Things turned out better than expected. While there was nothing she could do about the lost days, she could more than make up for it in the two days that remained. For the first time in a while, she felt like she could finally sleep peacefully. However, that peace didn’t last long.

She couldn’t remember what time it was, but the room was pitch black. She had dozed off into deep sleep, only to be awoken by a loud knocking at the door. She felt something was wrong. Her senses sharpened and her sleep vanished. She stared into the ceiling with wide eyes as she waited to see if she heard it right.

Every passing second felt like an eternity and her anxiety grew. Her nerves began to shiver, and her heart began to pump faster. Sweat poured down her forehead and her skin began to burn. Suddenly, there was another knock on the door.

Monica jumped out of her bed, but her motion made no noise. She landed on her toes before running over to the door, quiet as a mouse. She looked through the door’s eyehole to see a well-lit hallway and a burly man standing in front of her door. She recognized his face immediately.

She swallowed hard as she held onto the doorknob, contemplating whether to open the door or not. She saw him wait patiently in front of the door; he had a calm look in his face as he stared down at the door.

She prepared herself for what was to come, ready to turn the knob when she saw him simply turn to his right and walk away. She found herself breathing heavy as she patiently watched the empty hallway for any sign of him returning. She counted until thirty, before unlocking the door and running outside.

She walked down the hallway, past several closed doors, before reaching the stair at the end of it. She took the fleet that went upstairs and didn’t stop until she reached the terrace. The door to it was unlocked, which made it easy for to her get out. On reaching the parapet, she looked down below and spotted the man walking away from the hotel.

He walked down the street, which was lined with stores, most of whom were closed except for one. A small shop tucked into a corner, the lights in it were burning bright. He stopped before it, walking to the counter whereupon he ordered a pack of cigarettes. He proceeded to pull one out, placing it between his lips as he looked both ways of the street, as if expecting someone. The storekeeper kept quiet, returning to watching tv which was sitting on the refrigerator. The man waited for a good few minutes before taking off yet again. He continued down the street before reaching a small opening between two buildings. He squeezed through before reaching a dark alleyway. He continued to walk through it until he found himself in an empty plot of land where an old, rusted car was parked. Three men got out of the car on seeing him approach them, Monica now recognized all of them. She leaned over the parapet of the building next to the car and watched in complete silence.

Pandian tossed the pack of cigarettes to Nayar who responded, ‘you didn’t go to buy cigarettes.’

Pandian took a whiff of his cigarette and said, ‘she is there alright.’

‘Then what the fuck are we waiting for?’ Mallesh said, seething through his teeth.

‘Keep your voice down. Or we will be in big trouble,’ Gana replied.

‘Exactly. We can’t barge into her hotel and walk away like that. We aren’t in Kasipuram,’ Pandian replied.

‘So, what is the plan?’ Nayar asked as he pulled a cigarette out of the pack.

‘We have to be very careful, or we are fucked,’ Pandian said.

‘Pandian. Are you sure she is who you are saying she is?’ Gana asked.

‘No. Which is why we have to be careful. We set a trap. Make sure she walks into it. But most importantly, we need a means of escape. If she is the lady in white, she is sure to kick our asses in just seconds. Need a way to bail if it comes to that,’ Pandian explained.

‘And if she isn’t, we get ourselves a new good to trade,’ Nayar added.

‘No, we put a bullet in her head. I don’t want loose ends,’ Pandian said.

‘Sorry man. Madame ordered us to bring her alive,’ Nayar replied.

‘The fuck? Old hag is out to get us killed!’ Pandian said out in anger.

‘There is no other way now. How do we get her?’ Gana asked.

‘Tomorrow. She is going to return from her office, we catch our fish then,’ Pandian said.

‘Do we know when and where?’ Nayar asked.

‘I have an idea. Let’s get out of here. Police will start doing rounds any time now,’ Pandian said.

Monica watched them get into the car and disappear into the darkness. She couldn’t contemplate how frustrated she felt as things had just gotten from bad to worse. She knew she should have known better than to show off her strength in public, but she didn’t expect to get trapped like this. She was stuck between a rock and a hard place. Should she face them, it would be a lose-lose situation. Could she avoid confronting them all together? She could, but she knew they will just aim higher to get to her. She had to think of this more carefully, or else she would be putting a lot of people in danger.

***

As lunch rolled around the next day, Monica felt anxious as she was unable to come up with an easy way to convince others to cancel the dinner. She tiptoed over to Isha’s cubicle, thinking of way to make this news easier for them to digest. However, when she reached her cubicle, her mind was blank as a clean slate. She peeped over the divider to see Isha shifting through piles of paper lying on her table.

‘Hey,’ Monica called to her.

Isha looked up to see Monica looking down at her with an awkward smile. ‘Wassup Mon?’

‘Did you tell the others about the dinner by any chance?’ she asked.

Isha took a second to reply. ‘Not yet, I thought I would tell them at lunch,’ she lied.

‘So, something has come up and I will need to return to my place before night. I hope that is fine with you.’ Her voice was low and it trembled.

Isha could feel the fear in her eyes but didn’t comment. She instead smiled and said, ‘it’s no problem.’

‘Thank you. I promise I will make up for it,’ Monica said.

‘Sure,’ she replied with a smile.

Isha watched Monica disappeared from behind the divider. Her smile dropped, replaced by an expressionless cold stare. She immediately picked up her phone that laid in the sea of paper and texted the others. She could foresee the barrage of questions coming her way.

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