“He must die,” said Kareeam Hassan “You know him, he will not accept exile. He must die”
“No!” shouted Ashraf Khan “You speak of murder and treason, we cannot kill the Badshah.”
Hassan growled and thrust a paper under Khan’s nose “Look at this! Do you see what he is doing?”
“I see a paper,” replied Khan
“Stop being dense, it says here, ‘Effective immediately all personal armies of all noble families are to be amalgamated into the Imperial Army’ he is stripping us of all our power!”
“It is for the good of the Empire,” said Khan
“For the good of the Empire! You think stripping power from the nobility, giving power to the peasants and flooding the Mansabh with barbarians is good for the Empire? For Allah’s sake open your eyes! Baluch tribal’s and Afghan barbarians in the Mansabh! He will bring ruination to us all”
“Past rebellions have been ruthlessly crushed by the Imperial Guard as well as other troops loyal to him, the nobles who attempted these rebellions were killed brutally. Castrated, force-fed their testicles, impaled through the rectum and left to die a slow painful death.” Khan shuddered “That is not a fate I wish to share”
Hassan raised his finger “That is why we will not do as they did, they brought in many other nobles, and military commanders and tried to fight the might of the Imperial Army most of which remained loyal to the Badshah, we will do the opposite, we will kill the Badshah himself, we will inform other members of the nobility who will support us. After killing him we will meet with his son and promise the Empire as well as our support. We will succeed are you with me?” he extended his hand
Khan slowly extended his hand clasping Hassan’s. “Jamil Hussein, Mohammed Reza, Tahyer Mahmoud, and Maher Mohamed will support us we should request their financial and political support. They have powerful positions and the backing of other members of the nobility. May Allah be with us”
Kareem Hassan smiled “May Allah be with us indeed”
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The skies thundered, and the rain poured down with ferocity on the dark city of Delhi as though Allah himself was in a fury.
Ashraf Khan and Kareem Hassan entered the palace after being admitted by the guards at the gate. Ascending the narrow stairways to the top of the palace where Ahmad Shah held personal meetings. The room was eerily quiet.
Behind them the doors slammed shut and out of the shadow a dozen guards stepped out leveling their rifles at the two men.
Kareem Hassan stepped away from the group with a smirk on his face.
“What is the meaning of this!” cried Ashraf Khan
“You are a traitor,” said Kareem Hassan, “Traitor to the Badshah, traitor to the Empire, traitor to the people”
Arbaaz Khan the Badshah’s eunuch stepped out of the shadows “Well done, Hassan” he looked slyly at the Capitan of the Guard standing beside him. “Send out messengers, execute Order 2039. Oh and kill him.”
Arbaaz Khan and Kareem Hassan strode out the room. Behind them gunfire rang out.
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Jamil Hussein’s horse ran down the country roads turned to mud by rain. Suddenly a shout rang out and the horse bucked throwing the rider head first down on the mud road. His neck snapped with a sickening crunch.
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Mohammed Reza, leaned back peacefully in the chair, he lifted the cup of imported French wine to his lips inhaling the wonderful odor; he sipped it savoring the taste. Lowering the cup back to the table he sensed something wrong, the wine tasted different….
He felt a heat spreading through his chest and body, the heat turned into a burning pain. He screamed or at least tried to but felt his throat close up. He collapsed from his chair and attempted to gasp for breath. The world went dark.
**********************************************************
Tahyer Mahmoud walked down the street toward the bazaar he had just left the arrack store and intended to purchase some ganja next.
Suddenly a group of men dressed in black and holding clubs surrounded him. He glanced around, took out his purse and tossed it to them. “ Take it. Its all I have”
The leader of the group said, “Thanks but that’s not what I want.”
"What do you want?" he asked
"Your life"
A club smashed into his face breaking his teeth and nose. Other clubs smashed into his stomach, legs, and arms. Each blow elicited a scream of pain and a sickening crunch. He collapsed to the ground in a twisted heap. He tried to call for help but all that came was a bloody gurgle. A blow landed on his skull.
**********************************************************
Maher Mohamed sat in silence in the council chamber as he awaited the Badshah. His eunuch Arbaaz Khan walked in carrying a covered tray. He walked up and placed the tray on a table in front of him. He smiled oily “The Badshah apologizes for his delay in seeing you, meanwhile he invites you to have dinner.”
Four other servants came in with covered trays and placed them in front of him as well. “Please eat,” said Arbaaz Khan sidling away.
Maher Mohamed lifted the cover of the first tray and screamed dropping the cover with a resounding clatter. Inside was the decapitated head of Ashraf Khan. Trembling he lifted another cover to find the head of Jamil Hussein, other trays held Mohammed Reza, and Tahyer Mahmoud.
The eunuch Arbaaz Khan slid up behind him and whispered in his ear “Now it is time for you to suffer the same fate”
A blade slashed across his neck and he fell forward face first.
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There is only one God and that is Allah and Mohammed is His Messanger.