Rikara: To Serve and to Protect | Part 12 - Pg 36 |05/18/2018| - Page 27

Originally posted by: anonymous15

wow👏...these updates are too good

your writing is awesome

Gauri Sharma

It has been two days since I am home from the hospital and I am already at my wits end with the ennui. Omkara is driving me crazy with all his rules about taking rest and recuperating. He hovers around me like a mother hen, clicking his tongue every time I move an inch. But, I have to confess that a part of me enjoys the attention, the pampering and concern.

Agreed, that I am slightly weak from exhaustion. Agreed that my escape from the warehouse we were locked into was not uneventful. It was not easy using my bare hands to dig away the earth. It looks good in the movies but in real life, you get injured, your skin peels off and one starts bleeding. The only thing that drove me then was the need to escape Kaali and get out of the place before returned. It was only later that I was told that my tormentor has been shot. He will never be able to hurt again. But Omkara tells me that I did the right thing. The police would have been too late in coming to get us. We were locked up without food and with very little water.

"What were the names of those girls again?

Annika Di walks in with a bowl of soup and I make a face. She laughs but insists I take the soup.

"Omkara's orders.

I pout and murmur about living in a dictatorship. Di's throws her head back and laughs at that. But she says a little seriously in the end, ""The Oberoi men are certainly a little crazy when they are in love. But truly Ri, Om was very worried for you. Don't tell him I said so, but I don't think he ate or slept those three days you went missing.

That immediately brings tears to my eyes. His love and concern are overwhelming and the emotional mess I am right now, tears come easily. I smile over my tears when I remember bawling like a child, secure in his arms when he dashed into the hospital room that day. He made it there in an hour when the trip would have taken atleast three. Pale, and disheveled, he looked like he had lost oodles of weight. It would have been difficult to determine who the patient exactly was after seeing him like that. He didn't utter a word when he saw me. Just walked in and hugged me close. And I felt completely secure once again.

"So, what are their names again?

Di brings me back to the present, feeding me a spoon of soup as both my hands are bandaged.

"Kavitha is the oldest one. She is level headed. She helped me pry the planks off so that we could escape out of the warehouse. Then there is Shelly. Sweet child. She is just fourteen. She said she liked chocolate biscuits. She can be a real chatterbox if she warms up to a person., I say smiling.

"And then there is Keerthi. Di's voice continues softly.

I go quiet remembering Keerthi. The worst affected of the three, it was Keethi who we found the most difficult to convince in order to escape from the place. She would not move out of the corner she had closeted herself in, repeating over and over again that she was sorry and would not try and escape again. Kavitha almost gave up and begged me to leave with Shelly. But in the end, we managed to get Keerthi to come with us. The flight though took its toll on her fragile health and she is currently admitted to a mental care center, her mind, too traumatized to recover quickly. I don't know if she will ever be able to recover after all that she has been through.

"Hey, they will be well looked after. Don't worry. I will see to that, ok?

Di lifts my chin up, assuring me. I nod.

"But what about all those other girls out there? I wonder out aloud. This thought has got hold of me since the day Omkara told me about Kaali and Jahnvi and their awful enterprise.

Di looks at me, her eyes sad and troubled. We have the same thought. There are so many more who share a similar or worse fate.

"We need to do something for them Di. We should do something.

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Pinky Singh Oberoi

"Maam, when can we speak with Mrs. Gauri?

"There is a rumor that she is very sick. Is that why she is still at home?

"Is it true that she saved twenty girls?

"Maam, what is your comment to the rumor that Gauri is pregnant?

I duck a hundred different questions from the mob of reporters outside our home.

"Khanna, let's go please.

Khanna steps on the gas and we are soon on the way to the airport. I sigh in relief, having escaped the reporters this time. Facing them is nothing new but I am not yet ready to talk to them about Gauri's miraculous escape. It still feels too raw to talk about her ordeal, our fears... I am just grateful that she managed to escape and is back with us now. I thank God again. The reporters will have to be satisfied with the formal press statement issued from Shakti's office that Gauri and the other three girls are doing well.

But formal statements do not stop rumors. The media wants what it wants. While almost unanimously Gauri is hail as a hero, there has also been an increasing amount of rumors and falsehoods, sensationalizing trivial facts and generally creating a story where none exists. It is becoming apparent that most of these stories are around Gauri and Omkara's personal life and that disturbs me. With all that has happened, I don't want Gauri to face all this media circus and scrutiny again. Once during her engagement is enough. I am worried about how she will react to everything once she is a little better and starts getting out.

So, inspite of not wanting to leave Gauri in her current state, I have decided to see Shakti and find a way to scuttle these rumors before they spread. I am flying off to Delhi to see Shakti. He has been working hard to setup the command center to co-ordinate and rescue the women kidnapped and sold by Jahnvi and her goons. But that should not take him away from doing his duty as a father. I am determined to get Gauri and Omkara married as soon as possible. That will stop all these rumors.

It is not just the rumors. With all that has happened recently, our family needs something to cheer about. It has been three months since their engagement and if things had remained normal, they would be married already.

I sigh remembering the decision to postpone their wedding when Shakti was taken in for investigation. It felt right at that point. But with things clearing up, I don't want to wait anymore.

"We will be reach the airport in ten minutes.

Omkara Singh Oberoi

She sleeps peacefully tonight. Finally. After being haunted by nightmares through this past week, it is a welcome change. She has had nightmares before, but this week has been hard. But thankfully, today, she has been spared. I hope that it is a sign that she is recovering well.

A small smile appears on her face making her more beautiful. I bend down and kiss her gently on her forehead and she snuggles closer to me. My hands tighten around her as I hold her to myself, never wanting to let go.

I have known for some time now that Gauri is very strong as a person. The way she handles the problems that come her way without battling an eyelid and without complaints is proof of that fact. She does not talk much about her childhood or the days growing up in the orphanage. It is not a pleasant memory to share. I know that it has been difficult for her growing up, difficult in ways I can never imagine. Whatever she is today, it has been purely by her hard work and perseverance. I know for a fact that she has been cruelly beaten for the slightest mistakes growing up. I have seen the scars myself. Gauri talks very little about those times but when she does, her eyes grow misty and she has nightmares afterwards.

The very first time she talked about those dark days was one evening when we were strolling in the park. The talk turned towards friends to be invited for our wedding. She already knows about Abhay and then I tell her about a couple of colleagues and a few buddies from school and college that I would specially invite. She was not very surprised at my retinue of friends or the number. I am an introvert and my friends list is pretty short.

"I don't know how you do your work. Policing is supposed to involve people skills., she teases. When it was her turn to talk about friends and invitees, she surprised me by listing only a few teachers from her school.

"It is not compulsory but they are nice people. They will feel bad if I don't invite them.

Her lack of close friends shocks me. I tell her as much. I always believed Gauri to be someone surrounded by friends. She smiles, the smile not reaching up to her eyes.

"I actually don't have close friends, Om. Colleagues, roommates, acquaintances, yes. But not close friends, not ones who will be there to support you come rain or sun. It is only now, with you and with Di that I feel like I belong somewhere, that I have friends to depend on.

There was something very poignant about her confession. Her voice holds no blame, no bitterness. I know it is very hard for her to say what she said. I try to lighten her mood asking who her best friend really is, me or Bhabhi.

"Hmm... That is a tough one. Well... You I think. I trust you the most.

Her declaration is without pretense. It humbles me. There is nothing I won't do for her, her happiness. I tell her so and she looks at me with those brown eyes filled with love. I can see that she is moved by some unsaid emotions. Her face shows love, gratitude but also a deep aching.

"Wish I had a friend like you growing up. At the orphanage and school, other children were afraid to make friends with me. It used to hurt at first but then I got used to it. The warden hated me for some reason. The hardest punishments were reserved for smallest of my mistakes. I have been beaten, starved, locked up in the closet, made to kneel in the sun... Name it and she reserved it all for me. I don't know why., she tells me even trying to laugh it all off. But I know that it still hurts her, the memories of a lonely childhood.

"Others were punished for association, so they stopped being friends and after a time, I got used to being alone. I stayed that way until... until I met mom and then you.

I was horrified that day about her childhood. But, I now realize that, it is also partly, due to those very difficulties she underwent as a child that she has managed to stay so strong in times of adversity. She needed no one to help her escape Kaali's clutches. I shudder remembering the gashes on her legs and bruises Gauri had when I saw her at the hospital that day. With bandages on her head, legs and hand and an IV line hooked to her hand, Gauri looked frail and terrified that day.

She turns around in her sleep and I carefully move her hands away so that she does not accidentally hurt herself rolling over. Her wounds are still healing. The gash on her leg is deep and will take a few more weeks to completely heal. She told me she got hurt trying to crawl out of the warehouse. She pried the planks that made the walls of the warehouse loose after digging beneath it using her bare hands. The warehouse was built to withstand weather, so the planks were buried deep to give a firm foundation. I cannot imagine the pain she would have felt while continuing to dig She does not talk about it yet. But, she escaped. Not only did she save herself, she saved three other girls. Her freedom and safety has been paid in blood, pain, exhaustion and starvation. With very little water and no food, she has walked with her injuries, barefoot, for over thirty miles before a kind Samaritan gave her and the others a place to rest and some refreshments. He called the hospital and I was notified right after.

"The road that we took was never ending Omkara. But I knew there would be something along the way, something that would save us all. All I kept thinking was how much you would be worried. I wanted so badly to live, so badly to see you one more time. You kept me going. She told me quietly one night as I held her close.

I visited the warehouse Kaali took her to. It is in the midst of an abandoned factory, just thirty miles outside of town. The roads connecting the factory have been in disarray since the factory closed twenty years ago. No one visits the area now. There are no lights, no lamps along the way. Any shops or houses that may have been there before is now long gone. The area is deserted. No one even remembers the factory. The place is desolate, without access and perfect for any crime. No wonder, we found it hard to find where Kaali took Gauri. We searched places within and outside the city but never imagined something hidden in plain sight. It just proves how much we have underestimated Jahnvi. But Shukla was right. The warehouse is on the south side of the city.

Gauri smiles in her sleep again and my heart swells with happiness. It has been a difficult week for her. I smooth the loose strand of hair from her face. I cannot take my eyes off of her. She looks so serene sleeping like a child. I find myself refreshed by just watching her sleep.

Just then my phone vibrates. It is Shivaay at the other end. His tone is almost apologetic. I have not been home for more than three hours, but I am wanted back at work. I assure him that I would be there soon.

Carefully, I untangle myself from Gauri, making sure that she is not disturbed. She whimpers quietly in her sleep as though sensing I am about to leave.

"Shh... It is ok. I will be back soon. Sleep well, my love. I whisper before getting up from the bed. I arrange the pillows to support her bandaged hands and leg. Then with one last kiss to her forehead, I quietly come out of the room. Annika Bhabhi is waiting for me near the door.

"Shivaay called. I know you need to leave. Go on Om. I will stay with her.

I thank her before rushing back to work.

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Shivaay Singh Oberoi

Omkara paces the room, deep in thoughts. I watch as Shukla shouts at someone on the other end of the phone and slam the receiver down in disgust. Rudra looks grim, mirroring my expression .

We are at the Police HQ. The instructions from the top is to get a confession from Jahnvi or send her home. Kaali is still in a coma. All crimes, the murders and kidnappings can be traced back to him with proof. We have the forensic evidence, DNA, the statements from Kavitha and Shelly. We are also getting some traction in rescuing some of the girls he sold off. The loose ends are being tied off. It should be a moment of victory for us. We should be happy. But we are devastated. Kaali is lying in a coma and Jahnvi is slowly slipping through our hands.

All we have is circumstantial evidence against Jahnvi. We cannot convict her without further proof, not when the case is this huge and the public opinion can easily be bought and swayed. A highly skillful lawyer can destroy the circumstantial evidence.

While we can show that Kaali worked for Jahnvi, we do not have enough proof to show that she ordered the killings and that she was the brains behind her disgusting operation. Jahnvi has always portrayed herself as the suffering victim, the martyr. She will manage to come out of this smelling of roses. We need something stronger to convict her.

The higher ups are afraid of a media trial which they know we will lose. So, the orders are here. Cut her loose if we do not get a confession soon. It is that cut and dried.

The problem we face, Jahnvi does not speak. She has gone completely silent after her arrest. That came as a shock to her. When we went into the room to snap the cuffs on her hand, she realized she had been played. From that moment, she has gone silent, not answering, not talking to anyone, not even Shukla. But unless she speaks, we cannot get a confession.

"She cannot walk Bhaiyya.

I hear Rudy repeat it for the umpteenth time. I nod, trying to think anything that could make her talk. It feels like we are so close and yet so far from victory.

"She cannot walk Bhaiyya. She cannot. Rudy keeps chanting over and over as he looks at the pictures laid down in front of him again. I go beside him when we hear Om's voice carry from across the room.

"No Rudy. She won't walk. We won't let her.

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