Chapter #83

"So you are an honest to goodness- take a bullet for your client- bodyguard, Jack," Naomi asked skeptically of Sareena's former boarding school classmate as she helped him with his computer.

 "I can't believe it really; you don't exactly fit the type," She continued to the blithe man she had been introduced to. Just looking at the way he was lounging so casually on the furniture did not lend itself to the readiness one would want in a protector; but then again he was off duty.

"I don't think there's a particular type in my business, Naomi. And as it comes to taking a bullet...well let's say I don't necessarily go looking for that either, but yes I would, if I had to.  But I don't think the concept of protection is foreign to any of us - I think there is someone that anyone of us would give our lives to protect." He stared at the striking woman working on his laptop. "Most mothers for instance, would die for their children. And never discount a man in love...I would think a man would lay down his life without hesitation to protect his sweetheart if the situation called for it; don't you think?"

 

The fingers that were flying over the keys seconds before, stopped. For some reason, Jack's words struck a chord with Naomi and she turned and stared at him.

 

"But since we are being truthful; if you hadn't told me I would never have taken you for a model either. You don't seem the type either. From my experience, most of the high end models have more to them than you do. They're usually tall and really leggy and the really fortunate ones..." He cupped his hands at chest level, to describe what had to be one of his personal preferences.

The slight lift of her spirit that had come through chatting with Serena's interesting house guest...correct that employee... dissipated with his sudden boorish manner.

"Well I suppose it's good I've given it up then, isn't it, especially with me so lacking..." Naomi replied sarcastically and turned her attention back to the laptop.

"Wait a minute, let me finish. Most models are tall and leggy, and yeah, so I prefer the ones that have ample charms, but what I was trying to say is that most don't have the brains to go along with their beauty. I've worked for a few, and for certain, I can count on one hand the number that would be able to help me with this. For that matter, I can't think of even too many tech support types who are as beautiful as you either. Or any who have such hypnotically gorgeous eyes..." he complimented.

Naomi flushed, but kept her full attention to her task. For Sareena's and Sanjay's sake she hoped Jack was better as a bodyguard, than he was interacting with women. But maybe it was just her, she thought, and the fact that Rajeev had spoiled her for good so that any man was sub-standard in comparison to him; even the good looking ones who would take a bullet for you.

 

From the doorway, Sareena looked aghast at her friend. She caught his eye and frantically motioned him to her, before turning away. He smiled to himself and then asked Naomi to excuse him.

 

 "What's up Reena?"

Sareena punched his arm. "Jack Thompson, have you gone crazy; I have assured Naomi's family, and in particular her fiance that you are good at what you do, and that you are a total professional."

Her former classmate, shrugged. "You didn't lie."

"You're here to protect her that's it, Jack. Don't even think about trifling with her. And what pretense is this," Sareena hissed , "When have you ever needed  any sort of tech support, when you  specialize in that sort of stuff in addition to..."

"Settle down, I'm just letting her get to know me; that's all - not to say she's isn't quite fit," he teased his friend; jumping to continue when Sareena would protest "But  I don't think I'm her type anyway... too superficial, too obnoxious, and definitely not the strong silent type that's she's attracted to.  She's probably missing him even more than ever right now."

Sareena stared in amazement. "How do... you haven't been here long enough to..."

 The man, who looked as if he should be in a boy band, ran a hand through his dark wavy hair and winked at his longtime friend. "Just count it as one of my many talents, "Jack replied, before sobering. "Don't worry, Reena. She's in good hands, and afterwards, so will Sanjay be when we go and retrieve him. No harm will come to either of them."

*******

 

The last of the lights in the house had extinguished just after 10:00PM, and at about the same time, the street had quietened as well, which would make his work that much easier. He had watched the house for some time; had even taken the opportunity to get out and walk, unobserved, the perimeter of the property looking for the best entry point. As had the previous intruder, he unknowingly determined that the French windows of the designer's studio would provide the surest access. Now he waited.  Considering the average twenty minutes it took the normal person to fall asleep, the forty minutes he decided to wait would give them a definite buffer to carry out the job that needed doing. He would wait five minutes more, and nudged his partner awake, shaking his head at his associate's sleepiness.

 

Assured that his cohort was in position, he took advantage of the shadows and approached the house. With the least amount of effort he gained entry to the studio. He entered and remained motionless for minute...waiting in hope, but nothing happened. He put his hands on his hips and hung his head, shaking it disgustedly.  It is what it is, he thought, as he let his eyes become acclimatized to the dark room.  He then left the studio and entered the house proper, scanning his surroundings in a practiced fashion, before heading to the main door and unlocking it to let his partner in. She looked ridiculous in the night vision goggles he had provided her, but he couldn't afford her to go tripping around the house in the darkness, risking either their discovery or her getting hurt. She led the way to the staircase, and he watched as she slowly walked up them ahead of him tightly holding onto the bannister. He suspected that her safety wasn't the only reason for the tight grip. She waited at the top of the stairs for him, and he placed his hand on her shoulder and pointed her in the direction she should go. He put one finger to his lips and sent her to the nursery where the daughter of the family was. When he saw her enter, thankfully silently, he turned and headed to his own destination; the bedroom where the little boy, Sanjay would be at rest.

 

The moon shone into the room spilling over the bed, which gave him a glimpse of the child. He smiled briefly, and then turned his attention to the bedroom itself. He knew that there was a monitor in the nursery, but there was none in this bedroom - not a good sign at all. Otherwise, the room appeared secure, with sturdy window locks, so there was that. He stayed in the room for a while before leaving it and slowly closing the door behind him. The room next to this one, he would have to check for more than its security, but it would have to wait.  He felt the hair on the back of his neck stand up and he smiled...finally, he thought, it had taken them long enough.

********

Kabir had shot up suddenly, unsure what had woken him so abruptly. He listened in the quiet of the night- first to see if there was some noise had come over the baby monitor, and then on realization that it hadn't emanated from there, for something else that could have broken his rest. There was nothing except an uneasy feeling. Beside him, Rachna stirred. He hushed her and lightly kissed her on the forehead, before getting out of the bed. Something was wrong.

 

"Who are you and what the hell are you doing in my house?"

Jack smiled in the darkness. He could appreciate the menace in the homeowner's voice.

"Kabir Tripathi, I've been advised that you care for your family a great deal, and most likely would give me some trouble this evening, but I still must confess to being a bit disappointed."

Only his quick reflexes saved Jack from the devastating blow that would have done some damage, had it connected. But his training saved him, and he ducked it and stepped behind the impressively sized designer, gripping the fist that had swung at him , forcing it behind the designer's back. He was deceptively strong and it took Jack more effort that he had hoped to expend to secure his hold on the man, who he now had pressed up against the wall outside the little boy's bedroom.

"It shouldn't have been this easy, Kabir Tripathi; especially after an intruder entered this house and almost raped your wife's best friend and seriously injured her husband-to-be. We shouldn't have been able to enter your home so easily. If not your friends, do you not value your family at least: your wife and children; your grandmother?"

Kabir stilled...we he had said; which meant that there were others in the house. And he had no clue how many there were, and what they could possibly want.

"What do you want...Who sent you?"

"I'm just here to do a job KT; I can call you KT, right?" Jack didn't give the man time to answer, and continued speaking, figuring to bring a quick end to this potential problem. "Actually..." he began until out of the corner of his eye he caught a faint movement in the glass of the picture frame that hung on the wall beside him. He shook his head.

"I don't think you want to do that Mrs. Tripathi; not when your husband is in such a precarious position."

 Deftly, but making sure that his witness caught his movements Jack reached into his waistband to withdraw the object and pressed it hard against her husband's back.

Rachna gasped and dropped the heavy vase she had been about to wield against the intruder in her house.

"Nay," She gasped.

********

Shuddering, Rachna walked away...away from her husband's protest of her direction, but unable not to go to the nursery as she had been instructed. Obviously there was someone waiting there, another felon, but to save her husband, and to protect her daughter she did exactly as she was told. Behind her she heard Kabir struggling and braced herself for the dreaded sound of a shot from the weapon she had seen pressed against her husband's back moments earlier. A sob escaped her when she reached the closed door to the nursery, and knocked thrice, and she had been told to. The person opened the door holding her daughter, and Rachna stood there, her mouth agape.

 

Naomi looked at the terror on Rachna's face, and immediately understood. She thrust Aryia into her mother's arms and dashed down the hall. Rachna followed her once she had shaken off her shock.

 

"Jack, you absolute jerk!  I knew I shouldn't have let you talk me into this!  Get off him already!"

 

Their struggle had made its way down to the floor, with the bodyguard still in control, but as soon as his client's voice sounded, both he and Kabir came to a sudden stop. Jack tightened his grip of the designer.

"Okay, I'm getting up now, Mr. Tripathi; we're all good right?"

He stood and held out his hand.

Slowly, with his assailant's aid Kabir rose.

 "Naomi, I guess it would have been too easy to telephone that you were coming," he asked breathlessly. He then nodded in direction of the man who had moved to stand beside her, "And I guess this a friend of yours here?

 The tightening of his grip was the only indication he gave, and Kabir swung out without waiting for an answer from Naomi.  This time he connected. Or, considering that he must be some sort of professional; maybe the man allowed him to.

 "That's for frightening my wife, you bas***d.  Now I assume you've been hired as protection for our friend here and that you are going to give me a really plausible excuse for you breaking into my house tonight."

 

 Jack held his chin, and checked his jaw. Kabir Tripathi could pack a punch, that's for sure. Then, instead of addressing the designer, he turned and approached the women who now stood together.  He folded his hands.

"Mrs. Tripathi, I'm so very sorry for causing you any distress. None of this was any of Naomi's doing at all, so please don't blame her." He pulled out the metal device that he had deceived Rachna with. "Forgive me for giving you the wrong impression; at no time was your husband in any real danger."

Naomi jumped in the middle of the absurd apology.

"I told you...didn't I tell you that this was a huge mistake and that someone could get hurt?"

"Come on Pretty Eyes, give me a break. I did everything in my power not to hurt Kabir. And there was no way that I would have harmed a pregnant woman, so I diffused the situation of having to defend myself against Rachna's attack with a little white lie. So all's well.  Remember our talk a couple of days ago, about taking a bullet...well your friends are the classic examples of natural protectors. I did what needed to be done with the minimal amount of damage."

Naomi wasn't convinced, but didn't have time to go on, as the infuriating man had turned away from them, and back to Kabir. He held his hand out to the designer.

"Jack Thompson, Security Specialist and Bodyguard, and as you correctly deduced assigned to Pretty Eyes here," he said with a grin, before continuing, "And also to Sanjay now that I'm here in Banaras. I realize that our entry into your home was less than conventional, but I did insist on it in order to perform a preliminary security assessment.  Kabir Sir, even if there wasn't the issue of Sanjay's and Naomi's  security, I have to advise that it was far too easy for us to break in. Perhaps come the morning we can discuss this."

Kabir just nodded his head, stunned from the night's happenings.

 

Rachna, took the lead from her disorientated husband. "Your luggage," she asked the pair.

"In the car," Jack answered, "I'll collect it now."

Rachna nodded, and stole a glance at her friend, who appeared suddenly exhausted. " Naomi, I can get your room ready in..."

"No," Jack interjected, stopping his descent down the stairs. "I have reason to suspect that the room is compromised. I don't want her back in there until I've have the opportunity to sweep it."

Rachna nodded and watched while Kabir and Jack went to collect their bags.

"Is that why you were in the nursery; to go to bed?"

Naomi nodded and smiled at Aryia who was settling back to sleep on her mother's shoulder.

"Our baby started fussing before I could even sit though."

 Alone in the hall, the friends stood there and looked at each other.

"You're back," Rachna said finally. 

Naomi nodded. And then her eyes welled with tears. If she had any lingering doubts, Rachna realized then that everything had come back to her friend; her memories and probably her terror and anger at all of them, with it. She indicated for Naomi to follow her back to the nursery. Once there she placed Ayria back in her crib and took a seat beside Naomi.

"Are you okay," she asked not sure herself if she wanted the truth from her friend.

Naomi shrugged.

"It's not so late that you can't call Rajeev, you know," Rachna offered as an alternative to Naomi, instead of discussing her ordeal.

 

The crisp British accent than answered was for the first time filled with irritation. "Oh calling Rajeev is that last thing Pretty Eyes wants to do tonight. Not after the trouble she's created for herself now; isn't that right, Naomi," Jack said as he placed her carryon on the floor.

Rachna looked to her friend who was now alert and bristling with anger.

"I took the first step towards taking my life back, Jack; so just get over it!"

"And in doing so you've thrown down the gauntlet to a complete sociopath, Pretty Eyes!"

Rachna's eyes had turned from the bodyguard back to her friend. "Naomi, what have you done?"

*********

Knowing that he did not have much time, Rajeev had arrived at the Tripathi home just after breakfast the next day.

"I just needed to cover all of my bases before I travel for this away game today. I don't know what sort of signal I will be able to get, and I don't want to risk possibly missing her call."

"Are you expecting her to call, Rajeev beta," Daadi asked calmly. She watched as Rajeev ran one hand through his hair. The coach was clearly agitated this morning. She approached him, signaling to Rachna who in turn went to the kitchen.

"Sit down beta; tell us what has happened." She took the cup of tea that Rachna came back with and placed it in front of him, and encouraged him to speak.

"Despite every precaution we took Naomi and Abhi met. I can only surmise that he was there in an effort to discover her whereabouts, but as luck would have it, she actually ended up there at the same time - at Vihaan's office.  I can only conclude by what happened next that she remembers everything, including the identity of her assaulter.  She confronted him, subtly, but apparently in such a way that the bodyguard that was hired immediately interceded and ushered her away."

The two women looked shocked by his words, and this was the mild version of Vihaan's retelling. He didn't dare alarm them further by relaying the truth as his brother had witnessed it; how whatever Naomi had whispered to Abhi had aggravated the man immensely. How outwardly the man had barely reacted, but the look in his eyes was downright frightening in its malevolence. And now she was gone, he told them; with no-one having heard from her in the past 36 hours - nor were her parents available. Rajeev had no idea of Naomi's direction, and he was worried as hell.

His audience seemed stupefied by his information; neither seeming able to speak.

"I have been calling her repeatedly; I just need you to try to contact her for me, or if she checks in, let her know to call me immediately."

He drained the rest of his cup and then stood and turned to leave. Kabir and a stranger had approached in the time he had had his tea. For a moment he was filled with hope that perhaps the newcomer was the bodyguard, and his eyes automatically turned to the second floor. However his hopes were dashed when the man spoke, and instead of the expected accent, a Southern twang emanated.

"I couldn't help but hearing you, might I suggest GPS as a viable option if your little lady is giving you trouble, Sir? You will be guaranteed never to lose her again."

Kabir immediately interrupted, "Rajeev this is a client of mine, from America," he said as way of explanation. Rajeev nodded and then excused himself, after eliciting the promises from his friends to help him contact Naomi. Once the door was closed behind the coach, Rachna looked to the staircase and asked the one question that was on everyone's mind of the woman descending.

"Why are you making him suffer, Naomi?"

[NOCOPY]

crtkelly2016-05-22 00:30:27