Finally!
I was torn between going after Navya and staying and fighting Qureshi. But the decision was taken out of my hand when he leveled a gun at Meher.
Without a second thought, I ran out of the bushes and leapt on him. He let out a roar of rage, but before he could do anything more, I dropkicked him to the ground and began to punch the asshole in the face.
I had a small advantage because I had taken him by surprise, but that didn’t last, and he began to fight back. Just then, my friends leapt out of the bushes and began to hit him, as well.
Such was Qureshi’s steroidal rage that he was more than a match for all of us.
Just when he tried rolling over towards his gun, I kicked it across to Meher.
“Pick it up and keep him in your sights, Meher,” I grunted.
She picked up the gun without hesitation, but as usual, she ignored the rest of my instructions. Instead of aiming the gunat Qureshi, she ran in the direction where Nilanjana had taken Navya.
Fuck it! Did Meher even know how to handle a gun? I had no idea.
Qureshi landed me a jaw-rattling punch, but Dheer grabbed him with an arm around the neck from behind. Qureshi fought him off, but I got him in a chokehold and held him down until he passed out.
“Quick, he’ll come around any minute. Get me some rope from the jeep. There’s a coil under the back seat,” I ordered, as I sat on him.
Dheer held his arms down, and Ranvijay held his legs down, while Ranveer ran to the jeep.
CHAPTER 21
MEHER
What the hell was Nilanjana doing with a terrorist, I wondered. I looked around desperately and saw her walking off into the distance with Navya firmly held in her arms.
Samrat ordered me to pick up Qureshi’s gun and train it on him. And I did grab it, but I felt I’d be of more use if I went after Nilanjana.
Gun in hand, I ran after her, wondering if I really was going to separate the child from her mother at gunpoint. All I knew was that Samrat’s niece was not safe when her mother was cavorting with terrorists. I had no idea what Nilanjana was involved in, but it didn’t seem to be a safe environment for a child.
She turned at the sound of my footsteps, and her eyes widened when she saw the gun in my hand.
“Let Navya go,” I said, aiming at a point near Nilanjana’s feet because I didn’t want to hurt the child even by mistake.
Immediately, she held Navya as a shield, and I looked at her in disgust.
“What kind of mother are you?” I asked.
“A desperate one,” she snarled. “Now, get away from us before Navya gets hurt, Meher. Don’t try to stop me from leaving.”
“You’re going nowhere,” called a voice.
We swirled around and found Nilanjana’s way blocked by Diya, Isha, and Shivina.
“How did you guys get here?” I cried in relief. I had never been so glad to see anyone.
“We followed the guys,” said Isha.
“And we’re going to pay for it later because they gave us explicit instructions to stay put in your palace,” said Shivina, as the three of them surrounded Nilanjana and made sure she had no place to run.
“She’s trying to steal my baby just like she stole Samrat from me,” cried Nilanjana. “Help me, my friends.”
“Shut the fuck up, you psycho,” said Diya in disgust. “We saw how you just used your daughter as a shield. I really hope you burn in hell for eternity.”
She marched over to Nilanjana and grabbed Navya out of her arms. After a small fight, Nilanjana gave up when Navya started wailing from fear.
