20 Minutes Earlier
Naser entered his hotel room and closed the door quietly behind him. Without hesitation, he pulled out his phone and dialed a number he knew all too well.
"Hello. It's me... Why did you make me send my friends into a warzone? You knew exactly what was going on there, didn't you?" His voice trembled, laced with anger and frustration.
A pause.
"What? You wanted to kill my friends just to cover your own back? I'm done working for you. Don't ever call me again. I don't care... I'm done."
He ended the call abruptly and threw the phone onto the bed. His chest heaved with heavy breaths as he turned toward the mini fridge. He grabbed a soda can and popped it open.
"Get one for me too, will you?" a calm voice said from the shadows.
Naser jumped and nearly dropped the can. The lights flicked on, revealing Sohel sitting on the couch, his silenced M17 pistol leveled steadily at Naser.
"What? Come on, get some soda. Let's sit and talk," Sohel said coolly.
Naser forced an awkward smile and took a few cautious steps closer. "Sohel? Dude, what are you doing? Why are you pointing a gun at me? What did I do?"
"Don't play dumb with me," Sohel replied, voice hardening. "We both know exactly what you did. I was already struggling to understand why you'd get involved with the NWO, but risking your friends' lives too? Do we even mean anything to you?"
Naser sighed, defeated. He walked back to the fridge, grabbed another can, and handed it to Sohel. Then he sat down on the couch opposite him. Sohel lowered his weapon, placed it on the table, and took a slow sip from his soda.
"So... why did you do all this?" Sohel asked, eyes locked on Naser.
"What other choice did I have?" Naser began, voice barely above a whisper. "After college, you all went your separate ways. You and Mitali joined the Army. Tahmid and Ovi settled down. But me? Despite all my achievements, I couldn't get a job. All because of these conflicts. Days spent wandering the streets, running from loan sharks... That's when I met a man."
"So this man offered you a job, huh?" Sohel interrupted.
"Let me finish," Naser said firmly. "He promised a good job if I helped them a little after I got hired. I didn't want a speech, Sohel. You asked why I joined NWO."
Naser took a breath and continued. "The job was at the Bangladesh Atomic Energy Regulatory Authority. And yes, I took it without thinking too much. But four months ago, I was transferred to the Rooppur nuclear power plant. Since then, they've been asking me for all kinds of classified documents—security details, uranium shipment routines, everything. I tried refusing, but they threatened to expose me. If that happened, I'd be fired and jailed for treason."
"So you were trapped." Sohel's voice was low.
Naser nodded. "Exactly. I didn't want to betray my country or you guys, but I was scared. I just did what they told me."
"So you still consider us your friends after all this?" Sohel's voice sharpened.
"Of course," Naser said quickly. "You always were and always will be my friends."
"Then why send them into a bloody battlefield?" Sohel demanded.
"I didn't know what was really going on," Naser insisted. "I just followed orders."
Sohel exhaled slowly, the weight of betrayal pressing down on him.
"I really wished it didn't have to come to this," he said quietly. "When I first heard about your connection to the NWO, I didn't want to believe it. I came to you first to be sure. I hoped it was a hoax. But you kept proving me wrong. Watching me from the start—searching my bags at home, planting spyware in my hotel room, stealing my weapon... You left me no choice."
Sohel pulled out his phone and dialed a number. "Hello... yeah, you can come in now."
Naser's eyes widened with panic. He darted to the closet, yanked out Sohel's HK416 rifle, and leveled it at him.
"I won't go down without a fight. Let me go, Sohel. Just this once. We're friends, aren't we?"
Sohel raised his silenced pistol, matching Naser's aim. His expression was torn between anger and sadness.
At that moment, OC Manik Das entered with four policemen. They immediately aimed their weapons at Naser.
Soon, their other friends arrived as well. Naser's panic grew as Tahmid yelled, "What are you two doing?" No one answered.
Naomi and Jacob moved to assist Sohel, but he gestured for them to stop. He signaled the officers to lower their weapons.
Slowly, Sohel advanced toward Naser, holstering his pistol. Naser took a step back, fear evident on his face.
"Don't come any closer! Let me go! I'll shoot, Sohel! Stay back!"
"Sohel challenged quietly, "Come on. Shoot me. I dare you."
Naser squeezed the trigger—but nothing happened.
Sohel stepped forward, grabbed the rifle by the barrel, and said, "You forgot to turn off the safety."
Naser swung a wild punch, but Sohel dodged easily. With a sharp right hook to Naser's jaw, he knocked him unconscious.