If responsibility be not part of the grand melody of love that calls to one's deepest heart, then it is mere distraction and of it, one shouldn't be a part. And, it was when responsibility entwines with love one finds perfect passion with direction; and hence become a vector of heaven with horizon-bound velocity.
Raimoti had felt the core essense of these words, for the first time in her life, and she was determined to ace it with soaring colours of bravery, laced with the wildness of her soul, dipped in the tinge of excitement.

"This way, left."
She led Satyakirth through the dimly lit corridors until they reached infront of the basement door. It wasn't an entirely underground one, rather a lowered ground floor hall with half windows looking above the ground level, the bottom half being buried as a pocket inside the earth.

Raimoti punched in the numbers, and in no time the foreign combination lock clicked open.

"What place is this?"
Satya gasped at the sheer size of the enormous hall she led them into, filled with scattered racks of wooden cartons of various sizes. It was rather dark, with scanty yellow electric bulbs insufficient to evade the shadowed murk, and overhead, there was a large old-fashioned pulley Punkah with long rope tussles hanging from it.

"This was meant to be a safe house during the Mughal rule." She started to check the labels on the boxes.
"The nawabs used this place as a hideout during battles," She paused, "this was meant to be blast proof."

"Why 'was'?"
Satya too, was busy skimming through the labels as he opened one box to check it's contents.

"Because, the windows weren't there before, but were built later to get the electrical lines, and now this place is not fire repellent any more, rather quite combustive." Raimoti was already pulling down the smaller boxes containing medicines.
"So, how do we do this? First the medicines, and then the firearms?"
She had moved down a few boxes, as she turned towards Satya, wiping a bead of sweat from her neck.

"That's the plan." Satya smiled back, and even amidst the tightened tension of the moment, his eyes didn't miss to notice how Raimoti's cheeks and neck had turned red due to this sudden unaccustomed exertion, the diamonds on her ears gleaming brighter in that scanty light.

"I'll do it, the boys are at the back gate, I just need to move these boxes outside." His hands were moving faster than his words, and Raimoti couldn't help but marvel at the expertise with which he did the work.

"I'll help you move them out."
She smiled.

A sinister quietness had enveloped the entire palace with a cloak of eerieness. The clock ticked faster than usual, and as the two of them worked together, in sync, dividing the load among themselves, the resonance of their actions made them both realise the unmissable natural compatibility that they possess.
Both were speaking less, only when necessary, and the work was gaining it's momentum. Raimoti being exceptionally good at critical thinking, had suggested to move the contents of four boxes into one, pointing at the convenience of its mobility, and Satya's face had brightened at once at the brilliant suggestion.
They both were kneeling down, facing their back to each other, and as Satya peered inside a giant box to take out an entire content of small medicine viles, he felt a ticklish touch brushing on the exposed part of his neck.

"What are you doing?"
Satya shook his head instinctively, brushing off the touch.

"I'm doing whatever I'm meant to do."
Raimoti replied promptly, making Satya frown, his hands still busy with the task infront, only to feel the softness of her touch on his neck once again, a little intense this time, as he felt the feather-touches of probably her fingers, trailing down his neck.

"Stop doing that please, will you." He murmured, his eyes focused on the arrangement of the glass viles as his cheeks turned a shade of pink in an unknown likability.
He had never mixed his mission with anything personal, but somehow the feeling of Raimoti's touch had transcended beyond everything.
He was, rather, enjoying it!

"Seriously?" Raimoti hushed. "I thought I'm doing this really good, and now you want me to stop?"

Satya blushed at her bluntness.

This woman was of a different level altogether!
He mused, but if she wanted to play with him, he too would take part in it, uninhibited, willingly.

He exhaled sharply and spoke again,
"If you really want to finish what you had started back then, now is probably not the right time..." He meant her actions inside the bedroom, "We can always..."
The touch had now escalated to his shoulders, and although he could have, but he didn't brush it off with with a jerk of his hands.
He too was somehow craving for her sweet ministrations!

Satya wanted to say more, however, Raimoti hadn't let him complete the sentence, as she screamed out in a supressed excitement.
"Done... Ta-Da!" She whispered.

Satyakirth felt a little distracted, to see the cause of her exhilaration, he had turned around at once, suddenly, and it was the same moment when she had turned as well, in sync, together, and their faces collided with each other's, with the long rope tussle swaying in between them, brushing the front of his shoulders now, painting a tint of embarassment on his entire demeanor.
Raimoti's eyebrows were arched in confusion, and as Satya's nose brushed against her lips, he too, felt the touch of her large eyelashes on his forehead, and as she tried to murmur an apology, moving her head back, a strand of her hair got tangled with the small rock stud that Satya had worn on his left earlobe, pulling her closer to him at once.
Raimoti gasped, and Satya felt the heat of her fresh breath searing his cheeks, his hands had instinctively grabbed her bare waist, making her quiver a little.

It was only a moment, miniscule fragment of time, and in that moment, Satya felt a rush in his blood, with hundreds of butterflies flittering inside his stomach in a chaotic dance.

What was happening to him?

Raimoti however, was composed. She wasn't that seductive enchantress anymore, rather a resolved warrior, tasked to fulfill a mission. Her characteristic sensuality remained, but now her beautiful face had a firmness, in place of that meaningful smirk.
But, for Satya, this version of Raimoti felt irresistible... Bewitching!

"It's done." She had murmured again, and Satya helped her free her hair from his sensuous captivity.

"What's done?" Satya gulped, whispering back the words to her, as Raimoti narrowed her eyes at him, first a little and then sharply.

"The boxes, Satyakirth Sen, the boxes are done... I've segregated them all." She tucked her hair behind her ears making his heart thud, and then, she took his right hand and placed a small key on his palm.

"Now go... This is the key to the back door." She winked at him, smiling brightly enough to evade the darkness of the hall, or so did he feel.
"Let's do this Daktar Babu... Vande Mataram."

"Vande Mataram."
Satya too, repeated after her, his eyes shining in the light of her happy face, as he felt it's contiguous touch on his own lips.
"Let's do this."
Their gleaming eyes collided once again.

.................................................

"Mukherjee Da... You have no idea what this... this man can do!"
An inebriated Shashi Chandra was blabbering from the reminisce of his fading memories rejuvenated once again by his chanced meeting with the man seated beside him.
Trilochan was stirring a tall glass of cold lemonade quietly, as the drunken man beside him gulped the drink settled at the bottom of his stunt liquor glass.
"I... with my own eyes, have seen him fight with those brutal barbarian single-handedly."

Neelmoni Mukherjee frowned at the mention of the word 'barbarians', unsure to whom it was directed, as Shashi Chandra grinned sheepishly at him, licking his dry lips once again.
"Arey Dada... the Thuggees... Absolute barbarians!" He shook his head violently.
"I had gone to hunt, you see," he paused, "with the permission of the government of course... But then, those Thuggees were all on me."

Trilochan took a sip from his mocktail glass and exchanged a courteous eye contact with Neelmoni.
Shashi Chandra continued.

"But, those eyes... swear on my mother, I have never seen such eyes before."
His face was suddenly filled with a awed expression, filled with an incomprehensible fear, from which he had recovered almost immediately.

"As you already know, it's a little difficult for me to stay away from beautiful women, specially the little married once, the one and only forbidden indulgence of my otherwise unblemished life." Shashi Chandra let out a foolish chuckle hoping to gain some sort of acknowledgement from either of the two men, but instead, both Trilochan and Neelmoni looked away, trying to hide the imminent displeasure from their face.
Shashi Chandra spoke up again.

"But, Rani Maa... Swear on my mother, she was different... I've never come across such a woman in my life... A live incarnation of Maa Chandi... Right infront of me!" He paused to gasp, gulping down some more alcohol.
"Her long open hair, that white saree with those thick blood red borders, that firey vermillion on her forehead, and those eyes..." Shashi Chandra leaned back on the couch, and let out another sharp gasp.
"She stood infront of me with a dazzling sharp spear in her hand... And, I... I..."

He couldn't complete his sentence as Neelmoni suddenly spoke up in curiosity.

"Who is she again?" 

Shashi Chandra gulped and looked at Trilochan, his eyes had moisture in them, a very unlikely sight, or may be the emotional outpouring of a drunken heart!

"Rani Maa... Satyavati Debi", he swallowed, "Apurba Da's wife."

An awkward silence prevailed inside the cubicle as Trilochan tried to smile at the two elderly men, trying desparately to hide the tormented tornedo that those memories had given birth inside him.

"How is she, Apurba Da?" Shashi Chandra held his hands suddenly.
"Tell her, tell her I'm sorry for..."

"She's in a better place than us, Shashi."
Trilochan let out a soft sigh, without letting him complete his sentence, and Shashi Chandra, even in his inebriated state frowned at his words.

Neelmoni cleared his throat.
"So, Shashi Chandra, the reason you called me today, my daughter."

"Yes sir," Shashi saluted at the RayBahadur.
"But, I can't marry her... I'm sorry." His words were blunt and slurry.

"And why so?"
Neelmoni narrowed his eyes, a little displeased at this rejection infront of the new royal stranger.

Shashi Chandra turned towards Trilochan.
"Apurba Da..
You tell me, should I marry someone who had leprosy?" He chortled at his own words.

"Leprosy?"
Trilochan and Neelmoni gasped together, the latter a little louder, making Shashi pout his lips at him.

"Ofcourse leprosy, and you hid it from me!" He nodded his head violently,
"Not done Dada... Not done at all... I know your daughter is very... Veryyy beautiful... But, I can't afford to have someone like that as my wife, can I?" The last question was intended towards Trilochan.

Trilochan looked down.
"I should leave."

He smiled politely, and was about to get up as Shashi Chandra got hold of his hand and pulled him down, making him sit once again.

"Apurba Da... This is a discussion about my marriage, and I want you to stay." He said with a grave face, "as my guardian, from the groom's side... And tell him I can't marry his diseased daughter."

Trilochan sighed and looked at Neelmoni, hoping to avert the sudden heat the situation was brewing.
But, Neelmoni too, was under the influence of the imported scotch.

"Diseased daughter! Indeed!" He chortled too, and who might have told you this?"

"The doctor." Shashi smiled.
"Such a good young boy... And his eyes..."

"Doctor Sarthaki Sen?"
Neelmoni narrowed his eyes at him once again, his jaws had tightened suddenly.
"Sarthaki Sen told you that my daughter has leprosy?"

The name had made Trilochan's face thoughtful too.
Was this the same Sarthaki Sen he met at their house?

"Ofcourse... And I even went to met him at the hospital today." Shashi was drinking again.
"But... But, he wasn't there... And, then I met another one, such a scary one, and he told me that the doctor was on a call."

"Really?" Neelmoni had kept down his empty liquor glass and crossed his arms to his chest.

"And, who was this man again? The scary one!"

Shashi Chandra gulped, and scratched his nose thoughtfully.
"He had a cast on his left leg." He recalled.
"I don't remember his name, but he said that the young doctor treated him too." He sat upright and leaned forward.
"And, oh.. his wife...such a pretty little thing." He licked his lips once again, making Trilochan look away in disgust.
"She had a baby, and, and oh yes... He was calling her Bondita!"
Shashi Chandra's eyes had lit up at the mention of the name, while Neelmoni's face contorted in anger, however, at that moment, the only man who felt the true gravity of the situation was Trilochan, realising that somehow whatever these two influential men were discussing about, it definitely involved his family members.
A sudden nudge of apprehension had filled him to the brim, alerting all his senses at once. He wanted to know more, probe more, to understand the stake, but maintaining his nonchalant composure was equally important.

"That's Anirudh!" Neelmoni had gritted his teeth, his hand gripped the liquor glass with a dangerous firmness, and for a moment, Trilochan feared that he might crush the glass with his hatred.
"That bloody Barrister is like a cockroach... No matter how much you beat him, he just refuses to die!" Neelmoni spat and Trilochan gulped at his words.

Neelmoni Mukherjee! He had heard this name before, and had always wondered how was this name connected with his beloved nephew's accident!
Was it really an ACCIDENT?"

Trilochan felt his heartbeat rising with the release of more adrenaline into his bloodstream. It was like the old times, the rush... the anxiety... everything!

"Yeah! I've heard about him too... A very curt man, a headache actually."
Trilochan threw the words at Neelmoni who seemed to lap it up at once.

"Absolutely, Apurba Babu!" He growled.
"But, he doesn't know me... His life is in my hands, the right time, and I'll pull the right strings, and boom! All in ashes!"

Neelmoni laughed hysterically, and Shashi Chandra, without fully understanding the implementations of his words, laughed too.

Trilochan too, smiled.
"So, what have you planned? A man to man... One Royalty to the other!"
He winked at the old RayBahadur, in desparate attempts of gaining his confidence.

The word 'Royalty' had taken to his heart, and Neelmoni smiled meaningfully in it's glorious approval. In normal circumstances, he would have never disclosed his secrets to any stranger, but sitting inside the Calcutta Club, among a bunch of like-minded elites, he felt safer than usual.

"My men are on him, Raja Saheb." Neelmoni chuckled softly, and checked his expensive Rolex wristwatch.
"Just ten more minutes... And, the entire Roy Chowdhury family would turn into ashes."
He maintained the sinister smile on his lips and leaned back on the couch again, his eyes now gauging Trilochan's face minutely.

"Oh, well... Good... I mean...wow."
Trilochan tried to smile, but all that came out was a dry nervous chuckle.
"My granddaughter is in the cresh... I should, well, let me just go and check on her once." He smiled politely at the RayBahadur, and patted Shashi Chandra's arms, by then completely under the influence of alcohol, he too, blew a kiss at the anxious Zamindar.

Neelmoni noticed the change of expression on his face, and the way he fidgeted his way out, his eyes following him not towards the children's cresh but towards the telephone booth to the left.
He frowned.

"Shashi, how well do you know this man?" His eyes were on the man who almost was trying to make the sofa his bed for the night.

"Very... Very... Well." He murmured. "I met him once."

Neelmoni sighed.
"And, what did the receptionist say about Sarthaki Sen?"

"What?"
Shashi frowned, a little confused at this abrupt shift of topics.

"I'm asking about Sarthaki Sen. Apart from that man, Anirudh, what did the others say?"

Shashi yawned loudly.
"Nothing." He licked his lips once again.
"They said, no one of that name is registered in the hospital."

Neelmoni got up.

..............................................................

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