The heavy smoke of the hookah wafted through the room, slowly filling the air and lingering heavily around everyone present. The room was filled with armed men, each of them sitting or standing in silence, their attention fixed ahead. In the middle of it all sat Sikander Hashim, his eyes sharp, his body straight, and his expression unreadable. His hair and beard were now starting to get grey, yet there was something so frightening about him that made people keep their eyes low. Even with age beginning to show on him, the authority he carried had not faded.

"Malik, humne jo aadmi Shah ke zameen par bheje the, woh badi buri haalat mein laute hain," one of the men began, his voice careful as he spoke into the otherwise silent room.