Siddharth broke into a coughing fit. Very genuine at that.

An annoyed Rudra glanced at Siddharth who was on a third round coughing fit.

"You're not well?" Gauri asked concernedly.

"Do you guarantee that today is the day you are going to die from coughing too much, Sid? I think not," Rudra asserted, grinning at Gauri. Siddharth gestured him towards his hand which was firmly gripping Gauri's hand. Rudra hesitantly left her hand.

"So, Gauri, you work in JIT?" Rudra quizzed. "Yes, actually on contract basis. Radhika and I are still completing our Ph.Ds."

"Really, well then I need your help. I have a very urgent work in JIT. Can you be my guide there?" Rudra kept an innocent face. "Sure, why not?" Gauri replied with a smile. Radhika jumped in between, "Oh great! Then you could pick her up from the bus stop. You see, her scooty is sent for repair and I am on a leave tomorrow. So maybe..."

"No, please don't bother," Gauri cut in between, glaring at Radhika.

Rudra smiled. "No, it won't be. Our destination is same. As it happens, Sid won't be joining us too. He has a very important task that requires his attention."

Siddharth's eyes seemed to pop out, "I do?" "Yes, you forgot?" Rudra showed him eyes. Siddharth nodded hesitantly.
"Yes. I do," He bit out.

"Thank you, Rudra," Gauri said. "No, thank you, Gauri." Rudra again held her hand.

Siddharth cleared his throat again, causing Rudra to leave her hand begrudgingly. The plan was fixed. They parted ways with goodbyes. Rudra grinned widely whereas Siddharth gave him a wary glance.

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Next day, Gauri was waiting for Rudra at the bus stop. She was a little apprehensive of their plans. She did not know him well. When thought about that, she doubted whether he would come to pick her up. Nevertheless, she had bus transport facility as a backup plan.

Against all odds, Rudra arrived in jeep ten minutes prior to the exact time. Gauri was pleasantly surprised. They greeted each other.
"So ready to go?" Rudra asked. Gauri nodded. Out of no where, a man came; his face masked. He snatched Gauri's handbag and broke into a run.

Gauri blinked at the turnout of events. "My bag..."

"I'm pretty sure a man took your back," Rudra helped.

"My bag. My documents. You bloody thief, wait..." Both Rudra and Gauri bolted after him.

The man didn't stop even for a second and ran at lightening speed. Rudra and Gauri were following his trail. They entered the narrow streets, hopping over drainages and dodging people. It looked like a chase; the man with a handbag, followed by Rudra and lastly Gauri whose face looked like she would burst out like a volcano, any second.

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An elderly man sat in his garden near the streets, sipping his morning tea with morning newspaper, enjoying the peaceful atmosphere. "Ah! How peaceful."

He then saw a masked man running by. A well-built tall man followed. "Hey bro, let's sit and talk. Stop," The tall man yelled, breathing heavily. "You bloody bastard, return my bag this instant," A young lady cursed the masked man, running behind them.

The elderly man cringed at her words. He adjusted his spectacles with a frown, "No one ever lets me be in peace."

The man kept running so did Rudra and Gauri. Suddenly, the man held a pole for support, walked on the wall vertically and landed on the lower terrace of a house. Rudra whistled lowly, "Athletic personality, doesn't matter." He too followed the suit an unexpected fluidity.

Both the men continued their marathon on an upper level. Gauri gasped out and looked above, frowning.

"Now how the hell will I get up there? Wait... these houses have connected doors like a passage. I will follow them on the ground level," she thought. She knocked at the door of a house. A middle aged man opened the door. Gauri quickly spoke, "Crime branch. A criminal is on loose. May I use your backdoor?" The man agreed quickly. She ran towards the door, smiling within.

"Wait, bro, please..." Rudra grunted. The man didn't seem to bother, making Rudra wonder about his nutrition uptake.

Gauri sprinted out of the door, almost skipping a flight of stairs. She kept an eye out for the men at the lower terrace. Rudra saw Gauri on the streets from periphery and smiled. "Indeed, what a woman."

The man took a leap over the railings and landed on the street. Rudra did the same, crouching down to lower the impact. All were tired but none of them felt the need to stop.

The thief half-stumbled towards an open restaurant. He dropped down into a plastic chair unceremoniously. Rudra and Gauri too dropped into the chairs, panting hard. All of them maintained a humble distance.

"Time please," Rudra gasped out. Gauri face was red with exertion.

After 30 seconds, they resumed their chase.

"You run quite well, you know," Rudra complimented Gauri. "All appreciation goes to my sneakers." Rudra looked down, "Nice sneakers, by the way."

Gauri smiled. "Of course. Bata's new collection... They cost me like... RUDRA..." She yelled suddenly.

A jeep blocked their way. Rudra on reflex jumped, applied pressure on nearby wall for upliftment force and landed on the top of jeep. "I'll be ahead," He hollered, his gaze stuck at the disappearing figure of the masked man. He bounded down the jeep and followed the thief's trail.

"That's one hell of a jump," Gauri was quite impressed with his jump.

She glared at the driver who was chewing a Paan (bettle leaf). "Uncle, please move your jeep. I have a thief to catch." The driver nodded.
"Don't worry, matter of a second," He stated whilst chewing, trying not to spit out the content.

He reversed and then moved forward in order to make his jeep turn in the narrow lane. The jeep, however, did not seem to move an inch. The man laughed obnoxiously and proceeded to continue the process. It went on for nearly five minutes.

He reversed and moved forward for what looked like his twentieth attempt. Gauri almost growled out in frustration. "Wait. Wait..." She climbed on the bonnet of the jeep and crawled all the way to the next side. She resumed her running. However, she stopped for an instant and yelled at the driver, "Ask for a refund from the one who taught you driving."

Meanwhile, the thief stopped infront of a huge wall, dead-end. Rudra caught up to him and smirked.
"That was a lot of fun, actually. I need to thank you for that. Now's the time for things to get real," he spoke.

The man turned and stared at him, firmly holding onto the handbag.

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After a while, Gauri reached only to find Rudra standing with her bag. No trace of the thief. "Where is that piece of sh*t?" She questioned Rudra. "He jumped the wall, though I managed to retrieve your bag." Gauri checked her important documents and breathed in relief. All the contents were intact. She, out of impulse, hugged him, chanting 'thank you'.

"I will chase him again in order to get this gift," Rudra mentally whispered and hugged her, caging her in his arms.

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Both were on their way to JIT. "Oww, I'm going to be sore. My body aches," Gauri complained to Rudra, who was driving. "One thing I don't understand is, how the hell did he manage to jump such a huge wall?" Gauri spoke out loud.

The slight upward curl of Rudra's lips went unnoticed by her.

Every deception needed to be painted artistically. Sweat was just a token of investment. Few hours ago, something similar took place.

The man turned and stared at Rudra. He then dropped on his knees. "My lord," he spoke from behind the mask.

"You shouldn't be here," Rudra stated curtly.

"Please excuse my negligence, your highness, but this needed to be delivered to you as soon as possible. I was sworn to confidentiality. I am afraid, I might have been watched over." He pulled out a parchment and handed it over to Rudra along with the handbag.

"Bad timing, you know. Anyway, are you sure no one followed you here?" Rudra voiced out. The man nodded in negative. "You have to get going now. Return back before anyone comes to know. Come on." Rudra stood infront of the wall, cupping his hand. Rudra provided elevation for him to jump the wall. He then secured the parchment in the pocket of his pant and stood with Gauri's bag.