Black & White Love ~ MG ~ Chapter 15, page 24, updated 24/07 - Page 3

As soon as she stepped out of the ambulance, her instincts shot up into a mixture of defence and panic. Her heels crunched against the gravel. She turned around but collided into his stone cold figure.

"Turn around and walk."

"Where am I and who are you?"

"Do as I say."

"Tell me where the hell I am, and who the hell you are," she bit back in retaliation.

"I won't ask you again."

She was about to protest when the so called driver of the ambulance stepped out. He moved his jacket aside strategically to reveal the gun which was holstered at his belt. Another man appeared from around the corner, his hands firmly crossed behind his back.

"They won't hurt you. If you do as we say. Now move."

The paramedic, which Geet soon realised was not a paramedic at all, led the way with Geet in the middle and the two men behind her. They led her into a farmhouse, surrounded by miles and miles of endless open space.

"My brother is a policeman," Geet stated, hoping the fact would change their mind. "As soon as he discovers I've been taken hostage, you won't live to see daylight again."

"You're not being held hostage," he said, turning his head slightly. "There is a patient. Now stay quiet."

They stepped through several doors before Geet came face to face with an elderly man who was strapped to a bed by his arms. An IV drip was by his side and attached to his left arm.

"He was poisoned. We need you to save him."

Geet looked at the so called paramedic, disbelief in her eyes.

"Poisoned? How? And how am I meant to treat him with a mere IV drip? He needs urgent medical care. This isn't something I can do here, with no proper-"

"You're not listening to me. You have to save him. Or you die."

Geet, fuming with rage and horror, took a step forward but one of his men intervened. "That's not a wise decision. Do as he says."

"He needs constant monitoring. The IV drip will do nothing for him. It won't keep him alive. You need to understand. He needs a hospital. I will help him, but you have to take him to a proper hospital."

The paramedic stared at her blankly. "12 hours. Save him to save yourself."

She opened her mouth, but he raised a finger to stop her. He nodded at one of the men, who walked out of the room with him. The other stayed in the room, and stared at her expressionless.

Geet took a deep breath, her hands shaking, her palms sweating. She moved towards the patient, said a quick prayer in her head and began examining his heartbeat with the stethoscope that had been around her neck.

...

"Did you call him?" he asked as they retreated to the porch of the farmhouse. He lit up a cigarette, leaning against the fence.

"He'll be here shortly. What do we do with the doctor?"

"His instructions were clear."

"What if she can't save him? She has a point, brother. An IV drip won't be enough."

The cold, deathly look from his older brother shut him up.

"Fate will decide what happens to her. It is of no relevance to you or me."

He noticed a shadow behind him and turned his head slightly, just enough to catch the light brown of her hair.

"I'm hungry. I need food."

He didn't respond. His brother, Vicky, looked from him to the doctor and back again.

"Did you hear what I said? I can't concentrate if I'm distracted. The patient needs my undivided attention which I can't currently give at the moment. And you want him to survive. So it's in your best interests to take care of me whilst I'm here."

He remained silence, but a slight jerk of his head sent Vicky off towards the exit of the farm.

"Is this a joke to you?" Geet spat out. "You're playing with human lives as if it's a game."

He turned his back to her once more.

"I'm not letting this go. Watch your back once you let me go, the police will be all over you like a swarm of flies. This is highly illegal and immoral. You'll regret this."

When he heard her footsteps leave, he turned to watch her retreating figure enter into the farmhouse. His hands tightened over the fence that he had been leaning against.

...

Once inside, Geet wiped the sweat from her forehead with the back of her hands. The pretence of hunger had bought her time, enough time to somehow smuggle the patient away and into the hands of the correct care that he required.

Her phone was receiving no signal in the remote location that they were in. And after many numerous failed attempts to get through to someone, the battery had eventually died. She didn't dare to ask for a charger; they would probably discard of her phone.

She knew something very dark and sinister was taking place, and somehow she had been caught up in it. Her current priority was the elderly man whose life was at stake she was willing to risk her own, if it meant he would be saved. The only trouble was she had no idea how to help him escape on her own, or if there even was a way out.

She was still lost in her thoughts, stood by the patient's make shift bedside when a clearing of a throat startled her.

"Your food has arrived," Vicky stated. "We're eating outside."

"We?"

A faint smirk appeared on his face. "We were hungry too. I ordered for all of us."

Geet followed him out onto the porch, where the food had been laid out onto a table. He sat on one side, with a chair beside him and a chair across him. Geet took the chair across from him and eyed the food sceptically, trying to look interested. She looked up to meet his stone cold gaze.

He gestured for her to begin eating. Vicky came and sat beside his brother and peeled away at his wrapped sandwich.

Geet's hands remained in her lap, her thumb pressing into the back of her hand; a habit she had when she was nervous.

"You're not eating," he remarked.

She picked up her wrap and opened it slowly, trying to gulp down the sudden sickly feeling that arose in her throat. Something about his presence made her feel incredibly on edge. She knew he was testing her.

"Brother, eat," Vicky nudged him through a mouthful.

"I'm saving mine for later."

Geet forced a few bites down her throat, took a few sips of water and then stood up.

"I'm going to check on the patient."

She walked away, as slowly as she could despite the hairs on the back of her neck all rising. He turned to Vicky and snatched the food from his hand.

"Satisfy your hunger later. Go and keep an eye on her. Do not let her out of your sight. She's gonna run at the first chance she gets, and we can't let her go. Not without making sure he gains consciousness."

Geet had stayed beside the patient for most of the night. Without any further medical equipment, there was very little she could do apart from keep vigilant and ensure that he didn't slip into a coma, or worse, face his death.

She didn't doubt the unnamed man when he said it was his life or hers. There was something in his manner which indicated it had not been the first time those words had been uttered.

The thought of Meera, Ayaan, and her brother swirled around her mind all night. She knew Ayaan would be wondering why she hadn't messaged him after work. Her brother would have been expecting her usual phone call to him to check if he was okay. Meera would be expecting her to clock into work in a matter of hours.

She prayed for the patient to wake him, by a force of pure miracle. Her life now depended on his.

Her frantic thoughts had eventually dulled as the events of the evening tired her out. She had fallen into a slumber against the wall, so she was startled when she was awoken to the sound of hushed voices.

As she tuned in, she realised one of the voices sounded familiar.

Standing up slowly, she checked on the patient's heart beat once more.

Still beating.

She readjusted the drip and walked towards the sound of voices. She hid behind a wall, her back against it as she remained deathly still.

"...like this for more than 24 hours now. His chances of survival are weak."

"What the hell is she here for then?"

"She claims she needs equipment, in a proper medical setting."

"That's not an option."

"We can't keep him here forever. Or her. She mentioned something about her brother being a policeman."

"He's one of the senior detectives. If he-"

Vivek paused in his tracks, staring past Maan at the sight of Geet, staring at him with her eyes widened in horror.

"I believed you," were the last words that came out of her mouth before she turned and ran.

She ran through the rooms, out onto the porch, down the steps and onto the fields which led towards the exit.

She didn't get very far before a hand reached for her arm and pulled her back, forcing her to collide into him.

Maan stared down at Geet who was crying, her fists hitting at his chest.

"Please let me go. Why are you doing this to me?"

Vivek appeared onto the fields, alongside Vicky and the other unidentified man who had accompanied them when they had brought Geet here.

Geet looked past Maan at Vivek, who walked towards her with his hands in his suit pocket.

"I trusted you," she said. "Who are you? What is all of this? Was this pre-planned? Have you kidnapped me? What do you want from me?"

"All I want you to do is to heal that patient."

"Who are you?" she asked.

"Uncle, do you know her?" Maan asked, perplexed at the exchange between the two.

"He's a sick, twisted, lying bas***d!"

"Oi!" Maan stepped before Geet, his face full of rage. Geet registered what had been said and looked past Maan once more at Vivek.

"You're related? Is this a whole mob family that I've gotten into? Whatever this mess is, I want out and I want out right now. Let me go. You have to let me go. Veer will realise I'm missing and he will track every corner of this earth to find me."

Vivek smirked. "Do you not think we've covered our tracks? Maan, it's time. Take her away. She's doing nothing for us anymore."

Maan grabbed her arm and began to lead her away back into the farmhouse. Her cries and pleads fell onto deaf ears as he led her into a room and tossed her aside.

"You can't lock me up! You have to let me go! The patient will die without me! I can't save him from here!"

The door was closed and locked without a further word being said.

Geet fell to the floor, her body convulsing with sobs.

...

"I'm giving you 24 hours," Vivek said to Maan. "My instructions are clear. She was not supposed to see or hear me. This puts everything at stake and I cannot risk that. I want confirmation of the job being completed by tomorrow."

Vivek walked away from the porch, nodding at his bodyguards who escorted him to his car.

Maan watched his uncle walk away, and then he went back into the room where Geet was being held hostage. He opened the door and she shot up, her back against the wall.

"When my brother finds out about this you will never see the light of day."

Maan took a step closer, his face stern.

"That patient will die without my medical attention and it will be on your conscience."

Maan simply smirked, a smirk which indicated that many lives had been taken in front of his eyes before. He took another step closer.

"I'll expose your uncle to the city. They'll see his true colours for who he really is."

One more step and he leaned in to Geet, placing a hand beside her head. She turned her face away, and then looked back into his eyes once more with defiance.

He studied her profile closely, and then grabbed her wrist.

"Let's go."

"Where are you taking me?"

"To do what needs to be done."

Geet dragged her heels, protesting and pulling at his arm. In one swift movement, Maan threw her over his shoulders and carried her away, out of the farmhouse and into the woods. Her screams were futile, as there was no sign of life apart from the two of them.

He placed her onto the ground and watched her run. She stopped when she heard the click of a gun.

Geet slowly turned around to see Maan's gun pointing at her.

She shook her head, her eyes pleading. "Please don't do this. I've done nothing to you, or your uncle. You brought me here under your false pretences. I've just been caught up in this mess."

Maan tilted his head to one side.

"Look, I won't tell anyone about Mr Vivek. Or the patient. I won't breathe a word to my brother. I'll say I was staying over at a friend's house. I've done this before, he won't doubt me. Please don't kill me."

She placed her hand on her chest. "I have a beating heart. I am human, with relationships and feelings and memories. How can you take that away from me? I'm a doctor, all I want to do is save lives. Have you never wanted to save a life before?"

A distant memory caused Maan to lower his gun slightly. Geet noticed the slight shift in his persona and took a step closer, causing him to raise the gun again.

"I'll do whatever you want me to. I'll move away. You'll never see or hear from me again, if you're worried about anyone ever finding out. Please, I'm begging you. I don't want to die."

He came closer, and tilted his head to the other side.

"You don't want to die?"

She shook her head, the tears uncontrollable from her face.

"The thing is, you know too much. You've seen our true colours. There is too much to risk by letting you walk free."

"I told you, I'd move away. You'd never see me again. Mr Vivek can succeed in his plans, nothing would stand in his way. Not me, your average doctor. Who am I, in comparison to a man of his stature and position?"

Maan clicked his tongue. "That's not the point."

He looked at his gun, and then directly at Geet.

"You have one other option."

She stared back at him, waiting for her life line.

"You have to marry me."