Chapter 22

Looking around, her gaze fell on a hammer used for 3rd degree. She picked it up from the table confusing everyone and then hit it on her head

Chorus: RIYA!!!!

A small patch of red flowed from above her left eyebrow.

Riya glared at Rathore: ab thos kaaran haina sir?

Rathore was beyond shocked seeing her action. He couldn’t even answer and Riya left without waiting for it.

Vikram(shocked): ye ladki paagal hai kya?

Ayesha Rathore ko gusse mein glare karti hai(sternly): Aapko Abhi Bhi Jawab Chahiye Sir?

Vikram: par…ise leave kyun chahiye thi? Aisa kya ho gaya?

Rathore: jaane dijiye sir, hum Javed par focus karte hai

Rathore ne keh toh diya par uske dimag ne kaam karna band kar diya tha. He was shook to the core,  mv “Riya aise kaise kar sakti hai? Us Rawte ke liye khud chot kha li, kyun? Does she really think he’s worth it? But why? Unka rishta kya sach mein itna gehra hai? Rawte sach mein kisi ko pyaar kar sakta hai?”

An hour later-

Riya was pacing up and down her room. She didn’t know what was happening and she was hell worried about the consequences. Her reverie was broken by the ringtone of her phone. She rushed to pick it up but it wasn’t Arjun, it was Amod.

Riya: hi

Amod(surprised): kya baat hai, itna feeka hi?

Riya: nahi, kuch nahi kahiye kaise phone kiya?

Amod: isliye kyunki tumne kal se mujhse baat nahi ki aur chaar ghante mere message ka reply nahi kar rahi ho?

Riya winced: I’m sorry, woh thoda fas gayi thi

Amod: kya baat hai Riya, tum itni tensed kyun sound kar rahi ho?

Riya: kya batau sir…mere toh kuch samaj nahi aa raha hai

Amod(concerned): beta hua kya?

Riya: woh aaj hum ek admi ko pakadne gaye the, and us chakkar mein Rathore sir aur Arjun sir ke beech behes ho gayi aur Vikram sir ne keh diya ki woh Arjun sir ko team se nikal denge

Amod cursed himself for being the cause of her worry: mujhe tumhe waha bhejna hi nahi chahiye tha, pata nahi kyun mujhe laga ki Arjun…

Riya: sir isme unki koi galti nahi hai! hum monitoring kar rahe the aur use locate karte hume der ho gayi toh plan compromise ho gaya, Arjun sir ne plan change karne ki koshish ki aur Rathore sir nahi maane. Rathore sir ne Vikram sir se complaint kar di. Ab aap hi batao sir isme unki kya galti? Ulta maine toh unmein kisi ko bhi bina bataye plan change kar liya aur use pakad liya fir bhi Rathore sir ne mujhe kuch nahi kaha kehna toh dur ki baat hai unhone mujhe good job keh kar bitha diya…sir ekto already Sikandar ka case hai, Arjun sir already sensitive hai upar se ye saare clashes aur ab pata nahi woh kaha chale gaye hai?

Amod softened: kaha chala gaya matlab?

Riya: sir, woh headquarters se achanak chale gaye, bahot gusse mein the kyunki Vikram sir unhe nikalne waale the upar se Vikram sir ne hum sabko rok diya. Maine sab jagah check kar diya, lekin woh kahi nahi hai, na message kar rahe hai na phone. Main unke ghar gayi lekin woh nahi the maine socha shayad mujhse milne aaye ho isliye apne ghar aayi par woh kahi nahi hai

Amod(thoughtfully): shayad koi aisi jagah jaha tum dono milte the? ho sakta hai woh waha tumhara wait kar raha ho?

Riya: oriental…lekin woh 11 baje band ho chuka hai, ETF bhi check kiya aur jis park mein hum milte the woh bhi par…pata nahi kaha chale gaye hai. ekto woh itne gusse mein gaye hai, (tearfully) aapko toh pata haina woh kaise hai? woh andar chahe jo bhi feel kare, koi nahi samaj pata baahar gusse ke ilawa kuch nahi dikhta, mujhe toh dar lag raha hai kahi woh kuch….(controlling) aap hi boliye na Amod sir doesn’t he deserve his justice?

A sudden realization hits Amod, Riya had been right all along: he does Riya aur koi samjhe ya na samjhe, tum toh use samajti hona…par mere samaj mein nahi aa raha hai ki Arjun aur Rathore ki kya dushmani hai?

Riya wiped her tears: ek purani misunderstanding hai sir

Amod nodded: hmm….tum kaho toh Jai se kehkar Arjun ka phone trace karwau?

A ray of hope hit Riya: ha…

The doorbell suddenly disrupted her.

Riya: sir…ghanti baji, shayad Arjun sir ho…aap hold kijiye.

Riya ran to the main door and opened it and there he was…..Arjun! Riya was shocked to see him like that. His head hung, a number of injuries on his body. His shirt with dried blood stain, clothes dishevelled. Arjun didn’t give her time to react and hugged her tightly, collapsing in her arms, crying bitterly.

Riya: Arjun sir!

Amod who was still on the line, felt relieved at hearing his name. He could hear him crying and for the first time he realised the stone was human too. He sighed and disconnected the line knowing the two would take care of each other.

Riya tried to hug him back but Arjun fell to his knees and caught her legs. Riya somehow bent down. The phone automatically went to the floor as she tried to contain him. Her heart pained to see him like this.

Riya: Arjun sir please, Sambhaliye khud ko aur…aur ye chotein kaise lagi aapko?

Arjun(cracked): kaise sambhalu Riya? kaise? Aur kyun?

Riya: sir…

She suddenly realised the door was open. She somehow detangled himself from him and closed the door before returning to him. He was still crying.

Riya: Arjun sir…

Arjun: tumhe..tumhe pata hai…Rathore…Rathore ne mujhse kya kaha?

Riya(confused): kya kaha?

Arjun: usne…usne kaha ki woh mujhse..mujhse Naina ka badla na..hi le paaya…isliye woh….woh mujhe bhi apna..badla nahi le paayega

Riya was shocked: ye…ye aap kya keh rahe hai?

Arjun dropped his head in her lap hugging her tightly. Unsure of what to do to pacify him, she let him cry his heart out. She placed her chin on his head and kissed his head as she caressed his back.

Riya: it’s okay, main hun na? sab theek ho jaayega…

Riya was trying to calm him but what was sticking in her head was what Rathore said to Arjun. She had never imagined Rathore to fall to such a limit. He was going to regret this and she would make sure of it.

Arjun was completely breaking down in her arms. It was the one place of solace for him. After what seemed like an eternity Riya could feel his shivering reduce. She softly kissed his head.

Riya: Arjun sir?

Arjun slowly looked up: Riy…

She placed her finger on his lips: shh! Abhi kuch mat kahiye. Andar chaliye mein aapki dressing kar deti hun

Arjun sniffed and mechanically tried to stand up. Riya took him to her bedroom and made him sit on the bed before leaving to get the first aid box from the kitchen. Arjun saw a glass of water on the side table and gulped it down in a single go. He waited for her silently with a blank mind.

Riya entered with the box and suddenly realised: woh…. umm….sir…aap….aapko, apni….shirt, utarni hogi

Arjun stared at her for a few seconds but then did as told. She gestured him to sit further towards the center and neatly kept his shirt on the dressing table. She opened the box and started applying antiseptic to his wounds. He didn’t wince, just sat there blankly and closed his eyes to bear the sting. She stopped for a second to look at him. His blank reaction scared her but she didn’t say anything letting the atmosphere stay peaceful. A tear escaped her eyes as she nursed his wounds one by one. She wiped her tear and closed the bottle.

Riya: ho gaya

She took the box and was about to get off the bed when he caught her hand. She looked at him questioningly.

He gestured towards the Band-Aid on her head: ye chot kaise lagi?

Riya knew he would chew out Rathore then and there if she told him the truth: phone par baat karte-karte chal rahi thi toh sar dehleez se takra gaya

Arjun squinted: tumhara screw dheela hai kya?

Riya looked at him innocently. He shook his head and left her hand. She went to put the box back in his place. When she came back he was still in the same position.

Riya: are ya kya? Aap baithe kyun hai? chaliye so jaiye

Arjun: par Riya…

Riya: par-war kuch nahi!

She helped him lie down. In the process her hair fell on his face. Arjun’s hand automatically slid around her waist, he softly shifted her hair to one side while staring into her eyes.

Arjun: I love you Riya

Riya smiled: I love you too

She kissed his forehead. He closed his eyes and pulled her closer. His hand cupped her face and softly kissed her…she pulled back when she felt his tears on her skin. She assured him again.

Riya(gazing into his eyes): I’m not going to leave you….ever!

She gently wiped his tears and kissed him again. Arjun’s hands wrapped around her as they rolled on the bed. Her hand switched off the light as they drowned in each other….

Headquarters-

Sameer, Shree aur Chotu kisi tarah Javed ka muh khulwane mein kamyaab hote hai. woh Pathan ka pata bata deta hai. team firse action mein aa jaati hai aur uske permanent adde par raid maarti hai.

Pathan’s lair-

Pathan chain se so raha hai. ghar ke aaspaas kam se kam 20-25 guards hai. ETF waha surprise attack karti hai. unke achanak humle se guards mein hulchul mach jaati hai. dono taraf se tagdi firing shuru ho jaati hai.

Itni saari awaaz ki wajah se Pathan jaag jaata hai. usi waqt ek admi bhaagkar uske paas aata hai.

Admi: boss! Police ne humla kar diya hai

Pathan ki saari neend ud jaati hai: kya bak rahe ho?

Woh use push karke apna crutch uthata hai aur side drawer se ek bandook nikalta hai.

Pathan: jaldi se meri gaadi nikalo

Admi: par sir, gaadi toh baahar unhone chaaron taraf se hum gher liya hai, aap baahar jaayenge toh pakde jaayenge

Pathan table par haath maarta hai: Pata Nahi Kaun Kambaqt Hai Jo Chain Se Sone Bhi Nahi Deta!! (kuch sochkar) Ek kaam karo! Woh khaana banane waali….

Admi: sir Lalita

Pathan: ha wahi, kaha hai?

Admi: sir woh toh dar ke maare kitchen mein hi chupkar baithi hai

Pathan: use lekar aa, usi ko dhaal banayenge!!!

Idhar baahar ETF dheere-dheere sabko overpower kar rahi hai. andar woh Admi zabardasti us ladki ko Pathan ke paas laata hai. Lalita roye jaa rahi hai, usse minnate karti hai lekin Pathan uske baal pakadkar use khada karta hai aur use apna saath baahar kheench le jaata hai.

Baahar-

ETF aadhe se zyaada admiyon ko maar gira chuki hai. utne mein Pathan achanak khud prakat hota hai. Ladki ko dhaal dekhkar Rathore orders deta hai.

Rathore: HOLD YOUR FIRE!!!

Pathan: peeche hato sab ke sab! Warna ye ladki gayi

Rathore Ayesha ko ishaara karta hai. Ayesha samajkar gaadi ke peeche chup jaati hai.

Pathan: suna nahi tum logon ne? hato peeche (nozzle uske maathe par press karke) warna…

Rathore : ruko! Use…use kuch mat karo………………………………