Chapter: Twenty   

The light patter of rain over the window panes were the only sound filling the otherwise silent room as Kirti continued with her scrutiny. She and Abhi had returned from Sekhar's home after Meera had come back from grocery shopping. The weather back then had been sunny but, soon enough, it switched back to the rainy skies and gloomy clouds. The entire group had looked at Kirti with concerned yet relieved eyes when the duo had arrived back. Concerned for her weird car chases and relieved that she had returned without breaking a bone or two.

The group was just leaving for school when they walked into Kirti and Abhi at the gates of their compound. In all the hurry, they didn't ask any questions and left with silent nods.

Sighing, Kirti scribbled the words '14th April, 2007' on a piece of paper and stuck it temporarily over the otherwise plainly purple wall where over a dozen more such pieces were stuck up. All of them were the dates when Ifaaz had initiated the hacks and Kirti hoped that it'd help her find some link but, alas, it all still seemed pretty confusing.

The only thing she found common was that Ifaaz carried three hacks every year consistently and two of the major hacks, till date, had been initiated on 15th of August.

A knock reached Kirti from the other side of the bolted door.

"Not now, Abhi," she muttered unmindfully as she scanned the pages.

"It's me," Shruti's voice reached her from the other side. While the rest of the group had left for school, Shruti had decided to take a day off. Maybe she wanted to avoid Rohan and Yash's confrontations for some time.

Closing the thick leather file shut, she shoved it into the duffle bag and walked, or rather limped, to the door to unlock it. Pulling the door open, she found Shruti holding a tray with two cups of steaming, hot coffee.

"It's a nice weather for coffee," Shruti spoke, gesturing at the tray in her grasp.

"But it's very un-nice for you to not offer me a cup!" Abhi yelled at Shruti from the living area. Kirti could imagine his sulking face and drooping, golden-hazel hair.

"No coffee for you," Shruti reprimanded. "You finished the whole jar of cookies last night before you left for Sekhar's place!"

Abhi muttered a weak denial about how hungry he was and that he was in a hurry so the cookies were pretty convenient and considering how tasty they turned out to be, he finished them all.

Exchanging a smile, Kirti let Shruti in and shut the door close after she entered with the coffee mugs. Strolling over to their beds, Shruti placed the tray over the nightstand, her gaze fixated upon the faint purple wall which was full of white little squares with dates scribbled over them.

"How are you feeling?" Kirti asked Shruti as she settled over her bed, picking up a coffee mug from the tray while Shruti took a seat opposite to her on Jiya's vacant bed.

"Um...I'm all good," Shruti muttered, trying to ignore Kirti's questions' context.

Smiling at her, Kirti placed the mug back on the tray. "Don't act so dumb now."

"What should I be feeling?" Shruti asked back with a straight face.

"Huh?" Kirti mumbled, confused.

Looking away, Shruti played with her brown strands of hair which had escaped out of her loose braid, trying to cut out the awkward air. "Should I feel sad that Rohan was behaving that way or should I be happy that Yash interrupted it all? Should I cry over this whole stupid mess or should I just forgive and forget? I really don't know."

"You missed out an important question, though," Kirti spoke, making Shruti look at her questioningly.

Kirti continued. "Should you reconsider your failing relationship with Rohan or should you stick to being suffocated in this so-called girlfriend-tag?"

Shruti locked her eyes with Kirti for a brief moment. Her ebony-hued eyes reflected a swirl of emotions which Kirti tried to decipher. Shruti was thrown off-guard with the sudden truth smacked on her like that. Taking her time, she passed Kirti a small smile and looked away.

"What's all of this?" she asked Kirti, trying to change the topic as her eyes rested over the wall which was decorated with all those dates and years.

Sighing, Kirti took her coffee mug in her hands, feeling the warmth of the mug in her palms, the aroma of coffee surrounding her as she inhaled deeply.

"Nothing," Kirti shrugged. "They are just some random dates regarding Ifaaz."

"Ifaaz... that hacker, you mean?"

"Yeah."

"Why, aren't they all days of national holidays?" Shruti observed, furrowing her brows.

Kirti whipped her head at Shruti, her eyes turning wide. "What?"

"Yeah," Shruti nodded. "14th of April is Ambedkar Jayanti and then 15th of August is Independence Day-"

"Oh my God, Shruti! You're a genius!" Kirti cut her off as she jumped off the bed, placing the coffee mug over the nightstand as she pulled a confused Shruti into her arms for a bone-crushing hug.

"What did I do?" Shruti asked with a confused smile as Kirti pulled away from the excited embrace.

Ignoring Shruti's query in her ecstatic condition, Kirti pulled out her phone and checked the date. It was 17th of January today. Scrolling through the calendar in her device, she recalled that two national holidays were around the corner; Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose Jayanti on 23rd of January and Republic Day on 26th of January.

Kirti's heart thumped against her chest as the gravity of the situation draped over her. Just a little over a week was in her hands for her to try and stop Ifaaz. But then, a thought encountered her mind, why simply stop him when you can fulfil your plans of avenge?

"Kirti?" Shruti's voice trudged her out of the train of thoughts.

Turning to look at Shruti, she bit her tongue to stop herself from confiding into Shruti about this discovery. Though she knew a lot about Kirti now, it didn't mean she had to be pulled into the mess any further. Kirti couldn't risk her friend's life in this.

Smiling back, she shook her head, making Shruti narrow her eyes but she nodded in understanding. "Just don't end up doing something stupid and risky," she told Kirti before taking a sip of her coffee.

***

"Abhi, answer the door," Shruti called out to Abhimanyu as she and Kirti worked in the kitchen, preparing lunch. The group was yet to arrive from school and the doorbell had rung.

"I'm not obeying the Mean Mommy who didn't offer me coffee today," Abhi replied stubbornly from the living area where he was busy working on his English essay which was to be submitted by today.

"This boy," Shruti muttered as she wiped her hands over the apron and prepared to leave for the door when Kirti interrupted her.

"I'll check," Kirti said and before Shruti could respond, she had already dashed out of the kitchen-cum-dining area with a hop, trying to land her right foot as less as possible. A part of her was pessimistically affirming that trouble was standing at the doorstep and she couldn't help but follow her instincts.

"Stupid hand," Abhi muttered as he dropped the pen over the table with a frustrated sigh when Kirti entered the living area. He had been trying to write his essay in vain with his wounded hand and, in the end, was left with nothing but despair.

Smiling with empathy at him, Kirti passed the sofas and held the door handle, pulling it open.

She stood facing a man and a woman, both in their mid-fifties as they looked at Kirti with their dark-hued eyes. The man was a little taller than the woman but reached Kirti's height and had a lean, fit posture. Kirti doubted that he'd look like a dwarf if he stood next to Abhimanyu who defined the word 'tall' anyway. The woman, meanwhile, had dark, black hair and a plump physique. Her face adorned a confused smile.

"Um...yes?" Kirti asked, feeling at ease. A couple, that too an old one, seemed the least of danger at present.

"Isn't it Jiya Sharma's place?" the woman asked. She seemed like the more amiable one among the two.

"Oh, yeah," Kirti nodded. "It's her place."

"We are her parents," the woman explained. "We came from Ludhiana to meet her."

"Preeta aunty?" Abhi called from the couch when he recognised the voice.

Stepping aside, Kirti opened the door wider and let the couple in. The woman, whom Kirti assumed to be Preeta, smiled at Abhimanyu and opened her arms wide when he jumped off the couch and hugged her with a grin. It was as if Abhi were her son and the affection made a smile spread over Kirti's lips.

"How have you been, baccha?" Preeta asked him and Abhi replied with 'I've been good,' before he touched the man's feet once. Mr Sharma responded by resting a hand over Abhi's head momentarily as a mark of blessing.

"Oh, hello uncle and aunty!" Shruti greeted with a smile when she walked out of the kitchen.

"Where's Jiya now?" Mr Sharma asked. "Paras and Yash too are nowhere in here, I believe."

"They are on their way back from school actually," Abhi explained.

"Meet Kirti Mishra," Shruti introduced the couple to Kirti who smiled at them with a Namaste.

Preeta smiled back and patted Kirti's head in a motherly manner, reminding Kirti of her own mum, Maya, who was probably residing somewhere in Delhi, trying to attain police protection for her daughter. The biggest reason why no public organisation, including the RAW, refused to lend a helping hand was because there was no solid evidence against any of Ifaaz's associates. Their attempts never managed to give away the fact that they were after Kirti's life and that made it all a wee bit complicated.

"I hope the boys aren't too disturbing," Preeta spoke to Kirti, glancing at Abhi with a gesturing eye.

"You think that I'm a disturbing element? Your Abhimanyu?" Abhi asked, feigning some fake hurt.

Kirti grinned at the little drama. "Actually, no. They all have been like a family to me now."

The conversation was interrupted by the monotonous ringing of a smartphone. Mr Sharma gestured that it was his call and pulling his device out, looked at the caller ID. "Work people," he explained before attending the call, taking a few steps away from the group.

"He's always busy with those 'work people'," Preeta complained, looking at Kirti with childish offend. "At the initial stages of our marriage, I was so very excited about the prospect that my husband is a police officer. Only now do I realize the fault in my stars."

Abhi chuckled out loud at the John Green reference by Preeta but choked on his laugh when Mr Sharma threw an annoyed glare at him.

"Sorry, sir," he muttered before hiding behind Kirti to avoid his eyes.

The main door flung open at that moment, averting the group's attention as Jiya entered, singing out loud some Justin Bieber track with a raincoat slinging across her shoulder, slightly dripping with the downpour outside. Her steps and voice faltered and Yash and Paras nearly made her collapse to the floor as they collided with her back when she suddenly stopped.

"My Juju baba!" Preeta called out to Jiya as she ran over to her daughter and wrapped her arms around her in a tight embrace. Jiya stood still, too shocked to react anyway.

Abhi snickered while Kirti tried hard and stifled the laugh that was on the tip of her throat. Juju Baba? Who even gives such a nickname to their only child? Kirti wondered.

"That nickname never gets old," Abhi muttered to Yash who now stood beside each other and both the boys cackled with a loud laugh, causing Kirti to break into a grin as well.

"Behave, boys." Shruti reprimanded in her typical motherly attitude. 

Author's Note:-  

Baccha= child (for those who aren't acquainted with Hindi.

So Kirti finally found a pattern in Ifaaz's hacks! How's she gonna plan her actions from here onwards? Stay tuned to know ;)

Oh, and what are your thoughts about Jiya's nickname? XD

I really don't know, it was something that came to my head spontaneously. 

See y'all at the next update! *waves a goodbye*