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Chapter 9 - Kidnapping Gone Wrong

Ahar's P. O. V.

"No, you're not."

"Yes I am!"

Shravan glared at me as I insisted to tag along with him. He was going inside the building from one of the entrances, though the police warned us not to. I tried to convince him to think rationally and wait . . . but the loverstruck idiot would do anything for his girlfriend. Did he really think putting himself in the mouth of danger was going to help?

Since he was going, so was I.

"Neither Sanya nor I are related to you in any way," Shravan posed. "Why do you wanna risk your life for us?"

"I have nothing to lose," I replied calmly. I really didn't. At this point, my life had nothing except for working for money, praying for my mom, and helping Shravan. "Plus, I'll have tales to tell my future generations." Experience is a writer's biggest strength, after all.

"Yeah? You need to be alive to tell tales--no, you need to be alive to have future generations."

I rolled my eyes. Why did he care so much about me when I didn't?

"You go, I go. End of discussion," I said in a firm tone. I really just wanted to go because first, I knew nothing dangerous would happen with so much security around. Second, this really was an experience. Third, I had to help with saving Sanya for my mom. The panditji said so.

Shravan let out an exaggerated sigh before turning and proceeding.

I followed behind him as we snuck behind trees. The police wasn't going to be happy and Shravan wasn't going to listen. We ran from one to the next and continued the procedure until we neared the back exit. There were two officers with guns, waiting by the door. Shravan whispered me his plan and I had no choice but to follow with it. We came out of the hiding and approached the policemen.

"They need backup up front," Shravan said, pretending to be hurried. The officers stared at each other and then us. One stayed behind and the one left to see what was up. I glanced at Shravan and mouthed, what now? We didn't have much time either before the other guy would come back and confront us.

"Jogi! Come here quick!" some officer yelled at the officer with us. He was holding papers and waving them at the Jogi man. The officer advised to stay in a safe zone while he came back. Saved by the boss.

"Come on!" Shravan grabbed my elbow and we ran to the door. "Give me a bobby p--," he said as he was turning the door handle, "it's open." The door creaked open, confusing both me and Shravan.

Why would the kidnappers leave the door open?

Carefully, Shravan and I entered the place. There wasn't a lot of furniture except for some tables and fallen chairs. We plodded through what appeared to be a spacious lobby. The inside had dead silence while we could hear the hustle of the police outside. Shravan and I cautiously peeked through windows of different rooms and found nothing.

"Did the cops lie about people hiding in here?" Shravan wondered aloud. "This place is empty."

I didn't say anything. My mind pondered over similar questions. There was no sign of life. The police was outside and they said there were people inside.

"How did the cops know there are people inside? The whole lot of them are securing the outside," I stated. Shravan met my gaze and agreed with what I was saying. What was going on? Was Sanya even here? What if it was a mislead?

I was about to speak again when we heard a door creak. The noise came from upstairs. My partner and I quickly hid behind a mini cupboard. We heard loud footsteps coming down the wooden stairs at the corner of the room. I leaned to the side and peeked at the people. One of them I had seen before--Shravan's brother, Arun--and the other was a girl. I turned back to Shravan who gave a questioning look.

"It's your brother . . . ?" I whispered, baffled myself.

He scowled before leaning to check. Instead of reporting back to me, Shravan stood up out of hiding.

"Sanya!"

The girl was Sanya?

What the hell is going on?

I shot up straight as I watched Shravan heading over to Sanya. My eyes moved to Sanya and Arun who had terrified stares. They were gesturing us to hide. What the heck?! Was Arun the kidnapper? Why was he here? Wasn't he working on some court case in another town?

Wait, we are in a different town.

Just as Shravan outstretched his arm towards his girlfriend, he recoiled it in pain. Someone at the top of the stairs had his gun aimed at Shravan. Shit. Did he get shot? All eyes went wide at the three men rushing downstairs wearing full black attire blending in the dark. Two others came out two feet behind Sanya and Arun and grabbed those two under their guns.

I froze in my spot, not knowing what mess we were in. Shravan stood clutching his left side in misery. Did he get shot? He was slowly backing my way. I should've hidden as instructed!

Where were the cops?!

"Run!" Sanya shouted at us.

"Get them!" the kidnappers--I assumed--shouted. Shravan ran and I followed his lead. I knew he was in unbelievable pain when I saw blood on the left side of his stomach.

Damn silencers on guns!

The police probably didn't hear anything, just like us.

Two men were chasing us. Shravan and I had run in the exact opposite direction as the door we had gained access in from. I had to take charge knowing Shravan was hurt. I looped my arm through one of his and helped us inside a room and locked the door. For two tall people, the small furniture was of no use. I saw curtains and a closed window.

"Come on!" I urged him. Shravan nodded, wincing as we rushed to the window.

When I saw the solid metal bars on the window, I nearly died.

We were officially trapped.

The men were only a couple of seconds behind and they were trying to break down the door. My hands trembled in fear. Like Shravan, I underestimated the gravity of the situation. Screw attaining experience!

Dead men tell no tales.

The door banged and men on the other side shouted.

"Ahar, door," Shravan mumbled. He leaned against the curtains.

"You want me to answer it?" I said outraged by his stupid comment. Did he want me to welcome those people in?

"Dummy, there's another door in the room," he said. He fumbled a step to the side, pulling the dusty curtains to the side. It revealed a secret door handle.

Though I was offended by his insult, I still twisted the doorknob of the jammed door. It wasn't opening. Soon, a pair of bloody hands covered mine on the knob, helping me open it. I grimaced seeing the blood. A painful memory of mother coughing up blood breezed through my head. I shook my head before helping Shravan and I inside. The door of the actual room opened with a loud thud soon thereafter.

Shravan and I were crammed inside a closet-type space--three foot by three foot area. There was a ladder going up somewhere. Anywhere was better than here! Shravan's side was bleeding and climbing up was going to be difficult for him. I took off my dupatta (long scarf) and began tying it around his stomach.

Shravan winced.

"We have to climb," I said in a hushed voice. Because of a lack of space, I was standing very close to him.

"I ca--can't," Shravan whispered, falling a step. I caught him just as the door behind me made a loud noise. They had found us.

"Get out!" someone shouted.

"Come on, Shravan!" I encouraged. "For Sanya!"

Sanya's name did help as he slowly turned and began climbing. Seeing his hurt side ribs was scaring me. Once he was up a couple of steps, I followed. The ladder was made of rope--why is it even here?--making it extra difficult to climb. Shravan fell down steps quite often but I had to urge him to keep moving up.

It wasn't long before the other guys broke down the door and began climbing up.

"Come on! Shravan! Move it!" I was frightened as I saw the rope not ending and the men right at my feet. Shravan fortunately did his best and reached up to the top.

I was almost there when my ankle was grabbed. I let out a fearful scream and began kicking on reflex. My sweaty hands were slipping from the ladder.

"I caught her!" the guy below me yelled. He pulled my foot down and my tired hands let go.

Rather than me falling down, my wrists were caught. I looked up at Shravan leaning flat on the floor upstairs, his hands tightly holding mine. I kicked and kicked until I got a good hit on what I assumed was the evil man's face. I hurried up the ladder with Shravan's help.

As soon as I was safe, I turned to find the end of the ladder. While I did that, I heard something shut. I looked at Shravan who had closed the square space on the floor. There was a slide panel.

"Where are we?" I inquired.

This stuff happened in movies.

Not in Haryana.

Shravan gave no answer. I helped him on his feet and looked for an escape route. He pointed to the windows which fortunately had no bars. We climbed out, taking our time. The policemen outside were of no use, honestly. Shravan and I landed on a slanted roof, unknowingly and ended up slipping together when I lost my grip. We slid down to the end and fell into . . . mud. Disgusting.

I grimaced and got out, helping my partner.

My ankle hurt.

There was chaos outside. People were screaming at each other as Shravan and I rushed to help. We saw men running out with guns held to Sanya and Arun's heads. They were being pushed into a black jeep. The policemen were running around doing nothing!

"Help us! The kidnappers are getting away!" I screamed at them. "Use your bloody guns!"

The officer closest to us shook his head.

"These aren't real," he said.

Shravan's eyes were dropping, but hearing those words even caught his attention. I held on to my partner and spoke on his behalf.

"Who the hell made you a police officer?!"

"We're local Mahabharta actors, madam. We were hired to play nakli (fake) police," he answered. "Arun sir hired us."

My head spun from the mess. I had no idea what was scheming, plotting, and execution of Shravan's older brother. Why would a lawyer do all this?

In all the commotion, I didn't realize how weak Shravan had become.

He had become mudblood; completely covered with mud and blood.

The "police" helped us get to the hospital. I hadn't realized my ankle had a sprain. The doctors looked unhappy by our state, but still took care of us.

My biggest worry fell on hospital bills.

Shit.

Why didn't I stay outside as Shravan directed me to?

He had taken a bullet to his ribs and was under doctor supervision for a long time. Once he woke up, his family was allowed to visit him. They had interrogated me about what happened. My explanation only elevated their worries. I waited outside Shravan's room in the hospital, waiting for my turn.

"Ahar, come inside." It was Manan, gesturing me.

I limped inside and was helped to a seat by Manan. Shravan and his parents were also there.

"You okay?" I asked Shravan.

"We'll have a talk later," he told me. Okay. "First, someone explain why Sanya and Arun bhaiya (older brother) were together."

His parents gave guilty looks.

Manan rubbed his temple before stepping in to answer.

"Funny story. So what happened was . . . "

__________________

A/N

Great end to the chapter right?

What do you think happened? I mean what was the story of the kidnapping?

Btw, I FINALLY INCLUDED A SCENE WHERE THE HEROINED PUTS HER DUPATTA ON THE HERO'S WOUND. Starts singing Dora's *I did it I did it yo lo hice I did it*

How was the chapter in totality?

What will happen next?

Btw, I have a Varun-Alia cover that needs a home. Please PM me if interested.

Keep voting, commenting, and sharing if you like the story so far. Constructive criticism is always welcomed.

--KIRAN