***

Word Count : 3900

Target : 120 Votes

Audio Theme : Crazy in Love Remix | Beyoncé |

Play it during Mahadevan and Hinduja's scene.

***

50 | The Beginning Of Something Destructive

16th May 2023

1530 Hours

| Afternoon |

Rukmini pulled up her silver Mahindra SUV in the parking lot of the Special Investigation Unit's headquarters. Hinduja unbolted the passenger side door and stepped out of the vehicle.

Together they exited the parking lot and strode straight in the direction of the main entrance. Just as they entered inside, Hinduja witnessed Praapti hurriedly approaching them with a worried countenance.

"Madam ji!" The inspector called out.

"What happened?" Hinduja probed while clasping her hands behind her back.

Rukmini looked on quietly, having no idea herself.

"Madam ji, Mr. and Mrs. Nath are here." Praapti let out the piece of news she was holding onto.

"Nath?" Rukmini asked, appearing confused.

Hinduja exhaled. Massaging her glabella, she said, "Bhavyaa Nath. The first victim of 2022; Mr. Kul Bhushan Nath and Mrs. Nandini Nath; they are her parents."

"Oh." Rukmini nodded.

"Mrs. Nath has been continuously repeating the same sentence." Praapti remarked.

"What exactly?" Hinduja resumed walking, this time heading in the direction of the waiting room instead. Praapti and Rukmini followed her.

"That she won't leave until she meets you." Praapti's reply fell on Hinduja's ears.

She took a look at the glass dial of her analog watch and then swiftly crossed the threshold of the waiting room.

Inside the chamber, occupied with four sets of five-seater metal tandem chairs, glowing with minimal lighting, on the last two chairs sat a middle-aged couple, side by side, holding on to each other's hands.

Hinduja assessed the woman, sitting silently next to her husband, her sunken eyes fixated on nothing in general, rather just lifelessly staring at the whitewashed wall ahead. Nandini Nath looked no different than the last time she had met her. Just like last time, her scraggly and dehydrated hair were trussed in a bun while the crow's feet marring the corners of eyes looked even more apparent. The Salwar-kameez she was clad in did not make any efforts to hide her pale gaunt arms and rawboned frame either.

The man settled next to her; meanwhile, her husband appeared in a condition that was similar to her. As if both of them were drained, hopeless, and lifeless, all at the same time.

Hinduja cleared her throat and slowly strolled towards the couple.

The middle-aged woman immediately turned her attention from the wall to her. Supporting her frail left palm on the arm of the tandem chair, she got up. Her husband followed suit, his left arm wound around her bony shoulders.

As she moved closer, the amber hue of Nandini Nath's irises became even more evident.

Bowing her head to a certain angle, Hinduja greeted. "Good afternoon."

The husband feebly nodded while the wife maintained silence. Then, suddenly stepping closer to the profiler, Nandini Nath gently took hold of Hinduja's warm hands and clasped them in her cold ones.

The irony of the situation was that the middle-aged woman was very much alive, but it almost felt as if the light in her eyes had long perished at hands of desperation.

"How is the investigation going on, officer?" Soft and gentle—that's what Hinduja derived from Nandini's tone of voice.

"It's in progress."

Nandini nodded. Then, taking in a deep breath, she met the profiler's sable eyes. "I am here to ask you just one question." She paused, as a feeble smile emerged on her face. "Am I allowed to ask it?"

"Please go ahead." Hinduja tipped her chin.

The middle-aged woman's breathing became labored. Chocking on the words that were trying to leave her lips, she swallowed hard. "Is there any chance of us seeing our daughter alive?" The lifeless pair of amber swirls suddenly turned misty. "Even one percent chance would do." Her frail and cold hands quivered as she sniffled. "Will I ever get my child back?" She paused. "Alive?"

Hinduja's breath got stuck in her throat as she stared at the last few remnants of bleak hope coruscating in the eyes of the woman standing before her, almost on the verge of getting lost forever.

For the first time, her mind went blank. She had no answer.

The air around them was shrouded in a wretched capote of silence. Rukmini and Praapti glanced at each other and then stared at the ground beneath as well.

Kul Bhushan Nath looked on as a trail of tears escaped from the corner of his left eye.

Nandini Nath resumed to peer at the lady officer before her in a desperate attempt to get her answers. "Just one percent chance; even that's enough for me, for that's all I require. Will I get to see my Bhavyaa ever again? Alive?"

Hinduja stood tight-lipped. She didn't raise her gaze from the floor beneath.

And just like that, the last few ounces of hope in the mother's eyes evaporated into oblivion, forever. Her trembling hands slowly freed Hinduja's hand from their gentle hold and dropped down to the sides of her torso at the rate of knots.

Without uttering a word more, she took weak steps in the direction of the door. Her husband promptly made a move to support her.

"Mrs. Nath," Hinduja called. "Please don't—"

The middle-aged woman stopped on her trail and turned her head around. A feeble smile graced her moisture deprived cracked lips. She raised her hand to show her palm, signaling Hinduja to stop. "I got my answer." She then wiped the trail of tears trickling down the bridge of her thin nose with the end of her dupatta. "Don't worry."

Then she frailly turned around and started to walk out of the waiting room with her husband.

"I can't assure you if Bhavyaa will ever return alive." Hinduja announced. "But there is one thing I can definitely assure you about." She put a halt on her words, just as the Nath couple stopped on their path again, without turning around. "The last time I met you, I made a promise to you, and I am keen on keeping it."

"Please do." The middle-aged woman whispered back, resuming her movements along with her husband.

Hinduja, along with Rukmini and Praapti, wended their out of the waiting room too, their gazes fixed on the two weak frames slowly making their out of the main entranceway of the SIT headquarters.

"Never have I ever felt so helpless." Praapti remarked.

"Me neither." Rukmini added.

"She is brave." Hinduja whispered, her eyes distant.

"But she has already lost all her hope." Rukmini shot back.

Hinduja shook her head. "Her hope might be dead, but her courage is alive. You know why?"

Praapti was a mother herself, so she was able to discern the meaning behind her senior's words without any difficulty. The ASP on the other hand was single. Perhaps that caused her to seem a little clueless.

Hinduja breathed in. "Because it takes guts for a mother to continue breathing, despite being aware of the possibility that her child might not be breathing anymore. It takes immense courage for her to stay alive while awaiting the news of her child's impending death. The father is no different. Just that the mother is a little more open in expressing what she feels, the father, on the other hand, locks everything within himself."

"Exactly." Praapti accented with a nod. "Nine months. The nine months of prayers that result in the birth of a new hope. And then the hope starts growing." She paused, her eyes watery. "I am a mother to a fifteen-year-old too. God forbid, I would never want me and my child to ever go through what that mother and her child have gone through. In these last ten years, only those parents who have lost their growing hopes would know the value of survival with every passing second of their lives."

"She is brave, so she survived it." Hinduja whispered, tasting the agony enshrouding the words rolling off her tongue. "But on a personal level, I wouldn't have. I am not that brave."

Roughly two hours later, as she stepped inside the parking lot again to drive back home, she found the front left tire of her Scorpio punctured.

"Sorry, madam ji." A worker working close by approached her.

The roof of the parking space was diagnosed with a few cracks a week ago, so it was being repaired. A temporary shelter was being built for the purpose of parking, but till then, all the serving personnel working in the headquarter had to park their vehicles in the parking lot itself.

"The tire is punctured." Hinduja let out in a gentle tone, pointing her finger at the flat tire. "Do you know how it happened?"

The worker scratched his neck, appearing a little scared at the thought of a complaint. "Sorry, madam ji. Actually, I had to repair a crack on a part of the ceiling that was just above your car, so I asked the security sahib inside the security booth if he could park your car outside the lot just for some time so that I could finish my work. He agreed and helped me with it as well, but the thing is, I had mistakenly left a few nails just beside the tire of your car. So, when he drove the car ahead, the tire got punctured." He paused with a gulp while joining his hands together. "I apologize, Madam Ji. Please don't raise a complaint in contractor Sahib's office, or else I will lose my job."

Hinduja shook her head with a faint smile. "Don't worry. I won't raise a complaint. But please be a little more aware while working from here onwards."

"Thank you, madam ji!" The worker wiped off the sweat dribbling down his forehead and smiled. "Thank you! I will go now."

"Alright." Hinduja nodded and glanced at her Scorpio with a sigh as the worker retraced his steps back to the spot he was working at. Just then, another male figure walked towards her.

"What happened?" Raghav asked, glancing at the automobile she was standing beside.

Pointing her finger at the flat front left tire of her car, she replied. "Punctured."

"How?" With his brows scrunched together, the DCP crouched down to examine the tire.

"Nothing." Hinduja shrugged. "I mistakenly steered it over a nail."

"Oh." The DCP nodded and formed an 'o' with his mouth. Then he took a look at his gray-hued Thar parked just beside her Scorpio. "Come, I will drop you." He suggested.

"No need." She paused, waiving her hand. "I'll book a cab."

The DCP requested again. "Arey, come with me. I will drop you. There is no issue at all."

Hinduja let out a loud exhale, looked at her vehicle for one last time, and then faced her senior. "Alright." She smiled. "Thank you."

Raghav reciprocated the smile and then pressed on the key fob to unlock the car doors.

Within the next ten minutes, the grey colored Thar was already roaring through the Kalindi chowk cross.

"So, tell me about your family." The DCP tried to raise a conversation in an effort to eliminate the quietude inside the car. "What does your husband do?"

Hinduja glanced at him. "He works in an MNC." She replied.

"Which one?" He probed.

"Dogra Corporation."

Recognition flared in Raghav's eyes as he heard the name. "That's great! I kind of know someone from there."

Hinduja's gaze traversed over the scenery passing outside the window of the functional Thar. "Who?" She asked.

Raghav chuckled. "Leave it. You won't believe me." He paused. "Anyway, I actually forgot. What is your alma mater?"

"National Forensic Science College, Thiruvananthapuram." She answered. "And yours?"

"Imperial College of Engineering, Madras." He replied with a faint smile while maneuvering the Thar onto the flyover bridge ahead.

All of a sudden, Hinduja's brows quirked up. "What department and which batch?"

Raghav looked at her with an amused expression marring his visage, noticing her sudden interest in the conversation at hand. "Department of civil engineering. Batch of 2013"

Hinduja's lips faintly curled up. "Okay."

"Anyway," the DCP directed his index finger at the smart screen affixed to the dashboard. "Put in your address. We are already above the flyover."

Hinduja nodded and typed in the address on the live map application featuring on the screen.

Raghav's gaze scanned the location popping up on the screen. The space between his brows got scrunched together as he read the address. "You live in the Leela Sky Villas?"

Hinduja knew that this question would definitely be asked by the DCP, so she was ready with an answer beforehand. "I don't. My brother does."

"Home to the elitest of the elite." Raghav remarked. "Quite loaded, huh? What does your brother do?"

"He is a senior cardiothoracic surgeon in a hospital chain." She answered.

"Oh. Understandable." He nodded. "I was actually thinking about purchasing a property there."

Now, it was time for Hinduja to act a little curious. "Seems like you are loaded as well? I don't think a normal government job pays that much. I mean our pay scale is definitely not adequate enough to buy a flat at the Leela Sky Villas. "

Raghav laughed. "Police service is just my passion. My actual sources of income are very different from my profession."

"Oh." Hinduja agreed. "Okay."

An hour down the line, Raghav hit the brakes of his Thar right in front of the gargantuan-sized automated gate of the Leela Sky Villas.

He unlocked the driver side door and stepped out of the car just as Hinduja got out of the Thar from the passenger side door.

"Thank you for the help." The profiler sported a grateful smile.

"My pleasure." Raghav responded. "Also, I forgot to ask you about your visit to the episcopacy today. Let's talk about it at the office tomorrow. There are a few things that we need to discuss with the team too."

"Alright sir." Hinduja acceded. "But I might get a little late tomorrow."

"Why?" Raghav questioned. It was very uncharacteristic of the criminal profiler to get late, for all he knew. He was very well aware of the fact that she valued time to the extremities of every second.

"Actually, my son has recently joined a karate academy. I have to drop him at the academy tomorrow." She lied, right through her teeth, with the same feeble smile evident on her visage.

"Isn't he like barely three?" The DCP's tone turned a little mirthful. "Joined a karate academy already?"

"Yeah, he is." She paused, tucking a strand of her hair behind her right ear. "But we thought its better we admit him early. Children adopt such skills better this way."

"Oh," he laughed out loud. "A champion in the making he is then!"

Hinduja joined him and let out a few chortles.

Meanwhile, some seventy meters away from where they were erect on their feet and conversing, a sleek black Rolls-Royce Phantom, with a fleet of Range Rovers stationed just behind it, slowly ceased its movements. In the luxury vehicle, through the window on the side of the driver's seat, Karim observed the man and the woman who were standing next to a silver Thar and talking.

"It's him, Sahib. Deputy Commissioner of Police Raghav Katoch."

Suddenly the atmosphere inside the Rolls-Royce turned chilly as the power equilibrium slipped right out of the window.

The man settled in the back seat crossed his right limb over his left limb. With one press of a switch, the window on his side slid down while his penetrating stare fell directly on his wife and the officer standing next to her just beside the gate.

They were laughing.

His face remained deadpan and impassive while his chest stiffened and his body tensed up. "Check his alma mater once again." His deep voice echoed within the confines of the luxury automobile from the back seat in the form of a curt directive.

"Imperial College of Engineering Madras, Sahib." Karim Khan answered. "Your batch and your department."

Mahadevan's lips tugged up very lightly, yet there was something in his eyes—something that was too Mephistophelian in appearance—cacodemonic enough to destroy everything that would cross him. "He is single." He remarked.

"Yes, Sahib. Single with no children." The man in the driver seat confirmed.

Silence filled the car.

And then suddenly the man in the backseat emitted out a heavily bassed chuckle—icy cold and satanic. "Good." He whispered. "Very good."

***

Mahadevan took a quick glance at Geeta, who was feeding fruits to the toddler sitting on the kitchen countertop.

He then swiftly strode straight in the direction of the master bedroom.

Vaulting over the threshold of their bedroom, his dark gaze scanned the slender frame of the woman settled on the diwan. His woman.

The facial expressions remained blank as he sized her up thoroughly. "I didn't find your Scorpio at our parking space." He trailed, seizing his hands behind his back.

Sensing his presence, Hinduja nodded. "Yeah. Actually, the front tire of my car was punctured by a worker by mistake. So my senior, DCP Katoch—"

She was cut off by him in between in a second.

"He dropped you?"

She raised her gaze from the ankle strap flats she was holding onto to look at him. "Yeah, he did." Her lips genuinely curled up.

In a trice, his posture stiffened, though he forced a smile to mask the turbulence within.

"Of course he did."

He muttered under his breath.

What she failed to see was the tension in his jaw, the way his hands balled into tight fists as blood gushed into the tip of his fingers, behind his back, hidden from her view, a squall brewing beneath the sangfroid exterior.

"You carry on." He paused. "I am going to the office. I have some work."

She nodded with a smile and got up from the diwan just as he retraced his steps back out of the bedroom and strode directly towards his home office.

Jarring the door behind his back, he marched closer to his worktable. 

A few seconds passed in complete stillness as he blankly stood in the room, next to his worktable. 

Then, out of nowhere, he slammed his palm on the wooden table with a deafening bang. The legs of the table started shaking on the floor with a thundering sound.

Mahadevan's whole frame shivered as the sclera of both his eyes took up pale shades of bright red as if the cranial nerves would pop out any given moment while the irises turned extremely dark.

He ran his fingers through his hair in a disoriented manner and then let out a mirthless simper. "Katoch" he whispered, gnashing his teeth.

And in the very next moment, his red eyes stared heedlessly at the wall ahead while his right hand picked up the glass pen stand filled with graphite pencils kept on the table and violently slammed it right against the floor beneath. The pen stand cataclysmically catapulted against the floor, smashing itself into smithereens with its sharp shards along with the graphite pencils scattered around his feet.

The office door opened with a bang as Hinduja entered inside with a shocked mien veiling her phizog.

"What happened?" She asked, breathless. Her gaze then fell on the shards of glass and pencils scattered on the floor.

He turned around, smiling faintly at her. Gone was the evil look from his eyes. "I dropped it, by mistake." He paused, crouching down to collect the glass pieces and clean the floor. "Sorry."

"Let it be!" She cried out, rushing towards him. "I will clean it later. Don't touch anything."

He smiled, staring at her. "You care about me, don't you?"

Hinduja glanced at him, a little befuddled. "You are my husband. Obviously I do."

Mahadevan's jaw ticked as he got up. He carefully inched closer to her, not stepping on the glass shards. "Had I not been your husband, you wouldn't care for me. Right?"

Hinduja looked at him with her eyebrows knitted together, appearing visibly disoriented. For some reason, she was feeling a little uncanny. Something felt out of order to her, especially the way he was staring at her. "What do yo—" She hesitated. "What do you mean?"

He came closer, entering into her personal space. She gulped.

"I asked a very simple question." He smiled. "Had I not been your husband, you wouldn't care for me. Am I right?"

"Had you not been my husband, I wouldn't have known you then." She replied in simple terms. "So, obviously, I wouldn't care for you as well."

Something changed in the air surrounding them, in the worst possible way.

He hunched over, matching his height to her eye level. "Was there anyone else before, whom you liked? Or thought about getting married to?"

She looked hither and thither, absolutely bewildered. "No." She mouthed.

"Excellent answer, wife." Mahadevan whispered, his intense breaths falling on her face. "Anyway, how is your work with those thirty-eight trackers going on?" He paused while lifting his hand to trace her cheeks. "I hope there is no issue."

Hinduja's body rigidified for a second. She sighed. "Good to that you know already." She smiled. "I won't have to lie or pretend anymore."

Saying so, she shoved her right hand inside her saree pocket to fish out something that looked like a micro-sized chip.

She then raised her gaze to meet his eyes again. "What is that one thing that you never take off your body?" She asked.

Mahadevan feebly smiled, taking a quick look at the platinum wedding ring around his ring finger. Hinduja instantly got the hint, noticing his eye movements.

"Take it off." She instructed.

He did what she asked him to do without a second thought and passed on the ring to her.

Turning the ring around, Hinduja surveyed the hollow space of its gallery just beneath the bridge part of the platinum jewel. She then placed the micro-chip meticulously inside it's gallery, fixing it tightly there.

Handing over the ring back to him, she said. "Wear this and don't take it off."

Mahadevan stared fondly at the ring, took it from her, and wore it back around his ring finger. "I wouldn't dare to take it off." He whispered. "Not now. Not ever."

Hinduja nodded with a gulp. She then volt-faced and walked straight out of his office.

Something was definitely not right. She could sense it.

Meanwhile, Mahadevan continued to gawk at his wife's svelte saree clad frame. "You do care for me." He announced in a tone that was barely hearable to even his own ears, yet carried a dark edge to it at the same time. "You have to."

***

I warned all the readers beforehand and I am warning again. 

Mahadevan is not a perfect character. He never was. 

 He will never hurt Hinduja, I assure you. She is too precious for him. But his thoughts and actions will definitely carry an unhinged arch and that's a very complex aspect of his psyche. 

Finally,

Dear readers,

For the first time ever, I have released a spoiler reel of a big mystery regarding SHT (👀) both on Instagram and on YouTube.

I saw that some of you are not on Instagram, so I uploaded it on YouTube as well.

Both the links are in the comment section. >>>>>

***