Chapter 8

Haad had come to the job. He and his companions were chopping wood in the forest when they suddenly heard the sound of a shot. Unexpectedly, the enemies retaliated very quickly. They started using different methods to avoid the bullets. But by the time they were hidden, they had shot everyone. Haad stood silently watching his comrades falling. His comrades had died in the past and he was left alone. He was shot in the arm then he came out of the past. He didn’t feel much pain. At the same time, another bullet penetrated him in the other arm and one bullet entered his leg.

And five members of the gang attacked Haad’s house with weapons. Noman was also there. He reported the attack to Aman and started fighting them. When he managed to shoot two members of the gang, he was shot in the stomach. The assailants shot him twice in the chest and entered the house. Anna fainted at the sound of fires. The attackers broke down the door of her room and took her away with them.

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“Sir! Haad and his associates have been attacked …” Aman said quickly as he entered the office. Sanan stood up anxiously. Aman began to tell him all the details. Sanan was very upset to hear that both Haad and the girl living with him had fallen into the hands of the enemy. Noman was also shot, but he was discovered soon. His treatment had begun.

“What is the condition of the injured?”

“Their condition is critical and one is dead,” Aman said seriously. Sanan walked towards the office door. Aman also began to accompany him.

“We have to raid immediately. Did Kashif tell the location of all their hideouts?” Sanan mentioned the gang member he had abducted.

“No Sir. He just told me about the three hideouts.”

“Prepare four teams of guards. Find out as many of their locations as possible. Raid them all together. They may be somewhere in those locations.” Sanan ordered.

“Okay, sir,” Aman said and left.

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When Haad’s eyes slowly opened, the front view became clear. A wave of pain arose in his heart. Anna was chained in front of him. She was conscious and crying. There was fear on her face. To her right and left were two men standing with guns. Haad wanted to move towards her but he felt that he was chained too. These chains were nothing to him, but as he moved, people standing around Anna aimed guns at her. Haad stopped helplessly. He looked around and saw armed men standing to his right and left also.

“Who are you guys?” Haad asked angrily.

“The one whose ten men you defeated alone yesterday.” Someone replied Haad, entering the room. He was probably the leader of this gang. The story of Haad’s bravery had spread throughout the area yesterday and the Sea Red Gang also knew who was defeating his comrades.

Haad looked at the man who had come and stood in front of him with red eyes. Haad was now regretting not accepting Sanan’s offer.

“By the way, it’s amazing. You’ve been shot by three bullets and you’re still alive. Maybe you have more power than normal humans. That’s why you’re so brave.” The gang leader said in an impressed tone.

“ Let my wife go.” It was hard for Haad to hear Anna’s sobs. The gang leader laughed at his demand. While Anna looked at him in confusion. Why was he calling her wife? They were not even married yet. She thought innocently.

“Let go of your weakness so that you can overcome us. I’m not that stupid.” He gritted his teeth.

“What do you want? Why are we imprisoned here?”

“I want to use you. If you work for me, your wife will be safe. Otherwise, she will have to suffer a painful death.”

“What do I have to do?” Haad asked helplessly.

“Everything that I will say.” The gang leader showed him a picture. He was Sanan. Haad recognized him. Anna also had an eye on this picture.

“Kill this man. Then your wife will be released. But she will be safe as long as you obey us.” The gang leader told him and Anna’s heart sank. Someone was going to die because of her and Haad was going to kill him.

“No, Haad. Don’t listen to them.” She cried and spoke in a frightened tone. Haad listened to her and posed unheard.

“Ok, I’ll do it,” Haad said indifferently.

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Sanan’s four bodyguard teams with their teams raided all four hideouts at the same time. sanan led a team and went to the hideout where they were more likely to be. It was a dilapidated old building surrounded by trees on a mound. Sanan stopped the team a short distance from the building and sent two men ahead. Without making a sound, they approached the building and instead of entering from the front, they walked along the wall of the building to the back. From there they climbed the wall and jumped inside. This was the back gallery. They pulled out their pistols and started moving towards the right side. As they turned to the corner, a man with a gun was patrolling the area. Before he could take any action, one of them put his hand over his mouth and twisted his neck. After knocking down the man, they approached the window from which the sound of a girl crying was coming. The curtain was slightly removed and the panes of the window were open. One of them peeked inside and examined the whole situation. Inside, two men were standing around a girl with weapons. The right side of them was visible from there. He stepped back and gestured to his partner. His companion stood on the other side of the window and at the same time, they removed the curtain and fired at the heads of the people standing around the girl. They had silencers on their pistols. There was no sound of fire. Neither of them had a chance to scream. Anna fainted when she saw them falling with blood coming out of their heads. Sanan’s companions entered the room and approached Anna. Anna was safe now.

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Haad was freed from the chains but he was still helpless because Anna was in danger. There was nothing that he could do with his own will. The gang leader took him out of the room and gave him a pistol.

“Can you use a pistol or not?” When the gang leader asked, he nodded in affirmation. He had not yet experienced it but had seen pistols and guns fired.

“This is the location of this man’s house. Here you have to attack him and make sure he would not survive,” the gang leader said brutally, handing him a map. He pursed his lips.

“Come on. Your wife will be set free when you return.”

“If anything happens to her, I will not spare any of you,” he growled.

“Trust me. I need you in future..” The gang leader smiled and he left the building.

“Sir! Haad has come out,” said Aman, looking through binoculars.

“Alone?” Sanan asked.

“Yes sir,” Aman said and he was surprised.

“He has a pistol in his hand and he is coming towards us,” Aman reported.

“Let him come,” Sanan said. Some moments later, Haad approached them, and Sanan and Aman came out of the trees. Haad was shocked to see Sanan in front of him. He did not expect that the prey would come to him on his own. His grip on the pistol had tightened and Anna’s sobs were echoing in his mind.

“You.... Here?” He said, overcoming his nervousness.

“Hmm. I’ve come to rescue you and Anna,” Sanan said.

“It’s not necessary, but …” Haad aimed the pistol at him.

“You need to die,” he said, looking into Sanan’s eyes. There was no fear on Sanan’s face. While Aman was worried, he aimed his pistol at Haad. The rest of the team was also careful.

“Oh, you learned how to fire,” Sanan spoke with a smile. Haad was surprised. His heart was pounding. He had killed people many times in his life but his heart never trembled because he had never killed an innocent while today he was going to kill an innocent man. He was compelled to do this because of his love. But his conscience prevented him from doing so. There was a war going on inside him.

“You have to die or they will kill Anna,” he said helplessly. Sanan already understood that this could be the case.

“Do you think they’ll let go of Anna after you kill me?” Sanan asked. Haad pulled a deep breath inside. He couldn’t say anything for sure.

Meanwhile, his companion’s voice echoed in the device in Aman’s ear.

“Sir, the girl is safe now. You can start the operation.” As soon as he got the green signal from inside, Amam breathed thankfully.

“Anna is safe and is with our comrades,” he reported. Haad looked at him in astonishment. Their service was too fast. Haad’s heart sank. He lowered his pistol. And he bowed his head in remorse. The one he was about to kill was helping him.

“Don’t worry. You’ll have Anna in a while.” Sanan told his team to start the operation and went ahead himself.

“Can I join you?” Haad didn’t want to be left behind. Sanan looked at his clothes, which were covered in blood.

“But you are injured.” Sanan did not know that haad had been shot. He thought he was slightly injured and that’s why he was still alive in front of him.

“It doesn’t matter. I want to get to Anna as soon as possible.” He spoke in a stubborn tone and Sanan had to take him with himself. When the operation started, Firing started from both sides. Sanan’s comrades were advancing to repel the enemy. Haad was also giving them full support. Rather, he was wreaking havoc everywhere. He was dropping and killing every person he was targeting. He was also adopting the best strategy to avoid bullets. To Sanan, he looked like a soldier. The gang leader was shocked to see him with his enemies. He had sent Haad to kill Sanan, but he returned with Sanan and attacked him. His surprise did not last long. The bullet from Sanan’s pistol hit him in the head and the bullet from Haad’s pistol hit him in the heart. They were moving inwards when three members of the gang suddenly appeared in front of them. One shoot at Sanan. Haad came in front of him. The bullet struck him in the chest. Sanan was shocked. The next moment he hurriedly shot two people. The third wanted to shoot at him, but Haad fired at him while falling.

“Haad!” Sanan said anxiously, leaning over him.

“Anna!” Haad fainted, calling Anna.

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Anna was the girl he fell in love with at first sight and whom he was looking for like crazy. The girl was now in front of him, but his footsteps had stopped. He was staring at the unconscious Anna with a sinking heart that belonged to Haad. She was out of his reach. By what right did he get her? How to snatch her from the man who shot himself in the chest to save him. He was his protector and he had accepted him as his friend. Now he had two options. Friendship or love. And he chose friendship. He sacrificed his love for Haad, as Haad had sacrificed himself to save him. If Haad had been someone else, he would never have given up on Anna, but he felt that he loved Haad more than Anna. That’s why he chose friendship. He hardened his heart and turned his eyes away from Anna, stepped forward, and picked her up in his arms. He was very good at controlling his feelings and emotions. He could not betray Haad, nor did he want to be embarrassed in front of Haad. He had to stop himself from loving anna.

Haad had already been sent to the hospital. He was the last to leave the building with Anna and some other companions with Aman. Aman was also surprised to see this girl and seeing the expression on Sanan’s face, it was understood what condition Sanan is going through at the moment. He was sorry for Sanan. He could not see him in that state. Aman didn’t know why he was angry with Haad.

Anna was also taken to the same hospital where Haad was admitted. When Sanan reached there with Anna, Haad was undergoing an operation. Anna’s treatment started in a room of this hospital. After a while, she regained consciousness and started crying. When the nurse told Sanan this, he came to her room. As soon as Anna saw Sanan, she stopped crying.

“Are you alive?” She was asking innocently.

“I’m alive, that’s why I’m standing in front of you,” Sanan said in wonderment.

“But Haad was going to kill you.” She said in a frightened tone.

“He’s my friend. He can’t harm me,” Sanan said confidently. But Anna couldn’t believe him. She became even more distrustful of Haad. She knew that Haad could kill anyone because of her. Why was he so obsessed? She did not understand.

“Where is he now?”

“he’s having surgery,” Sanan said. The thought came to her mind that she should curse Haad to die, but she couldn’t do it even if she wanted to.

“I want to die.” When she spoke, Sanan stared at her in shock. His heart sank for a while.

“He can kill anyone for me. He’s very dangerous. I have to die before he can kill anyone because of me.” She said in a discomforting tone and Sanan was watching her anxiously.

“Why are you saying that? Has he told you anything?” Sanan asked thoughtfully.

“Yes, he told me he would kill my mother if I left him,” Anna said and Sanan was surprised. Haad was obsessed with fanaticism and extremism. Sanan had become aware of his love and had given up on Anna, but he loved Anna. He couldn’t see her in trouble.

“Does that mean he’s forcing you to stay with him?” Sanan asked and Anna was shaking her head in affirmation. Sanan took a deep breath. He did not know what to do now.

“Please save my mother. I don’t want to be with him. If I leave him, he will kill my mother.” Anna begged him.

“What’s your mother’s name and where does she live?” Sanan asked.

“Her name is Zaria. She lives in a house on a hill to the south of the village.” Anna mentioned her mother’s name and explained her address to him.

“Okay. Now relax. I’ll protect your mother.” Sanan said and she breathed a sigh of gratitude. Once her mother was out of reach of Haad, she could be released from Haad’s captivity with the help of Sanan. Anna had some encouragement. Her mind was thinking a lot.

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