The king's daughter

by somewhere along that line

What if Ajay had a sister? a short one shot.

Ajay was exhausted. the long flight and then the shaky bus journey along narrow roads up the mountains had drained him.

he glances down at the sleeping girl, leaning on his shoulder. Lia, his younger sister. she had fallen asleep almost the minute they sat down on the bus. her long black hair half hides her delicate face. their mother used to say she looked like it was made of sugar, but if you looked under the surface you found fiery spice.

the siblings had been close to each other throughout their childhood, but when Ajay started walking on bad roads, they lost touch. at age 22, Lia had done good for herself. after years of training and dreaming, she had successfully entered college, studied ballet, was one of the best in her class apparently. Ajay smiles. she had always been a goody two-shoes.

they regained contact when their mother was dying of cancer, they both needed someone to share their grief with. before their mother passed away, she had asked one thing of her children. "take me back to Kyrat." neither son nor daughter could deny her, her last wish. so now the siblings were sitting on a dilapidated bus, on their way to a country neither of them knew much about, only that it was their motherland.

the landscape was beautiful, high mountains covered with trees and snow. untouched land, with only a few small villages along the way, breath taking.

on a seat next to Ajay sat a middle-aged man, gray and with dark circles under his eyes, a man marked by time, Darpan.

it was through him that the siblings managed to get this far. they had happened to get in touch when Ajay had contacted the American embassy in India for help. Darpan looks over at Ajay, after the man has studied him, he says in a calm voice. "hey, passport."

Ajay looks down at his and his sister's passport. their way in and out. uncomfortable with the idea of leaving to give them away, but Darpan had proved to be trustworthy so far. he gives the man their passports. what else can he do, really.

Darpan first opens Ajay's passport looking at the information thoughtfully, quickly looking up at Ajay. then he looks at Lia's. he frowns as he looks over her information. but seems to drop it.

he pulls out money and shows it to Ajay, puts a colorful note in each passport, before returning the documents to Ajay. with one hand movement and with a light amused voice he says. "breathe. I do the talking." in an attempt to calm Ajay. Ajay nods as he receives the passports. he appreciates the gesture, but does little to actually soothe his anxiety.

Ajay glances out the window and realizes that they were close to a checkpoint. they were steps away from entering Kyrat.

"passports." the bus driver says as they begin to slow down. the man behind Ajay extends his passport to Ajay, who in turn sends the man's and his and his sister's passports to the woman in front of him, who sends them on to the bus driver.

Ajay looks out and sees men in uniform with weapons standing outside the bus. soldiers he assumes.

Ajay decides that it's probably best to wake up his sister. "Lia, wake up." he says and with a slight shake she wakes up. she tenderly sits up and looks around slightly confused. "What's going on?" she asks quietly. quickly perceives the tense mood on the bus. Ajay discreetly bends his head down and whispers. "we are at the border." while he continues to look at the soldiers.

the soldiers tell the driver to get off the bus. "What's happening?" Ajay asks worriedly. Darpan holds up a hand and hush them.

the bus driver get out of the bus and now stood outside and talked. the driver had everyone's passport in his hand, tried to give them to the soldier.

but the soldier seems to have little intrese in taking them. instead seems to argue with the driver about something.

another soldier walks by the side of the bus with a mirror and looks under the bus for contraband. two more soldiers with Ak's join the others. the sound of a helicopter blade make Lia look at the sky. a large black helicopter that appeared to be heading directly towards them. she and Ajay share an insecure look.

they had been warned that there could be problems. that Kyrat had been in conflict with an origisantion called the Golden Path. A mixture of freedom fighter and terrorist group it seemed.

Lia's attention turns to the soldier who spoke to the driver. the driver had tried to give the passport to the soldier again but he had only knocked them out of the driver's hand. before anything more can happen, the soldier who was looking under the bus shouts. he had found something. when the other soldier comes closer to look for himself, two men, who have been in the back of the bus, jump up. they pull down weapons they apparently hid on the shelves and rush out of the bus's back door.

Lia and Ajay look dumbfounded while the soldiers undoubtedly take out their weapons and start shooting down the men. Lia jumps when she sees one of the soldiers being shot in the head by the driver, he manages to shoot another soldier before he is cut down by bullets. the remaining soldiers talk to each other quickly before they see Ajay and Lia look at them. they raise their nuclear weapons against them and start firing. "get down!" Darpan ropar. he grabs Ajay and pulls him down to get down on the bus floor. Ajay he grabs his sister and pulls her down with him. he holds her while the bullets whiz over them, creating sparks when they hit the metal on the bus. a woman is heard screaming while people are desperately trying to get away. Darpan pushes Ajay and points to the back door. Ajay grabs his sister and pushes her to crawl towards the door with him and Darpan following. Lia grabs the door and pushes it open, almost falling out. but their flight ends quickly. behind the bus a helicopter lands, the wind from the leaves forces Lia to stop, holding up her hands to protect from all the debris that the rotor blades throw up. the soldiers had noticed their escape attempts and are now surrounding them.

Ajay tries to stand in front of Lia but the soldiers point their weapons at them and over the sound of helicopters they shout. "lay down!" "lie down on the ground now!" a man with the butt of his weapon, the soldier hits Lia in the head hard enough to make she fall to the ground , Ajay tries to intervene but another soldier points his weapon straight at his face. "get down!" he shouts again and Ajay lyde slowly lowers himself to the ground, so he lies on his stomach next to his sister. Ajay looks at his sister, he sees that the blow to her head had torn her skin and blood began to flow from the wound. Ajay frowns. he had promised her when they were little that no one would hurt her as long as he was with her.

He try to give her some kind of reassurance, that he was there and he would not let anything more happen to her. but lying on his stomach in the dirt with soldiers pointing their weapons at them, it was a difficult sell. now Ajay, Lia and Darpan were lying on their stomachs with weapons aimed at them.

on top of that, a new person steps into the picture. a man with a purple jacket and pink trousers with colored blond hair steps out of the helicopter. he must be someone of importance, because when the soldiers see who is getting out of the helicopter, they straighten up. and avoided looking straight at the man.

the man steps out of the helicopter, takes a look around and puts a hand over his face in disappointment. he seems to be trying to gather some kind of response as he looks at the soldier. finally, after a tense pause, the man slowly begins to walk up to them, aiming at the soldier with the red beret. with an unpleasantly calm voice, he says. "I distinctly remember saying stop the bus." he comes to a stop next to the soldier, looking intently at him, while the soldier tried to stay calm, still avoiding looking at the man.

yes. stop the bus, not shoot the bus." the man continues. the soldier seems to get more and more nervous. the man walks closer to the soldier. "I am very particular with my words. stop. shoot. stop. shoot. do those words sound the same?" his voice condescending. the soldier gathers his courage and responds. "but it got out of control." the soldier's voice is low almost like a whisper. the man puts a hard hand on the soldier's shoulder. and with a false compassionate voice says. "I'm sorry I did not hear you. What did you say?"

"it got out of control." the soldier repeats hastily. "got out of control." man repeats as he retrieves an object from his inner pocket.

"I hate when things get out of control." the second he finishes his sentence he takes the object and violently pushes it into the man's throat, the force of the attack takes them both to the ground, where the man continues his attack by repeatedly stabbing the man. the elite soldiers who accompanied the man take a few steps back but do nothing to stop him. "you had one fucking job and you could not even fucking do that!" the man says as he repeatedly stabs the soldier until he no longer moves. only then does the man stop, he sits with his back to his deceased victim. unconcerned that he had just killed a man. He just sullenly looks down at his shoes. with a low and angry voice he hisses. "and I got blood on my fucking shoes." Ajay looks at the man hesitantly. was he serious. he fucking shoes. it was a mistake to look at the man so indiscreetly. because he looks up and the two make eye contact. Lia looks anxiously over at her brother. afraid he was a new target. but the man's angry gaze is transformed into realization, as if he just recognized who he was looking at.

"at least there's a silver lining. you did not completely fuck it up." the man says to the dead soldier. before turning his gaze to Ajay again. the man gets up and grabs Ajay's arm. "get up boy." he says while he pulls Ajay up on his feet. he looks him in the eyes with a smile. "I recognize those eyes everywhere." the man says and then pulls Ajay into a heartfelt hug. "I'm so sorry about this. This was supposed to be ... well not this." the man says in an honest voice after withdrawing from the hug.

suddenly the man looks over at Lia, whom he has just seen that she is also there. Lia solidifies when their eyes meet. the man studying her with a look of confusion at first which then turns into shock ... and relief?

"and you came carrying a priceless gift." Ajay hears the man say softly the man says, smiling he pats Ajay on the shoulder before he bends down and help Lia up. "up you go." he says. when Lia was on her feet again the man puts both his hands on her shoulders, looking at her with a strangely proud smile he look her in the eyes. "you have no idea how long I've been waiting for this." he says with a soft smile before capturing her in a deep hug. Lia looks nervously over at her brother who looks back as confused as she is. this man must be completely crazy. Lia thinks. a disturbing thought that the man would turn on a dime again and strangle her or something made her shudder. he pulls away from her and again looks at her with a heartfelt smile, until he sees the wound on her forehead and his smile falls. "my dear girl, what have they done to you?" the man says softly as he carefully examines the wound on her head. before Lia has time to answer, not because she was sure she could utter a single word just then, the man turns to the remaining soldiers with a cold look. "make sure the culprit is disciplined." he says to his elite soldiers. two of the elite soldiers begin herding the remaining soldiers towards a half-dilapidated building.

the man turns to her. "We'll take care of that when we'ar back home." he comforts, meaning her injury. Lia feels a creeping feeling of dread come over her, this man had put heavy emphasis on the word home. he knows more than she does, a fact she really did not like, at all.

he leads Lia to stand next to her brother, something she was more than willing to do. the man looks between the siblings with a crooked smile. "We're having a party waiting for you two." he tells them before looking down at Darpan, who is still lying on the ground with his hands on his head. "but I think I do not know your name." the man says as he walks over to Darpan. Ajay takes the opportunity and grabs his sister's arm and pulls her behind him, holding himself between the man and his sister. the man crouches down next to Darpan. "who is this? hm? is this your + one?" he says jokingly and looks up at the siblings. neither answer, not that the man seems to be waiting for an answer.

he looks more closely at Darpan, who remains completely silent. The man looks up at the siblings again. "strong quiet type, I like it." he mocked. he takes another look before his elite soldiers pull up Darpan, tie his hands and pull a sack over his head before leading him away. the man, again on his feet next to the siblings. "I'm terribly embarrassed about all this. This was supposed to be very simple but you know if you give food to monkeys they just throw their shit at each other." he says distantly. he sounds almost tired. as he had just handled something light and everyday. maybe because to him it was his everyday, Lia thought. she clench her hands in her brother's jacket as she presses against his back. terrified that the man will lose it again and attacks the two without warning.

suddenly, as the man just remembered something, he hands over the knife he killed the soldier with to Ajay. "oh, could you hold this?" Ajay hesitantly taks the bloodied knife. when the man was free from his weapon, he takes out his phone. "just a moment ... I want to get a little ... picture." he says while holding up the phone for a selfie with the siblings. Ajay looks at the man as he was completely disturbed. which, to be honest, may be the case. "Come on, girl. A little more to the left." the man says when he sees that Lia is more hidden behind Ajay in the picture, he gestures her to move forward so she is more in frame. "right in the camera. there we are." he snaps the photo. "awesome." he says contentedly while looking at the picture.

the elite soldiers had lit a fire on the bus and started cleaning up around them. "Do not worry about a single thing, you two." the man gestures to the stage in front of them. "This will soon be behind us and we will get off on our grand adventure." he says as he leads the siblings to turn around. Ajay almost trip on the dead soldier's body. "because I've cleared my schedule for the two of you!" the man says loudly. he turns to the siblings. "Because you two, and I gonna tear shit up!" he finishes.

Lia gasps when soldiers suddenly come up behind them, Ajay gets a black sack over his head and is pushed towards the helicopter. Lia instinctively moves for her brother but the soldier behind her grabs her arms. without thinking about the consequences, she begins to fight back. "let me go!" she shouts as she tries to free herself. the man looks at her with a condescending smile. "now, now, baby. do not fight." he reprimanded her. but Lia does not listen. with a disappointed sigh he nods to the soldier behind her. Lia barely have time to perceive when something pricks her neck. she almost immediately began to feel drowsy. instinctively she lifts up a hand and places it on her neck. a syringe, she had been drugged. "I'm sorry it has to be this way, my dear. but we'll be late for dinner." the man says.

Lia looks up at the man, tries to say something but does not have time before she collapses in the arms of an elite soldier. The soldier lifts her bridal style and begins to carry her towards the helicopter. "ensure that her injuries are taken care of." the man says as he steps into the helicopter. he pauses before turning to one of the soldiers. "and ... make sure a blood sample is taken." the man says low, contemplative. he glances at Lia. "just to be sure." is the last thing Lia hears before she passes out.

slowly Lia begins to regain consciousness. still drowsy, she notices that she is lying on something soft. a moment of pure panic strikes her. where was she? where's her brother, is he okay? she hurriedly sits up. but it is something she must regret, when a jolt of pain goes through her head. she stretches out her hand and feels where she is being injured by the soldier. her hand is met by bandage instead of skin. someone had patched her up.

she takes a moment to calm down and gather her thoughts as she looks around. the room she was in was lavishly decorated. furniture and fabrics went in red, gold and mahogany. Flowers and gold decorations spread around the room. a lone wand of incense burned on a table near the bed she was lying on. small bells gently chimed in the wind somewhere. the room had a very calming effect. it was a mixture of Asian, Middle Eastern and Burmese aesthetics. had she been on holiday she would have been more than impressed.

Lia stood up carefully, unsteady on her legs. still a bit drowsy. she starts looking around for exits. it was the obvious door that probably led out of the room, Lia assumed it was guarded, that was not the smartest choice. but the only other alternative was a large open window, but when she goes over and looks out and sees a steep cliff below the window she backs away. the door it is.

before she can act, a steady knock is heard on the door. Lia stiffens. "Miss, I'm here to escort you to dinner." a raspy man's voice is heard through the door. Lia's first thought was to refuse, but what then? would, what she assumes was a soldier or guard or the like, dragging away with her anyway? the blonde man had said that he had arranged a party for her and Ajay, maybe if she came willingly she would be reunited with her brother and the two could come up with a plan together.

she gathers courage and with an unsteady voice she answers. "uh, okay. I ..." before she can formulate a whole sentence, the door opens. two guards stand without. they do not enter the room, but stay outside, on either side of the door, so as not to block her exit. Lia swallows nervously and takes the few steps to step out of the room. one guard, with a simple but stiff gesture, show to follow the other, who has begun to lead her along a corridor. Lia follows stiffly as she discreetly tries to memorize everything they pass. none of the guards say more to her, one leads and the other walks a distance behind her. so she can not run away.

after what felt like a nerve-wracking eternity, the leading guard stands next to a large doorway, again a silent gesture gestures her to enter the room. Lia suddenly becomes strangely nervous, like when you meet a new group of people and you feel awkward. so Lia does what she would if she was nervous before going out on stage. she straightens her back, holds her head high and just pretends she owned it. and hope to God above, she does not look like a scared little mouse.

she steps into a dining room, occupied by her brother, Darpan, a new man she did not recognize and the blonde man. who when he sees her go in, he stands up and throws his arms out. "ah, finally our second honored guest graces us with her presence." the man exclaims with a big smile.

and all of her pretend self-confidence disappears. the man steps around the head off the table and walks up to her. "was almost worried that they over did it." the man says jokingly. he puts his hands on her shoulders again and examines her. "they seem to have done a well enough job." he says, more to himself as he critically looks at the patch on her head.

Lia almost jumps when his gaze goes to her eyes. he puts a hand on her lower back and leads her to a seat that to her relief was next to her brother. "we were waiting for you, sit down my dear. I rather go through everything with both of you present." he talks as he pulls in the chair for her. Ajay had a look of relief when he saw his sister enter the dining room unharmed. he had had his head full of unpleasant thoughts of "what if?" while the two had been separated. he gives her a questioning look as she is helped into the chair by the blonde man. "was she okay?" Lia discreetly nods to him. calms his fears for now. When Ajay had had the sack pulled from his head and seen that his sister was nowhere to be seen and a suffocating fear had taken over him. what could this psychopath of man have done to his little sister?

"I hate to repeat myself unnecessarily, so irritating, do not you think." the man continues to speak as he walks around the table to take his seat. he calmly sits down, raises his arms to rest on the table and looks at the sibling pair.

"again terribly sorry for what happened before. this, was more what I had in mind." the man says as he gestures with both arms to the surroundings. they sat at a dining table with the fresh plates of food served. to Lia's dismay, a plate in the middle of the table was decorated with the heads of little monkeys, almost everything still remained intact on them, except that the top of their skull had been removed. Lia, then and there considered becoming vegan on the spot. her disgust is forgotten when she recognizes a vase standing on a table, right in front of the blonde man, their mother's urn.

"so, fresh start. introductions. Ajay Ghale and Lia Ghale, our guests of honor; Paul, our very gracious host." the blonde man says and gestures first before them then towards the new man, who politely bows his head to the siblings. "the little monkey, whose name I still do not know." the man says in a less pleasant voice towards Darpan who looks at the siblings anxiously, scared. without missing a beat continues. "and I, of course, am Pagan Min." the man says. there will be a silent pause, as the blonde man, Pagan Min, was waiting for some kind of realization from the siblings. but neither Ajay nor Lia had any idea who the man was.

Pagan My smile falls when he realizes that they did not recognize him. "You really do not remember me, do you?" he asks, he sounds disappointed. he nods to Lia. "well, I can understand that Lia does not, the last time we met, you were not even born yet." he says with an understanding hand gesture. his explanatory makes Lia frown. Pagan Min turns his gaze to Ajay again. "but you Ajay? Your mother, never talked about me, never mentioned me?" Pagan Min tries to coax, but Ajay stays silent. he had no memories of his mother ever mentioning anything about any Pagan Min.

Pagan Min seems to accept defeat and continues. "oh, we change all that." he says before turning to Paul. "Paul, I need cash." he says to the other man. Paul, without hesitation, pulls out his wallet and asks. "oh, how much do you need?" while holding out his wallet to Pagan Min. "all of it. Thank you." is the answer as he takes a stack of banknotes from Paul's wallet. he looks down at the money. "here we are. ah. hm?" he holds up a pink / orange banknote. holds it up next to his face. he sees that the siblings do not react, he throws the note on the table. "all right." he takes out a gray / blue banknote, and does the same. "How about this, with the smile?" he says and smiles stiffly. Lia feels her heart start beating faster. the siblings sit quietly. Pagan My gaze darkens. he clears his throat and releases the banknote and pulls out another, this one purple / pink. and again holds it up to his face. the picture on the note was the same man. Ajay is the one who says something. "it is you." Pagan Min nods coldly. "that's me." satisfied with the reaction, he takes and looks at his image on the banknote. "though, I'm not so sure anymore." he says in a dark voice.

Ajay puts a hand on his sister hand, who had rested in her lap, he feels her shake, she is scared. he glances over at Darpan who just glanced back silently. "now your mother, your mother on the other hand," Pagan Min had changed his tone completely and now lifts up the siblings' mother's ashes. he takes off the lid of the urn, Ajay starts to get up to stop him but Paul grabs Ajay's arm, he gives a look that stops him from doing more. Ajay angrily sits down again. "she understood me. she knew me in a way no one ever did." Pagan Min continue. he puts a finger in the ashes and then puts said finger in his mouth. Lia glares at him. it was like he was taunting them. "Mm, that's taking me back." he says softly to himself, while he looks dreamily at the urn. he starts putting on the lid again when it seems like a memory re surface. he puts the lid down again and, almost tenderly, puts his hand on the urn. "The last time I saw Ishwari was years ago." he tells and looks up at the siblings. "she said she loved me. women they can do that. they can tell you that they love you in the moment and mean it," men on the other hand. no, men really only love you in hindsight. when too much distance has built up. "he says with remorse.

he finally puts the urn back on the table, to Lia's relief. she had been afraid that how he turned and twisted it, that he would accidentally pour the ashes out onto the floor.

"So, when your mother decided to flee to the United States with Ajay on her hip and Lia in her belly," Pagan Min says as he picks up a fork and rises from the table. "I could not help but blame myself." he says as he walks around the table until he stands behind Darpan's chair. "then I realize it," he puts his hands on Darpan's shoulders. "It's not me. No. It was the fucking Golden Path!" he raises his voice and grabs Darpan's head and slams it into the table. Lia flinches, the sound of pagan's voice and the sound of crockery and cutlery had frightened her more than she likes to admit. Ajay holds a tight grip on her hand. trying to help her stay calm. but her tremors had intensified.

before Darpan has time to move, Pagan Min stabs the fork violently in the other man's back. "those fucking terrorists, they ruin everything." he says as he waves a finger at the siblings, like a warning. Pagan Min turns his attention back to the suffering Darpan. "like dinner. did no one ever teach you that it's rude to text under the table?" Pagan scolds the injured man.

he looks down at Darpan's hands as Darpan tries to catch himself when Pagan Min pushes him down the table. a phone was under his hand. "let me see here." Pagan Min as he tries to take the phone out of Darpan's clasped hand. "give me the phone!" he growls as he beats Darpan's hand until he releases the phone.

Pagan Min picks up the phone and holds it up, disappointed in his guard's miss. "Really guys? We're not checking for these anymore?" he says sullenly. he looks curiously at what Darpan has texted. "ah." I'm with Ajay and Lia Ghale. "You will love this part." he says to paul. "help!" Pagan grins mockingly, showing the text to the others around the table. he looks down at Darpan. "a text for help?" he asks mockingly.

during all this, Pagan had not released the pressure on the fork in Darpan's back. "you do not text for help, you cry for help. if you are going to do something, you are going to do it right. here we go." he says in a dark voice as he forces Darpan to the open windows using the fork. Ajay gives his sister's hand a squeeze.

"come on. cry for help." Pagan says but Darpan keeps quiet. Pagan pulls painfully on the fork. "cry for help." he orders, with an underlying threat. this time Darpan obeys. with a faint cry. "help!" but Pagan is not happy. "aw, pathetic. no. cry for help." Pagan threatens again. "help!" Darpan tries again. "like you mean it, boy." again Darpan tries. "help!" Pagan's patience began to wane. "HELP! From your diaphragm! HELP!" Pagan shouts. "help!" finally Darpan shouts loud enough. Pagan silences him. "shh, shh, shh, shh, shh. now we listen ..." the two stand silent until Pagan continues. "nothing. I'm afraid they are not coming for you buddy." he says with false compassion. before pulling the fork violently. making Darpan flinch from the pain. Pagan, now apparently lost interest in fucking Darpan, gestures to his guards to take him. "finds out what he knows." he says, uninterested. he turns to the table again, throws away the fork. "terrorists, right?" he says as he picks up his phone. behind him, the guards lead Darpan away. "now, please, stay right here. enjoy the crab rangoon. do not move. I will be right back." Pagan appeals as he follows Paul and the guards. he turns his back on them and picks up his phone to his ear. "Yuma, we need to talk." and Ajay and Lia were left alone.

"when they said that Kyrat was dangerous, I thought they meant robbers or something, not that we would be captured by the country's fucking king." Lia exclaims and puts her face in her hands. Ajay, still awake, stands up, puts back on their mother's urn and puts it in his backpack. before turning to his sister. he puts a hand on her back, slowly stroking it in comfort. "Come on, Lia. We have to get out of here." he says. grabs his sister's arm and pulls her out of her seat. she nods and the two start looking around for a way out. they manage to find their way down to a lower level. "This place is a maze." Lia says softly. suddenly a faint scream is heard from somewhere. "what the fuck?" Ajay says. he finds the surface a staircase leading further down. "Lia, here." he calls as he goes down the stairs, against the tormented screams. Lia remains uncertain on the landing. "Ajay? Is this such a good idea." but when she gets no answer she follows. he was older one, he has life experience. he knows what he's doing, right? she follows Ajay into what looks like a basement. the scream is becoming clearer. and Lia grabs the back of Ajay's jacket, holding on.

Suddenly, the screaming is interrupted, and by another voice is heard. Paul's voice. they step into a room that appears to be an observation room, overlooking a torture room. where Paul had Darpan tied up, electrifying him. "oh fuck." Ajay gasps. Lia pushes herself against his back. "Now, do you know why you're here?" Paul asks. without letting Darpan answer, he turns on the power. Darpan screams. "do not look Lia." he whispers. keeps her pressed against his back so she at least can not see what is happening. his eyes do not leave the torture chamber while Ajay slowly moves them around the room.

"good. you are Golden Path. a terrorist. a" bad guy. "and I'm a" good guy. "which means I do not really want to hurt you. I only want to listen. and, you know, people tell me "I'm a great listener, so if you just tell me who your friends are, what they're up to, and when it's gonna happen... we can avoid it." Paul turn on the power again. ""good. breathe. now, we already know you have spies on the compound. So, how do you know Ajay Ghale and Lia Ghale? what does the Golden Path want with them?" Paul asks.

Paul sits back on the simple wooden chair, in front of his prisoner. "and more specifically, what do you know about Lia Ghale?" Ajay casts a surprised look over his shoulder at his sister. what can they want from her? Lia looks back, her eyes show how scared she really is.

Ajay begins to move them towards what he assumed was an exit. "Come on, Lia. We have to get out of here." with his sister after him, he quietly pulls open the door and is met by a gun aimed straight at his face. a young man holds the gun. "Ajay and Lia Ghale?" the man asks, looking between the two. "My name is Sabal, I am with the Golden Path." the man explains. "Golden Path?" Ajay asks. anxiety flows over him. he wanted to get them away from the conflict, not get more involved in it.

"We are friends. I know your father. We are here to save you, son and daughter of Mohan." he says. he looks at the siblings with a strange look of reverence. Lia becomes uncomfortable, Sabal had a look that reminded her of a fanatic. Ajay looks over his shoulder, back into the room with the torture chamber. "What about Darpan?" he asks. "you two are our priority, we need to get you out of here safely. no matter the cost." Sabal response is dark. he gets a remorse-filled look as he looks in behind the siblings. "Darpan would understand." his face quickly becomes serious again. "Now, stay close." he says, leading them to another door. Lia hesitates, looking one last time behind her, before Ajay closes the door.

"Come on Lia." Ajay urges her to follow. they all stop when suddenly angry voices shout from above.

Sabal raises his gun. "shit! they know we're here. the door, Quickly!" he urges the siblings to follow him to a pair of large double doors. but for one can hear the sound of machine guns and explotons from grenades. Sabal peeks out the door. he looks back at them. "Ajay, Lia, when these doors open I need you to keep your heads down and make a run for the truck. Move as fast as you can. Understood?" he says fast. "yeah, yeah. got it." Ajay answers. Sabal looks down at Lia. "Lia?" she sighs, but nods. "yeah. got it." Sabal gives her a crooked smile. he goes back to the door. "One Two Three." at three Sabal pushes the door open and rushes out, his two soldiers are quickly behind. now only Ajay and Lia were left. Ajay turns to his sister, who looks younger than her twenty-two years right now. he extends his hand to her. "here, take my hand." Lia sighs but takes his hand. Ajay holds her hand tight, looks her directly in her eyes. "Whatever you do do not let go, okay?" Lia squeezes his hand. "Okay." Ajay steps up to the door. "Okay, here we go." He he pumps himself up, and with that he pulls open the door and runs with his sister on his heels.

they run, through torrential rain, past soldiers, trying to avoid being hit by shrapnel. through gunpowder smoke they can see a truck. Sabal shouts at them. "Ajay Lia, get inside!" Ajay more or less throws Lia into the truck and jumps in after. through a waitaki Sabal's voice is heard. "get them to safety. go, I'll cover you!" the driver did not have to be told twice.

a little further down the road they meet that soldiers see that a roadblock has been set up. "what the hell." Ajay gasps as he holds on to the roof as soldiers begin firing at the truck. "it's a gun under the dashboard. use it!" the driver shouts to Ajay. Lia looks doubtfully at Ajay as he picks up the gun. "Ajay?" she tries but is ignored. next to the blockade is what looks like oil barrels, Ajay aims and fires. he hits, and the oil barrels explode in a fireball. they drive past bodies of soldiers, continuing down the hill. Ajay continues to shoot those who try to stop them. just as it seemed that they were in the clear, another truck crashes straight into them, forcing them out of the way. straight down a precipice. Lia feels something grab her, she is pressed against her brother. they hit a cliff ledge, continue down and hit the ground with a bang and everything goes black

Ajay disoriented, gets up and tries to gather. he is in pain, ringing in his ears. but he is alive. he hears Sabal shouting over the walkie talkie. "Ajay, Lia, if any of you hear this, respond. Ajay Ghale, Lia Ghale, please respond." Ajay looks around. walkie talkie lies by the chauffeur's dead body. a tree had fallen on his head, crushed it. Ajay stumbles over and picks up the walkie talkie. "Hello?" he says in an unsteady voice. "Thank you Kyrat! this is Sabal. where are you?" he asks with relief. Ajay looks up. they were a long way down. "I do not know. fuck, the driver is dead." Ajay says, looking down at the man who was just sitting next to him. "okay, listen to me. look around, you should be able to see a tower nearby." Sabal says. ignore to respond to the information that the driver was dead. Ajay takes the driver's machete, gets up and looks. a good distance away stands a tower. "I need you to make your way there. I'm on my way to secure it now." Ajay looks down at the walkie talkie. what has he ended up in? "head to the tower, okay." he repeats. "You can do this Ajay. You can take you and your sister to safety." Sabal says before the radio dies. Ajay remembers something. he sister. Ajay frantically starts looking around for her.

"Lia?" he calls quietly, worried that soldiers might hear him. he steps around the wreck of the truck and sees his sister lying some distance away against a large rock. "Lia!" he runs for her. Lia wakes up. her whole body ached, but her foot felt like it was burning. "Lia!" she hears her brother shouting. she tries to get up but collapses as soon as she puts weight on her foot. Ajay comes up to her. "Lia! Fuck, I got scared. Come on, we're going to that tower, Sabal is waiting for us there." he says, pointing to the tower in the distance. Lia looks down at her foot. she could not stand up, she could not run. they were screwed. a thought strikes her. she looks up at her brother with a nervous look. "I do not think I can run, Ajay." she says in a weak voice. Ajay's relief disappears when he sees that she can not stand up. "you are injured." he clarifies, crouches down next to her. Ajay looks down at her. the wheels within his head turning. "I can carry you." he tries as he gets up, and starts pulling her up. "Ajay, that tor is up on a mountain. You can not climb with me on your back." she tries to explain. "then we'll find another way, come on." he again tries to get her to stand up. "If you carry me, we will never get away, I will slow you down." she says again. growls as he pulls her up. Ajay looks her in the eyes. "what are you trying to say?" he asks. he knows answers but wants to pretend he does not. Lia holds her brother's forearms, with a serious face, she says. "You have to leave me here." Ajay frowns. "not a chance Lia. you'll get caught." he says. angry that she even suggested it. Lia jerks his arms. "if you carry me you will be caught anyway, this way you can get away." she says, frustrated that he does not realize. "and what then? they catch you and who knows, kill you?" he hisses at her.

"if he wanted to kill me, he would have already done so." she growls back. she releases her brother's arms, slowly and unsteadily sits down again. her brother helps, crouches next to her. "he knew we were on that bus, he had placed orders to stop it. he went a long way just to kill us. he knew our mother, had some connection to her and us." she says. flinch as she leans back against the stone. she looks up at her brother, who looks at her with anxiety. "I think he knows something we do not know, and he wants something with us." she concludes. Ajay looks at her. he did not like this at all. "so I'm just going to abandon you and leave? You must have hit your head harder than we thought if you think I will." Lia smiles at him. Ajay had always looked out for her, gone over fire and water for her sake. "Of course not. I expect you to save me on a white horse." she jokes. but Ajay's face remains disapproving. "Ajay we do not have time to argue about this. Please, if we are both caught it's all over." she appeals. she puts a hand on his arm. "please." Ajay looks at her. he feels despair, because he knows she's right. he gets up, walks over to the car wreck, finds another walkie talkie. "I'm coming for you, okay." he says as he gives her the radio. Lia laughs. "I know. Be careful." Ajay bends over and hugs her. "I promise. love you Lia." he whispers. she holds him tight. "I love you too, Ajay." with one last hesitant look, Ajay leaves her. Lia wipes the tears from her eyes. he will save her, she is convinced.

it does not take long for the soldiers to find her. she hears their cries before she sees them. five, six men come out of the woods, weapons ready. Lia takes a deep breath. an attempt to calm her heart. it was one thing to plan, quite another to stand face to face with an immediate danger.

when the soldiers saw her, they stormed over, shouting different orders. Lia raises her hands gently, trying to be compliant. when she does not stand up, two of the men grab her, hoist her up. but Lia growls and almost falls when she is forced to stand on her injured foot. one of the soldiers growls at those who are holding her. while the soldiers hold her up, by searching for her, tying her hands, before she is lifted up. while she is carrying away, one of the soldiers shouts where Ajay is, but Lia is silent.

the journey was long. she had thought she would be taken to the same place that Pagan first took them to. but it was apparently just Paul's place. Pagan Min's haunt was the Royal Palace, perched in the mountains. if she thought Paul's place was lavish, the palace was set up as The Cave of Wonders as a brothel.

she is more or less carried in and taken to a room, out on a balcony. at a table set up with tea and small pastries sits none other than Pagan Min, waiting. Lia feels fear swell in her. she would soon be alone with a power-mad, murderous, psychopath.

"ah, there you are, my dear. I began to worry." Pagan says. he showed no sign of being angry, just as if she happened to be late for coffee. he stands up and with one hand points to a chair opposite his. "well, were you raised in a barn? help poor girl sit down and free her hands. can you not even control a girl without tying her up? he says loudly to his soldiers. they obey quickly before stepping away, guard the door." good help is so hard to find. "Pagan sighs with disgust before turning to Lia with a smile. "tea?" he asks, sitting down and picking up the teapot. Lia looks at him suspiciously as he pours. what is his plan? he looks back at her again. "Now, let's talk. I suppose you will not tell where your brother is. "he says, and takes a sip from his cup. Lia does not answer. he raises an eyebrow. sets down his cup. and asks." then, let move on, shall we "he moves closer. clasps his hands on the table in front of him." what do you know about your father? "Lia is taken back by the question." my father? nothing, he died before I was born. "she answers before she has time to think. he looks at her." your mother never said anything else? "he asks. Lia thinks about her answer, unsure what he wants to find out by ask about her parents. she is considering her answer. "no. she said nothing at all about him. too painful I guess. "she gets a distant look." Ajay was the one who told him he was dead. "Pagan reacts. he leans forward curiously." is that so? "

"What would you say if I said I had information that your father was still alive?" he asks with a grin. Lia looks at him with uncertainty. "I would call you a liar." Pagan laughs at her answer. "bold. but I'm telling the truth." he extends his hand and one of his men give him a letter of paper. "so, my and Ajay's dad is alive, how come you know? you have him in a dungeon or something?" she asks sarcastically. Pagan looks at her, amused by her. "No. I'm saying your dad's alive." he explains as if she were a stupid child. "Ajay and I have the same father." she says. "are you sure?" Pagan said as he slid a letter on the table over to her.

Lia looks at the letter. it was face down so she could not read without turning it over. "How can I know that what is written is true? You could have forged it." she says suspiciously. Pagan grins and stands up. "What would I get from lying to you?" he asks. he walks around her chair and stands by her side. "Are you not a little curious?" he crouches down beside her. looking at her intendly. "you must have noticed differences between you and your brother and your mother. different face shape, different skin tones ...?" he looks her straight in the eye. "different eyes?" Lia's gaze falls. there were differences between her and the others in her family, she had only assumed it was things she inherited from her father. she looks at the paper. if what Pagan says is true. Lia stubbornly refused to look. Pagan sighs. "I clearly not get anywhere with this." he says to himself. he stands up, gestures to a soldier. "It's been a long day, take Miss Lia to her room, will you?" the soldier stood behind her chair, waiting for her to stand up.

she stands and the soldier begins to lead her away when she turns and asks. " if I were to believe you, what's in it for you? why do you care who my dad is?" she asks in a low voice. Pagan smiles tenderly at her. "let's say I have a personal interest."

after she has had her foot taken care of, the soldier leads her to what was to take place. it resembled the room she had woken up in before, only bigger. the soldier had also left the letter on a table near the door. Lia tried to ignore it but Pagan's words made her fingers itch. she tried to distract herself by exploring the room more carefully.

it was furnished with what was needed. a bed, bedside table, wardrobe, it even had clothes in it, in her size. she is holding up a long white form-fitting shirt. it was obviously sewn by hand. small gold details on sleeves and collar. who sewed it had put a lot of work into it. She shuddered. how long had he known she and Ajay were coming to Kyrat?

there was also a bookshelf, filled with different books in different languages. English, Hindi, Arabic. the subjects ranged from history to fiction. further into the room there was a bathrooms, fully decked out.

there were even bath oils and flower petals if she wanted to take an indulgent bath. Lia gets a thought. the room was made up for someone to be there, she had been expected. and expected to stay for a while.

after jumping around on one foot, and taking support against furniture, she was dead tired. she gave up her stubbornness and sat down on the bed. but that left her with the "what if's?" was her brother okay? was he safe? what would happen to her? what was Pagan Min's plan for her and Ajay? what did the Golden Path want with them? and worst of all. what was written on that letter?

she stands up again, leans on the bed for support. she slowly crosses over to the table with the letter on. the letter was obviously old, the paper had turned yellow. looked like it had been read several times. but it was not torn or damaged, someone had taken good care of it.

the letter was folding, probably from lying in an envelope. Lia puts a hand on her face. I'm acting stupid. she thinks, and picks up the letter. she jumps back to bed. but she does not open the letter. she just holds it. it was probably fake. nothing would change if she read it, right? she unfolds it and reads.

Dear Pagan.

I'm sorry I had to leave you like I did. but you would never have let me if I had told you. this is the only way. I can not risk being caught. if the Golden Path found out I was trying to escape, they would chase me and Ajay down and kill us. I have something I should have told you before I left you, but I knew it would make it harder. for both of us. I'm pregnant with your second child. after what happened I can not stay. my children's lives were in danger. is in danger. I can not lose another child.

this is the last contact we will have. I can not risk being found.

I'm sorry.

I love you

Ishwari

Lia stares at the letter. this is a lie. it must be a lie. Pagan forged it or ... or. but it's her mother's handwriting, the dates are right. Lia drops the letter and puts her hand over her mouth. what is she going to tell Ajay? she is Pagan Min's daughter.