Agency Rules - Never an Easy Day at the Office Read Online Free PDF Page A

He grabbed his phone and snapped a picture for his collection. “Make sure to leave it somewhere for the public to enjoy,” he said as he left the small chamber. He lumbered into a room a few steps away – his ‘office ’ – and threw himself onto a charpai to get some sleep. Torture was exhausting.
    * * *
    Kamal had not slept comfortably the night before. Sohrab Goth was abuzz with activity as fire trucks came in and out of the area throughout the night. During breakfast before daybreak, Aftab gave both Kamal and Dawood a briefing into the activities observed during his watch. At some point during the night, the police had cordoned off the area, restricting access to official personnel and vehicles only. A few military convoys had come into the area, including the Corps Commander and Military Intelligence, to survey the situation and offer their assistance, but this was a police matter and the army wanted nothing to do with it.
    As the sun peaked over the horizon, Kamal was back in his position in the perch, rifle positioned and watching the area below. The charred remains of the three trucks were starkly black along the narrow street. People stilled milled around and the makeshift restaurants and hotels were packed as curiosity drove people to find out what they could about last night ’s events. They kept their distance from the crime scene, but only because of the cordon. Kamal knew that if that hadn’t been there, the public would have been picking up souvenirs from the rubble. One thing about this city, it is resilient .
    Today was hotter than ever and lying under the sun unable to move, Kamal felt the sweat sticking to his chest. I’m going to have to dissolve this shirt with a solvent to get it off. There were times that he envied the roles of Dawood and Aftab, sitting inside the flat with a fan running above them, taking some of the sting out of the heat. How the fuck did I end up with this shit assignment ? With a sigh, he picked up his binoculars. Time for some good old peeking.
    Aftab was out in the market below. Dressed in a blue shalwar kameez , he blended into the scene, but Kamal picked him up easily. Aftab stopped at the fruit seller Kamal had watched the day before, picking up some seasonal fruit. Get the apples , Kamal tried to telepathically send a message to Aftab. Damn, not the falsas . Kamal shook his head in disgust; he hated the tart, tiny purple fruit. He thought about using his rifle to blow a hole into the bag of falsas, but that would give away his position. He thought about calling Aftab, but stopped when he saw Aftab moving towards the weapons warehouse. Kamal dropped the binoculars and moved into position behind his rifle, quickly adjusting for range and trajectory. What the hell is he doing? This wasn’t discussed this morning . He watched.
    Aftab slowly made his way closer to the building and struck up a conversation with the men standing outside. Aftab was from Charsadda, on the outskirts of Peshawar, and fluent in Pashto, making blending in easier. He stood for what seemed like an eternity talking to them, and then reached into his pocket to pull out a cell phone. With a wave, he moved away from the men, talking on the phone as he slowly walked back to the apartment building.
    Kamal continued to track Aftab, doing his best to read Aftab’s lips. He felt a prickle of nerves along his skin. He could make out the words ‘gangs’ and an emphatic ‘what’ from Aftab, and Kamal realized that something had happened elsewhere in the sprawling city. Had the gangs retaliated for the warehouse strike already? Almost instantly, he felt the vibration of his phone and Kamal instinctively reached up and activated the Bluetooth device in his ear. The voice said one phrase before going dark again. “Activate secure comms.”

     
    Chapter 3
     
    He hadn’t had a chance to visit the tourist spots at Seaview or enjoy a hut at Sandspit, nor had he had the chance to visit a shopping mall or eat