Morning after the ER incident. Arina tries to resume her routine, unaware that Henry's world is already watching hers.
Lara: "You look exhausted. You even forget breakfast again?"
Arina: "I had coffee. That counts."
Lara: "Not if the coffee's from the vending machine at the hospital. What happened last night? You texted late."
Arina: "Gunshot victim. Complicated case. The kind of man who brings trouble in his bloodstream."
Lara: "Sounds like half your ER patients."
Arina: "This one came with a shadow attached."
Lara: "What kind of shadow?"
Arina: "The kind that wears an expensive coat and thinks rules are optional."
Lara: "Wait—someone threatened you again? Should I call security?"
Arina: "No. He wasn't threatening. Just… unsettling. His name's Henry. He said too little and meant too much."
Lara: "Henry? You're saying it like it's a confession."
Arina: "It's not. It's a problem."
Lara: "Maybe it's both."
(Arina shakes her head, gathering her bag. Outside, Karachi morning burns bright with sound—vendors, cars, street children chasing kites.)
Arina: "Lock the door when you leave. Don't open for anyone."
Lara: "You say that every morning."
Arina: "And one day it'll matter."
(Hospital. Noon. Arina walks through the ward. A nurse approaches, nervous.)
Nurse Nadia: "Doctor, there's someone in your office. Says he's here to thank you."
Arina: "I don't do thank-yous during rounds. Who is it?"
Nurse Nadia: "Didn't give a name. But… the same energy as last night's visitor."
Arina: "Henry."
(She exhales, wipes her palms, walks in. Henry stands by her window, sunlight slicing across his face.)
Henry: "You keep busy."
Arina: "That's what doctors do. What do mafia bosses do at noon?"
Henry: "Observe. Interfere. Occasionally protect what's inconvenient to protect."
Arina: "I'm not your inconvenience."
Henry: "No, you're my unfinished conversation."
Arina: "We're done talking. I stitched your man; he's alive. You should be thanking the nurses, not me."
Henry: "I did. With donations, not words."
Arina: "Keep your donations out of my department."
Henry: "Impossible. You attract danger. Donations buy peace."
Arina: "Money doesn't buy peace. It rents silence."
Henry: "And yet you're talking."
(Arina crosses her arms, steady.)
Arina: "What do you want?"
Henry: "To make sure you're safe. Last night's incident wasn't random. Elis is stirring trouble—he'll use anyone he thinks I value."
Arina: "You don't value me. You don't even know me."
Henry: "Knowledge isn't the only form of value."
Arina: "Then whatever game this is, leave me out of it."
Henry: "Too late. My men saw someone near your apartment this morning. Tall, foreign car parked across the street."
Arina: "That could be anyone."
Henry: "No. Elis likes patterns. He's watching who I watch."
Arina: "And you're assuming I need protection."
Henry: "You don't have to assume when the world is that predictable."
Arina: "You can't assign me guards like I'm property."
Henry: "I already did. Jordan will handle it discreetly."
Arina: "Jordan? The one who reports to you?"
Henry: "He's loyal. And smarter than most men I know."
Arina: "Then tell him to stay out of my life."
Henry: "You'd prefer Elis's men instead?"
Arina: "I'd prefer neither."
Henry: "You're brave. Or naive."
Arina: "Both keep people alive longer than fear."
(They hold each other's gaze. The air thickens; neither blinks.)
Henry: "I admire that."
Arina: "Don't."
Henry: "Why not?"
Arina: "Because admiration from men like you is a warning."
Henry (low chuckle): "You think I'm dangerous."
Arina: "You carry danger like cologne."
Henry: "And yet you keep standing close."
Arina: "Because I don't step back from problems."
Henry: "Then you'll hate what comes next."
Arina: "Which is?"
Henry: "Dinner. My way of observing you outside of work."
Arina: "That's not dinner. That's surveillance."
Henry: "Call it what you like. Tonight. Eight. I'll send a car."
Arina: "And if I say no?"
Henry: "You'll still find a car waiting."
Arina: "You can't bully people into consent."
Henry: "It's not bullying. It's persistence. There's a difference."
Arina: "You sound like every arrogant patient who thought I owed them time."
Henry: "Except I can buy time."
Arina: "Not mine."
(Jordan knocks, enters quietly.)
Jordan: "Boss—sorry—Henry. Elis's people moved near the port. They took two of ours."
Henry: "Alive?"
Jordan: "For now. They're baiting you."
Arina: "Then go handle your chaos elsewhere. Leave my office."
Henry (to Jordan): "Make sure she gets home safe tonight. No contact. Just watch."
Arina: "I said no—"
Henry: "You don't have to like it, Arina. You just have to stay alive long enough to hate me properly."
(Henry leaves with Jordan. Arina stands silent, the hum of the AC loud as thunder.)
Nurse Nadia (peeking in): "Should I ask what that was?"
Arina: "A man who mistakes obsession for responsibility."
Nurse Nadia: "He looked at you like you're already his problem."
Arina: "Exactly why I'll never be his solution."
(Night. Arina walks home. Streetlamps blur in the fog. A black car idles across the street. She ignores it, keys in hand. Then a voice.)
Jordan (from shadow): "You shouldn't walk alone, Doctor."
Arina: "Henry's orders, right?"
Jordan: "He worries about the wrong things, but he's not wrong this time."
Arina: "Tell him his worry is wasted. I can handle myself."
Jordan: "Handling yourself doesn't stop bullets."
Arina: "Neither does hiding behind men with guns."
Jordan: "True. But it helps aim them the right way."
Arina: "If I find out you followed me again, I'll report you to the police."
Jordan: "James already knows. He's on Henry's payroll."
Arina: "So everyone's watching me?"
Jordan: "Not everyone. Just those who can't afford to lose you."
Arina: "Lose me? Henry doesn't even know me."
Jordan: "He doesn't need to. Sometimes you see a person once and realize they're leverage—or light. He hasn't decided which you are yet."
Arina: "Then tell him I'm neither. Just a doctor who wants peace."
Jordan: "Peace isn't a language we speak."
(He nods toward the door, gestures for her to enter. The car engine hums low behind them.)
Arina: "Go home, Jordan."
Jordan: "I never left work."
(She closes the door, leans back against it. Her phone buzzes. A message.)
Message from Henry: "Dinner canceled. Streets aren't safe. Stay inside. Lock doors."
Arina (to herself): "Protective or possessive, you still sound the same."
(She turns off the lights, watches from the window as the black car remains parked under the streetlamp. Somewhere far away, gunfire cracks. The city holds its breath. Arina whispers one word before the dark swallows the night.)
Arina: "Henry... what are you pulling me into?"