Chapter 62

Part 61 [MEMBERSONLY][NOCOPY]

As they banter, Liza scans the bungalow for heat signatures. Next to her, Ayesha was lying with a targeting scope rifle. They had climbed up the terrace of the building diagonal to the bungalow. Still peering into the scope of her gun, Liza informed the others through her earpiece……………………...

Liza: good news! We have 12 hostiles!

Chotu: Rathore sir, Arjun sir, Riya aur main andar jaayenge so 3 each

Ayesha: aur main aur Liza sniper back-up toh denge hi, we’ll keep you updated agar hume clear shot mila toh, the windows are not opaque so we will have visuals.

Riya: fantastic! So we get in, shoot three and get out! Mission khatam

Rathore: itna bhi positive mat ho, you never know what can happen

Riya snapped: mission ke pehle team ka morale down nahi up karte hai, sir!

Arjun: Ayesha, koi aur guard hai?

Ayesha scanned the grounds again: negative! Sirf wahi hai jo Shree ke saath hai. Hota toh ye saari awaaz sunkar atleast baahar aaya hota

Arjun: copy that!

Riya: ok Ayesha, take the shot!

Ayesha: Roger! Prepare for entry

She aimed for the watchman. She waited a few seconds till Shree was out of the frame and squeezed the trigger.

A bullet pierced his head. Shree caught him just as he fell and dragged the watchman out onto the road.

Ayesha: guard down! Proceed!

From two directions, Arjun, Rathore, Riya and Chotu entered the grounds. They split into two teams. Rathore and Arjun slipped to the side of the bungalow to find a window they could jump in from.

Riya and Chotu pushed their back against the sides of the door. They waited to get confirmation from the other team.

Arjun: window at west

Liza: proceed! Zero hostile signatures detected.

Riya: at the door

Liza: proceed! Zero hostiles detected

Chotu and Riya looked at each other and nodded.

Chotu: entering hostile territory

He breaks down the door and Riya enters. Simultaneously, Arjun breaks the glass and Rathore jumps in.

The noise alerts people inside the house.

Liza: Hostile movement detected. Prepare for fire.

Barely had she spoken those words when firing started from both sides. The teams did not deter. They were well prepared and had sufficient ammunition to deal with at least 30-35 people. Lesser men also meant lesser arms and that provided them with another advantage.

Arjun: going in! bravo provide cover

Riya: copy!

As Chotu and Riya provided cover fire, Arjun and Rathore went on the offensive. The latter wasn’t very open to the idea but didn’t really have a choice. He knew Arjun would go on alone if he didn’t accompany and that was something he would not allow.

Unfortunately as usual, things did not go according to his plan. They had to split as soon as they climbed up the stairs. Rathore grumbled and cursed. He silently prayed for Sikandar to not be in Arjun’s path but on his own.

One by one 5 hostiles were down by the collective effort of the two teams.

Outside, Liza could see the heat signatures of Arjun and Rathore going ahead.

Liza: Rathore sir! two hostiles on the way

Rathore: copy!

Ayesha peered into her scope. She caught a visual of one person through the window. Focusing her aim on his head, she pulled the trigger.

Ayesha: hostile on northeast is down

Chotu: copy!

Riya did a quick mental calculation as the firing for her and Chotu stopped.

Riya: status update- 8 hostiles are down, 4 more to go!

Ayesha: copy!

Riya: ground floor is clear!

Chotu: searching ground for evidence

On the other side, Arjun gunned down another man. However, he was waiting only for his target. He headed straight with his rifle up, swiftly checking rooms.

He pushed open another door and was greeted by a bullet. He ducked back immediately. The exchange of bullets continued for the next 5 minutes till the gun on the other side clicked. Arjun smirked. He was about to barge in and shoot when he heard a string of curses. He froze momentarily. He would recognize that voice anywhere. Within a second, his rage built up.

Her murder flashed before his eyes.

Clenching his jaw, he barged into the room.

Sikandar stared at him in shock.

Sikandar: Tum?!

Arjun threw away his gun: ha

Sikandar gritted his teeth. Pulling out a knife, he ran to stab Arjun. To finish his incomplete job. To take revenge for his daughter leaving him.

Arjun blocked his hand and twisted it behind.

Sikandar dropped his knife only to be caught by the other hand and swiped it.

Arjun swerved in the nick of time and kicked it away. Striking his back, he pulled Sikandar to face him.

Two pairs of red eyes stared at each other.

Sikandar stamped his foot. Recovering quickly, Arjun landed a punch on his face.

Rathore had just gunned the last man on his side: east wing clear!!

Riya: copy that! 2 hostiles active

Chotu: lekin shooting toh band ho gayi

Liza: I don’t think 2 hai, mujhe sirf 5 heat signatures dikh rahe hai

Chotu: Arjun sir, update?

They encountered radio silence.

Rathore: Rawte speak!!

Still no response.

Riya stopped searching in worry: Liza dekho west wing mein kya ho raha hai

Liza: ha

She scanned the areas and saw two heat signatures fighting fist-to-fist.

Liza: Sir! do logon ke beech hatha paayi ho rahi hai

Riya(relieved): matlab unmein se ek Arjun sir hai

Chotu: aur hum mein se kisi ko Sikandar nahi mila toh woh dusra Sikandar hai unless humari kismat kharab hai aur woh yaha hai hi nahi

Rathore gritted his teeth: main jaa raha hun!

He rushed to the opposite side. As he reached closer, he could hear the sound of somebody getting beaten up. With adrenaline coursing through his veins he put in a fresh burst of speed. He staggered as he forced himself to stop at the entrance of the room.

Arjun was beating a man black and blue. He had never seen Sikandar but gathered he must be the only one who Arjun was bothered with at the moment.

Relief washed over him. He was safe!

Rathore updated the others: Arjun Sikandar ko maar raha hai

Riya: copy! All hostiles neutralised, over and out!

Ayesha and Liza looked at each other and smiled. They stepped away from their guns and high-fived each other. Packing it all up, they proceeded to regroup with the others.

On the other side, Arjun punched him till his hands ached. Sikandar’s face was bloodied and covered in cuts. He could barely move. His nose was broken and his shoulder and hip bone had dislocated. Yet, Arjun continued.

It was at least 12 punches more for when he was finally satisfied. His grip loosened and Sikandar fell to the ground, barely breathing.

Arjun panted. His gaze faltered to the knife that Sikandar had dropped. His hand crawled towards it. He dropped to his knees. Gripping the handle, he raised the knife.

Sikandar watched him with a half-open eyes like a prey waiting for its end.

Blood rushed through his veins again. Clenching the dagger, he screamed.

Arjun: ROOOSSHHNNIIII!!!

The others froze hearing him shout. The dagger came down on Sikandar’s abdomen, ending him once and for all!

Rathore felt his eyes stinging. He quickly looked away to control himself.

Arjun hung his head, tears streaming down his face as he muttered her name over and over again.

Rathore stepped forward and placed a hand on his shoulder.

He closes his eyes. Leaving the dagger, he straightens to control himself. Arjun looked up to see Sam. And for a moment, he is confused. How?

Riya: AAAAAAAAAHHHH!!!

Arjun’s eyes widened in horror. He is back on his feet within the second and runs out of the place.

Chotu(worried): kya hua?

Riya gives him a 420 watt smile: You Won’t Freaking Believe Kya Hua!!!! (Jumping) Oh God!!! You’re The Best!!

Arjun arrives in the study room, out of breath.

Arjun: Riya! tum…

Riya: Arjun sir!! (looking behind) Rathore sirrr!!! Guess What?!

Arjun(tensed): tum cheekhi kyun? aur khush kyun ho?

Riya: oh god!

Still squealing in delight, she skips to the table and picks up the diary she was reading. Riya holds it up open for them to see.

Riya: Saari Ki Saari 99 Jagah!! Aur Logon Ke Naam!!

They looked at each other, pleasantly surprised. Arjun lunged forward and grabbed the diary. His eyes widened as he flipped through the pages.

Arjun: Holy Hell!

Chotu grabbed it from him but before he could read, it was taken away by Rathore.

Rathore: Oh God! This is amazing! Riya… you’re a lifesaver!

He hurriedly fished out his phone to call Vikram.

Arjun: Shree kaha hai? bulao use and tell him to put it on the database! Shayad R&AW pictures bhi dhundh paaye

They rushed out with Rathore still talking to Vikram who couldn’t believe his ears.

Rathore: ha sir, hum bas wahi kar rahe hai, Jai Hind!

Ayesha, Liza and Shree looked at them in confusion. After the lot had been neutralized, they had removed their ear-pieces.

Ayesha: kya hua?

Riya: Jackpot Laga!!!

The three of them screamed as loudly as Riya when they came to know. Shree snatched the diary from Rathore who glared at him but he didn’t notice. He rushed to their van to start filling in the details.

Ayesha: sir! maine local police ko baakhi dono jagah ke baare mein inform kar diya hai ki hum take over kar rahe hai

Rathore nodded: Rawte, tum aur Liza beach waali jagah par jao. Riya tum aur Chotu dusri waali ka khayal rakho, main aur Ayesha yaha sab kuch nipta te hai

Chorus(except Arjun): yes sir!

They turn to leave in their respective directions when Arjun holds Riya’s hand. She beams at him and hugs him. He pulls her closer.

She whispers into his ear: ant mein jeet aapki ho gayi Arjun, mujhe aap par bahot garv hai!!

His eyes moistened and he buried his face in her shoulder whispering a thank you.

The others smile seeing their interaction.

Guilt surrounded Rathore. His hands were wet with blood. His vision deceived him. The blood streamed down his hands. A voice rang in his head.

“Vaada karo… vaada karo!”

He is shaken back to reality with Ayesha’s addressal.

Ayesha(softly): ye dono saath mein kitne ache haina?

Rathore glances at her for a moment before looking back at them. A smile breaks on his face.

Rathore: ha

The couple separated after a few satisfactory moments.

The ETF worked tirelessly. They did encounter a few jurisdiction issues especially because they had not kept the concerned authorities informed so that word wouldn’t leak out but they managed to cook up a story and somewhat plead the Goa police pulling out the emergency card and terror attack connection that Sikandar had with the IM.

Back at Mumbai, the information procured by the ETF was a miracle for the rest of the department. They worked relentlessly, bomb squads and sniffer dogs ran all around the city. The city went into an undeclared curfew seeing all of the force out on its streets. They caught bombs before activation and also prevented them from being planted. They caught all of Sikandar’s men including Raana and Lata.

He had been walking through the busy streets of Bhuleshwar when a girl showed up next to him.

She caught him by the scruff of his neck: Raana bomb hume de do

Before he could break from the shock, another officer snatched his bag. He turned his head to look back at the woman and she had a gun on his head.

R&AW: Bye!

Gunshot! Body down!

The street came to a standstill and a police car screeched to a halt. The crime branch officer handed over the bag to them.

Crime branch: 3 gali chodke ek aur admi mila hai, this place is clear

R&AW: toh chalo agli jagah par jaate hai (into her microphone) that takes the count to 50!

They also caught a whole bunch of sleeper cells. Some of the bombs had been planted but they managed to defuse them. One by one, they reached 98!

2 ATS officers hovered over the bomb in a scooter.

Nina: Rishab sir! multiple triggers and parallel circuits. We need the bomb squad!

Rishab hurried ahead. The timer was enough. 20 minutes. A unit of the bomb squad had just defused a bomb a kilometre away at another target. However, Colaba was a busy area. It was a risk. Unfortunately, the complex mechanism was not familiar for him or the two officers accompanying him. He strained his mind and the words of his mentor rang in his head.

“Multiple triggers ko kabhi bhi ek-ek karke nahi disconnect karna chahiye. The only way to defuse a parallel circuit is to cut its electrical supply.”

His hand danced over the machine, trying to figure out where the wires were going. Till finally, he found a green wire that was encased in the body of the bomb.

He smiled and mumbled: Rajiv sir, you’re a lifesaver!!

He cute the wire and long beep indicated deactivation.

Naina and Chetan jumped in joy. She spoke into her microphone.

Naina: Gateway of India is clear! That takes it to 99!! Operation Sugar Fire, A Success! I Repeat, OPERATION SUGAR FIRE, A SUCCESS!!!

And then what? Jubilant cries resonated in the control room.

The media was in a frenzy as they had been too occupied with the scam news that nobody actually knew what was happening till they saw police running around everywhere and bombs showing up in every other lane of the city. Some of them even resorted to calling out the department for not putting out a red alert but Vikram didn’t care.

Media always makes stories. Some right, some wrong and some for just plain TRP.

It took the ETF a whole three hours to wrap up everything in Goa. That being done, Shree immediately received orders to book them on a return flight. It was 12 p.m. and the first flight back was at 2:25. The next one being in the night.

Rathore groaned. They hadn’t even packed up their belongings yet.

Arjun: book it Shree

Rathore: lekin pahunchenge kaise? 2 ghante pehle airport pahunchna hota hai, 45 minutes pehle check-in. Hume saara saaman baandh na hai. Yaha se airport 45 minutes dur hai, it’s traffic time. Risky hai

Arjun: ETF ID kis din kaam aayega? (turning to Shree) book karo!

Shree: ji sir

Rathore rolled his eyes but did not argue. They rushed to get everything packed. Mostly it was Shree who was suffering with all of his equipment. The others just had backpacks or handbags to take care of.

With all the speed they put in, the team reached the airport at 1:30. Rathore heaved a sigh of relief, not too late. Unfortunately, it wasn’t helpful.

Liza: oh god aisa lagta hai ki pure din ki saari flights dopaher ko hi take off karti hai, sir web check-in par bhi kitni bheed hai, hum kaise time se jaayenge?

Ayesha: sir check-in toh Shree online kar lega lekin security check?

Riya shrugged: hume waise bhi ID dikha kar hi jaana hai, guns hai. Bas unke verification ke liye jo time lagega wahi hoga

Shree: uh ek choti problem hai

Liza: kya?

Shree: main check in toh kar sakta hun lekin us boarding pass ki bhi hard copy toh chahiye na, security check ke liye, printer nahi hai mere paas

Arjun muttered curses under his breath: tum pehle boarding passes arrange karo, baakhi main dekh lunga

Shree: ok sir

He filled in their details one at a time and prepared soft copies of their boarding passes. Arjun grabbed him by the scruff of his neck, surprising the lot and dragged him along.

Shree felt like a purring kitten who was being carried by its mother except… it was not his mother.

They arrived a few minutes later with boarding passes.

Chotu: ye kaha se aaye?

Arjun: airport manager

Chotu: aap use jaante hai?

Arjun: nahi, woh ETF ko jaanta hai

They giggled and proceeded towards the security check.

Inflight-

Rathore was finally at peace. As soon as the plane took off, he pushed his seat behind and closed his eyes. In fact, they were all in a similar position. Beside him, Ayesha had pulled up her legs and crouched against the window to sleep. Chotu was on the other side, snoring lightly but it barely bothered either of them. Shree was sleeping with his headphones blasting music into his ears. Liza had pulled out a scarf and bundled it up against his shoulder to use it as a pillow. Their brains were finally calm without all the bomb scare and worry about the operation. Now it was just home sweet home, a good feast and crashing their bed. If they were lucky, they might even get a day or two off.

Riya was at the window seat again. Arjun’s arms went around her and they dozed off to catch up on  a little sleep till they reached Mumbai……………………….

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