‘You shouldn’t be here,’ Prakash said.

‘Yeah? Who is going to stop me?’ Sandhanam asked.

Prakash simply shook his head and returned to watching the interrogation. Sandhanam watched Keshav walk into the room and sit before Monica. ‘Who is this gentleman?’ Sandhanam asked.

‘That gentleman is the one who shot your lackey in Vizag,’ Prakash replied.

‘And who the hell is that supposed to be?’ Sandhanam asked again.

Prakash rolled his eyes.

‘DG. I gave you all you asked for. I expect you to close this case,’ Sandhanam said.

‘Trust me, I would be more than happy to. I managed to get my hands on two more witnesses. If this girl is the Lady… well that will be something.’

‘Doesn’t matter. Just put her behind the bars. If the Lady doesn’t show up, we are proved right.’

‘You cannot just put anyone in jail,’ Prakash replied.

Sandhanam bursted out laughing. ‘Why are you talking as if you just joined the police force?’

‘Times are changing Sandhanam. You can walk into the department like you own it today. But everyone here is sick of you, and it is only a matter of time before the tides change.’

‘Are you threatening me?’ Sandhanam asked in his deep, frightening voice.

‘No. I am stating the facts. Besides, I know well that if you go down. I will to,’ Prakash replied.

***

When Monica saw Keshav walk through the door, her eyes lit up like she had seen an old reliable friend. This hopeful expression made Keshav even more anxious than he already was. Nevertheless, he steadied his nerves and put on a serious expression.

Monica too took a stake of the situation. She felt a sigh of relief seeing his face, hopeful that he may not be a part of the plan. However, she quickly changed her mind. She knew making quick judgments can be a death sentence for her in the current situation.

He sat down before the table and set the file aside, never dropping the serious expression he wore on his face. Monica at the same time did not drop her hopeful wide eyes as well.

He adjusted his voice and began, ‘I believe you have been briefed about the case. No need to go over it again, right?’

‘Sir, I honestly have no idea how you were able to come to this conclusion. Two witnesses out of the blue approached you making false accusations and have me arrested without any thought?’

‘Do you really believe we didn’t interrogate them? Do you really believe we are that incompetent?’ he asked. His tone made her shiver even though she didn’t show.

‘I don’t know. Two people came to you with something they entirely made up, I leave it to you to find out if it is true or not. Because me sitting here can do nothing about it,’ she argued.

‘Let’s assume that they are lying, who and why would anyone have a reason to pin this kind of a case on you?’ he asked with a straight face.

‘How would I know? I know no one who I have harmed in anyway,’ she replied.

‘Really? I would argue otherwise. You have always had a knack for getting into trouble. Yet at the same time you managed to get out of them without consequences. Let’s start with the case we both know of. You told us that you found yourself in a quarrel in the hotel at Kasipuram. I feel like you are hiding something very important from us. If it was just a harmless quarrel, why did the two men, who have a certain reputation come after you?’

‘It happened as I told you. The driver must have confirmed it,’ Monica argued.

‘The driver and the hotel owner did. But they only know what happened at the hotel. You said you were gone for only a few minutes. But that doesn’t add up.’

‘You had them in your own custody, right? Did they not answer your questions?’ Monica asked.

Keshav lowered his gaze, his serious expression softened. He still could not believe how he had to let them go without any restrictions, like they had not done anything. All three men refused to answer any question of his and quietly walked out of the station two days later.

‘Did they not talk? Or did you not bother asking?’ Monica commented. Her lips twisted into a frown and her eyes were locked onto Keshav’s guilt-ridden eyes.

Keshav felt a sudden surge of rage. He looked at her with a hardened gaze and said, ‘think twice before making such accusations.’

‘I would say the same to you,’ Monica replied without changing her stance.

Suddenly his communicator buzzed, and technician said, ‘inspector, you can come back now.’

‘What?’ Keshav responded in surprise, ‘I am not done here.’

‘DG has ordered you to return,’ the technician replied.

Keshav was left without an option. ‘Right. I guess we are done here.’ He stood up and walked to the door without uttering another word. As he held on to the handle, he turned around and took one last look at Monica, who looked afraid but also burning with rage. His eyes had lost their hardened look as he turned back and left through the door.

Monica was left alone to her thoughts again. She knew well was being watched, so tried her best to maintain her innocent demeanour as much as possible. This was a strange experience for her and at the moment her thoughts and emotions were all jumbled up in a giant pile of confusing mess. However, the fear and anxiety she was feeling and the stress of it all was as clear as daylight. The policeman, Keshav, wouldn’t spill anything about the fate of the goons. She raided Kasipuram, one of her objectives was to catch the three men that caused her so much pain. But when she didn’t find them, she assumed that they were in the slammer. This may have been her biggest mistake.

Did they know about her? Her night at the brothel was a blur. So much happened, she began to wonder if she left something behind, a clue that led them back to her. But at the moment all she can do is speculate. Right now, she was driving at full speed into a trap and with every interrogation, her fate was looking more and more dire.

Soon a new interrogator walked into her room, but this person wasn’t like anyone from earlier. In fact, he might not even belong to the police force. He was tall and well-built, dressed in a white and blue checkered shirt and a veshti (Indian Sarong). A far cry from a police uniform. He had white hair on his head and his neatly trimmed beard. He had a dominating posture and a prideful look on his face. He pulled one of the chairs back and sat down on it while resting his right leg on his left thigh.

He placed his right arm on the table and looked at her curiously, ‘what is your name, girl?’

Monica looked at him confused. ‘Who are you?’

‘Name is Sandhanam. I am a businessman… You must be wondering what is a businessman doing here, well you see my business was recently facing problems with a scoundrel. I heard that scoundrel has been caught, so I have come to recoup my losses.’

Monica gaze turned cold, her breathing grew faster, and the hair on her forearms stood up straight. Yet, she replied in a composed manner. ‘I… don’t know what you are talking about.’

Sandhanam lifted his arm and stuck out his first two fingers into the air before retreating his arm. He looked at Monica with an ice-cold gaze and said, ‘drop the act. I know well who you are, and I know you are aware of what I am talking about.’

Monica’s eyes widened. She controlled herself best to prevent such reactions, yet in the moment, she could not stop herself from feeling the way she did. Her heart pounded against her chest, and she felt a crushing pain in her stomach. Nevertheless, she held herself steady and said, ‘what do you mean…?’

‘Really…? Fine. Let us jog your memory. You thrashed one my best hitman and sent him to prison. You beat up two of my men in my own brothel and managed to flee. You got one of my men shot dead and all of this without even wearing the mask. That alone should have been enough for me to send you home in a casket. But you didn’t stop there did you. Handed Chandra over to the police and created such a big headache, I am still recovering from it. Destroyed my business at Kasipuram, I have been keeping the count and I am going to make sure you pay back every single Rupay with your blood if necessary.’

Monica’s fear slowly turned to anger. She was finally sitting face to face with the man responsible for much of the country’s and her own problems. Yet, she could say nothing. She wanted to taunt him back, tell him to his face how she would pull out every brick from his empire, but could not. He held a firm upper hand in the conversation and all she could do is watch and pretend not to understand.

She softened her eyes, hiding the blinding rage behind them. Sandhanam moved closer and saw her tearful eyes with a big smile, ‘nothing? You are good. Any self-righteous bastard would have broken his act. But I commend your self-control. I would love to have someone like you on my side, but I have a big ego problem. I want to see you suffer, wriggle helplessly as I takeout every ally, friend, family member of yours…’

‘Please. Why are you doing this to me!’ Monica cried. She didn’t have to try hard to create the tears. The simple thought of seeing people, especially those close to her, get hurt was enough.

Sandhanam smiled, seeing tears drop down her cheeks. He was simultaneously amazed and enraged by her reaction. ‘Still won’t show your true colours, huh? Fine, we shall play the long game. You want to know what is going to happen next? We are going to make sure you get incarcerated. Put you in a cell and wait. Wait for the Lady to show her ugly face. And when she doesn’t, the world of pain I will put you through… not even the likes of you can surv…’

A sudden knock at the door interrupted Sandhanam’s grand speech. He looked back at the door with enraged eyes while Monica looked at him expressionless. Had he gone on, she wasn’t so sure he would have been there to witness all he had said that would happen.

The knocking continued until Sandhanam said, ‘who the hell is it?’

‘Sir… we have some important message for you,’ said a voice from behind the door.

Sandhanam grunted as he got up. He watched Monica with an intimidating look as he walked to the door and opened it. A thin, pale looking policeman stood behind it, looking at him fearfully.

‘What?’ Sandhanam asked gritting his teeth.

The policeman whispered to Sandhanam who made no sound. Instead, he walked out of the room, slamming the door shut as he did.

Monica maintained a confused look, but the truth was that she had heard everything. However, what she heard made little to no sense and she was indeed dumbfounded as to what really was happening.