Meanwhile In Islampur . . . . .
Tanishk’s
mother was held as hostage in a large warehouse. In all, there were 25 people
guarding the warehouse. Tanishk’s mother was in a pitiful state. Her dupatta
had lost its colour because of the dirty ground. Her clothes were wrinkled. Her shoes had been
confiscated. Her eyes were full of tears. She was in a state of despair. She
wanted to be in her house, with her son by her side. Tanishk. Thinking of him made her sadder. “How would he have
reacted to the phone call? What will he do now? Can he possibly collect 50 lakh
rupees?” were the things that were floating in her mind.
“Take this
old woman. This maybe your last meal!” said a man.
“I’d prefer
to eat when my son takes me home, and believe me, he will.” Replied Tanishk’s
mother.
“Ha-ha! You’re
funny! Your son can’t do anything! He’s a moron.” Replied another man.
“We’ll see.”
Tanishk’s mother thought.
She could now
see the sun setting. Another day was gone. Most probably, she only had a few
days left to live. She believed in her son. She believed that he will come and
save her. Of course, this was the irrational and emotional part of her mind
speaking.
Out of the
corner of her eye, she saw a tall and strong man. He was probably the
mastermind behind all this. He suddenly picked up his phone and dialled a
number.
“Tanishk. You
know how much time you have left. Have you gathered all the money?”
He paused
then as he was listening to the reply.
“Ohh, really?
You say that you have collected 25 lakh rupees! Is that true or just a lie to
save your mother?”
He listened
to the reply and answered “OK. So how was the day at Mr Sharma’s cyber café? At
first he was reluctant to tell anything, but you know how much man values his
life. He told everything after my men pointed guns on him. So you like repairing
CPUs, eh? It won’t give you the required money anyways.”
He
disconnected the phone.
Tanishk’s
mother was awestruck. “How could he have gathered 25 lakh rupees? It was very
much possible that he was lying. And why was he at Mr Sharma’s cyber café? Peculiar.” Thought Tanishk’s mother.
