DEPTH

Chapter 4

Pain, agony, betrayal, a myriad of emotions, none that made him feel good, ran amock in his mind. He was being used as an escape route. He was being used because of his friendship to the ACP. What felt like love earlier was all a charade . All those earlier doubts which he had set aside without giving them a due respect now swam back into his head. Uncontrollable violence surged through him, at the same time sanity clung on to him in its last thread. He silently left the place. As he left the building the was some commotion there. Someone was calling his name, but he didn't hear it. He didn't know where to go or what to do. He wanted to get away. Be alone. Cry his heart out. He legs seemed to know the answer. His brain refused work on anything.

Light drizzle brought him out of his world, and for the first time in what seemed to be more than a couple of hours he looked at his surroundings. The sky which earlier wore a crimson hue was now black. He checked his watch, to see that it was close to ten at night. Switching on the GPS to know where he was, he took in the peaceful surroundings. Something brought a smile to his face. It took him a moment to understand that he had escaped. Better now than later. He now knew what sort of a woman she was. Wasn't it a well known saying "the female of every species is deadlier than the male". He never knew that he was to get such a personal experience of the said saying.
This brought out a hysterical laugh followed by a bout of tears.
A beep from his phone signaled a message. Vel let out a sigh and took a deep breath. The Gps showed him that he was in the forested area of the city. He called Vikram and asked him to come and get him. Vikram sensed that something was not right but didn't prod further. That's when a loud booming noise was heard. Vikram on the other end of the call asked Vel to check what it was. Vel put the phone in his pocket without bothering to see if it was on or not went in the direction of the noise. What he saw in front of him made him go back and reverse the saying as he saw a 3-4 men trying to violate a woman. She was fighting tooth and nail.

Odds of life. Women were worshipped as Kali and Durga, Yet were raped. Four men against one woman. Vel picked and threw stones at the men as he ran in that direction. That distracted the men. The girl used the opportunity to kick one of the guys in his groin while she clawed the other drawing blood. The men had covered their heads and face with a turban making it difficult to see or identify them. Seeing there was help available for the girl, one of them drew out a knife and tried to stab Vel. Vel ducked and threw a punch at his attacker, who doubled in pain. It was like Vel got a vent for his agony. He revved up and attacked the guys, punching and kicking in quick successions. Having lost their knife earlier in the altercation and seeing him getting the better of them they decided to let go of their prey and run for their lives instead.

The girl made no attempt to stand or do anything. He noticed in time to see that her wild kicks in air too had become feeble. It was as though she was hanging on her last thread. She had fought for her dignity and virtue valiantly. He was awed by her courage. Within a span of four hours or so he had seen two different facets of women. If leeches like Neeta could roam around the world, then this girl definitely needed a chance. As he neared her, he saw that deep cuts tattered and bloodied her clothes. Vel tried to lift her so that he could get her some help that's when he saw that the back of her head had hit a stone and she was bleeding profusely. He tied his kerchief to stop the blood flow. But that did nothing to abate the bleeding. He removed his jacket and draped it over her. He could see her lips moving but couldn't hear anything. Just then he heard the wail of an ambulance. He turned to see a police jeep accompanying the ambulance. He took out his phone to see that he hadn't cut the call and Vikram had heard enough to quickly bring an ambulance with him.

The paramedics were quick in attending to the girl. The police combed the area and found a dead body. The guy had had turbaned his face and head, meaning he was one among her attackers, probably they were part of some gang. The guy was shot. Who shot him? Where Was the weapon? What did these guys have to do with this girl? What was this girl doing in this place at this hour? Was she alone or with someone? There were a lot of questions but hardly any answers.

Vel told the police what he saw.
Vel and Vikram followed the ambulance to the hospital in Vikram's jeep. As they drove Vikram asked him what happened from evening. Vel took in a deep breath and narrated the entire thing. Vikram replied " I felt something was off note. She was 'too perfect'. It didn't add up. I discussed my suspicion with my senior and we formed a team and followed her. My suspicion was correct. She was dealing in drugs and human trafficking and was using you as a shield and an escape route. I couldn't tell that to you on phone".
"What happens now?" Asked Vel. On the surface he looked like an embodiment of calm and composure. This was not the calmness that promised peace but the one that held a raging storm within.
"We have arrested her and as we speak she is being interogated by a lady officer's team".

When they reached the hospital there was Chaos. The girl had lost quite a lot of blood and her life was slowly slipping off their hands.