Chasing Destiny's Star | ✓

42.

I nodded, my mind racing as I tried to grasp the complexities of the situation. "How do we approach this? Manoj is likely heavily guarded."

I nodded, eager to hear his detailed plan.

"We'll start by gathering intel," Rudra continued. "We need to know Manoj's movements, his connections, and his vulnerabilities. Once we have that, we can devise a strategy to take him down."

"But how do we gather this information?" I asked, feeling a surge of anticipation.

"We'll use every resource at our disposal," Rudra replied. "We'll tap into our network of informants, monitor his communications, and conduct surveillance on his known associates.

 "And once we have the intel?" I prompted, eager to hear the next steps.

"We'll strike with precision and force," Rudra declared. "We'll dismantle Manoj's network piece by piece, starting with his closest allies. We'll disrupt his supply chains, seize his assets, and cut off his sources of support. And when the time is right, we'll move in for the final blow."

"Supply chains of what?" I asked, confused.

"Drugs," Rudra replied, his words making my eyes widen as I processed the gravity of the situation.

"They have a small company established called Vanam Ltd. They supply drugs through it. We just need to bribe the operations handlers, make him pass us some evidence," he explained, his voice steady and resolute.

"So your plan is to get Manoj arrested?" I asked, trying to wrap my head around the intricacies of their strategy.

"Not exactly. We want him to be arrested so that it makes headlines, which might bring Suraj's attention back here. But arresting Manoj would actually provide nothing, because he would be bailed out the very next minute."

"What if he gets bail? He will for sure escape," I said, now understanding how things worked in this world of crime and corruption.

"That's when we step in again. We will have him under our custody, using him as leverage," Rudra explained.

Golmaal hai bhai sab golmaal hai..

"Rudra, you told me about Vivaan's sister, right? Does Vivaan know about all this?" I asked, almost scared of his answer, feeling his body freeze for a minute.

"He thinks Suraj is dead, let's keep it at that. He needed closure," he spoke, his eyes avoiding mine.

"A fake closure," I corrected him, and he gave me a small, pressed smile.

I don't have a good feeling about this.

"Ab hum ko honeymoon pe jana hai, why is everything so complicated?" he suddenly whined, sounding like a desperate, sad child.

He was again trying to change the topic of the conversation. I sighed, shaking my head. If he didn't feel comfortable talking about this, then I wouldn't push it.

Mr. Kapoor helped us with a digital overview of the palace, so now we know where the safe zones are. Not a lot of it is bugged, thankfully. Our room, Bhabhi-sa's room, Vaahi's room, the study, and the living room are bugged, but that's kind of expected. It's something we can handle.

"Where do you wish to go?" I asked, and he just shrugged.

"Um, do you want to go to Ludhiana? Punjab. My nani lived there with my nana before they moved to Udaipur together. We could visit their house; I have the keys to it," I suggested, feeling slightly nervous. I mean, who goes to, um, an ancestral house for their honeymoon?

He looked at me, a hint of surprise crossing his features before a smile tugged at the corners of his lips. "Ludhiana sounds perfect. Can't wait for some good glasses full of lassi."