Trisha.

"Aditya, if someone is watching us-"
I was still tensed.

"We are not being followed, I am sure" He said.

"You don't know the surya group as much as me, They are more twisted than you think"

"No worries, We have prepared everything" he said.

"What?" I asked him confused.

"You will see..." he said confidently and I was relieved.

"Ok..I will trust you then" I said.

So 10 minutes later, we were in the highway tollgate and even though it was late at night, there were plenty of vehicles around.

"Now" Aditya said and I didn't understand it.

"What-" I started, But was cut off when the crackers started to burst, Covering the area in smoke.

"What's. .what's that?" I asked, scared now.

"Don't worry, it's Aditi" he told me and I was still confused as Aditi ran to us.

"Let's go" She said before swinging her leg to the bike and placing herself in the middle.

"Hold tight!" Aditya shouted and I found myself tightening my grip on aditi.

"Here we go!" Aditya said as we speed through the confusion.

Arjun.

I lost them.

Shit!

So, this was their plan?

To create trouble and confusion and escape in the middle?

What's worse was; I was still stuck in the traffic jam, Thanks to them.

People were scared and Police was already there, investigating the explosion.

I mentally kicked myself again.

Even though I have noted the number of the bike, I knew that there won't be any leads on that.

The people who dared to pull off something like this in the public to shake off anyone following them will surely think of disposing the bike too..

Trisha.

It was past midnight when I reached the estate house and yet, They all were waiting for me.

Varsha hugged me tightly as I entered the hall where everyone was sitting.

"I am glad, you are ok, Trisha"She said and I was touched by her sincerity "You must be the first person to escape Mahesh like this" She added.

I knew that She must have been reminded of how mahesh hurt her in the past, So I hugged her back.

"I.am..I am glad to see you all" I said "Thank you guys" I said slowly.

"Trisha, we have been waiting for you to come, Did you have anything to eat?" Shahid asked me kindly.

I shook my head "No, But I'm not hungry-"

I stopped as varsha brought me food from kitchen.

"I made it for you" she said and I felt emotional suddenly.

I was alone from the moment I lost my parents, It was difficult for me to get through because I was close to them, I was not used to this kind of treatment for a long time now.

It felt like I have a family again.

"But where's puppy?" karthik asked me cheerfully, I feel that he has seen through my sudden mood change and he was deliberately trying to lighten up the mood.

"Puppy?" I asked him back.

"It's his nickname for Aditi" Aditya slumped to the worn out sofa next to shahid.

I laughed at that.

"But mind you, Karthik, You will end up in trouble if you keep on irritating her like this" Varsha warned him.

"She was the one who bit me twice, I still have the scar" He said and Aditi reached the hall and took her seat next to me and turned to him.

"Why don't you go home? Unlike everyone here, You have a house in the town where there's no danger" she said.

"Excuse me! This is also my house" He said incredulously and everyone chuckled at his tone "Besides I'm supposedly doing a secret project with my team, I can't visit my family house as easily now"he said "my dad is a police officer and my mom is the president of women's welfare club in my area-Very sharp,They can see right through me" he said.

I turned to Aditya.

"How did you think of creating such a disturbance in the public? It could have been serious if police...wait! What if we are caught in the camera-"

"Relax" shahid said "Nobody's going to get caught"

"We have done it before, Trisha" Aditi explained "as a dare and got away with it, It was easy this time" She said.

"As expected of you, puppy" Karthik said "You never fail to impress me."

"Is the police blood boiling for the injustice we caused?" Aditi retorted "you are the only one here who have so much faith in the police department" she said.

"Don't blame the whole police department, There are good officers too" karthik said.

"speaking of which, Thank you, Karthik" I said "if it was not for your idea to go and see your dad, I would have been dead by now" I said.

"I think it's high time we do something back" karthik said "rather than waiting and defending ourselves, We need to get back at them too"

I smiled.

"Dont worry" I said brightly "They are in for a surprise tomorrow, Truth magazine's first edition is being published tomorrow" I said "And surya group have a nice surprise waiting" I said.

"What's it?"

"The kidnapping" I told them "They arrested varsha from the hotel and told everyone that she was rescued by armed people while it was them, who handed her to mahesh's people, I have all the photographs of their operation"I said.

"Now that shahid confessed that varsha didn't kidnap him, Publishing this pictures will have double the effect"

"Even though you guys helped me to escape from mahesh's men, People don't have to know that" varsha said.

"You mean.." Aditya said "We are giving the first half of the story where they take varsha and handed over to the surya group while announcing that she's already escaped?" Aditya asked.

"Exactly" I nodded.

"It's a good idea" Aditya nodded, then looked at varsha "except that..we are exposing her too much, Her name is been dragged through the social media enough, She had had enough of these already" he said.

"Trisha already talked to me about this" Varsha said "I am fine with this Because it's better than the bad publicity I had before" she shrugged "Besides,This is the only thing I could do now, Even if I get killed, I need to expose them" She added.

Aditi.

I knew that she just said the wrong sentence and like I expected, Aditya looked at her angrily.

"What do you mean by that?" he demanded, looking angry "your life is only worth this? You want them to suffer at the cost of your life?" He asked.

"We are not doing a suicide mission here, keep that in mind everyone" Karthik said very seriously and shahid nodded.

"One of my reasons to stick together was to survive, I know that I can't survive alone, That's why I decided to do this with you all" he said.

"You can say that, You don't know what happened to me-"

"I suggest you stop it there, varsha" I said slowly "everyone here have had their problems and everyone was hurt by surya group"

"The only reason I'm staying alive is to find my pappa and get back at them" She stated and the room filled with silence.

Aditya raised up from his chair.

"What's that supposed to mean?" he asked.

"Aditya" I warned, I know what he's thinking now and I can't bear to think of it "she is just-"

"No Aditi, she meant it" he shouted "DO YOU KNOW THAT I REVIVED HER WHEN HER HEART STOPPED? AND AFTER WAKING UP, SHE TRIED TO COMMIT SUICIDE!!" He said.

"Aditya, calm down-"

"HOW CAN I CALM DOWN WHEN I SEE THIS,KARTHIK!" Aditya looked furious now "SHE DOESN'T KNOW THE VALUE OF LIFE, I HAVE BEEN ENSLAVING MYSELF IN THE EMERGENCY DEPARTMENT, FIGHTING TO SAVE LIVES AND...SHE THINKS IT'S NOTHING VALUABLE!"

"I am a girl Aditya, If you can't understand my situation, I don't have anything to talk to you now! It might be simple for you, but for me-"

"Nothing is important like your life, Varsha" he said deadly, Now turning to her "Everything else is simple to me, yes"

"Guys wait!" Trisha got up in between them, she turned to Aditya "I know this news might drag her name through media again" I said.

"But the only reason I had to do it is to clear any doubts that's attached to her name!" she said "Realeasing this news now will be more impactful as the people are already against the police after shahid's interview" she said. "They were asking the SI for explanation and imagine what will happen if the public knows about the police handing over a innocent person to the local goons" Trisha added.

"That's right, Aditya, trisha is right, We need to do this, People should realise that the police is not as dependable and safe like they think, at the same time, It's a blow to the surya group's police officers who claimed to be attacked" shahid spoke up.

"I know" Aditya said "I'm just angry at varsha's attitude, she's not giving any value to her life!" he said now trying to control himself and looked at her.

"I lost four...no, Five members of my family overnight, Varsha, Five.."he dragged off and my heart skipped a beat.

"Don't!" I said in a tone that was strange to my own ears, I don't want to be reminded of it.

Karthik.

Aditya looked angry and hurt, I guess thinking about the lost family members can do that to a person.

I turned to Aditi next, Who was looking at Aditya, Literally pleading with her eyes to stop.

It was not an expression I could imagine on her and I was surprised to find her so vulnerable.

"We lost-"

"Aditya.."

"Let them know what happened Aditi, Let them know what surya group-"

"They know already"

"They don't know the details" Aditya said and started.

"My Dad, mom, grandpa, Aditya and a maid were murdered that day" Aditya stopped.

"Uncle Prakash is the most bravest person I have ever seen in my life then, He had the sanity to treat...Aditi that moment, He..was a real doctor then, He didn't collapse at the sight of...Aditya..he..he checked the pulse and moved to Aditi"

I remembered the long white scar on her body again.

Surya group!

I fisted my hands tightly and tried to control my emotion as I watched her wipe her eyes.

"Aditya died because of me" Aditya whispered "and he's buried under my name-Rikesh Dhyani"

"You know that's not right, Aditya" shahid said sternly "he died because of surya group, Just like my jasmine" he added angrily.

"Just..like my..dad" Trisha whispered.

"I am..I am so sorry" varsha said.

And I felt their pain like my own.

"Get some sleep everyone" I said slowly "I know everyone is tired, But instead of sitting and waiting for what they are going to do next, Let's find a plan to counter attack" I said

"I need to find priyanka first, Izzy is with her" shahid said.

"I am worried about my pappa too" Varsha added "I feel that he's in danger"

"Kartik is right, Get a good night sleep first" Trisha said "And we will start planning our moves"she added.

Arjun.

"Who's this beautiful girl you got here!?"

I turned around when I heard karan's voice.

"When did you come?" I moved to my table.

"Quite some time, you were too busy staring at her photo" karan said and I raised my eyebrows.

"Since when did you start to be so carefree with me?"

"Now" he smiled sheepishly "But we are in the middle of Trishana case, why did you fix another picture at the target's name?" he asked me and I smiled.

"Take a closer look karan" I said and he moved near the glass board, confused.

"What do you mean?" he asked me "This is..wait!..Dont tell me she's..there's no way!" he said.

I smiled

"That's right, She's trishana hariprasad" I nodded.

"Then why would she hide herself in that baggy cloths?"

"That" I told him "you will have to ask her yourself" I said.

"You have no idea why she would disguise herself?" karan asked me incredulously.

"I have my guesses" I said "but-"

"Your guesses are true most of the time, tell me sir"

"What's the difference between these two pictures?" I lifted her old photo up.

Karan looked at the picture for a moment.

"The picture in your hand shows a serious, strict, No-nonsense type of woman with confidence" he turned to the project board "And this shows a sweet delicate girl" he said.

"Exactly" I said and karan nodded.

"I see what you mean!" he said "She changed her appearance for her career?"

"She changed her appearance to survive, to protect herself" I said.

"That does make sense" karan exclaimed "you are a genius sir" he said. "She have the reputation of a fearless truthful reporter and this image suits her well" he said, then looked at me.

"How did you find it?" he asked me suspiciously "it looks like a rare photo, it was me who did the file on her, I never found any pictures like this" he said.

"I broke into her house and-"

"You what!" he shouted "but you said-"

"Karan! You nearly broke my eardrums!" I looked at him sternly. "She has a secret room in her room and I want to get inside there"

"Tell me slowly sir" karan said "Secret room? She's outside most of the time, we can-"

"We can't just open it, karan, it's well guarded" I said ,remembering the locker "the locker didn't look the regular type and if I guess correctly, It will be linked to the alarm, I am sure that her father build it, it will be difficult to open it"

"Then what will we do sir?"

"Find me an expert who's knowledgeable in the field" I said and karan nodded.

"And get me all the details of the families of our victims for the last 10 years"

"What! if you want the details of victims of surya group, i can find it easily, but family-"

"It's the only way to find out the identity of trishna's gang"

"What do you mean!?"

"She said something yesterday, like they all are in similar condition, like they all were wronged by surya group"

"Still it's difficult to conclude"

"I Am positive that I am in the right track, karan, in her gang, we already know three people ,one; Trishana, her father was murdered, two-Shahid, his wife was murdered and three-Varsha, She was supposed to be dead, but she escaped" I said "so the other three persons we saw in that cctv footage will be similar too" I said.

"You are right" karan said "but it will take me a lot of time to go through all the cases"

"Focus on major cases first, Especially if the family have any persons in the age group 20 to 30, I Am sure you can find something in that"

Karan nodded "ok"

"Did you think about working for her?" I looked at him "it will be easier for us to keep an eye on her"

"How can I outsmart someone like her? besides, She is super careful even within her circle, She won't even accept me"

"Leave that to me" I said "I will make you an new ID, You just have to go and attend an interview"

"But I am not a journalist! I don't even know-"

"Your job will be the same" I told him "like how you are helping me here, It will be similar"

"Still-"

"Think about it karan" I said and turned my laptop to him where the city map was there "keep an eye on her" I showed him the red dot.

"You are tracking her?" his eyes widened.

"Her phone is switched off, I installed the GPS chip in her car that was in her house yesterday"

"It's not moving"

"Yea, That means she's not back yet, She is still with her gang"

"Ooh! that's awesome sir!" karan said "Good thinking"

"If something happens, Alert me first, Don't let Abiram or Mahesh know about this" I said

"I understand" karan nodded again.

Karthik.

I stopped on my way when I saw them on the stairs.

Varsha and Aditi was climbing the old unused stairs.

"There's only an old storeroom there, Don't go there" I told them "it's been ages since it was opened" I said.

"Oh..we were curious" varsha said as she turned back "come on Aditi, let's -"

"I want to see what's inside" Aditi said "we have nothing to do anyway" she shrugged.

I moved to the steps "You know, You are too childish" I told her "you want to go there just because I told you not to?" I asked her "I thought we resolved all the misunderstandings, Keeping a grudge like this is really petty puppy" I said.

"I am not your puppy" she snapped "I want to get inside and have a look" she said "come on varsha, we are already here"

"She's more sensible than you" I said and varsha raised up her hands.

"Guys, leave me out of this" she looked at us "karthik, you should stop making her angry all the time" she said "And Aditi, You should not treat him differently like this, he did something wrong, but he also came to save me"

"He kidnapped me! Don't forget that" She said.

"Yea, Solve it between yourselves" varsha nodded and walked back down, She gave me a stare that clearly said "Don't make her angry"

I smiled reassuringly at her before turning to my dear puppy.

"So, Are you still going to open that door?" I asked her and she turned to the old, heavy wooden door and started to open it.

I waited downstairs, watching her struggling with the door.

"It's heavy, You can't open it" I said.

"Can you do it?" she asked back.

"Why should I open a useless trapdoor-"

"Tell me if you can't do it, Don't tell me excuses" she said.

"What!?" I started to climb the stairs now "you think I cant open it?" I asked her.

"Show me then" she folded her hands across her chest and looked at me challengingly.

So I turned to the door and started to move it.

"I know you are trying to make me do it,still..." I pushed the heavy door to the side "since you are so interested in my storage room.." I gave it another push and it opened.

So the dark room was open at last. I looked sideways at her.

She was looking inside.

"So Aren't you going to take a look inside?" I asked her "Or...did you suddenly lose the confiden-"

"Ridiculous" she said and she stepped forward "why should I be afraid of an unused old room" she took my bait and stepped inside.

I smirked as I waited until she removed the spider webs and moved out of reach before closing the door back.

"Karthik!" she shouted and I laughed.

"Open this, it's dark inside, I can't see anything"

"Are you worried puppy?"

"Karthik, this is not funny! It's full of dust here-" she sneezed and I chuckled.

"You really wanted to see the room, right"

"Karthik, Don't make me...." her shout broke halfway.

"Mm? what happened?"

"Karthik" this time her voice sounded scared "Open..there's. .there's something here"

I smiled at her tone, now satisfied.

"Okay, let me see that brave face then" I pushed it open again.

"Aaah..."

She screamed and instead of coming to the door, she ran inside.

Then I saw something moving in the dark like a shadow.

"What happened? Aditi?..come on, let's close this back" I said as I followed her to the room.

The next thing I know, the room was full of her cries.

my heart skipped a beat.

"Aditi!" I called out as I heard sounds like she's fighting with someone.

I felt something black moving across my view.

"There's something..it's-" she was still jumping in her spot and I raised up my phone and saw something black on her side.

Bats!

"It's harmless, Stop screaming" I walked to her "Aditi, you are wearing a black dress..that's why-" I stopped as I saw her trying to tear her top.

"It's ok, please stop, it won't hurt you-" I stopped again as another one fly over us and Aditi, with a scream, wrapped her hands around my neck and pressed herself to me.

My phone dropped down and everything became blank.

I mean..everything, except..her.

The feel of her soft and trembling body against me brought feelings so strong that it surprised me.

It make me want to protect her fiercely, And it also made me feel a lot of other things-

"What's wrong?" I heard sounds from outside, everyone was on their way to the stairs.

"Aditi!" I registered Aditya's shout "what happened to-" Aditya stilled in the doorway.

"Karthik..Aditi..here's the light-" trisha stilled next to him.

And one by one, All of them were frozen in the doorway. It seems like they were not aware of the bats or the darkness inside, They were staring at the both of us.

I tried to loosen her grip on me, she neither opened her eyes nor she loosened the grip.

"Pu..ppy..?" I was put in a difficult spot now.

"Aditi" Aditya recovered first and came inside "let go-" he started to move a still frozen Aditi off me, but she pressed to me more like her life is depended on it.

I didn't dare to look at Aditya's face, Worried if he could see my protectiveness, I was surprised at myself.

"Open your eyes, Aditi!" I started to forcefully untangle herself from me-practically forcing her away from me.

she opened her eyes with a start and I realised that I have my hands around her middle, exactly where her shirt was rode up and I quickly let go of her.

Aditya took her overcoat from the floor and she jumped back

"No!" she exclaimed at the black cloth and it was hard for me to hide my chuckle.

Varsha, Trisha and shahid was still at the doorway so she pulled the coat with a force and started to wear it, not even looking at my direction for even a second.

Then after she was safe and okay, She gave me a 'I-dare-you-to-say-something' glare.

I turned sideways to see that Aditya was also trying not to laugh.

"Move back" she ordered us and Aditya moved out of the way.

She walked straight, without acknowledging anyone who was gathered at the door, then walked down the stairs.

As soon as she left, I saw that everyone was trying hard to keep
a straight face. Trisha and varsha looked at each other and smiled mischievously.

"Why did you come here?" Aditya looked around the room before turning to me.

"I told her not to..you know how stubborn she is"

"Mm?" Aditya raised his eyebrows and asked me rather mockingly.

"I mean..she was challenging me" I added quickly.

"Mm.." Aditya looked at me and nodded with double meaning and I realised that it's best to be quiet.

By the time I removed the spider web and come down stairs, Aditi was in front of the tv, too much "engrossed" in the news that's going on.

Karthik, if you are not careful, You are going to end up in big trouble..

------------------------------

Hey guys!

So let me ask you, How many of you are afraid of bugs? 😉 Do you have some interesting stories to share? 😃