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Chapter 8: Finally An Answer

Team Supernova is participating in a writing competition on blogadda. We have chosen a fast paced crime thriller as our theme. You can read the previous chapter here.

Beads of sweat trickled down Shekhar's face as he hastily pulled out his kerchief from his pocket to wipe his face. The other two sat still in their seats, waiting for him to say something. Shekhar finally looked at them with tears in his eyes.

"Purohit Sarkar is one of the influential people in the close contacts of my wife. I just hope she has not contacted him, to get us out of here. If yes, then, Tara and Roohi are already in trouble." He gave a lost look.

Cyrus was the first one to recover. "No Shekhar, this is just my hunch. We never know if Sasha and Sarkar are actually together on this one?"

"Even if not, being in association with Sasha makes him the bad guy. I think you should warn your wife about it right away." Jennifer offered her water bottle to Shekhar.

Shekhar took a quick sip and dialled Tara's number. The call did not get through. He tried using Cyrus's phone to call. Oh damn, Sasha had jammed the network lines. Being a cyber crime specialist, all he would need is to place a single microchip on a network line and get the signals all mixed up.

"Oh hell! The lines are jammed. No way to get to her." Shekhar says sadly as he hands Cyrus his phone.

Jennifer was sobbing in the corner. After a few silent seconds she spoke with tear filled eyes.

"You know, now I realize that Alka did not die in an accident. It had to be a murder. She was tensed and worked up throughout the party, I remember. After dinner, she wanted to stay back with us. But her boyfriend insisted on a long romantic drive with her. She was hesitant at first, but finally gave in. An hour later we received the news that there has been an accident. Alka was no more and her boyfriend was in a critical state."

"Who broke the news?" Cyrus was all curious.

"Sarkar did. And he went out of his way to keep this news out of the media. He knew that his son was heavily drunk when he went out for the drive." Jennifer said.

"Hmmm, so Sarkar and his son had planned this attack on Alka. Maybe Alka had found out something important regarding her boyfriend and his family." Shekhar butt in.

Jennifer looked lost and a few drops of tears escapes her eye.

"You know Alka was such an innocent girl. She loved this guy so much. I cannot believe he did this to her." Jennifer continues to sob.

"What happened to the guy after that? Critical state would mean some serious damage right? Did he survive?" Cyrus asks thoughtfully.

"I don't know. After Alka's death I never checked on him. After all, I knew him only through her." Jennifer looks up.

"Damn. What a neat plan. So Alka is now out of the way and the son just had to go into hiding. Obviously, nobody bothered to check up on him." Cyrus spits out in anger.

"I kind of remember hearing that Sarkar's son was sent to the US for treatment. He was sent out of the scene obviously. For all we know, he must have set up a family there by now." Shekhar says in disgust.

"What is this Xombie guys? And why is it so important?" Jennifer sits up straight and looks at both with interest.

Cyrus and Shekhar look at each other.

"You go ahead. I need to use the washroom." Cyrus tells Shekhar and walks away.

"Jennifer, I am not sure exactly what this Xombie is. My wife has been doing some serious research on it. As far as I know it is a cyber crime group, trying to find a weak link in the security of the Parliament house." Shekhar says softly. He clearly did not want to alarm the other passengers.

"Parliament house? Who the hell are these people after?" Jennifer looks all startled now.

"I have no idea. But if Purohit Sarkar is involved, someone there is in danger. The Prime Minister maybe. My wife has proof enough to arrest them and she guards them closely. She just needs a last piece of the puzzle to submit her research to the cops. I guess Sasha and his group are aware of it now." Shekhar takes a deep breath.

"The Prime Minister is being targeted? Maybe Sarkar has plans of taking over the country." Jennifer says with a hint of fear in her voice.

"So maybe Alka found out something about all this. What happened to her belongings? Maybe her phone had something?" Shekhar asks.

"Hmmm her parents must have it. They stay in Colaba. But how would we get there in such a tricky situation?" Jennifer thinks out aloud.

"Since Alka was by your side throughout that party, Sasha might have thought that she has told you something. Plus you were carrying a camera, so they probably assumed you have proof." Shekhar says still thinking hard.

"I did not even look at those pictures. I couldn't bear to look at Alka pictures shot on her last day. It would kill me too." Another tear escapes her eye.

"Where are those pictures now?"

"At home, in some old USB of mine. I did not bother to get them printed either." Jennifer says sadly, wiping the tears from her eyes.

"Okay, so those are the only pictures that could link Sasha and Sarkar. My wife has proof against the Xombie group. And now I know that Sasha is a part of it too. If these pictures are out in the open, then Purohit Sarkar's plan might come out in the open too. And Cyrus a criminal lawyer, was present at the same party and was taking notes. That explains why the three of us are caught here and Tara and Roohi are caught up there. I just pray to God that she does not contact the Home minister, asking for help." He looks up to tell a silent prayer.

Shekhar looked extremely worried now. He was beginning to sweat again. And soon he was hallucinating. What if something had happened to them?

Having being reassured by the Home Minister that her husband and his friends would be airlifted from the train, Tara was busy preparing maggi for Roohi. All her belongings were hastily placed in the drawing room as she was lost in cooking. Roohi was glued to Doraemon on TV.

"What if she has contacted the Home minister? How do I get in touch with her?" Shekhar face was drained of color. He tried the phone, but was disappointed again.

"No, don't worry. Lets just hope she hasn't called him." Jennifer tries to console him and crosses her heart.

"But what if Sarkar has already got to her?" Shekhar is inconsolable now. He sits in the corner seat with his head in his palms.

Cyrus enters the compartment looking strangely fresh and smelling weird.

"You idiot. Did you go smoke in the loo?" Jennifer spanks his head recognizing the burnt stench.

"Hey! I needed to relax alright." Cyrus retorts back.

"We are all so worried here and you felt the need for a smoke? Wonderful dude!" Jennifer face had turned red now.

"What's going on?" Cyrus points towards Shekhar.

"Well, we feel that the home minister might be involved with the Xombie group and that they are planning an attack on the Parliament House to assassinate the Prime Minister. And also, Shekhar's wife's has the Home minister in her influential contacts. We are just hoping that she has not contacted him to rescue us." Jennifer says in a single breath.

"Oh! Let's try calling her again Shekhar. This is her number right? Let me try again." Cyrus makes the call and disconnects soon enough, shaking his head sadly.

Tara places a bowl of maggi in front of her daughter and pours a glass of cold water for herself. She sits and watches her daughter carefully eat the maggi without letting it fall on her frock.

"I hope Shekhar and the others get out in time. Once we are all together we might have an answer to what is happening." She says to herself.

Before she could take the first sip of water, she hears the loud soar of an helicopter hovering above the safe house.

You can read the next chapter here.

Me and my team are participating in ‘Game Of Blogs’ at BlogAdda.com. #CelebrateBlogging with us.

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