Chapter 21

Sabari was astounded as heard the word ‘chimps’ from the anonymous guy over the phone.

“What??”

“Didn’t you listen to what I said? That’s ok… I said that I’m one of the three chimps killed by your experiment”

“uhm… Actually… I didn’t understand what you are talking about”

“Sabari!!! You know something?? Your boss Prathap, tried being smart by speaking exactly the same thing, when I talked to him about the chimps. He asked ‘What Chimps??’. I had to make him rest forever peacefully. The ‘Needle Shell’ stopped his heart. I do have a bunch of such shells still. Do you want me to reserve one for you?”

Those words make Sabari sweat.

“No.. No.. Please”

“Good… I can sense and respect your desire to live”

“What do you want now?”

“I want the Bionic project to be abandoned once for all”

“I don’t know who you are… But, I’m still obliged to clarify you something… “

“Please do”

“The Bionic project is first of its kind and will be a huge breakthrough in the field of medical science. Moreover, this is going to be the solution for a number of killer diseases. During the initial stages, we have to experiment it on rats, rabbits and chimps. It is part of the process and there is nothing abnormal”

“I don’t like to hear such stories Mr. Sabari. This project is not going to help our country. I know that this project has been sold to China already.”

“I can for sure say that you have misunderstood and misinformed about this project. This is for…”

“Stop it... Enough of your crap... Whatever it may be… This project has to be dropped with immediate effect...Else I will make you stop… Once you go home, think over it. It may cost you a day’s sleep. I don’t care. You can take the advice of your gorgeous wife too. The choice of living a happy life with your wife or getting killed by a ‘Needle Shell’ ”.

The call was disconnected. Sabari was dejected and sat motionless in the car, holding the steering for a couple of minutes.

‘Who is this anonymous guy?’

‘He should be a well-informed guy in Biotechnology. How the hell does he know the details of the project? That too the deal with the Chinese organization.’

‘The guy had killed Prathap using sophisticated weapon. Looks like he is equipped in hi-tech weapons’

‘I have to keep Sidharth informed about this. Have to put a hold on the project until the situation gets better’

Suddenly, thought of Ananya hit his mind.

‘Where did she go? To meet whom?’

Sabari drove his car towards his home. In the next few minutes, he reached the street where he resided. The streets were empty and the streetlights were sparsely lit. He parked his car outside the gate and walked to the gate. He noticed that the security was not there in the scene.

Sabari looked around to check but could not find him. He opened the gate and walked towards the entrance.  Ananya’s car was parked in front of the entrance.  

‘Ananya has returned back after venturing out’

Sabari walked toward Ananya’s car and kept his hand on the car bonnet. It was hot. That was enough to assure him that she had just returned from outside. He ran through his mind and got ready to confront Ananya.

Sabari reached the entrance and when he was about to press the calling bell, he noticed that the door was not completely closed. He slightly pushed the door and it opened freely.

‘Did she forget to lock the door?’

Sabari opened the door and stepped into the hall. Though the hall lights were switched off, one of the night lamps was on. The couches were empty and he looked around. In the complete silence, he crawled through the room looking for Ananya and stopped in front of the bedroom.

Sabari pushed the door slightly and it opened as it was not locked from inside. He got furious and wondered how irresponsible was Ananya to leave the doors unlocked.

The sparsely lit night lamp was on and he looked around. And he saw Ananya sleeping on the bed lying by her side. He walked towards the bed, placed his hand on her shoulders to wake her up.

When he placed his hands on the shoulder, his fingers sensed something sticky. He brought his hands closer to eyes and it was visible even in the poor lighting.

BLOOD.

Sabari’s heart stopped for a moment and he called out “Ananya??”

Sabari attempted wake her up by placing his hand on her shoulder. Ananya’s motionless body fell on its back. A stream of blood slid from the head and was spread across her face.

Sabari had a jolt and his heartbeat rose rapidly. His brain stuck without a clue on what to do next.

Just then, he heard a noise. It was the noise of the couch being moved and it was from the hall.

‘Someone is here’

Sabari instantaneously ran to the hall and switched on the lights. He noticed that the couch was disarranged and the door was wide open. It was clear that someone had ran outside.

Sabari ran outside and saw the shadow of someone running on the opposite direction. He could see the shadow for a second and it disappeared.

Sabari stormed out of the entrance and started to chase.