Former armed forces lieutenant, Nawab Malik, took a deep drag of his cigar as he tried to calm his nerves. Smoking wasn't a habit he indulged in regularly. On the contrary, he was quite wary of the heinously poisonous effects of tobacco. Shortness of breath, decreased lung function, a risk of cancer-these detriments were just the tip of the iceberg.

However, tonight wasn't one of regular circumstances. Risking his health temporarily seemed like a small price to pay to stop the tremors in his hands as well as ameliorate his paranoid state of mind.

The task Nawab had been given was definitely not one for the fainthearted. It was certainly not a simple one either.

How could it be?

Taking a human life was never simple.

But, it had to be done.

His mentor, Mr. Jaisingh, had confirmed this in so many words, and usually, Nawab didn't have a sliver of a reason to doubt his decisions.

Suryaveer Jaisingh was a powerful man in the city of Mumbai. A successful politician, he had made quite a name for himself as the chairperson of the Awaam Seva Party. His ideals about equality, advocacy of secularism within the country, as opposed to the philosophy of the Bhartiya Janlok Party, ruling at the centre, made him very popular among the youth.

Mr. Jaisingh was universally revered and adored by all citizens. However, Nawab's attachment to him was far more personal. Mr. Jaisingh was almost like a father figure to him. In fact, it was Mr. Jaisingh who had agreed to employ Nawab as a supervising officer in his security team, at a time when all clients had refused to offer him even an entry level position.

It wasn't as if the clients had no pertinent reason to reject him. A court martialed and disgraced army officer was surely at the bottom of every employer's list when it came to recruiting new candidates for a post on their personal protection team. Nevertheless, Mr. Jaisingh had gone against all conventions and chosen to ignore this glaringly unflattering portion of Nawab's curriculum vitae.

Nawab had spent nearly a year in Mr. Jaisingh's service, and not once did he have cause to regret it. The pressure of the work was substantial but Nawab always aimed to discharge his duties to the best of his abilities.

Despite his loyalty to Suryaveer Jaisingh, Nawab couldn't help but question the necessity of the job which had been delegated to him, this time round. The conversation he'd had with Mr. Jaisingh two days ago on the very same subject was still fresh in his mind.

Mr. Jaisingh had invited Nawab over for a drink at his bungalow. Throughout the course of Nawab's year long term as a security officer, a summons from the boss was a relatively uncommon occurrence. Thus, Nawab was fairly curious about his mentor's intentions.

"Nawab, the elections are nearly upon us..." Mr. Jaisingh had said as he poured himself a large peg of scotch.

"Of course, Sir. I'll make sure that the canvassing teams have the requisite number of security guards accompanying them. The tactical plan is nearly ready..." Nawab replied.

"Good, good. There's something else I wanted to entrust you with." Mr. Jaisingh declared, his tone suddenly grave.

"Yes, Sir?" Nawab questioned as he took a sip of the whiskey served to him in an ornate crystal glass.

"You must not ask any questions, however. You'll have to be discreet." Mr. Jaisingh said, clicking his tongue.

"Of course, Sir. I trust your judgement." Nawab answered, his tenor serious.

"I need you to carry out a hit. And don't involve anyone else from the team. The less the others know, the better." Mr. Jasingh said as he took a large swig of whiskey.

"A hit?!" Nawab exclaimed in shock, as his glass nearly toppled.

During Nawab's tenure as a guard, his boss had received a number of security threats. None of them were dangerous enough to elicit such a drastic response, however.

"Yes, Nawab. It needs to be carried out at all costs, if I'm to win the election this year. That's all you need to know..." Mr. Jaisingh trailed off mysteriously.

"But Sir, perhaps it's avoidable! Maybe, a bit of coercion could persuade the individual to-" Nawab tried to reason with his boss.

"No, Nawab. My mind is made up. You'll carry out the hit two days from now. The address and the picture of the target will be sent to you by then." Mr. Jaisingh said, with an air of finality.

"Sir, I don't understand! How can I pull the trigger when I don't even know the reason for it? I won't be able to..." Nawab shook his head in refusal.

"Nawab. Your time in the armed forces is one of the main reasons I decided to hire you. The hit needs to be carried out at long range to avoid any risks. Weren't you a sniper in the Indian army?" Mr. Jaisingh asked in a rather harsh voice.

"Yes, but-" Nawab tried to argue, but was interrupted in the middle.

"That's it then. As a soldier, you must carry out the orders given to you. Besides, now that you're nearly a part of the family, this is an opportunity to prove your loyalty to me..." Mr. Jaisingh claimed in a cryptic voice.

"Um, Sir...I don't catch your drift..." Nawab began to panic slightly.

Nawab had an eerie inkling that Suryaveer Jaisingh had finally discovered the secret that had been kept from him for several months. A secret that would surely displease him and possibly even result in the termination of Nawab's service. In spite of all these risks, Nawab was determined in his secrecy.

He was in love, after all.

And when one is in love, no risk seems too great.

Nawab had been seeing Mr. Jaisingh's daughter, Maya, for the past three months. And it had been the most beautiful period in his life thus far. The romance had taken root when Nawab had been assigned to protect Maya on a week long trip she'd attended with her friends. Somewhere, over the course of those seven days, with the long walks along the beach and the frivolous midnight conversations, love blossomed between the two.

Maya understood Nawab in a way no one else could. She'd made peace with his disreputable past and decided to embrace him and his flaws with open arms.

Many a time, Nawab wished to come clean to his mentor about the relationship, but Maya was adamant about keeping it hidden from her father. She was of the opinion that her father would never approve of Nawab, no matter how hard they tried to reason with him.

Nawab understood Mr. Jaisingh's perspective, well enough. Why would any father want his highly accomplished daughter to wed an employee working under him?

"Come on, Nawab. Do you think me a fool? I know about your relationship with Maya. I'm disappointed in the both of you..." Mr. Jaisingh said in a dejected voice as he placed his glass aside.

"Sir, I'm sorry. We thought you wouldn't approve-" Nawab tried his level best to salvage the tricky situation.

"Do this one task for me, and you both will have my acceptance, Nawab. We'll plan a grandiose nikaah for you both! But first, I need you to prove your loyalty..." He said.

Nawab pondered over Mr. Jaisingh's words for a prolonged few seconds. He was aware that quite often in politics, collateral damage was necessary to attain one's objectives. If he refused to obey the order, Mr. Jaisingh would surely hire someone else in place of him. More importantly, he'd lose Maya altogether.

And the mere thought of it seemed unbearable to him.

"I'll do it." Nawab had finally said with a heavy heart.

It was just a minuscule sentence, but the weight of it had been far more than Nawab had expected.

The noise of fluttering wings emanating from a few feet away, succeeded in knocking Nawab out of his introspection. It was a mildly windy night and the terrace atop of which he'd set up his rifle was quite chilly, being at a height of nearly four hundred feet above the ground.

Nawab observed the kite that had perched itself on the ledge of the building's rooftop. The bird seemed to be curious of the giant metallic contraption before it, and eyed it suspiciously.

Nawab ignored the piercing, judgemental pair of avian eyes as he began to adjust the position of his top-notch Ruger firearm, which had special features for long range shooting, including a telescope for distance vision as well as a laser to trace the trajectory of the bullet.

Nawab had received the address at which he was to carry out the hit a day ago. Much to his befuddlement, the address sent to him was a rooftop convention centre at Bandra which was to have a fundraiser on the very night he was to eliminate the target. He didn't understand the reason Mr. Jaisingh had requested him to take the shot at long range, in a crowded area. If discovery were the primary concern, then taking a shot at close range in the privacy of the target's home seemed far more practical.

However, since Nawab was keen on following Mr. Jaisingh's instructions to a tee, he'd decided to set up shop on the promenade of the top most floor of the building opposite to the venue, where the fundraiser was being hosted.

Nawab looked through the telescope as he cocked the large gun slightly to the left. He could see that the guests had just started coming out to the terrace for dinner. One fact that had irked him when he'd received the details of the fundraiser was that the theme of the event was that of Mardi Gras. Consequently, it would be twice as hard to recognise his target and make the shot, since all the attendees would be wearing masks.

Suddenly, a soft beep from his cell phone caught his attention. He removed it from his jacket pocket to find a new text from Mr. Jaisingh. He took a deep breath as he opened the message. The information regarding the target's identity still hadn't been passed on to him.

Perhaps, this message was it. Perhaps, Mr. Jaisingh had another informant at the party who could photograph the target in their masquerade attire.

As Nawab examined the picture, a ripple of surprise passed through him. Nawab had imagined that his target would be a low-life of some sort. However, the photograph he'd received could be no further from his imagination.

A stunning girl stared back at him as he looked at his phone. She was clothed entirely in black, had silken black locks, and a hauntingly beautiful, sparkling silver mask on.

Even though the photograph wasn't a close-up, Nawab couldn't shake the feeling that she was familiar to him somehow.

He swallowed as he locked his phone and placed it inside his pocket once again.

No. I can't fall weak now. I have to kill her. For Maya...Nawab thought to himself as he took a step forward towards his gun.

He'd calculated the ballistic coefficient of the bullet well enough and had even taken the wind resistance into account. The Coriolis effect wouldn't be much responsible for deflecting the bullet, for the target would be at a maximum distance of five hundred metres away.

As soon as she's in my line of sight, I have to pull the trigger. Nawab told himself.

He couldn't dwell on the question of the girl's innocence for too long. Or else, he wouldn't be able to go through with it.

The last time Nawab had pulled the trigger with the intent to kill-it had been the very action that had spelled the end of his career in defence. It was the reason he'd been court martialed, despite the fact that the person who he'd shot, deserved to die on all counts.

Nawab could feel his stomach sinking as he observed a silhouette on the opposite rooftop, resembling that of the girl's.

Nawab looked into the telescope of his firearm and observed the intricacies of her outfit. A black dress, black stilettos, long, straight hair till the waist, and most prominent of all, a silver mask.

It was undoubtedly her. The target.

Nawab tried to focus the lens of the telescope to get a better look at the girl's face, but failed miserably. He could see only her left profile and the rest of her features were covered by her mask.

This was it. It was now or never. She was nearly a step away from the balcony railing. One shot to the head, and he knew she'd be finished.

Nawab placed his right hand on the barrel of the loaded gun as he took his aim. The kite moved away on cue, as if sensing the imminent explosion that would resound once the bullet exited the gun.

He put his left forefinger on the trigger and looked through the telescope to check the position of the laser's pointer. He could see a tiny red dot on the girl's head from afar.

His aim was perfect. Slowly, he began to press the trigger as lightly as possible, his fingers shivering. Just a little more pressure, and the bullet would be set free.

Nawab sighed deeply as he finally pulled the trigger with full force.

As the bullet flew with lightning momentum, Nawab felt a deep sense of restlessness and regret within him.

"Fuck!" He exclaimed in frustration as he tightened his grip on the gun.

Without wasting another second, Nawab took aim once again. This time, his fingers remained as steady as a rock.

He fired swiftly, and sure enough, the second bullet caught up to the first in barely a split second, deflecting it entirely from the initial trajectory mapped by the laser.

This resulted in the first bullet hitting the walls of the building with a spark while the second one ricocheted and hit a glass sculpture on the rooftop, merely inches away from the girl.

The bullet shattered the glass sculpture into smithereens, as fearful screams echoed from different parts of the rooftop.

Nawab observed the girl in order to gauge her reaction. She stood stock still for a few seconds, her arms and legs frozen. He couldn't see her expression, but he was sure that she was in shock.

In the next few minutes, Nawab observed a number of guards rush all the guests off the rooftop, and into the building once again.

Nawab knew that the guards would try to trace the source of the bullet next. He quickly took cover, so that his face remained hidden from the occupants of the opposite rooftop. Nawab dismantled his rifle stand as quickly as possible, and threw it into his duffle bag along with the gun.

As soon as he'd gathered the paraphernalia required for long range shooting, he stood up from his place and dashed down the staircase in a mad rush.

As he ran down the thirty five floors, trying to conserve his breath with each step, he prayed that he'd escape before the police arrived at the scene.

~*~

"Shit!" Nawab exclaimed, when the traffic lights before him turned red.

He'd barely managed to drive a kilometre or two away from the building, in the last fifteen minutes, courtesy of the horrible traffic situation in the city.

Nawab knew that the police would soon set up check posts at every signal in order to catch the shooter. If he didn't put at least a distance of five kilometres between him and the building in the next half an hour or so, his chances of escaping were quite bleak.

As soon as the signal turned green, Nawab zoomed out of the main road and took a diversion which led further north.

Nawab could hear his phone ringing over the whizzing of the car's engine. He picked it up from the dashboard and felt sweat trickle down his neck when he read the caller ID.

It was Mr. Jaisingh. By now, Nawab was sure that Mr. Jaisingh had received word of his failure.

What would happen now? Would his mentor be rid of him?

Would Nawab be forbidden to meet with Maya, henceforth?

Nawab cursed himself for acting rashly. He shouldn't have fired the second bullet.

If he'd just let the stranger die, then all things would be in place. Mr. Jaisingh was no saint, but Nawab knew he was a man of his word.

But now, all was lost...just because his conscience had acted out at the last moment.

In the next few minutes, Nawab decided on his course of action. The only chance he had of saving his relationship with the Jaisinghs was to go over immediately and apologise for the blunder he'd made.

Maybe, just maybe, Mr. Jaisingh would give him a second chance to prove his loyalty.

And Nawab was certain that he wouldn't miss the next time...

Nawab took a deep breath as he swerved his car towards the road that led to Powai. He knew that Mr. Jaisingh would be at his farmhouse since he had to give a speech at the Renaissance Hotel the next day.

About fifteen minutes later, Nawab finally found himself at the gates of Mr. Jaisingh's farmhouse. It was a relatively large property and had a high wall built around it, for privacy as well as security purposes.

As Nawab attempted to enter the property, the watchman sprung up from his seat and opened the gates. Nawab was his superior in the hierarchy of Mr. Jaisingh's security team, after all.

"Salaam Sir!" The watchman yelled, as Nawab drove by, nodding his head in acknowledgement of the watchman.

Nawab parked his car at his designated spot and sighed as he got out of it.

As he walked to the doors of the villa, Nawab heard his cell phone ringing once again. When he took it out of his pocket, he realised that it was Maya who was calling.

Nawab decided that now wasn't the best time to speak with her. Besides, he'd lied to her about going out of the city for a work errand and he didn't want her to catch wind of what task her father had assigned to him.

Nawab put his cell phone on mute as he placed his thumb on the biometric scanner attached to the door.

The device was quick to grant him access. He pushed the door open, stepped inside the villa, and made his way over to the drawing room.

He'd just set foot in the room when he heard a loud crashing noise.

"That mut! How dare he? How dare he disobey me?!" Mr. Jaisingh screamed as he threw his whiskey glass on the floor, with great force.

"Sir, please calm down!" Mr. Jaisingh's secretary said, barely able to raise his voice.

Nawab was utterly puzzled at the sight before him. He'd expected Mr. Jaisingh to be upset. However, the rage he was witnessing was truly unprecedented.

"What does Nawab think of himself?! I only hired him to win the approval of the public, anyway! Or else there's no way I'd have a spawn of Osama in my security team! But now he's chosen to defy me!" Mr. Jaisingh screamed as he paced up and down the hall.

For a moment, Nawab remained paralysed.

Spawn of Osama.

The phrase rang in his ears over and over again. He couldn't believe that Mr. Jaisingh of all people would disrespect him and his religion in such a cruel manner.

Mr. Jaisingh was the face of all secularists in the country. The policies he preached were agnostic to religion.

Had one mistake from Nawab driven him into a frenzy? Or had he always been a hypocrite of the highest order?

The resurgence of Suryaveer Jaisingh's voice brought Nawab out of his trance.

He took cover behind a pillar so that he could listen in on the conversation without being noticed.

"Sir, just fire him! All problems will be solved..." The secretary said quietly, in a placatory tone.

"No, Shyam! You don't understand! This was my chance to make him pay...How could he ever think that he was a fit match for my daughter?! Him and his dirty blood are no match for her...and now, he's even polluted my family's blood by bringing his own into it!" Mr. Jaisingh roared.

Nawab was fairly puzzled at Mr. Jaisingh's words.

His blood? How could he have disgraced the Jaisingh family? Maya and him weren't even married yet.

"Sir, please think again...she's your daughter. Forgive her, Sir. Perhaps your private investigator's information about her condition is a mistake..." Shyam requested.

"I can't. I won't! Maya deserves to be punished for lying with that infidel! And her one mistake, has caused me such disgrace! I'd rather have her killed than bear his child!" Mr. Jaisingh growled. "And that's why I wanted Nawab to pull the trigger. I wanted to see his face when he realised that he was the one responsible for the death of his lover and child! And I wanted him to rot in prison for it!"

Nawab covered his mouth as an involuntary gasp escaped his lips. Tears began to well in his eyes as he realised why his target had looked so familiar to him.

It was Maya. His love. His life. His everything, really. And now, also the mother of his unborn child...

A fact that Maya hadn't even shared with him yet.

Nawab couldn't believe that he'd been so wrong in judging a person. Never in a million years could he have imagined that Suryaveer Jaisingh would order a hit on his own daughter!

Nawab flung curses at himself for having been so oblivious to Mr. Jaisingh's intentions. He should have realised that it was Maya.

To think that he'd almost shot her dead, it was killing him. He could almost feel a physical pain spreading through his chest as his mind flashed to the exact moment he'd fired the bullet.

Nawab could feel guilt eating up at him. However, his chest was also firing up with rage at the very same time.

If it were just about doling out insults to him, Nawab could still possibly have found it in his heart to forgive the man he'd considered his mentor for the past year.

But Suryaveer Jaisingh had gone too far. He'd tried to hurt Maya. And that made him irredeemable in Nawab's eyes.

Nawab wiped his tears slowly. At that moment, he promised himself that he'd make Mr. Jaisingh pay for all his sins. He knew what he had to do. He'd been Mr. Jaisingh's Man Friday for far too long. Nawab knew exactly where his bodies were buried!

One interview with a journalist, and that would be the end of Suryaveer Jaisingh's political career! And watching the public's respect for him tearing into shreds would surely kill him, for superficial appearances seemed to be the most important to him!

However, Nawab knew that this wasn't the time to plot his revenge. Destroying Suryaveer Jaisingh would be a cumbersome task and he knew he'd have to work discreetly.

Vengeance could wait for another day. Love could not.

His first priority was Maya and he had to see her in order to make sure she was alright.

Nawab swiftly stepped out from behind the pillar, and made his way to the door rather stealthily as Mr. Jaisingh continued to mete out curses.

Nawab raced to his car as soon as he walked out the door and started up the engine. He drove out of the villa rather rashly, startling the watchman at the gate.

It took him a little less than thirty minutes to reach Maya's apartment. He hoped that she'd been escorted back safely by the security personnel at the fundraiser.

Nawab jumped out of the car after he managed to park it in a haphazard fashion. He started to jog towards the lift, but broke into a sprint when he realised that his anxiety would only abate when he was assured of Maya's safety.

He stepped into the lift and pressed the button for the third floor. The few seconds of being stuck in the lift were agonizing for Nawab.

When the doors slid open, Nawab ran to Maya's flat and rang the doorbell multiple times with great urgency.

Nawab clenched his fists in nervousness as he waited for the door to open.

And then, when the wooden door finally swung open, revealing Maya's angry but slightly panic-stricken face, Nawab felt as if a giant weight had been lifted off of his chest.

"Nawab! I've been calling you for ages! Do you know what happened to me? I was invited to a fundraiser at the last moment by my client. There was a shooting at the event!" Maya exclaimed.

Nawab could see Maya's lips moving, but her words failed to reach his ears. All he could do was take in the sight of her, safe and sound, before him. Her hair was still straightened, she still had her outfit on and her makeup was a tad smudged due to the tears she'd shed out of fear.

Tears that he'd been responsible for...

"Nawab, are you even listening?!" Maya yelled.

This time all Nawab could do was lunge forward and wrap his arms around Maya as tightly as possible, much to her surprise. A fresh set of tears made their way down his cheeks as he buried his nose in her hair and inhaled her scent, almost afraid that she'd disappear all of a sudden.

"Nawab, it's okay. I'm fine. See? I don't even have any scratches." Maya said in a rather guilty voice, as she caressed his hair affectionately.

Maya's touch brought him out of his haze. He pulled his head back slightly, and placed a long and gentle kiss on her forehead. The kiss brought a smile to Maya's lips instantly, and she knew in her heart that she'd already forgiven him for ignoring her calls for the past hour.

"You aren't hurt? Are you sure?" Nawab said as he inspected her shoulders for any cuts from glass pieces.

"Nawab, you're overreacting. I'm fine. I promise." Maya said, as she stroked his face.

"And the baby?" Nawab asked urgently, as he placed his hand on Maya's belly.

A look of nervousness and surprise appeared on Maya's face as she heard his question.

"You know? But how? Even I've known it for just two days..." Maya asked, puzzled.

"Doesn't matter. Is the baby okay?" Nawab asked again, worriedly.

"Yes, it seems so. So...you're happy?" Maya asked expectantly as she looked into his eyes.

A smile broke out on Nawab's face as he picked Maya up by the waist and twirled her around, despite several protestations from her.

"Woah! Nawab! Put me down! Right now!" She squeaked.

Nawab placed her back on the floor and moved forward to peck her on the lips.

"I couldn't be happier." Nawab whispered to her, in a gleeful tone.

Maya flung her arms around his neck once again as she buried her face in his chest.

"I love you." Maya declared joyfully, as she placed a soft kiss on his chest.

"I love you." Nawab replied in an instant as he pulled her closer.

Ever since the day he'd been dishonourably discharged from the army, he had vowed to obey his superiors' orders at all costs. That was, until today, when his heart had instructed him to commit the very same folly which had brought about his downfall earlier.

And Nawab couldn't be more grateful for it.

~*~