On the Run

Chapter 4: Kidnapped?!

I attempted to scream in horror, as I saw the knife near my throat, but what came out was merely a muffled cry, since Madhyam's hand was covering my mouth. Aiyappa, please save me! What is he doing? Wasn't he trying to save me from Harshad, just now? Why is he pointing a knife at my throat? I tried getting out of his hold, but it was of no use. He was too strong and my petite frame wasn't helping.

The police officers immediately became more cautious. The police officer who seemed to be leading the group firmly commanded, "Let her go! If you harm her, you'll only make things worse for yourself!"

My captor's confidence remained unfazed as he replied,"Woh kya hain na, I have the habit of turning the worst circumstances, into the best...So how about you put your guns down and let me go? I give you my word, I'll let no harm come to her if you follow my instructions."

Aiyappa, itna attitude? Woh bhi police ke saamne? What is this man made of? On top of that, he was using me as leverage to escape! Did I mean so little to him? Before I knew it, my eyes started watering and tears made their way down my cheeks.

The policemen looked at each other and it seemed like they had an unspoken agreement with each other as they collectively kept their guns on the floor.

"We've done as you asked. Now let her go!"One of the policemen yelled.

"Wow, I had no I idea that Bangalore's police force was so obedient and foolish!" With this last statement, he grabbed my arm harshly and made a dash for the exit of the restaurant dragging me along with him. He slammed the exit door shut with a bang in order to delay the officers, who would be after us any minute now.

I could hear the police officers shout in frustration as we made our way to the elevator. I let out many protestations. "Please Madhyam, let me go! Why are you doing this? You made a deal with the police right, then where are you taking me?"

He remained silent and yanked me inside the elevator, pressing the button to lead us to the tenth floor. This confused me even more! Wasn't he trying to escape? The restaurant itself was on the fifth floor of the building, shouldn't he be pressing the button which led to the ground floor? However, throughout this ordeal his grip on my arm never loosened. All my pleas of being left alone were wasted on him! The police had probably started chasing us by now anyway!

As the elevator doors opened on the tenth floor, he dragged me out and finally let go of my arm. I caressed my arm to relieve the pain inflicted on it due to his strong grip. I should have made a run for it immediately, but instead I ended up doing something totally opposite.

"Madhyam, what the hell is happening? Why are the police after you? How dare you point a knife at my throat? And if you are really trying to escape, why have you brought me to the tenth floor?" I screamed.

My diatribe was interrupted as his hand covered my mouth yet again, preventing me from speaking. He wrapped his other arm around my waist rooting me firmly to the spot.

"How? How on earth can you be so dumb? Can't you see that the police are after us? There were two elevators. One was heading down already! So I used the other one to come up and throw them off our trail! The most natural assumption they will make is that we were in the elevator that was going down! They'll go down using the stairs and start looking for us outside the building but they won't have a clue that we're still inside! When they realize that they've lost us, give up the search and go home, then only will we attempt to leave the building, understood?!" he shouted.

I stared at him, spellbound. He had planned everything so intricately. Whatever he said...actually made sense. I guess he wasn't just a pretty face. However, this was bad news for me! How am I going to escape now?

"Aur yeh Madhyam, Madhyam kya laga rakha hain? Suna nahin police waalon ne kya kaha? I'm Manik, Manik Malhotra! And don't you dare call me Madhyam again! And if you try to run away, trust me, the consequences won't be good!" he continued. Suddenly his phone started buzzing. He looked at the caller ID and picked it up immediately. One of his arms still held my waist as I attempted to break free.

"Haan bol Cabir!" I heard him say. But as I turned to my right, my eyes fell on a television screen. It seemed that the tenth floor had an electronic appliances store and giant LED T.Vs were kept for display inside, some of them easily visible even from where I was standing.

The news was playing in one of the screens. I was utterly taken aback when I saw Manik's picture on the screen! The headline accompanying it frightened me even more!

It said -" Renowned businessman Shrikant Malhotra found murdered in own home. "

I heard the news anchor further say, "The polices' prime suspect in the case, Mr Malhotra's 24 year old son Manik Malhotra, still remains at large. He is considered to be armed and highly dangerous. Viewers, if you see anyone matching his description, you are advised to call our helpline immediately..."

My entire body went numb in fear! I looked at Manik, who was still talking on the phone but I paid no attention to his words. What kind of a person had I started harbouring feelings for? In the past hour, I had come to know about his penchant for violence, but I never expected this! My heart ached to even think it... but was it possible? Was he really a cold-blooded killer?

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