Chapter 2

"Mai vohi soch rahi thi……aisa kya hua jo ek saal se KMA me hone ke bavajood tumne is baare me pata karne ki zara bhi koshish nahi ki??"

 

Aalekh had no answer. He closed his eyes in disapproval.

 

"Tumhe aisa kyun lagta hai ki ye koshish maine nahi ki hogi??"

 

"Kya mila tumhe?? Kahan hai Raj?? Kaise hui Naveen ki maut?? Kyun padi hai Army Intelligence Raj ke peeche?? Kis se bhaag raha hai vo?? BOLO NA!!"

 

"Mujhe ye to nahi pata Raj is waqt kahan hai, par Naveen ki body milne se ek maheene pehle Raj ne mujhe contact kiya tha"

 

"Aur tumne ye kisi ko bhi batana zaruri nahi samjha??" She said stressfully.

 

"Raj aur Navin ek secret mission pe the Ritu…..uski detailings is tarah kisi ko bhi reveal nahi ki jaati!!"

 

"Par Raj ne kaha kya??"

 

"Yehi ki unka mission fail ho gaya hai aur Raj dushmano ki nazron me aa chuka hai"

 

Ritu's fear grew intense with each word. She prayed what she was thinking shouldn't come-up. Meanwhile, Aalekh continued…..

 

"Raj ne mujhse kaha ki vo kisi bhi tarah Navin ko vapas bhej dega so that he could be safe aur……"

 

"Aur….???"

 

"Vo aage kuch nahi keh paaya, the wireless collapsed!!"

 

"Damn it!!"

 

"Navin ki body to hum logon tak pahunch gayi…..aur Intelligence ka maan na hai ki Raj zinda hai aur safe bhi…..kyunki……"

 

"Kyunki unhe lagta hai ki Raj unse mila hua tha right??"

 

Aalekh sat down in despair as he heard that.

 

"Shoot at sight ke orders a tak barkaraar hain, Raj is in a big trouble!! Vaise bhi media ne intelligence ki is presumption ko us waqt itna hype diya tha ki kisi aam insaan ko kahiin vo dikh jaaye to bhi use khatre hai. I wonder how he would be surviving; if at all he is!!"

 

"Just shut-up Aalekh!! Media!!! This is so ridiculous!! Intelligence reports to generally secret rakhi jaati hain naa??"

 

"Par agar intelligence khud is baat ko leak karna chaahe to?? They wanted people to report his sight from each and every corner of this country!!"

 

"Humare paas koi bhi clue nahi hai jiske sahaare hum shuruvaat kar sakein!! Kaash mujhe us case ki sabhi details mil pati!!"

 

Aalekh's face suddenly switched moods…..it seemed as if he wanted to reveal something but was not able to do that.

 

"Kya hua?? Kya tum kuch jaantey ho??"

 

He closed his eyes and replied, "Jo jaanta tha, vo bata chuka hun!!" Saying this he turned to leave.

 

"Please Aalekh……agar kuch aur jaantey ho to….."

 

"I know you love Raj Ritu, par iska matlab ye nahi hai ki mera aur uska koi rishta nahi hai!! Even I'm willing to see him safe and sound with us. I'll help you out in every way…….but somethings are better unveiled and some promises are not meant to be broken!!"

 

He left her house saying this. Ritu could sense that extra bit of information wrapped safely in Aalekh's twisted language. She decided to say calm for that moment, but was sure that she'd get it.

 

Aalekh was driving restlessly all the way to KMA and was provoked by the old memories of their training days as he stopped at the KMA gate. He went inside his room but failed in finding solace even there. He lied down in hope of approaching a peaceful sleep…….

 

"Aalekh…………mujhe teri madad chahiye…………tujhe, tujhe Naina ko bachana hoga!!! You'll have to save her Aalekh!! Mere paas zyaada waqt nahi hai………tu bas use kisi bhi tarah yahan se le ja……………mai apne saath saath uski zindagi khatre me nahi daal sakta!! I wish Navin wouldn't have involved Naina into all this. I'll have to change my location more frequently now!! Agar intelligence officers yahan pahunch gaye to mere saath saath vo Naina ko bhi traitor samjhenge. Mai tujhe apna location code fax kar raha hun………Tu please yahan aakar Naina ko le jaa."

 

"Par Raj tune to kaha tha ki tu Navin ko…………phir ye sab kya ho gaya?? Aur tune uske baad mujhe contact kyun nahi kiya??"

 

"Tujhe contact karna mere liye khatre se khaali nahi hai!! Kisi ko shaq bhi ho gaya to mere saath saath tu bhi khatre me pad sakta hai. I should leave now……get down to work"

 

"Raj par meri baat to……………hello………RAAJJJJ????"

 

Aalekh got up, horrified!!! He was sweating badly as he realized his dream.

 

"Kahiin Naina ko to kuch……"

 

He immediately got-up, reported to the reception to adjust his class for today, and left for a solitary place.

 

"Good Evening ma'am. This is Captain Ritu Mishra!! Can I get a record of all the popular journals which date back to 2003??"

 

"Sure ma'am. You wait here and the peon will just get it here"

 

"No no no…..can I myself see the store room?? You can have someone to keep an eye if you require!!"

 

"It's fine with us ma'am……this way"

 

The librarian showed her the way and the 2002-03 shelf.

 

"Thank you"

 

Ritu began with her new acquired mission. She scrapped out each and every page related to Captain Rajveer Singh Shekhawat and Captain Naveen Singh Ahluwalia's Case and the only thing that she zeroed on within the last few articles related to this case was…….The intelligence believes that Captain Shekhawat is been supported by a mystery woman, especially after he encashed his mission by killing a dedicated Army Officer Captain Navin Singh Ahluwalia…………this piece of news was quoted by almost every journal towards final call of this case.

 

"Mystery woman??? Raj ko kis women ki help mili hogi?? Who could it be??"

 

A knock at the door disrupted her flow of thoughts.

 

"Ma'am you've already had your time. More than 5 hours have passed. We need to wind-up by another half-an-hour"

 

"I'll do this within 15 minutes. You may leave"

 

She began arranging the newspapers back in order when an overlooked piece of news caught her eye.

 

"Times reporter Naina Singh Ahluwalia MISSING???" She read aloud to make sure she read it correctly.

 

"Naina Singh Ahluwalia……..ye to Navin ki sister hai!!! Navin ki maut ke baad Naina missing??? God!!! This is getting so much complex!! Kya jin logon ne Navin ko maara vohi Naina ki kidnapping ke zimmedaar hain ya phir ye kahani kuch aur he hai???"