Destined

1. Intruders

Arnav suddenly jolted awake from his sleep hearing footsteps just outside his door. He was not a deep sleeper, and even if he used to be, due to the demands of his job, he had long gotten rid of the sense of "deep-sleep". In a profession where sleeping could also be injurious to health what else can you expect?

He reached out for his hand-gun filled with bullets kept on his bedside table, maintaining absolute silence. This wasn't the first time there had been an attack on him, so his first wife- his dear pistol would always be by his side for his protection.

Slipping out of bed as silently as possible, he walked soundlessly adjusting his eyes to the darkness to enable the rods in his retina to make out the objects around him in darkness. He opened his door as slowly as he could so that it wouldn't creak and alert the prey of its predator.

Once out, he scanned all directions to find any trace of the silhouette of the intruder. He slowly also began to walk around the house, keeping a close watch of his surroundings, making sure nothing was out of normal. Arnav had a sharp eye, and when he entered the kitchen he found something different, two fruits - one apple and pomegranate were missing from the fruit basket placed on the kitchen surface- he could make out the distinct difference between fruits because of the difference in their outline. Before he had gone to sleep, he had remembered the basket looked more filled and with his keen observation, it wasn't so hard for him to tell. The fridge was also ever so slightly open that if he hadn't paid close attention he would have missed it.

Till date he hadn't seen an attacker focus on anything else other than killing him, "Then, who were these new intruders, who were interested in food as much as they were in me" wondered Arnav. As he pondered about the new kind of attackers, he walked into the dining area still keeping his prime focus on his surroundings.

Suddenly his ear perked up as he sensed sudden movement behind him, instinctively he turned swiftly and put his left arm over the neck of the person holding him at gunpoint. "Ahhhh save me god!! A mafia has attacked me" screeched the intruder with fear evident in his tone.

Arnav felt he somewhat recognised this voice, and before he could register what happened a bunch of other pairs of hands came and started beating him, the hits were not hard so he was sure these people whoever they were were no attackers as he had expected. He could feel four pairs of hands, including one of the familiar guy he had nabbed.

As their assault continued, Arnav was technically not feeling any pain, because he had been trained for a lot more than these four inexperienced fools... He started to take note of the people to guess their identities, two of the four were girls, he was sure, the build of the body and the force applied by them evidently gave this away. The other two were obviously guys with one slightly plump and the other relatively well built.

Arnav felt the four were more petrified than a person who would have housed midnight thieves, it was obvious through their body language, furthermore, as time passed. The girl started calling out "Thief!!! Thief!! Arnav there is a thief in your house and we caught him!! Now save us...Arnav!! Hurry!!"

Arnav angrily screeched" Nidhi, You witch!! When you are beating me!! How will I save you when I can't save myself from your clutches". Now all the hands which had just been abusing him stopped and as Nidhi stared in shock, the kerchief covering her mouth slipped away...

Realizing that all of them had been beating their dear friend to pulp...all of them stared in utter shock, each removing their respective face- kerchiefs to reveal themselves...a fatso Vyom, the well built Arjun, the smart Mridula and a talkative Nidhi.

Arnav glared at all of them and questioned " Who breaks into a friend's house close to midnight are you guys mad!!?? Don't you know my house is the least safe at night??". Mridu the smart one, swiftly questioned back "Why so?? You just work for the police and help them nab thieves right?? By giving them prompts and details about the location of them?? So why do you say so??".

Arnav grimaced little did they know that his job was a secret to not only them but also to him, he himself didn't know what to call it. How will he explain to them, either way even if he wanted to, he was bound by an oath.

He covered up, "Nothing Mridu...but even so, as I aid in nabbing thieves, isn't it possible for them or their comrades to attack me??". She seemed a bit unconvinced but nevertheless let it go.

Arnav again repeated his question, this time with a bit more calmness "Why are you people here?? Arjun I thought you went out to visit your grandparents as they were sick, when did you return?? Nidhi I thought you went for some project's research to Mumbai and you weren't supposed to return 2 days later?? And now you two...weren't you both very busy in your job-meetings that you had no time to meet me yesterday when I had invited you two for coffee ...what is so special that you all together blessed me with this divine meeting??"

All four of them together replied "It's your birthday duffer!!" saying so they together engulfed Arnav in a hug, with him in the centre and the other four surrounding him.

A/N:

A few edits have been done in the content in terms of details without deviating from the plot. So I kindly request all the readers to check it out and skim through, also do not forget to tell me your thoughts through the votes and comments...I would love to know what you all think about my edits and additions!!

Quote sticker credits: praan_kp