Chaalbaaz #ReadersChoiceAwards Completed G

Chapter 6

Part 5 [MEMBERSONLY] [NOCOPY]

Shree’s laptop pinged with a new notification. He smirked internally, seeing Arjun’s mail on the hospital’s address, mv “come on Arjun sir, I expected so much better from you, ek tech expert kya itni aasani se CCTV footage aapke haath aane dega?”……………………………

He had hacked into the server and phone lines the previous day itself. He would have tapped Arjun’s phone lines but for an high ranking officer, it needed permissions without which an alert would go out to him and obviously it would lead to his arrest.

He sent a reply posing to be from the security department of the hospital through the official handle of the hospital.

Dear sir,

With deep regret we would like to inform you that the CCTV footage of the hospital is unavailable for the entire month due to maintenance of the electrical circuits of the hospital.

Thank you,

Warm regards,

Sudeep Nayar

Head, Department of Security and Fire Control

Shree hit send after 20 minutes, keeping in mind that the staff won’t be free all the time to answer emails.

Arjun was waiting impatiently in his cabin, twirling a marker in his hand and staring at the screen. The page refreshed and an email popped up. He immediately opened it. He hurriedly read through the content and threw the pen away.

Arjun : Dammit!!!

He ran a hand through his hair in frustration. If only he had had a minute longer with her the previous night. Just a minute, she would have been with them. Why hadn’t he taken his gun in the hospital? Why hadn’t he turned hostile at the moment? He could’ve just shot the guards and taken her away! If he had returned immediately with the gun, it would have been over!

However, deep down he knew. He had been in too much of a shock to think straight. And now, he was hopelessly stuck between whether Shree was doing it all or there was some other mastermind behind him and Riya’s safety and her location. A knock on the door disturbed him.

Arjun chided: Get Lost!!

Rathore opened the door anyway: Rawte?

Arjun(irritated): kya hai Rathore?!?! Leave me alone!

Rathore: kya hua? Achanak itne upset kyun ho gaye?

Arjun: I Said Leave Me Alone!!!!

Rathore: duty?

Arjun sighed: aa raha hun

Rathore: ek lead mili hai, tum aur Chotu jaa kar dekho, woh neeche parking mein tumhara intezaar karega

He nodded wordlessly and Sameer left. He gulped down a glass of water and went with Chotu for further investigation. The day passed quickly, the culprit was finally nabbed by the team and Arjun was more than happy to get out of there. It was already late. He didn’t even bother to remain for the formalities. The second the confession was out, so was he.

He hurried to his car and started the ignition. His mind seemed blank. Half of it had too many questions and the other half was numb. He knew he had to do something but he didn’t know what he was supposed to do or how for that matter. Where and How could he find her in a city like Mumbai?

Arjun mv “Come on Arjun think! Kaam par lagao apne dimag ko…kuch toh hoga jise main Riya tak pahunch sakta hun, koi surag, Dr. Riddhima, Meena, Shree……lekin, Riya zinda hai kaise? Us doctor ne toh kaha tha ki she is no more aur humare aankhon ke saamne, humare aankhon ke saamne woh chup ho gayi thi, uski saans ruk gayi thi toh fir….doctor, ha wahi batayega, ki us din waha hua kya tha (he changed his route for the City Hospital) jaldi jaata hun, uski shift khatam honewaali hogi….”

His thoughts were broken by a beeping sound. He looked around for the source. It wasn’t his phone, nor was the indicator of the car on. Somewhat automatically, his foot eased on the accelerator. The sound increased. His senses alerted. His foot pushed forward. The sound returned to normal. He eased it again and the beeping increased.

Arjun’s eyes widened in realisation: SHIT!!!

He pushed the accelerator and immediately scanned the road. It wasn’t very crowded. He swerved to the left and broke the signal moving on to the Nariman Drive. Grabbing his gun, he tucked it into his jeans. He took a deep breath, slowed down a little, opened the lock. Making sure the road ahead was free of traffic, he pushed the accelerator again and jumped out of the car!

He fell on the side of the road, rolling towards the pavement.

The vehicle lost control and rammed into the divider, the bomb activated. A loud explosion resonated and it blew up into pieces. The bumper flew towards him but fell at a considerable distance.

Arjun stood up, wincing. His elbow was bruised. A crowd gathered on the spot.

Arjun: what the hell!

He wiped the sweat off his brow.

Man: are bhaiya theek ho?

Arjun flashed his ID: door hatiye aap log! Koi aage nahi aayega!

He fished out his phone and called up the control room. Within minutes, sirens of the police cars and an ambulance showed up. The Inspector who was in-charge of the area saluted him.

Inspector: Jai Hind sir!

Arjun nodded: media mein ye baat nahi jaani chahiye, aur ETF ka naam bilcul bhi leak nahi hona chahiye. Car ka accident hua tha, bomb ke baare mein panic nahi fail na chahiye, samjhe ya samjhau?

Inspector: ji sir

Arjun: iske baare mein jo bhi pata chala, tum directly mujh bataoge, is that clear?

Inspector: sir!

Arjun nodded. It took him 2-3 hours by the time the police wrapped up the on-site investigations and then took Arjun with them to the police station for his statement. They offered a doctor but Arjun refused. He glanced at his watch. It was 2 am. The doctor must have left by then. He sighed and hailed a cab back home. His entire body was aching due to the impact. Tired due to all the stress, he threw his head back on the seat.

Arjun(muttering): ab kaun namuna meri jaan ke peeche pada hai?

Driver: kya saab?

Arjun(sharply): kaam karo apna!

The driver silently complied and dropped him at his destination. Arjun somehow dragged himself into the house and collapsed on the sofa. He didn’t even bother to patch up his wound. His thoughts going crazy in his head, he soon fell asleep on the couch.

Next day-

ETF was dealing with the murder of a college student. So far, the investigations revealed the possibility of a love affair gone sour and the rivalry of upcoming student body elections.

Arjun had been called in early for the urgent case. It had the perfect masala for becoming a widespread student issue. He cursed the commissioner and Rathore for it.

Rathore: hum sirf uske friend circle ko kyun dekh rahe hai, uski family ko bhi scanner mein lo, dekho kuch gadbad hai ya nahi, koi thos wajah lag nahi rahi hai murder ki, haina Rawte?

Arjun snapped out of his thoughts: huh? Ha….dekho

Rathore squinted at him: kya dekhe?

Arjun fumbled: wahi…jo tum keh rahe the

Rathore: kya keh raha tha main?

Arjun: woh…um…

Rathore: dhyaan kaha hai tumhara?

Arjun: kuch nahi, bas aise hi

Though not convinced, he decided to talk about it later. Ayesha: sir, main uske parents se firse puch-taach karti hu

Rathore nodded: aur Shree, unke bhi call records nikalo, dekho kya pata chalta hai

Shree: yes sir

Around an hour later, the team broke for lunch. Arjun walked out of the office and took a cab for city hospital.

He went straight to the doctor’s cabin. To his surprise, the name plate was no longer his, but was of another doctor. Confused, he went to the front desk.

The receptionist was busy with a patient’s relative when Arjun slapped his ID on the desk.

Arjun: Dr. Kunal Mehra kaha milenge?

Receptionist: I’m sorry sir, par Dr. Mehra toh ab is duniya mein nahi rahe

Arjun(shocked): WHAT?!?!

Receptionist: ha sir

Arjun: Kaise?!?

Receptionist: kaise toh mujhe nahi pata sir, unke ghar se phone aaya tha lekin jaha tak maine dusre doctors ko suna hai unki maut ek car accident mein hui thi

Arjun: kab hua ye?

Receptionist: yahi kuch 6 mahine pehle sir

Arjun: what nonsense! 6 mahine pehle toh main khud unke saath work kar chuka hun, Xora par!

Receptionist: yes sir, woh uske in-charge the, lekin (thoughtfully) uske kuch ek hafte mein uska accident ho gaya tha

Arjun sighed: acha aapke records mein Riya Mukherjee ka naam hoga right?

Receptionist: Just a moment sir (she checks her system) ji sir, but woh usi Xora ke time…

Arjun: I know! Dr. Mehra ke saath us case par kaunsa nurse ya wardboy tha?

Receptionist: I’m sorry sir but 6 mahine pehle ki information supporting staff ke liye nahi rakhi jaati woh bhi jab patient is no more

Arjun(frustrated): aapke staff mein se toh koi hoga? jise pata ho?

Receptionist: sir itna saara staff hai, main kaise sabse puchu? Aur koi gurantee bhi nahi ki kisi ko yaad ho ya pata ho us case ke baare mein

Arjun: acha fine! Us waqt morgue ki duty par kaun tha?

Receptionist: dekhti hu….(checking) sir Shyamlal

Arjun: bulao use!

Receptionist: sir woh…Shyamlal toh

Arjun: Shyamlal kya?

Receptionist: sir, woh ab yaha kaam nahi karta

Arjun balled his fists to control himself: address hai?

Receptionist: ha sir, address hai

Arjun breathed a sigh of relief: great! Do

She wrote down the address on a piece of paper and gave it to him. Arjun snatched the paper and headed straight to his house in the fishermen’s colony.

He rapped loudly on the door. A middle aged man opened the door.

Arjun: Shyamlal?

Man: Shyamlal toh nahi hai

Arjun: kaha gaya?

Man: woh toh 6 mahine pehle hi apne gaav chala gaya tha

Arjun: Kaunsa Gaav??!

Man: mujhe nahi pata

Arjun grabbed his collar in anger: Toh Tumhe Pata Kya Hai?!?!

Man(scared): saab, woh toh bas yaha kiraye par rehta tha, city hospital mein kaam karta tha fir achanak ek din usne kaha ki woh gaav waapis jaana chahta hai toh naukri aur ghar chodkar chala gaya

Arjun jerked him away and left the porch. He banged his head on the roof of the car, mv “us doctor ka mar jaana aur Shyamlal ka is tarah gayab hona woh bhi usi waqt koi ittefaq nahi ho sakta lekin….lekin kya Shree kisi ko maarne ki had tak jaa sakta hai? ya fir is khel ke peeche koi aur hi hai?”

However, one thing was sure now, both of them were definitely involved in the scam. His eyes faltered to his watch. Realising the time, he sat in the car and went back to the ETF where Rathore confronted him again.

Rathore: kaha gaye the?

Arjun: tum firse watchman giri karne lage? Aa gaya na?

Rathore: in that case, tum time par nahi ho! 45 minutes late

Arjun dodged him: shut up Rathore! Case par dhyaan do!

And left towards the conference room. Rathore mv “kar kya raha hai ye?”

The rest of the day passed uneventfully. Arjun called up another of his informers as he drove home.

Arjun: Birju, City Hospital ke ek wardboy Shyamlal ne 6 mahine pehle naukri chod di thi, pata karne ki koshish karo ki woh kaha gaya hai

Birju: ji saab……………………..

bloomie2020-06-08 05:59:05