Malik Idris

"Try his phone?"

"No point," sighed Ridwan. "The GPS signal must be off. I can't track him."

I paced back and forth around Ridwan's room, wondering what key components I was missing. A killer was on the loose, my police department was incompetent, a family's life was on the line, and I had no idea where Nathan ran off to. My life was in shambles. Hamza had disappeared and there seemed to be nothing that lead to him. 

"Wait," interrupted Sajdaa, "how and where did he disappear from?"

Officer Cole pulled out the file he was holding in the air. "It seems that he was visiting the police department according to witnesses. The student said a white van showed up, blocking her view of him, and then when it drove away, Hamza vanished from sight," he said. 

Sajdaa scrunched her eyebrows. "Who was the witness?" she asked. 

"Your friend."

"Alisha?"

He nodded. 

Immediately, Sajdaa dived for her phone, falling off the bed in the process, and started punching in numbers onto her screen. I tilted my head at her. She was sprawled out on the floor, calling someone without realizing that she was probably going to bruise from the dive. 

"You know, most normal people just walk over to their phone," I mused. 

She put the phone to her ear, scoffing at me. "Mathematically speaking, if I were to walk instead of diving I would have wasted .2 seconds in the process. Time is key here, Malik."

".5 doesn't make much of a difference."

".2," she said, slowly. 

I shrugged. "Even better. Thanks for proving my point about how it makes no difference."

She ignored me as a feminine voice answered her on the other line. "Alisha? Yes! It's me. Wait-" she was cut off by yelling from the phone, pulling the phone away from her ear. 

Cole and I stifled our laughs. 

"Uh... Alisha, I don't think now is the time," she started, but once again was cut off by her friend. Whatever Alisha said had made Sajdaa go completely red in embarrassment. 

I was curious. "I don't think Bengalis turn that red that easily unless it's really embarrassing," I grinned. 

Sajdaa glowered at me, listening to Alisha yell at her on the other line. Standing up, she made her out the room, most likely from the comments I was making about her conversation. I shook my head with a smile. She was too cute at times that I couldn't help but poke fun at her. Cole nudged me in the side, and I gave him a questioning look. 

"Her brother," he whispered, pulling me close. "Do you really think it's wise to be goofing around with his little sister when he's in the room?"

I cringed. "You're right."

Ridwan seemed oblivious to our conversation, his typing becoming even more rapid. The screen was bright, reflecting from his eyes that greedily scanned every line of letters that popped up. 

I leaned over his desk, watching multiple numbers and letters jumbled together, thus creating a blur of black and white. The numbers moved so rapidly and the clicking from the computer grew louder, more aggressive. Ridwan wasn't taking any chances. 

"You know coding?" I asked, suddenly intrigued at the speed his fingers were moving through each blurred line. 

He nodded, absentmindedly. "Learned it in high school."

Cole head the back of Ridwan's chair, also leaning in. "You're hacking into something right now," he observed, "I'm assuming Hamza's phone?"

"I don't know if this will work, but I might be able to just track his phone."

"If the killer's smart, then wouldn't he smash the phone? I mean, it's modern day where hacking is a pastime," said Cole.

Ridwan sighed. "We're going to count on blessings for this."

"Luck won't help," I interrupted. "We need answers, facts, leads. We need a path to this killer."

"But how?" asked Ridwan, exasperated. "We're out of every resource and Jay is dead."

I turned to Cole. "Call Nathan. Ask if he found anything yet. Ridwan and I will question Alisha. Maybe she got the license plate number."

Cole nodded, digging into his pocket for his phone, and quickly dialing Nathan's number. Ridwan tried tracking the GPS signal again. His jaw clenched as the computer showed the 'error' code again, but Ridwan was restless. He kept trying even when all hope seemed to drown. 

"Ridwan, stop pressuring yourself. We'll find him In Shaa Allah (if Allah wills it)," I said, softly. 

He sighed, leaning against his leather chair, head in hands. "I-I can't believe my little brother is missing. He's only in middle school! I should have-"

"Shut up."

He raised his head, squinting at me. "Excuse me?"

"Stop blaming yourself. You were hospitalized. Take it easy right now. I'll take care of the rest."

"I really hope so, Malik. I really hope."

* * * * 

The day wasn't even over yet. The sun was beginning to set, Sajdaa and her family went to pray while I stood by the doorway, watching them. The soft words of the Qur'an recitation touched my heart in ineffable ways. The effect was innate, feeling as though a part of me had been completed from the few months I spent with the Taha family.  

Their father's voice shook, the words clearly getting to him. His deep voice was loud, affirmative, and shaking on a couple of sounds as he tried to hold back his anguished cries for his son. Soft sniffling was heard, filling the empty house. I couldn't tear my eyes away from them. 

There was comfort in the smooth recitation, comfort in the bond that illuminated the room, comfort in the love that chased after me. This family had broken down my walls, not just from their daughter, but from all of their presences. I wanted to pray again. I wanted to recite Allah's words again. I wanted to go back to my local masjid. 

I wanted to be a pious Muslim.

Slowly, I taught myself how to pray, but there was still the devil's whispers in my ears, telling me I was a failure and Allah could never forgive my sins. My wrongdoing was long, towering as the years went by, the loneliness eating at me, pressuring me into forgetting my identity. I became shallow until now. 

"Malik," whispered Cole behind me. 

"What?"

"Nathan's here."

I pushed myself off the doorway, glancing back at the family behind me once. They would be fine, but I was still putting the house on security.

Following, Cole, he led me to the front of the house where Nathan stood with the sun setting behind him. Nathan ran his fingers through his messy blonde hair, his blue eyes brighter than normal. I took in his appearance, more disheveled than usual with a couple of faint lipstick smudges around his lips. 

I raised my eyebrow suspiciously at him. "Were you seriously making out with someone at a time like this?" 

"She came on me!"

"For God's sake," muttered Cole. "In case you forgot, we have a missing minor and a killer who most likely has no mercy. Stop acting like a teenager!" 

"It honestly wasn't like that. I was leaving with the research and this woman gave me a farewell kiss," he grinned. 

Something was odd about the way he said it, something very suspicious. I noticed a darkened red stain on his sleeve, the color seeming like blood. His blue eyes were a bit frantic like a crazy person's or a person who had witnessed something horrid. I checked his appearance again. My eyes narrowing at the red stain on his thigh, miniscule but enough for me to spot. 

I exchanged glances with Cole, who was thinking the same as I was from the looks of it. I grabbed Nathan's arm, stretching his navy uniform material. I meticulously examined the stain, careful not to touch it. It looked fresh. 

"What is this?" I asked, narrowing my eyes. "Nathan, what did you do?"

He retracted his arm, pulling from my grasp. "That's fucking wine stains."

"Wine?"

"I had a glass earlier today."

Cole opened his mouth, but I gave him a look. Now was not the time. The first priority was to find Hamza. 

"What did you find?" I asked. 

"Well, remember that warehouse where we found the blonde chick? It's the exact same place."

"How?" questioned Cole. "How did you find all that out?"

He scratched the back of his neck. "I used the license plate number that you gave me, the one Alisha vaguely remembered."

"That's vague. You sure you got the right one?" I asked.

"Yeah I did. I'm like ninety percent positive that it's right," he said with a smile that didn't reach his eyes. 

"Okay, we all could go investigate."

"I can stay here and keep the officers in track," offered Nathan. 

"Sounds good, but if a single person in that house gets harmed or threatened in any way," I seethed, grabbing his collar, "I'm firing all of you."

Nathan gulped. "I'll be sure to threaten the other officers like that. No worries, man."

I let him go. "I'm dead serious, Nathan. Protect them with your life."

"When have I ever failed at my job? I am the most trustworthy officer out there. I shall be Sajdaa's knight in shining armor," he boasted, proudly.

"Nathan," I growled. Why did he always have to say things like that?

"Sorry, I forgot about your jealous nature."

"Okay!" interrupted Cole, dragging me away before I could defend myself. "We're going to leave before Nathan causes any more damage."

Couldn't have said it better myself.

* * * * 

The room smelled heavily of blood, splatters of crimson red on the walls, painting a harsh reality onto the bricks. Unpleasant smells hit my nostrils, chills crawling up my spine from the eerie silence that was deafening. I drew out my gun, flicking the safety trigger off it. To my right, I noticed that Cole was doing the same. 

According to Nathan, this was the killer's hideout. He was here somewhere, I just didn't know where to look. The property stretched out into the dangerous forests, wolves howling in the background. Predators lurked around, their paws touching the ground as the terrified prey ran. Their steps hit the pavement violently.

I underestimated the darkness that engulfed Cole and I. There was nothing but pitch black, clouding my senses, but I kept my ears sharp to my surroundings. 

A light chuckle was heard. 

I whipped around towards the sound. "Show yourself!" I yelled. 

Faintly, I could see a figure speeding around us, but I couldn't aim not with the lack of visibility. The fact that the sky had painted its nightly colors with the navy blue coat in the sky, didn't make the situation better. It impeded my confidence of shooting.

"Where are you?" shouted Cole. "Fight me like a man!"

I heard heavy breathing behind me, but I was too slow to shoot. The second the bullet left the gun, I knew I missed by an inch, a mistake that had never occurred to me in my career. The cause of my miss was not from nerves or shaking limbs. 

I hadn't realized that a knife was plunged deep into my abdomen. I gazed at the hooded figure, my gun slipping from my hands as I stood shocked. The figure pulled the knife back, white teeth glistening in the moonlight, curling into a sinister smile. 

I fell. 

Icy blue eyes stared down at my wounded body, no sign of remorse. I felt another body beside me, a deep groaning. Cole, I thought. My vision was getting hazy and I tried to remember the figure in front of me, his breathing heavy. The only problem was I wasn't sure anymore if the killer was a he because perfectly manicured fingers gripped my collar. 

"You'll pay," she whispered menacingly. 

Heavy footsteps neared them. "Babe, let's go," said a different hoarse voice. 

As I felt my consciousness slipping away, realization slammed into my skull, reminding me of the mystery that I was blind to. There was two of them.

Assalamualaikum!

Plot twist am I right? I'm kinda having a little dilemma on which category to place this book under. I'm leaning towards either humor or spiritual.

Just because for a thriller it's not very serious XD

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