Chapter 1: The rescue
Manish cursed, kicking a pebble off the side walk. He had no umbrella, there were no taxis in sight and he remembered the public transport strike. Cursing under his breath, and drenched, he sighed and started walking home. It wasn't that far, but he really didn't plan on getting home all wet on a depressing monsoon night.
He could hear the angry waves crashing, just behind the buildings. It wasn't just him. Even the city seemed to be angry. Should he keep to the main road or take a short-cut through the dark alley? Who was going to mug a nerdy, skinny accountant anyway? And if they did, maybe it was the right end to a miserable life.
Manish turned into the alley. It was deserted, dark and gloomy, just like his mood.
Manish's shoes squelched in the puddles, the water seeping through his socks. He was halfway through when he heard it - a muffled scream, high-pitched and desperate. His heart pounded, and he hesitated, the hairs on his arms standing on end. It sounded like...a woman?
He took a deep breath and moved cautiously forward. The alley was a maze of shadows, the buildings looming ominously on either side. Another scream, this time louder, more urgent. Manish's pulse quickened. He couldn't just ignore it. He quickened his pace, the pounding of his heart echoing in his ears.
He was almost at the end of the alley. He could see the angry waves crashing against the embankment of Marine Drive, drowning out almost all other sounds.
He peered around the wall of a building at the end of the alley in the direction that he thought the screams had come from. His heart was pounding. There, in the dim light of a distant street lamp, he saw a figure, struggling against a group of men. One of them had her by the arms, another grabbed her hair, twisting it painfully, his other hand on her mouth trying to prevent her from screaming again. She was struggling, kicking and flailing, trying to break free, but they were too strong. They were dragging her towards a black van parked at the edge of the embankment under the street lamp.
Manish's breath hitched. He had to do something. He couldn't just watch. But what could he do? They were three, he was one. And he wasn't exactly a warrior or superhero. He was an accountant, for heaven's sake. He had no illusions about his physical prowess and didn't have a death wish either. But he couldn't just stand and watch the kidnapping of a helpless girl.
Cops! Yes he had to call the cops. Fumbling for his phone, he prayed it was working and not dead thanks to the rain. Yes, it was. Thank God!. He dialed and waited, watching the men drag the struggling girl.
"Inspector Pradhan," he heard in his ear. Manish's heart was hammering in his chest. "I-I'm at the end of Sea Breeze Lane. A girl is being kidnapped." Mainish whispered, urgency in his voice.
"Slow down, son," the gruff voice on the other end said. "Tell me what you see."
Manish couldn't look away from the scene unfolding before him. He struggled to find the words, his voice barely above a whisper, "Three men. They're dragging a woman to a van. She's fighting, but they're too strong."
"Stay on the line and out of sight if you can," Inspector Pradhan ordered. "and don't do anything stupid or heroic. Do you see the number plate on the Van?"
"Too far, too dark, can't see through the rain," Manish whispered back.
"We are on our way. Should be there in 5-7 minutes. Stay on the line if you can and stay calm. If the van leaves, try and see if you can see the number plate." Pradhan's voice was calm, commanding and reassuring.
Manish could hear orders barked at the other end of the line, then he heard hurried footsteps, car doors open and shut. Engine roaring to life, police sirens.... in front of him, the men had dragged the girl to within a few feet of the van. 5 minutes was too long. They would be gone by then. Manish had to do something, anything, to distract them, to give the cops a chance.
He couldn't just step out and be seen. They could have guns. What to do? His mind was racing.
He spotted a large piece of scrap metal lying nearby, half-buried in the mud. It was heavy, but he could manage. He carefully reached down and grabbed it, the cold metal sending a shiver down his spine.
Taking a deep breath, he threw it as hard as he could. It came crashing down, just a few feet away with a loud crash.
"Shit!" he cursed and ducked back behind the wall, out of sight. What was he thinking? That he could throw it right across Marine Drive? Stupid. Now they knew where he was.
The men stopped and looked around, their eyes scanning the darkness. Manish's heart was pounding in his chest. He heard confused conversations between the men, but he couldn't make out the words. Maybe they didn't realize where the sound had come from. Just maybe.
Manish prayed silently, peering around the wall, his heart in his throat. The commotion had given the girl a chance to break free from her captors. She was thrashing about, her silky black hair whipping around her face, her piercing brown eyes wide with terror. One of the men cursed, grabbing her by the hair again, twisting it painfully. The other two tried to hold her down.
Just then a police van turned the corner, tires screeching, siren blaring. Taking her chance, the girl kicked the man holding her hand on the knee. He howled in pain and let go of her hair. She broke into a run.
The police van came to a screeching stop across the road from the van and cops started jumping out of the van even before it came to a complete stop. On the other side of the road, the man was chasing the girl. A stumble, a push and she went over the embankment... into the water.
Manish's heart leaped into his throat. The sea was rough, the monsoon waves crashing against the shore, the tide high. She might have even fallen into the tetrapods designed to break the waves and protect against flooding. She could be hurt. She could drown.
Without a second thought, Manish dropped his phone into his backpack, left the backpack next to the building wall and ran across Marine Drive. Through the corner of his eyes, he could see cops rounding up the thugs as he dove into the water. The waves hit him like a punch, almost knocking the wind out of him. He was a decent swimmer, but the tide was strong, the current pulling him away from the shore. He could see the girl struggling.
She was fighting against the tide, but it was too strong. She was being pulled out to sea. Manish stroked quickly, his heart pounding in his chest. He had to reach her before she was pulled too far away.
His lungs were on fire by the time he reached her. He wrapped his arms around her and fought the current, trying to drag her back. She probably thought he was one of her kidnappers and started thrashing at him. Fuck!
He couldn't shout or explain in the roaring waves and thrashing sea. He held on tighter, using all his strength to fight the current. It felt like an eternity before he finally felt the bottom under his feet.
Two more sets of hands joined his. Cops! The three of them dragged her back. The whole thing had lasted maybe 15 minutes but it felt like a lifetime.
-----------
They were seated in the back of the police van. The sirens had been turned off. He never thought the red and blue flashing lights would be so comforting. She sat across from him. Both of them were covered in blankets. The cops were outside.
The van was parked in front of a small 'tapri' chai shop. The cops had brought them here for some hot chai while they finished up their work at the crime scene. Also probably to protect them from the media frenzy that was sure to follow an incident like that.
The rain was still pouring down outside, but the van was warm and dry, the smell of coffee and sugar lingering in the air. Was it an hour, two or three hours, or was it more that had passed since the rescue? He had lost all sense of time. It was night, but the rain had simmered down to a drizzle.
The thugs had been hauled away in another police van that had arrived shortly after the first one. The cops had questioned him and the girl separately and possibly explained to her what had happened and what role Manish had played before they were loaded into the van, covered in blankets and driven here by a cop who was both warm and sensitive.
Another police van arrived shortly afterwards and now, cops were milling about outside the van -- and at the crime scene for sure.
For the first time that night, she looked up from the cup of steaming chai she was holding on to and glanced at her savior, "Thank you," she managed to whisper.
Her voice was hoarse, her eyes red and puffy. There were dark circles under them, and her face was pale, her hands shaking. It was warm in the van but she was shivering. But he was struck by her eyes... they were piercing, even this tired and scared.
"You're welcome," he replied softly, not wanting to startle her, "I'm Manish, by the way."
She hesitated, looking down at her lap, twisting the edge of the blanket in her fingers. "Snigdha," she finally said, her voice barely a whisper.
It was a beautiful name. "You're safe now, Snigdha. Those men...any idea who they were?"
She shook her head, "No idea. They came out of nowhere." Her voice was shaky, her eyes darting around as if she expected them to reappear at any moment. "I was walking home from work, it was late. I was preoccupied and heard footsteps behind me too late. They were on me before I could react. I tried to fight, but there were three of them..." Her voice trailed off, and she wrapped her arms around herself, hugging the blanket closer.
Manish felt a surge of anger. "It's okay, you're safe now," he said again, trying to sound reassuring. He saw the officers outside glance in their direction, but they didn't come closer.
Snigdha turned to him, her eyes wide with worry. "I don't want to go to the station. They said something about taking me to the station for a statement. What if those men...what if they find out?"
Before he could reply, Pradhan opened the van door and stepped in. She smiled at them warmly, his very presence reassuring.
"I'm Inspector Pradhan. Don't you worry about those men, miss. We've broken up a human trafficking ring tonight, thanks to this gentleman here. Your testimony will be crucial, and we'll ensure you're well protected."
Snigdha looked at him, her eyes wide with concern. "But what if they find out where I am? What if they come after me?"
Pradhan nodded understandingly. "That's a valid concern, miss. But we have procedures in place to ensure that won't happen. You'll be safe, I promise you." He turned to Manish, "As for you, son, you've been a huge help tonight. I wish more citizens would help the police like you did today. It took courage," He said extending a hand that Manish shook, "but jumping into the ocean was rather reckless," he added.
Manish shrugged, "I wasn't thinking sir. I just reacted. I am no hero. If I had thought, I probably would have run away." He added with a sheepish smile.
Pradhan laughed, "Well, your recklessness paid off. Without your help, we might have lost her. I'm glad you're both safe now," Pradhan said, smiling at them both. Then he turned to Snigdha, "Miss, we'll get your statement as soon as you feel up to it. We would like to inform your family if you can give us their phone numbers."
"I live alone," she managed to get out, her voice still shaky. "Came to Mumbai a couple years ago after my parents passed away. There's nobody to call, really."
"That's ok," Pradhan said, his voice a blanket of comfort and reassurance, "Let's get both of you some medical attention and we will figure out the statement and the rest later on, ok? We have medics here. They will check both of you and decide whether you need to be taken to a hospital. "
Snigdha nodded, her eyes filling with tears again. Manish felt a lump form in his throat. He wanted to reach out and comfort her, but he didn't want to invade her space.
Pradhan nodded at the medics standing outside the van, and they approached. One of them opened a kit and started checking Snigdha's vitals, while the other turned to Manish.
"Looks like you got the worse of the tide, son," he said, taking out a stethoscope and checking Manish's breathing. "You okay?"
Manish nodded, "Just a bit winded. I'm okay, really." The medic raised an eyebrow, clearly not convinced, but he didn't press the issue. He checked Manish's blood pressure and temperature, then nodded.
"You'll live," he said with a small smile. "Just bruises from the looks of it. That cut on the leg needs bandaging, but it's not serious." As he took out bandages and medicine out of his bag, he turned to Snigdha, who was still being checked by the other medic. "And you, miss, you're in shock. We should take you to the hospital to get checked out properly."
Snigdha shook her head, her eyes wide with fear. "No, please. I don't want to go to the hospital," Snigdha said, her voice shaking. "I just want to go home."
Snigdha's voice was barely above a whisper, her eyes darting around nervously. The medic looked at Pradhan, and the two stepped out of the van, closing the door behind them.
"Please," she said to Manish in a whisper as the cop and medic conferred outside the van, "they will find me. I don't want to go to a hospital or police station."
There was clearly more to her story and fear than she had told the cops, but he wasn't a detective, and didn't want to pry. All he really wanted was for this to be over and to go home.
The adrenaline rush was subsiding, and his body ached from the cold and the exertion. But he couldn't just leave her here.
Once again, Pradhan entered the Van before Manish could say anything in reply.
"Miss, we understand your fear. We'll do our best to protect you. But there are procedures we have to follow. We need to take you to the hospital for a check-up and to get your statement. If you're concerned about your safety, we can arrange for protection."
Snigdha looked at him, her eyes filled with fear. "I don't want to go to the hospital. Please, I just want to go home."
Manish looked at her, the sincerity in her voice touched him. He knew she was scared. He remembered the fear in her eyes when he had found her being dragged into the van.
"Sir," he spoke up, "can I have a word?"
"Sure," Pradhan said and followed Manish out of the van.
"I don't mean to interfere in police procedure. I don't know what would have happened if you all hadn't responded as quickly as you did today. But I also understand the raw fear I see. Would it be right to make her suffer more of it by forcing her to go to a hospital? From what the medics said, he isn't hurt, just in shock. I am no doctor, but I would think what she needs most right now is to calm her nerves and to be in a place that doesn't scare her." Manish said.
Pradhan looked at him with a mixture of surprise and admiration. "You have a good heart, son. I must admit, I hadn't considered that angle. But I'm afraid we can't just let her go. She's a key witness, and we need her statement. She should be examined. There could be internal injuries. And we need to make sure she's safe from those men. But I understand where you're coming from. Let me talk to the medics again, see if there's any compromise we can reach."
Pradhan said and walked back to the medics.
Manish could see them discussing, heads bent together, pointing at the van where Snigdha was.
From inside the van, Snigdha watched them, her eyes filled with nervousness. Returning to the warmth of the van, Manish sat across from her and gave her a reassuring smile.
---------------------------------
Another hour or so passed. After a lot of back-and-forth deliberation, a compromise was reached. Pradhan wasn't comfortable with the unconventional compromise, but he got clearance from higher ups.
Not sure where the idea had come from, but it was decided that Snigdha would accompany Manish to his place. He was the one person she trusted and readily agreed -- anything to avoid going to the hospital or police station, Pradhan thought.
Manish gave his details to the cops -- home phone, cell phone, office phone, home address, office address, manager's name and phone number. Calls were made to make sure all details were legit.
Cops would drive them to Manish's place and two cops would be stationed outside his house -- as much to protect her from him as to protect both of them.
Manish promised to take her for a full medical check-up first thing in the morning and keep Pradhan informed every step of the way. Pradhan and the cops would come over to his house (or hospital if either of them had to be admitted) and take detailed statements. One of the cops informed his boss that he may not come to work for a day or two giving a broad outline of what had happened (it would be on the news in a few hours anyway) without going into too much detail.
------------------------
The medical checkup was uneventful. It was a miracle unscathed she was. His cut didn't need stitches, just regular dressing change, that he could do at home. Pradhan and a couple other cops came over and took detailed statements. Over the next few days, they became frequent visitors. Manish and Snigdha got used to their presence and actually felt secure around Pradhan in particular.