During this time, the papers were having a field day with the sudden absence of the 'Guardian Angel'. A few wags quipped that perhaps even superheroes needed a break during the holidays, and wondered where Delhi's resident superhero would have gone for his annual vacation.
When Arnab got back to his apartment, there were just two days to go to the New Year, and he decided that before the break was over, he would devote every night to putting an end to the 'Stoneman' scam. However, his planning was interrupted when he received an SMS from Mishti.
'Hi stranger. You never reply, but now you can't escape. Am in Delhi! What say to coffee today?'
As Arnab put the phone down, he felt a strange sadness come over him. Just a few weeks ago, he would have been jumping through hoops on receiving such a message from Mishti. He remembered his trip to Gurgaon to meet her, feeling as nervous as a schoolboy on his first date. He remembered the exhilaration of the days he had spent being in daily contact with her, sharing every little detail of his day, feeling closer to her than he had with any friend previously. Now, as much as he tried, he could not bring himself to feel anything approaching that. Everything he had seen over the last few months had perhaps taken its toll, without him realizing it. Had he been so immersed in fighting the dark side of man that he wondered if in some way, it had rubbed off on him? In looking evil in the face every night, had he lost something of himself to it? When he rode in a bus nowadays, no longer was he immersed in his make-believe world of novels. He found himself scanning his surroundings for any sign of trouble. When he entered a room, he focused on possible exit routes. When a car braked suddenly on the road, he turned, ready to fight.
What has happening to him?
***
That evening, Arnab met Mishti at a coffee shop, and when she walked in, there was a brief moment of awkwardness when it seemed that she was about to hug him. Arnab stuck out his hand, and laughing, Mishti shook it instead.
'God, it's been so long, Arnab. How have you been? My boss is coming to Delhi for some meetings, and I figured I'd come a few days early and spend New Year's Eve here.'
As the two of them sat at a corner table and talked, Arnab realized that he was not the only one to have noticed the changes in him. After a few minutes of conversation, Mishti put her hand on his and asked, 'Arnab is everything all right? You seem different.'
'I'm fine, Mishti. Why do you say I'm different?'
'The Arnab I knew smiled a lot more, and his eyes were not so…so…hard.'
Arnab brushed it off, saying he was just tired, but then Mishti dropped a bombshell.
'Arnab, there's something I want to talk to you about. This is awkward for me to bring up, but there's an old friend of mine from college, Pankaj, and he recently proposed to me. We were seeing each other in college for some time, and then drifted apart when he went abroad. He's come back and we've been in touch, and he's asking if we could be together again.'
Arnab's heart stilled. Why was she telling him this? When he said nothing, she went on,
'I haven't replied to him. I wanted to talk to you first.'
'Why?'
'Because…because I wondered if there was anything between us, if you were interested in me? The way we were getting to know each other, I thought there was something special between us, and under other circumstances, I would never have brought this up. But with Pankaj coming back into my life, I wanted to be sure.'
Arnab's world stopped for a moment. Here was a woman he found really attractive, someone he would have loved to be with, virtually telling him she was interested in him. He realized just how tough it would have been for Mishti to put her feelings out there like this.
And then he stopped himself.
What kind of life would he offer her? How would he ever share his secret? How would he explain to her that every night he would leave her to risk his life? Or could he leave it all for Mishti?
He closed his eyes for a second. There was nobody to help him. This was his choice to make. He could be with Mishti, be happier than he had ever imagined, than he deserved to be, and give up the life he had been leading for the last few months. Then he sighed as he realized that he couldn't. Could he turn a blind eye when he saw some goons molesting a girl or robbing someone? Could he just forget what Upadhyay and his men were doing? Could he live with himself knowing that people were getting hurt and killed in crimes he could stop, just so he could be happy? He realized that he couldn't. Perhaps it was his destiny, or perhaps his curse, but he would have to fulfil it.
He looked at Mishti, and said with a forced smile.
'Mishti, there's nothing like that. I'm actually already engaged to a girl back in Kolkata.'
Mishti turned red, 'Oh God, I feel like an idiot. I'm so sorry, Arnab. Forget everything I said.'
Not knowing who else to unburden his heart to, Arnab went straight to Khan's place, and told him everything that had happened. For his part, Khan said very little, content with just sitting next to Arnab and letting him vent. When Arnab had finished, Khan spoke in a soft tone.
'Arnab, nobody else can tell you what to do in a matter like this. You need to make the choice that feels right. But there is perhaps only one thing I would ask you to consider. Perhaps you were not meant to be together; perhaps she would never have been able to accept the life you lead. But perhaps you should have given her that choice.'
Later that night, back in his apartment, Arnab buried his face in his pillow and cried himself to sleep-for even superheroes can suffer the pain of a broken heart.
The next day was New Year's Eve, and Arnab had a celebration of sorts in mind. He installed his stolen SIM card into his phone and sent a single message to Upadhyay.
'I lived. Now we meet again. Same place, same time, tonight-GA.'
He knew it was a risky thing to do. So far he had not made a single call or sent a message using the SIM card he used to receive messages meant for the Guardian Angel. Sending a message was advertising where he was, and he knew that Upadhyay could use that to trace where the message had originated. But he rationalized that it would only give Upadhyay a broad area to search, which would not really help him hunt down one person, and a librarian at a college was hardly going to be the prime suspect. As Arnab prepared himself mentally for the night, he tried to keep all other thoughts from his mind. For the most part, he succeeded. For the most part, since his mind did wander back to Mishti. That made him even angrier, and he tried to channel all his fury at Upadhyay and his men. Before leaving, he visited Khan and told him all about how he had first discovered his powers. It was a terrible burden to place on the old man, but Arnab wanted someone to know his story in case he did not come back. Khan listened silently, and as Arnab left, all he said was,
'Don't fight angry. Angry men make mistakes. And remember to use the darkness.'
Those words stayed with Arnab as he reached Mathura Road. It was dark now, but he had not yet changed. He quietly walked around the area, using his night vision to scan his surroundings from behind a tree. Upadhyay was standing just ten feet away, holding his revolver in his hand, standing partly concealed behind a parked police car. As he scanned the area, he could see five constables in the open, rifles in hand, and he could see two more hiding behind parked cars on either side of the road. He was glad he had listened to Khan's advice and not come raging into the ambush that had been set for him. As he walked out of the area, he put on his sweatshirt and gloves and sat down quietly near the base of a flyover, hidden in the darkness, watching. The policemen kept scanning the roads, watching for his arrival, but in the darkness, there was no way they could see that he was but a few feet away, hidden in the shadows. In contrast, he was able to see their every move, and see through the trap they had laid for him. They had the advantage of numbers, but he had the advantage of total surprise, and he had time on his side. So he just sat there, watching the men who had planned to kill him. After thirty minutes, he could see Upadhyay begin to get impatient, spitting on the ground and checking his watch. Several of the constables were also stirring, wondering whether they were just wasting their time instead of celebrating the New Year.