Dhaula Kuan
DJ's Mansion

Where is Loki now? Did Zoya ask him to meet her at a particular place? If it was Victor who lured Zoya out of Dhaula Kuan, then he must have set up a trap for both Zoya and Loki. DJ rubbed his eyes in frustration of his so-called clever brother and his fiancé. Haven't they learnt anything from the experience in Goa? He would need to call all his teams for a back up right now.

DJ never maintained a list of things on paper or a computer. Thanks to his excellent memory, he would never forget a place or an amount of who is running which operation within his gang. He made a few calls using his old telephone and felt somewhat relieved.
Even if things go down in any way for Loki, he was prepared for such an emergency.

Just then, Sathu walked in, looking somewhat apprehensive.
"Bhai, Satish from Mumbai is here. I told him you were busy but he insists he has to see you."
DJ groaned inwardly. He knew that holding Satish here in Delhi while his boss Sharath  languished in a Mumbai jail was wrong, but what choice did he have?
He nodded his assent to let Satish inside, and Sathu went back, looking relieved.

"Bhai!" Satish greeted in a clipped tone as he walked inside.
"Come in Satish, please sit down." DJ pointed to a chaise lounge, a few metres away from his chair, but Satish ignored his gesture.
"Bhai, I can't be sitting here doing nothing when Sharath Sir needs my help in Mumbai." Satish began but DJ interrupted him midway.

"Don't I know Satish? Has there been a single day when there wasn't some sort of trouble recently? And we have been keeping tabs on Sharath from here, haven't we? He is following Lawyer's advice and keeping quiet. His next trial date is after fifteen days. I will travel with you to Mumbai once things are a bit settled here. You have a good team there who are..."

Satish stepped forward in agitation.
"My men are sitting idle having no supplies and you very well know how bad that is in our business? When we have no money coming in, people get shifty and change colours, and go work with our rivals!"
"Then Sharath is a fool to pick such men."

"Oh! you think your men are loyal to you, do you? Where is your brother right now?" Satish scoffed.

DJ got up so quickly for such a bulky man that even Satish stepped back in shock. DJ's men surrounded Satish with guns.
DJ came so close to Satish that a shiver ran through Satish's pine as he watched the controlled fury and malevolence in DJ's face.

"Just because I am being nice to you and sympathetic to the position you are in, don't take it as my weakness. And don't you dare use your filthy mouth to talk about my family."

Sathu yanked Satish's arms back but DJ signalled him to stop.

DJ heaved a sigh, as he tried to control his temper and when looked back at Satish, his face was devoid of any expression.

"Satish, I completely understand the frustration you're in. IB and RAW are looking all over for our gang, so I don't want you to go out anywhere on your own. I am not used to repeating my words but I will make an exception for you. Let's go to Mumbai together once I sort out the situation here. Till then you stay here under my guard, okay?"

DJ patted on Satish's shoulder but for Satish it felt more like a warning rather than reassurance. He understood one thing, if he wanted to stay alive, he better keep his mouth shut in front of DJ.

DJ looked at Sathu fleetingly as Satish took his leave.
"Sathu.. Gather our men from the NOIDA area. We might be going out today."
"Sure Bhai, but..." Sathu watched the expression on DJ's face and stopped.
"Will do Bhai, but what about Satish?"
"Do I have to tell you everything Sathu?" DJ smiled at his loyal henchman.
" Of course not, understood Bhai" Sathu's face broke into a glee as he walked out of the mansion.

Satish looked defiantly at DJ's men and their suspicious faces as he left the mansion. For some reason, his car wouldn't start at all. Satish began to suspect foul play till Sathu and his men came along, checked the engine and pushed the car for some distance, and helped to get the car started. Satish was forced to thank them and as he drove off towards his allocated accommodation, his mobile buzzed and he was surprised to see the caller ID. He stopped his car in the side lane and answered the call.

*****
2:30 PM
An Old Warehouse near the Delhi NOIDA Highway.

Sunlight filtered through the tall tree branches and cast shadows on the windows of the tiny abandoned shed built at the back of the old warehouse. Due to some legal disputes, the warehouse was left abandoned and even though it is surrounded by highways, it was well hidden due to the tall green trees that bordered the walls and the tiny shed.
Victor peeped through the window once again and was satisfied that their car was well hidden in the battered garage and their presence would not be noticed by anyone till they came all the way to the abandoned shed.

Every inch of him was screaming to leave that premises and go after Loki and DJ after he received the brief but fatal message from Sharmila sometime ago, just as they were reaching this warehouse.

"As I was following Jishu's car, Sam from our apartments saw me and it took me ten minutes to shake her off. By then Loki somehow ambushed Jishu's car and got hold of your mum and sister. Jishu looks injured. I am going there as Misha.  Will be in touch."
The moment he saw his phone buzz with a notification from Ms Snoopy his face broke into a soft smile. But as he read the message, his heart sank.

It took all the will power and the inherent training in him to look unperturbed to everyone sitting in the small confines of their car.

"Victor, what happened? Is everything okay?"
He answered Anosha's worried eyes with a reassuring smile.
"Nothing, just a small hiccup. Jishu may be stuck in the new safehouse for sometime. It seems Doval Sir came to our safehouse sometime ago and came to know that you guys were out and he is not happy."
Anosha raced the car ahead in panic till he and Monty asked her to calm down.

He turned to Monty and requested him casually,
"Monty, can you please take Anosha back to the safehouse as soon as you drop us here. Go to HQ and meet Doval sir in person. I will call him and explain what happened over the phone before that."

"But Victor, how can I leave you alone here with these two?" Monty hissed.

"Hey don't you worry about me. I can handle them easily. Anyway Sharmila will be coming here soon. We have to make sure Anosha is not seen by Zoya once she is awake."
Once he put it like that, Monty couldn't refuse.

After reaching the tiny shed in the warehouse, they tied up Suraj Singh and Zoya to the chairs, while apologising to the elderly man. Victor took Zoya and Suraj Singh's mobiles earlier and noted down DJ and Loki's numbers before turning them off. All that while his mind was churning with the same guilty thoughts that engulfed him after Goa. Because of him, so many innocent people who are closest to his heart are now in danger.

Once Monty and Anosha left, Suraj Singh asked Victor again, his tone almost dropped to a whispering level, as they didn't want Zoya to come out of her slumber.

"Beta, is everything all right?"
"Yes, Suraj Ji. In fact we might return Zoya back to DJ earlier than I had originally planned. Just make sure you play along, tell her that we came to meet my mother and sister suddenly and caught you in a surprise. You know this very well but I still want to emphasise, you have to do everything, everything to make sure you retain the trust of DJ and Loki till the end, no matter what happens." Victor tried not to sound desperate.

"Ofcourse beta, I understand. I have given my word to Suman Bhabhi..." Suraj stopped midway as he saw Zoya stirring.

Victor nodded his head, his mind still debating which option he should go for to tackle DJ and his brother.
"Victor, you may call me an old nagging fellow but I still feel that you are not telling me everything, Please, if there is anything I can help you with," Suraj Singh paused, and Victor burst out, unable to control his fury and frustration any longer, "Your information was wrong Suraj Ji.  Loki has kidnapped my Mother and Sister and injured my best friend Jishu.  I am sure he would not have done it without his big brother's help."

"Oh no... that's just so terrible."
Suraj Singh tried to get up from his confinement in agitation but slumped back as his bound state forced him to.

"Victor, DJ would not think twice to murder his enemy in their sleep but he always maintained one principle,thanks to Suman Bhabhi's upbringing,  that is to NEVER  target the innocent women and children of his enemies. Even when we went after Ashwin, he gave clear instructions never to touch his family. And I clearly heard him warning Zoya when she was suggesting something similar about your family. If Loki had kidnapped your family, it only means that he had done it on his own, without DJ's knowledge. Please trust me on this."

Victor couldn't ignore the honesty and confidence in Suraj Singh's voice. But this raised as many questions as it answered his doubts. Why did Loki take such extreme measures, without his brother's help? What game is he playing?

Victor definitely knew that there is a rift between the brothers, and this situation can probably be taken advantage of, once again. And why hasn't Loki called him yet, demanding the return of his girlfriend? Is he waiting for something or someone before he makes his move?
Just then Victor's phone buzzed with a message from Ms Snoopy aka Sharmila, this time with location coordinates of a farmhouse near the outskirts of Delhi, not too far from their warehouse along with a short message that he was desperately waiting for, "Jishu is conscious now and stable."

Victor's face cleared. He knew exactly what he had to do now.

Victor signalled mutely to Suraj Singh that he was stepping out and will be back shortly and left the shed to make the most important call.
Inside the shed,  it took a few moments for Zoya to come to her senses and understand where she was and why.
"Thank God! Zoya Beti, I was so worried about you." Suraj Singh exclaimed, the moment she turned her gaze on him.
"How could you let this happen Chacha? Victor was playing with us all along!" Zoya fumed.
Suraj Chacha began his well rehearsed recital of  what exactly happened.

****
Outside the shed, Victor paced furiously as he cleared his mind of anxiety and retained some composure before he made a call to his director Ajit Doval.
He knew Monty and Sharmila would probably be suspended from their jobs if Ajit Doval knew what they were helping him on. His first priority was to keep them safe, especially Sharmila who had already been through so much trauma.
So he did what he was best at, spin another story with half truths so that his real intention and his colleagues' integrity remained intact.

After the initial greetings, he began, "Sir, there has been a major problem. I was forced to use Sharmila and my friend Jishu's help to transport my family to the safe house and while they were going, DJ's brother Loki attacked them and...."
Victor listened calmly as Ajit Doval blasted him over his immature and extremely unprofessional behaviour as to why he took the help of his friends who were under IB protection to transport his family to safehouse.

With difficulty, he managed to interrupt Ajit Doval's barrage of outbursts to explain his side of story, even if it was only partially true.
"Sir, Zoya and Suraj Singh were trying to kidnap my mother and sister. I had to intervene and arrest them.  I felt relieved that I had saved my family just in time, and so instead of accompanying them to the safe house, I chose to bring the criminals to the HQ. But within a short time I got a message from Sharmila that..."

Victor gulped and took a deep breath.

"Okay Victor, I can understand. Please, control yourself." Ajit Doval's stern voice turned soft for the first time since Victor made the phone call.

But his tone reflected the same fury that Victor felt, as he continued,  "This is a nightmare of every agent. First Ashwin and now you. We must put an end to this menace right here and right now. And that Zoya too, how dare she inject Rajiv with an infected needle! What a family! Please bring both of them to HQ right now, I am sure Rajiv would want to interrogate her personally! But now that we know where Loki is holding your family hostage, I will send a team of men there right now."

"Sir please, can I make a small request?"
"Why do I have a feeling that I am not going to like what you are going say Victor?"
Ajit Doval sighed in exasperation which automatically brought a sheepish smile on Victor's face.

He began to talk in a low, clear tone and was relieved to hear his director's grunt of approval after his long monologue.

Victor thanked him once again, and he quickly went back inside the shed, making sure his face remained neutral as he faced the captive duo.
Now, all he had to do was kill time till he got a call from Loki and then plot his way to get his family back.

He stood in front of Zoya  and spoke in a contemptuous yet firm tone.
"Zoya. You have no idea how many charges IB is going to pile on you and Loki now that you are caught."
Zoya rolled her eyes and didn't bother to reply.
Victor slowly pulled another chair and sat on it, his eyes still riveted on Zoya.
"But, I might actually help you, if you are willing to help me."
Zoya's face broke into a sarcastic smile as she turned her gaze towards him.
"I can talk to my agency to drop charges against you for the kidnap of my friend Anosha Malik and your attempted murder of my colleague Rajiv, but you have to help me get Loki and DJ surrender."
Zoya chuckled loudly.
"Ah Victor!! They told me that you were an expert in lying but even a five year old would not believe the crap you just said."
"And what about me? Would I be let go? I have done nothing wrong!" Suraj Singh protested.

"Shut up you old fool! You tried to kidnap my mother and sister. My mother was careless enough to tell me that Suman ji was coming to the temple to see Di. But I knew something was fishy and was hiding behind the tree when you were trying to threaten them. I will make sure my lawyer slams you with every possible crime and puts you behind bars for twenty years!" Victor's flushed face was matched by his furious tone and Suraj Singh felt terrified, even though he knew Victor was putting on a show.

"You were supposed to wait for me, till we cornered them, you idiot!" Zoya hissed at her so-called partner who looked deeply offended by her disrespectful tone.
"Shut up, both of you!" Victor yelled and Zoya looked back at him in contempt.
"I am not trying to fool you or anyone with false offers. We are interested in the bigger picture here, to stop the supply of arms to terrorists and the Drug Mafia which is ruining our cities and its families. I want to put DJ behind bars, forever, and to achieve that if I have to sacrifice insignificant people like you, I don't care. Do you understand?"

Zoya hated the feeling that she was just a pawn in their game and remained defiantly mute.
Just then, Victor's mobile rang and he was relieved to see that it was a call from an unknown number. If his guess was right, it must be from Loki.
As he swiped up to open the video call, he saw the beaming face of Loki.
"How are you Victor? Remember that little video message you sent to me a long time ago? When I was having dinner with your sexy girlfriend? Okay, it is my turn now. But this time it is going to be a little bit more personal."

Victor's hands gripped his phone tightly as the camera zoomed over the terrified faces of his mother, Di and of course Jishu who was lying on a sofa. Next to him, there was another girl in a nurse's uniform. They all seemed to be in a cramped room with storage boxes with a small window. Victor's nostrils flared as he watched the smug smile on Loki's face  and the horror on his captives', sitting helplessly behind him. But where was Sharmila?

Perhaps he failed to hide his anxiety or Loki could shrewdly guess what he was thinking about, Loki replied with a grin,
"Don't worry I have given a sedative to your girlfriend as she was talking too much and draining my energy. God knows why you chose such dumb female but perhaps that's how you boost up your ego, right?"

"Shut up Loki and don't do anything stupid. I will track your phone down in five minutes and surround wherever you are hiding with my whole team. I never thought you would stoop to such a low. Kidnapping your enemy's family to get to them, wow! Is that all your pea size brain could come up with?"

Loki's face turned red as he walked away to another dark room, with his phone zoomed on his face.
Victor could not make anything about the room except it had bright long curtains at one end.

"I don't think you have any right to lecture me on morals after what you did with Zoya. I saw everything from the Ambulance! If you had not done that, I would have hunted you down personally instead of ambushing your family. Where is Zoya now? Show her face, you  bastard!"

Loki's accusatory tone prompted Victor  to laugh so loud that Loki looked unnerved.

"I just can't help but wonder how an intelligent girl like Zoya picked you for a boyfriend or were you just her errand boy in Jersey? Can you stop using  others' strategies and then boast about them as your own ?  I know that you are not capable of such schemes and your so-called girlfriend just confirmed that it was her idea to kidnap my family all along. In fact, she was almost successful today but unfortunately for her, I felt something was fishy and went to the temple just in time and rescued my family, catching that dirty old man Suraj Singh and Zoya red handed. So, please clear the extra fluff off your non-existent brain which makes you think I did something wrong."

Victor felt enormous satisfaction as he watched Loki's face flush with indignation. He knew flaring up Loki could be a bad move but he couldn't help venting off all the fury that was bottled up inside him, against Loki and DJ.

"Loki ... Loki please don't believe a word of him, I never said it was my idea." Zoya's voice boomed from behind.

Victor chuckled loudly and turned the phone so that Zoya and Suraj Singh would be in the viewing frame along with him.

"Bastard, let go of her! How dare you tie her up like that?" Loki snarled.
Victor turned to look at Zoya and asked in a seemingly casual tone. "Why does your boyfriend keep calling me a bastard? Does he even understand what that implies?"

Zoya for the first time became tongue tied as she too didn't know how to answer Victor without offending Loki.

Suraj Singh chipped in, as he tried to diffuse the tension.
"Loki Beta, please come and save us from here. We are in some sort of a warehouse."

"Shut up!" Victor roared and Suraj Singh cowered down like a terrified mouse.
"Chacha, I don't have to come there. If Victor wants to see his family alive, he will bring you both here safely and beg for my mercy." Loki declared.
Victor rubbed his chin just to keep his hands busy as he was sorely tempted to cut the call.
Then someone's words spoken in a soft voice came back to him... "But I want my Victor back, the cool and calculated one. Because without him, we don't stand a chance"

Victor took a deep breath and replied in a detached tone, " My mother has health issues. Please make sure she has something to eat and takes her medicine on time. Di knows all the details and I am sure she always keeps some spare medicines with her for emergencies like this.  Whatever our enemy ties I hope you are humane enough to make sure my mother does not suffer further trauma."

Loki looked away with almost an eye roll but when turned his gaze back, he nodded his head faintly.

Victor's face relaxed momentarily. "Coming to the part of me handing over  these two criminals in exchange for my family, I don't...."

"This is not for you to decide at all, Victor. And don't even dream of involving any of your colleagues from IB, because if you do, I will make sure that there would be nothing but dead bodies to carry back. Do you remember that night in Goa, when I was standing right behind you, with my gun pointing to your head?.I hesitated just for a moment, and I have regretted it ever since. But this time I won't hesitate, especially when it comes to your dearest Di."

"Loki beta No...." Suraj Singh protested loudly. "Please don't even think of such evil things. She is your sister too and DJ's. Imagine how DJ will feel when he comes to know you even mentioned such evil things."

Loki replied curtly,
"Chacha, please don't interfere in things which are beyond your understanding. Victor, I will be waiting for you, make sure you bring them here safely. And if you try to do something stupid, let me warn you right now that my men will make sure you wont even reach here."

The video call ended but Victor kept staring at the phone for a few seconds before turning his attention back on to his captives.

Suraj Singh opened his mouth to say something but Zoya stopped him gently.
"Chacha, there is no point. Things have spiralled out of our control now."

Suraj Singh's face paled as he heard Victor speak to someone on the phone,
"Yes Manish. Track the call to my phone. It went on for more than three minutes so you should be able to pinpoint the nearest towers and the approximate radius area. I have already spoken to Doval Sir. Yes... Yes, all the teams will head to the target location once you confirm it. I am on my way too."

*****. 
Dhaula Kuan. DJ's Mansion.

Sathu fitted the earpiece correctly in DJ's ears,  who began to hear every word of Satish, thanks to the tiny mic placed by Sathu, inside Satish's car.
DJ's colour changed as he listened more of the one sided conversation which nevertheless gave enough information as to what was going on.
Loki had kidnapped Victor's family and is hiding them in their NOIDA farmhouse. He had asked Satish to join him immediately and to bring as many men as possible with him, but to make sure that no one else, especially DJ, would come to know about it. For his cooperation,  Satish was going to be rewarded handsomely with cash and help in getting Sharath Nair released from Jail.

The moment Satish ended the call, DJ took off the ear piece and demanded, " who is tailing Satish?"

"Dont worry Bhai, I have sent my brother Hari and two other guys after him. We have also put a GPS tracker in his car. He will not be out of their sight, no matter what."
"Hmm... are our cars ready? Have you asked everyone I mentioned to join us?"
"Yes Bhai, the whole convoy is ready, waiting for you and your orders." Sathu replied readily.

DJ nodded his head as he began to plan how he was going to follow Satish and reach Loki as quickly as possible.

Just then, DJ's home phone rang and he picked up the phone almost as a reflex action. By the time he realized who was on the other end, it was too late.

"Hi DJ, I am so glad  that I am speaking to you directly like this, although I would have preferred if it was in person, in an interrogation cell with you and me across the desk." DJ closed his eyes in frustration as he heard Victor's husky yet commanding voice.
"Just when I thought you could stoop no further, you surpassed yourself by kidnapping my mother and sister along with my friends. Bravo!!  First you send your loyal dog and your brother's girlfriend to do the job, but once I stop them, you come up with plan B and do it yourself. I must say that I didn't  see that coming. You brothers must be feeling really proud of yourselves today, right?"

DJ opened his mouth to protest swiftly but then held back. If Victor is assuming that they both did this together, then let him do so. If one of his family did this atrocity, then he had to bear the guilt of it, somehow.

Instead of replying to Victor's taunt, DJ asked with gritted teeth, "What do you want?"
'Me? oh... nothing! I just called to give you  the same warning that I gave your brother some time ago. My whole team is on its way to take Loki out of his hiding. If he is foolish enough to think that he would get away with holding my family as ransom in return for me handing over Zoya, he must be barking mad."

"If you are finished, I will have to hang up. Unlike you, I am a busy man." DJ scoffed.
"True, holding your dim brother's hand as he blunders his way through things he has no idea about , might be time consuming and draining at the same time. I will leave you to it then. Just remember this, no matter how many men you got there, we will finish you off and your brother today. Whether it is the police or an intelligence agency, we never forgive criminals like you who target one of us or our families."

DJ chuckled softly.
"That's the difference between you and me Victor. I never give warnings."
DJ hung up the phone and turned to his men, asking them to follow him.

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

I am feeing tired and so even though I want to write more,  I finished the chapter here on a nice cliffhanger. LOL

Hope you enjoy reading this chapter and if you have any doubts or criticisms, please feel free to share.
Thanks for supporting me and my tiny story. It means a lot.