-Please don't let it be the case!-

A guilty conscience weighed heavily on Ajay, he could imagine thousands upon thousands cursing his grave on the other side for taking away gorgeous women from the spotlight. Ajay raked his mind to remember his encounters.

Ajay couldn't recall a time he had ever seen a woman among the ranks of the royal army let alone amongst the elite Royal Guards. She was a total enigma but also a complete bombshell of a woman, if that old bag from the media society ever found her, she'd scout her to be the next representative as Miss Kyrat for the Miss Universe competitions.

"Who the hell do you think you are?!" She shouted at him as she slapped his hand aside that unhooded her.

"QUIETTT!" The hunter's loud noise was the last straw. The nurse had had it with the commotion by the door and shouted at the top of her lungs. Ajay found the need to cover his ears from the loudness even when he never wore hearing protection during firefights. The wounded soldier who was undergoing surgery coughed violently due to the disruptive sound.

"""Sorry!""" The Soldiers were the first to leave, Ajay and the gorgeous hunter too expressed their apologies.

"Look, I'm sorry but your brother is undergoing surgery let's take this elsewhere shall we?" Having the hunter hold a grudge against him was one way of getting Yuma's attention.

The hunter glared at him with all the hate she could muster.

"Hmph!" The hunter turned away and walked off leaving him without answering.

Ajay sighed half relieved and half out of hassle.

He looked at his watch.

-Whatever. Time to find Pagan.-


Pagan was sitting comfortably in on one of the couches by the fire place of Yuma's warden office. Being the vice lord of her territory and the warden to Durgesh Prison gave her numerous privileges, she also had her assets and criminal empire in Hong Kong which she left to an overseer.

Yuma herself was standing by the fire. She had just heard Pagan's future plans for Ajay.

"Hmph! Whatever, as long as his interests don't clash with mine he won't have to face me."

Pagan chuckled at Yuma's hate for Ajay when she had only just met him.

"I'm sure the boy got the message quiet early on from you. Hahh…. My dear Yuma, must you really hate the boy because he is his mother's child?" Pagan said in his usual flamboyant attitude.

Yuma turned away from him. "That's not the reason I hate him.." She murmured under her breath.

"(Sigh)…. In any case, I hope you give him all the cooperation he needs. I guarantee you, he's gonna rock your socks off! Just as he did mine today." Pagan took another gulp of his favourite wine.

Yuma was slightly baffled by what he said. "ngoh mh ming baahk?"

"I'm saying Ajay Ghale killed over fifty people today, alone and by himself without batting an eye!" Pagan disclosed the disturbing information to his over anxious sister while grinning.

"…..You've got to be jok-! Hyiee!" Yuma tried to dismiss his claim when Pagan came behind her suddenly and pinned both her hands to the wall with his as he her stared down.

"Do you presume to doubt my word?" Pagan said in an intimidation expression that he rarely showed anyone, only when he was really really upset with someone. Yuma shivered and avoided the frightening gaze of Pagan.

"N-No! Dui mmh jyuh, Tailoh…." Yuma said with all the former cold front she had shattered.

"Oh- good! Just wait and see, he won't disappoint you!" Like a storm had just subsided, Pagan returned to his former cheerful behavior.

Yuma was gritting her teeth in her thoughts. He had not shown this type of behaviour for a long time, not since the bitch left after losing her child with him. She thought she could fill in the place which Ishwari left in Pagan's life but proved to be a disappointment, he shunned her away from him. Yuma was partly heartbroken to see him in that state of self-torture, if only he never fell in love with that whore, her brother would have been spared the pain. She hated Ajay more and more by the second.

The door to her office was knocked a few times.

"Go away! I'm entertaining a guest!" She announced.

"Whooo is it?" Pagan asked instead.

"It's Ajay, can I come in?"

"Of course! Come in, Come! Come!"

Ajay pushed the door open to find a luxuriously furnished office/lounge. All modern aesthetics instead of the traditional style, it was almost like a New York studio.

"Sorry, I'm late."

"Nah! No problem, right Yuma?"

"Hmph!" She looked away from him to avoid pissing herself off.

"Have a seat, my boy!"

"Uh…Sure." Ajay looked to Yuma first. But Yuma only wanted to stay indifferent.

"I was just telling Yuma about our little mountain adventure just now among the other things."

"Tell me then, where did you learn to fight like that?" Yuma asked in a cold tone.

"In the streets, I wasn't an angel back then either. I robbed, killed and fought to survive." Ajay remembered the harsh times he had in the states. Everyone thought living in the US was a breeze, that it was a land of opportunity and abundance. Perhaps it was due to his mother's non-citizen status that she couldn't qualify for certain welfare in the past. He remembered her often crying alone in the night when he should have been asleep.

Pagan and Yuma saw his expression as he recalled these images and both had complicated feelings regarding his past.

Pagan tried to change the subject.

"So I was thinking for your coronation ceremony, fireworks, invitations, a National holiday!" Pagan was already crafting ideas of how to present to Kyrat their new king.

"Actually I'd like to ask a favor."

"Oh?"

"I want Ajay Ghale to disappear for a period of time." Pagan and Yuma were both stunned by his request.

"Oh? And why might that be?" Pagan asked without the malice.

"There are a few things I'd like to sort out first, mostly concerning the Golden Path. I'll also need some special soldiers to help me in clandestine operations."

"You really despise the Golden Path don't you. Care to share?" Pagan was interested in why Ajay was so fixated on the Golden Path when he had only just arrived to Kyrat at tops two days. Yuma was just as astounded and was also interested in learning why.

Ajay really couldn't tell them it was to get revenge on Sabal because he hadn't even met him here.

"The Golden Path has run rampant for the last two decades unchallenged. For years it's portrayed itself as the righteous liberators of Kyrat, perhaps because Pagan, your portfolio is having all the traits for a textbook villain." Ajay smiled wryly.

"Heh!" Pagan chuckled.

"But in the end, any dictionary reference would tell you what they are…. Rebels. A lot of people have suffered under the actions of the Golden Path and the prolonging effect of the civil war, all of which they pass off as necessary sacrifices. They hold on to tradition like zealots, ignoring the needs of others. They think they ride a righteous cause because they fight a wicked man and that gives them enough justification to do what they want, take what they need, damaging the countries integrity! They forget you are the ruling sovereign and seek to create separatism because it suits their needs. If that isn't rebellion, then I don't know what is!"

Pagan seemed surprised at his thought process, Yuma carefully paid attention.

"We're all victims of them! You, me and countless others who lose their loved ones to their selfish actions in this civil war. I can't tell you how ashamed I feel to bear the blood of Mohan Ghale in my veins, a child killer! And a man that hurt my mother, the only family I had. To think the entire Golden Path was built on his principles. If family means only so much before tradition in their values, then they don't deserve to live! I will crush them!" Ajay declared ferociously.

A silence dominated the room. Pagan smiled and clapped his hands. "Bravo son, bravo! I knew you had it in you, the makings of a king!"

Yuma stared at Ajay silently but her thoughts was jumbled. "Family…" She whispered.

It would be a lie to say they weren't empowered by his speech, perhaps because all he said was true and Ajay had said it from the heart.

"Uh- Sorry! I got too worked up! Aha- Ahahaha!" Ajay laughed it off.

"Alright, fair enough Ajay. I'll hold the ceremony off for the time being. Now I do recall you mentioning something about needing some hands-…."

"You can have my hunter cadre!" Yuma took the lead in informing him.

Ajay and Pagan were surprised by her offer. "Well….I didn't expect you to be so forthcoming but-."

"Not another word!" She pointed to Pagan who surrendered his hands in the air. "Ok! Ok!"

She turned to Ajay sizing him top to bottom. She truly didn't think much of him at first and even now she still hated him as much as before, but… There was something about him that made her want to take the initiative in helping him. She was originally baffled why he stood against everything his father stood for but she didn't expect he hated him that much. What would she gain from assisting him? The Golden Path hadn't been a threat to her for so long, her operations had always run smoothly without problems. Was it because of Pagan? When she helped Ajay she indirectly helped her adoptive brother. It was quite satisfying to see him smile like he used to. Maybe if she could provide Ajay assistance she could also help restore Pagan in a sense.

-Yes! That should be the way!-

"Again, I'm saying I'll send a detail of hunters to aid you."

Ajay was shocked why Yuma wanted to suddenly dedicate her hunters to help him in his cause. The hunters, the most dangerous adversaries in his past life. The only few who posed a huge threat to him, he employed various means against them, traps, explosives, high-calibre weaponry. He'd never attempt to engage them at close range because he would regret it, even then he still comes out with heavy injuries or worse cases poisoned. Hurk was a big help to have around to watch his back, though slightly dim-witted and obnoxious he could fight pretty decently when compared to the normal fighters and wouldn't flinch as much as them in combat either, those were one of the killer reasons for losing one's life here. Just by turning away for a second you could lose track of certain movements, this was especially the case for the Royal Guard Hunters.

To have them on his side was a god given opportunity he couldn't miss out on. The power of the hunters at his disposal.

"You have my thanks. I won't disappoint you." Ajay bowed respectfully to Yuma. "Hmm!" She grunted in acknowledgement of him.

This, of course, brought a smile to Pagan's face. "Look at us! One big family working together!-…"

Ajay cocked an eyebrow while turning to Yuma to see she had done the same. They quickly broke eye contact for different reasons. Yuma didn't want the boy to get the wrong idea they were a family. Ajay, on the other hand, was afraid to look her in the eye again.

Pagan laughed at their reactions to each other.

"Well, it's time we head back. Won't want to take you away from work." Pagan winked at his sister. Yuma's heart quickened when he did that, and she turned away. "Hmph!"

Pagan laughed. "Shy as always, eh? Come on, Ajay. We're leaving."

"Right. Yuma… thanks." Ajay tried to give a grateful smile but Yuma glared at him instead. It seems Pagan was the only one who could get a different response from her, he really was a special existence to her. No wonder she hated his mother for stealing him away.

Pagan and Ajay left the room, Yuma sat at her desk massaging her temples. She looked at her telephone, pressing the number to her aide. "Send Maya up."

*Yes, ma'am!* The receiver responded before closing the phone.

Yuma had intended to dispatch a group to Ajay as she promised but that wasn't the only thing she wanted them to do for her.

A knock on the door sounded the arrival of her closest member in her retinue. "Come in."

The door knot turned and the heavy wooden frame door opened halfway. "Mistress, you called?"

"Have a seat, Maya." The one she called was none other than the female hunter Ajay had encountered at the Medical centre. Her right-hand woman who was also her protégé.

"I have a job for you."

"Anything for you, mistress!" Maya exclaimed happily, she rarely had been given tasks by her mentor, it was a good opportunity to prove herself worthy to stand by Yuma's side.

"I'm sending a cadre to be commanded by Ajay Ghale, I want you to be in it. To be my eyes and ears for me on him." Maya was shocked by Yuma's request.

-Ajay Ghale?! Working for that detestable man?!- Yuma saw through Maya's displeasure when she brought it up.

"You're not the only one who shares the same opinion of him, but I need someone to monitor his movement. I want you to watch him for me and report if there are any unusual activities. If he doesn't meet the standards I've set, I'll send you the kill order!" Yuma clarified her orders.

"Understood, mistress." Maya said satisfied with her mentor's response.

"Then, when do I start?"


It was nearly a week since Ajay had returned to the past. At very least, he wasn't waking up to the tune of "I got you babe" with a bag over his head at De pleur's table. Ajay took the time to exercise to bring his body fitness back to the level he had in the previous timeline, he also read books in the private library concerning warfare, agriculture and politics. He made no excuses for himself not to learn more. Upon returning, Pagan called in his chief designer to fashion him some new clothing to replace the bloodstained ones, ironically it was Mr Chiffon. In the previous timeline, Mr Chiffon took refuge in a hovel outside the towns and villages to evade Pagan who happened to have the mind of raising the value of his works by killing him. Ajay was wondering if his turning point had affected the original timeline of events that took place. Perhaps his interference presently had changed Pagan's former mood, always smiling away and laughing through the thin walls of the palace. It was quite heartening to see him up and about, Ajay had more a less considered Pagan as a part of his family even if it was by the will of his mother they would become family. Pagan had decreed that no one was to reveal the current status of Ajay and all who knew were warned or censored. So that Ajay could remain anonymous to the people and the Golden Path fighters.

A knock came on his door. "Yes? Come in." Ajay gave whoever was knocking permission to enter his room.

"Sir, Corporal Bipin reporting. I have been assigned to be your aide and guide through the Military zones. I hope to serve you to the best of my abilities, sir!"

"You're-…." Ajay recognized the guard's face, it was the wounded soldier and the brother of the female hunter or huntress. He couldn't forget her, he would be lying if he wasn't taken by her beauty.

"Yes, sir. Thank you for your kindness that day! I swore to repay you for saving my life that day."

"All I did was let you go in the chopper first." Ajay said puzzled.

"Usually that isn't something done especially in King Min's or Mistress Yuma's personal helicopter. If you hadn't asked his highness that day I would have been delivered to the nearest fortress by jeep which could have been a nine-hour ride. Possibly, I may have perished from bleeding out. Therefore, allow me to express my thanks once again, sir!" The guard bowed, Ajay reached out to bring him up.

"That isn't necessary, you did your job protecting your sovereign. You deserved to be commended, giving you priority was just a way of giving my thanks to you for protecting Pagan. Thank you, Corporal!" It was Ajay's turn to bow to Bipin which caused the young corporal to become frantic but also surprised by Ajay's humility.

"And it won't be necessary for you to call me sir, Ajay will do just fine." Ajay smiled.

"I cannot, sir!" Bipin insisted.

"Mmmm….. maybe not when Pagan is around but if it's just me it should be fine. Nice to meet you, Bipin. I look forward to working with you!" Ajay reached his hand out for a handshake, Bipin was stunned at first but quickly took his hand to give a firm handshake.

"Likewise, si-Ajay! Sorry! Sorry!" Bipin stumbled on his first time calling Ajay by his name, Ajay snickered lightly.

"Have a seat, I'll be with you shortly." Ajay motioned his hand to the coffee table and went to the walk-in wardrobe that was a part of his accommodation Pagan gave him.

"Ah! Y-yes!" Bipin took a seat quickly.

"How's the leg?" Ajay asked behind the wardrobe as he changed into a pair of military fatigues designed by Chiffon, the prototype to his 'Combat couture' series of outfits.

"Ah! Fine, sir-Ajay! The doctor recommended I shouldn't do any strenuous activities for at least a week."

"Don't worry, I won't ask you to do any heavy lifting or running. What I need are details about the army and the populous."

Bipin turned around and noticed the wall was elaborately decorated with pins and wires holding notes and pictures. Pictures of Golden Path leaders Amita and Sabal, the two headed elephant. A foreigner, Paul, even Lady Noore, King Min and Mistress Yuma. Bipin's heart palpitated, was Ajay plotting an assassination of his royal highness right after saving him? That's not right, he noticed the colour of the wires were different for Lady Noore, King Min and Mistress Yuma's. A blue string connected their picture and other related notes.

"I'm not plotting to kill Pagan." Ajay had finished dressing fully into his outing outfit and noticed Bipin staring at the board containing his planned thoughts. He read the young Guard's impression quickly.

"N-No! No! I wasn't thinking that!" Although it was apparent that he did.

Ajay brewed up two cups of Himalayan milk tea. He held it out to Bipin who received it with two hands. "Thank you, Ajay."

"I don't know how much sugar you wanted so I put just one. Sorry for not asking earlier."

"It'll do! The sentiment counts, thank you!" Bipin drank from the cup.

"Um…Ajay?"

"Mmmm?"

"Might I inquire what is on this board?" He looked towards the Investigation chart Ajay had set up.

"..."

"You need not answer! It was just out of curiosity!" Bipin tried to clarify himself.

"It's something to help me organize my thoughts so I don't miss anything out."

"Miss out?..."

"How I plan to make my moves against the Golden Path and how do I deal with the cause and effect of my actions. After all, for every opportunity, there is a consequence. I'm just making sure I consider all my options first." Bipin was surprised to hear Ajay was planning to move against the Golden Path on his own. From what he heard, in the rumours and briefing, Ajay had just returned from the Americas that day he escorted them. Yet the very individual that King Min had given priority in safety above his own had singlehandedly challenged the Golden Path attackers and forced them back with little help from them. He was having a hard time imagining how a person living in America could do things with such brutal efficiency. It was like he was an experienced hunter…. like his elder sister.

"Y-You mustn't move against them yourself, Ajay!" Bipin cautioned Ajay.

"I'm won't, today Yuma's sending a cadre to help me out. She sure took her time!" Ajay chuckled as he sipped his tea. Bipin was unsure of his familiarity with such high level figures and calling them by their first names, something no one would dare do.

"Uh...huh!"

"Which comes down to what I'd like from you presently…"

"Please ask me anything! I'll be sure to answer your queries to the best of my abilities!" Bipin beat his chest to express his commitment.

"Ok. Why don't you tell me a little about yourself? I'm curious of what the life of a Royal guard was like." Bipin was baffled but didn't delay, he gathered his thoughts quickly and organised his history.

"Um. This might be a little embarrassing but-…..(sigh). I'm an orphan!"

"Uh-huh." Ajay was not at all phased by what Bipin confessed, rather he was unaware of the reason Bipin was uncomfortable with this history.

"I'm sorry, does that have any significance in the Royal Army ranks?" Ajay inquired.

"Ah! Sorry for not making myself clear, of course you wouldn't know about it coming back from America and all. Again sorry!" Ajay waved that it was alright.

"The requirement for joining the Royal Guards is to be part of certain warrior family clans or lineage. If you can prove it to the recruitment camp they will grant you a path from the regular army to the elite guard training facilities. It's just that…" Bipin was about to give the reason why his case was abnormal. Ajay could see there was an outstanding difference in the regular army and the guards, and it wasn't in just attire and equipment. The guards were obviously paid and fed better than the average army soldiers.

"When me and my sister, Maya were young our parents were murdered by the early Golden Path rebels right in front of us and our belongings were burnt to ashes. We went through some rough times then. The problem was that our family charts were lost in the fire and so I had no way of proving that I was of warrior lineage and therefore could not support me and my sister as a guard and only as a private soldier or as a labourer. It was especially difficult as we had commitments in the orphanage we were raised in and wanted to provide our salaries to them."

Ajay sort of understood his circumstance of why he shouldn't be allowed in the normal way into the exclusive Royal Guards ranks.

"But then, Mistress Yuma came one day and found my sister. She took her in as her protégé, so she became one of the rare cases to become an elite guard hunter but also a skilled administrator. From there, my sister helped to pull a few strings to help me get in. Of course, my presence in the ranks was always questionable amongst my peers but they aren't wrong!" Ajay listened carefully to Bipin's circumstances.

"That's not the way I see it, you might not be able to prove you come from a clan of warriors but shouldn't it be your actions that prove whether you have the material to be a warrior? If you always think you don't deserve to be a part of the Royal Guards then you won't, so don't ever sell yourself short!" Ajay gave him a harsh reprimand.

Bipin looked up to Ajay meaningfully. "Thank you, Ajay. For believing in me! I promise not to let down my family's name."

"Good lad, now I'd like to ask are there any other women in the Royal Army besides your sister?"

-Moment of truth!- Ajay kept his fingers crossed behind his back.

"No, that doesn't seem to be the case. My sister is the rare exception by Mistress Yuma." Ajay breathed a sigh of relief. He had not indiscriminately killed women, just soldiers. He wondered why he never remembered encountering her when faced with the pack hunters in the past. Could it be she was one of the unlucky few who tripped on his booby traps early on?

"No women in the army, and yet the Golden Path employs both… any reason for them not to join or be allowed to join?"

Bipin thought carefully about the army rules and regulations, he even consulted the soldier's handbook which he lent to Ajay to examine and read.

"Nothing." Was Ajay's conclusion.

"What are the women expected to do then in society?"

"Well, raising the children and taking care of the household, it's usually the man's job to bring bread to the table."

"Mmmm…..right! I'll bring this up with Pagan, see what he thinks."

"What?!- I mean- is it really a good idea to disturb his highness?" Bipin had received more heart attacks today than ever with the way Ajay did things.

"Should be fine. This would increase the numbers available for recruitment roughly by fifty percent! Besides, if there are no laws enforcing men to work only then they should be given the equal opportunity to take up jobs. If women could take up jobs, then communities wouldn't suffer much shortage in manpower."

Bipin wasn't sure about the way Ajay was going about with the political affairs of the country. But he was reminded of the special relationship King Min shared with Ajay, quite ironic considering Ajay was the son of his enemy in the past. Just what was going on? He dares not ask.

"New question….."

"Yes?"

"What is the living conditions between the North-East and South-West Kyrat?"

Ajay wanted to know how much of a disparity there was in personal wealth between the Royal Army controlled North-East and the recently liberated South-West. Yes, during the span of a week virtually all contact with the outposts in the south around Banapur had been lost, somehow the strongholds of Noore and Paul including the airport were holding on. But the rest were lost.

"To be honest, the parts that his highness controls are the poorest, we sometimes barely have enough to feed ourselves. To avoid starving, we join the military or work hard in the farms. This wasn't always the case until a famine occurred twenty years ago in the North-east regions. At the time, the Golden Path had isolated the food flow from the prosperous South-East and hoarded stockpiles for themselves and the growing resistance."

Ajay didn't think Mohan would do this to his own people. To starve them out because they were still under Pagan's domain. So all this was happening while the North-East was suffering under the effects of a famine and shortage, Pagan's administration was also questionable. He had two prominent revenue streams in the country as he could recall, the drug fields for marijuana and medicine he exported. Then there was the rhino breeding program that helped them proliferate that Mr Chiffon told him about, he charged high rates for wealthy businessmen to hunt. Unless the money went into equipping and feeding the Royal Army then that was a different case.

Ajay knew he could no long concentrate on combat but think about improving the peoples' lives, it was his responsibility now.

"I'll need your help in performing administration as well, can it be done?" Ajay asked after coming out of deep thought to Bipin.

"S-sure, I'll try my best!" Bipin said with confidence.

"Alright… Well, let's get going. We don't want to keep the new guys waiting." Ajay left the room holding the door for Bipin as he went out.

"Ah!-" Bipin got up to follow him, although he was a little worried about Yuma's hunters. They were the crème de la crème of the Royal Army, the most elite special forces group in Kyrat. Even though his sister was in it, he was doubtful about the personalities these lone warriors had.

Ajay whistles the 'star spangled banner' along the corridor carefreely as they headed towards Pagan's palace Armory where they were waiting.


"Lieutenant Maya Kadayat, leader of the Royal Guard 3rd Hunters group. Under directions by Mistress Yuma to follow the commands of Ajay Ghale indefinitely." Maya said in a cold tone.

"Did Yuma send it in black and white that you work for me?"

"No."

"Then you don't." Ajay walked up to see the hunters numbering a three besides huntress Maya.

Maya hid her anger but her knuckles scrunched up at that attitude of his.

From Ajay's point of view, they were still Yuma's so whatever Yuma commanded they would follow. This included killing him if the conditions were given, Yuma had just dispatched to him his would-be assassins. He was sure one of them at least reported back to Yuma, most likely Bipin's sister following Bipin's account just now.

"I'll request from Mistress Yuma documentation in the meantime." Maya said.

-Meantime could mean anytime.-

"First off I'd like to know your names!" Ajay turned his attention to the rest there sitting on the weapon crates.

The three others were an assortment of people, they had their hoods down so he could see their different faces.

One with a large build took the initiative in introducing himself. "Anish, I've served in the Royal Army for five years, two in the Royal Guards."

"Nice to meet you, Anish. Ajay Ghale, you'll be working with me and not for me!" He made it apparent he was aware of their status towards him but would still use them anyhow. Ajay reached his hand out for a handshake which Anish took. The fellow squeezed quite tightly to indicate his strength, Ajay smiled at his display.

The next to stand from his seating position was a hunter that looked more like he belonged in a library than in the battlefield, this was made clear by the thick spectacle frame he wore.

"Prayan Hada, I am the communications specialist within the group but I also understand several Kyrati dialects."

"Good to have you, I might need you in translation sometime." Ajay expressed his intentions of using Prayan's natural skill soon. Prayan was ecstatic but hid it internally, someone wanted to make use of his interlect.

Ajay looked around to the last one, when he turned to the final one staring into his eyes and his face only inches away. Ajay froze in his position as the man gazed deeply into his soul.

"I see the makings of a king!" Darshan loudly declared with his arms raised.

"That's Darshan, he always seems high due to all the pot he smokes! Makes him more philosophical."

"I see three kings now!" Darshan said under the influence.

"See!" Prayan told him.

"I can see, though I'm not against you smoking or sticking a needle or two anything, just don't fuck up my operations and don't slow the others down. Other than that you're free to take in anything you want." Ajay wrapped his hand around the back of Darshan to steady him from swaying about and to look at him when he was talking. Darshan grinned.

"Good!" Ajay took it as a yes and looked at the rest.

"Ajay! I have the files you request- Maya?" Bipin came back with the intelligence on the area he requested from the communications office.

"Bipin! What are you doing here? I thought you were supposed to be in the ward!" His sister patted him down concerned over her younger brothers well-being. Maya turned around to glare at Ajay.

"You! What are you doing making him slave around for you, after he risked his life to protect you that day?!" She shouted at him. The rest of the hunters were astounded by their leader's boldness to confront Ajay whom the King favoured no less under Pagan's roof, she was really courting death.

"Sis! It's not like that, I came here on my own volition. To express my gratitude to Ajay for saving me that day, if you were there that day you'd know I wasn't the one protecting him!" Bipin immediately stood up for him.

"Bipin….Hmph!" She became helpless when her younger brother took a stand for Ajay and looked away upset.

"Sis…..I-."

"It doesn't matter what she or any of the hunters think. I just want them to do what they do best!" Ajay placed a hand on Bipin's shoulders to tell him it was alright.

All eyes were onto Ajay as he positioned himself in front of all of them, they expected him to explain what exactly would they be doing alongside him from now on.

"You're all probably wondering why you are here, well. The answer is quite simple, it's to break down the Golden Path!"

Maya snorted as she heard him, the rest raised their brows. Wasn't that what they were already doing?

"I have intentions to take the fight to them on their home turf instead of waiting for them. And to be honest, while working with me you're not gonna like what I'll do. I'm gonna commit several atrocities while I'm at it upon certain individuals, both Golden Path and a few on our side."

Ajay grinned for effect, giving off a chilling aura that he was not to be messed with. Bipin was well aware of what Ajay was capable of as he stated his intentions.

"So what you will be doing is taking part in and helping me achieve this goal. If it's not for Pagan then you can certainly do it for Yuma then." Ajay said the last part directly to Maya who he was sure was tasked with observing him.

"Questions?"

"What are we waiting here for? Let's go!" Anish said raring to get out

"We're all fine with what you intend to do, right leader?" Prayan said asking Maya in the end as he tried to bridge the gap between Ajay and the less willing his companions.

"What are we doing first?" Maya broke silence since she last voiced her opinion. Ajay grinned madly in response.

"I'm glad you asked! We're retaking a stronghold."