Like you were never gone

Chapter 9

Everyone present in that conference room was speaking at the same time. Each one of them trying weigh in their take on what's going on, who that woman was. Pathan's brain barely registered any of it. The moment he recognised the ring, he knew it was her.

Granted that it wasn't the only ring in the world, but it made sense. The message from Victor, the use of his real name, a kidnapped woman. It had to be her. Samar's heart was beating out of his chest, he was scared, and he was angry. He had sacrificed their life to keep her safe, but the past had caught up with him again.

"Her name is Meera Mukherjee. She was a nurse." He said suddenly.

There was a pin drop silence in the room, except for the little gasp let out by Rohan.

"How do you know?" Chirag asked.

"Because she is my wife." Pathan clarified. This time, everyone in the room gasped except Rohan.

Everyone in the room thought they knew everything about Pathan. But they were soon realising that everyone had secrets. Pathan on the other hand was finding it difficult to keep his calm. He was angry and maybe even little panicked. He took a deep breath and started speaking again,

"Ten years ago, when our agent was on the undercover mission, they recovered a chip from Victor Sams. It contained surveillance pictures, mostly of Meera and me. Long before I caught up to him, he had been keeping an eye on me. For her own safety, I had to send her away and cut all the ties."

As chirag was about to open his mouth, one of the other agents, ran into the conference room with a package.

"Sir, this was left for you at the reception. We've done the security scans, it's a phone." He handed the box to Pathan.

Pathan took the box and tore it open in a hurry. It was an old keypad phone with just one contact saved on it. Pathan dialed that number without thinking much about it. It rang for a second before the call was picked.

"Hello my old friend!" Victor's voice boomed from the other side.

"You bas-" pathan was about to speak up when he was interrupted by victor again.

"Uh uh, before you say anything, I want you to say hello to another old flame of yours."

...

"H- Samar. He has kept me in-" he heard a broken voice, and it was muffled after that, as if someone had placed something over her mouth to stop her from speaking.But he recognised her voice anyway. It's the one thing he'd never forget.

"Meera!" Samar called, his voice desperate.

"That's enough for proof of life isn't it?" Victor spoke again.

"I swear, if you do anything to her! I will hunt you down." Samar was seething with anger now.

"Oh calm down. You're in no position to make such threats. You thought you could hide her away and I wouldn't find?" Came a condescending response.

"What do you want?"

"You know what I want. Because of you, I couldn't get the Rabbit's foot 10 years ago. And now you are going to get it, for me."

"I am not going to do that."

"It's either that or her. It's your choice 'Samar'. You will receive the instructions on this device." Victor cut the call after that. Pathan dropped the phone on the table.

All eyes were on pathan now. He pinched the bridge of his nose, scrunching his face in defeat. In a sudden action, he tightened his right fist and swung it at the glass wall behind him, instantly shattering the glass. His sudden outburst had everyone in the room flinching.

Rohan being the long time friend, came forward placing a gentle hand over his shoulder.

"What does he want?"

"He wants me to get the Rabbit's foot in exchange for Meera's life." Pathan spoke as he took a shaky breath, "but we know how this works. There is no exchange. Whether I do what he's saying or not."

"We'll plan this out Pathan. The agency looks out for their own. We will make sure Meera is brought back home safely."

Everyone else in the room echoed the same thought. Pathan just nodded curtly.

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Author's note: this is a filler #1 chapter before we get to the good part.