by UD Yasha
The rain and wind lashed against the leaves and branches above us. The wind was blowing stronger now and the trees started to sway wildly. The weather was definitely much stronger at this altitude and Radha and I looked at each other in tense silence.
The clock in my mind ticked by.
‘Do you think everything is okay?’ Radha said.
‘No news means good news,’ I said.
I had spoken too soon. Just when I finished my sentence, gunshots cracked the silence of the still night air. More loud bangs followed. We could hear them above the rain and wind. We knew what that meant. Rathod and his team had reached the warehouse. I got up.
‘Stay back, sister,’ Radha said, holding my hand. ‘We can’t do anything from here.’
I wanted to join the patrol teams but Radha was right. It did not make sense now. They were not expecting me. I would have no backup. At instances like these, you always rely on your partners for both defence and offence. Joining them now would disrupt their harmony and planning.
More gunshots rumbled in the distance. They seemed to come from a greater distance because the rain was falling heavier than before now and Radha had my hand in a firm grip. The water began to trickle down from the branches high above us. The leaves rustled fiercely and the wind sent shivers through my body. We waited. More tense minutes passed by.
Just then, my phone buzzed in my pocket and chimed in my ear. It was Rathod. He was calling me. Even before I answered the call, I knew we were about to join the fight.
Chapter Fifty-Four
Gunshots continued to rock the cool night air. I could also hear them over the phone when I answered Rathod’s call.
‘Siya, a man has escaped from the warehouse,’ Rathod said. He was heaving loudly as if he was trying to catch his breath. ‘He’s coming your way.’
My heartbeat quickened.
Rathod went on. ‘The man is escaping towards the main road,’ Rathod said. Ear-piercing bangs erupted. I could hear loud footsteps, ‘You are directly in his line of path.’
‘Got it. We’ll be on him,’ I said.
‘Be careful.’ More gunshots and cries roared in the background. Two heart beats went by. Rathod said, ‘You’ve got to know something. He’s armed. He has killed one of my people and injured another one gravely. They did not see him coming.’
‘We’ll get that bastard,’ I said.
‘Also, if you have the option, try not to kill him. He might know a great deal about what was happening here. He could be the boss. I heard his men call him Mangesh bhai,’ Rathod said and paused. He shouted out loud to someone and then fired two deafening bullets. ‘But if...but if your life is in danger, go for the kill. I would’ve sent some of my men from here after him but we’re already outnumbered,’ he said and clicked off.
‘What’s the matter?’ Radha said.
I told Radha what Rathod had shared. ‘This is our chance,’ I said.
‘He has no other option but to head to the highway. He’ll have to use the road for that. There’s no other way out of here,’ Radha said. ‘I remember the map very well. There were some private properties up ahead on the same road. Empty land mostly. The road does not lead into the highway ahead. It’s a dead end.’
‘Great. So, he has to turn around and go back up the same path we used to get here from the smaller road.’
‘Unless he hides somewhere along the road first.’
‘Let’s take our chances. I think he would want to get away from here as soon as possible. He knows that this place will soon be swarming with police officers. They would search the entire area, including the forest.’
‘What if he has a car on the road? He could use that to get away. We won’t be able to find him once he gets to the highway.’
‘I’ll ask Rahul to sweep the road,’ I said. I tapped my phone twice to call Rahul. He answered even before the first ring ended.
I told him about Rathod. ‘This man, Mangesh, might have a car somewhere on the road or the highway. He might use it to get away. He could even have someone waiting for him. His aim would be to hit the highway. He can virtually go anywhere he wants from there. Can you drive up the road and check if a car is parked?’ I said.
Radha leaned forward towards the phone and said, ‘I remember the GPS images. You would take about six to seven minutes to go and come back to the point where you left us.’
‘I’m on it,’ Rahul said and the very next moment, we heard his car’s engine start.
I said, ‘Even if Mangesh doesn’t have a car, he’ll try to get away from here as fast as possible and not wander in the woods. His goal would be to get to the road first and then hit the highway. So, wait for us at the highway once you finish searching the road.’
‘What do I do if I see him?’
‘Do not engage with him. Try to get away if he sees you. He’s armed and dangerous. If he doesn’t make you, then stay as close to him as possible without raising suspicion. I repeat, do not engage with him.’
‘What about you two?’
‘We’ll find a way. Rathod and his team will be back. Don’t worry about us. If Mangesh doesn’t have a car, he might try to hijack your car. You cannot put your life in danger to stop him from taking it. So, you need to get away.’
‘I can’t leave the two of you behind,’ Rahul said, the pitch of his voice high.
‘This is not the time to argue. You need to get away if he sees you, Rahul. We’ll be safe here.’
Silence.
I said, ‘I need you to promise me that.’
‘I don’t know, Siya.’
Radha leaned forward again to speak. I disconnected the call from Bluetooth and put it on speaker. The clock in my mind kept ticking. We were losing time. Mangesh was getting closer to us by the second.
‘Rahul? It’s me’, Radha said. ‘We’ll be safe here. I promise you. Just go away if he sees you, alright?’
Silence.
‘I could still be useful if I stay around,’ Rahul said.
‘I cannot afford to lose you. I really cannot,’ Radha said. ‘Do this for me. Please?’
‘I’ll be careful,’ Rahul said. ‘It’s pitch black and almost impossible to make anything out so there’s very little chance of us spotting each other,’ Rahul said.
Another heartbeat of silence.
Rahul said, ‘Whatever you say Radha, I’m not leaving the two of you behind. There’s no chance of that happening. I promise you that I won’t engage with him but I’m not going from here. You both are my family and family doesn’t walk away when the going gets tough.’
Before I could say anything, he had hung up. Radha hugged me tightly.
‘It’s going to be alright,’ I said, only realizing then the kind of situation I had put her in.
It was a mistake to bring her with me. I gripped her hand tighter. I knew I had one big weakness. My loved ones, my family. We had just got maa back. How could I have been so reckless with Radha and Rahul? I had dragged them into this for no reason. When I practiced law three years ago, I always made it a point to never put anyone apart from myself in danger. It was something that I had learnt from my mentor, Santosh Hedge. He never put any of his team members at risk. His words rang in my head. My first job is to protect my people and then capture the bad guys. I remembered the day he had first asked me to come with him on an undercover mission. It was almost two years since I had started working for him. I was surprised and delighted. He had later told me that from that day onwards he felt I no longer needed anyone’s protection in the field.
I could not let my family down. Thinking about that made me wonder about dad. I promised myself I would go out looking for him as soon as all this was over. I had something to work with now when it came to his clueless disappearance. I pushed the thought away for the time being. I had a job to do. I had to protect my little sister and catch the bastard who could shed some light on what was happening in the Dark Web Chatroom.
‘We need to get going,’ I said, pull
ing out of the hug. ‘Mangesh has several ways to get to the highway. He could go through the forest or he could take the road. If I were him, I would stay amid the cover of the trees as far as possible. Less chance to be seen and caught that way. But even then, he has to get on the road at some point.’ I paused to catch my breath. ‘We’re going to do the same thing. But from the forest across the road. We’re ahead of him right now, and if we continue from this side of the woods, he could attack us from behind. We will also get a better look from across the road.’
‘How are we going to get him?’
‘I'll ask Rahul to wait near the highway if he doesn't find anything on the road. The point where the road meets the highway is the only way Mangesh can use to escape from here. The chances of losing him are higher if he has someone waiting for him on the highway. Or maybe even if he has his own vehicle there. In that case, Rahul can follow him. But it'll be difficult to catch him then so we'll try to nab him before he goes there. We'll go on the road first. Then cross to the other side and walk towards the highway, looking out for him on the other side.'
Radha said, ‘Just as you’re trying to think like him, he could also put himself in your position and cross the road.’
It was a valid point. A damn good one, in fact. I thought about it for a flash. ‘Let’s still go to the other side of the road,’ I said, realizing I had to play the odds.
Rathod had said the warehouse was about ten minutes from the spot where we had parked our cars. We had walked for six minutes from the car. That gave us roughly four to five minutes before Mangesh got close to where we were. If we planned this well, we would be able to get him before he reached the highway. We began running to cross to the other side.
I wondered how close Rathod’s men were to securing the warehouse and rescuing the children being held there. From what Rathod had said, it was not looking great. Radha and I continued running. I was counting the time in my head. We had three minutes to reach the main road. Mangesh was going to need four. I was trying to figure out what we were going to do if we spotted him. I realized that I held my Glock tighter as I thought about it. At that moment, a thought that had been obvious all along hit me. I did not care if we got him alive or dead. I could not let anything happen to Radha or Rahul. My first responsibility was to protect them.
I began thinking about Mangesh again. He would not be expecting anyone else to be in the woods, let alone two women. We had to use that element of surprise in our favour. But we also did not know if he had people waiting for him outside. I hoped Rahul would not find anyone waiting on the road. I desperately wanted him to take my advice of not engaging with Mangesh or his associates. Knowing Rahul, there was a high chance, he would not listen to me or Radha, not when he knew we were in danger.
The hair on the back of my neck stood up.
A noise.
What was that?
Chapter Fifty-Five
My entire body went cold.
I recognized the source of the sound and heaved a sigh of relief. It was the sky. Roaring and thundering. I looked up. Only parts of it were visible amid the dense trees. It lit up and the clouds roared. I held Radha’s hand tighter. The timer in my head told me we were about sixty seconds from the road.
‘We’ll split once we get to the other side,’ I said to Radha. ‘If Mangesh gets us, one of us should be able to strike back or call for help.’
She nodded her head.
‘It’s going to be alright,’ I said. ‘I’m going to look to eliminate Mangesh. You need to cover for me by going deeper into the forest. It's safer there as well as he wouldn't go too far inside. In case something happens to me, please stay hidden and wait for Rathod to come.’
‘Don’t speak like that,’ Radha said.
‘Prepare for the worst and hope for the best,’ I said. ‘We need to cover all the bases.'
We ran faster, our feet sploshing on the wet ground as we went further in the general direction of the highway. The trees and shrubbery became sparser the closer we got to the road. I pulled out my phone and called Rahul.
‘I haven’t been able to see any other car here,’ he said right after answering the call.
‘Alright, good,’ I said, thinking that Mangesh would have to go to the highway on foot. I told Rahul about the new plan of waiting for Mangesh at the point where the road met the highway.
‘You’ve got to be careful,’ I said. ‘I repeat, do not engage with him. If he gets in a car on the highway, follow him from a safe distance.’
‘Are you sure you’re going to be okay on your own?’ Rahul said.
‘Don’t worry about us,’ I said and hung up.
Our speed was hampered by the slippery mud and low branches that scraped our bodies. We eventually reached the tar road. I took heart in knowing that the road was dead straight and dark. Just like we would not be able to see Mangesh unless he was close, even he would not be able to see us. The pattering rain gave us some leeway with the noise of our footsteps as well. I realized it was going to be very easy to get lost. It was as if the same trees and darkness that we had just walked by were around us.
‘Change in plan. Let’s stick together,’ I said to Radha.
I estimated we were still about ten minutes from the highway. We crossed the road and went to the forest on the other side. It was more of the same with hundreds of trees and branches bowing down. I hoped Mangesh did not have the same idea. We continued running parallel to the road. I gazed to my right, into the woods across the road trying to spot Mangesh.
All I could see was darkness.
The rain’s intensity reduced. The night grew silent, except for the sound of our feet as they sloshed against the damp ground. I became aware of my surroundings. I was not sure if it was my paranoia or whether the thumping of our footsteps was being carried across a longer distance. As my heart beat louder with every passing moment, I strained my ears to notice other sounds.
I took Radha's hand and slowed down. Radha raised her eyebrows, as if asking me, ‘What's the matter?' We eventually stopped. I pursed my lips and closed my eyes. Insects chirred around us. We had disturbed their sleep.
No sign of Mangesh.
I could not help but feel that something was wrong. I had made a big assumption that Mangesh would come to the road at some point and then go to the highway. Had I been wrong? I looked around again. I could make out the outlines of trees in the distance but could see nothing more with any clarity. A gentle breeze swept the forest floor, making the leaves rustle ever so softly.
Just then, a movement across the road drew my attention.
‘Did you see that?’ I whispered to Radha, dropping a knee to the ground. ‘Get low.’
‘What?’ Radha said.
We crawled behind a large tree trunk and waited. All our senses were on high alert. Was I hearing things? I wanted to be cautious but not paranoid. We stayed low and looked around. Radha swept her gaze on our side of the forest while I turned the other way. The clock in my head ticked away. We were losing time. It had been five minutes since we had crossed the road. Whatever advantage of time we would have had over Mangesh was now gone. That also meant he had to be somewhere close by.
‘Let’s go,’ I whispered to Radha.
Holding hands, we got on our feet again. I realized that if I were Mangesh, I would not mind getting on the road as it was dead dark. Running on the tar would be faster and quieter as well.
We started towards the highway once again with Radha looking to her left while I looked to my right, across the road. Suddenly, bolts of lightning stretched across the dark sky, revealing the tar-black clouds for a jiffy. A wild roar followed—the loudest I had ever heard clouds rumble. A beat went by and the sky began spitting out rain. The trees above us shook violently.
I looked around. More darkness. A stiff breeze smacked our faces. The sound of rain blurred into one loud and unending rattle as it began coming down in sheets. We stopped. We had no choice. We could not see anything around us. I p
ut my Bluetooth earpiece in my pocket, wondering if it was ever going to work again.
I squinted into the night. We had to get to the road somehow, I thought. There was no way we were going to be able to move forward quickly enough in the forest when it was raining so heavily.
I realized Mangesh would also not be able to move fast enough through the forest. He would now look to come to the road even if he was not there before. Drops of rain speared into our faces and eyes as we skipped forward towards the road. I could only see a few feet ahead of us.
Still, no sign of Mangesh.
But that was not comforting. With the heavy rain, we would not have been able to see him even if he was ten steps behind us.
I pulled Radha closer. A sinking uneasy feeling crawled through my stomach. Once again, I wished that Radha had been at home and not with me. We kept running. The clock in my head told me we were about four minutes from the highway.
Just then, an ear-splitting sound cracked the air.
I knew that sound far too well.
A gunshot.
My instincts took over. In the rain, I could not locate the shot’s origin. I dove to my left to get away from the road, dragging Radha with me. We landed hard on the small stray rocks, grass and mud. The impact would have stung but we felt nothing because of the larger danger present right in front of us.
I narrowed my eyes to double check if I was seeing correctly. My heart pounded. A chill ran up my spine and the side of my neck.
At that moment, I knew we were in deep trouble.
Chapter Fifty-Six
Mangesh was standing about thirty feet away. He was holding a gun in his outstretched arm. He had lost us after we had ducked in the shallow bushes by the side of the road. We had maybe five more seconds before he was close enough to spot us again and press the trigger.
