His hand came up to steady her almost automatically. Wide brown eyes shot up to him, and he saw the shock flit across her face before she took a step back, her chest heaving. And then the shock was replaced by horror. She knew that he knew.
He fought to keep a blank face, sidestepping her and walking into the room. "Good morning, Sir. Just wanted to ask if there were any further directives-"
"Actually..." The man in front of him glanced to the petite woman still at the door, whose face was now as blank as his own, but her eyebrows were raised in a mute challenge.
"I'm sorry, Steel, but looks like this won't you won't be flying solo after all. Blade will be going with you. I trust you can brief her the details during your journey."
He glanced back at Piya. "Certainly I can, Sir," he said, his tone courteous, perfectly polite.
"Very good."
He knew he was dismissed, so he followed Piya out of the door, and into the deserted shooting range. She picked up a revolver and aimed it at the target.
"So that's why he took you in, Blade," said Abhay softly, standing so close she could almost feel his breath on her neck. "You're the director's daughter. Figures, huh?"
Her lips pursed, Piya pulled the trigger. She hit the target , but missed the bullseye.
"Eavesdropping is rude."
She aimed again, hitting the target dead centre this time.
"So is lying," he retorted , his voice barely more than a whisper.
"I wasn't," she replied, pulling the trigger again. She missed the target entirely, and glared at the offending revolver.
He went over her statement.
"I don't have any. Parents, that is. Family..It's not like I remember them, much. I've been an orphan for a long time, nothing to get upset about.
"You hate him," he said, suddenly realizing the truth.
She didn't answer, making three more shots, hitting the bullseye each time.
Then she turned to him and said, "I suppose I do. Problem?"
He shook his head. "No."
Turning away from her, he walked back, out of the institute, out of the building. He would meet her at the usual place the next day.
13 August 2010 02:49:07
"Loha jug, hum aari ,Sab pe hain hum bhaari
Aadha jag se yaarana hai ,Aadhi Rab se yaari"
Her chest hurt, her breaths coming in short gasps. They'd been running flat out for half an hour, and the strain was now starting to get to her. And she was slowing Abhay down. And then her eyes fell on the black car in front of her, and she could have cried from relief.
"You drive," Abhay hissed, already reloading his gun as he ran to the passenger's side, as she got in, her lungs screaming for water...or something much stronger.
"Now!"
She pressed the accelerator down, and the car shot forward with a screech of tires. She heard the bullets hitting the rear windshield. "Keep going ," said Abhay tersely, rolling down the window at his side. "When I say turn, do a one-eighty. OK?"
"Yeah," she hissed. She watched the speedometer rise. About a minute later, she heard the very quiet voice. "Now."
The tires squealed as she turned the steering wheel, adrenalin pouring through her veins. They hadn't been on a good chase for ages.
The car threatened to skid, but she kept her head. And then Abhay was shooting, one calm shot after another, at the wheels of the car chasing them.
She grinned.She'd rubbed shoulders with the best of snipers, and none of them had had much success in shooting from moving vehicles. But...Steel never missed.
She pressed the accelerator harder, so they shot past the skidding car. Abhay reloaded and shot at the driver through his window just as they overtook it.
She let the car slow down, then made another hairpin turn, coming back at the car while Abhay reloaded his weapon and shot again.
Oh yeah, she loved going from prey to predator.
A minute later, they were speeding through the highway, the car following them having finally gone up in flames.
"Slow down there, Schumacher," said Abhay. There was a feral grin on his face as he looked at her, his hair completely dishevelled. "Wouldn't want to get a ticket now, do we?"
The idea made her burst into laughter, so automatically the car slowed down, as her body ached with mirth.
"God, I'm glad I came to this one," she said, excitement rushing through her veins. "This was fun."
The smile dropped from Abhay's face."Yes. I'm glad, too."
His hand went up, and for a heart-stopping second, she wondered if he was going to touch her cheek, but he simply grabbed hold of the boy's wig she was wearing and yanked it off, so that her hair fell forward in messy curls.
Then, very deliberately, he kept it on the dashboard.
She bit the inside of her cheek to keep from saying something stupid. Like asking him to kiss her.
17 December, 2010 23:09:10
"We're building it up,
To burn it back down..."
Piya glanced down at her gown. It was a pale pink colour, with a decent enough neckline and a flowing skirt. She hated it, especially the tightness around her chest, making her afraid to breathe deeply in case something popped out. Her hand went to her thigh and she smirked. No one knew that the skirt was detachable. And that was wearing knee-length tights underneath. Not to mention her gun, tucked away in a holster under the material of her dress. Because it was going to be a long night.
She turned around to see Abhay standing near the door of the suite, dressed up in a tux. A smile twitched on her face. He looked good, especially since she'd never seen him dressed up like that. He glanced her way and didn't smile. "It's almost time," he said. "You ready?"
She nodded, and rather stiffly, he took her arm. "Smile a bit," she muttered. "It's not like I'm enjoying this, either."
He glanced quickly at her, the stiff jaw relaxing in a slight smile. "Thank god it'll be over tonight," he muttered. "Shame you're planning to ruin the dress."
"You borrow it if you like it so much," she retorted, frowning. "Wear it and parade in your house in the monstrosity-"
She broke off as he laughed , a short brief lull in the hours leading up to the danger which could, as usual, take their lives. But Piya knew they wouldn't be in serious danger danger tonight. There would only be about forty or fifty guests at the party. Still, being overconfident would never do...
After all, they were going as imposters. The real Giovanni Enrique had been picked up by them the previous evening. And no one here had seen his real face. They'd been inclined to believe that a man who'd been...coerced...for fifty seven hours without a break, and looking the way he had been in the end, would not lie.
She curved her lips into a cool smile as they entered the ballroom, giving a shy, deferential glance at Abhay . Yeah, she was masquerading as a mistress.
She stayed a few paces behind him, as he strode forward and shook hands with their host, making the necessary introductions.
The man, code named FG276, raised an eyebrow at Abhay's companion, and for a horrible moment, she wondered if he'd sensed the lie, but then a cool smile appeared on his lips. "Enchanted." She let him press a kiss on her hand, without flinching or dropping her gaze. She'd impersonated people before, so why was her intuition telling her that something was definitely off?
As soon as she could, she walked off to mingle with the other female guests...mistresses, she supposed, as she talked to them. And they told her things which her boss would love. The delicate bracelet at her wrist held a tiny recorder , which would record everything being said and transmit them to headquarters. Coded, of course.
She watched as the guests got tipsy as the night passed, and twice she felt hands groping at her in the dim light. Abhay was probably too far to see, since she would only ascertain his silhouette in the shadows.
She resisted using her lethal hairpin on the latest hand, and settled for turning away...and coming face to face with their host.
"Hello, my darling," he purred. "Why do you stand all alone?"
"My master wishes it,"she replied coyly, glancing at Abhay.
The man smiled, then signalled to a waiter who came over. "Scotch for the lady, please."
Piya said nothing. There was something off. Something really off...
When her drink was brought, she said nothing, sipping in silence, knowing that she was definitely being scrutinized.
Good, so there would be a nice end to this night.
Out of the corner of her eyes, she saw some of the guests leave. Then, as her surreptitious glance landed on the waiters, a nasty thought flashed passed her head. They knew. And which meant...someone was definitely betraying them. But who? Who would have known about this mission?
She turned sharply, to see the man still staring at her. "So my dear," he said politely, "What was your name again?"
And then she was sure.
Ten meters away, she saw a figure stiffen out of the corner of her eye.
"The real one, mind you," he replied, still smiling pleasantly. "And your companion's too, if you don't mind."
"Is there a problem here?"
Abhay's voice carried over to them.
"Just getting acquainted with your girlfriend here, young man," said the man by her side. "She refuses to divulged her name, or yours."
The atmosphere shifted at once. The well dressed waiters, and some of the guests inched closer to both her and Abhay. She did a quick headcount. Okay...twelve near her. The rest near him.
"Exactly what are you insinuating?" Abhay's voice was clipped.
The man laughed. "Come now. If you had done your research, if you were indeed Giovanni Enrique, then you would never have brought a woman here. Which of course means that you are merely an imposter. Now, I never turn away my guests, but unfortunately, you and your lovely companion have overstayed your welcome."
His eyes shot to her. "We've been betrayed," was all his look said. She blinked, showing that she understood.
" Of course, I offered a place within my ranks to your fair lady," he continued, " but it seems she does not wish to...cooperate."
On the last word, he whipped out a gun and grabbed Piya against him, holding the cold weapon to her neck.
Mild irritation went through her.
Abhay simply looked at her, his eyebrows raised.
"So, little spy," said the slimy creature pressing a gun to her neck, "How many are you willing to fight for your lady?"
Piya gave one small nod. Abhay smirked.
"How many are you willing to lose?"
The waiters inched towards Abhay, and then Piya made her move.
Smoothly pulling out her hairpin, she twisted in her captor's arms and pierced his throat in one fluid movement.
His eyes widened slightly, his body falling to the floor.
Piya yanked off her skirt, pulling out her gun.
And then all hell broke loose.The kind of hell that Piya loved.
18 December 2010 22:12:56
"Tujhse hai mujhko paane, yaadon ke woh nazraane,
ek jin pe haq ho bas mera..."
Abhay came over to stand next to her at the closed window. "Piya?" He said quietly.
She opened her eyes to look at him. The brown pools were filled with a thousand emotions.
" Someone's betraying us, Abhay," she said. "Why won't he take it more seriously?"
By "he", Abhay knew she meant the boss. Her father. When they'd left the room- it had taken only twenty two minutes to take all of them down- they'd driven nonstop till they were out of the city. Inexplicably when they'd reported their suspicions to their boss, he'd taken it as a case of reading too much. Which was unlike him.
"Maybe he wants us to keep our noses out of it," he offered. "This is the matter for the Intel department. If they find anything, it's not our business. You know our job's different."
She smiled at him, a tired smile. He couldn't help but remember her in the gown she'd destroyed. She'd been so beautiful. So angelic. So different. Not that she didn't look appealing in her usual jeans and jacket combination. She seldom wore any colors. In the time he'd known her, she 'd always worn black, brown or grey.
" Hey!" She poked his chest. "Where are you?"
He raised his eyes to hers.
Piya swallowed. Abhay's eyes were a stormy grey , much darker than normal. "Just wondering, " he said softly, " if we were on opposite sides, which of us would win? You're the best as dodging, and I'm good at moving targets..."
She scrunched her face, considering. "You, probably. Maybe I'd have a chance if I could exhaust your ammunition."
He stepped closer to her. "No. You'd win, hands down. Because I'd die before I aimed a weapon at you."
She opened her mouth to protest, but her voice died on her lips.
Because Abhay's mouth had covered hers.
She couldn't think, couldn't breathe. His lips were gentle, caressing on hers. Heart won over head and she entwined her arms around his neck, giving into his kiss. It wasn't her first kiss by any means- she was no innocent - but she might have been, considering that her stomach flipped over and her toenails curled. With just a kiss.
God, she'd been waiting for this since-
He broke off suddenly, staring down at her, horror in his face. The loss of contact was a bucket of cold water over her senses.
"Shit."
She swallowed. " I see what you mean. That - that wasn't supposed to happen. I don't -"
"Heat of the moment," he said crisply. "Stockholm Syndrome or some crap. Let's... let's just forget this happened. I don't want to spoil what we had"
"Absolutely," she concurred. Dear god, what had she been thinking?
She clenched her fists over the material over her jacket. " I think I'm take a nap. You take first watch."
Abhay watched her go to the bed, trying his best to reign his filthy thoughts under control as she took off her jacket, and tucked her weapon under her pillow.
He knew she wasn't sleeping, but he didn't call her out on it.
Damn, damn and f***. He was insanely attracted to his partner. His boss's daughter.
Who wanted him too. How the hell were they going to get over this?
Well, tough luck. They'd have to suck it up and get over it. They couldn't work half as well with anyone else.
22 February 2011 02:23:45
"Jis jagah pe khatam sabki baat hoti hai
Uss jagah pe hamaari shuruaat hoti hai."
"Keep going!" He yelled, as they sprinted to the dockyard; Piya simply lobbed a grenade over their heads: the resulting explosion gave them enough cover to get to the boat, and soon the engine was purri as they cruised away through the dark blue waters.
"Wow, Ginger kept his word," she said, grinning as she lifted the lid of a container holding sandwiches, an or anger and beer.
Both of them dug in, ravenous after a day of going without food. The siege had gone well, leaving them with just minor injuries.
Piya glanced at Abhay. Neither of them had mentioned the kiss, and she'd expected things to be awkward between them, but everything had gone smoothly. As if it had never happened.
" Hey." Abhay's voice was surprised."What did you do to your hair?"
Piya shook her hair free of the band. "What, the highlights?" She said impishly. "I decided I liked blue. Besides, it's dark blue, so it doesn't show up much."
"You hate colors." He said flatly.
"I liked blue," she said obstinately. "My hair, my colour."
A small smile appeared on his face, the blue of his eyes highlighted in the dim light. "All right then."
4 May 2011 05:15:00
"All those crazy things we did
Didn't think about it, just went with it
You're always there, you're everywhere
But right now I wish you were here"
Abhay glanced at his companion as he drove the car. A nice, clean, undramatic mission. He'd forgotten how much he'd preferred going solo. When he was with someone else, he would have to reign in his more reckless plans. And after years of going on missions with Piya, he'd forgotten what a nuisance it was. She was the only one who was as reckless as him. Together, they should have been a suicidal team, but they'd made the best. Which was why he'd been so surprised when the boss had decided that Snitch would go with him, instead of Blade, who was apparently busy on a new assignment.
"Snitch, I'm gonna take a nap," he said. "You cool?"
A nod.
He leaned against the glass of the window, feeling oddly tired. He never felt tired with her. Even though all their plans were completely reckless. Dramatic. Risky. Involving more exertion.
A shot of irritation hit him. While he was half mad with missing her, she'd taken up a new mission - without him. Why had she done it? Where had she gone? They'd worked so well the last time...
Suddenly, the irritation was replaced by something else. The last mission , he'd not seen any evidence of that temporary desire in her eyes. But had she seen it in his? Had she noticed his need for her? Had she decided to stay away? Would that mean...
His blood went cold. What if they never saw each other again?
Quit it, he told himself. You have a job. You don't get paid for mooning over partners. You'll see her at headquarters some day or the other. Most of us live there half the time anyway when they're not on a mission.
20 December 2011 10:00:23
"Till now, I always got by on my own
I never really cared,
until I met you."
Abhay strode into the Strategy and Planning, expecting only his boss as audience - he'd got a Top Secret brief, after all - and instead, his eyes widened slightly as he saw half a dozen more people in the room. Excluding him and the boss.
Julia - she was head of the Intelligence department - stood next to Black. He glanced around quickly, noting Ginger, Snitch, Achilles, Ice and Raven.
His gut twisted. Blade wasn't here. He hadn't seen her for months...and she wasn't here, either.
"Good to have you, Steel," said the commanding voice of his boss. " I know this is unusual, but all of you will be going together on the next mission."
None of them showed their surprise.
"Now," he continued, "This is big. And all of you will have to work together. We're taking down Hargreaves."
That got a few raised eyebrows. Hargreaves was one of the masterminds of many terrorist plots in recent years. They'd never been able to pin anything on him.
"That's...some Intel," said Achilles, sounding impressed. "How d'you do it, Julia?"
The girl blushed slightly. The boss answered. "Because," and now he sounded weary, " We have an agent in his lair who's been giving us the contacts, the Intel. The agent will be joining you once you will be getting away."
Abhay, who had been examining the polish of the table, shot his head up. "Who?"
His boss shook his head. "No, I'm not disclosing that."
The talk then turned to planning, poring over maps, note - taking : standard protocol for every mission. And Abhay concentrated harder than he'd ever done in his life, taking note of all the entrances and exits. He'd never had to think about all that when he'd gone with Piya - she'd been so good with directions. And he was rusty, now.
Nearly ten hours later, when the meeting finally broke up, Abhay dawdled back, so he was alone in the room with the boss. Drawing a deep breath, he said, "Is it Blade? The double agent?"
He saw the confirmation in those dark eyes, and his stomach dropped. He turned and left before he did something stupid. Like yell at her dad for putting her in so much danger.
And he'd thought being attracted to her was hell- well, this was definitely a thousand times worse.
23 December 2011 1:09:25
"Saanson mein aandhi hai
Main bhi toh taiyaar hoon
Sabse badi ye jung hai
To main bhi taiyaar hoon"
"Clear," Abhay muttered into the mouthpiece. "I'm going down to the basement. Any of our friends left?"
"None in this wing,anyway," came Orpheus' voice. "Doesn't look right, though. And we haven't got Hargreaves yet."
They'd all split up into pairs, with the exception of himself, Abhay didn't want to pair up with anyone, not now, not ever. When he found Piya, he was going to -
"Steel!" Came Black's voice, urgent and insistent. "I just found Hargreaves' body."
He stopped on the staircase he was descending. "What?"
"Yes," came Achilles' voice. Black's partner.
"Just checked."
"His throat's slit," came Black's cool voice. "There's evidence of a struggle. And...,he's holding something in his hand." There was a pause, and then- "Hair," he finished. The attacker's hair, I bet. Must be longish - "
And Abhay knew who it was. "It's our agent," he said. "Establish contact. B- I meant, the agent's gott to be close. Get out of the building, get in touch with Ice and Orpheus, and the agent. The boss said we'd be contacted by the agent. So focus on getting to the helipad.Are you receiving, Black?"
"Got it,Steel. Godspeed."
Abhay's head was spinning. Piya, of course it would be Piya. No one in the EIA would prefer a knife over a gun, but Piya'd never been the best shot. So she'd compensated with her knife, which she used like an extension of herself. Who else would be reckless enough to slit Hargreaves's throat - attract the maximum attention - in his own building?
And they weren't supposed to kill him. They were supposed to only capture him.
His jaw clenched. By God, he was going to wring her neck when he found her. And he had no idea where she was. Why hadn't she contacted them yet? If she'd been pursued... God, if she'd been caught
The thought left him cold.
Focus, Steel. You have a job.
He descended the stairs, into the basement, keeping his senses alert.
Once he,d reached the basement, he noticed activity...a tremendous amount of it. It made him grimace. He would definitely be outnumbered in case they spotted him.
But he needed to find the papers. Photographs. Damning evidence no one would question. Especially now that Hargreaves was dead.
He slipped into a room marked "PRIVATE", his movements soundless. There was a desk, with two cupboards...and drawers. He opened the drawers first, scanning through them with his tiny torch. And then he heard Ginger's voice.
"Steel?Snitch just took two bullets to the chest. We're - "
"Get him out ," Abhay snapped in a low voice. "Get him to the helipad, get out of here."
He would be alone once they had gone.
Shoving the thoughts away, he continued to copy the documents, creating copies just in case. Then he picked up the most incriminating ones, and pushed the door open.
He blinked in the total darkness now. He walked towards the staircase as softly as possible, not wanting to alert the mini army there.
And then, a floorboard creaked under his foot, loudly.
Gunfire started.
This is it, thought Abhay grimly, as he returned fire, running up the steps.
Already he could hear them yelling at each other, to close the exits, to hunt him down...
He ran through the corridors, trying to get to the left wing of the building, which was relatively easier to get out through. But perhaps, his luck had just ran out, because every exit seemed to be blocked.
Snarling under his breath, he ran up another set of stairs trying to get to the roof. Bullets exploded behind him, though by some miracle, not one hit him.
" Damn you, Piya," he thought, as he reach the last floor but one. "I'm going to die today, thanks to you and your idiocy-"
A patter of footsteps. He whipped around, pausing, but there was no one in the shadows. Had he imagined it?
And then, as he finally came to the roof, he realized his nightmares weren't over : there were about a dozen snipers ready.
And he'd just had about half a dozen shots left.
Time seemed to blur : he saw them raise their rifles, raise his own hand -
A blur of movement to his side, and then he was tackled to the floor by a soft body, even as the shots rang out.
His eyes widened in shock and horror. Piya.
She was here.
All thought of death evaporated in his head.
Hello? Hello? Agent Blade here, are you receiving me?" Piya hissed into the mouthpiece. Nothing, besides the crackling. She was standing in a deserted alley, after having killed Hargreaves and run. He'd discovered that she'd been playing him at the worst possible time, just an hour before the team was scheduled to enter. So, she'd had to kill him.And then they'd chased her, those lackeys. She'd had to run for a good few kilometers before she finally felt safe. For a long time she'd been trying to contact the team, but something had gone wrong with her tracker, making it now impossible to contact anyone.
She'd have to go for Plan B.
She was only two kilometers from the helipad, so she could get there on foot.
She broke into a full out run, trying not to think of Steel. The past few months had been torture without knowing anything about where he was. She'd only landed the assignment because it was common knowledge the EIA didn't hire females. Or else, she knew the boss would have taken Abhay - he was far better than her at lying, and snooping.
Abhay...
She instinctively knew he'd be a part of the team coming. He was the best, after all.
When she reached the helipad, she was out of breath.
Then her eyes fell on the men, standing near the helicopter. Ice, Sid, Achilles and Orpheus. "Hey guys," she greeted. "How's it going? We done?"
They turned to her, their expressions comically surprised. "You're the double agent?"said Ice, shocked. "Figures. No wonder the boss was all cagey. Why the hell didn't you contact us? "
She grimaced. "Wire tore of the mouthpiece. Couldn't contact anyone - "
She broke off, the low him of a bike reaching their ears. She whipped around to see Ginger get off, supporting Snitch, who was bleeding profusely in the chest. She hurried forward. Was he conscious? "Got shot," muttered Ginger, who looked pale.
"We have to get back," she said, trying to maintain control. "Is everyone back?We need to get him back -"
Stop thinking about Abhay! She scolded herself. A man could die here!
"No," said Orpheus. "Steel's back there. We can't - "
She went cold. Abhay. Alone.
She closed her eyes.
" Where did you get the bike, Ginger?" She asked quietly.
He shrugged. "Outside the building."
" Okay," she said. "Lend me, will you?"
She walked to the bike, climbed on, and glanced back at the men. "You guys get moving. I'm going after him. Get him seen quick. Snitch'll die otherwise."
Without waiting for an answer, she took off into the night. It was only when she reached the building that she remembered that she'd lost her pistol in the scuffle and she had nothing.
The Weapons Room. She'd get a few things from there, and then find Abhay. Only she knew the exact location of the many hidden rooms inside.
She'd been choosing grenades as she heard shots being fired, then yells, and running footsteps. She went still. Then she cursed Abhay every foul word as she took off silently, trying to find out where he was in the darkness.
It was no easy job but she followed the yells, and realized he was going to go for the roof in the central wing. And then, listening to the voices, she realized with a sick feeling that he was walking into a trap.
She would have to warn him...
She ran through the secret passages, trying to catch up with him. She saw him at last, running ahead without looking back. Why wasn't he shooting?
The answer hit her like a punch. Because he doesn't have enough.
Well, she'd just have to get him an advantage.
Running ahead, she hid herself in a corner of the roof. None of the snipers spotted her.
She saw him come out, saw his entire body stiffen as he realized.
And then she flung himself at him.
He went down, Piya on top of him, and she heard him intake sharply as he saw her face illuminated briefly in the gunfire.
"Piya?" She heard him whisper.
And that's when she came to grips with the searing pain across her back and leg : she knew she had to have been hit multiple times.
She felt him stiffen, then shoot right back. "Jump!" She hissed.
"There's a grenade, in my holster!"
He wasted no time : she felt numb , forcing herself to bite his jacket to avoid screaming in pain.
The roof exploded just as he jumped, his arms around her waist, getting footholds and breaking the fall, but even so, the landing was not smooth, and the pain increased a hundredfold.
"We need to - " he broke off as footsteps came running. "There's a bike," she managed to grit out. "You'll have to take me to a hospital nearby - the helicopter's left - "
He was already running, hoisting her in his arms easily.
"Stay with me," he whispered, as he mounted it, drawing her close, refusing to analyze the wetness on his hand and what it reminded him of.
He hit the accelerator, watching the speedometer rise, as bullets whipped past.
"I'm...right here," she murmured back, her hands clenching his jacket. "You'll make me live, won't you, Abhay? I don't want to die...I don't want to die..."
"I won't let you die," he replied grimly.
"You're bleeding, too," she murmured. The pain had become almost dull now, if she refused to think about it...
25 December 2011 02:08:10
"Koi aag se puche uske dil ki,
Jise pyaar se chua, uski bass raakh hi mili"
The street was decorated with little baubles, people celebrating Christmas.
There was only one person, perhaps, who wasn't smiling.
Head bowed, Abhay made his way to Headquarters. The boss had called him for a meeting. He shoved his hands in his pockets. Maybe he'd finally get the news that she was alive. That she'd be joining him on his last mission.
He made his way inside, seeing the entire EIA assembled in the main hall.
He was the last one to arrive, he knew, but he didn't care, as he looked directly at his boss.
The man's face was inscrutable as he said. "Now that we're finally here...I'd like to say congratulations to Snitch, who survived our last mission..."
A smattering of cheers.
"Unfortunately," he continued, his tone grim, "We lost Agent Blade this afternoon."
Abhay stood rooted to the spot. No, his head said. No.
"She fought death bravely for more than thirty hours, but..."
He made a helpless gesture. "Her time had clearly come."
There was a pin drop silence.
Abhay couldn't think, couldn't breathe. Couldn't speak.
He knew the man was talking about funerals, laying the body to rest, giving a toast in her memory-
But he didn't care.He wasn't attending that funeral.
Chest aching, he left before he did something stupid. Like throttle her father.
Staring at the bright lights, it was easy to pretend they were the cause of the burning of his eyes.
Her voice, asking him not to let her die.
He'd taken her to the nearest hospital he could have, promising her that she'd be fine, she'd be all right, he wouldn't let anything happen to her...
But she'd lost consciousness as they were taking her in.
She'd been trying to tell him something, just before she'd lost consciousness.
"Abhay...I have to tell you..."
Well, he'd never know, would he?
Why, why had he listened to her father and left her side?
Because he'd been afraid the boss would sense what he felt for her?
"Merry Christmas!" said a child, running past.
Abhay started to laugh.He leaned against a lit shop, laughing, till his voice went hoarse.
A/N : The next chapter will be the last.
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