Veer's POV
I entered the room in a hurry. They need backup. Prakash has a lot of guards at his demand. They are only three.
"What if this actually turns around and becomes worse?" Jai asked but shut up when my glare met him.
"Reena, do you have the directions?" I asked. Reena who was also gearing up gestured to the open computer.
"About two blocks away from that motel," she said. I nodded to her. "Rohit and Shiv already left."
Jai took the wheel as we hurried over to the location. We stepped down before a warehouse kind of building. Weird. Why would this be Prakash's residence? We stepped in cautiously. Not one body was found.
I turned to Reena, "What is this place?"
She stayed awfully quiet. Jai asked her again. There was no one in the warehouse. Why would this be the direction?
"I'm sorry. I can't let you two go there," she said. My hand dropped.
"What are you saying?!" Jai yelled.
"There are way too many guards there. We can't fight them off. Let's just stay here." she said.
"Reena they are gonna die. They need help. Why would you do this?" Jai asked. I stood there just taking in what she had done. She intentionally led us astray.
"They are criminals, Jai. I found the files Shrishti had kept. Seventy-two. That is how many people she has killed." Reena said.
A sigh left my lips, I started to head out the door. Reena tugged at my arm, holding me back.
"Veer, please. Look, we can be just the three of us again. They are criminals, we will get our leads anyway after the FBI raids the house."
I looked her straight in the eye, "Never call yourself one of us again."
I pulled my hand out of her grip and stormed out the door. Jai followed behind.
"We drove thirty minutes to this stupid place. And our earpiece... She sabotaged them too." Jai said. I had nothing in my head. All I could see were Prayas, Rohit, Aisha and Madhav fighting against a hundred men waiting for us to show up. All I could think of was Shrishti laying there unconscious amidst all the chaos.
We made a quick trip to the hotel to switch our earpiece. We took additional arms and slipped out the window.
"Jai, do you copy?" A ragged breath came through our earpiece, "This is Rohit we really need help. Get here soon."
Jai stepped on the accelerator of the car, "Rohit tell me the location. We went the wrong way here."
"The sixth lane is twenty blocks away from the casino block. Head to the south." He said while his breath stopped short and gunshots were heard.
"It's another thirty-minute drive. Veer, we really messed up." Jai said.
•••
The moment we stepped into the house that had Prakash's name on it, the blood that had splattered on the marble floors and walls eerily welcomed us.
Pure horror struck my heart when I saw Shrishti, still wobbly and half-conscious, standing with a gun in her hand and blood on her face. It wasn't her blood.
Prayas and Rohit sat on the floor amongst lifeless corpses. Shrishti dropped the gun in her hand and fell to her knees, before an annihilated body, Aisha Chauhan.
Jai fell back in shock and I too fell. To my knees. The dread and hurt in Shrishti's eyes were more painful to me.
We won but at what cost?
⚔️
The backstory coming soon. I know the cliffhanger is a little too brutal. This is a small chapter to shift the povs for the next one.
Do vote on it and feel free to express all you emotional damage caused by this chapter in the comments.
Until next time.
😊