A Game of Chess Ch. 02

Neil didn't answer. He just got into the car with Armaan. He was fuming in anger, and Meera's remark about his wife brought back painful memories. Armaan had been watching from a distance and got an idea about what upset Neil. Meera notice Armaan in his car and her grin just grew wider.

"Its OK brother," Armaan said, "Don't let her get the better of you."

Armaan started driving.

"I think we might be closing in on the guy who made that bomb," Armaan said, "Soon we'll have an address."

"Good," Neil said, "And I might have a plan to find Pankhudi. It's like a shot in the dark, but worth a try."

Armaan and Neil were soon with Reyansh and they discussed their plan.

"Get her," Armaan told Reyansh.

He grabbed Mithila's hair and dragged her out of the room. And made her sit on a chair.

"OK here's your script," Armaan said passing her a paper, "Don't screw this up."

Mithila read it and nodded.

Armaan dialed Meera's number from Mithila's phone.

Meera: Hey Mithu, what's up?

Mithila: Hey Meera, nothing much, just fun with hubby you know.

Meera: I know, I know...so lots of sex huh? *laughs* I know how bad you needed it!

Mithila: Yeah, its been great! Hey, by the way, the other day you were asking about this drug for Pankhudi...

Meera: Yeah babes, I visited her just yesterday. Those sweet dreams I tell you, Armaan, Armaan, Armaan all the time, I'm starting to get sick now! Gimme something that will fuck up her head big time, of course without hurting the baby.

Mithila: I just remembered; I might have just the thing for you.

Meera: Do you?

Mithila: Yes, it will take her to the moon and back and is safe for the baby.

Meera: So, when do we meet?

Mithila: Actually, our stay might get extended. Anshul's parents are visiting. You could collect it from my clinic, yeah? I'll have my assistant had it over to you. It's a preloaded syringe, so all you need to do is just push.

Meera: Sure, first thing tomorrow. Thanks! You know you are sound so much like yourself today! The other day you were all so saintly like...ewww!

Mithila: I don't know anniversary effect, I guess. I get all emo sometimes.

Meera: Sure, see you around babes!

Meera disconnected the call.

"You are done here," Armaan said.

Reyansh dragged her back to the room and locked her.

"So, this is the smallest GPS tracker I could find" Neil said placing it inside the syringe box, "Now let's hope Meera takes this box to where Pankhudi is."

"What's in the syringe?" Reyansh asked.

"Saline," Armaan said as he filled up a fresh syringe, "I'll have someone drop this at her clinic today. Rey, get her make a phone call telling them to hand it over to Meera."

Next morning, Armaan got a call from Raghav.

Raghav: Found this Ganesh Character. Wasn't too hard to find. Full name Ganesh Rajshekharan, migrated from Tamil Nadu. Family is in a village in Tamil nadu. He is an engineer but couldn't find a decent job despite good knowledge due to his eccentric nature. So makes bombs for petty criminals.

Armaan: Send me a photo and address.

Raghav: Sure

Armaan's phone beeped with incoming messages.

"I underestimated eccentric. This guy is a total cartoon. Where does Meera find such people?" Armaan said looking at the picture.

He made another phone call.

"I've got a job for you," Armaan said, "I am sending you a photo and address. Make him disappear quietly."

"Don't you think you are being too gentle on the people who have hurt us?" Reyansh argued, "Why can't we just blow this bomber to bits and pieces like his did to Aarav?"

"Because..." Armaan said, "If we get too dramatic, it might alert our Belladona. She still has Pankh, and I can't afford to take any risks."

After four hours Armaan got a call back.

"Job completed," the voice said. Armaan disconnected the call without further word.

"I promised Avantika that the people responsible for Aarav's fate would be dead," Armaan said to Reyansh, "I pray his soul would rest in peace now."

Neil was called out to Armaan and Reyansh.

"Our guest here hasn't been exactly telling us everything," Neil said.

There is this deleted chat here that I managed to recover.

Alisha: Hey can you meet?

Mithila: What's up?

Alisha: Meera called up, and told me this plan of hers. It is just disastrous.

Mithila: Yes, more or less.

Alisha: You OK with that? Coz I'm not. And I don't want to be a part of it. I've done horrible things in the past, and you know, I just want to stop, but she won't let me. She used to be a good friend, but I'm really afraid of what she has become.

Mithila: Ok let's meet at our usual place, at 7 pm.

Armaan and Reyansh questioned Mithila about this.

"Alisha didn't want to be a part of this," Mithila said, "But Meera has something against her. Some kind of evidence, and she forced Alisha to do what she did."

"Do you know the whereabouts of Alisha?" Armaan asked.

"No," she said.

***********************************

Meera collected the syringe from Mithila's clinic. She got it home and opened it.

"To the moon and back, huh?" she said smiling to herself.

Meera had been a drug addict for a while and she felt a rising temptation to try the drug herself.

"If it is safe for a pregnant woman, I don't think it would harm me," she thought and she pricked herself and injected its contents into her vein.

She sat back on the couch waiting to experience its effects. She waited for 20 minutes before realizing there was no effect of the drug. She placed one drop of the drug on the back of her palm and licked it to acknowledge the salty taste.

Meera was now alerted.

She immediately called up Mithila's clinic. The assistant answered.

"Hey, the drug I collected today, did Mithila give it to you?" Meera asked.

"No," the assistant replied, "But she sent it over though a man yesterday."

Meera was now more suspicious.

She dissected the box of the syringe, and found the GPS tracker. She was now getting the whole picture.

She made a phone call to her trusted informer and said, "I am sending you an address in Lonavala. I need you to check on Mithila and her family, urgently."

**************************

Armaan received a phone call.

Raghav: I think I might have the location of Alisha. I am sending you the address where she was spotted 24 hours ago.

Armaan: Thanks.

He made another phone call. "I am sending you a picture and an address, find this girl and bring her to me unharmed," he said.

They waited for a response.

After sometime, he got a call, "Sorry, the girl got away before we could get here."

"Hmmm fine," Armaan said, "Next time."

"Neil, we gotta go," Armaan said with a sense of urgency, "Alisha has managed to get away this time but we still gotta take a look."

Armaan and Neil got into their car and left.

***************************

Meera received a call back in some time.

"No one is present at the Lonavala address you sent," the man said.

Meera now understood that Mithila was captured.

She began to think about her next move.

*************************************

Armaan and Neil reached the address Raghav had provided.

The house was empty. It appeared as if Alisha left in a hurry. A lot of her things were still lying around.

"She'll keep moving," Neil said, "Too many people are after her."

"So, we just gotta keep trying, I guess," Armaan said.

They looked around the house searching for some clues. Armaan found a piece of paper. He smiled when he read it.

"I think it would be easier to find her now," Armaan said.

"What is it?" Neil asked.

"A prescription," Armaan said, "It is time we asked our doctor about this."

He made a phone call to Reyansh.

"Put her on the line," Armaan said.

"She is listening," he said.

"Why are you making this harder than it needs to be Mithila?" Armaan said, "When were you going to tell us about Alisha's medical condition?"

"I..she..." Mithila stuttered nervously, "She is suffering from systemic lupus erythematosus. It is a multi-system disorder, and in her case has affected her blood cells. She has been using certain rare medications."

"Who is her treating doctor?" Armaan asked.

"Dr. Mohan Raj, he is a rheumatologist," she said.

Armaan disconnected the call without further word. He immediately called up Raghav.

Armaan: She escaped. But I might have a lead to get her next location. Keep an eye on Dr. Mohan Raj, and any other rheumatologist you know in the city. She is suffering from a medical condition and will visit a rheumatologist. Also, I am sending you a picture of her prescription. These medications are not easily available so keep a look out on medical stores that sell them.

Raghav: Sure. Will get back you.

Armaan and Neil got back in their car.

"What is the status of the GPS tracker in the syringe box?" Armaan asked Neil.

Neil immediately checked it on his phone and said, "It is still showing in Meera's house. It hasn't moved at all since yesterday."

"Anywhere else it moved?" Armaan asked.

"No," Neil said, "From the clinic to Meera's house, that's all. And hasn't moved since."

As they were driving back to the rented house, they stopped at a red light. A beggar girl began to knock on the car's window. Armaan ignored her but she persisted. He turned to look at her, he found that she was holding a small gift box. What really got his attention was that she was wearing Pankhudi's bracelet. He immediately lowered his window glass.

"This is for you," the girl said smiling sweetly.

"Who gave it to you?" Armaan asked accepting the box.

"One nice aunty gave it to me, she told me to give it to you," the girl said.

"Did she also give you that bracelet?" Armaan asked.

"Yes," the girl said, "Please give men 10 rupees, I haven't eaten all day."

"I'll give you 100," Armaan said, "But I want that bracelet."

The girl happily took off the bracelet and gave it to Armaan. He handed over one 100 rupees note to her. The girl took it and ran away. The lights turned green and Armaan drove the car off the street into a secluded alley.

Neil was sitting next to him. He had a lot of questions.

"Why did you buy that bracelet?" he asked.

"This is Pankhudi's," Armaan said showing him the bracelet. It had her name woven onto it with a silk thread. "Her sister Palak gifted her this, she loved this bracelet and she was wearing it when she was taken," he said.

Armaan's mind was now clouded with worry as he held the box in his hand.

"It could be a bomb," Neil warned.

"There is a metal detector in the glove box," he said.

Neil quickly scanned the box. Once they confirmed there was nothing metallic in the box, Armaan opened it. The contents were more disturbing than a bomb. Armaan found a woman's fingernail in the box. His heart nearly stopped as he picked up the blood soaked fingernail with a trembling hand.

Neil was equally shocked. He squeezed Armaan's arm trying to pacify him, "It's ok calm down, it's not what you think..."

Armaan was tearful, and he could barely breathe. Just then his phone buzzed with an incoming message. It was a video. When he played that video, whatever was left of his spirit shattered into a thousand pieces. The video showed whom the fingernail belonged to. Pankhudi' scream hit Armaan's ears like poison darts. He bit the back of his wrist to supress a scream. Tears streamed from his eyes, and he could barely breathe as he choked in pain and grief. He closed his eyes and felt something die within him. There was a pounding pain in his chest.

Neil took his phone and stopped the video.

"We are going to find her brother, I promise we will." he trying to soothe him.

"She is pregnant with my child Neil!" Armaan said, almost fainting in grief.

"Your child?" Neil asked.

"Yes," Armaan said trying to gather himself, "It was the last entry in her diary, the night before she was abducted. She was already pregnant when she was taken. I found out 2 days ago."

"Does Meera know?" Neil asked in a worried tone.

"No! Goodness no!" Armaan gasped, "You can imagine what that psycho would do if she found out. When it comes to monstrosity, she is worse than four of us combined!"

Suddenly a car approached from front and flashed its headlights at them to get their attention. Then the car slowly moved towards them till they could see who was driving.

"Speak of the devil," Neil said.

Meera stopped her car right next to Armaan's and smiled at the two men.

"Looks like you didn't like my little gift," she said smiling at Armaan.

"What the fuck do you want?" he shouted, "Why are you doing this to her? She is so...innocent!"

"She is a darling," Meera chuckled, "That's why it is just a fingernail and not the whole finger. But if you, sweetheart, can't keep your hands off my associates, what choice do I have? I really don't like to hurt her, well not physically at least, but you keep forcing me to."

Neil and Armaan looked at each other as they realized that Meera found out about Mithila's kidnapping.

"So here is what is going to happen now," Meera spoke in a commanding voice, "Blue eyed boy is going to drive this fancy car back to the shit hole where you are keeping Mithila and her husband and drop them safely home. If that doesn't happen in the next 12 hours, you are going to receive more such gifts."

Armaan nodded at Neil approving him to release Mithila and Anshul.

"And Armaan..." she said boldly touching his cheek, "...is coming with me."

"What?" Neil muttered.

"C'mon Neil," she running her hands over Armaan, "Just look at him, poor thing, he needs love right now, and I'm gonna give it to him..."

Armaan just closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He knew he had no choice.

"Alright," Armaan said softly, "Please give me a moment, will you?"

Meera smiled to see Armaan in such a broken state. "Sure," she said running a finger on his nose and lips, "Gather yourself. But don't make me wait for too long."

She drove the car to one side.

"Armaan," Neil said passing him a small audio bug, "Use this opportunity and bug her house,"

Armaan took the device and nodded. He got out of his car and walked towards Meera's car. He got into the passenger seat. Meera smiled at the defeated look on his face. She drove off.

"Don't look so sad," she said running her hand along his thigh, "We are going to have a lot of fun!"