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THE CELEBRITY - PART 22
An original story by Archana Vinod
Siddhant screws his eyes shut as he waits for the worst. But Bharat slowly lowers his gun, grabs Siddhant and flings him onto the couch. He tries to get up but -
SLAP! He gets a tight slap from Bharat's large, hard and hairy hand. God! He's almost blind. That slap was hard enough to knock his eyeballs out of his skull. I wonder how poor Roli stood up to him, he thinks. I won't leave him! He hurt my Roli!
But before he can blink he gets another SLAP! His cheek sports a shiner now and his lip has started to bleed. "Stop! Enough!" Siddhant snarls. But"
SLAAAPP! Even harder than the last two!
"JUST STOP IT, WILL -"
SLAPPP! Another slap... this time on his throat! Siddhant goes into a coughing fit.
"You just don't know when to keep your mouth shut, do you?" growls Bharat. He fills up a glass of water and hands it to Siddhant. "Drink up."
But Siddhant doesn't take it from him. He just leans back onto the couch as he tries to catch his breath, his gaze fixed on his assailant.
"Go on," he coaxes with a sarcastic smile, "you'll feel better."
Siddhant slowly takes the glass from him but doesn't drink. Bharat watches him intently. "Don't worry," he says sarcastically, "it's just water. Not poison. If I wanted to kill you, I would have just a minute ago."
"What do you want?" asks Siddhant quietly.
"Nothing actually, I just stepped in to say hi and of course, to give you some advice on how to respect your superiors."
"Mehul sent you," says Siddhant.
"Oh no he didn't, that's just not his style. But he's my buddy, if you know what I mean."
Siddhant is silent. He just glares at his large assailant. That's all what he can do. This guy is too large and swift to fight back! He can't believe that he was totally helpless a while ago; there was nothing he could do. He couldn't even land one punch on this guy! His assailant is not just large and hairy, but he sure knows how to take his opponent down with a few short but fatal strikes. Is this guy a mercenary, or maybe one of the underworld princes? Whoever he is, he is dangerous, and he sure can commit a serious kill in no time and leave without a sound.
"You know what Siddhant," says Bharat, "you're a lucky guy. You know why? Because if I were there at the party when it happened, you would have been in the hospital now."
Siddhant doesn't reply. His eyes darts towards an unconscious Roli and his heart skips a beat. She's hurt, this bugger hit her!
"You're still a kid," says Bharat like a big grown up as he carefully straightens out Siddhant's shirt and pats off the dirt, "a new comer, there's still a lot for you to learn. So keep low and learn the stuff before you try to act smart."
Bharat straightens out Siddhant's messed up collar and hair. "Next time, I won't be easy on you. Understand? So just be careful and stay grounded."
Bharat gives Siddhant a playful slap on his face and gets up to leave. He opens the door and pauses, "sorry that I barged in and spoiled your fun. You guys carry on. Enjoy!" He gives a thumbs up' before closing the door.
Siddhant takes a deep breath. He is still in shock. He can't believe what just happened.
Roli is still out cold. He gets up but - CRUNCH! "Ouch!" he falls back on the couch in serious pain. He just can't stand. His leg doesn't feel the same again. Is it broken? He stands up again, but can't.
Somehow, he stands on his good leg and uses the couch, the wall and other furniture to get to Roli. He sits beside her, takes her in his arms and pats her face. "Roli?" he calls her quietly, but she doesn't respond. Siddhant is hurting and burning all over, not from the thrashing, but from the pain of seeing Roli in this situation. He wants to kill this guy!!!
Roli's cheek is blue and swollen already and her lip is bleeding. "Roli, open your eyes, come on," he shakes her gently, but she's still out cold.
He takes the glass and sprinkles water over her face. Slowly, she comes around. "Hey Roli," he says quietly, "are you okay?" She is dazed and can hardly talk. She reaches out for his face and touches the bruise softly. "Siddhantji, did he -"
Siddhant feels his heart breaking. This is too much! And it's his entire fault! He pulls her into a tight hug worried whether she might get hurt again. "I'm sorry yaar," he stammers as he breaks down into tears, "it's all my fault! I'm so sorry!"
"Siddhantji," Roli trembles, "are you hurt?"
"I won't leave him! I'll kill him!" he cries furiously and gets onto his feet.
"Siddhantji!"
But he doesn't stop. He limps to the door, yanks it open and makes his way along the corridor. He has to find that guy! He must know how he got in there! How can they get attacked like this in a high profile hotel?
In a short while, he reaches the lobby. His broken leg doesn't matter, what hurts him most is what happened to Roli. I can never forgive myself, he burns furiously, if I kept my promise to Roli and never reacted to that guy, all this wouldn't have happened!
Sangeeta, the receptionist, notices Siddhant, his bruise and his limp. "Mr. Bharadwaj, are you alright?"
"Call the police!" Siddhant yells in rage, "I also need a doctor, right now!"
"Mr. Bharadwaj, please calm down and tell us what happened!" trembles Sangeeta.
"You don't know?" he shouts, "then what kind of service are you guys providing?"
By now, Mr. Sam Mathew has noticed the racket and he rushes to them. "Mr. Bharadwaj, what's wrong?"
"I want to know who broke into our room sometime back," he yells.
"Break in?" asks Sam, stunned.
"Yes! We were assaulted! My wife is badly hurt! How can you let someone get past without checking with the guest first?"
"Mr. Bharadwaj, there must be some mistake," says Sam.
"You call this a mistake? How can you!!!" Siddhant is hopping mad.
"Please calm down, we'll sort this out," begs Sam.
"Call the police now! Check your CCTV footage!"
"Siddhant Bharadwaj, what's wrong?" asks a familiar voice. Siddhant turns to see a familiar face in the lobby - Bharat.
... TO BE CONTINUED
CID
Anupamaa
Iss Pyaar Ko Kya Naam Doon
