The Last Case

It was an hour before her lectures were supposed to start. One hour was all she had. Any impulsive decision and Nawaz would escape. He had done it before. But not this time. She read his case file and rehearsed the scene multiple times in her head. There was no scope for mistakes.Her phone buzzed. It was time for action. She left for the little duplex down the road which was his designated hideout as discovered lately. Out of several maids one was their ally. She was supposed to let her in. They had a word the night before. She was just hoping everything worked out according to the plan.She started having palpitations. First case of agent Sandhya Rathore. Dealing with the most wanted smuggler Nawaz wasn't easy. She didn't want to take any chances. Another escape and they might not catch him.

She reached the door and waited for the signal. Lalita, the maid, was supposed to be cleaning near the main door so that when sandhya rings the bell she would let her in. Sandhya waited outside the house peeking at the window to see if the maid was there. A few moments later she spotted Lalita near the door. That was her cue. The maids and cooks were only appointed when Nawaz personally verified their identities and backgrounds. He has been betrayed before. Not this time. But the department forged Lalita's identity to such an extent that it was as clear as a spring. A maid was their only pass for letting them in. Sandhya rang the doorbell asking for help. Her role was to pretend to have a severe stomach ache and all she wanted was to use the restroom. After all the house was near the college and the locality was brimming with students and who would doubt just a regular college student wanting to use the restroom.

Lalita opened the door and asked her what does she want. Sandhya could see Nawaz sitting in the hall with one of his acquaintance but she had to pretend she doesn't know him. Any suspicion and he might escape. Just like last time. Sandhya requested Lalita to let her use the restroom as the college is still at a distance and she is not well. Lalita turned towards Nawaz who kept an eye on both. Nawaz nodded and there she was. Inside the house. Nawaz was sitting right in front of her. Harmless. She could've taken him down easily. But no impulsive decisions. One wrong move and he'll be gone. Lalita grabbed her hand and guided her to the restroom. She let Sandhya in and handed her the spare pair of keys. Their job was to smuggle the spare keys back to the department. They will be taking it forward from there. An encounter maybe. But Sandhya wasn't a part of that plan. A junior agent still in college wasn't supposed to be dealing with these.

After a few minutes, Sandhya came out from the restroom. She hid the keys well within her clothes to avoid any jingles. She thanked Lalita and a slight nod to Nawaz for letting her in, she departed from there.She walked straight towards her college where her senior was supposed to be waiting. She felt proud of herself. She was successful. Their plan worked. Nawaz would be behind the bars in no time. All thanks to her little contribution to the big plan. She reached college. And there she found her senior waiting all tensed. She walked past him slowly, sliding the pair of keys in his hands and went straight to her class. 

The day went by without any trouble. The next morning she picked up the newspaper and the headlines read "The most wanted smuggler Nawaz who was reportedly hiding at the duplex near BK college has escaped once again from the claws of CBI. His maid Lalita's body was discovered on the site by the officials. The reason behind the killing is still unknown." 

Her phone buzzed again. It was a text from an unknown number. She opened it. It read " Gotcha little smuggler!!.. I know what you did there. A car is waiting for you outside. Hop in quietly or say goodbye to your life. "