Chapter 45

CHAPTER 45

SWEET TALKS

Monami balanced the novel on her lap, eating her cornflakes for breakfast as she read the story. It was a love story- a different book than what she was reading the night before. Her spoon halted in mid-air as the girl in the book walked closer to the boys, the two confessing their feelings. The trainers had all eaten at their own times, mostly busy with work and calls.

"Hi", Faizi said, sitting down on the bench opposite her.

She looked up. She glanced down at the spoon that hovered in mid-air. "Hi", she said, before eating the spoonful.

"Tumhaara aaj ka kuchh plan hai?" He asked.

She shrugged. "N-Novels, th-thodi e-extra s-study. Z-Zyaada k-kuchh nahi."

He grinned. "I have a better plan", he said. "Tumne hume bataaya tha ki tumhe ice cream bahut pasand hai. Hai, na?" Her eyed lit up, and she nodded enthusiastically. He chuckled. "Hume ek bahut achhi jagah pata hai. Aaj shaam ko chalogi hum sab ke saath?"

She blinked. "Aa-Aapko k-kaam nahi hai?"

He shrugged. "Shaam tak ho jaayega." He glanced around. He leaned in closer. "Woh... hum chahte hain ki Karan thoda academy se bahar nikle. Sanju bhi yeh hi chahti hai. Woh... Laxman, Karan ka informer, jab se uska murder hua hai, Karan thoda zyaada tensed hai. Woh use kaafi pasand karta tha. Cadets ke saath toh hum sab zyaada busy ho jaate hain isliye hum chahte hain ki ab break hai toh woh thoda relax kare."

"Toh m-mere aa-aane se woh k-kahin aur t-tensed naa ho j-jaaye. I m-mean, aap aur S-Sanju ma'am toh K-Karan Sir ke k-kaafi a-achhe d-dost hain. Main-"

He clicked his tongue, shaking his head. "Monami... Karan tumhe bahut pasand karta hai. He likes being with you. Agar tum aaogi, toh use achha lagega. Par koi zor zabardasti nahi hai. Tumhe nahi aana, toh it's okay."

'I relax. I talk to you.'

She smiled slightly. "I'll... I'll l-love to c-come", she said.

Faizi smiled. "Shaam ko 7 baje?" He asked. She nodded. He held out his hand in a fist bump, and Monami's smile widened, lightly bumping her fist with his. He stood up. "Abhi hume thoda kaam hai. Hum chalte hain."

Monami bit her lip, her smile widening. She lightly stirred the cornflakes. She smiled to herself, her head dropping. She read the next line a couple of times before it sank, before she shook herself and immersed herself back in the book.

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

Sanju leaned back in her chair, heaving a slight sigh. A bait. Neither too obvious- or they'll figure it out- nor too subtle- or they'll not notice. She glanced over the entrances again. She paused, tracing over the one on the terrace.

She stood up, moving to the terrace. She gazed around the terrace, squinting slightly- a courtesy to the sun that shone overhead.

She leaned over the edge, inspecting it and then glancing around. She walked around, pausing at the ledge that faced the far end of the academy. It was close to the wall that signified the end of the academy's building, opening into the jungle nearby. She gazed down. Perhaps a good few feet that would need to be climbed up but it shouldn't be too much of a challenge. There were guards that lined up the wall underneath.

This was it. The apparent chip in their armor.

She took a step back, gazing around. Her gaze fell on the storage room that was built atop the terrace and she walked closer. She inspected the upper end. If they lined cameras there, it wouldn't be visible at first glance. She made a note in her phone. She walked closer back to the ledge and then started walking towards the door. She paused, looking at the railing at one side. Motion sensors would be perfect there.

She walked down the stairs, mentally noting the things needed and revising the positions she had thought of. She opened the door to her room, spreading the map again and marking the spots. She wrote what she had thought of on a sticky note, hiding it under the map.

She leaned back slightly, studying the map again. The bait... it would need to be perfect.

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

"Nahi, nahi, left!" Sid said, pressing down on the controller. He groaned, as the monitor displayed a banner signaling the end of the game. "Daddy ji!"

"Haan, haan", Avinash grumbled. "Tera yeh naye games samajhna mere bas ka nahi hai."

Sid gave him a look. "Please", he said. "Aapka dimaag bahut tez chalta hai. Mujhe pata hai. Aapko bas mujhe frustrate karna pasand hai. Chalo dobara."

Avinash chuckled. "Ek aur?"

"Jab tak hum jeet nahi jaate, main aapko jaane nahi dunga", Sid warned. He went back to the start. "Ab dhyaan rakhna, okay?"

He nodded, staring at him fondly. "Haan, rakhunga."

"Okay, ready?" Sid asked. His phone rang before he could answer, and Avinash glanced down at it. Tanya- his secretary. Sid leaned over, his grin fading away as he glanced it over. "Utha lo."

He swiped to accept the call. "Hello?"

"Sir, woh Mr. Khan aapse meeting karna chahte hain. Abhi."

He paused. Mr. Khan? It would take him at least, a couple of hours, excluding the time to travel and he had already spent most of the morning and afternoon in the office. But... Mr. Khan? That was a multi-million dollar deal. He glanced at Sid. His eyebrows furrowed and he kept the controller aside, his face falling in disappointment.

"Sir? Aap aa rahe hain, na?"

'Mujhe kuchh nahi chahiye', Pawan yelled, slamming his fist into the wall. 'Mujhe bas mera beta chahiye. Sab le lo mujhse. Bas mera beta de do. Mujhe bas mera beta chahiye.' He slid down to the ground, crying.

Avinash almost flinched as the memory slammed into his conscious thoughts. "Tanya, maine tumhe bataaya tha, na? Iss hafte off hours mein koi meetings schedule mat karo."

"But, Sir, Mr. Khan-"

"I know. Unhe respectfully apologize karke keh do ki mera beta kaafi time baad ghar waapas aaya hai, academy se. I want to spend some time with him."

"Yes, Sir."

"Thank you." He kept the phone aside, taking a deep breath. The multi-million dollar deal didn't matter. He could crack it later. He picked up the controller again. "Chalein?"

Sid stared at him. "Aapne... mana kar diya?" He asked. "Mere liye?"

Avinash smiled at him. "Maine tujhe promise kara tha, na? Waise bhi tu agle hafte dobara chala jaayega. Ek hafte toh apna kaam main postpone kar sakta hoon."

"Aur agar jiske saath meeting hai, woh naraaz ho gaya toh?"

"Toh... theek hai. Koi baat nahi." He ruffled his hair. "Bas... tu naraaz nahi hona chahiye. Ek hi chance mila hai, na? Business mein kaafi effort daala hai maine. Ab thoda tere upar bhi daalna chahiye mujhe." Sid hugged him tightly. Avinash chuckled a little, patting his back. "Kya hua?"

"Thank you", he muttered.

"Bas, bas." Sid pulled away. "Abhi dobara karna hai?"

He nodded, picking up his controller. "Iss baar jo main bolunga, woh aap karna. Warna... warna phirse hara doge." Avinash smiled slightly, nodding. He picked up his own controller, patting Sid's head gently.

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

Karan stopped the bike inside the parking lot of the academy, taking his helmet off. He heaved a sigh, resting his forehead between the handles. The address Bittu had given him was a dead end. He didn't have too many hopes from the place, especially since Bittu had already told him that the man had fled, but it was disappointing all the same.

He got off the bike, walking into the academy. It seemed to be a slow day, which was expected since the usual hustle and bustle of the cadets- both army and civilian- had disappeared with their return and some special agents had taken leaves to return home as well.

He opened the door to his room, a wave of tiredness shadowing over him as he stared at the empty room. He didn't even know what he wanted. Faizi, as he had expected, was out, working leads, just like he was. He kept the keys down, before turning around and walking out, wandering around without too clear of an aim.

He found himself outside Monami's room. His knuckles hovered over the closed door uncertainly for a second, before he lightly knocked them on the pane. There was a pause, and he waited. The door opened.

Monami tilted her head slightly, a small smile spreading on her face. "Hi", she said. His lips turned up slightly.

"Hi", he said. She stared at him expectantly. He paused. "Uh..." He glanced at his watch. "Lunch?" He asked.

She nodded. "S-Sure. Ek m-minute."

He glanced down at the book that was in her hand. "New book?" He asked, walking in when she left the door open. She nodded. "Kiske baare mein hai?"

"L-Love st-story", she said. He rolled his eyes slightly. "Yeh k-kya r-reaction tha?"

"Yeh love stories mujhse tolerate nahi hoti", he said. "Logic toh aas paas bhi nahi hota aadhe se zyaada mein."

She frowned. "S-Sentiment s-samajhna h-hota hai."

"Kya sentiment samjhoon?" He asked, following her out as they walked to the mess. "Ek baar pyaar ho jaaye, toh bas ek doosre ke alaawa kuchh dikhta hi nahi hai. Agar pyaar sach mein aisa hota hai, toh main isse door hi theek hoon."

"Aa-Aapko itni hi b-buri l-lagti hai toh aa-aap d-dekhte ya p-padhte kyun ho?" She grumbled.

He heaved a sigh. "Meri Bhabhi aur bhatiji ko pasand hai", he said. "Unke chakkar mein mujhe aur Bhaiya ko dekhni padh jaati hai."

She chuckled. "Haan, P-Param Bh-Bhaiya ko toh..." She trailed off. He stared at her, his footsteps halting in surprise. "I m-mean, k-kuchh n-nahi." She walked ahead of him, quickly pushing open the door of the mess. He stared after her.

'A-Ask your b-brother.'

'Juhi Aunty, Monami ki Mumma, woh aapke Bhaiya ki commander thi, for a very long time.'

'Isse puchhoon ya nahi?' He thought. 'Jaise react kar rahi hai, waise toh mujhe nahi lagta iska mann hai kuchh zyaada bataane ka. Plus, Juhi ma'am ka topic... must be a sore spot.' He rubbed his face tiredly. 'Yeh mission mein mystery kam thi, jo yahan ek aur case solve karne ke mil gaya hai? Ab baithkar connect the dots kheloon main?' He shook his head, walking in. 'Aaj nahi. Abhi nahi. Kal. Kal puchhunga.'

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

Faizi straddled his bike, scrolling through his Instagram feed as he waited for the girls. Karan was straddling his own bike, his head resting on his elbows that rested on the handles. He glanced at him.

"Kuchh mila?" Karan asked. Faizi shook his head. "Kahan gaya tha tu?"

"Informers se baat." He glanced around, before leaning closer. "Yeh... boss ke bete waali baat... hume achhi feeling nahi de rahi. Agar yeh Sayed spy hai, aur EFR ke boss ka beta, aur humne ise pakda, toh... baat yahin khatam nahi hogi. There will be retaliation."

Karan hummed slightly, nodding. "Possible hai", he agreed. "But... hum abhi uske baare mein nahi soch sakte. Abhi security air tight hai. Sanju keh rahi thi ki woh chahti hai ki next week woh bait plant kare. If they take the bait, we might have something new to follow up on."

Faizi nodded. "Map ka kuchh pata chala?"

"Kuchh bhi nahi. Kuchh likha nahi hua, kuchh marks nahi hai, sab kuchh try karke dekh liya. It's... just a map of Maharashtra", he said. "Par... agar hota, toh chhupakar kyun rakhte?"

"Kuchh miss hua hoga", he said.

Karan nodded. "I can't figure out what. Cryptology waali ek book hai. Us mein shayad koi method hoga." Faizi hummed. Footsteps made the men glance at the entrance, finding the girls walk out.

Karan straightened up slightly, tilting his head. Monami wore a pair of jeans and a simple, white t-shirt, her hair open and falling down in slight waves. It was unusual seeing her out of her uniform, but he couldn't say he didn't like it.

Sanju inserted the key in her own bike, wearing her helmet. Monami hesitated, looking between the three trainers. Karan tilted his head slightly in a welcoming gesture. She walked over, and he offered her the spare helmet he had grabbed for just that. She straddled the bike behind him, hesitantly touching his shoulders.

He glanced over his shoulder, making sure she was sitting properly, before revving the bike once in warning. Her grip tightened a little and he pressed the accelerator, the bike zooming forward.

They rode quietly, the sky a beautiful shade of pink and orange as the sun set. Karan relaxed slightly. It was a nice change from his afternoon bout of tired disappointment that hadn't quite faded all together. As the sky darkened, his stress was momentarily forgotten in the feel of the cold wind that rushed past him as they rode and the comfort of the warm hands that clutched his shoulders lightly.

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

Sanju glanced at her phone, later that night, as it buzzed beside her. She straightened up slightly, seeing the caller ID. Siddharth?

"Hello?" She said.

"Hi", his voice said cheerfully. "Aap busy hain kya?"

"Nahi. Kuchh kaam hogo?"

"Nahi. Main aise hi nahi call kar sakta?"

She leaned back slightly, relaxing. A small smile pulled through. "Naa, kar sakto hai. Hume bas umeed naa thi. Hume laga tu ghar jaakar apne Baapu ko saath hi vyast ho jaayego."

"What's vyast?"

"Busy", she said, sighing a little. "Kaisa chal rahi hai teri chhuti?"

"Awesome. Aapko pata hai, Daddy ji specially mere saath time spend karne ke liye apne office ka kaam chodh rahe hain."

She paused hesitantly. "Siddharth... tujhe naa lagto hai ki woh yeh sab chodh raho hain tere laane, toh woh bhi sahi naa hai?"

"Matlab?"

"Matlab... kaam bhi zaroori hogo, na?"

There was a pause. "Haan, but it's not like woh office nahi jaate. He works. Just not all the time. And it's just one week. Main waapas aa jaaunga toh he can work all he wants, whenever he wants. Itne saalon tak unhone mujhe ignore kara hai apne kaam ke liye. Agar ek hafte ke liye woh kaam ko thoda peechhe priority denge, toh it's not the end of the world."

She paused slightly. "Haan", she agreed reluctantly. It was hard to think of prioritizing anything but work for her, but she supposed it must be different for every person and moreover, defense work cannot be compared to business. There weren't lives at stake.

"Aapko pata hai... teen saal pehle, I had an accident", he said. "It wasn't life threatening. Mera leg fracture hua tha. Kuchh stitches lage the. Deepak Uncle- Monu ke Papa- unhone mera treatment kara tha. Daddy ji Mumbai mein hi the, par... he didn't come straight away. Woh meeting mein the, and jab unhe pata chala ki I was mostly fine, he figured ki itna urgent bhi nahi hai. Ek business deal ki wajah se woh tab bhi nahi aaye, jab mera accident hua tha. I don't want ki unka business suffer kare. I just want some time. I just want to be prioritized for once after so many years. Agar selfish hai, toh selfish sahi, par... thoda selfish hona toh allowed hona chahiye, na?"

Sanju played with a loose thread in her pants as she thought his words over. She hummed finally. She supposed she could see what he meant. Wasn't she selfish in being adamant of not leaving her duty after marriage too? "Haan", she said.

"Aap agree nahi karti?"

"Aisa naa hai. Hum bas... tujhe samajhne ki koshish kar raho hain. Ki tu kaa soch raha hogo. Tere aur humaare vichaar kaafi alag hogo."

"Toh humaari situations bhi toh alag hai, na?" He said. "Aapke parents ne aapke dream ke liye aapke society se ladai kari. Par mere Daddy ji ne toh kabhi mujhe time hi nahi diya. Aapke parents hamesha aapke saath the, aur mere kabhi nahi."

Sanju nodded a little. "Haan", she said. "Kaafi alag hai."

"Aap yeh sab chodhiye", he said. "How was your day? Kya kara?" There was a slight pause. "Did you miss me?"

She rolled her eyes, almost hearing his grin in the last sentence. "Ek percent bhi naa."

"Haww. Aap toh 'out of sight, out of mind' waale nikle.'

She paused in thought of the meaning of the phrase for a brief second. "Hume aise hi hain", she said.

"Aapko matlab sochna padha, na?" He asked, chuckling slightly.

She scowled. "Tu, na, humaara zyaada mazaak mat udha. Hum note karke chunke badla le lenge jab tu waapas aayego." Her scowl deepened when his chuckle turned to laughter. "Chirkut!"

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

"... aur bas phir hum, Karan, Sanju aur Monami ice cream khaane gaye. Phir thodi der bahar rahe, aur phir academy aa gaye aur dinner kiya", Faizi said, finishing recounting his day's activities.

Koel smiled. "Ice cream? Monami toh bas naam sunkar hi aa gayi hogi."

Faizi laughed. "Hum dono iss maamle mein bilkul same hai."

"Agar tum kisi ko kahoge ki woh tumhaari chhoti behen hai toh koi bhi shaq nahi karega", Koel agreed. "Achha, tumhe pata hai-"

"Koel", a young voice cut her off. She looked at something off the screen, smiling slightly. Faizi straightened up when a boy ran in. He recognized him to be Nikhil from the photos Koel had shown him. Nikhil paused, inspecting him through the screen.

"Hi", Faizi said, lifting his hand in greeting.

Nikhil leaned over to Koel. "Yeh woh hi waale hai, na, Uncle jinhe tu pasand karti hai?" He whispered loudly. Faizi smiled in amusement. Was he trying not to be heard? Koel nodded. He straightened up, waving back. "I am Nikhil Roy", he introduced. He eyed him. "Aap meri Koel ke boyfriend ho, na?"

Faizi chuckled, nodding. "Haan. Humaara naam Faizi hai."

"Pata hai mujhe. Koel ne bataaya", he said. "Usne kaha aap nice ho." He crossed his arms. "Par woh main decide karunga."

Koel laughed. "Faizi, mujhe lagta hai tumhe test pass karna padega."

"Hume bhi yeh hi lagne laga hai." He smiled at Nikhil. "Aapko jo test lena hai, woh le lo."

The door opened behind him, and Faizi glanced over. Karan strode in, his attention on his phone and holding a file in his hand. He glanced up. "Hi, Koel", he said, nodding at her through the video call. "Yeh Nikhil hoga? Hello."

"Aap toh Robot Uncle ho, na?"

Karan stared at him. "Excuse me?"

Nikhil bit his tongue. He looked at his mother. "Uh, Koel... mujhe Nani bulaa rahi hai. Bye bye." He looked at the two boys. "Bye?" He quickly ran off.

Faizi chuckled. Koel looked at Karan. "Sorry, Sir", she said sheepishly. "Woh kuchh bhi bol deta hai."

"Tumhaara beta hai, dekhkar pata chal raha hai", Karan retorted. "Bahut muh chalta hai iska bhi."

"Maybe it's you?" She proposed lightly. "You bring it out in people."

"Please", Faizi interjected. "Tum dono shuru mat ho jaana." He looked up at Karan. "Tumne Nikhil ko dara diya", he accused. "Humne baat karni thi."

Karan slapped the back of his head lightly. "Maine kya kara hai? Maine toh kuchh bhi nahi kaha use. Usne mujhe Robot bulaaya aur phir khud hi bhaag gaya. Main kya karoon?"

"Karan Sir, please mind mat karna. Woh sabko nicknames deta rehta hai", Koel said.

"Koi baat nahi", he said. He clapped Faizi's back. "Main bas yeh file rakhne aaya tha. Main jaa raha hoon." He kept it on the desk beside him, before moving out of the room.

Karan shook his head slightly. "Robot?" He said to himself. "Yeh kaise naam hai?" He shook his head again. He glanced down at his watch, quickening his pace. Monami would be waiting.