“From the rearview glass, I watch the police cab, sticking to me like a leech. How? When I left the bungalow gate, they were not prepared. I was probably half a km ahead if they had started 10 to 15 minutes after my departure. Suddenly an annoyed abuse escapes my mouth. SHIT….they must have fixed a tracker in my car. That means I can’t elude their reach. I bang the steering in frustration. All of a sudden, my all anger gets diverted towards Nandana. She very conveniently lied to me yesterday. When I asked her if she loves me and still wants to leave me or if she hates me and will never forget my past mistakes; she assured me that she won’t leave me. She even told me that she will talk to her parents after returning to Mumbai and try to pacify their hatred for me. I believed her at that time because I thought she never lies. But now, I can understand that she told me all these to simmer down my restlessness. She will never stay with me. It doesn’t matter how many times I apologise to her, I beg for forgiveness, she has decided to leave me. That phone call is the proof. I remember what exactly that person told me on that call. If I summarise his all words then it comes like this; Nandana applied for a teaching post in a school in Arunachal Pradesh. That person just confirmed her job profile and asked if she is ready to stay at the school hostel as a matron too as she mentioned that she doesn’t have any accommodation in that place. More of that, it is not in any city but rather in a remote village. It’s very clear that she is trying to leave this place and basically me and hide in such a place where nobody can trace her easily. What a plan, Nandana Oberoi! But not enough to fool me. I grip the steering in wrath. I left you but you only got back to me. Now, you can’t walk away like this. I again watch the police cab and tap a number on my mobile. Simultaneously I veer the car towards a narrow path amidst the jungle. I know these shortcuts very well. It will be fun to dodge them. I smirk and press the accelerator more.”

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

“Sir, he enters the jungle. I think he whiffed that we are following him.”

The officer informs Bhosle on the phone. Right now, Ayan and SP Bhosle are on the way to Panchgani. If everything goes right then they will reach within an hour. Bhosle replies on the phone,

“That is very obvious. He is smarter than you all. Look, even if he came to know about your presence or the tracker, we can’t lose the surveillance. Enter the jungle and stick to him, till we arrive. Got it? Okay! Do inform me if you get him again.”

Bhosle presses the red button. Ayan worriedly asks,

“Are you expecting any further mishaps? Don’t tell me that he is not safe here too.”

“He is safe until he wants to be safe. Mr Ayan, you know Mr Oberoi better than me and you know he hardly listens to anybody. We can only try but the rest depends on his wish. By the way, what did you say about his house purchase?”

Ayan can smell Bhosle’s exasperation. It is inevitable that being a policeman, SP Bhosle is giving his best and Ayan even knows that it is because of Nandana. He couldn’t turn down her request. He replies casually,

“I said Aditya Sir recently has purchased a penthouse in Manhattan, USA. I don’t know how it is related to this case but I just wanted to let you know.”

A snicker creeps on SP Bhosle’s lips. He knows how loyal and obedient this man is to Aditya Oberoi. He will never leak any information which can be harmful to his master. He laughs inwardly.

“Maybe he is planning to settle abroad. Maybe he thinks it will be safer for him. But in that case, Mrs Nandana also has to leave this country. Will she agree to this?”

Bhosle sounds a bit sarcastic which doesn’t get unnoticed by Ayan. He looks outside of the cab and impassively replies,

“I am only his employee. That is their personal matter. I never tried to know it.”

“But you should have. In that case, this case could have got a direction.”

Bhosle states in a grave tone. Only then, his mobile rings. He picks it up and turns on the speaker. The voice on the other side rants in an excited voice,

“We got him, Sir. But Mrs Oberoi is also here and she is….she got fainted. I think they had been attacked again.”

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

“As Mahesh tells me about Aditya, I come out of the bungalow and see two police officers getting into a police car. It is evident that they are going to follow Aditya’s car and I also know that if I request to get me along with them, they will definitely deny it. But I can’t sit here like this and wait for any contretemps. Suddenly an outrageous idea strikes my mind. I stealthily open the back seat door and get into the car like a prowling cat. Now I can at least be updated on what are they up to and what is going on the other side. The car starts moving. I hide behind the seats almost holding my surging breath. They are talking to SP Bhosle and I have come to know that he is coming to Panchgani as well. I take a deep sigh and wait for the right moment. The car is moving with a dissent speed, helping me to cover myself comfortably behind the seats. Suddenly, one of the officers informs Bhosle that Aditya has taken a narrow path to the jungle. This man…I glare at him hypothetically. SP Bhosle must have ordered them to enter the jungle as well. The car invades the bushy path, lurching and bumping on its uneven muddy way. It continues for almost half an hour when the car abruptly halts. I hear one of the officers. ‘Are you sure we are going in the right direction? He is nowhere, Dude. The engine became hot. Take out the bottle from the back seat and pour some water into the coolant. The other policeman suggests. My heartbeat soars as if it may be the end of my hide-and-seek game. At this moment the only thing I plan is to get down the car before I face an embarrassing situation. As I thought I did. The officer mumbles a low ‘Okay, but please hurry up. We can’t lose his track.’ I hear the clicking sound of the car door and simultaneously open my back seat door to crawl down from the car floor. Thanks to my petite frame. I efficiently mix up amidst the bushes. I don’t know if this impulsiveness suits me or not but I can’t think straight when it comes to Aditya. The police car halts there for a couple of minutes. My plan was to reenter it but every time we can’t be lucky and smart. As I was about to crawl forward to reach the door, the car starts moving, giving me a jolt in my heart. In a minute it dissipates. Now, I am alone…totally alone. The realisation allows the butterflies in my stomach to disarray again. I come out of the bushes and start following the path where the police car disappeared. The jungle is enough silent to hear my throbbing heartbeat. Aditya! Where are you?....I scream without a scream.”

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

As Aditya observes that the police car has lost its view, he stops the engine and comes out of the car. He has to find out the tracker as soon. He kneels on the ground and lowers his head to search under the car floor. It doesn’t take much time and he eventually plucks out the small tracker device which was stuck on one of the hubcaps. He puts it in his pocket and gets into the car again. His eyes are shining with a mysterious glow. Aditya Oberoi…a paradox. Sometimes he himself doesn’t know what he is going to do. He starts the engine and moves forwards until it comes out of the sheds of trees and exposes to an open field that ends in the abyss. Aditya twists the car key and gets off it. After a long drive, his ribs area and shoulders are paining a bit. He stretches his arms and immediately lets out,

“Ouch….This pain…”

His words get suppressed by another voice,

“Don’t worry, after death, no pain will bother you.”

Aditya turns to the source and locates a man pointing a revolver towards him. He doesn’t know the guy but he can smell his deadly intention. Aditya rests his hands on both sides of his waist and casually asks,

“Who are you?”

The man smirks and walks forward a little more.

“Stupid question. Right now, I am your near-death of course.”

He scoffs. Aditya looks around and utters deadpan,

“There’s many a slip twixt the cup and lips.”

The gunman frowns in confusion,

“Means?”

He shows his failure of understanding. Aditya guffaws and rhymes out,

“Hired goon…you will know very soon…”

All of a sudden, he takes out the tracker from his pocket and hurls it towards his head. It hits the man in his head with accurate aiming. In a blink of an eye, the guy removes the gun pointing at Aditya and presses his head with a suppressed wail. A low-class abuse spurts out his mouth,

“Mother fucker!”

But Aditya doesn’t give him more room to react again. He rushes towards him and pounces to claw his hand which is holding the gun. Meanwhile, the goon gets a grip on himself and he tries to push Aditya backwards. He doesn’t succeed fully but Aditya gets him to the edge of the cliff. Aditya is stronger and stouter than the goon, but his injury is the main villain for him right now. The man grapples him from behind and tries to free his hand which has the gun. Both are facing the abyss when something hits the backside of the head of the attacker. His grip on Aditya’s body becomes loose. But he is still holding the gun. Aditya immediately frees himself from his claws and turns. The sight widens his eyes. Nandana is standing like a hostile goddess holding a wooden log in her grip. Needless to say, this deadly hit is her work. Aditya chides in exasperation,

“NANDANA….What are you doing here?”

But it’s not the time for a question-answer round. The goon again tries to aim his gun at Aditya and this time Nandana hits his chest with the log. In a blink of an eye, the goon springs up from the ground and the next moment topples into the abyss and vanishes into nothingness. Aditya rushes to the edge, observes with popping eyes and then runs to Nandana. She is now standing like a statue. Slowly the log falls from her hand. Aditya grabs her by the shoulders and jerks,

“What the hell did you do, Nandana? You killed him!”

In reply, Nandana meets his anxious eyes with her blurred ones. In the next moment, her palm contacts his cheek with a loud thud sound.

“And you will kill me someday…”

She mouths vehemently and collapses in his arms. Only then, the police car appears from the jungle.