Updating after 83 days... So I know the response won't be celebratory like before but I wish to get at last one comment from each Jaanu. [It feels emotional, joyous and homely to call Jaanus yet again]. Hoping for your continued support.
Okay bie!
P.s. DO NOT COMPARE THE NEW CHARACTER WITH AE. I REQUEST TO NOT EVEN MENTION HER NAME HERE. LET'S KEEP PEACE, SHALL WE?
Tapas's p.o.v
"Abhi abhi khabar mila hai ki Barrister Anirudh aur uski patni Krishna Nagar mein hai"
It was hard to fight back the tiring darkness. But at the sound of that one name, an unknown power ignited inside me and I jolted awake warily.
"Ah! Udh gaye Barrister Sahib?" I heard a male voice laced with utmost loathing and mock.
I groaned when a bolt of pain shot through the back of my head. That must have been one hell of a hit. Who the hell did that anyway?
I hear shuffling before I feel warm yet firm fingers gripping my chin in a tight hold. My head is forced upwards and I'm met with the darkest black depths I've ever witnessed in my lifetime. Snapping myself out of the trance within seconds, I tried moving my heavy limbs. Restrained. I'm restrained! How dare they?!
My fiery eyes trace back its path to meet those dark depths again and I unintentionally noticed the ghost of a smirk lining the dark maroon lips below them.
"Kya hua? Kuch takleef hai kya?" she enquired in mock humour.
"Nahi toh" I gave back the smirk "Itna khoobsurat nazara samne hai. Mujhe bhala kya takleef hogi?"
The rise of a single eyebrow is all I get before her hands clamps onto my collars – not a blush, a groan or a gasp. Hmm... Impressive.
"Zyada hoshiyaar mat baniye, Barrister Sahab. Baad mein pachtana pada toh?"
"Pachtana? Kaun mein?" I gave out a loud guffaw "I'm sorry lekin Mr Pachtava se mera utna bhi gehra rishta nahi hai"
"Thoda zyada baat nahi kar raha yeh?" The male voice from before pointed out.
I couldn't see his face as he was positioned behind me. That's why my beautiful captor's eyes went behind me when she replied.
"Thoda nahi bohot zyada" her eyes found mine back in an intimidating stare "Aur usi wajah se mujhe yeh goonga hi pasand hai"
With that, she tried to stick a piece of rag cloth inside my mouth and I immediately flinched.
"Whoa whoa whoa ruko ruko... Yeh-" I pointed at the rag in her hand with my eyes "Yeh keisa kapda hai? I mean, kisi saaf kapde se kaam chalao please. Agar iss gandi kapde se mujhe infection ya phir bimari hogaya toh? I'm a very clean person, you know"
She gave me a once over and then responded with a single eye roll.
"Teen baat" she produced three fingers with her right hand and slowly leaned in towards my face.
"Ek..." she folded her ring finger "Jab mein samne ho toh bina kisi baat ke bak bak nahi karni chahiye"
I gulped.
"Do" her middle finger followed its successor "Mujhse jhoot bolne ke bare mein sochna bhi mat"
I chuckled nervously.
"Teen" her fingers completely covered in "Aur sabse badi baat – ayinda kabhi mere samne angrezi mat bolna"
"What?" I blurted out.
She shot me one of her deadly glares.
"Mera matlab hai, kyun?" I immediately corrected.
"Wajah batayegi toh maan jayega?" she snapped.
"Soch lunga"
She scoffed and leaned back.
"Mein puch nahi rahi thi"
"Mein maanne nahi wala tha"
With a swift swoosh, her pocket knife now appeared in front of my throat.
"Toh phir nateeja bhukne keliye tayaar ho jao""Whoa whoa whoa tum- tum itne serious kyun ho? I was just joking"
The blade pushed into my skin.
"Yeah, right. Sorry. Matlab, mujhe maaf karo mein bhul gaya" I laughed nervously, leaning back as far away as I can "Abhi abhi mulakaat huye hai humari. Mujhe toh tumhara naam tak nahi pata aur tum ho ki mujhe marne par tule ho. Tumhe nahi lagta humein ek doosre ka acha parichay karna chahiye? Uske baad marne, maarne ke bare mein soch lenge"
"Kyun? Agar koyi humein marne aaye toh pehle uska naam puch lena, yeh sikhaya tha London mein tumhe?"
I blinked up at her in surprise but quickly got hold of myself. With a wry and shy smile, I gave out my player boy eyes.
"Mein manta hoon ki mein kuch zyada hi handsome hoon lekin itna pasand tha toh seedha keh deti mujh se. Aise mere background check karke mujhe impress karna and all..."
She gasped irritated and snapped.
"Tumhe Hindustani samajh mein nahi aata kya?! Agar ek aur angrezi shabd bola na, toh-""Manal!"Miss Desi jumped back and turned around abruptly. Manal... That's her name. I remember hearing it before blacking out. I wonder what the name means though... Spitfire? Mouthy? Witch?
"Vande Mataram"
Manal's low yet strong whisper jerked me out of my interpretations. She had her right hand fisted on top of the left side of her chest – eyes staring straight and head held high in pride.
"Vande Mataram"
The reply came from the darkness in front of me. I squinted my eyes at the outlined shadow but failed to get a clue as to who it might be. The sound isn't a familiar one. Who is this man?
Suddenly, the figure came into light. Like the others, he too was clad full in black. But there was this something more to him that screamed authority. Probably the dark eyes that seemed as though it's been ages since an emotion has passed through them. Or may be its the long wild black hair that somehow remains slicked back with the help of oil. Is it the broad chest and the confident stride that sets him apart, may be? Whatever it was, within ten seconds, I knew he was their leader.
"Maaf kijiye Tapas babu... Mere maathat kabhi kabhi kaafi beizzat ho sakte hai" he started impassively.
"Um... Koyi baat nahi. In fact, I enjoyed it a lot" I smirked back, giving a wink to Manal.
She fisted her hands so hard that her hands started shaking. If only looks could kill. Hah! That feels fantastic!
The man laughed out loud.
"Yeh acha hai ki ap yahan khush hai" he continued.
Oh... So he knows English.
"Khushi ki toh koyi kami nahi hai" I glanced at Manal yet again to make my point clear "Lekin agar mujhe pata hota ki mujhe yahan kyun laya gaya hai toh zyada acha hota" I hit the point.
The man gave a questioning look to Manal and the other man behind me. Manal shook her head. The man sighed and dragged a chair before sitting down on it.
"Mujhe laga in donon ne bata diya hoga apko. Koyi baat nahi. Lagta hai Durga Maa ka kamna hai ki mein hi apse bolun" he chuckled before placing both his hands on his knees so that the arms lies in an inverted L shape.
"Mujhe idhar udhar ki baat karna pasand nahi hai isiliye seedha baat par aate hai. Anirudh Roy Chowdhary aur Bondita Roy Chowdhary ke sath kya rishta hai apka?"
I frowned at the question.
"Yeh ap kyun puch rahe hai?"
"Meri jigyaasa samajh lo"
After a few seconds of wary calculation, I replied.
"Senior hai mera. Dada jeise hai. Aur Bondita... dosth"
"Matlab kaafi gehra rishta hai?"
I shook my head in affirmative.
"Toh phir apko zaroor unke Barristry sambandhit mamlon ke bare mein bhi pata hoga na?"
At this, my frown deepened. Where are they going on with this?
"Kyun? Apko kisi case mein madad chahiye?"
"Nahi" The man leaned forward "Humein yeh jaanna hai ki un donon ko Governor Greenwood ne kitne paise diye the"
What?
"Kya?" I muttered.
"Apko yahan unka pata lagane keliye laya gaya tha. Lekin ab jab humne khud dhund hi liya hai toh baki baaton ke bare mein puchna hi sahi hoga na?"
"Kyun milna hai apko Senior aur Bondita se?"
My tone completely changed. Enough of this bullshit! I'm not taking any more of this!
"Pehle apko humare sawal ka jawab dena hoga Tapas babu. Uske baad hum soch lenge humein apko jawab dena hai ya nahi" he replied calmly.
I strained against my restrains for the next one minute. All the three of them remained unfazed, a smirk lining the lips of Manal. The third one might be smirking too – I can't see him. Feeling helpless, I sighed and tried the other way.
"Jeisa ap log soch rahe hai aisa kuch bhi nahi hai... Governor se Senior aur Bondita ke ache sambandh nahi hai"
"Acha? Toh phir Greenwood apke ghar mein kya kar raha tha? Apne doston se milne nahi aaya tha?" That was Manal. There was a tinge of disgust in her voice.
"Dosth?" I laughed in humour "Agar Greenwood ne yeh sun liya toh woh India chod dega" I laughed again.
"Toh agar dosth nahi hai toh aur kya hai?" Manal insisted irritated.
"Hmm... Let me see" I glanced at her with a smirk and she fisted her hands yet again. This game is fun.
"Dosth nahi... Well, Special enemies samajh lo. Oh, sorry! I mean, ek vishesh prakar ke dushman"
"Dushman? Huh!" she scoffed "Tumhe sach mein lagta hai ki hum yeh maan lenge?" she took a threatening step towards me.
"Manal!" The leader warned.
"Vande Mataram!" Another black clad figure appeared out of nowhere "Humara dal Krishna Nagar pahunch gaya hai, Nikesh babu" he informed.
Manal and the leader shared a knowing look. With a small nod of his head, the latter stood up to leave.
"Riyan!" The leader shouted and the person behind me started following him.
"Nikesh babu!" Manal shrieked out "Riyan ko yahan rehne dijiye. Mujhe apke sath lekar jayiye" she requested.
Nikesh babu stood frozen for a moment but then strode away without another word.
"Nikesh babu! Nikesh babu! Kaku!" Manal shouted after him.
Riyan gave her a sympathetic nod before rushing after Nikesh. Well, that was weird. Manal just stood there staring at the ground with her own thoughts while I contemplated my ways of escape. From my understanding of her until now, she isn't someone you can take lightly. Fighting her and escaping doesn't seem as a good idea. So my last chance lies at making her go away by herself. And how can I do that?
A snigger caught my lips. There's nothing more satisfying I can do at this moment. With utmost confidence and content, I decided to annoy the hell out of her.
"Weise... Mujhe laga tha tum angrezi shabdon ka istemal nahi karti"
She looked up with an irritated what-now expression.
"Par tumne kiya" I completed with an air of attitude.
She frowned in confusion.
"Kya matlab hai tumhara?" she questioned threateningly.
"Tumne Greenwood ko Greenwood bola, HariLakdi nahi" I grinned and wriggled my brows.
She rolled her eyes and facepalmed. Good. It's working then. Then let me continue this fun ride. Here goes nothing!
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Hola Jaanus!
Ahhhhh that feels good. Congo to us for enduring 83 days without AALFR! [isn't it?]
As I said, here's the short update. Next part is an important one. I can't wait to complete it!
Thanks for all your messages, wishes and concerns. You guys are the best. I've stopped apologizing coz I've done it for like a thousand times and I don't want the word to lose its precious meaning, emotion and importance bcoz of me...
A belated happy new year to all my Jaanus and I hope your family and you are safe and healthy.
I Zimmedaari You All
Z,
MS
P.s.: I may not be replying to each and every comment of yours coz life has become awfully busy and I realized I can't just sit down and read, enjoy and message back for an hour like before. Ah, the good old days! And on top of that, my sem ending exams are here... So updates can be late too [You can kill me ;)]