Chapter 11 Matured

Chapter 11

Rawte Mansion,

Arjun is back in his room. He set up the laptop as per Shree’s instructions. Rocky placed his head on Arjun’s lap and lied comfortably on the couch while Arjun worked and occasionally gave him head-scratches and belly rubs. The audio devices they planted in the living room were working well. Arjun plugged in the hard disk which had data copied from Neha’s laptop. 

He opened the folder and the “enter password” window opened. Arjun tried a few passwords but all of them were incorrect. He scrolled through the other folders, most of them related to her Psychology course – reading material, recorded lectures, interviews and collected data for her thesis and some random stuff. 

Arjun sighed and shut the lid of the laptop. He splashed some water on his face and decided to sleep. He looked across his bed, Sandy and Nyx had made themselves comfortable on it. Arjun rested in the space left by the two and Rocky snuggled in.

~

Next Morning

Sameer’s Apartment 

The doorbell rang incessantly. Sameer opened the door. “Rawte?”

Arjun walked in and sat on the couch. 

“Rawte? Are you going to say something?” Sameer asked after impatiently waiting for about five minutes. 

“Neha has been investigating Sikander’s case.” Arjun said plainly.

The prolonged silence was broken by Karan. “Good morning!”

Both looked at him. “Sorry for interrupting. Do you want anything? Coffee, chai?”

“No.” Arjun and Sameer said in unison. “We should talk in the study. Karan, don’t disturb us for a while.” Karan nodded as the two walked into the study. 

Sameer locked the door. “Ar- Rawte! Are you sure about this?”

“I saw everything in her room. Details of criminals, politicians, the nexus and this.” Arjun showed him the picture of Sikander’s physical description. “I asked Shree to digitize the data we found there.”

“Is this why they tried to kill her?”

Arjun took a deep breath, “Yes.” 

Sameer thought for a while. “Rawte, do you remember when Neha joined the ETF and we had a meeting with Coehlo Sir, he told us to be prepared for a big upcoming case.”

“He knew?”

“Maybe. What do you think we should do now?”

“Nothing. But I am sure there is a lot more that we don’t know.”

“We have to handle this with utmost caution, Rawte. One slip and we know what the consequences can be.”

“You think I don’t know that?”

Sameer sighed. “Calm down Rawte. You cannot let your emotions overshadow your judgment.”

Arjun marched out. 

“Any updates on the fingerprints?” Sameer asked Karan while sipping his coffee.

“What finger-”

Sameer silenced him with his look, “You cannot be doing things in my office without me knowing.”

“I found one match but it has to have two I think-”

“Two? It’s one person’s hand, right?”

“I guess, but it didn’t match fully.” Karan shrugged.

“Just ask Neha about it?”

“I will tell her about the match when she asks me.”

“Tell her there was no match.” Sameer left with his coffee.

“Bhai?” 

~

Rawte Mansion,

"Bhaiya?" She knocked on his door and walked in. "We need to talk."

“No.” Arjun turned away.

“Bhaiya please-”

“Get out, now.” Arjun pushed her out and shut the door on her face.

She came into her room and looked at the ransacked bookshelf. Her books, the bookmarks, pressed flowers and chocolate wrappers were scattered on the floor. She took a deep breath and started picking them up as tears welled her eyes. 

~

Afternoon

Chotu was meeting his informer, Neha and Shree were waiting for him in the SUV.

“Shree, be honest. Tell me everything you found at my place yesterday.”

“Neha, I’m sorry, I didn’t want to do it but Arjun sir-”

“I just need to know what all he knows.”

“I digitized some of the important files and copied the data from your personal laptop.”

“That’s all?”

“Yes. But why were you hiding all of this?”

“It’s confidential. I cannot be revealing any of this without permission. And I know you won’t but just a reminder, don’t even whisper about any of this to anyone. It’s for your own safety.”

“I’ve been a tech expert for about five years now, I know how to keep things confidential.”  

“Is there anything else I should know?” Neha eyed Shree who was looking around. “Shree? Please.”

“There are two audio devices, in the living-room and your workspace.” He whispered.

Neha picked her phone to inform Vikram, there were a few texts from him. ‘Look what your brother left.’ Picture of two audio devices. ‘Call me.’

~

Rawte Mansion,

Later that night,

Arjun was exercising when Neha tried to come in. 

“Bhaiya, we-”

Arjun gave her a hard stare and slammed the door on her face. 

“So you wanna fuss like a toddler? Fine, have it your way. Talk to me when you grow up.” He heard her yell. Arjun resumed punching the bag.

“ASP Arjun Suryakant Rawte, you have ventured into perilous territories. If you want to ensure the safety of your family, get out of it ASAP. Your well-wisher.”

He punched the bag harder as he recalled the old threats.

“Sikander sends his regards to you.” Pathan Lala’s face flashed in front of his eyes. Arjun paused for a breath and clenched his fists tighter. Resumed punching.

“Kill her.” The voice resonated in his head. The bloodied knife flashed in front of his eyes. Arjun stepped away, breathing hard. His hands were sore from the incessant punching. 

He tried to open the door, but couldn’t. He banged his fists on the door in a futile attempt to open it. He stepped back for a moment and heard a small screech. Rocky opened the door from outside and ran away. Arjun walked out, tired, confused and angry. 

Neha gave some treats to Rocky and he tagged along with Arjun right after eating them. 

Arjun stopped on the stairs. “What was that?”

“You locked me out, I locked you in!” She shrugged.

Arjun clenched his fists in anger and returned to his room.

~

Next night

Arjun came home. A drunk Neha and an exasperated Rahul were bickering about something. 

“You are a disgrace, Neha Rawte.”

“Sounds like Sugandha’s ghost has possessed you.” Neha retorted.

“She’s our mother. How dare you disrespect her like that?”

“How about she respecting her child and her wishes for a change?”

“Talking to you is -” Rahul shook his head and left.

“Sure. Please don’t waste your precious time.”

Arjun sat at the dinner table, serving himself some food. 

“You also wan’ say something to me?”

Arjun started eating silently, ignoring her comments. 

“Of course. Why would you talk, still sulking like a teenager, eh?” 

“If you were sober enough to hold a conversation, I would.”

She clicked her tongue, “I’m sober enough.”

He continued eating.

”You know what? F-ck that shit, talk about your feelings like an adult and stop this cold shoulder, it's not gonna get you anywhere.” She banged her hands on the table.

Arjun took a deep breath and gulped some water. “If I talk to you, I might say things I never want to say to you and it won’t end well so, let it be.”

"Bhaiya, I'm sorry, okay. I know I shouldn't have kept this from you but hear me out. I did what I had to. Not just because it's my job but I had no choice. I could've asked for your help but you wouldn't let me do anything. And I-"

"Not in the mood for your excuses."

"I said I'm sorry. You’re also at fault here. You shouldn't have ransacked my house like that. It's illegal."

"I told you to stay out of this." Arjun tried controlling his rage.

"I wasn’t interested either. To be honest, I didn't know what I was getting myself into until it was too late. It was just another drug trade link we busted and then it turned out much more and before I even realised what I had on my hands, my friend, who was the primary in this case, died in an accident. We all knew it wasn't an accident. Then, for obvious reasons, I was on the case, and continued with the investigation until INTERPOL decided to intervene and provide us more details. And I couldn't share anything with anyone ‘cause I didn't know who to trust. Not even myself."

"You don't trust me?"

"I don't even trust myself." 

Arjun picked up his plate and went into the kitchen. He recalled the conversation Sameer had an hour ago.

“Rawte, how do you plan to get the information?” 

“Sober Neha won’t talk but not-sober one, won’t stop talking.”

“Let’s hope whatever she says is useful.”

“Desperate times, desperate measures bhaiya!” 

Arjun sat atop the kitchen counter, thinking. Then served two bowls of ice-cream and returned to the hallway.  

Neha was smoking marijuana, her eyes puffy and nose red. He placed the ice-cream bowl beside her glass of whiskey.

“Stop smoking.”

“It’s medical marijuana. I have the prescription.”

“No smoking in the house.” Arjun tried to snatch it but she stabbed her nails in his hand. “Neha! Stop smoking right now.”

“I’ll finish this one and that’s all.”

“No ice-cream for you.” Arjun picked her bowl, she smacked his hand. He winced.

“Don’t touch my ice-cream.” She put her bowl away from his grip.

Arjun caressed his palm. Her phone buzzed repeatedly. She sighed and put her hand up to throw it. Arjun held her phone. “Just put it on silent mode.”

She muttered incomprehensibly with a mouthful of ice-cream. “She is the reason I wish I was never born.”

“What happened?”

“Sugandha was going to announce a ‘surprise’ engagement for me and Vik. I had to tell her no, for obvious reasons. Things escalated and you know what she said? If I keep finding faults in every guy she brings for me and won’t marry the one I’ve been in a relationship with for two years, I should just marry Momo! Like how did that thought even come to her? It’s disgusting. She doesn’t deserve to be called my mother after doing things like these.”

“Maybe if you didn’t lie so much-”

“How is that my fault?” 

“You want an answer? Maybe it’s the choices you make-”

“Sugandha’s made a lot worse choices and nobody’s ever called her out.” 

Arjun silently ate his ice-cream.

“Listen.” She added rum to her bowl. “Firstly, Sugandha is the reason I had to go for therapy. She legit warned me not to go and all. So I made up the whole dating Vik thing so that I could see him for sessions.” 

“Go on.”

“Umm…” She took a deep breath, “Promise me, you won’t tell this to anyone.” She held out her hand. Arjun placed his palm on hers.

“Ice-cream promise.” 

“Two years ago, today. Sugandha had my unborn child killed.”

“Your child?”

“It was 23 weeks. She gave me some sedatives and when I woke up my baby was gone bhaiya. My mother killed my unborn child.” Shocked would be an understatement. Arjun didn’t know how to process this information. Was it true or she made it up? ‘I’ve had an abortion.’ 

“You don’t believe me?” She raised her shirt to reveal the stretch and stitch marks on her lower abdomen. “I’m not lying bhaiya.”  

Arjun shuddered at the thought of his Chhoti Maa doing something like this. Then again, why not? For the family’s reputation. This wasn’t the secret he wished to learn. Ignorance really is bliss. 

Neha brought her laptop, set it up near the coffee table and made herself comfortable on the carpet, leaning against the couch. Arjun walked over with their bowls. 

“There’s a folder called medical reports. You’ll find all the reports there.”

“You don’t have to prove things, dollie, I believe you.” Arjun kissed her forehead. 

“Thanks.” She looked at him, “Let’s watch something.”

“Sure!” 

“Popcorn?” 

“I will make it.”

Neha paused the show. “I’ll help you.”

“You can’t even stand upright.”

“I can!” She stood up, stumbled and fell on the couch. 

Arjun rubbed his forehead and walked into the kitchen. 

Neha made her way into the kitchen, stumbling around. 

“I am bringing your popcorn.” Arjun sighed and put the cooker’s lid on the side. Picked up the largest bowl and turned around to see Neha’s burnt hand. “How?” Arjun held her hand under running water. He looked at her, zoned out.

“Put Aloevera not cream.” She pointed at the refrigerator.

Arjun cut a slice from the leaf and gently applied it on her palm. ‘It was barely a few seconds that he turned around, how did she get herself burnt?’  

Arjun put her playlist on shuffle and clicked the next button once the episode was over. A video featuring Roshni played.

‘Say like five or as many things you want for my bhaiya, it’s a part of his birthday gift.’ Teenage Neha’s voiceover played.

‘What if I want to say things that you shouldn’t be hearing?’

‘Well, I can’t promise I won’t hear but if you trust me…’

‘I know you enough to not trust you on this one.’

‘Smart choice. But I’ll start another recording and leave the room. The floor is yours.’

‘Alright.’

The video stopped. 

‘Where’s the rest of the video?’ Arjun turned around to find her dozing. “What’s the password?”

“My fingerprint.” She replied in her sleep. 

“And others?”

“In my diary.”

“Which one?” Arjun patted her cheek but she was fast asleep.He waited for a while and brought her duvet, two plushies and tucked her in.

~

“What is that?” Rahul asked, looking at the pile near the couch.

“Your sister!” Arjun rolled his eyes.

“Out of 21 bedrooms, this is the place she chose to sleep?” Rahul picked a glass of water to throw, Arjun held his hand, shaking his head. 

After a silent breakfast, Arjun picked the newspaper, heard a noise that alerted him. He sat beside Neha, holding her hand. 

Aryan was locked in a room, smoke filling in slowly. “Don’t worry, you have time, it’s a very slow poison.” Sikander said, twirling a cigar. 

“It’s alright, just a nightmare.” Arjun said softly.

She woke up, breathing heavy and uneven. 

“If you even think of saying no, your brother-”

“Relax dollie, you are safe here.” Arjun held her protectively.

‘But he is not.’ A big lump in her throat killed the words.

Sometime later, Arjun was cuffing his shirt. 

“Bhaiya, what happened to my hand?” Neha showed her burnt hand. 

“Not sure, but something to do with the popcorn and cooker.”

“I let my intrusive thoughts win.” 

“You always do.” Arjun pulled up his socks. 

“No, I-” she bit her lip. “Bhaiya, I, uh- have a request.”

Arjun hummed.

“Please promise me you won't do anything while this investigation continues. I know it's very tempting and all but it's a precarious situation and I'm not in the position to lose anyone at this point. Please, I am begging you. Just give me a week’s time, that’s all I’m asking.”

Arjun picked his bag wordlessly and left. 

“Bhaiya, please-”

~

After looking at the most probable and improbable places, going through some hundred diaries and journals, Arjun sat in their study room, thinking. 

‘Dollie! Where are you?’ a 10 year old Arjun was playing hide and seek. He came into the study room, saw her hiding under the table. 

“Boo!” Neha laughed cheekily and ran outside.  

Arjun looked under the table, knocked. It sounded hollow. He opened the secret drawer and found a bunch of keys.  

Around midnight, Arjun opened Aryan’s old house. This was the last place where the keys might open some safe, he had tried all the other places. After searching he found a safe behind the center-table, it contained some wads of cash and a few diaries. He cleaned the diaries and started going through them. Arjun picked up a diary, placed back the rest and left the house.

‘Today we had a cyber security specialist for a lecture and he taught us how to make solid passwords, easy to remember, hard to guess.’

“Interesting!”

“Yes! Like I want my password as Toxic by Britney? Simply smash both words together and replace random letters with capital, small case, some numbers and special characters, there you have it.”

Arjun looked at the dialogues and song lyrics. He spent all night figuring out the codes. The numbers corresponding to the dates were the sequence of letters that had to be skipped or entered, some letters were written more fancifully and other plain. He found a bookmark, coloured pens were used to make some random letters and they corresponded to the dots and dashes in the diary.  

~

Morning 

ETF Conference Room

“Where’s the birthday girl?” Sakshi asked, placing yellow orchids aside. 

“She’s not coming today.” Arjun replied.

“No party then?”

“No.” Arjun looked at Shree, “In my office now.”

Arjun’s cabin.

“Shree, here’s a list of passwords. Figure out which works where. Here’s her official laptop.”

“Sir, I can’t-”

“Shut up and just do it. No questions asked.”

Arjun logged in using her fingerprint and the password he saw her type a few days ago. “I need all the relevant information.” Shree nodded.

~

“The fingerprints-” Karan walked into Sameer’s cabin. “Sada Khandekar, a petty drug peddler who was caught some 11 years ago. He was a teenager back then, jailed for a few days and released early, as it was his first time. Could you request for the file from Wadala Police Station?”

“Alright.”

~

After everyone had left, Sameer walking in Arjun's cabin.

“Rawte!” Sameer brought Sada’s file. “We might have some links.” 

“And I have more than links. When can we start?”

“Right away.”

After working for two hours, they realized it was not getting anywhere. A fake lead. 

“Damn it!” Sameer swore. “Waise, Neha kahan hai? Haven't heard from her all day.”

“I don't know, hope she's doing okay.” Arjun wished.

~

Singapore, 

Evening 

Sikander waited for Neha in his room. She came out of the shower. A chocolate cake waiting for her.

Sikander poured a drink for himself, “Let's celebrate!” 

“What are we celebrating?” She sat beside him.

He cupped her face, “You.” She smiled while cutting the cake. 

“Happy 26th birthday!” Sikander fed her cake.

“Oh, this is really good!” She said with a mouthful, “mind if I finish it?”

“Can I have a bite?” 

“Yeah.” 

Sikander smiled as she devoured the cake in a few minutes. 

“Stop staring at me.” She pouted.

“I can't help, you're so sexy!” He stroked her thighs.

“I've heard that before.” She rolled her eyes.

“Alright, let's cut the chase then.” He leaned in to lick the chocolate off her lips.

~

Next morning Sikander woke up with his face buried in her bosom, his hand holding onto her soft flesh. The faint smell of whiskey, chocolates and her perfume mixed with his cologne filled his senses. He took a deep breath, feeling intoxicated at the sight he beheld. 

He heard the faint knock on the door. He covered her up and walked into the hall after putting on a robe.

Room service. Breakfast. The server put forth the trolley. He tipped the young man and put a ‘do not disturb’ tag on the door. He returned to the woman on his bed, peacefully asleep. He gently pushed her curls out of her face, taking a good look at it. 

Her eyes were the same as his former wife. And their smiles too. Sikander felt his breath was caught as she smiled in her sleep. He felt his heart skip a beat. He was overcome with myriad feelings andpecked her lips. She immediately opened her eyes. 

“Good morning darling!” He greeted. She pushed him off. 

“Good that you're awake. Let's continue where we left off.” He teased.

“I'm hungry,” she said, getting up. 

“Breakfast awaits.”

“Thank God! You won't be hungry, right. Afterall you ate me all night.” 

“I would like to do it again.” He winked.

“Of course you untiring beast!”

“I haven't shown my beast mode to you. Would you like to see?”

“Later.” She shook her head.

~

Afternoon. 

Sikander was having a meeting with his trusted men. 

“Boss, I've heard the two you're going have merger with aren't here for it. They are here to take you out of the game, at least that's their plan.” 

Sikander smiled. “Let's take them out instead.”

“I don't think it will be easy, it's their turf.”

“We play our games on all turfs.” Sikander puffed his cigar.

“We can see that. You've been busy all night and morning, too.” A man in his late sixties said.

“That's none of your business.” Sikander cut him short.

“It is. Firstly, that woman belongs to your sworn enemy so you can't trust her. Second -” The man was cut off by Sikander‘s glare.

“Enough. I will not tolerate any slander against her.”

The men looked at each other. 

“Is there anything else?” Sikander asked.

“No boss.”

“See you at the party then.” He said and returned to his suite.

Evening.

“Wait, what do you want me to do?” Neha furrowed her eyebrows.

“Simple, I need you to poison these two’s drinks.” Sikander tapped on the pictures. 

“But you’re having a merger with them, right?”

“And I don’t want them to be working with or for me.”

“Just get someone else to do it.” Neha shrugged.

“I want you to do it. Because I know you can execute it without being noticed.” Sikander inched closer. “But, if you don’t want to, I’ll have the poison used somewhere else. The choice is yours.”

“Fine.” 

~

At the party

Sikander and his new friends were seated in the exclusive area of the club. A few waitresses there to cater them. 

“I'm glad that you have decided to go forth with the merger.” Sikander began. “I have decided that it will be a fifty-fifty one. You two will get 25% each.”

“But we proposed 33%,” One of them objected.

“Both of you barely bring in 40% share. I'm being generous with the offer because I believe you can do it.” 

“Fine. Let's seal the deal!” The three men cheered and sipped their drinks. 

Some time later, Sikander's man-Friday walked in with a message. “Excuse me gentlemen, I'll have to take your leave. My mother is unwell. I have to attend to her.”

“Please take care of her.” 

“Make sure our guests get what they want.” Sikander left. 

Sometime later his cell buzzed. Done. Neha knocked on his suite door. He opened it.

“It looks like they both drank too much and their hearts couldn't handle the pressure. Died of natural causes. Heart attack.” She briefed him.

“I knew you'd be perfect for this job.” He put his hands around her waist, pulling her close. “Time for your payment.”

“Some other day? I'm really tired today.” 

Sikander looked at her, “You really got guts saying no to me.”

“Well you promised I'd not have to do anything I didn't want to.” 

“Smart woman. This is why I love you so much.” 

“Get in the bed. I need cuddles.” He demanded.

“No, please. I don't feel good.” She pleaded, “I want to go home.” 

Sikander looked at her, she seemed uneasy. “What happened? Did anyone say or do something?” 

“No.” She looked away. He cupped her face and looked at her, “Tell me what happened. Nobody gets to -”

“Nothing has happened. I just want to go home. Please.” She looked into his eyes. 

He nodded. “Give me some time, I promise, within two hours you'll be in the flight to Mumbai.”

About an hour later Sikander returned. “Let's go.” He looked at Neha who was curled up in a corner. “Are you okay?”

“I think.” 

“Come on, then.”

~

Few hours later, they landed in Mumbai. 

Sikander glanced over his side, Neha had drifted off to sleep, tugging on his hand. He patted her cheeks, “We're home.” 

She opened her eyes and looked out of the window. 

“Would you like to meet Noorie?” He asked. 

“Noorie?” 

“My daughter.” He smiled.

“Oh, that lil’ baby! Sure.” She looked at him, “it's a lovely name!” 

~

Neha held the infant in her arms who cooed cozily. The one month old felt at ease with this lovely woman. Sikander waited for her to fall asleep, which happened soon. 

“Neha, I have to ask you something.”

She raised a brow. 

“Will you adopt her?” 

“Me? Why?”

“I believe she will be safe with you, in case something happens to me.”

She nodded silently. 

“I'll ask the driver to drop you off at your house.”

She walked over and embraced him. “Thank you.” 

“Anything for you.” He whispered.

~

ETF 

Next Morning,

Chotu knocked on Sameer's cabin and walked in. “Sir, there’s a consignment of arms, scheduled to land in Mumbai tonight.”

“I will talk to the coast Guard and -”

“Sir, my informer said we should involve as few outside people as possible.”

“It will be a conflict of interest if we interfere in their territory. Let me see what is to be done, meanwhile, get me more details.”

“Yes sir.”

Sameer called Arjun as soon as Chotu left. “Rawte, in my cabin, now.”

“Consignment? Tonight? What are they planning?” Arjun asked after listening to the brief.

“Something big?” Sameer wondered.

“We don’t have much time, then.”

“Where’s Neha?”

“I don’t know.” Arjun sighed. 

“What is going on with her?”

“We haven’t talked.”

“Hello, Chief! Missed me?” Neha chimed in.

“Where have you been for the last two days?” Sameer asked.

“It’s been two days already? Fuc-”

“Where were you?” Arjun asked.

“I was detoxing. Do you see any difference?” she looked at the two.

“No?” Sameer shook his head, “We are preparing for a raid tonight.”

“Noice, who are we busting?”

“I’ll share the details soon.” Sameer picked up a file.

“Cool.” She nodded and left.

~

Sakshi knocked before entering Arjun's cabin.

“Arjun, I have something to tell you.” 

“What?” Arjun asked without looking up from the file. 

Sakshi placed a few photographs on the file. He glanced at them. Neha with a man in the club and in some hotel lobby. 

“What is this?”

“Well, I was worried about our birthday girl's whereabouts so had my friend track her. You were so stressed about it as well. And look at her, enjoying with her friends.”

“So?”

 “Arjun? Are you not seeing the pictures? She's spending time with stranger men. It's not safe.” 

“She can take care of herself. You don't need to worry. Leave now.” Arjun pushed away the pictures.

“Arjun, these aren't the only pictures I have. The others, you might not want to see.” 

Arjun glared at Sakshi. “Get out.”

“What if these pictures are leaked -”

“Out, now.” Arjun yelled.

Sakshi pulled out another packet from her bag and placed it on his table before leaving.

~

“Who is he?” Arjun asked Neha, showing one of the pictures Sakshi shared. 

Neha looked at it. “It's a friend.” 

“He doesn't have a name?”

“What are you trying to say?”

Arjun put forth another packet, “I haven't opened this, you're free to do so and let me know if you need to talk about it.” he moved out. 

Neha took a deep breath before opening the packet, her hands shivered as she pulled out the pictures

Her eyes reddened in anger as she shuffled through the pictures of her night with Sikander. 

~

Alright, we're a bit more than halfway through the story. Let's see what happens next. This was almost 4500 words! 

Idk if you'll like where this went but it's gonna get interesting soon.