This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
"Sai Joshi! You cannot interfere in police business, and this is your final warning! Which part of this sentence your topper brain was unable to process?"
"Well, well, look who's talking. Police business haan, what happened to police business when that Jagtap Mane managed to whisk me away from under your police noses? And weren't you busy attending weddings – your best friend's, your brother's, gosh looks like wedding season is full on joro shoro se in Nagpur!"
"It was one wedding...my brother Samrat's wedding with my best friend, Pakhi."
"Your best friend hmmm" He hated it when she made air quotes while speaking, and she always did that when she referred to Pakhi as his best friend. In Gadchiroli, Virat had never told Sai who and what Patralekha was to him, but it appeared Sai had guessed it.
"I don't care whose wedding you attend, I was the one who got kidnapped. And if I had not stolen that jerk's phone and called Abba, you all wouldn't have known where to find me."
"You are one ungrateful creature?" It was Virat who had rescued Sai and saved her from a forced wedding with Jagtap.
"Ungrateful! That I am not, I am ever so thankful to you for not only rescuing me but also allowing Jagtap to escape...so very grateful."
"Sai Joshi!" She was so infuriating.
"Ok, ok calm down Sir, joke tha! You see, I just don't want to get kidnapped again, so I give myself the right to interfere in your so called police business." The air quotes again. "It's my life, and besides my Abba, I doubt anyone else thinks it is precious."
Sai's plan was never an ambush. She wanted to lure Jagtap out of his hiding place by using her as bait. Since the day Jagtap had set eyes on Sai, he had wanted to own her. By refusing the marriage proposal, Kamal Joshi insulted the Manes. To top it, Sai had written "LOSER" on Jagtap's forehead. They both had to pay the price. By hook or by crook, Jagtap wanted to make Sai his wife. And Sai wanted to use that to trap him. Her plan was to organize her fake wedding to lure the snake out of his bill. Get him out in the open, where all the wedding attendees would be police officers. Virat had outright rejected this plan. "Sai, please, do not tax your little studious brain. Your Abba and I have a plan that the DIG has approved, so please go back to watching movies and reading fairy tales."
However, Virat had often wondered. 'What if I had listened to Sai , would Kamal Sir still be alive?' Then immediately, the next selfish thought, which he hated, would crop up, 'If Kamal Sir were alive, would Sai ever agree to be my wife?'
Virat knew the answer to that question, but Sai did not realize that her life mattered to him, and it was extremely precious to him. So here he was, driving in search of his life.
But before setting off, Virat had gathered some more clues. One was Ramakant Kamble. Sai had called one number several times in the last few days before going missing. That number belonged to Ramakant Kamble, and the number was registered in Kanpa; however, that number was off too. But the last traceable GPS location for it was Nagbhir. Interestingly, another number that Sai had called from her cell phone was registered in Nagbhir. So Virat called that number, and thankfully someone answered it.
"I am Virat Chavan, police officer. How do you know Sai Joshi?"
"Sai Joshi? Do you mean Dr. Tai?" This title was new for Virat.
"Yes, yes... how do you know her?"
"Why saab, is everything alright?"
"Please answer the question!"
"She is an angel Dr. Tai. She saved my child, Sugandha. She had operation in Nagpur hospital a few days ago. Doctors had told me my baby will be fine in two days but she only got worse. Thankfully Sai tai came here three days ago along with Dr. Dixit. And they rushed Sugandha to another hospital. She is now on a treatment, khup awghad naav ahe...dial kahi tari sis." Virat was getting more and more confused with what he was hearing. One thing he knew it had something to do with Dr. Dalvi, and that man was missing.
"Dr. Dalvi, do you know this name?"
"Ho, he was the one who did the operation in Nagpur. Our Dr. Mane." Hearing that name, Virat felt someone pull the rug from under his feet. He needed to be sure it was the same Mane who, once upon a time, had created havoc in Sai's life. "Excuse me, did you say Dr. Mane?"
"Yes, Dr. Damodar Mane, he only sent us to Dr. Dalvi."
"Is he related to Vithal Mane?"
"Of course he is. He is the MLA's nephew. He is a very nice doctor. He only sent us to Dr. Dalvi. But don't know what that doctor did to my daughter. Now we have to do this treatment. Dr. Tai has said to not worry about the money...not sure how she is going to manage. She is an angel, my daughter is alive because of her."
'Sai Joshi is an angel all right. Always thinks of others, always goes out of her way to help others...her generosity and understanding just never reached me. She never understood me. Virat concentrate, this is no time for all this!'
"What was wrong with your daughter? Why couldn't Dr. Mane treat her?"
"He said that my bala needed an operation. She had a stomachache that just would not stop. It had something to do with her pithashay, he said."
Virat's worst fears were coming alive. He had always imagined someday, Vithal and Jagtap Mane would come back to exact revenge. Sai had once again hit the hornets' nest. And if she had unearthed anything more sinister than before against the Manes, then God alone knows what they would do to her. He had to reach Sai, and he needed backup.
Virat called DIG Sir and briefed him about the situation. "Sir I do not have time for warrants but I need to know where all the Manes are—Vithal, Jagtap (I think he still in jail), Damodar Mane and one Dr. Dalvi. Two people's lives are dependent on this Sir, my wife and her colleague, Dr. Dixit. I am sure both of them are in some kind of deep trouble."
After briefing DIG Sir, and getting permission from him to get his tech team to track these four individuals, Virat set off for Bhramapuri. Damodar Mane and Dalvi were in the same place, so Sai had to be there too. Virat drove like a mad man. Since he now knew whom he might be dealing with, he did not alert the local police. His experience in Gadchiroli had taught him how afraid people were of Vithal Mane. So instead, he took his team along. All in civilian clothes and civilian vehicles, but fully armed just in case.
