Nandini pov:

As soon as Manik left, I started looking for a way out. The window seemed like a good idea until I opened it and saw I was on the third floor. The fact that there were several heavily-armed men on the ground didn't encourage me either. It was when the chilly air hit my face that I realized I wasn't in New York anymore. I looked outside, trying to figure out where I was- it was a very unsettling feeling, not knowing where I had spent the last, God knows how many hours. I ignored the pull of my curiosity and got to work on finding another escape route. The bathroom window was too small for me to fit through, the front door was locked and the vents were in the high ceiling. I flopped down on the bed and rubbed my temples, trying to remember what my dad had told me to do if I ever got in a situation like this.

Try to get as much information out of the people who've got you. Ask them where you are, and most of all, don't lose focus. Look around you, 'get the lay of the land,' so to speak. When you're sure they're bot looking, try to get help. Contact me or anyone else in the forces and tell them all you can about your location- the type of building you're in, the landscape around the house and even the colour of the soil. Anything helps.

I documented everything I had noticed since I came here in my head: coniferous vegetation, chilly air, rich brown soil, sandstone brick house and wooden paneling on inner walls. Of course, there was no phone or computer in the room, so I couldn't call or email anyone. I was brought out of my thoughts when I heard the door unlock, and saw a petite girl with long black hair come in with a tray filled with food. She had a huge grin on her pretty face and walked up to me gracefully, putting the tray down on the bed and pulling me into a hug.

"Hello, Nandini! I'm Alia! You don't mind if I call you Nandu right?"

"Nice to meet you Alia," I choked out. "And no, I don't mind at all. Now would you mind not squeezing the life of out of me. I never really planned on being hugged to death."

She drew back and gave me an apologetic smile. "Sorry, I tend to get ahead of myself sometimes."

I laughed and said, "It's okay. I can be like that, too. So, I guess you're, rather unfortunately in my opinion, related to Manik?"

"Yes," she giggled. "I'm his younger sister."

As much as I wanted to hate Alia, I couldn't. Sure, her brother had kidnapped me but I got the feeling she had nothing to do with his world. She seemed like the exact opposite of Manik, and had me feeling at ease instantly.

She sat down next to me, and handed me a plate piled with chocolate croissants, waffles, and pancakes. I thanked her and dug in, ravenous from not eating for so long. Navya munched on a croissant as well, so I was sure the food wasn't poisoned.

"I've got some clothes for you as well. I'll get them from my room when you're done eating," she said absently.

I swallowed my last bite and asked, "Alia, where are we?"

She looked at me apprehensively, chewing on her lip. "I'm not sure if I'm supposed to tell you that."

"Oh, for God's sake Alia!" I exclaimed. "What harm would it do if I knew what frickin' country I'm staying in?"

"All right! We're in Zurich, Switzerland!"

My eyes bugged out of my head as I stared at her. "I'm in Switzerland? Are you kidding me?" Secretly, I was extremely glad I was here. I knew people in Zurich that I knew would help me out if I could contact them. The irony of the fact that my summer vacation spot had turned into my prison was not lost on me, but no one needed to know that.

Alia looked at me with pity, and said, "We would have stayed in New York, but your father was having every inch of the city searched, so we had to get out. Cabir's and Navya's wedding is supposed to be in three weeks, but now that we're here, who knows how long we'll have to stay. Navya is so pissed off at Manik right now, she's just about ready to snap him into pieces."

I half smiled. "I wouldn't mind helping her do that."

"You know, Manik isn't all bad. I know he may seem like that right now, but he's actually a really cool guy."

I snorted. "Tell that to the kid whose parents he just killed."

Alia frowned. "I bet he had a reason for that."

"Oh yeah, sure. I bet he had a reason for trying to kill Abeer, too. And he would have if I hadn't gotten the poor kid out of the room."

"What proof do you have that he was going to kill the kid?" she asked, looking disturbed now.

"He sent Cabir and Dhruv after him when he ran," I said matter-of-factly. "Your brother's not a saint, Alia. And we all don't eat rainbows and poop butterflies."

"You got that from 'Horton hears a who'," she accused. I laughed and nodded.

"I'm gonna go get your clothes," she said distractedly and left the room. She came back a few minuted later with at least half a dozen shopping bags, all with designer names on them. She dumped them all on the bed and took out a pair of Dsquared jeans with a black Dolce and Gabbana blouse.

She pointed to the bathroom and handed me the outfit. "Get showered and changed. There's a towel and toothbrush inside, and if you need anything else, just give me a shout out. I'm waiting right here."

I thanked her and went to the beautiful bathroom with black marble tiles and a tub that was three times the size of my bathtub back home. Once I was done with my relaxing hot shower, I brushed my teeth, put on my clothes and went outside.

"Ooh! You look so gorgeous Nandu!" Alia said, handing me a pair of black jewelled ballet flats. I slipped those on and asked her what we were supposed to do now.

"I'm not really sure," she grimaced. "Let me ask Manik if I can show you around the chateau."

"Ask him if you're allowed to breathe while you're at it Alia," I called after her, sarcastically.

"Sure, Nandu," she retorted in pleasant voice. I sighed and waited for her to come back. When she had left last time, I saw a guard outside my door that locked it as soon as she left, so my chances of escaping from this room were nil to none.

It took Alia a while to come back, so I blow dried my hair out of boredom. I guessed that all the female stuff was here courtesy of Alia. Hell! I didn't even know who these people were! Alia walked through the door again, pouting and frowning.

"My brother is the most insufferable person known to man!" she exclaimed.

"What did he say?"

"He said that you have to stay in this room."

I was fuming. I think if you'd look close enough you'd actually be able to see the smoke spouting out of my ears. "Tell him to come up here. I want to talk to him myself and find out what the hell he plans on doing with me," I said through my teeth. Alia seemed a little shocked by my violent tone and nodded. She opened the door and asked the guard to get Manik. When he objected, saying that Manik had told him not to take one step away from this door, Alia said in an ice-cold tone that would have made her brother proud, "It's my name outside the house. Therefore, you will follow my orders as well. Now go get your boss or so help me, I will kill you myself."

She turned back to me as she closed the door and said cheerfully, "A few empty threats don't do any harm."

I laughed at that and we waited for Manik to come, chatting about little things like our hobbies and likes and dislikes. I found out that she was of Italian descent, and her father and mother were both dead. She didn't tell me how they died and I didn't ask her, for fear of bringing up bad memories.

Manik walked in when we were laughing about how Alia got drunk and got her first tattoo. Our giggles died down when we saw Manik's shocked face, however, and both of us got up.

"Alia, can you please give us a moment," Manik said in that same 'calm before the storm' tone. "Wait for me in the living room. I'll be right down."

Alia looked at me hesitantly, and left after I gave her a reassuring nod and smile.

I wiped the smile off my face as I tried to stare him down. He could hold his own, of course. "I don't appreciate the fact that I'm locked up in this room, Malhotra," I said venomously.

He gave a bitter smile and replied, "You don't have to appreciate anything. In case you didn't know, you're a hostage here. The only reason you're staying here is so that I can keep an eye on you, and Alia insisted that you sleep on a bed and not the floor."

"Why do you want to keep me as a hostage?" I asked, knowing the answer already but dreading his saying it all the same.

"Would you rather I killed you?" he asked, raising an eyebrow at me.

"Depends on why you're keeping me as a hostage, you moron!" I said. I knew it wasn't wise to antagonize him, but something about him just made me want to punch him. It might have something to do with the fact that he killed two very nice people without any obvious provocation.

He was seething with anger, and pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration. "Your father is the head of the FBI, Marthy. He can make us or break us, depending on what we tell him to do, and you are going to help us." A devilish smile lit up his face, causing me to grimace.

"There's no way in hell I'm helping you do anything!" I spat.

"Then you leave me no choice," he said, taking his gun out of a holster under his jacket and pointing it at me.

I looked at the gun and then back at him, walking towards him so I was within inches of the gun. "Go ahead and do it, Malhotra. I'm not afraid of you or your killing machines."

He took a step back, shocked by my reaction. In his experience, I bet, at least 99% of the people he killed were in tears by now, begging for him not to end their life. The remaining 1% were people like me and the Khurana's ; either not afraid of death, or more afraid for their loved ones lives than for their own. The latter group only begged for others lives, not their own, and I bet that was how Mr and Mrs Khurana died. They were always very protective of their only son.

"How can you not be afraid of death?" he whispered so low I barely heard him.

"When your mom commits suicide when you're barely a teenager, and your father's so busy in his job he doesn't even care if you're alive, you have no reason to live," I said honestly.

He stared at me in astonishment for a good few minutes, trying to unravel the workings of my convoluted mind. Inch by inch, he lowered his gun, strapping it back into his holster after putting the safety on.

"If you're not afraid of death, then what fears do you have?" he asked curiously.

I snorted. "Whatever fears I do have, Malhotra, I won't be telling them to you. But let's just say, my life's been alot better since I stopped being scared."

He nodded absently, sitting down on the loveseat opposite the bed. I had a feeling that I was witnessing a rare moment in history; Manik Malhotra's calm was shaken.

"Now what I wanna know, is who you people are," I said in a no-nonsense voice. "I think I deserve that much."

It took him a moment to answer. "We're part of an organized-crime ring known more commonly as the Mafia."

I actually burst out laughing at his formal way of putting it. He looked at me, shocked once again, and then he got angry. Again.

"Do you think this is a joke, Murthy?" he fumed.

"No, no. of course not," I replied, unable to stop my giggles from bursting forth.

He narrowed his eyes and walked up to where I was leaning against the wall. "Do you think what I do isn't serious work? I've killed 862 people in the last two years alone. Don't think I'll hesitate before killing you."

Despite the fact that I was scared of him (he had killed 862 people in just two years!) I still couldn't stop the reply that came out of my mouth. "You already did. I'm still alive, aren't I?"

He was so close I could smell his perfume, but before my brain had time to register anything else, he was already out of the room, a furious expression on his face.

I fell onto the floor in a heap, my legs giving away as my adrenaline ran out. I couldn't believe I had just provoked him like that. What kind of an idiot irritates a member of the mafia? I shook my head, trying to clear it. Even if he didn't kill me now, he could later and therefore, I had to get my ass out of here pronto. And for that, I would need Alia's help.

To be continued....