

THE IMPERFECTIONIST

(Book 1)

THE ORIGINS

BY

Pratik Deshmukh

A Moment before you begin

As you might have already guessed; the characters, people or incidents mentioned in this book are work of pure fiction. Any so called resemblance will be the work of pure coincidence.

This book will be the first of the series of three. And to add to the dramatics, it's my debut book. (HURRAYYY!!!........ LOL)

I have poured my best in it (I guess), to make this book enjoyable, and thus understood, it's a damn long process man...

So please begin, and I hope you like it.

And do not forget to comment your reviews.. I'll love to read them.

ITADAKIMASU ;)

## Chapter 1

Dr. Ross was working late. But it wasn't unusual of him. He generally stayed late in his office........., alone......., working on his plans. He worked as a senior research personnel in IGNUS INcorp. A pioneer company in innovative electronic appliances with its head-office here in Nagpur, the very centre of India. Almost institution in the country turned to IGNUS INcorp for custom and easy solutions for their work. Part of the reason for its success was Dr. Ross himself. The standings of the company was greatly due to his genius intellect.

But at this time he wasn't working on anything for company, he was working on his plans.

"Ellen, turn it on." Dr. Ross whispered, "COMMAND CONFIRMED" replied a voice. This voice, synthetic and lifeless, was of Ellen, his virtual personal assistant, a computer program he had developed to assist him. The device on which he was working buzzed to life...... beeped twice....... and died with a smoke cloud around it, burning Dr. Ross' patience along with it.

"Aaarghh, shit!" he roared. "Ellen, turn off everything. I've had enough for today. Don't forget to modify camera records."

"COMMAND CONFIRMED" Ellen buzzed.

He placed all his stuff in his front in a suitcase and kept his palm on the screen in front of him. A hidden compartment opened. He placed the suitcase in it and closed it. Taking his stuff along, he left the cubicle closing the doors behind him. Even the guard didn't seem to notice him. He went straight for his car and then headed towards his home. His mind was confused, his current project wasn't meeting his expectations. On the other hand the company officials were getting suspicious about his daily late night work. But they didn't dare to complain, as he was their best asset, and more specifically, their only asset. Engineers were fairly common everywhere, but those who pursued innovation were rare as gems and hence his employers also cherished him as one.

He had kept all his projects hidden, even Ellen, whom he had uploaded on the main company server was unnoticed. It was illegal, but, who cares.. And Night was the only time when he could get unrestricted access to all the company's available tech. And thus, every dusk was a new dawn for him.

He reached his home, parked the car and went to the front door. He put his key in the lock, which was just a ruse as the main lock of the door opened upon scanning his fingers on the doorknob. Typical behaviour. He looked once sideways and crept in. The usual cold, unwelcoming sadness of his house greeted him. But now it was his companion. There was no reason for him to love his house, or to be eager to return there. No one present to greet him or to await his return. This was another reason why he generally stayed late.

He was lying on his bed, staring in to emptiness when a thought struck him. He used to spend his time in his projects. They were becoming the sole interest of his life. Scratching the depths of undiscovered knowledge and making the seemingly impossible the truth. But he never thought of using them publicly, or he could even open freelance company and build up a fortune! "Fancy thought" he laughed. Earning money was never his goal. He continued staring at the ceiling immersed in his thoughts when sleep crept in.

Next day he reached office at his usual time. And sat in his cubicle working on concept of custom autoclave machine to reduce time, and increase efficiency and affordability. His cubicle was a large, neat and classic looking place having charts and blueprints stuck over every wall. Dr. Ross had just started his work when the door knocked.

"Come in",

"Good morning sir. Sir..... You should really give yourself a break, working tirelessly every time" Dr. Vidyaniketan said as he entered.

Dr. Vidyaniketan was officially his assistant, but it was just a formality, as he preferred to work alone.

"There's nothing left to interest this old man to have a break. And you must be here for a task more important than advising me a break."

He was annoyed of Vidyaniketan who was always trying to get over friendly with him.

"Oh, yes sir. The Director wanted to get the status on the improvised voltage stabilizer project. I've already copied your blueprints and am working on the models, they are running well. But I wasn't able to sort out the voltage spike problem. So, I needed help."

"Don't bother, that's long way above your pay grade. Keep the report here. You may go now"

Vidyaniketan kept the file on the table and left leaving him in his loneliness and his work. He had already worked out the problem in hand, so now he had a lot of time to think about "his" work. A thought had occurred to him, his inventions were much ahead of time, but of what use if he kept them to himself. He invented for his own satisfaction, or to say put it simply to keep himself occupied. But that was his selfishness to keep such great things to himself. And what if someone tries to misuse them? He had taken many measures to protect the existence of his inventions. But what if someone finds out....

"No, that doesn't seem possible with the measures taken by me." He had never left any loose ends. But one can never be too careful, because if you don't make mistakes, then you surely ain't a human.

And this way his whole day passed, engrossed in his thoughts. He never realized that it was 6pm already. He peeped out of his cubicle and saw the last of the staff leaving. Nothing unusual. Except for the fact that the light of Dr. Vidyaniketan's cubicle was still on implying that either he was still in the office which was very unusual for him or it was someone else trying to steal something. A typical Vidyaniketan style groan confirmed the former. Dr. Ross sighed and returned to his chair. Now as Vidyaniketan was present, he couldn't start with his other project. He hence decided to leave. Suddenly his cubicle door opened with Vidyaniketan standing on it.

"I'm leaving Vidyaniketan, so speak fast."

"Why a sudden change sir, won't you like to show me your inventions?" Vidyaniketan walked in as he spoke.

Dr. Ross was flabbergasted. How was it possible for him to know this? And this wasn't the same Vidyaniketan he dealt with daily. There was an air of dominance and nastiness in his voice. Dr. Ross tried to change the subject. "What happened, why are you here now, haven't I given you he solution for the voltage modulator?".

"No sir, that isn't the answer of my question, and surely you aren't the one here at liberty to ask questions. And you know which inventions I am talking about, don't you? So be a good boy and handle me those, otherwise......I'll have to use this." He took out a gun and pointed it at him.

"How did you bring that gun past the security scanners?"

"Oh my dear Dr. Ross, do you really think a person who knows about your experiments and other inventions despite your high security measures might be an idiot? This gun isn't metal. It's hundred carbon and a thousand percent deadly.

Dr. Ross's brain was working overtime now. He had never taken such attack circumstances in consideration, so he had to think something innovative, something deadly but quickly. What must he do?

An idea struck him, it wasn't the best but the situation didn't need the best, it needed the fastest and most practical attack and this one was near to both. But for it he needed to buy some time. He pressed some buttons on his watch to activate Ellen holding his hand behind him, And then used his wits to borrow some time.

"So you have been disguised here for the sole purpose of acquiring my inventions. I guess".

"Your guess is nearly correct doctor, I joined here...... here, in this filthy, useless company for you, but it fared well, cause you have proven yourself worthy of my time." Said Vidyaniketan getting closer. Ross started taking a stroll of the room "So, I suppose you work for a very big organization and you won't like to tell me something about that?"

"Oh how sweet of you to ask, and yes you are correct as always, Ross. But no, I ain't disclosing And please, Can we stop playing this 'delay the climax game'. I've got more work to do after I acquire them from you. So please cooperate, or else I'll kill you and use other methods to extract them."

'A few more seconds.....' thought Dr. Ross.

"But how did you come to know about my work and it being kept here?".

"Ohhh, are you so naïve doctor? You are not the only one greatly ahead of time. We have access to everything on internet or connected to internet. You were enough idiot to use your company's server. As your secretary, I handled your research expenses records. The type of materials you used clearly gave away your facàde. I saw through your attempt to disguise your work. It was extremely easy to install an undetectable spy cam in your office, though your security measures caused a bit trouble, but this much proof is sufficient for even a kid to join two dots. I just needed to confirm where you keep them and your late night stays just confirmed everything."

Now he played a wildcard. "But why do you think that I will oppose?? I'm myself bored from this lifestyle, I want some fun, some adventure, and some purpose. Maybe I'd like to join your organization. Think over it, what such prodigious person like me is doing here. I can work for your organization. You need not just my technology, you need my brains. Just think over it Vidyaniketan, of course your name isn't Vidyaniketan, it's an alias. But still, think over it."

## Chapter 2

Those words took Vidyaniketan by surprise. He stood there thoughtful, actually seeing that point, falling for Ross's ploy. This gave Ross the required opening.

"Ellen now" he shouted and a drawer behind Vidyaniketan's head flew open, knocking him sideways. Ross used this window to take out the briefcase and ran for outside.

"Ellen remove yourself from the main server and go incognito on our rendezvous server." "COMMAND CONFIRMED".

Ross ran towards the exit. The guard was lying dead on floor, surely Vidyaniketan's doing. He ran madly down the stairs, mind still confused and yet still working on something. He was near his car when Vidyaniketan came out running, face covered with blood and twisted with anger, and started firing on Ross.

Ross hurriedly got in his car and drove, out of the parking leaving behind Vidyaniketan firing and swearing very loudly. "You'll pay dearly for it" were the last words Ross heard before he went too far. He drove crazily avoiding traffic and moved towards outskirts of the city. Just then his phone buzzed with a text message. 'We are following you dear Ross'. He checked in his side mirror and confirmed the presence of car following him. He had to think something better....

"Ellen, devise a new route with minimum time and disturbance for me to reach the central market area". No reply came. He realized that he had forgotten to upload Ellen to his watch back. He sighed and hit the accelerator. He was heading at insane speed in such crowded road, smashing vehicles in his way. But they were of little importance, the protection of his equipment and his life was much more essential. He went on deeper into the city, and was successful in creating a substantial distance between him and the following car. He tried to relax. But it wasn't over yet. And to his dismay, there was a massive traffic jam in front of him.

This was a time for some action. So he got out of his car and pulled out a box from beneath his seat. He took the box and suitcase and started running towards the oldest section of market area.

He chose a very old building and sprinted towards it. He ran on the first floor and then jumped on the slab between buildings. He grabbed a pipe above and ascended on the ceiling of that building. He ran to the most secluded corner and opened the box he had brought with him and emptied the contents of his suitcase in it and locked it with a 6 digit password. He twisted the handle in a specific trance and that box vanished!!!!

He knew it was there but just invisible, one of his proud inventions. He placed it beneath the trash kept there and ran downwards. He came back on the road with the suitcase, which was in fact empty. Suddenly he heard a gunshot and a man beside him collapsed. The game was getting dirtier now. Ross ran with his full strength towards public parking. There he scanned through the parked vehicles and found one with keys left on it. He grabbed that bike, hung the empty suitcase with a strap around his shoulder and revved the engine.

He accelerated and drove out of the lot and turned towards opposite direction of sound of gunfire. He came across a garbage truck which compresses its garbage. An idea struck him. He waited for his pursuers to come in sight and then threw the briefcase in that truck. The loud swearing of his pursuers was distinctly audible. He then drove his bike away its top speed and watched in side mirror as they stopped the truck and took it under their control. He had saved himself as well as his inventions. He was a genius after all. But now he had to hide, he couldn't go to his own house. Going to the police wasn't an option as he hated them due to some past incidents. So he decided to change his disguise and wait for the situation to unfurl. He drove the bike towards the smaller town area. There he changed his clothes, took up a shabby appearance and to add a touch of expertise – he shaved his head. Now he was barely recognizable even to himself.

## Chapter 3

It was already near morning after such an exhausting night. He had his concerns about the whole situation, and Vidyaniketan, his employer, i.e. the real employer. He was sure they will cover him up with some false crime indulgence. But he knew this wasn't the correct time. He had very little money left with him now. He had to get back the box. But that was damn risky. And this adventure had left Ross with an inappropriate lust for risks. But it was prudent for him to wait one day and charge his only available invention, his watch.

He spent his whole day hiding and thinking ways to resolve this mess. But all were above his ability. He won't be able to do them alone. For the first time in all these years, he felt alone. Though he was always alone but now he actually felt the loneliness. He needed someone. But these thoughts weren't going to help him. So he set out towards the city on a bus the next day.

It was a crazy journey, being stuffed inside the bus. But the news he got while on bus on a newspaper was crazier. He was declared a national criminal, accused for smuggling funds from the company to rogue organizations and using his office as his headquarters. It said that he used to stay late in the office for the same purpose. He had made many modifications in the cubicle and used high tech gadgets to secure it. The article said that they had found some papers confirming their hypothesis. The police were ordered to use all methods to catch him, dead or alive. It also said that when his colleague Dr. Vidyaniketan found out his betrayal and to hide it he tried to kill Vidyaniketan and got away. He also killed seven innocent people including the guard while running from police.

This was getting really dirty now. Dirty and interesting. Though he had epected something like this, but he didn't imagine that it would be of such great magnitude. Now he was bound to change his identity forever, if he didn't prove himself not guilty!! He had reached the city near the area where he had hidden it. He went above the building, taking normal route this time. And activated his watch to find the case. But his watch didn't show the case to be there. Fear engulfed him. He ran to the point and saw that the trash has been removed and the box had gone with it. Or not???

He pressed few buttons on his watch, the case he had hidden had a camera and tracker on it. It showed its position very far from here but in the same city. He was surprised that the box wasn't where he kept it and even feared that Vidyaiketan might have got the case. He tried to confirm the location but wasn't able to get the exact location due to the damage incurred to the tracker. But there was an image. A face. A boy, teenager. This boy had the case. Now Dr. Ross was left with no identity, no money, no home, no job, no hope, but just a face. A boy. Who was going to change his life.....

## Chapter 4

"Wake up, Aarav. Having vacations doesn't give you right to oversleep, now wake up before dad gets pissed off. "

The morning sun was peeping through the window and Aarav tried to lift his heavy eyelids. His so-called vacations were winter holidays of his college, which he wasn't allowed to cherish. He scowled at this thought while sitting on his bed, still with slightly opened eyes. But he even regretted his momentary scowl. His family barely touched the status of being called as middle class with his father as the only bread earner as a service engineer in IGNUS Incorp. Aarav was the eldest brother from three, and in such cases the worst part is that you have to grow up faster than your age. To add to his already ditched condition, he was the so-called 'non-social idiot brat', also termed in decent medical language as autistic.

He got up and started getting ready, recollecting the steps to gain concentration which he had learned during treatment. He came to the hall and saw his father reading newspaper.

"So prince is awake! Have you done your exercises?"

"Yessssss. D.Dad." It came out as a hiss, which was unexpected.

His Dad raised an eyebrow but didn't say anything.

"Now listen, I'm going to work. Pay a visit to the bank to get my account status. Nothing else for now. Rest all we'll discuss when I return. You better do your exercises again, I don't want any mistakes." Saying this father exited leaving him standing dumbfounded. He knew he'll do it correctly, he was 19 now. He thought to do it as soon as possible. Because he had other plans......

He went to the bank. It was an extremely easy task for any normal person. But Aarav had to struggle a lot. Trying to communicate with other people was like going to a war without a weapon. He had an inborn fear for such crowded places. But still he was able to do it. He was the Extraordinary among the out of ordinary people. Soon he returned home to his mother who sent him for groceries. He hurriedly completed that as well. "Here's the gr...grocery mu..m. Mmmay I g..go now? "

"Okay, you are free now, dear. " Said his mom after checking the groceries and then engrossed herself to work. He then ran upstairs to his room and locked the door from inside. He was now free to do his work. On something he had found while returning...

He bent and moved his arm up and down under his bed. There was nothing visible but his hand caught hold of something which he then pulled out. It was an invisible box he had found.

Last evening, when he was sitting on his hostel terrace alone, enjoying the evening breeze, he got a glimpse of a man with a suitcase jump upon an old building a few blocks away. This was extremely unusual scene, which instilled his curiosity. He got up and started looking carefully. The man opened his suitcase and started putting them into a case. The stuff he was replacing looked like some electronic equipments which he wasn't sure of. The man then closed the case and did something and POOOF, the box disappeared!!!!

'WHAAT THE HELLL???' He thought. Suddenly he heard loud sound like gunshot and this mystery man hurried and hid that box in a corner and ran away with the empty suitcase. He went away the same direction he had come. After a few moments, he heard a similar gunshot sound followed by a man's scream. He had a rough idea what was going on. Maybe this man was a thief who had stolen some important stuff and the Police were chasing him. But whatever the case may, the damage was done. Now a battle had begun in his mind. One side said to go and check out that box. It had nudged his damn curiosity. While the other more rational side disapproved of this idea. This stuff was surely not of his level. But obviously, curiosity won by stark distinction.

It was an easy journey for him as all this was old part of town. Here there was very less space between houses as they are all cramped to make use of every inch possible, so it was easy to go from one to another. He reached there and searched moving his hand haphazardly in all directions in that corner. That area looked empty but he knew otherwise. It took a few moments, then, THUMP..... His hand stuck on something which he was surely not able to see. He slowly moved his hand around and moved the box. He realized that it wasn't as heavy as he had expected. He picked it up which was a difficult task knowing that the box was invisible. Though the invisibility of the box was the irrefutable proof that its contents were of much greater value. In the moment of excitement, he decided to take it with him. He was sure that the box has been hidden like this so it could be retrieved afterwards. But that surely wasn't his problem. However, grown he might be, he couldn't resist his such childlike behavior. But now he had made up his mind. He'll be taking it to his home and open it up, which incidentally was going to be the next morning.

## Chapter 5

It was a very tough task to avoid attention and bring the box till his home. Carrying something which anyone can't see looked stupid, many people gave him questionable glances, which he ignored. He was used to them anyway. As he reached home, he had hurried directly to his room and hid it under his bed, the universally favorite spot for hiding stuff and then waited for the correct time. Now that he had got all the time he needed, he observed it carefully. It wasn't made up of metal, he was sure of that. He could see a slight crack on the place where it fell, slipped from his hold while bringing it upstairs. He'd already figured out what could be the reason behind its invisibility. Retro reflective Screens. The cameras on one side displayed the image on the other, thus effectively making it invisible. Whatever he might be, autistic or not, but he was definitely one thing....Smart....People mistook his silence for his ignorance due to his so called disability, but that silence hid many thoughts, drifting imagination and his whole personality.

So, most probably the whole box was a screen which displayed the image of opposite side on the front. This made it look invisible or accurately speaking, camouflaged. This would require cameras to replicate the image. Judging by the crack, the cameras weren't on the general surface. So, a simple possibility was of the presence of the cameras on the vertices. So, it was time to try this theory. He took a hammer and struck at one of the vertice judging its position by his hand and VOILA!!!!, the opposite surface went dim.

"I'm right. As always" he said to himself, smiling, as a wave of euphoria swept over him. His voice never seemed to stammer when he was like this. It felt like being in his own domain.

Then he followed the same suit on the rest of the corners untill the box was fully visible. Now he observed the box carefully. It had a black coloured base on which millions of LEDs were embedded. In the front, it had a handle and a 6 digit password lock. Now 6 digit lock will have 10,00,000 combinations. Neither did he had enough time, not the patience to try them all. He was after all autistic, not ADHD. But the password thing.....it just didn't feel right. If he was in place of that man, he wouldn't have kept such methods of opening, as the ones who desperately need it will have all the methods, time and patience to either try all the combinations or find other methods to open it. He had to think for sometime before taking any step further.

He got up and looked outside from the side window. From the window of the next house, he saw someone, seeing whom his heart always skipped a beat or two. Aishwarya. He was obsessed to her but he never had the courage to talk to her more than a few words. She was reading something. He took a moment to admire her before coming back to the task in hand. He needed to refresh his mind, so he headed downstairs. His smaller twin brothers, were fighting over the newspaper. He quickly ended that fight by just taking the newspaper for himself and thus removing the cause of fight. In exchange earned some more scowls from his brothers. As soon as he looked at the front page, a similar face grabbed his attention. The face of the same man.

He wasn't surprised though. He had expected it to come up in the newspaper. He read through the news report. It said that this man, Dr. Ross, was working in the same company as his fathers, IGNUS Incorp. was a terrorist fund provider working from his office. He had killed seven innocent people while running away from police.

"Its rubbish. I had heard sound of bullets even when he was on the terrace. Those bullets were fired by the pursuer, not that Ross guy. They obviously didn't knew his location and had fired blindly, Whatever...." He sighed as he spoke to himself. He realized that he had completed that sentence without stammering. That was something interesting. Then he flipped through further pages of the newspaper, and returned it to his eager brothers who started fighting again. He was about to go upstairs when his doorbell rang.

"Aarav..check the door." Said his mother from inside the kitchen. He opened the door. A bald man wearing rags was standing at the door. But his face looked similar. Suddenly he realized it..

He was the most wanted criminal in the state.

HE WAS THE PERSON CARRYING THE SUITCASE.

He was DR. ROSS.

## Chapter 6

"Oh there you are, Aarav. I think that you are having one my possessions. I'd like to have it back." His voice was deep and he spoke as if in a hurry. But thinking about who he is sent tremors in Aarav's body. There was no way he could let him inside. He had to handle him.

"No sir, I don't know what you are talking about. I think you may have mistook me from someone else." Wow, he wasn't stammering at all, he never had said such a long sentence without stuttering. But this was no time to think about it.

"Oh, please don't you lie to me." Ross said, clearly irritated, " I've had enough in these two days. You had taken my case as I saw you on my watch. I tracked your location and came here. You are enough idiot to run around the town carelessly with that thing in hand, I heard people talking, about you going completely mad as you were trying to hold air. But I know otherwise. So please co-operate. Just give it back to me and I'll be off from here."

Now, Aarav was frightened. What must he do? Now he realized that it was really better off if he had not brought that box. But now the situation was upon him. He had to handle it as soon and as safe as possible. Because this man, standing in front of him was accused of killing 7 innocent people, and helping terrorist organizations. Such situation would blow up the minds of any normal individual, but surprisingly Aarav was calm. Frightened, but calm. Thinking about the possibilities in his mind. Finally he took a decision, which he thought was the best.

"Okay, you go to the backyard. I'll throw that box from the terrace. You catch it, we part our ways and you never see back towards our house. Deal?"

"Do I look like an idiot to you? How do you think I'm going to catch an Invisible box? What'll be the proof that you even have thrown it or where it falls?" He spat angrily but Aarav cut him mid-sentence.

"Its no more invisible."

This sentence fell like a bomb on Ross. He just stood there at one place. Unable to move or speak.

"Did you..How did you.......do it?" It were the only legible words he was able to speak.

"I just figured out how it worked. After that it was easy to break those cameras and it became visible."

"You Idiot. That box is no child's play. Did you try to unlock it?"

"No, I didn't. I thought that the password thing was just a ruse. Considering the amount of efforts you were taking to hide it from others, the password thing seemed just too....out of place."

Ross was again stupefied. Great amazement was seen shining in his eyes.

"You know, you're the first person I'm considering as intelligent. Of course besides myself. Yes. The lock thing is a partial ruse. The only method to open it safely without damaging the equipment inside is to insert the correct password with my finger. In all other cases the low grade crude nitroglycerine gel inside it undergoes a highly exothermic reaction and KA-BOOM!!!" He spoke while swirling his fingers. "I've told you this much as you have earned it. Now please just give it to me and I'll leave."

Aarav nodded. It was sure that this guy couldn't be on the bad side. He was about to close the door and head upstairs to retrieve the box when he heard a sudden sound. It was unmistakably sound of gunshot but greatly suppressed.

"Not so fast dear Ross.." Both of them turned to see a man with a scar on his forehead and a gun in his hand, followed by three other who were similarly armed. "I've missed you so much. Now kid. You have two options. First, you bring that box to me and then you die. Second, you die first then I'll get that box myself. And yeah, no use of calling to police as my jammers have done their work, and as for shouting.....you don't want your neighbourhood exterminated, do you?" He smirked and then turned to Ross. "Not you though, Ross. I heard that small chit-chat about opening the box. I need you alive."

"Vidyaniketan..or whatever your name is...Why are you bringing this kid in this? You have to deal with me, let him go."

"Oh no no no no, Ross. You are the one who brought the game till here. You could have just ended it there. I even considered your proposal of joining us. But no, you had enough lunacy to run away and give me this....this scar. Now you'll pay. We are The Perfectionists. We never lose."

"Oh. So thats what you people call your organisation. But how did you find me? I was sure you had lost my track." Ross was trying to play the waste the time game again.

"Well, we have our ways." Vidyaniketan said teasingly.

Aarav was terrified. But his senses were in place or to say they were functioning even better. He could sense the shivers of Ross. He could sense his mother standing few feet behind him hearing all this and trying to silent his twin brothers. It was an extreme situation. But somehow Aarav had the courage to handle it. Using this small diversion, he had come up with a plan.

Aarav gestured with his hand to his mom to go inside. Then he looked down and whispered to Ross. "Do what we had decided earlier, but do it fast. On count of three." Ross nodded infinitesimally. Maybe the situation had taken a toll on him too. But he seemed to trust Aarav.

"One" Aarav whispered. While the three guards seemed to have got alert.

"Two"

Vidyaniketan seemed to be getting suspicious of this awkward silence. He took out his gun and pointed towards Aarav and said "Farewell kid"

"Three.. "

This time Aarav shouted and jumped backwards closing the door with is other hand. Meanwhile, Ross threw his rug cloak on Vidyaniketan which gave him a small window and ran towards the corridor leading to the backyard. Aarav heard a bullet sound but it didn't hit him, it had hit someone else as a scream followed, which unfortunately seemed familiar. Aarav wondered who it might be but he acknowledged the shortage of time and ran upstairs. He had locked the door so there was no chance that they'll be able to get in so soon. He got in his room and saw his mother and brothers hiding there. He gestured them to wait, grabbed the box and ran to the gallery.

Ross was already in the backyard. Aarav jumped down from the gallery with the box and gave it to Ross "OPEN IT!!!!" and hid behind the Peepal tree. Ross obeyed his orders like a loyal servant and entered the password. By the time Vidyaniketan with two of his men reached there. As soon as the box opened Aarav emptied it, tapped few random numbers on the keypad and threw it towards the party.

Many things happened at once. Vidyaniketan tried to shoot the box which he beautifully missed. Aarav also heard his mother scream which surely wasn't a good sign. The box hit the ground just in front of Vidyaniketan and BOOOOOMMMM!!!!! A small explosion followed which sent the shards of the box in all directions. Aarav and Ross hid behind the tree.

A few moments later they came out of the trees protection to see the damage. Vidyaniketan and his men were lying motionlessly and bathed in blood. Aarav ran to his room without wasting any time, leaving Ross behind. He went via the backdoor and straight to his room. The sight took out every bit of life from Aarav. His mother was DEAD.

## Chapter 7

Aarav unconsciously fell down on his knees. For the first time between so many troubles, his head went completely blank. She was shot squarely in the head. A pool of blood surrounded her. Her eyes were wide open, which seemed to be frozen in the moment of terror.

A loud scream outside brought some of his senses back. He clumsily got up and reached the front window. A small crowd was gathering in front of his house. It was Aishwarya who had screamed, and was now sitting in front of a dead body. Aarav looked closely, the clothes looked familiar, and then he looked at the face. He was the person who had received the bullet from Vidyaniketan, who had saved him. His dad.

A feeling like a thousand bullets piercing through his mind engulfed him. The world around him seemed to be darkening. His body went cold and Aarav lost control over his consciousness and he fell down the window.

Aarav was flying in an endless chasm of light. He was calling for his parents, but his voice didn't seem to escape his throat.. Then they appeared before him. He tried to speak but his voice choked. His parents spoke in unison with their echoing voices. "You killed us Aarav. You". And they just disappeared. Ropes sprouted out of nowhere and bound him head to toe. Making it even more difficult to breathe. He struggled to break free, trying to breathe. But the more he struggled, the more the ropes tightened. He was about to give in, to the despair when suddenly a hand appeared reaching out for him, holding him, calling out his name.. Of Aishwarya. Just like a ray of hope in dead darkness. He steeled himself and decided to not to give in, he must not lose. At this the ropes began to loosen and she pulled him out.

Aarav, Please wake up. It was surely Aishwarya, crying beside him. As Aarav strained his eyelids to flip them open, he realized that he was somewhere else. A cozy bed with some needle pricked on his arm along with some beeping sound around him. He was in a hospital. His head was feeling sore and was aching madly. Seeing him awake, Aishwarya bloomed happily and called the doctors. As the doctors started checking his vitals, meanwhile he started thinking, which was the worst thing to do at the moment. The death of his parents dawned on him. He wanted to shout but his throat didn't comply. He wanted to cry, but his tears refused to drain. The beeping of machines increased dramatically and the doctors began to panic. The image of his mother and father was plastered to his eyes. Their words in the dream etched on his soul. "YOU KILLED US AARAV. YOU"

Then a hand held up his hand and his thoughts calmed. It was again Aishwarya. His rationale was getting reinstalled. His senses finally returned to him.

"Wh..What happened?" Aarav finally spoke.

"You fell down from the window, there was a loud explosion and we all came running and saw uncle was lying on the ground. Dead. Then we went inside and found aunty was lying there dead too. And both your brothers are nowhere to be found, the police later arrived and investigated. They also found three armed men dead in the backyard. They said that this is the doing of that terrorist Ross."

Realization dawned on him. Where were his brothers? He hadn't thought about them. He looked towards her, she was crying, expressing her sorrow, unlike him. His mind refused to do so. His mind was working logically. It was no point in lamenting. But there was a strong point in vengeance. Whatever the police might say, he knew the truth. Eventually, it was him who had killed his parents. Now his brothers were missing too. The man Ross must have fled, he didn't had many options.

Now Aarav surrounded by flock of relatives, was craving for vengeance. His brothers were obviously abducted by them. The Perfectionists, he recalled.

Between his relatives, he saw an odd figure. Someone known but not his relative. He recognized him. He was Ross again. Dressed as an old man. 'Why is he here?' he thought. Ross came closer and touched soothingly on his shoulder. But he did something else as well. He had slipped a note in his shirt. Then he left, just as anonymously as he came.

His relatives were showing so called compassion. Which he was getting pissed at. He finally spoke up "Please leave me alone, I want to rest." Everyone was stunned at his response, but they obliged. Aishwarya looked at him, worried, as she left the room. When the room was completely empty, he took out the slip which read. "I'm sorry. I want to help. Meet me where it started. After 2 days, noon."

This was a great opportunity to achieve what he wanted. He could definitely use his help. This time he won't fail. He lost his parents due to his childish behavior, his mistakes. But he won't lose his brothers now. He closed his eyes and let out snarl.

"Perfectionists........beware.....I'm coming!!"

## Chapter 8

The morning, sure, was pleasant. Sound of chirping birds squandered the otherwise silent locality. Aarav could see the rising sun from the window, the same one from where he had fallen, after his world was blown apart by a storm of his own making. Two days and two nights, and his eyes still refused to rest, because whenever he tried to shut them, the events would flood his mind. His parents, dead. His brothers, no news of them. And the root cause.......his mistake, or to put it in better word, his curiosity. He knew he couldn't do anything now to bring his parents back. But he could atleast fulfill their last wish. His father used to say that when he'll die, his body shouldn't be cremated, but to be donated for the purpose of Medical Research. So he completed the required documentation to donate both his parents bodies to a Medical College. His father..... a truly great man whom he repeatedly failed to acknowledge, his mother..... whose love knew no bounds, his brothers..... who always looked up to him for everything, were no more with him. But he was positive about his brothers.

He recollected that Vidyaniketan had 3 companions when he came to his house. But only 2 had come behind the house with him. This means the third was the one, who killed his mother and probably kidnapped his brothers. Kidnapped, that's what he tried to imagine, because he didn't like the other possibilities. And to further back the possibilities, there was logic. They would have detained his brothers to act as exchange for the equipment as well as an insurance for keeping his mouth shut in front of the police. The police were trying very hard, or at least they pretended to try hard to gather clues. But they turned blind eye to obvious facts, which was probably the glimpse of influence of the Perfectionists. Dr. Ross had become the most wanted criminal in the history for several years in just less than a week.

Aarav had forced his relatives out of his sight. They were just like the flocks of vultures getting ready to feed on the corpse. He knew them very well. Under the hood of helping an orphan child, they were just opportunists. When he had ordered them to leave the house, he could see in their eyes that they were no friends of his. Maybe some were really concerned but now he really didn't give a damn about them. Well, except........ Except Aishwarya. She had been with him from that day. She'd cared for him. She had tried her best so he mustn't feel alone. And he appreciated that. But even with his infatuation for her, he could not risk to deviate his mind from his current mission.

Ross had called him today. The place where it began, he had written in that message. It obviously meant the rooftop, where he had found that box. Ross said he wanted to help. But what help might he be able to offer. He was the no.1 on the criminal list, devoid of any resources or any connections. What good was he by himself? But still, he HAD go give it a try. His brothers were his responsibility now and he sure couldn't bear more on his conscience if he were unable to save them.

When the clock struck 9:00, Aarav got ready. He took a jacket and a cap in slingbag and left the house.

He started walking. Before leaving the house, a thought had crossed his mind. 'If the Perfectionists have really abducted my brothers, then its imperative that they keep an eye on me.' It was confirmed when he saw an individual taking all the odd turns he was taking which no sane man would. Aarav smirked "Perfectionists, huh! Not so perfect i guess." He went straight into the fish market and melted in the crowd. He wore the jacket and cap, and kept the folded slingbag in his pockets, and left the area. After walking some distance, he turned back and walked towards the bus stop. This time, he was sure that he had lost his tail.

The bus arrived as soon as he reached the stop. He boarded the bus and unluckily took the window seat, as the cold winter breeze and vehicle exhaust did nothing to lighten up his mood. The journey was again uneventful, which gave him a lot of time to think, which was even worse as those visions kept coming like flashback.

He was quite relieved when the bus reached his destination. He got down and strolled towards the building... He was keeping an eye on everything in front of him. As one can't be too sure if they are dealing with Perfectionists. Though he didn't trust Ross completely but seemed to be his only choice left.

As Aarav neared the building he saw some new vegetable shops near the footpath. And behind them, hidden inconspicuously was a beggar... Well a fat one at that too. Aarav knew too well that it was Ross. As Aarav approached him, the beggar noticed him as well, and started to move in another direction, as if guiding him. Aarav followed him, maintaining sufficient distance. He was led towards an alley between buildings. A perfect place to have the nice little chat of theirs.

## Chapter 9

As soon as they stopped, Aarav blurted "What do you have for me?" Ross didn't flinch. He took a moment to look at Aarav's face. He thought, 'Despite what had happened to this kid, he is still up in battle. Though suffering from loss, with memories trying to drown him in infinite despair, he was still clinging to every smallest hope to be able to atleast save his brothers.' Whatever the circumstances may, the kid was in this state due to Ross. He had to do something.

"I didn't even have the chance to properly apologize to you, but I am truly sorry. What happened, is my fault. It shouldn't have happened." He took a deep breath and continued, "I know your brothers have been kidnapped. And I guess I may be able to help you out in that regard atleast."

"You are one to say, huh. First of all, give me one reason why I shouldn't report you to the police or even better, to the Perfectionists? I'm quite sure they are keeping tabs on me. I give them you, they give me my brothers back. We part ways..... Simple as that?"

"Because I know as well as you do that it isn't possible. If the police wanted to help you would never have to come here. And as for the Perfectionists, I doubt they would have kept their side of the bargain. They even may finish you off.... Leaving no loose ends, you know."

Aarav was aware of the facts, what Ross said was true.

" Then how do you plan to help me?"

" I had developed an A.I. to assist me with my research and projects. I call it Ellen, it is capable of hacking even the most secure of the softwares. I can use it to backtrace the source of the tracks which had intruded the IGNUS Incorp's softwares so as to get their location. It won't be enough but it will be a lead. I then plan to try hacking their IP address trace which they might have left, then thus exposing the organisation's data to clear my name and of course to get your siblings back."

These words brought back a hint of sunshine in Aarav's heart "That's great. But why haven't you done that yet."

"That's the main problem. Currently I am completely disarmed. Even my watch's battery is worn off. And I don't have Ellen with me now."

Hearing it Aarav Blurted out "Are you kidding. So what was all that chattering about?"

"Let me complete, don't interrupt. I had Ellen remove itself from my office mainframe to save my data, but I can bring it back. It is still safe along with all my files."

"Where is it then?"

"That's the catch, its in my Home."

Aarav fell silent after hearing it, this was indeed a problem. "I get the problem you're facing. I guess your house might be in surveillance by the cops. So you need me to create a diversion while you get your stuff back."

Ross smiled beaming at Aarav. "That's what I like about you. You are good at analyzing situations after hearing the facts"

Aarav smirked at that "I won't be so sure, you know where it brought me. Anyway, I see no other easy way. Guide me then."

They decided to reach the house via different routes. Ross gave Aarav his complete address. Aarav reached there in half an hour, Ross was supposed to have reached there before him and was waiting for his signal. The area was quiet with very rarely any traffic. There was only one constable sitting across the road occasionally looking towards the house. This was a really easy task. Considering the lackyness of the Police. He just had to drive him off the place. He had to think something simple but effective. He waited for a while, observing the surroundings, and then it happened.

He saw a man riding a bike. He was wearing earphones in his ears evident by the cord dangling on his neck and a bag around his left shoulder. This gave Aarav an idea. He got ready, as soon as the biker crossed him he started running behind him shouting "Thief!!! Thief!!" This got the policeman's attention who got up and understanding the situation revved his own bike and sped after biker. This would surely give them a short window. Aarav turned around to see that Ross was already in action, opening the door and got in. Aarav followed him in.

The house was dark and lonesome, to the point of almost being creepy. Its bare walls and emptiness seemed to reach out to you. Ross was already sitting on a desk and ramming rapidly on the keyboard.

"Go grab a bag from below the table" Ross ordered while opening some drawers. Aarav found the bag which he brought to Ross immediately.

"What kind of bag is this one then?" Aarav mused.

"A normal kind. Which normal people use. Don't think everything I own will be some gizmo." Ross emptied the contents of the drawers, which was lots of papers with calculations and drawings in it. Aarav guessed it was the actual work of Ross, the research which he spent his most time on. Ross then opened another drawer and took out some actual small equipment which sure looked good.

All of the sudden the door opened with a bang and two men wearing black clothes barged in. One of them carried a gun. "We knew you'd come here Ross, now hand us the actual research. That bag didn't had what we wanted, and you sure know what we actually want. Hand it over yourself and save us the trouble of searching your house after we kill you.."

## Chapter 10

This wasn't supposed to happen. Aarav was absolutely sure that he had got rid of the man tailing him. Then realization dawned on him. They were expecting Ross to come here. The police were not the only ones keeping an eye on the house. 'How could I have missed something so obvious' But obviously they hadn't expected him to come as well. He was the unexpected factor. He had the advantage, he had to do something..

Quickly grabbing the chair beside him Aarav flung it towards the man holding the gun and simultaneously ducked and threw himself towards the other man who had a scar on his face, headbutting him in his stomach. The gun fell from the man's hand as he tried to avoid the chair. Taking the advantage of the surprise, Ross grabbed the gun from the floor and pointed it towards them. They had the gun now, but it surely wasn't enough. The scar faced man took out his gun as well, grabbed Aarav around his neck and pointed the gun to his head.

"Just as the boss said, you sure don't know the thin line between stupidity and bravery. But I gotta admit you got a fight in you. Well Ross, what will you do now? Must I kill this brat first or you'll hand that over like a good kid."

"Kill him, I don't care much about him anyway. But hear me a moment....."

Scarface interrupted Ross midway "Tch, Tch the same trick is not gonna work man. Boss already told how much of a sweet talker you are." saying this the first man grabbed Ross's hand and yanked the gun out of it. He then kicked Ross in the shin and spun around Ross twisting his arm on his back and held the gun on his face.

"You're gone for sure now. No one's gonna save you now, not even the police, I made sure of that beforehand." The man laughed loudly at his own words. "Now I've had enough. We'll just kill both of you and just take everything from this house, we can sort out what we want later."

Aarav felt cold, Despite the Pain searing through him as Scarface twisted him. He could feel the gun pressed onto his head. He could feel its chill draining the strength from his arms. He felt as if death was finally coming to him as he stood there helpless and powerless in scarface's hands. 'Is this my end? Is my quest for vengeance gonna come to an end so soon? Can't I even save my brothers? Everything that has happened is my fault, my parents already paid for it with their life. Can't I do something? Sudden pain brought Aarav back to his senses as scarface kicked him behind his knee to kneel him.

"Here you die brat, hahahaha". Scarface laughed like a maniac as he put his finger on the trigger and BAANNNGGG!!!!!! But Aarav could still feel he was alive. Scarface's hands loosened and he fell to the ground. Someone spoke behind him, "Well, I've heard enough. Leave Ross or you will share the same fate as your friend here."

Aarav saw a man standing at the door with a gun now pointed towards the man holding Ross. He looked similar in some sense but Aarav couldn't recollect from where. The other assaulter, now greatly outnumbered, looked as if he was considering his options. Taking the advantage of the confusion, Ross yanked his head backwards and thus hit his captor on the face. He was sure that he felt something crush beneath his head. He then freed himself from the man and hit his elbow on the gun holding arm of the man, who dropped the gun. The newcomer then jumped on the man and tried to take him down, but the man, even though hurt and confused ducked and avoided the newcomer and ran outside, banging the door shut behind him. The newcomer turned and reached the door, opened it, only to find that the man was fleeing on his bike. He guessed that they had their escape ready beforehand. But now he could see some people coming out of their houses and even gathering around the area. The gunshot had alarmed them.

They couldn't go out that way as they didn't have any vehicles at hand to get away. He turned inside and closed the door behind him and said to Ross "He fled, and so must we. But we can't go through this way. The gunshot has alerted the public. Is there any other way to get out?"

Ross wanted to ask the man's identity, but he understood that this could wait. They had a dead man lying on the floor and if he was to be seen, worse will happen.

"Yes there is. We can go to the backyard by the kitchen and jump the wall, it's not too high."

The newcomer urged "Lead the way then, time's running out.."

Aarav still asked "But who are you?"

The man smirked and said "Your last hope"

## Chapter 11

They had come far from the house, with the newcomer. Though no one was following them, which was for sure. Ross had also brought his bag together. Though Aarav didn't know whether Ross was able to get everything or not, as they hadn't spoken a word since running from the house. They had just done as the newcomer said..... The newcomer..... He was a middle aged man with less hair on his head than on his arms or face. He was short statured but exceptionally well built, and well trained as well as evident from the skirmish. Aarav wanted to ask about him but he seemed intent on going somewhere safe before he explained anything to them, so they had no other option other than to follow him.

He led them towards the far edge of the town to a seemingly abandoned building. As soon as they reached inside, Ross, who had taken one of the guns from their assaulters pointed it at the man's head and said, "I know you followed us to my house. You were at the vegetable shop behind which I was hidden. I guess even you are behind that research. So explain yourself fast or I will blow up your head." Suddenly even Aarav realized the nagging feeling he was having since seeing this man, he had seen him at the vegetable shop. It was obvious he was waiting there for them and had followed them to the house. "Now, Now!!! Calm down a bit, will ya? I just saved both of your sorry lives and this is the way you thank me...." He spoke while laughing. Then his expressions turned stern. "Yes, I was waiting there, but not for you specifically."

"What do you mean by not for us specifically, and who do you work for? Even though you just saved our lives, we can't be so sure of you. You might just be another person with the same motive as theirs." Aarav asked the man, to which the man chuckled and replied

"Even if I was behind your stuff, then you have just walked into my trap... I had plenty of chances to rob you if I wanted to on the road itself. I wouldn't even have to dispose you off.... Well, I'll answer your doubts to the best. Firstly, I was assigned to inspect and survey the area where the suspected criminal Ross had killed two individuals. I was acting incognito, people are more likely to discuss events between them than with the police. Thus I'd get the actual picture of what had happened. The most interesting fact I picked up there was that the killings were done by the men chasing, not the one getting chased. It seems that the police reports were a bit off the road. And luckily, I found you, Ross, dressed as a beggar. Impatient. As if waiting for someone. Then this kid arrived, you recognised him and started off with him following. When you split I could only follow one so I chose Ross. Eventually you both arrived at the same location. Shortly after you entered, those two emerged from shadows and snuck in. I followed and got to listen to your conversations. After I got the Idea of what was going on, I had to intervene."

Everything the man said fit properly to the events that had occured, "You still haven't told your identity. How do you expect us to trust you in such a case?"

At this the man laughed, "Do I need to? I thought you were smart. Though I'm not supposed to tell you, but you are open to making logical guesses."

Aarav replied to that, "I would guess you are some kind of detective or agent, working for the government I guess as you killed that man so easily without thinking of repercussions or orders. You don't seem surprised at the involvement or even existence of the organisation called as Perfectionists, so you must be working for the government at a very high level."

The man looked towards Aarav with eyes full of surprise. He kept quiet for a bit, as if thinking what to say next. Then replied "I really commend you kid. But I ain't or should I say can't either accept it or deny it. This should give you the answer. By the way, you can call me Raghu"

"Anyway, you've got yourself into a deep mess. We have to sort it out as soon as possible. And your brothers as well. I know about what happened to you, And I am really sorry for that. The fact that you despite being powerless, resourceless are playing your part to save them makes me admire you even more. But you shouldn't have done it. The Perfectionists is a deeply rooted organisation with its branches everywhere, and it's humongous. An ant like you have no standings in front of it."

Hearing this tremendous anger surged in Aarav. He raged out, "Don't you dare teach me what to do and what to not. I will save my brothers. If you can't help me, get the hell away from my way. I'll do it alone if I have to. You have no right to say anything."

The man's expressions remained unwavered. He calmly replied, "I respect your emotions, but at any rate think practically, do you have any way to know where your brothers are, if they are alive."

At this Ross's face brightened as he said, "I can help with that.."

Raghu retorted "Please do elaborate, Mr. Ross. Currently you can't even help yourself, how do you plan to help him? Please don't give him false hopes for nothing."

Ross grinned proudly, "I managed to plant a tracker on the man who ran away, while he was clutching me."

Aarav was overwhelmed at this.... Finally a ray of hope appeared, and he had no intention to let it vanish unravelled.

This astonished even Raghu, but he still objected, "What difference does that make, you have no idea if he will go to your brothers. Even if you know where they are, you can't tackle everything by yourself. You barely survived against those two, what will you do if there are many? And don't hope of any external help as of yet. As I said, that organisation's roots are a lot deeper than you think."

Aarav, whose hopes had risen again from the dead, finally spoke, "Mr. Raghu, as I mentioned earlier, whatever you say, it's not going to stop me from trying. I am truly grateful to you for having saved our sorry asses right when we needed, but if you can't help me any further, then just stay out of it."

Raghu sighed, and after some consideration finally spoke, "Fine kid, I'll help you both. I have to prevent Perfectionists from whatever their ambitions seem to be. So firstly, you both can't be seen. You have to stay here. Secondly, Ross, tell me about that tracker of yours in detail. Then I'll scout the area and then we'll finally discuss how we can proceed. But for now, take rest."

Neither Ross nor Aarav could deny the proposal for rest. It had been a tough day...

It was half past nine. Everyone had finished their dinner with Instant Noodles which Raghu had somehow procured. Aarav was lying on the barely enough large mattress that could be arranged. He tried to sleep but as usual, sleep had renounced his company. So he thought about today's events. 'I finally have some lead at finding my brothers. But Raghu is right, I can't do anything, not alone... I am not even an ant...When scarface had placed his gun on my head, I was so utterly helpless... I had almost given up. I am weak. I can't prove any better in the shape I am currently.....I have to get stronger.....'

Exhausted as he was, eventually after the three sleepless nights, sleep curled him in blanket of nightmares.

## Chapter 12

Next day everyone woke up early and Ross started to explain his tracking system. "The tracker I had planted on his shirt is directly connected to the satellite. I receive its corresponding signal on my watch. Wherever he will go, I will get his exact location as well as the record of where he has been for how much time while this tracker was on him. As of now, he is on the other side of the city, in some kind of warehouse. He has been there since he fled yesterday. It's likely that your brothers might be there, but we can't work on plain guesses, can we?"

Now Ross turned to Raghu "So I suggest that you survey the area first."

Raghu was flabbergasted. He tried to hide the surprise but Aarav caught his eye. Raghu then said while looking away. "Alright. I'll go and see if I get any leads. But you two are not supposed to leave this house till I return." Saying this he promptly left the house after confirming the address.

Right after Raghu left, Aarav asked lightly "Doesn't this guy seem bit suspicious?"

"You don't trust him, do you?"

"Well, I don't seem to have any reason to do so. And don't really feel like trusting him. He's far too elusive." Aarav said

Ross raised an eyebrow at that, "What about me then? You don't know anything about me either. Do you trust me?"

Aarav said while shrugging, "True as you are, I really don't know anything about you. But I had trusted you instinctively. The same instincts prevent me to do the same to Raghu."

Ross said while chuckling lightly "As we are in the same boat anyway, we ought to know about each other. I'll begin then. I am Dr Ross. I was Senior Engineer and Research personnel at the IGNUS InCorp till few days ago." Then Ross debriefed Aarav about all that had actually happened. Aarav listened intently. Putting piece by piece together. Now many things were making sense.

Finally Aarav asked "Do you have any idea about what exactly they are behind? They seem to need it desperately."

"I have pretty good idea about that, but I'll tell you about that more when the time comes. But it is really crucial that they don't get their hands on it. The fate of the country can depend on it. And believe me when I say that I'm dead serious."

The environment tensed at those words. Aarav fell into deep thought. Not daring to speak a word. Unlike him, Ross was in a much precarious situation. Aarav inwardly decided that he will surely help Ross redeem himself and stop the plans of Perfectionists, but surely after saving his own brothers... They were his main goal right now.

To lighten the mood, Ross changed the topic, "The bargain goes both ways Aarav. Now you tell me more about yourself."

Aarav smiled a bit and replied, "There's really not much to it. I'm just an out of place autistic kid, who can't do anything properly."

"You surely joke a lot. You don't seem to be autistic in any manner. And you really seem to underestimate yourself, you are a curious fellow. You were even able to deduce the exact mechanism of my invisible bag and the lock trick. You are an observant and logically deducing person. You are equally courageous. I was amazed how quickly you took action yesterday. Your parents will really be proud of you...."

At the last statement Ross realized that he had ventured in the forbidden zone. Aarav's expressions became gloomy. Realizing his mistake, Ross immediately apologized. "I'm really sorry, Aarav. I didn't mean to...." Aarav cut him midway "Never mind. I know I can't change that now. But for not letting anything like that happen in the future, I'll have to get better... I am weak as well. The encounter with the two men in your house had proved how helpless I can become..."

"You fought pretty well for your age. You just need to train a bit. And I think I can help you in that case a bit."

Aarav's ears perked up at that. Seeing his apparent interest, Ross continued, "In my youth I had travelled to China as an exchange student. There a kind of martial arts piqued my interest. It's called Tai Chi. Its focused on controlling ones movements to the finest levels with the help of meditation and practice. With your shape, this one would be the best for you."

Aarav was awed, and definitely curious, "Can you....Can you teach me that."

"Well, I happen to be well versed in Tai Chi myself, though nowadays my body doesn't allow me much. But yes, I can teach you. But beware, its training in painfully slow and arduous and yes, painful. But you must not stop it once you start."

"I'll do anything you say. And giving up is against my pledge."

Hearing this, a satisfied smile appeared on Ross's face, which he suddenly replaced with a stern face. "Raghu isn't going to come anytime soon. And we don't seem to have a lot to do. Let's start right away then."

The hall in the house was large enough, they just had to shift the furniture. Now Ross began demonstrating Aarav the movements. He moved from one position to another very slowly. Aarav started to imitate the same, but he soon realized that it isn't going to be easy. The stances were already straining his muscles, doing it slowly on top of it was taking the toll on him. He had to concentrate fully to just remain upright, in which he failed successfully many times, but Ross motivated him and kept correcting his mistakes.

By the end of one hour, Aarav fell down, exhausted, with each and every muscle in his body screaming. At that Ross said, "This was just the preparatory stage. You must practice it daily. Once you adapt to it, we'll move ahead, if we happen to remain together."

"What it was just the preparatory stage!!!! You are joking right?? I'm sure I'll die if this continues"

Ross just shrugged, hiding his grin, "You literally asked for it."

Raghu returned in a few hours along with some food packets. Trustworthy or not, Aarav thought, atleast he had sense to bring some food. As soon as they settled Raghu said, "I found your brothers...

## Chapter 13

They were rushing things.

Ross felt that they would need some sort of plan first but Raghu didn't seem concerned and Aarav too eager to notice. Raghu had brought information about the hideout. According to him, Aarav's brothers were being held captive in that warehouse itself and two guards were at the lookout, one of which was the man on whom Ross had planted the tracker. Raghu insisted to raid as soon as possible to rescue them, rejecting the idea of waiting and planning at the note of Aarav's brothers' safety and the benefit of surprise being on our side. He just said he has a plan. On getting no note for his concern, Ross gave in and started preparing.

Finally Raghu said, "We will leave tomorrow morning at 9, we can reach there by 10. But Ross, I would need you to hand over me your bag. I don't want them to get their hands on it if you get careless or caught."

Ross raised his eyebrows and even Aarav's ears perked up. Sensing that they were still suspicious of him, Raghu let the matter slide.

"We must leave before daybreak, that way we can catch them off-guard and it will be easier as there will be less public in the morning." Aarav suggested

Raghu seemed to hesitate at Aarav's suggestion, "No, there's no use in raiding so early, even if we go at 10, we still have the element of surprise and anyway, there is no public in that area."

Aarav slightly tilted his head as Raghu turned away and winked at Ross. The signal was clear. They must and will be leaving before daybreak, with or without Raghu.

"Anyway, its getting too late, we all need some rest if we plan to rescue your brothers. get some sleep." saying this Raghu quietly retired to his room. Ross nodded towards Aarav and they too lied down to get some rest, even though getting some sleep was a distant dream.

The clock had just struck 3 when Aarav finally gave up on sleeping. He got up and quietly, without disturbing Ross, who was currently sleeping just beside Aarav, sneaked out to the terrace. The Area was already a quiet one with very few houses, and the night just added to the eerie stillness. The sky was cloudless but the stars along with the moon didn't let darkness dominate the night. With time at hand and nothing to do, Aarav decided to Practice Tai chi. He recalled the steps and instructions gave him and started practicing. Each position is designed to put strain on a specific set of muscles. Maintaining constant rate of breathing and regular slow movements requires one to fully concentrate on oneself. Hence it is a very effective exercise, for muscles as well as for the brain. After nearly one hour, Aarav was exhausted and drenched in cold sweat, though his muscles felt like they were burning, Aarav could feel the earlier stiffness was gone. He quickly decided that it is going to help him in long run, so he'll definitely continue it. But right now, it was time to leave.

He came down, freshened up a bit and stirred Ross, who woke up quickly and got ready. The clock was now showing 4.30 AM. Ross found the keys to the car Raghu had brought yesterday and they sneaked outside quietly. When they were about to enter the car, Ross asked, "Won't we be needing Raghu? After all he's a professional and both of us are nothing special. Can we pull this off alone?"

At this Aarav smiled a bit, "Oh, we need him alright, and he will come to help us, you just need to blow the horn real hard before leaving." Realizing Aarav's intentions, Ross smiled as well. 'This kid sure has a way with things.'

The car, parked just outside the house, was nothing good to look at. They quickly climbed in and Ross revved the engine. The car started with a loud groan, leaving no need for Ross to blow the horn. He then sped up the road, and finally activated Ellen on his watch. He checked that the transmitter was still blinking at the same location and then said, "Ellen, prompt the shortest path to the marked location."

"Command Confirmed" came the usual reply.

Aarav was looking at this exchange like a small child looking at the giant wheel for the first time. Ross looked at Aarav's expressions and donned a proud face.

"It is the AI I had told you about. Though it's not fully capable of independent decisions, but it's just a prototype."

"Nice" was all Aarav managed to say.

Ross smiled inwardly. If it were before, he would not even have bothered to think of what others thought of his work. But now, things seemed to be getting different. Earlier he was becoming more and more like the machines he worked with, monotonous, morose and programmed. He had created Ellen to be an ideal companion for him, helping him remain human, though, he never succeeded. But now that he was in deep shit, he felt human.

## Chapter 14

The roads were completely empty. It took them nearly half an hour to reach the warehouse. Aarav asked to park the car a bit away from the warehouse. Just as Raghu had said, the area was not the one which hosted lot of crowd. There were no commercial shops, just some large warehouses like the one they were looking at. Sun was not up from the horizon, but still its faint red rays seem to enlighten the dark sky.

Finally Ross asked, "What's your plan then, or did you just run up here on impulse."

Aarav kept his mouth shut. Actually he didn't have any plan, he just wanted to save his brothers and with each moment they wasted, he grew impatient. But looking at the urging eyes of Ross, Aarav finally spoke. "Let Raghu come here first. He must surely be on his way here, this car could have awoken whole town, let alone Raghu. I hope you still have the gun you had taken from the ones that ambushed us." Ross nodded. "And Raghu will be armed as well." Aarav continued "When he comes, we'll storm the warehouse and bring my brothers back." He shrugged, "As simple as that..."

Ross wasn't satisfied with the plan, but neither was Aarav, and yet they were here, at the warzone having second thoughts about sanity of their decisions. So they continued to look towards the warehouse while waiting for Raghu. All of a sudden, one of the lights in the warehouse blinked. Something was not right. Aarav quickly exited from the car and ran towards a dustbin nearest to the warehouse. Sensing trouble, Ross did the same. He took out the gun and loaded it, keeping it ready for action. There was a low hum like that of a car ignition from the warehouse and the shutters started to open. This was the moment Aarav realized that there plan had already failed pathetically, and he panicked.

He shouted to Ross, "Get back in the car, fast." Ross quickly complied and turned to run towards their car. But he was too late, the shutter was already open and a black sedan zoomed out of it. It turned at right angle and ran at full throttle.

Aarav's mind went blank, this was not what he had thought. This was not supposed to happen. He started to run behind the car. But he had no chance. The car was already far ahead but Aarav felt like he couldn't stop. He kept running. His lungs started to burn, his vision began blurring, and his throat went dry. But he still kept running. He tried to shout but his dry throat choked his voice. He tripped on something and crashed hard on the soil beside the road. He still tried to look up but couldn't see the car now. He felt something warm and wet on his head, he touched the place with his hand, which came out dyed red. It was blood.

Ross also knew that he could not chase the car now, not alone atleast. Not without leaving Aarav injured and alone beside the road. He sweared loudly and stopped the car on the road beside Aarav. He got down quickly, grabbed Aarav and called out to him. But there was no response. He sweared again, this time so loudly that his voice rang clear above the car's groaning. Ross hauled Aarav up and carried him to the car putting him on the hood. Raghu also finally appeared, on a bike, surely not his. He looked like he had been through hell as he had got here as fast as he could just after being awakened by loud guttural noise of the car's ignition. He quickly got near Ross and before speaking a word, punched hard on Ross's stomach. Ross doubled over clutching his stomach. Raghu took a breath and thundered.

"Who the hell do you think you are? Getting here all by yourself. What, did you expect to take them down all by yourself?"

Ross gathered his breath and shouted back, "How the hell, do you think we should have known that they were to flee? We didn't come here by ourselves, we knew you'll follow. We made enough noise on purpose. And more importantly, it wasn't my idea, it was his." Ross said pointing at Aarav, who was beginning to regain composure. Raghu kicked the car's tyre hard in frustration and turned around muttering something about blowing up his plan along with profound obscenities at Aarav and Ross.

Ross helped Aarav sit up. Aarav was conscious, but expressionless. He touched his head and flinched as pain seared up from his wound. He had lost his chance to rescue his brothers. He felt hopeless. Again.

Ross checked at his watch and exclaimed, "The signal from the transmitter seems to be lost, or being interfered. I can't track their location as of now. But I noted the car's number. I'm sure we'll find them, don't you worry."

Aarav first looked listlessly towards Ross, then suddenly his expression darkened as if realizing something. "Why did you do it Ross?"

"What are you talking about?"

"Why did you betray me?" says Aarav raising his voice "You were the only one who knew about our surprise attack besides me. You were the only one with equipment of communication. You didn't follow them, when you could. You betrayed me Ross, betrayed me.... And...n.now my brothers' life is in danger. I can't save them....." Aarav broke at the final words. But his eyes didn't had a drop of tear. They were listless, cold. Ross just stared at him. What could he possibly speak? He knew of Aarav's state right now. But he couldn't even find words to console him after Aarav just blamed him, called him a traitor. Anger washed over him.

"Don't go spouting nonsense, you kid. If anyone's to blame its you. It was all your idea to come here as we have. And I didn't follow them as I could not. They were far ahead till this junk of a car even started."

Aarav didn't know what to think. But he needed help, or he'll break. He wanted everything to go back to normal, he wanted to go home....Home.... At this thought Aarav gathered all of his energy and bolted towards the bike Raghu brought. He jumped on it, kicked its engine alive and drove as fast as he could, away from shouting Raghu, away from all the place where he failed again, away..... Towards his home.

## Chapter 15

The sun was well above the horizon when Aarav finally reached his home. Though there weren't many people on the roads, he still tried to keep his profile low so as to not attract any undue attention. His home, was just as he left it. Full of memories, the good, the bad and..........the worse. His parents voices still seem to shroud the place in darkness despite all the light. He went straight to the bathroom and turned on the shower, just kept standing there, without removing his clothes, as the water washed away the blood from his wound. His head felt heavy, but not because of the injury, but because of the guilt. He felt like he was drowning in despair, deeper and deeper into the bottomless abyss. He felt like he had lost any last hopes to save his brothers. He was the sole reason for his family's end. Everything was his mistake, and he couldn't do anything. He thought coming home might help him, but all it did was to remind him of everything, the bittersweet memories as well as the doomsday. The dead faces of his father and mother swimming in front of his eyes.

Aarav was still standing in the shower when he heard the door creak open. He got alert and quickly exited the bathroom and rushed to the kitchen quietly and grabbed a knife, and hid behind the curtain. He could hear footsteps, as the sound came near he got ready and turned quickly pointing the sharp edge outwards. But he stopped himself midway. It was Aishwarya. Looking towards him in utter shock, frozen at a place. Aarav let the knife drop and leaned on the nearest wall. Aishwarya had seen Aarav enter. He was absent from the house since two days. She was worried about him. So she decided to check up on him. But what she was now seeing was beyond her imagination. Aishwarya quickly gained composure and kicked the knife away Then slowly approached Aarav. She looked at Aarav's state from head to foot. Aarav was looking down, not meeting her eyes. She tentatively touched Aarav's shoulder and then his head where blood seemed to have clot. She helped Aarav to his feet, slouching on her shoulder and led him to the bedroom. She quickly grabbed a first aid kit and cleaned the wound, which wasn't too deep but had some rock particles lodged in the skin, which she took out gently ignoring Aarav's flinching.

Aarav couldn't muster courage to meet her eyes. Even she didn't speak a word, just cleaned up his wound and rolled a bandage over his head. She then went to the cupboard and took out clean dry clothes for him, kept them at the bed's corner and left the room closing the door behind her. Aarav got up and changed into the clothes. He then came out of the room to find Aishwarya cooking something in the kitchen. When she saw him, she just pointed towards the hall, signaling him to go and wait there. Aarav complied and went to the hall and sat on the sofa, letting the mattress sink him. Aishwarya arrived quickly with a bowl of soup and some bread, which she kept in front of Aarav and beckoned him to eat, still not speaking any word. Aarav began eating quietly. He suddenly realized how famished he was and soon gulped down all the food, stomach satiated. Now Aishwarya kept the bowl aside, looked at Aarav straight in his eyes. Aarav still not wanting to face her averted his eyes. But she gently held up his chin so that he faced her. Now Aishwarya swung her hand at full throttle right onto Aarav's face, slapping him real hard.

"Where were you? What were you doing for these two days?" she continued "I know you have lost everything but that doesn't mean you'll lose yourself to the sorrow, you idiot." As Aishwarya continued to scold Aarav, the tears which refused to ever emerge from his eyes, now streamed out. Aarav began to cry. For the first time, he cried. Aishwarya stopped scolding and sat beside him, letting his head rest on her shoulder. She said, "Cry it out Aarav, let it out. Let the flowing tears wash out your sorrow. You must empty your heart, you can't let it get piled up and expect to recover even a bit. Do you think this would be what Uncle and Aunty would expect from you. Whatever they did, they did to save you three brothers. Don't let their sacrifice and love for you all go in vain. Be strong. And don't lose hope, the police are still searching for your brothers. They will surely find them." She held his face straight and looked into his eyes, "Be strong Aarav, be strong."

The words got etched in Aarav's conscious. She was right. Losing himself to despair is not gonna help. He still had a chance. Ross said that he had memorized the car's number, so they could still trace it. But Aarav had badmouthed Ross and blamed him as a traitor. He doubted Ross would even help him. Aarav cursed inwardly. But....but he needed help. And now he knew whom he could ask for. Aishwarya, like his guardian angel, had saved him again.

"Aishwarya, I want to tell you something. And I need your help." saying this Aarav narrated all the events happened till now. Aishwarya listened carefully, a surprised expression on her face. She never expected that what Aarav was going through. When Aarav finally stopped, she took his hand and said, "You never needed to shoulder this all alone idiot, you should have told me all this before. And yes I will help you in any way possible. We will get them back!!"

Suddenly Aarav heard a similar groan like sound outside. He instantly knew what it was. He peeked through the window and smiled as he confirmed his guess. It was Ross and Raghu in that trashy old car. All was not lost, now he had all the pieces required to win. And this time nothing could stop him.

## Chapter 16

"Hell No. After spouting all nonsense about me, calling me a traitor, you run away leaving us hanging in the air, damn concerned what you might do and we find you here in your home all cozy, freshened up and resting. And you think a sorry is enough?"

Ross kept scolding Aarav as a smile crept on Aarav's face. He felt guilty to have done what he did, but he was glad that Ross still cared for him. Seeing Aarav smiling, Ross roared again, "Smiling, are you now? Here I am shouting my throat out and you stand there smiling as if nothing's wrong."

"Thank you, Ross." Ross's expression softened on hearing it. In reality, he was glad that Aarav was okay. He didn't mind Aarav's outburst much, after all he was still just a kid. He had suspected that Aarav might come home, so he quickly convinced Raghu and got here as fast as he could.

Ross continued, "Okay, okay fine. But don't keep me hungry here. I am dead tired and hungry."

"If your touchy reunion is over then don't forget about me here. It's my courtesy you both are alive and still you use my vehicles without even bothering to ask me." Raghu interjected. Both Ross and Aarav burst out laughing at that. Aarav then left them sitting there and brought them the remaining of the soup Aishwarya made. Aarav had instructed Aishwarya to leave via the back door as soon as they arrived. He didn't want to make her involvement known to others, atleast not to Raghu for sure. Something or someone had tipped off their arrival to the kidnappers. And he still didn't have enough trust in Raghu to rule him out.

After they had eaten and freshened up, Aarav offered Ross his father's clothes as his own were nothing more than beggar's outfit. When they finally settled, Ross spoke, "The signal from the transmitter went off soon after we reached near the warehouse, and we were just too preoccupied to notice that. It looks like it is being blocked, but can't be sure if the transmitter has been discovered." Ross hesitated a bit, it appeared to Aarav as if he was hiding something. Aarav raised an eyebrow, Ross slightly nodded at that. Aarav understood that, it was something Ross didn't want to divulge to Raghu, this meant that he didn't trust him as well.

"After you fled," Raghu spoke giving abnormal pressure at the word fled, "we took the liberty to look around the warehouse, though I didn't found anything of importance." Ross interrupted before Raghu could start speaking again, "Though I have noted the car's number plate as it ran, I had Ellen check about it in the records, and I found something interesting...... That car belongs to the owner of IGNUS InCorp."

Aarav was flabbergasted upon the revelation. How could the proprietor of one of the most prestigious companies be involved in it. Does the Roots of The Perfectionists go that deep? No wonder they were able to sniff out about Ross's research even though it was so well secured and even managed to frame Ross as the terrorist so easily. Now Aarav was beginning to understand, that this trouble was far beyond just him or Ross, it may actually be a nation grade threat!!

"The whereabouts are still unknown, but I have a way to track it down, even if the transmitter doesn't work.." Ross said, suddenly sounding bit proud.

"What? How? What do you need?" Aarav also grew bit excited at this new development. He had decided to not lose hope, and now it felt like even hope didn't want to lose him.

"Hold your horses, kid. First I would need a PC with minimum this much specifications," said Ross While handing Aarav a paper chit, then he continued with a smirk "and then let me work my magic."

Aarav's PC barely met the required specs. But Ross used it anyway while mumbling something about trashy low end PC's being beneath his dignity. Raghu had left saying he had some work to do and didn't bother further explaining. Seeing himself alone with Aarav, Ross finally spoke, "Listen, in that warehouse, I did find something." He took out something from his bag which was always present on his shoulder, it was a small piece of cloth, red in colour, and looked a bit like a shirt....SHIRT.... Realization dawned on Aarav. It was his brother's shirt. Exactly the same one. He extended his arm to grab it but Ross pulled it back saying, "Careful, first see what's on it."

Ross unfolded the shirt and displayed it to Aarav. On it with a drawing was made with a chalk, hastily perhaps as it wasn't quite a drawing. It was something like a plus, Aarav thought, no.... it was a cross on the top of a triangle, and beneath it were three letters 'O', 'L' and 'D'. "It....It looks like a..." Ross interrupted Aarav and completed his sentence, " A church. Yes... Your brothers... I must say they really are the bravest ones, and the smartest as well, just like you. They might have heard their conversations and left you a clue as to where they'll be taking them. The city's old church."

## Chapter 17

Today, within a matter of few hours, Aarav had gone from excitement, to despair then finding glimpses of hope and now, he felt happy. His brother's were well and knew he was coming for them. Ross continued, "I scanned for my transmitter just now within the 500m radius of the church, and you know what, I have re-established connection with my transmitter..... They are definitely at the old church."

The city's old church... He knew that place. It is actually quite far from the warehouse they had been, almost other side of the city. But it was near a residential area, which will be making things difficult. But now they had a lead, and this time, Aarav wasn't going to lose it in the flow of his emotions.

But another thing was nagging his mind now, "If they knew in the morning that we are coming, they had time to react and pack up their stuff and evacuate."

Ross nodded, "It is possible that they had set up surveillance cams around the area, or it is possible that they have planted a tracker somehow with us."

"If there was a tracker, it would most possibly be on our clothes, which we have discarded, and I'll burn them just to be sure." Aarav added. But it still didn't feel right to either of them. Something wasn't right. But they didn't have enough clues or time to sort that out.

"Anyway, what do we do now?" Ross asked.

Aarav sat quietly for a while, eyes closed, concentrating. The Tai chi practice was beginning to show effects on his concentration. He could focus more clearly now. The information available to him felt like pieces of a puzzle, and his brain was working his way through it. Piece by piece, it was forming a picture. As the final piece was set at place, he knew it had lots of pieces missing, he frowned at that, but he knew what he also could see the bigger picture now. Aarav opened his eyes and spoke with a newfound finality in his voice "I......have a plan."

"First of all, we will need more information about the locality of the church building." said Aarav. He needed to be sure of all the aspects to perfect his plan. Ross, still on Aarav's PC opened up a map. He pointed at the church and said, "It is in a sort of quiet residential area. It's land lease ended few years ago and the church building has been abandoned since then." Aarav looked at the map carefully. There was a wide road in front of the church, and an alley behind it, which connected with a road on the other side.

He asked, "Can you get the map of the church as well?"

"What do you think I am? Stop underestimating me kid. I could you a map of the president's house if you ask for it." Ross said, clearly pleased with himself, as he pressed a few keys and the church's floor plan opened. It had a large hall, entrance at the center. There was also a series of side rooms, the entrance of the first of which was a smaller one near the corner facing the front. These were the only two entrances. And then there was a staircase which lead to the terrace. Aarav smiled. He knew exactly what he was going to do.

"Ross, I need you to go to that area and observe the difference in heights of the church terrace and the house beside it. Take Raghu's bike. Also, do you have some gadget or tech which can be used on people, mid-range if possible?" Aarav spoke in a breath, his face like he's calculating something.

"Hey, hey, hey.... Stop ordering around. I am not your butler. We are partners, Okay."

Aarav smiled, "Sorry, Yes we are partners."

"Good, Hmmm, let me see....Looks like the difference in heights is about six feet. I don't need to actually go when I have all kinds of information at my fingertips. As for the tech......hmm....I have some equipment, I guess I can make something worth our need, A high Grade Taser. Maybe three."

"Wow, that's awesome."

"Do you have cell phones here?"

Aarav thought a bit then answered, "Yes, we have three here. But I don't think we must use them to contact, they can trace it if they want."

"Just bring them to me, I can convert them to satellite phones. My transmitter was made to transfer signals, and those phones have the required mechanism to record and remit audio. I can synergize both."

Aarav looked at Ross with eyes full of surprise and glint of admiration. This man, is truly a genius.

"That would be more than awesome. But I have a question, how can you get satellite access so covertly?"

"Well..." Ross said bashfully, "IGNUS InCorp had developed some of the innovative parts for the country's satellite program, and I felt it wasteful to let go of such an opportunity, thought it might help me in future.... so...you know." Ross winked.

"Looks like you are not so much of a good man either, Ross" Aarav said teasingly, then continued, "Your secret is safe with me, Partner. I'll get the cell phones, do what you need. But please try to hurry. Don't let Raghu know of this yet, I am unsure what to make of him, though If he helps us, it will be easier for us to save my brothers and take one of the kidnappers our hostage. We do need to get some leads on the Perfectionists to think about clearing your slate." Ross nodded gravely as Aarav said this.

Aarav continued, "I'll tell Raghu only so much of the plan he needs to know, if he agrees to help us by following my lead. But we need to strike as soon as possible, most likely tomorrow afternoon, the church is their temporary stay, they might leave it, so get ready fast."

Ross agreed. He looked at Aarav with wonder, as Aarav continued to think about something. The boy amused him. He always called him a kid, but Aarav is way beyond being a kid, he is a genius. The dire circumstances were bringing out the best in him, his true self. He admired him, and gave him his trust. Ross decided that if he had to follow Aarav, he would.

Aarav then said, oblivious to what Ross was thinking, "This is our campaign is against the Perfectionist."

"What do we call ourselves then, anti-perfectionist" Ross said, suppressing a laugh as he said it.

"No, We Are The IMPERFECTIONISTS"

## Chapter 18

Aarav left Ross to do his work and he went to meet up with Aishwarya in her house's garage. He had told her to meet up there exactly at 4 in the evening. As he reached, he found her sitting there, waiting for him.

"Hii." Aarav said, tentatively.

"Hii" She answered back.

"Can you drive?" Aarav asked pointing at the car. Aishwarya raised an eyebrow.

"Ofcourse, I can drive, why do you ask though?"

"Well, Aishwarya....I need your help."

"Well then cut the theatrics and spit it out already, I've already agreed to help, haven't I?"

"I need you as well as your car, tomorrow."

"Car as well, huh....hmm. Okay, I'll get it. Just remember to get me a treat once we succeed."

Aarav smiled, satisfied, "You got it."

"By the way, Aarav," Aishwarya asked, "Your stammering seems to have gone away completely, isn't it?"

Coming to think of it, Aarav did realized that he didn't stammer anymore. He felt like something which had been obstructing him, has been suddenly released, like a valve opened completely, so that now his thoughts and actions moved without turbulence, giving rise to a version of himself, of which even he was not completely aware with.

"Yes, I guess. Its gone for good."

"Well that's great then."

"Yeah...."

Sensing Aarav's hesitation she asked "You want to say something else as well, isn't it? Don't hesitate, as I had already promised, I will help you as much as possible."

Finally gathering courage Aarav spoke, "Well Aishwarya, I have one more favour to ask from you. Would you please hide my brothers with you, for a few days atleast? After we save them, if we do manage to do so."

Aishwarya's heart sank, not because of Aarav's request, but because of what Aarav was dragging himself into. It was not the kind of swamp, where one had little chances to return from. But she knew that she does not have any words, or ideas per se, which could help him otherwise. It was his choice, his path. But she truly hoped it wasn't a road with a blind end.

"Is it something to ask for you idiot. Sure I will. It goes without saying."

Hearing her answer, Aarav felt like a huge load had been lifted from his heart. Now he could give it his all, go all out against the Perfectionist. He then explained Aishwarya her part of the plan, and left quickly. He did want to spend more time with her, talk with her, and just be around her. As he always wanted. But now he feared to lose more than what he had already lost. A breaking human lashes out for any support he can get, and holds on to even smallest thread of hope in desperation. He holds it dear, so much so that when that thread snaps, it takes away all his sanity along with any chance of revival. He was a breaking human and he feared that if he latched to the love he saw in Aishwarya, he might just end up losing his sanity.

## Chapter 19

The fridge harbored enough supplies for two days. But Aarav, Ross and Raghu wolfed down more than half of its contents in just one evening. Though it was true enough they were tired. Raghu had returned from whatever so called important work he had at about 7pm and started babbling about hunger enumerating how he had fed Ross and Aarav with his personal stash of instant noodles after saving their so called petty lives. So Aarav decided to salvage the fridge. After they had eaten all they could, Aarav finally turned to Raghu, it was the time for confrontation.

"Raghu, I am going to save my brothers tomorrow, and I have a plan, so that we can take the kidnappers hostage as well."

Raghu snorted, "Talking big, are we? I have already seen the loveliness of your plans this morning. Don't even think that I'll do anything you say."

Aarav had expected him to lash out, so he already had a retort at hand, "Well you are one to talk. What have you done regarding this then? Other than emptying my fridge. You are supposed to be tailing the Perfectionists to expose them, and what have you accomplished? Nothing but shit. You found us just by chance that day. See... No big deal. Nope. So now, if you want to save whatever little respect you guess you have, you'll do what I say."

Raghu glared at Aarav, but kept quiet. Aarav seemed to have pinched the right nerve. He now just needed the correct pressure.

"I have a plan. You have the brawns. I'll let you have the credit of capturing them, on two conditions."

Raghu scowled further, he almost looked close to exploding, but still remained quiet. Sensing the opportunity, Aarav continued, "First, you'll clear out all the charges on Ross, after you'll have them in your custody, it'll be an easy thing to get them speak, I guess..."

Ross looked at Aarav, surprised, he had never imagined that Aarav was thinking so broadly, even in such tense conditions, Aarav remembered him. Aarav ignored the expressions Ross was giving him and continued, "the second condition is, I want all the information about your employer, as well as whatever you have uncovered about the Perfectionists."

Aarav waited a bit, letting the ripples created by his words settle on Raghu. "Take it, or leave it. I can save my brothers without you as well, it will just be a drag to do it without a trained professional. And you don't seem to have enough accreditations for me to trust you. For all I know, you could be the one who informed them of our surprise this morning."

Raghu remained quiet for an uncomfortably long time. His body was tensed. His face stern. Aarav had instructed Ross to be on guard, keeping his tasers ready, in case Raghu lashes out. He was intentionally provoking him, to test his loyalties. Raghu stood up abruptly. Ross and Aarav tensed, ready to take action. But Raghu let out a deep sigh and said, "Fine. I agree to both the conditions. I work for The NDIA, National Defense and Intelligence Agency." Aarav was confused but Ross nodded in understanding, as if he knew about the oragnisation. Raghu kept talking, "You might never have heard about it, as we work covertly. I am letting you in this info because I know you can't do anything by just knowing our name. I can only spare this much info to you."

Aarav, now relaxed, nodded as Raghu continued, "The Perfectionists is a kind of ambitious organization, which is full of brilliant minds with heavy wallets from all over the world. Their influence is unimaginable. And they rarely do something with just one goal in mind. So far we haven't been able to scratch out even the surface of their organization."

When some very ambitious people, who are smart enough to realize their ambitions and rich enough to manipulate and influence events all over the world come together, that combination has the power to dominate the world, let alone a country. The so called terrorists we fear will be puny threats when compared to them, the Perfectionists, who would use terrorism just like an expendable pawn. When one realizes what they can do, he understands what true terror can be. And that's what Ross and Aarav felt.

## Chapter 20

It was 2 in the afternoon. Aarav's assumption was true. In a residential area, generally around this time there is nearly no wandering soul. And this area was the perfect example. They were few blocks away from the church, waiting or better to say preparing for showdown. Finally, after ensuring everything is in place, they set off to the first phase of the mission as the Imperfectionists.

The plan had four phases. The first phase was: minor distraction. Something which compels the kidnappers to move near the window of out of the door, to check out. Aarav climbed over the compound wall of the house besides the church and taking support of a pipe along the wall, he grabbed the ledge of the terrace and pulled himself upon it. From there, the terrace of the church was another 6 feet, which he managed to scale with some difficulty. Now, Ross gathered few stones from the sidewalk and hurled them at a group of cars parked in the compound diagonal to the church. As lots of sirens began to wail, Raghu positioned himself near the church but hidden from the direct view of the door.

Their ploy worked, as the door to the sideroom of the church opened and a man in black outfit came out of it. Now it was the time for second phase, i.e. knocking him out. As soon as the man came out Raghu sprang into action and aimed the Taser at him, he pressed the button and two wires with sharp nail like pins as ends shot towards the man, burying in his chest. The man writhed as the electricity ran through him and dropped unconscious without making any noise. Raghu hid beside the door and began lighting something, Aarav's trump card, a smoke bomb.

Aarav had, at some point read that potassium nitrate from fertilizer, along with sugar and baking soda, when mixed in right amount and burnt, produced smoke. Enough smoke to temporarily blind someone, or atleast confuse someone. Raghu, lit the mixture, wrapped in foil, and threw it inside the sideroom from the gap in the door. Within a minute thick smoke started coming out of the door, along with alarmed voices, confirming that it had worked.

By now the car sirens were also being silenced, some people even came out to check out from their balconies before returning inside. It was not very uncommon for them, as many a times some mischievous kids pulled such tricks. Even though they returned inside, Aarav's plan was still in effect, the work was done, they were now alert.

As the smoke did its part, Ross got ready for the third phase of their plan, direct assault from all three entrances namely the main door, the side door and terrace. The main door was closed, but Ross knew how to get in, i.e. with a Bang!!! Ross, who was now idling the car, drove the car with full throttle and straight into the front door. The door, already old, gave away and smashed to smithereens with the crash. Now Ross left the car and rushed inside, along with the Taser and gun ready. As soon as he entered he saw one man coming out from the sideroom, aiming a gun directly at him, ready to fire. Ross, acting on instinct jumped low sideways, as the fired bullet just missed him. He aimed the Taser and fired. But the man was ready too. He quickly backtracked, successfully avoiding the pincers. Ross was greatly disadvantaged. He was lying on the ground with his Taser unloaded and the man, now smirking, as he again raised his gun at Ross. Ross felt life leave him as he saw the cold barrel of the gun pointing at him. He panicked and started firing random shots in the general direction of his opponent. The man jumped sideways, behind a pole to avoid getting hit. Ross kept firing shots frantically, then the inevitable happened. He ran out of bullets. Ross, already panic stricken, rolled towards another pole on his left and hid behind it. He was trapped, he needed help. But where was help? He called loudly, emptying all the air in his lungs to shout "Raghu!!!!!!!!!!" There was no reply. There was no sign of him. Where was Raghu??

## Chapter 21

Aarav ran down the stairs from the terrace. He heard a gunshot followed by a THUMPPP followed by lots of gunshots. He was already too tensed. The frantic gunshots brought him near panic. His mind was full of doubts about his own plan, all that could go wrong, which wasn't a good sign. This made him unable to think. Holding his Taser a little too tightly, he reached the end of stairs and opened the door which appeared in front of him. As soon as he opened the door, the first thing he saw brought back all his confidence......Between all the smoke, were his brothers...They were bound together with a rope with their hands tied behind, gagged, sitting by the wall, scared. But his sight had brought some light back in their eyes. But the smoke shifted and next thing he saw took it away all at once. There was another person, a very large one at that, pointing his gun towards him.

This wasn't right. He had assumed there were only two people according to Raghu's info. One of them was knocked unconscious at the door, another was probably facing Ross in the main hall. But there was this one, the third. Almost 6 feet tall, without a hint of emotion on his face, pointing his gun at Aarav. He had seen the man somewhere, and he realized that this man was the same one who had killed his mother and abducted his brothers that day.

Suddenly Aarav heard a loud scream, "Raghu!!!!!". It was Ross, probably in great danger now, but this brought Aarav to the point.... Where was Raghu? He should have entered this sideroom and secured it. His brother's muffled shout snapped him back to reality. Ross's scream had distracted the man in front of him for just a moment, Aarav took advantage of this moment and ran towards the man, crouching low and slammed straight into the man's groin with his shoulder. He let out a weird scream, his gun fell from his hands as he reached towards the damaged netherworld of his. Aarav quickly moved reaching for the fallen gun. But the man swung his leg and hit Aarav straight on his chest, draining all the air from his lungs. Aarav flew a few feet and crashed on the floor, his Taser also falling away from him. He turned, gasping for air, as the man ran limping towards him and started raining kicks on him. Aarav curled into a ball, to avoid critical hits, but the man managed to score a few, which started streams of blood running from Aarav's nose and his yesterday's head wound.

Pain coursed through Aarav as he was barraged with kicks. Suddenly the man stopped and stepped back, screaming. Aarav looked up to see that his brother had unbound themselves, removed the gag and now was biting at the man's flank. Taking advantage of the Aarav, ignoring the pain, reached for the Taser. The man Picked up his brother and threw him aside. Just as he turned back to face Aarav, all he managed to see was Aarav grinning, as he shot the Taser. It was a near hit, getting him on an arm and stomach. But it did its work as the man trembled and fell on the ground. Aarav was about to breathe a sigh of relief just as he realized Ross was still in trouble. He couldn't stop, not yet. So he gestured his brothers to wait, grabbed the gun off the ground and ran to the main hall.

Aarav arrived just in the nick of time. Ross was lying on the ground, trying his best to increase the distance between him and the kidnapper. He was unarmed, and looked terrified to the point of fainting. The kidnapper was taking his time, savoring, enjoying the terror Ross felt. Aarav was about 20 feet away from them. The man looked like he had enough of enjoyment toying with Ross and was about to dispose him off. Aarav realized, he won't make it in time to help Ross. But he also knew, he didn't need to get near him to save Ross. He had the gun. He could shoot. Though the probability of the bullet hitting its target was abysmally low. But he had to do something, and quick.

He forced his thoughts shut, pointed the gun towards the man, holding it with both his hands, aimed, closing his one eye. He took a deep breath, it was not the time for doubts, it was time for action. Bracing for recoil, he released his breath and pulled the trigger.

## Chapter 22

The man slumped down on Ross. Even dying, his expression was same as Ross, of shock, of surprise. Neither of them had seen that coming. The bullet had hit home finding its way through the man's skull from behind. Ross was still frozen, staring at the dead man at his feet when Aarav shook him to his senses.

"Ross!! Are you Okay?" Ross looked towards his savior, blinked twice and managed a nod.

"Are your brothers....." Ross asked unable to complete the sentence.

"Yes they are safe. But Where is Raghu??"

The same question was pestering Ross. "No, I don't know.."

Ross sighed. He had panicked. He didn't panic the last time when faced by a gun. But this time, after his initial attempt to deal with that man failed, even though well prepared to engage in fight, panic had rendered him useless at the most crucial juncture of their mission. Now that it was over, Ross let out a sigh of relief. He looked at Aarav, now hugging his brothers. Aarav looked pretty much battered himself. There were lots of bruises on him and he was bleeding from quite a few places. In so little time, he had grown so much. Ross let a smile spread on his face seeing the lovely reunion of brothers.

Aarav hugged both his brothers so tightly, as if letting loose even for a bit will take them away from him. His brothers were crying, but now they felt safe, with their brother, who turned the world upside down to save them. Aarav was joyous, but at the same time apprehensive. His brothers were unaware of their parents' deaths. It was too difficult for even him, he couldn't imagine what his brothers will feel, when they'll come to know of it. He decided to put it out for sometime else as he didn't want to volunteer to send his brothers to another, much deeper and darker hell, when they had just escaped from one. He kissed both his brothers on forehead, one by one and said, "Dada is here now, you are free. No one will hurt you now. Dada will always save you." And his brothers smiled.

Aarav turned to Ross, their plan wasn't finished yet. But where was Raghu? He was the most crucial piece of this part of the plan. The sirens they had set off earlier were to serve two purposes, first to distract the kidnappers, and second was to alert the neighbors. Afterwards when Ross smashes the car on the door, this will create a scene, grabbing everyone's attention. Soon when the shots will be fired, they will get alarmed and frightened, and do what most sane people do in such cases, call the police. The police, will arrive soon, and at that point Raghu will take over using his channels to collaborate with the police and apprehend the unconscious kidnappers as well as rescuing his brothers. Sensing something big has happened, media would appear next, making the rescue of his brothers and arresting the kidnappers a well known event, so providing further protection to his brothers as they won't be nobodies after that. The police or NDIA could interrogate the kidnappers, thus gaining proof against the Perfectionists and thus saving Ross as well. It was a perfect plan. But, now the most important stone was missing, and thus the plan seemed to topple upon them, threatening to take them down with it.

"Ross, check outside if you can for Raghu. Maybe he was taken down." "Right". As Ross was peeking through the window, Aarav noticed something, rather he felt that he didn't notice something with Ross. Suddenly it struck him.

"Ross, where's your bag?"

In these three days, Ross's bag had become a part of him. He always kept it close to him. But now, it was missing.

"I....I kept it in the car...." answered Ross, afraid that he might be getting what Aarav was thinking. Ross rushed to the car, which was half inside the church and opened the door. He searched, shuffling the seats up and down, but his worst fears came true......the bag which he never let go from his sight, which contained all his research papers and notes, which had led to all this chaos, was missing. "It's.....It's not here."

"Shit, Shit, SHIT...." Aarav roared in frustration as the picture got clearer to him, and he knew it wasn't a good one. Now he could hear the police sirens approaching. They will be inside the building within moments. So he could not stay there anymore. The same media exposure which could save his brothers will act as flaghorns for the Perfectionists for him. And Ross couldn't risk being seen either at another crime scene, not when they had no internal support of someone who can vouch for him. His sudden outburst had startled his brothers, who were now trembling. Aarav felt his heart wrench, but he will have to leave them alone. Fortunately, he had an escape plan ready...

Aarav turned towards his brothers, and mustered his most courageous voice, with a touch of love, "Listen, now Dada has to go, okay? The Police will come and take you to the hospital. They will ask you about who did all this, just don't tell them about us, Okay? Tell them you didn't see. But do not tell them about me." Aarav said while gritting his teeth. He had just found his brothers, and he will separate from them yet again. He kissed them on their forehead, taking a deep look at their confused faces, who just nodded at Aarav's instructions.

"Ross, let's go." Aarav said urgently, as he stood up abruptly away from his brothers, and started pacing towards the stairs.

Seeing where Aarav was going, Ross doubted, "Where are we going? I guess that's the wrong way to go."

"Just follow me." Aarav replied without even looking at Ross. Ross seeing no other option, complied.

They reached the terrace just as the police cars stopped in front of the church. He had to hurry or the police will be upon them soon. Aarav ran straight for the back. Behind the church was an alley, but the terrace was too high a place to jump from, without twisting some bones. But there were houses around. Aarav jumped on the adjacent terrace which was just 6 feet from the church top. From there he jumped on the windowsill of the next house, barely able to plant his foot, and released his grip, landing hard on the ground. Ross followed his suit, albeit less enthusiastically, but reached the ground safely in one piece. They then ran towards the exit of the alley. The alley opened to another road, and on the road was a car, waiting for them. As they reached the car, now Ross could see who was on the driver seat, it was a pretty girl whom he didn't recognize, roughly of Aarav's age. But Aarav already knew who it was, Aishwarya.

They had barely got in the car when Aarav spoke, "Quick, take us out of here." Aishwarya, sensing the urgency of the situation, raced the car away, without asking any questions.

When they finally could not hear the police sirens anymore, Aarav broke the silence. "Thank you Aishwarya, you are really a lifesaver" He turned to Ross "By the way, she is Aishwarya, my..."

"Girlfriend?" Ross interrupted.

Aarav's face turned red but he still continued, "my friend, neighbor. Let me finish please before you throw your assumptions. She was the part of my plan in case we need to escape. I didn't tell you about her as I didn't want her to get involved unless absolutely necessary." He looked at Aishwarya apologetically, at which she brushed it off.

Aarav then continued, "Both my brothers are safe and currently with the police. I still need some favors from you Aishwarya, hope it won't be much."

"Chill out Aarav, name it, don't be so formal."

"I need you to take custody of my brothers as soon as they announce it publically. Please convince your parents. Keep them safe with you till....till I return."

"That's alright, but where are you going?" Aishwarya asked, concerned.

Aarav looked at Ross and said, "I....no, we have to sort out some things and confirm some suspicions. Now it may hold the fate of the nation itself at stake, if my suspicions are true."

Ross nodded gravely, while Aishwarya got more worried.

Aarav continued, "There is a place we need to check, the house where Raghu took us. So just drop us here around the corner. I promise, I'll be back soon for my brother. He took out one of the satellite phone Ross made yesterday and gave it to Aishwarya. "Keep it with you, I'll contact you as soon as I get clear.... Okay??"

Aishwarya nodded. She thought of something to speak, but she couldn't. She couldn't congratulate him, nor could she reassure him. Finding no suitable words she just said, "Take care." She then stopped the car and they exited quickly.

"You know I will." said Aarav as he ran away from the car, Ross at his heels, though he was himself unsure of how he was going to do it.

## Chapter 23

The house was deserted, as he feared. There was no sign of Raghu or his being here whatsoever. It seemed like he had removed all the proofs of his being here. Aarav was angry at himself for not seeing this coming. Raghu's behavior was always so suspicious. It all made sense now, as the final missing pieces of the puzzle fit in. Raghu's keenness to take Ross's bag, the kidnappers knowing their surprise assault, his unwillingness to share information, and now, him running away with Ross's bag. It all pointed to one thing, Raghu worked for the Perfectionists.

There were some concerns about why Raghu would kill his own men to save them in the beginning or why didn't he dispose them off and run away with the bag when he had the chance. .Maybe there was something more than the picture let down. But as of now, he had more important worries.

Ross was silent and grim. Aarav knew he was blaming himself for leaving the bag in the car, when he was supposed to keep it stuck with him always. But the fact remained, they had lost, The Perfectionists had won.

"It was all for naught. They eventually got what they wanted. We failed. I failed. The Imperfectionists you created failed."

"No, Ross you are wrong. We saved my brothers. It was our mission in the first place."

"We saved them alright, but you don't realize the greater picture. They have laid hands on the research papers, which has the potential to bring down whole nations."

"What was the research you so much brag about, that they want it so badly?" Aarav snapped.

"It was about controlling human being." Ross answered as he let out a deep breath.

"Wh...aaat???" Aarav felt his whole body going cold, as the revelation and its possible consequences sunk in.

"Yes" Ross continued, "It was our dream project, when we were young, me and my colleagues. We were 5 friends, from different universities. Great minds brought together by competition. We met in a research presentation conclave, each representing their own university. And in no time we were working on many different projects together. But this was a special one. We would spend days and nights all the same in the labs testing and researching, compiling our notes, comparing. We had even gained some small breakthroughs. But eventually, due to some reasons we disbanded. But I continued the research. It was my dream, my ego. And eventually I have perfected the formula, albeit theoretically. As I didn't have that kind of resources to make a working model."

"But by control, do you mean, hypnotize, or some chemical to make them take your orders?"

"No, by control I mean, a method to directly control a persons' actions by connecting the person's spinal cord, to a chip which would alter the signals sent via it, which can be manipulated by radio signals, so effectively controlling one's actions. My research had the solution for the greatest problem of it. Being able to connect signals from organic life forms to that of a mechanical one." Ross took a moment to let Aarav digest the information, then continued, "If someone controls the head of a nation, you can imagine what kind of consequences it can lead to."

Aarav didn't need to imagine, or he didn't want to, as the idea was too horrible. Now he realized what Ross meant when he said that this game was far beyond their paygrade. A few lives were like a drop in the ocean for the Perfectionists whose goal was to play with all the lives in the world. They were doomed...

"Why the Hell didn't you burn those papers when we had time? You could have saved us all the trouble!!!" Aarav roared.

Ross, though a bit offended by Aarav's words couldn't answer.

At that moment Ross's watch started beeping. Ross looked at it and a frown appeared on his face which deepened with every passing moment. Aarav, realizing something bad has happened, asked Ross, "What happened? Is everything alright?"

"No, dammit, no. Nothing was alright in the first place and now it has gotten worse than it ever could be."

"What do you mean?"

"It's a news report about the church incident. Here read it yourself..." Ross said as he beckoned Aarav towards him. Aarav looked at the watch, which was showing the official statement released by the Police Commissioner. It said

The recent attack at the church has been confirmed to be done by the recently surfaced terrorist named Dr. Albert Ross, who was also found responsible for the killings occurring around the city in the past week. It has been confirmed by an eyewitness. Two small children who had been abducted by him have been have also been rescued and we have found two men unconscious and one shot dead. Surprisingly, it's reported that Ross had an accomplice with him. And even more surprisingly the accomplice has been confirmed to be the elder brother of the two rescued children, named Aarav. It has been confirmed by the eyewitness, as well as the fingerprints from the car and the wired devices. It's shocking to note that the boy is working with Ross, who had been the very reason of his parents death just a few days ago. Our department is now working at full throttle to hunt them down and bring them to justice.

"What the HELL!!!!!" Aarav shouted it out even if he didn't intend to. It had actually gotten worse than it ever could be. He looked at Ross, who was sitting on the floor, supporting his head with his hands. He replied even without looking up, "Obviously the Perfectionists have infiltrated the ranks of the Police. What else did you expect?" Despite managing to save his brothers, he didn't win. He was in even greater trouble. Though stating it just 'trouble' is a massive understatement. Just the thought of it was making Aarav feel dizzy. His throat went dry. He wanted to remain strong, but he didn't see any hope of being. He kneeled down beside Ross and put a hand over his shoulder. Ross looked up, his eyes full of sadness, one which Aarav could understand as he had been through hell in these few days.

He tried to motivate Ross, "We are in this together now. And we will definitely find a way out of this mess. We will. Trust me." He tried to change the topic to lighten the mood, "You never told me your name was 'Albert'. Named after Einstein I presume."

"Not really, but you may say so" he said, chuckling. Hearing him laugh, even if that was just a chuckle, made Aarav ease down a bit. He knew from experience that neither panicking nor despairing will help. He must keep calm and think about the predicament. He got up and thought of getting some water as his felt thirsty.

He asked Ross "You want some water?"

Ross let out a deep sigh and replied, in his normal tone "Desperately."

Aarav smiled and was about to turn when he felt sharp pain emanating from his head, taking away his energy. He instantly fell down. His consciousness was rapidly escaping him, but he managed to see what had happened. He had been hit hard on the head with the butt of a gun. He could see the attacker, a girl, pointing her gun towards Ross's head. He heard her say, "This is Saloni from NDIA. Ross, you and your accomplice are being arrested for ensuing chaos, multiple murders while working for the organization Perfectionists." and he lost his consciousness.

*********************

Though the book is over, the journey of Aarav and the Imperfectionists has just begun. What this journey holds for them and where it will take them to, brace tight to find out, in the next book of the series.

The Imperfectionist

(Book 2)

The Rising.

HANG TIGHT

COMING SOON

## Acknowledgements

It was fun project, took lot of time. But it would be still incomplete if it weren't for my friend Atharva Khandekar and my little brother Pranit Deshmukh. Though I am uncertain whether to thank the Lockdown or not, without it the book would always have been a distant dream. But let's give it a teensy bit credit.

I would love to hear from you, contact me ;)

Click to open....

