Nair residence

Vinod was not able to understand the situation in which their Trishna was going through. First the accident and now this.

Reena was requesting him to visit the children, but Vinod reminded that they would return next month with hopefully some good news.

SmartArt of Business School

Prisha took out the file to make the additions in their school – Ms. Babita.

As Prisha’s secretary told the new faculty to follow for the usual protocol of admission in the school, Ms. Babita couldn’t stop thanking the Dean.

At the end of the schedule, Prisha just flexed her muscles to realise the tension in her neck.

As she opened her eyes, the lights of her office went off. She tsked and tried to call the peon to know the reason for the sudden blackout.

Prisha went to her office window to check whether their adjoining buildings also faced the same blackout issue. But as she scanned the area down the street, it was only their building which had the power failure.

Disregarding any other suspicion, she gathered her bag to move out of the office. She had a dental appointment to check for her wisdom tooth extraction.

As she moved towards the elevator, she felt some movements in the lone corridor of the fifth floor. Her sixth sense got elated making her reflexes alert with the knowledge of the gun in her bag and the probable combat that she can use.

She ignored it and suddenly remembered that the elevator wont operate as the power was out.

While climbing down the stair, she was checking her phone with the flash light on.

Sanal had send her around 10 messages, probably for the doctor’s appointment.

But his last message triggered her reflexes, moving her eyes to the sudden creek noise 10 steps behind her.

Keeping her phone inside the bag, she closed her eyes counting for the exact moment to attack.

3

2

1!

She caught hold of the stair railing and slide down the railings to reach the flat floor, taking out her Glock 26 aiming it to the top of the stairs.

She was breathing heavily trying to find the intruder in the dark but her eyes couldn’t see him.

As she started to climb the stairs to shoot, she prayed to God to not let her take a life.

She might be the mafia associate, but not a Capo or the least Soldier who can kill with ease.

The gun was only for emergencies and this was it.

The floor was silent, too silent. As she grabbed the heavy paper stapler in the other hand to have a secondary weapon.

Crack!

Before she could turn…

Wham!

She jolted back at the hard impact on her jaw, she looked up to find the person who dared to hit her.

Creek!

She didn’t turn this time, but threw the stapler towards the noise to only make the glass crack on the cabin divider.

Prisha remembered the Delhi incident which had traumatised her. But this was not the time to feel the terror but to fight the assassin.

The way the attack was happening, confirmed it that it was a trained assassin; send to kill her with inducing fear.

No fight, no torture…straight kill – was their agenda, most of the time.

She closed her eyes and remembered El Rey’s words: ‘clear your mind, control your breathing, sense your surroundings, put the image of the area in your head, listen to the slight tap of the steps, follow the direction of the noise, sense the target coming…when it reaches 4 feet…’

Thud!

She squatted down and turned her left foot to make the target trip on its back. Before she could strike him, the assassin took out his gun aiming at her head. She blocked it by hitting him on the wrist, twisting it and smacked his face following with a sharp blow in his guts.

She didn’t know why she couldn’t just shoot the guy? She had a loaded gun. She could just escape. But she knew that she could never kill.

She held his gun laden hand twisting it in her hand to get rid of the weapon and bought it over her left shoulder bending it to hear an ear blocking scream. She managed to empty the bullets by shooting at nowhere.

But the assassins grip on the gun was tight. So, she twisted his hand away from her to get the gun magazine empty. Just as she thought she had succeeded; she heard another shots. She blocked the air supply of the assassin by hitting hard on his throat, making him move back with a grunt.

By the time, she got pushed by the other assassin making her fall on the floor. She looked back and jumped to fight both of them with her bare hands.

As she managed to hurt them brutally, breaking their limbs to cracking their bones with her best moves. She wanted to move out before they could take out their guns to shoot her as the last resort.

As she made both of them fall with her back-to-back scissors move making them gather their sense, while she makes her escape. She knew that more will be on their way to take her down, as her cover had blown up as the team member of one of the feline group – Tigris or Panthera.

Taking the chance, she ran off to safety behind the huge desk in the centre.

As she counted the steps of the assassins, she found that there were more than one. Probably four send to take her down or worst kidnapper her for interrogation.

With the gun in one hand, she send the red code to the headquarters hoping for a backup.

It would take them 10 minutes to reach the office, she calculated and kept her head down murmuring ‘shoot! There is no other option! just shoot! On the head! No! any other body parts! The shoulders? No! the gut…no! the hand! Yeah!! the hand!! Go Ishu! Just go!!’

She nodded her head and counted

3

2

1!

She just moved her eyes to the targets and shot them with her best aim. Some of the bullets did manage to close in the target, while some just fired elsewhere.

But it did give her the time to move out of the battle-sone, to escape out of the place.

groan

She bent down at the impact on her left ribs and managed to open the elevator at the start of the power.

As she pressed the button for basement, clutching her bleeding ribs with heavy breaths.

She just prayed to not let the assassins reach the basement before, which was one in million chance.

But she had to take it.

As the elevator opened, she bought her gun out to check for any attack. When she found that it was clear, she tried to move out to reach her car.

Two steps out.

Bang! Bang!

She covered her head with one hand and the other hand shot at the person firing at her.

She saw her car at ten feet and tried to reach it. As she clicked the car keys to open it.

Bang!

Her left foot left the impact of the bullet, making her fall on her knee with a grunt.

Just three steps to her car, her eyes blurred. But she had to reach it no matter what or die.

As she opened the car door, she crawled inside; in between hearing the running steps towards her.

Slam!

She shut the door and looked at the masked black suited man approaching her with the gun aiming at her.

As her eyes shut, she heard the Tigris team Consigliere The Chopper scream her name and faint gun shots.

In the hospital,

Prisha opened her eyes at the slight brush of her IV laden hand, by her Sanal.

Sanal caressed her cheeks tearing up at the condition in which she was again. He cursed himself to leave her alone in the Building. The damn meeting had made him leave early from the premises.

“…why didn’t you just shoot him, huh?!!...” Sanal asked her gritting his teeth, knowing the exact nature of his wife.

“…you know I can’t…” Prisha managed to speak while trying to hold his hand. But he moved out of the bed and brushed his hair back getting angrier at her.

“… you could have died!!!...I don’t understand?...when I told you specifically to kill when in danger…especially around the assassins…why didn’t you, huh?...tell me, dammit!!!” he screamed at her with his flowing tears.

He suddenly approached her, grabbing her shoulders and caressing her face crying “…I could have lost you!...Mon Cheri…please don’t do this time…. you know I can’t live without you…please?!!”

Saying so he pressed his forehead with her as his lips shivered knowing the pain that they had endured during the Delhi incident.

“…you shoot…when you are supposed!!...don’t you dare do this again!!!.... understood?!!!...” Sanal warned her while closing his eyes bobbing her forehead with his.

“…and you will not stay in the office alone…anymore…I prefer you don’t go to office…at all…just stay home…that’s it…stay home!!...” Prisha backed him getting shocked at his commanding voice.

“…What?!!...Sanal you know I can’t!!.... the institution needs me…*scoffs* I understand that you are tensed because of this minor….”

“…Minor?!!...getting shot by assassins…at a novice like you!...is minor, huh?!!...yeah!!...it is…but not in my time…no, Babe!!...you are not going…. that’s final!!…you get that?!!…no more….” Sanal told his final words, moving out of the room still not out of the trauma.

“…Sanal!!...” Prisha grunted at his attitude at not trusting her with the situation. It was just a minor thing and moreover, she was ok…with only some small injuries.

She rubbed her face knowing that Sanal was right on feeling the tension and stress of the situation. She glanced at her bandaged lower abdomen and left calf area. Well, she will be in the home for a while as her husband wants.