A Coincidental Meeting

Aditya closed his laptop and looked at the two middle-aged men, who were busy in conversation. He needed to discuss with Munna about some things, but he waited until Raghav was finished. Aditya finished his food during this time. He was quite depressed having to eat outside food as the food made by him would taste many times better. Maahi had offered to send food, but Aditya dissuaded her as he was not sure where he would be at any given time.

"Munna, what is the progress of the construction of 'that' place?" Aditya enquired as he stood up to wash his hand. The female caretaker cleaned the table even though Aditya asked her not to do so.

Aditya had wanted to build a base for his secret operations. He knew the importance of concealing his actions as the things that he would be constructing in that place should not come to light, whatsoever. Building a supercomputer and a quantum computer was just the beginning. Sometimes, Aditya liked to think of this base as his 'Batcave'.

One needed to know that Tya was currently a repository of all the latest technologies known to humankind. Even though the glove was broken and Aditya lost his 'Cellular Regulation' ability temporarily, Tya already possessed a lot of knowledge.

Once Aditya got back this ability, it was just a matter of time before Tya completely absorbed everything. Potentially, at that time, Aditya should be able to construct anything from a military tank to a rocket which can do space missions. So, Aditya wanted to have a secret base for himself. He had turned to Taarini for help as she was only one with the required capability, whom he could trust completely.

According to Tya, the AI (artificial intelligence) that he would create based on Aditya's soul particle would have enough capacity to hack into the Organisation's network. Even if it could not access the core technologies, infiltrating into the periphery devices of small level personnel should not be a problem. At that time, Aditya would be able to gain the enemy's advanced technologies as well.

Taarini had given a piece of land which covered an area of 245 acres (around 100 hectares). This location was situated forty kilometres away from the city and convenient for Aditya to move back and forth. Munna was appointed by Taarini to assist Aditya in this endeavour.

Munna sent the female caretaker away as he replied, "I have employed every resource from the 'unorganised sector' as you requested. The labour, equipment, finance etc. are under the radar and kept secret. Each underground bunker is being built by a different team of engineers, labour and contractors using the set of designs given by you. It will take a week to complete the first bunker and a month to complete the rest."

"Just a week?" Aditya was shocked at the speed of the construction even if he had requested it to be confidential. The first bunker was the place that Aditya was going to build the supercomputer and the quantum computer. Aditya planned to build separate bunkers at different depths and have them connected through tunnels like an anthill.

Aditya would connect these bunkers using tunnelling equipment himself. Tya was the one who designed this structure based on Aditya's requirements. Aditya planned to establish a solar powerplant on the surface as a coverup. Also, the supercomputer and the quantum computer were going to require massive amounts of electric power to run. Money was not a problem at the moment.

Munna smiled as he said, "Big Sis had ordered to give priority to your requests. So, it was made possible. Also, we had a lot of workers remain idle due to the cancellation of the construction of the 'Iconic Building'. I employed them here."

Aditya nodded as he said, "That's good to know. I require that place to be completed as quickly as possible."

Munna nodded and remained silent. Previously, he had always been sceptical about Aditya and maintained vigilance towards this boy as he had come near Taarini in dubious circumstances. But after what happened on the highway (freeway), Aditya had genuinely gained Munna's and Raghav's acknowledgement and trust.

Munna had seen the terrific capabilities of those people, who had downed Raghav in a few seconds. Even then, Aditya was able to kill those people and save Taarini. It was enough proof of Aditya's loyalty and capacity.

A new era was coming, and Munna knew that his ability was not enough to keep Taarini safe. They needed Aditya to safeguard their little miss. So if Aditya had any requirement, Munna and Raghav would go to any length to fulfil it.

"The arrest warrant on Taarini is still in effect, right?" Aditya asked as he switched on the television and tuned to a news channel.

"Yes, but no one is genuinely making an effort to catch her. It might be because they assume that she was killed or maybe because of Taarini possessing the handles of many corrupt politicians and police officials in her hand. Either way, Taarini is safe as long as she doesn't knock the doors of the police headquarters," Munna answered.

Aditya nodded as he said, "It is safer for Taarini to stay in that village for a few days. The true danger does not come from the government but the Raipath family. I have a small plan to get the government to withdraw the warrant and stop Raipath Family from focusing on Taarini. I will have to recover completely before implementing this plan, though."

"Oh?" Munna's and Raghav's eyes lit up when they heard Aditya's words. Even though they acted as if they did not care, having a warrant against Taarini and the influence of the Raipath family was always a hidden danger. Even they could not move freely at the moment. For example, Raghav was admitted in this hospital under a false name to avoid unwanted problems. Aditya nodded as he looked at the two men.

"Also, those people and the Raipath family who did this to us will pay for their actions," Aditya added as he watched the news channel. Munna nodded while Raghav smiled as they thought that this kid was looking more pleasing to the eyes.

On TV, a male news anchor was reporting, "North Korea has agreed to the US's offer of peace talks. The President is expected to send a delegation of diplomats to North Korea in a few days..."

...

Aditya walked out of the hospital with the help of a crutch. The pain in his right leg was gone for the most part. He was waiting on the side of the busy road for Munna's subordinates to bring the car. Munna had offered a lift to the garage and Aditya had accepted.

The street was busy in the evening filled with street food vendors and people who were shopping. All kinds of salivating fragrances filled the air, but Aditya did not care as he had just eaten to his full. Aditya gazed at the people who were bargaining with the vendors and gossiping among themselves happily. He sighed as he felt a little jealous of their ignorance of the rapidly changing world around them. If his parents had not been taken away and Tya had not existed, Aditya would most probably be one of those people. He would also come here to have a night snack with his parents.

Aditya got down from the pavement when he saw that the car that he was waiting for was approaching. Suddenly, a two-wheeled scooter changed its direction and rushed towards Aditya. He had very little time to react, but his left leg bent a little, and his body shot back to the pavement with a quick leap. No one saw this movement, but Aditya's reflexes and his leg strength were bordering on superhuman. His body was modified by Tya, after all.

Crash!

The scooter hit the pavement, and the two persons on that vehicle fell along with a lot of baggage. The scooter's light was flickering, and the front wheel was still rotating while producing a metal friction sound. People gasped when they saw this accident and started to gather around. Some people came forward to help lift those big grocery bags.

Aditya's pupils contracted a little bit but immediately relaxed when he saw his 'assailants'. 'Was it fate? His own employees almost hit him?' Aditya mused as he saw two stunning women, who were lifting themselves from the ground.

One of the women was tall and had a light olive complexion and an athletic physique. She wore a dusty pink coloured, round neck T-shirt with stripe detail along with a pair of blue jeans. The jeans were a tight skinny fit which fully brought out the charm of her long, shapely legs. Her long, black hair fell like waves on her shoulders.

The other one was shorter, possessing a milky-white complexion and the graceful curves of a mature woman. This woman wore a red and black printed T-shirt with stripes and stars along with a pair of black high-rise treggings. She had shoulder-length chestnut colour hair.

These two women were none other than Charita and Jagvi. It was Charita who was driving the scooter. Both of them did not look as if they were seriously hurt, but a few skin-deep wounds could be seen. A little blood was flowing out from Charita's palm. The heavy baggage seemed to have worked at a cushion, thus, absorbing most of the damage.

Aditya had an amused expression on his face as he approached the two girls who were helping themselves up. He did not bother helping as both of his hands were occupied. Both of them were shocked when they saw Aditya's casts. They had almost hit an already injured person.

"Sorry, did you get hurt?" Jagvi apologised as she asked Aditya with a smile. Just as Aditya was about to answer, Charita jumped in the middle as she started accusing Aditya in a loud voice, "Hey kid, why were you standing in the middle of the road? Don't you know the traffic rules? Or are you trying to extort money from innocent girls like us by acting as if you were involved in an accident?"

Aditya was speechless when he heard these words. He turned to look at Charita with a twinkle in his eyes. "Excuse me," Jagvi gave an apologetic smile as she dragged Charita back. She looked at Charita with exasperation as she asked, " what are you doing? It is clearly your mistake, and you are actually blaming the kid?"

Charita looked at Aditya dubiously as she whispered in a low voice, "Jagvi, I know that it is my mistake. But if I agree, then what would happen if the kid threatens us to call the police. I am on a budget, and that was the reason that we had to go to the hypermarket to get cheap wholesale deals."

" Who would imagine that the baggage would be so heavy for us to carry on a scooter and lead to this accident? So, let me deal with this kid. He seems to be an innocent guy. A little frightening ought to get him to back away from demanding money from me. We are young, defenceless beautiful girls, the public should support us if I act a little." Charita spoke with confidence. Aditya was speechless when he saw through Charita's plan. He could easily discern Charita's words by 'lipreading'.

"Hmph, you would not have to be on a budget if you didn't spend your entire salary on buying gifts for our boss." Jagvi rolled her eyes as she retorted.

"Don't bring Ishaan into this topic. He is mine. You are jealous that I won the coin toss the other day and grabbed the chance to seduce him." Charita snapped at Jagvi and turned towards Aditya who was looking at them with a strange expression.

"Look, kid. I am a kind woman, so I won't make things hard for you. The repairs for this scooter should be around 2000 bugs (28 USD). As you are young and it is normal for kids like you make mistakes, I will forgive you and not complain to the police. As I am forgiving, give me a 1000 bugs (14 USD) and each of us will go our ways." Charita said in a stern voice as if an elder was disciplining the young.

Charita was pleased to see that the opposite party was not speaking a word. It seemed like her plan was a success. Just as she was going to continue her act, she noticed that Jagvi was hurriedly pulling her sleeve. Charita turned to look at Jagvi when she saw that a group of burly males surrounded both of them. They all had solemn expressions as they were looking at both of them.

Aditya chuckled as he looked at both of their expressions. He looked at a person and ordered, "Get them both in the car." The hearts of both Charita and Jagvi skipped a beat when they heard the kid's words.