Forgotten Realms

The chopper flew across Cairo landed near an abandoned warehouse…As it landed causing a cloud of dust around it..Through the window Heidi could see a black car where two men were standing in their suits and sun glasses..

“So who’s the hotshot in the car Ashraf?” Heidi said sarcastically…Ashraf turned and grinned “You’re about to find out..I’ll leave it as a surprise..Am quite sure it will be a moment I’ll enjoy a lot”

Nadim watched the whole scene silently.. He wasn’t sure how he felt anymore.. Everything seemed so mixed up…

The doors of the chopper opened and the two men from the car came over and dragged them out of the chopper and into the warehouse..

“Where are you taking us? Where are you taking her?” Nadim asked.. But before he can even utter another word, the man landed on the back of his head with his fist rendering him unconscious..

Heidi turned and shouted “You bastards!!! He’s a civilian!! He’s got nothing to do with this!”

The same thing happened to her…

As they were dragged into the warehouse.. Ashraf approached the car and the back window slid open… And Ashraf said “We have them both sir, everything is according to plan”

A cloud of smoke was breathed out of the car as the man inside inhaled his cigar..”Good good, now to break them..Let’s see what they have and what they know is the micro-film there? Do we have it?” the man asked..

“I believe we have it sir , we caught her with it, we didn’t search them yet but we will..” Ashraf said..

“Idiot! I can’t count on you for a simple task like this!! What do you mean you believe!! There’s no place for words in our business like ‘Believe’ these words are for weak morons..Now go find out what they know and have you fool and I want to know each and every update..” The man said furiously..

“Yes Sir, it won’t happen again” Ashraf said he felt a shiver down his spine..

“ There won’t be again next time, it will be your life in return..” the man replied and then closed the window..

A while later Ashraf was in one of the warehouses where Heidi was tied up and blind folded..

He took a bucket of water and splashed some of it across her face.. Heidi gasped as she began to regain he consciousness and realized she was unable to see and completely tied up.

“Now I have waited for this moment for a very long time, that moment where I can just step on the great agent Heidi, the all too familiar inside the Egyptian secret service.. Known for her intelligence and unlimited skill..Bla bla bla.. All rubbish.. You are nothing but a fly that just got lucky.. I took you down.. I with my plans and my plans alone..” Ashraf said as he let himself release his thoughts and unleash his predatory feelings onwards Heidi..

“You wouldn’t stand a chance on a one on one basis.. You don’t have what it takes Ashraf you have always been and always will be ‘weak’” Heidi responded, and  thunderous slap landed on her face followed by punch a in her stomach that forced her to bend and almost fall with the chair as she gasped for air…

Ashraf grabbed her by the neck and raised her blind fold just to look in her eyes.. To feel his power over her, he had hated her since he ever joined the agency, he always wanted to be the no.1 no matter what it took, and now he feels it in his grasp. And he can take out the revenge of all the years that passed.

Ashraf searched Heidi and found the microfilm “Ah this is what I am looking for, as Ashraf raised it to take a look at it..” he was smiling but then his smiled turned into a expression of anger..

“What is this? Is this some sort of joke Heidi?” Ashraf said as he pulled out his gun and pushed it against her cheek..

Heidi grinned and said “What you just found out that you’re not as smart as you think? Did you just think I’d hand you over that microfilm just like that? You stupidity has no limits and never seizes to amaze me Ashraf”

Ashraf was furious “I swear I would kill you right here and right now you bitch! You worthless fly!” as he punched her across the face and blood began to trickle down her lips..

A sound echoed from the far end of the warehouse “Now now, Ashraf we don’t want to be mean to Heidi! She was one of us remembering, is that the way you treat a fellow operative?”

That sound made Heidi shiver and her eyes went open wide.. She couldn’t see quite well with just one eye uncovered..

But that voice.. She remembered it quite well she could distinguish it anywhere and anytime

She couldn’t’ utter a word..

“She was one of us and she has done a lot of the agency, give her some credit for that..I am sure we can solve this misunderstanding peacefully , am I not right Heidi?” the voice added

The man appeared before her, she instantly recognized the totally white haired man who stood in front of her ..That stick he held , nothing changed about him even through all these years..

She still couldn’t get to respond, like if she was paralyzed in the back of her mind..

All she could hear in her head were echoes of sound “Come on Heidi! You can do it!! You are not doing this for the agency; you are doing it for your country!! Your father left me the responsibility of training you, his last wish that I would make out of you, what he dreamed his entire life! An excellent operative”

She tried to look up to him..And could see that same calm smile that still was drawn on his face like if it was yesterday..

“Are you surprised to see me? I thought you would be happy?” The man said…

“Mr. Hussein..We found only part of the microfilm, I assume she has some sort of device that is made of two parts and that needs to be put together to be able to extract the microfilm completely, we have one half but we don’t have the other..But I am sure she knows where it is”

Heidi began to regain her composure and smiled “So have you figured this out all on your own? Or did someone help you out?”

Ashraf was furious..

Hussein smiled “Calm down Ashraf, Heidi knows what we want and she will be very helpful to us..Unless she wants to meet the same fate as her father”

What Hussein just said landed like sledgehammer on her soul, before she shouted “What do you mean? What happened to my father?”

“Let’s just say, he knew a lot more than what he should so I had to make sure he wouldn’t become a source of bother, I am sure you understand how our business operates”

“You bastard! He trusted you!! He was loyal to this country” Heidi screamed even more..

“Well dear, trust, and loyalty are really over-rated items..That’s not what counts in the end of the road; it’s what you get in the end! And I won’t end up with just sitting in a rocking chair watching myself grow old into oblivion; there are far more important things to do!” Hussein replied calmly..

“Now if you’ll play nicely maybe, I’ll spare you and your lover boy on the other end of the warehouse!” Hussein added

Heidi did her best to move with her body and almost stood up and charged at Hussein only to receive a kick in her chest from Ashraf that would throw her back as she lands on the back of the chair to the ground..

“Be nice Ashraf, we need Heidi to feel comfortable, please be nice to her..Break her fingers till we know where the other piece of the device is” Hussein said as a devilish grin was drawn on Ashraf’s face..

Heidi kept her sights on her side mirrors trying to keep the choppers in sight.. It wasn’t too long before the one of the choppers opened fire..The bullets went tracing down the roads passing by the sides of the car..

Nadim ducked as the bullets went passing by the war…”Are you kidding me!! We’re going to fight these with just a gun!! Are you out of your mind Heidi??” Nadim said

“Nadim, hold yourself together!! I know this is too much for you , but you have to hang in there!!” Heidi Said firmly

“Get myself together? I was being shot at , in my home! I am being chased by 2 choppers in a car! And all we have is a freaking pistol! And I am not supposed to freak out ??” Nadim replied

It wasn’t too soon after he said that the second burst of bullets went flying past them and some even hit the body of the car..

“This is going to be a massacre!! They will shred us to bits Heidi!!” Nadim shouted as the second chopper flew over the car..

Nadim raised his head only to find the other chopper hovering slightly over the ground and  Nadim’s eyes grew wider!! “They’re going to kill us!”

Heidi kept herself calm and focused.. And turned to Nadim..”Your head down now!” , as they both lowered their heads and the chopper opened fire hitting shattering the front windscreen.. And thebullets went all the way back to shatter the rear windscreen!

Heidi stepped on the gas as the car went closer to the chopper and the pilot rose with the chopper as she turned slightly away from him..

“They’re going to try to do this another time and they will be aiming for us next time..” Heidi said..

Then she adjusted herself and turned to Nadim “I want you to take the steering wheel the next time they do a second pass!”

The first chopper began to fire again the line of shots parallel to the car..Heidi noticed it …”So that’s it…”

“Nadim the second chopper will pass us now and repeat the same tactic again.. Are you ready?” Heidi asked

“Ready for what !! Of course am not ready ?!!” Nadim said as he tried to gather up himself..

“Good then you’ll do just fine!” Heidi said..

It wasn’t until a few more moment that the second chopper hovered over them and repeated the same tactic by landing along the road ahead of them..

“Duck now!” Heidi said.. And this time the chopper opened fire and hit the right tire and Heidi struggled to keep the car going..”This is just going to get tougher so hold on tight!”  Heidi said..

The chopper kept firing and again Heidi stepped on the gas as the car raced towards the chopper which lifted off slightly as the car barely bypassed it..

Heidi turned to Nadim “Now!”

As Nadim put his hands on the steering wheel , Heidi leaned half of her body out of the window pulling out her gun and aimed and fired four rounds at the end rear end of the chopper hitting its fuel tank!

The chopper went up in a huge fireball as the car advanced..

The pilot of the first chopper was in horror! “That Bitch!! She will pay! “The pilot then radioed his commander “Chopper 2 is down , I repeat Chopper 2 is down !! Requesting permission to terminate the target!!”

The answer came back “Negative!! You are to proceed as planned! Do you read?? You are to proceed as planned! ”

The pilot replied “Yes sir!” frustrated as he was but submitted to the fact that he’s a soldier and will obey his commander’s orders..

This time he began chasing them all along the way firing left and right ..

Heidi regained control on the steering wheel after hitting the first chopper and  continued to drive this time going around in zig zag to avoid the rain of bullets the other chopper began to fire..

“Seems this one has a bit more of skill than the one we shot down” Heidi said..

At this point Heidi had almost reached her destination near Wady El Rayan, that area that is so famous with its waterfall and nature..

The chopper chased after them as they got off-road..

The chopper continued to fire at them and this time it managed to hit the body frame ..

Heidi didn’t notice a nearby ditch as the car plunged into it and smashed into the ground..

Everything was hazy for Nadim and Heidi as repercussions of the crash.. They could just hear the buzzing of the nearby chopper..

Heidi got out of the car and pulled Nadim with her and tried to get away as much as she can , but every bone in her body hurt..

She laid down and Nadim was unconscious already..

The chopper landed nearby and Heidi could see the pilot getting out and talking to someone but she couldn’t’ distinguish much.. Her mind was as blurry as her sight..

She could vaguely hear him say “Yes Sir, I have them both almost unconscious, so what do you want me to do?”

Then he came again “Yes, Sir understood”..

The pilot put back the radio and pulled out his sidearm , and walked towards them slowly.. Heidi tried to reach for her gun but couldn’t find it and her movement was so heavy..

The Pilot reached as her hand almost reached the gun which was about 2 meters away.. As he stepped on her hand.. “You won’t need that! You wench!”  the pilot said..

As he leaned and hit Heidi on her head with the back of the gun..

This time Heidi fell unconscious..

The pilot dragged Heidi and Nadim to the chopper and placed them in it before taking off..

The chopper flew back to Cairo..

Somewhere in the back of Heidi’s mind..She could remember that last time she met Nadim..

They were sitting in one of the fancy cafes by the river Nile.. And she was watching the slow-moving sail boats as they sailed through out their journey..On that day she had decided that she had to leave the country and leave everything behind her..

Nadim was looking at her “You look distracted today Heidi, what’s wrong dear?”

Heidi turned towards him “Nothing’s wrong! Am fine! Just had a long day at work!”

Then a question popped into her mind “Nadim would you mind if I asked you something?”

Nadim shook his shoulders and smiled “Why would I? Fire away!”

Heidi asked “Would you ever hate me? If something happens?”

Nadim responded “Hate you? Why would I? Of course not? But what would happen that would make me hate you?”

Heidi “ I don’t know, but I just am afraid you’d hate me one day , but I just want you to know that I really love you, and you mean the world to me, despite that these lines sound like a movie cliché that might have been said over and over again.. But you are very dear to me Nadim”

Nadim smiled “Don’t worry about a thing, I am going to always be there for you , and nothing will happen! Nothing can happen!”

His smile hung in her mind for a while before everything just turned black..

Nadim had went to one of the bathrooms to freshen up as he was still a bit shook by all what was happening around him..

Nadim stood in front of the mirror in the bathroom for a while , as he turned on the water and splashed his face a few times, still staring at the mirror..Nadim pulled out the cell phone out of his pocket and dialed the number..Before he got a chance to answer he heard some footsteps coming closer and hid the phone in his pocket but as it slid off and fell to the ground, and he pushed it between his feet ..

“Nadim I just wanted to come to talk” Heidi said as she stood at the door entrance.. “I know a lot is going through your mind, and I know you hate me for a lot of things, but I do have my reasons” she continued..

“Reasons?” Nadim asked.. “Not that it really means anything to me anymore” he added..Suddenly the screeching sound from the other side on the cell phone began to be heard..And Heidi looked around and noticed the cell phone between his feet!

“You Imbecile!! What the hell are you doing!! You are leading them straight to us!” She shouted then realized something..

She picked up the phone instantly and shut it..

Heidi instantly pulled out her gun and pointed it at Nadim “Who are you working for exactly?” she added furiously “I want to know! And I want to know right now or I will put a bullet between your eyes!”

Nadim was nervous as he responded “You already killed me fifteen years ago!! What else do you want!! I am not working for anyone! If there’s a traitor then it’s you!! You betrayed me! You betrayed your country!! How do you even sleep at night?”

“A Traitor?? ME?? What kind of bullshit did you just mention! I didn’t betray anyone and I certainly didn’t betray you!! I protected you!! I left because your life was going to be in danger because of me!!

“I will not repeat myself again! Who are you working for?” Heidi asked as she took aim

“Ashraf told me all about you!! Your treason for the country and how you used me as a toy and when things got hot you just fled!” Nadim added in a disgruntled voice

“Ashraf? Did you say Ashraf? Ashraf Dergham? Of course!! I should have known that lying son of a bitch! Damn it I should have guessed! Well you know what Ashraf doesn’t give a damn about you, and those who shot at us at your place are his men! And they were going to take you down with me” Heidi responded in a more aggressive tone..

“But I didn’t do anything! I did exactly as I was told! What the hell is this all about? ” Nadim asked

Heidi looked at him silently and put her gun away “We don’t have much time, that cell phone must have a tracking device! We will probably only have a few minutes.. We need to get on the highway as fast as possible..”

“I need to know and I need to know now!! I am not going anywhere!” Nadim asked.. “This is not the time to be thick headed! Nadim we need to go” Heidi added

“I am not moving until you let me in on everything!” Nadim added and stood his place..

“I worked for the military intelligence 20 years ago, and Ashraf and myself were on the same team, Ashraf however wanted to grow in power and position.. While the rest of us were just dedicated to the team.. “Heidi said calmly

Nadim then added “So you worked together? Then what went wrong?”

“We went on an operation in southern Egypt on the borders with Sudan to eliminate some high-profile terrorist leaders planning for activities in Egypt and the middle east, we got the mission done and Ashraf went on a spree and killed our entire team, I managed to escape however but was lost in the desert, Ashraf thought there would be no way back for me and left me to die” Heidi  she said before taking a deep breath and continuing “I was saved by some nomadic travelers, and I managed to restore my health, because we are operatives, we sometimes get to record our operations and take photos, luckily I had photos of the operation and I managed to take some shots for Ashraf as he killed our operatives, apparently he had backup from a local thug and his small army, I couldn’t intervene to save my colleagues” She said and paused for a second

“So why didn’t you notify the officials?” Nadim asked

“ I did try but when I tried to get in contact it appeared that Ashraf had set the stage perfectly and framed me for everything.. He told them that because of me the cover of the team was blown and that I had escaped leaving the team exposed as they were killed one after the other and only Ashraf survived! So this meant I’d have to flee the country, during that time I had known you and got involved, this operation was…”

“When you told me you are going on a trip with your company for training and development in Siwa?” Nadim asked

“Exactly” Heidi answered..

“Now we have to go , there’s no time to waste..” Heidi said

Heidi walked out of the villa and looked around.. She couldn’t see much up the horizon..”Come on we have to go now!”

They both rode in the car and took on the highway..

Up in the horizon there were two choppers approaching the villa from a distance “We see a villa in the designated location sir! Advice on what you want us to do?” the voice of the pilot came across the radio

“Scout the area, let me know if you see any vehicles near the villa?” the voice came back

“Yes sir!” the pilot replied as the choppers began to circle around the villa and moved a few miles ahead and back..

“Sir there’s nothing near the villa however there’s vehicle which was almost 1 click away from the villa , do you want us to follow it?” the pilot asked

“I want you to chase them but stay alert , I do not want the people inside killed! I want the car immobilized not destroyed! Once you succeed capture the targets in the car and bring them back to me .. We will be however on your tail not far behind so we will stay in touch for co-ordinations!” The voice replied back..

“Yes sir” the pilot replied calmly..

Meanwhile in the car that took off from the villa , Nadim and Heidi were trying to get away as far as possible..

“So what’s the plan now?” Nadim asked

“I have managed to safeguard the photos in a microfilm that was hid in a device that was made of two parts without the two parts put together there will be no access to any of the microfilms” Heidi responded

“So this is why you wanted that candle you gave me?” Nadim asked

Heidi shook her head in agreement, before Nadim asked “What about the other part?”

“I hid it in a box in under several stones within the waterfalls of Wady El Rayan!” Heidi explained..

Nadim looked behind him before turning towards Heidi and said “I hate to bring bad news”

Heidi nodded “I know, they’ve sent two choppers after us! Hang on to your seat, things are just going to get bumpy!”

Nadim “And what do you plan on doing?”

Heidi added “I will make a run for it , and if not I’ll have to take them down”

Nadim noticed the calm and confident tone in Heidi’s voice and added “With what exactly?”

“Just my gun” Heidi replied..

And the chase was just about to begin!

Heidi examined the Candle carefully and then placed it back in the box slowly and closed the box, a few moments later Nadim came back into the room all newly dressed up!

“Look at you! looking good” she said.. ”Yeah well for being shot at and chased away from my own home.. I guess I can say so” Nadim said ,

“I know this is all too much for you but I will explain things to you, you have my word on that!” Heidi said as she silently looked at him..As she went to check on the window, and saw 2 cars pull up near the hotel where she noticed the same men who chased them back at Nadim’s building coming out of the cars. “They’ve gotten better at this I guess! Well time for plan B” Heidi said while talking to herself as Nadim looked at her “Plan B?”

“Yes” She replied as she went to the bathroom grabbed a handkerchief and folded it several times, “Now follow me, Nadim and don’t lose my sight we have a few moments to get out of here” Heidi said commandingly as she picked up her purse and the box and left the room as Nadim followed her quietly , they moved down the corridor and then took the to the next three rooms then Heidi stopped and knocked on the door, as the reply of one of the guests came “Yes?” , Heidi changed her voice tone “Am sorry to disturb you , I am your neighbour in the corridor and I just hit my hand and need some help if you don’t mind” during that time Heidi put the handkerchief around her hand and got out a spray bottle out of her purse and sprayed a dose of it on the handkerchief as  the lady from the room rushed to the door “What happened?” the lady said as she opened up for Heidi.

Heidi then took one step into the room before pushing the handkerchief against the woman’s nose for a few seconds as she grabbed her by the head forcing her to inhale from the handkerchief  rendering her unconscious.. The woman’s knees got week as she dropped slowly in Heidi’s arm.. “Quickly Nadim in here and close the door!” Heidi said with a low voice as she moved the lady carefully to her bed and laid her there..

“What the hell are you doing ?? You just assaulted a civilian!!” Nadim said as he walked in following her and didn’t know what was going on !

“Shut up Nadim! I’m doing this to save our hides! So close the damn door and stay quiet they will be here any minute now!” Heidi said with a tone of frustration..

Nadim closed the door and tried to calm himself down and find any logic or reason..”Who are they?” Nadim asked

“That’s a luxury I can’t afford at the moment Nadim! I am trying to get us out of here! ” Heidi said as she carefully went to the room’s door and looked outside the room’s peep-hole, she saw some of the men standing around their room and walking into it..

“Don’t make a sound” Heidi whispered as she headed towards the room’s balcony to look for an exit, She looked down from the balcony and could notice that they were on the 3rd floor and it wasn’t so far from the ground.

She opened the box picked up the candle and placed it in her purse and left the box in the room and turned to Nadim “come we need to get out of here now!”

She led the way through the balcony.. And began descending on some ledges she found next to the balcony that can take them all the way down..”I am not going to do this! This is Madness! we’re going to get caught” Nadim said

“It’s either this or we die! What do you prefer?” Heidi said as she climbed down the ledge

“Damn it , I don’t know why am I doing this!!” Nadim responded as he followed her all the way down.. And they headed to the hotel entrance and exited carefully..

Heidi and Nadim made a run for it and reached one of the cars which the suited men arrived in. The driver of one cars tried to get out but Heidi kicked the door back in and then she grabbed by his hair and slammed it into steering wheel rendering him unconscious and then opened the door and pulled him out dropping him on the floor , the other car was parked a few cars behind and the driver of that car got out and began to run towards them!

Heidi quickly shouted at Nadim “Get in!” as Nadim turned around the car and got in from the other side while she rode in the driver’s seat and by that time the other car’s driver reached her got his hand to her neck tried to choke her! Heidi reached out with two fingers and poked him in the eyes and then scratched his face very harshly as the man bent in pain , Heidi then opened up the door slamming it in his face and the men fell to the side of the street..

Heidi started up the car and took off..Nadim looked at her his eyes wide open and he could not believe all what was just happening!

“What the hell is going on!! I need to know! I have the right to know!!” Nadim shouted “And where the hell are we going now!” Nadim added

“There’s only one place we can go now!” Heidi responded as she took off as fast as she can “I will explain things to you and all will make sense , I promise! But I cannot do this now!” Heidi replied as she focused on driving until she made sure they were not being followed

Nadim sat back and just looked out of the window , he wanted to call up Ashraf to keep update him but he hasn’t got the chance not even once to do so!

“Where are we headed” Nadim asked in a calmer tone

“A safe house” Heidi responded firmly as they headed out of the main Cairo streets and began to head to the Cairo-Alexandria desert road..

Heidi kept driving after the toll station for a few kilometres and then there was a narrow dirt road to the right of the highway where she turned and headed and then a a small villa appeared.. Heidi headed to the gates and parked the car at the back of the villa..

She got out with Nadim and headed to the door, as she opened it and got in , she asked Nadim to get in…

“What is this place?” Nadim asked..

“It’s a safe house” Heidi responded

“Yes I know you said that in the car a while back and I do watch some spy movies! So I do know what is a safe house!” Nadim responded sarcastically..

“I’ll explain later..I need to go do something and I’ll be back” Heidi said..

Nadim shook his shoulders “Whatever I’ll just sit here” as he pointed to a covered couch which he walked towards and pulled the white dusty cover off of it..

“Damn this has been here for ages it seems!” Nadim said as he sat down..

Heidi completely disappeared from his sight and he sat down carefully looking around him..

Nadim reached his hand into his pocked and kept thinking for a moment if he should call up Ashraf or not..

And Nadim made his choice..

A few weeks later, while at the office Heidi tried to get into Nadim but he had a meeting and she then left a note with Nour that she’s leaving early..Nour took the note and wished her a great afternoon.

Thirty minutes later Nadim’s guests left and he walked out of his office and walked up to Nour  ”Do I have any other appointments today?” he said, “No, not for the rest of the day” Nour replied, “Great then I’ll go home, I need some rest it’s been a hectic few weeks and I need to just disconnect for a bit! I might go golfing later this afternoon so if there’s anything urgent don’t message me before 7 pm”

Nour nodded and added “Also Heidi left a while ago because she had some errands to do , she couldn’t reach you since you were in the meeting”

Nadim nodded and walked back into his office and took his coat and left..

Sometime after Nadim left from the office and within the vicinity of his building a call was being made, the caller “Both have left the building, I’ve sent some people to tail them”

“Good” the other voice came from the other voice..”Make sure to keep them under your grip”

“confirmed” the caller added..

Back at Nadim’s appartment Heidi had found her way to his apartment and pick locked her way in..

“Now where is it?” she asked herself, she began moving in and out of the rooms searching all around, under his couches and chairs, went to his bedroom “Seems you haven’t changed in the past fifteen years after all Nadim!” she whispered to herself…

She opened every drawer and looked into every shelf until she found what she was looking for..”The candle box”, she opened up the box and to her relief the candle was inside..She put back the box cover and as she began to walk out of his room she heard the sound of keys in the apartment door turning , she instantly drew her gun and added a silencer to it..

It was Nadim who walked in “Shit..” Heidi whispered and hid back in his room behind his door..Nadim walked into his room taking off his shirt..And threw himself on his bed..But something felt strange..He could scent something..He instantly got out of his bed and walked outside the room, Heidi tried to move from behind he door and her coat’s belt got caught in the door’s knob  which moved the door and caused some noise..

Nadim instantly ran back to his room to be faced at gun point by Heidi..”I never wanted it to come down to this” Heidi said..

Nadim at first shocked but then began to regain his composure “Oh so you’re here because of what?” and he noticed the box in her hand “What are you doing with this?” he asked, “it’s something a lot bigger than you and I Nadim, and if you know what’s good for you, you’ll let me leave this apartment with no noise at all” as she moved towards him pointing her gun at his face, as they walked out to the living room..

Nadim stood there “What’s good for me? Since when have you cared for what’s good for me? You walked into my life and snatched whatever remained of it and took off, and now you’re in my apartment taking something that practically belongs to me..”

Nadim stood in the living room his towards the balcony as Heidi pointed her gun to him facing him..

Somewhere on the other side of the road in the opposing building behind a rifled scope sat a man wearing his sun glasses and having a cigarette in his mouth as he picked up the earpiece of his phone and placed it on his ears “I have them in my sight, he’s standing in front of her but if I take the shot I can take them down both” the man said calmly , on the other side of the call the voice came “Take them out, he’s not really much to us, we need the girl and the box and even mainly the box!”

“I don’t have the time to explain anything to you now! And I am not here to sit and talk about what happened fifteen years ago! I am here for this box…”

And before she continue the glass of the living room’s balcony shattered as a bulled flew in the living room missing Nadim and Heidi’s heads by a few millimetres! They both heard the bullet almost graze their ears!

Heidi instinctly pushed Nadim to the ground “Shit! How did they find me!” she said.. “Who?” Nadim asked! “That’s not the time to ask this sort of questions Nadim! Go grab something and we have to get out of here!”

“You crawl to your room , get a shirt or something and let’s go!” Heidi said as Nadim for some reason instantly obeyed her..

He got back wore his shirt and then looked at her “Now what ?”

Several shots were fired into the living room hoping it would get them to show their locations

The man on the other building whispered “Come on little bunnies get out of your holes! it’s hunting season”

“Now we get the hell out of here!” Heidi said as she began to crawl towards the door of the apartment and got Nadim to follow her..

They reached the apartment door and opened it and on their way out , they found 2 men approaching in black suits and Heidi pushed Nadim towards the stairs heading up to the roof as she fired two rounds of her gun towards the men who took cover against the corridor walls and returned fire..

Heidi and Nadim reached the rooftop and opened the roof hatch, as they both got up, Heidi tried to find something to lock it with it but couldn’t!

This way Heidi said.. As she headed towards the roof side towards one of the sewage pipes.. “This is our way down!” she said…

“No way” Nadim said , and responded as she began to climb down.. “Well it’s this or we die!” she replied.. And Nadim followed and they began to climb down the pipe meanwhile the men arrived at the roof top and began to search.. By that time Nadim and Heidi had reached the 7 th floor , the men on the roof reached the side of the roof and began shooting.. one of them shouted “After them!” as two men broke up and began to take the stairs again to catch up with them

“Slide, slide, slide!!!!” Heidi shouted as she and Nadim began to slide down the pipes who by the fourth floor couldn’t hold them much longer and broke off thrown them down all the way into a large trash can

Nadim kept screaming all the way down “Shiiiiit!!!!” as they slammed into the trash can!

Heidi jumped out and helped Nadim out “Come on there’s no time to be freaking terrified now!!”

Heidi Pulled him as they ran and stopped the first cab they found and pushed Nadim into it!

“Take us to the nearest hotel”  she told the driver as they got in and she hid her gun in a few seconds

just as the car took off , the men in black suits reached the entrance of the building and began looking around they couldn’t find them “we lost them sir”

“Damn it!” the voice came from the other side..

” But not quite…We still have the trace on Nadim’s cell phone!”

As they reached the hotel , Nadim and Heidi booked 2 rooms in two separate floors but in identical locations..”Go up to the first room and get rid of anything you have , clothes , mobile anything!” Heidi asked of him while they headed towards the elevators

“Why?” Nadim asked..”There’s no time to ask freaking questions! in a short while there will be a set of new clothes coming your way , use it! and then meet me in the second room”

Nadim nodded… He was very confused , at this point he wanted to call Ashraf but something stopped him, he couldn’t get his mind straight, he said she was a traitor but she could have easily killed him! But she didn’t , she protected him!! his mind was in a total state of confusion something that just made him feel entirely lost..

He walked into his room and waited as the clothes were sent up to him and changed his clothes…

Nadim looked out of the window, “What are you up to Heidi? And what’s that all about ?” he took a deep breath and closed his eyes..

Meanwhile in the other room Heidi opened up the box and looked at the candle.. That makes half of the of solution in my hand!

She picked up the candle and raised it against the sun light it can show that there was some sort of object inside it..

“Now I just need to get the other part , but what am I going to do about Nadim? it’s clear they’re onto him as well” she thought to herself..”I have to think of something”

A week later upon their return to Cairo, Heidi found herself engaged with so many tasks and then she found that every three months the company organizes what they call “A Day for others and yourself!”

Nadim walked the meeting room after summoning the entire organization on a Thursday and smiled at everyone “Good morning folks! So as usual we’ll have our A Day for others and yourself this coming Saturday. So the plan will be scheduled as follows, we will head off at 9 am for breakfast on a nice feluka down the river nile from Maadi and it will land us in Giza, a bus will be waiting for us to take us to an orphanage where we will spend approximately 4 hrs with the kids distributing gifts designed by our own company. This will be followed being taken to place where we have a specially designed set of games and challenges that are as usual based on team-work, members of different teams will be shuffled and then lead to compete against each other. The winning team gets each a 3 day trip for 2 to Ein sokhna. After the competition is over we will be taken to have dinner at Fairmont hotel followed by a short presentation by myself on our quarterly achievements and then a bus will take you all back to the meeting point we met at in Maadi to pick up your cars of course participation is completely by choice and Sunday moring as usual everyone’s allowed to be late up to 11 am max! ”

Everyone clapped for a few seconds and began to head out of the room, Heidi passed by Nadim and stopped “didn’t know you were such a great leader?” Nadim shook his shoulders “Am not, I just give my team 200% the same way they give me!”

Nour passed by them both and hooked herself up to Heidi “You’re going to come for sure right? You are going to love it! You can’t miss it you know! Mr. Nadim prepares these awesome surprises!! And gifts!!”

Heidi responded smiling gently “I’ll try my best!” but before she could even barely finish the sentence Nour shook her head “No, I’ll come and pick you up! You’re the newest member and you should be there!!”

Nour smiled “Come on you’re not going to turn me down are you? It will be fun!”

Heidi smiled “Ok, I guess this is an offer I cannot refuse!”

Nour chuckled “Yay!” and headed out of the room..

Heidi passed by Nadim and said “You sure are something”

Nadim didn’t respond and watched silently as she went past him..His feelings for her still felt odd.. Every time he saw her, his heart began to race and it would take him several minutes just to put it back in order..

But he knows she’s not who he thought her to be, he keeps facing himself with this reality and just wishes the day would come which he can confront her with what he knows and also how she made him feel and suffer.

That Saturday everyone gathered and the trip began everything was smooth they all had a great breakfast in the feluka and sang songs as they had their breakfast with breeze of fresh air!

As they arrived and headed to the orphanage, they began to distribute the gifts to the kids and at the same time spend time with them talking to them about their futures, the kids were just as happy they were used to them most of them because they see them every three months some began to bond with the team members and began to send them letters.

It was something that made Nadim proud of his team and these kids whom he saw many could just be changing the face of history if it was for him to say.

Nadim observed Heidi carefully and watched how she interacted with the team members, with the kids, the kids simply loved her, she was still as energetic saying jokes and going into deep discussions with these kids. If they just all knew what kind of a liar she is , Nadim thought to himself..

But something about her appeared to be deep and sincere, but he tried convincing himself that this was all part of her cover; she had to put on this face not to arouse any suspicions. She is a spy after all that’s what they do for a living! And he had to deal with this fact every day for the past three months, since that day she walked into his office!

Nour as usual began taking photos for everyone, a lot of people would go and take photos along side of Nadim, who never minded..

“Heidi, come on over here I want to take a picture of you with Mr. Nadim” Nour said with a loud voice..

“That’s not really necessary” Heidi replied calmly, but Nour insisted she even went and dragged her all the way..”Come on we all have photos with Mr. Nadim, you should too! It’s a fun day remember!! You want to remember these days like forever!” Nour said with excitement!”

Heidi stood next to Nadim as Nour took a photo, then told them to adjust their position.. But she kept telling them the photos weren’t as nice and asked them to keep on changing position until she got one photo which she showed it to them…

“Thanks Nour! You’re doing a terrific job! Did you take the photos of the kids with the team?”  Nadim asked

Nour nodded and added “Of course! Would I miss a chance like that!! Never!”.

“Good Nadim said as he went on to follow how things are going and interact with some of the kids!”

“Some man Mr. Nadim is right Heidi?” Nour asked Her.. Heidi nodded “That is true..”

“Too bad he’s all alone! Never heard about him being engaged or anything, he’s such a sweet man!” Nour added

Everyone got engaged with the rest of the day… As it went on and everyone had a wonderful time..

Sometime late after might night at the Mokatam heights from a long distance two cars stood in the opposite direction of one another and began to give each other flashes with a specific order, two long flashes and one short flash of the headlights, slowly the cars approached one another and then parked side by side, they turned off their engines an lowered their windows a hand wearing a black leather glove was stretched out of the first car with a yellow envelope which was taken by the driver of the other car.

“Is everything in here?” the second driver asked..

“Yes it’s all here…” the first driver answered

“Good! Keep your eyes on them”

“Will do” the other man replied..

And both cars took off into the night..

The period that followed almost a month and half of continuous work and travel for both Nadim and Heidi, something he had to do and there was no avoiding because his business needed it, as a CEO he had to do these business meetings and because Heidi’s position as the marketing head she had to be right there next to him.

Their trips to Geneva, Nairobi and Hong Kong were so busy they just met over dinner to discuss business matters and to check on their schedule.. They were staying in the Peninsula hotel in Hong Kong and it was their last night.

Nadim was at a table at the spring moon restaurant which had a custom Cantonese arrangement, he always enjoyed exotic cuisine and the Far East was just a favorite of his. He looked at his watch and as he raised his head he found Heidi standing next to the table elegantly dressed in a sleeveless Qipao with its white color and pink silk peacock embroideries which just went along very well with her fiery red hair. For a moment he was taken as the beautiful scent of that was around her made her look so angelic in his eyes, for a moment he just sat there looking at her eyes.. Before he realized that  he was sitting while she stood there.. He instantly rose up and pulled a chair for her to sit down as she sat down and smiled gently before adding “Thank you”

Nadim began to get back to his senses and tried to put on again his serious face.. Trying not to distract himself with her beauty which even though it’s been fifteen years she still has the same beauty that just captivates his eyes.. The mood, the restaurant, the music and Heidi just seemed to perfect for Nadim but that all made it even worse.. He can still feel the knife that she stuck in his soul that day she left without a single word, simply disappearing off the face of the planet..No phone call, letter or anything that would even slightly explain anything to hi,.

Nadim look around and caught the eyes of one of the waiters  who came about instantly to take their order, Heidi looked at her menu and made her pick as, Nadim already had made up his mind and told the waiter instantly what he wants.

They both sat quietly after the waiter had taken the order and Nadim scoured with his eyes all across the room, there was barely anyone in the restaurant except the two of them and another couple way across the room.

“So how could you do it?” Nadim posed the question suddenly, taking Heidi off guard as she sat there quietly for a moment before responding “I told you before I had to do it because it was better for everyone..” she said  “It’s not like you think! I didn’t want to.. But I had to!” she added and she began to feel frustrated.

Nadim sat back in his chair before adding “I was actually referring to the deal we won today , I wanted to know how you managed fish this deal out, it was very clear they weren’t interested in what we had or want to do. So could you do it ?”

Heidi felt embarrassed and her whole face flushed with redness..”Oh my God am so sorry I didn’t mean to act up all weird..” She said shyly as she regained her composure..

“That’s quite simple” She added and continued “He mentioned one word to his assistant and that meant to me that there’s another way around to win him, the word was Fu  in Chinese which mean luck, they thought we were wasting our time coming all the way from Egypt to Honk Kong and that we had little luck. So I was determined to shift things around and as you saw throughout the presentation I changed our strategy and approach in order to show them that what we can do is because of the quality of service we have and it is not related to just luck.” Heidi said as she went on to more of the business details.

Nadim carefully listened and nodded “Interesting..Ok, let me ask you something else since it was you who brought that other subject up even though I didn’t do anything to bring it up so I am completely innocent on that matter.. You mentioned that this was better for both of us. “He took a deep breath then added “Shouldn’t I at least been part of this decision? I mean I am more than capable of making decisions for my own self don’t you think?”

Heidi observed him quietly reading his facial features as he asked his question and she then replied “Some things are just too difficult to explain Nadim, even to someone who’s understanding and broad-minded  as yourself.  There are these moments in life where you should just make that call even if you know it will cause you a lot of pain”

Nadim quietly listened and replied almost the moment she finished her sentence “I take it from what you are saying that you were hurt?”, Heidi calmly replied “If you think that I did this for my own personal pleasure, then the answer is yes, I was hurt but I will not go through this conversation and please let’s not get into it”

Nadim nodded and switched the topic and asked “So how do you find doing business within the company so far?”

Heidi shook her shoulders “Well I am still finding my way around, I do think you did quite a great job in building it up all the way from the bottom and you do have quite an energetic and dedicated team, something a lot of companies in Egypt miss. But you also have to admit you made the right choice of marketing manager! You really needed to change those strategies”

Nadim smiled and before he could reply the waiter came with their order and began the serving.

It took them almost an hour to dine when Heidi began to feel rather sleepy and decided to call it a day , she looked at Nadim “I know you probably won’t believe me but I never did want to hurt you, and I never had it planned out that way” Nadim tried to interrupt but she added “Let me finish and don’t talk about it..” she closed her eyes and took a deep breath “What ever happened back then , I want you to be sure that it was not your fault, but also it wasn’t mine..It’s something that had to happen, I do hope the day comes when I could explain this to you in a much clearer sense, I know that anything I say now will not make a difference, but I just had to say it” she said it and took one step backwards

“Now if you’ll excuse me I’ll have to get to bed since we have a flight at 7 am to catch back to Cairo, and don’t be late it won’t be great to miss the flight like in Nairobi!”

Nadim nodded and wished a good night..

The waiter brought the bill to Nadim who paid and then put his jacket on his shoulders and walked all the way to the elevator and made his way up to his room, he used the key and walked in only to find Ashraf sitting in the far corner of his room with a bottle of soda open next to him..

“Hi Nadim!” Ashraf said smiling

“Oh it’s you..” Nadim replied with a sense of disappointment, he was hoping to get to bed early for a change but only walked in to find Ashraf.

Ashraf added “You don’t sound too happy to see me! I couldn’t blame you, sitting with a hot redhead like Heidi is quite something I must admit with that body of hers.. You know..” before he could continue he was abruptly stopped by Nadim “Stop!”

“Keep your head on the job Nadim” Ashraf said firmly.. “She’s a snake and will play you like a violin just like she did fifteen years ago! You need to be the player not the instrument! You’re getting close to her, that’s good and what we need but I don’t need you to fall a prey to her!”

Nadim shook his head disagreeing “I am not a toy , a puppet or an instrument.. And I won’t be fooled! I agreed to help you because you said it is a matter of national security, so why don’t you let me know when you plan to meet me rather than sneaking up on me like you always do!”

Ashraf smiled “It’s part of the job specially with people like yourself we need to keep you ready for action!” he then laughed “no seriously the reason why we do that is because with someone as well-trained as Heidi, it’s very important to make sure that she doesn’t see us together or feel in any way that you might be up to something else..”

“But I can clearly say you are walking on the right path Nadim, a few more months and things should begin to work out and before you know it we will be out of y our hair and out of your life.. But it’s all up to you, if you do the job right!” Ashraf added

“I am focused and will get the job done..” Nadim responded

“Good, that’s what I’d like to hear.. That’s the key word.. FOCUS, Nadim.. Focus!” Ashraf said it and left the room quietly

Nadim went out after Ashraf and tried to look for him but couldn’t see him as if he had disappeared into thin air..

Nadim closed the door and let himself crash on his bed.. It has been a very long day.