Heart wrenching adoration Part-41

“What..how..when..surely not...I mean come on she could be just out there somewhere, you know just lolling around...we shouldn’t jump to conclusion!”Akash wailed, all sort of cohesiveness left him, yet I couldn’t process what he said at all. 

I t simply flew out of my head in my dumbfounded state.

“No, that couldn’t be possible! Rakesh would’ve informed us had the girl decided to go some other way.” The officer frowned clearly worried and then he turned to Payal.

“Were there any signs of struggle in the bathroom?” He asked.

“No, there isn’t any sign of struggle whatsoever, still there is no sign of khushi too!...Oh, I should’ve never left her alone!” Payal cried, trembling. She looked like she would collapse any second.

We didn’t get much time to wallow in bafflement or mind-numbing pain, in my case, as that very second a man came pelting out of the boy’s washroom that was adjoining to that of the girls and started to bolt away gasping something incoherent.

I gazed at the man as if through a haze as Akash and Payal helped me up from the ground and the C.B.I officer with us stopped him.

“Wait! What’s wrong?” The officer asked urgently.

“There is...a man...in there...gagged..bound..un...unconscious....help!” The man gasped, clearly still in shock.

But he only managed to choke out the words before we spun and ran for the door. It didn’t take an Einstein to figure out that the gagged and bound captive that the stranger was talking about was the C.B.I officer who had accompanied khushi.

We darted inside the door, whilst Payal waited outside and I skidded to a halt as the insides of the washroom came into my vicinity. I gaped in horror as I realized that the entire area looked like the set of an out-an-out action movie.

The mirrors were cracked and taps were sprinkling water everywhere. The water flowed, mixing sickly with  the blood that was emanating somewhere from a grey lump a distance away and we immediately made our way to the lump, which was surrounded by a gamut of onlookers.

“Rakesh!” The other C.B.I officer exclaimed and rushed forwards and so did we.

“What happened? What’s all this?” I gasped, uttering my first word ever since receiving the news of khushi’s kidnap.

“Damn! The entire place looks like it has been hit by a tornado!” Akash exclaimed, looking horror-struck at the appalling wreck around us.

“Please move! Clear up! Airport security!” More men came pelting in shoving people aside. I and Akash scrambled sideways to make way for them.

One of the men immediately leaned down and checked the neck of the unconscious man for pulse. 

“He’s alive! Get medical aid! Quick!” The officer ordered and then he looked over at the other C.B.I officer, who was groping around his unconscious partner’s pocket for his cell.

“Are you with him?” The Airport security officer asked.

“Yes, I’ll like to have a quick word with you! It’s urgent!”

The two men went over to the corner, while some medics rushed in with a stretcher and carried the injured officer away. I and Akash immediately made way to the two officers where they stood talking and as we approached the C.B.I officer looked at us.

“Go and let her parents know about the situation! We are going to rack the C.C.T.V cameras.” He ordered and we darted out together.

But we didn’t need to go over and let the elders know about the situation, as Payal had already done that job in our absence and now a very panic-stricken Shashi uncle and Graima Aunty were rushing towards us, followed by my equally worried looking sister and jiju.

“Officer! Where is our daughter? Where is our Khushi?”Shashi uncle pounced on the officer in his agitation whilst Garima Aunty went on crying hysterically.

“Calm down Mr. Gupta! We’ll find her in no time! We are just going to check the C.C.T.V footage now and we’ll get to know who abducted her.” The officer’s brusque voice was methodical.

Our entire group rushed over to the Administrative building, all thoughts of catching the plane forgotten! We were taken to a room with loads of Computers and hi-tech looking machines, the ones which you see in some kind of sci-fi flicks and followed the two officers as they made their way through the working techies!

“Did you get the clip, Samar?” The Airport security officer asked.

“Yes Sir!” The man nodded dutifully and immediately played the clip.

We watched with angst and trepidation as the clip was fast forwarded to the time when khushi appeared in the frame followed by her guard and I felt my heart constrict to see her beautiful, child-like face. Only the devil himself can have the heart to hurt an angel like her!

I wasn’t the only one who was affected by her appearance. I felt Payal tremble violently beside me and Garima Aunty sobbed more hysterically, leaning on a comforting Shashi uncle who had tears streaming down his face too!

We watched as the officer stood at the door of the washroom, while khushi darted in and after a while, as if confirming my foreboding that I earlier had, Lavanya followed khushi’s suit too. A few moments passed and Lavanya came out-maybe it was just the fluorescent or I caught a wicked glint in her eyes- as she went to the C.B.I officer and said, no pleaded something form him which made him duck inside the Men’s washroom.

After that Lavanya nonchalantly traipsed her way back to wherever she was going with a smug smile. 

We watched, our breaths hitched as neither khushi nor the C.B.I officer came out of the washroom. As I was started to get impatient, I finally saw the door to both the washrooms open almost simultaneously.

A woman wearing burqa came out of the Girls’ washroom, pushing a wheelchair on which another burqa clad person was seated and a man came out of the Men’s washroom with a huge bushy beard-no doubt a fake one.

They both made their way through the sea jostling people and were soon lost in the teeming crowd. 

I looked up horrified from the computer monitors to look at others and their expressions mirrored mine. 

The burqa clad person on the wheelchair was none else  but our khushi!