Chapter 8 - Perception of Deception??

Gitu tapped away on her laptop. The sandwich place was full with business types, suited and ready to impress their corporate bosses. A few of them noted her and nodded in her direction that she mostly ignored. She made quite a statement with her glossy long hair and shiny apple cheeks, an exotic beauty who was quite used to unsolicited attention from men. NK entered the bakery and immediately spotted her. She waved at him.

He grabbed the chair next to her.

“Order something, its lunchtime or do you Greek Gods don’t feel hungry?” she chirped away without leaving the email she was typing away. NK peeked into her laptop and she promptly shut it. “Bad manners” she quipped frowning her brows and set her laptop aside.

“Well, I don’t eat sandwiches, hate that crap. What I really want to eat is a big, juicy, gooey…” he began his description of a burger, forcing Gitu to change the subject.

“I wanted to talk to you about Khushi.” She interrupted him.

(play the music for mood)

“Sure, anything I can help with.” He sat back and locked his eyes with her.

“Is she ok? I mean is she safe? I worry for her, she is the only friend I have. And..” her words trailed when he held her hands and pressed them gently in reassurance.

“She will be fine. She has ASR protecting her. Of all the agents in the world, she couldn’t have asked for a better man to be with her.” He smiled flashing his dimple. Gitu was momentarily distracted, then she cleared her throat and continued.

“I understand. But she said they were followed and I am just worried that the safe house is not safe at all. Perhaps, she should be with her family. Where is this safe house? It just seems a bit farfetched to take her to Door. How long can they stay away? I can’t even reach her today. I tried calling many times.” She fidgeted with the spoon on the table and appeared genuinely worried.

NK was not happy that Gitu knew as much as she did. She knew that ASR and Khushi were tailed last night and she knew that they were located in Door County. 

Breach of safety procedures. How did it slip ASR’s notice?

“You should not have to worry about her. Our best security detail is shadowing them. She is safe, Gitu” He lowered his voice and assured her once more.

Gitu liked the sound of NK’s words. She told herself she worried too much about her friend. Khushi was a delight and had saved her ass one too many times during their college years. It was only fair Gitu paid her back in full for all the generosity Khushi had showered on her. In kind, she smirked.

NK caught the curious expression. “Anything interesting?”

“No, not really. I was just thinking….” She shifted uncomfortably in her seat. He noticed her eyes search around the room as if looking for something or someone. He leaned forward and asked once more, “Are you expecting someone?”

“No, just you. Errrm…I was wondering….If you’d be free for dinner tonite.” She puffed her breath out and looked away. NK could not help but smile. She had just asked him out and he kicked himself for not picking the signals.

“Tomorrow?

"Umm, on call, how about day after?" she perked up.

"Day after. 7 pm? I will pick you.” His beguiling smile took away any awkwardness Gitu had felt moments ago. It was agreed, they had a date.

She stood up to leave. They parted ways outside the sandwich place. Gitu had a definite bounce in her steps, things were falling into place once again. She fished out her cell from a huge hobo she carried and called someone.

“Mission accomplished” She smiled wickedly and slipped the phone back into her purse. 

Her mind raced with possibilities, because her interest in Khushi could not be easily explained. She could not begin to share it with anyone, least of all NK. The years of shame, lack of self-worth, had made her resolute and single minded in her pursuit. Khushi was indeed a dear friend, one she cared tremendously about, however, she was also a means to an end that Gitu never let herself forget. 

Using NK to get what she wanted was a small price to pay for her eventual goal. She was genuinely fond of him just as she was of Khushi, but she had to keep her secret from him and eke out from him the whereabouts of Khushi. 

A girl had to do what she had to do to survive. She could not afford it any other way.

*****

“What the fuck, ASR? I have half the bureau following this case and your lady love goes around announcing her whereabouts. Are you so dumb that you forgot the protocol? ” Kevin Calhoun blasted ASR on the phone as he pounded the pavement laden with dry bits of salt. 

The city had scraped the last bit of snow leaving a white residue and build-up of salt everywhere. “ASR, another episode and I may have to remove you from the case.” The last words carried enough threat in them to snap ASR out of good manners.

“Fuck you, Kevin. You know you can’t get anyone better than me to work on this case. So you don’t fucking threaten me, because if I am not on this, you got nothing. I am not blinded by anything. It was an honest mistake on her part and I will make sure it doesn’t happen again.” ASR reasoned.

“Honest or not, make sure this is not repeated. By the way, are you fucking her by any chance? Need I remind you the last time you got personally involved, the consequences weren’t pretty.” Kevin barked into the receiver.

“Shut up, man! You know I won’t compromise the project.” ASR barked back. “Do we need to move from here?”

“Let me have NK recon the area. If we see something, we can decide then.”Kevin disconnected the call. ASR paced his room fuming at Kevin. How did Kevin figure out the breach? NK, Dammit! 

He dialed NK’s number.

“NK! What the fuck is your problem? You couldn't have informed me first. You had to tattle tale”

“Yo! Bro, hold on. I was just doing my job. Now, if you haven’t forgotten yours, tell your lady love to stop informing every one of your whereabouts.”

“Why does everyone call her my lady love! She is not my lady love, dammit. And shut up, alright.” He disconnected the call. It was beyond him - the gross assumptions his bureau made about him. 

If he were not careful, he would be pulled off the case, it was not lost on him. The last time he took personal interest and got this involved, the consequences were fatal for Lana. He could not repeat the mistake. Lana was not in his personnel files because Kevin had made sure none of it ever appeared in his file, but Kevin had every reason to worry about him. 

Not ever, not again!

*****

Shyam threw his scrubs into the laundry hamper and shut his locker. He was exhausted and desperate to have a word with Khushi. She had all but shut him out of her life and he could not afford that. His phone buzzed and he checked the number. 

Damn!

“Hello, didn’t I tell you not to call me, ever! What do you want?”

The voice on the other side sounded angry and muttered some expletives. Shyam responded with his signature venom, “Well, I know where she is. And she is safe there. You don’t have to inform me about Khushi. Listen, you do this one more time and you get us all in trouble. Do you understand? So stop right now.” 

The phone clicked on the other end after few heated exchanges.

“Damn!” he knew he could not lose Khushi, not with everything that was at stake for him. He could not afford a wrinkle in his plans. He knew his every move was under scrutiny and anything he did could stack the odds against his chances. He called another number on his phone.

“Yes, listen, the chick is creating trouble again. Keep a close watch on her, will you?” Next, he texted Khushi because she refused to take his call.

Khushi, where are you? I want to come and meet you.

He did not trust the FBI agent, ASR. He felt there was something odd about that man, something personal that made him unpredictable. Shyam was very uncomfortable with the idea of khushi spending time alone with ASR far from any contact with civilization.  He only hoped Khushi knew how to keep secrets, even their dark little shared secret.

 *****

ASR marched into the cottage and found Khushi on the sofa sipping her morning cup of coffee.

“We need to talk.” He thundered as he rushed in. She shot him a glance and immediately knew something was wrong.

“What’s the matter? Are we in trouble again?” She stood up and pushed her hands into her pocket.

“We will be if you don’t stop letting the whole world know where we are!” he grabbed her shoulders and shook her gently, “Did you text our whereabouts to your family?” he seethed.

She looked confused and shocked. 

(play the music for mood)

“That’s just it. We had the protocol described to you. And you go right ahead and do what pleases you.” He raked his hair in exasperation.
“Hand me your cell phone. Now.” He retorted harshly and extended his hand for the phone.

Her indignation was writ all over her face. She pulled out her cell from her jean pocket and thrust it into his hands. She marched to the front door but paused before exiting.

“You didn't have to shout at me. My life just turned topsy-turvy. I am not sure I even need this fucking protection.”

She gripped the door before her next words came tumbling in a wail, “I don’t care if I die really, I don’t. So, I called my friends and family and you can shove the secret of the Sabres up yours and see if I care.”

She slammed the door behind her. The morning chill hit her tear streaked face as she marched into the woods hitting a trail. She needed fresh air to clear her head and she needed to be away from him. He confused her. Last night she had felt a connection with him, a bond that she had not felt with any human being in a long time.

How dare he tell her what to do and what not to do! Wasn’t Shyam enough of an obnoxious presence in her life, she didn’t need another overbearing male in her life to tell her what to do. She had spent a life time wanting nothing more than to please her loved ones, Mom, Dad, Payal, and Molly, and later Shyam. All she wanted was their happiness, to fit in, to feel included and to stop living on the edges. She was finally figuring it out albeit inadvertently aided by Shyam, the mystery of Sabres came crashing into her life. She didn’t care for protection.

If I die today, I would be happy. 

More tears rolled down her cheeks as she walked briskly deeper in the woods. The mushy dead leaves left slippery footprints behind her and fallen pine cones crunched under the fury of her steps.

*****

ASR felt pathetic. He had hurt her without explaining why it was important to be secretive. The story of Sabres and his involvement in it had colored his approach. He wanted to get the mafia but he began to realize he could not do it to the detriment of Khushi’s feelings. Perhaps, it was time to explain to her why the case meant so much to him and why they must maintain utmost secrecy at all times. He decided to come clean with her and ran out of the cottage. He stood on the cabin porch and looked around. She was nowhere to be found.

Khushi was still fuming when she heard crushing of leaves behind her. She froze in her path. She turned slowly to check the trail behind her. There was no one.

“Hello? Anybody there?” her shaky voice echoed in the lonely woods. The dead silence was only broken by the shushed whispers of pine needles. She began tracing her steps back.

Oh Shit!

She immediately realized her mistake. There were 5 different trails criss crossing the woods and she was not sure which one led her back to the cabin. She paused to think hard and decided to take the one in the middle. She began tracing her steps back when she heard the noise again. She turned swiftly to watch her back.

“Hello! Who’s there?” the woods were silent again. 

She began shaking as a drop of sweat formed on her back dripping down her spine to the seams of her corduroy jeans. She pulled her jacket closer and made a sprint for the trail. The wintry dry thicket crushed under the anonymous footsteps, chasing her on her heels. She sprinted forward with all her might, slipping a couple of times on the decayed leaves, scrambling up and running again. The footsteps followed matching her tempo.

The air filled with her breathless pants as she struggled to breathe. 

“Aaaaarnav!” she screamed with as much air as she could draw into her lungs. She stole a glance behind her but there was no one. She could hear the broken twigs and crushed branches as the chaser kept up with her a few paces behind, hiding in the winter brush. 

“Aaaaarnav!” she screamed again as she dashed forward. A thick, low hanging branch appeared out of nowhere and she hit the ragged bark with full force. She lost her footing and fell on the wet undergrowth. 

And then everything went dark.