Hello everyone. Sorry for the late update. I was really busy due to my college work and hence the delay. Enjoy reading ? …
Recap: The sister’s action during the night… Shivanya hiding behind a boulder and manoeuvring a drone, Sesha keeping a track of all the conversation, encounter and firing between the police and the gang, Suri getting handcuffed and receiving Sesha’s slap.
[Sesha and Suri]
He was reeling from the slap he had received a few seconds before. His cheeks had turned into a mirror, reflecting her fingers in the form of an imprint. He could feel the burning sensation as his one hand was still caressing his cheek. He tried moving his other hand towards her but a force dragged it back. He glared at the handcuff in his hand and fumed in anger. He realized the situation he was in and composed himself. He saw her moving towards him as she uttered, ‘Who was the other one?’ He stood there bewildered as his mind was flooded with the same thought. ‘Is she the daughter of…’ ‘But I didn’t see her that day when I went to her house.’ ‘What does she know about me?’ And many more such thoughts had snatched away his comfort.
She saw him standing there bewildered as her words brought him back to his senses, ‘Don’t worry the police will extract the required information from you.’ She was throwing daggers through her eyes as she saw him being escorted by the policeman towards the van. A certain wave of fear erupted in her as she heard a thud sound. She turned back as she saw him lying down on the ground gasping for breath. She ran up to him and kneeled down as she shook him desperately. Although a bullet had pierced his chest yet she was feeling the pain…the pain which evaded her as she visualized her incomplete mission. Blood was oozing from his chest as the ground was soaking it up all. The bullet had pierced the exact spot where his heart was. She saw in the direction from where the bullet was fired but unfortunately her eyes couldn’t trace anyone. She saw some policeman running in that direction searching for the shooter or any clues they would hit upon. She again looked at him with a hope in her eyes. His heart was releasing up all the blood it earlier used to pump, yet it had still confined the truth within itself. She held his collar as she repeated herself, ‘Who was the other one Suri?’ In the hope that he might utter the truth, seeing himself at the end of his journey, she had her ears and eyes looking for any sign. ‘A…’ he uttered as his head turned towards his side and his eyes closed themselves. She stood there as she punched the air and saw him lying lifeless near her feet. She rested her one hand on her waist as the other entwined itself with her hairs.
***
[Ankush & his wife]
The sun again rose from its slumber as it emanated its rays. He was sitting on the dining table as he looked at the pendulum perched on the wall. It made a sound as the needles struck six. He called out to his wife as she came hurriedly with steaming hot food in her hand. She laid out a plate as she served him food. ‘What was the need for all this? I would have eaten outside.’ She curtailed his speech as she indicated him to have his food. ‘You are going out for a week Ankush. I had to see you off in any case so I decided to do this also’, she replied. He started gorging as he kept looking at the hands of the clock. He looked surprised as he saw the servant handing over the newspaper to him. He raised his brows amused by such quick delivery of the newspaper…once in a blue moon occasion. He removed the rubber band as he stretched out the front page of the newspaper in front of him.
“Drug mafia busted and their kingpin held with a journalist’s effort.” His eyes stopped at this headline flanking a sizeable portion of the front page.
A flashback ran across his eyes. ‘Stop all this,’ were his last words to Suri when he had informed him about his forthcoming meeting with the mafia. They had a tiff over this as they decided to part their ways. He remembered how he had encountered the spy pen in his room. He had rotated the pen in his fingers as he was quite sure of it to be a spy pen, his experience of handling a spy pen earlier against his enemy coming handy to him. He had become pretty sure that someone was keeping an eye on him. And for him that someone had to be the person blackmailing them due to their past. He had decided to send an expert shooter behind Suri on the day of his meeting as he had an intuition of Suri getting trapped. It was late at night when he had picked up his ringing phone and ordered his shooter to shoot Suri.
He read the entire article as he saw Sesha’s photo there. He got up from his chair as he grabbed the newspaper in his hand and dashed through the door, straight into his car. ‘Sorry Suri. I was pretty sure that if the past unravelled then you would have surely exposed me. I’m just paying off for your deeds and now it was payback time for you.’ He muttered as he opened the door of his car, making himself comfortable in the seat. He indicated his driver as the car zoomed off. He unfolded the paper once more as he tore off the news clipping and folded it, keeping it in his pockets.
***
[Arshi & Lavanya]
He was pushing the keys on his laptop as he glanced time and again at the screen checking out the words he had typed. His concentration broke as he heard a commotion. He closed his laptop as he stormed off from his cabin and saw his staff gathered. He descended the stairs as he saw her standing there. ‘Khushi’. His pace increased as he reached where she was standing. No sooner as he reached there, he felt a hand entwining his arms. He looked at Lavanya who was pleading him to protect her. He saw Khushi standing there with some policeman. He freed his hands from her clutches as he parted his lips to utter something. But words never made their way out as he saw Khushi walking up to him as she said, ‘You won’t be able to save her Mr. Arnav?’ He was transfixed as he tried to figure out everything. He didn’t have to make much of an effort as he came to know that Lavanya was being arrested for kidnapping Khushi. He stared at her as he was shooting fierce glares at her. ‘I have not done anything. Don’t you trust your girlfriend?’ she uttered as she looked at him hopefully.
“Girlfriend”. This word was now raising up his anger. He had enough of her, her tantrums and know this. ‘How could she kidnap her?’ He thought as he felt the need to sever all his ties with her and he felt this time right enough to do this, in front of Khushi. The need to tell Khushi this fact more than anyone else. He looked at Lavanya as he uttered, ‘You’re not my girlfriend.’ She heard his words as she felt a pain and the hope in her eyes faded away. She knew his words were final.
He saw Lavanya being handcuffed and escorted by a constable. Soon everyone dispersed away but he was still standing there looking at her. He saw her turning away as she started moving away from him. ‘How are you?’ he questioned her. His words stopped her as she looked at him with the corner of her eyes before stomping off without uttering anything. He looked at her until his eyes could not track her anymore. ‘At least fight with me,’ he muttered as her silence was piercing his soul.
*****