Charu-Yuvaan vs Danny-Abhay-Ruth

Darana aka Danny, the Mafia don had overheard Charu and Yuvaan discussing their visit to the vault as they had the vault keys as well as the Khopesh with the QR code which could open the locker within the vault. 

Danny was overjoyed for he could not have expected a better opportunity. With no effort on his part, as luck would have it, Charu and Yuvaan were visiting the vault with the keys and Khopesh! It was going to be a cakewalk after all! Danny's spirits rose. He felt that he would very shortly realise his dream of laying his hands on the secret formula which would make him one of the richest persons in the world. 

Soon Charu and Yuvaan got ready to leave. Danny made his appearance and stalled them saying that it would be unsafe for them to go on their own especially when he knew that Ruth and Abhay had plotted to kill them for the sake of Khopesh. He made them wait for a few minutes and instructed his henchmen to be on the alert and follow them unobtrusively, and he himself set out with Charu and Yuvaan.

As they were just leaving, they heard Danny's wife wailing. She rushed out of the room carrying her son whose face had paled and had froth coming from his lips. She explained that she had seen him opening a paper packet and before she could stop him, he had popped its contents into his mouth. Within seconds he had blanked out. Danny realised that his son must have consumed the sample of the mind control drug he had kept in his drawer. He did not wish to investigate the matter then, but was eager to rush him to the hospital for a stomach wash and for further treatment.

Charu could understand the predicament very well. She asked Danny to calm down and from her back-pack took out a box of pills. First she wiped the boy's face clean and asked his mother to get a glass of salted warm water, which she forced into the boy's mouth. Though still half-conscious, the boy reacted and puked. With most of the drug out of his system, Charu then made him swallow two of the pills she had. She held the boy tenderly and kept gently stroking him. In a short while, the boy could open his eyes wide and recognise people around him, though he was groggy. Undoubtedly he was exhausted, but he seemed to be out of danger. Danny and his wife stood stupefied, not knowing how to react. They were surprised that Charu had the anti-dote with her which saved their son!

Charu explained that she had a Master's degree in Science to honour her father's desire. However, as her passion was to pursue law, she had gone to New York after she managed to cajole and appease her father. Ever since she came to know of the goings-on in the den, she had studied all about the aquatic plants with which the mind-control drug was being prepared and thought that it was her bounden duty to keep its anti-dote ready for any exigency.

Danny broke down. The mere visualisation of what might have happened frightened him to the core. He just prostrated himself before Charu to show his gratefulness.

Charu and Yuvaan decided to postpone their visit to the den till such time that the boy showed full signs of recovery. Danny and his wife kept profusely thanking Charu and stayed by the boy's side.

Charu and Yuvaan went out into the backyard of the house for some fresh air. The neatly maintained flower beds of gerberas, dahlias and seasonal flowers with butterflies fluttering lent a serenity to the whole place. As they strolled along, they could hear Danny and his wife speaking to each other. Danny seemed to have been very much affected by the episode of his son's condition on consuming the sample drug. Though he seemed rough and tough on the outside, after all he too was a parent and it was beyond him to see the drug's severe reaction on his only son. He broke down sobbing and his wife was taken aback by his behaviour. He kept on begging his son to forgive him.

Charu suddenly had a thought flashing in her mind. She immediately came inside followed by a startled Yuvaan, who could not comprehend as to what had happened to her. Charu approached Danny and for the very first time, addressed him as "Bhaiya".

Danny felt goosebumps and was so moved that he could not control his tears and started pleading with Charu to forgive him for all his past sins. All these years not a single soul had tried to befriend him or be kind to him – everyone was afraid of Danny, the Don. His wife, too, was bound with fear and not love.

Charu wished to seize this opportunity to make him turn over a new leaf. She took him aside and assured him that all would be well with his son as the antidote was a very powerful one and in another couple of hours the boy would be normal once again. However, if the antidote had not been administered at the right time, the boy would have had to live like a vegetable throughout his lifetime. Danny regretted having been careless enough to have kept the sample packet lying around. "If only I had exercised proper care and kept it safely, this incident would not have taken place," he kept repenting.

Charu told him that all that happened was very well as it made him realise how powerful the drug was and what reactions it could cause if it was consumed without medical supervision. Very cautiously she approached him – "Bhaiya, if you do not mind it, will you consider my proposal?" Danny looked up to her and said, "anything for you, Charu – anything for you – I had never known nor experienced the joy of being called 'Bhaiya'. Yes, you are indeed my half-sister and have every right to call me your Bhaiya, but I need to change my ways and be worthy of it. What should I do to please you? Tell me, I am eager to know".

Charu then unfolded her plan. She said that the years of laborious research her mother had conducted ought to be correctly utilised. It would be a shame if the formula would be used to amass wealth which would bear the stench of numerous lives which would have been devastated by being addicted to the drug. She pointed out that Danny had enough and more to live comfortably not only for his generation but for at least three more generations. She told him that she intended to present the research findings of her mother as well as the formula to the government who could put it to proper use for treating people suffering from dementia and Alzheimer's disease. Till now, no cure had been found for these diseases and though research was on, even the causes of these afflictions had not been discovered. She also planned to set up a hospital in the mountains bordering the Kutta Lake for the benefit of the significant rural population in that area. The royalty the formula would fetch would be more than sufficient for running the hospital and sustain it. Danny could head the administration of the hospital. She had already thought of naming the hospital as "Mount Verghese", in deference to her mother's desire for a mountain to be named after her family. 

Danny was speechless. He could not believe his ears. Such noble thoughts would never have occurred to him. He realised the truth in what Charu said. It was high time he mended his ways and this was probably the very best thing that could have happened. This was a golden opportunity for him to shed the mantle of mafiahood and become a philanthropist, the path for which was so clearly defined and as if tailor-made for him.

The boy stirred, opened his eyes calling out, "Amme – acchha". The voice came out loud and strong and there was a wide smile on his face too. Both parents hugged and cuddled him, smothering him with kisses, while looking up at Charu in adoration and gratitude. Charu left the room leaving the parents with their precious child.

Yuvaan had been a silent spectator all this while. Words failed him. He was at a loss of words to convey his appreciation and admiration for Charu. To think it all, how smoothly a transition had been effected! It was just unbelievable. A Mafia don one night, and a totally transformed gentleman on another. The puzzle was getting solved on its own but the major task on hand now would be to deal with Abhay and Ruth.

Very soon, Danny emerged from the room and took Charu by surprise by hugging her! Charu was so happy to see him – a new man! Gone were his beard and side burns and his mop of unruly hair was now well groomed. For a moment Yuvaan too was pleasantly surprised. "Come, let's all go to the den. We have very important work to do," said Danny. "Are you carrying the Khopesh and the keys to the vault in your backpack?" he asked Yuvaan. "I would suggest you leave them here in the house in my locker, lest the evil Abhay and Ruth take them away from you. As you suggested, they will be needed for a better use" he smiled. 

Charu chipped in. "Danny Bhaiya, now that you are with us, we have nothing to fear. Don't you think it would be wise to take the police with us to arrest Abhay? You have all the evidence with you about his trying to trade the Khopesh." "Yes, of course, not a bad idea at all. Now that I have shed my Don looks, I would like to refrain from engaging in violence too", he chuckled. He then picked up the phone to call the Dy. Commissioner of Police requesting him to do the needful. On his part, the DCP was pleasantly surprised to hear a gentlemanly voice as against a guttural Mafia voice! Charu took the phone from Danny and briefly updated him about the turn of events. He suggested that they go to the den the next morning as he would have sufficient time to plan the siege and arrest the unsuspecting Abhay. It was past noon and since the south west monsoon was on, it would be difficult for them to successfully carry out their mission what with the imminent rains and thunderstorms. 

Charu had mixed feelings, but elation was overpowering her other emotions. 

She was happy having bonded with Danny and also with his changed nature. After lunch, she sat with Yuvaan on the patio, planning the next course of action. She wished that Yuvaan should undertake the responsibility of constructing the Mount Verghese Hospital and also contacted an architect to team up with Yuvaan. On his part, Yuvaan too was happy to be gainfully busy once again, and sensed great joy in the realisation that this new project would benefit the community at large. He had mentally started working out the plan, when all of a sudden a car screeching to a halt caught their attention. Both of them rushed out and so did Danny, only to see a woman lying on the road. The driver, seeing people come out just accelerated and sped away before any of them could note down the car number.

They rushed to the spot to realise that the injured woman was none other than Martha! She must have probably gone on her usual shopping spree which was evidenced by all the grocery strewn around. They were relieved to see that though she was bleeding and knocked out, the pulse could be felt and she seemed to breathe comfortably. All the three rushed her to the hospital and waited for the doctor to apprise them of her condition. After some time, the doctor came out of the ICU and told them that she had suffered a lot of blood loss and needed transfusion right away. Other parameters were somewhat under control, but blood was the need of the hour and her condition could be termed critical. He had arranged to have the blood group identified so that procurement could be arranged. In the meanwhile, the nurse came to tell him that Martha's blood group was AB+. 

Charu spontaneously offered to donate as she belonged to the same group. She was immediately taken in for testing and within an hour, they had arranged for the transfusion. Charu felt slightly exhausted more with the happenings since morning than due to her having donated blood, and rested in the waiting lounge. Danny had informed Ruth who rushed to the hospital. He was surprised to see his "Boss" look differently and also behaving so friendly with Charu. He was however now preoccupied with his mother's condition that he did not wish to be distracted by the presence of Charu. In any case, Abhay was already finalising the plan of action to retrieve the Khopesh from Charu and Yuvaan.

Danny wished that his "sister" should take adequate rest and so drove down Yuvaan and Charu to his house. He went back to the hospital to attend to Martha. As they were waiting outside, Danny spoke his mind to Ruth who found the revelation both amusing and amazing. He was not at all in agreement with Danny but kept silent. 

A little later, the doctor came to inform that Martha was out of danger and could be discharged the next morning as they wished to keep her under observation for the night. With the saline drips, she was bound to feel and get better by the morning. Danny left Ruth to be with his mother and returned home.

The next morning Yuvaan and Charu were at the breakfast table, but there was no sign of Danny! His son had slept well and was now up and bright and flashing his beautiful smile snuggling close to Charu. In a short while, a dhoti clad Danny with the aarti plate in hand, a chandan tilak on his forehead came from the pooja room! "Oh my God! Bhaiya! This is too much and so unbelievable!" laughed Charu. His wife followed him and prostrated before Charu saying that she was their Goddess now. Charu lifted her up, gave her a nice hug and patting her on the back, wished them well. They had a hearty breakfast and set off to the den. 

Both Yuvaan and Charu felt so relieved and de-stressed, that they enjoyed the drive to the den. None of them spoke on the way as each one of them had something to ponder. They took a detour and drove along the lake savouring the picturesque landscape against a mountainous backdrop so that they could reach the back door of the den. Once at the den, Abhay was the first to meet them. He cast a fleeting glance at all three of them and was surprised to see that all of them were empty handed. He almost laughed at Danny asking him, "yeh kya hoolia bana rakha hai aapne?" Danny remained silent and the trio started to walk into the lab. Abhay immediately drew his revolver forbidding them to step inside. As if on cue, the police constables who were in mufti and at a stone's throw from the den, came up and handcuffed Abhay who tried to protest, but seeing the look on Danny's face understood that his game was up. 

Abhay was charged with cheating, abusing his power and engaging with illegal activities among many other minor crimes. He looked back at Charu for a moment and Charu shuddered to remember that this was the guy who at one point of time looked to be her "perfect man". How looks could deceive!

It was now Ruth's turn to come out and greet them. The animosity he had harboured towards Charu was not there anymore. On the contrary, he stretched out his hand and thanked her for having saved his mother's life the previous afternoon. He told them that Martha spoke to him for a long while, resting in between and dispelled all the misunderstandings. She was comfortable at home and sent her best regards and blessings to both Yuvaan and Charu, saying that she hoped to be on her feet soon in time to bake their wedding cake! 

Ruth asked them to wait a moment and came back with Uncle Vincent, who had been kidnapped by him as he had come to know about Ruth's nefarious activities. It was a good reunion for Charu and Vincent. There was no prima facie case against Danny as he had been clever enough to shield himself while perpetrating crimes. Anyway, he was now a new man and was looking forward to the new assignment offered to him by Charu.

Charu left for New York the next day promising Yuvaan that she would be back in six months' time for the inauguration of Mount Verghese! Yuvaan and Danny got happily engaged in the challenging new project before them and Yuvaan looked forward to happy times with Charu, while Danny started to plan the wedding activities of his newly found "sister".