Chapter 3

CHAPTER 3

THE JOURNEY HAS BEGUN

“Antarctica”, Sid said.

“Asia”, Monami said, hopping on a stone.

He hummed. “Amritsar.”

“Ranchi.”

“India.”

She pouted. “Mujhe India bolna tha.” She sighed. “Amsterdam.”

Koel shook her head in disbelief, huffing slightly from the effort. She wasn’t usually an eavesdropper but they weren’t exactly quiet while playing. They were playing Atlas while on a trek? Seriously?

A yelp drew her attention. She paused, like almost everyone, finding a woman on the ground clutching her elbow. Sanjana hopped back to her, crossing her arms.

“Ae dada”, she said. “Chinti jitni chot mein aanson bhi nikal gayo?”

Monami- as she had overheard her name from the other man, Sid- hopped back to her. “M-M-Main d-dekhoon?” She asked meekly. “D-D-Doctor hoon.” Koel’s eyebrows furrowed slightly. Why was she stuttering? She wasn’t stuttering when she was talking to Sid.

Sanjana nodded, stepping back. Monami knelt down, inspecting her. “Bata, na”, the woman said. “Suman ji ka haath toh nahi toot gaya?”

“Nahi”, she answered. “S-Sprain bh-bhi n-nahi hai.” She reached behind herself into the small bag she was carrying, grabbing a water bottle. She dumped a little water on it. “A-Academy j-jaakar d-disinfectant se cl-clean kar dungi. But n-nothing to w-worry about. Z-Zyaada ch-chot nahi hai.”

“Chalo sab”, Sanjana called. She walked down comfortably to the front, as if she was walking on a road and not hopping around in the thick of the jungle. Koel shook her head slightly, walking after them. Monami ran up ahead from her as well, falling in step easily with Sid.

‘Yeh Sanjana ma’am toh theek hai par yeh Monami Sid aise kaise tehel rahe hain jaise bageecha ho? Ek mujhe hi yeh mushkil lag raha hai kya?’ She thought, eyeing them. She glanced behind herself at the stumbling recruits. One of them slipped, faceplanting on a mercifully soft patch of mud. She winced in sympathy. ‘Nahi. Main theek hi kar rahi hoon. At least abhi tak muh ke bal toh nahi giri hoon.’

Sanju glanced behind herself over 2 and a half hours in, letting some of the cadets take the lead. It was a straight trail from there and the jungle was thinning. It shouldn’t be a problem. She wanted to see some of them hanging upside down after they walk into Karan's trap.

Her gaze fell on the girl Karan had sorted out, easily walking in the front of the group. What was her name? She eyed her. What was so special about her that she caught Karan Shergill’s eye? She was very pretty, Sanju acknowledged. A small smirk played on her lips. Did Karan have a crush on her?

“Karan Sir ji, aapki waali toh sabse aage nikal gayo”, she said into the com.

His head snapped up. Say what now? His eyes narrowed. Faizi laughed, shaking his head. “Waapas Bundelkhand jaana hai, Sanju? Ticket karwaa doon?” He asked, holding the intercom close to his mouth.

“Sorry, Sir ji.”

Faizi chuckled. “Waise, tumne itna interest liya kyun us mein? Haath chodh hi nahi rahe the uska. Pasand aa gayi hai kya tumhe wo?” He gasped dramatically. “Does Karan Shergill have a crush?”

“Bakwaas mat kar. Koi crush vrush nahi hai. Ameerzaadi hai. Papa ki Pari types. Sapphire ka pendant pehen kar aayi thi. Casually kaun pehnta hai sapphire ka pendant? Seedha khade hone ki tameez nahi. Dhang se chalne ki tameez nahi. Scarf dekha tune uska? Bechne jao toh kisi ke ghar mein mahine ka raashan aa jayega.” He rolled his eyes. “Bade baap ki bidgi aulaad hogi yeh.”

“Tumne naa usse baat kari, naa use jaante ho. Pehli baar mile the. Karan, zyaada hi jaldi judge kar rahe ho tum use. Ghar ka comfort chodh kar aayi hai, kuchh toh baat hogi, na?”

“Outdoor adventure sports ke camp ki tarah treat karegi ise. Yahan bhi nahi pahunch payegi yeh”, he snapped back. “In jaise ameerzaadon ko bahut achhe se jaanta hoon main.”

“Bahut achhe se jaante nahi, bahut achhe se judge karte ho”, Faizi muttered to himself.

“Kuchh kaha tune?”

“Humne? Nahi. Hum toh kahan hi kuchh kehte hain.” Karan narrowed his eyes. Faizi smiled nervously. He turned his attention to the screen quickly, swallowing. “Waise”, he couldn’t resist. “Hazaar ki shart. Yeh ladki academy pahunch jaayegi.”

“Do hazaar ki”, he challenged.

“Done”, Faizi said, leaning back in his chair. He glanced at his watch and then up at the screen. “Chalo chhatt par.” He turned in his chair, just in time to see the other agent disappear out of the door. “Arey, Karan! Humaare liye toh ruko.” He grabbed his binoculars, running after him.

Karan waited patiently for the recruits to come into view of his binoculars. Faizi grumbled beside him. He lowered his binoculars, frowning in irritation at him.

“Mubarak ho, Janaab. Aapki waali sabse aage”, Faizi said.

Karan glared at him. He quickly raised the binoculars again and turned his attention to the jungle. ‘Kya aapki waali, aapki waali lagaakar rakha hua hai?’ He shook his head. He raised his own binoculars. The brat was indeed right in the front, hopping around carefully.

‘Sabse aage aur ab sabse peeche. Bottoms up’, he thought. ‘Three, two, one.’

Just before she stepped into the zone, she paused, looking around suspiciously. He frowned, not taking her eyes off of her, as she stopped the boy with her as well. She took a few steps away, saying something to the boy and she let the other people go ahead. As he had planned, three of them were hung upside down a minute later, falling right into the trap.

‘Ise kaise pata?’ He thought, taking the binoculars away, and blinking. He checked the watch. 1652 hours. It was hardly a couple of minutes route from the spot. He raised the binoculars again, getting another surprise as the girl and the boy with her both helped cut down the recruits, before running up to catch up with the others.

“Hum shart ke paise toh jeetne waale hain”, Faizi said as they both walked to the gate. “Par hume ek baat nahi samajh aayi. Us ladki ko kaise pata ki wahan traps hain?”

He had no answer for it, he himself contemplating every possible reason for it. The trap wasn’t very obvious, and he had no idea how she even had an inkling something was wrong.

“Gates kholiye”, Karan said to the guards. “Exactly 1700 hours par band karna. Aadha second bhi upar nahi hona chahiye.”

“Sir.”

He crossed his arms, waiting patiently for the recruits.

“Do hazaar yaad hai, na?” Faizi teased.

His irritation at the brat skyrocketed. “Yaad hai”, he grumbled.

Faizi chuckled. “Hume wo ladki achhi lagi. Hume 2000 rupay bhi jitwa diye, aur tumhaara yeh haara hua sore loser waala chehra bhi dikhwaa diya.”

“Zyaada bolega, toh tujhe ulta taang dunga main”, he threatened.

“Haan, haan, pata hai. Tumhaari dosti ka, na, yeh hi side effect hai. Duniya kabhi bhi ulti ho jaati hai. Ek baar...” He trailed off, nodding to the road. “Recruits aa gaye.”

The brat wasn’t in the front anymore. Karan’s eyes inspected face after face. Where was she?

“Janaab, aapki waali wo rahi.” Faizi elbowed him, nodding at a distance.

“Tujhe ulti duniya dekhne ka kuchh zyaada hi mann hai kya?” He snapped. His gaze went to the recruits again. There! Just about the dead middle. He glanced at his watch. 1655 hours.

The recruits piled behind him, and he waited from the next 5 minutes for the few people to stream in.

“Band kijiye”, Faizi ordered. “Ab koi recruit andar nahi aayega.”

He turned away, facing the batch. He inspected them. “Ustaad ji”, Karan called. “Jo hain, sab ke naam mark kijiye aur Sanket ko kahiye ID cards banana shuru karein.”

“Ji, Sir ji”, he said.

“Sir ji”, Sanju said. “In jhingooron ko dekhkar feeling aa raho hai katayi chidiyaghar banne waalo hai yeh academy.”

He sighed. “In namoonon ko dekhkar dewaar par sar maarne ka mann kar raha hai.”

He glanced at Faizi, only to find him reading something seriously on his phone. He glanced up. “Sanju, jaakar Ustaad ji ki help karo”, Faizi ordered.

She blinked in confusion before nodding. “Ji, Sir ji.”

“Kya hua?” Karan muttered.

Faizi tilted his phone slightly. “Informer”, he muttered. “Raghav ne jo bola, uske baad humne apne close informers ko academy ke baare mein kaan khule rakhne ko kaha tha. High alert par. Uska message.”

‘Sir ji, do teen din pehle, ek special agent kuchh logon se academy ke baare mein baat kara raha tha. Aapko isliye bataaya nahi, kyunki kuchh ajeeb nahi laga. Par aapne kaan khule rakhne ko kaha, isliye bata rahe hain.’

“Kuchh ajeeb nahi hai is mein. Academy ki baat toh kuchh bhi ho sakti hai”, Karan muttered to him lowly. “Ek kaam kar. Iss informer se mil. Kya baat kar rahe the aur agar shakal dikhi, toh description puchh lena. Zyaada kuchh bataana mat.”

He nodded. “Theek hai. Karan… hum-”

“Sir ji”, Ustaad ji said, walking closer. The two agents immediately stopped, straightening up. “42 cadets hain. Sanket ko details bhej di hain. Wo process start kar dega. Aaj raat tak sab ko ID cards mil jaayenge.”

He nodded. His gaze fell on the cadets behind him, and his eyes flicked over their faces. His gaze paused on the brat.

“Ustaad ji”, Karan called, nodding him to come close.

“Ji, Sir ji”, he said.

Karan’s gaze lifted to the brat, who was standing with the rest of the cadets, although she wasn’t talking to anyone, just inspecting her hands idly. “Uss ladki ka naam kya hai?”

Ustaad ji followed his gaze, before looking down at the list, flipping through the forms. “Sir ji, Monami. Dr. Monami Mahajan.”

He nodded, his gaze not flickering from her. She seemed oblivious to the attention, just rocking back and forth on her feet and glancing around. She shoved her hands in her pockets, biting her lip as she inspected the academy.

“Recruits”, Karan barked, tearing his eyes away from her. They all looked at him, and he crossed his arms. “Sab ek ek karke Ustaad ji ke paas se apne apne room numbers aur room key lenge. Aapke bags already aapke kamre mein hain. Training kal subah 6 baje se start hogi. Aap 42 log hain ab. 7-7 logon ke sub groups banenge, jinke schedules exactly same honge. 2 types ki classes hongi- ek theoretical, ek physical. Theoretical classes mein aap logon ko strategy, communication, codes, military geography ectera sikhaaya jayega. Physical classes mein fitness, weapon handling, physical toughness par dhyaan diya jayega. Physical classes mein sab ek saath train karenge, par theory classes mein aap log sirf apne subgroup ke saath rahenge. Any questions?”

No one raised their hands, and Karan flicked his gaze around the quiet group.

“Good. Ab sab lines form kijiye, aur ek ek karke room keys le lijiye”, he said. His gaze flicked to Monami, who took a few steps back, letting everyone move ahead of her, falling back to the end of the line. He tilted his head slightly, eyeing her.

“Janaab, apni waali ko aise ghoorna band kijiye”, Faizi whispered in his ear.

His head snapped towards him, a glare on his face. The other agent chuckled. “Bahut pitega tu.” He rolled his eyes, moving into the building.

---x---x---x---x---x---x---x---x---

Koel hummed to herself as she set her clothes in the cupboard. Training would start the next day, and if she had to describe the schedule she had gotten in one word, it would be insane.

Apparently, her subgroup was “Foxtrot.” A quick search on the internet told her that was a code for the letter ‘F’ in the military. That should mean she was in the last subgroup after Alpha, Bravo, Charlie, Delta and Echo.

“Suniye”, her roommate said, and she looked over her shoulder. “Suman ji puchh rahi hain ki aapka subgroup kaunsa hai?”

She frowned. “Suman ji kaun hai? Aur unhe puchhna hai toh wo puchhe, na?”

She clicked her tongue. “Arey, Suman ji.” She patted her chest.

“Oh, aap hain Suman ji?”

She nodded. “Suman Rajesh Tiwari.”

“Koel Roy. I am in Subgroup Foxtrot.”

“Suman ji bhi”, she said happily. “Achhi baat hai. Suman ji aur aap saath mein homework kar lenge.”

Koel nodded. She was a little too eager and talkative for her taste, but…well, it could be worse. She listened to her drone on, heaving a slight sigh as she adjusted her clothes.

“Suman ji”, she interrupted. “Mujhe ek phone call karni hai. Excuse me.” She almost ran out of the room, pausing at the end of the hallway. She sighed slightly in relief. "Kitna bolti hai." She shook her head. She pulled out her phone, dialing a number.

From what she knew, military academies didn’t allow phones to their cadets. So, it wouldn’t be long before the phone was taken from her. She listened to the phone ring.

“Hello?” A voice said.

“Hi, Maa”, she said.

“Arey, Koel!” Her mother cooed happily. “Kaisi hai? Tu pahunch gayi?Kaisa hai sab wahan? Tu theek hai? Training kab se start hogi? Aur sun-”

She chuckled. “Maa, aaram se. Theek hoon main, aur haan, pahunch gayi. Academy bahut sundar hai, and training kal subah se start hogi. Achha, yeh humaare phones le lenge, toh agar aapko mujhse baat karni hai, toh maine aapko academy ka number diya tha, na? Wahan call kar lena.”

“Theek hai. Achha, sun, tera yeh mendhak. Phudak raha hai tujhse baat karne ke liye. Le.” There was a slight sound, before his voice came on. She smiled. “Meri mendhaki! Kaisi hai tu?”

“Main bilkul theek hoon. Tu Nanu-Nani ki baat maan raha hai, na? Zyaada tang toh nahi kar raha?”

“Arey, nahi”, he said, sighing. “Tujhe toh mujhpar bharosa hi nahi hai.” She chuckled. “Tu meri chinta karna band kar. Aur jaldi se dishum dishum karna seekh le, phir saare terrorists ko bhi toh dishum dishum karna hai.” She chuckled again. “Achha, bye. Pari mujhe bula rahi hai. Mujhe khelne jaana hai.”

She opened her mouth, the call cutting before she could say anything. She chuckled. The phone rang and she accepted the call.

“Haan, Maa”, she said.

“Tu apna dhyaan rakhna. Saare bacche bahar hi hain, toh main jaakar dekhti hoon. Tujhe toh pata hai yeh sab kaisi harkatein karte hain.”

“Bye.” She disconnected the call. She smiled a little, staring at the photo of Nikhil she had set as the wallpaper.

“Humaari Ammi hume bachpan mein kehti thi ki pariyan hoti hain”, a voice said. Koel lifted her head, turning around. A familiar special agent walked towards her. Where had she seen him? “Humne kabhi maana nahi, par aapko dekhkar vishwaas ho raha hai, mahutarma.”

Oh. Wow. He was flirting with her? She narrowed her eyes playfully. “Meri Maa kehti thi ki jo log pariyon jaise dekhte hain, wo hi sabse khatarnaa khote hain.”

His smile widened. “Achhi baat hai phir. Kyunki humaara toh pesha hi khatron se khelne ka hai.”

“Agar pesha already khatarnaak hai, toh aur khatra kyun chahiye?”

“Kyunki hume shauk bhi hai khatre se khelna ka.”

Koel chuckled. She held out a hand. “Koel Roy. New cadet.”

“Special Agent Faizuddin Siddiqui. Hume sab Faizi bulaate hain.” His hand slipped into his. He lifted it, kissing her knuckles. “Aapke trainer hain hum, mahutarma.” He released her hand.

She made a show of wiping her knuckles on her shirt. “Phir toh jaldi jhelna, I mean, jaldi milna hoga, Sir.”

She moved past him, her shoulder lightly brushing against his. He smiled, turning around and watching her go. “Cadet Koel Roy." His smile widened.

---x---x---x---x---x---x---x---x---x---

“Maa kasam”, a voice muttered, making Sid look up from the schedule he had been inspecting. A young boy- perhaps in late teens or early 20’s- walked in, looking around the room in wonder.

“Hi, bro”, he greeted. “Tumhaara room bhi?”

He nodded. “Mera naam Bala. Par log mujhe pyaar se bhi, aur nafrat se bhi, shaitaan ka salaa bulaate hain.”

His eyebrows shot up, and he grinned. “I like you. I am Sid G. What’s your story, bro?”

“Story? Kahaani?” Bala repeated. “Aapko kahaani sunni hai? Uh... ek baar ek ladka hota hai-”

Sid chuckled. “Bro matlab, tum yahan kaise, kyun. Life story, you know?”

“Arey, bahut mast kissa hai, Bhai ji”, he said excitedly. “Humaare ghar mein kisi ke paas zyaada paise nahi hai. Toh main sadak par hi badha hua hoon. Phir kahin se iss academy ke baare mein pata chala. Chhota mota kaam karke do paisa jodha, aur yahan aa gaye.” He plopped on the bed. “Poori adventure story hai apun ki. Kisi din fursat mein sunaunga.” He frowned at the schedule. “Yeh… subgroup kya hota hai?”

“Subgroup matlab… ek badha sa group ho, aur uss group ke aur group bana lo”, he explained.

He nodded. “Aur yeh Fotrut… matlab?”

“Foxtrot”, he corrected. “Naam hai subgroup ka. Military mein har letters ke codes use hote hain. F ka Foxtrot hai.” He glanced at his own. “Bro, tumhaara bhi wahin hai? Mera bhi!”

Bala grinned. “Arey, phir toh mauj ho gayi. Aag laga denge Bhai ji! Aag!”

“Bro…” He grinned, nodding.

---x---x---x---x---x---x---x---x---

Sanju hung her clothes in the rack, leaving about half the space for her roommate.

Monami. Karan’s girl.

She didn’t talk much, so all she knew about her was that her name was Monami. She was a doctor. Seemingly rich with all the fancy jewelry she had and perhaps, close friends with Siddharth. The two certainly seemed so when they were playing on the trek.

Siddharth.

The boy who had snapped at the idiot. She smiled a little. He wasn’t half bad. Maybe he wasn’t like the other, no good, useless creatures that the world called majority of men.

Footsteps alerted her to someone’s presence. She turned around, tilting her head slightly. Siddharth? She eyed him, turning around when he didn't say anything. Maybe he was here to see Monami.

“Sorry”, his voice said. And then, silence. Did he leave? Sanju turned around. He was still there. Peeking out at the hallway, and seemingly counting something. Perhaps the rooms? He straightened up. “Yeah. Sorry.” He pointed to her. “Aap… Monu- I mean, Monami- ke saath room share karengi?”

She nodded. “Haan.”

“Oh.” He walked in. “Hai kahan wo?”

“Washroom gayo hai.”

He sat down on her bed. “Do you mind agar main wait karoon uske liye?”

She wordlessly shook her head. She turned away, stacking her clothes up.

“Okay, main yeh kehne nahi waala tha, par I can’t resist”, Sid said. She turned around. She raised an eyebrow in question. “Meri ek friend thi school mein. Usko logon ko slap karne ka bahut shauk tha. Bina slap kare uska din nahi finish hota tha. Aur obviously, kabhi kabhi log use bhi waapas slap kar dete the. So, I have seen a lot of slaps. Par aaj tak ek slap mein kisi ko ground ke saath make out karte hue nahi dekha.” He jumped to his feet, a grin on his face. She smiled slightly. “And I liked your dialogue too. But what’s ijaam?”

Ijaam? Sanju blinked, thinking back to her words.

‘Ek yog aasan hum ne bhi ijaad karo hai.’

She rolled her eyes. “Ijaam nahi, ijaad, Chirkut!”

“Woah, woah, time out, please. Itni Hindi nahi aati mujhe. What’s ijaad?” He pronounced the word slowly. “And what’s chir… whatever?”

“Ijaad karno matlab… kisi cheez ko paida karno.”

“You mean, like originate?”

“Itni English naa aato hai hume.”

He chuckled. “That’s fair. And what was that other word? Chirtuc?”

“Chirkut”, she corrected. “Matlab… aise hi aira gaira insaan.”

Siddharth blinked. “Right. I totally know what aira gaira means.” He nodded. Sanju chuckled slightly, shaking her head.

"Zyaada hi kamzor hai teri Hindi. Seekh le. Yahan kaam aayegi", she commented.

“Sid?” A voice called. Monami.

“Monu!” Sid said happily. “Chal. Mujhe tujhe kuchh dikhaana hai." He smiled at Sanju. "Nice talking to you, ma'am. See you around." She nodded. His gaze turned back to Monami. "Chal, bro. It’s amazing. Chal, na!”

“Haan, aa-” Monami tossed the towel in her hand on her bed, just before she was dragged away by Sid.

---x---x---x---x---x---x---x---

Monami stared at the academy as they walked. Sid was babbling about all the people he had already met, currently telling him about someone called ‘Bala’, his roommate.

The academy was beautiful. She paused in the lobby, staring at the big, silver letters that displayed its name.

Parakaram SAF.

'Mumma, ek din main best soldier banungi. I promise.'

'Sid, aaj se pehle kisi cheez ke liye itna sure nahi hui hoon main. I want to do something for my country. I want to be a soldier.'

At last, she was here.

The journey has begun.

[NOCOPY]