.
She cleared her throat to seek his attention, but he never looked up.
"Are you ignoring me on purpose?" She tapped a spoon on the table.
"I am catching up on the news."
"In French?"
"Yeah! It's more soothing than your yelling." He replied curtly.
Zoya was incensed but kept quiet, "alright. I am sorry Mr. Khan. I guess I should thank you for saving me today."
He folded the newspaper and looked at her, "Ms Farooqui. I need to know why your passport has a fake address?"
"F-fake?" Even though she had narrowly escaped the police in Monaco, Mr. Khan was no less than a cop himself.
"I-I needed a passport at the last minute. My friend's father helped me."
"Rob had a similar address."
"Are you suspecting me too?"
"No! I am not. I just need to know what's going on. Warna main bhi police mein report kar sakta hoon."
"Nahin please Mr. Khan. Don't do that," she explained her relationship to Emily, Rob and Chinatown, "I just wanted to get away from abbu for sometime."
"And visit your appi in Istanbul?" He asked.
"How do you know?" Her color drained; he knew everything about her, "aapko abbu ne bheja hai na?"
He was baffled once again. She had made a comment about being paid handsomely before. Did she think he was hired by her father to keep an eye on her? That's why she had been trying to escape from him? He decided to play along. At least, she would fear doing something totally outrageous this way.
"Haan!" He lied, "I think I need to call him now."
"NO! NO! Please Mr. Khan. Abbu will ask me to go back home. I really want to meet appi. I need these two weeks to myself. Please don't be so cruel. I will do whatever you ask me to do."
"Alright. I won't inform him but promise you will not do anything stupid on this trip."
"Excuse me?" She frowned, "I wouldn't have done anything stupid if you had not been so nosey!"
"Ok! Then I will call him."
"Theek hai. Theek hai. I promise I won't. But, please don't follow me everywhere."
"With pleasure Ms. Farooqui! Aapko follow karna matlab museebat ko follow karna hai. I'd rather stay away from trouble."
"Whatever!" She rolled her eyes and then gorged the breakfast Danish and coffee hungrily.
Asad admired the way she stuffed herself as if she had not eaten in days. He mumbled, "even brats have basic needs in life."
After wiping her lips, she looked around, satisfied and happy, "by the way, where are we?"
"In Monte Carlo, rather Monaco."
Her eyes lit up with excitement, "really? Wow! I have always dreamt of visiting this fairyland."
"Fairyland? They had you jailed here. You still call it a fairyland?"
"Oh come on Mr. Khan! You are such a bore. Jaante hain this is one of the most romantic places in the world?"
"Romantic?" He scoffed, "it's known for gambling more than anything else now. Monte Carlo is a world famous casino now. Waise, I am sure you would know all about casinos." He teased her.
"SHUT UP MR. KHAN!" She glared, "you don't have to remind me about last night. I'd rather see the castles, beaches, mountains, royalty…aaahh." She clasped her hands and started daydreaming. Asad stared at her; her innocence captivated him once again.
"Okay. You can go and check out your dreamland then." Asad got up, paid the bill and walked out of the caf. She ran after him, huffing, "how can you just leave me inside?"
He turned around. With his sunglasses perched on his nose, Zoya skipped a heartbeat for a second. The uniformed man with sunglasses standing in front of her was quite a looker; she almost lost her balance. She composed herself and looked down.
"See you on the ship Ms. Farooqui!" He waved at her.
"MR. KHAN!" She yelled back, "I don't have any shoes. Main nange pair kaise sab dekhoongi? Take me to a shoe store please."
Asad rolled his eyes and shook his head, "ab yeh kaam bhi mujhey hi karna padhega?"
"I will tell abbu that you didn't take good care of me!" She stomped, "you let his princess walk around in bare feet."
"Well, you are in a fairyland, I am sure you will find a prince with your missing shoes somewhere Ms. Cinderella!"
"That's just a fairytale Mr. Khan." She pouted.
"Good to know that you do believe in reality."
After buying a pair of beautiful, expensive shoes at a local store, she purchased a sketchbook and some pencils.
"Waise Mr. Khan, have you seen this place before?" Zoya asked.
"No, I haven't. It's not my kind of place." He replied, "too artificial."
"Tho aap mere saath chaliye na," she smiled at him, "you might just enjoy the place."
He pondered for a minute and then nodded, "alright. At least the scenery would be good, even if the company is not."
She gave him a dirty look but stayed quiet. In reality, she was a bit scared after her recent experiences, and even if he was a bit irritating, she felt secure with him.
They decided to walk instead of taking a bus or cabs. The town was really picturesque and looked like a collection of postcard photographs. The beautiful views of the mountain and ocean were breathtaking.
"Agar kahin jannat hai, tho wo yahan hai." She twirled excitedly and sat down from time to time, drawing something in her new sketchbook. Asad was surprised with himself. Instead of looking at his watch, he enjoyed watching her enthusiasm for her surroundings. She really savored everything in sight.
An expert at masking his true feelings, he just nodded gently, "I am sure the town won't say the same thing about you Ms. Farooqui."
"Excuse me?" She asked but then ignored his comment. He was just a surly guy and probably didn't know how to appreciate nature and beauty. " You know Mr. Khan, Monte Carlo is very tiny-only about two miles long. It sits on a large rock named Mont Des Mules."
"You know a lot about this tiny place," Asad marveled at her knowledge
"Yes, I love history. It was my favorite subject in school. You know Monte Carlo is a very old port, it was first mentioned in the records back in 43 BC, when Caesar concentrated his fleet there while waiting in vain for Pompey. The history of the ruling Grimaldi family and the surrounding area is fascinating and dates back centuries. The Grimaldi's still rule this place, isn't that amazing?" She continued
"History WAS? You are still in college, aren't you?"
"Yes, I am," she said sadly, "but my Abbu wants me to major in business. I hate finance and math, par kya karoon?"
Asad was getting an insight into Zoya's issues with her dad "Kya aapne apne Abbu se kabhi kaha hai ki aap business nahin karna chahti?"
"Aap mere Abbu ko jaante nahin hain. Wo meri kabhie nahin sunengey."
"Well, I believe parents always know what's best for their children."
"Aap kaunsi century ki baat kar rahe hain Mr. Khan?" She chuckled and asked.
"Ms. Farooqui. Not everyone is fortunate like you. You are a spoilt rich girl!"
"Mr. Khan! Aap mera mood spoil kar rahe hain. Why don't you go back to the ship and let me enjoy my day here."
"Good idea!" He snapped back; although a bit disappointed as he was actually enjoying himself. He looked at his watch and rolled his eyes, aggravated at himself. He gave her an angry look.
"What happened? Aap aise kyun dekh rahe hain?"
"We just missed the ship! It's 5.30."
"What?"
"The ship was supposed to sail off at 5."
"Allah miyan! How are we going to get back to the ship?"
"Yeh sab aapki wajah se hua hai!" He scratched his forehead.
"Kuch kariye Mr. Khan!" She pulled at his sleeve, "I need to go to Turkey. I can't miss the ship."
"Calm down Ms. Farooqui. Let me think."
…to be contd…
awesome update di!!!
loved asya's interactions...asad is always there to save zoya...with them missing the ship, i guess there will be quite an adventure to look out for...plz continue sooon!!!!
| topics | author | replies | views | reply |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Coloursoflove | 48 | 3.9k | ||
| desidillse | 316 | 38.5k | ||
| desidillse | 997 | 116.6k | ||
| desidillse | 1k | 111.9k | ||
| sunrise123 | 1 | 217 |
comment:
p_commentcount