Addiction (series 2) - Avneil

Deception

Neil's team got out of their vehicles at some distance from the criminals hideout and then covered the remaining distance on foot. They then removed the safety catch from their guns and divided themselves in pre-allocated teams. Each team was to track down a different part of the criminals den.

Neil along with his trusted commando and colleague Mitali was going to take over Raghu's suspected hiding area in the mill. Or what they assumed was his side of this mill.

Neil and mitali entered and went through a hallway which had already been checked by a preceding team. They came upon the room where the informer had told him that raghu would be holed up with his deputies. Neil pushed opened the door with his foot and entered the room firing preemptively. The room was empty! Neil found it hard to believe. This was the largest space on the property where raghu and his men could collect for their meeting. Unless..unless their meeting had been called off! Unless there was a mole who had informed them of the raid. Neil kicked a stool in frustration and then heard a scream outside the door. He rushed with his gun trained ahead. It was a female scream and mitali was outside!

Neil's blood froze to see Mitali being held by a man with a gun with the butt of his gun pressing into her temple. Neil continued training his gun towards the man but the man asked him to drop it or else he will shoot Mitali. Neil didn't have an option. This was going horribly wrong! He put his gun on the floor and then kicked it away from himself as the gunman had asked him to do. The criminal then laughed in glee. He struck Mitali unconscious and then came to Neil with his gun directed on him.

Criminal -"Officer Neil Khanna. What did you think? That you'll catch Raghu and he won't know anything? Trust me officer. From day one of your pathetic investigation, my man in your organization kept me updated of the developments! You'll wonder why I'm telling you all this. It's because I'm going to kill you after this. "

It was sweltering hot in this place and Neil's temple was clouded with beads of sweat, due to fear and concentration. He was aware that both his and Mitali's lives were in danger. Heck, his entire team was in danger. He heard another shot somewhere else and realized that the scream preceding that shot was of one of his colleagues. Neil clenched his fists. It was do or die!

The distance between Neil and the goon was about 10 feet. There was no way he could have jumped the man and taken his gun. Suddenly Neil caught a movement from the corner of his eye, Mitali was becoming conscious, very slowly. Neil's eye did not give away any element of surprise as he wanted the goon to concentrate on him and for Mitali to have the advantage when she attacked the goon.

Neil - "Raghu.. So tum uske chamche ho! What do you guys see in him that you follow him blindly? Do you not see that you will also not live after you kill us? Do you expect to escape scotfree? Raghu has played you man! He has made you wait here in the hideout for us while he himself has escaped quite safely! Leaving behind you to die.."( So you're his henchman?)

While Niel was attempting to play mind games with the goon, Mitali was slowly creeping up on him from the back. The goon was getting confused and worked up as Neil talked and his attention wavered for a second, in that second Mitali attacked him and went down with him in a scuffle. The gun was tossed away.

Neil ran and took up both his gun and the goon's gun. The goon now had Mitali's neck in his hands and was strangling her. Neil trained his gun on the goon and asked him to leave her. He was not getting off Mitali.

Neil's jawline clenched up. He had taken his decision and there was hardly any time to rethink.

He held up his gun, took the aim and shot. Neil was a gold-medalist at the IPS (Indian police service) academy. The goon screamed and went quiet as the bullet took part of his brain away. He was dead. Neil rushed to Mitali and helped her up. After ensuring she was ok, he called for aid on walkie-talkie and left Mitali in a safe spot inside the room with her gun on her. Even if Raghu had fled, Neil wanted to ensure each member of his team is safe to the extent possible. He had already called for a mission abort on walkie-talkie stating target had fled the scene.

After taking the stock again, it seemed that ten out of twelve of Neil's teammates were safely out of the hell hole, even though one of them had been shot. Mitali was eleventh and Neil knew she was safe. He was worried about the one missing guy, it seemed this guy had gone ahead into the basement of the structure and was missing now and also out of communications range! Neil decided to go in after him to see if there was anything he could do to save this guy.

He took the staircase to the basement. And then the lights flickered off..