Abandoned Warehouse

Outskirts of Delhi

=============

Victor's mind was rattling with questions,

What did DJ mean when he said he would not give any warnings? What is he up to? Is he planning a major offensive against the IB team when they plan to arrest Loki? Victor kept thinking of every possible action DJ might take. Whatever they might be, he and his team have to face them head on, for they had little choice.

He diverted his attention towards more important and urgent tasks.

He called Jishu's mother.

After a few rings, his call was picked up.

He tried very hard to sound casual and cheerful as he began, "Maami, How are you? I hope that fabulous nurse of yours is taking good care of you. "

"I am fine Chotu, How are you? Oh yes, Lily was here earlier to give me a monthly injection. She has this fabulous knack of feeling I don't know if I can talk about this on the phone, but do your Maa and Di like the new house?" she asked with a chuckle.

Victor felt as if his throat got constricted.

He didn't want to lie to a pure soul like her but at the same time he couldn't tell her anything, at least right now.

He took a deep gulp before he answered, "they have not seen it yet Maami, but I am sure they will love it. There's been a slight hiccup."

"Oh...Ohkay," There was a long pause before she continued, "Now I understand why you called me."

Victor hastened to add, "Maami, Jishu is absolutely fine. He and others are just stuck with a few things, that's all."

He heard a sigh of relief and Maami's voice sounded as calm as ever. "I am sure he is fine. Remember Chotu, he volunteered for this and no matter what he has been through, he is a police inspector at heart. He wouldn't have felt happy sitting idle, while you and your team were working so hard."

Victor's brow cleared as he closed his eyes for a moment.

"I agree Maami. I never said this to him but I think we both know how proud I am of him. He went after these bastards back in Kerala and suffered so much. I am going to make sure all his efforts didn't go wasted. I will give them the punishment they deserve for their crimes."

"Good Luck Chotu."

Long after he ended the call, Maami's words kept ringing in his ears, as he went through the motions of leading his captives towards their parked car. He made sure the bindings on Zoya's arms and legs were tightened and covered, and pretended to do the same for Suraj Chacha too, before buckling them to their seats.

Once he locked the car and made sure his prisoners had no way to escape, he looked around, making sure they were still well hidden.

He only had a brief text from Sharmila. He was still worried how she was coping under such stress. He knew he could not call but if only she could find a way to message him, away from the sharp eyes of Loki...

His phone buzzed and the moment he saw the sender's name and message, his face relaxed.

"Mr Barista.." it began

"Someone recently told me that you were missing me a lot.

I got stuck in a spot with low network coverage where

I can't watch youtube and netflix.

So I thought, let me text you and make you happy.

How are you?"

He began texting rapidly, as his heart suddenly felt lighter.

"Ms Snoopy!

I do miss those old times when we chatted so happily!

You still remember my brew ?

As I have always said, I am the best when it comes to Coffee.

My new brew is almost on the way,

If everything goes as planned,

the brand launch will happen soon

Thanks to my new girlfriend, who is helping me a lot."

He expected a speedy reply and he wasn't disappointed.

"You and your imaginary girlfriend again, huh!

I pity her, sincerely!"

Victor could only imagine the smirk on Sharmila's face as she typed it.

When this traumatic situation ends, he would take her to his secret relaxation hideaway in Wangdue Phodrang, Bhutan for a month-long.... holiday. The isolated eco-friendly cottage built on a hill was surrounded by waterfalls and the Owner always ensured Victor had absolute privacy. Within a few days or so with him, she would surely realize what an excellent boyfriend he would be!

Snapping his mind back to the more urgent matters on hand, he typed on

"I heard you took a new part time job.

For a lazy bum like you, that must be hard.

How are you coping?"

He felt enormous satisfaction as he typed the words lazy bum as knew what reaction it would evoke on her face.

"What did you call me? ^!@#

Seriously! I don't even know why I bother about you sometimes!

Anyway...

Job is great!

Whenever I get bored,

I take sickies and spend time with family and friends. LOL

My Boss is a nice guy

It's a new startup that he has launched to be independent

Rather than work for some BIG Company

He's always busy making calls to expand his network.

Talking of brand launches, our new launch is going to be so grand and massive.

A lot of ex his colleagues who were equally dissatisfied are joining him

From Kerala, Maharashtra, Rajasthan,

Cool, huh?

Anyway I gotta go. Ttyl"

"Hey wait!! When are we going to meet?"

He texted in a hurry.

Victor hoped Sharmila would get how much those words meant even during their role play.

But he didn't get a reply. Maybe someone came along and Sharmila had to hide her phone away.

Victor's mind went into a frenzy as he deciphered the meaning behind Sharmila's idle chit chat.

Is anyone from Sharath Nair's gang here to help Loki?

He could only think of Satish, who must have received the entire blame for the trick he pulled on the whole gang back then in Mumbai!

Independent.... Massive launch....

Victor's eyes brightened with excitement as his hunch about Loki turned true.

Loki has got a bigger ace up his sleeve all along. He would not have taken such a bold move to slip under brother's radar to get out of Dhaula Kuan and come after his family, unless he knew he had a back up.

Victor hated the fact Loki came to the same realization as him that it was impossible to take on DJ in Dhaula Kuan.

Which only means... he had been planning to draw DJ out of his safehaven to take over DJ's empire, and the kidnap of Zoya had only preempted him to act faster.

Massive... exactly how many men are supporting Loki?

Should he change his plan of action that he discussed with Director Ajit Doval? Victor hesitated only a moment before deciding not to.

The fact that Loki is planning to take on DJ at the same time in fact is a blessing in disguise.

He began to make a few calls to improvise his plan.

Finally he texted the man who was his secret soldier all along, to put the final piece of his plan in place.

*****

Dhaula Kuan.

Satish parked the car in the underground car park of the apartment block, fully aware that DJ's men were watching his every move unobtrusively.

He wiped an imaginary speck of dust on his bright red and black check shirt as he made his way upstairs towards his allocated accommodation, a neat two bedroom apartment.

Everything was happening just as Loki had predicted. A sly smile spread on Satish's face as he unlocked the door and closed it behind him.

He had been sweeping his whole apartment every day to make sure there were no tracking listening devices hidden inside.

He even bribed his watchman to keep a look out so that none of DJ's men come anywhere near it, ever since he had the most extraordinary and liberating discussion with Loki, almost a week ago, when he went to confront DJ again as to why they were sitting idle instead of helping their boss Sharath Nair.

While DJ gave some cock and bull story to appease him and sent him back, Loki was waiting outside the mansion in a corner, away from the hawkeyes of DJ's followers.

Loki led him towards an old garage at the end of the street and they spoke for exactly ten minutes, but it was enough to convince Satish that Loki meant every word he said.

Satish was initially shocked to hear it but then it made absolute sense.

Loki wanted to take over the business empire of his big brother, by killing him, as there was no other way.

Satish tried to understand the pent up frustrations of Loki as he explained how he was sick of being ordered around, controlled and never to have his voice heard by DJ, who only disguised his control under brotherly love.

Loki was sure that DJ would never ever give up or share his control over his enormous empire, with his little brother.

But Dhaula Kuan was DJ's fortress and the people in that Suburb are his army. No one can take him out if he is safely cooped up in his mansion.

As Loki explained his elaborate plan to drag DJ out of Dhaula Kuan and sought his gang's help, Satish hesitated only for a moment. Since Loki assured that Satish will be made in charge of Mumbai's drug business till Sharath Nair would be released from Jail and their gang will keep all the profit share. Rest of the regions, things would continue the way they are, for now, till Loki established his control over the empire.

Satish looked at it as a win-win situation, and agreed immediately. His Gang was desperate, stripped of every income and were on their way to defect to rival gangs, purely for survival.

He knew how much Sharath hated DJ and his domineering ways and he was confident that his boss would approve of joining hands with Loki.

And so their preparations began.

Loki transferred crores of rupees into Satish's account so that he could first satisfy his members and convince them to join their plan.

Slowly, they began to arrive in Delhi, in twos and threes so as not to raise the suspicions of NCB of the Mumbai police, and through their old contacts in the Delhi area, get some local smugglers to join their side as well, along with arms supplies.

DJ and Loki's problems gave the perfect diversion for Satish and his gang to work silently, But communicating and gather his men, with raising any suspicion of DJ's gang was nerve wracking as hell but Satish somehow managed it, and even felt proud of himself and his men who were brave enough to venture into DJ's territory.

They were expecting more men to join them, in the coming days and Loki was waiting for the perfect moment to strike, but Zoya's stupid and hasty move almost ruined everything.

Still, Loki thought this was for the best and converted the setback into an opportunity.

The moment he got hold of Victor's family, Loki called Satish, for he knew how little time they had to put their plan into action.

Satish followed Loki's instructions meticulously and ordered most of his men to reach the Farmhouse where Loki was heading to with every firearm they could get their hands on.

The rest would be waiting for DJ and his gang to arrive, and ambush them.

Loki knew that Victor and his IB team would come after him, but he was hopeful that they would go after DJ's gang once he lays false trails for Victor too.

Satish's role was simple. To distract DJ and his men as long as possible, and separate them into different groups, so that Loki and his gang of men could confront and overcome a weakened DJ, outside his stronghold.

Accordingly, he reached DJ's Mansion and made a big scene, just to enrage DJ and his followers. He was sure that from that time onwards, DJ would his men to stalk him wherever he went. Loki hinted that they might use GPS trackers too and audio devices too and Satish understood why Sathu and his men went to such lengths to push his car and help him.

He smiled inwardly and let them help, and drove towards his apartment, while making sure that Sathu's brother Hari and his gang were following him.

As agreed before, Loki called him.

Satish acted as he was surprised to see the call and stopped the car in the side lane, and made sure he spelt out the address of the NOIDA farmhouse where Loki was supposed to be hiding.

Loki was in fact made sure he and his captives were safe in the highly secured Farmhouse on the outskirts of Delhi, which was twenty kilometres away.

Sathish's job was to lead DJ's men toward the NOIDA farmhouse, where his gang were waiting to ambush them, and if they were stopped by the IB team even before they reached there, that would be the best outcome possible.

*****

DJ's Mansion

Dhaula Kuan

DJ checked with Sathu and other members once again.

Sathu's brother Hari and two other men were waiting outside Satish's apartment for any sign of movement.

Rest of his gang were in their cars, ready with their arms and prepared for every kind of situation.

DJ walked towards the dining table and drank a glass full of water, hoping it would help his parched throat and the sickening feeling inside him, that he had been fighting to suppress all along, while appearing composed and in command  in front of his men.

Ever since he heard that Loki had taken Victor's family as hostage, he just felt gutted. Every time he thought Loki wouldn't stoop so low in his tactics, his little brother had proved him wrong.

His mother Suman had been right all along, he didn't know what Loki was capable of! He knew he had little right to pick on other people's morals but at the same he felt guilty as to what kind of monster they have raised!

He had no scruples when it came to the tactics he employed for his business but he always knew where to draw the line. Never touch the innocent families of your enemies, especially women and children.

For the first time, he felt a pang of pity for Nirmla, Victor's mother. How terrible she must be feeling now, to be abducted by her own flesh and blood? And to think that her daughter Arunya was also with him, suffering in captivity.

His little sister!

Blood rushed to his face as he could not control the rage he felt towards Loki.

Loki is doing all this for what? To save his stupid girlfriend and take revenge on Victor, who is also his twin?

Why couldn't Loki leave this to him? Has he completely lost faith in his big brother?

What would he say to his mother?

Much to his horror, his mother Suman walked in just then and as he watched her grief ridden wrinkled face, he didn't want to cause extra pain to her.

He cleared his throat nervously.

"Maa... I am going out on some urgent business. I might be a bit late. Please take your meals and medicine on time, okay?"

"You are going to help Loki escape, are you?" Suman asked him in a toneless voice.

DJ wondered how perceptive his mother was, and why he bothered to hide things from her.

"Of course Maa, what else do you expect? He might be stupid enough to think he can take IB agency on his own, but I can't let my little brother get captured by those vultures. Surely you don't want your son to go to jail, do you?" He asked incredulously.

"What I want and what exactly will happen might be entirely different. There is no need to hide your little brother's dreadful acts as impulsive behaviour. He knows exactly what he is doing. And I am beyond feeling pitiful for him right now."

Suman bent her head down, as if in despair.. But as she looked up, DJ saw her eyes webbing as if all the pent up grief had finally burst open.

She walked unsteadily towards him.

"But I have full confidence in you, Dhanno. You will take care of our family, no matter what. I am just scared, that's all. What I have been dreading all along has finally come true. Suraj Bhai, he is a kind man who helped us all along, and now he is in danger too. It is all my fault, actually."

Tears began to stream along Suman's saggy cheeks and she made no attempt to stop them as she approached her son and hugged him gently.

"Maa, nothing will happen, trust me. I will make sure Chacha is okay."

"What must Nirmal ji must be thinking of me! That I raised her son to become a monster like this, who goes to any lengths to get his revenge. And my poor Daughter!" Suman cried out aloud.

"Maaa please! Don't I know. I will take care of her. I promise! Loki... he is just"

Just then Sathu rushed inside and hesitated as if he didn't want to intrude in their private grief.

Suman pressed DJ's hand in hers gently before moving away from him, as DJ turned towards Sathu.

"Bhai, Hari just called. He saw Satish get into his car in a hurry and rush off. Satish got a call from..." Sathu stopped, unsure whether to continue in front of DJ's Mother.

"Okay, let's go." DJ followed Sathu towards the front foyer where all his men were waiting.

As Sathu opened the door of his bullet proof all wheel drive, DJ got in. He felt a pang as he turned to look at the empty seat beside him. Many times he was accompanied by Tanvir and Suraj Chacha whenever he went out. Sathu walked around the car and sat in the passenger seat next to the driver.

"Tell me exactly what Satish said"

"Bhai,  as you asked our guys made sure they were well hidden but still could see Satish rushing towards the car in the carpark. They were lucky that Satish is wearing a bright red shirt,  as it made tracking him easy. Anyway, shortly after he got into the car, he got a call. We all could hear what Satish was saying. Loki called and from their talk we could understand that Loki asked Satish and his men to come straight away as he needed help urgently. There was a bit of panic as he thought that Victor's team might be coming sooner than expected. Few minutes later, Satish's car came out and Hari has been following him since. They are on the main road right now and moving towards the ring road."

"Hmmm... " DJ felt something was odd but brushed off his doubts and signalled to the driver to start.

"Did you call that useless Shinde in IB and ask him to do what I said?"

"Yes Bhai, he was too scared initially but we threatened him enough and he listened. He met our guys and took the package and we explained clearly what to do. One of our guys is outside the IB office too and waiting for things to unfold."

"Good, that will keep them busy for some time."

As their car joined the rest of his convoy, DJ let his unease subside and concentrated on what he must do once he meets Loki.

******

IB Headquarters,

Lodhi Road, Delhi

Monty didn't bother to wipe the sweat off his forehead as he watched their director pace the floor angrily. Even Rajiv who was standing next to him was speechless. Apparently he too had never seen Ajit Doval so angry. They were in their Director's room along with Manish, Mohsin Khan and other IB Agents,  waiting to hear from the Commander of the local Anti terror squad and the police commissioner.

Monty's mind felt numb as to how the events took such an ugly in such a short time. He dropped Anosha at the safehouse and arrived at the headquarters just as Victor advised. On his way he got the dreadful message from Sharmila that Loki had kidnapped Victor's family. He felt terribly guilty and ashamed.

All their well intended plans to capture Zoya had backfired on them, thanks to Loki.

He was at least thankful that he didn't have to break the bad news to their director as he listened to Victor getting blasted on the phone.

He just wished Victor didn't take the whole blame on himself though. If it wasn't for their insistence that Victor go ahead with his plan B, none of this would have happened. His guilt deepened as he thought of his partner Sharmila and wondered how she was coping! And poor Jishu!

He shook off his depressive thoughts as Ajit Dova's mobile buzzed once again and realized that the call was from Victor.

From the way the irritation in Ajit Doval's voice lowered as the call went on, Monty began to feel hopeful again.

Finally Ajit Doval chuckled, which sounded like music to Monty's ears.

"Hmmm.. looks like their infighting for supremacy is going to make it easy for us. Good! Excellent news! So where is Satish right now?"

Ajit Doval listened once more silently as he beckoned for a pen and paper.

Monty hastened to give his pen as Ajit Doval scribbled some address and number on a notepad on his desk.

He turned to Mohsin and gave the scribbled note to him. Mohsin quickly read the note, nodded his head and left the room with Manish.

Ajit Doval turned to Rajiv.

"How are we doing with Shinde?"

"We have kept him under observation ever since I found out he was the one who leaked the information about our agents going to BMS hospital. As we predicted, DJ's gang got in touch with him again today and asked him to do something. I am suspecting that Shinde does not even know what exactly DJ had planned with him but we are letting him go along. The moment he tries to do anything suspicious, we will catch him red handed and put him behind bars. A couple of DJ's men are waiting outside our office as we speak. Sunil and Priya are keeping their eye on them. The moment we give them the all clear, they will arrest them."

"Good. Let DJ think till the last moment that he is in control of things. We are just waiting for his gang to pass Dhaula Kuan and then we will plan our attack. We expect Loki to be well backed up by Satish's gang in the farmhouse, so half of our team will go there to help Victor, but the rest of our team along with ATS commandos and police will nab DJ and his gang."

Monty thought it was the right moment and braced himself to speak.

"Sir!"

Ajit Doval shifted his sharp eyes towards the nervous rookie.

"Sir, I would like to be part of the team who is going to help Victor."

"No Monty. I don't want anything to happen to you. Zoya already knows your face. You will be part of the surveillance team."

"Sir, please ! I don't care. My partner is stuck there fighting bravely and I need to be helping her. This is not personal Sir, but I need to make sure we put an end to Loki and his gang. That bastard killed Nanda Sir and their gang nearly had both of us in Goa. I can't be sitting here while they... Rajiv, please back me up here." Monty looked pleadingly towards his senior.

Rajiv took a deep breath and began, "Sir, I think Monty has a point. For now Sharmila is safe as Loki suspects nothing. But that bubble may burst any time. Monty knows Sharmila well as they have worked together for so long, and if things go down at the farmhouse, it is better to have someone who can second guess the moves of people stuck inside. I think I can work with him well in helping Victor."

"Hmm... Guys I know this whole operation has affected you all personally, but of course none of us can comprehend what Victor is going through. I want you to be his controls, help him every way you can but where necessary, stop him from doing something stupid. I know he is a very capable guy but everyone is bound to make mistakes, as we have seen so far." Ajit Doval gave his tacit approval for Monty and Rajiv.

"Of course Sir, we will. Thank you." Monty dared to smile for the first time and hurried Rajiv to leave the room before Ajit Doval changed his mind.

******

As their Car reached the end of the main road of Dhaula Kuan, DJ reminisced about all the events that happened that day and wondered where his unease and doubts were stemming from.

Then he recalled his first and only conversation with the infamous Victor.

Why did Victor call him personally? It was highly unusual and frankly unnecessary. He always thought Victor was someone who loved giving surprises to his enemies, so why the call to warn him that he was going after Loki?

DJ looked around as their car entered an intersection.

Half of his men have already entered Ring road and are chasing Satish's car.

DJ's car was surrounded by four other cars in the three lane road, as they waited for the traffic signal to turn green.

Why did Loki call Satish again when he already knew Satish was going to come? And this sudden panic that Victor's team was coming earlier than expected... How could it be? IB would need time to gather their sources for any operation and he knew Shinde would do the needful to stall them as long as he can. What changed then?

It still hurt him to think that Loki would rather take help from Satish than him to finish Victor and his IB team. Bur he felt equally frustrated at Loki's impulsive tactics. His brother is not that stupid to think he can take on IB and their sister agencies with the help of hired goons and mafia!

DJ felt as if he was being forced to play the game as per others' moves.

The signal was still red.

Everyone is after Loki, so he must go and save him at any cost but of course....

As he watched the Red signal for one more second before it turned finally green, everything became clear to DJ. His face convoluted with a mix of hatred and fury.

"STOP!!" He yelled at the Driver.

"Ask everyone to stop and turn around, RIGHT NOW" He ordered.

"What happened Bhai?" Sattu asked nervously but conveyed DJ's orders anyway.

Since everyone in Dhaula Kuan knew it was DJ's car, they cleared the path so that their cars could turn back.

"Tell others on the ring road to come back also." DJ ordered.

"Where are we going Bhai?" Sattu asked nervously.

DJ's face lit up with a triumphant smile as he mentioned their destination.

*****

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

Okay dearest readers.. 

Apologise once again for the delay and please excuse me if there are any typos. I hurried  again to finish off the chapter today.

I hope you are enjoying the plots and counterplots that everyone is pitting against each other. Any doubts or suggestions, please feel free to share with me.

As always, I love to hear your thoughts.

Sesi