The Siya Rajput Crime Thrillers Books 1-3 (Where Are They Now / Finding Her / The Bones Are Calling)

by UD Yasha

  At that exact moment, a bullet ripped into the wall next to me, missing my face by centimetres.

  Chapter Forty-Four

  ‘Duck and get inside,’ Rathod yelled.

  Another bullet screamed past me as we dove into the bedroom and rolled further inside. Kuldeep heard the shots and moved closer to the balcony and peeped out. A bullet hit where his head had been a second earlier.

  Rathod said, ‘Now we know that the Viper wants us dead.’

  ‘About time,’ I said. ‘Where are they shooting from?’

  ‘There’s one shooter in the building to our right,’ Kuldeep said.

  ‘Are you sure it’s just one?’ Rathod asked.

  ‘At least one has revealed his position.’

  Rathod and I went deeper into the apartment, towards the door. Our SWAT guy at the door had realized what was happening. ‘I’m clearing the way downstairs,’ he said and rushed out.

  We stood just inside the door frame. I had my Glock ready in case I had to use it as well. I saw the shadow of our SWAT guy coming up the stairs.

  Just then, a bullet hit the door. We stepped back as Kuldeep came yelling out, ‘All the buildings are connected from the top. The shooter came across our building.’

  One more stray shot hit the floor.

  ‘I don’t think he knows we have backup,’ I said. ‘He wouldn’t have attacked us here otherwise. Let’s not give away that advantage until we can delay it.’

  The shooter was advancing. We could hear his footsteps as he walked towards the apartment.

  BANG. It was followed by a muted thump.

  Rathod and I exchanged a look, knowing that voice far too well. A bullet had hit raw flesh. We were just hoping that the shooter had got hit by our SWAT guy and not the other way around.

  Rathod peeped around the wall. He was shaking his head as he turned back in. ‘He hit Soumitra, our guy. It’s the same shooter who shot Sonia. I recognize him from the video,’ he said in a low voice. BANG. A bullet grazed past Rathod’s head.

  I whispered to Rathod, ‘Ask our guy in the car to go over to the neighbouring building and then come down into ours. The shooter will be taken by surprise. Kuldeep and I will keep the shooter distracted till he comes.’

  ‘Are you sure?’ Rathod said.

  ‘Yes, make that call,’ I said and moved closer to the edge.

  The buildings had just three floors so I knew the guy would take about two minutes to come. Kuldeep had heard what I had told Rathod. He joined us after making the call. We took turns to fire stray bullets at the door by ducking out ever so little. The shooter returned fire.

  Our guy should be here any moment, I thought.

  A loud bang erupted outside and the shooting stopped.

  Our SWAT came inside. ‘The shooter is dead,’ he said in a matter of fact voice.

  Rathod walked up to Soumitra’s motionless body. He had been shot once in the head. The pool of blood around him was still getting bigger. Rathod bent down and closed Soumitra’s eyes by drawing a palm over his face.

  ‘Let’s go,’ he said.

  While we got in the car, Rathod asked the rest of his SWAT team to join us at the address Rathod gave them. The two guys who were with us at Coutinho’s house joined us in Rathod’s car.

  Rathod said, ‘I remember Paradise Heights from another murder investigation a few weeks back. It was a straightforward case. The investigation is done, the accused is in jail but the court case is still on. Two builders were involved, that’s why their current projects have been stalled. Paradise Heights is one of those projects.’

  I wondered what we were going to find at Paradise Heights. A lot of thoughts were racing in my mind. Most of them were about dad. Was he actually alive? The thought still seemed so unreal. There were many questions as well. Why did Coutinho have the layout of a building that had dad’s name in one of the rooms? Did that mean that dad was at Paradise Heights? It was an abandoned construction site. Why would dad go there? Was he being held there against his will? And where was Coutinho now? If he had the layout, there was a high chance he would have already gone there.

  ‘From the dimensions on the layout, this place doesn’t seem to be that big,’ Rathod said. ‘It’s a decent size for an apartment, but too small for being the centre of any big illegal activity,’ Rathod said. ‘I don’t know what we’re going to find but it’s definitely going to be worthwhile. The Viper had been sitting on the fence till now. We now know we’re very close because he attacked us on getting to Coutinho’s house. Maybe, now we know too much and he had no choice but to kill us.’

  For the next fifteen minutes, as we drove to Paradise Heights, Rathod and his team strategized how to go about neutralizing any force that they would encounter. Paradise Heights was not as tall as the name suggested. It had just six floors. Our target was the top floor. Rathod and his team decided that they would clear one floor at a time.

  ‘For some strange reason, only the walls of the penthouse have been built,’ Rathod said. ‘But it works to our advantage as we can clear the lower floors faster.’

  Rathod’s SWAT team had already reached our destination by the time we got there. We pulled over behind them, about fifty metres from Paradise Heights. I saw the building from across the road. It was mostly dark, except for some lights hanging from construction cranes next to it. The building itself was on a main road with plenty of traffic and people around it. Rathod was right. This was no way the main or even temporary operation centre. It was very public and the top floor, by itself, was not that big.

  Rathod used a pair of binoculars to see if there was anyone outside the building.

  ‘I think we’re okay to go,’ he said.

  One by one, all of us stepped out.

  ‘We’re dealing with dangerous people here. Kill them on sight,’ Rathod said.

  All of us stepped out. There were seven of us, including me. The SWAT team and I put on earpieces to communicate with each other. We broke into two groups and decided to enter from either side of the gate. I was with Rathod, Harshvardhan Kuhad and a guy I didn’t know. Rathod took the lead once again. There was a small flickering lamp inside the compound wall that gave us enough light to find the staircase. As we stepped closer to it, my heart beat faster than it had in a long time.

  Dad, are you here?

  Chapter Forty-Five

  Like all modern buildings, Paradise Heights had two staircases. We divided ourselves again and decided to take either one. We took slow and deliberate steps, not making any sound. As Rathod moved closer to the upper stairs, he ducked up and swept a glance across the floor.

  ‘Clear,’ he whispered.

  He waited for a confirmation from the other staircase in his earpiece.

  When he heard that the other side was okay too, the entire contingent moved up. Then we moved up again. Together, quietly and slowly. Once we were close to the top floor, we stopped as Rathod went to the edge of the stairs and panned his vision across the floor.

  ‘Clear,’ he said, almost at the same time as the SWAT guy on the other side.

  We started moving up again. While walking to the stairs, I looked around. A small lamp was casting enough light to reveal the rest of the floor. It was empty and had no walls, just columns that formed the skeleton of the building.

  What was happening?

  Two floors were empty. I began to wonder if leaving the layout at Coutinho’s house was a ploy to lure us to this building. I realized I had let my emotions run the show when I saw my father’s name on the layout. I felt a nervous energy starting to creep up.

  Had we made the right call by coming to Paradise Heights?

  We got to the third floor. It was empty as well. We stayed still for a spell, trying to pick on the slightest of sounds. But there was nothing apart from our breathing and our beating hearts. There was no sign of any activity.

  Rathod wanted to pause.

  ‘We need to regroup,’ he said.

  All seven of us gathered near
our side of the staircase.

  ‘Please stay alert and vigilant. This could very well be a tactic to make sure we slacken,’ Rathod said. ‘We have to be even more cautious than we were before,’ Rathod said, and we split into two groups again. Kuhad was with us while Kuldeep led the other.

  We followed the same process for the fifth floor. Once again, there was nothing. Just more flat spaces.

  We were about to start climbing the stairs to the sixth floor, when Rathod raised his hand.

  We stopped.

  ‘Guys, there is a booby trap here,’ he said into the microphone.

  The ground shook heavily and an explosion erupted on the other end of the floor. The other staircase had gone off. The other group had not seen the tripwire and had set off the booby trap.

  Dust and smoke swept our way. The columns kept the structure in place. Within just one second, half our team had been wiped off. Now it was just Rathod, me, Kuhad and another SWAT guy. We were too stunned to say anything.

  ‘I have a plan,’ Rathod’s voice buzzed in our earpieces. ‘We need to move quickly. Jump over the tripwire. We have about three seconds before we can go upstairs. Once we’re on top, I’m going to trigger this trip wire as well.’

  We skipped forward and reached the top of the sixth floor. Rathod took off his shoe and flung it across the tripwire, setting it off. He had made our enemies believe that both the groups had been killed.

  That’s when we started firing. Even in the sparse light, I could make out at least ten guards. I lay on the ground and took shots one by one. We had the upper hand for the first few seconds because the guards had thought that all of us were dead. Once that time was up, gunshots emanated all around us. By then, we had killed or gravely injured eight of them.

  It was two of them against four of us. We hid behind the grey columns, peeping out every few seconds to take a shot every time we saw any movement. My aim was still rusty from not being in the game for more than three years. But Rathod and the SWAT guys were knocking the guards down. Rathod shot one more guard and then ran across to my column.

  Just as Rathod was going to open his mouth to say something, we saw the SWAT guy near us get hit in the head. He collapsed on the ground. Kuhad stepped away from a column and jerked his head towards the staircase.

  ‘We need to go up as soon as possible,’ Rathod said. ‘I’ll create a distraction. Run upstairs. Don’t worry about booby traps on that staircase. They’re hiding something or someone up there and they wouldn’t want it to get damaged or hurt.’

  Rathod ran to another column, taking stray shots that drew all the attention. Kuhad provided Rathod more cover by going in a different direction. I darted for the staircase

  ‘Welcome, we were waiting for you,’ a bald guy said the moment I reached the sixth floor.

  I stopped in my track when I saw what was in front of me.

  Chapter Forty-Six

  The bald guy was about forty feet away. Next to him, a man was sitting on a chair with a black cloth over his face. His hands and legs were bound to the chair. He was wearing an oversized jacket. The bald guy had a gun pointed at the man’s head.

  Dad?

  I swept a glance across the floor. Apart from the bald guy and the other man, I could see four other guards. Two of them were at either end of the floor, standing close to the columns. I assumed they would take cover behind them if there was gunfire. The other two guards were behind the bald guy. There was a room at the back end, in the exact same spot that it was supposed to be according to the layout. Its door was open, and as far as I could see, there was no one inside. Gunshots continued to emanate from downstairs.

  ‘No games, no tricks,’ the bald guy said. ‘Raise your hands and keep your weapon on the floor.’

  ‘Dad, is it you?’ I said, ignoring the bald guy’s instructions.

  The man tried to speak but I could only hear grunts. His mouth must have been gagged.

  Silence resounded. I realized that the gunshots had stopped downstairs.

  ‘How do I know who he is?’ I said.

  With one swift motion, the bald guy removed the black cloth from the man’s face.

  Roark Coutinho.

  I could recognize him instantly. The man who had possibly held evidence against the Viper and the person who had spoken to dad just a few days back. Like I suspected, his mouth was gagged. He was moving his head vigourously. The bald guy smacked him with the back of his hand. Coutinho’s chair fell backwards. A guard close to them pushed the chair up and put the black cloth back on Coutinho’s face.

  ‘I’ll shoot him dead if you don’t listen to me. He knows where your father is and he also knows a lot about the Viper,’ the bald guy said.

  The chair wriggled as Coutinho tried to free himself.

  The bald guy said, ‘Do as I say, woman. Hands up, weapon down. Nice and easy.’

  I backed away, putting my Glock down and raising my hands.

  ‘Now hold out your hands. We’re going to tie you up. Remember, no one needs to get hurt,’ the bald guy said.

  I heard Rathod and Kuhad come up the stairs. I turned around and gathered from their faces that they knew what was happening. They must have listened to everything.

  ‘Come upstairs, gentleman,’ the bald guy said. ‘We’ve in our possession the person who is key to your investigation. We’ll shoot him dead if you don’t do exactly what we say.’

  A guard walked up to me as Rathod and Kuhad emerged from the stairs. They were cautious and slow. They both had their hands up.

  ‘That’s it, nice and easy, gentleman,’ the bald guy said.

  I glanced at Rathod and he nodded ever so slightly. I held my hands out for the guard. He buckled them in handcuffs and dragged me next to Coutinho.

  ‘Your turn,’ the bald guy said to Rathod and Kuhad.

  ‘How do we know you won’t just kill us?’ Rathod said.

  ‘You have no option. We will kill this man and woman if you don’t listen to us. We want to get away from here. Safe and sound. Those people downstairs were dispensable. Absolute garbage. I don’t care if they’re dead or hurt. I want to get out of here alive. If you don’t do anything funny, there’s a chance that you might also see the sunrise tomorrow.’

  ‘Wouldn’t the Viper be disappointed in you if you fled the scene?’

  ‘We wouldn’t go alone. We’re going to take Coutinho with us. I’m just letting you off because I don’t want to spill any more blood,’ the bald guy said.

  Rathod and Kuhad weighed their options.

  The bald guy said, ‘The two of you are taking too much time.’ While looking at them, the bald guy changed his aim from Coutinho’s head to his knees. He laughed as he pulled the trigger and a bullet slammed into Coutinho’s leg. ‘He’s going to bleed out in less than half an hour. Your choice if you want him to die.’

  Rathod and Kuhad put their guns on the floor and raised their hands. I didn’t realize what was happening. Clearly, we weren’t going to be let off. What did Rathod have in mind?

  The two guards at the far ends walked swiftly up to Rathod and Kuhad. I was in handcuffs already and wasn’t considered a threat anymore, so the two guards behind us stepped forward, holding their guns aimed at Rathod and Kuhad. The other two guards were now only a few feet away from them.

  When they were within an arm’s distance, Rathod launched a kick in his guy’s direction and then hooked a punch into his chin to send him flying backwards. Rathod caught him as he was falling back and pulled him in front of his body. At the same time, Kuhad lunged forward and slammed his elbow into the face of the guy in front of him and locked his neck using his arms.

  The bald guy next to me was taken by surprise, just like me. The guards around us fired at Rathod and Kuhad, but they were shielding themselves with the two guards. The bullets hit the guards.

  At that point, I could see activity near the staircase at the edge of my vision. To my surprise, it was ACP Shukla and Radha.

  Both had taken cover
under the stairwell and were firing shots at the guards. The bald guy moved behind a column, while one of the two remaining guards was taken out by Shukla. I wondered how the two of them had got here, realizing that Radha would have sensed there was danger. She would have tracked my phone using an app we had installed when Kishore Zakkal was behind us. She must have gone to the ACP as he was the only person who we trusted with information on the Viper. The ACP didn’t know who was on the Viper’s payroll so he must have come alone with Radha, who he knew had basic training with using firearms.

  Amid the chaos, I started dragging Coutinho’s chair behind a column. He had bled a lot already. Rathod went around the column for the bald guy, who was now more concerned with getting away alive. Kuhad and Shukla were focused on the other guard.

  My attention was on Coutinho. Once we were behind a column and safe for the time being, I pulled the black cloth from his face. His eyes were shut and his face had gone red. I could hardly feel a pulse on him and his breathing was shallow. He was sinking fast. I glanced where his chair had been earlier. The blood loss had been immense.

  I patted his cheek as I shot a glance at the only room on the floor. I ran to it to check if dad was inside. I could hear my heart thud in my ears as I entered the room. Dad was not there. It was empty. Where are you? As I turned to go out, my eyes fell on a wall. It had something written on it over and over again. At least ten times. A chill ran through my body when I read what it was.

  Even when I cannot see daddy, I will remember him and I will be okay.

  My stomach churned. Dad was here. Dad’s name in the room flashed in front my eyes and I wondered if he was being held in this room earlier. I rushed out. Coutinho had to know where dad and the evidence were. Maybe dad has it with him. That must have kept Coutinho alive.

  ‘Stay with me,’ I said to Coutinho, trying to apply pressure on the gunshot wound with my T-Shirt.