14

IDHIKA

A week had passed since my examination. Finally it's the end. I wouldn't study anymore now. My university life was finished. I was just waiting for the declaration of my results. I was not worrying about it, but my parents were.

I was just wondering why that devil didn't message me or call me for a week since our conversation. Was this another manipulation trick of him? I could definitely expect this. He was not a saint man after all. Since he had manipulated me into his risky game.

He was not just an easy man to talk to but a man who was unpredictable and sinister. He would either twist his words with his masterminding or just look cold with no emotions.

But I was lost in my thoughts about him. I couldn't imagine how worse he could be if I tried to do something bold. But the question was...why would I be scared of a man like him?

I couldn't kneel against a man.

My thoughts were shaken when my mother's voice started to call me like it was very much important. I didn't waste time and went downstairs and found my parents in awe...

"What happened?" I questioned curiously

"You have never told us that you have applied for an internship! You got selected." My mom was in happy tears like I achieved something big

My mind went completely empty. When did I apply for an internship? I did not! Perhaps my parents were exaggerating.

My father unsealed the letter in a hurry and started to read the main lines

"We are expecting you to join our company soon, Ms. Idhika Bhattacharya. Your skills, your talents are worthy. We hope we can make the company shine brighter. For now we would like to offer you a one - year internship. After reviewing your performance, the ceo will give you a permanent position. For now your salary will be forty five thousand."

"WHAT? FORTY FIVE THOUSAND?" My voice raised and I was completely in shock

"Yes!" My father exclaimed happily "Your hardwork is paying off now." My father broke into happy tears

Why was everyone crying? And was it a mistake? I didn't apply at all.

"Which company?" I asked

"You applied for an internship and you don't know?" My mother questioned angrily

I couldn't disappoint them with my honesty .If they were happy then I shouldn't tell them the real truth. And I would feel guilty for being a bad daughter again.

"I ...mean I applied for multiple companies." I smoothly lied

But when did I ? I never actually applied seriously! What could be the probability of this situation?

I took the letter from my father slowly and began to read each word mentioned in the letter. In fact, my name was highlighted in red, in italics.

My eyes widened, my fingers started to tremble. My name was highlighted in red italics that looked like a warning in disguise. My eyes hit the bottom when I sensed who signed the letter. Every path i took, no matter how I ran, it all led to him.

Then I looked at my parents who were very much in joy and if I told them everything, they would be heartbroken, perhaps it could cause some serious health issues.

Then I looked at the letter. I knew something was off. He didn't message me for one week because he was plotting all these wicked games to play with my life.

"What will you do?" My father asked softly "Is it suitable for you? We have no issues with this job. At least they are paying you a decent amount."

I couldn't say anything. Because I could see the hopes in my parents eyes, every girl's dream was to make her parents proud. And they looked proud and....happy.

And forty five thousand for an internship? This guy was a completely reckless person about money. I really couldn't understand him.

"But tell me why are they paying you such a big amount in the first place?" My brother curiously asked

I knew. I didn't have a proper answer for that. Because it was different. I started to play with my waves of hair, while thinking about the answer.

"Because I completed my degree and am plus CFA level 2 passed. And now MBA. So maybe they liked my CV. Who knows?" I knew it was not the correct answer but broken support

"Or maybe it was not an internship but a permanent job...oh god, congratulations." My brother whistled with happiness

"But where do you get your placement?" My mom demanded sharply

I hated to say anything further. I tightened my fist and set my jaw hard. Everything was because of him. The devil.

"Jai..jaipur." I hated how I sounded helpless in front of my family.

"Wait... that's so far. But it's okay if you get a stable job. We always wanted you..to be financially responsible and independent. And your hard work is paying you with such good opportunities." My father stated, as if his heart was swelling with pride.

I could only nod because there were no words left, i just wanted to throw up and escape every maze that led to him. I didn't wanna face him again. Not because I was weak but if I would be in front of him then I would definitely kill him.

A U T H O R

The sun was quite shining from the horizon, the room of Idhika was silent, only a small ray of the sun was spilling from her window. She held a small red match gaslighter in her hand.

Her eyes were sharply focused on each word of the letter on her other hand. As if she was looking with disdain. She crumpled the paper with her fist and threw it on her bed, along with the match gaslighter.

She reached her for her phone and unlocked it, and her fingers fastened as she dialed the number.

It rang once however the call was unanswered.

So she angrily put a voicemail "Are you joking with me? How dare you offer me a job? Do you have any idea what qualifications I have?"

On the other hand, on a soft misty afternoon in the countryside of Moscow city. Three men stood before an old mansion with their weapons. The blonde one had a vintage style revolver on his rough hand, while the brunette had an edgy style knife. While the black haired one, he had no weapon to carry.

They entered the mansion secretly, scanning the every inch setting of the new place. It was a big mansion painted in a ridiculous colour.

The trio went upstairs like they were going to discover something haunting jewels. The setting of the mansion was white with wooden furniture, as most of the things were made of wood.

"Keep going!" The brunette whispered to the blonde

"Don't order me!" He replied with his Russian accent

Then in a span of seconds, they noticed some men in black suits were coming from the other side. As there was no such place to hide, they stood confidently against the five guards.

The guards saw them as intruders as the trio were completely dressed in elegance. They couldn't identify them. In a second, the guards pointed guns at them, they were about to attack.

But the black haired man spoke, almost convincing them "We came here to meet your boss, they called us to come to meet him like this."

The guards didn't believe his words, instead the guards said "Ты и ты... вон отсюда. Сейчас же." One of the guards pointed with a gun towards the blonde and the brunette

(You and you...out. Right now.)

The blonde showed no care, while the brunette muttered a curse in a different language. But the black haired, just looked at the guards like he was calculating the high stakes, the measures to make the guards trapped in their game.

"Is Mikhail Lebedev taking a rest? Or should we wait for some time?" He asked smoothly

"And we came here by the main door. If you don't believe it, you can see the footage." He lied like he knew that he was testing them

The guards seemed to relax at the mention of cctv footage. Four of them considered the trio but the fifth one was suspicious.

"Lies..all lies..you guys are liars!" The fifth guard spat and pointed a gun at the black haired.

Instead of attacking, he stood calmly before them, almost relaxed and comfortable. Typical Vedant behaviour.

"There is no point in taking me down. Your respected boss will be sad because he will lose a good deal. Don't you wanna make your boss rich?" His voice was rough but it was working well

"But we don't trust you all! You guys are intruders! C'mon men, take them down" The fifth guard spat

And the other guards trapped them with guns pointed, Avgust, Devyansh and Vedant couldn't move. They were stuck in the centre, while the guards circled around them.

"You motherfuckers —" Vedant cut off Devyansh. "If your boss does not become rich then you will not get any bonus. Just imagine a 1B dollar deal and your boss can't have a single penny just because of you all." He knew what he was saying

"1B dollars deal?" The guards said in unison, their eyes went up in sudden realisation

But it was all lies. Clearly.

Two guards slowly released them and walked to their boss for information.

The moment the two guards vanished before their eyes, Devyansh retrieved his knife from his back pocket and slammed the weapon on one of the three guards. His eyes were and hands were working faster than the speed of light.

Avgust punched the other guard on his face and continued to punch, his fist was becoming red with punches, until they became covered in blood.

And the last guard was about to shout however Vedant moved in a strategic manner, he wrapped the guard's neck with his biceps. He continued to press hard until the guard was about to lose his life. The guard choked, gasping for air but Vedant didn't let it happen, the guard lost his senses.

"Good job." Avgust said to Vedant

"You're the mastermind as always." Devyansh whispered, his face was covered in blood.

"Brutality. Aggression and Mind. Always work together." Vedant told them

They approached the different rooms to find Mikhail, their steps were becoming dangerous with every approach. They searched every corner of the second floor but Mikhail was nowhere.

Then they heard some voices from the third floor, Mikhail was approaching the second floor. While the two guards were behind him, following their boss.

Vedant gave a look at Avgust and Devyansh and hid behind the staircase. While Avgust and Devyansh were in the front of the stairs, covering the bodies of the other deceased guards.

Devyansh wiped the blood on his black blazer, looking perfect with his blue eyes that were shining like the ocean before the storm.

"Where are the other guards?" Mikhail questioned them

Mikhail was dressed in a loose yellow robe, he was in his fifty. His face was swollen because of inhaling drugs too much, he almost lost all hair but he looked more old than his age.

Avgust and Devyansh cling to each other, for covering the bodies. "They went to the washroom." Devyansh said

It was a silly answer but Avgust fixed "Actually one went to the washroom, the other two went for drinks." He clenched his jaw hard

In a second, Vedant, came from behind the stairs and fired a bullet to one of the two guards. He fell on his knees and the other guard was about to retrieve his gun but Vedant shot him before anything.

Mikhail was nowhere to run because Avgust and Devyansh trapped him. When they both split, Mikhail could see the bodies of the other three guards lying on the floor.

"What...Whyy?" Mikhail roared with rage and fear

"You better know, motherfucker!" Devyansh's eyes were no longer the same, it was dark blue

"Where are those kidnapped girls? Answer me!" Avgust's voice rose

"I don't know anything about girls!" Mikhail screamed in pain when Avgust slapped his cheek repeatedly

"If you don't know then why did you kidnapped? For drugs? You are a fool!" Devyansh hit his crotch

At that moment, the other guards came as soon as they heard the scream, there were hundreds of guards and most of them looked panic but Mikhail shouted to help him in exchange for money.

Vedant smirked at the improper and silly deal. It was a joke to him. He considered himself to act as a menace with guards.

Avgust held Mikhail while Devyansh and Vedant were restlessly taking down every guard with their weapons. Devyansh worked faster and Vedant was slower, more slow, more pain.

Meanwhile Idhika called him and he couldn't take the phone because of the fight, he was involved. His phone rang once and another message pinged on his phone.

He knew that no one would call him at this time, so he considered himself to check his phone however the guards were attacking him with sharp objects. So he didn't want to lose his time and began to fire at them.

Vedant moved more precisely and took down five men in a row with his gun, while cornering himself from the fight to retrieve his phone from his back pocket.

"What now? Are you joking Ved? Put your damn phone down!" Avgust shouted at him

"Shut up. Important call." He dialed her number

"Seriously? Nothing is more important than this!" Devyansh yelled at him while taking down two men

"She is." Vedant announced

And she picked it up in a second like she was going to murder him instead

"You have to be kidding me, seriously? You sent what? Are you fucking out of your mind? Listen I don't follow orders of ridiculous, colourless men and that's you!" She yelled at him like she was expressing all her frustrations in one sentence

Before he answered anything, she continued "Do you know my qualifications? Huh? I'm CFA passed! And you're giving me a job that I don't want from you! Obviously I want but not from you! You better prepare for your funeral because I can't handle you!"

He took down more guards as she was cursing him, he felt relaxed not because of taking down but her furious voice.

"Yeah?" He asked

"Oh yes! How dare you? And the worst thing is my parents are happy!" She expressed her grief

"That was the plan, sweetheart." He wiped down his face which was covered in brutal blood.