Unlike when Bhairavi had strolled inside the hospital barely half an hour ago, the coast- as they had tried to get around to investigate- was swarming with people. Luckily, the white cab still seemed to be parked a little away from the parking lot, just where Dheera had left it. 

The duo watched the halls and wards empty out as the staff, except security, hurried to finish what they were doing before making their way toward the entrance.

"Sonia left a few hours ago. I think she must have gone to escort her husband to the hospital. For a busy man, senior Raina never fails to visit this hospital." Anjani reckoned; keeping her wits about, she passed the now empty corridors, with Bhairavi in tow, till they stood in front of a door marked: Authorized personnel only. She side-eyed Bhairavi, "The answers to all our questions are here. The only problem is," her eyes dropped to the access panel, "this. Only the head of the facility, Sonia Raina, has the access card. I have been stalking her for the past few days hoping she will slip up and leave the thing unattended. Unfortunately, the Bit*h wears it like a second skin!"

"Ummm, child," Bhairavi tapped on the young girl's shoulder, pulling Anjani out of her reprieve. 

With a playful smirk tugging at the edge of her lips, the detective dangled the key to their problems in front of her companion's face, "Do you mean this, by any chance?"

Anjani's face lit up like the night sky on Diwali; a celebratory squeak left her throat as she snatched the access card and slid it into the slot. 

The door to the treasure trove of information fell open effortlessly, and the women ducked into the empty chamber, or so they thought. 

Bhairavi noticed that Anjani had done her homework and some. Without wasting a single moment, she walked purposefully to the rack titled: April 2022; pulling out a file, she instructed the older woman to keep watch. 

Bhairavi found it odd that they found the precious card lying on the floor carelessly. Hadn't Anjani mentioned that Sonia-that-Bit*h was very careful with it? 

Faint sobbing sounds from somewhere behind her distracted her. Turning, she found her companion, who had seemed like a 'no-nonsense, only business' kind of gal, in tears. 

A heartbeat later, Bhairavi's arms were wrapped around the girl in a comforting embrace. "Shush… It's alright." she whispered, running her arms over the latter's back, "I got you. I may not be a good or physically fit detective, but Ashutosh says I give world-class hugs!"

Despite tears running down her face freely, the girl couldn't hold back a small smile. Stepping out of the warmth between the motherly woman's arms, she wiped her eyes dry, "Thank you, Aunty-ji."

"No problem, my dear." Bhairavi tilted her head at the half-open files on the only table in the room, "Did you find anything?"

"Aunty-ji, these-"

Anjani's words died at the tip of her lips at loud footfalls echoing through the corridors. "Quick, help me." She turned to Bhairavi. Tugging at her backpack, she started dumping all the files she had lying haphazardly around on the table into it. "Long story short, this is a case of organ trafficking, Aunty-ji."

"What... "

"No, just listen. You need to get this to someone...someone not controlled by the Rainas, do you understand?"

"Why can't you do it?" Bhairavi felt faint. 

"Because I am faster than you and have a slightly better chance at outrunning them if they spot me. More importantly," The girl bit her lip, "Aunty-ji, what I am about to tell you… please, brace yourself."

Bhairavi's heart swooped down to her knees. They wobbled. The knees, "Okay." she mouthed. 

"Your daughter is here and in trouble. She fits the bill. I-"

"No!" Bhairavi shook her head, "No. That can't be."

"I am sorry, Aunty-ji, but you need to believe me. Trust me, or it will be too late. I swear on my dead sister. I am not lying. I saw her and a boy named Raghav in OT just before I bumped into you." 

"How do you know-"

Anjani interrupted Bhairavi with a file, the last one titled: May 2023. She flipped through the pages till two faces were staring at her. Bringing the file closer, she read:

Project Inception: Dream Weaver 

Subject: Maithili Chopra, 

Blood type: AB negative

Heart - Kapil Mosa

Lungs - Dorab Khan

Kidneys - Fad Lavin, Kert Nome

Cornea - Russel Kimmmer

Bhairavi refused to read further and moved on to the next heading. 

Project Inception: Dream Weaver

Subject: Raghav Raina

Blood type: B negative 

Heart - Bladin Gomer 

Lungs - Sabrina Fuller

Kidneys -

Bhairavi snapped the file shut with trembling hands. "What does this mean?"

Anjani's eyes glistened with unshed tears, "Aunty-ji, there is still hope for them. From what I gathered earlier, the surgery was postponed for tomorrow; the drug they need for this procedure to work was destroyed in a mysterious animal attack."

A faint hope sneaked into Bhairavi's heart. "Monkeys." She muttered, then louder, "It was monkeys." 

The girl watched as Bhairavi's barely-held-together composure crumbled. She smiled through her tears and looked at the ceiling. "Thank you. Thank you. Thank-"

Fearing that the news had stolen the poor woman's senses, Anjani shook her shoulder, trying to snap her out of whatever had taken control of her mind. "Aunty-ji, are you alright? Listen to me. We can still save them." 

Clarity returned to Bhairavi's inky pools, "Yes, we can, and we will." she agreed confidently. "Have you thought of a way to get them out of the OT?"

"Yes, I know a way."

*****

A few minutes later, Anjani successfully entered the OT with Bhairavi guarding the door. 

A third-year medical student, she did away with the tubes inserted into the two unconscious bodies; discreetly, she wheeled them out through the emergency exit of the antechamber connected to the OT. 

It was at this precise moment that trouble found them. 

"Hey, no one is allowed there." The guard called, rushing towards Bhairavi, who reflexively ran inside the OT and bolted the door behind her before falling in step with Anjani, who had single-handedly managed to push the gurneys a few hundred meters towards the thicker that made for the clinic's backyard. 

Gesturing to take hold of one of the gurneys to Bhairavi, Anjani enquired, "Did you secure the exit?"

Huffing, the older woman nodded, "Yes, but I don't think it will hold long."

"I hope the security doesn't know about the antechamber and the exit," Anjani said wistfully. Pointing at a less trodden path that would lead them straight into the reserved forest area, she instructed, "If you follow this path, it will take you to the main road. Hopefully, you will be able to find someone who can help."

With that, the girl turned around, "I will buy you time. Best of luck, Aunty-ji!"

"Wait!" Bhairavi called at the disappearing figure. No. No. No. No. No. You can't leave me like this. I am weak. How can I possibly wheel two gurneys on my own!? 

Not far from where she was standing and panicking, she heard a firearm go off. A gut-wrenching scream followed shortly after, pushing Bhairavi into action. 

Keeping an ear out for those who might have ventured into the forest looking for her, Bhairavi pushed the gurneys forward, one at a time, hoping and praying that she was going the right way. A sense of urgency and fear lined every stretch and pull of her muscles. Her knees bled through her torn jeans, and her calves hurt like she had run a marathon, "I should never have stopped working out!"

She didn't notice the thick fog that had followed close at her heel, covering her tracks and confusing the guards who had followed her into the thicket. 

And just as darkness blanketed The Valley, Bhairavi saw lights. 

Finally! The main road! 

Chapter Word Count: 1342
Word Count so far: 19805