Sidharth was after the missing women's cases for months now. Day by day, the number of victims were increasing and there was no significant progress in the investigation. They managed to find every single detail of the victims but failed to establish any kind of connection between them. Sid was convinced that the list was pre-planned but on what basis, was yet to be discovered. He was in his cabin, standing in front of the white board where he had made a route map of the case. He was interrupted by Kushal and Azim who entered hi cabin followed by a brief knock at the door.
"Sidharth... I think hume lead mil gyi hai". Kushal announced.
"What? Kaise? Kya mila hai?" Sidharth asked curiously.
"Sir jo jo files apne bole the humne unn sab ki chaan-been ki. Lekin useful kuch nhi mila". Azim said. "Lekin iss case se matching ek hatsa Bangalore mein hua tha 3 saal pehle".
"Sid maine iss case ke baare mein humare academy ke kuch officers se baat ki thi. Aur Shrawan yaad hai tumhe, humare training se?" Sid nodded as reply to Kushal's question. "Wo abhi Mangalore ka ACP hai. Ussi ne hi mujhe bataya ke uske border se 3 saal pehle 2 ladkiya missing hui thi jo Bangalore mein kaam ke liye shift ho gyi thi. Lag bhag 25 saal honge unki umar. Aur issi case ko follow karte hue jab unhone Bangalore police se baat ki to waise hi 13 aur ladkiyo ke missing reports ke baare mein pata chala".
"What? 13 ladkiya?" Sid asked with surprise.
"No, 16 cases." Kushal said handing him a file with the case reports.
"Lekin how did they find the cases are related? Mujhe inke beech ka connection janna hai". Sid asked anxiously.
"Inka short-list karne ka tareeka bohot hi brilliant tha, jo kisiko aise hi samajh mein nhi aata". Kushal said. "Shrawan ne bataya ke jab police ne jo latest missing cases the, unke ghar chaan-been kia toh do ladkiyo ke ghar mein se ek bill mila, same mobile shop ka. Pehle to unhone zyada dyan nhi diya. Lekin phir teesri ladki ke ghar se bhi yhi bill mila tab police ka shaq badh gya. To unhone uss shop ki raid ki, waha se unko computer pe ek software mila jisse wo inn shop mein aayi hui saare logo ka phone hack kar sakte the. Even jab log phone ke cover badalne bhi aate the na, tab bhi ye kisi na kisi tarah uss phones mein ye virus install karte the. Uss phone mein se mile data ke hisab se hi ye ladkiyo ko short-list karte the..."
"Shocking! And did they get caught?" Sidharth asked after carefully listening to everything.
"Unfortunately no!" Kushal said disappointedly. "Shop ke raid ke baad police ko koi aur lead nhi mili. Shop ke pre owners, agal bagal waale dukandaar sabse poochtaach ki but no result. Aur iske baad iss tarah ki se missing cases bhi kam hone lagi. Raid ke baad police ke darr se shayad wo gang rawana ho gye honge".
"Yes Kushal. This is our clue. Ye same gang ho sakte hai. Warna itni saare similarities ek case mein... ye coincidence to nhi hogi". Sidharth said.
"Mujhe bhi yehi lagta hai Sid. And maine Shrawan se baat ki hai. He had arranged a meeting for us with the Bangalore ACP. Jo iss case ko handle kar rhe the".
"Great! I think hum sahi track par jaa rhe hai..."
"But ek aur detail hai iss case ka jo humare case se match nhi ho rhi". Kushal said making Sid wonder.
"Kya hai wo?"
"Yehi ki, cases toh 16 register hue the waha, lekin missing ke 7-10 din baat 5 ladkiyo ki laashe mili thi, wo bhi buri halat mein. Unko bohot behrehmi se torture kiye gye the and unke organs bhi nikal liye gye the..." Kushal said.
"Sirf 5 ladkiyo ka?" Sid asked.
"Murder 5 ladkiyo ka hua tha ya saari ladkiyo ka ye to confirm nhi hai. Lekin unn 5 ladkiyo ke hi bodies mili thi, wo bhi shehar ke alag alag kone se". Kushal said.
"Azim... check with all the local police stations and hospitals in Mumbai, ke 3 weeks ke under shehar mein kahi se hume kisi ladki ki laash mili thi ke nhi." Sid ordered. "Agar result positive hua to hum right track par hai".

Sid returned from work to find an unusually moody Sana. "Oye..." Sid called smacking her head. "Kya be? Kon mara?" 

"Yaar... akela chod thodi der mereko". Even though it wasn't something Sana never says, but she usually says it with a hidden meaning of 'mere paas baithke mana mujhe'. But today she said it like she actually means it. 

"Oye... tabiyat to theek haina baby tera?" He said sitting beside her genuinely worried if she was not feeling well. 

"Kuch nhi hứa Sid. Abhi chod de mujhe akela, Please". She got up from the couch and went inside the room unhearing his calls which made him worried. 

"Sana... baby kal nikalna hai mujhe office. Agar time se ready ho gyi to hi mai drop kar paunga tujhe..." Sid said turning off the bed side lights as he was set to call it a day. 

"Nhi Sid, tu chala ja subah office. Mai nhi aa rhi". She replied lying on her side of the bed already. 

"Kyu be?"

"Wo maine 2-3 din chutti leli thi na... toh office nhi jana". Sana said not turning her face to him. But at this point, he was not ok with her white lies. 

"Idhar dekh Shehnaaz...". He turned her to his side and cupped her face. "kya Hua baby... agar tumhe kuch pareshaan kar rhi hai to share kar na mere se. Waise hi to karte aaye haina hum. Chahe mujhe jitni bhi badi tension ho mai sab kuch aake tumse share karta huna... hmm... ab bol, Hua kya hai tereko? Kamzori to nhi haina tumhe?" 

Sana could easily read his face which was covered with the tension lines. She let out a deep sigh and looked into his smile passing him a mere smile. "Koi baat nhi hai Sidharth... bass kaam ka pressure bohot tha pichle project mein, toh wo khatam hote hi maine socha chutti lelu...". 

"Ye accha kia... rest ki zarurat toh hai tumhe". Sidhath said a bit relived. "Lekin baby... timing kitni kharab haina. Kal se toh mai bohot busy honewala hu. Hume use missing cases mein ek bohot bada lead Mila hai. Agar mere cases pending nhi hote toh mai bhi le leta chutti. Aur poora time tereko tang karta rehta". He cutely pulled her nose and both cuddled to sleep. 

20 hours later, when Sid was back from work, he found his apartment empty. Sana and his mom both weren't there. He knew they'll be at Jay's. It's almost dinner time anyway. He took a quick shower and rushed there. His mom opened the door and they had their casual hi hellos. His mom went to Tara's room to help her with homework. Vikas, Jay, Mahi and Sana was at Jay's study. They all were in the middle of some discussion and were looking very happy. 

"Kya chal rha hai bhai yaha?" Sid asked taking a seat at the couch. 

"Arre Sid! Sana ne apna decision badal diya... Wo humari company join kar rhi hai wo ghi issi hafte." Vikas announced making Sid confused. He scanned Sana's face and it seemed gloomy. She was indeed smiling, but that was not reaching her eyes. 

"Kya? Achanak ye kya hua teko? Tune hi toh kuch din pehle bola tha tere internship ke baad hi tu company join karegi?"

"Ha wo... wo maine waha apna resignation de diya" Sani replied. Sid was a bit surprised that she  made such a huge decision on her own. She ran behind him every morning asking which lipstick she should wear and now he finds out about her job resignation like this.

"Lekin abhi to ek hi mahine hue the tujhe waha? Itni jaldi resignation?" Sid asked. 

"Haa wahi toh mai bhi soch rha tha... lekin isne bola