Chaalbaaz #ReadersChoiceAwards Completed G

Chapter 26

Part 27 [MEMBERSONLY][NOCOPY]

A week passed in a similar fashion. Rathore watched in horror as his fears came true.

Arjun became the ruthless cop that the department spoke of. Interrogation rooms became 3rd degree torture cells. Arjun was the same tornado that had calmed down. Shouting and reprimanding everyone on the team excluding Riya. Not because he did not want to shout at her, hell! He wanted to shout at her! He wanted to hold her shoulders and shake her till he screamed of the injustice she had done to him and knock some sense into her head, but because he refused to look at her.

Riya was no less. She withdrew from the team exponentially, barely talking even in case discussions. She avoided Arjun, refused to meet his eye and more or less preferred to not even stay in the same room as him. The stress started taking a toll on her health. She was skipping her meals and medicines. Her nightmares were increasing day by day. Sleep left her or rather, she ran away from it. Her face was paler every morning that she entered the office.

When Rathore tried to talk to Arjun, he was shoved out. When he tried to talk to Riya, she walked out. He cursed both of them at the back of his head. Why did they have to be so stubborn and difficult? If only they would sit and talk to each other but no! One refused to acknowledge the other side while the other refused to take the lack of faith. In between all of this, he and the team were grinded like herbs between two stones.

Vivek was a completely different story altogether. He had no freaking clue about what was happening. He wasn’t very surprised at Arjun’s behavior since he had heard of him before. However, why was the entire team so cold and aloof? Why did the pretty research specialist look like she had the world’s burden on her? Why was the Chief looking at them with longing every now and then? His head was filled with questions but he had no answers. All he could do was dive into his laptop and do the work he was asked to do.

Chotu arrived at the office that day. Finally, after a week, his wound had healed considerably and Rathore allowed him to come on board. Although Riya had stopped taking calls from him, the others had kept him informed of the problem at office and he was equally worried for the two of them. He tries to casually talk with Riya but she does not revert in the normal way she would. She kept nodding and humming, giving monosyllable and one word answers at best.

Conference room-

Rathore called all of them at midday. Dropping a file on the table, he announces a raid in an abandoned mill. They were sure of a few shady people frequenting the place since a few days but weren’t sure of what exactly they were trying to do.

Rathore: Rawte! Riya! aur Vivek! Tum log pehle attack karke unhe distract karoge. Main, Ayesha aur Chotu dusri taraf se attack karenge!

He paused for a second to see if Arjun or Riya would react but they didn’t. Ayesha on the other hand was hell confused. Smirking internally, he continued.

Rathore: Liza, tum thodi dur par back up ke saath rahogi aur zaroorat padne par unhe lead karogi. Sakshi, we don’t know waha kya chal raha hai so you sit this one out, it could be dangerous.

Sakshi agreed obediently, keeping in mind the tense atmosphere.

Rathore continued: aur ek baat! Vivek!

Vivek: yes sir?

Rathore: ye tumhara pehla field, I mean ki, pehla live operation hai so be careful. We have had enough injuries for the time being.

Vivek: ji sir

He wondered if Rathore was worried for him or the ETF medical budget. As excited as he was for the mission, he was also a little nervous since it was his first. He snapped out of his thoughts when he saw Arjun leaving the room. Riya too stood up and followed. Horrified, he ran after them, not wanting to take another scolding from Arjun.

The ETF split up according to their instructions and drove towards the mill. Ayesha finally voiced out her thoughts in the car.

Ayesha: Rathore sir, aapne un dono ko saath kyun bheja? I think hume Riya ko isse baahar rakhna chahiye tha, woh zyaada hosh mein nahi hai

Rathore: main jaanta hun isliye maine aisa kiya

Liza and Chotu exchange confused glances on the backseat.

Ayesha: kya matlab?

Chotu: sir agar Ri ko kuch..

Rathore: kuch nahi hoga use (smirking) Rawte use kuch nahi hone dega

His plan finally dawned on the trio. It was still dangerous though. The two of them were not even looking at each other in the face. What if they didn’t bother?

Liza posed a third possibility: sir lekin agar by chance unka gussa aur naraazgi aur bad gayi toh?

Rathore: aisa kuch nahi hoga

Liza: aap itne confidently kaise keh sakte hai?

Rathore: Riya isliye naraaz hai kyunki Arjun ne apna dhyaan nahi rakha aur Arjun isliye kyunki use lagta hai Riya ke liye ab woh maayine nahi rakhta. Woh dono ek dusre ki taraf dekh bhi nahi rahe, isliye nahi kyunki woh gusse mein hai balki isliye taaki woh dusre ke saamne kamzor na pad jaaye and say what you will, ego toh Riya mein bhi thoda hai

Ayesha glares at him: Rathore sir! agar aapka ye Ghatiya plan backfire hua na toh…

Rathore: aisa kuch nahi hoga, I am 100% sure ki iske kaaran dono ki akal thikaane aa jaayegi, bevkuf gadhe hai dono! Riya toh humesha se emotional thi lekin us, Rawte ke bache ko bhi yahi time mila emotional hone ke liye? Uff! Agar main kabhi bhi by chance bhi suicide karu na toh ACP Arjun Rawte should be booked for abetment, tum sab witness ho iske liye yaad rakhna

Chotu: lekin sir, aapne Vivek ko kyun bheja? Mujhe bhejna chahiye tha na? atleast main… (realising something) aapne jaan buchkar Vivek ko bheja, haina?

A goofy grin plastered to his face. Ayesha felt like banging his head to the steering wheel. Then, she refrained herself thinking of the accident that would occur. Besides, she loved the man.

Ayesha: WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT?!!?!

Rathore: Are Ayesha shaant ho jao…

Ayesha(incredulously): Shaant Ho Jau? Aapko Andaaza Bhi Hai Ki Aap Kya…

Rathore: ha mujhe saara andaaza hai, Vivek naya hai, woh team ki working style ko zyaada nahi jaanta, ye uska pehla mission hai, woh khud galti na karne ke liye stressed hoga, khud ko protect karne aur Rawte ki daant se bachne ke liye bhi. Aur toh aur dono mein se koi bhi us par blindly trust nahi karenge. So! They will be dependent on one another!!!

Liza shook her head in disbelief. This was either the best plan to bring both of them back together or the worst. What was more horrifying was that simultaneously, it was both!

The other car had an eerie silence in it. Riya was on the backseat making Vivek take the passenger. He was continuously tapping his leg, gripping the gun in his hand and checking the magazine after every few seconds.

Arjun(irritated): Shut Up!!

Startled, Vivek stopped tapping his leg and crouched a little, not wanting to annoy the superior officer who was always a volcano ready to burst.

The Mills-

The two teams took different positions on opposite sides. As decided, Arjun led the first attack from the south side of the mills. They announced their arrival with gunshots and very soon a full-fledged gun fight ensued between them.

Once the men were completely engrossed with the officers, Rathore led his side of the team and attacked from the east. The sudden change in direction of the gunfire proved to be very useful for the ETF. It was a while before the men figured out what was happening and change their strategy accordingly.

As the team inched forward, bullet fights changed to fist fights. Arjun, already being anguished, was using the men as a punching bag. Vivek was half looking in shock while defending and throwing in a few punches here and there. Arjun was beating them up as if they owed him a debt from their previous janam and he was providing them with some sort of salvation.

Riya punched a man on his kidney dropping him to the ground, groaning in pain. Sensing no other hostile charging towards her, she turns to look at the other two. To her horror, a man was running towards Arjun with a knife in his hand. The ACP was busy beating another one up while Vivek engaged in another direction.

Her nightmares flash before her eyes and she lets out a blood curdling scream.

Riya: ARJUN SIR!!!!!

Arjun gave a hard punch and turned to see Riya’s leg kicking off a hand brandishing a knife that was about to stab his back. Vivek tased the guy and turned to the sound, holding up his gun.

The man staggered due to the force. Before he could realise what happened, Riya grabbed him by the collar.

Riya: TUMHARI HIMMAT KAISE HUI UNHE HAATH LAGANE KI?!?!?!

Her fist broke his jaw and then his ribs. She kneed his gut and punched his face. Riya kicked him in between the legs. Grabbing his collar, she punched him continuously, giving him a black eye and multiple cuts on the face. She twisted his hand sharply! Dislocating it from the shoulder all while the boys looked on with their jaws dropped to the floor.

Riya threw him on the ground. Fury ran through her veins, heating up her body. Picking up a rod, she bored holes into him. Raising her hand, she brought it down heavily on his head fracturing his skull.

Vivek gasped at the tyranny.

As the adrenaline went back home, her hand came back to the side of her body. Panting heavily, her brain started to make sense of what happened. The rod slipped from her hand. It fell to the ground with a thud. Riya turned mechanically. Her vision turned hazy. She threw her arms around Arjun, jerking him out of the initial shock and sending him into another.

Riya cried out: I am sorry, I am so sorry, please mujhe maaf kar dijiye….

Arjun blinked a few times to realise that she was actually clinging onto him. Hesitantly, he raised his hands to hug her back. However, before he could hold her, her legs give away and she fell on her knees. The remaining spell of shock broke as he felt her body slip away.

Arjun went on his knees: Riya!

She continued to bawl against his chest: please mujhe maaf kar dijiye, please… I am sorry, I really am, please, I am so sorry, mujhe aapse woh sab nahi kehna chahiye tha, mujhse galti ho gayi, mujhe maaf kar dijiye…

Arjun stroked her hair: Riya shaant ho jao..

Riya: I am really sorry, main aapse gusse mein kya kuch keh diya, aap par ilzaam lagaya, aap par shak kiya aur upar se, upar se us ghatiya Shree se compare kiya, mujhe maaf kar dijiye please, maaf kar dijiye, please, (her voice cracked further) please… don’t hate me…please…

Arjun swallowed the lump in his throat: Riya kya bol rahi ho tum? (he placed a palm on her cheek making her look at him) I would never hate you, paagal ho kya? Main kabhi bhi tumse nafrat nahi kar sakta…

Riya(hiccupping): aap sach mein mujhse nafrat nahi karte?

Arjun sighed: Main maanta hun main tumhari baaton se bahot hurt hua Riya lekin main jaanta hun ki Shree ke dobara baahar aane aur uske badle ki wajah se tum bahot pareshaan ho gayi thi, main is baat ka andaaza bhi nahi laga sakta ki tum par kya beet rahi thi isliye jaane do ab un baaton ko

Riya: aapne sach mein mujhe maaf kiya?

Arjun: ha Riya

Riya: man se?

Arjun: ha baba

Riya: dil se?

Arjun chuckled: saari jagaho se maaf kiya Riya

She sniffed back her tears and hugged him tightly: I am sorry

Arjun embraced her, resting his chin on her head: I am sorry too, mujhe atleast tumhe sab hone ke baad bata dena chahiye tha but trust me Riya, maine tumse sach sirf isliye chupaya kyunki main tumhe aur tension nahi dena chahta tha

He felt a burden lift from above him as he finally clarified himself. He exhaled in relief.

She closed her eyes and muttered: mujhe aap par pura vishwas hai

He squeezed her closer to him in response. Arjun kissed her forehead.

Vivek had turned into a statue. His brain was blank. Not registering anything. He jerked his head and shook it to make sure he was not dreaming or anything. But he was not. The two of them were still sitting on the ground and hugging each other. He had no idea what those two were talking but it seemed like they were patching up after a fight. It was a good thing that the goons had stopped coming. He looked around and took in the surroundings to realise that the occasional gunshots too had ceased. He looked back at the couple, unsurely. He didn’t feel like disturbing them. Neither did want to take risk of flouting orders and go check around for the others. So, he stayed mum.

It wasn’t until they heard voices of the other officers, did Arjun and Riya realise where they were. He gently separated from her and stood up while giving her a hand.

Rathore arrived on the spot with Ayesha and Chotu. Vivek straightened in attention. Ayesha and Chotu glance at each other seeing Arjun and Riya standing next to each other.

Rathore: kaha reh gaye tum log? Andar nahi aaye? mujhe laga kahi ki kisi ko chot toh nahi lagi

Arjun: aankhein kharab hai teri?

Rathore: what?

Arjun: dikh nahi raha hum theek hai? (Rathore squinted at him) ghurna band kar aur bata kya kar rahe the ye log andar?

Rathore: arms smuggle kar rahe the, humne confiscate kar liya hai

Arjun: kitna?

Rathore: zyaada nahi aur advanced bhi nahi, crude ones. I guess nauseekhiye the, abhi-abhi dhandha shuru kiya hai

Arjun nodded in acknowledgement.

Ayesha: sir, hum handover karke chale ab?

Rathore agreed. Rathore, Ayesha, Liza and Chotu were glancing between Arjun and Riya but they seemed normal. They couldn’t understand if anything happened or not. Ayesha swore she saw a hint of a smile playing on Riya’s lips a few times as they worked on handing over the crime scene but couldn’t make out if it was real. The team wrapped up and headed back to office

ETF-

They walked out of the lift. Rathore and Arjun walked ahead finally letting Chotu voice out his thoughts.

Chotu: are yaar, mere pet mein chuhe daud rahe hai, bahot bhook lag rahi hai

Riya: thoda sa sabar kar le Chotu, hume mat kha jaana

They all looked at her in shock.

Chotu: Ri!!!!!

Riya(amused): kya hua?

Liza: thank Jesus!! Tum theek ho

Riya: are mujhe kya…

She felt dizzy, She raised her hand to her temple.

Ayesha: Riya are you…

She faints. Vivek and Chotu caught hold of her before she fell to the ground. They settled her slowly on the floor.