“It can be too dangerous. Don't forget, he might be a potential psycho killer. Having him at the office is too risky.”

They got silent again. Aastha spoke after some time.

“I think Avantika ka idea bura nhi hai. I mean serial killers ki ye tendency hoti hai ki wo outer world ke liye ek bhut hi normal life jeete hai and they enjoy this sadistic pleasure in their privacy. And moreover, we'll have the guy in front of our eyes. We can keep an eye on him and his movements. And maybe we can gather proofs against him.”

Both Avantika and Khushal nodded and Avantika said.

“But I still don't understand how unke fingerprints match nhi kre. And whose fingerprints are those actually then?”

“You're right! But Avantika, we don't have any other leads right now. We have to work with whatever we have right now. Aur kya pata once we observe that guy, we find other clues. And what if he did turn out to be the killer? We can't lose this chance.”

Khushal said and Avantika nodded in understanding.

“But ab question ye hai ki usse approach kaise krna hai? We as officers of STF don't have the authority to question CBI officers.”

Aastha asked and Khushal said.

“I think Avantika's idea was good here. We can approach him informally. Asking for his help. Isse usse shak bhi nhi hoga aur hamara kaam bhi ho jaayega.”

“But whose going to approach him?”

Aastha asked and Avantika raised her hand.

“I can. I mean I can try. Shayad papa ke kuch contacts nikal aaye.”

Avantika's father was a retired officer from the Central Forces. He had connections in various other forces of the country.

Avantika was sitting in the living room, Prakhar Negi’s information open on her laptop. He was 32 years of age and had joined the forces 14 years ago.

She read about his missions and was surprised to read that he had successfully and single handedly completed a lot of important missions. 

Is it possible that such a person could be a killer? And not just a normal killer, a psycho serial killer who chops a person alive for his sadistic pleasure.

She knew that he would know a 1000 ways to torture a person brutally. But innocent women? Avantika still felt that they were missing some angle.

She read about his personal and family details. His parents had passed away in a terrorist attack before he even joined the forces and he only had an elder brother in his family.

Avantika clicked on his picture again. She somehow couldn't remove her eyes from his face. It was an old picture. He would be in his mid twenties in the picture.

He had a small smile on his face and even then she could see a dimple on his cheeks. He was handsome. She didn't know if he was still as handsome. Or maybe more.

“Arre ye toh Prakhar hai na?”

Avantika's thoughts broke when she heard her father's voice. Her eyes lightened up and she turned to her father.

“Aap jaante ho sir ko?”

“Jaanta hu? Bhut achhe se. Meri academy ka best cadet tha Prakhar. Very dedicated and focused young boy. He was merely 18 when he stepped into the academy. Fresh out of school. Pr jo junoon aur jazba iss bache mai tha, wo maine bhut kam logo mai dekha hai aaj tak. He has very high regards for me. Even till today.”

Her father said with immense pride in his voice. Avantika looked at her father with a smile.

“You're still in contact with him?”

“Yes. A good soldier never loses his contacts.”

“Can you pass me his number? Ya koi address? I have some important work with him. Need help with a case.”

Her father nodded and sent her the information she desired. She thanked her father and sighed with a smile seeing his contact number and address.

Now she just had to contact him. Why was she nervous though? 

Avantika was sitting at the cafe she had decided to meet Prakhar. She had a word with him over messages last night where she introduced herself as Colonel Mishra’s daughter and requested him to meet her once saying she needed his help.

And now she was nervously waiting for him to arrive. He wasn't late. She was super early. Her thoughts haywire. What if he really was the killer? How would she recognise? Could she read someone's body language? How did pyscho killers behave in public?

She got a little startled hearing her phone's ringtone and quickly picked it up seeing Khushal sir's call.

“Sir!”

She greeted only to hear him curse on the other side.

“Are you fucking mad? You said you'd contact him and that's how you do it? By meeting him face to face? Avantika, that guy could be a killer! Don't you understand how risky this is? I should never have approved of your idea of contacting him.”

Avantika bit her lip and controlled her breathing. She was already nervous and Khushal’s words made her even more scared.

“I'm safe sir. We're meeting at a public place. It's very crowded. I don't think that even if he is the killer, he'd be able to do anything here in public.”

She heard Khushal groan in annoyance. He took a deep breath before saying.

“Fine! Ab pahuch gyi ho toh make sure to remain safe. Keep your location on! Mai har aadhe ghante mai call krunga. And if you don't pick up your call, I'm sending a search party for you!”

“Yes sir!”

With that she disconnected the call and sighed. Just as she looked back up, she saw him enter the cafe. Avantika couldn't avert her eyes from him. He looked so hot in that dark grey fitted t shirt and those sand colored pants.

His muscular physique was enhanced by his outfit. His eyes raked around the entire cafe before they stopped on her. She forgot breathing when he raised an eyebrow and continued his stride towards her.

“You must be Avantika.”

Oh his voice! Did he really have to be a killer? Was he though? Avantika composed herself and nodded.