Chapter 86
"And then Rishab found this paper which made Akash look suspicious... Then Rishab put him under the spotlight...", Madhu frowned her eyebrows in confusion, "Huh?" "I mean to say Rishab interrogated him... Rishab style. There was action and reaction, emotion and drama.. Ouuuhh.. did I tell you about the very Rohit Shetty meets Saif Ali Khan in Race style car sequence minus the 360 degree spins? Don't think I did.. Well it was awesome.. So very James Bond.. (going into dreamland) the whole package.. brains... muscle.. good looks... f**king awesome pair of hands...Ouch..." Adam rubbed the area where Madhu had pinched him. "And all mine!! But I do agree... he has f**king awesome hands..."
Rishab was discussing some details with the Inspector while Madhu was changing in the wash-room. A sudden familiar laughter caught his attention and he turned to catch Madhu laughing at something Adam was saying. He continued to watch her from afar, taking in her animated face, a glimpse of the past, the time they spent on the mountain.
"Chief.." Bittuji called out, drawing Rishab's attention from the most pleasant sight in the world, his Madhu. Irritated, he grumbled, "What? What is it?"
"The car is here as requested. If you are ready to make a move let me know and I will get the driver ready." Rishab nodded his head in reply and went back to watching Madhu.
Madhu felt Rishab's eyes on her and turned to look at him. They looked at each other from across the room for the longest time. It was like they were in a trance, as if they were communicating to each other through vibrations. since spewing out words was just messing things up further.
There was a sudden commotion in the other room and they all heard some screams and sounds of things falling.
Like a flash of lightening, Sikander darted into the room and headed towards Madhu. He reached out to touch her and she visibly recoiled, backing away with a look of terror on her face.
Adam started forward to block Madhu but a flash of a black coat indicated he was already too late. Not only everyone in the room but probably everyone on the street might have heard the yell of, "Don't you go near her again." And saw the accompanying punch fly towards Sikander's face as Rishab spun him around.
Blood spurted. Then they were on the ground with Rishab on top beating the stuffing out of Sikander.
At the first squirt of blood Adam's neurons began working again and he rushed forward, dragging Bittuji with him, to get Rishab.
The Inspector was already there trying to pull Rishab off. Adam watched horrified as Rishab shrugged him off and punched the Inspector hard in the jaw all in one fluid movement before returning to his prey.
His eyes were dark and black with fury.
It took all three of them, Adam, Bittuji and the Inspector, plus the help of a couple of other police officers to pry Rishab off. He looked as though he was going to kill him, kill them for interfering, kill anyone. Bittuji looked at his Chief with the blood dripping off of his hands and spattered across his face. Bittuji had known Rishab forever, but the look in those too dark eyes chilled him to the bone, started a quaking fear deep inside of him. He knew deep down that Rishab hadn't looked like that on his worst day.
They were still restraining him forcibly when he frantically looked at a lump on the ground. "Madhu! Madhu!"
It was a cry, he struggled harder in Adam's grasp. Looking down Adam realized Madhu was on the ground, overlooked in the excitement of a fight. He let go of Rishab, letting him drop down to her. Her shook her, screaming now. "Madhu? Madhu? C'mon Madhu, wake up! Wake up damnit."
He looked up at Adam panicked. His body shook willing Madhu to him with incoherent mumblings of her name and pleads to open her eyes. When Rishab's eyes glanced up and met his, in that instant Adam saw the end of the world. Emotions so deep and intense that Adam couldn't even begin to identify them swirled through his darkened eyes. The look in his eyes that said things were about to explode and that he was about to lose it. If it was even possible his eyes got impossibly darker, it was almost inhuman. But something, was it the fury or instinct, can't say, but it seemed to somehow lend Rishab control as he calmly scooped the still limp Madhu up and shouldered his way out of the crowd, heedless of all the stares and whispers that followed him.
The entire room, police officers, journalists, the doctor, Deepali watched, stupefied as Rishab, bloody and imposing carried a limp, bruised Madhu out with Adam and Bittuji at their heels. It was a story to be added in Mumbai's history of weirdness. Two eligible bachelors from affluent families well known in society, one more eligible than the other, love the same girl. She loves one of the two, while the other loves her from afar. She has a short engagement with the wrong guy, but when plans to break it off, disappears. Then she is found bruised and battered by her one true love, but not without his first attempt to maim and then kill the culprit. Then the obsessive lover somehow gets away from the police and their buttery fingers only to cop a feel or finish where he had left off. Only this time the tall, gorgeous and well muscled true lover didn't let up the beatings. It is yet to be seen if the culprit will need a Doctor or a Medical Examiner. But it was truly a sight to see the hunk walking off in the sunset carrying the damsel in distress in arms. Yes.. the news was worthy of being a headline, unless someone decides to shoot the President. Every newspaper owner was looking forward to the sale. Its gossip wasn't likely to be forgotten for a long time.
*******
Madhu and Adam were talking about the journey to finding her. Adam was babbling on about it and how Rishab used all his assets - brains and braun in the process. She and Rishab were having a moment when suddenly there was lots of noice and Sikander was coming right for her.
Sikander's hand reached out to touch her shoulder. She recoiled in fear, disgust. Images and feelings of pain flared as the events began slamming into her mind.
His arm choking her, fist connecting with her eye.
Her back roughly meeting the wall.
She couldn't breathe, she felt everything closing in on her. She saw, through a haze, Rishab arrive.
Too bright.
His fist reaching out and connecting with his nose (Rishab's fist hitting her eye), blood spurting everywhere (blood in her mouth from the split lip).
Pain. Sharp needles.
Rishab pushing him to the ground (Him pushing her on the bed), fists flying everywhere (her punching Sikander to get a sucker punch in return).
Gasp. No air.
It was a mirage, the scenes before her superimposed with the beating from earlier.
She felt herself suffocating with too many people around (an arm crushing her windpipe taking her air).
Rishab's face flashing for a second, dark eyes. He always was (is) 'My knight in shining armor.'
The last clear thought before she plunged into darkness.
Cricket
Hindi TV Shows
CID
Kumkum Bhagya
Ishaani
