Till Death Do Us Part

Part 6

"Who the heck are you working for? Look, you have been caught with illegal ammunition. Our team has matched the ones we confiscated from you to the one which have been used by the militants. You will be charged with treason for that. However, if you help us, we will help you to remove the charge," threatened Arnav, circling the dealer they had caught like a predator rounding up its prey.

"And let me tell you that the punishment for treason may go up to hanging till death. It would be wise if you decide to switch sides and reveal the information you are withholding," added Khushi, pushing the paper containing information about punishment for treason.

"I don't know what you are talking about. I work for myself," replied the dealer, Soham, haughtily as he eyed his lawyer with a smirk who promptly returned the favor.

"What evidence do you have to prove that my client works for someone else anyways, officers? You just want to rise up the ranks by turning an ammunition dealer into a link to some bigwig," mocked Sanjay, an infamous attorney, almost always associated with mafia bigwig.

"Just the fact that you came down for this puny is more than enough to convince me that he is involved with a gang, Mr. Kapadia. Don't forget, we still have the judicial custody for the next twelve days. We have enough time to provide evidence that will nullify your arguments. See you in court!" said Arnav, staging a walkout, as he felt his anger reach the seventh hell.

Khushi just stayed back as she noticed that the two men were left off guard with Arnav's walkout. Flicker of fear and pain seemed to appear in Soham's eyes as every sign of haughtiness and confidence seemed vaporize. An unusually strong pat, certainly not consistent with that of assurance, from Sanjay Kapadia seemed to knock away whatever little stability Soham seemed to possess.

It did not take her long to understand that Soham was being bullied by Sanjay, probably by his actual client and Soham's boss. Soham's boss did not seemed to be pleased by his arrest by the attorney's behavior but was compelled to help Soham because he held crucial information regarding his gang, which if revealed to the police could result in a lot of damage.

It was when Sanjay realized that Khushi was still present amongst them that he morphed his expressions to those of civility. Formerly, he appeared every bit menacing and authoritative as he was.

"Inspector Gupta, I see that a new officer has joined your ranks," he drawled, eying her as if provoking her to put him behind the bars as he downsized upon her.

"Worried that you will have one more officer to look out for?" derided Khushi, looking him straight in the eyes, making his smirk vanish.

"Do remember my name, Inspector Gupta, I can help you in a lot of ways. You seem to be smart, and that smartness deserves a better place than in store rooms full of unsolved cases," replied Sanjay, offering to switch sides just as they did to Soham but in a much veiled manner.

"Let's see, about that, Mr. Kapadia. Because once we find your real client, I think at least an eighth of those files will be solved," she countered with wider smirk.

Having decided that he would not be able to turn her into one of them, at least in that occasion, Sanjay walked out of the door without uttering a word. Khushi sighed deeply with relief for being able to let her guard down.

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Arnav's Office,

"I think we need to ask someone who would not rouse suspicion to question Soham, Sir. He clearly knows a lot and he is being bullied by Kapadia to stay quiet. But he is in police custody, what is he scared of?" wondered Khushi, naively.

"Your question really proves that you are new to this. Deaths in police custody by the gang members are the biggest threat we face in persecuting those gang leaders. We manage to apprehend the members with great difficulty and before we are able to prove something in court, they end up dead. Sometimes, even before they tell us something, they are killed. In this case, Soham is smart enough to act along so he survived," replied Arnav, looking into call histories and bank transactions of Kapadia, although it was almost established that he would have another number and bank account.

"So you say we cannot do anything, Sir?" questioned Khushi, frustration getting on her nerves.

She had joined the forces as it was offered as a compensation for the losses she had faced due to the forces themselves. It had hardly been an year since she started working and the lack of complete training and prolonged exposure reduced her scope.

"You said that, not me. I was planning to give some kind of laxative to him and as a matter of protocol, we would be required to call for a doctor, a government doctor, to be specific. So, either we can disguise some of the trusted officers or take the doctor into confidence. I think if we can offer him enough confidence, Soham would be ready to reveal," explained Arnav as he circled the suspicious numbers in the list.

Irrespective of her feelings towards him, Khushi could feel admiration rising in her at his planning. She could not not appreciate that the planning seemed perfect in theory, but the practical could be decided only when it was put into action.

"Sounds like a great plan, Sir!" said Khushi, turning to walk out of his room when he stopped her by placing his arm in her way.

"Stop calling me 'Sir'! I don't like being addressed so formally by you," he said, with a slight grin stretching itself on his lips. He could not help the attraction which was going in him towards the woman in front of him. The intent to correct his mistakes was only adding to the lethal attraction.

Khushi's momentary admiration vapourized as she heard his attempt of growing close to her.

"Oh really? You must be really disillusioned to think that I will call you by your name!" she spat, her eyes shooting daggers at him.

"Is it because I am your husband that you don't want address me by my name? Because you believe you should not address one's husband should not by addressed by their name. Come on, Khushi, I am more open-minded than that," he teased, winking at her, as he held her wrist in a flirtatious manner.

"We surely know that, SIR!" she lashed as she freed her wrist from his grip and rushed out, leaving Arnav with a smile on his lips. He knew that he had a long way to make up to her but he could not help but enjoy the bitter-sweet moments between them.

Where would his attraction and her anger lead them to?

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Just took down 'Only Mine' because the target was not even close to being touched. The target for the story for next update is 85 votes.