The Cactus Blooms.....Part 3

Could it be::: Could it be a simple love affair, which Yama is looking at a different angle..but being a trained anti terrorist cop,Anthony Kaal did not want to jump into conclusion.He always went thru the process of elimination to arrive at any decision.

D-2 :::IG's office 6 pm

IG ::: what's the status Yama?

Yama::: Sir, good news .We have some leads and from it points at a boy living in Chennai.He could perhaps have contacts in Chattisgarh too.. (yama could never look at an issue differently )

IG ::: Then what are you waiting for,I will issue a formal order for you to move to Chennai by noon flight and you should be there by evening.I will ensure interstate protocol is maintained.Take your best commando with you.Dont forget your service weapon and be careful..

Yamas fingers already started itching..A mosquito to swat ,he thought
He called up Kaal to inform him of his movement to Chennai.Kaal had no choice but to welcome him but same time realised he had to do some more homework on the boy,Raaj.
He didnt want a mistake to happen

D-2::::: 6 pm..chennai

Appasami called up his contact in the crime branch,Arumugham,a straight forward cop of 35 years experience,who never wanted any innocent to be punished.Being in the control room he had access to all the going ons in the city.

Appasami confided in him about the issue and wanted to know about the activities of the cops on this .Arumugham sounded a little casual and told Appasami that Cops were busy with a terrorist chase who had kidnapped a girl from North East and had no time to be after simple love issues.

Appasami felt the chill..he knew it was going to be a case of mistaken identity.He again shared the news with Arumugham that it was the same boy he was referring to.

Arumugham :: appo surrender aaga sollunga.Illena vambu.(Please ask them to surrender,otherwise it may become a problem )AC Anthony kaal is a tough cop and known for his encounters.

Appasami :: Arumugham.Naan ungala than nambi irukken (I have hopes only on you ),Let the marriage be over ,the next minute they will surrender

Arumugham ::enakku puriyudhu,aanaal eppadi naan melidatthukku solluven (sir I can Understand but how do I convey this )Just ensure that the boy and girl dont surface in public. I just got the information that a top cop is arriving from North east.

Appasami :: purinjudhu,edhum vishayam irundha ennakku solluveenganu nambaren(I have understood,if there's any development, I hope you will keep me informed )

Arumugham :: surely sir.girl is coming to our place as a bride surely we want to welcome with open heart

D - 1 :::: 9 am

Aish was getting slightly worried. She knew something was wrong but didnt know what exactly.She was praying hard that everything went on fine.Tears welled up in her eyes,and Raaj saw it.He realised in the confusion of past few days he hadnt spent much time with Aish. In fact she was all alone and who ever was conversing with her were perhaps doing it more out of curiosity.

Raaj :: Sorry Aish ,about all these developments.But I am sure evereything will be sorted out.

Aish :: I wish so .But whatever it is,I want to be be with you,now and forever.When are we buying the wedding sarees. We were to do it today,isnt it.

Raaj :: Sure,I am just waiting for Appasamy sir to tell us since ,he is cooordinating the entire thing.

Aish :: I never realised there was so much complication,I hope everything goes through smoothly.I thought it was a simple love affair and marriage was the logical conclusion. But now I realise ,the society comes down so heavily on love ..

Appasami was maintaining mobile silence with all of them since he didnt want anyone to be traced.From the discussions with Arumugham he knew Raaj's and Aish's photographs must have been splashed to all police stations and in the event of Raaj being identified as a terrorist,he would be a sitting duck to police if he ever ventured out.So the only way was,after marriage surrender so that everything would be ok.He proceeded to meet Raaj and Aish. He was already late by several hours and he realised the youngsters would be tensed

Meanwhile, Raaj became anxious and switched on the mobile and called Appasami

PING, the signal from Raaj's mobile was tracked by the service provider who instantly relayed it to police control room.

Appasami,realised Raaj had commited the cardinal mistake and that he didnt have much time in hand.He reached the place in next 10 minutes and in no time he had both Aish and Raaj whisked away

D -1 ::: 1pm

Anthony Kaal on the way back home asked his driver to take a detour via Raaj's house.Something in him was telling that he would definitely get a clue on what was happening.His orderly and SI Maanikkavel accompanied him.As he walked around the house he chanced upon a crumpled computer print out which read:: Raaj and Aish cordially invite you for a lunch at Hotel Hemsagar at 1 pm::.There was no date mentioned on it.His SI Maanikkavel was immediately asked to check on it and they understood it was for the next day.

So ,Kaal realised that it was question of time before they zoomed down on Raaj and Aish.Also the service provider had provided the vital information of the mobile phone. But the main thing remained ::: he had to find out on the terrorist dimension.Otherwise ,Yama would do the rest...

He immediately ordered a quick check on all marriage halls and temples to find out if the marriage was to be held,the next day.Everywhere they drew a blank .In all the thorough police work,they had overlooked a point that the girl belonged to a different religion and a conversion was neccessary and this was done only in few institutions.

Appasami,Aish and Raaj reached another safe house and the program on shopping was called off.With the list,Appasami promised everything would be bought in time.He conveyed to them that the marriage time was advanced to before 5 AM ,an auspicious Brahma Muhoortham.

He left both of them around 7 pm with a clear instruction to maintain no contact with outside world and that he would pick them up at 330 AM ,the next morning.

D -1 ::: 630 pm

Kaal met Yama at airport and both were very happy to catch up on lost time.Went to a restaurant on the way and as they were chatting on the case in hand,Yama went into details of the girls family.Kaal realised that he had missed a crucial point of religion on this matter and he knew what to do and where to go...Yama was also restless..


(to be concluded)

TC
CU