94 Call From Grandfather (2)

"Elder Sister, your arm..." Aditya asked hesitatingly as he released Saira and looked at the calm face which had instilled a sense of security in his childhood. Aditya noticed that her elder sister who had lost her right arm in a mission somehow became whole again. He also noticed that Saira's face looked a little pale with small indications of ageing cropping up on her peerless face.

Saira had not married even under her father's pressure. She had dedicated her life for her profession which did not allow any form of romantic relationships, let alone marriage. Saira also never had this type of romantic side to her as could be seen from her school and college life. But, Aditya's heart constricted when he saw his elder sister skin losing its glow and they were signs of wrinkles on her forehead and corner of her eyes. His elder sister had always been an astounding beauty for as long as he could remember.

"What happened to you, elder sister?" Aditya asked again.

Saira shook her head as if she did not care. She raised her right arm and said, "if you want to gain some things, you have to lose some."

She did not go into details as she said, "the reason I have come to meet you today was not to discuss me but to discuss your safety and future."

Aditya looked in Saira's eyes and knew that he would not get anything from her. But he had resolved himself to find out what was happening with his elder sister. Even, in the dream world, Saira had remained one-handed even until the completion of his college. The only thing that differed from the dream world and this world was 'that' organization. Aditya felt that the timeline shifted whenever 'those' people came in. So, Aditya was sure that Saira's hand and ill complexion also had something to do with them.

"What about my safety and future? And, who is he?" Aditya pointed at the unconscious person lying before him. His mouth was bleeding which explained the smell that Aditya sniffed.

"Just someone who could be exchanged for a favour from Mossad if he was caught alive. This was possible thanks to you as this person was sent here to kill you," Saira said in a matter-of-fact way.

"Who would want me dead?" Aditya asked perplexed when he heard his elder sister's words. He ruled out 'them' as they could have killed him easily given those superhuman abilities anytime, anywhere.

"Apparently, more than one," Saira said as she smiled at Aditya.

"You lost me," Aditya said as he shrugged and sat down. Saira was quite satisfied with the speed of Aditya's recovery which clearly represented his mental strength.

"Well do you know Narendra Ahuja, the chairman of the prestigious Ahuja group?" Saira asked as she looked at Aditya who was actually paying more attention to the unconscious person.

"Yup, that old fogy who came out of his retirement to save his company as his only son died, right? I seem to have read about it in some newspaper." Aditya said as he began to touch this man in some places and examine his condition. Aditya wanted to note keenly the differences between a sleeping person, an unconscious person and a person who was actually pretending to be unconscious. It could be seen that the nerdy Tya was starting to rub off on Aditya.

"Well, he is your grandfather, so better show some respect," Saira said plainly.

"Oh, grandfather…what?" Aditya turned to look at his elder sister to see if she was joking but clearly that wasn't the case. Aditya's eyes lit up as he realised and said, "You mean to say..."

"Yes, he is aunt Nirmala's father and the person who had died was your uncle. He was your mother's younger brother."

It took a moment for Aditya to let this information sink in. He had indeed read about the death of the only heir of the 'Ahuja Group' three months back. His parents had gone missing by then. He never knew that his maternal grandfather was the owner of the 'Ahuja group'. This was quite a surprise to him.

The only time he had heard his mother mention her father was when Maahi's mother had died and his mother had to ask the help of her father to help Maahi. He knew that his mother was from an affluent family but did not try to delve any further as he was perfectly happy with his life and did not find the need to know about his maternal family. His mother had also never mentioned her family.

But now, when Aditya heard the truth about his maternal family, he did not feel anything other than finally knowing whom to thank for helping elder sister Maahi. He did not have any intention of making any new relations with these long-forgotten relatives. He felt a little sorry that his mother's younger brother had died.

"What does my maternal family have to do with me been targeted by assassins?" Aditya asked as he resumed studying the fainted assassin. From the cannabis odour, yellow fingernails and red eyes, it was clear that this person was a drug addict.

Saira was starting to become more impressed about Aditya as she observed his ability to adapt and take in such news. She also did not go a roundabout way and simply stated, "after your maternal uncle, who was the current chairman of 'Ahuja Group', died in suspicious circumstances, your grandfather had to come out from retirement to save the company from falling into other hands. But your grandfather's failing health does not permit him to work like before."

Aditya felt a little weird when he heard Saira calling someone he did not know till today as his grandfather. He raised his head and asked, "Doesn't my deceased uncle have any progeny?"

"He has, not only one but two. Except, the daughter is 4 years old and the son is 10 years old." Saira said as she looked at Aditya.

Aditya stopped for a second when he heard about his cousins, especially the daughter. Ever since Aditya was a child, he wanted a little sister that he could take care of, but all he got was two elder sisters who instead took care of him. Maybe he would meet her someday.

"So, that makes me a viable option for taking the mantle from my gra...grandfather? And that somehow pissed a person or a group of people and now they want me dead." Aditya asked calmly as he got the gist of the conversation.

Saira smiled as she ruffled Aditya untidy hair and said, "my little brother has become so cool, talking about people wanting him dead in such a natural tone. This elder sister seemed to have missed a crucial phase of your growth, I still remember when you used to cry to Maahi's horror stories."

Aditya blushed but luckily his skin tone did not give him away as he said, "well, whatever, I have no interest in meeting this grandfather of mine who was never interested in me in the first place and suddenly comes demanding me to become his pawn or puppet. I don't owe him anything."

Saira looked at Aditya with a twinkle in her eyes, "As a matter of fact, you might owe him a lot according to me."

"Oh, how?"

"Who do you think has made Reyansh Varma tremble at the mention of your name and give up all notions of revenge? Who do you think has helped your mafia boss Taarini get such a prestigious project of building an iconic tower in Bangalore? Who do you think is currently ensuring that safety of your love interest 'Hamsa'? Is that enough." Taarini stated one question after another as she looked at Aditya changing face with mild amusement.

"..." Aditya did not speak for some time as he looked at his elder sister but shouted 'Sly old bastard' in his mind.