Mriga wanted to dig a hole in the ground and put her head in it. Not only had she upset Yash, but Abhirath had witnessed her embarrassing fight with him yet again. The one thing that she hated was airing her personal affairs in front of others but that seemed to be happening a lot these past few weeks.
"I… err, he doesn't look so happy," Abhirath's sentence had a question in it.
Mriga replied morosely, "The warden recognized me from last night and enquired about my fiancé and the whole episode came tumbling out in front of Yash which he of course misunderstood as anyone else would too. Now I don't know how to explain the matter to him without telling me the truth."
A part of Abhirath was overjoyed at the turn of events but looking at her miserable expressions, his heart ached too.
"Why don't you tell him that this was your way of seeking his attention and checking the depth of his feelings for you," he said after a moment.
Mriga's eyes widened at his suggestion.
"What does that even mean?" she asked.
Abhirath found her really cute in this moment. She had no clue about her ability to attract people towards herself.
"It means that you were trying to make him jealous. Just think of a reason why would you need to do that and that's it. It will make him feel flattered and assured about your feelings for him," he explained.
She bit her lip as she pondered over his words and realised that this may actually work.
"Thanks. You are a life saver. Uh… you came looking for me a while ago. Everything ok?" she asked.
"Yes, I plan to go to the Admin department early to help in whatever way I can. I thought of checking if you wanted to join in," he enquired.
Mriga gave a surprised smile and replied, "What a coincidence! I was thinking exactly the same. In fact, we can go right now if you are ready."
"Umm, do you not want to go after your boyfriend right now instead?" he asked reluctantly.
Even before he finished the sentence, she was shaking her head.
"He is angry at the moment and will be busy with the tasks assigned to him by his teachers. It will be tough for me to find him and talk to him. I will do so in the evening. This is more important right now," she told him.
Abhirath gave her a wide smile, making her blink in surprise.
"Let's go then," he said.
Admin building
"So, you are trying to say that the defense network has been compromised?" Prithvi's voice was graver than usual.
Ramanujam had just returned from the Eastern zilla after completing the task which Prithvi had assigned him. There had been a rumour of few infiltrators entering Chandragarh via the seashore located in the Eastern zilla and Prithvi had wanted to check the authenticity of the same. In the past, most infiltrations had occurred in the Western zilla due to its port being open for trade transactions with various countries. Eastern zilla was like back waters with no established port, choppy sea and as a result, not much business happened there except by the local fisheries.
"Eastern zilla is only accessible to the foreigners via the turbulent sea or through the borders of other zillas. As per the Madame of the main brothel there, suddenly there is an influx of new customers for the past few weeks. Not only were these newcomers unaware of the rules of the brothels, few girls also caught a glimpse of foreign stamped gold coins. Had they arrived via proper channels into the country, they would have been given our coins as per the exchange rate and also would have received the guide of Dos and Don'ts of our country. Since Eastern zilla is at one end of Chandragarh with no access to anywhere else from there, it doesn't serve any purpose for the foreigners to travel there from another zilla unless they want to settle there. Hence it is safe to assume that the reports about the Easter seashore being the new target for entering the country, are correct. As for the network being compromised, there is no way that the foreigners would have managed to evade the coastal border security without internal help," Ramanujam summarised.
"But then how are you claiming that the attack on Shaurya has been done by the same group of people?" Prithvi countered.
Ramanujam took out a pouch from his kurta's pocket and put it in front of Prithvi. Picking it up, Prithvi smelled it from a distance.
"This is what Amrapali retrieved from a dead foreigner's belongings last week. Before coming here, I took the pouch to the Vaidya. He told me that it has been made from a weed which isn't found in the vegetation of Chandragarh and also that the same type of poison was given to Shauryaveer. Since it was an unfamiliar poison, he didn't have the antidote for it and had to drain the affected blood instead. He sounded quite miffed about having to use such a rudimentary method to treat the patient but as per him, Shaurya's life had been in real danger at that time," he narrated.
Prithvi's face was marred by a scowl. He had been enjoying some free time with his partner sometime back. His companion had insisted on showing him the new dance moves. By the end of the show, both of them had been panting, one with exertion and other with passion. The special eagle had shown up right that second at his residence, making Prithvi leave everything else, instantly. This golden eagle was a trained bird used only in case of emergencies between him, Ramanujam and Saraswati.