Inside the tree hut: 16th July Saturday: 1: 50 am:

"How dare you touch her? I will rip your hands off...you bastard..."

Micky sprung on Maddy who was sitting on the floor by holding his head. Due to the sudden attack, he dazed for a minute. On the other hand, Micky was hitting him continuously like a maniac.

"I will kill that bastard, Harry. How dare he lay his dirty eyes on her? I will pluck those eyes. You bloody pimps…"

Micky continuously gushed out and kept on kicking Maddy. Suddenly, he felt a touch on his shoulder and in an impulse, he pivoted to give a bunch of five on the face of that person...who was none other than Nina.

"Yeeeee....."

Nina yelled in shock and palmed her face in fear. She already untied herself as her hands were open. She wanted to stop Micky as his uncontrollable anger could have killed Maddy on the spot. Micky refrained himself and yanked Nina in a bone-crushing hug. Nina couldn't control herself anymore and burst out in a loud cry. Her tiny frame was quivering. Her words were mingled with hiccups made them hardly lucid.

"Whe..re..were..y..ou (hiccups)..? I...I was...so...sc..scared (hiccups)....My...leg..it..it's paining....they..(hiccups)..brought...me...here...He...killed that (hiccups)...man (she pointed at the dead body of Tonny)...They could...have...killed me...too (hiccups)...I..I..was praying...that you...you would come...(hiccups and cried profusely)

Micky was frantically pecking her head and the sides of her face. He hugged her so tightly that he wanted to absorb her whole self, her all pain.

"MICKY..."

Suddenly Nina screamed and jostled Micky with her both hands. She stepped back too with a jolt. Micky stumbled and fell to the ground. The packing box which Maddy tried to crush on Micky's head hit the floor with a loud thud.

"Enough...of...your lovey-dovey...love birds. Now, it's a man-to-man business."

Maddy's hoarse voice broke Micky's trance. He leapt up from the ground and looked around for anything to use as a weapon. But Nina rushed and stood in front of him as a shield. Micky was startled for a second and tried to push her aside when Nina cried out,

"Don't shoot....Harry told you to take care of me. He wants me right? But not my dead body. Because you can't get him before killing me."

"Honey, what do you think? You can save your boyfriend like this? And you....Micky Morgan. The rich spoil brat or should I say a rat. You think that you can save yourself by hiding behind a weak girl? COWARD. I will smash you like a mosquito and hand over your girlfriend to Harry. As she said, he wants her...to warm his bed."

Maddy said with a filthy smile. He aimed his revolver towards Micky and Nina. With a lusty wink, he addressed Nina,

"Don't worry, Honey...Harry doesn't linger on anybody. When he will be satisfied...we can enjoy it afterwards. Trust me I am also good in bed. You will fully enjoy..."

On the spur of the moment, too many things happened at a time. Without thinking anything Micky sprung to Maddy with a howl, who couldn't resist this abrupt push and both of them fell on the floor with a loud sound. Micky held Maddy's hand which had the revolver with both of his hands while Maddy was trying to free his hand with his other one. Both of them were lurching on the ground trying to gain dominance. Nina was watching them helplessly. The most dangerous thing was the gun was frequently being pointed at her in this commotion and she could be shot in a blink. Suddenly Maddy grabbed Micky's neck, trying to strangle him. Automatically, Micky did the same. Both were struggling to breathe but no one was ready to quit. At a point, Maddy managed to bend his hand and the gun became a sandwich between them. Nina gaped in anticipation.

"BANG"

A deafening sound of a gunshot made Nina moor to her place. Micky's blank eyes sent a chill to her bone marrow.

.......................

Amidst the jungle: 16th July Saturday: 2:10 am:

"What was that, guys? I heard the sound of a gunshot."

Alisha asked in a confused tone.

"Yeah, I heard it too. It came from this direction."

Alex seconded her.

"Should we follow it? What if Micky and Nina are there and they need help?"

Billy wondered.

"But we have to inform the ACP before taking any decision. Remember he alarmed us."

Natalia sounded sceptic.

"Yeah, but if we inform him, he will ask us to wait for the police help. But right now, we don't have time to wait. What if something already had happened and spoiling time would have been dangerous for our friends?"

Peter's voice trembled to anticipate the peril.

"What do you mean? What had happened? No, nothing bad can happen to them. No, they are okay and fine. I have my intuitions."

Alisha almost choked while Peter pulled her into his chest and started stroking her back.

"I am not saying that anything wrong happened to them. I just wanted to say that we shouldn't waste our time and should go to find out."

Peter's words temporarily pacified Alisha.

"I second him. Let's go. But very cautiously. Any sound or any wrong step can cost harm. We don't know who shot the gun. If it is not Micky then it is definitely one of the goons of Vulture Gang and they won't spare us either."

Cody cleared his thought.

"I think we are overthinking. Let's go. We will see whatever happens,"

Maya sounded restless.

"Okay, let's go. But be together and be alert."

Alex commanded.

"One for all, all for one."

Everybody whispered to gather their confidence and approached the way from where the gunshot sound came.

......................

Under the tree hut: 16th July Saturday: 2:30 am:

"Will it be wise to enter this?"

Maya whispered. All 7 were looking at the tree hut. A faint light was coming out from a small window. Besides that, it was as quiet as a graveyard.

"I am sure the gunshot sound came from this hut only."

Alisha mouthed determinedly.

"But I don't think there is anybody inside. It is so silent around.

Cody said.

"You all stay here. Let me get in. If I find anything wrong I will beckon you all."

Alex suggested.

"Be careful. It can be deadly."

Peter showed concern. Alex nodded and stealthily walked towards the tree.

Sometime later:

The FAN 5 and Fusion 4 members were standing dumbfounded inside the tree hut. A horrifying sight made them root to their places. Suddenly Natalia turned her face and started throwing out by clutching her stomach.

"Cody, take the girls out of this place. They can't stand it."

Peter demanded while glancing at the dead bodies.

"I am okay. Just felt a bit nauseous to see their dead faces."

Natalia said with a pant while dabbing her mouth with Cody's kerchief.

"But who killed Tonny and Maddy? Harry..... Micky.....?

Maya didn't sound very sure,

"I don't know. But whoever did it, he has blocked our way to think. Now, we can't say whether Micky or Nina are in danger or they are free. We can't even guess in which direction we should search for them."

Alex said with a frown.

"Hmmm, but now we are sure about one thing that only Harry is left in the Vulture Gang if there are no other members."

Billy said.

"Right and I think we should inform the ACP about this."

Peter suggested with a shrug. All of a sudden, Alisha ran towards a corner and bent down to lift something. Her eyes were beaming in hope.

"Guys, Micky's bracelet."

She yelled in excitement holding the bracelet in her hand.
Everybody rushed to her.

"That means he was here. But where is he now? And was he able to free Nina?........... We are still in dark."

Cody's words put a big question mark on everybody's bewildered face.