RECAP :
Manik meets Nandini at the cafe washroom where he warns her not to come in his way and get a punishing kiss from him again. Later she tries to gather any information that she could about Manik but ends with nothing substantial. On the other hand, the National Security Center was highly active when the code intercepted was decoded which lead to revelation that some information was about to be exchanged at the upcoming Derby match.Terrorists get in touch with a person in Mumbai and ask him to keep an eye on Nandini and later the person is revealed as Manik himself...
CHAPTER 3
THE THREAT7:30 P.M; 23 April, 2016. Nandini's Office.
I picked up pens, books, few other things and shoved them in my bag, hurriedly, I turned off lights and walked in corridors fiddling with my phone. My phone beeped indicating I had a message and decided to first settle down in the car and then clicked on the message which popped up on home screen.
"Have a quick stop by Miss. Murthy, time is running!" It was Aryaman. I need to visit him for dinner, I am late, as always!
"Have a nice wait for few minutes." I quickly replied back, switched on the engine of car and zoomed off to his house. I reached, passed through stairs and stomped my fingers on door bell. I heard a screeching sound as the door opened with Aryaman's smiling face; I pushed him aside stepping in to greet Navya and Shahid.
We had indulged ourselves to have a proper dinner party as we bought some pizzas, nachos, few cool drinks with mousse cakes to fill in deserts and some red sauce to decorate our hot dishes. We had party lights and a music player to move our bodies free to tunes. I was engrossed in creating weird steps when I felt Aryaman breath near my ear, I shifted a bit but he came back yelling "Can we talk for a minute?" I was surprised but glanced at Navya and Shahid who seems to be engulfed in their informal talks, giving it a thought I silently nodded.
We were walking in corridors as silence prevailed around us, consuming deep breath I asked "What is it?"
"Can you join in for a derby with me, tomorrow?" He asked warily.
"Sure" I replied quickly, as it wasn't a big deal to join him and he smiled in return. We walked back to his home as we quietly stepped in only to get greeted by two huge frames dancing with a loud volume, in an instance we joined them. I stopped a moment averting my gaze at each one of them, this relieved me, past few days have been traumatic that some mental peace has barely been reachable to me and finally when I found it with my friends it gave me a push to go on once again to start from scratch and this time, may be a step closer.
These thoughts went deeper as I scrutinized Manik's handsome face in my little brain, wasn't he supposed to have a nice suitable job rather than inserting himself into killing people? He chose and I will carry justice. The night just went on with us dancing on tunes and having the good time that was due for long...
24th April, 2016
Derby, MAHALAXMI RACE COURSE
I glanced at those crystal glasses as lights flickered at their own accord. Now, my thoughts traversed in every single direction where it all changed. Be it day or night Manik's imprint somehow stayed with me and it bothered me a lot. My simple life was now full of complexities and with every meet I just cursed him being around me. He was human made of flesh and blood, yet he seemed to possess the power of water, wind and fire. He swept me off my feet whenever we had face-to-face combats. His eyes were intimidating and his body language radiated fire. My every attempt to know him was futile and he indeed proved me wrong every time.
I had accompanied Aryaman to Derby Day at Mahalaxmi Race Course and then we made our way for after drinks session. The club was filled with esteem and high profile guests that had come for watching Derby and Aryaman was introducing me to some socialites. While greeting them I could feel HIS presence and my eyes were trying to find where the Devil was camouflaging himself. My eyes traversed to the direction where he stood decked up impeccably in his black trousers, white shirt, and black jacket and to complete the look he had a donned a sleek tie.
Our eyes met, he gave me "ohh so Famous " evil smirk which I just wish to rip off from his face. He held my gaze and I couldn't help but starred in those captivating and deep eyes. Aryaman excused himself to get a drink for us to which I gave him a weak smile. I raised my eyelids again and found him walking towards me while sipping his drink.
My throat went dry and I fidgeted with my fingers. I tried to look confident and unaffected, yet deep inside he did manage to tingle an unknown emotion. He raised his one eyebrow and his eyes were shining with victory as he caught me staring at him intensely!!
Standing alone rotating my eyeballs to distract my subconscious mind I tried to ignore his gaze, but a minute after I found him in front of me. He leaned a bit towards me and said, "So beautiful, here we are... " huskily in my ear. He gently brushed his fingers on my arm seducing me as if I'm going to give in to his charms. 'I would' mocked my heart, I quickly told it to shut up and I jerked his hand away. He gave me a sarcastic smile and I knew he is upto something.
He stepped a bit closer and leaned again and his warm breath was fanning on my earlobe giving me shiver and soon I sensed that his hands were coming back in action but before he commenced, I tried to move from there!!!!!!
However, how can I forget he doesn't leave me even a second either physically or mentally through his actions. He grabbed my hand and made me look at his face. But as soon as our eyes paired, I again started drowning in them and unknowingly words came out from my mouth...
"Who are you? Why can't you let me be alone..."
But how can I forget that jackass never answers anyone and again my words went in deaf ears. He jerked me away from him and said with his all-time smirk...
"I'm A Mystery. Lady...the more u want to know, the more ..."
He left his sentence incomplete to me to comprehend the rest. It didn't take me much to realize his dangerous threats but he underestimated me, I'm there to illuminate justice not to hide behind false.
"Hey I'm back" said Aryaman as he came back with hands filled with drinks. He gave me one as he saw Manik, he gave a surprised look. Well he needs to be surprised. "Hey Manik Malhotra, it's so pleasant to meet you again." As soon as these words escaped his mouth I was bewildered. He knew him?? He knew a killer?? "Pleasant to meet you too Aryaman" Manik said as they both shook hands like lost friends, leaving me all dazed and confounded.
"Nandini meet Manik, he is the investor in my robotics venture this year. I must say he really has a great sense of business." Aryaman said introducing Manik to me. I was a bit puzzled and thought is he introducing me to a killer??' Manik extended his hand as if he is seeing me for the first time and had an innocent smile plastered on his face. I was a bit hesitant but due to the great audience we had around us, note the innuendo in my thoughts. I let my handshake with him for a while and pulled back in a blink of an eye. Next thing I remember is them talking about their business and investment. It was very frustrating to know him involving in my friend's business. It felt like a warning about some bad occurrence. I wanted to yell at Aryaman telling the guy next to you is a killer but somehow I felt he wouldn't believe me and Manik's continuous threat glares didn't help either.
I wasn't scared but something felt wrong about it and held me at my place. I was quietly turning the glass in my hand to try making sense of everything and what caught my attention was Manik's interest in Aryaman's business. It was very intriguing to see a killer who had such keen interests and deep knowledge about Robotics, as most investors I had heard off weren't much involved in such research works. Also, Manik was quite young to be an Investor as I had kept hearing that usually such people are middle aged. However, what caught my attention was when Manik mentioned about some microchips that were manufactured in Mumbai. It made me try to remember something related to it and then it struck me, Mr. Malik who was killed was one the manufacturers of such chips.
"Sir you are needed there" I heard Aryaman's Secretary say, Aryaman nodded and excused himself. I turned my gaze to the filthy man standing right in front of me. He grinned which reconstructed the boiling anger in me. He slightly brushed his arms with mine and that was it, I couldn't hold myself back. "You moron get the way out of here coz I know that Mr. Malik was one of the manufacturers of microchips..." I yelled at him only to get back a composed posture of him yet, I knew I had hit a nerve in his brain as he blinked his eyes more than frequently. But I did gather few eyeballs staring at us.
"I'm sorry for that but we could discuss in private" he said calmly and increased my already swelled up anger. He silently apologized to the crowd I had gathered and gently dragged me though his grip which was stronger than iron. I started hitting him and asking him to stop after we were few meters away from crowd but I could see the bull back in action. He brought me to a deserted area and flared his nostrils spitting fire through his eyes. "What was that?" He yelled.
"Your pay back" I said equally infuriated by his shameless actions.
He didn't wait after my answer rather grabbed my waist and smashed his lips with mine. I was so angry with him that even staying still in shock wasn't an option. I pushed and hit him with my little hands but they weren't any help. I tried getting out of his grip but that didn't seem to happen either. He is kissing me as he had done before but this time he is venting his anger on me which really didn't seem right. He finally pulled out after what seemed like ages and I slapped him right across his face. I caught my breath and finally managed to speak to him "I know you killed Malik and you can't fool me with your smooth talk. I know it has something to do with Malik being the manufacturer of microchips and I swear to God I will find out the truth."
I didn't stay back to hear him and turned back to Derby hall. What amused me was that he let me go inspite of knowing I had caught hold of something against him. Somewhere I had started to understand his ways to stop me and that was through physical contact yet, there was something his kisses that tried to tell me to shut up and mind my own business.
(Nandini's POV end)
WRITER'S POINT OF VIEW
Manik regained his composure after his mind lingered for a few minutes on Nandini's words and he realized he had underestimated Nandini. He knew he had to be careful and plan his actions in a more cautious way coz Nandini was 'trouble' as he had expected on their first encounter. His hand did travel to his cheek but then he didn't pay more attention to it and rather his thumb brushed his lips which still had the sweet taste of Nandini's lips. He chuckled remembering their every meet and his eyes radiated that spark he felt whenever he was around Nandini which was something he had never experienced. He knew he had to focus on his work and quickly pushed his thoughts aside and welcomed himself back in hall.
The Derby hall was filled with esteemed guests as people swayed gracing the floor. It was nicely decorated with the needed things and left people to spread the charm, which was happening. All were busy in their business talks when a lady entered the Hall. She had thin black wavy hair, almond eyes, long nose and her lips were concealed with bright red. She was wearing a nice long red gown with a small golden clutch and her heels marked her arrival.
She acknowledged a few guests and then made her way towards the bar counter. After ordering a drink, she settled herself for some fine space. She noticed a guy sitting next to her who seems to be lost in deep thoughts, she averted her gaze as she noticed many people one after the other each having something to show.
Few minutes and a strangely well-built man entered the gracious hall. He was in his nice black tuxedo as welcoming as he seems. He traversed his piercing gaze all through the hall looking for what information was about to be exchanged. He was the officer incharge from NSG, Officer Cabir. Cabir's trained eyes landed on two people at the bar counter but soon averted to gaze on few business tycoons before Manik looked back at him.
"Hello Miss Murthy, How are you?" Mr.Mehra was a leading businessman in the field of Pharmaceuticals asked Nandini on spotting her.
"I'm good, how are you?" she asked politely though she was least interested in a conversation after her exasperated fight with the monster. The notable scientist didn't leave after few pleasantries and continued talking about his new works and other random things. Nandini just nodded at him feeling all irritated again.
"You know Nandini I had a chance to meet Mr.Murthy couple of times. I must say he was a scholar, what a great man" said Mr.Mehra. Nandini felt nice hearing about her father being praised. It seemed her father left his trademark behind even though he left the world. She felt proud and thanked him for the kind words.
While passing by Manik heard the conversation and was stunned to know Nandini was the daughter of renowned scientist Mr.Murthy. Thoughts began to flood his mind with the memories of his interaction with the scientist. He brushed his long fingers on his etched jaw line and left the spot before anyone could witness the crease on his forehead.
He moved towards the bar and ordered a drink for himself. He settled himself beside a lady who found Manik a bit lost and she initiated the conversation with him. "Life's a bit rough at times, you got a problem?" the lady asked Manik and in return Manik lightly chuckled on her question. "Who doesn't..."
He asked back raising his glass of scotch. He fiddled with the glass in his hands, glancing at Nandini one last time and turned to see the lady sitting beside him. She looked elegant with swanky items shimmering on her. She smugly smiled lifting her smoky eye lashes up to see him. She played with her bracelet and then returned a smile to him while introducing her to him, "I am Dr. Mukti". Manik returned her gesture by introducing himself, "Manik, Manik Malhotra."
Mukti's phone beeped and she stomped her fingers on screen to see the message she had been waiting for all this while. Mukti politely said, "Good luck Manik" and ended their conversation as she stepped down from chair walking without a glance back. Mukti left to interact with few other delegates present in hall. As she came across one of the reputed man she spoke introducing herself, "I am Dr. Mukti, it is such an honor to meet you."
"Good to see you Dr. Mukti, I am Karthik and looks like you know I run a small business Mukti." He smiled and Mukti said, "Yeah small enough to have branches in more than 75 countries." He chuckled at her witty reply and further asked, "So, Mukti what's your specialization?"
"I'm a specialist of nuclear energy and currently working on a collaborative project between Australia and India. You must have heard about the Uranium deal between the two nations..." She said elegantly. He was quite impressed by the young lady and her confidence caught his eyes, "that's great. You seem to be very enterprising and quite on your toes."
Mukti's phone vibrated again and she understood the message without seeing, not wasting time to look she glanced at Karthik and said, "I'd like to get some wine. It was great meeting you." She flashed her empty glass as she disappeared to bar counter once again and stumbled twice on her way. She fidgeted with her clutch and lifting her head high she walked away confidently to do for what she was here for.
Mukti silently walked to bartender and knocked twice on table. He understood her indication and gently passed her the parcel. She took the parcel and quickly shoved it in her clutch and strode further.
Officer Cabir still had not found why it was important for the terrorist group today and what information was about to be exchanged. He knew time was running out of their hand and still he hadn't found anything suspicious. He pretended to mingle with the guests and kept looking for his clue. He had his men in civil dress and his team was on their toe to be in action on the command of their Officer. Cabir spoke through the disguised mike on his suit and whisper yelled "Watch out for our goat."
"Yes sir" they replied in unison.
He kept walking here and there. He walked to the entrance door and on his way he suddenly felt a push as he stumbled not to fall, he soon realized that he had bumped into a person as he saw her stumbling too. He held out her hand to let her stay still. Once they are alright he said "I apologize...I..."
"It's fine." Mukti replied. He observed her being distracted as she hurriedly grabbed her clutch tightly and kept it close to herself and strode away without a glance. She seemed suspicious to him; her hurry, her distraction didn't help much. He shrugged those thoughts and glanced in other direction. However, his senses drew him towards the woman he just bumped into. He couldn't let her actions slip his mind and found her quite suspicious. His strong intention was not leaving and finally giving it a chance he decided to chase her. He informed his team and left towards the entrance.
Cabir began to chase her and could see that she strode in a hurry. She reached the archway and roamed her eyeballs everywhere. He was abruptly interrupted by a waiter saying, "Sir drinks". He declined and in that matter of few seconds Mukti went missing. He cursed under his breath and then began to look around the different gates in front of him. He had to take a wild guess and after observing her anxiety, he decided to take the gate which lead towards the parking.
Mukti had taken the gate number 9 and walked towards the parking lot. She was completely alert and knew she had to be calm. She had to make sure nobody noticed her and then she strode further deeper into that area. She steadily walked to a red car parked right in the corner. A man steps off the car as he watched her carefully and she knew he was his ride to get out of the race course. He quickly opened the gate for her and without sparring a second she settled herself inside the car.
Cabir was on his foot quickly and was heading towards the parking area to know what made that girl so anxious. He had alerted a colleague on the way to look out for a girl and gave him Mukti's description. His colleague was scanning the parking lot to spot the girl. But, luck seemed to favour Mukti as she made her way out before Cabir or his colleague could reach her. Cabir knew she had left and was instructing his colleague to quickly get a lead on her.
Cabir was interrupted by a phone call from NSG control room. The call got disconnected due to network issues. He quickly got out of there and then his phone buzzed again breaking his reverie and picked up the call with confidence that never left him.
"Officer Cabir" his voice coated with sincerity. His supreme Chief answered, "Cabir, we have some information..." his voice was laced with hurry and dipped in enthusiasm as they had found something.
"Yes Sir." he replied finally letting go of the rational thoughts he held. Cabir's boss said, "The intelligence has confirmed that that there is something more to follow after the exchange of information at Derby. Cabir, you have to find out what it is or else you know the consequences... Time is on their side... we are forwarding you details of some suspects... Over and out."
"Sure Sir..." He made his way back to the hall and on his way opened the pictures of some suspects. But, his mind drifted towards that girl and knew he had to get her sooner or later. His team reported him of nothing suspicious. He knew this time if they lose the clue it would be detrimental. He instructed a few colleagues of him to meet at the janitor. Within a few minutes they came and Cabir shared his next set of action to be taken. Also, he shared the suspect list that was sent by the NSG control room.
But in between he took out his phone as it buzzed again. It was from the control room of NSG "Officer Cabir" he answered. "Officer Cabir, it is confirmed the intruders are in Mumbai and we received a bomb threat." said the person from Control Room. Cabir processed the information as soon as he could and quickly said, "Patch me quickly to the Mumbai Police Commissioner and get the bomb squads ready. I would need back up. Send the teams over once you locate the bomb. Over and out."
"Right away Sir" said the person in the control room.
Cabir quickly briefed his colleagues on the present development and asked a couple of them to be at the Race Course. He marched towards the parking area with his other colleagues. They quickly got in their SUV. The control room informed him the location of the bomb and it was almost 30 minutes away from their present location. Cabir yelled the location, "Phoenix Mall now..." They all got their hand guns out and were putting extra magazines in their suit pockets. They were given a green corridor on their way as the traffic police was informed it was an emergency.
They were informed that the police had covered the Mall and were trying to get people out of there. Cabir asked his colleague to drive faster and also enquired about the status of bomb squad. His colleague pressed hard on the accelerator and after a few minutes they reached Phoenix Mall only to find people trying to struggle while getting out. They quickly made their way out and showed their ID to the police officer to let them in. Cabir met the Assistant Police Commissioner (ACP) and got the status report. They all tried to get people out quickly before the damage was done.
There was chaos and people were pushing each other to get out. Cabir and other officers broke the glass windows of the front showroom to let many people out They helped a few women and their kids so that they could leave without any injuries. He was informed that the bomb squad had arrived and by that time the police was scanning the Mall with the help of metal detectors and sniffer dogs. Police and NSG commandos were spread everywhere.
The Manager of the Mall was trying to help the security team to locate the way to the Control Room, of the mall. Some policemen went with him to check on the CCTV cameras to spot anything suspicious. They had covered the entire mall in concentric circles. Cabir was breaking into one of the fire exits to check if there was something there and that's when suddenly he heard the sniffer dog barked loudly. Cabir directed his team for the next set of instructions to disconnect the electric supply of the mall and also to do quick rain check if they spotted someone suspicious outside.
Cabir made his way towards the storage room of the mall where bomb was located. The bomb squads had appeared and were inspecting the bomb. The squad members asked us to clear the area for them and I spotted the timer it read 06:25 (6 minutes and 25 seconds). The squad members got down to stop the explosive before it showed its beastly side. After years of being in the job Cabir knew the bomb wasn't a high-tech one which is usually used for explosions. He knew it could harm a few souls but not major catastrophe, which made him try to connect the dots.
The security team was busy scanning the vicinity of the mall to check if there was any other bomb. The timer on the displayed 4:10 and that's when the bomb stopped ticking. They all released the breath they were holding on. The security officers on looking for another bomb came to give us green signal' which got some relief on the faces of everyone.
The security teams got down to take rain check before letting everyone know it was safe'. Though all the officers were searching for a clue but couldn't get one. Cabir was looking around the store room and then his eye caught a tape and questioned himself, "what is the tape for?" His aroused question made him walk up to tape and started pulling it off. As soon as he pulls it off he saw wires connected to it. He continued doing it and found that the wires were leading towards the elevators.
Near the elevators he found at the edge, through very small holes, two silver wires connected to each other. The bomb squad was following Cabir's steps and the sniffer dog started to bark. The squad got into action when they discovered the bomb was neatly fixed with a cover to escape the metal detector. It was located in the elevator's button panel.
The squad leader got down to work and was discussing with his team to make sure he disconnected the right wire. They had sweat beads on their face as the time on it read 0:45 (45 seconds). They all quickly agreed to cut the yellow wire' and the clock stopped to tick at 0:42 (42 seconds). The squad members removed their gloves and took a deep breath.
Cabir quickly got over to the ACP and said, "I think we need to get every inch of the mall checked again. Keep the electricity turned off and yes ask for flashlights to be arranged soon. I'll cover floor 1 and exits. Get someone to the basement and till then let me touch base with NSG control room." The ACP nodded and made his way to get things done. Cabir was walking past the other exit of the mall on ground floor when he heard some faint footstep. He got into his attacking demure and firmly held his handgun. He quickly made way towards the exit and spotted at a distance a lean and short guy with a grey shirt. Cabir pointed his gun and said, "Stop, raise your hands in the air or else I'll shoot." Before Cabir could get hold of the guy he turned and took his pendant in his mouth and had an evil grin on his face.
Cabir yelled out of frustration as he knew the guy was dead. He quickly went and scanned the pockets of the guy when he found his wallet. In a few minutes NSG Commando Jai arrived at the crime spot. Cabir said, "Call for the ambulance and get forensic experts over. Let them investigate and then take him for postmortem." Commando Jai nodded and got in touch with the Control Room of NSG. Jai informed about the situation to their Chief. Cabir opened his wallet to find a few thousand rupee notes and a driving license. He also found a photograph of a girl.
Cabir said to Jai, "Jai we have a lead, keep the wallet and its contents with you. You know what to do with it and keep it clear of others for now." Jai knew the subtle meaning of Cabir's words and gave him a quick nod.
2 HOURS LATER, PHONEIX MALL
The officers had got every inch of mall checked and knew there wasn't any threat. ACP informed the Home Minister and the Chief Minister that everything was under control. A huge delegation of media was present outside the mall waiting to know what exactly had happened. But, for now the police and NSG commandos had other things on hand. Cabir was the senior most official and he called for everyone at the ground level.
He said, "Good Job officers." The security officers gave a victory smile to each other and got back to their jobs. Commando Jai came towards Cabir and said, "Cabir Sir, did intelligence have an idea about this?" Cabir scratched his jaw line and said, "well from the way it looked, I think it was well planned... what's your take Commando Jai??"
Jai while rolling his shirt sleeves down said, "Sir this looks like it was done in haste or maybe planned in just a couple of days. ...it should have been a bit difficult to put the bomb here without getting noticed. They must have had some technical experts too... "Cabir knew it was a work of experts too and he said, "I agree...but what caught my attention was the way bomb in the store room was set. It didn't seem like a normal attack coz it looked more like a cover up for something or an act to divert the attention from something else... But what could it be..."
Commando Jai asks "Cabir Sir, do u think that it was set up divert our attention from what might have taken place at the Derby?" Cabir processes everything in his mind and tried to link every detail when it struck him. His eyes were wide with the realization that dawned on him as he said, "I was searching for the suspect and then I bumped into a girl whom I found a bit suspicious. And in same time we get a call about the bomb threat..." Cabir took a pause and paced around and that's when the bomb squad leader approached him and said, "We are leaving Officer Cabir. Good work." They both shook hands and the squad left.
Cabir began to race his mind again and what Commando Jai questioned made sense and said, "Damm...you are right Commando Jai... It was a plan to get us off the track from what information was being exchanged at Derby ... ..damm we were fooled by this threat to let go of our main lead..."
The ACP, Mumbai had gone out to inform the media and the nation that everything was under control. Security teams had sealed the mall and the NSG commandos made their way out through the back exit. People applauded for the brave officers and were thanking them. Cabir marched off with his team towards their car. It was getting difficult to make way out of the area.
People were hovering around them and that's when someone bumped into Cabir and after steadying himself he left. Cabir turned to see the man only to find him smirk at him. He winked at Cabir and gave him a mocking salute. He was none other than Manik Malhotra.
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Please do share your views with us and let us know what you think was Manik doing at the Phoenix Mall...
Edited by Awesomewriters - 9 years ago
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