SS a Business transaction Updated (28 july 2015) ch 17,18,19pg 18 - Page 2

Chapter 5

They headed towards the airport at record speed. Madhu's head drooped on the shoulders of her sister.

"Is she awake yet" asked Arihant

"No" I just hope we are able to board the plane before she wakes up. Padmini Shamsher Mallik tried to stifle her sobs but she failed miserably. They were leaving behind this country probably for good. This was the place where she was born and brought up, which held the warm memories of her husband. Her husband passed away in a freak accident on the construction site. They had been very well off till his death. Shamsher Mallik owned a small time construction company. They were doing well till they had partnered with Balraj Chaudhary an old friend of Shamsher Mallik. They shared the same village. After his death Balraj started managing the company and gradually his real shades became evident to the entire family. He was now eying their first born daughter Trishna . She had been able to ward off his uninvited advances till now with the help of her strong daughter Madhu. She was doing her internship with RK industries when Shamsher Mallik was killed. Madhu became the bread winner of the family. Balraj started extorting even Madhu's salary from her. Initially on the pretext of firm not performing, lack of even food. Madhu never had the time to find out what was going wrong with the firm more over she had been so enamored by RK that she never thought of reviving her father's firm. She never was interested in construction business anyways. Had she cared to look into the ledgers of the firm she would have known that they were actually doing fairly well for a small size construction company. The things turned ugly in past few months. Balraj had actually got a government road building tender and to fulfil it he had mortgaged all the movable and immovable assets of the firm. He was still not able to deliver on time and neither the quality was approved. Eventually the payment was deferred. This led to a serious cash deficit and loss. He in his dire effort to gather the money to pay off the lenders had resorted to further take loans from the market. This is how he came in touch with Mukund Dixit a con artist of all times. There on Balraj's downfall became swift and certain. The worst blow to Padmini came when he coerced Madhu to marry Mukund by threatening her that he would malign her sister Trishna's name if she did not comply. With Madhu being too emotionally invested in the family gave up the fight and caved in. her last resort being RK and he had no interest in her meant that she anyways had no recourse.

"Aunty please get down we are here." Arihant did not know what to comfort her. He never had the ability to console people.

"She is still unconscious. We might need a wheel chair." Trishna said pointing to Madhu.

"Nope I will carry her. We don't need another wheel chair in the family."

"Excuse me." said Trishna with eyes ready to acquire the shape of a football field

"Obviously bhai does not goes abducting strangers." He said picking up Madhu as if she weighed nothing more than feather.

Once they entered into the private and practically deserted lobby of the airport he placed Madhu on the overstuffed recliner carefully straightening her head."

"What do you mean by that?" Trishna again asked

"For now all you need to know is she is flying to Perth in Australia."

"I know where Perth is." She said in an irritated tone.

"yeah, yeah I know you paid great attention in your Geography classes."

"Is she flying alone to Australia?" Trishna asked again

"Nope me and Arihant will accompany her. She already had a valid visa to Australia. We need to take her some place which is not accessible to Mr Chaudhary and Mr. Dixit. You both will be leaving for Chennai with my wife. She will keep you safe there in our office branch. As soon as you get your visa you will also fly off to Perth." This was Aniket.

"What will we do there?"

"That is a question to be considered later for now your survival is in question. I am certain uptill now your uncle and Mr Dixit both would be hunting for you all desperately. I think you should take care of your mom now who appears to be distraught than trying to act smart." Aniket never knew how to mince his words. His bluntness made Trishna squirm.

"How can she go alone with you two?"

"Your flight leaves in 15 minutes. You should board now. No wait I will wake Madhu up so she sees your mother before leaving."

"I want to stay back with her."

"And get killed."

"How do I know that she would be safe with you?"

"I cannot prove that you. All you can do is to have faith. Your situation is like having a serpent in front and a lion behind. You don't stand a chance with the lion but the serpent ,may be just may be you can escape if you have enough brain. Though I doubt that you do but I am sure that your sister does." Trishna bit her lips hard so as to avoid speaking any further to this Mr bitter tongue.

"There she comes. Meet my wife Roma."

"Hi" Roma extended her hand warmly towards Trishna and then went to meet Padmini. Roma was a soothing balm to now hyperventilating Padmini.

"Aniket if our plane is all set I think we will leave I don't want to be here longer than necessary." Roma had urgency in her tone. Padmini took a deep breath and addressed Aniket directly now.

"I am feeling very anxious."

Aniket understood the agony she had been in for past so many weeks. He placed both his hands on her shoulder and pulled her in an embrace and then made her sit on the sofa.

"Aunty trust us Madhu is in safe hands. There was no other way to get her and you all out of this mess. Had Trishna and Madhu been careful and taken care of atleast the finances of the firm or had you dissolved altogether you would not have been in this fix. Those people have taken all the loans in your name as you were the beneficiary of the firm. You are as of now head deep in loans and that too not with banks but with loans sharks in the market. They can swallow both your girls without a second burp."

"just a minute" this was Roma she saw Padmini shuddering and knew all these details could be left out. No matter with how much care they were uttered they still caused deep anxiety to Padmini.

"I think we must make a move."

"I think so too." This was Trishna she had understood pretty well that they had escaped the lion and she needed to use her brains to weasel out of grip of this serpent. That she surely would.

"These are transit papers you need to sign them." Aniket asked Trishna and Padmini ji. They both did so without even reading once.

"You did not read it" Arihant said looking at her with a glint in his eyes.

"As if I had an option to choose." Said Trishna looking more resigned.

"You could have atleast tried. Your sister would have."

"You know her quite well?"

"Not that much but I think my brother does." He said winking at her. She was about to give him a quick retort but was dragged away by Roma to meet Madhu once before they left. She had gained consciousness back. Aniket was talking to her and she sat listening with patience. Her head was hurting and she felt nauseous. She had not eaten a bit since past two days and it was no difficult for her to hold her head up.

"I am feeling too week." was all she said after listening to everything.

Roma had brought some sandwiches with her which she gave to every one. Madhu sat quietly on her chair trying to wrap her head around what was told to her. She replayed it in her mind

"Arihant had chloroformed you so that he could bring you here without any delay and rousing unnecessary interest of the guests. You will be leaving for Australia now with us to help Arihant with dissolution of the mining industry which was functional under the name of RK's first wife Deepali. She still held the majority of shares. The company was as sick as it could get. They needed to dissolve all the assets to pay the arrears and come out of it clean. After you facilitate the dissolution of this company you would be free to take up any job any where and start afresh."

Madhu looked back at him and asked.

"Why is he helping me."

"I just started to wonder if you had turned thick head like your sister since you never asked me this." Madhu was more than used to his blunt ways. Even in this dire situation he was able to elicit a genuine smile from her.

"Don't mind him he is as dumb as an owl." Roma said to Trishna

"You did not answer me." said Madhu

"He as in RK never had any specific reason for any of his act or omissions. He is doing this probably because he can or may be he wants to do the good deed of the decade."

"There has to be something in it for him. He never does anything without thoroughly considering his profits."

Aniket and Arihant looked at her and then at each other. They did not dare to reveal what was in it. They actually could not even dare to reveal it to RK also. They needed to get her signatures on the papers as discreetly as possible so it was imperative that they assure her with something. She was not some ordinary person who had brains but rarely put it to use. She actually exploited her grey matter to full potential. Hiding this entire thing from her would be nearly impossible and they needed to act very carefully. It was their only chance to get it done.