“…”

“..hm…Mr. Joe, you sure about this?!...” the slender woman in her red high slit dress was whispering to him while twirling her red satin mermaid bodice dress with a knee cut on the right side at his sudden turn of her sleek glimmering body.

The man smirked at her, groaning back “…honey…I know that look and ….it defines…lust…which you want from me…which I am willing to offer…my sexy serene….”

As he closed in, the lady smiled backing with a tut signalling him the crowd in the masquerade party of the high elites of businessman, cops, politicians, gangsters alike.

A snickering Joe took the lady in his arms to his glamorous suite to have the night that he never thought he would get at the boring party.

The penthouse suite

The lady in red was getting tensed with the turn of events but kept her stance in front of the hungry wolf ready to pounce on her.

‘..where is he?!!...’ was the thought running in her head. She had armed herself but when you are only trained in hand combat and had to deal with a psycho rapist and killer by yourself, is a different case altogether.

As Joe took the lady inside his suite, he closed the suite door to embrace the serene princess. The lady tried her level best to avoid his touches with not letting him raise suspicion on her.

He couldn’t imagine that a beauty would herself waltz to him who wanted to escape out of the boring talks with the politician and gangsters about some dull Delhi mobsters. Being the snitch between the lot of politician, businessman, gangsters and conmen was making him tensed and he wanted some me time for himself.

“…well, my lady?...would you like to drink first or…*snickers*…do the deed then drink…your call!!” Joe then took off his blazer striding slowly towards her.

The lady just smiled nervously not moving from her place, praying for Chopper to crash land on them.

30 secs

…

50 secs

….

‘…guess I have to handle it myself…’ thinking with no loose strands she opted to use her knowledge and wittiness to get out of the suite… with the evidence of course.

“…I like to drink before the deed…*chuckle*…you know to get in the mood…” the lady moved her slender hands on his scarred face getting disgusted by his devious heinous face. But she had a task and that needs to be done.

Joe huffed like a hungry hyena and wetted his lips, backing to pour the harsh liquid for him and his lady.

The lady then looked around to study the room to able to gauge the area to manoeuvre. She then sided her slit on the dress to take out the string given by him to strangle the man, if things went out of hand.

Hiding it in her red enamelled nails fisting it tightly, she waited for her precise moment. The other hand had the powder hidden in her ring to spike him, just in case. 

Knock! knock!

“…who is it?!!...” Joe got tensed thinking about the unwanted intrusion, but he went to open the door.

“…room service?...” the bellboy came inside with the trolley carrying the wine bottle with glasses and some grapes and napkins.

Joe tried to get rid of him who was convincing him to have the wine with the dry fruits but was getting shoved out.

The lady panicked at the intrusion but knew the intention behind it, as she glanced at the man who eyed her for a second with his signal.

“…weirdo!!...humph!!!...” as Joe got the bell boy out of the suite, he turned to the woman who had not moved from her place. As he took her waist towards the bar counter to have the drink, she glanced around with her fake smile.

“…cheers!! For a good and steamy night?!!!...” Joe gave a lusty smile at her who pretended to acknowledge his cheesy pathetic words.

“…Ohhh!!...” the lady looked behind him who saw the fright in her eyes, following her gaze.

The powder slipped in his drink sliding down her ring, fizzing quickly dissolving in the harsh liquid.

“…what is it?!!...”

“…nothing!...maybe I am just…”  she would never resort to spiking the victim but desperate times calls for desperate measures.

After 10 minutes, the man was just blabbering things with the half-finished harsh liquid in his hands, glancing at the lady in between.

‘…why is he not sleeping?!!...’ the lady couldn’t stand his nonsense, but to her horror the next moment made her reflex.

Joe tried to hover her not able to resist her big eyes which widened at his act.

The lady slid in time out of his hold, making him suspect her intentions.

“…what’s wrong, huh?...come on…you came for this, right?...don’t back out….” saying so Joe slowly approached her who was slightly backing noticing his giddiness.

‘…sleep!! Idiot!! Sleep!!’ was the thought getting louder in her head who had enough of his stench.

Joe held his head which was twirling with his every move, making him realise the betrayal done by the lady in red.

“..yOU…. bItVh!!...*shaking his head*…wHaTT…dID…. yOu…pUtt…in…tHis…!!!” Joe couldn’t keep his eyes open as his legs wobbled at every step he was taking towards her…

That’s it.

He growled clutching his bursting head and marched at her, who moved back to take the man out once and for all.

Her infamous head scissors move.

Slam!!!

The man lied unconscious on the floor with spit drooling from his mouth, making her nose wrinkle.

“…you still got the moves…Mon Chéri….” She grunted at his voice and twisted her face murmuring “..you are late!...,” who gave a side smile to her sitting on the balcony cassette, biting his lower lip.

“…*sigh*…I was here from the time you entered the suite with this idiot…I just couldn’t miss your sensuous head scissors move…you know I love that…” saying so, he pecked his wife’s chubby cheeks a little too longer missing her.

She groaned at his remark and pushed the lifeless man, making him lie on his back to search his pockets for the evidence.

At last, she found the pink slip stating the shipment order from the Dubai harbour to Mumbai.

It puzzled her and him too who murmured “…but why did the shipment go to Mumbai…when the plan is for the capital…” her husband’s words made her scan her head with the knowledge that they had been trying to decipher in the headquarters.

“…maybe?…tell me…what was the name of the cruise liner being found abandoned in the Pune harbour line?...” Sanal bit his lips to remember the name being written in the file which they all had studied for the one week before the heist.

“..The Monarch!…why?...” hearing that she took out her phone to search her galleria to clear her doubts.

Her smile widened as she finally could decode the puzzle. Sanal was just seeing her putting the evidences alongwith her phone on the floor.

Groan

Joe moved in his sleep, when

Wham!!

Sanal shaked his hand after making the disgusted drunk back to sleep, who dared to disturb his wife.

They had squatted on their knees trying to bring one and one together. Prisha was just studying the documents then the phone, then the name ‘Monarch’ and going back and forth with her big eyes moving from one evidence to another.

“…ahh!!...” Prisha low screamed and jumped on Sanal kissing him senseless, smiling ear to ear. Sanal’s eyes widened at her sudden kiss making him embrace her soft self in his arms.

“…honey…we don’t have time for this…” he managed to mutter in between their hot make out. But to his disappointment, she backed with a loud smooch and patted his cheeks moving her shoulders up in happiness.

“…I got it!! Woohoo!!!...” saying so she moved out of the suite leaving a Loverboy husband still dazed in her mind-blowing kiss.

As they tried to move out of the masquerade party avoiding suspicion among the people. Sanal and Prisha managed to come out of the hotel in time and rushed out to the waiting van across the street.

“…Get me El Rey!...” Saying so Prisha adjusted her dress which was distracting her from the time she had put it. The assistant gave her the jacket to warm herself from the cold breeze outside. the van door shut with the Team driving off out of the place, to avoid unwanted intrusion from the authorities of an unidentified van.

As she explained her doubts to the chief who advised her to bring the evidence to the headquarters to discuss further.

The Menon Residence

“…Kanna!...don’t jump from the couch!! Ahhh!!!” Soumya came in time to catch the 6-year-old Sanjay who was giggling in her arms after getting rescued.

Preeti was shaking her head aloof at her brother’s antics for attention, while scratching in her drawing book, lying on her tummy on the carpeted floor.

Latha entered the living room announcing for the members to have their dinner.

Soumya was having a tough time to gather the twins towards the dining table, where the members were conversing with each other.

“…Amma!! Preethi pulled my hair again!!...tell her to stop it!!! Or I will bite her!!!....” Sanjay wailed complaining to Prisha who was serving the pulav to Sameer.

The family was smiling at the complaint being laid by the twins one after the other to the members who always paid deaf ears to them.

Preethi was bouncing on her father’s lap while having her food, making it difficult for Sanal to feed her and converse with his dad.

Prisha smiled at her daughter who had her father’s undivided attention, as she fed her son who was babbling about his school event.

“…Bablu said to fish off!! What does fish off means Amma?!!” Prisha jolted her head in a flash towards her son who blurted out the word like it was nothing.

Soumya pursed her lips in amusement at the way the twin’s parents gawked and changed the topic in a fraction of second to not get schooled by the clueless grandparents.

Sanal’s room

“…it’s all your fault!...” Prisha scolded her husband in hushed tone while moving from the twins bed.

She had made them sleep after reciting the line of stories of their likes till the sandman woolshed them to dreamland.

At the study table,

Sanal adjusted his ear plugs to listen to the recorded conversation footage that their informant could get them.

Prisha saw his tensed brow and sat beside him trying to read the message on their laptop.

Her eyes worried at the fact and she glanced at Sanal who pursed his lips incomprehensive to how they would deal with this after…