“Yeh jungle dekh rahi hai aap Miss Malik??” he asked looking at the forest standing tall in front of them… “Ji Sir…” “Aaj aapko ise haraan hai…” he said… “Hum samjhe nahi Sir??” “Samjhate hai…” he said still looking at ahead… “Aap is jungle mei jayengi aur hum aapke andar jane ke aadhe ghanta baad andar aayenge… Humara karya hai aapko dhundhna aur zarurat padhne par aapko khatam karna…” he said and looked at her… When she did not react, he continued, “Aap khudko bachayengi aur humare liye jaal bichayengi… Aap humse bachne ke liye humare upar goli bhi chala sakti hai…” he said… “Is jungle ki koi seema nahi hai… Lekin aapko yeh dhyaan rakhna hai ke… Bhale hi hum aapko dhundh rahe hai parantu sham dhalne se pehle aap is sthan par pohch jani chahiye… Aur agar aap yeh kar leti hai toh is karya mei aap utteern ho jayengi…” he said… “Koi shaq??” he asked again… “Ji nahi Sir…” she replied… “Good… Dhyan rahe SAF ko aap single shot mode pe rakhengi…” he said… “Ji Sir…” “Ek aur baat Miss Malik… Yadi aapko ya hume teen goliyan lag jaati hai toh yeh karya wahi samapt ho jayega…” “Ji Sir…” “Toh prasthan kijiye… All the best…” “Thank you sir…” she replied and walked into the forest…
Her brain started formulating a strategy as she kept walking in… Within 5 mins she felt as though she was lost in the dense forest… In the bid to formulate a strategy she might wander off-track… She needed to return to the starting point before sunset… She thought of marking the trees, but it was like leaving behind breadcrumbs for him, making it easier to find her… She looked around for some idea when her eyes got stuck on something… She smiled and decided to use the idea as her pathfinder… She then moved in ahead looking for ways to throw him off-track… Once the waiting period was over, he stepped into the forest… He looked around for any signs that she might have left behind… But he could not locate any marks to anticipate her path; he would be impressed if that was her plan but worried if she had completely missed out on marking her return path… He would not know until he found her, so he kept walking ahead… Ten minutes into the forest, his leg was entangled in a creeper… He was about to bend down to cut it off when he was hit by a bullet below his chest… He quickly laid down on his stomach… Had she used the burst mode, he would have already lost the task, he thought… He kept laying low in the mesh of creepers and bushes… He slowly raised his head to look around to locate the direction of the bullet… She tried to step out of her hiding to try another shot but he was prepared… Before she could locate him between the bushes, she was hit by a bullet in her stomach… She fell back into the hiding, “S**t” she chided herself… With his leg still stuck in the creepers, she had the advantage… She quickly moved to her next hiding trying not to make any noises…
He did not move for the next 10 mins gauging her next move… When he did not see any movement in the direction from where she shot him, he moved a little and sat up straight with his back resting against a nearby tree… He pulled out his knife and cut through the creepers that were holding his leg in a tight embrace… She surely was smart; he hadn’t anticipated such kind of a move from her… He stood up and slowly looked around to locate her… He tried to listen hard, but he could only hear the birds chirping and the leaves whistling… He moved out and walked over to the hiding she had used… It was a perfect hide-out with branches and leaves tailored together; natural and low-effort but unsafe… The walls of branches will not protect you in case, you were spotted… It was a gamble; a risky gamble but she had used it to perfection… He looked around to anticipate the direction of her further traverse… He noticed a foot print, smiled and walked in the direction… Little did he know, she had successfully lured him into her trap…
He kept walking further ahead… The leaves crackled under his feet as he moved deeper in to the forest… It was past noon; the sun was moving towards the horizon but he had still no luck finding her… He had been extra cautious after the first attack but now he had to move faster as it was nearing evening… He even contemplated a return thinking she had already taken the route… Suddenly, he heard some movement at a distance… He took shelter behind a tree trunk and peeped… It was a similar kind of hide-out right behind a huge tree trunk… He smiled at her naivety and predictability… He scanned around to look for any traps but there were none… He did not trust his eyes and decided to move in from the other side… He slowly crept ahead and could see her SAF peeking out of the hide-out… She had not anticipated that he would walk-in on her from the other side… He stood resting his back against the tree trunk that stood before the hide-out… He quickly turned aiming his SAF towards her… But there was nobody… The SAF was carefully placed on the ground… Before he could realise that it was a trap, he was hit by a bullet at nearly the exact same spot… He quickly recovered and dodged the next bullet… She had trapped him again using a bluff… He had only one hit left and she would ‘Pass’ the task… He contemplated the direction from where the bullet might have hit him… He peeped out but could not see her… He was sure, she wouldn’t go further into the forest as she had very little time to return… This was the final battle and he had to win at any cost…
He peeked out again and saw her hiding behind a tree trunk; her back strongly pasted to the trunk… He knew about her left-handedness… If she had to shoot towards her right side, she can without losing her cover… But if she had to shoot at her left, she will be exposed a little; enough for him to shoot… He was sure she wouldn’t take any risks of shooting without aiming correctly… She waited for him to move; She anticipated him to move to her right side… She was trying to play a bluff again… He looked around the ground and found a stick… He threw the stick at a distance to his right; which was her left… She moved out of her hiding trying to aim at him, but he was waiting for her… Both took the shots simultaneously; She blind aimed in the direction of the sound of the stick while he aimed at her… Her bullet whizzed past the tree trunk while his bullet hit her stomach… She was shocked at the impact and looked in his direction… She was just one bullet short of winning, so was he… Both were out in the open and had their best chance of the shot… She shot in his direction but was hit by the bullet; Apparently the SAF works faster than the Glock… He too was hit but that didn’t matter anymore… He had played a double bluff and won… “Aap haar gayi…” he said smiling… “Urgghhh… Itna acha plan kiya tha… Aap phas bhi gaye the… Lekin fir bhi hum haar gaye…” she said irritated… “Abhi chaliye wapas… Andhera hone se pehle safe house pohchna hoga…" he said while she nodded and picked up her SAF… Both began walking back to the Safe House…
