Part Sixteen
Shantanu was just putting away the bags when he
heard some gun shots in the distance. A
crowd of people had dispersed in
different directions. Shantanu raced back to where Khanak had been last.
Khanak had heard the gun shots and kneeled down
under a rack of shawls. She knew the shawls would not act as armor against the
bullets in case more were shot out. She had to get out of here and find
Shantanu.
He noticed part of a pink dupatta and realized it was
Khank hiding there. He knelt down behind
her and pulled her close. She almost screamed but he covered her mouth in time.
"Khanak it's me," he whispered.
"Phew! Main toh darr gayi thi,"
she rasped.
"It's ok. We have to stay calm
and then head to the church. I heard the gang leader doesn't harm anyone inside
a church, mandir or mosque," Shantanu replied.
"Wow a man like that respects
places of worship? That is hard to
believe," she hissed.
"Ok fine, let's get out of here
before we get shot," Shantanu stated.
"Oh yeah I am sure Gopi will be
upset if we don't make it to her wedding," she said nonchantly.
Shantanu rolled his eyes. Nothing would be boring with Khanak
around that was for sure. He looked for the coast to be clear. Khanak turned
really quiet and pulled on Shantanu's sleeve.
"Kya hua?," he asked as he
looked the other way.
She yanked his collar this time
and then pointed to a pair of feet a few
centimeters from where she sat. Shantanu got alert and told her to stay put.
The person moved away. Shantanu realized they could be back in second so quickly pulled Khanak to the next rack. A few
minutes later, they found the coast clear and they ran as fast as their limbs
would carry them.
They paused at a fork in the
road. Behind them there were now two men running with loaded guns. They looked
in both directions.
"Shantanu the church is this
way," she exclaimed.
"No there is one this way too,"
Shantanu stated.
" This one is closer. Chalo mere
saath!," she exclaimed as she pulled on his arm.
The goons were getting closer.
They had to make decision now. Shantanu pulled Khanak in his chosen path and
they ran yet again.
A priest met them as they entered the church
and assured them they would be fine here. They stayed there for a few hours.
"Khanak it's time to fight back
now. Are you ready?," he inquired.
She nodded.
"Let's get our lives back SK!"
The couple made it to the car.
Shantanu found his spare gun and handed it to Khanak. She looked at him
surprised.
" You want me to shoot
someone?," she inquired.
"Only if you have to," he said
firmly as he loaded his gun.
She swallowed hard. There was a
reason she picked social work. She didn't have to shoot anyone on a regular
basis and she could have some quiet more often than not.
Shantanu looked at her
intensely. She realized they were a
team. They had a right to live their lives to the fullest and now someone else
was disrupting it all. It was time to take down some goons.
Shantanu made an secure call and found out
where the gang leader was. They would go in first then the local police would
come in as back up.
"Khanak since you are not a cop
or officer, you are not officially in on this mission. Do you understand me?
That means you do not shoot unless it's between life and death," her husband
stated.
She nodded. She hid the gun
under her dupatta.
They approached the hideout carefully.
The goons were apparently having a party of some sort. Suddenly on the loud
speaker," We have a young couple as our guests tonight. They have escaped from
us in the past. This time they have come to us directly,"
Shantanu's eyes widened as he shared
a look with Khanak.
Munna Bhai had his men grab them
before they could escape. They were brought into the open. Two men held
Shantanu back as Munna Bhai approached Khanak. He grabbed her by the chin.
"First you had to fight for the orphanage then we kidnapped you. Somehow you got lucky
that time and escaped from us. Then on
your engagement we kidnapped both of you. Then again you both escaped again. Now today you both should
have left Goa when you had the chance. Instead of leaving with your lovely
wife, you got her into our hands again SK!."Munna Bhai declared.
Shantanu growled at him. He wanted to shoot him if he could just get away from these guys.
Khanak was unbound so she took
out her gun and aimed at Munna Bhai as he turned to face her again.
"Mere pati ko chor do," she
demanded.
Munna Bhai laughed at the audacity of the
girl. What made her think she could shoot him?
" Put the gun down chori. I am
sure you have no idea to use it,"Munna Bhai teased.
She looked quickly at Shantanu. He mouthed
about something above them. She looked up to see a chandelier above where Munna Bhai was standing. She
aimed and shot it down.
In the commotion that followed, Shantanu got
free and grabbed Khanak and pulled her away. When the dust cleared, Munna Bhai
lay unconscious on the floor. The local
cops arrived in the building. Khanak handed the gun back to Shantanu.
"I am proud of you,"he whispered
before kissing her forehead.
They told the local police that
Munna Bhai and his associates had been disturbing them since their engagement.
They did not reveal Shantanu was the CID
agent on the case. The police concluded that Munna Bhai wanted to harm them
because they came from families with
wealth and power. He wanted to spread more terror in Mumbai and Goa. They
thanked them for their cooperation.
As Khanak and Shantanu walked
together out of the police station,
Shantanu got a call.
When he was done talking and
listening to the other end, he smiled and looked at Khanak brightly.
"I have been officially discharged from my duties at the CID," he declared.
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