Chapter 7

[MEMBERSONLY] [NOCOPY]

Chapter 05

Nobody said a word as they stared at Arjun, bemused. His words settled in and curiosity overwhelmed them. But they didn’t have the courage to question Arjun, well maybe except Sakshi. She couldn’t hold it in and asked, “Kya mila hai tumhe Arjun?”

He turned to look at her before turning his head away, completely ignoring her question and his juniors’ presence. His face glowed with happiness at the prospect of finally taking a step in the direction of catching the criminal he saw in his nightmares. A hope bubbled in his heart; he was finally going to avenge his Roshni’s death. Settling in his chair, he relaxed slightly and sipped the water kept near the table.

However, Riya’s face turned white. Although she was curious to know more about the detail, a fear settled within her. There’s no way he got a lead on Sikandar by reading those old files. I made sure there was no proof of his existence in any official paperworks, she thought in a ridiculous attempt of comforting herself. But nothing could escape Arjun’s sharp eyes. Even with his attention at the papers, he was observing his surroundings and successfully caught the myriad of emotions reflecting on her face. And he wondered, why is Riya reacting so strangely? She was also nervous when commissioner sir assigned us this case. I’ll have to find out.

All conversation halted as Sameer walked in with a calm face. A red hue appeared on Aisha’s cheeks and she hid away from everyone, not that anyone noticed it. However, his changed mood puzzled everyone. Just an hour ago, he would have shot someone. But now he was strolling in like everything was normal.

He sat on his chair, staring at his team’s surprised faces and turned to Sakshi, “Thank you for the coffee Sakshi.”

In response, he received several questioning glances as Sakshi hadn’t left their side for even a second. Understanding, he lifted the pen he found on his cabin floor and passed it to her. Sakshi instantly said, “Oh-ho Sameer, yeh pen toh Aisha ne borrow kiya tha.”

Sameer glanced at Aisha, no surprise projected on his face as if he expected that answer and smiled gently at her. She blushed and nodded in acknowledgement. The glances shared between them were noticed by the ever vigilant Arjun and Riya, who chose to remain silent and pretended to be busy. Since the curiosity ate away at them, Shree and Chotu gestured Riya to ask Arjun about the lead while she shook her head in denial. Their silent verbal argument continued for a few minutes before Riya was defeated against their pleading eyes.

Taking a deep breath to gather the strength, Riya asked, “Arjun sir, kya aap bata sakte hain ki aapko kya lead mili hai?”

Arjun snapped back to the case and smirked arrogantly. Sameer, who was unaware of his outburst, looked questioningly at his team. But they weren’t even looking at him. Slightly annoyed at being ignored, he screamed, “Koi mujhe batayega ki kis lead ki baat ho rahi hai?”

“Arjun ko Sikandar ke against ek lead mili hai,”, Sakshi answered off-handedly before everyone re-focused on Arjun. Sameer’s expressions hardened and he glared at Arjun, still not believing that Sikandar exists.

Slowly, Arjun got off his chair and waved the commissioner’s letter in the air. “Lead yeh hai. Commissioner sir is a genius. Wo jaante the ki Sikandar ki existence pe aadha department yakeen nahi karta aur agar uske against official investigation karne ke baad koi lead mili toh higher authorities yeh case ETF ko nahi balki CBI ya RAW ko de denge. So he covertly led this information to us.”

Sameer snatched the letter from his hand and re-read every word twice, attempting to see the proof Arjun so proudly was talking about. But nothing seemed out of ordinary. The team, reading the letter over his shoulder, were also confused because it was just an official letter with no mentions of any lead. They faced him and almost choked to see his eyes glinting. He wasn’t the same Arjun they had been working with all these months, and that is what they were sure of.

Chotu, feeling like his head will burst from the mystery, voiced out, “But sir, iss mein toh koi lead nahi hai.”

Five heads nodded in agreement. Arjun silently forwarded the file to the team, keeping it open at a certain page. The confused faces of the team amused him. He almost burst out laughing at their dumbfounded expression, almost. But if someone, like Riya, observed him closely, they would have noticed the slight twitch of his lips as he tried hard to conceal his smile. And she smiled, hiding it behind her long curls.

“Arjun sir, iss purani file aur official letter ka lead se kya connection hai? Aap hi bata dijiye kyunki yeh dumb charades na humse guess ho raha hai aur na Rathore sir se.”, Shree finally asked straightforwardly. However, he instantly regretted it when the two ACPs glowered at him. He gulped, scared, and edged behind Chotu like a kid.

The girls stifled their laughs at his horrified expression as he silently scowled at them. Answering in an almost condescending manner, Arjun said, “Shaayad computers pe games khel-khel kar tumhare chashme ka number badh gaya hai Shree.” A snicker escaped everyone’s lips as Shree turned red in embarrassment.

Arjun continued, “Iss file mein jo font hai use dekho. And compare it with this letter.”

The team did as told but still seemed clueless to his implications. He lightly shook his head, wondering for the millionth time why he was paired up with such a dim-witted team. Sighing at their lack of observation, he finally revealed, “This letter was written in Times New Roman font while the file is in Georgia. Shree, apna laptop on karo aur inn dono fonts mein same sentence likho.”

Shree did as commanded and projected it on the white screen of the conference room. Arjun walked up to it and pointed, “Dikhne mein yeh dono fonts bohot similar hain aur koi inn mein differentiate bhi nahi kar sakta. Lekin agar dhyaan se dekho toh you will realize ki Times New Roman font ke alphabets ke beech mein bohot kam gap hai aur size thoda chhota.”

The team finally noticed the small difference and nodded, understanding the point he was trying to make. He passed the letter to Shree and asked him to also reflect it on the screen.

“Ab iss letter ko dekho. Kuch alphabets ke beech mein gap thoda zyada hai aur size bada. Jaise ki ‘case of’ ka ‘o’ aur ‘underworld’ ke ‘l’ and ‘d’. Iska matlab yeh words usi font mein type kiye hain jismein Sikandar ki file type hui hai. Yahi hai humari lead. Agar hum har alphabet ko order mein arrange karein toh ek sentence banta hai: ‘The old mills of DK Ltd’. Ab samjhe ya samjhaun?”, he finished with a smug look plastered on his face.

Eyes wide and jaws touching the ground, the team stared at him in admiration. Even Sameer was impressed, though he would never admit it. Despite of being used to his sharp observational skills, it still surprised them. According to them, no matter how smart a man is, it was nearly impossible to pinpoint the tiny difference in something like a computerized font. And just like that, all the juniors burst into an applause, amusing the two bosses. Arjun merely rolled his eyes, hiding his smile behind the stoic look, and picked up his revolver with the intention of leaving for the location.

Sameer, sensing his thoughts, said, “Ruko Rawte. Hum uss location pe kal subah jaayenge. Abhi raat bohot ho gayi hai.”

Arjun stopped in his tracks and turned to respond, “Tumhe sona hai toh tum so sakte ho Rathore. Lekin main toh aaj hi uss jagah pe jaaunga.”

“Yeh mat bhulo ki chief main hoon aur unfortunately tum meri team ke member ho. So you have to follow my orders whether you like it or not.”, Sameer taunted, his lips pulled back in a grimace.

Arjun and Sameer stood face-to-face, inches away from shooting each other and staring daggers at one another. If they weren’t cops and responsible ones at that, they would be six-feet under the ground by now. The team watched the millionth argument and sighed in exhaustion. Sameer turned to walk towards his cabin while Arjun left to the parking lot. “Team, dismissed.”, Sameer threw over his shoulder and disappeared around the corner. Everyone packed up and retired for the day.

Riya entered the parking lot and was a little shocked to see Arjun’s SUV parked near the main entrance. The last thing she wanted at that moment was a run in with a furious akdu. She was already drained because of the events and her mental tiredness finally caught up with her. With the intention of walking around him, she took a step forward. However, she ceased in her tracks when she heard him call her.

“Riya.”, he said.

She spun on her heels and faced him, a questioning look on her face. “Yes sir?”

He peaked out of the window, making her wonder why the hell he was wearing sunglasses even at night. His eyes were hidden from her but she could practically feel his hard gaze on her causing her to shiver, in fear or want, she wasn’t too sure. He commanded, “Gaadi mein baitho. Main tumhe ghar drop kar deta hoon.”

Her protest died in her throat at his tone, leaving no room for argument. She nodded and obediently sat in the passenger seat, hoping for her house to come soon. The usual comfortable silence was now suffocating her. She stared out of the window knowing that if she glanced at him, she would blurt out everything. He was silently driving and glancing in her direction every once in a while. He had several questions in his mind and only she could answer them, but he couldn’t seem to find words to begin.

Eventually when he realized how close her house was, he couldn’t help himself from asking, “Are you okay Riya?”

Her head spun in his direction and her heart skipped a beat at his sudden question. The concern on his face melted her heart but a fear gripped her. She breathed deeply before replying, “Of course sir. Lekin aap achaanak…?”

“Tum subah se pareshaan lag rahi ho. Aur jab commissioner sir Sikandar ka case lekar aaye the tab bhi tumhare chehre ka rang udd gaya tha. Tum theek toh ho?”, his voice was laced with worry.

On a regular day, it was have flattered her that he noticed her so closely, but not today. Today she was scared. And she mentally cursed him for being so observant. She was so lost in her thoughts that she didn’t realize when the car stopped moving. He noticed the change of expressions on her face and deduced that something serious was the matter. And it fueled his curiosity even more.

She composed herself and smiled gently. “Main theek hoon sir. Wo bas Sikandar ka naam sunkar thoda ghabra gayi thi.” He looked unconvinced but didn’t push the matter any further. Nodding at her, he turned his face to the road.

She leaned in and gently pecked his cheek. In an instant, his head jerked in her direction and his eyes widened in shock. She smiled widely at him, a soft affection in her eyes. “I’m fine sir. Aur hospital se clearance bhi mil gayi hai waapis team join karne ki. Good night.”, she said and opened the car door, getting off and walking to her house.

He froze there, his mind recapping her words. He hated to admit it but it surprised him to know that she could read through him. But he was sure that there was more to it than it seemed. “Tum zaroor kuch chhupa rahi ho Riya. And I’ll find out what it is.”, he mumbled and drove to his lodge.

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Do you like it? Please do comment to let me know your thoughts.

Note:

I know everyone has been requesting for Aashnaa update. It's half complete and I will post it in 2-3 days. This story was updated because I have pre-written half of the story.

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