72

Khushi was driving and she saw him again. 

"This can't be a coincidence!" she thought to herself. "I saw him yesterday also!" she blurted and slowed down her vehicle. It seemed he was waiting for someone.

She stopped her vehicle and watched him. He was dialing several times. He looked hideous with that scar on his face. He was in full business attire clutching his briefcase. He looked restless. Her blood boiled looking at him. She wanted to whack him square on the face again. She tried to control her anger. 

"What is he up to now?" she tried to think. In frustration she honked banging on her wheel. He looked startled on the other side of the road. She ducked. 

Someone tapped on her window. She looked up! A beggar girl was selling some bright colored plastic glittering bangles. Khushi looked away. And then suddenly, sliding the glass of the window called the girl.

"I will buy everything you have!" she said smiling at the girl. Her face lit up.
"Take everything for 200 Rupees!" said the girl brightly expecting haggle.

"Ok. Take this 300Rs.!" said Khushi giving her the money.
"Can you do a small work for me?" she asked the beggar girl. She nodded.

"Take all these bangles and go to that man!" she pointed out at Sham. The girl nodded and turned to move.

"Wait... tell him to wear these bangles!" she said smirking. "And if he asks, who has sent these... point at that white Scorpio car!" Khushi said now grinning. The girl nodded and turned. Khushi waited with bated breath now sure about the girls performance. She started her engine ready to race away.

She saw the girl crossing the road and approaching him. She said something... he looked furious.. he clutched her shoulder shaking the girl vigorously. The girl pointed the finger to the white scorpio. Sham released the girl and moved towards the scorpio. He taped on the window angrily. A huge person over more than six feet weighing not less than 200 kg. got down and held Sham's color. Sham looked taken aback. The bangles in his hand fell on the road.
Khushi raced away humming happily. She was happy with her small bit of revenge....

**** **** ****

Two battlegrounds were getting ready for the final fight. Arnav was setting up the fight in Kanpur and Sham in Delhi. Sham was oblivious to the battle ground in Kanpur but Arnav was fully aware of Sham's moves in Delhi. This time, he was one step ahead of Sham. He knew the interdependency of these battlefields!!

*** ****

Aakash was driving towards office in the Delhi rush hours, weeding his way through the traffic and he saw Sham in a full business attire and boarding a black car. Aakash was surprised at his confident look. "He is up to something again!" he thought. "I must inform bhai!" he said to himself. But he had to wait till his bhai calls. He went to office and got busied with his routine work. He forgot the morning incidence! But that was not to happen. He got a call from Sham demanding reimbursement of the travel expenses he had made during his tenure as CEO of Del-Ta liaison. Aakash was flabbergasted.

"What? Why are you asking us? AR group is not a part of Del-Ta!" Aakash was angry.
"Yeah, but when I spent the money that time Saale saab was a part of it!" he said contemptuously.

"Bhai is not here!" Aakash said. "I don't have the authority!" he found out the escape route.
"Saale Saab is not here? Where is he then?" asked Sham.

"He is on a business tour, visiting several places!" said Aakash not giving the whereabouts of Arnav. Sham seemed lost in thoughts. 

Arnav called in the afternoon on the office land line.
"Bhai, where are you?" asked Aakash.

"Aakash, listen to me! If Sham comes and asks money under any pretext, don't give him a penny. And inform police! He is under restraint order. He cannot enter our office or our home!" said Arnav gravely.

"Bhai, he had called a few minutes back asking for reimbursement!" said Aakash surprised. A smirk appeared on Arnav's face.

"Aakash, it may take few more days for me to return. I am striking a crucial deal!" said Arnav and Aakash nodded. 

"Bhai, is everything ok? I mean do you want any help?" asked Aakash.
"No Aakash, I have everything I require with me! Take care of everyone at home! I will call you tomorrow!" disconnected Arnav.

"So this is working...!" thought Arnav smiling broadly. He remembered his encounter in Thakur Mansion!!

****** ********** ******

Arnav Singh Raizada entered the house of Thakur with the youngest of the Thakur. He crossed the hall and entered the inside of the Mansion. A huge expanse of the three storied house he could gape at. The huge centre square was open to sky and the rooms were around the square.
"Show me your room first!" said Arnav placing his hand on the boy's shoulder. The boy smiled at this friendly gesture and started taking him around the house and introducing him to the members of the family as well as his servants enthusiastically. Most of the old mansion was renovated. He could see a part of the Mansion untouched. The old stone construction was kept intact. No renovation had taken place.

"Are you not going to show me that old part?" asked Arnav. The boy shuddered.
"We don't go there! The old lady stays there!" he said looking frightened.

"There is no point going there! It's in dilapidated condition.. We do not use that part! It is not maintained!" said Rattan from behind. Arnav turned suddenly and glared at Rattan.
"I would like to visit that!" he said Authoritatively and started striding towards that part of the Mansion leaving everyone behind.

"No one accompanied him this time. He kept on moving. He could see the dusty rooms. The old broken furniture was covered with cloths... He kept on exploring all the rooms. He heard a faint whisper... he froze... stood there for a while listening hard to find out the direction and slowly started moving.

"umm.. nothing is there! All old material is kept in this part!" Rattan came hurriedly behind him. Arnav did not stop. 

He heard the bell ringing and the muttering became louder. He stopped in front of a closed small door. He saw that the door was engraved with silver design. He looked at the threshold of the room. He understood. It was the original Mansion Mandir... The door was only about four feet high and three feet broad. This was typical room where idols of gods were worshiped in the house. The doors were kept low so that whoever enters bows before the god first.
He pushed open the door. It creaked!! Someone shouted from inside. He was startled and looked behind. Rattan looked shocked and paced backwards not daring to enter the room.
"Who is here again?" someone shouted in a shrill voice. It took Arnav to get accustomed to the darkness inside. He removed his shoes outside and entered putting his right foot inside. He came inside and saw the lamps burning. He brought his gaze down and he saw her. A very old lady sitting with a Jaap Mala in her hand! He turned to face her. She was unable to see him. She wore her spectacles with shaky hands and looked up at him. Her mouth fell open. She tried to get up in fright..

"YOU! You have come back? For me?" she asked in a quivering voice. He bent down and helped her get up. She was a very old lady in her late 80s and very skinny. She was trembling in excitement.

"You... you look exactly like HIM!" she exclaimed running her fingers on his face. She had tears in her eyes.

"I ... I thought, he has come back! You... you are Nirmal's son!!!" she said now losing her control. He stayed calm. 

And then he had to face her outburst... She started blaming all the Thakurs for their brutality! She started cursing each one of them. She did not even spare the children. With the door open, her shrill voice bellowed the entire Mansion. People had gathered in the other side of the Mansion did not dare coming nearer. The women looked more frightened and were looking at each other. Surprisingly the old lady did not curse any of the ladies in the house. All her wrath was for the Male Thakurs. The animals!!

He waited patiently for her outburst to subside and then finally said in a deep, clear, authoritative voice "I am here to restore your position!" He held her hand and said 

"Mere saath Chaliye!" he threw away her walking stick and offered his shoulder to her. She clutched on to it with trembling hands and a smile on her face. He brought her out of the mandir... crossed the dilapidated rooms, came to the renovated area, crossed her threshold of the hallway and brought her into the hall. 

The elderly person who was still sitting in the hall clutching his mobile to his ear stood up with a jerk sending his mobile in the air. 

She saw the elderly person and opened her mouth in rage to curse him.
"No!" Arnav told her. She shut her mouth up looking at Arnav's face. 

He made her sit on the rocking chair and turned.
"Call everyone, Rattan!" he ordered opening his attach. 

He took out a document and handed it over to the elderly person. Rattan snatched it from him and read on. The title made him perspire, the further read gave him shivers. He looked aghast and kept gazing at the document.

"So do you want me to probate this WILL? I can, if you want me to!" he said in a deep deadly voice. The elderly person winced. The voice echoed deeply in his head. Arnav sounded like his grandfather. The document fell down from Rattan's hands.

"I have original title deeds of every inch my grandfather owned. This house is owned by my grandfather, Mr. Rattan Singh Thakur!" Arnav bellowed disdainfully. Rattan shuddered.
He slowly picked up the document from the floor and gaped at Arnav. Arnav came back to the old lady and said... "grandmother! Everything belongs to you! You and my father are the true owners of the property mentioned in my grandfather's registered WILL! And after my father, its me!!" She looked at him in shock.

"Wh.. where did you get it?" she asked. 

"I got it from his box!" he said looking at her softly. She couldn't control herself. She started crying. 

"No! please ... don't cry! Now that I have come, everything will be alright!" he said wrapping his hand around her shoulder. 

"Rattan! Look at the list. Everything belongs to us now! You don't even have this house!" he bellowed again so that everyone gets a clear signal what was he up to. 

"Grandmother will be the head of the family. If she wishes, you all may have to leave this house!" he roared again.

"But... how... I mean I don't believe in this copy of the WILL. We will fight out in the court!" said Rattan looking at the elderly person for support. The elderly person had read the WILL by now and was shaking his head hopelessly. 

"No! This WILL is registered way back in 1948 before the death of my cousin Shamsher Singh! This can easily be probated!" he gave his opinion. He looked up at Arnav and asked.
"What do you want us to do? Leave this place?" 

"That is not my decision. This house belongs to grandmother! She will decide!" He looked at his grandmother.

"Do you want them to stay?" he asked little loudly so that she could here.

She looked up at him confused. He took the papers from Rattan and gave it to her and said
"Grandfather has left this house for you with some of his property!" he said it loudly. She took the WILL with trembling hands and muttered..

"I knew.. he definitely had left me something... these rascals.. never mentioned anything to me! My son left me..." she started off again cursing them in her shrill bellowing voice. Arnav waited for some time to create the right atmosphere. He descended to the threshold of the hall and saw that the women had gathered with a frightened look on their faces. He gestured the oldest among them to accompany him. She came till the threshold and stopped. Arnav smiled and came back.

"Grandmother! Call the women out!" he said. He wanted to make sure his grandmother's position is reinstated and reestablished properly in the family. Everyone in the family should know who was the boss!!

"Ganga!" she bellowed. Ganga came up to the threshold and peeped out. 

"Call everyone out! Now that my grandson has come, the Head of Thakur family, you don't have to worry!" she said proudly and confidently.

Ganga put her right foot in the hall and all others filed up one by one with ghunghat on their faced.

"Now that everyone is here, tell me grandmother... do you want them to stay here?" he asked hoping her answer be positive. Then only he could get what he wanted from them.

****** ********* ********

"Arnav ji!" Khushi definitely was very happy when Arnav called her in the night.
"You seem to be happy, Khushi!" he said smiling.

"You know what? I am happy for two reasons!" she said brightly. His smile widened.
"You know, I saw him this morning!" she said.

"What? And you are happy about that?" he teased her. He knew she must have had done something to him. He remembered her kidnapping incidence and the way she had described him getting whacked by her. 

"No!!! let me finish...!" she flared up! "Go ahead!" he did not stretch it long.
"You know what? I sent him bangles!" she said giggling and described the incidence excitedly.
"Khushi..! please for God's sake, don't take such risks. Now that we are so close for the kill... don't spoil anything!" he said in a worried tone. She bit her tongue. 

"Promise me, Khushi! You won't do anything hastily!" he was serious. She promised. But both of them knew she won't stop from doing such things!!

"Ok Khushi, listen! I have almost finished my work and will return soon!" he said optimistically. She smiled happily.
"Are you not going to ask me the second reason?" she asked him sulkily.

"Ok! What is it?" he asked.
"I know where you are!" she gave him a shock.

"What?" he almost screamed. She giggled.  You called me from STD booth… I got the STD code… You are in Kanpur…!” she said giggling and Arnav sighed hopelessly.