Sanyukta searched her handbag for the keys, when she found them her face glowed with Jackpot-hitting smile. Finally ! She was home... safe and sound with her daughter ! She unlatched the door and headed inside. It was much quieter than usual, she wondered where was her daughter. She inspected the house and finally went to her baby's room, she noticed her baby...she was sleeping in her bed with her teddy bear, looking like angel, Sanyukta sighed and placed a kiss on her forehead. Her eyes welled up after seeing her, how badly she missed her.
Tara stirred a little but Sanyukta calmly patted her forehead to make her sleep back. Sanyukta then went away to her room and took a quick but relaxing bath and changed to her casual clothes, she sighed...home sweet home ! By the time she came out she found Tara in front of tv watching her favorite show as usual.
"How is my sweet baby ?" asked Sanyukta to her daughter as she went to hug her from behind.
"Mummaaa !" she hugged her back... "You're back. Where were you?" she asked pouting. "I was waiting for you to come and play with me but you never came..." Tara showered her innocent questions over her mumma.
"Baby..." she said caressing her daughter and playing with her hair. "Mumma was busy with work... But Now I'm back! So we will play as much as you want" she told her angel caressing her hair.
"Tara baby, where were you when momma was at work ?" Sanyukta inquired, turning her over in her lap. She wanted to know how the devil had treated her daughter while he had her.
"I was in a really big and beautiful house" she answered, describing the size with her tiny hands. "And...and... there was a very nice man" she said. Sanyukta raised her brow, a nice man ?... She had not come across any nice men in the past few days...apart from Sahil.
"What did he look like and how do know he was nice sweety ?" she demanded her daughter intrigued by her words.
"He was BIIIG and he had little little beard, it tickled" she giggled.
...The devil ? thought Sanyukta, she can't be serious...but he was the only one in the gang that had little stubble. It actually suited him now that she think of it, not to mention that five o'clock shadow was trendy...It was rough yet classy... But that was beside the point !
"hmm...he was nice because... hmmm he gave me chocolates" she giggled again. "and... and... ice cream as well" she enthusiastically told her mother. After a pause she added "he is my hero ! " she exclaim totally smitten by Randhir.
Greaaat Sanyukta face palmed herself, the devil in her own life, was the hero of her daughters'...oh the irony !
"Why would you say that now darling ?" inquired Sanyukta. If anything, the devil would be the antagonist in the story...definitely not the hero ! she thought.
"He called me pwincess and treated me like a REAL pwinncess... he is my hero, my pwince !" she confirmed nodding...
Sanyukta nearly chocked her on saliva...the devil ? ...a prince ? she wanted to say "LOL...BIG LOL" For starter, to be a prince the first thing you needed was manners, which was a very foreign concept to him...Nah definitely not a prince material, she dismissed the idea.
But she was surprised by this piece of information... The guy had not left a chance to torture her and treats her like dirt and here he was calling my angel a princess and bringing her ice cream. She knew the guy was weird but no to that point. ...That almost confirmed her pregnancy theory...and may be that was EXACTLY why he had been so nice with Tara, he was actually practicing for his own baby ! Yeaaah that's it !...Like a mock test you know !... thought Sanyukta finally finding a more or less logical explanation to Randhir's behavior.
Nonetheless she was relieved to know her daughter was fine and had been well treated. But the fact that the gangster had taken care of her daughter made her uneasy... it felt weird. How one person could be so nice... and so cold and heartless at the same time, it didn't make sense... but whatever it was, it was in the past, she will never see him again, end of the story.
***
Night dawned in as Tara went to her bed after having dinner with her mother. Sanyukta who was busy cleaning dishes was lost in her trance. She spent the entire day catching up with the work that had accumulated during the past few days, and from time to time she played with Tara... she had not had much time to think about her kidnap...but now that her mind was at rest she went back to the previous days' events... Her mind still pondering over one question : "What was their motive ?!" from what she had gathered, they didn't seem like bad people...she remembered a conversation she had with Sahil.
Flashback
"You guys are not regular gangsters, are you ?" enquired Sanyukta. They had done nothing a regular gangster would do, no injury, no rape, no food deprivation...nothing ! ...Not that she minded obviously...but it made her curious on their motive.
Sahil didn't say anything.
"You are different" she added, trying to stir a reaction.
"As you are..." replied Sahil. "You are not scared as you should be, and you do everything in your power to get on the boss' nerves, when he could kill you in a blink of the eyes" he stated.
She chuckled. If only he knew, it was this audacity of hers that had kept her alive so far... but she decided to enlighten the mood instead.
"Yeaaah !!! ...from my childhood I knew I was different..." she started
"You know tom and jerry, right ?" she asked Sahil
"umm..Of course, who does not ?" said Sahil as if it was the most logic answer.
"Sorry I didn't know wanna be gangsters watched tom and jerry" she defended herself.
"Anyway as is said I knew I was different long time ago, when everyone cheered up on that big bad, arrogant and sneaky Jerry, I always felt bad for poor little TOM, silently praying God to give him his moment of glory at least once !" she said pouring all her hatred toward the hidden monster that was Jerry.
Both ended up laughing at her outburst.
End of flashback
Surely gangsters who watched Tom and Jerry were not that bad... Thought Sanyu.
But the devil...he was another story altogether !
Oh how she hated him... He was...he was... uuurgh just thinking about him made her angry... He was as dark as black ink, as stubborn as a mule and as infuriating as an itch, she muttered. But then again he was no ordinary man, he had a murderer's soul.
"He was so cruel the way he killed that person" Sanyukta still remembered the night they had first met down the street, Randhir was thrashing a guy right there and choking his last breath.
Law meant nothing to him, he was a heartless killer... that was what he was, It was because of people like him that the country could not improve properly... all they knew was forcing and terrorizing people. These kind of persons should be erased from earth as they only contaminated the population, thought Sanyukta anger blinding her. "I pray never to see him again !" she concluded.
Sanyukta stared at the night sky from her window. The city was silent, it had been mid night. She knew he must be somewhere...out there...again on the breakout. Yet on his mission to kill another innocent.
Sanyukta didn't knew when she drifted off to her sleep that night.
***
Randhir was walking down the corridor when his eyes fell on the door. The door that guarded the guest room and instantly flashes of a dark haired girl played in his mind. "I'm glad you won't bother me anymore Ms. Sanyukta..." Randhir walked past that door gazing at it for an extra second. He had never met such a self-centered girl, it was like she was full of adoration for herself... Her excessive sense of self-importance repulsed him. She was always thinking that she is above everyone else... People like her that does not care what others go through are ruining the country by their selfishness and egocentrism, he said... all they know is to criticize and belittle others... I pray never to see her again ! he concluded brushing away his thoughts about her.
***
The days passed by and her mind almost forgot about the incident. She was back to her schedule, juggling in her life. She used to fulfill her duties as a mother and assure her shifts as a waitress to the club. Apart from her part time waitress job, she took up various assignments from clients. Sanyukta being a white-hat hacker loved lending a helping hand in legal matters and cases. Her skills benefitted the needy right in time and she loved the way she brought smile to somebody's face by her mere gestures. It was not much for her, but it meant the world for the victims.
One fine morning, as she was walking out of the court, her wrist got hastly caught by a woman. The woman dragged Sanyukta in a corner before she had time to react. From her clothes and posture, the woman looked wealthy. But one look to her face and sanyukta knew the woman had been crying. She was looking right and left to ensure they were alone. Sanyukta sensed the panic and fear of the lady.
"Mam, what happened. Please calm down!" Sanyukta tried to calm the woman, but to her failure, tears formed in the woman's eyes.
"Mam please come with me" Sanyukta took her to the nearby cafe and made her drink some water.
Finally the woman took a deep breath and managed to compose her, "Mam what happened? Please tell me" Sanyukta urged her to tell her.
"My name is Mo-Monica R-Rathore" The woman told her stammering in a low voice looking here and there. "Look I need you to help me...please" she pleaded Sanyukta. Sanyukta waited for her to continue. "I am a retired model". "2 days ago...I..." tears formed in her eye again. "Some men came and...I...and they...I've been... raped..." she closed her eyes trying to control her sobs.
Sanyukta's eyes widened at her sentence, she hugged her and patted her back assuring her to provide as much help as she could. Rape was such a barbarous act, no girl should go through such an awful experience. The thought of a man forcing himself on the poor woman made her jaw clench. How she wanted to punish the bas***d herself. She had a very sadistic list of torture methods ready to experience on him to make him suffer and regret even laying his eyes on the poor victim.
Even though she was strongly opposed to torture, she could make an exception for rape cases. The lady also told her that her bank accounts have recently been. She had not much money left, someone stole all of it.
"Do you suspect anyone?" Sanyukta finally asked her trying to dig some clues.
"I think I know...We were acquaintances, he proposed to me last week. ...But I refused" She soaked her tears in the tissue, "I suspect it was his men. He did this as a payback" she cried recounting her all the meetings with the guy.
"His name?" Sanyukta asked.
"Raghav Ghosh" said Monica.
Sanyukta then calmed her and assured her to work on it and get her justice for this. She was going to put every ounce of energy she had to resolve the matter, it was now her battle ! And somehow that name ringed bells in her brain !
***
Sanyukta had constantly been working on her present assignment... looking in every niche for the name and its trails across, her study about the person landed her to many shocking conclusions. She knew it won't be easy but her present job was to take him down.
***
Mumbai, 11 am, The Grand Hyatt Hotel
Sanyukta trespassed the security easily with her forged card and entered the large hall that was decorated in a formal manner all set for a big business meeting. Sanyukta checked her phone for the schedule for Raghav Ghosh's speech and made a final note of her plan.
She carefully took her seat next to the door at an angle that her vision was not interrupted. The person was amply rich, his political influence was much visible with the amount of high security around him. The press was all set to capture the moment when the announcement of the next charity case was going to be announced. These ceremonies always made her laugh, those man talked about charity while parading in Armani suits... It reminded her of the those woman's magazines, which content was mainly divided into two topics : "Accept yourself, you are beautiful just the way you are" and the other half "how to lose 20kg in four weeks" ...hum very much logic !
He was the same guy Randhir had told her to look for... she was surprised at first because back then he didn't look like a bad person, sure there was some wheeling and dealing but that was kind of part of a politician resume, wasn't it ? ...but there was nothing serious.
On the other hand...she had not put all her heart on the work when the devil had asked her...she had retrieved just the minimum amount of info for him to be satisfied... It was a safety insurance, in case something went wrong she would still have something she could bargain ! ...She always needed to be one step ahead if she wanted to survive !
But now that she had dig deeper she had found some really disturbing facts... That also meant that the gangsters were after him for a reason... "This all must be linked somewhat...but how ?!" she wondered. The mysteries were adding up and the solutions were nowhere to be seen. If things continued to entangle themselves that way, she will soon find a plate of spaghetti in front of her rather than separate cases... she sighed.
She waited for his arrival. Primarily she just wanted to observe him and his antics in order to decide on her plan to expose this corrupt person. She was a bit nervous, she was not a spy by profession ... most of the time she stayed safe behind the screen of her laptop... But today she was on the field...she just hoped that what she saw in action movies wasn't too much overdone, because these were her only reference... if needed she will have to pick a move and copy it !...she was quite good at copying, ok not as much as Talking Tom but still...! ...hey wait a second ! Talking Tom... Tom and jerry... Tom...Tom/Tom... was it the same cat ?... or may be cousins... these two were obviously related ! yup definitely family ! concluded Sanyukta.
Coming out of Tom's family tree, Sanyukta' eyes suddenly spotted someone familiar sitting right across in her lane... wearing a black tuxedo... looking every amount of handsome as he could. She could not believe her eyes... the barbarian could turn out this good...Not that he looked bad in his rough attire, on the contrary it as very manly and sexy...
She sighed... She was seeing him after so many days and the first thought that came to her mind was how yummy he looked and how sexy he was back then... he had this effect on her...she mentally chided herself reminding herself that he was a monster nonetheless...
...a devilishly handsome monster...she couldn't help but add ! But the question was "what the hell was he doing here ?"
***
Randhir who eventually turned up right at the nick of time in the hall, happened to be sitting there as well, his eyes flickered from Raghav to something behind. Sanyukta followed his gaze only to find a shadow behind the press conference curtain that lingered on the curtain. The moment she gazed back at Randhir he was no more at his spot. She rubbed her eyes... he was there right ? she asked herself... she had not imagined him, right ?
Sanyukta made a quick exit and glanced back at the stage by hiding in the vicinity. She saw a man in housekeeping uniform, carrying a gun and heading towards the stage. She panicked...
"what if he harms an innocent ?!" ...Besides she couldn't let him kill Raghav like that, that would be too simple, she wanted to expose his dirty deeds, she wanted him to acknowledge everything before pronouncing the final judgment.
On the other hand, Randhir also went behind the stage to keep an eye on the guy who was approaching with a gun. He didn't know who was this man, but he wouldn't let him come in between his plans. Randhir was about to follow his trails when he spotted the back of a girl chasing the armed guy... that too bare handed.
"What is wrong with this woman?!" Randhir thought to himself and walked up toward her in order to stop her from doing the blunder.
Sanyukta followed the man who had now concealed his face under the mask he had retrieved from his pocket. He was waiting for an opportunity to perform his task. Sanyukta on the other hand was getting really impatient and wished to get him exposed before he caused nuisance. This was her heroic moment, she won't let anyone come in between... she dramatically thought "it is now or never !"..." to do or to die !"
She hurriedly marked her way toward him, imagining a crowd cheering up on her "Sanyukta !.. Sanyukta !... Sanyukta !"...in her enthusiasm she almost tripped, eventually alerting the guy of her presence. He turned back to find Sanyukta standing at a mere 10 ft. from him. Sanyukta stopped dead in her tracks. Her anticipation telling her that she might be breathing her last breath if he pulled the trigger.
She looked at him and nervously laughed "Ummm hi...I was wondering if you knew where were the toilets ?" she blurted out the first thing that came to her mind...Great Sanyukta !... you couldn't think of anything else than the damn toilets ?!!! How clich...
Her eyes grew wider when the man aimed the gun at her. Everything happened so fast !
Randhir who stood behind them jumped right in between and pushed Sanyukta but the guy had already pulled the trigger getting everyone's attention on him. The bullet missed Sanyukta just by few inches.
The noise alarmed everyone, people rushed on every corner causing a havoc. The guy ran away but the hall was still filled with panic from the rushing and the search of the source of the gunshot. Meanwhile Randhir was laying on floor with Sanyukta on top of him, tightly secured in his arms.
"Are you okay?" Randhir checked on the girl... But as soon as his eyes got a clear glimpse of her, he stilled. He was shocked seeing the girl he had risked his life for... Sanyukta Aggarwal... He has risked his life for her ?!!! His anger shot up and he coldly pushed her off him.
"Why do you always come in between me and my mission?" Randhir yelled while Sanyukta glared at him. They were seeing each other after almost one month... Even though both had let the kidnapping incident pass, they often found themselves thinking about each other... Not in the most flattering manner of course, they still hated other... but somehow, their poles apart nature stirred curiosity for the other...
They stared at each other for a moment, not knowing what to say... warm greetings and weather talks were not their style...
Sanyukta probably felt it safer not to talk or argue and walked away without a word, leaving behind a cursing yet confused Randhir looking at her disappearing frame.