Chapter 24

Chapter 24:

Huda is sitting on a chair outside Naina's room with his head leaning back against the wall, when Priya returns. He had noticed her leave a few minutes ago, but was too exhausted to ask where she was going. She hands him a styrofoam cup filled with coffee, obviously from the hospital's canteen.

"Here," she tells him, "It's got sugar in it. I thought you might need one."

The old Huda would have made some comment at this point about her being so sweet that he doesn't need any sugar. The Huda that has just seen one of his best friends shot before his eyes can't be bothered.

"Huda, talk to me." Priya tells him, almost pleadingly, "I know today hasn't been easy for you, but you must have known it would come to this eventually. You couldn't have believed that they would never be caught." She sounds like she's trying to convince herself of this as well as him.

"She was shot right in front of me, and I couldn't do anything to stop it." Huda tells Priya, numbly. "Did you see it?" he asks her, "Did you see the way she pushed Rajveer Sir out of the way? Did you see the way she took the bullet without a second thought?" he shakes his head sadly, "Naina was always brave, but I never knew that she was that brave."

For hours now, Priya has been trying to clear the images from her mind. Naina falling to the ground as if in slow motion, the way Raj had wrapped his arms around her as if to shield her. She wants to cry and she's not even sure why. She doesn't know these people, she's never even met them before today. But somehow, she feels as if their defeat is her defeat too.

Priya thinks about the past months she's spent with Huda. Could it be that his unshakable belief in their innocence and trust in them has affected her too? All of the stories that Pooja told her about their academy days, all of the comments made by Huda's friends in Ladakh. Have all of these affected her so much that she's more willing to believe them than what the high officials in headquarters tell her?

"She really does love him." Priya says almost as if talking to herself. "She was willing to die for him."

Huda nods, he doesn't need to say anything else. This is the one truth that he has learned, that both Raj and Naina would do anything for the other, even die.

Huda tries to drink the coffee, but can't get it down his throat.

"Don't worry, she'll be fine." Priya tells him, "The doctors were saying that she should wake up any minute now."

"I know she'll recover," Huda replied, "But really, what's the point? After this she'll either be sent to prison or executed."

"We always knew that would happen." Priya whispered, trying to ignore the fact that today is the first time she's ever felt any sadness about it.

"There may still be a way…" Huda begins saying and then stops, not sure whether he should say anything else.

"You're not thinking of letting her escape from the hospital are you?" Priya asks him seriously. If Huda took such an action then it would be him in trouble, and she doesn't think she could cope with it.

"No, she wouldn't go anyway. Not with Raj in prison." Huda replies, Priya is about to ask him what he was talking about if he wasn't thinking about letting her escape when a nurse comes out of Naina's room.

"Ms Ahluwalia has regained consciousness." She announces to them, "You can speak to her, but please don't interrogate her too much, she's still very weak."

Huda steps forward eagerly, and then notices that Priya hasn't moved from where she's standing. She nods at him as if to tell him to go ahead, knowing that he'll need some time alone with Naina.

Huda enters the room to see Naina lying against the pillow, her left wrist handcuffed to the bed's railing. She looks small and pale against the white bed sheets, and he knows it's a result of the blood loss.

"So, long time no see." He tells her. He really wants to hug her and tell her he's missed her, tell her that he never wanted it to happen this way, and that he had been praying for her and Captain Rajveer to succeed. "It's been a long time, Naina." He tells her.

Naina smiles at him weakly, trying to sit up but failing. Leaning forward, Huda rearranges the pillows to help her. Naina tries to speak, tries to casually joke with Huda but she can't.

"I'm so sorry, Huda. I'm so sorry for everything." She tells him, a tear rolling down her cheek. "I have so much to explain to you, and I don't even know where to begin."

"You don't need to explain anything, Naina." Huda tells her, reaching out to hold her hand. "I understood a long time ago. It took me awhile, but I finally grew up."

"You're right," Naina tells him, looking at him with sudden recognition, "You really have changed since the last time I saw you." She sees that he now sits differently, acts differently. He's become a confident young man instead of an over confident brat.

Huda smiles, "I've got you to thank for that Naina, well you and Alekh, and Priya, and various other people too, but mostly you."

"Huda, I'm so sorry…" Naina repeats once again, "I want to tell you that…"

Huda interrupts her before she can say anything else, "Naina, it never would've worked out between us. We both know that. We would've been miserable together, we would've fought every day."

"That doesn't excuse what I did to you." Naina tells him, beginning to cry again, "I don't know if you'll forgive me or not, but please believe me when I tell you that I never thought it would turn out like this when I agreed to get engaged."

"I forgave you for everything months ago," Huda tells her. Suddenly he spots the new ring on her finger, shining brightly against her pale skin. "That one suits you much better." He tells her, nodding at her hand.

Naina stairs at the ring on her hand, and her face fills with despair. "Raj…" she whispers, "Where is he?"

"By now they've probably already transferred him to Delhi." Huda tells her gently, "If the hospital agrees to discharge you tomorrow then you'll be transferred to a secure wing there too."

Naina nods, trying to control her emotions. She's in pain, but at least for the moment she's here in the hospital. She doesn't want to think about what might be happening to Raj, she wishes she could see him, touch him, but she knows that's a far off possibility.

"And Alekh?" she asks, "Don't lie to me Huda, I know that something has happened."

"Alekh was arrested," Huda admits, "I haven't heard anything since then."

"It wasn't meant to be this way…" Naina whispers, "And now Alekh too…"

Huda suddenly realises something, "I can't believe I haven't called Pooja yet." He tells Naina, "She has no idea that any of this has happened."

"Can you call her now?" Naina asks, "Tell her that I said hi."

"I'll call her now," Huda reassures Naina, "But I'll have to go outside for that and…" he doesn't want to leave her alone, and he glances towards the doorway, seeing that Priya is still standing a short distance away. "I'll get Priya to sit with you while I'm gone."

"Is she the one?" Naina asks.

"What one?"

"Alekh said that you had found someone else."

Huda smiles, "Maybe. Nothing is settled yet, she doesn't even know that I like her. You would like her too, I know you would."

"Then hurry up and introduce us." Naina tells him, happy that at least somebody's life seems to be working out.

"I will," Huda tells her, "But I don't know when we'll get the chance to talk alone again. Naina what's this key? What does it open?"

"It's for a locker in Delhi," Naina tells him quietly, "There are copies of all the evidence in there. It's possible that it may still save us." She tells him the location quickly, quietly.

"If you had the evidence all along then why haven't you used it? You could've ended this months ago."

"We never had evidence against the boss." Naina admits tiredly. "Without that, we were unwilling to give up our chances of nailing him."

"And who is the boss?" Huda asks her, anxious to hear the answer. Who is it that has caused them all this misery, and ruined so many lies?

"Gehlot." Naina whispers, and Huda is shocked. Such a huge betrayal, so many lies… He wonders how Captain Rajveer had felt when he found out.

Huda stands up, wanting to move, wanting to clear his head. This has all happened too fast and it's too much to take in.

"I'll go and call Pooja," he announces, and then leaning outside of the room he calls Priya over. "Could you sit with Naina?" he asks her, "I need to call Pooja and tell her what's happened."

Priya nods hesitantly, and then heads inside, sitting down on the seat that Huda has just vacated.

Naina is watching Priya thoughtfully as if she's examining her, Priya finds it slightly unnerving.

"You're not how I imagined you would be." She tells Naina, wanting to break the silence.

"No," Naina tells her, "I can guess how you would've imagined me."

Priya stays silent, waiting for Naina to continue.

"A traitor, right? A bad person. Somebody who would betray their country. A girl who betrayed her fianc and ran away with another man. All of these things." Naina sighs, she's tired, and she's having trouble feeling any emotion right now other than despair.

"Yes," Priya admits, "That is how I'd thought of you at first. I didn't know how Huda could still be so loyal to both you and Captain Rajveer after what you'd done to him. Now, I think I'm beginning to understand."

She stares at Naina, trying to compare her with the girl in Pooja's photos, the girl who was laughing and smiling. She had expected to hate Naina, thinking of her as a selfish girl who hadn't cared for Huda's feelings at all.

"I'm glad that Huda has such a good partner." Naina tells Priya, "He really trusts you. He's going to need your support now, no matter what it is that happens."

"What do you think is going to happen?"

"What can happen?" Naina asks, "We'll both be court martialed, Raj for the second time. And after that… The only thing that can save us now is if the truth comes out."

"What is the truth?" Priya asks her, wanting to know. She's so sick of wondering, sick of not knowing whether what she's being told is the truth or a lie.

"The truth is that no matter what, the rich and powerful always win. The truth is that the patriots get framed and the traitors win." Naina tells her, "The truth is that we were always fighting for the good of the country."

Sitting here with Naina and hearing her speak, Priya begins to believe her. For the first time she's ready to admit that the officials at headquarters might have lied to her. Huda and Pooja were right, she could only understand once she met them.

**

Huda walks outside the hospital to call Pooja, wanting some measure of privacy. He calls her on her mobile, knowing that no matter how late it is, she'll want to know what's happened.

Seeing Huda's number come up on her mobile screen, Pooja immediately answers.

"Huda, thank god, I've been waiting for you to call." She tells him, without letting him get a word in, "Ali called and told me that Alekh had been arrested and you were on your way to arrest Naina and Rajveer Sir. Huda please, tell me what's going on?"

For the last few hours she's been frantic, unable to sit calmly or concentrate on anything.

Huda's voice on the other end of the line sounds tired, distant. "Pooja… Naina said to say hi to you." He tells her, he doesn't need to say anything else.

"No…" Pooja whispers, she had been praying all afternoon that they wouldn't be caught, that there would be a miracle and they would escape. "Is she… is she fine? And Rajveer Sir?"

"Naina was shot when they tried to escape, but she's just woken up after surgery. Captain Rajveer has already been transferred to Delhi. Priya and I will probably be returning in the morning with Naina."

Pooja wants to cry, she wants to scream. Instead she stands there in silence and shock. "Huda, you tell our Naina, just tell her that I'm with her. That we're all with her. Tell her that we'll figure this out somehow, we'll save them." Pooja wants to believe her own words, she wants to believe that everything can be fixed.

"I'll do that Pooja, I'll see you tomorrow, alright?"

"I'll call Ali and let him know." Pooja tells him, and then she hangs up.

Pooja calls Yudi's cell phone number, knowing that he'll probably be with Ali right now.

Seeing Pooja's number on the screen, Yudi immediately passes the phone to Ali. "It will be for you." He says. After dinner, they've been sitting together in their room, too tense to do anything else.

"Pooja?"

"Ali," Pooja sounds like she's trying hard not to cry on the other end of the line, "It's all over, they've arrested Captain Rajveer and Naina. Naina was shot, but Huda says she'll recover."

"Hai Allah," is all that Ali can say, "How could this happen? Why is it happening?"

"I don't know Ali, all I know is that all we can do now is pray. Nothing is in our hands anymore."

"You stay brave, Pooja." Ali tells her, "We have to believe that everything will work out. Remember what Captain Rajveer always used to tell us, while there's breath left, there's still hope."

Pooja's not sure why, but these words make her feel instantly better. She won't give up hope yet.

"I love you Ali," she tells him, "I'll call you tomorrow with more news."

"I love you too, Pooja. Try to get some sleep tonight."

Yudi has been watching Ali with growing fear, knowing from the conversation that something bad has happened.

"Naina and Captain Rajveer have been arrested." Ali tells Yudi, "Naina was shot but she'll be okay."

Yudi swears badly, "How can this be happening, bro? I thought that the good guys were meant to win and the bad guys were meant to lose."

"Life isn't a film." Ali reminds Yudi, "And right now we have to go and break this news to Alekh."

Neither of them want to do it, they know how Alekh is going to react.

Quickly they go to his cell, Alekh looks up when he sees them outside the bars and his face clearly says that he knows they've got news for him.

"Alekhbhai, they've been caught and Naina has been shot, but she's recovering." Ali tells him in one breath, not wanting to draw it out for longer.

Alekh screams and punches his fist into the wall, drawing the attention of the guard who jumps up quickly.

"Chief, calm down!" Yudi tells him, "We'll find a way, Huda will find a way. It's not over yet." He promises Alekh, sounding more sure than he feels.

"If anything happens to Naina, then I'll kill all of those bas***ds." Alekh promises, "I don't care about any proof anymore, they're all going to die by my hands."

Neither Ali nor Yudi doubt that he means it.

**

In Lucknow, Huda makes one more phone call, one that he's been dreading making. The phone rings a few times before it's picked up, it's quite late at night and he's worried that they would've been in bed.

"Hello?"

"Hello Uncleji, it's me, Huda."

There is silence and then the voice on the other end of the line becomes worried, "Huda beta, is there anything wrong? So late at night?"

"Uncleji…" Huda doesn't know how to say it, but Naina's parents deserve to know. "Naina has been arrested, she was shot but she's in the hospital now and she'll be okay."

The silence is so long, that Huda is afraid Naina's father isn't there anymore. "Uncleji….?"

"Then everything is over," Naina's father says, his voice sounding tired and old, "Now another court martial and…" He doesn't want to lose another child, he doesn't want to go through this all over again.

"Don't worry Uncleji, nothing is over yet. We'll save Naina somehow." Huda promises him, "Alright, I'll go now, I need to go check on Naina."

"Tell her that we love her," Naina's father tells him, "We'll try to get permission to come and see her."

Naina is asleep by the time Huda returns to the room, and Priya is sitting next to her, tears in her eyes.

"Priya, let's go outside and sit." Huda tells her, "I think it's time that I explained everything to you properly."

Priya nods and follows him outside. She knows that it's time she learnt the real truth.

**

In Ladakh, Ali and Yudi sit outside Alekh's cell, not wanting to leave him alone in case he does something foolish.

"I swear," Alekh suddenly announces, "That if this all works out, I'll give up drinking."

"Naina would be happy to hear that…" Yudi comments, "If there was a way to rescue them both, then I would do it. No matter what the consequences were."

"There's nothing we can do right now, Yudibhai. It's all in Allah's hands." Ali announces, and abruptly stands up.

"Where are you going?" Yudi asks him.

"I'm going to go and pray," Ali announces, "There's nothing else I can do for them right now."

Alekh nods, he knows how Ali feels, they're all desperate to feel like they're doing something to help. "Do some for me too," he says, "I wouldn't know how."

None of the friends sleep that night, Huda remains awake, explaining everything to Priya. Pooja remains awake, heading to the Gurudwara where she sits to listen, hoping that her prayers might be heard. Yudi and Alekh remain awake, sitting together silently, neither one able to find anything to say. Ali performs namaz again and again until dawn, never stopping.

All of them want the same thing, that they be shown the path they should take. That they somehow figure out a plan to save Naina and Raj.

It isn't until dawn that Huda finally sees a glimmer of hope. From somewhere within his mind, the beginnings of a plan have begun to unfold.

It's a weak plan at best, but a plan nonetheless. However one thing is certain, he'll need two key allies for it. One is sitting beside him, but the other one… Huda knows what he needs to do and who he needs to ask. He knows this plan could easily fail but he has no other choice right now.

Today, he'll take the first steps.

Huda remembers the words that Ali had told Pooja earlier, 'While there is still breath remaining, hope remains.'

Huda smiles.

There is one last hope left.