Shackles of Love#33#MG Pt 78/Pg 61 24/3/14 - Page 34

CHAPTER 78:

Maan caught her and held her tightly in his arms, intending to never let go. He bit her neck in retaliation and muttered huskily, "Ab tumhe kaun bachayega Geet...?" when her frigid stillness got through to him.

He looked up and was taken aback when he spotted half a dozen men with hockey sticks and chains in their hands, looking at them menacingly. Alert to imminent danger, his body straightened and he immediately pushed Geet behind him. However this did not stop the men from passing lascivious glances over Geet, who stood trembling behind him. Her saree had become wet from his embrace and it was sticking to her body in parts, outlining her body for the grubby eyes leering at her. She looked scared as she clutched Maan's jacket, trying to hide herself from their dirty gazes. Maan felt her shaking and swiftly removed his jacket and covered her with it before turning back to assess the situation.

Summing up the circumstances, he realized that the odds were definitely not in his favour, especially since he had Geet. He couldn't afford to get into a fight right now. Both their phones were in the car and the men stood between them and the car, removing any possibility of calling for help or making a run for it. He decided that discretion was the better part of valor.

He calmly removed his watch and wallet and raised his hand offering them to the men, "Dekhiye, this is all I have. Is ke ilawa aur kuch nahi hai mere pass..."

"Itni keemti item tere pass hai aur tu bol raha hai kuch nahi hai tere paas...!" One of the goons wolf-whistled while the others laughed passing lewd comments.

Maan could feel Geet shrinking inward if that was possible, her body was trembling badly. His hand tightened over hers in reassurance, mentally promising her that nothing would happen to her till any breath was left in his body. His other hand clenched into fists as he tried to control his temper. His first priority was to protect Geet. He cursed himself for leaving his phone in the car.

He scanned the area and noted the position of all the men who were now talking among themselves, talk which he preferred not to hear. However it granted him a reprieve and he urgently whispered to Geet, "When I tell you to run, you run. You do not turn back to look at me, just run. Get the phone from the car and run and hide in the forest and call for help. Samjhi?" The only reply he got was the tightening of her fingers on his back stating her instant denial.

"Tumhe meri kasam hai Geet..." He urged, "Mere ishara karte hi tum bhagogi!" He could feel her warm tears against his back, her head moving in denial, but he refused to relent, his hand tightened on hers in entreaty for an instant before releasing it.

One of the men, who he assumed was their leader sauntered forward and grabbed his offering. He passed a cursory glance into the wallet and threw it away. "Maan Singh Khurrana is worth only a few measly thousands?" He mocked Maan and then turned to his men to wave some notes in the air, "In chillar paiso se ye Bhujang ko khareedne chala hai!"

The silent night rang with vicious laughter and every nerve in Maan's body tightened. Realization dawned on him that these men knew his identity.

This was no ordinary mugging. It was pre-planned and that just made the situation worse.

Petty thieves could be bought but professionals were dangerous.

Reassessing the situation, Maan gauged the distance between him and Bhujang, his body coiled as he got ready to sprint and attack, when Bhujang turned back, removing a gun from his pocket. He shook his head and pointed it at Maan's head, "Sochna bhi mat! One move and you are dead." The laughter vanished and a vicious expression darkened his face, "Ya to tu khud bewakoof hai ya mujhe samajhne ki galti kar raha hai."

"Mai agar mar gaya to tumhare kya kaam aaunga? Tum mujhe nahi mar sakte." Maan returned confidently, his eyes searching desperately for any chinks in their armor but finding none.

"Ye baat bhi theek hai!" Bhujang exclaimed, hitting his head in mock punishment, "Tu mar gaya to mujhe paise kis cheez ke milenge!" Smirking cruelly, he shifted the gun to Maan's left, "Haan! Magar isko zaroor maar sakte hai! Iski hume koi zaroorat nahi hai!"

Maan immediately moved to cover Geet and gritted through his teeth, "Don't you dare look at her you *******!!"

"Do din se tera peecha kar rahe hai tab jake tu haath laga hai!" He looked at Geet from top to bottom, his eyes lingering on her curves, "Uparwale ne bhi socha ke itni mehnat ka kuch to fal milna chahiye hum gareebo ko! Haina? Hume paise to sirf ek ko pakadne ke milenge, lekin lagta hai aaj ka din accha hai. Bhagwan jab bhi deta hai chappad fad ke deta hai!" The silent night reeked with wickedness. "Ek pe ek free!"

Fear spread a bitter taste in his mouth as Maan realized how truly helpless he was. "Dekh kya rahe ho...Pakad lo sale ko!" He barked.

Four men grabbed Maan, holding onto him, while they separated Geet, pushing her aside. Geet fought to hold on to Maan, but one man caught her and pulled her to Bhujang.

Maan tried to free himself, struggling hard, but the men tightened their hold, rendering him powerless.

He looked at Bhujang who was moving towards Geet, "Tumhe meri zaroorat hai na? I am ready to come with you. Just let her go. Ise jane do." His words were met with mocking sneers, "Do you think you are in a state to put conditions? Tujhe to hum waise bhi pakad chuke hai." Bhujang ran the tip of the gun along the curve of Geet's cheek and she flinched away from him, her eyes wildly trying to find a way to reach Maan. "Haath aaya itna haseen mauka kaise jane denge..."

Maan's eyes darkened and the muscles in his jaw clenched hard, "Agar tumne Geet ko haath bhi lagaya to ye Maan Singh Khurrana ka wada hai tumme se ek bhi zinda nahi bachega..." His hardened face and darkening eyes emanated a dangerous aura that cowed the goons. Even Bhujang was unsettled momentarily; such was the menace emanating from Maan.

"Tu khud zinda bachega to hume kuch karega na..." Bhujang snarled back. To gain back his superior footing, he swiftly moved towards Maan and landed a rock hard punch to Maan's stomach making him buckle over.

"Maaannn..." Geet screamed and tried to run to Maan but was caught by one of the men who held on to her while the men beat up Maan. "That's enough." Bhujang said tersely as Maan went limp.

He then turned to Geet and threw her down on the ground. She fell down with a whoosh, the very breath knocked out from her.

"Geeettt..." Maan screamed as he once again tried to struggle free from his captors and Bhujang moved towards Geet. "You ****, don't you dare touch her..." Maan's voice was cut off by the ringing of a phone, halting Bhujang's progress. He took his phone, his face turning serious as he answered the call.

"Haan! Maan Singh Khurrana mere kabze me hai. I hope paiso ka intezam ho gaya hai! Hum aapko do ghante me usi jagah milenge."

"Kya?" His eyes roved over Geet as irritation flashed over his face at whatever the person on the other side was saying. He tried arguing but in the end gave in, "Theek hai! Adhe ghante me mai pahoch jaunga!"

Concluding the call, he turned back to his men, "Looks like it's our bad luck! Boss ne abhi bulaya hai!" He motioned one of them. "Jaake rassi lao aur ise bandh do."

As the guy left to do his bidding, he turned towards Geet who was crawling on the ground, away from him. He trained the gun on her head, "Believe me, you have no idea how much I regret doing this, but I have no time." He stated in a regretful tone, giving Geet another onceover, while Maan tried to free himself. "Mann to bahoot hai tumhe zinda chod du, par Bhujang kabhi koi suraag peeche nahi chodta!"

Geet looked up at him suddenly, meeting his eye, "Marne wale se uski aakhri iccha nahi puchenge?"

"Agar aap itne pyaar se maangongi to hum dil kya jaan bhi de denge..." he mocked.

"Na mujhe aapka dil chahiye na jaan. Mai bas marne se pehle, ek aakhri baar Maan se milna chahti hu."

"Kash itna pyaar koi humse bhi karta!" Bhujang sneered, and moved towards her. Geet turned away from him, shrinking back. He held her up by her elbow and pushed her towards Maan. "You have one minute! Hum bhi aaj dekhe Laila-Majnu ki kahani!"

Not needing a second invitation, Geet ran towards Maan and hugged him, weeping loudly while Maan strained against the men, trying his level best to free himself. His eyes were misty with unshed tears as he looked into Geet's. But Geet's eyes, he saw were surprisingly clear and lucid. Her eyes shown with determination and there was no fear of death. She blinked her eyes discreetly and motioned him to close his eyes on her insinuation. He blinked back to let her know he understood but he was still curious as to what she planned to do. She kept on the charade of crying as she slid down his body till she was hugging his feet.

If the men were surprised at her actions, they shrugged it off as a woman's emotional drama, rolling their eyes.

Women have mostly been considered as weak and helpless. We may progress to the twenty first century, but the in-built machismo refuses to let the Neanderthal in males believe that they could be bested by a woman.

And therein lay their greatest weakness and folly.

These men were no different. Looking at a teary weepy woman, they had relaxed their stance and were waiting for the drama to finish before they could finish her off and move on.

Geet looked around surreptitiously, noting that the men weren't paying attention to her and looked up at Maan, motioning to close his eyes again. Making sure that Maan understood her, Geet unobtrusively gathered as much of the black sand at Maan's feet as possible and in an instant stood of to fling it in the eyes of the men who were holding Maan.

The men weren't expecting any retaliation and their grip loosened as pain hit them. Their hands automatically went to rub their eyes and that one instant was enough for Maan to free himself and turning around he pushed the men, punching one in stomach making him cough up blood.

As he realized that he had been played, Bhujang roared, "*******, teri itni zurrat! Tujhe mai nahi chodunga..." and he pointed the pistol right at Geet, pressing the trigger.

However, Maan swiftly grabbed a thick iron rod and a chain from the ground where they had been dropped. Turning to Bhujang, he hurled the hockey stick with all his might hitting his hand squarely. Bhujang dropped to his knees, the gun falling away as he doubled over. Pain shot through his bloodied and battered hand.

Maan then turned to the other men who had regained a little sight and were closing in on him. Whipping around the chain, he flung it around like a nun-chuck, hitting out at two men who were in the vicinity.

Bhujang got to his feet, snarling in anger as he saw his men falling. He ran towards Geet pulling out a knife but Geet took another handful of sand and hurled it at him. Having learnt from his mistake, Bhujang made sure to close his eyes as soon as he saw Geet flinging the sand towards him.

He lunged to her, grabbing her by her hair; he turned her around to face him, his hand twisting and pulling her hair. Geet screamed as pain shot through her head. Bhujang moved the knife towards her neck and hissed, "You will die a slow and painful death. I will make you wish you were never born!" Geet closed her eyes whispering I Love You Maan in her mind as he raised his hand and plunged the knife in her stomach.

But a hand came out of nowhere, catching the blade inches away from piercing her skin.

Maan stood there, a ferocious look on his face; his eyes screaming death and retribution. He pushed Bhujang away with the other hand and grabbed the knife from his hand. Bhujang dodged him and tried to place a kick on his stomach, which Maan avoided. Maan was trying to hold his own, but his waning strength made it difficult. Another man joined him and soon Maan was once again surrounded by them

While the men tussled, Geet had regained her senses and her eyes wildly started searching for any means to help Maan when she spied a gun on the ground a few feet away. Right now she didn't care about herself, but she couldn't let anything happen to Maan. She turned back to see that two men were behind her, while the others had caught hold of Maan, delivering a solid blow to his stomach making him buckle. She quickly ran to the gun, and grabbing it fired a warning shot in the air freezing everyone

They turned around, shocked to see a woman handling the gun so adeptly.

"Mujhe bandook chalana aata hai! Agar koi bhi hila to accha nahi hoga. Maan ko chod do." Geet warned in a fearless tone.

Bhujang motioned his men to stand their ground and started moving forward, "Hawa me bandook chalane me aur kisi insaan pe chalane me bahoot fark hota hai bewakoof ladki!"

"Mai kehti hu ruk jao!" Geet screamed but when it looked like it was going to fall on deaf ears, she quickly lowered her aim and without another word fired a bullet straight at his thigh.

Shocked faces turned to her as Bhujang went down, holding onto his leg in pain.

Geet ignored him and turned to the others, trying to hide the wild trembling of her fingers. She had never in her life shot anyone. She and Rajji had often played around secretly with Brij's gun, but never in her wildest dreams had she imagined that one day she would use it on someone.

However, extreme situations called for extreme measures. She would do anything to save Maan and if this was the only way, she was ready to even kill someone.

"Maan ko chod do aur chale jao yaha se." she ordered once again, "Mere paas abhi bhi chaar goliyan baki hai. Pata nahi agli baar goli kise aur kaha lage!" The men left Maan and started to walk backwards. Geet stopped them and asked them to take Bhujang too, which they did.

As the men disappeared from view, Maan slid down, as pain overcame him. Tears streamed down her eyes as she ran to support him seeing that he was about to collapse. Her hand went around his waist while his came to lie on her shoulder as he tried to stop the dizziness from taking over.

"Maan..." She kept on sobbing as her hands went all over him, trying to staunch the blood flowing from various parts. He winced as her hands touched sore spots, but tried to reassure her, "Kuch nahi hua mujhe Geet. Dekho mai theek hu. Bas choti si kharosh hai!"

Geet's tears wouldn't stop as she tore off a piece of cloth from her saree to bind his hand in an attempt to stop blood loss.

However Maan urged her to help him to the car fast; the injuries could wait till later. He was sure that the men would be back once they regrouped. They might even bring back more men. It wasn't safe to dwindle here. They had to move and fast. Taking a moment to gather his strength, he moved fast towards the car, taking Geet's support.

Somehow Maan drove them to a hospital on Geet's insistence. She had called up home to inform the others and asked them to meet them there. Dev, Naintara, Annie and Arjun rushed in just as she and Maan reached the hospital OPD. Geet immediately ran to Naintara and hugging her cried her heart out. It took a while for them to calm her down and get the whole story from her. Dev managed to contact the police while the doctor administered first aid to both of them.

They managed to clean and bandage his wounds but Maan was in too much pain and some of the cuts were deep which required monitoring. Maan wouldn't hear of staying in the hospital. He kept protesting but Geet would have none of it. She put her foot down and got him admitted on the doctor's advice. The nurse gave him an injection to make him rest peacefully and lessen the pain from his ordeal.

Author's Note :

Precap:

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