The dark clouds worked their way a tad bit earlier today as the morning sun thoroughly abstained from showing up in the horizon over the lands of Mumbai.

The gloomy weather indicated yet another day of gloom in the already silent city, but nothing could get murkier than the little expanse of greenery beside the ravine, located on the eastern part of the city.

.

''That's quite gruesome.''

Agent Reyhna averred as she watched the body of the victim closely, and felt bile rise in her throat as she witnessed the brutal cuts on the victim's body, making her feel like escaping the area right away, but then it was a crime scene, and this was her job, so she had to make peace with it nonetheless.

''Man, this is really, really bad.''

Agent Ayaaz said as he too looked at the young woman's corpse and then looked at the visage of the rather spellbound agent standing behind him.

''What do you think?''

Reyhna asked the other lady, who still had a straight face unlike others on the spot, and it was only after a good two minutes that she chose to step forward and said in a voice less audible,

''I don't want to alarm you guys, but my guess is.. It's the Zodiac Killer.''

As soon as she uttered the word, both Ayaaz and Reyhna looked at her with wide open eyes, and the third person to join the queue was Agent Sam, who was previously busy looking for evidences in the crime scene.

''Whoa! Agent Avni! You sure about this?''

A visibly shocked Ayaaz asked Avni, while Reyhna and Sam too looked to hear further insights from the no-nonsense agent, Avni, and she didn't let them wait for long.

Her features depicted conviction as she sat next to the victim's body and pointed her gloved finger at the cuts on the victim's body, not the ones that were prominently visible to the onlookers, but the ones that were on the insides of her wrists.

''You see these?''

She asked her colleagues as they too sat beside her and looked on.

''These are cryptograms drawn by the murder weapon. The ciphers are the signature marks of the Zodiac Killer, who, as you all know is one of the deadliest and elusive serial killers in recent times. Besides, the pattern too matches. Last night was Tuesday and it's the month of November.''

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''Jeez! This makes sense. I can't believe we are dealing with that god damn son of a b*tch!''

Reyhna averred with disgust, her face countenance flashing shock and anxiousness as everyone else, while Avni only nodded her head, still looking at the victim's body and replied,

''Believe it. We are.''

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''I DON'T believe we are!''

The alarming voice out of the blue made everyone turn their heads and look behind, and as expected, there he was, the ever dashing, and arrogant (as many believed him to be) agent, Neil Khanna.

Avni let out a deep sigh of frustration as she stood up and watched him walk up to her and the fellow agents.

He spared a glance at the victim's body before looking at Avni and then the others, as he stated,

''I bet on it. This killer is some other killer, NOT the zodiac killer.''

Avni rolled her eyes as she heard him say that with so much conviction and she tried hard to control the bubbling rage from within, as she asserted,

''Agent Neil! All the leads we have so far discovered, hint this was done by the Zodiac Killer! You can see for yourself. Even the pattern-''

''I don't care about the pattern!''

He interrupted her and not paying any heed to her irritated visage, stepped ahead and sat next to the victim's body and stated casually,

''These cuts don't belong to the Zodiac Killer's craft. It's different. It's some amateur trying to copy ZK's style!''

The lack of enthusiasm about the whole matter yet pride of proving himself correct by hook or crook on Neil's face irked Avni to infinity and beyond and she angrily came forward and averred,

''Well, that maybe your theory Mr. Neil. Mine is backed by facts. Let the forensic reports come.''

.

''There we go again.''

The three other agents on the scene just rolled their eyes looking at the banter and bickering, which by now they had grown part and parcel with.

In this world, there were certain things that had a point blank assurance of staying as stagnant as ever. Though change was the most constant thing in life, there still existed certain things that remained as constant as the northern star. Pretty much blatantly.

For instance, the North Pole would always stay apart from the south pole.

A dog's tail would always be twisted and never straight.

The Kardashians would always have cosmetic surgeries.

Earth would always revolve around sun.

And Agent Avni and Agent Neil would always remain at loggerheads.

Every case. Every time.

''The identification reports are here ma'am. We ran an ID on the victim. Her name is Oshin Sharma, 27, resident of Bandra West.''

A junior officer came forth to give the information while Avni only nodded and she was going to call up the department for more information, when Neil's next words halted her in her tracks, making her fume all the more.

''I don't think this case would take much time to be closed. Since it's not any big serial killer like the Zodiac Killer we are looking at.''

That was the end of Avni's patience limit and she turned rashly to look at him and spilled, rather too roughly,

''Oh yeah? Maybe you didn't do your homework correctly, Agent Khanna! Let me tell you then! Last week a similar case happened in Vile Parle, 27-year old Stacy Jones, a brunette, just like this victim. And guess what? It was a Tuesday as well! Just like yesterday! And if that's not enough for you, then it's November! All of Zodiac Killer's previously killings- FOUR a year have been dated in the month of November, because that's when his own birthday is! All victims killed on Tuesdays!''

She paused as she made sure everyone had her attention and when she was assured, she continued,

''The local police handed over the case of Stacy Williams to CBI only yesterday because they didn't have enough leads on it and today we, the CBI, come across this (she pointed at the victim's body)! And last but not the least, the ciphers made on the victim's body, they convey it all! This IS the Zodiac Killer! Period.''

As she finally finished averring her theory, each and every one had a thoughtful expression on their face, all of them thoroughly convinced of what they had as a lead now and pondered about how they could take this further.

All but one.

Neil wore his shades on as he looked at Avni and then at the girl lying dead and said in an authoritative tone,

''Spare me the bookish homework, Agent Avni. I still firmly believe it is some other guy, rather some fan of the Zodiac Killer, but not the zodiac killer himself!''

Avni sighed in agitation as she heard him negate her theory, as usual, and when she thought to burst out a second time now, Agent Sam tried doing his bit of easing down the situation to avoid another bomb of an argument between two of the best CBI agents, and with levity, he said,

''On a lighter note though, even if it is the Zodiac Killer or someone else, dude is a psycho, isn't it? I mean look at these cryptograms. They are all in the shape of a scorpion!''

Avni sighed looking at Sam and said, ''That's because the Zodiac Killer is a November born Scorpio, Agent Sam!''

.

''Man! These Scorpio zodiac freaks can be real weirdos at times! Vengeful, masterminds. Gives me the creeps dude!''

Ayaaz averred animatedly while Avni had a small smirk playing on her lips as she added to that in a rather mocking tone, ''Yes, of course! Those are the basic traits of a Scorpio! No wonder, Agent Neil Khanna here is a Scorpio too!''

The dig she took at Neil made everyone's mouth flung open, and Avni should have thanked her stars that Neil was wearing his shades, else the way his eyes shot daggers at her at this moment, she would have been robbed blind.

''Let's go!''

She told the team, before leaving the spot, sparing one callous look at Neil, while he only tugged his coat closer to his chest.

''Didn't know you are a Scorpio too man!''

Sam said looking at him while Neil gave him a cringe-worthy look and left the spot, not before uttering. ''I am an October born Scorpio! Not November!''

.

.

''Although this is a crime scene, can't deny the place is pretty cool, huh?''

Ayaaz said as they walked towards their cars.

''Yeah? Maybe!''

Reyhna replied nonchalantly.

''By the way, you up for a movie tonight?''

He asked enthusiastically.

Reyhna halted in her tracks as she sighed and looked at the waiting face of Ayaaz.

''I think we have done this many times before, Agent Ayaaz! Stop hitting on me! It is against our work policy.''

As if her words no matter how threatening, could never break down his spirits, Agent Ayaaz still smiled at Reyhna sheepishly before saying, ''Okay, let's say hypothetically, if we were not colleagues, and just two random people, would you still get irked if I hit on you?''

Reyhna took a deep breath and genuinely didn't know what to reply.

She knew that Ayaaz had had a liking towards her since quite long now but she treated it as one of those things that would just fade away in no time. But when that didn't happen, she began to understand that perhaps what he harboured for her was much more than a mere crush.

But it wasn't her fault now that she felt nothing of that sorts for him right?

And well, no matter how hypothetically she thought, dating your colleague was always off the hook, and she didn't even care if it was a work policy or not.

It was her principle.

And so, when he asked her out yet again today and followed it with that question of a hypothetical scenario, she was just..

Tongue-tied.

And hearing no reply come from her even after a whole minute passed, Ayaaz decided to let it go. So, with a sigh, he simply said,

''Okay! Back to work then!''

CBI

Mumbai Head office

''..And so I believe sir, we are looking at the Zodiac Killer here. The back to back murders on Tuesdays with same pattern prove our point further. I know we would need to wait for some more leads to get this fully cemented, but I guess we can take this forward with this lead that the Zodiac Killer is back!''

Avni stated confidently as their department head Mr. Charles Levesque heard her perspective minutely.

''I beg to differ, sir!''

It was Agent Neil's turn to give his two cents, and utilize with full audacity, his right to ''Freedom of speech.'' Although that was one point where Agent Avni damned the existence of human rights!

''Why so, Agent Khanna?''

Their boss Mr. Levesque questioned with inquisitiveness while Avni rolled her eyes, not giving even two hoots to the upcoming theories of the ever-arrogant Neil Khanna.

''As Agent Avni said about the patterns, the ways, the timings, I don't doubt that all of these do hint at the culprit being the Zodiac Killer, sir. But I have analyzed the wounds inflicted on the victim's body very well. Those ciphers are not done so professionally like the Zodiac Killer. And so I am sanguine it is rather some wannabe trying to imitate what he or she would believe to be the ''art'' of the true Zodiac Killer. This killer is simply a fan trying to follow the footsteps of his so-called idol!''

Neil said with authority yet again, and while Avni only shook her head at the absurdity that she thought his words inflicted in the whole scene, Mr. Levesque shared a different overview and with a thoughtful face, said, ''I see, Agent Khanna. You do have a point here.''

Avni looked at him wide-eyed, while Neil deliberately watched her with a proud smirk, making her furious all the more.

''But sir, I told you, we should not concentrate on any other angles. I-''

Avni tried to argue but was stopped midway, as Mr. Levesque spoke,

''I am sorry Agent Avni. I'm not taking any sides here, but both of you have two very valid points and I want the case to be taken forward from both the directions.''

''But this doesn't even make sense!''

She muttered to herself but her voice was audible enough for Neil to hear, and he took the opportunity of the fact instantly as he taunted her, ''That is what happens when you pay more attention to who is a vicious Scorpio in the team, rather than concentrating on the case!''

Avni's mouth flung open as she cursed him under her breath and would have possibly shot him using her revolver the very next second, but Mr. Levesque's loud voice caught them both off guard.

''THAT's ENOUGH!''

''What is it with you both? Always trying to pull each other down? It's so disappointing to see two of the best CBI Agents behave worse than reckless teenagers!''

''I- I am sorry, sir.''

Avni was the first one to apologize, with her head bowed down, and Neil soon followed suit, though the sound of his sorry was as negligible as the need for ''p'' in the word ''psycho.''

''You both are a part of a TEAM. You are team-mates! We have a mission! Every day, with every case. So please. Keep whatever differences you have, from whatever sphere of life, and learn to work together. Is that understood?''

The 50-year old man waited to hear from the two most stubborn yet best agents he had, but when he didn't hear anything and only saw them exchange raging glances at each other, he barked again,

''IS THAT UNDERSTOOD?''

''Yes sir.''

This time they said in unison and the middle-aged man nodded with narrowed eyes and said, ''Good then! Back to work!'' before disappearing into his cabin.

.

.

''Don't think I will forget what you said some time ago, all right?''

Avni was the first one to grit through her teeth, looking at Neil.

He rolled his eyes and said, ''Good! I don't even want you to forget. And anyway, a fact remains a fact! You take EVERYTHING at face value, Agent Avni!''

Avni narrowed her eyes as he said that.

''WHAT? Don't believe me? Fine, I will tell you!''

He said with a thoughtful face, acting like he's recalling stuff with retrospection.

''You see the day of the murder, hair color of the victim, ciphers on the body, and voila! It is the Zodiac Killer! No need to even check properly whether the victim's wounds are really saying so, isn't it? There it is! Proven! You take everything at face value!''

Neil taunted her.

But this time, Avni just looked at him, and said with a rather straight face,

''Oh yeah? Fine for me! It's any day better than making a mountain out of a molehill, like you Agent Khanna! Maybe, all throughout your training for this job, they didn't teach you one simple saying- 'If it ain't broken, don't fix it' but you won't understand that now, will you? You only have one agenda here! To prove yourself right and that's all! Arrogance redefined!''

Neil clenched his jaw as he heard her throw such words at him, and with a countenance depicting rage, he spat,

''Oh yeah? I am arrogance redefined? And what does that make you? You are not stubborn at all, hmm?''

Avni looked on the other side before turning her gaze to him and said coldly,

''Yes, if having the aim of doing anything and everything for closing cases makes me stubborn, then yes, I am stubborn! Because I believe in NOT wasting time. For me, all cases need to be closed PRONTO and I believe in sleeping on them! The next day always has to be a new day!''

''And that, Agent Avni, is stubbornness redefined.''

Avni's mouth flung open this time, at his blatant taunt, and she would have actually hit him for sure this time, but at the moment, it was Agent Sam who was the intruder between the duo who were always at loggerheads.

''Don't you both get tired of fighting ALL THE TIME?''

And the second right after, Sam would have hated intervening the fight, because it was in unison that the next words from both Avni and Neil came like a tight slap on him-

''SHUT UP SAM!''

And with that the two of them lashed out of the room in two different directions, leaving a perplexed Sam behind, as he wondered, ''And they say world war was over decades ago!'' <sigh>

.

.

8B, Bandra, Mumbai

''Will you at least be a little sensible? We are at a funeral!''

Reyhna gritted through her teeth while trying to act calm, but her insides were infuriating seeing a rather indifferent Agent Ayaaz as he munched on the beef steaks.

''You do the sympathy part babe, I am here for the job. Asking questions to the victim's family!''

Ayaaz stated as a matter of fact while Reyhna rolled her eyes and waited for an opportunity to speak to the grief-stricken mother of Oshin, the victim who was murdered yesterday.

It was such an irony that having had a troubled childhood, wherein her mother died when she was 8 and her father was a drunkard and she had to look after her little sister and brother like a mom instead of an older sister, Reyhna grew up to be a stronger woman instead of being a lady with a troubled mindset.

She had seen far worse things in life, but even now, though her job was brutal in its own way, every crime scene, every victim, every interrogation, still gave her the chills.

Family was extremely important to her, and maybe that was the reason she always fretted like no one else whenever she had to visit a grieving family, because that sort of resurfaced flashes of her own grief-stricken memories from childhood.

''It's okay you can relax.''

Ayaaz's low-pitched voice broke her reverie and that's when she realized she had been nervously tapping her foot all this while, and she immediately stopped.

Taking a deep breath, she waited patiently for the victim's mom to come.

.

.

''We are very sorry for your loss, ma'am.''

She said to the middle-aged lady, while the latter wiped her tears and nodded slightly at the CBI duo sitting in front of her.

''You are going to catch the one who did it right?''

She asked, her eyes evidently swollen due to her incessant tears, but still radiating a little hope, wishing for justice for her deceased young daughter.

''Yes, ma'am. We are trying our level best and we will catch her killer soon.''

''But we need to ask you some questions to help speed the investigation.''

This time it was Ayaaz who spoke.

The lady nodded at Ayaaz, asking him to continue, and so he did,

''Did your daughter have any enemies? Someone who had been bothering her lately? Any boyfriend issues?''

The grieving mother thought for a while but shook her head soon after, as she replied, ''No. Not that I know of. She wasn't a party girl and the last relationship she had, it was over a year ago. So, I don't think so. No.''

Ayaaz took notes, while Reyhna went on to ask a few more questions, and when she was almost done, Ayaaz asked the lady, ''Where did your daughter actually go that night? Because where we found her body, that wasn't the spot where her attacker killed her.''

Mrs. Sharma looked at Agent Ayaaz before saying, ''She had called me in the noon to tell me she will be coming home late that night. I don't remember her telling me what exactly her plans were, but there was one place she often visited on Tuesdays, since her work schedule ended sooner on Tuesdays.''

Ayaaz waited for the lady to answer, and after a little bit of recollection, she finally answered,

''Club Aqua Blue.''

.

.

''Yes, what have you got?''

Agent Avni asked Reyhna as the latter called her up to fill her in about whatever she learnt about Oshin from her mother and Avni took notes of it mentally.

''Thanks Reyhna. I think we are going to close this case soon.''

Avni said with conviction while Reyhna narrowed her eyes, pressing her cellphone a little closer to her ears as she questioned, ''What are you going to do, Avni?''

''Don't worry. It's not going to be a tough nut to crack. See you later.''

And she hung up the call, leaving a little confused Agent Reyhna on the other end of the line.

.

.

Club Aqua Blue

7:48 P.M.

Every pair of eyes darted at only one direction.

Of course, it was the direction from where she entered.

Dressed in a little black dress with embedded sequins paired with high-laced stilettos, she redefined the phrase ''goddess of beauty'' as she stepped down the stairs, grabbing all the attention in the world towards her.

Women's envy, men's pride.

Yes, Agent Avni looked inexplicably sexy and gorgeous this night, a stark contrast to her rigid and no-nonsense demeanour at work.

However, if there was one person who damned all of this, that was of course, a certain someone named Neil Khanna.

He rolled his eyes seeing the newest Cleopatra of the modern era walk towards him and all he did was gulp the last stroke of whisky from his glass at one go.

.

.

''So.. Club Aqua Blue, hmm? Rings a bell?''

She said dramatically, pouring a shot of tequila for herself, while Neil deliberately ignored her, making her enjoy the scene all the more.

''Looking at your expression, it's clear that it does ring a bell!''

She said, raising one eyebrow, making him irked further.

''You were not needed here, Agent Avni!''

He finally averred, a little roughly.

''Oh yeah? Why? How can I miss the opportunity of seeing you proved wrong?''

She said with mock sympathy.

Neil had had enough. So he just looked at her with a piercing gaze, and remarked,

''Listen! First of all, I am not wrong! This is still an investigation! And secondly, I don't even know what you are trying to prove here!''

He looked at her extra-revealing dress and let out a frustrated sigh.

''Oh yeah? Then let me give my two cents too, Agent Neil!''

Avni said as she animatedly counted on her fingers.

''Yes, you have not been proven wrong, YET. Yes, the investigation is still ON. But now, the main part is, CLUB AQUA BLUE! The same spot where even our first victim Stacy Jones had come, the night before she disappeared and was killed, just like Oshin Sharma, day before yesterday! SAME spot! That's yet another trademark of the Zodiac Killer! Trying to challenge the investigators by doing the same crime consecutively, on the same days every week in one month, from the same spot!''

Neil gulped yet another shot of whisky, pretending to pay no heed to Avni's talks, but she knew very well that he was listening to it all, and before she could add something further, she heard him say,

''YES. And now, if you are done making fun of me, acting like a high school student, I would STILL stand true to my theory, abide by my logic and do what I came here for. That isinterrogating the club people. OKAY?''

He was about to leave the spot when Avni stopped his way, making him look at her with a questioning gaze.

''FINE! I think you are hell bent on taking away the title of STUBBORN from me, the one which you yourself gave me, eh?''

Neil rolled his eyes narrowing his brows, he said, ''I don't have time for your drama, Avni.''

Avni nodded her head, and regaining her composure, she said,

''Okay then. Let's just say, for argument's sake, the killer is someone else and my theories are wrong. It is not the Zodiac Killer. So, I think the best way for us to interrogate these people here would be by hiding our badges! We can't reveal we are from the CBI!''

''And why is that?''

Neil questioned with a relentlessly amused expression.

''Because the Zodiac Killer has been up on our radar since so long and revealing who we are will excite his spirits further and he may make it all the more difficult for us with his next set of killings. But if this is an amateur, a wannabe fan of the ZK like you say, he may unknowingly give us some details not knowing our real identities.''

Neil looked at her thoughtfully as she gave her explanation for doing what she asked him to do.

Avni looked on as he gave the proposal a serious thought and it was in months that she thought maybe he would, or rather, they would agree on at least something at work, but her little hope was short-lived as she watched him shake his head and say with a stern face, ''You know what? That's your way of working, and I am not going to abide by that.''

''Hi! This is Agent Khanna! From the CBI! I have some questions for you!''

He straight away averred to a waiter at the club, showing his badge, while Avni cursed him under her breath, her expressions thoroughly giving away her burning rage from the inside, and without a second thought, she gulped another shot of tequila at one go, and went to the other side of the massive bar.

She was not supposed to get high during work hours, but damn that rule, for this Agent Neil Khanna was surely getting on her nerves now!

.

.

Club Aqua Blue was a huge space, and also had its own private beach.

Neil knew it was almost next to impossible for him alone to carry on with the interrogation and so after 15 minutes of talking to a number of people who he thought could make it to his list of person(s) of interest, he darted his eyes at the other side to look for that one agent, who had always meant a havoc for him at workplace.

Agent Avni.

But when he looked for her at the other direction, the sight that greeted him, made his blood boil, as he saw her sitting on the bar stool, talking to a guy, who eyed her from top to bottom with lusty eyes, and Neil tried a 1000 degrees to not lose his control and create a scene here.

''What the hell is this woman up to?!''

He gritted through his teeth, trying to stay calm. But nope.

It was not helping.

.

.

''So, this is your last case?''

The bartender asked her as he poured her yet another drink and Avni nodded her head like a little kid, sipping her drink as she replied,

''Yeah! And after that... I am OUT!''

''But why?''

The man questioned her.

Avni giggled like she was totally out of her senses and said in a tone less audible,

''I have failed in 7 cases. BACK to BACK! So, if I don't solve this one, I am OUT! So, dear..''

She looked at the little badge that the bartender wore, and after reading what was written on it, said,

''Dear Steve! Please help me out! Can you show me the CCTV footage from Tuesday night? I need to see who entered and left the club that night and if the victim was actually here that night.''

The guy looked at her, and wondered helplessly what to do.

No wonder she was exquisitely beautiful, but she was also drunk, and at the same time a CBI agent with a dicey career. However, when she looked at him with those big-doe eyes, he couldn't deny and said, ''Okay fine! But will you be able to even walk?''

''Haha! Of course! Don't worry! I am not even half way drunk!''

Avni said self-assertively with joy, while the guy only laughed at her funny antics and took her to the CCTV footage room.

.

.

But here Neil Khanna felt like knocking someone down, breaking someone's head, looking at the way Avni was handling the investigation.

He knew she had more than 30 cases to her credit, but that didn't change the fact that their ways of working always put them at loggerheads.

However, it was this case that was constantly making him think differently about a lot of things, due to several reasons of course. He was well aware that Avni as a CBI agent always knew what she was doing, but today she was being far too incorrigible and that made him insanely furious.

.

.

''Here it is!''

Steve showed her the CCTV footage while Avni looked keenly at the LCD screens.

The guy was about to leave the spot, when she said with a grin on her face,

''By the way, Steve. Where were you on Tuesday night?''

''I was here till late night, Miss.''

The guy said with conviction.

''Is there a way you can prove that? I mean do you have any alibi?''

She said, the wide smile not leaving her face.

''Yes, you can check the footage, ma'am. I didn't leave the club till morning 3 a.m. Was working late.''

Avni nodded at him as she mentally recollected that Oshin's time of death was 10 PM Tuesday night.

She looked at the CCTV footage from that night and waited with bated breath to spot Oshin there. What was slightly bugging her here was acting that she was drunk.

God, the kind of things you need to do when you are investigating.

Lying that you lost cases, lying about this being your last case, lying about being drunk.

But she had her own reasons to do the groundwork for the next set of operations that may come in handy as they went further with the investigation, something that she rather preferred to keep to herself, since she believed in working alone.

''Should I call a cab for you?''

Steve asked her politely while Avni smiled at him and said, ''No need. I will manage. Thanks Steve!''

The guy smiled at her sheepishly, smitten by her beauty but remembered his morals of not taking advantage of a drunk woman and walked away from the room, leaving a busy Avni behind.

As she browsed through the clips, she found the interior camera footage validate Steve's statement that he was inside the club all throughout.

However, the footage from the parking lot validated that Oshin was indeed here, at around 8.40 PM that night. But she took the exit at around 9.15 PM, and what made Avni all the more anxious was an entity that followed her right after as she exited the main exit of the club.

A man whose face wasn't clear, but he was slightly limping.

She immediately took snapshots of the clips, of the man exiting the club right after Oshin, and called up Reyhna to put up with the club management to find from their records of guest lists and members, who that man with a limp was.

There was no way she was losing this case, because she had never lost one.

And no matter who tried refuting her theories, she knew in full regard, that this time she was going to catch the Zodiac Killer, because she was cent percent sure it was him they were dealing with, and no other person with a contradicting theory, like a certain Neil Khanna could stop her from proving her point.

.

.

.

As the murky night turned another shade darker, she had a calm smile tugging on her lips, for she knew that it had rather been a productive day and the outcome of every effort would soon be fruitful.

And if things indeed went as planned, then this too was going to be a successfully closed case soon.

With that thought she finally stepped out of Club Aqua Blue and headed towards her car that was parked at a distance. In the meantime, she took out her cell phone to check with Agent Reyhna regarding her conversation with the club management, when suddenly she heard a dark voice say from behind, making her halt in her tracks, alarmed,

''So, you would indeed do anything to close cases and prove your point, eh?''

Her heart skipped a beat at the magnitude of those words and authority in that voice, but she took a deep breath as she turned around and saw the tall figure standing at a small distance, away from her.

.

Tucking a lock of hair behind her ear, she uttered with confidence,

''Any doubt, Agent Khanna?''

Neil shook his head as he heard her answer him with that question tag in the end, and with a stern face, he began taking slow but long strides towards her, and with five strides, when he finally bridged the gap between them, now standing only at a feet distance away from her, he said in a low but dangerous voice,

''Even if it is flirting with the bartender, in front of your husband, Avni Khanna?''

Avni saw the intense look on his face as he said that, his eyes giving away his inner rage, while she tried concealing her nervousness with sophisticated professionalism and winked at him with a playful smile as she said,

''Why? Is my husband jealous?''

.

.

And that was the end of Neil's self control as in one quick stride, he pinned her to the door of the car, gripping both her wrists tight as he slammed his lips against hers, kissing her senseless, as he bit her lower lip, coaxing her to open her mouth, and when she did, he plunged his tongue inside, relishing her like a man long starved, and no matter how hard she tried to behave, even she couldn't circumvent and evade the ministrations of the one man, only man she loved, who was her husband, as well as her biggest rival at work.

His grip on her only became stronger by the minute, his hold depicting his possessiveness that he had tried so hard to keep within himself all this while, but the dam had to break loose, and he didn't care what implications this could have, since he was not breaching any rules, that they had themselves created before getting betrothed.

.

.

It was only after a good five minutes that Avni withdrew from the kiss reluctantly, gasping for air, while he still held her close to himself.

He watched her closely, seeing her thoroughly-kissed swollen lips, her dishevelled hair, proving in every way that it was only him who could claim her like that and no one else, and with that pride he pecked her lips once again, but not before pinning her further into the car's door, and gritting,

''How dare you, huh?''

They were both panting after their brief yet intense make-out session and Avni looked at him, and in between her heavy breaths said with as much coherence as she could possibly manage,

''I thought we had a deal, Neil Khanna. As teammates at CBI, we are always at loggerheads. And this was work, not our home or bedroom.''

Neil clutched her waist further tightly, pulling her as close to himself as humanly possible, so much that their chests collided, as he averred,

''We are NOT at office right now. And FYI, F**k CBI teammates! As your SOULMATE and your HUSBAND, I shall condemn you Avni Khanna! For whatever stunt you pulled inside today, flirting with that two cents of a bartender to pull out information! You were just trying to vex me, I know it!''

Well, technically she was.

Even she couldn't deny it.

Neil watched her change of expressions and knew it utterly that his inferences were indeed right. No matter how much of a serious agent his wife was, from the inside she was a full-time child who would cross all boundaries to get back at him and play him, and well, for that he really needed to punish her. Yet again.

And with that warning, he kissed her wildly once more, while she willingly participated in the same, her own fingers ruffling through his hair as she pulled him close, and deepened the kiss.

.

.

''I want you now!''

He commanded between the kisses while she clutched him closer and whispered,

''Now, that's one case where we both share mutual thoughts, Neil Khanna. Let's go home. Even I want you. Right now!''

**