Devkaajjal inspire - An eternal love story - Page 79

He went first to the Delta HQ.....not a breath out of place....as he reached there.....Ricardo was still as he had left him...he stared at Ruth without much emotion....Ruth looked at him impassively....his voice held no emotions,"... Ricky....right now, Ron is out there....and I know you want me to get you out....don't you, isn't that what he said to you....that he would force me to get you out and take you to him...,"...Ricky stared back unperturbed....he was highly trained and skilled like Ronaldo he showed no emotion.....Ruth sat back....,"....Ricky – listen to me ,Ron has Rhea Pratap Singh....I know by now she is on her way to him....and he will use her to bargain with me....you knew this all along....Ricky., didn't you...must have made you feel so superior...smug....,"...he eyeballed the other man and received no reaction what so ever.....Ruth nodded, he knew this game too well....he suddenly grabbed Ricky's shirt and socked his jaw from the right...a soft satisfying crack as bone met bone...Ricky swore as he spat out a tooth with some blood.....his eyes suddenly came to life, and threw vitriol at Ruth as ...his eyes spewing hatred...

Ruth nodded and sat back...,"...that's better Ricky- I hate talking to mannequins.....now let me tell you the truth about your half baked twin....first of all he is not your real twin but a clone....a badly mangled and twisted clone who thinks he is human....but he is not...he is controlled by a mix of artificial intelligence and genetic manipulated artificial gene, a program which can be shut down like a computer.....but apart from that bit of statistic....right now this minute he wants me to kill you first....,"...Ricky stared at him with disbelief....obviously he wouldn't be convinced so easily even at the threat of a gun....

So Ruth said,"....I haven't got time to convince you – but I can still kill you ...nothing and no one to stop me.....alas...you won't know the truth then....truth is and if you are interested – my plan was indeed to kill you....and then disguise myself as you (as I did Ronaldo for 7 years)....attend trial and take the punishment in your place.....Ron knows that....he knows all my moves.....always has....as he has my reactions stored in his genes....problem is he also has your genes....he has your weaknesses...your anger, your temper.....your half witted brain...or lack of it.....and he is even half a man like you are....or maybe not a man at all....,"...sarcasm flowing at its best....mocking.....he was goading Ricky...whose one major weakness apart from hating Ruthwick was his own inability to control his reactions...he jumped up at Ruthwick....who just stepped back....he allowed Ricky to lunge at him with a snarl....allowed him to take a swipe and he pivoted on his heel sharply twisted at his side, moving his head back as Ricky's punch landed twice in thin air...and grabbed Ricky from behind by his throat and neck, arm lock which Rahul had perfected.....as Ricky tried to twist away using his powerful legs....and strong arms....he was a good wrestler and a tough one if not a tricky one at arm to arm combat.....but Ruth had planned this move, he had Ricky by his vital vein....as he pressed hard Ricky gagged...his eye bulging.....as he struggled his feet stamping the floor....Ruth's face was taut...controlled as his movements....he rasped hard,"....I can snap your dirty neck any moment now, Ricky – but I need you alive....plans have changed.....mine and yours.....YOU ARE NO longer GOOD TO ME DEAD...FOR YOU ARE GOING INTO THAT TRIAL ON MONDAY AND I AM TAKING YOU THERE....even if I have to walk thru hell and kill a few imps like Ronaldo....I will....YOU BET I WILL....but if you want any chance in hell to LIVE....then obey me....or DIE.....,"...Ricky did not take long to make a choice...unlike Ronaldo who would self destruct without a second thought Ricky was too attached to his scrawny neck....also he wanted to set it up so that Ricky could see with his own eyes Ronaldo ditch him....he let Ricky go slowly....and moved away.....his gun on hand as he sat down....letting some breath out....it had been a tight call...Ricky could have twisted and had him by the neck....Ricky fell on his seat hard....he coughed holding his throat....he gave Ruth a look of pure hatred...his eyes blood shot having been cut from oxygen....

Ruth told him....,"....I will now make contact with your twin....and you can hear his lovely voice and see what use he has for you....,"...Ricky continued to glare at him balefully still trying to get his breath back....Ruth used the decoder, to scramble the call.....Ron picked it up as if he was waiting....there was the usual cold mockery...for a moment to hear the familiar voice....he thought was dead felt like a ghost dancing on his grave...he took a deep breath...time to roll the dice....let's see you play it....eyeing Ricky...who eyed him back....,"....Ron – I won't mince words...you probably know it all....I have Ricky before me....I still intend to take him into trial on Monday – alive in one piece, he will testify against you and admit to his crimes and that of the 3BK....I hope you are listening Ron – for I know you are on the train....now....and awaiting for Rhea to arrive,....I will meet you there, believe me....this is the worst possible mistake you could have made by showing your wretched face in the open....,"...cold hard....but his mind counted the seconds....Ron wouldn't stay on long to escape remote censors.....

Ronaldo was calm as he smiled coldly, and mocked in his customary fashion....which Ruth had impersonated for years..."....yes of course the honourable Mr. Dhanrajgir...the blue eyed boy, the honest patriot....all that and more....just noble...so very touching....but why waste time Dhanrajgir – you know it no longer matters whether Ricky is alive or dead...I know you intended for him to die.....so why bother.... but stay in touch for I want you to know when Rhea arrives...I WANT TO FEEL YOUR FEAR DHANRAJGIR...I WANT TO ENJOY YOUR HELPLESSNESS WHEN I MARRY HER IN THAT SAME CHURCH YOU TOOK HER TO....ARE YOU SHOCKED....yes Dhanrajgir....I WATCHED YOU BOTH KNEEL AND PRAY...I WATCHED THE WAY YOU WATCHED HER...WHILE SHE PRAYED....AND HATED YOU....YOU HEAR ME...Dhanrajgir...I NEVER HATED YOU MORE.....,"...he dropped his voice....knowing Ruth had frozen still....but his voice was full of hatred this time....dark...throbbing with....old jealousy....bitter hatred....,"...I watched you kiss her on the hill....I watched you touch her....and I WANTED TO KILL YOU THEN...Dhanrajgir...I WANTED TO KILL YOU with my own hands....but I was held back...by Olaf....he warned me of dire consequences....so I watched you....both....on that entire trip, tying myself down....keeping a distance....feeling as helpless and boiling with rage....as you are doing now.... Dhanrajgir I promise you a nice wedding gift....from my side....a gift you will die for.....for you will watch me make love to her too....yes you will....that I promise.....,"...and then he laughed....the voice turning Ruth's blood to ice....his marrow to ashes...

Ruth closed his eyes....god....as everything swam before him turning dark first...but his training kept him on alert...even Ricky was stunned to hear emotions in Ronaldo's voice....the hatred and jealousy so strong ...he was taken aback....momentarily his hatred for Ruth forgotten as he stared at the greyness on Ruth's skin.....Ruth clawed himself back...with some strength...visibly shaken to his core....as dug some air into his trembling chest.....breathing harshly.....but then he detached himself...his skin stretched like a deaths mask over his face....the bones clear in outline as he clenched his muscles....tautly he whispered....,"....touch her and you are dead....Ronaldo....this is one promise I intend to keep....so keep away...I am coming to you soon....and even the devil who is your master now...won't be able to save you...,"...Ronaldo had quickly recovered back to his old mocking self and said, calmly"....don't worry about me....worry about the 750 people on this train....worry about the 200 people who have just died on the motorway and still dying as we talk....worry about the 200 odd people at the precinct of the largest police station in Geneva....they all await your saviour properties.....and I WILL WAIT FOR YOU....bon voyage.,"...he called off...Ruth sat there still as a statue, he closed his eyes as he let out his breath in a ragged hiss....ohhhgod....the nightmare from 7 years unfolding...the nightmare at the airport and the 7 years following...the deep chasm opening to swallow him alive...but suddenly as these emotions threatened to overwhelm him amidst inhuman effort....he blew out the air from his lungs...and gulped in some fresh air...using his mouth to breathe....his chest becoming calm...he recovered swiftly due to his excellent reflexes and training....his breathing turned calm....his systems functioning full throttle as his emotions were buried like a long dead corpse....not allowing any emotions to overpower him now....grief or anger would be difficult to shake out of if he did.....he stared at Ricky who stared back .....Ruth made a sudden decision....he went to Ricky and yanked him on his feet....grimly,"...come with me Ricky – you are going to make yourself useful for a change.....,I have changed my mind...come along,".....Ricky resisted....and  swore....,"...where the hell are you taking me now...did you not hear he does not want me...you may as well as keep me here for the trial...,."...fear mingled with the arrogance....

Ricky froze as he suddenly realised the vulnerable position he was in....Ronaldo did not want him...there was nothing to bargain for his life....he tasted fear...his own as he wet his lips and swallowed...Ruth could kill him without a second thought....but why was he behaving like this....where was he taking him....Ruth looked at him mercilessly....as he handcuffed him in a way he could hold him by the arms without the cuffs being visible...it was a risky move but the only to save 2 places at the same time....thinking on his feet....he hoped his brother was doing the same....momentarily his eyes blazed with fury at Ronaldo but he quickly pushed those emotions back...NO NO RUTH....NOT EVEN ONCE YOU MUST LET YOURSELF FEEL ANYTHING...NOW MOVE.....he warned himself.....as his feet moved....the Delta car was not the quickest....but would get him to city centre in Geneva in less than 15 minutes where he would be boarding the train....he did not tell Ricky what his intentions were....he put the other man next to him...Ricky gave him hateful looks and kept asking amidst some swear words as to where he was taking him...but a taut grim profile was all he got...so he sat there and sulked....all the way of that ride....he yanked Ricky out unceremoniously at the car park he knew was monitored by CCTVs....he had worn the temporary mask of Ronaldo's face....it would show that one twin was making the other to do this job if anyone was watching....Pushing Ricky against the car's bonnet....Ruth attached a slim band to Ricky's wrist....and then glanced at the slim dial on his own...there was a red beep...he nodded...without much preamble...,"...Ricky – listen to me carefully....this is a very sensitive bomb....I have attached it to your pulse....stay calm, and don't get angry...if you do you will not just lose your arm but your life...and it is very self contained....it won't spread....but it sends sharp minute shrapnel's into your blood stream...even if you survive the blast....you will scream in terror every waking moment....I will deactivate it when the job is done....I don't need to be near you....if you scream for help and do anything that will increase your pulse rate it will go off....do I need to demonstrate....I can if you want...,"...his cold hard voice convinced Ricky who shrunk further...seeing death in Ruth's cold topaz gaze....

He took a deep breath...,"...wh...what do you want me to do...,"...knowing either ways he was dead meat....he could find a way out...he did understand bombs...there would be a way...Ruth read it in his eyes and smiled coldly reminding Ricky of Ronaldo....,"..don't even think of escape – there is none....you are a wanted terrorist....the state police have you on their files....just go in calmly and say you have rigged the place up.....to go up in minutes.....tell them you did the job on the motorway...your name is Ricardo and you have escaped prison....you are on the run....they will believe you.....stay put in the building.....keep a few hostages....let women, children and elderly people go....the usual routine...keep the key officers back.....I am arming you sufficiently to befool them....tell them further....you have many others with similar plans....and they have to accede to your demands...which you will let them know in good time....you have done this before Ricky...should be classroom stuff....do the job and you may reach trial on your two feet....play mischief or disobey....you are a highly skilled and trained expert....you know I am not joking – any questions....,"...Ricky stared at him....naked terror in his eyes....eyes same as Ronaldo but human...he was sweating as Ruthwick armed him....put the bullet proof vest on him.....his voice was quiet now....as the bite left it....his gaze momentarily bleak...as he stared at Ricky....,"... Ricky – you are still human unlike Ron - I don't know if you have a will or a soul....but if you feel the slightest repentant... turn yourself in and admit to your crimes....you may be the only one who stays alive in all this....I don't know if I see you again....and then again you may die....for this bomb has a clock for 3 hours and 45 minutes....if I don't deactivate it by then...it will go off...any attempts to take it off will set it off.....YOU READ ME....,"turning cold again...Ricky nodded....he had no choice.....whichever way he turned now – death was certain....he swore softly....as Ruth prepared to leave....after abandoning the car....,"...the Son of B...never intended to get me out did he....all these years....he fed me only lies....if I ever get my hands around his neck....,"...he swore choicely.....Ruth ignored him....he watched Ricky enter the building....his device enabled him to know all of Ricky's moves....the bomb was real but set to self - deactivate in 3 hours....whichever it went, he did not want Ricky to die...he could be the only witness the state had to prosecute....3 BK for all their crimes...Olaf for his crimes even in death...he had left a trail for the Delta to pick up Ricky in 3 hours....again merging with the shadows he left.....

The Plan.....

Rahul looked at the 4 faces around him...he was looking grim too...but in control of the situation....,"...if that's the way to go so be it – this is the plan....Anjali and I will travel in the Delta unit 2....its biggest advantage is that....it cannot be picked by any remote censor....it has been rigged to keep the Delta out or anybody manipulating it.....we take the mountain trail which makes it even more difficult for a trace....I will drive while Anjali works on her codes....we will get to Geneva by 3am .....and that's the same time the train will be somewhere between the 367X pass, that cuts across Zurich on one side....there is a tunnel which the train passes through perilous terrain but if we jump the train from outside....Ronaldo won't be able to pick any signals if he is using manual censors....or the trains own satellite mapping....should not be tough as both Anjali and I are skilled gliders.....and they are the best for landing on a speeding surface for air control and pressure monitoring.....whilst....Danielle soon as she is up and going, can travel with Dr. Lawrence by car to Vienna...to be there....when her father get's in.....would make a lot of sense for her to be travelling with Dr. Lawrence....and to be in attendance for her father....as she is supposed to be there at the conference.....Nikki will be here at the Palace....safeguarding our families, as well as her own....apart from keeping all communication lines open with Ruth if he tries to contact or even Ronaldo....we do not know what he may throw at us....he may still think Anjali is at the palace and try to bargain some way....so the possibility must not be ruled out....I think this is all I can think of now....Nikki agreed....with Rahul's plan....she wouldn't have done anything different....they all slowly glanced at the restful form of Danielle....as Ralph held her....and then carried her into Palace....Anjali's eyes held a moist sheen which she blinked....she took a deep breath trying to uncoil the tightness in her chest.....Rahul touched her arm....he said softly,"...hey Doc – you are a brave girl.....I am glad, we are in this together....even if the risks are huge....I am quite glad...,"...he looked at her....long....she sighed....as she looked yonder as if scanning her soul,"....I couldn't have kept away Captain not after so much has happened and so much is at stake....I can't wait any moment to think Rhea di is with that Monster...n..no...C...Captain...I ...I...w....won't think of it...," he hugged her....hoping to assure her....knowing she was quite scared like he was...

Rhea....

She had gone numb inside, host of reactions like shock...fear....and grief all mingled into a mass of feeling like she was floating away from her physical self....the armed men held her ruthlessly, but it seemed quite brisk and businesslike...robotic....they were like robots....this numbness gave her some detachment....as her emotions sunk into the core of her being like they had when she heard of the blast which allegedly killed Ruth...7 years ago....

But something jerked hard inside her....when she saw the train station....some old memories....stirring like a coiled snake swiftly rising with a hiss....the jets were wide as she realised where she was being led into....she was wearing the warmest of winter coats, which the Police Chiefs had let her with her hat and scarf over the Sharara....her heels sacrificed for winter shoes....her breath stirred the deep vapours of the chilly evening, on a busy railway station....people stopped to stare at the entourage of cops....which made no bones about the status of their prisoner, or purpose of taking her captive....Rhea felt like a helpless animal being yanked towards her destruction......but she did not resist....her mind had stopped functioning, at the moment she had no will to cause any resistance....nor was any part of her hopeful for any respite....the calm mask like face of Ruthwick floated behind her pained eyes which she closed as if to shut that image out....she clenched her jaw not to feel that hurt....that deep hurt....which came from trusting him....and truth was she still did, but that did not erase the doubts....if he had any intentions of sacrificing his goals to save her....she would die for his cause at just his command alone....but the doubts came like angry bees whose hive was burnt down....was his silence because he felt helpless and shocked like the rest, or was he silent that he did not want to jeopardise his own plans.....his own cause....but she wasn't given much time to dwell on her thoughts as the clones took her inside the train....momentarily she paused at the doorway...one step inside one poised outside as she turned to the left, lifted her torso back, almost hanging out of the train....it was eerie....she felt herself going still...holding her breath....as she looked....felt almost as if Ruth was running down the flight of stairs.....screaming.....nooooo...sttttooooopppppp.....w....wwwaiiiitttt....stop the train....a bubble of pure hysteria rose up with the pain, as he battled the mirage....realising she was only imagining it...there was no running figure in a black crash jacket, black jeans and white T shirt...her eyes desperately scanned for Ruth....wanting to believe that mirage was real.....there were people she did not recognise......as she coughed....and was pushed inside....doubled with pain as her heart bled at the memories which were etched on her soul....bleak as the grave of uncertain future closed over her....but as she entered box 12 and the train started pulling back its hydraulic brakes.....the man who lounged against the seats which were also etched in her heart like her soul....was Ruth....but this time her heart did not race....did not go still....did not recognise....but something did....as she reeled with deep shock....

Ronaldo came towards her imitating Ruth's voice, tone.....his mannerism perfect.....but Rhea recoiled with horror as he reached out....looking puzzled....,"...hey Senorita it is me....I did not want to pretend at the Palace....but see this is our escape....see I kept our promise...we will marry in the same church we had made that promise 7 years ago....what happened....why are you looking at me like that....,"....but Rhea just leaned back on the wooden walls of the train....her skin as pale as the snow capped mountains of the Alps....."...Y...you are not Ru...Ruthwick....y...you....a....are....,"....her hoarse whisper....made Ronaldo pause...he stood there momentarily stunned she knew....but Rhea sunk back further....as she stared with wide eyes.....at the night mare that was before her......Ronaldo did not waste time on further pretence...he paused to take stock.......so she knew....the cold grey eyes were like glaciers,"....good you know – I did not like the idea of you thinking of me as Dhanrajgir..., but then Rhea Pratap Singh – you were always special"...reverting back to the mocking self she had grown to hate in Olaf's captivity...he dipped his head.....,".......welcome abroad....and make yourself at home...I am sure you will remember this seat, this train....I am replicating this momentous journey....you had embarked upon 7 years ago with dear Dhanrajigir....alas....history will be rewritten differently....as it pauses at Prague again..... but your co passenger will be me....there is still 3 hours to go so why not have some dinner together.......I am going to have mine soon....,"....Rhea did not reply....as she stared at him....the numbness opening to a gaping chasm of disbelief.....terror and helplessness....

sammy😛

Part 76 – love wins against all odds

The miracle – 5 minutes

Nikki Andrei….5.30pm...at the palace getting ready to leave

Nikki helped Andrei into the special gear of the Delta task force. Once he had the special skin suit on, which was made of light optical fibre and geared to withstand heat, cold to the highest degree or lowest denominator. On top of it came the bullet proof vest which was another re-enforced steel unit geared to withstand bullets at close range. Unlike the old fashioned steel ones, this was made from a very thin specially designed fabric to disguise with the clothes. Then was added the Delta tracksuit which was wool and fleece for the cold but also designed to pocket various gadgets and communication devices, Nikkis face was a mask of concentration as she made sure he was alright. She checked, tugged his sleeves, his sides to doubly check for any loopholes. He looked on bemusedly," I am used to costumes being fitted on me, Nicolette but never one by a princess, I feel quite honoured that you should dress me up. Like a roles reversal here – as I am sure you are fitted into clothes by your hand maids. "She stared at him as her fingers paused on his chest jacket and then a smile slowly appeared in the violets taking away the sombre expression.

She had to laugh with him and he sighed as he pulled her close, the greys were smiling, into the violets which also enjoyed that shared humour, she murmured" hey Andy – do you know why I am asking you along, even if I don't have a definite plan." He shook his head, as he muttered softly, against her soft hair as he nuzzled it with his lips," Sweetheart I don't care and don't want to know – as long as I am with you, ," Then he moved away, still smiling gazing at her lovingly, circling her waist with his hands, but she sighed holding his gaze in all seriousness," It is a hunch – a wild one. You know Sir James son - Jacques, the one who has been kidnapped by Ronaldo – I suspect he is still there lying in some dungeon or basement corner of the old church. As I did a search on the possible spots Ron might have been hiding I stumbled on to some interesting info. The old church has a bitter long history of being in feud with the main church in Italy and turning renegade, but for some time it had links with the Monarchy in Italy, - yet Austria, Germany and Switzerland are the 3 countries who strangely remain hostile to it. I further suspect it has strong mafia links from the old world order which you know no longer exists. But for all you know 3BK as they are might still keep some links with them. This cloning business for eg, how did it happen under cover for 7 years, how did no one notice nor raise an alarm. Ron must have dozens running around the place for an operation the size of the unfortunate motorway accident this morning to have happened hundreds of clones must have been at work and in position a long time ago to make it happen, it can't have been erected over night. To monitor the most sophisticated traffic system on the busiest motorway in Europe, get codes off each car which is speeding at least 200 miles an hour is not a joke, someone is manning a large hub of all this data and where is it being done. Which is the base, is it Olaf's old one but that is dismantled we know. Even if Ron managed to resurrect some links, how did he get it running to this level of efficiency and how did it escape our scrutiny? Delta might be inefficient in parts but they have a good ground network which traditionally has been the best spy network the world has seen, so how come we never picked it up, never found out any of these work happening right under our noses. Though ineffective leadership and corrupt management led to its final downfall amidst inner power struggles we have seen like Chandran and such. Still it is the best in business.

So I suspect this church was used – it is one of the many relics due to its renegade history has gone vastly un-monitored and could have easily produced these clones on the sly. Its seclusion, the hilly terrain which makes it difficult for any Delta unit to find any activity going on underground, also our devices would find it hard to find, so what I not just suspect but afraid I will find is a breeding factory of clones beneath the church in Prague. It is one of those things you never think of. But last 2 days I tried to rack my brains over why Ronaldo should kidnap Sir James son of all the people – why him. Sir James personally has no links to Rhea or Ruth or anybody in this mess we know. Ok, he attends court but that again has direct connection to his highness not the Delta nor me. See the mistake we made with this whole thing was we were going about it the other way round. Now if you put it back in perspective, Ron is no fool - he would think long term. He has planned this for 7 years. Tell me - Why would he kidnap someone who has no use for him unless there is another reason and which is Sir James is the leader of the congregation that this church is part of. Don't forget he is a minister of the church. He may have not personally attended any service that this church might run, but he is definitely officially allowed to run a service from there if he wants to, he has access to it at all times unquestioned. Look at what Ron has just done, he has lured Rhea out using Sir James son as bait, using his disappearance as suspect leading to her involvement and threw in the body of Marcus which I know is deliberate as the club incident happened. There are public witnesses that Marcus tried to act fresh with her. But what many don't know and which Ruth does and so does Ron, that Marcus and Sir James son – Jacques are drinking mates. They have a reputation with women and are addicted gamblers. For someone who has been knighted like Sir James for many generations of his family have, and for serving the church in the most distinguished way this is dishonourable. I am from these circles, come to think of it I had found it odd for Sir James and Lady Chantelle to be at the club that evening when you performed and we all had dinner. But the fact was they were discretely keeping an eye on Marcus for Jacques probably had gone missing around then. They must have been worried. They did not want to openly start asking. And when I did the police database I found they had made a complaint ever so discretely. Which made sense as to why the police had such a perfect link to Rhea, Jacques is missing, Marcus turns up dead soon after – the police pin on her - perfect planning. And that is Ron. And that's why I feel this church will play an important role in finding the truth and bringing Rhea back with Ruth.

On the other hand I may be barking up a gum tree with no branches and crash land just the same on my wrong side, but my hunches have been rarely wrong, Ruth may be the master of the skies and AI but I know my sewers, I know my underground network, I understand the dark world. Am I making sense Andrei or did I just bombard you with unnecessary information. "Andrei stared at her long time and Nikki looked at him as if to reassure yet her eyes for searching for some reassurance, but he surprised her by nodding," yes Nicolette – now that one looks back it was odd that Rhea should be arrested for disappearance of a man she barely knows and for the murder of someone she would not associate with. This is a red herring so that she would not be stopped from being taken out of the Palace. I can also imagine someone like Ronaldo would have disguised himself as a priest and stayed invisible to the world in that old church, which is like a fortress. I have been there once you could be having an army down there and wouldn't know. No army or cops would mess with men of religion, how easy it would be for these guys to do their work unnoticed. I can easily see that. Come to think of it was that why good ole Ruth insisted that I marry Rhea in that church?" Nikki shook her head, her smile turning grim as she told Andrei Ruth's plan about going in place of Ricardo and being tried as such. Andrei was deeply shocked reeling further as she told him that now probably Ruth was being asked to exchange his life for Rhea, so that Ron could play the old card again, Olaf's card of impersonating someone, killing their families and returning with another identity. Andrei breathed softly," Ruthwick would never let that happen. He will do his all to protect Sophiya. "Nikki sighed darkly, a bit miserably," yes – but then against a trainload of people sitting on a powerful bomb does he have any choice at all. "

Andrei took her arms and said firmly, " No – Nikki we won't dwell on that. Tell me what my role is going to be, I know you are not taking me along for my non- existent military skills – how much ever you love me, you still don't think I am a soldier so spill". She made a face trying to smile wryly," you mean – you weren't convinced that I thought you were a great warrior then," he shot up his brow arrogantly the greys glinted," not when you called me tin pot prince. I know what it means? You want me to impersonate someone that to befool Ronaldo as he doesn't have a device which will check my DNA codes, sufficient time for Ruth to do his bit." Nikki smiled looking impressed really this time as she said," So you have been listening eh – I am impressed. No Not Ruth – but Anjali. She will need the crucial minutes to feed the destructive codes into Ron. For which he has to be diverted, and you will be the diversion Andy. A little bit of old fashioned friar who lands there uncalled which I suspect must often happen, as Ron couldn't have afforded to close the place down to the public or he would have been pulled up first by the state board of tourism and then the Gendarme. It is a place of touristic interest, and very romantic it is said to be. There are many stories linked to how people find their life time partners there. Lured by ancient folk lore or miracles that happen to lover's lots of couples come there to marry on the spur.

It is like someone going to Vegas to get married on a special license and finding out they can't. They would complain if it was not accessible to them like it is advertised, it is a national heritage property not private. And tonight there will be a couple wanting to get married too. So no escape for good ole Ron, you will be the groom wanting to marry and the friar would his clones no less– I will dispose the friar off and you take his place, like you are good at doing a dual role with split personalities which is your speciality. And I will be the giggly bride hidden beneath veil and all perfect reason to come in thru the front, pretend of course as we would have reached there by foot. Ronaldo does not expect me to leave the palace not when the King himself is away, it is against protocol and I have never defied protocol before so he wouldn't anticipate me leaving the place. He wouldn't expect you to be there as you are no soldier. Believe me when Ruth is chasing him, he won't have his attention much on us. He may try to kill us on the run but I am prepared for that – you think this plan makes sense. I am grabbing at straws, dunno if it has a chance. But worth a try, all we may have is 5 minutes, and that may be all we need...a miracle in 5 minutes" she looked at him dubiously as she began having doubts in her own plans. She chewed her lip hard trying to make some sense out of it.

Andrei burst out laughing after staring at her as if she had lost it. She wondered if he had lost it finally – days of stress and strain coming true.  Then he smiled at her with real pride shinning in his eyes, "Mama Mia – my word, you are really coming true as a mad princess, if I was your chief I would be having many bypasses and split ulcers by now. God save your kingdom when you rule it. And god save the man who marries you – but tell you what, I love your idea. Mad as they are- do make perfect sense to me. Come on we are wasting time Princess don't we have to get to our wedding?" an odd glint in his eyes as he said that. She missed it and smiled with relief for it was feeling she was going nuts with this madcap scheme, but not so bad if Andrei was finding it did make sense.  She opened the trap door in the dark corner of the kitchen and used the ancient step ladder to go down.

The cellar was dank, musty and looked it hadn't been used in years if not centuries, Nikki used the special blue light Andrei had seen her use the first time they were rescued. It was funny how it all came a full circle from that point, never thought he would fall in love under a sewer with the Queen of sewers for crying out loud and laughed again, Nikki looked at him worriedly and shushed him," shhhh…careful Andy – we are moving thru some ancient dungeons which were used for torture and even escape during war times - you may scare the ghosts," and he looked at her strangely. She did look a bit peaky as she darted her eyes about. He did recall her fear of the ghosts and tucked his arm in her protectively," then I will scare them off for you princess - I used to enjoy chasing them," she glared at him as he teased. But her feet moved quietly as a cat, and she knew exactly which route she was taking despite the old walls looking the same to his eyes, was like a bl…maze….but her eyes and coordination was spot on as if there was a map in her head with a large torchlight shining on its ancient path....the rest of it done by the device.

Rahul Anjali…6.00pm

Anjali poured over the whole plan again, as she now looked closely into the Eurostar design itself, the tracks and the whole network. She still felt they were making a mistake somewhere. In her mind she tried to work it out manually as the implant did its own job, ignoring the stupid buzz in her head she thought hard. Dr. Reiss did say law of probabilities. He knew her inside out so would Ron who have profiled her like Ruth for years – surely neither would be unawares that Rahul and Anjali would try and bust the train using gliders or something similar. Ron wanted her for the implant so did Dr. Reiss and both would have to overpower her to get it. They couldn't afford to let her have an upper hand. Yet neither Ruth nor Dr. Reiss had particularly mentioned any instructions for her. All that Rahul was told was to stick close to her. All that Dr. Reiss told her was to contact him at midnight. Why midnight when he very well knew that Ron was going to attack before? Come to think of it, everything was so odd. She shook her head as she kept going in circles and decided to think laterally. What if it was Nikki or some other agent trying to bust the train? How would they do it? In the face of facts, especially knowing Ronaldo would lure her away using Rhea di. Did not make sense, on the face of it, Rhea di was the bargaining point for both Ruth and Anjali. The former for his own reasons and the latter for the implant, she felt instinctively Ronaldo would force Ruth to intercept Anjali and take her to Ron, which meant one thing only. Dr. Reiss and Ronaldo both were having their own ways of tackling Anjali when she did bust the train with Rahul, so all means of normal possible ways she would stray and enter their domain would be charted by them.

Dr. Reiss would be ready for her through any AI means, so the console would be useless. And Ronaldo thru force, he would have his men all over at strategic points to intercept them. She went and sat at Rahul's side who face had relaxed somehow as he thought his task ahead, Anjali spoke softly," keep the speed good Captain – our plans may have to change there is a detour. " he almost swerved them off the road. But cursed as the van steadied itself. Without any further pause she told him about her musings and as he took a sharp intake of breath reflecting his own surprise and some discomfort that she was quite right about this, he thought hard and then made him finally breathe out," We have to find some way of getting to the engine and disabling the bomb Anjali. It is our only chance to save the people on the train and to let Ruth go after Ron." Anjali nodded her eyes faraway, trying to look thru the dark glass of the van" yes there might be – I have been pouring over the coordinates for over an hour now. We are only looking at the network of the train and the tunnel, but we ignored an entire mountain we are approaching. These mountains have been used even before technology for gold mining. There are sluices all over, I could see from the satellite readings some as big as a tunnel for a train. You were mapping some as I recall, thru the cliffs but Ruth cut thru those and lured us to Olaf's base thru an unconventional route and I think he has planned it again for us. Dunno why it feels Ruth has charted our journey once again."

She knew Rahul was listening carefully even if his face had turned grim, clenched hard as he tried to concentrate. "Alright Doc spill, tell me what's on your mind. As for the mountains and all the work I had done and recall, there are 2 waterfalls – which run thru the underground sluices of the gold mines which have been long flooded hence the mines closed down. You recall the cabin was linked to one such which we used for escape. " Anjali nodded in perfect seriousness and said, " yes I know that but as I looked at the rail network, I discovered an ancient sluice that runs right from the top of the mountain down to the tunnel. They have used that to build the tunnel itself. There is a strong guttering that runs beneath the 200 foot long tunnel it holds the tracks and gallons of river water running below. The way to that sluice is the one we met at after you disappeared below the cliff. We still have 3 hours to get to the Tunnel, if you speed up and get to the spot at the cliff we can use it to enter the sluice, where the waterfall is. If we fall in go with the water itself we will find it flows directly beneath the guttering. I suspect we will find an easier way to get to the manhole which must link to the lid inside the engine room itself. I saw on the design that the older Euro star models used to have a compulsory flood program, just in case one of these sluices burst forth burying the train with gallons of gushing water, if the Tunnel caved in - the only way to rescue the train would be to open the trains own flooding system so that the engine can float away not sink down. This train is an old design I found out with a similar lid that corresponds to the manhole cover, just at the spot where the train stops for 5 mins.

That's all we have when it arrives to cut thru the hole and enter the engine. Remember your device will not work when there is tonnes of granite, limestone and slate around you which is what the Alps is made of, it repels light and heat waves which the device uses.  Water is another deterrent even if good conductor of electricity. Dr. Reiss won't know if we are below as his device will be blocked nor will Ronaldo as he doesn't have one. The train doesn't have a tracking system for the tracks which is why he could put the bomb trigger there. The nose of the engine will be inside the tunnel giving us perfect camouflage. I think the only one who has probably thought of this is Ruth. He would as he used the rail network to give me the codes before. He would expect me to remember correlate and think of this alternative, his understanding of the law of probabilities is better than I thought. Ronaldo also may have or maybe he doesn't care too much as he thinks he has it all planned to the T. Conceit and the fact he hates Ruth so much would make him overconfident. But still, the law of probabilities cannot be ignored. Even if he does think of it and put guards down there which might make it difficult for us to get in, but my main worry is Dr. Reiss. He has to be disabled first. If I can connect to his prototype while under the train, he wouldn't know until it is too late, and I can use it to get the codes from him. Getting the codes is easy with the implant, but coordinating those 5 mins will be tough. And only you can do it Captain, we will be in GB's hands fully for it will need a miracle."

Rahul digested this bit silently as he drove with perfect skill.  He mulled on it some more and then said without taking his eyes off the dark road," what makes you think Ronaldo and Dr. Reiss haven't thought of this alternate plan. Ronaldo is as skilled and able as Babloo. Could be walking into a perfect trap either ways? " Anjali sighed, " we could be, like I said it is a probability all of us are tossing cards in the air at the moment – Dr. Reiss is brilliant at what he does, he had seen it all coming right up to the wall. I dunno why, but still feel a part of him hopes that I can get to the codes before Ronaldo does. Part of him which is in conflict will also try to kill me before. All that will be down to Danielle when it comes to it, but for now, this is the plan – any other ideas Captain and I am game. " Rahul shook his head regaining his calm as his mind ticked over the possibilities," your plan makes a lot more sense than mine did – like I said earlier – skies are your forte, not underground, that's my baby. In the next 5 minutes we will be approaching the first part of the mountainous route. From the cliff to the underground sluice we will have 23 minutes to get in there in time for the train. Think you are up to it with your arm,"…again his tone was grim. Damn…he was putting so much at stake here for a monster – last thing he would have ever wanted is to risk Anjalis life but ironically as it was destined, she would have to risk her own life to save all of them. Like she had said earlier some things were written before one was born.

Feeling his disquiet, she sighed and snuggled to him, resting her face on his taut muscles, her voice very soft," hey Captain don't worry – my spirit is raring to go even if my body is tired and heart is heavy. I know I have to do it as I am destined to. If GB is on my side and you at my side I am not afraid of anything. We just have to trust each other and GB to guide us and protect us all the way." Rahul kept silent, his face grim as ever. The van sped along eating up the miles to their destination.

sammy😛

~Part 77

Danielle Ralph'7.20pm

Vienna station had the unearthly calm of a funeral procession maybe feeling as she did, Danielle saw it like that. Her eyes were the bleak wings of winter. She felt Ralph give her shoulders another squeeze, it did help to have him at her side. At least she was not alone in this war. He was with her in spirit always but tonight his mere presence was tremendously strengthening. Softly as she rested her head against his strong shoulders, she murmured," I used to believe god was cruel as he was just and in all fairness imparted his laws but I was wrong Ralph, so glad that I was ' being with you again this way was one miracle I did not expect to happen, I have started to believe maybe it was just a cloud over my heart. The truth is that god is very compassionate and just a tremendous source of faith and strength that I have personally experienced in last few hours. Ow could I have ever doubted that fact which my father once raised me on. He has lost his faith but why was I losing it, I am really glad we met. So very glad," she whispered as he held her close, she felt him sigh deeply in his silence speaking lot more. She continued softly," Ralph ' It is such an amazing feeling now, feel so different from being just a mechanical part of a death code to awaiting my own death and that of some enemies, I am actually looking at life with new eyes and feeling the warmth of a new beginning in my heart. To me that is a miracle, as I had become a complete pessimist having given up all hope and life itself and I have a feeling if Daddy sees this miracle he will change his mind. Part of his negative attitude in him was due to the guilt he carried so long over my death and suffering due to the cancer. But when he sees you and sees that you are the one little ounce of life I can have ' it will make him pause and think - that's probably all I need to reason with him.  Yes Ralph - just one pause so that I can show him, love can win this war not hatred, not death, not destruction ' ONLY LOVE...and if I just had those 5 minutes I could do it....I pray to god to give me just those 5 minutes."

There was a special transport for Dr. Reiss, which brought him to the door of the carriage where he was going to be in. His body was slumped forward in the dark chilly air, he was wrapped warmly but his heart was cold, musing away in silence. He waited patiently for Danielle to arrive as he knew she would guess he was there. He expected Anjali to guess it first which is why he made the contact with her, knowing she would catch on to it before anybody.  He knew Danielle could never see him destroy on this level. She would die before. He knew she would make contact with Ruth as she had always been extremely loyal to him, protective of him. Maybe saw in him a twin of sorts, like a sibling she could relate to. In his bleak gaze as he sat there and brooded knowing his daughter would always betray him, despite being extremely loyal to him, dedicated and truthful she was also very soft hearted. All the four Delta agents were very tough, very able highly skilled in many ways but in ways of the heart they were not.

Danielle positioned herself behind him as she took the handles of the wheelchair from the delta agent who was always on guard for Dr. Reiss. The agent made himself scarce and took his position discretely. But it wasn't needed she was quite capable of defending her father or herself, softly she spoke," daddy I have a surprise guest for you but first let us get you into the carriage. It is freezing out here." Dr. Reiss did not turn or look. He felt a man at Danielle's side, but did not question it just now. He was too weak to move physically, and had to be lifted by Ralph who efficiently led him inside the warm box. It was a isolated carriage meant for VIPs. Danielle carried the wheelchair inside after folding it she put it away as Ralph settled Dr. Reiss in a comfortable seat. Dr. Reiss now looked at him carefully. The greys were quite sharp despite the illness and constant pain behind them. His voice rasped as his vocal chords were getting affected too," and you are someone Danielle knows very well I presume." He must know what is going on but there was no reaction on Dr. Reiss pleasantly enquiring expression.

Dr. Ralph took a seat opposite and smiled looking at Danielle who joined him. Then he leaned towards Dr. Reiss and said softly," Dr. Reiss I want to marry Danielle and would like to seek your permission." Shock came and went in the older man's eyes. He inhaled sharply, his chest wheezing with the effort. Danielle was instantly on her feet and dropped to her knees before her father looking into his stunned eyes and whispered," Daddy 'I met Dr. Lawrence in S. Africa, 9 years ago. The one whose name I couldn't say, for what I lost. It is him daddy. He is here now and he wants to marry me. I want to marry him too, I'I'w..want to'.,"'.soft husky with deep emotions that ran beneath the surface of her deep grey gaze, that matched his own'.the greys before her wobbled slightly and he began to cry, silently even as he reeled at her news. Staring at her with part horror and part wonder and then at Ralph who sat there still as a statue, his chest heaved a few times as he wheezed, coughed enveloped in fresh grief. Danielle also wept but more out of helplessness as her intention was to see him happy not unhappy. It took him a while to find some composure. She helped him wipe his face, and find some warmth for his trembling fingers. His eyes were dark with pain like her own. He stared at her wordlessly countless emotions running in their depths. Their silence was marred as the door opened and 4 men entered. Danielle stiffened as the clones took their positions. In a monotone that was familiar to them" Dr. Reiss stay where you are, all of you don't move. Stay put until further instructions". 4 more men joined them and silently took their places. They were dressed in varied clothes to camouflage but the identical cold hard expressions were not human. And they ignored Danielle, her father and Ralph for most part.

Ralph stared at them but knew better than to argue with their guns. He may not understand this business much but he would not defy a gun staring at him. Danielle calmly went back and took her seat next to Ralph, her eyes on her father. She had expected it. She knew Ron would anticipate her father would try to be on the train. It was the only way the older man would make sure his job was done, knowing she would betray him and even if he had no chance of succeeding fully he would have destroyed major part of his work or at least the 640 students who were with their families on this train. For a dying man, that would be all he would hope for and then Dr. Reiss was counting on Anjali to get there to help him disable all codes all at once so that he could feed the destruction program into them all. He stared at Ralph and rasped," Why did you come on board, you know what is going on?" Ralph nodded solemnly," yes Sir ' and I know what I am walking into. But I have promised I will be at her side in life and in death Sir, so here I am." Dr. Reiss stared at him in silence. The hydraulic brakes started doing their familiar song and the train slowly pulled out of the station to the next stop.

Ronaldo Ruth'.9.30pm

"We are there almost Dhanrajgir ' in 5 minutes the train stops at the tunnel, where hopefully Anjali gets on the train and my men will bring her here to you. While I make my escape you will travel on this train to Prague with Anjali and then using the station route will bring her to the church all in time for the wedding. If you detour, the responsibility of all these lives will be on you." The mocking and laughing face of death as they said was on Ronaldo's face.

Ruth sat back and let his mind roam. He was counting the seconds, now any minute Anjali would be underneath the guttering trying to get access to the train. Ron had plugged all holes of escape. Every move pre-empted and well analysed. But Anjali was the wild card they all feared for different reasons.  Ruth was hoping against hope Ron wouldn't be securing the guttering as well. One never knew how devious he could be. He might have secured the aerial route and also from the mountain itself but the waterfall would be a real long shot for Ron to consider. But not far-fetched. But one part of the jigsaw did fall into place as he pondered on the connection of the old priest and the church in Prague. He sat up slowly and saw Ron shift in his seat on alert he was watching Ruth very carefully. He wasn't leaving anything to chance. Ruth nodded," now that you said it twice it makes sense ' so that's where you were holed up all these years. You were the priest that let us in to the church 7 years ago didn't you. I didn't know who you were but you did know who I was. And that's how you watched us thru the church CCTVs, I did wonder how you knew about the church. And by the some coincidence which was purely accident we landed there spontaneously and you followed us into the hills and after that back into the train turned back into a student ' yes perfect camouflage, Delta wouldn't have touched you. We steered clear from men of religion. So Sir James has been with you all along, only way you would have had access.   What has been his grouse to betray the state? He had a good state subsidy, a generous allowance and a title. What did he stand to gain?"

Ronaldo smiled coldly clearly enjoying this battle of the minds," as if you haven't guessed. Claudia's father you forget the disgraced diplomat is Sir James own brother. To the world her father is dead, committed suicide, but he is there in the basement where Sir James own son is ' believe me he had great motivation. I married Claudia for the same reason to have Sir James on my side. He shielded me all these years and let me do my work.  Chandran for all his brains doesn't understand politics like Olaf or I do or for you that matter. You were the only Delta person who did, who does which makes this duel more interesting that academic. I want you to see what I created from scratch while hidden from your eyes. I want you to see my capabilities, my powers my network, and with your generous riches it will be further fulfilled to its fullest potential.  3BK will be rejuvenated to its old glory and you twin shall not be there to see it." Rhea could only stare ' her ability to absorb any further shock had gone turned into this crippling numbness. Ruth laughed softly shaking his head, and then his smile faded as his eyes glinted like daggers leaning forward he breathed softly," then you are more stupid and vain than I thought Ron ' always too ambitious. You have no intention of raising 3BK from the dead. You hated Olaf and his network. No ' the reason you need Rhea despite all your touching words of jealousy is that you want to be ME. Yes Ron ' admit to this weakness. You want to be HUMAN, not a bl'clone. You have always hated me for that hated yourself for that I don't think you want to go back to being Ronaldo any more than me, so let's cut it out. Let Rhea go ' this is between you and me, let her go."

To their twin surprise Rhea spoke, cutting in harshly some life turning to her eyes as she snapped out of the state of limbo, both Ruth and Ron turned to her same time but she looked at Ruth," No Ronaldo ' if you want to kill Ruthwick you will have to kill me too. You think I can be alive if he is dead. It is not a physical state of life that keeps us going, but much much more. My heart won't beat if his stops, not for a second. " But she was talking to Ruth really, telling him how stupid he was being to have thought of destroying himself to save her. Ruth stared but the jets gleamed despite the touch of tears, like twin diamonds in the velvety sky. Ron sat back and smiled but Ruth gritted his teeth, his fists curled into its hands as he stayed put ' Ron smiled at him mockingly," I am touched by this display of undying love but there is no time for further displays ' Alas I will have to part you from your lover. In a minute or two ' Anjali will get in through the engine room, and my men will be waiting Dhanrajgir - wait here for her, while I leave. Bon voyage, see you at the wedding," He grabbed Rhea's arm none too gently but Rhea had never taken her eyes off Ruth, her voice calm despite the huskiness" In life or in death Mr. Ruthwick Dhanrajgir ' we are destined to be together. Let's see who makes it there first," drowned with pain, and her resolve shinning in her eyes she brushed past Ruth who might be have been carved in stone as he sat there helplessly, his face like a death's mask  sweat streaming down his face, even the fact that his plan was about to fail again did not register. There was a distinct hum of a chopper over head he could hear a lid being open as it closed in. In a few minutes it was heard circling over the train and then there was silence.  Ron paused at the doorway and just as he tried to go past a voice said calmly," STOP RIGHT THERE Ronaldo ' let Rhea go or die."

Part 78 - love wins against all odds

The things that happened in the last 2 hours....

Rahul Anjali....8.35pm

Rahul stopped the van just at the foot of the cliff's path. It was a short 20 minute hike, despite the bitter cold, and the biting winds their special suits would suffice. Bracing themselves they left the warmth of the van and started on. The van had a 2 mile radius which would help in camouflage from any clones who may be on scout.  Rahul took Anjali's hand in his and they began walking briskly glad of the exercise for it was cold. Vapours escaped their taut lips as they moved. The frozen grass and pebbles crunched under their feet which were encased in special boots with spikes that would help in giving a better grip as ice was slippery. Words were not needed as they walked in tune with each other, determination and iron will masking their faces.

They reached the cliff in good time, and never stopped once, so it was apparent that an ambush party awaited them in the train. Rahul and Anjali did not need extra IQ for that. Armed guards might have been positioned in the engine room for her. The winds were low to their relief it would have been doubly hard with the winds lashing at them. Rahul checked their gear carefully, then giving her a quick hug he went over first facing her as he went down the cliff. They had a double harness made from rawhide and steel cables to secure to the craggy rocks below. One false step and they would land effortlessly into the bottomless pits of the Alps never to be found again.

The other end of the harness was clipped to her waist belt, the same she had used when she jumped in to rescue him from the copter the first time they met. Life seemed to have come a full circle for them both. Rahul had done this run before placing his spiked feet expertly on the right crevices using his device in the dark. He would have to guide Anjali, even if she was surefooted in these parts rock climbing was never recommended at zero degrees, slippery ice formations and with an injured arm.  He felt a slight tug at his shoulder as she began to descend, his gloved hands tightened around the cables and he grimly began to descend. He heard the soft crunch of her boots on the ice, bits of it flying over his head as she slowly climbed down after him. It was a 40 feet climb till they would get to the sluice, which would be quite tricky to find a foothold as it was dark, cold and the crevice would be well hidden. Each step had to be taken with utmost care but both of them aware of the seconds ticking away, they had to be brisk. Their breaths frozen in the high altitude and their faces as frosty as the smooth ice laden moss around them.

Danielle....9.20pm

The clones were all on the same code - Danielle counted 45 clones on the train, including the 8 men in their compartment. And she pondered hard, her face impassive as she resumed normal conversation with Ralph and her father. Ron knew about their device, so he must know she could read the codes of the clones, why was Ron so unconcerned at it all. After all this careful planning where he caused all those cars to crash, pried Rhea away from the palace, why would he let them all see what his task force was? That wasn't like his style at all. Ok she could see his plan, undoubtedly he was expecting Anjali to find the waterfall and bust the engine room from down under. She and her father had long before charted this course for Anjali, knowing fully well she would not miss the correlates to the previous chase, so Ron 24 armed men were stationed in the engine room itself. Danielle went over the plan again as she had a few times with her father. Dr. Reiss had given Anjali a clue alright by asking her to make contact at 12 midnight, but was a different matter if she could make the connection now. Danielle pondered over the database she had access to thru the device and went thru it minutely. She felt she was missing something vital ' but what. The reason her father had personally decided to oversee the destruction plan bear fruit. Probably Ronaldo had people stationed in the CCTV room to listen to their conversations. So finally Danielle slowly stood up, a distant click telling her the clones were also alert as she moved to her father. She adjusted his blanket around the thin knees and then took his trembling hands as she gazed deep into identical grey eyes, searchingly as he stared back," father ' will you let me marry Ralph, he asked you but you did not reply?" Dr. Reiss was silent, his throat worked hard, and his chest heaved again painfully as wheezed once more. But further silence greeted her and she could feel him go deep into his soul as he sought a reply. Finally his voice seemed to come from faraway, rasped," is that what you want ' to live my child. To live and give life," she took a deep breath, her eyes were clearest mirrors to her soul which said - yes father ' I do long to live and give life. Dr. Reiss slowly moved his head to look at Ralph who was also quite still at the exchange. They were speaking very softly in German," will you be happy with him, do you think that is the way for you," Danielle's eyes never left his face as she whispered," yes father ' I will. Even in the remaining moments of my life, if I can spend with him shall give me deep peace as I die." Dr. Reiss slowly returned his dark gaze to her, his voice shook with some emotion as he whispered," and will you promise, you won't lose the faith that the cancer can be reversed. You will fight it unlike I have," her chest heaved as the mountains of grief threatened to overwhelm her, she nodded slowly. They gazed at each other for what seemed an eternity.

Down below their box, was a tiny movement, Dr. Reiss had counted the seconds as he looked into his daughter's eyes, he had the codes at the click of a button, Anjali was right below this minute accessible enough to make contact with the implant, Danielle was before him ' she had the codes which would give him access to the implant in Anjali's head. It was all there as he had planned for the last 7 years. But tears fell down his eyes, he kept blinking them as he lifted trembling hands from his console that precise moment to cup her damp cheeks, and using his already paralysed fingers to jerk away some tears," shhhh ' my child, you know what your mum said to me when she was dying, she said ' William if there is one thing I am happy to leave you with is our daughter. She will give you life, she will bring happiness into your life, she will always be there for you like my shadow, like my own reflection, and you won't be alone when she is there. She will always be loyal as I have and love you more than life itself. She was dying as she said that and handed you to me. I haven't forgotten, all her words have borne fruit. Yes my child ' you haven't let her down, you haven't tarnished her promise. I can't undo what can't be undone, nor can I forgo what cannot be forgiven. My pardon isn't in this life, so life is not what I seek. You promise you will forgive it all and never go back once, will you promise your dying father that you will live with all the memories buried forever," the rasp got worse as he wheezed and coughed in between, the greys wobbled and she clutched his hands as she kissed them and wept bitterly.  Ralph leaned forward, chewing his lip hard pain filling his eyes turning them to deep blue of the ocean in storms. His fingers clasped her shoulders as her body was racked with sobs that filled the silent confines of this box. Dr. Reiss bent his head and gathered her close with one hand the other clutching her fist.

 The clones did not know Dr. Reiss had locked on their systems already, the clone manning the CCTV did not see it either. The image on CCTV he had frozen was of a distressed father consoling a distressed daughter. From beneath Danielle's clenched fist, Dr. Reiss moved a thumb which had a node inside his sleeve that ran into his console. His medical reports said he was paralysed on the right side, but only one thumb moved and it hit one code. Suddenly the clones started to lift their hands to grab the guns at the sudden jerk in their collar bones, it was painless as it was numbing. The sudden paralysed nerve which froze each expression some surprised some calm, some irate. The men in the CCTV room couldn't change the screen on time for Ronaldo who wasn't alerted on time as a result.

Rahul Anjali.....8.55pm...on the cliff

Their breathing was laboured as oxygen was low, but the battled the cliff grimly, taking each step as if their lives depended on it. His chest was tight, but he was holding on well, each time he took a step he gave a tug on the cable and received an answering one to show all was well. Just a few more and they would be there, already he could see a faint outline below, he remembered the spot clearly, his feet were lot more surer as he descended slowly. They were both suspended at least at an height of 1000 feet.

Suddenly there was a flutter of wings and loud shrill shrieks as a school of bats flew out of the cave they were suspended outside, upwards blindly towards them. Rahul tried to shout a warning but it was too late as he heard a sickening crunch as Anjali gasped trying to ward the birds off her eyes, missed her footing and slipped. She lost her foothold and her grip on the cable. It had a 45 foot length that was linked to Rahul's harness, but having lost her grip she fell backwards hurtling towards the bottom at threatening speed, which was still dangerous as she could hit her head on the side of the mountain as she was out of control. But there was another sickening snap of steel suddenly loud enough as it was like a shot, which turned his blood to ice, Anjali's urgent gasp was lost in the shriek of the bats, but his mind had frozen like him, so had his limbs. Without thinking acting purely on reflex he let go of the guiding rope and fell after her. Same motion he flipped over so that he fell head long to have a head start over her as she fell, the rope flaying uselessly at the side uncaring if he took them both to a sure death, not knowing how that fault happened to cause Anjali's harness to unclick from the belt which it did and that was the sound he heard as she fell.

In sheer instincts she had thrown out both her injured arm and the good one desperately hoping to hold on to something but grabbed only thin air ' for a moment oddly suspended in t sky as the cold winds bit into her face staring at the dark side of the mountain, her eyes frozen as she felt herself hurl down to a fatal ending in that moment of reckoning accepting her fate, her death as reality her eyes dark with pain and sorrow ' love you always Captain, even in death I will always be with you, she whispered in her heart even as she fell and then jerked her head up as a sudden gush of wind came her way. A dark shadow hurtling towards her falling form, but she had closed her eyes as the velocity of the fall took the speed.

He had jumped the same way Anjali had to save his life the first time, no hesitation all instincts, but as his arms grabbed at thin air second time, he threw them put again kicking hard at the air, to give him that velocity snarling at the winds that bit into his grey face, the tips of his fingers finding something and he lurched with a final gasp of his screaming lungs, his other hand clutched the belt of her jacket and held on, the weight dragging him down almost. As they swung at that height in the dark, in the cold his first arm cam around her waist grabbing it with all he had, giving his feet the final lurch as they swung dangerously close to hitting the side of the mountain. Luckily his training came to the rescue as his reflexes stuck out, using the balls of his 2 feet to crash hard against the mossy, slippery ice laden sides, causing a fine peppering of ice and moss to fly.  Even the assurance of having grabbed her by the waist hadn't registered as he wildly fought for control on the cable which was creaking threateningly on the links he had made as he secured their way down.  This pendulum motion made worst by loss of control could easily dislodge any one of them and throw them below to a fatal death. Grimly he held on to his life and soul, while battling the swing and slowing it down with each crash of his feet, using the spikes to gain a firm foothold. Time was suspended as he did that, all of eternity waited terrified what may happen, and after what seemed a few ages went by, he finally paused the swing and using his feet again hoisted them close to the guiding cable. Even as they swung he had managed to lock her harness into his using another stronger link at his belt. He used 2 to make sure a repeat did not happen in all this his vital stats hadn't started again. His heart would only beat when he felt hers.

 Taking some vital time to gain his breath he began to climb still holding on to her, by now all his breath was exhausted causing his lungs to wheeze hard with his harsh breathing and the strain showing on his taut features, fixed like a deaths mask. Finally finding the foothold which marked the entrance of the cave, which had released the bats, he heaved them both inside. AS the cable still hung from his belt, he stumbled one step driven by instincts and his training as he pulled them inside to safety. Leaning weakly against the damp, musty walls of the limestone cave ' dragging each pull of air into his lungs thru his mouth, he gasped, hoarsely" A...An..Anjali....," She was winded but ok after the initial shock of seeing she hadn't hurled down to her death after all. She still clung to him weakly as her feet shook like the rest of her. Still breathing hard, he hugged her suddenly. His lips grazing her hair urgently, sheer relief mingled in his tears of gratitude as he sobbed silently, thanking god she was safe.  They clung to each other for a few more precious moments until another sound apart from the roar of their stunned but relieved hearts was overtaken by another distant roar. They moved apart as they stared at each other, a waterfall. Their feet moved towards the sound the same time, urgency overtaking the shock. The pale glow of the light that came from the quartz on these walls was insufficient so he drew on his blue light, which was good for camouflage as it did not reflect nor give any heat patterns.

The dank walls, which smelt of sodium and lime were filled with slimy moss as they felt the sides moving gingerly as it was very slippery, a small trickle of fresh mountain spring already ran along one side of the wall down below as they moved. The roar grew distinct as the water gushed thru its secret chamber echoing lot more than it would in the open. Rahul glanced at the time ' amazingly they were well on schedule as it was 9.10pm.

They looked at each other, their pale features enveloped in an eerie glow, grimly he took both her hands and rasped," listen Anjali ' no matter what happens, NEVER LET GO OF MY HAND, I I...w..wont l..let you go...y...you...h...hear me I will come along....i..if you...d..do," a hoarse whisper as he reached for her shoulders, gripping them hard as he stared at her, his eyes dark with strength and determination. She stared at him, breathing as hard as him, the topaz as dark as his own, "I love you Rahul ' I won't let you go either...n...never ," astonishingly clear as she whispered. He blinked away the tears that threatened again overwhelmed as he felt his chest storming with emotions but there was no time to dwell on them for in 10 minutes the train would be overhead.  The outer layer of their clothes was water proofed over their ski suits which was designed for all temperatures and water proofed as well. He turned brisk Eagle was in charge as he commanded," arms around my waist this time ' doc, and make sure the harness is firm, we don't want a repeat," they went thru the motions of checking the steel links even if previous seconds were being wasted. She had her arms circled around his neck, her eyes flicking over his taut expression finally managing a ghost of a smile as she murmured against his cold face," this is my favourite position captain, thought you would never ask," he did not find any humour in it as he suddenly arched his back and jumped with her into the 5 foot drop, a dull splash marked their entry into the gushing waters which rushed at a deafening speed towards the hole in the tunnel, that would connect the brook to the main river that sliced thru the mighty valley.  

They had held their breath using the oxygen well, as they swam expertly despite the heavy currents and the cold water. The fact that it fell below thru the sluice made the navigation more difficult but there was more control unlike on the side of the mountain. They resurfaced as they saw the guttering just a few feet above. There was no time to lose, even as they gasped for air. The velocity of the water, currents took them less than 7 minutes to get under the guttering. But it was a foot wide grating, cemented down for a few more feet so that the tracks could be laid on the top. Rahul had the right explosives, which he quickly and grimly attached along the sides of the strong iron, these unlike conventional explosives, were very well controlled and contained within the designated area.  They wore ear muffs and a mask over their nostrils to prevent inhaling any toxic fumes. The explosive went out with a dull thud hardly causing any sound in the tunnel, which was slowly getting filled with the roar of the distantly approaching train.  The explosives cut off a nice big square on the guttering. Using specially designed clamps, so that they could swing below as the train paused over head. Rahul decided to go for the engine room, so he had put the explosives there first, and let Anjali get into Dr. Reiss one. He had timed them both to go off same time, making sure Anjali was holding on to her clamp tight. When he had the signal, which was a tug on his harness, he let go of his breath ' his chest was taking the brunt of this past one hour but he couldn't care less. As he swung he waited for the train to slow down over their heads, his heart was making tiny jerks as it tried to deal with the earlier shock of having seen her hurl to a near death, but refused to dwell on it, his face clenched as he fought any weakening.

Part 79 - love wins against all odds

Danielle

She knew that Dr. Reiss had set off the first series of the codes, she knew that Anjali was hanging just below where they sat trying to find a way to get in, she also knew that the clones were paralysed ' she whirled even as Ralph sat down on the seat still overwhelmed by their grief. All signs of sorrow wiped clean from her hard features, the blank expression which she had been trained for bore precision results ' her shots were noiseless, would not register on a disabled CCTV and would give her precious minutes to do what she had to ' her mind counted the seconds ahead as her device ' thanks to Anjali's implant enabled her to open a lid on the floor of the train. Box 12 had a special purpose as it was farthest to the Engine room. It was the counter anti ' flooding escape, the twin lying in the link between the engine room and rest of the train itself. As the lid slid open, the soft roar of the river below the guttering could be heard. Danielle pocketed her gun and slipped into it without wasting any time, she shouted thru the gap," Anj ' come on here dear ' grab my hand, lets get you up here," She grunted as a hand slipped out of th dark and there was a soft gasp as something tried to latch on ' she grabbed with her gloved hand and effortlessly pulled Anjali carefully thru the gap. A pair of clones could in just then and mow them down, but no one did and back of her mind despite all the concentration it needed she wondered why was Ron so lax? There was no relay system to the clones. It wasn't him like at all. The train was covered only by CCTV, if he knew about the waterfall route why hadn't he secured it more? But she let those thoughts go by for the moment.

Anjali took a few precious seconds to just be able to slump on the floor as the lid was shut automatically. She was gasping hard, all her breath knocked off as she swung from a height of 25 feet on one good arm, her lungs starving of air as she had barely time to assimilate. Danielle did not bother staying with her she was running outside the box.  She knew Ronaldo had planned to leave by the aerial route, while the train halted at the signal. She had to stop him even if it meant risking the bomb going off. For if he left he would set the bomb off ' HE MUST NOT LEAVE THE TRAIN. Her training helped, as her feet moved like light luckily there were only 2 boxes between her and Ronaldo. Even as she rushed in through the connecting doors of Box 12, she braced her self aimed at his knee cap and gulping in some air spoke," ," STOP RIGHT THERE Ronaldo ' let Rhea go or die." He whirled just as he reached the doorway and without a second thought fired at her randomly' 2 shots, she fired as a return to his call firmly without hesitation. Her device was just a split second too late in recognising he had a sophisticated bomb connected to his heart nodes which was on a wrist band, and there was a link to Rhea's heart, but as a result she had to detour and bend her knees so that she could paralyse him momentarily and Ruth could get control. But Ruth was frozen to the spot as he saw her freeze even as the message communicated to her. The reason being, Ronaldo was wearing a shield of some sort which deflected the rays which controlled the device.  He needed no second prompts as he grabbed Rhea and ran bad knee and all.

For a charged moment Danielle in her state of urgency did not feel the pain. She was wearing the regular Delta bullet proof vest, and an additional one at her heart region, so that she could withstand armed combat. But he deliberately shot at the point at her uterus and abdomen area which was vulnerable despite the vest. He had a special gun which could cause a dent in the vest itself and its impact would ripple thru her nerves like shock waves, which would trigger the process the gene was using to gallop the cancer. The sudden shock and ripples which jarred thru her vital stats, immediately struck a nerve in her brain as the tumour in her stomach exploded same time. The instant reaction was the spurt of blood that came out her mouth, ears and nostrils. She looked slightly stunned as her knees deprived of support buckled with the excruciating pain that tore her insides, turning her grey. She gasped softly spewing more blood as she sank to her knees. All of it took just a few minutes. Her ears were ringing, the shock deepening in her head as it suddenly started to spin crazily, sweat formed and started to flow with the blood, her nerves had lost coordination began to go numb with pain.. The nerve stopped at a clot in the brain ' her eyes began to see the dark. She did not hear the shout nor did she feel the strong pair of arms which caught her as she fell face forward. Her sigh was slurred,"R'Ruth'Ru'Ruth'g'go'a'af'ter'.h..him'or'h..he'will'd'de'destroy'.u..us'all," another sigh and she went still. Ralph who had rushed after her reached there few seconds later. He was breathing hard like he had left his life behind. His feet braked as he took it in, his sharp intake of breath the only sound apart from Ruth's angry rasp.

Ruth

His feet had moved even as she fell, his eyes still frozen in horror and he dived to catch her fall, he held her in his arms, tears despite the frozen eyes falling. His throat was working hard, his chest so tight but his taut features were of death, hoarsely he tore out," D..Da'Danielle ' oh god'," he held her to his chest a sob escaping him. Like an automaton Ralph's feet jerked and he sank to his knees, his face devoid of all colour. Still breathing hard he stared, his face covered in shock. Ruth heard the chopper land overhead, one pat of him moving and his mind taking over but he couldn't let Danielle go either, tears were falling down his eyes as emotion fought with his priorities. But Ralphs voice was deathly calm," she said ' go after him, Ruthwick. You must," Ruth's head jerked up to meet the frozen pools of aquamarine, the flat tone not registering at first. He hesitated his face reflecting the conflict, he couldn't just leave her to die, but Ralph snarled bringing his face go, harshly," G'go damn you ' JUST LEAVE HER AND GO'..go'," it trailed on a whisper as the numbness set in'.the clinical part of Dr. Lawrence was working automatically as he bent to take over, his fingers numbly looking for her pulse. His breathing getting uneven and wobbly by the second, another harsh whisper,"'g'go'goooo'd'damn'you," he grabbed her still form, and ripped open the uniform so that he could remove the vest. His hands shook as the emergency of the situation communicated to his brains, like a miracle his mind worked ticked away giving instructions to his frozen being. His hands were cold but they were swift as he looked for a vital nerve. The pulse was getting erratic, he counted. No time to lose, he hoisted her in his arms grunting softly even as Ruth jerked his feet away turning one last time, like a ghost from the past ' pale as death himself, his eyes points of fire but Dr. Lawrence did not look at him, his grey features not withstanding, he managed to grab her wrist and pressed a button as she hd told him to in emergency. It rang twice until Rahul who was right below this particular box picked it up, his voice was soft," RX12 ' eagle to swan. "Dr Lawrence said simply his voice flat like a piece of cold stone," she's been hit ' it is fatal, we need to get her to hospital," his voice never so calm. There was a sharp intake of breath as Rahul never wasted any further time. 

Rahul

Earlier'.As Anjali started to get into position he looked up the manhole which was over the guttering and changed his mind about going thru the engine room. Undoubtedly there would the armed men, no he must find another way of dislodging the bomb, his mind worked furiously as his fingers found holds on the guttering to use as he moved, swinging 25 over the gushing river, soft grunts escaping his air starved chest. As the CCTV, wasn't linked to the tracks he had a good opportunity to move along 2 boxes one of which was the engine room. 2 clones were securing this point they swirled as soon as they saw his shadow and fired ' soft thuds from their guns but he had them on hid device earlier and got them both. They must be manning all the links between boxes, 2 more appeared from the sides of the motionless train and he fired again not missing once. They fell without much ado into the guttering below. Using his camouflage point from under the train he moved steadily as quickly he could, seeing Anjali was hoisted in time to his relief. He almost lost his own grip as he paused and then moved again in the same rapid crawl, his muscles rippling straining and stretching as he grunted with each swing, his mind counting the seconds. His arms were very strong and he managed to get to the side of Box 12 just when the call from Dr. Lawrence came too. For a moment shock held him immobile, numbing his movement but then his mind jerked hard as the distant sound of the engine could be heard, in seconds this train would start moving and he better get going, finding a grip along the side of the box, using his gloved hands to grope as he used the door handle sliding couple of times as it was quite smooth on the side but then after he used his spiked boots to loop around the handle, he finally managed a hold and then used his device to do the rest.

He was almost there as the train started to move, the great hydraulic brakes moving he hoisted himself on its side and forced the door to open, using his device. It worked ' for a few previous seconds he held his breath wondering if that would trigger the bomb, only one way to know and grimly fed the codes. The emergency doors opened smoothly and closed after him even as he swung himself into the box.

He ran inside to see the horrific sight and lost no time in getting his gun out ' for soon the box would be flooded with clones but none came. And for a few seconds he just stood feet apart bracing himself between the door and Dr. Lawrence who carried Danielle. His face was a grim mask of death, pale taut as rest of him, his finger ready to pull the trigger but nothing happened and the train gave its gentle swing as it picked up speed.

Anjali'.

She slowly managed to find a seat her eyes still in bit of a shock and daze at it all, but they stared at each other as she realised the destruction around her in the box Anjali said slowly, "Dr. Reiss ' Why did you deceive us all, why did you imply ' the implant in my head was the HUB when it isn't," there was a long pause broken by the occasional wheeze in his lungs. Earlier as he made connection with her implant while she hung under the train waiting to be let inside, she had instantly tried it to make counter claim to the codes she had presumed he had, but to her further shock there was a shield she couldn't bridge, the soft buzz in her head turned to a ringing sound in her ears, compounded by the tonnes of granite which was deflecting the light waves causing havoc in her brains. She almost lost her grip back there, and grimly hung on as she swore. Rahul had given her the right gear for the jump, the chain like mesh around the gloves which had saved her life now, were really perfect for the job. Hard as she tried she couldn't penetrate his defences and then it did not take two plus two to realise she had been conned. He was holding on to the real HUB all the while, using her as a perfect decoy to fool the enemy who was Ronaldo. He had probably locked on to the codes of the clones itself that would put them on a self destruct program instantly without much difficultly, she felt the whirl in her head as information was being downloaded brought back the headache as the buzz and ringing increased, finally it stopped as Danielle made the contact and opened the lid above her. It all happened in less than 2 minutes.

She leaned towards him and took his hands, they were trembling with the effort of staying alive, the sweat on his pale features was pronounced, his body was weak, his will was strong but he remained silent as she spoke in a hushed voice," Dr. Reiss the midnight rendezvous was a ploy to get me in' what did you hope achieve by all this, why did you do this. Why did you deceive Danielle most of all," there was urgency in her voice as she realised she was fast losing him. His eyes flickered, he blinked a few times as if struggling with his very soul, he was bleeding at his ears now, the haemorrhaging had started already. His eyes had an odd light though, the dampness of his tears fresh, his chest heaved and caved in few times with each breath he took, yet every word as clear as day, his raspy voice rasped further as he whispered," I knew you would guess Anjali ' I knew you were the key to my plans, as I charted your genome map, you always had the uncanny instinct, the death sure intuition which defies logic. It is true that the prototype I carry is only of its kind, and when I die there will be no duplicate ' for there is no other. I could have never in my wildest nightmares trusted something as powerful as this to be in another's hands. It was too precious. The implant you wear is a clever duplicate and will be useless without it, it is a hub but of a limited kind which I used to deceive by feeding some codes in it. My child - I am sorry I had to deceive everyone but I had to forsake of protecting it ' Danielle deserves to live. She wanted to die with me when she heard I wanted to destroy myself and all including people who had this gene, so I had to do it this way, convince her enough to make all this possible, so that she would never come close to the truth. TO MAKE IT ALL POSSIBLE I HAD TO COME ON THE TRAIN ' so that I could convince everyone that I did not have the ability to do much without the implant. Deceived her same way I deceived Chandran and deceived Ronaldo. They had means to understand my work, to try and steal it but never had the intelligence or wisdom to understand the roots of it. They never could fathom, that I had created something that was really very organic, it was living intelligence not just AI. That's where they failed, for the master never shares his final trick and I had saved this for the last, for their destruction. A enemy of an enemy is a friend. Even if we did not work together, in a way I became their friend, their ally as I sought the same goals as them. So I let Ronaldo create his clone factory, to believe he was invincible for when he returns to his base he will try to get himself ready for the implant which he thinks is in your head. Too late it will be for him, when he realises it is died with me. Too late and that will be the moment of his destruction. With your help Ruthwick will destroy him ' my child. I may not live to see it, but you will and my Danielle will too. She will see him die.

I wanted Ronaldo to think I was after the implant like he was, and my presence here convinced him I was getting anxious and desperate. He thought it would be killing 2 birds with one stone ' he thought I would try and set the bomb off on this train anyways which was clearly his intention as an easier option to destroying all pupils of Class ELITE 25, and everybody else on this train. But he is wrong, all I wanted is to get you on the train, to give you the codes that can destroy him, I could not afford to do it remote, nor did I want Danielle to know the truth then though she does now. She did as soon as I made connection with the codes and destroyed the clones in this box. Ronaldo is the only one who must be destroyed. He has failed as I thought he would. His jealousy and his weakness for revenge has made him make this error which I knew he would make. He had become conceited like Olaf and he couldn't see his folly. He also did not fully see your ability, like I have ' my child you are special, now you must do exactly as I say. Ronaldo has a very devious plan and he must be stopped ' there is a reason he was not concerned about the train being secure, he knew he was buying time before he can get off it. The bomb needs to be diffused first and that will be difficult but Rahul can do it ' he has the ability, but you must be with Danielle now, for she has rushed in to stop him and that may get her into trouble and she might get hurt' promise me you will - we must protect her before you go after Ronaldo," his wizened hands held her own firmly, the strength in the greys growing even as the strength in his arms were fading, the blood was rapidly flowing in a bigger trickle thru his nostrils he blinked a few times, rasped hard wheezed and coughed.

Anjali closed her eyes the pain getting inside her heart fully, sending ripples, overwhelmed deeply struck by his admission, the love that father and daughter shared was beyond description. She could never forget the light in shinning like a beacon his eyes even as he bent his head on her hands and gave up his life, a soft sigh escaping his lips as if pleading with her even at end of his time. Her lips trembled as she tried to speak but silently wept as he breathed his last with a final shudder and heave of his chest, due to the gentle tug of the train as the hydraulic brakes were released and the train began to move did not register at first. She sat there for a few minutes grieving, for this great loss to mankind as Dr. Reiss had indeed despite the risk to triggering his tumour and exploding it by feeding the destructive codes in his own brains ' he instantly died by doing it. So his prototype had been the real HUB all along, and hers only a prototype which would activate only one series of codes, not multiple as Chandran made to believe and thru him Ronaldo. And he had to connect with her implant to convince Danielle the most, and when he saw she was willing to fight death he removed the deceit and revealed which made her weep bitterly as she finally realised the truth in his eyes which had never been spoken or uttered nor guessed all these years. He had given up his life so that she could live, all could live and evil destroyed.

Anjali slowly extracted her hand from his, and very gently laid him on his back. His body seemed to have shrunk somehow, she used the blanket to cover him each movement as if in a daze, in a dream like state- the topaz were frozen in sorrow, but her brains were clinical now. She must find Rahul, there was no time to waste ' the bomb had to be diffused before the train reached Prague which was in 4 hour 's and if it did thousands would be killed as it was powerful enough to take off half a city. Then she stood up and started to move determinedly through the connecting doors, towards Box 12.

sammy😛