The Last Laugh...

“Elham is clueless about what Humzaad is saying to him. All he is concerned about for the moment is Ira, who is lying motionless in his arms…”

Yuri is sitting very casually in a restaurant, having his dinner. The ambiance is very pleasant. There are a few tables which are not occupied, while there’s a ‘reserved’ sign on the other few. The artificial waterfall is giving complements this rooftop rainforest-themed restaurant, and the soft music is the icing on the cake.

Yuri has placed his phone carefully on the table, and while relishing his dinner, he is also observing the people around him. Suddenly, Yuri’s phone starts ringing and he is surprised to see ‘Hilda’ flashing on his phone’s screen. With a faint smile, Yuri answers the call.

“Sim… diga-me…?”

(*Yup… Tell me…?)

“Você se importaria se eu fosse jantar com você?”

(*Would you mind if I join you for dinner?)

Yuri is surprised… looks at the phone’s screen then asks again…

“What do you mean?”

“I mean to have dinner with you. Look behind.”

Yuri looks behind and is surprised to see Hilda standing there. He goes towards Hilda, hugs her then pulls the chair for her to sit.

“Hhhmmm… I am feeling very hungry…”

Elham is pleasantly surprised to see Ira regaining consciousness.

“…Where are we going?”

“Thank God you woke up… I was so scared”

“Scared…”

Ira gives a puzzled look. Then looks around her, and tries to think what happened to her, but couldn’t remember anything.

“Why… what happened…? And… what happened to me?”

“I don’t know… I mean… nothing… even I am feeling hungry… we’ll talk while having some good food…”

Ira is still confused but doesn’t say anything. Elham has many questions to ask but is waiting for some time alone with Humzaad.

Elham’s MG Hector stops in front of ‘FORESTAURANT – WILD DINING’. He hands the keys to the valet and walks inside with Ira. At the reception, Elham tells his name, and the attendant takes him to the table reserved for him.

“What’s the occasion?”

“Nothing Ira… Just wanted to have some good food with you…”

Elham is wondering where Humzaad is as he has many questions to ask. He then realizes that Humzaad may not disturb him when he is with Ira, considering the recent incident. Soon, their food arrives, and both start relishing their dinner.

While having dinner, Ira notices that Elham is lost in his thoughts. Though he is eating, he is not paying attention.

“What’s the matter? Is everything all right?”

Elham nods his head without looking at her. Then after a while, he lifts his head, holds Ira’s hand, and looks into her eyes.

“Do you have any idea what happened to you?”

“No… but I make it from the tears in your eyes that it was something bad…”

“Bad… scarier than my worst nightmares… Thank God you are all right now…”

Elham pauses for a moment, then gently kisses her hand.

Ira is touched by Elham’s gesture.

“Now if you can excuse me for a moment… I have some important work to do”

Ira is surprised by Elham’s changed tone… While Elham feels Humzaad inside him.

‘Where are you going from the middle of our dinner…? And what work now?”

“Baby… I desperately need to go… will join you in 5 minutes”

“Go… but where?”

Elham didn’t wait for Ira to say yes and gets up.

“To the washroom”

Before Ira can say anything, Elham rushes towards the men’s washroom.

The washroom is as elegant as the restaurant. The moment Elham enters, Humzaad pops out from him.

“What was so urgent? I was so happy… enjoying my dinner… but you can’t see my happiness… right?”

“Wrong! I am concerned about you… and to remind you… just a couple of days back you were attacked… someone is trying to sabotage the Global Peace Summit… and moreover, Ira had almost died… So, my dear friend… this is not the time to relish dinner and play lovey-dovey… this is the time to get that diary or pen, or both tested in the lab…”

Elham does not say anything, but the casual look on his face gradually changes.

“Yes… you are right… it is not just the Global Peace Summit, but the entire country’s reputation and security are at stake. We cannot let anyone sabotage it…”

Elham leaves the washroom and heads straight toward the table where Ira is waiting for him. The moment he leaves the washroom, Yuri steps out from one of the occupied toilets. Yuri tries to find out who exactly was in the washroom, as he was not able to see the face of Elham. But, from what he heard, he believes that someone was talking over the phone. He immediately rushes out to the dining area and sees Elham leaving with Ira. Yuri couldn’t recognize Elham as he was walking out of the door. However, he immediately phones someone and asks the person on phone to follow and stop Elham at any cost.

Yuri then rushes towards Hilda and updates her about what he heard inside the washroom.

“Isto não é um bom sinal”

(*this is not a good sign)

“I know Hilda… everything was going fine… exactly as planned…”

Yuri places some cash on the table and gestures to the attendant to keep the change as his tip. He leaves in a hurry, and Hilda follows the suit.

“Where are we going Elham? What’s the matter? Is everything all right?”

“Everything’s good Ira…”

Elham notices that they are being followed.

“… or… so far so good.”

“What do you mean?”

“Do you remember the other day when some goons attacked us in the parking lot?”

“How can I forget… that was the first time when I had fired two shots from your gun…”

“Yes… just to inform you, we are being followed and they might attack us…”

Ira quickly opens the glovebox and gets hold of the gun.

“Is it loaded?

“No!”

Elham loads the gun and then gives it back to Ira.

“Be careful this time. Shoot only when someone tries to harm you… and rest assured… I will let no harm come to you.”

Ira smiles at Elham, while Elham winks at her. Humzaad then enters Elham, who then races his MG Hector. The car behind them also speeds up.

After dodging the car for quite a while, Elham stops his MG Hector at a deserted place… an abandoned mill to be specific.

“Don’t step out unless I ask you to… and keep this gun handy.”

Ira nods her head and holds the gun tight in her hands, while Elham steps out. Soon, the other car also arrives there and stops with a screech. Five armed men step down from the car and move towards Elham’s parked MG Hector.

All the goons are surprised to see Ira sitting inside the car, while Elham is nowhere to be seen.

One of the goons knocks at the car’s window and gestures Ira to open it. Ira nods her head in negation. He again asks her to open it but gets the same response from Ira. The other goons laugh at him, making him furious. He raises the metal rod in his hands and threatens Ira. This time, Ira points her gun at him.

Seeing the gun in Ira’s hand, the goons then point their guns at Ira and sport a conniving smile. However, they are surprised to see Ira smiling at them. Ira then gestures them to look behind. The moment they look behind, they see Elham who pounces at them.

Though the goons were armed, they were no match for Elham, who is powered with Humzaad. He thrashes them black and blue, making two of the goons fall unconscious while the remaining three managed to run away.

Elham checks the unconscious goons and gets hold of their mobile phones after unlocking it with their fingerprints. He then changes the lock settings of the phones and adds his fingerprints so that he can easily access these phones later. Elham then comes towards Ira and gestures her to pass the water bottle. Ira lowers the windowpane and hands him the water bottle.

Elham leans at his MG Hector, drinks half of the water from the bottle, then splashes some water on his face. All this time, Ira is just looking at Elham, as if admiring him.

“I never thought you would overpower these goons…”

“Oh… it was a piece of cake for me, baby…”

Elham winks at Ira, gives the water bottle back to her, and gets inside his MG Hector.

“Stop calling me ‘Baby’… I don’t like it.”

“Okay chill… we must rush to the lab. We are not done yet…

“THIS IS NOT DONE, YOU IDIOTS…”

Yuri is very furiously shouting on his phone. Then suddenly, his facial expression changes.

“… are you sure… I mean…”

Yuri hangs up the phone and throws it on the couch. He is looking very tense. Hilda is also looking equally worried.

“O que aconteceu?”

(*What happened?)

“Estamos em apuros. um grande problema Hilda”

(*We are in trouble… A big trouble Hilda)

“Why?”

“O cara que sabe do nosso plano não é outro senão Elham… E esse cara parece um osso duro de roer “

(*The guy who knows about our plan is none other than Elham… and this guy seems a tough nut to crack…)

“Você quer que eu…”

(*Do you want me to…)

“Não… deixe-me lidar com isso do MEU JEITO”

(*No… Let me handle this MY WAY”)

Yuri then thinks for a while and then calls the hotel’s reception and asks for two shots of espresso. He then looks at Hilda and gestures her to pass him his mobile phone which is lying on the couch near Hilda.

Elham and Ira are sitting in the waiting area of the lab. The diary and the pen are being tested inside the lab. Humzaad is also there but is not looking as tense as Elham and Ira. Soon, the doctor comes out from the lab. From the expression on his face, it could be easy for anyone to understand that the news is not good.

“There are around four to five bio-chemicals present in the pages of the diary. Though they are dormant in nature, they get activated when they come in contact with the chemical present in the ink of this pen. These chemicals then emit invisible fumes, which are very deadly.”

“How deadly?”

“Can’t tell that exactly Elham. But invisible fumes which emit from the diary are deadly enough to kill someone in its proximity.”

“Are you sure it can kill someone… because Ira survived this.”

Ira is shocked and looks at Elham. Elham places his hand on Ira’s shoulders to comfort her.

“There could be various reasons Elham. One of them, what I have found out, is that these fumes are active for a very short period. Also, they are either ineffective or less fatal to any strong or pungent smell.”

Elham takes the reports from the doctor, along with the diary & pen, and leaves the lab. The moment Elham gets inside his MG Hector, his phone rings. Elham is surprised to see ‘Lab Doctor’ flashing on his mobile screen.

“Yes doctor… tell me… OK… are you sure… I mean… ok…. Great… Sure… bye.”

Elham looks at Ira and gives her a faint smile.

“We must rush home. Big day tomorrow… Are you feeling tired?”

“No.”

“Hungry?”

“No Elham.”

“Well, I am feeling both… tired, as well as hungry…”

Before Elham can start his MG Hector, his phone rings again, this time it’s flashing ‘Uncle Sharma’.

“Yes sir.”

“Where are you? Ira had called me about you being attacked… hope you are all right…”

“Yes sir, I’m perfectly fine.”

“Great. Now bring their confiscated mobile phones to the office. We’ll get them scanned.”

“Oh… phones… That I’ve already given for scanning. Will update you on this tomorrow. You need not worry sir. Everything is under control…”

“Fine then… keep me posted.”

“Sure… bye!”

Elham keeps the phone aside and races his MG Hector to his place. Throughout the drive back home, Ira notices that Elham has not spoken a word. He is also looking a bit serious. Soon they reach home and Elham heads straight to his study.

A tired Ira sinks into the soft sofa and tries recollecting all the events right from the time she had collapsed. Soon, her smartwatch vibrates with ‘Elham calling’ flashing on the screen. Ira gets up and goes to study.

“You didn’t mention that you had phoned Uncle Sharma.”

“Things were happening so fast that it completely slipped from my mind… Why? What happened?”

“Na… Nothing… He got worried for us… can you do me a favour?”

“Yup… tell me.”

“I want a cup of coffee…”

“That’s it? Just a cup of coffee?”

“Hmm… yes… strong coffee, along with a cheese toast sandwich.”

“In five minutes, sir…”

Ira winks at Elham and goes towards the kitchen. The moment she leaves, Humzaad pops out of Elham.

“Now tell me what to do?”

Elham looks at Humzaad and is waiting for his answer.

“All you have to do now is to wait.”

“Wait… wait for what?”

“Wait for five minutes… for coffee & cheese toast sandwich…”

Humzaad starts laughing while Elham blushes.

“When will you be serious?”

“Why do you want me to be serious?”

“I don’t want you to be serious, I just want you to be serious…”

“I guess you are very hungry… and tired… and sleepy…”

“I guess you are right.”

“What makes you guess that I am right?”

Ira asks while keeping the tray on the table. Elham smiles at Ira and immediately starts eating the sandwich while also sipping coffee in the interim. Seeing Elham sipping coffee, Humzaad realises something.

“Is it possible that Ira was having coffee, and because of the strong aroma of the coffee, the fumes couldn’t harm her?”

“Bingo! You are amazing”

Ira is surprised by this sudden comment from Elham.

“I know I am amazing, but what made you realise this now?”

“It wasn’t for you… I mean, I was…”

“…Thinking loudly… how can I forget!”

Ira walks out of the study and heads straight to the bedroom. Elham looks at Humzaad and gives him a high five.

“Now I think I should hit the bed. It’s a big day tomorrow.”

“Indeed!”

Elham goes to sleep, while Humzaad stays in the study.

Elham wakes up early in the morning and soon gets ready. He peeps inside the bedroom and finds Ira sleeping peacefully. The moment he walks out, he finds two policemen standing outside, waiting for him.

“What’s the matter?”

“RK Sharma had asked for your security. We’ve been assigned to protect you.”

Elham looks at the cops, thinks for a moment, then heads toward his MG Hector.

“We will be following you. don’t worry, we’ll stay close.”

Elham nods his head, then drives to the venue of the event. It is almost three hours for the event to start. Elham quickly glances around to confirm if everything is placed well.

“May I help you?

Elham looks behind to find a security officer. Elham shows him his identity card and walks inside. The cops follow him.

“You two can wait in the lobby at the entrance. This place is turned into a fortress. I’ll be safe here.”

The cops take their seats, while Elham moves inside. Soon, he is accompanied by Humzaad.

Elham takes a close look at the auditorium.

“Will it work?”

“No idea… never tried before”

Elham stares at Humzaad.

“Chill man… your efforts will pay their dividends.”

Humzaad winks at Elham.

Elham then takes his phone and calls Pramod.

“Hi, Pramod…”

“Hey, Elham… I was about to call you…”

“Thanks a ton, buddy for the last-minute help.”

“Ah… C’mon… I should be thanking you for giving me the opportunity to crack this deal… Anyways, I just had a word with the vendor. Everything is all set.”

“Thanks, buddy… once again.”

Elham hangs up the call. The tension on his face is quite evident. Humzaad comforts him.

“I hope our plan works”

“It will!”

“There is no change in the plan gentlemen. It is the dawn that we have been waiting for long… Soon, the world will be on its knees…”

The screen of the laptop goes blank. Yuri thinks for a moment, then closes his laptop. He picks up his mobile phone and types a message.

‘Quem ri por último ri melhor‘

(*Who laughs last, laughs best)

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