Chapter 28

 

EPISODE – 40

 

"Hello Navin?"

"Kya hai yaar... Itni mushkil se saans lene ka thoda sa time mila hai aur tu usmein bhi disturb kar raha hai."

"Don't tell me tujhe is time bhi romance soojh raha hai..."

"Is time matlab? Abhi aaya hoon yaar aadhe ghante pehle apni night shift khatam karke."

"Wait a minute...Tu Naina ka show nahin sun raha hai kya?"

"Please mere Bhai use mat bataeyo... She'll kill me."

"Navin cut it out and radio on kar..."

"What? Kya hua?"

"Tu sawaal poochna band kar ke radio on karega."

 

Navin put on the radio but it was absolutely silent on the Radio Mirchi frequency. He adjusted the volume and reset the frequency but the silence prevailed.

 

"Abbey yeh kya ho raha hai... There is no sound... Nothing on Radio Mirchi."

"Yehi to main keh raha hoon... Abhi Naina ne show start kiya hi tha ki suddenly she screamed aur uske baad se it's all blank."

"What?"

"Kuch gadbad hai yaar... Main wahin jaa raha hoon... Tu bhi aa ja."

"I am there."

 

********

 

Naina sat rooted in her seat. She was struck with horror and eyes were fixed on the rifle pointed towards her forhead, now drenched with the beads of sweat. After the scream she let out when she saw those armed men, all in three, enter into her console she was too petrified to speak even a single word or even move her lips. She has seen guns before but these rifles were too big and looked deadly since she was used to for unloaded guns only and that too in her own hands.

 

One of them signaled her to get up and she meekly followed fumbling. Her knee hit into the corner of the table and another man standing next to her held her by arms and dragged her outside. All the consoles were on the third floor, which was also the topmost floor of the building. They dragged her downstairs to the second floor where there were mostly the cabins of the top level management officials. They took her to one of the rooms at the distant end which was empty since the renovation of the cabin had finished just the previous evening. There were atleast 30 more people there. Since this was the time for shift change, Radio Station had the maximum number of staffs in the premises.

 

Someone pushed her from behind and she would have fallen on the floor if Alekh hadn't held her.

"Are you okay?" He asked softly looking at her condition.

Her lips trembled to answer him but the words didn't come out.

 

He pulled her gently and made her sit next to him on the floor.

 

********

 

Rajveer stopped his car outside the Radio Station. He stepped down to find the guard lying dead behind the gate. He tried to enter the building but the entrance was locked from inside. The huge reception area, visible from the glass door, was vacant and there was not even a single soul when it should have been filled with the staff. He took out lock pick from his pocket but before he could unlock the door and enter, a masked man came, out of the blue, behind the locked door pointing a rifle at him asking him to back off.

 

The situation was clear to him now. The entire Radio Station was held up by the terrorist group. They have chosen the most unexpected target in Delhi. But that was not the only thing bothering him. He could not figure out exactly, though he believed that they have found out about Naina being a weakness of the officers-in-charges. But he still hoped it is a mere possibility and not the actual situation.

 

He backed off but didn't leave the premises. He immediately called up Maya to come up with a Special Task Force they had kept ready to encounter a similar situation.

 

10 minutes later, another car stopped outside the building and Navin and Neetika came out from there.

"Raj... All well?" Navin aksed impatiently hoping against hope to get a positive answer but it was negative.

 

Rajveer explained him the situation.

"I hope everyone is fine aur...."

"Naina khud ko sambhaal legi yaar. She is brave enough."

 

********

 

30 minutes had gone by and Naina still sat frozen against the wall next to Alekh holding his sleeves tigtly in her fist.

"Naina relax." He tried to comfort her.

She didn't move.

 

"Naina sab theek ho jaayega. Be brave. Naina..."

He shook her. She finally turned to him and a drop of tear rolled down her cheek.

"Raj must be here na..." Her words were shaky.

"Of Course!" He said in a low tone.

 

********

 

"Raj tumhari car mein bouqet?" Neetika asked him as they were pacing to and fro waiting for Maya to come with the Special Task Force. There was nothing they could do before they come.

"What?" Rajveer came out of the trance with her voice.

"Bouqet... I asked tumhari car mein yeh boquet kya kar raha hai?"

He was taken aback at the question. He didn't know what he should tell her. He could not decide if he should tell her the truth. The truth that after Naina's show today he was to meet her and tell her what she has been waiting to hear for quite sometime now. He wanted to do it the previous day when they have met but preferred to do it when she was least expecting.

 

"Woh... main... Maya!"

"Maya? Tum yeh bouqet Maya ke liye laaye the?" She was literally shocked.

"Niti... Maya... She has come."

 

She turned back to see four Army jeeps approaching and Maya was driving the one leading the rest of the three. He was saved from answering Neetika's question at this moment.

 

Within the next two minutes, all the jeeps were emptied. All the army personnel entered the premise and surrounded it from all four sides. Navin and Rajveer briefed them their positions and Maya and Neetika with two more soldiers made arrangements to block the entire road.