Chapter 11

"Ge-get them!" Rajveer panted, holding his bleeding arm which he used to shield his chest from the bullet. He started running as well, but nearly tripped because of a root, and Naina steadied him. Nandini had already caught the man who shot Rajveer, but the other one got away. She dragged and threw him over to the cadets, who tied him up instantly along with the other goons a bit far from their camp.

"Stop acting like you're deathly injured and start doing your job as an Army Captain!" she ordered Rajveer. Naina and the other remaining cadets glared at her, but stopped in shock when they both broke out into laughter.

"What's going on? Tell me about it too..." Abhimanyu joined them. He had taken out the device and put it near Colonel Chandra's bed, who was snoring slightly.

"Raj here got injured... again. Only God and he knows how he can be such an injury-prone person, being one of the best cadets of KMA and such a high standard Army Officer!" Nandini replied.

"I wasn't injury-prone. It was because of the three of you, who usually put me through the dangerous jobs that I was wounded so many times!" Rajveer calmly defended himself, almost becoming that cadet who loved to have fun and play pranks with his friends. A fun and sporty music surrounds the scene in the background.

"If you don't remember my friend, you were the one who volunteered for those jobs! The time we planned to have a party on top of the hill, you came forward immediately to do the transporting..." Abhimanyu threw back, exchanging smirks with Nandini as flashbacks of the party planning are shown.

"Yeah! And after you fell off with the appliances, you had to stay at the infirmary for so long! The hardworking and dedicated Cadet Shekhawat, lying in bed for two weeks without anything to accomplish!" Nandini said dramatically, and again flashbacks of those moments are shown.

"And if YOU TWO don't remember, I volunteered only because Naveen tricked me into doing so... I didn't fall either; I clearly remember Josh and Chauhan Saab getting into a fight, which ended up in both of them pushing me!" The cadets were now staring open mouthed at their teacher. Most of them had never even imagined it was possible for him to be tricked or being pushed off a mountain. Seeing their reactions, Rajveer grinned.

"I was once a cadet too you know. We all went through things similar to what you guys have! So shall we go now?" He indicated towards the clearing. When they had all started heading back, a voice stopped them. It was the voice that haunted them for the past 24 hours.

"Not yet Raj." said Gehlot, standing so still that one could easily mistake him for a statue. His muscles were very tensed, and he looked like he was having a very difficult time being there. "You're fine..." they heard a barely audible sigh from him. Everyone turned to face Captain Rajveer to see his stony face.

"Disappointed I'm still alive?" he asked sarcastically.

"Sarcasm or hostility doesn't suit you at all Raj."

"No, and the image you've been putting on in front everyone including me doesn't suit you at all." his eyes were flaming with anger, hurt, betrayal and a small amount of disbelief still. He felt a hand on his shoulder, and turned to see that it was Naina. Her gaze told him she was going to supprt him throughout, and that he didn't have to fight this alone. He nodded slightly to her. Gehlot sees this entire exchange.

By now, Abhimanyu and Nandini had already held their guns at him. Rajveer raised his as well.

"Raj, I know you can kill me if circumstances are such... like you killed your friend, Captain Naveen Singh Ahluwalia. He was foolish enough to fall into my trap, and so were you, till now. No matter, that can be fixed." Gehlot swiftly took out his gun and held it against Naina's temple. "If you don't let my men go and follow my further instructions, your lovely young beautiful mentee will have the same fate as her brother." He took out a vial contaning some kind of a very clear liquid and took off the cork that was sealing it.

None of the three Captains had moved their guns. Rajveer's breath was shallow now, but he calmed himself down and held his composure.

"You three don't seem to recognise this. This is the more fatal version of the poison that was used on Naveen. All three of you had witnessed it when you visited him... only you didn't know its true identity. One drop on the skin, and..." Now, all three of them were shaking slightly.

"Witnessing me being poisoned and still not being able to stop it was very difficult for my dear friends to accept. Not knowing the true nature of the so-called nerve medicine I was being given daily did not stop them from feeling guilty." says Naveen's voiceover, slightly emotional. "Only if they knew that I would never even imagine of holding them responsible to anything that had happened to me, except for my freedom, which Raj has to be given credit for."

"Naveen Bhaiya would have never blamed you, any of you, except for..." Naina left off, turning her head to glare at Gehlot. Now the gun was pointed at the center of her forehead. "Kill me if you want, but even if there was only one more soldier present here, you would never succeed. Here, an entire ARMY is present to stop you. The loss of one soldier would only make them more determined to stop you!"

She was now panting. Her eyes were ablaze, and the intensity of her determination threw Gehlot off a bit.

"There are three guns pointed at you. As soon as you even try to pull the trigger, there will be three holes in your body." Abhimanyu threatened. Gehlot turned to face him, and Naina took the oppurtunity to push his hand upwards, making him pull the trigger. The bullet went up thankfully, but the vial dropped on Naina's arm, spilling out some drops. Rajveer immediately pushed it away with much force, pulling her back from everything that was going on. He knew Gehlot couldn't escape with the army surrounding him.

"It-it just fell on my sleeve..." Naina reassured him and herself shakily. She suddenly realised they were standing against each other, almost each part of their bodeis touching. Her breath quickened as she felt his heartbeat speed up like hers. He was still holding her by the waist. She looked up at him, to lower her eyes soon as she saw his intense gaze on her.

He could feel her warm breath against his neck and felt like losing control. Seeing the shy glance from her, he tried to stop himself but she wrapped an arm uncertainly around his neck, and her touch seemed to encourage him. He decided to make a move. Lifting up her chin, he brought their faces closer as she closed her eyes.

Precap - The cadets and the three Captains are on the bus. Naina keeps glancing at Rajveer, looking away as soon as he noticed. They both smile secretly.

Everyone notices these exchanges and different reactions from each are shown.