Recap : Randhir and sanyu clash, they are mad at each other, sanyukta retrieves info on the two suspects and hand them to randhir. On the other hand randhir decides that it will be better for everyone if she is released as she only adds complications in their mission.
Mumbai, 8:15pm
The sun crossed down the horizon and full moon's light graced upon everything. The sudden chattering told him they were back. Randhir stood at the living area and waited for them to arrive inside.
"Boss" Parth came forward with a smile.
"45 mins, have your meals and freshen up. meet me at 9pm sharp!" Randhir smiled and turned away making his way back to his room.
"Don't worry he will be okay" Sahil patted Parth's shoulder.
***
Randhir and Parth discuss over the failure of Randhir's mission. He reveals to them the whole incident that took place in the past three days. Sahil and Vidhushi are dumbfounded at Sanyukta courage as well as audacity.
"Whatever happened is past, we should concentrate ahead now. We can't afford to waste time" Randhir remembered Sanyukta handing him the files with the details before he walked out of the room.
"Here take this, Have a look!" Randhir showed them the file prepared by Sanyukta.
As they briefly browsed through the piles of information upon their suspects , along with their name and whole bio data, they were astonished to see her accomplish so much within such a short amount of time.
"This is amazing!" Sahil chipped.
"Really this will be really helpful" Parth smiled.
"Hmm... So we have our suspects now. What should be our next move according to you?" Sahil asked.
"Our next move is this..." Vidhushi forwarded a membership card on the table.
"Where did you get this?" Sahil spoke amused.
"One of the brokers I caught had this in his confidential pocket. I was a bit suspicious and on investigation I found out this was an invite" Vidhushi justified.
"An invite?" Parth asked turning towards Randhir who was calmly listening to their conversation.
"Yes it's an invite for a conference, a conference where Raghav Gosh is due to give a speech" Vidhushi glared at Parth.
"We have to go there" Sahil exclaimed.
"Right!" Randhir nodded.
"But this conference will be held in about three weeks...meanwhile we will try gathering evidences based on the info we have" he told them " this is our next move : gathering evidences on both our suspects." saying that Randhir finally dismissed them moving back to his room.
***
After the meeting Vidushi spotted Sanyukta in her room, she was lost in her thoughts and seemed a bit sad if her facial expressions were anything to go by.
She approached her and asked "What happened to you ?"
Sanyukta snapped back into reality and looked at her "Oh you are back" she stated. "Hmm nothing just doing some work" she replied absently.
"Ok something is definitely wrong with you, I've been here for 5min and you didn't say anything mean to me yet, you sure you ok ?" asked Vidushi trying to lighten up the mood.
Sanyukta smiled, the girl really thought she disliked her" Am just not in the mood, may be some other time".
Vidushi had pondered over what Sanyukta told her before she left 5 days ago, she hated to admit it but she was actually going to follow her advice. She wanted to get back at Parth for the way he had talked to her... Sanyukta was right, love is one thing but she should not forget her self-respect...
She hesitated a second and said "Look... I thought about what you said the other day and... and I want to work on it" she tried.
Sanyukta looked back at her, what exactly did she wanted her to do ? she wondered. When Sanyukta didn't say anything, Vidushi spoke again.
"Will you help me?" she asked hopeful. "You know...hum give me advice or tips." she added timidly.
Oh boy ! The girl was actually afraid to ask help from her. So cute... she thought. Ok...no comments on my definition of cuteness ladies. Of course she was going to help her, besides, she was leaving the day after...she could at least do one good thing before leaving. And this could be an opportunity for her to divert her mind from all the tensions and particularly for the big fat problem called Randhir !
"Of course sweetie, I'll help you... come sit!" Sanyukta gestured to the chair next to her, flashing her a full smile.
"So...Here goes the best ninja-level seduction tricks" she announced and winked at her. It's been a long time she did not have a girl talk, she was a bit excited...after all a girl regularly needed her gossips and girls talk "moments" !
"Ok first things first... know that being a woman is a terribly difficult task... since it principally consists in dealing with men" started Sanyukta giving her a pointed look. Most woman would agree with that... but on the other hand, most men would be convinced of the contrary... it all depended on your point of view and where your allegence lied !
Vidushi smiled at that.
"Crossing this fact with the universal truth : life is unfair..." She paused " ...you have to take matters in your hands to make the task as painless as possible ! " concluded Sanyukta readjusting her spectacles.
"It does not mean wearing nonexistent dresses and jumping from one men to another like a ping pong ball... no ! you have to have some self-respect ! she declared pointing her finger at vidushi. She was taking her role as a teacher very seriously !
"... your body is not piece in a showcase for everyone to see for free" she exclaimed. "It's a treasure...which price must be earned, understood ?" she asked. Vidushi nodded at her.
We all knew girls wore tiny dresses to stir physical attraction ! But physical attraction was not everything, a human being also needed emotional connection, that was what differentiated them from animals. According to Sanyukta the human being was quite lucky in the coupling department... because the coupling process of some species was quite terrifying ! ...Ever heard of black widow spiders ? Well unfortunately for you, if you were a male black widow spider you would think twice (may be trice) before having sex... for it would put your life at stake. Yeah you read it right : your life at stake !... Sadly enough, one male black widow out of two was eaten by the female after the coupling process...very sad indeed... While we fought for woman rights, there were species where the female totally dominated the male... his condition was even worse, the poor thing was eaten if the female felt the need...so sad ! Life was funny wasn't she ?...Sanyukta's mind wandered before coming back at the task ahead.
"So Rule n1 : Show just enough skin to pique a man's curiosity... that is called being sexy darling, otherwise it is just s**tty" she said.
"Sex appeal is not just about measurements and short dresses you know... You can convey just as much sex appeal, picking apples off a tree or standing in the rain." she explained to her. Sadly the contrary was also true, some tried all they could to look sexy it just wasn't their thing... law of mother nature.
"It's all about positive body language, stolen eye locks and beautiful smiles" she chanted.
"Ok got it, next ?" said Vidushi eager to know more.
"Rule n2: Be a challenge : Another universal truth, a normally constituted human being will always wish for the things he doesn't have or can't get" she paused "...but be careful, I said, be a challenged...do not play hard to get, okay ?...cause men are a bit lazy you see, you can't ask too much...otherwise they will give up on you" she warned her, crossing her arms.
"Noted ! I'll have to work on this one I suppose" stated Vidushi.
"Rule n3: and that's the golden rule : Be confident ! Tell yourself what an amazingly wonderful and awesome person you are... the more you will say it the more you'll believe it ! It will help you gain confidence." she laughed.
"Venus Williams said Just believe in yourself. Even if you don't, pretend that you do and at some point, you will !" she added quoting the tennis woman's word.
"But that does not mean you'll dance like a crazed baboon that's on fire, just to prove that you are confident and you don't give a shit about others' opinion... we don't want the man fleeing away now do we ?" she said raising her brow.
"Ok that's basically it, I'll let you figure out the rest by yourself" concluded Sanyukta, returning her eyes on her screen.
"Well...hmm...thanks for the advice, that was very nice of you" said Vidushi leaving.
"Oh and one more thing" added Sanyukta making Vidushi stop. "Remember your love is not unconditional, the terms are : him not being an asshole!" she specified. Sanyukta hated those foolish women who forgave their partner's every bad deed. There were some limits ! Some mistakes were forgivable while other were not ! Being a girl was already very tiring as it was, if on top of that we have to deals with all their bullshit, we are not out of the woods !
***
Sanyukta was heading to her room, this will be her last night here, she thought. As she was passing in front of the garden, her eyes met Randhir's. They looked at each other, each of them lost in their own thought. To Sanyukta he was the monster who had kidnapped her precious daughter, he was the gangster with no morals... he was the devil in her life. She was only waiting for one thing: get as far away as possible from him...as soon as possible ! To Randhir, she was a narcissistic, self-absorbed vixen always belittling others, she was a selfish and egocentric human being with no care for others. He only wanted one thing : get as far away as possible from her...as soon as possible !
They averted their eyes, completely ignoring each other...there was nothing left for them to talk about. Everything had been said and done...Tomorrow will be the much awaited day...the day they will both get rid of the other !
***
Hands on the steering, Randhir was waiting in the car for Sanyukta to come.
She came out of the door and sighed... she was finally returning home. She sat in the car and Randhir drove off. There was a sense a fatality in the air... they knew these were their last moments together, no one and nothing could change that fact. He was freeing her...and she was leaving them, period ! They did not exchanged a word, ...just occasionally glancing at the other. Sanyukta could see a bandage now on his head, and the gash on his cheek had dried up. She knew he was devilishly handsome, even in his bloody and disheveled state she had noticed it. She kept her thought to herself and remained silent. After all that had happened they were no more place for words... usually they did not leave any occasion to argue with each other, to taunt, to insult each other... but right now none of these mattered... silence was the mutual agreement...and no one was ready to break it.
After some time they arrived at their destination. They both looked at each other. That was it...It was the end...Randhir was the first to speak.
"Your daughter is waiting for you inside" he said intently looking at her.
Sanyukta did not know what to say...it's not like she could say "thanks". Who says thanks to their kidnapper for dropping them back home after kidnapping them...definitely not her ! ...not to mention what kind of kidnappers dropped their captive home... it was all very odd...So she just nodded.
Sanyukta was about to get out of the car when Randhir grabbed her wrist. "We were mere two strangers put together by circumstances... We will never see each other again." he declared. "From now you will be happy in your life and me in mine...none of us will have to bear the other..." he paused and said "the END" and left her wrist.
Sanyukta looked at the wrist he just released... something twisted inside her, brushing her feeling aside, she stepped out of the car. Randhir instantly drove off. As the car moved away...Sanyukta felt like she was missing something, as if a part of her was fleeing away. She once again brushed her thoughts away and made her way to her home. Her mood instantly getting better at the thought of seeing her beloved daughter.