Notification tings.
Jameel send me an email of a location that I asked. It's Jawad's place, meaning The Hemsworth's place.
Incoming call. I accept. "You'll get most of your answers here. Delete our conversation after noting it down." He hangs up.
I said I wouldn't back up, this is it. My plan is simple, find hints on Sam's already ongoing search for his parents murderer, and put an end to it.
now that I know what he's been after for this long, I'll be his succor in behind the scenes. Besides, I always claimed I hate working For Faisal. It never meant I didn't want to help Sam out. Which today, I'm here to prove to him. See, I can be smart and secretive.
Subsequently, if I'm being honest, I thought Jameel wouldn't assist me, but he did. Isn't he supposed to be on Victor's side and Victor being on Jawad's side, all this make it more intriguing according to my calculations, either that or I'm just weak in maths.
I enter in Sam's personal gym. I tracked his location and it brought me here.
"One, two, three, dunk!" He's sweating and talking to himself. What. A. Weirdo.
"One, stab." He stabs the training mannequin, or call it a punching dummy. Doesn't concern me, I don't do them.
"Two heave, three jab." He's practicing. "Four dunk!" As soon as he crouched down, I walk behind him. "Hey!"
And so he flinched, losing his focus, and fell down on his knee. "God dammit Ifan, you scared the shit out of me." He sighs, grabbing for his water bottle.
"I have something for you." I say. The last time we talked wasn't much of a talk, it was more of an infotainment thing. Other than that I'm fully aware of the fact we haven't been ourselves in weeks.
"What is it?" He's chucking that water down his throat.
"Jawad's location, and history."
He pauses mid-sip, water bottle still at his lips, with his eyebrow raised in surprise.
"What?" He's belching after he swallowed a chunk of water. "What did you just say?" His eyes widens, gasping in shock.
"Yup." I grin, proudly.
"Are you stupid or what?" He immediately stands back up on his feet.
"Why?" All the excitement I had died.
"Do you have any idea how dangerous they are? I murdered their fellow member! If they even for a second were to discover about you, they'll kill you right away!" His voice cracked in aggression.
"Sam, I'm with you. We'll find out who ruined your family." I say.
"Did you really thought, I wouldn't know about his mob's location?" Sam grunts.
I say nothing.
"I do. With that, I searched him down, I hunted his past when I grew a suspicion on him. I still suspect him, but that's not the point." He wipes sweat off of his forehead.
"I bet you don't know their history." I say.
"That later. First you tell me why exactly are you doing this?"
"Sam, I came here for you."
He paused whatever he was doing for a minute.
All we can hear is the sound of clock ticking. Which is adding weight to our awkward silence.
"Why?"
"Because—" Deep sighs. "Because if there was a war that happened uh tomorrow let's suppose. We would die thinking bad of each other." I slump back my shoulders.
He blinks.
"What?"
"I mean, if there were to be an earthquake, or I uhm, war or anything bad. You and I, would die on being bad terms. Do you really want that?" I say it with as dramatic effect as I could.
"What are you saying?" Sam again blinks concerningly.
"What I mean is, we both should talk about our problems, and find a solid resolvement." I say calmly.
He stands still.
"I felt guilty. You conceived me to believe I actually abandoned you." I speak my heart out. "I want you to know that I didn't abandon you." I look everywhere but at him.
"God dammit Ifan, Fine! It wasn't your fault to begin with! I was at fault, I know you came to check on me. But at the time I was frustrated already, it all came out on you, which isn't justifiable, my reaction was unjustly, which I am sorry for. I'm working on my anger, I'm really trying." He groans in frustration.
Woah!
Woah!
That easily?
"I'm sorry, too." That's all I say. Because I don't know what else to say. "I shouldn't have talked ill about your plan either."
"You can. My plan isn't humanly, so you can have your preference, it's not wrong to hold an opinion." He sighs. "Anyway. Now that you've said you don't mind my plan. What history were you talking about?" He squints his eyes and I bite back my laugh. He's so selfish, that it's almost funny to me.
"It's a story too long." My eyes widens as I gesture wildly.
"Let's sit down." He walks ahead. He doesn't believe I can have a source regarding his mission. He's stupid. We sat in the gym's cafeteria.
"What do you know? How do you know? Keep the details in." His elbow is on the table, stroking his chin.
"So. Hear me out." I say. I hope my research for Jameel can be authentic.
"All ears buddy."
My heart sank. It's after weeks that I've heard him say that. I clear my throat.
"Mr Faisal's Ruler, the formidable Mr Jaen Elham Hemsworth, father of Rohan, fell victim to a brutal murder, and those who had once worshiped Jean now turned rogue, becoming increasingly difficult to handle. So they formed a cult that persists to this day, still devoted to the worship of their fallen leader. They're called the retribution of Hemsworth now. They're a symbol of dark and unconquerable ritual. Which is stupid but people like that exist. I thought the youth moderated themselves, but no. They're not widely known but they yet worship Hemsworth." I tell him. He's listening carefully.
"After they found that it was Faisal who murdered Jean Elham. Their fervor soon turned to hatred, directed at Mr Faisal and his people, which includes us. The cult's hate knew no bounds, resorting to torture and then the day came. They purposely bombed your father's car, as a retribution for Faisal. What's unconventional is that they're still hungry for more, they'll keep burying Faisal's family, till his last breath."
"If what you're saying is true, that means I have my parent's murderer? Just like that? No, no. It can't be that easy. Mr Faisal never mentioned no cult to me." Sam smacks his lips, his hands shaking, and his skin turned pale. Sweat drips down his sideburns.
"Sam I don't normally like Mr Faisal, but I'm on aline with him on this one. It's a cult made on the regards of Faisal's surmise actions. Why would he tell you? Specially if he knows they're vigorous, after what they did to Mr Sarfaraz. If our scenario turn out to be correct. He'd be stupid to involve you in it." I say, sighing.
"If they did burned my parents, Mr Faisal should've told me!"
"And let you blame him for it? He bloody adores you Sam! He wouldn't want anything to get inbetween the both of you! It's bitter already that he's mourning Faisal's death, in regret that he's the cause, let along mourn for you, if you ever heard!"
"I—I guess. I don't know! You're throwing every hypothetical point at me, how am I suppose to react! What more do you know?" She shrugs his shoulders hesitantly.
I sigh.
"Jawad, now it turns out, was one of them. A spy embedded within our midst, tasked to sacrifice the person closest to Faisal, in means to equal the blood of Jean Elham. Given your relationship with Faisal, it's clear, I think, hypothetically, this is why Jawad would target you. He tried to kill you, didn't he?" I ask.
"You think so?" His other elbow also lands on the table, with his attention all on me.
"The cult still exists, the location you said to be dangerous is where they all live. We just have to take a sneak peak there, and find out who is their current leader. You know, to unmask the current leader and unravel your parents murderer." I say.
"You're suggesting we go there, unannounced? Bro they'll kill us." Sam takes a butter knife in his hand. "Like this!" He pretends to stab me. I squint my eyes.
"That'd be so immature of us Ifan." He's doing big hand gestures.
"Mr Faisal is going to be so mad at us if he finds out, we're sneaking into other mob's territories! That would cause damages over his head more than ours." Sam says.
"When did you get so boring." I roll my eyes.
"Since I became practical." He plays around with the knife.
"Us two. We don't ever get caught. Let's do it Sam. Us two, just like the old times, a last secret mission." I say.
"That is true. But wouldn't this affect your healthy life as well?" He quotes.
Hopefully it doesn't.
"I'm just doing this once, to be with you. I know how much this means to you. After you have Mr and Mrs Yilmaz's murderer under your armpit. I'd for good, never turn back." I force a smile.
"You don't have to do this for me."
"Ah but I bloody do though." I chuckle.
"If that's what you want. I guess." He's hiding, more like biting back his smug smile, I know so. I know him more than he knows himself. And I know I won't regret doing this for Sam.
. . . .
"Is this an appropriate time to tell you that I regret doing this?"
"Oh fuck you Ifan." Sam is an inch away from me. We're inside our Van, parked far from their territory, on a hill, but close enough to watch over them through here. The darkness of the night enveloping us like a shroud.
"Sam what if we don't find something relating to Mrs Yilmaz." I whisper.
"What if we do? I can feel it." Sam rubs his hands.
"We should've brought backup." I panic. The plan is simple, I sit here in the Van, monitoring Sam's every step. And he sneaks inside, in search of a clue.
"Don't worry, we'll go in there, nice and steady." He says.
"You mean, walk right into death itself?" I change his wording.
"It was your idea to begin with." He elbows me.
"I know but I didn't think it through." I say.
"Oh shut up. It's not like it's just us two" Sam says. "We have Chad with us"
We both look at him. Chad is sitting in back, he grins. "Good back there?" I ask, Chad lifts his thumb up.
"You'll inform Victor incase of an emergency." Sam says.
"Alright. I have all the Cctv hacked, you ready?"
"I was born ready." Sam crouches down as soon as he takes his step out of the car, and I switch at the back with Chad.
"Headset check." I speak.
"Check." Sam's voice through my earpiece get to me but wobbley.
"I can't hear you properly." I inform him.
"Now?" He tries to fix his earpiece.
"Positive now." I say. "Dunk down." I can see him through our hidden camera, placed under his shirt's collar.
He does what I say.
"Guide me." Sam walks further, crouching. Chad and I check their entrance Cctv. A bunch of guys on duty.
"There are four to five men on duty." I say.
"Details on my route."
"System scaning it, in a minute." I say. We scan their streets, and highjacked their auto gates for Sam.
"In 30 seconds we're opening the back gate 1/3 way up, that can only hold up for 10 seconds before anyone get suspicious. Got it?" I ask.
"Got it."
I keep my sight straight at the 30 second timer I set.
"Sam on the count of three. Start walking. Remember you only have 10 seconds before it shuts down."
"Yeah, I got it."
25
26
27
"One, two. Three, go Sam, run."
He quickly, slides himself from beneath the gate, right before it being shut down, Sam makes it through, on the other side.
"Bingo" He says. Crouching again, wiping mud off of his hands.
"Did you get hurt?"
"Minor. Where to?"
"Scanning."
It's a big bloody mansion, I need time. Chad gets into their system, hacked their security code. They work in the basement. Same as us. They're not in a mob, they're more of a cultural possessive pasiontates. Which is creepy but who cares if they did what they did to Sam's parents, I know Sam's going to burn their whole mansion down, in mere minutes. That's how aggressive he can get. Let's just say they're brainwashed vengeful freaks, that description can be tricky, but that'll have to do it for now.
"I'm guiding you there through their passage way, straight to the basement." I say. Their mansion is mazed up. Every three to four miles from each other, there's another person on duty. It's piled up with people, some are making a bonfire, casual human stuff. Some are cleaning their weapons. It's a normal night for them but it's a sure hectic as a maniacal night for us. Now because they don't own as much security as a hub territory does, we're taking it in our advantage. We hacked, and began to lead him the way which seem to be abandoned, not in their use currently, I assume. Please be right.
Sam's providing cover as he crept towards the cult's stronghold. The air is heavy with an eerie silence, punctuated only by the distant hum of crickets and the soft crunch of gravel beneath his feet.
And my eyes through his collar camera, scanning the surroundings with a mix of caution and worry. I did plan this infiltration at extreme, gathering intel and waiting for the perfect moment to strike. But now that it's happening, I don't feel good.
Sam approaches the storage cabinet, in which the door to the sewerage is locked, with several wooden pieces, and locks of different shapes. Someone really don't want us to use that particular door or what it unfolds. a chilling symbol is etched into the door seemed to leer at us. it's a twisted design appearing to shift and writhe in the faint moonlight. Could be their cult's symbol? It is. It's the symbol of the retribution of Hemsworth.
Sam's hand instinctively went to the knife sheathed at his belt, while my eyes locked onto the door, my jaw set in a firm line.
"Sam are you ready."
"It's chilly here but I'm ready." Sam unlocks all the rusty old locks, using his skills, he then carefully pushes the door open, its creaking hinges sounding like a death knell in the stillness. He slips inside, disappearing into the bowels of the cult's lair.
"What do you see Sam?"
"A Staircase leading down."
"The sewerage will lead you straight to their basement, where they keep their intel, and monitors."
"It stings!"
I can see through Sam's eyes that it indeed is a very dirty, nasty way to walk in.
"Sam, follow the red piping, avoid any other pipe." I say cautiously.
"There's a leakage in one of those Ifan."
"Ignore it. Move futherer."
"There's stairs leading up to a door."
"Yes, that's their old moniter room!" I say, looking at the map we've hacked out.
"Looks like attic stairs, it's pulled down."
"Climb up. No one's in there." I check one more time to be sure.
He climbed up the stairs and unlocked the door with his, once again thief skills. Its a room filled with old junk, files, USBs, and data too old to even verify.
"The computer here looks a decade old Ifan." Sam walks further inside, grazing his hand through dusty files and books.
"Try to login, we'll connect our laptop from here."
"Okay, boss." Sam turned on the CPU, and chad and I tried every access we had, to connect our device with that old freakish tab.
"We got in!" I celebrate. "Now Sam, look for anything!"
"I'm looking."
I, through Sam's eyes, can see there's a lot of files. "Keep scrolling." I whisper.
"Ifan look—a file named Targets."
"Click it."
He did, and a bunch of several files appear with different names.
"What the fuck.." Sam whispers.
"What Sam?"
"It has a file named Faisal."
"Does it have a file on Mr Sarfaraz?"
"Not that I can see any"
"Then just copy the Faisal one, I'm sure we'll fine something in there regarding Mr yilmaz." I say.
"Is the device on?"
"Yes, It's copying."
We both get scared by someone's footsteps.
"Ifan someone's outside!" He whisper—screamed.
"It'll take two to three minutes to copy, and save everything. Their computer is slow progresed, it can take a while."
"Ifan they're walking closer."
"Hang in there. Let me check. It's a dude, lock yourself in."
"How much time is left?"
"Two minutes, but its crashing."
"Ifan someone's right at the door, knocking on it."
"I'll try to distract them."
"Ifan they're burging in. They're unlocking the door from the outside."
"Thirty seconds left."
"Ifan for fuck's sake, do something."
We hijack their automatic fan system behind them, we turn it on.
"Are they leaving?" Sam asks.
I check to see only one of them starts walking to the fan.
"Someone's opening the door Ifan!"
10 seconds!
"I swear to God Ifan."
"Hang on!"
"Who's there!?" The guy shouts, aiming at Sam.
He got in.
Data saved.
Took you a while.
"Turn around!" The man yells.
I hear him reload his gun.
"Sam don't turn around, if they see its you, he wouldn't take a single second to spare you!" I yell.
Sam does the smart thing by not facing him.
"I can see there's a rusty old ax behind your leg. Use it!" I give him instruction. Sam quickly secures the ax, moving around to hit the man with it, before Sam could do that properly, the man had already launched himself on Sam, fracturing Sam's wrist by straight up punch. Sam with full strength kicked his balls, the man bends down, and Sam throws a punch right across that man's face.
"Aah fuck damnnit my wrist!" Sam cries. The man stands back up.
"Sam behind you!"
Sam turned around and they both paused.
"You?" The man is stunned.
"You!?" Sam speak in skepticism.
"Him!?" I yell.
It's kerim.
Bloody kerim.
"Agh not him" Chad whimpers.
"Who else is here?" The man who was outside, aggressively asks. As he was about to enter in, kerim immediately pulled Sam to him and hugged him tight, covering his face against his own chest and turns around, keeping Sam's head under his armpit.
"I invited my boyfriend in. Please don't let Mr Rohan know." Kerim, with his deep, crisp voice, nervously told the other man.
"I'm giving you one last chance but what are you doing in the old celler?"
"What do ya think?" He grins.
He's enjoying this.
The man left, and Sam pushed Kerim back. "Ew? What the hell are you doing here!?" Sam asks.
"It's my cult, what do you mean?" Kerim says, "I could ask the same for you."
"Wait- what do you mean it's your cult?" Sam asks.
"It means what it means, are you deaf?"
"Then why did you helped us get to Mr Faisal if you from the beginning hated him?" Sam asked a valid question.
"Duh, because you got under my skin and I wanted you to rot in there."
Sam chuckles. "Well guess what? I'm having the time of my life there."
"Do I look like I care? What the hell are you doing here sneaking around?" Kerim crossed his arms.
"I'm the one asking questions here. Why did you save me? Why didn't you hand me to that man who showed up?" Sam asks.
"Isn't it obvious? You're top of those faces who are meant to be shot at sight." Kerim sighs irritatingly.
"That's what I'm saying! Why not murder me! Why did you protect me?"
His jaw clenched. "I don't have a proper fucking answer for that!"
"You're a member of a group that despites Faisal, who'd do anything to make that living man suffer! And I'm right here! your source! Why aren't you hurting me?"
"Because I'd be devastated if you ever died!" He exploded at Sam.
"Why?"
"Sam I know you since I was six years old and If that doesn't reason with your question, I don't know what will!"
Sam gulps in shock.
I'm shocked. Kerim is saying all of this?
"Kerim I need your help." Sam is asking Kerim for help? What is happening to this world?
"Sam fucking yilmaz is begging me? What a astonishing opportunity, I wouldn't want to skip that." Kerim walks around Sam, checking Sam out. "What do you want?"
"Sam are you going to tell him?" I ask in his ear.
"I am. I'll be honest with you Kerim. I'm trying to find out who did what they did to my parents. And its been long enough. So please, do me a favour and tell me anything you know without hesitation."
Kerim thinks for a solid minute.
"Fine. But I want money inreturn."
"Sam can we really trust him? Hello?" Crap his earpiece isn't signaling.
"What exactly is it that you so desperately want money for? Now or eight years ago?" Sam asks.
"None of you shit face's problem. I'll do your work if you do mine."
In this world. Everyone offers to do something, either good or bad, only for their own benefit.
"Sure."
"Now go away before anyone else walks up in here."
"You could've joined us kerim."
"And rely my financial favour on you? Heck no. I'd rather serve a dog than you." Kerim laughs, pitying us. "Tell me pretty boy. Is your whining friend here too somewhere?" He looks up at the cctv camera, looking for me. "Is he still living the same fairytale."
I am.
"Ugh. You're still the fucking same. He actually did made his fairytale come true." Sam says.
Yes Sam you tell him!
Kerim chuckles in pity. "Will you kill Mr Rohan, if he's the one who killed your parents."
"Why would you assume its Rohan?"
"Hypothetically."
Sam squints his eyes.
Oh my God.
It is Rohan.
I know Sam felt an arrow going through his heart.
"I am." Sam sighs.
Kerim stayed quiet.
Sam opened the back door to escape.
"Sam."
Sam mid way stops climbing down the stairs.
"Even if he is. Can you rethink, please." He didn't even look at him. "Don't kill him." His voice broke.
Is he attached to Rohan?
Sam was about to climb back up to ask him what he meant but his other fellow member slam opened the door and kerim immediately closed the back door on Sam's face, which made him flinch and lose his balance, and he fell down on his back in the sewerage, the water slashes around him. "Ugh disgusting." Sam moans in pain.
"What just happend! I got signaled out!" I yell.
"I happen to have fallen down in the tart water." He stands up.
"ew Sam." He's covered in sewere water.
"I heard everything. You were proud that I began my fairytale?" I smirk.
"Agh Shut it please." He walks ahead inside the sewerage tunnel, soaked, with a possible broken rib. He walked woundedly, while his clothes drip tarty water. The silence after what kerim said was loud. The only sound reaching our ears, Is the sound of dripping water.
"So.. what's next?" Sam asks.
I take a deep breath in.
For all that is happening around us, murder cryptic engima, crossover, clashing symbolic, headway symptomatic crucial bob leaders, converting long lost system upon us, the kids with issues. I think I know what's next.
Faiza's birthday..