Chapter 35

EPISODE – 47

 

 

"Hum apne paanch mein se chaar saathiyon se contact nahin kar paa rahe hain." The leader was very much tensed.

"To kya iska matlam hum yeh samjhe ki hamara plan nakamyab raha?"

"Abhi nahin.... Ahbi hamari ek aakhri umeed baaki hai."

"Agar woh hi nakamyab ho gaya to?"

 

A resounding slap hit his face the moment he talked about failure. Its reverberating sound filled the corridors.

"Khabardar jo tumne nakamyabi ki baat ki... Humein kisi bhi keemat pe kamyabi haasil karni hai... Chahe iske liye hamari jaan hi kyun na chali jaaye."

"Jee.... Aage se aisi gustakhi nahin hogi." He meekly agreed.

"Behtar!"

 

There was a mourning silence that prevailed there for a while. Their minds were filled with same question and the answer didn't come out at all.

"Mujhe to kuch samajh hi nahin aa raha... Jin jin logon ko hamare is plan ke baare mein pata tha... Woh sab to khud hi shaamil hain is sab mein. Sab kuch theek jaa bhi raha tha... Phir achanak yeh army walon ko bhanak padi kaise. Hamari tamaam koshishon ko nakaam karne mein koi kasar nahin chodi hai inhone. Commander theek kehte the... In logon ko kam nahin samajhna chahiya tha humein."

 

"Ek minute... Hum log jab apna Dilli ki tabahi ke baare mein upar baat kar rahe the to us ladki ne bhi to suna tha." Another man interrupted the leader.

"Haan suna to tha... lekin woh chahe bhi to apni baat bahar khade logon tak nahin pahuncha sakti. Ek maamuli si RJ hi to hai woh."

"Lekin himmat aur dimaag dono hai usmein aur waise bhi army walon ki sangat mein rehne ka kuch asar to aayega hi na."

 

"Lekin... Shayad tum theek keh rahe ho. Hum mein se koi bhi to army walon tak hamare plan ki khabar nahin pahuncha sakta. Ho sakta hai ki..."

 

********

 

Four men entered the room opening a door with a loud voice that shook the hostages. Seeing so many armed men together in that room and that too in such aggressive attitude made them all apprehensive. The four pair of eyes those have just entered the room were fixed on Naina. They found her sitting near the window. It wasn't too difficult for them to realize how she would have managed to send the message to the people outside.

 

They all rushed to her clearing their way, hitting everyone who came in between. Naina straightened up as she saw them approaching. She knew she was in trouble. Alekh was equally horrified.

 

As the first one stood in front of her he hit her hard on her shoulder with the back of his rifle. She cried out loudly in pain but the next moment she found herself screaming louder. Another man had pulled her up on her feet pulling her by her hair clenched tightly in his fist. Impulsively Alekh also got up and tried to free her but got a severe blow across his face by a man. Then he pushed Alekh back on floor and kicked hard on his back.

 

Four of them dragged her near the door and pushed her against the wall. One of them pointed a rifle over her forehead and another asked,

"Tune hi khabar di thi na un army walon ko."

"Kaisi khabar? Mujhe kuch nahin pata. Maine kuch nahin kiya hai."

"Bakwaas mat kar ladki. Seedhi tarah se bata tune hi bataya tha na."

"Main kisi ko kuch kaise bata sakti hoon.Main to yahin tum logon ki qaid mein hoon. Tumhara yeh aadmi bhi itni der se yahin hai na.. pooch lo isse... Aur waise hi main chahti hi to kya kar leti." She was trying very hard to pretend innocent.

"Itni seedhi to nahin hai tu ki agar kuch karna chahe to na kar sake."

"Maine kaha na... Maine kuch nahin kiya hai."

 

The leader again slapped her hard. This time it left a small cut on her cheek.

Tears flooded her eyes as pain filled her body. She was still trying to maintain her stand. Her resolute, unbending attitude was making them all the more hostile. He pinned her up with the wall strangling her neck. She was getting choked, struggling for her breath with every passing moment. She was getting pale. Everyone sitting there gasped with horror but none of them except Alekh dared to get up from his place to help her.

 

He punched hard on the face of the man strangling her. He got knocked out in a single punch.  Alekh held Naina as she almost collapsed on the floor trying to regain her breathe.

 

But Alekh had to pay a price for his bravado. He wasn't supposed to get away with that so easily. He got severe and repeated blows from another three men. Naina tried to get up and help him but she could not manage to do that. She still felt too feeble. Alekh was hit badly within a minute. His nostrils were bleeding and he had terrible wound on his forehead.

 

"Bas bahut ho gaya! Bahut tamasha kar liya in dono ne. Hamari naakamyabi ki keemat to inhein chukani hi hogi."

Saying this, their leader gave his rifle to another man and took out his gun. He removed the silencer from the gun so that the sound of the gunshot reaches outside.

 

*******

 

 

Maya & Neetika were pacing around impatiently. There was no news from Rajveer & Navin after the fourth bomb was diffused. Though there was only one bomb left, they all feared if that was the one that was supposed to blast next. If that was the case then they had only 15 minutes left & they remained absolutely clueless about the whereabouts of the bomb.

 

"Ab mujhe bahut zyada tension ho rahi hai." Neetika was visibly in panic.

"Niti please yaar. Get a grip. Agar hum log senior officers ho ke panic karenge to baakiyon ka kya hoga."

"I know yaar.. But…"

She could not complete whatever she wanted to. She was disrupted by a gunshot that came from the building.

 

"What the hell?" They both said in chorus and ran towards the building. The gate was locked as usual. They wanted to break in but could not do that. That would have meant many more gunshots coming from inside. They could not afford to endanger the lives of many innocent hostages trapped inside. But there was only one question in their mind and they desperately needed the answer.

 

'Why was the bullet fired? Was anyone hurt or did they…. Kill someone?'