Chapter 55

Bloomie

@bloomie

Part 54 [MEMBERSONLY][NOCOPY]

Arjun was getting ready in the morning. He brushed his hair and put on his bandage. As he rolled up his sleeves, his phone rang with an alert.

Vikram – she got in

Arjun stiffened. The text was about Lata. She got into Sikandar’s gang. He took a deep breath. Their chances of finding a solid lead had increased. Of course, only as long as Lata remained on their side and that Sikandar actually entrusted her enough to involve her in his sinister plans.

He was lost in his thoughts as he drove to office and that was still how Riya found him when she came.

Riya: good morning sir!

He doesn’t respond. She noticed him flipping a pen in his hand deep in thought. Wondering what happened, she goes out again.

Arjun comes out of his trance on seeing two glasses of tea in front of him. He looks up to see Riya smiling.

Arjun: thanks!

As usual, the hot liquid calmed his nerves. She sipped from her glass, taking a seat in front of him.

Riya: kya hua? Aap pareshaan kyun hai? abhi toh koi case bhi nahi

Arjun sighed: maine tumhe bataya tha na kal Vikram sir se baat hui thi? (she nods) unka message aaya subah, Lata gang mein shaamil ho gayi

Riya: ye toh achi baat hai

Arjun: ha lekin (he sighed) pata nahi, kya hoga. I hope woh koi dhanki information de sake

Riya: hm, ek baat puchu? Aapko pata hai ki Sikandar Goa se operate karta hai toh fir aap waha use kyun nahi pakad sakte?

Arjun: Roshni ke baad woh underground ho gaya tha, mere 3-4 informers hai waha lekin unhe aaj tak thode low level peddlers ke ilawa aur koi nahi mila. Pathan ka pakda jaana humara pehla bada step tha.

Riya: agar hume pata hai ki Pathan Sikandar ke liye kaam karta hai toh fir humne us case ki aage investigation kyun nahi ki?

Arjun: woh nahi bolega Riya. kitna bhi 3rd degree kyun na de do. Pichli baar jab Rosh ki information se woh haath aaya tha, maine uski taang tod di thi. Hospital mein 4 mahine pada raha. Aur dusri taraf apne power ka use karke usne medical reasons cite karke 6 mahine jail ki saza mili. Chutne ke baad woh kaha gayab ho gaya, kisi ko nahi pata

Riya: medical reasons? Ek trafficker ko court ne sirf 6 mahine ki saza di kyunki uske pair ki haddi tut gayi thi?! Ye kaisa…

Arjun: paisa

Riya sighed: of course! And is baar woh nahi chut paaya because paisa dono side se involved tha?

Arjun: Sikandar abhi game mein nahi hai, the very fact that Pathan ko itne chota consignment dekhna pada is proof. Also, ha, Raghu sir force mein the aur ab woh business mein bhi powerful ho gaye hai.

Riya: hm, so Sikandar ka power mein na hona acha bhi hai but at the same time it means ki woh active nahi hai aur information milna aur bhi zyaada mushkil hai not just because he is hiding his tracks but also because he is kind of a nobody.

Arjun: exactly

She sighed again: aap itna sochkar pareshaan mat hoiye, I’m sure kuch na kuch pata chal jaayega. ant mein jeet aapki hi hogi

A warm feeling enveloped him. Smiling, he holds her hand.

A short while later, she headed to the conference room with a bag in her hand. Chotu and Shree sniffed the air.

Chorus: Mishti doi!!

Riya(amused) : wow!

Chotu: tu finally lekar aa gayi!!

As Ayesha looked in confusion, the boys pounced on the bag and pulled out 4 dabbas. Riya giggled. Shree and Chotu both took one and started gobbling the sweet down.

Ayesha: ye kya?

Riya: ignore karo unhe, taste karogi?

Ayesha: of course!

Just then, the door of the conference room opened.

Liza: Specky!

Shree looked up in delight: Lizard!

Liza: Specky!

Shree: Lizard!

They ran to each other and hugged tightly. Chotu shook his head while the girls laughed.

Liza: I missed you chashmish, dekha hi nahi maine tumhe kitne time se

Shree: I missed you too Lizzy!!!

Liza: Specky!

Shree: Lizard!!

Ayesha: oh god, ye dono kya hai?

Riya: pata nahi

Chotu: chodo re, khao tum dono aur nahi kha rahe toh mujhe de do.

Ayesha: Nahi! khaane de mujhe! Liza tera bharat milap ho gaya ho toh aa, kha le

Shree: are ha! Ri ne banaya hai (smacking his lips) bilcul meri maa ke jaise, fan ho jaayegi

Liza: are itna laalach dene ki zaroorat nahi hai, main khaane ko kabhi mana nahi karti

She dug into container Ayesha was eating from.

Liza: wow! Riya tu mast cook hai, lekin ye hai kya?

Chotu: Mishti doi

Liza: mujhe kuch samaj mein nahi aaya lekin main khaane waali hu

They laughed.

The door opened again and Arjun entered.

Arjun: Chotu

Chotu: ha sir?

He stops seeing the mini-party going on. Arjun raised his eyebrow.

Ayesha: sir Riya ma’am ne mithai banayi, aap taste karenge?

Riya: nah, unhe meetha nahi pasand

No sooner had she uttered the words, Arjun picked up the last dabba and proceeded to eat. Riya stared at him in disbelief. He winked at her.

A tint spread across her cheeks. Ayesha and Shree knowingly looked at each other while Chotu and Liza stared at Arjun as if he were an alien.

Chotu(scandalized): sir aapne Ri ko aankh kyun maari?

He leisurely placed another spoon in his mouth: meri girlfriend hai, tumhe kya?

Chotu/Liza: WHAT?!!?

Shree: HOLY SHIT MAN NO!!

Ayesha: YESSS!!!

She jumped up excitedly and extended her palm in front of Shree. He grumbled and glared at Arjun and Riya before retrieving his wallet and handing her a 500 rupee note. Ayesha blew him a flying kiss and tucks the money in her pocket.

Arjun squinted at the exchange.

Riya(suspiciously): ye kya tha?

Ayesha: are ma’am, kal bhi sir ne aapko aankh maari thi na? toh maine aur Shree ne shart lagayi thi. Maine kaha ki aapka affair chal raha hai aur Shree ne bola ki abhi tak officially shuru nahi hua (happily) aur main jeet gayi!!! Thank you Arjun sirrr!

Arjun: you’re welcome

Riya flushed: what the hell, (giving a fake glare) Shree?

Shree: ghur mat, hum sab andhe nahi hai

Arjun: chalo kuch toh kaam aa jaoge team ke fir… Chotu kal necklace retrieval ke time kya hua? Brief chahiye mujhe

Chotu comes out of his trance: uh.. ha, ji sir

A few minutes later, Rathore announces a new case. The team pull up their socks and get to work.

In the midst of investigation, Riya receives a message from her informer. She texts Arjun to meet her when they break for lunch. 

He sides up to her outside the canteen.

Arjun: ha?

Riya: woh ladki thi na Birju ke saath? I don’t think woh hume Sikandar ki koi information de sakti hai. woh bas ek prostitute hai, Birju uska regular customer tha

Arjun: hmm so ab humare paas sirf ek hi lead hai

Riya: yup

He nods: back to intezaar

Holding her hand, he led her inside the canteen, unaware that a pair of eyes had been watching them both.

They widened in horror hearing devil’s name. His heartbeats increased. His mind raced. A thousand voices erupted in his mind. A tear-stricken face flashed in front of him. He gasped seeing blood in his hands.

Rathore ran to the washroom as fast as his legs could carry him. He rubbed his hands under the running water. The stains refused to go away. He muttered anguished curses.

“Vaada karo… vaada karo!”

“haath mat aane dena”

The voice continued to ring inside his head. Letting out a blood-curdling scream, he shut his ears with his hands. Sameer dropped to the floor, crouching against the marble slab which held up the porcelain basin.

He muttered to himself: nahi… nahi, main aisa nahi hone dunga…. Nahi hone dunga!

Goa-

Sikandar: sabko Mumbai bhejne ki taiyaari karo, maal ko samundar ke raaste bhejenge hum

Raana: lekin boss, waha maal le jaa kar rakhenge kaha? Woh Jagdish waali deal ka koi faayda nahi hua, humare koi bhi purane contacts…

Sikandar held up his hand: unhone kaha hai ki unke admi uska khayal rakhenge. Aaj raat ko maal Mumbai pahunch jaana chahiye

Raana: ek problem aur hai

Sikandar: ab kya?

Raana: humare log unke plan ka hissa honge lekin kya woh apni jaan khatre mein daalenge?

Sikandar: unhe us baare mein batane ki koi zaroorat nahi hai. unse kaho ki unhe sirf transportation se matlab hai

Raana (stunned): par agar woh log mar gaye toh humare log aur bhi zyaada kam ho jaayenge

Sikandar: marne do, ek baar ye kaam ho gaya fir humare paas logon ki line hogi

Raana nodded unsurely. He wasn’t quite sure of this plan. True, this would help them get back into the game. However, if they made the shift permanently the country’s secret services would be after them in a flash. They weren’t prepared or experienced enough to handle all that. Dodging police was one thing but secret services could give you a good pain in the neck. With the type of preparation now, it wouldn’t take two minutes for them to cut their heads off. He was all up for drugs and girls, good old times! This? This was making him nervous. With Pathan Lala out of the equation, they had a lack of old players too.

That night-

Riya had finished clearing up after her dinner. She was about to go to bed when the doorbell rang.

A familiar face greeted her. She smiled though she was surprised to see him there at the late hour.

Riya: are aap? Ayiye na.

He entered inside: thank you Riya, sorry tumhe disturb kiya lekin baat thodi urgent thi isliye

Riya: koi baat nahi sir, itna formal kyun ho rahe hai aap? Aap baithiye main uh coffee lekar aati hu

Man: yea I need one

Riya smiled: sure, glucose zyaada chahiye ya aadha chamach hi kaafi hai?

Man: nah! I’m good with half

Riya: ok!

She proceeded to the kitchen. His gaze darted around. The house was pretty, no wait! Peaceful. He had seen it from outside once or twice but had never been inside. Shrugging his thoughts away, he focused on what he had come to do. Taking a deep breath, he followed her.

Riya pulled out a spoon from her drawer. As she measured the amount of coffee, she felt a presence behind her. She paused barely for a second before a hand came to cover her nose. Her eyes widened. She lifted her hand to elbow her assailant but a sharp sting pierced her neck.

Her hand fell limp and her vision turned hazy.

Next morning-

Rathore: ok guys! Bandra-Kurla Highway ke paas ek jewellery company mein kaam karne waale ek admi ki laash mili hai, woh heere lekar toh jaa raha tha lekin heeron ka pouch sahi salamat mila hai police ko

Chotu: that’s weird

Ayesha: actually, woh lead hai. iska matlab ki khooni ne shayad personal reasons ki wajah se use maara

Shree: par aise mein bhi woh heere kyun chodega? I mean agar main hota toh mauke pe chouka zaroor maarta

Arjun: aisa tabhi ho sakta hai jab use pata hi nahi tha ki woh heere lekar jaa raha tha (checking his watch) ye Riya kyun nahi aayi ab tak?

Rathore: woh nahi aane wali

Arjun squinted at him.

Ayesha: nahi aanewaali matlab sir?

Rathore: uska phone aaya tha mujhe kal raat ko, keh rahi thi ki commissioner sir ne use ek important kam ke liye assign kiya hai

Alarm bells rang in Arjun’s head.

Arjun: commissioner ne? kaisa kaam?

Rathore: usne mujhe nahi bataya, kaha ki shayad woh kuch din office nahi aa paayegi but woh jald se jald use pura karne ki koshish karegi

Arjun mv “Vikram sir ne use kaunse kaam par bhej diya? kahi koi lead… lekin mujhe bina bataye? Aur Riya ne bhi kuch kaha kyun nahi? kuch toh chut raha hai.”

Before he could ponder over it further, the team got ready to go to the crime scene. His focus shifted to the murder but the thoughts did not leave the back of his head. He sneaked a few calls to her but her phone was switched off. With each episode of the phone operator, he felt a stream of anger trickling inside him.

He barged into his cabin and dialled Vikram.

Vikram: ha Arj…

Arjun: Riya Kaha Hai?!!?

Vikram raised his eyebrow: mujhe kya pata?

Arjun: AAPKO PATA NAHI TOH FIR BHEJA KYUN USE?!

Vikram: tum kya bol rahe ho? main use kahi nahi bheja? Main kaha bhejne waala hun use?

Arjun: Jhoot Mat Boliye!!

Vikram sighed: are maine nahi bheja, kaha ki baat kar rahe ho tum? Maine toh use aakhri baar Sakshi ke trial ke time hi dekha tha

Arjun calmed down. But then, where was she?

Arjun: aapne nahi bheja? Toh fir woh kaha hai?

Vikram rolled his eyes: Arjun shant ho jao, pehle puri baat batao mujhe, kya hua?

Arjun took a deep breath and told him what Rathore had.

Vikram: lekin maine Riya ko kahi nahi bheja, meri koi baat nahi hui usse

Arjun(thoughtfully): toh fir usne Rathore se aisa kyun kaha?

Vikram: ab ye baat toh woh khud hi bata sakti hai… Arjun tumne usse baat ki thi kya Sikandar ke baare mein?

Arjun: ha

Vikram: ho sakta hai ki use kuch pata chala ho aur waha gayi ho isliye mera naam use kiya ho

Arjun: par aisa hota toh usne mujhe kyun nahi bataya?

Vikram: maybe… I don’t know, tumne phone kiya use?

Arjun: ha switched off hai

Vikram: hmm, that’s weird, main dekhta hun, I’ll see if I can find something. Tum bhi koshish karo

Arjun: hmm

Call Disconnect

Vikram placed his phone on the table thoughtfully mv “ab ye kya naya chakkar hai? Riya bina kisi ko bhi bataye kaise chali gayi? Woh reckless ho sakti hai lekin careless? Nahi… not a chance” ………………………