Yo!!!

"🎶 Never give up though, never give up though...no 🎶 "
I love off key singing. I wonder why others around me hate it. 😂

Food for thought - Do you think I should kill someone from the gang? 🤔

Anyways, Onwards!!!

"Words in double quotes" - Talking

'Words in single quotes' - Thoughts

(Words in braces) - Telephone conversation

Chapter 35 - Unfolding

#Next day#

"Samay, Sumit! Where are you?!" shouted Bulbul, as she and Pragya entered the building. Both sisters looked around in awe at the various gadgets and instruments placed there.

"Hey! How did you know we were here?" Sumit asked as he, Samay and Prasanth came near.

"Shekhar uncle gave us the address. Is this place really yours? It looks so cool!"

"Yes Pragya. This is our headquarters you could say. We operate from here. This place has the latest technologies and some of them are so new, they have not been made public yet." Samay spoke with pride.

"Wow! These techs must have cost you a fortune."

"Hahaha... These techs are made by me, Sumit and our employees Pragya. Did you forget that your brothers are geniuses?"

"Forget that! We need to find Purab. I can't reach his phone and neither did we find him at his house. Please help me find him!" pleaded Bulbul.

Prasanth looked at her wide-eyed. "Purab is missing as well? Shit! We still haven't found Vivek and he goes missing too!"

"Chill old man. We'll find them soon."

Prasanth glared at Sumit. "You want to live or not?"

"Watch out Sumit. That's his ultimate glare of death. It might kill you." Samay joked.

"I'm too pretty to die! Save me bhai!"

"Don't worry Chotu. Big brother will save you from the big bad wolf."

Prague simply folded her sleeves till her elbows, grabbed their heads and smacked them together. Prasanth chuckled. "Pragya, I'll be sure to give you a 20/20 in the next assessment."

Suddenly, Bulbul's phone buzzed. "Hello? Yes Kriti, what is it?"

(Where are you? Are you at home?)

"No. Me and Di are with her brothers and Prasanth Sir."

(You need to come to the park right now. And bring the rest as well.)

"But may I know w-" the line went dead before Bulbul could finish her sentence. Bulbul turned to look at the others. "We need to go the park. Now!"

#With Vivek#

Vivek opened the door to his apartment. He carefully walked to his room with slow steps and promptly fell on the bed, exhausted.

He had traveled the entire night to get back to the city, without a wink of sleep. Not to mention that his body hurt all over from his fight earlier. He felt his blood boil remembering how his boss blackmailed him.

*flashback*

Vivek moved along the dark corridor behind A. S. He looked around the place, remembering each and every detail just in case if he and Purab needed to make a run for it.

His boss stopped around a corner and turned to the door in front of him. He entered a code and turned to face Vivek.

"He's in there. Don't try anything smart, kid."

At once, Vivek rushed inside. However, he never expected the sight that he witnessed.

Purab was lying on the ground. His shirt had many rips in it, no doubt from being hit over and over again. His jeans had a hole on the right knee, probably from a gunshot. His face was the worst. He had a swollen eye, busted cheek and there was a deep gash on his forehead. Only thing that one could be thankful of was that he was still alive and breathing.

Vivek had no doubt seen such wounded persons and even dead bodies before. After all, he was a killer himself. But seeing his friend in that state, he felt bile crawl up his throat and felt nauseous.

"Ahh! The Asset is here. Welcome, welcome!" spoke a voice from the other side of the room. Only then did Vivek notice the two other occupants, besides Purab, in the room. One was a big muscled brute, while the other was Kent.

"I thought you brought him for interrogation. What's this?!" shouted Vivek, turning to glare at his boss.

"What can I say? Butch has a peculiar kind of way to interrogate his clients, right Brutus?" spoke A. S, referring to the big brute.

"It's a talent boss." Brutus cracked his knuckles and gave a crooked smile with his blackened teeth. "I had quite some fun interrogating this one. He wouldn't say anything no matter how much I hit him. I must say, he is a tough one. He still hasn't revealed anything."

Vivek balled his hands into fists. However, controlled himself from lashing out. "Whatever. I'm taking him out." Vivek moved towards Purab. "Purab? Hey Purab? You okay buddy? Hey, Purab? Can you hear me?"

Purab groaned as he came back to his senses. On seeing Vivek, his eyes widened. "Vi-vivek?! Shit! D-did they get you as w-well? No no no!" Purab stood up with Vivek's help with great effort and glared at the other three. "You've g-got me! Let him go. D-don't harm him."

"Hahahaha... Now isn't that just cute? He thinks we've kidnapped you." spoke Kent. "Won't you tell him the truth Vivek? How and why you walked in here on your own?"

Purab turned to Vivek in question. "W-what does he m-mean Vivek? Did yo-Argh!" Purab held his side in pain.

"Save your energy Purab. I'll get you out soon and then you can ask me whatever you want. For now, just stay silent and walk with me, alright?" Purab nodded and slung an arm around Vivek's shoulders. Purab couldn't put pressure on one leg because of the bullet wound and Vivek helped him walk to the door. Just when they were about to exit, Vivek felt someone grab him by the collar and separate him from Purab.

Without Vivek's support, Purab fell back down on the floor. Kent knocked him unconscious with a punch and moved him back inside.

"What is this?! I thought we had a deal! Were you playing us all along?" Vivek shouted, struggling to escape the grip of Butch.

A. S smirked. "You thought I would let you go that easily? I was just toying with you. Giving you hope that you both are getting freedom. But the truth is...I won't let him go until you bring me the eye scan and finger print of the girl."

"I told you I would bring them to you once I take him home! Let me go you bastard!" Vivek tried to fight the big brute Brutus, but anyone could say that he was fighting a losing battle.

*flashback end*

Vivek fought as hard as he could. However, he only succeeded in getting a few of his own ribs broken and got a broken jaw. That was the reason why he was now hurting all over. 'Not only did I fail to save Purab, but I also failed to get any information about their next course of action. I only managed to put Purab and Pragya's life in more danger! So damn annoying!'

#Mount College#

Karan entered the computer lab and found the three Mehra siblings there. Shabbir was at a corner, calling someone, while Aliyah and Abhi were peeking into the computer screen with utmost concentration. He too went and peeped at the screen. He noticed they were watching the footage of the day Ria was killed. The footage had been ruined by the rain and hence Abhi had spent the entire previous day fixing it. "Found the killer?"

At once, both Abhi and Aliyah let out a scream in shock.

"What the heck Karan?! Are you trying to give us a heart attack or something?!" exclaimed Abhi, placing a hand over his heart.

"Bhai is right. Warn us next time!" she glared at him. "Do you know where Kriti is by the way? I didn't see her anywhere today."

"I couldn't find her anywhere either, not even at her home. That is why I came to ask you if you have seen her."

"You should have watched over her better! How irresponsible of you!"

Karan simply rolled his eyes. "Whatever. Did you find out anything from this footage?"

"Nothing much. Only thing we saw is some person in a hoodie come and place her body in the courtyard. One thing we know is that he is someone muscular and tall. Taller than anyone among the people we know."

"That isn't much information Abhi."

Abhi sighed. "I know I know."

"Damn it, damn it, damn it!" Shabbir exclaimed all of a sudden. "I can't reach him anyhow!"

"What happened bhai?"

"I've been trying Purab's number since yesterday, but I can't get him on the line!"

"He's not your slave dude. Let him be in peace."

"Shut up Karan. No matter what, we never switch off our phones. No. Matter. What! It's a bro code of ours. But Purab's phone hasn't been switched on since yesterday!"

"Hmm... I wonder why. Have yo-" Karan felt his phone buzz. It was Kriti. "Hello? Wh-"

(Get to the Central Park. Now! Bring the rest of the gang, whoever is with you as well.)

"But wh-" the line went dead. "That was new."

"What did she say?"

"She wants us all in the Central Park. Let's go."

#With Vivek#

Vivek hissed as the ointment stung him. He was currently treating his wounds in the washroom, while thinking of a way out of the mess that he was in. He felt his phone vibrate and checked the message.

Meet me at the Central Park in an hour. - Kriti.

'I wonder what she wants to talk about. She better hurry, because I only have 24 hours to save Purab.' thought Vivek, remembering the earlier incidents. His boss had told him that he has to bring him what he wants in exchange for Purab. Vivek didn't get any chance to go near Purab as the boss ordered Kent to take him away. He still remembers each word of Kent.

*flashback*

Kent pushed Vivek outside and watched as he fell to the floor. "I don't get it Vivek. Why are you doing this?"

Vivek slowly got up and dusted himself. "Doing what?"

"This! Trying to play hero! You know it will only lead to your demise."

"No. It won't. A. S will lose and we will emerge victorious!"

Kent let out a humorless laugh. "Really now? How exactly?" Kent spread his arms in a grand way. "Look around you Vivek. Do you know how many trained men A. S has under his control? Each have been trained by the best. And as for your group of friends? They are nothing but some college brats, some technical geeks and some old good-for-nothing babysitters! They stand no match for us."

"They may not be trained like you. They may not be able to fight like you. But that doesn't mean that they will lose." Vivek came up to him and looked him in the eye "They have what it takes to make a heartless cold bastard like me feel emotions again, make me realize the difference between right and wrong. They changed me from a killer to someone with humility within months! If they can do that, I don't have any doubts that they will find a way to defeat you! And I will support them, even if it costs my life!"

Kent gave a bitter smile. "You really believe you can survive after going against A. S? You're crazy if you think that."

"What if I am? Why do you care? Weren't you supposed to be a heartless assassin?" Vivek taunted.

"I care because you were my responsibility. I was the one who took you from the streets, got you to train, honed your skills, made you into the assassin that you are now. It's a shame you let it all go to waste. I raised you like my own brother! But you ended up wasting your life!"

"It's not a waste. I'm fighting for a cause here!" Vivek reasoned. "You can too! There is still time Kent. Please. Just come with me. It's not too late to come to the right side." Vivek put forward his hand for Kent to take.

Kent looked at the hand for a moment, deep in thought. Slowly, he raised his own hand towards it.

Vivek let out a smile on seeing that. However, instead of shaking his hand, Kent smacked Vivek's hand away. "The boss's wishes is my first priority. You may have forgotten it, but I know the dept I owe him. And I always fulfill my debts. He was the one who raised us orphans, gave us a roof over our heads!"

"I think we have repayed him enough by all the years of dirty work we did for him!"

"Whatever! Leave." shouted Kent, taking out his gun and pointing at Vivek.

"Fine! But I will be back to save Purab."

"Don't bother. We won't be here by then. The boss plans to move to a new location. You won't be able to save him."

Vivek looked on shocked. If they changed locations, Vivek won't know how to find Purab to save him. However, he knew it would be worthless asking Kent for answers as he won't tell him anything. "Alright. At least make sure he isn't hurt till I arrive."

"Why should I?"

"Because I know somewhere in your heart, you do consider me your friend. We have been through many life hazards Kent. In the name of that friendship, please, make sure he is alive and unhurt."Vivek pleaded.

Kent looked at him pointedly. He simply put the gun back in the holster and walked inside.

'I should have known he wouldn't help me.' Vivek sighed and turned to leave. However, Kent's voice stopped him.

"24 hours. That's all the time I can guarantee you. I'll keep that pig from beating your friend for 24 hours. After that, whatever happens to him is beyond me." saying that, Kent disappeared into the shadows.

*flashback end*

'Only problem now, is how do I get him out? Most importantly, how do I know where he is?!' Vivek washed his face and moved out of the washroom. "Better get to the Central Park soon. Or else Kriti might have my head."

****************************
To be continued...

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~ 🌹 Mona 🌹