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Zain’s life changed dramatically when he became a banker. After his father’s premature death, and with no one left to guilt him out of the decision, he married his college sweetheart from Zurich, Switzerland. Soon afterward, she blessed him with children.
Like most marriages, the union began wonderfully and held lots of promise. The couple had relocated from Switzerland to Peshawar. Zain began working at the bank. His wife was busy making their house a home, and she didn’t really have much time to spend in the city. However, a few years after the birth of their two children, his wife had come to hate Pakistan. When Zain came home from work, she spent every minute telling him just how much she despised his country.
When they resided in Switzerland, she was accustomed to walking the streets without the presence of a man. In Pakistan, this was barely tolerated or allowed. She despised having to wear the dumb scarf around her face. His wife hated the clothes that Pakistani women wore. She hated how women were treated like second-class citizens but men were put on a pedestal and...and...and—the ands went on endlessly. As far as Zain could tell, there was not a single thing his wife liked about living in the country of his birth.
Three years after the birth of their daughter, his wife left to visit her parents back in Zurich and never returned.
Zain hadn’t faulted her for leaving. Because of the promise of love, she had left home, family, and personal freedom only to find disappointment. He felt guilty having her remain in Pakistan if she was that unhappy. But he often wished she had taken the girl with her. He felt his daughter would be happier with her mother. His son, however, was his son and would stay with his father. If she had fought for the children, taking their son would never have been up for consideration.
Across South Asia, throughout the centuries, an untold number of infant girls had been murdered by their families. In the modern world, the introduction and use of ultrasounds and gender-selective abortions introduced a new method of perpetuating this ancient killing machine. Especially to poor and rural families, baby girls were considered a curse and a financial burden, because families were expected to produce expensive dowries upon each daughter’s marriage. On the contrary, boys were usually counted on to take care of their parents during their old age. Having been indoctrinated into this cultural mentality, Zain had far less affection for his daughter than for his son. From time to time he considered sending the little girl to her mother, but their mother had never once written them since she had left. No communication at all. Maybe she feared Zain, or maybe she was just a bad mother.
Just as he’d had no communication with his wife, Zain had not heard from his brother in many years. It was only through his many contacts within the TTP he was able to confirm Naveed had escaped the American Predator strike that had claimed their parents’ lives. Through years of hardship, his brother had made his way into Afghanistan. Once Naveed arrived there, he had written Zain to let him know he was intent on rebuilding his father’s militia.
Two years ago, Zain had brokered a large amount of money through the hawala finance grapevine. A courier collected the money using the password Zain had provided and had delivered the money to Naveed.
So it was that Naveed had used the money to finance what would come to be known as The Five, or at least one-fifth of The Five. Naveed had been instrumental in taking down American Airlines Flight 264, which had departed Mexico City. Naveed was very successfully growing the family business by spreading its deadly wings and diversifying into international terrorism. If Naveed could have been considered an executive, he would have operated in the big leagues of the world with the likes of Donald Trump, Amancio Ortega, and Wang Jianlin.
By this time, Zain was feeling somewhat indifferent regarding the family business. His brother had been brainwashed, no different than the millions of North Koreans who continued to pray to their dead supreme leader, Kim Il-Sung. Naveed was similar in that fashion because his father had instilled in his second-born the mindset of death and hatred. Naveed’s life was solitary and centered on bringing death to infidels. It was the only life that Naveed knew, and who was Zain to try to change his mind? It would be like trying to talk a North Koreans out of defying their tyrannical leaders. Changing their minds would be akin to attempting to convince them the earth was not real.
Zain didn’t have a personal stake in attempting to talk his brother out of the family business. Zain expected that Naveed was past the point of no return. He could be classified as unsalvageable. To complicate that fact, Zain made a good living, and except for his failing marriage, he enjoyed the trappings terrorism provided him. He had seen death firsthand, and, apart from it being loud and having to kill, the rest of a terrorist’s lifestyle was surprisingly peaceful. Once the attack was over, the result was silence. Now, even the loud part was taking place further away from Zain, who enjoyed living in his extravagant home with his wonderful son.