Her feet quietly touched the ground. And with another jump, she smoothly sailed over the gates leaving the Dey villa behind.
Her black clothes and the crescent moon allowed her to hide in the shadows as she darted across the lanes.
Ten minutes later she stopped before a building named Chhayaboni. With nimble movements she swung over the wall and reached a window on the second floor.
Using one hand to hang on to the slab under the window, she pointed her watch towards the room. Seconds later, a holographic projection of the room's image levitated over the dial. An ultrasonic imaging showed the insides of the walls, floor and ceiling. Unfortunately the button to open the bars was on the other side of the room. But thanks to her watch, a thin rod slid out of it, slipped through the gaps and pressed the button.
She got inside and looked at the girl lying on her bed, fast asleep. It was the same person Ankita met at the canteen, Bani. Standing by the window she waited for a minute. No movements from Bani apart from her steady breathing. She clicked on her watch and the image appeared. Her eyes focused on each minor detail shown there. With another click the projection disappeared.
Taking hushed cautious steps she slowly inched towards the bed.
Once close enough her eyes roamed over her body from foot to head, narrowing over the pillow rather by the sight of what was under it.
A pen.
Half hidden, tightly clasped in Bani's fist. Most importantly, not the regular smartpen, but a primitive ink pen used a few centuries ago.
Some wealthy families had a trend of preserving and passing down such things over generations, kept on showcases with utmost care, not strewn about like this.
She took out a tiny glass tube from her pocket. It had a wire as thin as hair on the lid, about five centimetres long. Opening the lid, she pricked the red marks on Bani's knuckles, put it back on the tube filled with a translucent liquid and pressed a button on her watch. A faint blue light fell on the lid making it vibrated and seal the tube.
She put it inside her pocket and pressed the bar switch. With a swift motion, she got out of there before the grills closed in,
Once outside Chhayaboni, she took a different route to Dey villa.
The path went through a secluded neighbourhood. Few houses, mostly bungalows, were scattered over a large area. It was the best place for those who wanted to be away from the hustle and bustle of the main city.
Halfway through the neighborhood, she stopped in her tracks abruptly. A sudden dizziness overtook her. Both of her hands were visibly trembling as felt the ground beneath her feet. A rough shake of head momentarily drove away the hazy vision and buzzing noise in the ears. But the lingering feeling stayed.
'Noo. Please, not now.' she closed her eyes and exhaled several times along with clenching and relaxing her fists.
Slowly opening them, she raised her right hand to look at the text that appeared over the watch.
[Scanning complete. All clear.]
Without further ado, she dashed towards the nearest house. Only the third floor had an open window. A precise leap and her feet landed on the narrow slab below it. The actions that followed were same as before.
After hopping inside the room, she leaned against the wall and took a breather. Feeling slightly stable, she looked around the room.
The place was pretty spacious with little furniture, but emitted a cozy feeling. The owner's aesthetic sense was also commendable. Among noticable things, the tablet and smart pen lying on the Board was still active. Someone was using them. But the pillows were puffed up with no sign of recent use. The designer clothes in the wardrobe were most eye-catching.
The dizziness suddenly returned, this time stronger. The blurriness had also increased.
'F*ck. I need to be quick.'
Another round of breathing exercise later, she exited the room.
There were only three rooms on that floor and a stair leading to the roof. After confirming the road to be clear, she headed upstairs silently.
An open door to the roof greeted her. Strange. Most of the time, people preferred to keep this door closed to prevent burglars from using it.
The moment she stepped near the door, her body stiffened. There was another person. Her feet quickly shifted more into the darkness.
Tap. Tap. Tap.
As the faint rhythmic footsteps caught in her ear, she cautiously turned in its direction. A knocking blow was ready but she paused when the person came into her field of view.
A boy about six feet tall was strolling back and forth, wearing headphones. Staring at the phone, his head bobbed up and down. A white T-shirt and pink sweatpants hugged his slim figure. Thick, wavey, black hair covered his forehead. The faint moonlight adorning his face gave it an ethereal glow like some deity sculpted it with utmost care.
'Pretty fingers.'
That was the first thing that crossed her mind after looking at his hand tapping on the side of the phone. But suddenly, she looked back up to his face and narrowed her eyes. He looked familiar. The moonlight was not bright enough to see him clearly from her distance, and she was not feeling well enough to focus properly. Thus she decided to quietly move closer.
Sensing someone else's presence in front of him, he looked up. Shock and surprise flashed in his eyes. Then that feeling slowly got tinged with a creeping fear, seeing a completely unknown person before him in the middle of the night in his house.
She was stunned. The person before her was none other than...
'Koushik..?'