A Pocketful Of Peace

19. Break A Leg

The lush green surroundings had little effect on the frayed nerves of the two men. Deriving emotional strength from each other's presence and finding solace in the idiotic bantering, they crossed over the perimeter into an unknown territory. It could end up any way. They were very well aware of the dangers lurking around them, both seen and the unseen. Then, there was a lingering fear of arriving a little too late to save their beloved Soundarya. There was another possibility of not finding her here at all and in spite of that nagging fear at the back of their minds, they were doing their best not to think about it. each wanted to convince himself and the other that she was here and that she was safe. They were here to rescue her and take her home with them.

"If I... when I... when I find her, I am going to tutor her on door locks. This girl doesn't even know how to lock her doors properly." Prasanna swore under his breath.

"Sure! And I will make sure she survives your lectures." retorted Aman.

"And how exactly do you plan on doing that?" Prasanna enquired.

"Oh! I have plenty of ear plugs lying around the house. I can lend her a pair or two, to start with." Aman replied in a deceptively polite conversational tone, with utmost sincerity. So much, so that irrespective of their circumstances, Prasanna genuinely smiled at the comeback statement.

"I am sorry." He said.

"Huh?" Aman asked distractedly. He was already scouting the area ahead and was only half listening to what Prasanna was saying.

"About yesterday. I think I over reacted a bit." Prasanna said again, in an uncertain tone.

"A bit?" Asked Aman, raising an eyebrow at his uncle. "You asked me to get out, remember?"

"Well, I know what I did was harsh, even unfair. But you took it literally. I did not mean for you to leave home, much less the town. I was just..." Prasanna tried to explain his side of the story, when Aman cut him short with his hands outstretched.

Prasanna followed his line of sight and gasped as the main building of the farm house came into view. It was a beautiful and well-maintained piece of architecture. A single storey artistic structure that did very little to impress them. All they noticed was a well-armed guard posted at the front door. The guard was alert and seemed to be a professional. That ruled out their entry inside the 'house' through that door. A well-armed guard at the front door put to rest any doubts that they had about this place. The owners were away and yet, the way he was standing guard, there was no doubt that someone was inside. Once that was established, they didn't waste any more time in contemplating their options. The bantering took a back seat as they found themselves in the thick of things.

Taking cover in the foliage around the building, they circled the farmhouse along the periphery in search of an opening from where to break in. Their hard work was duly awarded in the form of a backdoor entrance. There was a guard posted no doubt but at the moment he had his back towards them and moreover, he was preoccupied on his phone, talking to someone.

The window of opportunity that Aman was looking for had presented itself and he was hardly someone to let it go waste. One second he was standing shoulder to shoulder with Prasanna and the very next instant Prasanna found him tackling the distracted guard. The poor fellow didn't even know what struck him but Prasanna cringed when he heard a sound as the guard fell down and broke his crown. Err... he fell down and hit his head on the bottom most step of the short flight of stairs leading to the house, promptly losing his consciousness as an aftermath of the collision.

"I hope you didn't kill him. I don't want you to land up in prison for murder before we rescue our girl." Murmured Prasanna, reaching for the door. Once inside, they secured the lock from the inside and the sleuths in them started snooping around. At the first glance they could deduce that the security was not very tight as they had presumed. In all probability, it was only the two people they had come across. The second thing they noticed or rather heard was a high-pitched argument and one of the voices definitely belonged to Mayuresh.