Avneil FF: The Red Thread of Fate (Updated Ch 3 Pg5) - Page 3

Coffee House, Khanna Hospital

Ali and Neil relished their coffee while discussing the details of the crashed SUV Lexus RX and then about Ali's dream ride the dashing red Range Rover Evoque. Both did not realize that it was way past 10 until DD showed up in search of Neil.

"I tried calling you, Sir. You didn't pick up." DD complained.

Neil checked his phone to see twelve missed calls, mostly from DD and a few from his mother Mrs. Swetha Khanna. He would be a gone case today if he didn't call her back now. Neil excused himself to make a call to Swetha.

"DD, Sit down...Did you talk to that engine customization guy..." Ali had dragged DD as well into his car talk. DD looked visibly relieved when Neil got back from the call.

"Sir, We tracked the owner of the crashed SUV." DD had got news.

Both Ali and Neil turned toward DD instantly. Ali thought the SUV might have belonged to a business magnate or an NRI who gifted it to his spoiled brat daughter though seeing Avni, Ali did not feel that she could be one. On the other hand, Neil was sure that there was something else, Why would a lone girl drive the car to a lonely place at that time of the day?

Maybe a lover's spat or may be a stalker!

He made a note to check the CCTV cameras once again to check if someone was trailing the SUV before the crash.

"Vidhyut R of VR Industries" DD named the owner without much dramatics.

Neil almost dropped the mobile he was fiddling with. Vidhyut R had been under his radar for a while now. Vidhyut, being a smart fellow on top of being influential, always evaded him and his many efforts to get evidence against his drug and human trafficking business.

"Then who is this girl?" Ali beat him to that question.

"That we don't know. We are in touch with his attorney now. Mostly Vidyut's one of the girlfriends or Maybe someone who came just for the day." DD paused for a minute so that the details got sunk in properly.

"Her blood has no alcohol traces," Ali answered the question popped up in Neil's mind.

"And no drugs as well" He added.

Neil was still reeling under the shock of the mystery girl being associated with Vidhyut. Vidhyut was known for his philandering ways and this association hurt him in ways he never imagined.

She is a stranger. calm down

"Ali Bhai, but We had recovered a packet of drugs from the SUV's dashboard. Nothing costly may be homegrown weeds of a sort, still punishable under law. What else do you expect from a Casino King's SUV, girls, drugs, or maybe both." DD's laugh came to a sudden stop as if he realized something in the midway and he turned to look at Neil.

Neil, though he maintained his usual mood outside, he was battling a sudden surge of a lot of emotions inside. The reddish hue of his ears gave away his mental state to DD easily. DD had been with him for years and there was never a moment when DD did not understand Neil's emotions.

"Well, We might be wrong! Let's hear what she has to say." DD added for Neil's sake.

"It could be a suicide attempt. Who else drives such a car irresponsibly!" Bet on Ali to think about the car first always.

"Let me see if she is awake." Ali started messaging the emergency Nurse from his work phone. Neil, who was torn between the option of seeing the girl one last time and not seeing her, decided to avoid her today and forever.

I have nothing to do with a strange girl. Absolutely nothing.

"She is awake and now being shifted to a room. Why don't you come with me now? Maybe she will be comfortable if a doctor is around, that too a handsome one" Ali was surely in a happy mood and happy to help, But someone else on the table was not.

"DD, you get the statement. Mom had called me a couple of times, she needs my help with some documentation of Rehab. I am leaving. Get me the details tomorrow."

"Yes Sir, I will file the FIR then?" DD mired his question in a half convincing statement.

"Yes tomorrow, for the drugs, yes. But do take her statement." Neil paused and deliberated looked away from DD when he added this

"What if she has another story to tell?"

****

Avni opened her eyes to face a dimly lighted room with a lot of medical instruments stalked away on the side. She took few minutes to regain her consciousness.

Hospital. Damn

She could vaguely recollect the last moments of her ingloriously executed plan. The police jeep, the sudden turn, the JCB...Slowly yet steadfastly she put the pieces together. She tried to feel the stitches on her right side of the head to assess the wound. She had no idea where she was and how she got here in the first place.

Her last memories of the accident involved few police jeeps and that was worrying her the most. She definitely did not want anything to do with the police. But if the police were involved, Avni's could not afford to change her identity.

Truth is the best facade of her intentions. So stick to it.

A flicker near the door caught her eye. She could see a dark silhouette of a man, who stayed near the door too long to be a hospital attendant. From the silhouette, the image should be a man of above average height and weight. The first image flashed through her brain was that of Vidhyut's bouncer. With bated breath, she waited for the next move of the shadow. Her eyes scanned the room for possible weapons and found none.

After few seconds of complete silence and fright, The shadow moved away and She could hear footsteps approaching her room. He exhaled deliberately to keep her shivering hand under check. She closed her eyes and waited.

A minute later, Ali and DD walked into Avni's room with the nurse. Ali, still on high from the late night caffeine, bounced towards Avni's bed and took her pulse. He adjusted the glucose nozzle and checked the duty nurse and doctor's notes.

"All seems fine DD." Indicating DD that he could go ahead with proceedings.

He slightly tapped Avni's cheek and waited for her to open her eyes. A tiny nosering on Avni's nose glittered slightly inviting Ali's attention to her face. Ali has not seen such a pretty face anywhere. He could understand how Neil became so weak-kneed with this accident case.

Avni opened her eyes to meet a kind gaze of a handsome doctor. His curly hair caught her attention first, there was something endearing about it. Her plan to pretend dizziness to avoid any kind of confrontation with anyone met a dead end with a dashing doctor smiling at her with utmost innocence. Avni had no choice other than to smile back.

"Hello, pretty woman. Dr. Ali." He extended his hand to touch hers.

"May I know your name please, young lady?" Ali quipped.

"Ms. Avni Mehta" Her voice had a rasping tone from the dry throat. Still, the name sounded melodious to Ali.

The Nurse helped Avni to sit straightly while Ali did some basic medical checks on her, all the while maintaining a chit-chat to lighten up Avni and Avni was indeed relaxed when he got up to give way to DD.

"Ma'am, I am Deena Dayal, SI, Mumbai Police and ..." His mobile ringer interrupted him just in time. He looked at the screen to see the caller. Seeing the caller, DD shushed everyone in the room and took the call immediately.

"Sir, Yes Sir...Sir..." Avni and Ali passed a perplexed looks at each other to see a stiffened DD literally shivering talking to the mystery caller. After the call, DD turned towards Avni with tightened lips.

"Ma'am. We are sorry for the trouble. There is not going to be a case registered for the accident.We do not need the statement as well. " With that, he left the room in a hurry.

"Well, that was quick." Ali tried to defuse the tense situation seeing the creases on Avni's face who was adjusting her brain gears to assess this sudden change in the game. She was expecting a bunch of police cases for breaking and entering Vidhyut Industries, stealing from Vidhyut Industries, stealing an imported car from Vidhyut, crashing it. She even expected Vidhyut to personally come down to see her arrest just for the last offense.

"Ok Avni, tell me. Do you want to call someone? Your parents?"

That question brought back Avni to reality. She wouldn't dare call Madhavi Thai and gave her another reason to worry. Calling Amol was out of the question. Since, no one was interested in pursuing the break-in case on Vidhyut Industries, the chance of Amol getting to know things from the newspaper was less. So she didn't have to worry on that front. The only worry she should have was Vidhyut, an enemy she inadvertently handpicked today.

"None."

Ali raised an eyebrow and peered intently at Avni. He pulled a nearby chair and sat down.

"I am all ears"

For once Avni decided to tell Ali her true story, or at least half of it.

***

Neil was racking his brain on the file on their rehabilitation center, a perfect way to distract himself. His mother Swetha runs the charity wing of Khanna Hospitals, Khanna Rehabilitation Center with the help of Neil. Prakash, being a busy Doctor was not always around Neil so inevitably Neil turned into a perfect Mama's boy and this rehabilitation center had become their way to bond.

"Tillu, at least you can set a standard for the patients you bring in. Last week you got a homeless guy from the street and we have spent last two weeks, just giving him baths to get rid of the stinking smell." Swetha was in a bad mood just like her Tillu.

"Mom, can't you please keep someone for this screening profile thing? And no..I can not select people based on the class for my rehab. I meant it for the people who suffer and they are always welcome." An irritated Tillu shot back.

"You are the one who insists on listing down the basic details of each and every shabby fella down the rehab. And I don't like seeing such stories. I better run it like a business than invest in them emotionally." Swetha was not in a mood to pamper Tillu. But she could sense the heaviness of his heart and that melted her heart.

"Ok Tillu, Let's do it tomorrow. Tell me, how was your work? Did you guys clean up that forlorn place?" Swetha took the file from Tillu and tucked it away under the coffee table. The two hot cups of Coffee on top of the table stayed untouched.

Neil, who was deep in thought took a moment to pause and decide what to reply to his mother. On normal days, he shared everything with his mother and today was not a normal day. Reluctantly he narrated his day till the accident and took a long pause before continuing.

"A girl?" Swetha wondered.

"Yeah, a girl," Neil replied and Swetha didn't miss that slight change of tone. DDs face flashed on his phone which was in silent mode. He never took a call from anyone when he was with his mother. Not today.

"DD...What did she say?" Neil didn't waste time on anything else.

"What?..." Swetha noted the frustration on Neil's face and the long pause from Neil's side of the conversation. She guessed it could be about the brat accident girl and winced at the sudden importance her Tillu is giving her. She waited for him to tell her the updates after he cut the call. Neil waited for a minute before updating the details to his mom, his 4-am friend any day.

"Mom, it seems like there is high-level pressure in this case. Vidhyut's attorney says Vidhyut had given the car to the lady to drive. And they have no complaints about the accident. In fact, they gave the JCB driver and their firm, out of court settlement money, an outlandishly large sum, to withdraw the accident and damage case. His driver confessed keeping the hidden weed packer in the dashboard and he is a known drug dealer. We have nothing against Vidhyut or the girl now."

"Well, that's good. right?No case No tension" She picked up her warm coffee and sipped it looking intently at her son, who seems to be assessing the facts than narrating the incident to her.

Neil wondered at this sudden change of events. The girl he met today, she was indeed Vidhyut's close acquaintance or even a girlfriend and for her, Vidhyut tuned in even the IG. Vidhyut let her drive his car and even shared his packet of weed with her, Neil thought sarcastically, then she might be extra special.

Neil, struggling to dominate a sudden surge of anger, rubbed his hands together in frustration and the brainwave hit him.

She is the key to Vidhyut.

Neil joined his mother with his Coffee and silently sat with Swetha. A poised moment between mother and son, but Swetha realized rightly that her son sitting so close to her was far away in his thoughts of a certain mysterious girl. Neil, oblivious to his mother's growing insecurities, was busy weaving plans for that same mysterious girl and Vidhyut R.

Vidhyut R, I will give your story a perfect 'the end'