Femme Fatale
Chapter five:
Protecting mine
Rules for agents 5:
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Even the sun has some gloomy moments. Today was the same for her Baba was going back to Delhi.
She looked at him with soulful eyes, not ready to pout or whine. But upset none the less. She would miss him tremendously despite having so many people around her.
"Don't be upset little one" Rajiv told the young girl. He patted her head and smiled down fondly. Over the last few weeks she had truly become special to him; the daughter he never had. "I'll be back before you know it"
"Promise?" She asked shyly.
"Promise" He winked at her. "Is there my girl wants me to bring back for her?"
"Nope, I just want to play with you!" She smiled up at him.
"Well I'll do one better, I bring a friend for you to play with!"
"Friend?" This time her eyes were large and excited. The only problem of living here was that she had no one her age.
"Yeah, I'll bring Maan over for a visit. I am sure you'll have fun together" Rajiv tugged on her ponytail with a laugh at seeing her look so happy.
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He stood out amongst the crowd, he always did. Everyone around could see him laugh and charm them but none could see the worry brewing underneath.
Maan couldn't let go of the security breech and as such had ordered everyone to step up on the security. More codes were added to the data system and more monitoring.
Still he was apprehensive about the security breech. The CCTV cameras hadn't picked up anything and neither had they been able to trace anyone. For all it seemed no one had gone to that floor at all.
He didn't think that Geet was the one who broke in, indeed the cameras showed her going to the bathroom and then coming out to walk back to his office.
"Darling, why so serious today?" Laila, a silly socialite giggled at him even while trying to slid a hand to his.
Maan gave his trademark smirk and looked down at her. "Well someone needs to use their brains." He let the snide comment out, knowing that Laila was not going to pick up on the insult. With a smooth gesture he picked up her arm and led her back to her table, making sure that she couldn't hang around him.
But she was one of the many fawning women around him. As always he knew how to manoeuvre and manipulate them.
Too easy, he thought with more than a hint of arrogance. So very easy.
Then he recalled a pair of hazel eyes with their mirth and silent challenge. She was nothing like these women, no fawning or admiration. Instead she was an enigma and definitely something to think about.
There is much more to Geet Handa than what meets the eye, his mind told him. And I find out everything.
It never occurred to him that he was spending a lot of time thinking about his secretory, so engrossed was he in thoughts of her.
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His street name was Crash but the name on his birth certificate was Akash. He had been on the streets since he was a little boy and knew no better.
There was only one aim when you were on the roads; survival. It didn't matter how or what way, one did whatever it took to see the next day. Some people failed but Crash was smarter than most.
He knew the ins and outs of all the roads in town, knew all the underhand dealings. He had perfected the art of survival; not a part of the dealing but in the peripheries. A silent observer, nothing went past him.
He was calmly strolling down the road, with only the street lights as companions. There was no smile or recognition from any of the other street bums, everyone focused on their own lives. No one had the comfort of pointless socializing.
Crash suddenly felt a pair of eyes on his back, watching him. What the hell! With quick manoeuvring he managed to get into one of the side alleys, hiding away from whoever was following.
He let out a relieved sigh, glad that he had managed to throw of the follower but the relief was short lived as he felt a hand on his shoulder.
"How have you been Crash?" A familiar feminine voice reached out to him. "Long time since we have met"
Gulping nervously, Crash carefully turned around. He was a brave guy, you would have to be to survive out here but she was…well she was someone that demanded fear. "Umm…..hi…boss"
He didn't know her name or anything about her, except that she was known as the boss. Initially he had laughed at her, thinking that she was an over ambitious woman who wouldn't last a night on the street.
How wrong I was! He thought sarcastically. She knew everything about everyone and there was very little that she couldn't do. He had seen her make a drug lord cry in pain before she made him quit his trade, with the threat of death looming over him. Funnily enough no one ever heard from the drug lord ever again, as if he never existed.
Crash didn't want that fate for himself, so he had always co-operated with the boss, bending to her wishes. So without any hesitation, he listened with rapt attention.
"I need you to do a job for me" She gave a benign smile, all the scarier on her beautiful and serene face. She never screamed instead used her innate ability to control. "I need you to keep me updated on what is being whispered underground about a certain development"
Could you be more vague, Crash thought but didn't have the courage to voice. "About what boss?"
"Are there any whispers about anyone trying to go up against the Khuranas, or I should say Maan Singh Khurana?" She stepped forward, so that they were inches apart to ensure that he understood the importance of her words. When the boss wanted you to hear, you would have to hear.
"Do you want to kill the man?" Crash's eyes widened because everyone knew that Khurana was not on of the most powerful men but the most powerful one.
"No, just the opposite." She gave a small smile that had the hair on Crash's arms stand up. "And I want to make sure that no one can come close to him. So keep me updated if you here the softest of whispers."
With that she strolled off, somehow managing to disappear into the darkness without a trace, as usual.
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She stood outside his house, watching in the darkness and silence. She knew his schedule from the top of her mind and knew that he had only just returned from the party he was to go to.
"Hey girl" A crude voice, belonging to an even cruder looking man, called out. "Want some action." She just gave her look of disdain and ice cool anger. That didn't go down to well with the idiot. "Don't give me that look bitch!" He said while threateningly getting closer.
With a flicker of her hand she had him on the floor with his mouth bleeding and her show on his throat choking him.
"Get out before I crush you" She said with no hesitation. She had killed before and undoubtedly would do so in the future. That was part of the job.
The guy ran away quickly, realising that she was no normal person, leaving her to ponder her thoughts again.
She had come here directly after meeting with Crash. It was beyond what the job required but he wasn't truly a job.
He so much more than a job, her illogical side voiced out but as usual she ignored that thought.
Yes she was the boss of an agency that was so covert that they had no name, no identity or even a base. That was the beauty of it but also the reason for personal detachment. No one could know that was the cardinal rule.
Yet Maan Singh Khurana's protection was a personal issue and it could never be anything else. It was the reason why she was standing outside his place at midnight, despite already having an agent inside the house to protect him.
He was too important for the big picture. Money and power were too common but he went beyond that with his innovation. Maan had pushed the boundaries with his new technology, something that would revolutionise defence as well as create new holes. Every government on the planet would want him and every terrorist organisation would want him.
And she knew that there were people who would go to any lengths to get to him, even murder him.
But he was important to other people.
After all he was her Baba's son and as such hers to protect.
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She could barely contain her excitement. Finally she would meet her Baba's boy.
But the moment Baba and Maan came her shyness took over. Like a shy little turtle she hid behind her Baba, letting her head show through the side.
"Sweetheart, this is Maan" Rajiv tried not to laugh as his little girl hit behind him and his son was brooding in front of him.
Even at this tender age, Maan already was intelligent and had a sense of dignity exceeding his age. So he could hardly care that he was meeting a pesky little child.
"Dad what is the point of this?" Maan rolled his eyes, not realising the effect of his words.
She, like Maan, had no deficit of dignity and took the insult quite personally. So she decided to take revenge.
Letting out big tears she started to sob, immediately garnering Rajiv's concern. "Darling don't cry! Maan apologise to her"
"But Dad-"
"Apologise!"
"I am sorry" the sullen boy mumbled. Her sobs receded but it was only Maan who saw the evil smirk on her face.
It seemed she wasn't that dumb after all, he thought with a mixture of resentment and amusement.
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AUTHOR's NOTE:
Again thanks for the lovely comments!😃
Pleased with all the support for the story...promise that it will get more interesting...
Okay I hope you guys now have a clearer idea of who is the boss...and the little girl.😉
PLEASE DO COMMENT and press the LIKE button!!
Nothing motivates me as much as reading your comments!😃
-SanjanA
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