Page 15 of The Pursuit
“Don’t,” Krish said sharply. “You can lie to yourself but not to me. Even in this state, you were calling out for me, Trisha. Why?”
I paled, humiliation washing over me.
“That doesn’t mean anything,” I argued weakly. “I was not in the right mindset.”
Krish grasped my hand firmly before I could pull away. “It means you still care, no matter how hard you pretend otherwise. I know you feel this too, Trisha.”
Panic clawed at my throat. I couldn’t let him break through my defences.
“What exactly is ‘this’ you’re referring to?” I asked Krish pointedly. “Define it clearly because, as far as I’m concerned, love has no place in my life right now. Yes, I was engaged once, but that was under my grandmother’s pressure, and you clearly know how bad that decision was. It was a mistake—one that clouded my judgement and went against my career.”
I held his gaze unflinchingly.
“Your father warned us for a good reason. Relationships make us weak, Krish. They undermine our ability to make objective decisions for the sake of the mission and the greater good.”
Krish started to protest, but I spoke over him. “I learned the hard way how selfish love can become. How it twists your priorities and makes you lose sight of your duty.”
Shaking my head, I concluded, “I won’t ignore those lessons and make the same errors again. You need to understand that I don’t crave or require that kind of bond right now. My dedication is to my work and work alone.”
My heart splintered, but I held firm.
“I can’t, Krish. I’m sorry.” The words felt like tearing off a limb.
Krish dropped my hand, looking utterly defeated, but the frustration on his face said that he wouldn’t give up on this conversation yet.
“I’ve missed you every day you’ve been away,” Krish replied. “I don’t know if this is love yet. What I do know is that I care for you deeply. Being with you makes me happy in a way I’ve never felt before. These past months apart have been agonising. I missed your smile, your laugh, and your companionship every single day. I understand your reservations, but I can’t simply ignore what’s between us only because my primary focus now should be on my role in GLEN. If relationships hindered GLEN’s success, only single and divorced individuals would be working for the organisation. GLEN is successful because weall know where to draw the boundaries between our personal and professional lives. A prime example is my father, the President of GLEN. He was married when he started GLEN, and his relationship with my mother never affected his commitment or responsibilities towards law enforcement.”
The door swung open and Dr. Bhat entered, followed by my team leader, Sudesh, interrupting our charged moment.
I saw Krish straighten from the corner of my eye, stepping back from my bedside. His façade of professionalism slid back into place flawlessly.
“How are you feeling, Agent Choudhary?” Sudesh inquired.
“Much better. Thank you for rescuing me on time,” I replied evenly.
Dr. Bhat examined my bandages and vitals. Seeing Dr. Bhat, I realised that I was in a hospital located within one of GLEN’s facilities in Singapore. My team got me to Singapore from Malaysia, safely out of Max’s reach. Otherwise, they would have got me treated in Malaysia as nearly every country in alliance with our organisation, dedicated to combating severe crimes, had infrastructures such as training centres, hospitals, safe houses, and more, specifically designed for agents like us. Dr. Bhat played a crucial role in GLEN’s medical team, overseeing the physical and psychological preparedness of agents for their missions, but he only practiced at the Singapore headquarters.
“You’ve been very lucky, Trisha,” he said. “The woundshould heal in a few weeks.”
Krish cleared his throat. “Doctor, could you give us a moment? I need to discuss the mission with Agent Trisha and Sudesh.”
Dr. Bhat nodded and exited. As soon as he left, Krish rounded on Sudesh. “I want a full report detailing exactly how this mission went wrong on my desk in 48 hours.”
Sudesh paled slightly. “Yes, Sir, of course.” He turned to me almost pleadingly. “Trisha, can you walk me through your cover being compromised? Did Max or his men say anything indicating how they discovered your identity?”
I shook my head. “It all happened so fast... One minute everything seemed normal, and the next they were ready to kill me.”
Sudesh sighed heavily. “Clearly, there was a leak of information somewhere. Don’t worry, we’ll get to the bottom of it.”
“I’ll assist you once I’m out of here,” I said to Sudesh, but Krish shut me down coldly.
“You are barred from field work for two weeks, effective immediately, until medically cleared.”
I bristled at Krish overruling me but held my tongue.
Sudesh awkwardly tried to smooth things over. “The, uh, standard recovery protocols make sense here. Your identity being compromised makes you the target of not just Max but his brother—the drug cartel kingpin we are after. Until we have a next plan of action, why don’t you take this time to lay low?”
Ignoring him, Krish continued. “She’ll stay at theGLEN safe house here in Singapore. Make the necessary arrangements, Sudesh.”
