Chapter 11
CHAPTER 11
MISSION FOXTROT
Knock knock.
Sanju looked up. “Siddharth? Aa jaa. Monami mess mein hai.”
“I know. Main Monu se nahi, aap se hi milne aaya tha”, he said, walking in.
“Humse? Kaahe ke lane?”
“Mujhe training mein thodi help chahiye. Boxing mein. Aap jab bhi free hain, if you could help?”
She nodded. “Raat ko, khaane se pehle koi class hogo teri?”
“Nope. I am free after 5.”
“6 baje hume training room mein milno. Ek minute bhi late hua, toh hum chale jaayenge.”
He grinned. “Thank you”, he said. He clutched her hand, bringing it up and kissing her knuckles. She stared at him wide eyed, snatching her hand back. She wiped her knuckles on her shirt, staring at Siddharth as he ran off happily.
“Boranta.”
---x---x---x---x---x---x---x---x---x---
“Humaare paas aapke liye ek mission hai”, Karan announced. The cadets looked at each other, eyes wide and lit up in excitement. He clicked his tongue, drawing their attention back to himself. “Mock mission hai. Aap 6 subgroups hain- Alpha to Foxtrot. Saare cadets apne apne subgroups ke hisaab se groups form kijiye. Fall out!”
The cadets parted from the lines they were standing in, standing in their particular subgroups in order. Karan’s eyes flickered around, and he nodded in satisfaction.
“Toh karna kya hai, ab wo suniye”, he said.“Humne chhe missions plan kiye hain. Saare unrelated hain. Sab subgroups ko ek ek mission milega. Aapke paas maximum do hafte hain mission ko complete karne ke liye. Aapko ek file milegi, aur us mein aapko details aur clues milenge mission ke liye. Mission ka matlab yeh nahi hai ki aapki classes ya drills kam ho jayengi. Aapko pressure aur zyaada kaam handle karna bhi aana chahiye. Kya, kab, kaise karna hai, wo aapko manage karna padega.” He paced in front of the groups. “In do hafton mein, mission ke liye, aap apne rooms ke bahar lights out ke baad reh sakte hain. Par agar kisi bhi trainer ne aapko mission ke alaawa kuchh karte hue pakda, you’ll be punished. Is that clear?”
“Yes sir”, they said.
“Ab sab subgroup mein se ek cadet aayega, aur apne subgroup ki file lekar jayega”, he said.
“#Can I go?” Chitra asked quietly to her teammates, smiling enthusiastically. They nodded, and she ran up. She took the file with their subgroup’s name before falling back into the group.
“Cadets”, Karan warned when everyone stared chattering. Silence fell back. “Any questions?” Sid raised his hand, along with a few others. “Go ahead, Siddharth.”
“Sir, real missions mein toh tech support bhi hoti hai. Hum mock mission mein tech use kar sakte hain?”
Karan glanced at Faizi. He shrugged back, nodding. “Agar tum logon ko lagta hai ki mission tech ke saath better execute ho sakta hai, toh tum log humaare paas aa sakte ho and apna case present kar sakte ho. Agar hume theek laga, toh we’ll allow it and provide you with the tech.”
“Thank you, Sir.”
“Anyone else?” His eyes stopped on another cadet. “Yes, Pooja?”
“Sir, agar hum logon ne mission successfully aur achhe se execute kara toh hume reward milega?”
“Reward ka toh pata nahi, par agar fail hue, toh punishment zaroor milegi”, he snapped. “Tum logon ko punishment ya reward se koi farak nahi padna chahiye. Har mission mein apna best dena hota hai. Commandos don’t back out. Aisa ghatiya sawaal aage se puchhna mat.”
“Sorry Sir”, she muttered.
He glared at them. “Anyone else?” Silence greeted him. “Good. Dismissed. Classes ka time ho raha hai, sab apne respective rooms mein report karo.”
---x---x---x---x---x---x---x---x---x---
“Uski information ke hisaab se, iss waale room mein CCTV hona chahiye”, Karan muttered, tapping a door on one of the photographs his informer had sent. He glanced at Faizi. “Agar hum Sanju ko undercover bhejte hain, and it comes down to a fight, toh hum civilians ki aur Sanju ki, dono ki jaan khatre mein daalenge.”
Faizi leaned back on the bed he was watching from. “Par hum iss darr mein mission ko abandon toh nahi kar sakte. Kabhi toh jaana hi padega, na? Yeh risk toh hamesha hi rahega.”
“Achha? Mujhe toh pata hi nahi tha. Mera pehla mission hai, Special Agent Major Faizuddin Siddiqui. Thank you bataane ke liye”, he snapped.
“Tum hum par kyun bhadak rahe ho? Humne kya kara hai?”
Karan sighed. “Bas… thoda stress hai. Tu… tu bura mat maan. Ignore kar, please.”
Faizi nodded. “Thodi der mein baat karte hain phir? Tum relax karo thoda.”
He shook his head. “Relax karne se kaam khatam nahi hoga, Faizi. Mission par dhyaan dete hain, behtar hoga.”
“Okay.” He stood up, walking closer to theboard. “Kuchh socha hai phir?”
“Ek idea hai mere paas.” He pushed the picture to the side of the board, opening a marker. “Hum Sanju ke saath tujhe undercover bhejte hain. Sanju andar jayegi aur CCTV ki footage nikaalegi. Tu uski help karna aur bahar nazar rakhna. Agar koi bhi aisi halchal hui, jisse lage ki violent ho sakta hai, toh tu immediately sabse pehle civilians ko bahar nikaalna. Agar yeh hua, toh humaara secrecy ka plan toh fail ho jayega, toh hum ek full out raid hi conduct karenge.”
“Full out raid?” Faizi asked. “Hume koi idea nahi hai ki andar kitne log honge.”
Karan tapped on the board, thinking. “Academy se club ka raasta kuchh 15 minute ki doori par hai.” He drew a two squares a little space apart, writing in sloppy letters- academy on one, and club on another. “Hum apni back up teams ready and armed rakhenge academy mein. Koi bhi problem hogi, toh we’ll be ready.” He pointed to a point about halfway between the road. “Tum logon ko maximum 15 minute akele handle karna padega. Sounds good?”
“Tum kahan hoge? Humaare saath?”
He shook his head. “Academy mein. Tum sab ke paas cameras lage honge. Main yahan se cheezen monitor karunga aur cheezen direct karunga. Agar sab kuchh peacefully gaya, toh kisi ki zaroorat nahi padni chahiye. Aur agar nahi, toh main back up teams ke saath aa jaaunga.”
"Plan kab execute karenge?"
"I was thinking... parso. Thursday. Ek baar Batra Sir se approval lena padega, par weekends par zyaada log honge. Aur kal tak sab arrange nahi hoga."
“Sounds good enough”, Faizi said. He sat back down on the bed. “Ab yeh batao ki Sanju andar jaayegi kaise? Wo room toh off limits hona chahiye.”
He sighed. “Wo sochna bacha hai. Maine Sanket se baat kari thi. Usne kaha ki uske paas ek pen drive hai. Kuchh do minute ka kaam hai jo computer par karna hai, aur baaki ka kaam wo yahan academy se sambhaal lega.”
---x---x---x---x---x---x---x---x---x---
“Monami”, Koel said, smiling at her.
She smiled back nervously, sitting down on the bench. She pushed herself closer to the wall, sliding down lightly. Sid kept a hand on her knee, giving her a reassuring look.
“Main yahin hoon, na, bacche?” He muttered. “It’s okay.”
She nodded. She took a deep breath, leaning forward and peeking into the file.
“Monami, hum logon ko lagta hai ki Sid ko #team leader hona chahiye”, Chitra said. “Tumhe koi #problem toh nahi isse?”
She shook her head. Koel opened the file, picking up the printed report. “Mission Foxtrot”, she began to read out loud. “According to the intelligence report, there is an anticipated attack somewhere in the academy. Your mission would include stopping said anticipated attack and figuring out the person responsible for it. There may or may not be more than one attacks and the attacks may happen as early as tonight and as late as two weeks. So, be on your guard.”
“Yeh toh poora video game waali vibe de raha hai”, Sid said.
Bala picked up another paper attached to it. There was a code scribbled on it with blue ink, and they all stared at it. ADRENCH235632
“Yeh kaisa code hai?” Suman ji asked. “Ise dekhkar toh kuchh bhi dimaag mein nahi aa raha hai. Aisa lag raha hai bas kuchh bhi likh diya hai.”
“Suman ji, kuchh toh hoga, tabhi code diya hai, na?” Prem ji said.
The cadets copied it in their own notebooks, before they all scooted into more comfortable positions and stared at it silently.
ADRENCH235632
Monami tilted her head, running common patterns and codes they had studied. She glanced at the others, who were all engrossed in trying to solve the code. Familiar nervousness appeared.
“Sid”, she whispered, leaning closer to him. “C-Code hi toh solve karna hai. Main… main akele baithkar kar loon.”
He gave her a stern look. “Monu, mission ka kaam hai, na? This is part of training. Teamwork bhi zaroori hota hai.” He glanced at the others. “Koi baat thodi naa kar raha hai tujhse. Pretend kar koi nahi hai.”
She nodded. She glanced at the others, her fingers tightening around the pen she was holding. She pressed herself closer to the wall, ducking her head.
“Aur kuchh hai kya?” Koel said after a fairly long time. She flipped through the papers, sighing and keeping it back. “Mujhe kuchh dikh hi nahi raha hai jo code ho sakta hai.”
Sighs erupted. “Class ka time hone waala hai”,Suman ji said tiredly.
“Raat ko dobara milte hain?” Bala asked.
“Copy that”, Sid said, standing up.
---x---x---x---x---x---x---x---x---x---
“Sid? Tu toh Sanju ma’am ke saath boxing practice karne waala tha, na?” Monami asked. “Late nahi ho raha?”
He sighed. “Session cancel, bro.”
“Kyun?”
“Keh rahe the ki unhe kahin bahar jaana hai, kisi kaam se. Kehte kal time mila toh help kar denge.”
Her eyebrows furrowed. “Tu itna sad kyun ho raha hai, bro? Keh toh rahe hain kal kar denge. Big deal.” Sid hummed, lying down on her bed. Monami rolled her eyes. “Tu itna dramatic kyun ho raha hai, Sid?”
“Main bahut excited tha, bro, and then, unhone cancel kar diya. Unke saath boxing sessions are fun”, he said.
“Haan, toh kal kar lena. Wo kaunsa kahin bhaag rahe hain?”
He hummed. “Haan.” He heaved a sigh.
Her eyebrows furrowed. She glanced at him, eyeing his drooped form.
‘Sid aaj se pehle toh kabhi boxing ke liye itna eager nahi hua hai. Ise toh violence nahi pasand. Phir yeh itna eager kyun hai?’ She shook her head. ‘Shayad training ke liye hi excited hoga. Ise drills toh waise bhi pasand hai.’
“Sanju ma’am, waise, kitni cool hain, na?” Sid said.
She shrugged, nodding. “Haan, sure.”
“Yeh kya sad response tha? Tune dekha tha unhone kaise uss stupid ladke ko thappad maara tha? And tujhe pata hai, unhe kitne saare types ke martial arts aate hain?”
She smiled. “Does someone have a crush?” She teased.
“Bro… nahi, yaar. I just… I admire her. Kitni strong hain wo. I admire strong people.” He smiled at her. “Tabhi toh tujhe itna pasand karta hoon. You’re the strongest person I know.”
She scoffed. “Tu kitna jhooth bolta hai, Sid.”
He rolled his eyes, jumping to his feet. He cupped her face. “Tu bahut strong hai, Monu.” He kissed her forehead. “Tu sherni hai. Moti sherni.”
She hit his arm, and he smiled, hugging her.
---x---x---x---x---x---x---x---x---x---
Faizi leaned against the wall, heaving a sigh. His phone buzzed, and he took it out, opening his informer’s message.
Sir ji, security tight nahi hai club mein. Sirf upar upar se check karte hain.
He gave a thumbs up to the message. Another buzz and he opened up the second message. Abu.
Faizi, hum iss baar aa nahi sakte tumse milne. Hum agli baar aate hain.
His thumbs hovered over the keypad for a few seconds. Theek hai.
Tum Mumbai nahi aa sakte milne?
Nahi. Hume kaam hai. Aap hazaar baar bhi puchh lo, toh humaara jawaab yeh hi rahega. Baar baar puchhne ka koi faida nahi hai.
Hum tumhaari naraazgi samajhte hain, par hum koshish kar toh rahe hain.
He sighed in exasperation. Aapko humaara birthday pata hai?
Haan, March 31.
Nahi. August14. Pichhle mahine. Aur Ammi ne aapko call bhi kara tha, yaad dilaane ke liye. Par aapne phone nahi uthaaya. Apni convenience par aane jaane ko koshish karna nahi kehte. Hume kaam hai, hum jaa rahe hain.
He locked the phone after sending the message, keeping it aside. He sighed, shaking his head.
A rose appeared in his line of vision, and he looked up in surprise. Koel smiled at him, sitting down next to him. She nodded to the rose, holding it out to him. He accepted it, smiling slightly.
“Yeh kis liye?”
She shrugged. “Return gift. Aapne mujhe rose diya, maine aapko diya.”
“Har cheez return karne ki zaroorat nahi hai”, he said.
“Aapne hi toh return gift dena start kara tha. Main toh bas ritual follow kar rahi hoon.” She smiled at him. Her smile faded slightly. “Kya hua? Aap pareshaan lag rahe hain?”
He sighed. “Kuchh nahi”, he muttered. He traced his phone cover, feeling it vibrate randomly. He glanced at the screen. All from his father.
“Chalo”, she said.
He glanced up in surprise. “Kahan?”
“Mess”, she said, standing up. “Main aapke liye kuchh achha sa khaana banaati hoon. Aapka mood bilkul theek ho jayega.”
“Koel, iski koi zaroorat nahi hai.”
She tugged on his arm. “Chalo!”
---x---x---x---x---x---x---x---x---x---
Chitra kept a hand on her arm, tugging on it. Dread pooled in her stomach. Her chest constricted. Monami took a deep breath, standing up. The other six cadets turned to look at her, and her nervousness bubbled up into panic.
“M-Main…” She attempted to explain. They looked at her expectantly. They didn’t understand.
“Monu, tu-” Sid started. He understood. Sid understood. He would explain. She needed to get out of here.
She turned around, running out of the room. Panic clutched at her chest, and she ran into her room. It was empty, Sanju nowhere in sight. She closed the door, leaning against it.
‘Monu, phattu hai tu. Mumma ki beti nahi hai tu. Mumma desh ke liye shaheed ho gaye, aur tu… logon se baat bhi nahi kar sakti. Papa sahi kehte hain. I am not made for this life. Main toh logon se bina dare baat bhi nahi kar sakti. Unke saath reh bhi nahi paati.’ Her vision blurred. She felt a sob shake her body.
‘Kitni baar samjhaaya hai ki yeh military, yeh training, it’s not for you, baccha. Yeh tumhaare liye nahi hai.’
‘Door raho mujhse!’
‘Please, chodh do mujhe.’
‘Tum mujhse door bhaagkar kahin nahi jaa paogi.You’ll never be free.’
‘… it’s not for you, baccha…’
‘… bhaagkar kahin nahi jaa paogi. You’ll never…’
She clamped her hands over her ears, screams and pleads echoing in them. “Stop”, she whimpered.
Freedom.
That’s what she wanted. Freedom from the fear, the memories, the insecurities.
She crawled under the bed, pushing herself as deep as she could. The small, unlit place hugged her, comforting her. She clutched her knees close to herself, covering her head with her hands. She let out a sob, clutching her hair and tugging harshly.
The door opened, and she pressed herself in deeper, her sobs quieting down. No one should know where she is. She was safe, alone. Alone was safe. People weren’t safe. Alone was.
The little light that entered from the opening was obstructed as Sid bent down, looking at her. “Monu”, he said softly. “Bacche, bahar aa.”
“Nahi”, she said. “M-Mujhe n-nahi aana.”
“Bacche, main hoon. It’s just me, Sid. Bahar aa, na? Come on”, he coaxed gently.
Sid was safe too. Perhaps not as safe as alone, but still safe. She crawled out hesitantly. Sid pulled her into a hug, clutching her close. Her body relaxed and she melted into his embrace.
Sid was safe. Almost as safe as alone. He was safe.
“It’s okay. Relax”, he murmured.
‘I admire strong people. Tabhi toh tujhe itna pasand karta hoon. You’re the strongest person I know.’
“I am sorry”, she whispered. Her voice cracked. Was Sid disappointed?
“Tujhe sorry bolne ki koi zaroorat nahi hai, bacche”, he murmured. “It’s okay.” He kissed her head gently. His hand stroked her back gently, caressing her comfortingly.
---x---x---x---x---x---x---x---x---x---
Karan rubbed his forehead, trying to push back the headache he could feel coming. He pushed open the door to the mess, pausing.
“Monami?” He said. The girl looked up. He walked in, eyebrows furrowed. “Tum itni raat ko yahan kya kar rahi ho?”
She looked down at the notebook, pushing it towards him.
He glanced down. A code was written on another wise blank page. “Mission ke liye?” She nodded. “Baaki sab kahan hai? Sirf tum hi uthi hui ho?” She nodded. His eyebrows furrowed more. “Muh mein dahi jamaai hui hai jo kuchh bol hi nahi rahi ho?”
She shook her head. “Main… wo…”
He rolled his eyes. “Akele hi baith kar karna hai, toh kamre mein hi kar leti. Bahar aane ki kya zaroorat thi? Bahar aana isliye allow kara tha taaki mission discuss kar sako aur execute kar sako.”
“Y-Yes, sir. Aa-aage se n-n-nahi aa-aaungi.”
He tilted his head slightly, inspecting her. Her hands trembled lightly, and her gaze darted around but never lifted to meet his. “Monami… sab theek hai?”
She nodded. “H-H-Haan.” Her hands curled into fists, her thumb rubbing the side of her index finger.
‘Ise kya hua hai? Nervous toh hamesha rehti hai, par itna nervous toh kabhi nahi dekha ise. Normal se bhi zyaada stutter kar rahi hai aaj toh. Kisi ne kuchh kaha hai kya ise?’
“Aa-aap… aap y-y-yahan?”
He glanced at the kitchen. “Coffee banaane aaya tha. Peeogi?”
“M-Main b-b-banaati hoon.” She stood up. He followed her as she walked into the kitchen.
“Tumhe coffee banaani aati hai?” He couldn’t resist. “Ghar par toh har jagah naukar honge, na, tumhaare liye. Coffee kabhi banaayi hai tumne?”
She glanced at him, but didn’t comment. He mentally hit himself. That wasn't needed. He took out the milk, coffee and sugar, placing it on the slab.
“B-Black toh n-nahi?” She asked.
His nose scrunched up at the thought. He shook his head. “Bilkul bhi nahi.” She cracked a smile. She nodded, pouring some milk in the pan. “Waise, Rani Sahiba… kya plan hai tum logon ka mission ke liye.”
She shook her head. “A-Abhi toh c-c-code s-s-solve k-kar rahe hain. Ph-Phir p-plan of a-action s-s-sochenge.”
Monami clutched the cup in her hand tightly, taking a deep breath. She glanced at Karan. ‘Iss Khadoos ko kaise dafaa karoon yahan se? Doodh, jaldi boil ho, na? Ab kya poori zindagi lega? Yeh nahi toh main hi dafaa ho jaati hoon. Kyun hi tu aayi bahar? Iss Khadoos se better toh Sanju ma’am hi thi.”
“Monami, wo dekho”, he said, nodding to the wall. His fingers were curled up, and the shadow on the wall made the appearance of a bunny. “Kya hai wo?”
What? “Sh-Shadow?” She said hesitantly.
He clicked his tongue. “Dikhne mein kya lag raha hai?”
“B-Bunny?”
He nodded to his hand. “Actual mein kya hai?”
“F-Fingers.” Her eyebrows furrowed. What did he want to say?
“Kabhi kabhi, jo cheezen aapko dikhti hai, wo hoti nahi hai, wo sirf aapko dikhaayi jaati hain. Sahi jagah dekho, toh sahi cheezen dikhti hain”, he said. Her eyebrows furrowed. “Baat dhyaan rakhna. Missions mein kaam aayengi.”
He poured the milk in the cups, stirring the coffee.
“Good night.”
“G-Good n-night.”
‘Kabhi kabhi, jo cheezen aapko dikhti hai, wo hoti nahi hai, wo sirf aapko dikhaayi jaati hain. Sahi jagah dekho, toh sahi cheezen dikhti hain.’
She stared after him. ‘Yeh kehna kya chahte hain?’
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