AvNeil: Chase Against Time

Chapter Two

The doorbell rang, as Neil had been waiting for. He spared a quick glance at his wrist watch as he noted the time before unlocking the door and opening it wide open for his visitor. DD.

Right on time, he thought while his face broke into a smile as DD stood crisply dressed in discipline. As promised, he had the files with him.

Intentionally lifting his left arm as he stole a glance of the time at his wrist watch, he spoke, "Saved by a margin of 5 minutes."

"5 minutes, 43 seconds to be precise, sir," DD corrected, with pride laced in his voice. Neil's smile widened and he tipped his head, signaling DD to follow.

They settled into their respective chairs arranged at the balcony. DD set the files at the coffee table and Neil instantly grabbed the top most one. He was getting back to business.

After having studied the files thoroughly, he looked up at DD. With lips twitching into a smirk, he asked, "Do you think we have got enough time in hand to do some sightseeing before going to the police station?"

"Sir," DD replied in affirmation. He carefully studied Neil's face, trying to read his mind. The mischievous gleam of his eyes clearly stated that he was up for some adventurous way of digging out facts. DD could smell trouble but without having said a word he followed Neil out of his apartment.

Neil had noted that the headquarters for the NGO was in Mumbai itself. Major part of the administration for the NGO happened from this headquarters. Neil had to start his chase and this NGO was his only lead for now. He couldn't risk losing time when he knew the murderer must've already planned for his next target by now. He just had to get to this murdered, anyhow!

They neared the NGO headquarters when Neil turned his thoughtful eyes at DD and held him under scrutiny for a good minute. He broke the silence, "Actually wait," alerting DD, "you cannot accompany me," his eyes trailed at the uniform DD wore and he continued, "I wouldn't be visiting them as a police officer, not yet. So you will have to wait here." DD could do nothing but simply nod.

"Park a couple of blocks away from the entrance and wait here for me," he instructed, while hopping out of the police jeep as DD slowed down. DD shook his head at his antics. He was so impatient.

Neil had his eyes everywhere. He wasn't letting any detail slip his mind. He was out to hunt. Stepping into the premise of the NGO, he looked around to find the kids running around while a couple of ladies were scattered in the garden area doing their tasks. The ambience seemed pretty much positive and homely. But he wasn't going to come to conclusion this soon.
He marched in the direction of the office with sheer determination. As he walked up to the front desk, he asked the lady present, "Can you please direct me to the right person to contact to get details for joining the NGO?"

Lifting her wrinkled gaze, she narrowed her eyes at him and pushed the glasses on her nose with her chubby fingers, "You mean job?"

Letting out a soft chuckle at the old lady, he shook his head in negation and answered, "I mean," he smiled and re-framed his statement, "I wish to help."

He found the old lady shuffling through the stack of files before handing him over a form. A quick glance at the form and he knew they were serious. The form enlisted a set of requirements that asked for detailed information about the applicant. There were also terms that stated these would to be checked and verified; police verification involved. Any mismatch found would not be entertained. There were more reasons of rejecting an applicant than accepting them. He was impressed.
They were seriously into business. Now he just had to get a couple of things verified before he took his next step.

He smiled at the lady as he tipped the form in his hand and mouthed a 'Thank You!' Turning around he found a female in her twenty's standing right in front of him. She had her arms folded across her chest as she looked at him. He found his eyes meddling with her narrowed hazel brown ones. It had been long enough since the time Neil had last seen such fiercely daring eyes; the ones that could hold him under its scrutiny.

"Fill the form and we will get back to you," he heard her firm and confident voice. "And make sure you provide us with complete and true information, or you might as well have to face the legal consequences," she held him under her calculative eyes.

"Obviously," he instantly replied, "and you'd be Miss?" He asked, hopefully. She had to be one from the legal department, he thought.

"Ananya," was a chirpy reply from the old lady. Neil smiled while Ananya was slightly irked but did her best to not express so.

"Ananya Verma," she completed with her chin held high as she held his gaze.

*
So what are your thoughts about this chapter. Please drop in your thoughts in the comments. I love yo read each one of them.

Also, just a quick reminder, this story is already posted on India-Forums and those are 20 chapters so far. Of course, there are more chapters to it than 20. And I will be continuing the story on both the platforms. That is, India-Forums and Wattpad. 

That's about it from my end for the day. :)