Chapter 6

[MEMBERSONLY]

Chapter 04

The deafening silence overpowered the loud beating of their hearts. The commissioner watched as his words slowly registered in the ETF’s mind and their eyes widened, all in a slow motion. But before he could blink, a chair toppled over and several gasps rung around the room. Almost worriedly, he turned his head to see Arjun’s reaction only to realize that his chair was on the ground and his hands were tightened into fists.

Sameer was torn between anger and confusion. Not the one to blindly believe anything, he questioned, “Sir, don’t tell me ki aap bhi iss jhoothi kahani pe believe karte hain?”

The commissioner merely nodded his head, knowing that Sameer wouldn’t believe on Sikandar’s existence unless the appropriate proofs were gathered. The team, however, had mixed reactions. Some were worried for Arjun while some were unsure of the truth.

But Riya was scared. Her face paled visibly and the slight tremble of her hands indicated that she was petrified. Her heart dropped at the thought of the truth being revealed in everyone's presence so she silently sent a quick prayer to God to hide the secret she has been protecting for years now. Shit! Why did ETF, of all the special forces, have to receive Sikandar’s case? But nobody would find out anything...never, she thought in a failed attempt of comforting herself.

Arjun, on the other hand, casted a faraway look as his mind travelled back to the night of the brutal murder of his wife. The torture was evident on his face as he re-lived the harshest tragedy, or the reality, of his life. He came out of his chain of thoughts when he felt a hand on his shoulder, and a pair of concerned eyes staring at him.

Suddenly realizing where he was, Arjun jerked off Riya’s hand from his shoulder and composed himself. There was no room for pity in his life and self-loath was the only emotion he felt at this point. Straightening his posture, he nodded at the commissioner who nodded back and left the envelope with Sameer.

“I don't understand. Commissioner sir bhi uss saaye ke wajood pe yakeen karte hain?”, Sameer muttered under his breath.

His low voice was audible to everyone and they turned to look at him. Adopting yet another glare, Arjun commented sarcastically, “Jiska wajood ho wo saaya nahi hota Rathore. Aur yakeen toh sach pe hain unhe. Ek tum hi ho jo apne jhooth ko sach banane ki koshish mein sahi aur galat ka fark hi bhool gaye ho.”

The team winced at the venom dripping from his voice, understanding that their chief’s words have indeed struck a chord in his heart. Realizing that the verbal spat could potentially take form of something lethal if not interrupted, Riya decided to ask, “Sir, uss letter mein kya hai ek baar yeh toh padh lete hain.”

The juniors sighed in relief as the tensed atmosphere slowly melted away. The focus shifted from the stare competition to curiosity. Sameer opened the envelope and unfolded the paper. Quickly scanning through the ink of words, he shook his head in disappointment. His change of expressions intrigued the seven other members of his team, even though his second-in-command didn’t show it.

“All it says is that Sikandar’s case is officially assigned to ETF.”, he breathed out in frustration. He was exhausted after the week of tiring cases and his energy drained after his argument with Arjun.

Everyone’s face fell at his announcement and Arjun punched the wall in sheer fury. “Commissioner sir ne waada kiya tha ki yeh case ETF ko tab denge jab Sikandar ke khilaaf koi lead mil jaayegi. But we have to start our investigation from scratch.”, his voice lowered as his anger skyrocketed.

He wasn’t exactly sure what he was feeling furious about; the irresponsibility in collecting clues regarding Sikandar’s case or the fact that Sameer referred to him as Roshni’s murderer. But his heart knew that it was definitely the former because he had stopped caring about all the accusations, ages ago. But it didn’t necessarily mean that it didn’t pinch him to be called the killer of his own wife. Shaking off the distracting thoughts, he sat in his chair, reading every word of the letter carefully, hoping to catch a hint of where to begin the investigation.

It’s not like he didn’t try before. But when he tried gathering proofs to reach Sikandar, it was almost as if he had vanished into thin air, almost as if Sikandar never existed. His leads led him to a dead-end and he couldn’t locate his way from there. This case was his only hope of reaching the man he was madly searching for since the past two years.

Sameer banged the door of the conference and barged into his cabin. The tiredness from the last couple of days was finally catching up to him as he slumped heavily into the comfortable chair. Running a hand through his hair, he rested his head on the headrest and closed his eyes, extracting the maximum warmth he could from the sun peeking through the window. But it seemed that he would not be getting any rest. The second he closed his eyes, Roshni’s blood-matted face flashed in front of his eyes. He didn’t dare open his eyes, for the fear that he will have to face the real world. His headache intensified with each bittersweet memory of his past. A tear quietly rolled down his cheek but he made no move to wipe it away. Instead, he welcomed the only source of expressing his sorrow. He didn't even realize when the soft rocking of the chair and warm sunrays lulled him to sleep.

Finding a quick escape from the tensed room, Riya walked towards a secluded corner and whipped out her phone. Dialing a very familiar number, she waited for the person to pick up the call.

“Hello?”, came the voice from the other end.

She whispered into the phone, “Main bol rahi hoon.”

A short silence followed. The person on the other end gained their composure. “Madam ji aap?”

“Kuch pata chala?”, she asked with a tinge of anger in her voice. Her patience was running thin since the commissioner’s visit and the idiot was wasting her time.

A gulping sound could be heard and the person stuttered the response, “Nahi madam ji. Abhi tak kuch pata nahi chala.”

And that tore down her walls of patience. She glared hard at the phone as if she wanted to burn the person on the other side. “4 saal ho gaye hain. Aur tum log abhi tak usse dhoond nahi paaye? Paise kis kaam ke lete ho? Mann toh kar raha hai ki tumhe abhi goli maar doon.”

“I'm sorry madam ji. Lekin humne bohot koshish ki. Aisa lag raha hai jaise wo iss duniya mein hi nahi hai.”, replied the person with a shaking voice. “Madam ji aap pareshan lag rahi ho. Kya baat hai?”

Riya sighed, her anger melting into worry. She had completely forgotten why she called in the first place. “ETF ko Sikandar ka case assign hua hai.”

All she received in response was a loud ‘What?!’ She knew this would happen and there was no point in hiding. Regaining her normal voice, she said, “Haan. Toh tum sab thoda sambhal kar rehna. Mujhse contact karna ho toh mere private phone pe message karna. Call sirf main tumhe karungi. Theek hai?”

“Ji madam ji. Lekin yeh case ETF ke paas kaise aaya?”

“Uss paagal commissioner ne Arjun sir ko promise kiya tha ki wo Sikandar ka case ETF ko dega agar wo iss team ko join karenge. Saare plan pe paani fer diya dammit! Tum log use dhoondo aur ETF ki nazaron se bachke raho.”, and she hung up.

Running a frustrated hand through her hair, she sighed loudly. Everything was going downhill and she couldn’t do anything to control the damage. Her flawless plan was finally showing flaws. And that petrified her. A couple minutes later, she composed herself, breathed out and walked towards the conference room with her usual smile.

On the other hand, Aisha stood outside Sameer’s cabin, wondering if she should knock or not. Hand raised, fingers ready to knock, she stilled in her place when her eyes fell on the peaceful face of her sleeping boss. As if in a trance, her feet moved towards him and her heart was beating wildly. She couldn’t breathe properly because of the serene sight in front of her.

Gently, she approached his desk and noticed the frown on his face, assuming he was having a bad dream. She left and quickly returned with a steaming cup of coffee. Leaving it on the table, she stood behind his chair. Her eyebrows furrowed in worry and she softly pressed her fingertips to his forehead. She began needling the tensed lines on his face, watching fascinated as his expressions changed from sadness to relief. A small smile formed on his lips, his sleeping figure relaxing and welcoming the warm touch. She was at ease when he didn’t open his eyes and smiled. She dipped her head and lightly pressed her lips to his forehead, before blushing and quickly walking out of the cabin.

However, she didn’t realize when she accidentally dropped her earring and pen on the ground in her haste.

On the voyage back to the conference room, Aisha didn’t notice a figure walking adjacent to her and she bumped into it. Startled, she lifted her gaze and her eyes met Riya’s, who was staring back at her with a knowing smile. Understanding and fearing that she might have witnessed the tiny showcase of intimacy in Sameer’s cabin, Aisha blushed profusely and stared holes into the floor.

“Tum yahan kaise?”, Aisha questioned her hesitantly, unsure of whether she wants to hear an honest answer or not.

Riya shook her head, a gentle smile playing on her lips. She dipped her head, her voice barely above a whisper and said, “Pyaar karti ho toh chhupaya mat karo.”

Aisha’s head snapped up, her eyes widened in shock and her cheeks pink. After several futile attempts of denying the accusation Riya has just placed on her, she sighed and nodded. The silent friendship was slowly brewing between the two mature officers and they were beginning to realize it. The two girls shared a look, smiled at each other and left in the same direction.

The team, except the chief, gathered in the conference room. They chose to remain silent as Arjun was still concentrating on the files of Sikandar and the official letter by the commissioner. Nervousness and concern was evident of everyone’s face as Shree, Chotu and Sakshi talked in hushed whispers while Aisha and Riya were lost in their thoughts.

Suddenly, Arjun’s body jerked forward and he exclaimed in a victorious voice, “I got it! Sikandar ko benaqaab karne ki pehli lead mil gayi.”

________________________________

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Note:

I know this update has been delayed by weeks because of the revamping of IF, so I've decided if I receive a good response on this, chapter 5 will be posted in 3-4 days to compensate for the lost time. Thank you everyone for being so supportive.

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