Prison Break

Admin Building, Gurukul

"Really? Is that why the tallying of stage two scores has been handed over to the royal statistics team and your father hasn't managed to go to the dispensary for the past two days? If things would have been under control, why would I have needed to cut short the trip and return sooner?" Prithvi threw the scolding at her in his typical lazy manner, making it sound even more hurtful.

But having worked for him for many years now, Saraswati's hide was as thick as a rhinoceros and she didn't take his words to heart.

"Clearly, you are tired and hungry," with that she went out of his room.

Prithvi glared at her back in shock. Did this woman know how scary was her boss in actual? Would she still be able to talk back to him if he revealed his full nature in front of her? He told himself to calm down. He couldn't afford a sulking subordinate right now, since she was the only one available to carry out his instructions currently.

He turned his focus back to the messages in hand. Bela had sent him a notification about her arrival in the capital and Shaurya's stay back which made him feel a little relieved. But the other message from his Eastern zilla team was not as promising. When they managed to break into the building where Ramanujam had been kept, they found no one there. But they could see signs of someone having been held captive recently. They also found traces of air-born poison which may have been administered there repeatedly for it to linger in the air.

Prithvi was confident that the under the interrogation of his trusted aide, his lover wouldn't have lied, which meant that the prisoner in that place had been Ramanujam.

At this moment, Prithvi could only hope that Ramanujam had managed to escape rather than being moved from there for some reason. He shied away from thinking of the worst likelihood but then the next moment, he revisited the thought. He needed to make plans accordingly and didn't have the luxury to run away from what could be a real possibility. That's who he was!

2AM, Eastern Zilla

Rmanujam took some water in his mouth and swirled it around, only to spit out a large amount of coagulated blood. In order to keep himself alert, he had systematically and ruthlessly bit his tongue for the past few days every time that the poison was sprayed in the room. As a result, his tongue had swollen up and felt like a giant whale residing in his mouth.

After managing to escape from that place, he had made a beeline for the jungle where he used to coach the trainees. This was one place which he was fairly confident of being off everyone's radar. Not only was it safe, it also was in close proximity to the building which had now been taken over by Sharada from Amrapali.

Ramanujam spent a lot of time pondering over the odds of the discovery of that hidden basement in the Suraksha Chakra building. Had he exposed himself in the building itself or was he intercepted only when he started tailing that person? He grimaced in pain as he popped in a few dry nuts which Mriga had left hidden behind in a tree's hollow the last time that she was here. He was thankful for her gluttonous behaviour, for a change, since this was all that he could lay his hands on at this moment.

"If Sharada and the team were aware of my presence in the basement, why would have they waited to capture me when I started shadowing her outside? But it is also a possibility that they discovered the secret place after I left from there," he duelled with himself, weighing his options.

Ultimately, he realized that if he wanted to get any information about that person, he would have to go back. Else, the entire exercise would be a total waste. Even if he went back and told Prithvi about it, till the time that they have no proof against the Eastern zilla chief, they wouldn't be able to take it to the queen. And the enemy would have made enough preparations by then to hide her tracks.

Hoping that his captors would believe that he ran away and wouldn't dare come back, Ramanujam waited for the night to fall before making his way to the dilapidated building which used to be the Suraksha Chakra office. One of the many secret entrances to the basement from the jungle was through a hatch which was a few metres away from the backdoor of the building.

The hatch lay flat on the ground and looked like a thick patch of grass. Actually, that grass had been stuck on that flap for it to merge with its surroundings. Ramanujam crouched low as he searched for the lever to press and release the lock. He surveyed his surroundings but it all seemed silent and peaceful. Slowly, he removed the hatch completely and slipped under before bringing it over his head, back to the original position.

He heard the sound of the latch slipping back into place. At this hour, it sounded really loud. This was the moment of reckoning. If there was someone down here waiting, Ramanujam was the most vulnerable at this time. He stood poised on the top of the steps which led into the basement. The place held a musty smell, giving him the assurance that no one seemed to have been here recently.

Still, he didn't move from his position. He was at a vantage point which would give him a good position to be able to hit the adversary, if there was one lurking in this place. Ramanujam's kurta pockets were laden with sharp edged stones which he carried with him from the jungle.