Time of reckoning

Admin Building, Gurukul

"Argh… I am going mad," Abhirath's internal monologue continued while Mriga waited for his answer.

Mriga, in the meanwhile, was biting the inside of her cheek to prevent her from laughing out.

How did she not realise till now that the guy was this adorable? His hair was pointing out in all directions and his cotton clothes looked as if they had been beaten to a pulp.

"Should I lay down the breakfast while you go and, erhm, freshen up?" Mriga prompted him again since he still seemed dazed.

As if someone has thrown cold water in his face, he jerked back and then went red in the face. He nodded his head before getting up and going past her, only to hurry back. He looked for something before picking up a sheet and pocketing it.

"I will see you here in a few minutes," he was almost sounding like his normal self now.

"What a pity! I was enjoying his befuddled state," she said to herself.

Eastern Zilla

Ramanujam was beginning to resemble a garbage bin in true sense of the word, now. Not only did he look scruffy but he also smelled. The stench was so bad that it seemed someone had died in here. He was worried that the hideout may get discovered if someone has a good nose but he couldn't help it. It was not possible for him to step out to replenish the water in here and as a result, he dare not take a bath or even wash up. He had drinking supplies to last him a day and no more. Ramanujam knew that once he went out of this place, he would have to head back to the capital. The chances of him getting caught again were high and then the whole exercise would be counter-productive.

"Dammit… I just need something to take back. How do I walk away from the mission empty-handed?" He fumed quietly.

He had heard the Vaidya come and go but there was nothing in his conversation from which he could glean much. It seemed that the appearance of the snake had put them on guard even more. But Ramanujam had needed something to rock the boat, else how would he see the ripples in the water.

It was late afternoon when he heard some murmurs reaching him from the pipe which was linked to Amrapali's office. Pumping his hand in the air, he was finally glad for some action. But the next moment, he quietly put his ear against the pipe and grabbed the quill and paper which was kept next to him.

"… because of this, we have no choice but to delay the plan by a couple of days. Since the snake bit at the back of the neck, the Vaidya is not concerned much about the swelling but the effect of poison reaching the head. In that case, the little boy won't…" the person stopped speaking.

Ramanujam was jotting all this down in his unique shorthand. He didn't want to miss even a single word. There would be enough time to read and understand the implications later.

"Make sure that this letter reaches the capital first thing tomorrow. It needs to be sent to the QIT selection committee," Sharada started speaking.

"As for the situation here, it seems a delay is inevitable. Go and tell everyone that we will make our move two days from now. In the meanwhile, they need to lay low. I shouldn't be able to hear even a squeak from any of them. With that Prithvi's watchdogs around, we can't afford a mess-up. Though now that he has managed to retrieve his man, he should not attempt something in the immediate future," Sharada's annoyed words shocked Ramanujam.

"Guruji sent people to rescue me? After not finding me there, are they still looking for me? Now, I need to find a way to send my message to him asap," he thought to himself.

Sharada's lackey spoke up, bringing Ramanujam's focus back to the conversation, "If you knew that he was part of the core team of Suraksha Chakra, why didn't you kill him instantly? Isn't it dangerous now that he had escaped?"

Sharada's dry chuckle filtered through the pipe, making Ramanujam grit his teeth in anger. He was really upset with himself for getting caught.

"I was hoping to catch a big fish with this bait. Unfortunately, the fish didn't bite and the bait unhooked itself. But it doesn't matter. He was useless anyways. The Vaidya had done the hypnotic test on him the very first night of torture and figured that the guy knew nothing. So, his being alive or dead makes no difference to us. And with no proof, whatever little information he has, is all useless. You concentrate on the task at hand. Don't worry your pretty head over this," Sharada said and then the next moment, ambiguous noises started filtering through the pipe, making Ramanujam move back in mild repulsion.

Suddenly, it was clear to him what he needed to do. One, he had to inform Prithvi that he was alive and second, he needed to find out Sharada's plan. Considering that the second task may end up making him jeopardize his life, he decided to postpone the first and concentrate on the latter. After all, if he was alive after this mission, guruji would get to know anyways.

Gurukul

All the ten contestants had done whatever they could to hope for their selection in the next round. But it all rested in the hands of the zilla heads now.

Mriga had spent the better part of the previous day with Abhirath and then later with the team, including Ganga and Yash. Since she had been busy, nervousness hadn't hit her as much but standing outside the dean's office, she couldn't help but clench and unclench her fingers continuously.

Since there were only ten of them at this juncture, she could see the few familiar faces in the small group.