Present
I literally looked like a kid caught while stealing a cookie. I couldn't even muster myself to look into their questioning gaze." Well aren't you guys gonna say something?" I murmured. " What do you want us to say? As if you're gonna listen to whatever we have to say. Do you even have the slightest bit of idea of what might have happened to you if we weren't there?" Dave exclaimed while Stev's nosetrils started flaring and his breathing started to become shallow. He seemed like a hulk ready to smash anything infront him. " But...." I was instantly shut by Stev's reaction. He slammed his fist so hard on the table. I SWEAR I heard it cracking from the forcefull blow.
" Diya Sharma! You have no idea how much I am trying not to lash out on you! How could you f*cking put us in dark for all these year. For god sake, you have been racing all these while under our nose and we never knew? Do you know how many people's lifes have been sacrificied in such races?" Stev stood up from his seat and looked down at me with his rage filled eyes.
" I am sorry" I muttered while Stev took a deep breath to calm himself. " Okay, but no more racing for you!" Stev said making my eyes go wide. " What!!!" I said getting up from my seat. " Yes! No more racing for you. Do I make myself clear?" Stev said giving me a hard glare. " Stev no...pls I promise I will be more carefully next time" I said giving him my best pleading look. " There is not gonna be a next time Diya" this time it was Dave. I gave him a disbelieved look. " Look Diya, I know that Stev takes decisions in haste but this time I think he has a point" he said making Stev smirk.
" Diya Lucifer Knight is not a person who people would want to mess up with and you exactly know why. Why don't you understand it Diya?' Dave said making me look down. " You heard him Diya. So our discussion ends here and you are not stepping into that racing ground ever again" Steve said getting up from the comfy sofa. " Come on Stev...he doesn't even know my name. Forget about my name...he doesn't even know my actual gender" I said smirking.
" Shut up Diya!!" both of them yelled in unison glaring down at me. Boy...and that actually worked and I immediately zipped my mouth. But I was not going to give up that easily. I like...no scratch that I love racing. I can't imagine my life without racing. I will surely go crazy. But my mutton head friends are being such an a**holes.
Come on Diya...think of something. There must be a way to convince these two overprotective bodyguards who unfortunately turn out to be your best friends. Think Diya. Think! It's high time you make use of your pea-size brain.
Suddenly, something clicked in my mind and I had a wicked smile thinking about it. " Uhm....since you guys are being very persistant in ruining my racing career, lets have a deal" I said smoothly making Dave arch his left eyebrow and making Stev scoff. " You mean persistant in saving you from serving your head in a plate to The Great Mafia Boss" Steve said curtly making me roll my eyes.
" What do you mean by A DEAL Diya" Dave asked uninterestedly. " It's simple...you guys let me race and I will do your assignments for the entire sem. What say?" I said being very proud of my skills in bargaining.
But the reaction that I actually got from what I had aspected was the exact opposite. Both of them looked at each other with a serious expression giving me hope that I definitely got this deal. Then that hope turned into confussion as both of them fell on a fits of laughter. Seriously...are they Nuts! Yup definitely.
"Guys..." I interrupted the session that they were having once I can no longer take it. "Guys!" this time it was a bit louder and making them stop abruptly. Dave took deep breaths to calm down his laughter clutching his stomach while Steve brushed off his fake tears.
"I don't understand what is so funny?" I askesd putting my hands on my hips. " YOU" both of them answered making me more irritated. "What!" I glared hard burning holes on their heads. " Aww...you look so cute when you get angry...." Steve said pulling my right cheek. I slapped his hand off my face and glared at him. " Come on Diya....you call that a deal...It was so....childish" Dave said chuckling. " Even if you would have said that you will give us a 100 billion, we would have never agreed. Because...you are more important than any f*cking deal Diya" Steve said curtly.
As usual I was dumbfound. I couldn't say anything after that. But I am still not ready to give up racing. God....what am I suppose to do now. " Promise me Diya" Dave said making me snap out of my trance. " Uh...promise?" I said giving him a confused look. "That you won't race again" Dave said with a straight face. " But..." I tried reasoning. " Cut the crap and promise us" Steve said sternly. " Fine..." I said crashing down on the sofa with my arms crossed on my chest. " What...we din clearly hear you" Dave said putting his hands on his ears. " Ugh....Fine I won't race goddamnit" I said in a raised voice. " Promise us" Steve said looking at me pointedly.
" I am saying right I won't race. So I won't race. Besides, you guys know that I don't do this promise shit thingy. I have never promise anything. Remember." I said in a duh tone. " Yeah tell me about it" Dave murmured which didn't go unnoticed by me. " Fine...but remember you gave us your word" Steve said making me nod up and down.
" Okay so I guess this is it Diya. We will take our leave" Dave said walking towards the closed door of our apartment. " Okay" I said being a bit sulky. " Take care little sis..." Steve said while crushing me with a bear hug while Dave ruffled my hair which already looked like bird's nest.
" You too. Take care" I said returning their hugs. " Bye Diya". " Bye bye " both of them said one after another while exitting the door. I took a deep breath and sighed in relieve. Wait....what is that smell....seems familiar...
I trailed the smell sniffing like a puppy. I entered my room and my gaze fell on the ironing board. Reality hit me hard turning my eyes into zeroes. Shit! Shit! Shit! I totally forgot about my pants that I was ironing moments ago before my friends arrived.
I quickly ran towards the iron and switched it off. Once I took my pants to examine it I was welcomed with a pungent smell with two holes on either sides of the pants. Damn you Diya! Damn you! Hawwww....I can't believe my favourite pants has burned....Why god?...whyyyyy?
---------------------------------------------------------
Unknown POV
' Siraj, have you tracked his number? This guy is really dangerous Siraj. The faster we get him, the better it will be for us and our country' I told my assistant who has been working with me in this case for the past 4 months.
" Ma'am, trust me our team has been working their ass off to crack this guy but we still have no clue about him. It's like he is using different sim cards every one minute and the signals keep on showing that his sim card is being activated from different countries across the world at the same time and that too from the same sim card! Even our best IT team have been cracking their heads to trace him" Siraj said apologetically.
" No Siraj! We have to find this guy before he plans anything funny again. He is a treat to the country. We have to tear that mask of a businessman that he has been using to fool people around him and to do that we have collect evidence against him" I said going through our suspect's case file with determination.
" But ma'am, this guy is so good in whatever he is doing. He never leaves any evidence behind his crimes. He is too smart and wicked for his own good" Siraj said irritatedly. " I know that he is amazing in clearing the crimes that he has commited but we must also not forget that even a clever thief will leave something behind for the dogs to sniff. What I am trying to say is that the evidences are already there! We just have to push ourselves a little bit harder to reach them" I said making Siraj nod in agreement.
" MA'AM! MA'AM!" we heard someone calling me and running towards our investigation room. Suddenly, the door flung open revealing a panting Nate. "Ma'am! There, there is so- something that you might what to see! Our IT team has found something about the guy that we have been tracking recently. I think you should see it..." Nate my colleague said breathlessly.
Siraj looked at me expectantly and I returned the same look. All three of us rushed out of the room immediately like how one would react seeing food after starving for a very long time. Currently, we are the starved ones and the piece of information that we have got now is the food that is going to lead us towards him.
I really hope this time whatever information they found would be handy is some way. Hope I don't get dissapointed this time. I thought as all three of us sprinted towards the IT room.