"Hey Khanna..." Rudra smiled. "How are you doing?"
Khanna didn't answer. Instead, he asked, "Any news about sir?"
Rudra shook his head. "Not yet."
Khanna's eyes welled up. Nodding, he averted his gaze. He knew he had failed to do this duty. And he was very ashamed of himself.
"It's okay Khanna Bhaiya..." Bhavya assured him. "Don't blame yourself for this."
"How can I not?" he asked feebly.
"It took everyone by surprise. Even the hospital security and staff..." Rudra rubbed his face. "Veer is like that. Attacks from the back."
It was true. Veer always charged from the back and in underhanded ways. Khanna asked, "Did Annika Ma'am's blood reports come?"
"Yes. Like we guessed, she was drugged too. That's why she slept through the whole scuffle. Our best guess is that the water bottle was drugged so it was pretty mild. She had not sipped on the water much..." answered Bhavya.
"But sir was sleeping too when Veer brought him out..." said Khanna.
Two men along with Veer had come to the hospital posed as visitors. Veer had written Shivaay's room number but never reached the room. They had waited on the stairs on the top floor. Since it was a high rise, no one had bothered to use the stairs and hence see them. The hospital had assumed that the visitors had met the family and left. But when the activities dulled downed at night, Veer had come for Shivaay.
Khanna still remembered how someone had suddenly attacked his back, and tied him up. He remembered seeing Veer pick Shivaay and quickly escape from the same stairs. Khanna was also dragged to the basement and dumped there. Before he lost his consciousness, Veer had driven Shivaay out of the hospital.
Veer had also managed to alter the footage but Bhavya's intelligence team had managed to find the real footage.
Rudra shrugged. "Well, it wouldn't have been too difficult to put him to sleep. From what I understand, Veer is good with drugs."
"Okay anyway," Bhavya waved her hand. "Take rest Khanna Bhaiya. If you need something, call us. Yeah?"
Khanna nodded. "But please find sir soon."
"We will..." Rudra assured him and walked out of the hospital room.
*************************
"I don't like this Gauri..." Om looked straight into her eyes.
Gauri didn't cower. She knew she was right. "I don't care Om. The fact is that Mom can help us. We need it. Right now, that is more important than your likes, your dislikes, your principles. I just know one thing that is when it comes to family, sab jayaz hai. Saam, daam, dand, bhed...sab kuch aazmana padega. And we will."
Om put his head down on the desk. Gauri was right. What was he going to do with his thoughts and principles if Shivaay didn't make it? His tears soaked the sleeves of his kurta. He had never felt this helpless before. Not even when he was in a rehab. Because he knew that Shivaay was there was him. He just had to be angry then. Now he had no anchor. He didn't know what to do.
"Om..." Gauri kept her hand on his head. "Mom is allowed to make a mistake. She is also human. She can misjudge."
He looked up. "Yes but not Shivaay, Gauri! Even if the whole world tells me that Shivaay is wrong, I won't believe it."
Gauri smiled. "Because you aren't a parent, Om. Bacho ka moh nahi hai aapko. Agar hota, to you would have identified with Mom. She was just trying to protect you and Rudy."
