Sparks

Ali was standing at the mansions balcony watching as the SUVs passed the gate. When Aminat came down, she looked up and saw her Husband also looking at her. Ali then went back into the house. Moments later, Ali came out of the house and met them outside. He stood in front of Aminat and was staring at her. Aminat kept her head down without a word. After a moment of silence, "look at me" Ali said in an angry tone. Aminat was still quiet. "I said look at me!" Ali added in a louder and angrier tone. Aminat started sobbing and slowly lifted up her head but still wasn't looking at Ali's face, instead she looked at his chest. Ali rose his hands to slap her but stopped half way. Aminat's eyes were shimmering with tears and it melted his heart and cooled his anger. Ali then stormed back into the house without saying anything.

Meanwhile at the camp Shawn and Chess were in their tent alone resting. "so tell me about your wife" said Chess. Shawn looked at Chess and smiled "well, she is… amazing. Just amazing" replied Shawn. "why are you asking?" added Shawn. "nothing. Just small talk that's all" replied Chess. Shawn nodded and said "she is kind of like you. special. She is not the all girly kind of woman". Shawn and Chess laughed. Shawn laid down on his bed while Chess continued smiling and looking at him. Shawn turned to talk to her and discovered she was staring at him lost in her thoughts. Shawn snapped his fingers "hello… earth to Sarah, do you copy" said Shawn. Chess shook her head and laughed in embarrassment "sorry" Chess apologized. "what were you thinking of?" Shawn asked. "it's nothing serious" replied Chess. "are you sure… it's not serious or you just don't want to tell me" said Shawn. "dude, I'm fine" Chess said being annoyed. "okay…" replied Shawn raising his hands. "hey, so what's the status of our woman?" asked Chess. "that's right. I'm gonna go check now" replied Shawn. He then stood up to leave. On his way out, "Shawn" Chess called. Shawn stopped and looked at her waiting for her to speak. She looked at him for some time "nothing, I mean wait for me I'm coming". Shawn dimmed his eye a little and knew she was hiding something. Chess wore her boot and they both went to the tent where they were tracking Aminat. When they entered the tent, the operator was about leaving "oh good sir you're already here. I was just about to go and inform you that they have stopped again." Said the operator as he went back to his seat. "this time it's different sir. They have stopped but the indicator still shows little movement when I zoom in. this means that they are out of their vehicles again". Shawn and Chess stooped and looked closely at the screen. "mark the place" Shawn ordered. "I have informed the authorities and they said they will send reinforcements for the rescue. so we should be expecting them anytime soon" Shawn added.

Later at Ali's mansion, Aminat walked into their room. Ali her husband was sitting facing the wall. Aminat slowly closed the door and walked to him. Aminat knelt down beside him and held his leg "I'm sorry" said Aminat. Ali was still sitting quietly as if no one was talking to him. "how did you escape?" Ali asked. Aminat kept quiet and looked down. "I asked you a question didn't I?" Ali added. "who helped you?" Ali asked again. "Muktar told me everything but I still want to hear it from you" said Ali. There was a knock on their door. "come in" Ali answered as he stood up. Sadiq opened the door. He saw Aminat kneeling down close to Ali. "what is it Sadiq?" Ali asked. "the master wants to talk to you" replied Sadiq. Ali stared at Sadiq as he walked out. Sadiq escorted Ali the guest room and stopped at the door. Ali knocked and opened the door while Sadiq went back. Sadiq went back to Ali's room. He found the door slightly opened. He opened it a little more to check the room. He saw Aminat still kneeling in the same position he left her when he called Ali. Sadiq entered the room and touched Aminat on the shoulder "are you alright madam?" Sadiq asked. Aminat stood up and left. Shortly after she went out, Ali came into the room and met Sadiq who was also about to leave. Ali looked at Sadiq for a moment "what are you doing here" Ali asked. "I saw the door opened so I checked to see who was inside" replied Sadiq. Ali went to a drawer and picked up a file and went out. Sadiq thought for a moment then also left, closing the door behind him.

Later that night. It was raining heavily and the power was out. The guards lighted lamps around the house which provide a little light. Aminat thought to herself that it was a good chance to escape. She went to her son's room; the door was slightly opened so she peeped and saw Ali already there with him. Ali saw a figure pass the door quickly so he stood up to go and check but Mubarak held his hand. "papa, don't go I'm scared". Ali looked at his son and smiled. He then sat back together with his son.

On Aminat's way out, she accidentally bumped into Sadiq. Aminat got frightened but Sadiq held her shoulders and calmed her down. "where do you think you are going to?" Sadiq asked softly. Aminat still breathing heavily, removed his hands from her shoulders and ran outside into the rain. Sadiq ran after her and soon caught up with her. "are you crazy? if you get caught now, you will never be able to escape again" Sadiq yelled holding her hands. "that is none of your business now is it? I'll take my chances" Aminat yelled back. "don't do this. Use your head" Sadiq said while shaking her. "if you truly love me you would help me" Aminat said as she freed herself from his grip. "I love you and I want you to be safe" said Sadiq. They both stared at each other for a while then they hugged. "please go back. This is a bad time" said Sadiq as they hugged. Aminat went back to the house with her body completely soaked. On her way back to the room, she met Ali coming out of Mubarak's room. "and where are you coming from?" Ali asked. "I-I I was outside" Aminat answered stammering. Ali looked at her from head to toe and left without saying anything.

Meanwhile at the UN camp, John was standing at the gate when Toby walked up to him. "hey man can I talk to you about something?" Toby asked. "sure man." John replied. Toby kept quiet for a moment to compose himself. "I think I like Chess man" said Toby. "oh, really?" John said then they both laughed a bit. "that's nice man. Are you gonna tell her?" John asked. "no, it's too early. It could be just an infatuation you know; we have been here for months now so…" Toby replied. "It's been bugging me for like a month now and I just wanted to get it off my chest" added Toby. "damn man, a month!? That's quite a long time for infatuations my friend" John exclaimed. They both laughed again. "I just wanna be sure" Toby said while laughing. "why do you like her? I mean she isn't the typical hot chick you talk about" said John as he chuckled. "I just love how fierce she is you know. Like her character" said Toby. "you mean her short temper?" John asked surprised. "what, no! geez man" Toby said laughing. "I mean. She is not like other women you know. Man I don't even know how to put it" added Toby. John laughed and shook his head. Toby was about to leave when John called him back. "hey man, I've been thinking. Since you, me, Alex and Shawn all live in New York, I was thinking maybe we could you know rent an apartment and stay together" said John. "that'll be nice. But I don't know whether they'll agree" Toby replied. "maybe you can ask them tomorrow morning" Toby suggested. "nah it's ok. It's a weird idea, forget it" John replied and laughed nervously. Toby then smiled and went back to his post.

The next morning in Ali's mansion. Aminat woke up on to the sound of Ali and her son Mubarak waking her up. "wake up and eat" Ali said softly, "wake up mama" Mubarak added. Aminat slowly opened her eyes. Her husband was holding a tray of food while her son was holding a jug. Ali carefully placed the food on the bed and helped Mubarak keep the jug. "go and freshen up so we can eat" Ali said with a smile. Aminat couldn't believe her eyes. Aminat in disbelieve, slowly went to the bathroom and locked the door. She quickly washed her face and looked at herself in the mirror. "what is happening" Aminat asked herself. She was getting more nervous by the minute. She scratched her head and paced up and down in the toilet until Ali knocked the door. "hurry the food is getting cold and we are hungry. Right Mubarak?" Ali said through the door. Aminat froze trying to figure out what was happening. Aminat slowly opened the door and went back to the bed. Ali was looking at her smiling as she sat down. Ali opened the dish he brought on the tray. It was her favorite. Pancakes with chicken stew. Ali served her the dish while Mubarak gave her a cup of green tea. The three of them ate their breakfast like they do before. Though Aminat didn't trust Ali, she still partially played along. After breakfast, Ali sent Mubarak to the kitchen to keep the plates. When Mubarak left the room, Aminat asked Ali why he did it. "we chatted with Mubarak last night. And he said he wanted us be like we use to." replied Ali. "and also, you reminded me of when we used to play in the rain together back then" Ali added. He then touched her cheek with his palm Aminat's eyes closed and the good times they had in the past flashed through her eyes. "why did you change?" Aminat asked when she opened her eyes. As Ali was about to speak, there was a loud knock on the door. Ali quickly stood up and opened the door. It was one of his men. "what is it?" Ali asked. "Good morning sir. Sir Mubarak was murdered last night" he replied softly. Ali froze for sometime and he then looked at Aminat before leaving with the guard.