Ranvijay sat behind the glass wall, watching the men being beaten blue and black. Their skin was swollen red and their breath elevated. Blood was dripping from their noses and mouths as they hung their head low to inhale loudly. Their clothes had torn off and streaks of muddy water soaked the threads.
"Stop!" He raised his hand when he saw the guard taking another blow and stood up. He padded inside the chamber and walked to the men. The tip of his shoes near their lowered head. He bent to their level and cocked his head to see them properly. Their bloodied face made him momentarily flinch. He was terrified of blood. Despite tough training, it made bile form in his throat. He resisted being in situations where he'd have to witness this. It reminded him of...his mother.
Shaking the horrible memory, he pulled out his revolver, carried on an unaffected face and tipped the chin of a traitor. "It will take one minute to kill you and free you from your sufferings but that is very easy. I need to know more before I give you death."
"We are sorry, Hukum." He wheezed, catching his breath and clenched his eyes close in pain. "Forgive us."
"Give me a reason!" Ranvijay barrelled back his revolver and glanced at the other man who had fainted. "You made up the excuse of dying mother to get this job and planned to backstab me. Reason enough to kill you ruthlessly. Why should I forgive you?"
The man grew silent and Ranvijay stared at him. "Even so, I can have mercy on you. But, for that, you've to give me more names. Who are the other allies of yours!? What did you plan to do with these men?"
"I...I don't know, Hukum." The man stammered, gulping. "I was only asked to provide Ali passes. I don't know anything else."
"And who are those men? They aren't one of you, are they?"
"I... I don't know. I don't know, Hukum." He cried in pain and Ranvijay stood straight. He tucked his revolver back in the waist and looked at his guards. "Throw him and his relatives out of the border. If he's seen again, shoot him."
He strode out, feeling claustrophobic and Bhushan followed him closely. The moles were caught and dealt with but something kept ticking. There was no name to blame. His legs moved to the west wing and he dismissed Bhushan, seeking some time alone. Bowed heads and murmuring platitudes greeted him when he reached the open area of a never-ending, wide courtyard.
He immediately ordered his target to be set up as he unlocked his cufflinks and folded his shirt sleeves to one third. He put on the sunglasses and wore headphones as he blindly threw bullets in the sniper and fixed the rolls. The target was set and aim was taken. Nothing distracted him when he aimed. His sole concentration only at the target. In adolescent years, this was for leisure but he gradually developed his fad for it and thrived in it, securing a few medals in the field.
His finger slipped on the trigger, and the explosion came, deafening in its thunderous exultation, the bullet ripping the air, piercing and penetrating the nitrogen mixture, leaving a ragged whole in reality like a photo negative with its passage and thrust in the target within nano speed.
Ranvijay debated mentally on who was a prime suspect. Nothing heard was true, nothing seen was veridical. He was unsure how to deal with his own brother. His anger was spurting out in the form of agitated and furious shooting. One after another the bullets left its origin and dug deep in the thick, almost thrashed, bullseye but he was still restless.
There was a constant dilemma running in his mind, it was odd that Randheer would be associated in the crime when the man resorted to peace and dedicated his life to do cultural good. He wasn't easy to influence but this had been the same notion regarding Raghvendra too until he turned cruel and vicious. Sumitra Devi had done an exceptional job in grooming him and Ranvijay didn't trust her.
Hours slipped by. His aggression and infinitive round of loading bullets worried the workers but they knew better to speak up. Ranvijay focused more on shooting whenever he lost his calm. He didn't take account of the time slipping by. Exhausted, he put his gun aside and swept a hand down his face. Allowing himself a moment of weakness, he braced his palms on the wooden top and dangled his head down. He awoke over twenty nine hours. His body and his mind needed some sort of rest but he had lots of things in hands to take care of, before even thinking of the word 'Relaxation'.
He rolled the kinks off his shoulders and straightened to reload his gun. He aimed his target and was about to shoot when he sensed a presence behind him. He whipped his head to see the person and frowned slightly at Bhushan, "All good?"
"The driver committed suicide."
Ranvijay's nostrils flared. He threw his gun on the table and gritted his teeth. "Very well. My order is still the same. Throw his family out of the border and shoot if they are seen again."
"Yes, Hukum." Bhushan nodded and wrung his hands, deliberating his next words. "If you don't mind, you should take some rest. It's late."
Ranvijay eyed his surroundings and nodded, realising that Bhushan was tired too. "I will. You should leave too. You've been working too much. I'll see you in the morning."
Bhushan left, leaving him alone and wondering his next move. It took him fifteen minutes to walk to the east wing. Though the path was long and needed a vehicle to reach one wing from the other, the earlier kings had made interconnected corridors and clandestine passages for convenience and to reach the sections nimbly in urgency.
He skipped his dinner, strap off and slammed on the bed. His mind and body too tired to think anything and easily surrendered to sleep, hoping for a less chaotic day.
***
The breakfast was lively with the discussions taken regarding the company and Anup's immigration. Matsyaa was sitting bracketed between her elder brothers, facing her mother and aunts. She wiggled her eyebrows at Gauri, "So, are we staying here, mom?"
"Yes, but that 'we' excludes you." Gauri told her, "You'll go back to England, finish your degree and look after the hospitals until we come up with a solid alternative." Anup elaborated on her. "Right now, you'll have to write an application to your department and ask for short-term leave. I'll confirm your air tickets for the next month."
"Okay," She tentatively nodded, rubbing hands on her floral knee-length skirt and sipped juice, "I'll right away get to the application. I also have to apply for leave in the Forensic Department and..."
"Matsyaa," Upesh impeded her and gained a thoughtful posture before regarding her father. "Anup, she is young to have this responsibility on her. You and Gauri can make turns to visit the hospital and strict the administration instead of sending her to London and running them for you."
"It's not only about hospitals, bhaisahab. She also has to finish her degree. It's just one more year left and I don't want her career compromised." Anup put his point. Matsyaa silently heard them, waiting for the final decision.
"There are universities in India that offer world class education. What's her subject? Anthropology, right?" Upesh looked at her for confirmation and she shook her head, supplying. "Archeology."
The man nodded with a frown. "Same thing." He turned to her father. "In fact, universities here in Rajasthan offer topnotch courses in this field. She'll get a conducive environment."
"I still... don't think it's a good idea," Gauri objected firmly and exchanged a meaningful glance with Anup. "Her internship... classes and my work there; everything will be messed up, Anup."
Upesh's wife butted in before Anup could open his mouth. "Oh. Gauri, we've missed her a lot. Upesh is right. The universities here are one of the best and we can also invest in the educational sector to promote educational tourism."
"My daughter need not to be the brand ambassador to that effect," Gauri muttered her opposition. Upesh cleared his throat, coming up with a new alternative. "Okay, she's staying for a month here, right? So, why doesn't she meet the dean of the university? He's a great friend of mine. I will personally invite him to our home. She can discuss the..."
"No, dad." Ved hastily interrupted, "Sorry for cutting you in middle but why don't I take her to the university? This way, she can meet the dean and see the campus to make her mind."
"Sounds good!" Anup agreed, earning a shot of glare from Gauri who was still very deterrent to the idea.
"Okay. I'll ask the dean to..."
"No, uncle. Please. I am not sure if I want an admission here. Though I want to stay with you guys but mom is also right. I can't compromise with my career." Matsyaa proclaimed, looking at everyone and rubbing her hands together, "But I can do one thing. I can meet the dean and if I like the campus, I will enroll myself in a short-term program. Since it will be an educational program, my university won't have an objection with this and I can stay here for six months to a year after a procedure without dropping out."
There was a short stretch of silence before everyone nodded in agreement. She grinned wide, looking at her mother and Gauri sighed out, reciprocating her smile. "Alright."
"Perfect," Ved brushed his hands, finishing his plate and smiled at Matsyaa, "I'll take you to meet the dean one of these days. Okay?"
"Mm-hmm."
***
"I was about to tell you uncle." Ranvijay exhaled exhaustively, dropping his fork and looking at his uncle. "I have everything under control. You don't have to worry."
"It doesn't explain why you summoned Randheer in the south wing." Ajinkya strictly demanded and Ranvijay sizzled Shekhar with his terrifying glare. The younger man raised his hands in surrender and shook his head, "I didn't say a word about that. In fact, I didn't know that. Did you really do that?"
Apparently, Shekhar Pratap had blurted out to his father that the accident was a planned attack and they'd already taken the men in custody. Ajinkya had exploded on them, demanding to know why the crucial detail was kept hidden from him but Randheer's involvement just made him livid. He couldn't wait and summoned them for a separate brunch.
"Seems like my trusted men have altered their preferences." Ranvijay muttered, lightly throwing the napkin ahead of him. "I didn't want you to know this."
"None of your men spilled it out. I've my own sources. But, why didn't you tell me?"
"I was dealing with it fine. I didn't see the need to disturb you." Ranvijay explained calmly and matched his uncle's seeking eyes. "Randheer was spotted with the attackers. I thought he might know something."
"Did you find out?"
"Yes. His say is that Sumer Singh did this because he was offended. We didn't invite him to the ceremony."
Ajinkya's brow lowered, "Lame excuse. What's your stand on this?"
"I don't believe this. I feel there's a deeper cause. My investigation says it's Sumer Singh but I don't know the reason yet. I think it can be a business rivalry." Ranvijay tackled the question smartly, without mentioning Raghvendra. He knew Ajinkya and Padma would be tensed if they got to know this rift between the cousins.
Raghvendra had never come out in open and challenged Ranvijay to draw attention to him so Ranvijay decided to keep it that way and deal with him alone. He saw no urgency to include their elders in the matter but he was sure Maharani Sumitra was involved. In fact, she was the one who made Raghvendra her pawn.
"Or it can be Vijayata." Ajinkya pointed out, bringing Ranvijay out of his thoughts. "He is not very happy with your reluctance to this alliance."
"I don't have any intentions to please him whatsoever." Ranvijay scoffed, "If he thinks he can force me into this relation, he can dream on."
"Whatever the reason be, families should not be involved." Ajinkya grumbled, his older face gaining frown lines. "He's crossed a line today. Make sure he learns his lesson very well."
"Don't worry about that." Ranvijay assured him softly and Ajinkya nodded at him, aiming his next question. "And what about the men? What did you do with them?"
Ranvijay contemplated before answering. "They don't have any information. I am handling them to the police. They'll deal with them."
Shekhar and Veer looked at him suspiciously and he gave them a reassuring look. Ajinkya admired his decision. "Good. We shouldn't keep them around. They are dangerous."
Ranvijay nodded.
"Ranvijay," Ajinkya softly called his name, warmly smiling at him and caressed his arm with reverence. "Beta, Randheer and you; both are my sister's only souvenirs. Never forget this fact. He is your younger brother. Nothing should come between you two."
"I promise you uncle!" Ranvijay smiled tightly, "Nothing will come between us. I will keep him safe."
"I want both of you safe."
"We will be." Ranvijay closed the topic, getting up from his seat and a server came to call them for the rituals Deepika and Shekhar had to perform. Ranvijay reluctantly agreed to be a part and chose a corner seat, quietly observing the blushing couple.
His body was present there but his mind was on his captives. When he had gone to see the dead body of the driver, he had closely monitored the leader, Ali. He was smirking at the camera, smug on his accomplishment.
___
Hi folks,
Just the initial twelve chapters will be available here.. You'll find the full book on Booknet. The link is in the description.