Misha's mind frantically went through a myriad of options to change the topic.

She said the first thing that came to her mind. "Did your Mom make Chole Batura today for Dinner?"

"Yeah. Very wise guess Ms Snoopy." She could almost picturise the smirk on Victor's face now.

Wrong strategy! Retreat!! Retreat!!!

"Look... you asked me to text, but I felt bad and called you instead, and this is what I get in return!" She tried her best to sound hurt.

"That fake tone wont do Misha. Even when I cant see your face, I can guess exactly what is going on in that cunning brain of yours!"

She was stunned into silence by his shrewd and intuitive guess, but recovered quickly to say, "And I can easily guess how much time you have spent in sending that message, because that is so unlike you. What is going on Victor?"

He took his time to answer, and Misha wondered if he too was impressed by her insights into his thought process.
"I don't know what came over me when I texted. I was not in the best of my moods I guess. I just felt like... forget it. Why don't you rest now? It's almost midnight. We will talk tomorrow. Okay?" Victor sounded keen to end the call.

"Victor..." Misha said softly.

After a pause Victor replied, "Hmm.."

"Just a few moments ago, I was thinking that you and me... we both have come a long way since Goa. My perception and opinion of you has changed a lot since then and I hope you know me enough by now, to understand that I am not a judgemental person. So why do you still talk to me with so many filters?"

"Before I answer that, I want to know... do you talk to me without any filters?" Victor questioned back.

"Well... except for some girlie things, I do. You know how I shout at you all the time. I don't hold anything back. You must be cursing me inwardly."

"I don't Misha... You know I don't. I used to hate your guts initially, but now... I am so used to your shouting that it feels odd if you talk to me nicely."

She was glad to hear his loud chuckle and joined him with a relieved heart.

"Well then... tell me what happened. What did you say that upset your family so much? Don't ask me how I knew that, okay? I cant sleep now, till you tell me."

As Victor explained briefly how his mother and sister got upset by his remarks, Misha began to realize how Victor and his blunt talk could be his worst enemy.

"I know you are already quite upset with what happened, but take it from me, most people don't like to hear the straight talk or advice, especially if it is a harsh truth. I am not saying what you said is wrong, but you could have been more subtle. But I am equally impressed on how well you understood Suman Ji's heart and how much she loves Arunya. Why couldn't you feel the same sympathy towards your Mom? Is it because Loki is a murderer?"

"Bloody obvious, isn't it? You weren't there when he killed Nanda Sir, Misha. He was cool as a cucumber and I bet he wouldn't have hesitated to kill me either."

"But he didn't, did he?"

"What do you mean? Look... there is no point in talking hypotheticals here. Whatever happened, happened. Now that I know he hatched this whole plan from the beginning, I hate him even more. Why should I or my mother feel anything akin to love towards a guy, who planned my murder and impersonation in cold blood? The way they blackmailed Ashwin!! And where do I even start with what Anosha went through... He is one hell of a selfish, cruel bastard who deserves all the punishment and suffering, and definitely not the love of a kind soul like my mother." Victor's voice trembled.

"I agree, he doesn't and that's why he has been kept away from her and her love. But I am sure Suman ji and even that DJ love him a lot. He comes across as a spoilt brat and a bit of Diva to me, to be honest. And talking about your mother, she is always like that isn't it? Weren't you upset how she forgave your father so easily? I hardly spent any time with her but from whatever I heard about her from you and your friends, I know that she is a very kind and lovely lady. You are indeed lucky. In our profession, we see so much of deception and hatred and every other despicable qualities in people, that sometimes we fail to appreciate how much we need someone like your mother, who love unconditionally, to restore our faith in humanity."

"It just sounds great to hear but I don't agree with that philosophy at all Misha. This world is filled with so much cruelty and heartlessness that people like my mother and her love for the undeserved comes across as weakness, not strength.
Where is the justice and fairness in this world, when such pure and innocent souls like my Maa are made to suffer? Why did you have to suffer the loss of your parents at such young age, and now your uncle whom you loved so much?"

Misha became speechless as her eyes began to well.

"Do you see what kind of a brute I am? I hurt you too now..." Victor began but Misha interrupted him.

"You are not a brute and you didn't hurt me at all. It's just that..." she sniffed and continued, " I get sentimental like a child, even after all these years, whenever the topic of my parents comes up. I know it is not the same, but I am one of those lucky ones, who got so much love from my extended family. Families can hurt too and I know I shouldn't talk about things I barely know, but I cant see you becoming bitter like this either.... I wont mind if you shout at me for saying this, but my gut feeling is that your attitude and bitterness comes from the way your father treated your mother, isn't it?"

Victor remained silent for so long that Misha began to regret her outburst.

She could hear his footsteps, opening and shutting doors and a creek of furniture...

"You know Misha, I haven't been in my old bedroom for so many years and it's just the same..." he began abruptly. "I had such happy memories here. I felt as if me and my family had a new lease of life after moving to Delhi, away from our past with the nosey neighbours and relatives, who never failed to remind us how grateful we should be, to be under our grandparents roof and care. Me and Di joined DU for our graduation and I worked part time here too, but it was so different, no one knew us and we could finally be away from the shadow of the monster who ruined my mother's life."

Misha knew how difficult it must be for Victor to open up like this, and she felt relieved and happy that he chose to do so..

"And to think that this whole tragedy started when we were born... or may be it was just an excuse for my father. He wooed and married my mother when she was barely twenty years old. You should see her old photographs you know.. she was so pretty, and so full of life. Both families were opposed to the marriage considering the language and cultural differences, but my mother's parents finally gave in. But within a few years, cracks began to appear in their marriage and my mother realized that behind the charming façade, my father was a domineering and an abusive man.

We never saw this side of him, or rather my mother shielded us from it and maintained the façade of a happy family for a long time, till his adultery and infidelity became the talk of the town. You heard from Maami, right? I look a lot like my mother and you know how different Di looks. That bloody..." Victor paused a few seconds, perhaps to compose himself.

"My father accused my mother had an affair with someone, and we were not his kids, because apparently, there is an unwritten rule that all kids should look exactly like their father." Victor said bitterly.

Misha let out an involuntary gasp, feeling sick with fury.

Victor continued, as if he had been waiting to unburden himself from all the pent up fury and grief.
"And added to the fact that he had no love for daughters.... It was a matter of shame for him. He wanted sons, who will join Army and serve the country just like him. What started off as verbal insults about my mum's character, became such an open and ugly spectacle as we grew into toddlers. One day, when we were around 2 years old or so, he came home drunk and threatened to throw my mother and us out of the house it seems. My mother's family and all the neighbours rallied behind my mother and tried to convince him that my mother was not "such sort of a woman". Can you imagine the irony? He was the guilty one but everyone had to defend my mother's character..."

Misha was filled with the same disgust that she knew Victor was feeling at that moment.

"My father had frequent transfers, and was posted in many places in the Northern and Eastern states of India, and my mother would just silently bear all the insults and look after the house and us. Growing up as part of an Army officer's family was a boon and a curse. We were kind of isolated from everyone else, but all the fellow officers and their families knew what was happening in my parents lives. We were too young to understand the taunts and jeers from other families, but once I was old enough to understand what was going on, I hated it. I would plead my mother to leave my father but she would simply refuse. And Di... she faced even worse treatment. There wasn't even a single day that my father would cuddle her or give her any love. With me he was somehow better, not that I really cared, after I knew what was going on.

Me and Maa made sure that Di was given all the love and made to feel treasured.
After sometime, he openly started living with another woman, and barely gave any money to my mother to keep the house running. We were in primary school. My grandparents happened to visit us around that time, and they were shocked to find their only daughter and her kids in such deprived state. They forced my mother to move back to Kerala and finally my mother gave in, as it had become a question of survival. We were ten years old or so then."

"Thank god!" Misha exclaimed.

Victor let out a sigh.

"Coming to Kerala was a relief indeed, now that we didn't have to see that monster's face and watch him abuse our Mother. But our society is so sick that no matter whose fault it is for the breakup of marriage, it always blames the wife for it. My mother was constantly advised to "make up" with her husband for the sake of children, and not be a burden to my grandparents. Except for Jishu's family and Anosha's who joined our neighbourhood later, and few others, the rest of the neighbours and especially our relatives were hell bent on pushing my mother to make "her marriage work" at any cost.

I did the only thing I could... I started working part time after school. Luckily we had good government schools nearby and neither our education nor our so called maintenance cost much to my grandparents' family, even though they never treated us as a burden. I am not boasting or anything, but both of us were quite good in studies, my Di was cleverer than me, and we used to get scholarships in our school. That sadist wouldn't even divorce my mother you know, because he wanted to still control my mother's life in some way. Nor that my mother ever thought of remarrying. But why shouldn't she? What did she do to deserve that monster? I wish we can court martial or drag people like my father to court and send them to life sentence for moral crimes. Monsters like my father are no less heinous than that Loki or DJ who kill innocent persons like Nanda Sir."

Misha wished she was with Victor right then and show her support in other ways than just hear him over the phone, as he recalled the darkest times in his past.

She cleared her throat and said solemnly, " True... Victor, if you ever find yourself in a situation where you had no choice but to shoot down Loki or DJ, I hope your finger wouldn't hesitate to pull the trigger."

She could hear a faint smile from the other end and Victor continued. "I wont hesitate Misha... and there's something more.. I don't know how to put it.. I haven't told you this because Maa forbade me to tell anyone...."

"Then you shouldn't" Misha hastened to reply.

"Oh really, don't give me such obedient girl vibes, as if you have always followed what your Nani told you to do..."

Misha chuckled.

"Hmm... it is quite sad and sweet actually. Around the time when my father was threatening to throw my Mom out of the house, saying we were not his kids, Suman Ji suddenly visited my Mom it seems, and explained about the twins mix up at the hospital. Neither my Mom nor Suman Ji would give me all details, and I didn't insist because it doesn't really matter. But seems my Mom didn't let Suman ji explain anything or believed a word of what she said. Instead, she blasted Suman Ji and accused her of stealing Loki, and declared that Di was her daughter and she will never give her daughter away to some criminal's wife, and a heartless mother who was cruel enough to have come all the way to "return" a baby that she had brought up as her own. Now that she knows the truth, Mom definitely regrets her behaviour towards Suman Ji but she would have done the same thing anyway, as far as Di was concerned."

"Oh god! That is so sad !! You mean, Aunty knew that Di was not her biological daughter all these years, but never let any of you know?" Misha gasped.

"Yes. No one knew except her and Suman Ji I think.' Victor said simply.

Misha's eyes welled again.

"You and Di are so lucky to have a mother like her. When I meet Aunty next time, I will give her a bear hug and lots of kisses!!!" Misha said sniffing, and added, "I mean, if she doesn't mind."

Victor laughed for the first time.

"She wouldn't mind. She likes you a lot, for some reason."

"What do you mean, for some reason? Not everyone is as blind and dense as you!!" Misha fumed.

"Blind and dense ...hmmm What do you mean !?" Victor drawled.

Misha covered her face with the pillow! Why does she do this to herself every time when she talks with Victor!

She removed the pillow and composed herself before replying.

"Elementary Mr Holmes! I am such a nice girl and brave agent who happened to save your life. No wonder your Mom likes me... What did you think I meant?"

There was a pause before Victor replied...

"Oh! yesss.. Now I know very well what you meant Ms Snoopy... What would I do without you? You took care of me.. You took care of my plants! Are they missing me?" Victor's voice turned husky again.

"What?" Misha thought she misheard him.

" A R E M Y P L A N T S M I S S I N G M E?" He stressed every syllable.

Misha took a deep breath and replied with a smirk.

"I DON'T THINK SO... " and added in a softer tone, "But I am sure they will miss you, if you stay away for too long."

"Thank you, that's all I wanted to hear." His voice was barely a whisper.

A few seconds passed when neither of them spoke, and were content to let the silence between them stretch.

Just then Misha heard a beep which indicated Victor's phone buzz with another call.

"Goodnight Victor, I will see you soon."

"Yeah, Misha. Please rest up, Sorry I got another call that I have to take..." Victor replied.

A warm smile continued to linger on Misha's face as she put her phone aside and drew the pillow closer to her chest. Her heart feeling much lighter, she fell asleep soon.

****

Zoya spent some time in the living room to pack a few of her personal knick knacks, but when she returned to her bedroom, it looked like a war zone, as Loki pulled out everything from her wardrobe.

Before she could protest, "Zo... Don't worry about any thing else, we will just pack your clothes and personal stuff."

"Hey I brought these lovely paintings and lamps. I want to take them along. I hate that room in your house Loki... everything is so old and jaded there. At least these things will help brighten it up a bit"

"Zo please, we can take some, not all. First, lets's finish packing your stuff. Where did you buy these things from? Did you use plastic?" Loki stopped packing and walked towards her.

"Of course I didn't. I used cash. Loki, why do you forget that I am the smarter one here? If it wasn't for me and my strategy and ideas, you would have never been able to get rid of Victor and then impersonate him. But neither you nor your so called Bhai want to accept or even acknowledge that!"

"Zo...please let's not fight all over again. We didn't talk to each other for over a week because of this. How many times have I told you? Of course I am grateful to you and your clever plan, and so is Bhai. That is why he is worried about your safety and wants you to come home. Because you know what this means right? I hope Victor doesn't know that you live here otherwise you would be the first on his hit list along with me and Bhai."

"And that's why I say you need people like me around you, if you have to get out of this mess. You have underestimated Victor before and continue to do so. You just told me that Victor had been alive for sometime and has already successfully got rid of Cheriyan and Tanvir. You still think he doesn't know I live here? What kind of a fool are you? For all we know, he might have already got you tailed and even has a spy tracking all of our movements."

Loki's hands rolled up into fists but he forced himself to relax and smile back at Zoya. He pulled Zoya into an embrace and ran his fingers along her shoulder before settling them around the nape of her neck.

"I don't underestimate him at all. But he doesn't have the capacity to harm us right now, either openly or through stealth, now that his secret is out. Coming out like that, just to warn me, was stupid in the extreme, if you ask me. But that's the problem with people who think they are smarter than others and want to show it off. A real smart guy would let others do all their work for him, let them take the glory, while controlling them from the back end." He pulled her hard against him and bit her lower lip.

Zoya tried to push him back, but his hold on her was too strong. She kissed him back instead.
"There might be a smart strategy behind why he came out in the open. He would wait for the right moment and strike, I am sure. I must say though, I hate that guy's guts!" Zoya admitted grudgingly.

"I don't like hearing about that guys' name when my girl is kissing me..." Loki pushed her away slowly. "Come on, let's finish the packing." He began to dump her clothes into the suitcase.

"Loki...please let me do it. You have no idea how to do these chores. You are such a spoilt brat"

"Stop calling me names Ms fake Anosha Malik!!" Loki's derisive tone riled up Zoya.

"That was cheap... even for you.. And why did I take so much trouble to become Anosha? Just to help you and your brother!! God!! I hated everything I was forced to do as intern in that hospital!! If it wasn't for me to come with the brilliant plan to kidnap Anosha and impersonate her, would you have managed to stay in that hospital so long and get trained? And got the additional information on Victor? Never!"

"Of course my dear... As you were an intern before, you very well knew how the hospital system works. Getting Dr Ghoshal on our side would never have been enough, because most of the time patients are looked after by interns and nurses. But you must admit, meeting Anosha at the Delhi airport, who happened to apply for internship at the same hospital where IB agents are admitted, was pure luck..." Loki said with a shrug, as he slouched on the bed and watched Zoya fold her clothes neatly into the suit case.

"Yes, it was. She was so frantic and worried that day when our bags got exchanged. I couldn't believe that someone in India had the exactly same designer bag as mine, and so I went through her whole bag, just to make sure she didn't pinch anything from mine. There was a file with all her certificates and interview letter for internship at the BMS Hospital. And imagine my shock when I saw your photo, I mean Victor's photo in an album in her bag. I mean seriously!! Who carries photo albums nowadays? I knew right then that this girl was some sort of a sentimental fool. I took a photo of her contact and educational details with my phone, with the sole purpose of grilling you about your clandestine affair with her.  And I made sure I observed her for a good ten minutes before approaching her. Everything from her body language and the way she interacted with the staff at the airport, screamed what a shy and timid girl she was. The thing with introverts is, they open up more easily if they think you are just like them. So, I turned my shy and sweet Zoya charm on, and pretended that I was too scared of New Delhi and its horrid reputation, and she began to talk to me like a long lost friend in five minutes. Assured me that there was nothing wrong with the city, gave me her phone number details and asked me to keep in touch. I acted too flustered and shy and fooled her completely. But there was no way I would let her go without finding out why your photo was in her bag. I made sure that Victor's photo fell out of her bag accidentally and praised how handsome he was, but apart from saying that Victor was an old friend, she closed up like an oyster and I didn't push her further. Remember how mad I was that day!!"

"How could I forget? You thought I was having an affair with a girl in India even when I tried to convince you that I haven't been to India in six years!"

"But that photo looked like it was taken when you were in college, a long time ago! Anyone in my place would have made that mistake!!" Zoya fumed.

"Yes, yes... when I saw it later, I understood. On that day, I wanted to meet this poor girl and clarify everything in front of her, but you wouldn't let me even within ten metres of that girl. Which turned out be such a blessing later on. Even though I was dying to know who this look alike of me was, and wanted to speak to Maa about it, I somehow controlled myself." Loki shook his head in exasperation.

"Hahaha because you were more worried that your family will grill us as to why we came to India so suddenly. So when Suraj Chacha brought Victor's photo from Ashwin's and DJ confronted your mother, you just pretended to be shocked and betrayed and managed to draw sympathy from everyone. And later came up with the brilliant story of following Victor and his girlfriend and finding out all about her, on your own, when it was me who did all the leg work for you by meeting her "accidentally" at a cafe. I only had to prod gently without seeming to be curious, and she told me everything about her job interview, where she lived and even asked me to come and meet her freinds." Zoya said angrily.

"I know... I know.. I shouldn't have taken the credit for it....but what to do?? I had to prove to Bhai that I am resourceful....and that's where you got so pissed off with me, isn't it?. Even after she was kidnapped and held at Bhai's farmhouse, you wouldn't let me visit her even once. You took Ashwin with you, but not me. At first, I thought it was because you were still mad with me... But then I realised, it was something else!! Haha!! One thing is for sure, you girls become silly and jealous when it comes to other girls!" Loki smirked at her.

"Boo hoo.. I know your form too well Loki, God knows how many skirts you chased before you met me and how many after!" Zoya poked her tongue out.

"Hey...you are the love of my life sweetheart... I never saw another woman the same way once I met you. Why don't you trust me?"

"Oh really... what was all that flirting with those silly girls Misha and Sam?" Zoya fumed as she shut the lid of her suitcase with a bit more force than necessary.

"It was just role play. We knew those girls were crazy about Victor, right??They would have been suspicious if I was aloof with them. Just like you were playing around with that fool Dr Banerjee." Loki got up and hugged her from behind.

"Hahaha Dr Banerjee was a fool indeed... He was totally impressed by me in that interview. I loved those days, where my top grades in drama classes came in handy and I had to pretend to be someone else." Zoya's face broke into a wide smile.

"This was not the first time though.. you can really pull off anyone Zo... I used to be amazed by your acting skills back in Jersey too.. Remember that shopkeeper we fooled?" Loki Chuckled loudly and then added, "but acting like this sober and boring Anosha would have been hard, right? Especially both at the hospital and in the apartment block?"

"Oh yeah... those nosy neighbours.. Gawwd I hated them. And that silly girl Sam, she wouldn't leave me alone. Anosha.... do you want this? Can I help you with that? I used to control myself so hard not to scream at her to fuck off!! Well, luckily for us, no one knew how Anosha looked so I could pull it off, and your brother had all the contacts in the black market who could create all the necessary ID's which were almost identical to Anosha's and no one in the hospital  became suspicious."

She turned around and started playing with Loki's buttons.

"There were some great moments though... you and me sneaking off in the hospital and making fool of the staff and nurses about the gravity of your injuries. And of course all those training sessions with Ashwin.... That guy was an idiot and a coward but he was quite useful.. Do you think he is double crossing us?" Zoya asked as she turned her face upwards and locked her gaze with his.

"Well, I don't think so, but we can find out easily. Knowing his form, a few minutes of torture and he will start singing. He was a necessary tool in our overall plan and once we are done with him, I will make sure Bhai gets rid of him. He knows too much about us." Loki kissed her softly on the jaw.

"Absolutely. He is a threat for all of us. It's a pity that idiot Rajiv got away though! I was so sure I had him infected enough! But I miscalculated... I never thought he would come back to the same hospital and contact Dr Banerjee directly! If he had died then, we would have got access to that Goa file much earlier and prevented Tanvir's death. Although Tanvir was an oaf who let Anosha slip away from our farmhouse, I still felt bad that he died. He was a very useful man, wasn't he?" Zoya asked casually.

"Yeah, he was a very loyal man. And in our business that means a lot.." Loki slowly let go of Zoya.

As she walked towards the washroom to fetch her toiletries and other stuff, she asked, "Speaking of loyalty, that poor lamb Anosha was quite loyal too, wasn't she? I mean apart from saying some basic stuff, we didn't get much out of her about Victor. She was such a timid girl who barely fought when our guys kidnapped her near her as she was travelling to Victor's apartment, with all her belongings. Even after locking her up in the farmhouse, she would just sit in one corner and do nothing, not even try to escape. I think our guys got slack because of her behaviour. Do you have any idea how Victor managed to get her out of that farmhouse?"

"Yeah, I have been thinking about that a lot too... He wouldn't have done it personally because one of the guys would have thought it was me and mentioned it. He definitely has taken help of someone. Is it Sharmila or Monty or someone else in the agency? But how can they help him if they are in the safe house? It is so frustrating that I still don't know who they are! On that night when we got tip off about Tanvir at IB, I tried so hard to catch that bitch Sharmila, and ended up losing Tanvir. How would I know that Victor would be there? When Rajiv was too sick to climb the stairs, I asked him to rest up and assured him that I will go after Tanvir and catch him. When I met Tanvir, he was too angry and hellbent on chasing Sharmila. With difficulty, I managed to convince him that his life would be in danger if he doesn't make a run for it, and asked him to shoot Rajiv on his way. And I promised him that I will take care of Sharmila. You know... two birds in one shot... But that bastard Victor ruined everything there too... by the way, this is just between you and me. I haven't told Bhai or anyone that Victor shot Tanvir. They still think it is Rajiv. We will break it gently and that too at the right moment, okay?"

"You do know how to play them nicely to your tune, I must admit that..." Zoya chuckled loudly.

"No.. no.. I am just a loving family man Zoya! You know what your problem is? You analyse things too much! As you said before, I am not as smart as you. So I don't know all these manipulations or strategies." Loki winked at her.

"I know you too well, so please spare me from your innocent acts. A guy who can fool his boss and the entire team of Intelligence Bureau can fool anyone. If you put your mind to it, no one can beat you Loki. But you normally don't bother, because everything in your life so far has come to you on a platter."

"Hey! Don't say that! I had to fight tooth and nail with other prospective guys to be chosen by your father as your business partner. Hahaha.. I still remember the number of deals I had to close and the amount of coke and heroine I had to push in one single day to go up the ladder. Your father is really something Huh!!"

"Yeah.. he came into my life as a godsend after I have been through umpteen foster homes. His was the last foster home I have been in. His respectable job as a lawyer gave him a perfect front to run the drug business. And all those crooks that my father helped to stay out of jail, were his distributors and peddlers. There were around six foster kids with him including me back then and he would make us push so many drugs, and run competitions and would pay us very well too. Of course I was his best pupil. He was so impressed by me that he got rid of the rest of the kids and adopted me, to avoid any intervention from the state. All I ever cared was to have enough money to buy all the things I wanted... pretty clothes, shoes and the best makeup..never to impress any guy, because that's so boring. I just wanted to keep myself happy."

"We are birds of one feather, after all." Loki drawled, as he drew Zoya back into his arms.

"Except for one thing... you care too much about what others think of you, while I give a rat's shit.. Haha" Zoya wound her arms around Loki's neck and pulled his head down, hungry for his kiss.

*****.

^============^

How was that for a major revelation?

And most of my sleuths/readers have missed that major breadcrumb about Zoya acting as an imposter. Because it was so easy.. no one knew how Anosha looked, just the same advantage in a way that Loki had, because very few knew how Victor looked.

When I described about an innocent girl caught in between the world of spies and criminals for no fault of her own, in the blurb and prologue of my book, I was in fact talking about Anosha and not Misha as most of you thought.

And what a contrasting couples these two are?

IMO it is too early to call Victor and Misha a couple!
There's still a lot way to go...

I think two more chapters and you would know everything that I know about what happened in the past, so that we can move on with the story and get the real action started. Haha

Love to know your thoughts on this chapter... spam me and ask me anything..

Love
Sesi