Chapter 64

Part 63 [MEMBERSONLY][NOCOPY]

Riya gave him a push and ran off to their suite, turning only from the door to see him smiling at her. She blushed red and went inside………………………...

The team started discussing their plans as they hogged on their food.

Ayesha: so 8 baje se 2 baje tak, it’s basically a 6 hr job lekin raat ke do baje tak, aise kyun?

Rathore: something about those foreigners coming in the evening, and you know in logon ki parties wagera toh saari raat chal sakti hai

Ayesha: ha par fir bhi aisa tha toh saari raat rakh sakte the

Shree: woh log basically bas maximum crowd ke aage use show off karna chahte hai, us time ke baad dekhne waale log zyaada nahi honge, typical entitled behavior

Riya: ya aur necklace ki design bhi bekar hai. Woh 2 crore ka necklace bana sakte hai lekin ek acha jewellery designer afford nahi kar sakte? Itne budget mein kitna acha necklace ban sakta tha. (the others chuckled) Huh! Aur hume bhi bitha diya, sir, I don’t think zyaada kaam hai I mean Liza ka toh koi bhi kaam nahi, she can go home, Chotu aur Ayesha bhi

Chotu: are nahi..

Riya: kya karoge tum log yaha? Shree ki zaroorat padegi, hum bas waha khade rehkar bore honewaale hai, itni bheed mein koi gadha bhi use chori karne ki koshish nahi karega

Rathore: exactly! aur woh bhi jab woh thode din pehle hi chori hua hai aur woh culprit already jail mein hai

Arjun: Liza, Chotu, Ayesha tum log niklo. Kal subah main, Rathore, CID, ATS aur Crime Branch ke Chiefs, Vikram sir ke saath press conference karne waale hai. Uske baad commissioner sir ko brief chahiye hogi, get rested by then and jaha tak mera andaaza hai bahot saara paperwork baakhi hai

Riya: emphasis on bahot saara, woh ridge road waala case? Uske ek din pehle ke case se ab tak ke saare reports pending hai

Rathore: oh god, that’s a lot

Riya: exactly, and I am 100% sure ki Vikram sir ko Sikandar ke case ki report agle do-teen din mein chahiye hogi

Shree: do din? Woh ek din ka time de wahi bahot hai, Ganpati yaad hai?

Riya: wahi toh

Rathore shuddered recalling Riya making him and Arjun do paperwork.

Ayesha: but sir, hum aapki help karna chahte hai

Riya: are kaam nahi hai toh kya help karna hai tumhe?

Ayesha: par ma’am aap 6 ghante rahe isse behtar hum sab 3 ghante ki shift mein work karte hai

Riya: dono ko thak na padega, ise behtar hai atleast tum log ache se aaram kar lo

Rathore: main toh kehta hun Shree ko bhi jaane do, in logon ne itne arrangements kiye hai, hum inke cams hi use kar lenge Riya security room mein baith jaayegi

Shree yelped: I love you sirrr!!!

Arjun: nahi, in case gadbad hui toh humara admi hone behtar hai, it will be faster

Shree frowned and whimpered.

Rathore: fine!

He agreed, earning a pout from the technical expert and giggles from the rest.

Riya: so decided, main, Arjun sir aur Rathore sir necklace ke saath honge and Shree security room mein. Baakhi sab ghar jaakar aaram karenge. Fir subah main aur Shree chale jaayenge, jaise hi aap logon ki press conference khatam hoti hai, hum sab Vikram sir ke hissab se brief dene aa jaayenge

Arjun: perfect!

Rathore: Press 8 baje hai. Vikram sir ne hume 7 baje report karne ko kaha taaki hum ek baar thoda discussion kar le, ki exactly kya-kya batana hai aur kya nahi

Chotu: sir, home minister ki press conference ka kya hua?

Rathore: they just said ki scam ke saare evidences plant kiya gaye the aur Police Department kal subah press meeting mein sab kuch batayenge, (irritated) they went off cam in 40 seconds!

Riya sighed: basically unhone sab kuch humare maathe par daal diya

Arjun: as usual

Riya rolled her eyes: true

At 7:55, the three seniors were in the hall where the necklace was to be brought. Shree had connected the four of them with bluetooth. While Mehta was gushing over how happy he was that the ETF themselves had taken to protecting the necklace, the officers were just rolling their eyes in their head. Unfortunately Rathore, being the Chief had to encourage and sugar coat him. Around 15 minutes later, Mehta spared the lot. They heaved a sigh of relief.

Riya tapped Arjun’s shoulder and pointed in Raghu sir’s direction, who was busy with a few people. Arjun sighed. He wasn’t sure why he had called him and wasn’t very keen to find out. He didn’t mind staying around him but the forceful nature of conversation was making him dread it. However, he also knew Raghu would see him sooner or later and if he didn’t go, he was screwed!

He informed the others through his earpiece: thodi der off kar raha hun, thoda personal kaam hai

Before anyone could respond, Arjun switched it off and proceeded to Raghu who was delighted to see him again.

Raghu: aa gaye tum? Khaana kha liya?

Arjun: ha sir, aapne bulaya tha?

Raghu: ha par tumhari shakal kyun utri hui hai, tum toh aise dar rahe ho jaise ki main tumhare viva le raha hun

Arjun frowned: liya toh tha aur sabse zyaada mushkil sawaal mujhe hi puche the aapne. I thought aap mujhe pasand karte the

Raghu laughed: isliye toh woh sawal tumse puche the

Arjun smiled. Raghu excused himself from his professional contacts and led Arjun to the far end of the lobby which was much quieter and had only hotel staff moving about, if at all.

Arjun: kuch serious sir?

Raghu: serious toh hai lekin darne jitna serious nahi (Arjun squinted in confusion making him smile) anyway pehle tum batao

Arjun: kya?

Raghu: yahi ki... Miss Mukherjee thodi zyaada khubsurat nahi?

Arjun fumbled: woh uh sir, um woh, woh SI hai

Raghu: hmm and?

Arjun: and meri colleague hai, I mean achi officer hai, bahot achi officer hai

Raghu: achi toh hogi hi, after all woh Arjun Rawte ko daant sakti hai and that’s some bravery in itself

Arjun closed his eyes in embarrassment: sir please

He chuckled and patted his shoulder: main toh uske bolne se pehle hi samaj gaya tha

Arjun(surprised): kaise?

Raghu: come on Arjun, main tumhe pehchaanta hun. Jaise hi tumne uski awaaz suni, tumhari aankhon mein chamak aa gayi thi. Tum use usi tarah dekhte ho jaise ki Roshni ko dekha karte the, wahi pyaar, wahi jazbaat, wahi khushi

Arjun smiled: itna obvious tha?

Raghu: ha (they shared a laugh) and sach kahu toh main ye toh jaanta tha ki koi tumhari zindgi mein firse aaya hai (he looked at him in shock) tumhe kya lagta hai Arjun? Tumne khud ko sabse dur kar diya toh kya main tumhe bevkufi karne dunga? Bhale hi tumne baat karna band kar diya tha lekin Vicky mujhe har pal tumhari khabar deta tha

Arjun stared at him in shock. Though he knew Vikram and Raghu to be close friends, he had nowhere expected this.

Arjun: lekin Vikram sir ko kaise…

Raghu: well, usne mujhe bataya ki tumne apni team ki ek lady officer ke liye use maarne ki dhamki di thi toh (shrugging) that kind of makes the cut don’t you think?

Arjun complained: lekin woh toh Vikram sir ki galti thi! Unka alag nonsense chal raha tha!!

Raghu just laughed in reply: and tumhare aaj ke reaction se mujhe ye bhi pata chal gaya ki woh kaun hai

Arjun: par aap Vikram sir se mere baare mein… kyun?

Raghu smiled: Arjun main sirf kehta nahi hun, sach mein tumhe apna beta maanta hun (Arjun felt a warm feeling enveloping his chest) aur isi liye maine tumhe abhi bulaya. Vikram ne mujhe har baat ki khabar ki thi including Sikandar. Main jaanta hun woh is terrorist attack mein involved tha aur tum log Goa usi ke liye gaye the…

Arjun recalled Raghu pitying them over their security duty a while back. That time, he had just put it off thinking he was saying it because he knew how irritating it was.

Raghu gripped his shoulder: and Arjun, mujhe tum par bahot garv hai (Arjun tears up) Mujhe pura yakeen hai ki Roshni ko bhi hoga, finally use insaaf mil gaya aur woh bhi tumhare haathon se

Arjun couldn’t control himself anymore. The exhaustion of the case and the emotional draining all came to engulf him in a tidal wave. As much as he tried, he couldn’t resist it completely and ended up hugging Raghu tightly who smiled. He stroked his hair to comfort him.

Arjun(softly): thank you sir….. for everything

Raghu smiled, embracing him lovingly.

After some time, Arjun returned to his position. As the ETF had expected, there was nothing to look out for. All they got was blindness by camera flashes and sensory overload with all the talking around them, not to mention an added dose of sleep deprivation.

Despite, going off display at 2, it took another half hour as they watched it get packed into a safe and then into a security van which took it away from the hotel. The four of them sighed deeply as they reached their suite.

Shree: sir, can we do good night now? Please?

Rathore(tired): get lost Shree honestly

Shree: thank you sir!

The suite had two bedrooms and a luxurious living room apart from a state of the art bathroom.

Shree passed out on the sofa there while one bedroom was given to Riya and the other was to be shared by Rathore and Arjun. Rathore crashed as soon as he laid on the bed. He had not even bothered to change.

Arjun came out of the washroom and saw Rathore sleeping. Sprawled on the bed with his socks still on. A faint smile appeared on his face. Just like the old days.

Riya changed in her room and unlocked the door. Opening her hair, she set an alarm on her phone for the next day. As she took the blanket, a knock sounded on the door.

Riya: khula hai

Arjun entered: hi

Riya smiled: hi

Arjun: tumhare bagal mein jagah hai? Rathore ne pura bed occupy kar liya hai

Riya: it’s a king-sized bed, you can put five people in there and still have room for more.

Arjun(sheepishly): tumhare saath sona hai

Riya giggled. She tapped the place next to her. A grin broke on his face. Closing the door, he threw himself next to her.

Arjun: I would prefer agar ye tumhara room hota

Riya(lying down): main bhi

He caressed her cheek with his knuckles.

Arjun: bahot thaki hui lag rahi ho

Riya nodded: ha, itni mushkil se 2-3 ghante ki neend hui flight mein aur ab aaj firse (sighing) aur fir agar sir ne ek-do din mein report maangi toh firse wahi haal

Slipping his arm below her neck, he brought her closer.

Arjun: sochna band karo aur jitna time hai abhi utna so jao

Humming, she snuggled closer to him. He kissed her forehead.

Arjun: good night

Riya: good night Arjun

She fell asleep almost immediately. He continued to gaze lovingly at her face whilst stroking her hair. Eventually his eyes turned droopy and he slipped into slumberland.

Next morning-

Suryakant couldn’t understand why Raima was ignoring him since the previous evening. She had even not bothered to wait for him and ordered her own breakfast and eaten while he was still getting ready despite the fact that they were supposed to have breakfast in the Hotel’s café with a few of his friends.

Suryakant: Raima kuch toh bolo

Raima: kyun bolu main? Sunte kaha hai aap meri?

As he stared, she started putting away her used saree into the hotel’s laundry bag.

Suryakant clenched his jaw: ye Arjun ke baare mein hai, right?

She stopped and glared at him.

Raima: ho bhi toh kya? Aapko kaha farak padta hai kisi cheez se?

Suryakant: Raima…

Raima: aisa bhi kaunsa gunaah kar diya usne? Itne saalon baad woh mila fir bhi aapne hume ek baar baat tak nahi karni di, fir pata chala ki uski biwi ki maut ho gayi thi

Suryakant: Raima…

Raima(anguished): Aapko Zara Sa Bhi Dard Nahi Hota Ye Sochkar Ki Itne Bure Waqt Mein Bhi Usne Ek Baar Bhi Ghar Lautne Ki Nahi Sochi! Ek Baar Bhi Ye Nahi Laga Ki Uska Pariwar Hai! Ek Baar Bhi Ye Nahi Socha Ki Hum Uska Dard Baant Sakte Hai!!!

Suryakant felt as if a bullet hit him.

Raima(tearing up): aisi bhi kya berukhi Suryakant? Ki humara beta humse apne dard bhi chupata firta rehta hai?

He did not respond. He did not know how. She collapsed on the bed, tears streaming down her face. Collecting himself, he tried to comfort her. He places a hand on her shoulder but it only riled her more. She threw it off.

Raima: mujhe kuch nahi pata (standing up) main usse milne jaa rahi hun! Aur Agar Aapko Problem Hai Toh Mujhe Bhi Ghar Se Nikal Dena!

He stared at her in shock as Raima stormed out of the room.

Café-

Suryakant greeted his friends. One of their wives’ asked about Raima. He was still fumbling with an answer when she pointed out to Raima.

Naina: are lo aa gayi Raima

He turned to see her coming with a fake smile on her face. Her eyes reflected sadness. Something told him her meeting with Arjun did not go as planned. A part of him rose in anger, Arjun wouldn’t even talk straight with her? Mv “Maine pehle hi kaha tha lekin koi sune tab na!”

They took their seats and ordered breakfast for themselves. Raima’s mood was off. She had gone to the suite assigned to the ETF but nobody had answered the door. Nobody at the reception seemed to have any idea where any of the officers were either. She was playing with the stirrer of her coffee when a familiar voice hit her ear.

Female: a hot chocolate with whipped cream please

Her head snapped to see Riya and Shree on a near-by table. They were watching something on an iPad with earphones while giggling and joking amongst themselves.

Raima: main zara aati hu

Before anyone could ask her, she got up. Suryakant’s eyes followed her as she went to Shree and Riya.

Raima: suno, Riya

She looked up to see Raima. They removed their earphones and she stood up.

Riya: ji?

Raima: uh, Arjun kaha hai?

Riya: Arjun sir toh subah hi nikal gaye the press conference ke liye

Raima: press conference?

Riya: ya, just a second

She picked up the iPad and showed it to her. Raima saw Arjun, in the panel of officers as the media asked them questions.

Raima(disappointed): oh

Shree and Riya exchanged glances. She looked over Raima’s shoulder to see Suryakant watching them.

Riya: If you want, main aapko unka number de sakti hu

Her eyes lit up: please

Riya nodded. Picking up a paper napkin, she wrote Arjun’s number on it.

Raima: thank you so much!

Riya: koi baat nahi. Aur maybe aapko unhe shaam ko call karna chahiye, unknown number hoga toh woh meeting ke beech mein nahi uthayenge

Raima nodded: thank you

Riya smiled and she left. She and Shree got back to watching the press conference while having their drinks………………………

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