Chapter 45

Bloomie

@bloomie

Part 45 [MEMBERSONLY][NOCOPY]

40 minutes later, when they were all in the armoury putting on their jackets and stuffing themselves with all the extra magazines they can find. Riya, Ayesha and Shree were at a different, away from the stern looks of the two ACP’s.

Shree: yaar, ek baat batao, hum waha goli chalayenge aur woh sach mein chemical adda nikla toh bomb fat nahi jaayega?

The girls giggled.

Ayesha: of course fat jaayega, tumhe bas apna nishaana sahi rakhna hai

Riya: aur bhagwan se ye pray karna ki uska nishaana bhi sahi hai

Shree: ae! Uska nishaana sahi hoga toh main mar jaunga na?

Riya: nahi hua toh sab mar jaayenge na?

His jaw fell to the floor: main nahi aa raha!

Riya and Ayesha high-fived.

Shree: Trisha kaha gayi? Usko bhejo, main baith raha hun back up ke saath

Riya: ek kaam kar Shree, ye baat na jaa kar Rathore sir aur Arjun sir ko bol de

Shree: what the f..

Ayesha: ae no gaali!

Shree: yaha meri zindgi khatam hone waali hai aur tujhe gaali ki padi hai? matlab tum logon ne decide kar liya hai ki ya toh goli se marna hai, ya bomb se cheetde udaane hai ya fir in khadooson ke third degree se Alvida bolna hai

Riya: are hum tumhe teen-teen option de rahe hai

Ayesha: are rehne dijiye ma’am, ye aaj kal ki generation mein gratitude naam ki koi cheez hi nahi hai

Shree: oh hello! We are the same generation, samjhi?

Riya: ya samjhau?

They burst into laughter catching the eye of the other two. Rathore and Arjun looked at each other and then turned to glare at the team.

Arjun: Circus Chal Raha Hai Yaha?

The sound ceased immediately. The trio looked back apologetically. Riya’s phone beeped, saving them from further scrutiny.

She opened the message: we have a location!

Seriousness returns to the atmosphere as they head out after giving a last check to their equipment. To their surprise, Sakshi was waiting downstairs.

Ayesha: Sakshi, tum yaha kya kar rahi ho?

Sakshi: obviously tum logon ke saath aa rahi hun

Arjun: Not a chance!

Sakshi: main aaungi! Ye mera kaam hai!

Arjun was quickly getting irritated. The pressure of the case did not help him in any way. Even Rathore was having a hard time. He was in no mood for tantrums.

Rathore: not this time, isme khatra…

Sakshi: I won’t come inside, please, main back up ke saath rahungi aur wahi rahungi, I promise, please!

Rathore: lekin…

Shree: sir we should go

Rathore clenched his fists: fine! (pointing his finger at her) You stay out of the way!

Sakshi: I will!

Arjun stamps his foot: I don’t believe this!

He was sure they were going to regret this.

Two SUV’s moved out of the ETF parking lot. They met with the backup at a safe distance from the spot.

The lair was conveniently in the middle of an industrial area of chemical factories. One of which was their target. It wasn’t very difficult to set up godowns and equipment in such places. Who cared whether it was licensed or not? Each company had their own jobs to do.

Shree and Trisha set up a communication station. A few officers drew a perimeter around the factory. They would be the first line of reinforcements. Sameer barked orders for the team to distribute in different directions. Their orders were simple, sneak in, neutralize, kill less and don’t blow up the place.

They had set up base a 100 metres away from their actual target. This would help them to stay discreet as well as be in reach if anything went wrong.

Soon, the officers started entering the factory. They killed as silently as they could, wanting to avoid guns for as long as they could.

Ayesha was tip-toeing along the wall. There was light in the distance at the entrance of the room. Sticking her back to the wall, she was creeping up to the voices when suddenly…

Man: kaun hai waha?!

She cursed and turned to see a man coming from the opposite direction. His hand went behind to retrieve a knife. Having no other option, she raised her gun.

He fell dead. At the same time, it started a volley of bullets.

The men engaged with the officers at different fronts. Occasionally, the shower would stop. And then, it would start again in a few minutes.

At the base-

It had been two hours since the first bullet had been fired. So far, the ETF had it under control. The first line of reinforcements had been called in. Most of the other officers surrounded the place. A few stayed back for an emergency. Including Trisha for the extra rung of communication had been quite fruitful.

Sakshi was leaning against one of the cars. The stopping and starting of bullets had started to annoy her. She couldn’t make out what was actually going inside. Usually, she would stick with the team or to say Arjun and watch everything live. It helped her article making. She flirted in an attempt to impress him. The fact that he did not react to her hitting on him made her feel special. What was better for a journalist than being in good light of such a powerful officer?

Lately, she had realised it might have not been the case. A certain comeback to the team had not gone down well with her. To top it all, she had ended up being a senior. She could see the difference in the way Arjun responded to her and the way he responded to Riya. The ‘not reaction’ had only been ignorance from his side. To top it, her friends had swayed to liking her too.

Another half hour passed, and the frequency of bullets had reduced significantly. The gaps were longer. Even if there were shots, they were random and just two or three. She was getting increasingly bored. When she was sure there had been no bullets in the last ten minutes, she decided that the raid was over. And thankfully, there were no blasts. That meant, everyone was safe!

Doing a mental somersault, she starts moving towards the factory. Fortunately or unfortunately, no one noticed her slipping away.

Factory-

Shree was lurking around carefully, rechecking the quadrant. Throughout their raid, there had been quick and agile movements from the enemy. He had understood then, they were professionals. The men knew what they were doing. It was as if dealing with the police was their everyday job. Unfortunately for him, his earpiece had fallen off somewhere in one of his scuffle. He had his gun up. His taser was fastened at his waist holster – switched on and ready to give a nasty shock.

She turned around the corner and saw him. Creeping up silently, she tapped his shoulder.

Shree spun around pulling the cock and ready to shoot.

Shree: Sakshi?!

Sakshi: hi!

Shree(incredulously): hi? Tu yaha kya kar rahi hai? tumhe bataya tha na ki baahar rehna?

Sakshi: are par tum logon ki raid puri ho gayi na?

Shree: tumse aisa…

He stops short hearing a noise behind. Glaring at Sakshi, he gestures to stay put. She agrees wordlessly. Shree steps forward cautiously, pointing his gun in the direction of the equipment.

The shadow was well hidden, stepping silently in the opposite direction of Shree in sync. A few steps more and he would reach the girl.

Sakshi waited with bated breath. Her eyes were darting around, searching for the source of the sound. If it really was a criminal, she was doomed. Rathore and Arjun would kill her for not listening.

Shree’s back was to them.

The man smirked. Still in his shadows, he prepared himself for a moment. Taking a deep breath, he lunged forward.

Shree turned to hear Sakshi’s squeal. He was baffled to see her at gunpoint. How did the man end up behind?

Sakshi: Shree Bachao!

Shree panicked. He did not know how to handle such situations. The man was effectively using Sakshi as a shield. Besides, he was not that great of a shot. He didn’t know if others were close enough or aware of his exact location in case they heard her scream. Nevertheless, he maintained a brave face. Gripping his gun he walked towards them, stopping at a distance.

Shree: kya chahiye tumhe?

Man: gun neeche fek apni

Shree mv “of course, classic!”

Shree: theek hai lekin fir tum use chodkar yaha se chup chaap chale jaoge

Man: pehle tu gun neeche kar

Shree: use kuch nahi hona chahiye

Man: Gun neeche kar warna (he pressed the nozzle of the gun to her forehead, making her squeal out of fright) ye seedhe upar!

Shree: ok! ok! calm down

He raised his hands in surrender. Slowly, he bent and placed his gun on the ground.

Man: dur fek!

Shree groaned internally. As he reached for it, the man screamed again.

Man: haath upar!

Shree: ok

He straightened with his hands up. Using his leg, he threw the gun away.

Shree: lo, fek di, ab Sakshi ko jaane do

He smirked: par tum dono ne mujhe dekh liya hai

Shree’s eyes widened. Before he knew it, the man threw Sakshi at him. She screamed. Shree barely caught her. The gun cocked. His head jerked in the direction.

Sakshi screamed as a bullet left its nozzle. Shree clenched his eyes shut.

The man fell down dead.

Feeling no injury, Shree opened his eyes.

Riya’s gun smoked in front of him. He collapsed to his knees in relief.

Shree: Ri!

Sakshi was shivering. Riya was pale. The man lay dead with a hole in his head.

Shree(breathing heavily): Damn Ri! Kya timing hai teri?

Stumbling forward, he went and hugged her. Riya comes back to the present.

Riya: are you ok?

Shree: ha, I love you man!

Her gaze fell on Sakshi who was still half frozen. Anger trickled down from her brain. However, wanting to get on with the case first, she does not address her presence. She turns to Shree.

Riya: pehle niklo yaha se

She gestures towards Sakshi. Shree sighs and nods.

At the base-

The others join Riya, Shree and Sakshi soon after.

Rathore: Shree kya ho raha tha? tumhara signal kyun cut ho gaya?

Arjun: had hoti hai laparwahi ki! Operation ke beech mein instructions kaise de hum tumhe?

Shree: woh, woh sir actually… haatha-paayi mein gir gaya kahi, maine koshish ki dhundhne ki lekin mila nahi

Arjun glares at him.

Shree gulps in fear: sir main toh khud fas gaya tha

Arjun: kaha?

Riya: bomb ke saath

Rathore: kya?

Riya: ek admi bomb se use blackmail kar raha tha

Shree hurriedly agreed: ha!!! exactly! Usne bola ki woh bomb se uda dega aur fir… fir mujhe gun fekne ko kaha, fir, fir Ri ne sambhal liya

Arjun continued to stare at him. Something told him it wasn’t the whole truth. Trisha had already passed a message to Liza. She was on her way a team as they wrapped up their investigation.

Arjun found Riya already in the car when he sat to drive. She was staring into the distance, playing with the loose ends of her hair.

Arjun: Riya?

Riya snaps out: huh?

He sees her pale face. It was familiar.

Arjun: tum, kya tumne, firse kisi ko sar par goli maari?

Riya sighed: hum office jaa kar baat kare, please? Mujhe aap sabse baat karni hai

Arjun: theek hai, par tum?

Riya nodded negatively. He was about to hold her hand to comfort her when the doors of the back seat opened and Shree slipped in followed by Trisha and Sakshi. Making a mental note to talk to her later, he looked straight and twisted the key in the ignition.

ETF office-

Ayesha: sir waha kaafi saare chemicals aur bomb making equipment mila hai. Waise toh zyaada tar crude bombs the but jo thode bahot advanced the, unhe immaturely nahi banaya gaya tha.

Shree nods: ha aur jis tarah se woh attack bhi kar rahe the, they were really good. Ye koi normal gang jo apne ek-do kaam ke liye bomb banane waale definitely nahi the.

Arjun: They were a bomb making gang.  Woh log shayad contract basis par dusro ko bombs provide karte hai.

Rathore: jaise ki terrorist org…

Arjun: nahi! terrorists apne bomb khud banate hai, ye log unhe supply karte hai jo khud ye kaam nahi kar sakte.

Ayesha: toh hume aur tension lena chahiye ya?

Arjun: agar terrorists nahi hai matlab solitary explosion hone ke chances bahot zyaada badh gaye hai

Ayesha nods in understanding. She takes a deep breath and gulps down a glass of water.

Arjun glances at Riya. She was in her world, sitting in a chair she had pulled from Shree’s station.

Arjun: Riya!

She comes out of her trance: huh ji?

Arjun: tumhe kuch kehna tha?

Riya (exhausted): Shree

Shree gulped.

Rathore: Shree? Kis baare mein?

Shree: woh uh

His gaze faltered to Sakshi. She was looking at him with a horrified expression on her face. She pleaded silently. Shree was conflicted. He didn’t want to land her in trouble but at the same time it was a serious breach. She could have landed anyone in danger. Maybe next time they wouldn’t be so lucky.

Arjun: Shree Bolo!

Shree closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Turning to both seniors, he narrated what had actually happened at the factory. Ayesha stood rooted to the ground. The ACP’s were livid. Sakshi clenched her eyes with her face down. She could feel everyone’s heated gaze on her. Her mind raced for excuses. As Shree reached the end, Arjun became furious. She was the reason Riya had to shoot someone in the head again! He balled his fists. If looks could kill he would have murdered her ten times over by now………………………..