After having done with ice cream, Nikhil and Ananya along with Sia were walking on the side of with Sia in the middle, her right hand busy with Nikhil's left-hand fingers and her left busy with Ananya's right-hand fingers. They're walking straight to their home, crossing the road when someone was about bump into Ananya. And Ananya who was lost in Sia's little blabberings didn't see that. How could Nikhil let someone deliberately bump into her? He extended his arms, and dragged her to his side by her elbows, letting the man skip bumping into her. Ananya realized what had just happened and she turned towards Nikhil, smiling at him a little, and mouthed a thank you.

He smiled in return and silently exchanged his place with Ananya. He's in the corner of the road now beside passing vehicles and Ananya was in Nikhil's place walking beside the waving trees and flying birds.

The night is twinkling in all its glory with billions of stars in the sky and a peeking moon behind the clouds, spreading its warmth. Cold chills had only calmed their souls as they walked slowly, with a few vehicles passing and a few people walking on the road.

Sia was blabbering in her little voice. Ananya and Nikhil were listening to her, talking to her in between, and smiling at her cute antics.

Paradise! That was the moment of paradise for the three of them.

Until Nikhil saw what he shouldn't have seen. Who would have thought their paradise wouldn't last for more?

"Oh, My God!" Nikhil whispered. Ananya was alert at the seriousness in his words and looked at Nikhil, only to embrace his shocked face. She had to follow his gaze and gasped in shock as well.

Such was the moment!

"Hey, you!" Nikhil screamed, extending his hand towards the car while Ananya turned Sia towards her legs, hugging her. She shouldn't witness the incident or else her little heart will panic.

"What happened?" Sia asked, afraid listening to her Mama's sudden scream and Ananya Aunty's sudden hug.

Nikhil suddenly turns towards Ananya and Sia and took a chip out of Sia's chain quickly leaving a more anxious Sia.

She saw Nikhil running behind the car which was a few meters away. The car was already running on its wheel. Probably they didn't see Nikhil or heard his screams. Was it GPS Tracker he took out of Sia's chain?

She thought not able to see what was that exactly when she saw him taking it out of Sia's chain.

"What happened to Mama? Why is he looking like that?" Sia who was looking at her running Mama asked, with little tears forming in her eyes. Something is wrong, she could sense the way her Mama and Barbie are tensed.

"Nothing, sweetheart! Your Mama is just trying to help someone. Come here," Ananya picked Sia in her arms, wiping the little tears in her eyes, lying a little. She possibly couldn't he was chasing criminals, could she? She'd become more afraid. No matter how understanding and intelligent the kid is, they would become afraid when they see something negative and that would only affect the brain of the kid, making her traumatic at that little age.

"Do you like Candy Crush Game like your Mama?" she asked, looking at her, and showing her the phone. She knows Nikhil is fond of Candy Crush and she had to install it when he asked for it as his phone was dead during their break hours. He put his phone to charge, and he wanted to play Candy Crush badly. And that's how she got to know how crazy he was for the game. It stayed on her phone from then. Now was the perfect time to use it in her favor. And so she did. Not forgetting to keep an eye on Nikhil's movement. She saw him throwing something on top of the car as he ran behind it, and stopped as soon as he throw that.

"Yes," Sia nodded her head, innocently, looking at her phone and the game in it. She wanted to play now. She didn't play today.

"Play with it, baby. I'm sure you'll reach the next level soon. Come on," she encouraged Sia to play, flying praises around her, and that would distract the little girl from the situation they were in.

Sia soon began playing Candy Crush on her phone, taking the phone in her hands, busy playing it already, moving her fingers around the screen and grinning hearing the sounds she was getting in return.

Huff! Good, she is distracted.

And Luck she hasn't seen what she and Nikhil had seen, it'd be too traumatic for a child.

Nikhil jogged back to the place they were standing, beside a few passing vehicles. This area was the least traffic area. Good for walking in the evening with trees all over the place.

So was an easy target to kidnap girls! Ananya thought sighing, remembering the scene they saw a few minutes ago.

A few men forcefully took the girl inside their car and vanished onto the road, fast!

Just like Nikhil and Ananya, there were a few more people who noticed but didn't care!

The same incident Nikhil and she saw and were stunned before Nikhil ran after the car, screaming while she tried to divert Sia who luckily didn't see the scene but was afraid listening to her uncle's scream. She tried to distract her and she was successful.

"What was that? What did you throw?" she whispered in his ears. Lest the kid in her arms hears.

"GPS tracker," he whispered back, taking out his phone and scrolling through his phone to call the police.

"The one you got from Sia's chain is that?" Ananya asked, looking at him calling the police. She guessed so and her guess was right.

"I always insert it into Sia's dress in case she goes missing!" He explains. With the little child beside him, he needs to be careful. He stuck trackers into her chain and frock whenever she was with him and he used one from the chain. It was magnetic and he was sure it is already on some part of the car. His target can never be missed. He's trained after all.

"Great. We'll track them," Ananya said, feeling a little relieved. Hopefully, they'll be able to save the girl.

"Damn! Why is this area's SI not lifting my call?" he muttered, furious when the SI didn't answer his call. Dailoing 100 would only put this case in the queue. But seemed he had no option. He and Ananya would anyway look into it, right now. Reporting it even if on the queue shouldn't be a problem.

He's about to dial 100 after having a minute of thought process when they saw a police van passing through them.

Ananya was fast in stopping the car, forgetting the little girl in her arms who jerked with a sudden scream. Nikhil immediately took her in his arms and began to calm her down while Ananya dealt with the police.

"Yes, Madam? What's the problem?" A policeman in his late thirties, with his stomach sticking out on the front asked.

"We just saw a woman getting kidnapped here," Ananya points out to the exact spot and showed him the way where the car ran.

Only to hear the policeman snort.

"Is she your sister?" the man asked, narrowing his gaze. Nikhil's ears were on the conversation even if he was a little away, cajoling his niece.

"No," Ananya shrugs, looking at him weirdly. So, what if she is not his sister? Should she care only for her sister?

"Then why are you worrying, Madam? Let us do our work, when we get a complaint of any girl missing, we'll look into it," he said carelessly. Not knowing he's talking to a CBI Officer.

Nikhil sighed, narrowing his gaze at the worst policeman ever. Is this how they're caring for society?

"So if she's my sister, you'd have been looking into it. Are you even human? I'm telling you I saw a woman getting kidnapped and you don't care. Is this how you're shielding society?" Ananya seethed in anger. How can one being a police officer be so careless?

He doesn't deserve to be one.

"Madam, nothing will happen out of these big dialogues. We've our formalities and we work on numerous cases in a single day. You can't expect us-" he was cut off by Ananya who rolled her eyes, not wanting to drag the controversy more.

"Ananya Saini. CBI Officer." Ananya took out her ID card from the pocket of her jegging, sounding so stern and glaring at the officer.

The officer had suddenly stood straight, greeting her politely now, "I'm sorry, Madam. I don't know."

"It doesn't matter. What matters is you aren't caring about what a citizen had to say to you, completely ignoring it! Once you know I'm from CBI, you suddenly started caring. How pathetic!" Ananya whispers, disgusted while the officer bows his head down. In shame? Not sure.

"Anyway, I'm not here to point out mistakes. I'm telling you the car number, please make sure to catch them if it passes through any of your PCR. It went this way!" Ananya pointed to the road again and having noted down the car number in her mind, told them the same, giving her phone number in case they catch the car. Their help would be added to their work and could make it easier.

"Sure, Madam," he walked into his jeep, commanding the control room already.

Ananya ran to Nikhil and saw Sia back to normal who turned her away from Ananya. Huff! She scared the kid and she did feel guilty but that wasn't in her hand. She was too worried for the woman.

"We need to track the car while police do their work," he said, looking into her eyes. Ananya nodded at him, "But before that, we need to drop Sia home."

"Yes, you need your laptop or Ipad too, let's grab a taxi or auto," Nikhil reminds her of the laptop. Not that she forgot and starts looking for anything to come into his view. Taxi or Auto whichever comes their way.

Just then an auto comes their way and they sit in the auto as the driver drives them to the address, demanding double of usual, knowing it's a posh area. Nikhil or Ananya didn't care about the cost as they reach the home.

During the whole journey, Ananya saw Sia peeking at her when she thought she wasn't looking and smiled a little, at her cute antics. The little one is still afraid she'd scream if she goes into her arms even though Nikhil said it wasn't directed towards her — the little one nodded but still needed the assurance.

She will apologize to her sweetheart and hopefully, she'd be like before — with her — and start coming into her arms again.

Nair's Mansion,

Nikhil walked into his home while Ananya walked into hers and handed over Sia to her mother, grabbing another GPS tracker from her gown.

"Mama, where are you going? I'll come too," Sia pouted not wanting to leave her Mama. She's trying to get out of her mother's arms to be in her Mama's arms again.

"Baby, I'll come soon, okay? With your favorite ice cream!" He tried to butter her. The only issue was that Sia didn't seem to accept it.

"No. I don't want ice cream. I want Mama. Mama. Mama," she pouted, her eyes filling with tears. Her trembling lips jutted together and the little pearls from her brown eyes could drop anytime.

"I'll come soon, sweetheart! Go to Ma and annoy her. I'll come soon and play with you. Promise!" He promised her, kissing her cheeks and wiping the little tears.

"Pinky Promise?" Sia extended her pinky finger and Nikhil grinned, taking her pinky finger in his, "Pinky promise!"

"Baby, dad had bought Pikachu for you, go to dad and ask him. Go," Nitya put her little daughter on her feet, who grinned widely, her eyes twinkling at the word Pikachu. Well, after Doremon and how Nikhil explained later that Doremon can't give her gadgets just like how her Barbie couldn't dance she wants, Sia understood and played with the big Doremon and later demanded Pikachu after watching Pokemon. And her Dad is here, with the Pikachu in his arms for his daughter.

"Yaay. Pika Pika Pikachu. Pika Pika Pikachu..Pikachu!" Sia ran to her parent's room, singing loudly on her way. Pikachu took her whole concentration onto it. 

"Di, we have some work. I might be late. Make sure Sia sleeps soon," Nikhil instructed his sister, shoving the GPS tracker into his pocket. He doesn't need to into his room.

"We mean? And late means?" Nitya asks him, narrowing her gaze.

"Ananya and I are we and late means late. We might get late," he stressed the word late as if his sister doesn't know what late means.

"At this time?" she ignored the remark and checked the time. It's 8 already.

"I'm not like you, lying for extra classes and going to hang out. We really have work," Nikhil states the fact, angering Nitya who beat Nikhil on his arms, widening her eyes in furiousness.

"Ouch, Di! Stop," he holds her hand, not letting her sister beat him.

"Hi!" Ananya who just entered looking at Nitya beating Nikhil hesitantly said. Nikhil stops in his track and stands straight, getting back to his serious form.

"Hi, Ananya!" Nitya greets her to which Ananya only smiles.

Looking at the Ipad and laptop bag in her hand, Nikhil turns towards his sister to bid bye, "Di, I'm going. Bye!"

It's been 20 minutes since the girl was kidnapped and they need to hurry up. Nikhil and Ananya walk away ignoring Nitya and her words who asked for Dinner.

Well, they didn't have their Dinner technically!

Outside Nair's Mansion,

Ananya and Nikhil settled themselves in the car.

Nikhil said adjusting his seatbelt and starting the car. He needs to know the location before he starts in any direction, "Track it."

Ananya is superfast. She had her seatbelt on and the Laptop in her lap is open already. She was tracking it and a few seconds later, informed Nikhil, "It's going towards Malini Nagar."

"How much more time it will take to reach there?" Nikhil asked, gearing up his car towards Malini Nagar, Ananya is his map. They need to reach fast and if he knows the duration, he can adjust the speed accordingly.

"30 more minutes, but they're still moving. Increase the speed," Ananya instructed, and Nikhil accelerates more.

Ten minutes pass in silence during which Ananya got the call from the police that the car they said was caught in one of the CCTV cameras and that it was the way to Malini Nagar. However, their team didn't see the particular car passing through the checking points. Ananya already knows that and instructs them to tell her if anything else comes up.

All thanks to the GPS tracker. The car had taken a shortcut, in the middle, not going on the main road. No doubt the police couldn't catch the car.

"Oh, no!" she muttered alerting Nikhil. What happened now?

"What happened?" he inquired, speeding up a little more.

"It's stopped there. It's no more moving," Ananya whispered. The car had stopped there or was it that the people in the car found the GPS tracker and throw it away?

"Does that mean it's the end of the journey? Or are they going to shift her? Or they caught the GPS tracker?" Nikhil could only guess and Ananya tenses up, ordering him as she rubs her fingers, "Let's go fast!"

They cover the distance to the spot in fifteen more minutes which were to cover in twenty minutes if they go by 40 km/h.

Nikhil had doubled the speed on the bumpy roads taking turn after turn. Even if the speed is doubled, they could only reach there after fifteen minutes.

...

They get down the car only to see a car parked on the side. They look at each other and walk towards the car slowly. If there's anyone in the car still, it'd be a problem for them.

And when they reached the car, there was no one inside it.

"Damn!" Ananya fists her palm, banging the car.

"As expected, there's no one! They've shifted her it seems," Nikhil said, examining the wheel marks opposite the car. Ananya follows his gaze and thinks on the same line. The area is a little away from the streets, looking all alone between several trees. The road is all straight. They didn't they could come to this road by shortcut, other than the highway. There are no houses, not until further kilometers.

"There's no CCTV Camera too," Ananya observed the surroundings. Except for trees, there was nothing. Not even streetlights. If they were able to see, it was only because of the moon and their phone's flashlight.

"How are we going to find them?" Nikhil sighs. There are no CCTV cameras. The car is here all alone. They need to check the car thoroughly first, for any clues. The girl was in the car and so were the culprits. Before he'd say that, his thoughts were cut off by Ananya.

"Somebody will come for sure to take this car back," Ananya muttered. Clearly, why would anyone leave the car on the road just like that, through which they have done a crime?

"Yes, but for now, let's check the car!" Nikhil muttered, unlocking the car. The car was surprisingly unlocked. Ananya and Nikhil get engrossed in checking each corner for a few minutes.

Ananya finds something and whispers, "There's this, the girl's watch!"

Good, they got something at least.

"If it is original, we can know who bought this," Nikhil takes the watch in his hand and examines it, kneeling on the front seat.

"Did you find anything?" Ananya asks Nikhil, kneeling with her one knee on the back seat, to know if there's anything else he found on the front side.

"No, except a few strands of hair!" Nikhil shows her two strands of her in his hands. Flashlight helped her to see those twinkling hairs.

Waah! His eyes are sharp to find the strands of hair even. Ananya is impressed, "Must be someone from those men, let's keep it. It can be useful."

"Yeah, did you find anything else?" Nikhil implored, taking his purse from his pocket, he carefully kept the strands of hair in one of the papers he had in the purse. It would stay like that till he takes it out.

Ananya on the other hand looks out for anything else she could find, "I think it's a strand of hair belonging to that girl."

She whispered taking a long hair strand in her hands. Nikhil took that too and kept it in his purse.

They get out of the car after finding nothing more and decide to sit their car a little far away, keeping an eye on the car.

"I'm wondering what if he never comes today?" Nikhil doubts playing with steering after waiting for the whole ten minutes. They found nothing suspicious outside of the car too.

"We'll wait till tomorrow morning," Ananya answered, shrugging her shoulders. Nikhil sighed, releasing a huge breath at her words. He hoped they would come soon.

"If he still doesn't come, we can track the movements of this car. We still have the GPS!" Ananya muttered, remembering how Nikhil had taken the GPS tracker away from the top of the car where it got pulled due to magnetic attraction. He had fixed it somewhere inside the car, away from the prying eyes of anyone.

"Right," he mumbled, slowly and looks around the area. He had nothing to do other than wait. While Ananya is busy with her laptop, trying to know who bought the watch and simultaneously, taking updates from the police.

"Why aren't they coming yet?" Nikhil muttered after another ten minutes, frustrated and hungry.

"I'm not friends with them," Ananya retorted, engrossed in her Laptop still.

"Wow. You know how to be sarcastic too?" Nikhil huffed, too sarcastic while replying to her.

Ananya glared at him, Nikhil gulped, smiling sheepishly at her dangerous stare, and replies, "I mean you don't look like that."

Ananya shook her head at him, amused, and works on her laptop again, trying to know the details of the car they were keeping an eye on.

Nikhil diverts the topic not wanting to get the same glare his way again. Huff! Too killing!

"Anyway, did you try to know about this car from your sources?"

Ananya was working on it already, "I'm trying."

Nikhil accepts the silence in the air, not opening his mouth and letting Ananya do her work while he kept his hawk-like eyes on the car and the road, frequently.

"Hmm, it's a rented car," Ananya supplies the information after five more minutes. It's been thirty minutes already since they came here.

"And?" Nikhil raised his eyebrow wanting more.

"From Mana Travels," she muttered. Mana Travels was the one who gave the car for rent. Although the car didn't look like a rented car, she have her ways to know to whom it belonged.

Nikhil frowns in thought, "Mana Travels have many branches in Delhi."

How would they know from which branch the car was rented?

"Yeah, Google just slapped me with the facts," Ananya exhaled after searching the Mana Communications in Google and Google was too kind to slap her with more information.

"How would we know from which branch he took that," Nikhil voiced out his question and Ananya hummed at his words and a few seconds later, mumbled, "I'm trying to know."

Nikhil nods, trusting her words.

Ananya was a little relieved ten minutes later. She got to know from where it was taken. Every branch had some code and it reflects on the respective cars. She saw the code on the car beside the number plate and matched it with all the branches. Ananya smilingly said, "It's from the Maruthi Nagar Branch."

Nikhil who heard Ananya's words, guessed the distance already, "Not really far away from here."

"Yes," Ananya agreed, google Maps in her iPhone said the same.

"I think any one of us should go there and know more before it is too late," Nikhil mutters, completely forgetting the time.

"Yeah, right! They will wait to welcome you with Aarthi and all!" Ananya rolled her eyes and Nikhil slapped his forehead after checking the time.

A few seconds later, they saw a vehicle coming towards the car.

Ananya and Nikhil muttered at the same time, "They're here!"

It wasn't clear what vehicle was that exactly in the dark night. But Ananya's eyes were sharp. She noticed the number plate and details of the vehicle which looked a lot more like a van.

"Two men dressed in jeans and shirts," Nikhil observed two men getting down the vehicle. Is it a van or something? They got down from the back.

"We should follow them as soon as they start," Ananya whispers slightly. It looked like they were getting ready to start the car.

"But how do we insert this GPS locator in the other van," Nikhil mutters. He had taken the other tracker guessing there'd be chances it will be necessary and here is the time. The GPS tracker lying in his pocket isn't magnetic like the first one to throw it on the vehicle and magnetic attraction engulfs the tracker to it.

Ananya mutters, observing the top of the van again. The darkness and with the moon hiding behind the clouds now, with just a little of its light, things weren't clear, but she did stress her eyes to see what was easily not noticeable "I don't think that's necessary."

Nikhil looks at her in wonder.

"Look at the van carefully, especially the top!" she whispers and Nikhil follows her gaze, stressing his eyes more than necessary.

"Oh, god! It's an Ambulance," he mutters, realizing why it looks like a van. It's an Ambulance.

"And Ambulances have an in-built GPS tracker," Ananya mutters, having noted down the ambulance number too, stressing her eyes and it's hurting her eyes to look at her laptop.

"And being a hacker, you can track it easily. All of its movements are recorded officially," Nikhil guesses. It's easier for them now.

"Yes," Ananya whispers back.

Nikhil on second thought puts his doubt forward, "But what if the Ambulance is fake and there is no in-built tracker."

There's a chance too. Who knows if the Ambulance is fake? It must be since they're using it for crime.

Ananya had the same doubt which is why she took the van number and right now tracking it down on the official website, "I've already noted the van number, and right now, checking the details of it. If there's another vehicle on this number, it's fake. If not, it's the original van."

"If not, I'm not going to turn on the headlights and drive there with headlights off," Nikhil mumbled. To insert the GPS tracker, he had to do it.

"And act like your car is punctured all of a sudden?" Ananya shook her head, understanding his intentions. While they get down and get engrossed in repairing, he'd sneakily fix the GPS tracker in the Ambulance.

"Do you have any other idea?" Nikhil sighs, what else they could do? The men shouldn't know they were being followed and they have to fix GPS. What else could be the best idea to fix it and not let them doubt?

"Do you have a spare wheel?"

"In case of punctures? Yes, I do!" Nikhil answered, looking into Ananya's eyes who took out a pocket knife from her laptop bag.

Nikhil widened his eyes at her action and muttered slowly, "What are you doing?"

"Getting this ready to Puncture the car when you stop there. They shouldn't doubt it's fake. Should they?" she smirked. If the ambulance turned out fake, they would stop and she would go to the other side puncturing the vehicle.

If anything goes wrong, they have their guns and that shouldn't be a problem. Choosing less violence is what they preferred now.

Nikhil shook his head, smiling. She was right and turns to look into the ambulance.

Only to get shocked again.

"Hey, look there." He shook Ananya's shoulders who was looking into her laptop for getting the number plate details.

Ananya looks up and follows his noticing the shocked gaze on his face, she hoped it was nothing horrible again. But as she noticed, Mana Travel's car's headlight is on now and she saw one more man getting the girl in his arms to the car, "That's the same girl, isn't it?"

"Yes!" Nikhil recognized her face, hairstyle, and dress color. Everything was the same.

"How did they get her back and why?" Ananya doubted. Is she even alive? Are they late? What are they going to do with her? Several questions roamed around her head and no answer for one.

"I don't know," Nikhil whispered, not having any idea.

"They're putting her back in the car," Ananya whispered, noticing the men putting the girl in the backseat again.

"We should follow this car. We have the ambulance's number, don't we?" Nikhil didn't want to miss where they were taking the girl. They have details of the ambulance and that's enough for now.

"You're right!" Ananya muttered. The girl is more important than anything else. That's the purpose of them waiting here, isn't it? 

To save the girl!

Ananya was about to close the laptop when the details loaded and she saw what she was waiting for and muttered in low voice, "The ambulance is not fake."

"Good!" He whispered, and Ananya continued, "and I can track the Ambulance's exact location too!"

Ananya turned her laptop towards him, "Look at this."

He had to stress his eyes again as the brightness is too low. Ananya kept it that way to not get caught.

"Wow. This exactly shows the location of the same ambulance," he mutters in delight and looked at the ambulance standing on the road. They can track the ambulance too and follow the car.

Indeed good for them and easier.

"Hmm..," Ananya hummed closing the laptop and putting it in her laptop bag. The pocket knife on the dashboard is in front of her.

They just wait for the car to start and the car started too, but it stopped again.

Nikhil and Ananya tensed up at the man coming towards them.

"Oh My God, they saw this car," Nikhil muttered, anxious. Probably the headlights made it easy for them to see the car. But still, they were far away from the car. How did they notice? Their voices were a mere whisper too! No chance they'd hear.

Ananya sat straight thinking about what to do when she got an idea.

Trouble after Paradise! Who would have thought their ice cream date would turn into this?

It looked like more trouble now. More trouble? 

To be continued..,

Let me know what you think of the update.

I know one case is already on the cards. 

But I'm trying to be a little realistic here, the police will have more than one case at a time to look into. 

All the two cases in the present timeline I introduced will have their own importance and will run parallel. Don't worry! 

Sia is little aloof from Ananya! I know, but don't worry much. It had an advantage!

Regards,

polymath_land

05/01/2023