Mishal Raheja
As
Dutta
Blue Blood
Part 22
Ravi looked at his gun and slammed it on his thigh. In his nervousness he had blundered by firing a shot! he could hear the sirens shrilling and bells ringing outside. In haste he revolved around and jerked his gun at Seema and yelled menacingly
"get over to this side and kneel of the floor next to the cleaner! Seema flashed her eyes and barked at him as she spate at him
"go on Ravi shoot me! I dare you too! but noo such a coward you! are aren't you? nooo brains at all! start counting back wards , till your death comes your way , he may be on his way already! Ravi moved his gun at her face and shouted
"shut up before I blow your brains out! and he moved his gun above her head and shot one of the spot lights! . The glass smashed and rained upon the heads of the the two hostages. The cleaner screamed as she fell to one side to save herself! Ravi yelled and warned both of them to be silent otherwise he would kill them both .But Seema turned to the frightened, huddled into a corner ,cleaner and consoled her,
"don't you worry , this sissy will not kill either of us .. he wants me alive for sure! I am his golden goose! if he slaughters me he lose his pot of gold so calm down"
Sounds hammered and thumped at the outer door of the toilets and via the megaphone. Ravi heard the booming voice of what he assumed were the boys in blue! ordering him to come out!but they were just words , commands that bounced off him !and he chuckled hysterically and cried out to the bewildered women.
"ahhh this is what I love! the thrill of escalating fear in the foe haaaha.. they must be wondering I am some disillusioned ,disaffected terrorist! Haaa haa let them squirm ! while I wait for them to barge in so I can escape with you Seema, my bag of gold! Seema looked across to this mad man, he is delusionary. She looked down and cried. It was totally unbelievable that this maniac was the man she loved, went against her father , against Dutta ! She cried bitterly, as her shoulders shook violently Ravi turned his eyes to the emotionally crumbled Seema on the floor and he sniggered cruelly
"hey Seema ji.. no crying please .. Ravi is so dashing ,can't blame you for falling for him ! he cackled like a demon.. as he tapped his gun on his head kissing the nozzle of his gun
Outside on the shop floor shoppers spilled out of the shops, eateries, bumped shoulders, pushed ,nudged as they ran towards the nearest exit. Swot team commandos dressed in camouflaged uniforms stood in various positions. A few pointed to the ,entrance to the loos , covered by more who stood spread out behind them while others urged, manned and directed hordes of panicking shoppers to fire exits and escalators. A mad scramble went around the escalators where shoppers pushed and tripped others to get on them,to save their lives ! Time and again the commandos yelled ,
"don't panic! it's a robbery not a bomb threat! resounded voices of the commandos against the acoustics of the covered third level of the arcade. Running feet tapped on the tiled floor and screaming women to as yet another shot was fired from the tucked away toilets. But a mob in such times , in a shopping centre gets frenzied and is likely to think of only one thing ..bomb exploding in their faces!
~~~~~~~~~
Purhoitji pondered through the scrolls formidably . Aye Sahib ,Kala, Kanta bai asked the pandit was there an issue ? before he replied. Dutta's pager buzzed beep ! beep! beep! three times as heard Dutta ..and leapt up like lightening and went to the side of the hall and took the call. Naku's eyes sided as she saw his mouth curled up in obvious fury, that showed in his arched up eye brows and his finger that pointed up infinitely ! something's happened she thought and alerted Baji ,as she pointed to Dutta.
Before Baji went after him , Dutta shot up his wooden stairs and pulled opened his cupboard , and pulled out an official case which held his two pistols. Dutta pulled them out and held the guns on each of his forefingers and swung ,then threw them up in the the air and caught one firmly in each of his palms. Baji entered and saw his Bhau armed . One look at his grim face told Baji it seemed he received bad news. Dutta was about to walk past Baji in a hurry , but suddenly stopped and offered his friend an explanation
" Baji got a call from my security services, there a siege at the local shopping arcade. Some hostages taken.. one of them is Seema! no Baji! you can't come security services are there already! I go alone ! you hold the fort here! ,and Dutta tucked his pistols behind his back and bounced down the stairs. Naku was already there ready with her arms to stop him , but he ran past her and called out as he turned back his head
"Naku don't delay me! ask Baji! and he sprinted out of the hall, as all watched completely baffled. Naku ran to the door but he had already speeded off. She looked extremely anxious and she felt someone reached out for her .It was Krishna he looked up at her and smiled up at her, as he squeezed her hand
"why worry Tai , his duty calls .. duty is more important than the mahurat . Duty is probably about other lives, compared to his own! so Tai don't worry ,just pray he's in time , where ever he's heading." consoled Krishna. Baji of course explained to all why Bhau left in a hurry . Immediately prayers were offered for Seema's safety. Naku mused, he did the right thing..she couldn't have stopped him any way ,it was to do with Seema who meant a lot to him. Naku smiled silently as she looked at her nervous fingers that twisted her dupatta ends.. Seema is after all like a daughter of this house..
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Stuck in the traffic jam , he was briefed by the joint services agencies.. that the cctv has shown the culprit ,one man.. Ravindra belongs to the local security services. Bitty information, but seems to be a case of kidnapping.. girl is Nana Tavde's local philanthropists daughter! Dutta slammed on the clutch and punched his steering and shook his head furiously ,knew it he was up to something! told her but she never listened , went against me , went against Tavde babba! .. suddenly he realized he needed to inform Nana. Before he gets the news from the local news. Dutta banged his palm on the steering was it sensible to let babba Tavde know about such news? without being there to support him ,mused Dutta , as he had great regard for his fathers friend. But dutta sighed he was duty bound to inform a father about his daughters current circumstances.
One of the hardest part of his job , he rendered,was when he eventually informed Tavde on the phone. No surprises, the father was devastated and embarked on a catalogue of complaints against Seema's stubbornness over getting married to Ravi. Dutta always looked upon Seema with affection, and even when she was a child he tended to protectively veer her away from her babaa's wrath. Besides he thought , this was an emergency situation, a cool head needed to be maintained to clarify future course of action. Dutta eyes welled up as he swallowed a lump in his throat, for all this was merely theory in practice! it was hard not to be emotionally disturbed by a father who snivelled
"Dutta..save my Seema.. prove it that you are my friend shree Ram's own son.. he was a brave man Dutta! you hear me! show me that you have his blood in your veins! shouted a near mad Nana. Dutta twitched his jaw and did his duty of containing Nana Tavde.
"look babba Tavde . it's wasn't easy for me to tell you all this and as such asking you to relax would be an understatement. Babba . to save Seema is first amd foremost my duty..its what I get paid for ,to protect people's lives. from you.. all I want is that you relax and put your trust in me" ,said Dutta in a matter of fact tone. The reference of, not being his friend shree Ram son, didn't really help, as a matter of fact it put Dutta off. His being adopted , being an orphan, always surfaced and forced him to recede into his corner. Nana was too preoccupied with his present trauma to fathom that Dutta had suddenly turned quiet . So he initiated the conversation over the phone yet again , bucking Dutta up ,for his own assurance that he will retrieve his daughter safely..
"Dutta you know that I always wanted you as my son.. so here a selfish father is begging you for the life of his daughter ! Dutta why am I sitting here in my front room ,I should head for the shopping arcade myself! insisted Nana. Dutta could have dissuaded him but abandoned the idea as he couldn't stop a father from being where his daughter was held .But as a security man he could not tell a civilian to walk into a volatile scenario either, so he held his piece . But Nana too understood the security professional at the other end ,and deducted Dutta's silence as a silent yes , to Nana coming to the arcade. The traffic rolled again ,as Dutta put his car into gear and released the clutch, while he told Nana Tavde..
"I am on the move now, babba Tavde, god willing all will be well.. and yes babaa will keep you posted.. by the way how did you find out? Dutta was curious to know
"it was your mother Dutta , Aye Sahib..who phoned me and assured me that you had left to rescue Seema. see Dutta , she realized that it was a family situation.. yours and ours and thus has to be shared with each other to gain support from each other ," Nana revealed. Dutta nodded his head and switched off his phone.
~~~~~~~~~
As soon as his jeep turned into the entrance to the parking lot he was detained by armed police who manned a frenzied bumper to bumper trail of cars that crawled out of the parking lot. Dutta screwed up his nose as he peered at the winding tail back of shopper's cars. These were clearly the ones who had got away. One of the armed police walked over to Dutta ,as he sat in his drivers seat. Dutta pointed to his security shoulder snaps and said in his guttural voice
"Dutta Patil.. security services need to pass" he pushed his two fingers in his breast pocket to pull out his papers but the guard replied
"you can go sir ".. and raised the automated barricade . Dutta parked in a hurry, jumped out of his jeep and entered the shopping arcade from the ground floor. Shoppers from the siege floor streamed out of the lifts .. which meant the elevators were in use constantly. He turned his head towards the escalators they too were full of travellers being transported down from the second floor! there was only on option left to him to get to the floor where Seema was held. He leapt across the stairs two at a time! till he got to the floor, the security staff , commandos and armed police spun around as they saw the door opened on to the floor, underneath the exit sign. Dutta raised his arms and sided his head to his shoulder slides, and the rest of the personnel nodded . Dutta walked over to one of the officers before the toilets and wished to be briefed.., especially about what measures have been taken to kick off action? much to his consternation, it was just a waiting game , they expected him to give himself up
"and if he doesn't ? what then ? he will start killing the hostages ,you do realize that? he said to the commando commander, and then continued rather annoyed
"seems to me you haven't done any negotiations with him.. well since he's a guy who works in security services,, I'll be happy to pick things up from here, as long as you cover my back..!" Dutta informed them coldly . Then turned to the arcade manager,
"can you show me where the security audio visual department , will talk to him first.. as using force to penetrate in to the toilet should be the last resort, it's a hostage situation, besides , want him for questioning..
~~~~~~~~~~
Dutta could see Ravi in the toilets as he scratched the back of his neck with the nozzle of his gun. Seema and the shopping centres cleaner sat huddled back to back their heads bowed down on their folded shoulders. Dutta had to end their misery and he called out in his guttural voice.
"Ravi.. yours truly , Dutta Bhau..." Ravi reeled around and couldn't see Dutta, whereas Dutta could make him out clearly on the cctv monitor in the control room. Ravi smiled and looked at the wall mounted camera..
"ah yes Dutta expected you to stop by to say hello"
"humm Ravi , but pity Dutta hasn't called to say he loves you.. he called to tell you what a lily livered girl you are... in our culture they say drop the gun and wear bangles! and by the looks of it, I'll with pleasure be the one to put them on you.. said Dutta
"who gets to wear the bangles, and who puts them on who?.. is yet to be seen? Dutta.. but don't you think by the looks of things at my end , seems it'll be your wrists that the bangles will grace! you forget I've got the one who matters to you.." Seema screams with a turn of her head
"Dutta! he's a mad man , get in here and shoot his brains out like you said that day Dutta! but this stupid Seema never listened to you.. kill him Dutta! Seema cried, but was butted on the top of her head by Ravi's elbow!
"you coward! picking on defenceless females! leave her be, if a single scratch comes on her, I scrape your hide off! Dutta grew impatient , this was one demented mentally sick man, who wasn't willing to stop at anything. The idea was to keep him talking till the sudden ramming into the toilets by the commandos doesn't when he least expects it.
"you know Ravindra you're surrounded ! you can't get away .. only way you can get out of the loo is on upon a police stretcher! and while you're dead think about your mother and your sisters marriages, how unfortunate they are to have a low life you in their lives... hey Ravi think about your mother! you are not you're mothers good son! yelled Dutta accusingly . But his own voice faltered when he mentioned about the latter part of the sentence.. good or bad son at least Ravi has a mother , not like him.. who.. Dutta bit the inside of his cheek hard and then looked at the scene which was the need of the hour.. not his personal issues of being motherless..
"leave my mother and sisters out of this Dutta!will you! bellowed Ravi. Dutta raised his palm pity Ravi couldn't see and he also had little knowledge of what Dutta refused to share with him!
" look Ravi , let's not waste time , you state your business and I'll state mine.. soo tell me what you're after?
" well to tell you the truth which you're aware of, Seema for sure I don't want.. it's some quick buck from her stingy father!
" aye Ravi you'll get it, Nana Tavde is a generous man, but you hand his daughter to me first" Dutta demanded calmly.. to which Ravi replied equally calmly
"come and get her than Dutta, be my guest , besides I am getting a bit bored of this place.." Dutta looked at the commandos behind him and signalled to them and mouthed as he pressed his palm against his chest
Me, going up.. now cover my back..
To Ravi he informed through the microphone, his face clouded with a dark expression.
"Ravi just letting you know expect me any time now.. just hold your horses till then.."
"waiting eagerly for you Dutta !..
Dutta crawled through the original wooden structural ceiling right above the toilets on his knees. The place was riddled with wiring and cables. Dutta peered ahead ,around and with care ,soundlessly on all fours he moved on. Beads of sweat gathered on his brow and the tip of his nose. He wondered which tiles were immediately above the toilet that he wanted? He prayed , Bappa make it possible that he ends up above the right spot where Ravi stood. But till then, he would have to wait for some auditory clues that indicated to him that the commandos were positioned before the toilet door. He prayed that Seema would do something , say something to signal some reaction from Ravi where he would have to reply make a sound .Dutta felt the tile under his palm it was a large polystyrene tile screwed onto the second as seen decorative ceiling of the toilet. Nervously he unscrewed the four ends of the tile and soundlessly , yanked up one side of the tile and peeped through the slit. Yes thank heaven's he was at the right spot. Ravi paced back and forth, and every so often jerked and looked at the door, he clearly waited for his arrival. Dutta twitched his jaw , flared his nostrils. He fumed as he felt the butt of his pistol in his trouser pocket pressed into his crouched legs. Had he wanted he would have shot a hole through Ravi's head from the vantage point of the second ceiling? but Ravi was in the mood for adventure ,and Dutta was in every mood to give him the misadventure of his life!
Movement underneath, Dutta watched from above as Ravi stood both his hostages. The cleaner was not of much use to him, so her he flattened against the wall, ordered her to stay there. Seema he backed into him and folded one arm lock around the side of her neck and with the other he pointed a gun at Seema's head!
"I am getting bored of waiting for that Dutta of yours Seema! looks like Ravi will have to get rough with you".. Dutta looked down at Seema who winced and sided her head. Dutta had to act!
Slowly the polystyrene tile in the second ceiling moved and while Ravi aimed his gun at Seema head! Dutta hurled the tile aside and dropped on top of Ravi's head like his death! Ravi in shock was hurled to toilet floor! as Dutta landed on his feet but contained himself on his two long legs! Seema screamed and ran towards Dutta chest. Dutta's eyes watched the fallen Ravi on the floor, saw he raised his gun and pulled the trigger! bang! Dutta pushed Seema to the side forcibly and stopped the bullet by his body! as he sprang upon Ravi like a hungry lion! another shot fired Ravi !! and Dutta fell to the side !
The door was sledge hammered as the commandos rescued Seema and the cleaner, who ran out of the toilets. Ravi was grabbed, hooded and with both armed folded behind his back was escorted by commandos out of the scene of the siege..
Seema ran to Dutta lying in a pool of blood! raised his head and rested it on her lap!.. his eyes saw her briefly as he mouthed, Naku... and closed his eyes. to be continued Hamlet53 29 .1. 16
have a great weekend and thanks for reading..
heloo afzal and bart.. hope all is well with you both..
Edited by Hamlet53 - 9 years ago
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