Chapter 80: chapter 80

MADHAVVikram's face becomes grim, “Will you open that drawer and bring out the items inside them?” I look at the mahogany drawer he is pointing at. It has a number lock. I walk to the drawer and look at him. He answers my unasked question, “The usual.”I type in the passcode used in the Enclave. The drawer opens and it consists of a blue file. I take it out and find a pistol with it. Taking the pistol in my hand, I look at Vikram with a raised brow. From the weight of the weapon, I can tell it is loaded with bullets. I close the drawer and take the things to him. He gets the pistol and puts it on his bedside table. “Open the file and you will have your answer to the question,” Vikram says motioning to the file. I oblige and open the file. It contains a lot of papers and I quickly skim through it. The papers contain details of the leader of a dangerous trafficking gang. As I keep reading the papers, my blood boils at the atrocities he has committed. He goes by the name ‘Blue Fox’ on the dark web but his real name is Gokul Selva. As I turn the next page, I am taken aback by the photo staring back at me. This man Gokul is none other than the son-in-law of the finance minister and the owner of the school where Sruthi is working. He got married a few months ago and the couple caused quite a stir in the country because of their whirlwind romance. I think the lady is now pregnant.“Does the finance minister know?” I ask wondering how corrupt the politicians of my country are.To my relief, Vikram says, “No, he had no idea about it when he married off his daughter to this man. Neither does the daughter have any idea. Very recently, the minister overheard Gokul conversing with someone on the phone and he spoke in a way that made the minister suspicious. The minister approached me and I let my spies investigate this man. This is what I discovered.”“Does the minister know about this now?” “I told him. He was very devasted to learn about it. With his daughter pregnant, he was torn between what to do. He wanted to arrest that bastard and sent him to Noghot but at the same time he was worried for his innocent daughter who believes her husband is a kind man.”“Do you want me to finish off this man?” I ask looking at the smiling photo of Gokul.“Hell, no,” Vikram shakes his head vigorously. “That would terribly upset his wife and we don't want any incident happening to her when she is pregnant. For now, we have to stop him from doing any trafficking. I got some information that he is about to send a consignment to Dhethill.”Dehithill?That is our neighbouring country that is still in the mid eras. They are very conservative and have some terrible backward notions. Slavery and misogyny are still common here. Heck! Kings and queens still exist in this country. Sending a consignment of humans here is equal to death. I can't imagine the horrors they would face.“How do we stop that?” I ask rubbing my hands together. It is been a long time since I had any assignments that I can feel the adrenaline rush through me.“This is where you both come in. He is going to the Boiren Mountains for his babymoon.”“Babymoon?” I ask scrunching up my face in confusion.“It is similar to a honeymoon just that the couple goes on a trip after the woman becomes pregnant. It's a trip meant for the woman to loosen up,” Vikram shakes his head, “That isn't the important thing now. What is important is he is going to the Boiren Mountains. It has one of the ports and I have information that he is sending them through a ship. I need you to stop the ship from sailing and get the men on board arrested. It is leaving on next Wednesday. Gokul is going to the Boiren Mountains in the guise of a babymoon to oversee this.”“What is going to be the course of action?” “I will brief you on that but the most important thing is that Sruthi mustn't know about this and keep her safe at all costs. She may now know to throw a punch and raise her leg in a kick but she is still fragile and vulnerable when someone attacks her. So, keeping her safe must be your priority.”“It always is.”❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥“Did you know I was supposed to go to the Boiren Mountains with Praveen after the marriage?” Sruthi whispers in the silent night. My arms are wrapped around her. We are back at our place. Vikram kicked us out after briefing me on the mission. I was wistful of coming here back because sleeping here would mean no cuddling with Sruthi. With a heavy heart, I went to  Sruthi's bedroom cursing the pillow wall between us. We both lay on the bed silently and I was reminiscing about the nights at her brother's mansion when I felt movement to my side. The next moment, the pillow wall crashed down and Sruthi looked at me with a shy expression and asked, “I know it is too much to ask but can you hold me while we sleep like we did in my brother's house?”I didn't question why she wanted me to hold her nor did think twice about it. The very next moment, I pulled her into my arms and wrapped it around her tightly. “I had no idea,” I reply honestly. She is so soft and looks vulnerable. “Were you looking forward to that trip?”“I was,” she replies with a sigh. “But, I am glad that I didn't get married to him. I am glad that things turned out this way.”My heart rate increases at her words. This is the first time I have heard her say that she is happy that she didn't get married to him. Is there hope for me? “Isn't he your ideal type?” I ask“He was,” she answers tilting her face up to look at me. Her eyes are heavy with sleep but it also gentle and I feel breathless looking at her. “But I th..ink.... my.... ty..pe h..as chan..ged now.”“What is your type now?” I ask holding my breath. My eyes are involuntarily drawn to her pink lips.Her lips move but there is no sound. I can make out what she is telling me. YouI want to kiss her. Badly. The urge to kiss her has never been this strong. I am barely holding it back as she falls asleep. I press a soft kiss to her forehead and whisper the three words I have been dying to tell her, “I love you.”❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥A/N: This note is just me whining about things! Not going to stop the series in mid and leave hanging. So don't worry. I have a couple of things to ask you people. A part of me—the lazy and irresponsible one—wants to finish the story as quickly as possible. Another part—the responsible and reliable one—wants to write all the story arcs I have in my mind. Also, it is hard to know how you feel about this story as readers. I keep telling myself to stop writing these authors notes but I find myself typing it again. So, this is going to be the last time (probably not because I will do this again), I am going to write this. Should I finish this story as quickly as possible? Or do you want me to write out all the story arcs—now don't go thinking that I have infinite arcs in my mind. It is just a couple of arcs before I put a end card to this story—that I have in my head but has difficulty in bringing it out on the paper? I know I am being irregular in publishing and all.  My apologies! I am still struggling with the plot and I know it is already 79 parts and Sruthi and Madhav haven't even kissed. Yep, that is slow burn romance for you baby! Anyways, if your frustrated with the story or find anything stupid or anything good, please tell me. Because, I am struck with no idea of how to proceed. I will try to be regular(I can already hear your mindvoice that tells , ‘There she goes  again with another empty promise ’).P.S: I am sure most of you won't bother to tell anything and that makes feels even more dumb for writing this note. But, what can I say? I am dumb like that!P.P.S: My advance heartfelt thanks you for all those who read this note and took your time to give me your valuable insights.P.P.P.S: Things will heat up between Sruthi and Madhav soon. Bye!In Frustration and Confusion,Your lazy author, -H S Ragavi🍀🍀🍀