When It Rains- When a heart weeps|√

Chapter 30

"There is a train in ten minutes." Mihir huffed as soon as he caught up with us. "I don't think; it will be a wise decision to take it. We won't reach on time anyway. It will mess the things up further." He added unhappily. "If you want I can book the tickets though." He grudged out, panting heavily.

He further remarked about the additional information he had gathered from the enquiries about the station, the train would halt on and the remaining distance our troop had to cover to make it till the hotel.

Exact twenty-minutes were the figure we calculated and my brain instantly started to function.

"Should we call a cab?" I suggested as I looked at Ayaan walking in through my peripheral vision. He was carrying a bottle of coke in his one hand while he scrolled through his cell phone with the other. He said that he had asked a few natives about the location of hotels and the fastest medium to reach it as soon as he stood near me.

"We should travel by road. A cab is a good idea. It will cost a bit more than that bloody running engine but we may make it on time." He had exclaimed while gulping, a large amount of coke, down his throat.

"A cab can't beat a metro, Ayaan. I don't think that's a wise idea. Time is a major issue here. The authority..." Sonia's voice trailed off, sounding scared.

"To hell with authority! The priority is to keep you safe. I am going to handle the matter my way. I had spent seven days and six nights in Sydney two years back. I vaguely remember the details. The first visit we had made was to the opera house and we didn't take the metro. Dad hates it. We had taken the route by car instead. Take your bags, we are leaving." I said with an air of confidence. The sense of panic was long forgotten. The subconscious brain had awoken from its slumber and was finally helping. The only thought that lingered in my brain was to make the impossible happen and I knew I was going to make it.

*****

"Where to, sir?" A man asked as soon as we stepped off the escalator, on the road outside the SYD Airport. The man was bald and disturbingly pale. His belly showed the lack of bodily movement in his mundane life. His accent gave off that he might be an Asian, might be near his forties or something.

"Rydges Sydney Tower." Ayaan countered with a sense of urgency. The man nodded and unlocked the car open. It was a seven-seater Volkswagen Sharan.

"How long will it take to reach there?" I questioned the man as I gestured the boys to handle the baggage. They understood and started loading the trunk.

"Around thirty-minutes." He replied, turned on his feet and made himself comfortable on the driver's seat. I followed his steps and made myself comfortable on the backseat with Sonia in middle and Ayaan on the left side. Mihir took the short gun whereas Rohan and Harsh rested at the far back with a couple of bags in their lap.

"I will pay you twice the amount of fare. But you have to become Ajay Devgan and make this car fly. Take the shortest route you can remember. I need to be there within fifteen minutes. It's urgent. Can you do this?" I ordered him in a tone that meant business.

He gave me to look through the rear-view mirror, suspicion floating in his eyes. For a moment or two contemplated thereafter commented. "There are rules and speed limit. I can't..." His voice trailed off when I cut him.

"I'll make it thrice. Just fifteen-minutes. I know you can do this. Take the shortest route. The matter is serious."

It took a few seconds more to make a mental calculation as gruffly accepted the offer. He never asked what the matter was, simply turned the engine on was and revved the car out of the parking space. He searched for the 'less traffic route' on the map, settled the device on the dashboard and at last commented: "You are an Indian?" I slightly nodded my head in response and made a motion for him to precede the car meanwhile I download the route map of metro and the analyzed the stops.