Dileep Haval was a big man – broad shoulders, strong limbs, slightly heavy midsection. In short, the kind of man you wouldn’t want to brawl with; especially not if you were a tiny waif of a guy who looked like he’d be blown away by a strong wind.
Haval stepped into the room and stared down at his wife and his former best friend. Jehan rose to his feet.
Rito braced herself for the inevitable. Extricating the phone from her back-pocket, she wondered who’d throw the first punch. She wondered if it was immoral to hide in a restroom while a man got beaten to death a few feet away.
Fasih moved forward. Haval stepped into his space, blocking him with his massive form. He leaned in, wrapping his huge arms around Jehan and lifting the other man clean off his feet.
It took Rito a moment to realize that they were not fighting. They were hugging.
She sagged against the tiled restroom wall, unsure whether to be relieved or confused. A ménage à trois wasn’t exactly what she’d signed up for, either. But she supposed it was better than witnessing a murder in broad daylight.
As Rito watched, Sinya retrieved three lunch boxes from her tote bag and passed two of them to her companions. Soon, conversation died down and the mouthwatering aroma of fried rice and sautéed vegetables filled the room.
Behind the restroom door, Rito’s stomach rumbled. She prayed the sound wasn’t really as loud as it’d seemed to her over-sensitive ears.
Twenty minutes of animated discussion and heated debate followed what had been – by all appearances – a very satisfying lunch. The three were huddled together, talking earnestly. Yet, their voices were low, and Rito could only catch about half of what they said.
Still, the little she overheard told her what she needed to know – that the stolen samples were currently being tested in Lab 307 of the Biochem Department, and that they were apparently more potent than Dileep had expected them to be.
He assured Jehan that he would have the results by the end of the week. Which meant Rito only had a couple of days to act, before the drugs were removed from the lab and became out of reach once again.
Sucking in a deep breath, she tried to prepare herself mentally for her very first burglary. As the trio exchanged hugs and dispersed, Sinya returning the empty lunchboxes to her tote-bag, Rito wondered if they served fried rice in prison.
She had a feeling they did not.
The lab was dark, illuminated only by the shafts of light coming in through the glass sections of the aluminum door. Thank God the corridor lights stayed on at night. If not for them, the place would’ve been pitch black. And while the entire floor seemed to be deserted, Rito couldn’t quite work up the nerve to use the tiny flashlight in her back pocket yet.
She wasn’t sure what exactly she was afraid of – calling attention to herself, or seeing something she’d rather not see.
If ever there was a bad time for psychoanalyzing herself, this was it. Sighing, she inched forward as quietly as possible, feeling her way into the lab and trying not to knock anything over.
She could hardly even believe she’d managed to get this far. It had been easier than she’d expected. The solitary guard at the entrance had been easy enough to satisfy. He’d let her in – and even told her which way the Biochem Department was – after seeing her ID card.
Apparently, being an employee of Qayit University was enough for her to be granted access to the QRI building. It didn’t seem to matter that, as a research scholar in the Comparative Lit. Department, she could have no earthly reason to visit the Qayit Research Institute near midnight.
Well, she was here now, and all that was left for her to do was to find those goddamn drug samples and make it out of here in one piece. On her cell phone, she pulled up the photos Rinisa had sent her. Holding the phone up with one hand, she flicked on the tiny flashlight with the other and rotated on the spot, illuminating each section of the lab by turn.
Finally, her eyes landed on a row of shelves behind some instrument or apparatus she didn’t immediately recognize. On each shelf was a batch of six transparent vials, each containing a liquid of some kind.
Three of the vials on the top shelf contained gray liquid, while the substance in the other three was green. On the shelf below that, all the vials contained a honey-colored substance that seemed quite thick.
Glancing at her phone, she tried to match Rinisa’s pictures with one of the vials. But while the containers were similar, none of the substances seemed to have the right color or texture.
Dammit! They couldn’t have moved the samples already. Dileep had said just this afternoon that they were being tested in Lab 307.
Desperate, she looked around for anything that might provide a clue. She had to find those samples. She’d come too far to fail now.
Eventually, her eyes wandered over to the apparatus she’d seen when she first entered the room. It had a lot of buttons, and a lot of tubes, and looked vaguely scary. For the first time in her life, Rito regretted all those science classes she’d slept through at school.
Hesitantly, she inched towards the machine. It wasn’t logical to feel intimidated by an inanimate object, of course, but that was precisely how she felt. Almost timidly, she reached out and ran her fingers along the large monitor, then over one of the flasks attached to the contraption by a series of wires.
As she felt her way downwards, towards the bottom of the flask, her fingers slipped. Frowning, Rito squinted at her hand, bringing it closer to her face.
There was some sort of bluish residue sticking to her skin.
Flicking the power button on her phone, she pulled up Rinisa’s pictures once again. The substance in those vials was a sort of bluish gray, the exact color as the droplet balanced on her index finger right now.
She bit her lip to keep herself from letting out a whoop of joy! This was it. The samples had to be somewhere nearby. Now, all she had to do was find them and get the hell out of here.
Forcing her trembling hands into steadiness, she ran her fingers over every section of the machine, looking for any recess or alcove that could fit a small vial. The samples had been here at some point during the day, so it seemed like the most logical place to begin her search.
After a few minutes of futile searching, she focused her efforts on the marble worktop on which the machine stood. It was hard to see in the dark, but the worktop seemed to be divided into several large sections, with a different machine or lab instrument in each one.
Narrow strips of metal separated one section from the other. And while every strip was equal in length and width, there was something off about their positioning.
Frowning, Rito bent to examine the metal strip next to the machine on which she’d found the drug residue. Carefully, she pressed down on it with two fingers and pulled.
It moved.
“Shit,” she whispered, and focused on pulling it all the way out. Under the metal strip was a dark alcove, containing a series of tiny flasks and vials.
Most of them contained the bluish-gray liquid that Rinisa claimed had been stolen from the La Fantome club.
Working as fast as she could, Rito pulled out all the vials in the alcove and pocketed the ones which contained the bluish liquid from Rinisa’s photos. Then, she carefully put the others back in their place and began sliding the metal strip back over the alcove in the worktop.
It was almost halfway in when there was a loud clang.
Rito almost bit off her own tongue in surprise, her heart thundering against her ribcage. The metal had hit some kind of an obstruction on the way in, and was now stuck, refusing to budge no matter how hard she tried to push it back into place.
“Fuck,” she muttered, pocketing her phone and the flashlight and heading for the door. She didn’t like leaving the lab in disarray; the first person who stepped through the door tomorrow would know exactly what’d happened.
But there was no more time to waste. Although the corridor had seemed deserted on her way in, the noise might’ve alert
ed someone in the vicinity. She didn’t have time to stick around and set things right here.
Feeling her way to the door, she reached out blindly for the doorknob. As she wrapped her fingers around it, it turned, and the door was flung open, knocking her back.
A scream stuck in her throat, Rito stared at the large, man-shaped silhouette at the doorway, framed against the well-lit corridor beyond.
Abhijat’s palms bled from where his nails had been digging into them over the past hour. The drive to the prime minister’s residence had been a blur. He couldn’t even remember consciously deciding to go there.
All he remembered was the phone call from the police station, and Rito, her voice heavy and broken, saying she was sorry, over and over again.
Getting into the building wasn’t a problem; the security team at Qayit Hall recognized him immediately. Finding Fasih was a different matter. At length, one of the secretaries informed Abhijat that the prime minister had gone over to his old flat and would be staying there for the night.
For the first time since he’d spoken to his sister, Abhijat smiled. This was going to be easier than he had imagined.
Ruqaiya had told him she’d get Rito out of jail and back home first thing next morning. She’d also told him not to do anything rash until they’d had a chance to talk face to face.
As Abhijat stepped on the accelerator, his car speeding down the deserted highway, he had the sudden, incongruous urge to laugh. In all probability, he’d end up behind bars before Ruqaiya could bail his sister out tomorrow. Well, wouldn’t that be funny? Both the Shian siblings handcuffed and in prison, months after their father had been forced to resign from the premiership in disgrace.
It was what Fasih wanted, Abhijat knew that. He’d probably planned this whole thing, knowing exactly what the outcome would be. Hell, maybe him spending the night at his old flat, alone and vulnerable, was also part of the scheme. As likely as not, Abhijat was driving straight into a well-laid trap.
And the damnedest thing was, he just didn’t care. His ears were ringing, the wind lashing against his face as his hands shook on the steering wheel. He stepped on the accelerator again, his eyes stinging. He told himself it was from the dust blowing in through the open windows. He wouldn’t let Fasih mess with his family and hurt his loved ones ever again. And if that meant spending the rest of his life in prison, he couldn’t really bring himself to care.
The two guards stationed at the bottom of Fasih’s building were his men. They simply nodded at Abhijat and let him through. He had never imagined he’d be grateful to be the head of Fasih’s security team, but tonight, he truly was.
Forgoing the elevator, he headed for the stairs, taking them two at a time. The adrenaline coursing through his veins demanded movement, action.
Seconds later, he was banging on Fasih’s door. The logical part of his brain – and despite what Rito might say, it did exist – was screaming at him to take a step back. To think about what he was about to do, about the consequences it might have. But his sister’s choked sobs rang in his ears, driving out all logic and rationality from his head.
Fasih had betrayed his father, had hurt him and almost driven him to suicide. And now he was coming after his sister. All Abhijat knew was that he needed to be stopped.
There was a click, and the door swung open. Jehan stood on the threshold, one hand wrapped around a steaming mug while the other rested on the doorknob. Dressed in a loose brown cardigan, his hair falling into his eyes, and clutching a coffee mug with the image of a bespectacled teddy bear solving math equations, Fasih looked the very picture of innocence.
He stared at Abhijat, eyes wide with surprise, but there wasn’t any guilt in them, so far as he could see. Then again, to feel guilt you needed a conscience, and if Fasih had ever had such a thing, he’d murdered it a long time ago.
Stepping over the threshold, Abhijat grabbed Fasih by the collar and shoved him back against the nearest wall. Jehan’s head banged against the wall with a resounding thud and the mug he’d been holding clattered to the floor, shattering into multiple pieces and spilling hot tea everywhere.
Almost of their own volition, Abhijat’s fingers circled Fasih’s throat. It was pale and slender, and looked like it would snap at the slightest pressure. It took everything in him not to press down harder and end this once and for all.
As it was, Fasih was already gasping for air. “God! Let go of me. What’re you–”
Abhijat increased the pressure by the slightest degree, forcing the other man to stop babbling.
“Why did you do it?” he growled. “What’d she ever done to you?”
Fasih grunted, struggling to free himself. Abhijat just pushed him harder against the wall and tightened his grip around his throat until he settled. Only then did he relax his hold a little. His captive did need air to speak, after all.
Fasih gasped, gulping in air as fast as he could. “Do what? And who’s she? I don’t–”
“Don’t you dare play dumb with me, you lying bastard.” He pulled Jehan forward by his throat and shoved him back again with enough force that his knees buckled under him. If it wasn’t for Abhijat’s grip around his neck, he’d have been on the floor at his feet. “She’s in jail because of you. Because you framed her, you and that bastard Haval.”
“What?”
“You think I’m stupid?” Abhijat snarled. Once again, Fasih’s head crashed painfully against the wall, making him wince.
Heedless, Abhijat continued. “You really think anyone believed that little squabble you two had on campus was real? You may have been able to distract the media with your silly little stage-fight, but you know what they say about fooling everyone all the time? It doesn’t work. I know you two planned this together, you and your old friend Dileep Haval–”
“This being?” Fasih raised a delicate eyebrow, sounding vaguely bored. His face was white, his eyes bright and unfocused, and there was a tinge of blue on his lips. He clearly wasn’t as unaffected as he wanted Abhijat to believe, and yet he made no attempt to call for help.
“My sister, you lying son of a bitch! You framed her. Along with Haval and his wife. Admit it! First, you got Sinya Haval to hire Rito as her assistant and then Dileep framed her for theft. She’s in jail now, because of what you did. You and your damned friends!
“Still, it doesn’t matter. I’ll take care of them after I’m done with you. You’ll pay for what you’ve done to my family, you bastard. All of you will pay!”
Fasih wheezed out a broken laugh. “I can’t believe you’re still feeding yourself that crap, Abhijat. And here I thought you were smarter than that. I didn’t do anything to your family. Hell, if anything, I’m the reason they’re still alive for you to get all protective about. Still, if blaming me for your familial issues helps you sleep better at night, by all means, indulge yourself.”
Abhijat’s fist connected with Fasih’s jaw before he knew what was happening. He hadn’t planned to hit Jehan, not really. The blow was almost instinctive, but God, it’d felt so good.
He let go of Fasih’s neck, and the smaller man crumpled to the floor. Then, he yelped and rolled over. He’d landed on the jagged shards of the broken cup. Abhijat could feel his lips curl into a sneer.
“I wasn’t here when you came for my father, and there’s nothing I regret more in the world. But I am here now. And if you so much as think about harming my sister, I will kill you. Or better yet, I’ll make you wish you were dead. And if I have to spend the rest of my life in prison for that, it’d be worth it.”
Jehan tried to clamber up, off the floor. Abhijat’s boot connected sharply with the side of his head, sending him sprawling once again.
“I’m going to get her out,” he hissed, bending to ensure that Fasih could hear him. “And if anything happens to her in the meantime, Fasih, I swear to God I’ll make you regret the day you decided to cross the Shian family. By the time I’m through with you, you’ll be begging me to kill you.”
“What happened to your face?” Rito asked, clambering into the car.
There were many things she’d expected after being handed over to the police by Dileep Haval, who thankfully didn’t seem to have recognized her. But being bailed out at 3 in the morning by the prime minister wasn’t one of those things. Maybe Haval had put two and two together and figured out who she was, after all.
She wondered what Abhijat was doing. She wanted to call him, but her phone was discharged. She glanced around for a charging point in the car and plugged it in, setting the device over the dashboard before fastening the seat-belt and sitting back with a sigh. It’d been a long night.
Now that it was all over, she regretted having called her brother. She was sure he was going out of his mind, worrying about her. Abhijat had always been like that, the over-protective big brother. He’d always felt responsible for her, ever since they were kids. And it was like he couldn’t stop thinking of her as his baby sister, no matter how old she got.
But Rito had never been in jail before, and for a moment it’d scared the living daylights out of her. Calling her parents was out of the question, so she’d dialed the first number that’d popped up in her head, which happened to be Abhijat’s. She could even remember crying during the phone call. God, she needed to call him ASAP and tell him everything was alright.
Thinking about Abhijat brought her attention back to her companion, who was wearing a tattered turtleneck and looked like he’d just gotten out of a bar brawl. His face was heavily bruised and he had a split lip that looked like it’d only recently stopped bleeding. Still, he’d said nothing in response to her question, and she supposed it wasn’t her place to pry.
“So, where’re we going?” she asked instead, turning to look at him.
Jehan shrugged. “I thought I’d drop you home, but I suppose we can go anywhere you want.”
The Brightest Fell Page 18