September 2009, Gurgaon
“Hmm…. So they have
kidnapped my mother? I am going to make sure that they die. A very painful death. I don’t care about the
law! What was the police doing when my mother and I went to them some years
ago? They humiliated us.” Tanishk spoke quietly to himself.
He had now wiped the
tears off his face. He knew that crying couldn’t do anything. He had 2 days to
save his mother…..or to watch her die. He headed out of the restroom and rushed
out of the restaurant, without explaining anything to his friend. He knew where
he had to go – back to his home, where all this had started. He made his way
out of the crowded mall and headed towards the auto-rickshaw stand.
“Where do you want
to go?” asked the auto-driver.
“Badshahpur.”
Replied Tanishk.
“200 Rupees.”
“If you make me reach
there within 30 minutes, I would give you double of what you are asking me.” He
said. Although he was poor, but he still offered this much money because money
was the least thing that mattered to him right now.
Tanishk entered the
little yellow auto rickshaw and seated himself. Before he could even say
something, the driver started the auto rickshaw and sped it up as if it was a
Ferrari.
Now Tanishk fell into deep thought. This was
one of his specialities. He could take off his mind from the surroundings at
any time and start thinking, whatever the conditions be, because to think
deeply in an auto, you need a lot of concentration, and patience.
“What can I do to
avert such a disaster? I can’t possibly gather so much money in such a short
period of time. Well, even if I had more time, I still couldn’t earn that much
money! I have to formulate a plan now. I have to think of a plan fast.” Thought
Tanishk.
He peeked outside
and saw businessmen, who were wearing suits, holding briefcases. He smiled, as
he noticed something. He then pondered over the issue of money, and figured out
that he didn’t need to bring real money. He did think of that as a risk because
the kidnappers could have figured that out.
“Hey! Wait a minute!
If these kidnappers are as smart as I am thinking them to be, then in that
case, why kidnap someone they know is poor? Even if they threaten a poor
family, they wouldn’t get anything! There is more to this kidnapping.” Thought Tanishk.
Soon, the
auto-rickshaw stopped. As promised, Tanishk awarded the driver with 400 rupees
and rushed towards his little home. By the time he reached his home, he had
already formulated a plan that would save his mother as well as kill the kidnappers.
As he was entering
his room, his phone rang. He now knew who was calling. He received the phone
and listened.
“47 hours remaining.
Amount is 50 Lakh Rupees. No tricks. No police. Your mother will be safe if you
give us the money. Or else…”
“I know…. I know”
Tanishk shuddered.
“And by the way, how
was the auto ride?”
After this moment, the
phone was disconnected.
“How did they know?
Now that I know who I am dealing with, I have to be careful. I can’t afford any
unnecessary risks. They are monitoring me, eh? I’ll make sure that they don’t get
to know what I’m up to. For that, I would have to be very discreet, and
minimise my going out for these 2 days. You don’t scare me with all your big
guns.” Thought Tanishk.
“All I need to do
know is close the doors and windows.” Said Tanishk to himself.
“Wait! If they tell
me that they’re monitoring me, then it would only be obvious for me to make
sure that no one can peek in my house, but the question is, why tell me that at
all? Ahh! They expected me to do so. Then in that case….”
Tanishk eyes gazed
upon a small dot in the wall and he now knew what was going on. He was
surrounded by cameras. There was a possibility of microphones lying around too.
“So they want to
make sure that I don’t play any tricks? Who are these guys? From the way they
operate, they aren’t amateurs. They’re professionals. But who would spend so
much money on a kidnapping they know is going to be unsuccessful? There is
certainly more to this kidnapping. Now I have confirmed that. Now I need to act
as if I am gathering money and crying, while in reality, I am thinking of every
possible way to save my mother, and kill
those kidnappers.” Thought Tanishk.
“I will always have
the upper hand. You were giving me the countdown? Well, guess what? Start the
countdown for your life!”
