Blossom

02

3 R D P O V Slamming the clock, Ahmed turned around from his bed. His mother walked in, ready to wake him up, but seeing Ahmed already up, she didn’t say anything. Yet she did get furious seeing another alarm clock into millions of pieces.

“Ahmed! How many clocks are you going to break? That was the seventh one that you broke this month,” his mother snapped, smacking his right arm hard. 

“Sorry, mom. Can’t help if my hand is that strong,” he replied.

“Why do you work out that much? You know girls don’t like men that are way too puffed up,” she remained him. 

“Oh, Lord, Mom! I am not that muscular. I am just strong. You should have seen Jake,” Ahmed mumbled.

Jake is Ahmed’s partner. They both work together. They are like brothers but from another mother; Jake is a build-up man. He loves bodybuilding. Whenever he has time, he would go straight to the gym without worrying about anything, unlike Ahmed, who has to take care of other things besides his duty to save people. 

“Well, you are not Jake. Go wake your brother up, please. He is not getting up. No matter how many times I have tried to wake him up,” she sighs, walking out of his room. 

Ahmed got up with a big sigh. Another day at the job which he loves. Ready to pick up his Uniform, but his mother walked in again.

“Ahmed?” she called once again.

“Yes.”

“Your department called a couple of seconds ago. They said they needed you,” she informed of the message. 

“Okay, mom. It looks like you have to wake Ali.”

“What will I do with the two of you?” she sighs.

Ali is six years old, Kindergarten. Ahmed and Ali are the only children in their family. Ahmed loves his little brother to death. He will do anything for his brother if it means to give up what he likes to do the most.

Ahmed’s mom doesn’t do anything outside of the house. She is a housewife. Although she doesn’t work paid labor, her boys are always thankful toward their mother for taking care of him, feeding them, and being a wonderful, hard-working mother. They understand that being a housewife is not easy. It is sometimes way harder than it seems.

On the other hand, his father is a businessman. Ahmed doesn’t want to take over what his father has worked so hard for. He wants to do something on his own. Stand up on his own two feet.

Every time they are on the dinner table, his father would bring up about him taking over the business. He keeps telling his father the same thing over and over again. Not that his father ever listens.

Last night was a terrible night. He had to rescue a child who was stuck in a drain. That was a terrifying thing he has ever done in his career. The little girls terrifying face still flashes right in front of him whenever he closes his eye. The little girl reminded of his little brother.

Sighing, he walked to the bathroom and got ready. Once he was done, he walked downstairs to see his little brother all ready for school. He walked into the kitchen. Kissing his mother’s cheek, he took a seat.

“Hey champ,” he ruffled Ali’s hair.

“Don’t do that,” his brother whined.

“Sorry, buddy! Whatcha eating?” Ahmed asked, digging into his food.

“Cereal duh,” he answered like it’s an obvious thing.

“Ali, what did I tell you about talking to your older brother like that,” his mother warned.

“Not to be rude. Sorry,” Ali apologized.

“Where is dad?” Ahmed asked, looking around. 

“He went to his office. There are these important meeting-him and his meeting. Why can’t he just marry his company that would be easy,” she mumbled, scrubbing the dishes in a harsh pace. 

“Because he loves you, and we love you too mom,” Ahmed said, walking up to the sink and helping her with the dish.

“Thank you,” she smiled.

“Well, it’s time for me to go. Grab your backpack, Champ. I am going to drop you off today.”

“Yes!” Ali jumped in excitement.

Ali loves to ride in his brother’s police car. He thinks it makes him look even more relaxed. Every kid in his school looks at Ali whenever he gets out of the car. 

Ahmed grabbed his brother’s lunch bag and hugged his mother before leaving the house. He opened the door and put his brother in the back seat before putting on the safety belt. Ahman went to his driver’s seat and drove to Inman Elementary School.

He always thought that’s a weird name for a school, but it’s the right school; the kids get a good education. Soon they arrived at the front of the school. Walking out of the driver’s seat, Ahmed opened the back door. Helping his brother get out of the car, he then closed the door. As they entered the school, all the little kid’s eyes were on Ahmed, and his little brother, who was walking in an arrogance like he was the cop here and saving lives was his thing.

Seeing this, Ahmed chuckled and shook his head. He walked up to his brother’s class. Bending down in front of his brother, he said, “don’t give a hard time to the teacher. Be nice, and make me proud. Okay?”

“Yes Bhai (Brother),” Ali replied hugging his brother

“Good luck,” he smiled. 

Ahmed walked out of the school and drove to the police department. He walked through the double doors. He nodded his head on the way to everyone. As soon as he entered his assigned office, he started to work on the case files unit, a knock on his door interrupted him. Glancing up from his paperwork, Ahmed saw it was his boss, Officer Hunter.

“How may I help you?” he quickly go up from his chair. 

“Please sit back down. I came here to give you good news,” Hunter smiled, showing him the white envelope. 

“What would that be?” Ahmed asked, sitting down. 

Walking in, Hunter took a seat in front of him. He crossed his legs; he leaned back to the chair.

“A call came in yesterday from the Federal Bureau of Investigation,” he begins.

“And what does that have to do with me?” Ahmed questioned, not understand where this conversation is going. 

“One of their partners is nine months pregnant. She might leave anytime; they need someone to cover for her,” he answered.

“And?”

“They want someone that is smart, intelligent, and knows how to handle a dangerous situation. Someone who will concentrate on the work and can solve mysteriously,” Hunter explained.

“You decided to give them my name; now they want me,” Ahmed sighs. Hunter nods his head in response. 

“You know how much I love working with you guys. I don’t want to leave, but I don’t know about this,” Ahmed spoke honestly, releasing a deep sigh. 

“Look, I know how much you love this job. You have always dreamed of becoming a police officer, but you shouldn’t let this opportunity go. This is an important matter that is in your hand. Don’t lose this chance. I am not telling you to stay there for the rest of your life. You are only covering for their teammate. Just get the experience of being there. I am not asking much,” He explained, hoping Ahmed will change his mind.

“Fine. I will do it. It’s because you said it and I take you as my older brother. So how do I do this?” Ahmed asked.

“Just show up by tomorrow, and the A lady name Roxanne will explain everything to you,” Hunter spoke, handing Ahmed the white envelope that has the executive order for him to join. 

“Alright. What’s my duty today?” Ahmed asked.

“Shouldn’t you know that already?” Hunter raised his eyebrow.

“Yeah. You’re right,” Ahmed laughed nervously.

Ahmed watched Officer Hunter walk out of his office. A couple of minutes later, he walked out of his office. He got in his cop car and drove around the town. He stopped at a neighborhood that was assigned to him. Ahmed got out of the car and closed the door. He leaned on the car then looked around for any sign of danger.

Not too long, walked out a beautiful girl. The outfit made the girl look even more gorgeous. For the top, she has a Little Mistress chiffon top on, and she wore a Chiffon maxi skirt with flat shoes. She had a brown hijab on. There was a bag on her right shoulder, and on her left hand, there was a book. Another girl walked next to her. Ahmed knows he wasn’t supposed to look at her. However, he couldn’t draw his eyes away for the girl. He felt this weird feeling in his body that he has never felt before

The girl turned her head toward him, making him smirk her ways. He chuckled as he saw her turned away quickly. He watches them go to the bus stand. Ahmed got back into his car before driving to the bus stand. He got out of her car just to see the girl with a book on her face. 

She was concentrating on her studies. She looked cute, though. The girl next to her looked at Ahmed, and smiled at her. He returned a smiled back to her. He waited for her to look at him. When she did, he asked if he can give them a lift to wherever they were going.

But she didn’t want any rides from him, and he can clearly understand that. Before he can say anything anymore, she grabbed her sister’s hand and got on the bus. Not wasting any time, Ahmed got back into his car, driving next to the bus. Ahmed turned his head to the left to see her look at him. He winked at her. 

He got a call from the department, saying that they need him on 89th street. Turning on his siren, he drove away fast as a bolt of lightning. When he got there, he saw the FBI, SWAT, and some police cars outside the building. He reached out and bent down to go to Jackson, one of his police officers. He used the vehicle to block any shots. He took out his gun, ready to fire back when needed.

“What do we have here?” Ahmed asked.

“Don’t know. The FBI won’t say a word,” Jackson answered.

“Where is Officer Hunter?” he questioned, keeping an eye on the front.

“He is over there with the FBI,” replied Jackson, pointing in the direction of Officer Hunter. 

“Cover me,” he informed, sprinting toward the police officers, “Hunter?”

“Yeah? Over here.”

“What the hell is going on in here?”

“25yrs old male is keeping kids captive in the building,” he explained, “about ten kids. The only thing that we are doing right now it was waiting outside. We have divided cops and SWAT into groups. I have group A trying to find an entrance without letting the guy know.”

“Did the guy ask anything?”

“Yes, he did. He is asking for a truck, but the FBI won’t give it to him. They want to catch the guy right here,” Hunter mumbled, not liking the idea. 

Another shot was fired. Ahmed cursed, “s**t. There better be no dead bodies, or else I am getting the guy in charge of this operation. I promise you that.”

“Okay, buddy. Calm down. What do you suggest?”

Moving around the car, he answered, “I think we should give him what he wants since he isn’t going to let us go in. Besides, we have been standing outside for about 3 hours. We got nothing done.”

“Are you out of your mind, officer. We can not let the guy get out of our hand,” a male voice came from the side.

“So you’re saying is that catching this guy is more important than saving those innocent kids, who are frightened and scared to death. What kind of Agent are you? You are supposed to protect the citizen first, Agent.....Henry,” Ahmed spoke, reading his name tag. 

“Well said, Officer. Well said. Not to mention how you stood up. I am Agent Leroy; this is my team,” He complimented. 

Shaking Leroy’s hand, Ahmed spoke, “Thank you. Officer Ahmed. Thank you for helping us with this case in the first place. Some people just love to catch people and be the ‘hero’ instead of saving lives.”

“Ahh, you are the famous Officer Ahmed. The hero! We have heard a lot about you. I am hoping that you are going to join us when agent Roxanne is leaving. I would love to have an officer like you,” Leroy complimented, patting Ahmed’s shoulder. 

“I wouldn’t call myself a hero. I’m just doing what every Officer would do. I do plan on joining you guys,” Ahmed assured him.

“That is excellent news!. What idea do you have? I want to know what kind of Officer you are, even though everyone says you are clever, bright, and love to face danger. Impress me, Officer,” Leroy crossed his arms. 

“If I were the Unsub, I would ask for a car since I have so many kids as a hostage. The question is, what do I do if I get the car?” Ahmed walked toward the table where all the papers were laid out. 

“What else, drive away and not get captured,” Morgan shrugged.

“No. He wouldn’t do that. I mean, think about it. So what if I do get a car and try to run away. I am going to leave the hostages that I had? On top of that, the cops are going to chase me. He is planning something else, but what?” Ahmed reasoned, thinking hard to understand the Unsub. 

“He got the point. What if we have two unsubs?” Agent Marcos questioned. 

“Guys, we can’t keep asking what-if questions. If we are going to solve this, then we have to think like the Unsub. Let’s do this. Let’s give him what he wants,” Ahmed suggested.

“We can’t do that,” Henry objected, “because then we will let the unsub slip out of our hand.”

“You’re doing it again, Agent. We have to get those kids out for now. I am sure if we go by our plan, we will be able to catch the guy and save those kids,” Ahmed assured him, “everything will go perfectly. Now we are going to give him the truck. We will put a little tiny tracker under the truck. Make sure he doesn’t see it. We will let him go, but one of you Agent have to keep an eye on him without his notice, change cars if you have to. We get the kids out on the other hand. Then we follow the guys and capture him. Simple is that” Ahmed smiled after presenting his idea. 

“But to simple, though,” Fabio pointed out.

“Sometimes, simple ideas can be a big one. So if anyone doesn’t have any problem with my ideas, then we should do it; if anything goes wrong, I will be held accountable for it,” Ahmed stated. 

“You have a lot of confidence in you, don’t you?” Marcos asked.

“I mean, I do need the confidence to work this job,” Ahmed laughed.

“You are one smart officer,” Marcos commented.

“Thank you.”

A F T E R T H E P L A N Alhumdulillah Ahmed’s plan did work after all. The kids were safe; the guy is locked up behind bars. Ahmed could rest now, knowing all the kids were back to their family safely. He was mostly worried about the children being in danger. He didn’t want anything to happen to them. 

Agent Leroy was very impressed with Ahmed’s work. He is indeed a hard-working office who never gives up; Leroy wants that type of office in his team. 

Ahmed somehow found out what college that girl goes to. He drove there but didn’t find them. Looking around from inside his car, Ahmed drove his car around. He finally found them. He walked up to them, asked them if he could drop them off, but the girl denied. He was finally able to give her a ride. They soon arrived at the Party Shop. He watches the girl get out and walk toward a guy. He gripped his steering wheel tight, making his knuckles turn white without him realizing it. He hit the gas and drove away.