Everything stills in for a second as Arnav and Khushi look at each other.

Khushi looks at her phone.

Another coordinate. Might be of Tina Dutta's.

On the other hand, K is already tracing the location. He did wonder why did he get the coordinate along with Khushi. But he's soon out of the thoughts as his gaze fell on the now updated location.

"It's in the film sets itself," he whispers, gulping.

It's another story when you see your colleague getting coordinates from the killer and it's another story when you see yourself getting the coordinates from the killer.

Fear is real! And when you could be the target, it's your life!

"Damn! Her secretary said she was in her Vanity van and how can someone enter a vanity van?" Arnav frowns.

The killer is too fast!

"Moreover our team is already on the sets," Akash wonders already contacting the security who was assigned by Ashwanth.

Khushi thinks about the words the killer has left for her.

"How was the experience, running behind someone who's not the one you've been looking for? Yeah! You got me right. I was successful in manipulating you again."

"Who is he?" she mutters tapping her head.

"Nothing cannot be just nothing. What's it I'm missing?" she mutters rolling her eyes and rubbing her palms together, patting her feet on the floor.

"Relax," Arnav presses his palm on hers. And she relaxes, slightly and tightens her hold on his.

Arnav can have his eyes on literally everything. Just like his wife! So, his chocolate eyes and warm gaze didn't miss noticing his wife's restlessness. He gave her his comfort. His warmth, although, he couldn't throw her worry completely, it could make her feel better, if not more.

"It seems Tina Dutta has arrived early and is in her vanity van itself. Her secretary says she hadn't seen her but heard her voice when she called for her. And that's how she informed us she's in a vanity van," Akash explains signing.

"And what about our secur-" DJ was cut off by Akash as he continues.

"They're the ones who doubted when she didn't open the door after several knocks and had to barge in breaking the door-" he paused a little caressing his cheek a little, and continued, "She was found lying on the cushion, with blood all over her body."

His phone pings. He sighs gulping and opens the notification.

One Whatsapp message!

"Look at this," he forwards a media file in their Whatsapp Group.

Everyone looks at the photo Akash has sent him.

It's Tina Dutta. Looking more horrible and disfigured than Arya Roy. If someone would think that the killer has a personal enmity with Arya Roy, then would have to think the killer has more than a personal enmity with Tina Dutta.

"God! How can someone be so cruel?" K whimpers looking at the picture.

As if feeling all of it on himself!

It's lunchtime and they're here looking at the picture that would take their hunger away. Who remembered it's lunchtime, anyway! They've had their share of snacks. Even if hunger was there, it'd have run away looking at the picture and they could do nothing but follow the crime scene.

The killer is too good for their own sake!

"There are people crueler than him, K," Khushi states the fact.

"True," K whispers lost in his thoughts.

"Let's go to the crime scene," Arnav gets up muttering.

They're here talking and that would give them more delay in finding the killer.

"Yeah, let's go," DJ agrees as they stand up.

They need to be faster!

How much ever they try the killer is beyond their reach.

Khushi gets up too, grabbing her Ipad, ready to go. Only if she could!

Her phone beeps. She gulps and looks at it.

One Whatsapp Message!

Arnav stops with her while everyone else has already reached the door. It's just K, Nusrat, and Raina who are left sitting on the chairs as they weren't going to the crime scene.

"I don't have a photo of him and he's not in the Ashram too. Further updates?" she read the message and sighed.

"Arnav, you go and take care of this with the rest. K will help you today. I'll be putting a leave now," she said audibly to Arnav.

"But Khushi, what's wrong? What's the message?" he was worried about her. He has not seen the message and didn't know what is it about it.

"Nothing to worry about. You go and yes, please do send me what were the letters on two pages as soon as you get them," she instructs him already putting a mail to their head for half-day leave.

"Khushi, what's the matter? I'll come with you too. Let me come with you," he takes his phone out already, to send an email just like his wife.

Everyone is out of the room by now and K, Raina, and Nusrat are lost in the case that they didn't bother to check on the couple.

"Told you nothing to worry about," she sighs and looks at his fingers typing the email already, "And you don't need to do this," she snatches his phone away from him.

"But Khushi-" he was about to say something when his wife cut him off.

"I know! I know you're worried about me going anywhere alone. But please go. I'll be fine and I'll be not out of the city," she cups his cheek comforting him. And that should have comforted him but it doesn't. Not even a bit. In fact, he's more worried than before.

"I'm not listening to you. I'll be coming with you. I'm putting an email now," he snatches his phone away from her hold.

"Arnav, seriously! You don't need to worry much. I'm just going to-" she was cut off by her husband who hushes her.

"Wherever you're about to go, I'm coming with you! No further discussion," he looks at her straight in the eye ending the argument.

Khushi sighs, rolling her eyes and muttering, "Stubborn Idiot!"

"I heard that!" He exclaims.

"Good! My purpose was just that," she replies, nonchalantly.

Arnav sighs.

"Nusrat, can you go to the crime scene? I'm going on a half-day leave," he says as Nusrat looks at him and Khushi.

"Sure, why not!" she agrees, smiling a little, and gets up to follow their team.

It hurts! Whenever she sees both of them together, it hurts her. After all, it is hard to see the one you love with someone else.

If only Khushi wouldn't come into his life, their team, he'd have noticed her. There would've been a chance for them.

"Thanks," Arnav nods, smiling a little.

"Let's go," he takes his wife's hand into his, informing her about their sudden leave in their Whatsapp Group simultaneously.

Khushi sighs at his back, able to do nothing.

"Where are we going?" he asks after taking out his car.

"For now, nowhere," she replies, adjusting her seatbelt.

"What?" he frowns.

If she was to just sit in the car, what's the need to take leave?

"Wait. Let me call her, first!" she exclaims dialing her number.

"Call whom?" he scrunches his face up in confusion.

Khushi raises her palm, in a way, indicating him to shut up. He looks at her palm, sighs, and shuts up, leaning on his seat.

"Hi!" Arnav hears his wife greet someone on the phone.

"So, he's not there in the Ashram?" he looks up at his wife who sighs at the caller's words. He's not able to hear anything, she's on Bluetooth.

"He must be back to the orphanage he was sent to. I don't know its name. I am sure I'd get to know something from there. What's the name of the orphanage and where's it?" she asks the caller.

"Asha Orphanage, one hour away from your CBI quarters." Khushi hears her.

"You sure you don't have any photos of him," she questions again.

"No. You know what happened years ago. His photo has been destroyed in the fire accident. I remember his face vaguely."

"Alright, Aunt! Thanks for the help," Khushi thanked and smiles at her Aunt's reply.

Arnav sees his wife smiling a little and hanging up her phone.

"We need to go to Asha Orphanage," she informs her husband. And her husband starts the car.

They're on the way to Asha Orphanage, in the hope of getting the killer or even a clue about it.

On the other hand, DJ who sees Nusrat following them and not Arnav and Khushi, asks her, "What about Arnav and Khushi?"

"They're on half-day emergency leave," she explains shrugging.

"So suddenly?" DJ wonders.

"Yeah," Nusrat doesn't have anything else to say.

DJ's phone rings.

Sameer!

Sameer is his nephew, 34 years old, and working in their team itself. Another Forensic Medical Expert.

"Yes, Sameer? You're back from today's leave?" he enquires his nephew. He put a sudden leave in the morning.

"Yeah! I'm fine, Uncle," DJ relaxes at Sameer's words. He thought Sameer wasn't fine. He loves his nephew a lot, and DJ has no kids. That does the work to love him more. Sameer is his elder sister's son. His sister and her husband is no more. He takes care of Sameer and always insists that he should stay with them. But he prefers staying alone and DJ couldn't argue further.

"I heard another murder has happened. It's all over the news again. Should I come and help? I saw the message from Arnav on Whatsapp too," Sameer aks his uncle. There would be just DJ and Nusrat if he and Arnav are on leave.

"Message?"Dj then notices his Whatsapp Message of Arnav on his phone and sighs.

"Yeah, I know he's on leave. I think I and Nusrat would do that, and there are other medicos in the office too. Don't worry. Take your time if you've not completed the purpose of your leave yet." Sameer thanks him and DJ nods.

They're on the way to the film sets.

Asha Orphanage,

Arnav and Khushi meet the head of the Orphanage.

"Akash Amarpali has come back after a few days and he was then adopted by a couple. They've changed his surname too officially," the Orphanage's head, Santosh Mishra who has been serving for 20 years informed them.

Akash Amarpali! Khushi is trying to reach Akash Amarpali, a 34-year-old man, whose face she has never seen and just know about him from her Aunt and Uncle.

24 years ago,

Maharashtra is known for its culture and beauty of the state. In some corners of the state, existed a beautiful Ashram that helps people reach Nirvana. A state of emptiness. Emptiness where they'd feel nothing.

Nirvana, which would them get enlightenment.

Nirvana, which would teach them four Noble truths.

Nirvana, which would teach them the four stages of Nirvana.

And that's where Akash Amarpal was stuffed in, at the mere age of 10, by his parents who were also a part of it and lost in searching for the final stage in Nirvana in the Ashram. They're waiting. They're curious about when they'd reach enlightenment.

Not realizing waiting is also a kind of feeling.

Not really considering Curiosity is also one kind of feeling.

They're completely attuned to the desire of owning the enlightenment that they don't realize the desire would always keep them in Sakitagami itself.

Sakitagami is the second stage of the four stages of Enlightenment. And there would be some day they'd forget they attained Sotapanna, the first stage of Enlightenment. And the day has come soon. After 4 years of them following the Buddhism and they're still in Sakitagami, not realizing they are back in Sotapanna.

So, they join hands with the Anti-Buddhists community, whose goal was to attract more people towards Anti-Buddhism and if the people from Buddhism itself are getting attracted to Anti-Buddhism, they won by Buddhists and especially, Shri Tanayveer Amarsimha, the head of the Ashram and the one guiding the interested people towards Nirvana.

Shri Tanayveer Amarsmiha has attained the stage of Arahant, the fourth and final stage of enlightenment. He has achieved enlightenment. Now Nirvana would reach him when it wants to. He had nothing to feel. Lobha, dosa, moha, raga, patigha, avijja, vatthu kama, klesha kama, rupa raga, arupa raga, mana, and udacca had nothing to do with him. And he'd attain Nirvana at the time of his death, ending the cycle of rebirth. He's in that stage of life where there's no suffering, suffering that is caused by desire. The desire for anger, the desire for lust, and the desire of feeling every kind of feeling, and that was the main cause of one's suffering.

The first two noble truths in Buddhism say the same. Life is suffering. The cause of suffering is desire.

And that's what Shri Tanayveer Amarsimha teaches in his school Ashram, the four noble truths and the four stages of enlightenment that would end one's suffering.

And when it didn't end Akash Amarpal's parents' suffering, they joined hands with the head of Anti-Buddhists.

The plan of killing Shri Tanayveer Amarsimha.

Every religion has a dark side. Although Buddhism wasn't considered a religion by some people, it is recognized as a religion or philosophical tradition by some other people.

Buddhism is the least to have a dark side. Nonetheless, it has a dark side.

The cause of the dark side is because of people like Kriya Amarpali and Aatrey Amarpali, Akash's parents.

And they implemented their plan. It wasn't difficult for them. They stay in the school Ashram itself and their teacher, Shri Tanayveer would teach them Buddhism.

It was D-day and they would have implemented their plan successfully, if not for Nazriya Begum, an ACP who has visited the Ashram to meet one of her friends who has just joined Buddhism.

And she caught the culprit just in time before he could implement their plan.

"What's his surname now? And who adopted him?" Khushi asks Santosh Mishra. She is restless. She has known and met him before the killer could target another one.

Who knows if he has already killed his fifth victim?

His reply shook Khushi and shocks Arnav.

"I want his photo if you've any." She composes herself as she asks that.

"Sure, he was adopted when he was 19. I have his last photo with us." Santosh Mishra gets up to search for the photo that was taken 15 years ago.

And after half an hour, he gets the photo.

Khushi and Arnav look at it shocked.

"We never know it was him," Khushi whispers.

Just then Arnav's phone rings.

He comes out of the moment and looks at his phone.

Lolark!

He sighs gulping and lifts the call, "Yes, Lolark?"

"------"

"Oh, okay. Thank You!" Arnav hangs up looking at Khushi who all the while was looking at him, his photo in her hand.

"He said the letters were on the eleventh page and it fits Arya Roy and on another page, the fourth page exactly, we have R and H as letters," Arnav explains and Khushi raises her brow.

"Now what's this?" Khushi sighs. Arnav shrugs.

"But the first thing we need to do is confront him. Let's go." Khushi agrees as she nods at her husband's words.

They take a copy of the information provided by Santosh Mishra, thank him, and leave for their office.

Confrontation is up between two people!

To be continued..,

Do let me know if you've any questions or any thoughts to share on this update.

Awaiting your views!

Note: Whatever I've written was fictional. I didn't mean to hurt any religion, in case, I did, I apologize for it.

Some of the words I've used in Urdu, if you've any questions regarding them, feel free to ask.

-polymath_land

-11/10/2022