Monica spent the next half hour doing paperwork, a lot of paperwork. It perhaps would have not been so long had she not decided to read every single document she was asked to sign. All her colleagues retreated home, leaving her to deal with it by herself. Most of them were pertaining to her release, her time in the prison, and her testimony, which she found odd as she gave none. Nevertheless, she was not signing on anything without a thorough inspection.

Raghuram and Keshav had excused themselves briefly. They didn’t wander far, staying at an eyesight’s distance, but far enough so as to not be heard. But neither were aware of Monica’s superior hearing ability.

She honed in, blocking out all other noises, while her eyes pretended to read the document set before her.

‘… talked to the people from her office. Unfortunately, they don’t know much about her. But her file… the girl is definitely strange,’ Keshav said.

‘Well, that is one way of putting it,’ Raghuram replied.

‘It is indeed. Reading about what she had been through… the girl hasn’t had a break since her days at college. And those experiences… well they add up.’

‘Keshav, what are you trying to get at?’

‘What I am saying is, maybe she was targeted on purpose. Maybe she knows something and isn’t telling us.’

‘Are you sure?’

‘No. But the number of coincidences is just too many.’

Raghuram scratched his chin, his eyes wandered at a distance. ‘Okay. So, there are two ways of looking at it. One, she is connected to all of this and is hiding it from us. Or… you could just be reading too much into it.’

Keshav rolled his eyes.

‘Not saying you are,’ Raghuram clarified, ‘but you could be. She will be under our care. If she is hiding something, we will find out.’

Keshav had a strong feeling it wasn’t going to pan out the way he had explained. Keshav had very good judgement, able to sniff out liars. His senses were telling him that his senior knew more than he was showing.

It was not just him. Monica too felt that something was off about this man. Her instincts told her to keep her tongue locked and lips sealed tight.

***

The sun was still visible on the horizon when they finally began to move. Monica was asked to sit in the car that drove first, along with Raghuram as her driver, while two more patrol cars drove behind them.

‘Where are we headed?’ she asked as they settled in.

‘To Karnapuram,’ Raghuram replied as he started the car.

‘And… how long do I need to stay there?’ she asked, this time a little hesitantly.

‘Don’t worry. Just a day or two. We will see what we can do after that,’ he replied.

The car jerked forward before they slowly drove out of the headquarters and onto the street before it. Traffic was low, which made the drive a little less frustrating. They zig-zagged through the narrow streets of the city, slowly making their way to the highway.

The drive so far had been painfully silent. Raghuram appeared to be calm and composed but Monica’s anxiety was at an all-time high. She figured as the journey progressed; things would calm down a little. But she was afraid that he would soon start asking questions. He had been very kind to her until now, so the idea of seeing his other shades frightened her.

They were about a few blocks away from the exit to the highway when a voice buzzed through the communicator. ‘Director, sir.’

Raghuram picked up the communicator and buzzed through, ‘yes Jeeva, tell me?’

‘Several vehicles are tailing us. We cannot identify them,’ the voice said.

Raghuram looked at the side view mirror and noticed a few SUV’s, much like his, in the distance.

They approached what appeared to be an empty intersection. Monica eyed a tipper truck approaching them from the right. As they entered the intersection, she noticed the truck pickup speed. ‘The truck isn’t slowing down,’ she said.

Raghuram, whose eyes were fixed on the cars behind, looked ahead but by then they had already entered the intersection.

‘The truck is going to hit us!’ Monica shouted.

Raghuram instinctively hit the brakes hard while both braced for impact. The tires screeched hard, and the car skidded to its left. The truck slammed into the hood of the car, spinning the car in its direction before it slammed into its side. Glass from the windowpanes shattered on impact but the airbags softened the blow taken by them. Both vehicles came to a dead stop in middle of the intersection.

The patrol cars behind them stopped a few feet away from the intersection, and so did the cars behind them. The policemen disembarked from the vehicles quickly and took positions behind the cars as they waited for the goons to act first.

‘Are you alright!?’ Raghuram asked, looking panicked.

‘I am okay! I am okay!’ she replied, looking equally panicked.

They looked out to see that the patrol cars had created a line of defence. They appeared to be in a stand-off with no movement from the side of the police. Jeeva pulled out a megaphone and spoke, ‘this is the police speaking. You have been tailing us for quite some time. If you do not mean any harm, please walkout with your hands in the air. We will not fire.’

There was no response from the other side. Each passing second felt like an eternity, and the dead silence made everyone all the more anxious.

Jeeva spoke out once again, ‘I repeat…’

Suddenly, a man jumped out of the truck and onto the hood of Raghuram’s police vehicle. The car jerked in response, he as pointed the gun right at Monica and fired. She ducked in response, but the bullet didn’t get past the steel grid covering the windshield. Raghuram pulled the gun from beneath the dashboard and quickly pointed the gun through the small gap in the steel grill. He pulled the trigger, sending a bullet through the assailant’s leg.

The assailant screamed out in pain, falling face first into the grill. This caught the attention of the other policemen who turned back to see what had happened. Almost immediately, a hail of bullets flew towards them, cutting into the police vehicles. The policemen ducked, taking covered before preparing to strike back.

A few bullets slammed into Raghuram’s car and Raghuram instinctively pulled Monica down, shielding her from the outside.

The policemen prepared to fireback. Jeeva looked up to see a dozen or so goons had gotten down from the SUV’s. They relentlessly fired at them, while slowly advancing towards the police. ‘Hold them back!’ Jeeva instructed. The policemen readied their guns and began firing back at the goons, who quickly began to retreat behind their cars.

He pulled out his communicator and spoke, ’calling operator! Calling operator! This unit f fifteen. Under ADG Raguhram. We have been ambushed by local gang. There is heavy firing from both sides. Please send for backup! Over.’

The sound of heavy firearm rocked Monica’s heart. She turned around, while still being held down by Raghuram, and saw an officer fall onto the ground. Without a second thought, she broke free from his grasp and grabbed onto the door handle, ready to jump out. However, Raghuram grabbed her right arm, pulling her back before saying, ‘no. If you go out now, all the effort you put will go to waste.’

She looked at him shocked but once again kept her tongue in check and did not say anything else. Looking back at the policemen, they appeared to be in a losing position. She couldn’t bare to see them hiding behind the cars, looking helpless. ‘Your men will die otherwise,’ she replied.

Raghuram knew very well without backup, he was going to lose more than just men. But he seemed to be caught in an unwinnable situation. ‘No. I can’t let you go. Not after the trouble we have been through,’ he replied.

‘You idiot!’ Monica shouted. Her eyes examined the surrounding, searching for a way out of this situation, when she caught a sight of an under construction building right in front of them. ‘Sir! In there!’ she said pointing to the building.

He looked up at the building but wasn’t entirely sure of what her plan was.

‘Hide me,’ she said.

He looked at her and saw her steely eyes. He had no doubt this wasn’t her first time being trapped like this. ‘Let’s move,’ he said.

Monica unlocked and opened the door. Laying low she got out of the car, followed by Raghuram. He grabbed her arm with his left hand and held his pistol in the other, as he led her into the building in front of them.

Ponram, who stood behind his men, watched as the ADG led the girl into the construction building. He gritted his teeth and said, ‘they are escaping! Kill those bastards!’

‘Where do you want to hide?’ Raghuram asked as he led her up the stairs.

‘Anywhere with a door,’ she replied.

They stopped on the first floor and quickly looked around them. Several construction workers littered the floor, all of whom stared back at the two of them in confusion.

‘Evacuate this building! Do it now!’ Raghuram ordered.

The workers immediately began to flee. Raghuram managed to get hold of one of them, whom he asked. ‘A room, with a door, where is one in this building?’

‘We don’t have anything like that… but the workers sleeping quarters has a door,’ the worker replied.

‘Where is it?’ Raghuram asked.

‘Third floor, on the right of the stairs,’ he replied.

‘Good, now get out of here,’ Raghuram said.

Jeeva ran out of bullets, but the enemy had not stopped firing. His men appeared to be out of firearms as well. They hid behind the disintegrating car, hoping for the back up to arrive.

‘Jeeva!’ suddenly the communicator buzzed. He recognized the voice.

‘Sir. We are cornered, they are moving in,’ he replied.

‘They are going to start moving towards the building. Stay out of their way. Guide the men away from the building and out of firing range,’ Raghuram instructed.

‘But sir…’ he said before being interrupted.

‘Don’t worry. I have got a plan,’ Raghuram said. ‘Just do as I told.’

Both their flanks were exposed. Any minute one of the goons could appear and fire at them. The officer next to him was bleeding from his left shoulder. He pressed his wound to stop it from bleeding.

‘You have bullets?’ Jeeva asked. The officer handed him his gun. Jeeva took it and prepared himself for whatever was going to come next.

Monica found herself in a dark room which was furnished by several mattresses lying on the floor and a pile of stuff crammed into one corner of the room. Raghuram had seemingly locked her in the room and left immediately.

She wasted no time in getting to work. She placed her hand on the floor and made thrusting motion with it. A blue flash of light radiated from the palm of her hand and travelled along the ground. Her iris lit up with the same blue light while her body became stiff as a board.

She could see and feel everything that happened around her for well over two hundred metres. She saw the workers escape through the back of the building, away from the action. She saw Raghuram rushing down the stairs, to help his comrades. She saw the goons charging towards the policemen. And she saw the policemen hiding behind the cars, with no way out.

Two goons charged towards the cars, heading away from the building. They slowed their pace, making their approach as silent as possible. Just as they reached the car, the one in the front looked back and nodded to the other. He held his pistol out, ready to fire. He observed the corner but did not find the policemen guarding it. He charged in, turning around the corner, to find them cowering behind the cars, staring at him in fear.

Just as he was about to pull the trigger, he felt a strange presence behind him. His shirt pulled back, like someone behind was tugging him. Panic kicked in and he turned around in one quick motion. A bullet was fired into the air in blind panic.

Jeeva saw an opening and he took it. He drove a bullet into his thigh, causing the goon to fall to the ground screaming. The policeman right underneath the goon, caught him and quickly disarmed him.

Almost immediately, another goon jumped in and pulled his trigger. Jeeva in response, fired from his gun. The goon’s gun made no sound, but a bullet pierced his right shoulder, sending him tumbling onto the ground.

Monica lost a significant amount of energy stopping the gun from firing and she wasn’t sure she could pull off such a feat again. However, the policemen weren’t out of danger yet. They were going to swarm them any minute if she didn’t do something about it.

Three more goons headed to aid their fellow mates, this time accompanied by two more on the other side of the barricade, in an attempt to flank them from both sides. However, their plan was cut short when a spray of bullets stopped the three men from flanking on the right.

The policemen looked up to see their ADG firing from the first floor of the building. Jeeva got on his feet and commanded, ‘fall back!’ Armed with the guns from the two goons before, the company of policemen moved as a pack, leaving the barricade behind. They fired at the goons, sending two of them crashing into the ground before disappearing behind the corner of the street.

Raghuram kept firing, trying to hold back as many of them as he could. Suddenly, he felt a tug on his shirt before being pulled away from the edge of the floor. He fell on his back, looking around in confusion when a volley of bullets slammed into the roof below which he had stood. He had a smirk on his face, knowing well who had saved him.

The loud wailing of the police siren filled the air. The goons froze on spot, turning back to see their boss shouting in frustration.

‘Don’t you dare stop! Get in there! Kill the damned girl!’ Ponram ordered.

The goons proceeded as planned. The few who remained, charged into the building.

Ponram stayed behind. He turned around to see a police car charging towards him at full speed. A few seconds later, the sound of gunfire filled the air again, this time coming from the under-construction building. The firing continued for ten seconds, before everything went quiet again. The police car was just a block away but there was no response from his men. He looked at the building once again, only to find it ominously silent. He grunted hard before running into the building.

Monica laid on the ground scrunched over, panting hard. ‘The All-Seeing Eyes’, the name she gave to her super move, sucked up a lot of her energy and also left her vulnerable to any attack as she could not use the move and defend herself.

She picked herself up quickly before repeating the move again. This time, however, her sight was limited to the building she was in.

He walked into the building cautiously, the pistol in his hand was ready to fire at anything that moves. The ground floor laid their silent and empty, causing her heart to shudder. He felt a strange sensation. It was like someone was looking over his shoulder. Several times he would look back only to find the place as empty as before. He walked up the stairs and reached the first floor. Peeking around the corner, he found all his men lying on the floor motionless. The sound of the siren got louder and louder; they were almost here. He knew he had to hurry.

He didn’t even bother to check any of his men before travelling up another fleet of stairs. Once again, stopping just before he stepped onto the floor, he tried to peek around the corner. However, this time a hand jetted in his direction trying to knock the pistol out of his hand. His grip did not fail him, the pistol was still firmly in his hand. He grabbed onto the hand that tried to disarm him and pulled the policeman out of the corner.

Raghuram fumbled forward but kept his balance. He tried to spin around and aim his pistol at Ponram, but Ponram had already fired at him. The bullet whizzed towards him in the flash of an eye but was saved from it when he was dragged out of its path by thin air. Ponram looked on in complete shock, giving Raghuram the opening to tackle him.

Ponram came back to his senses almost immediately. He grabbed onto Raghuram and spun around, slamming him into the ground. Raghuram could not recover in time. When he looked back up, he saw Ponram pointing his gun at him.

‘Asshole! She is the Lady, isn’t she?’ Ponram shouted.

Raghuram did not answer. He looked at him with steely eyes which enraged Ponram even more.

‘Drop the gun!’ another voice shouted.

The two looked towards the stairs, to see Keshav standing a few feet away. His gun was pointed at Ponram. ‘I won’t repeat. Drop it!’ he ordered.

Ponram threw a cold gaze at Keshav just as he pulled the trigger. He felt a tug on his hand, causing his aim to miss Raghuram and hit the ground beside him. Ponram’s heart stopped for a brief moment. He looked at his arm to see what touched him and Keshav did not miss the opening. He fired a bullet right through Ponram’s chest. Ponram held steady, only for a brief moment before collapsing onto the floor, drowning in his own blood.

Raghuram watched the life in Ponram’s eyes fade away before letting out a dull sign in response. Keshav walked over to them cautiously but soon realized that Ponram was no more. He extended his hand and helped his senior get up from the floor.

‘You took all of them out on your own?’ Keshav asked.

‘Idiots. God knows what got into them. They started firing at each other in panic. Only this guy made it up to the second floor,’ Raghuram replied.

Keshav looked unconvinced but, in the end, he didn’t make any more comments about it. ‘Where is the girl?’ he asked instead.

They quickly ran up to the third floor and over to the workers quarters. The door appeared to be closed and locked from the outside. Raghuram felt a surge of fear, like he would suddenly find a dead girl inside. He took a deep breath and unlocked the door before pushing it open. They found the girl lying down on the floor, looking at them with terror in her eyes.

‘Are they gone?’ she asked.

Raghuram smiled softly while Keshav breathed a sigh of relief.