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Just found out you have been back thanks to a comment on a blog, excited to be a part of this continuing journey!! I just read your story Checkmates and Life Moments Series around 1 month ago, awesome!!!
Just found out you have been back thanks to a comment on a blog, excited to be a part of this continuing journey!! I just read your story Checkmates and Life Moments Series around 1 month ago, awesome!!!
Interesting
:)
Hope they find the culprit
The update reminded me of hindi films where the hero and heroine run from pillar to post especially if they want to save some one.
Whenever kushi is with Arnav we can predict something unusual will happen. They always seem to be heading for trouble. Lucky for the girls that Arnav and kushi came to hotel and rescued them from the dingy room. It was an adventurous escape. Keeping fingers crossed hope they are able to save these girls with the help of Abhi .
Awesome update was waiting to read from long , I actually re read all the parts again I m so hooked to this story.. thanks for updating.. coming to the update I just hope it's abhi or Arnav but not someone else, I don't want them to get in some other trouble..plz!!
Please update the next part soon.
From the author's desk: Helloo peeps! hope this update finds you all in good health and in happy mood! Jappies to all of you wonderful readers for leaving equally wonderful comments...
Here is the next update! happy reading...
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Chapter 18 : Unexpected turn
Part 1: Up in the air
The rap on the door sounded forceful than a polite knock that Khushi would have expected from Arnav. Dreading the worst, Khushi looked at the young girls in front of her, both of them looking terrified at the possibility of getting caught again.
Making up her mind to do her best not to let that happen, she stood up with determination to thwart anyone attempting to hurt the girls again. The rapping got more urgent and louder.
“Who is it?” Khushi called out
“Police”
She quickly looked back at the girls. Tara was shaking her head. “They are in the league with Jagga.”
“But this one sounds like a woman” Khushi pointed out.
“How do you know they are police?” Tara’s question stumped Khushi.
“Open up” the instruction came from the other side of the door.
Khushi opened the door to reveal two police officers at the door- Women cops. The more authoritative one tried to barge in.
“We have got orders to search this place”
Khushi didn’t know what to feel about this. Are these women trust-worthy or are they with the bad guys?
“ID please?”
The Woman raised her eyebrows at Khushi and then slowly flashed her ID.
“Mallika Chowdary, Sub inspector” she announced and then turned to her companion “Search the room”
“Wait!” Khushi said, still holding her stand by the door. “Why do you want to search this room in particular?”
“Not only this room, every single room in this hotel” the other woman told her indicating all the other rooms being ransacked by other policewomen.
Once the other constable confirmed that no one else was in the room other than the three girls, Mallika took a glance at the girls and then at Khushi.
“Why are you three young girls in this hotel room? Expecting anyone else?”
“No, we just wanted a place to stay together. My cousins had come visiting me and the PG I stay don’t allow visitors. “ Khushi invented randomly.
“And you chose this hotel?”
“This is close by to the shopping centers and is affordable too”
“This is not a good hotel” Mallika commented and then turned to the girls
“you both look very young. Who accompanied you to Delhi?”
“No one” Tara spoke up
“yes, only the two of them” Khushi asserted
Mallika looked sharply at Khushi
“When I am asking them, you don’t answer”
“When did you come here?”
“Yesterday afternoon” Tara answered
“Ok, check the wardrobe” she said to the other constable.
“It is empty madam”
“You came without any luggage to Delhi?” She asked turning to the girls.
“It is in the car” Khushi interrupted again before the girls could say anything.
“I was asking them” Mallika said but paused abruptly “you own a Car? but you couldn’t afford a better accommodation to stay?”
“I mean we lost it in the cab that we took here”
The women looked at each other
“I see, can you explain?”
“The cab dropped us at this place and I was a little short of change and I had to run to the ATM nearby and by the time I paid the cab guy, I assumed the girls had taken our bags and only when the cab guy drove away, I realized we had not”
“And you haven’t done anything about it yet?”
“No, I called him, and he said he will have to come all the way again… and I need to pay him. I agreed, I am actually expecting his call anytime now”
“I assume you used your mobile to make this call?” Mallika asked.
“Yes of course”
“May I see your call logs?”
Khushi pulled out her phone. The last call she had made was to Arnav some 2 hours ago.
Mallika looked at Khushi.
“You save a driver’s name on your phone”
“He is my regular driver”
“So If I call this number now, the cab driver would answer the call”
“Yes”
“Your voice does not seem so sure” Mallika commented as she presses the call icon.
The call didn’t connect. A woman’s voice said that the phone was switched off.
“Where did you say the girls are from?”
Khushi didn’t know which place the girls belonged to.
“Lucknow” she said the first place that propped in her mind. It was the only town closer to her heart other than Delhi.
Mallika abruptly turned to the girls.
“So you came by train?”
“by Bus” Tanu answered.
“What time did you board your bus?”
“7.30 bus” Tanu said
“And you reached here in the afternoon?”
Tanu nodded her head
“For lunch?”
Tanu nodded her head again but seeing Khushi shaking her head she said “Yes, I mean no”
Mallika turned and glared at Khushi, catching her at the act.
“They came here at around 4 pm” Khushi said, realizing that the girls place may be closer to Delhi than Lucknow and Lucknow to Delhi was usually close to 9 hours. “and then I took them for a late lunch”
“Three young girls in a notorious hotel room with no luggage, no sufficient explanation on why you are here and when you came here, tell me one good reason to think you people are not up to something sinister?”
Khushi sighed looking at the girls. She has probably screwed this up. These officers looked sincere and unless she came clean, she may probably be done for. Hoping that her appeal would convince the officers in front of her to help her out of the situation, she decided to take their help
“Ok, alright, long story short. I am a journalist; I and my friend were here to investigate on a case. I stumbled upon these girls when they called out for help. We rescued them from the room where they were locked up and I brought them to this room which we rented out for a few hours. My friend has gone to bring his car. This place is infested with criminals who are searching for the girls. I need your help to punish the criminals and save these girls from their clutches. Please!” Khushi said in one breath.
“You rescued them from where?”
Khushi started to explain on how she and Arnav brought them to their room”
Mallika steadily looked at Khushi and then sarcastically smiled at her before she turned to the other constable “You may leave now, I will take it from here”
The constable saluted and left the place. As soon as the door closed behind the constable, Mallika pulled out her phone and dialed a number.
“Whom are you calling now?” Khushi asked her in shock
Mallika didn’t answer her.
“Sir, I have got them” she said “Yes, both the girls are here. Do you want me to bring them down?”
Khushi looked at Mallika in shock as Tanu and Tara got scared.
“Ok, We are at room number 314” she cut the call
“I trusted you” Khushi whispered as she went and stood next to the girls as a protective instinct.
Mallika was steadily looking at her.
“Do you think I would have patiently asked you so many questions during a raid?” she asked.
Khushi knew she had only a few precious moments to make her escape with the girls. But where will she run to? The Balcony was overlooking the third floor. If she managed to dash outside the door with the girls, she would run into the men who were after Tara and Tanu.
Next to her Tanu looked up at her hopefully. Tara was at the verge of another panic attack. How stupid of her. She should have stuck with her initial story, whatever the circumstance was. How was she going to get them out of this situation?
She could call Arnav, but his phone was switched off.
Abhi. Call Abhi, she said to herself and then a moment later realized that her phone was still with Mallika.
Should she ask for the phone or should she just lung for it? Mallika was an officer for heaven’s sake. But she is one person and they are three. They can easily overpower her and escape. But the girls can hardly be counted as 2 whole people. Besides Mallika was a trained officer and they on the other hand were amateur at self-defense. But if they succeed, they may have a chance at escape. They don’t have much time left, if the other men joined her, they will lose their chance of escape.
Khushi ping ponged between the pros and cons in her mind before she steeled herself for the next course of action.
***
Shyam and Pratap were at the lounge of Pratap’s residence playing chess when Samar barged in
“Sandy has been arrested” he said urgently
“What?” Pratap was shocked
“I know” Shyam said calmly
“You know?” Pratap asked his friend “when?”
“Some half an hour back, I have my resources to give me information”
“You are not worried?”
“Don’t worry, I have got it covered” Shyam said, moving his queen forward and gesturing Pratap to play.
“What if it gets escalated?” Samar asked
“Leave that to me and concentrate on your work” Shyam replied nonchalantly.
“What do you mean?”
“how is your progress on Anjali’s case?” Shyam asked Samar
“I am working on it” Samar murmured.
“How long? We are losing time”
“With all this tension about our men getting caught, do you still want me to do that?” Samar asked
“Of course, I told you not to worry about the men getting caught”
“I don’t understand your intention uncle”
“Sandy is a small price to pay for a much-needed diversion. Use it well Samar” Shyam said as Pratap completed his move
“Nice move man!” Shyam commented as he continued with the game, as an exasperated Samar left the place.
***
“Can I have my phone back? I need to make a call” Khushi asked Mallika
Mallika looked at her and was about to hand over the phone to Khushi when Khushi took her by surprise, lunging at her and pushing her against the wall, taking her by surprise.
“RUN!” she called out to Tara and Tanu, who were equally shocked.
“Khushi stop! What are you doing” Mallika asked her
Khushi who had been repeatedly shouting at the girls to run, paused at her action
Tara took Tanu’s hand and was rushing to the door .
“How do you know my name?” Khushi asked Mallika, still holding her against the wall.
It was precisely at this time when the door to the room opened.
“Woah! What’s happening here?”
It was Abhimanyu, to both Khushi’s relief and her embarrassment.
***
Arnav frustratedly pressed his horn for the 5th time withing the last 20 mins, He had been trying to reach Abhi’s number as he went down, successfully got through the line as he waved an Auto down and hired it for the drop near the signal. Promising to pay twice the meter if he got him to the signal in 10 mins, Arnav spoke to Abhi, informing Abhi about the situation at the hotel where he had left Khushi and the girls. The moment Arnav mentioned about Jagga, Abhi said that he was a notorious gangster and he will immediately attend to the matter.
He was about to make a call to Khushi to inform her when the rickshaw jerked forward, taking a sharp turn to overtake another vehicle and his phone slipped from his hand onto the rickshaw floor and then slid into the road.
“Careful!” he screamed, but the deed was done. The driver screeched his auto to stop with an apology. But there were vehicles behind, and it took a few mins for Arnav to retrieve his IPhone which now sported a smashed screen and was refusing to start.
Cursing his luck, he got into the apologetic driver’s auto again, asking him to drop him near the place where his car was parked.
Now, for the past 20 mins, he was still stuck in the narrow road, trying to maneuver his SUV in the narrow road filled with traffic. Not having a phone to check if Abhi made it to the hotel or to speak to Khushi, he was frustrated and getting impatient by the minute.
After another 20 minutes when he finally made it to the hotel, he saw a big Police vehicle which was pulling away from the spot. As he made his way to the hotel lounge, he was comforted to see Khushi and Abhi making their way down along with the girls and another policewoman.
“Thank God you are safe” he said rushing to them
“What happened to your phone?” Abhi and Khushi asked rhyming together by chance and then smiling at each other.
“Don’t ask me. Long story” Arnav said showing his now smashed phone
“OH MY GOD, I have my data in there”
Arnav looked at Khushi incredulously
“Thanks for being so sensitive ” he said sarcastically “And I was so worried that I was not able to reach either of you”
“Sorry I didn’t mean to sound selfish”
“Sometimes unintentional tongue slips happen” Abhi said scoffing at his friend’s reaction.
Khushi looked rueful at her accidental slip of comment and wanting to ease the building tension but words were failing her.
“How did you manage to get it this smashed up?” Abhi asked
“Slipped from my hand onto the road and run over by the vehicle behind my rickshaw” Arnav said dusting off his dead phone
“We should be able to recover the insurance amount.” Khushi said getting weird looks from Arnav. Not understanding what was wrong, she smiled back at him baffled.
“Never mind” he said and turned to Abhi “What now”
“You both go home, the police will take it from here” Abhi said. “I may need a drop home, Anyway you need to pick up Anjali too”
“No problem” Arnav said.
“What about Tara and Tanu?” Khushi asked.
“Mallika, she is our subinspector- she will take the girls to an NGO, and give them any medical attention if required.”
The girls looked at Khushi with pleading eyes.
“Why can’t I take them with me?”
“Because the law does not permit it Khushi” Abhi said “the girls have to be accompanied by a police woman”
“or a woman. I am there. I have a NGO ID card”
“But, the NGO that I am taking about should be specialized with such trauma cases like the girls have undergone and also, they should be registered with our department to handle these cases.”
The three of them had already reached Arnav’s car and the girls were retained inside with Mallika and other police women.
“please, let me take custody of them”
“Its against the rules Khushi”
“They are terrified. And no offense, but Tara said that the police are with Jagga, there could be a mole in your department”
“I knew of it, and only less than a month ago, I changed the entire police station to a women only police station and asked Mallika to take charge. So you don’t have to worry about that”
“You say that Jagga is a criminal and he has his huge gang, and they know where the police will leave the girls. If they ransack the NGO, it will be dangerous. Wont it be prudent to take advantage of secrecy?”
Sighing at Khushi’s persistence, Abhi turned to Arnav for help
“Arnav, please tell her”
“please convince him”
Arnav looked at both of them.
“this is not happening” Abhi said “I cannot go against the rules”
“Dude, I am tired and I want a good night’s sleep. I don’t want to be woken up in the middle of the night asking to come to some random place where she has gone searching for the girls” Arnav said with a straight face that no one could have realized that he was joking “and I don’t even have a phone, she might call you”
It was Khushi’s turn to look at Arnav with a wide open mouth as Abhi guffawed at his friend
“You are not pulling my legs”
“ofcourse he is” Abhi said “But, you don’t have to worry about the girls, they are in good hands and soon, they will be sent home as well as the numerous girls like them”
“But I am thinking of psychological and emotional safety of the girls”
“That’s why we put them in an NGO first”
“For God's sake, the girl has been in a brothel, she is scared and traumatized and barely 14 years- she is just a child. Please!”
“I know that Khushi”
“Don’t just go by the rule book, Have a heart please”
Abhi looked at Khushi for a full minute
“Ok” he said finally “I may be breaking a hundred rules today, but yes”
“Thanks so much!” Khushi was jubilant.
“Now you know right, next time don’t blame me” Arnav commented
“What are you taking about” Khushi asked them both
Abhi laughed “You are tenacious.” He said “Ignore his comments, it is some thing that he is getting back at me”
“Hope Dadi wouldn’t mind?” Abhi asked Arnav
“No problem, We will manage”
“Ok, let me know anytime you want us to take over”
A moment later Mallika arrived with the girls
“But Sir, the formalities?”
“They will come to the station and complete it. There is a small procedure that you need to finish Khushi, for taking custody of the girls. It will take only a few minutes”
“No problem”
The girls finally got into Arnav’s SUV along with Khushi as the men got into the front seats. After a short stop at the station to complete the formalities and taking charge of the girls, they started towards Abhi’s place.
“Dinner is on me” Abhi announced on the way home.
“Oh, don’t bother, its already too late”
“I can hear your stomach rumble, besides, I am sure the children are hungry too”
“We can stop by some restuarant, if you all are hungry” Khushi said
“No, we will head to my home…”Abhi said “unless you both have other plans”
“No nothing like that” Khushi said
“Someone promised me a good dinner and forgot about it” Arnav commented
“Aha, so you had plans” Abhi chuckled “so if you are not planning for a moonlit or candle lit dinner somewhere, you can join us, Tara and Tanu can have dinner at my home”
“You must be joking” Arnav said “One cannot hope for such fluffy stuff”
Abhi laughed. The girls giggled too. Khushi looked incredulously at them and shook her head.
“Jokes apart, I am serious” Abhi said “I have already asked Geethu that I am bringing a party for dinner”
“Hey you shouldn’t have troubled Geethu, HP would have prepared something too”
“Anjali said she has taken care of it, besides the cook prepares it, not Geethu. so is it agreed that we all have dinner together at my home? May be I can still arrange for a separate table for you Arnav, put some candles around and Khushi can join your table if she wants to…”
“Devimaiyya! please stop” Khushi begged but the discreet leg pulling continued for the rest of the journey. For some reason, Arnav took his friend’s teasing on his stride, chuckling at his comments and sometimes joining in, making her roll her eyes at him numerous times. As for the girls, they were giggling and laughing for the larger part of the journey, they were free at last.
***
As they reached Abhi’s place, another surprise awaited Khushi.
They were warmly welcomed by Geethu, who was a tall, graceful woman with a short hair and came across as someone with a professional aura around her. But the warmth with which she invited the unexpected guests made them instantly comfortable.
Khushi had assumed that Geethu was Abhi’s sister, but soon realized that she was not.
“Hey boys, long day?” She said as she opened to the door “You all look tired”
Arnav who was standing first, gave her lopsided smile, “Yeah, we got to experience an evening in cop’s life”
“Tell me about it” Geethu said chuckling at him “Abhi is a happy man today”
“Yeah, thanks to these two, we got so many things accomplished today” Abhi said as he quickly introduced the girls and Khushi
"Geethu, meet Tara and Tanu our guests for today and Khushi, Arnav's friend you must have heard about so much by now, I am sure... and everyone, this is Geethu, the lady of this house and your gracious host!"
Geethu chuckled. "Really?"
"You sound straight from the finishing school" Arnav teased his friend from the hall inside
"What do you expect after hanging out with you" Abhi called back at Arnav.
Khushi wondered what "the lady of the house" meant. It was an odd comment to make about one's sister... but wait, was she his sister?
“Hi Khushi, welcome! Anjali was talking about you non-stop, Glad to meet you finally” Geethu's voice pulled her back to present as Khushi returned Geethu's quick hug.
Geethu also embraced the girls with warmth and invited them in.
Just as they were entering in, Khushi saw a small girl of around 6 rushing into the hall from one of the rooms, into the hands of Abhi
“Daddy! You are back”
“Riya, you haven’t slept yet”
“I tried my best to make her sleep” Anjali said as she walked out of the room carrying a children story book.
“Don’t worry Anjali, It wasn’t your fault. This is a daily routine, Riya waits for him to come home, however late he comes, she waits up, I have given up on trying to change that” Geethu commented, showing the bathroom to the guests to freshen up.
“I will be back guys” Abhi said as he lifted a giggling Riya up in the air, making her fly like a helicopter.
But Khushi stood rooted to spot.
So, Abhi is a family man? How can Anjali love someone who already has family and how is Arnav ok with this?
To be continued.
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tada.... Do let me know about your thoughts down there in the comments...
Take care of yourself and stay safe...
Until we meet again, cheers!
Yahoo!! I'm first and I can't believe it.
Whatte lovely update. Phew. All's well that ends well! (Momentarily Atleast)
Damn! Initially I did think Mallika was Abhi's woman but then when she said you think I'll ask so many questions during a raid put me off. It didn't strike to me that she was trying to identify Khushi and seeing Arnav's name in the call log may have sealed the deal for her.
Glad Abhi came down. Phew. It was super tense.
Ha ha. Abhi had to give in to her demands too. 😂😂 But, like he asked. Will dadi be okay? The house is not hers to welcome anyone she wants. And I doubt dadi will be open but, I could be wrong too. She might understand and be sensitive.
Candle light dinner eh! Niceeee.
Riya... Awww may be she is his adopted kid like how hell bent Khushi was to bring these two girls home, riya could be a sweet child whom he rescued and bonded with or Riya has lost her mom (Abhi's wife) . That's why Arnav is okay with Anjali's choice.
Cheers mate! Hoping Deepavali was fun! 🤗
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