The 3 B's- Beauty, Brains and Bravery

Chapter 541: "My wife"

Rakhatal, Logar, Afghanistan;

21:00;

Rong Xinghe was escorted to an Olive Green Military Tent at the very corner of the village, minutes after they'd reached there. It was simple, with no electricity, whatsoever. Even so, Rong Xinghe could tell it was the fanciest of them all. And at an advantageous location at that. 

"Will you be alright, Zahir?", the man who'd arrived there alongside her turned to the woman, his voice filled with nervousness, "I'll be leaving soon. So if you need anything else--"

"Don't bother.", the woman shook her head, picking out a briefcase from her luggage, her tone masculine, as it was supposed to be, "Here. 2,00,000 USD converted to Afghan Afghani. I'll take it from here."

"Ok... okay.", the man, his name Aqib Mitri, said, a little stupefied, "Also, in case you get caught, could you..."

"Not mention your name?", Rong Xinghe cocked her head to one side, raising her brows, "You got it."

It was just then that a tall figure walked into the room, clad in Black, just like the two inside. "Mirza.", he introduced himself, outstretching his right hand towards the newcomer, "Zayan Mirza. Rakhatal's superintendent. Secondary."

"Kefayat Zahir.", Rong Xinghe took the hand, shaking it firmly then, her voice giving away dominance. "Glad to have met you.", she added modestly.

"Really?", Mirza laughed a short laugh, surprised. For those in Lashkar ul-Mujahidin, it was an honor to have been noticed by those in UFLT, for it had benefits of their own. In the longer run, anyway. 

"Yeah.", the 'man' nodded, speaking Dari with absolute fluency, "From the blasts in Country N to the successful executions of Country X's SF officers, your name has been coming up a lot amongst the Troops. You're a gem to our Greater Mission, Zayan. Keep up the good work."

The Troops talked of him? It was flattering. Unbelievable, even. Now that he observed the man in front of him, Mirza couldn't help but feel slightly oppressed by his presence. He was handsome, his eyes Green, his complexion fair. Kefayat Zahir was a perfect man in every sense, who seemed more like a Prince than a fighter. He radiated leadership and fear, just by the way he looked at a person. Precisely like their Commander, Zayan figured. 

"Thank you.", the man smiled, eyeing the man one more time but, "Uh... three days later, there's going to be a wedding. One of our men, he has fancied one of the girls here. The fool wishes to marry her instead of just buying her. Anyway, it'd be a great opportunity for you to get to know the team here. What do you say?"

"I'll be there.", Zahir smiled approvingly, probably for the first time since he'd arrived in Rakhatal. 

____________

Military Chief Office;

City A, Country X, 22:00;

Xi Yuan stared at the file in his hands for few minutes before he closed it shut. She'd already predicted this. The Mastermind had planned it so to make her look like the perp, her fingerprints over the licenced handgun. 

"It's a smart move.", Xi Fang said, as he placed a cup of coffee in front of his elder brother.

"It's a reckless move.", Xi Yuan shook his head, grabbing the cup as he brought it to his mouth. 

"What do you mean?", Shou Wu asked, confused. It looked like the perfect crime. Rong Xinghe's prints upon the weapon found in the room, bullet diameter of which matching with the one extracted from Li Jungah's left shoulder; how could anyone ever find loopholes in something so well thought out? 

"Multiple fingerprints.", the man answered, leaning back in Rong Xinghe's chair, "That's the oversight here. An obvious blunder.", he said. 

As he received nothing but silence from the two scrambled men, he rolled his eyes, taking a sip from the cup. About half a minute later, he began elaborating his point.

"As per this report, firmly pressured fingerprints were identified against the grip, barrel, slide stop, and even the front sight of the gun.", he said, "Xinghe is not a civilian, who'd ever have so much difficulty in dealing with a firearm.

"She is a soldier, for whom, her equipment is no less than a part of her body when she holds onto it. I've watched her play with thousands of weapons to date, and believe me when I say it, her hands never go beyond the grip and the magazine of the gun. She is quick, efficient, and composed when she shoots a person. 

"There's no way that she might've even touched the gun while she was in there with Mom. Someone else must've transferred her fingerprints via a tape or something.

"Because if she would have shot my mother, there would've been three bullets to the least, and each would've impaled through her heart directly. My wife... is too phenomenal a markswoman to miss a shot as unchallenging as that.", Xi Yuan concluded, a smile of pride, but longing across his lips. 

Amazed by the man's keen observations, neither Xi Fang nor Shou Wu was sure of how to respond to him. No wonder Rong Xinghe had trusted this person with such a sensitive investigation, they realized. She'd even gone to the lengths of equipping him with the national honor of 'Libertad de Significado'. She trusted him, even when she wasn't sure of his belief in her. It was heart-wrenching, really, the paths they both were on today. 

Xi Yuan stood up after a few minutes, tossing the empty paper cup in the bin, "Now, what do we have from Lieutenant Zhao till now?"

"I'll call him.", the woman's assistant said, reaching for his smartphone from the coffee table next to him. 

"Fang. A word.", Xi Yuan tapped the edge of the table, gesturing the man to come to him. "What is it, Brother?", Xi Fang yielded to the man's command, quickly approaching him next. 

"Give a call to Chen Deming.", the man said, his voice low, "Ask him to hunt for the culprit behind the whole Soulagement Pharmas' controversy. This incident is awfully similar to that one; if we look at how Xinghe was framed in the end.

"It's just a hunch, but I think that the man who orchestrated that, did this too. So... while the Military investigates this case, our men can start with that one. Tell them to start with the Hacker, that boy, who bit his tongue off. Chan Hyun.

"I need a name, Fang, as soon as possible. Xinghe's reputation is on the line here. And I'd rather die than watch her lose everything she has worked so hard, over the years, to earn."