A Peek Behind The Mask

At the Qaiser Residence, Ahmer was rushing through the chicken biryani his mother had prepared for him to cheer him up. Rahila was glad that it seemed to be working as she fondly brushed her fingers through his silver locks.

“Alhamdulillah!” Ahmer said upon finishing his meal, then he got up.

“Won’t you have more?” Rahila asked.

“Ammi, I’m stuffed,” He replied, “I’ll be in my room working on my anime. Don’t disturb me.”

“Okay, let me know if you need something,” Rahila said.

Ahmer rushed to his room and quickly locked it from inside. He played music to give the impression that he was still inside before quickly changing into his disguise and entering the secret passage. As he descended down the passage, he heard shouting from the living hall.

“WHERE IS HE? WHERE IS THAT BOY?” Ahmer heard his father bellow.

‘What does Abbu want with me?’ Ahmer wondered.

“Ahmer is in his room right now, just as you ordered,” Rahila answered.

“NOT AHMER! AMMAR! I’M GOING TO KILL THAT RASCAL!” Suhail yelled.

“Oh ho! Why are you always trying to kill our sons? What happened this time?” Rahila asked.

“YOUR SONS ARE THE BANE OF MY EXISTENCE!”

‘He wants Ammar, not my problem,’ Ahmer sighed in relief. Ahmer continued on his way, not the least bit curious. Ammar could handle whatever trouble he got into himself. He had a girl to confess to.

Last evening, at a tea stall near Raees Royale Hotel, Tayyib and Akbar were downing their fifteenth chai, their sixteenth cigarette burning on the ashtray much like their enthusiasm for the task at hand.

“Akbar, can you go back to the front gate to look out for the meme girl?” Tayyib requested.

“Why don’t you go there for a change?” Akbar asked.

“Because someone has to watch the back gate,” Tayyib answered.

“What’s even the point?” Akbar asked, “If the girl were still here, we would have seen her already.”

“Well, our report on the theory that Ruqsana Raees built Ahmer Qaiser’s website didn’t really gain much traction. Most people are like ‘so what?’ That’s why we are back to square one, trying to get a scoop from either Ruqsana Raees or the meme girl.”

“At this rate, we may as well buy a house here because we will be stuck here forever.” They both let out a heavy sigh, releasing the smoke they had inhaled.

“Actually, why don’t we?” Tayyib asked, taking a long drag from his cigarette as he was hit by an idea.

“What do you mean?” Akbar asked, though he had a feeling he wouldn’t like what he heard.

“What if we entered the hotel not as journalists but as guests?” Tayyib explained.

“That’s a stupid idea,” Akbar slammed his hand on the table, “Firstly, do you know how much one night in this hotel costs? Secondly, that seven-foot muscle tank would throw us out the moment we stepped in.”

“Firstly, we can write the cost off as a business expense and send the bill to the office. Secondly, the muscle tank knows us but not Jamal and Atif.”

“Who are Jamal and Atif?”

The next day, at the hotel reception, two men in suits were booking a hotel room.

“We have a room available on the eighth floor. Under what names should I reserve it?” The receptionist asked.

“Jamal Saifi,” said Tayyib as he tried not to scratch his frizzy pink wig.

“Atif Anwar,” said Akbar, brushing his shoulder-length lavender wig away from his eyes.

Tayyib and Akbar took the lift.

“Great, we’re inside, now what?” Akbar asked.

“We look for either Ruqsana Raees or the meme girl,” Tayyib answered.

“And how exactly do we do that?” Akbar asked, “We can’t exactly check every room. Do you expect one of them to randomly show up?”

Just then, the lift stopped and its doors opened, allowing Sania Raees and Ruqsana Raees to enter. Unfortunately, the mother and daughter were accompanied by guards, meaning Tayyib and Akbar couldn’t interview them without being thrown out. So the reporters quietly waited for a chance.

“Your Papa and I will be attending a get-together. Make sure to pack your things before we return,” Sania instructed Ruqsana, “Take help from the staff if you need it.”

“I won’t need help, most of my stuff has been packed anyway,” Ruqsana replied.

“And if Ahmer asks for help with his website, tell him no.”

“Mamma, how many times do I need to repeat?” Ruqsana asked, “It was not me. Just because I study software engineering does that mean I must have built that website for him? What kind of logic is that? Ahmer’s university also teaches software engineering. Did it occur to anyone that one of his friends might have done it?”

“Okay my girl, I believe you, I’m just saying stay out of trouble,” Sania warned. Her floor arrived and she stepped out with one of the guards. She turned around and pointed a finger at her, “I mean it.”

“Goodbye,” Ruqsana pressed the close button, making the lift doors slide close, “I’m gonna choke the life out of whoever started that rumour.”

Tayyib and Akbar adjusted their ties, suddenly troubled by their tightness.

“Haha! Ma’am it’s nothing to worry about, people have been having positive reactions because of the rumour,” Imran, the guard, assured her.

When the lift stopped, Ruqsana and the guard stepped out. Tayyib pulled Akbar out with him.

“What are you doing?” Akbar whispered, “Ours is the next floor.”

“Just follow me,” Tayyib whispered back.

They followed Ruqsana while she reached her room. When the guard turned around, they went to a random door and pretended to be trying to open it.

“Alright Imran, I’ll be packing the rest of my stuff now,” Ruqsana dismissed Imran before entering her room.

“Sure ma’am,” Imran took his leave.

“She’s alone now,” Tayyib whispered, “Let’s knock on her door and get a byte.”

“And get arrested for forced entry? Are you crazy?” Akbar whispered back.

“We’ve come this far, we can’t back out now.”

“We know her room number now, let’s think of a better plan that won’t get us arrested.”

“She’ll be gone tomorrow, we need to act now!”

“What if she calls her guards?”

“We didn’t spend that much money to hesitate now!”

“I didn’t even want to do this, this was your idea.”

“It got us here, didn’t it?”

The reporters pretended to fiddle with a random door again as soon as Ruqsana got out of her room, wearing a leopard scarf and sunglasses. She locked the door behind her before going down the stairs. Tayyib and Akbar followed her quietly, making sure not to alert her.

“Where is she going?” Akbar whispered.

“She must be sneaking out,” Tayyib whispered back, clicking a few pics of Ruqsana, “why else would she be covering her face? This is gonna be so worth it.”

“Let’s follow and see where she’s going,” Akbar suggested. Tayyib nodded and they continued following her. When she took a cab, the two hurried to their bike and followed her taxi.

They soon reached the Capital Garden, a famous nature hotspot on the eastern side of the city. There, Ruqsana quickly rushed to a public toilet. The reporters sneaked behind the toilet door, holding it slightly open and recorded the scene inside.

Inside, Roxy removed her scarf and sunglasses and put on her wig and contact lenses, completely unaware of the two reporters. They quickly rushed to a nearby spot when she turned around and left the toilet.

“What did we just see?” Akbar asked, “Is Ruqsana Raees the Aslanspiration Girl?”

“I saw what you saw, bro,” Tayyib confirmed.

“Should we ambush her for an interview?”

“I say we keep following to see why she’s going through so much trouble,” Tayyib suggested, “I have a good feeling about this.”