Chapter 4

Be strong, saith my heart; I am a soldier; I have seen worse sights than this.

- Homer, Odeyssey

People say, there is light at the end of tunnel, dazzling sunlight after the dark of night. The proverb is just another way of saying hold on, don't give up, even in the midst of great struggle when the willpower is lessening carry on, keep hope. Everyone just failed to mention that before sunlight, the light after tunnel, the darkness increase tenfold. Evening is darker than twilight, night is darker than evening, mid night is darkest. And sometime, keep going on through this pitch black dark is not so easy, especially when one only knows light will be after this but has no idea how long it will take. One need something solid, visible, to keep his or her faith on.

Agent Rahane and ACP Mukherjee walked in silence in the darkness of night, after coming out of the basement of a hacker who just dropped another bomb on their head. His eyebrows were knotted together in frown, thinking how something that should be small, easy, non-threatening, suddenly turned into this big bad ugly monster. Beside him, the ACP had no idea what made the Agent this thoughtful, but even she was thinking just when her life and quest went this crazy. When she had returned to her, she had a distinct idea what her life will look like, work in day, personal work at night. Keep personal and professional life separate. She had thought only she and the Commissioner will be in this together. But now, she scoffed, the said Commissioner was keeping tabs on her about which she had no idea, she was in touch with a IB-RAW officer even though everything that is coming out from that partnership is not making a bit of sense to her, the ETF Director will be soon on her ass the moment she knows the former was in touch with the victim of the case the team handling in his pre-death days, and amidst all these whirlwind the original motive of her returning has lost its way. She has no idea what exactly she is going through, or why she is doing this. Her both worlds in colliding in such a way that she can only do a little to lessen the damage. Nothing is making any sense anymore but then, she had no other choice.

"It doesn't make any sense." Vir mumbled mostly to himself, but she heard anyway.

Tell her about it.

"Care to share?" She asked lightly, to which his head snapped toward her, like he had forgotten her presence. He thought for some moment in his mind before speaking.

"The Man your hacker found," He started, "his presence in this country is not good."

She frowned, "He said that Man is a shady person, but not anything specific can be found about him."

"That's because it's classified." He took a sharp breath, "That Man is a sort of middleman, an agent."

"Between what?"

"Between criminal gangs, shady business man, terrorist gang. You name it. He came under our radar after we found about a weapon deal between two terrorist group somewhere in south Asia." He didn't say more, and she didn't ask anything, sensing he won't and should not say more about a classified person.

"So his presence in India, Delhi means he is doing a match making between terrorist groups? Or working with some shady business man?" She asked, crossing arms over chest. He put both his hands in pocket as the frown deepened.

"This Man is a bad news. He never comes out unless it's big, and important enough. His presence means something big is going on, something related to National Security."

"His connection to Nasir? What about that?" She asked.

"If he is actually planning anything, then Nasir may have been a pawn. Nasir might have helped him in past." His eyes suddenly flashed as he connected another dot in mind, "That explains why he went rigid the moment you show that picture. If Nasir knew even a slightest bit about this Man's reason to be in this country, if he knew how dangerous he is, he would chose to keep quiet. This Man may have got wind of his abduction and sent that arsonist to finish him off. Police will stand aside as external affair negotiate to bring him in, while he will remain free." He finished, excited to see something useful, never realizing how tensed she became beside him.

"That means this Man and the picture guy had a connection." He said after some seconds, looking right in her eyes as she cautiously looked back, "Who is that Man?"

"The origin point of all these revelation." She muttered. He tilted his head in a side.

"Explain."

"He has nothing to do with it."

"Bull." He raised his voice, squaring his shoulder, "Like you said he was the origin point. He was in touch with Nasir, possibly with this Man as well. I know you were in touch with him. Who was he, a friend?"

Her eyes harden momentarily, "You were the one who was looking for him." She linked Raghu Sir’s words.

He exhaled, "My team was looking for him after you show that picture to Nasir. Who was he?"

She looked away, getting pissed at his nosiness, "Why are you asking me now when you can just send your team?"

"You very well know why." He replied sternly, "We didn't find much. So I am asking you, who was he and why you took an active interest in his death? What do you know about his connection to a potential terrorist?"

Her head whipped as his words flowed, "For start, he has nothing to do with terrorist. Secondly, it's only a speculation so you better watch it."

He opened his mouth, "I . . "

She cut in, never listening to him, "Lastly, mind your own da*n business. You want to go after this Middleman, go. Don't drag my business into it."

"You were the one who said we can't get anything without giving back."

"I brought you here and now you have a location." She bit out, "I guess that's enough for now."

He stared at her silently which she mimicked, silently challenging him to back off. He took the hint and sighed, giving in.

"I have to inform all these to Seniors. Only after that we can know what to do next."

She nodded slowly, "What if they send Agents to check the location?"

"Then I will volunteer." He answered, determined, "I would very much like to know how they found our secret location."

He insisted to drop her home, but she was in no mood to go back to her apartment yet, so he dropped her off on the main road. She took a taxi and reached in ETF, giving a small nod to the guards outside who were long used to her entering and exiting in officer as she please. Usually she would head toward Gym after revelation/ confusion like this, but tonight she pushed the door of discussion room and entered inside. Sitting on her usual chair, she drowned herself in this new world of secrets of conspiracies which is startling her every now and then.

Agent Rahane's words instantly angered her, and even after hour later it had the same effect. The thing was, deep down inside his words triggered something else in her mind. No, she was pretty sure her long deceased Lover was not involved with any shady wanted man of any country, but on the other hand, she very well remembers Nasir's number on his cell phone weeks before the blast. He was a hacker, a good one, it is very much possible he stumbled into something dangerous and the big bad guys got hint of that. Maybe that was the reason he was killed. She also thought about what Raghu sir had said to her months ago, that some imposter might be involved into it, who had approached Johny. Maybe that imposter, Johny, Nasir and now this classified guy was responsible for his death because he hit too close to their houses. She should have asked Nasir about Jonhy, she thought and cursed, drumming fingers on the table as she frowned in irritation.

But even if what she was thinking is right, why Neel never ever told her anything? If he was in some kind of dangerous, if Nasir was in touch in him to warn him, or threatening him, why he never told her? She can't find anything out of ordinary weeks or days before his death, he was normal, nothing out of ordinary. Or maybe he didn't have a clue, she thought, but dismissed it the next moment. if he was smart enough to come across something dangerous, he was smart enough to figure out he was in trouble too.

Everything is pointing her to something bizarre, but then, what else is there to see? Here in the question lies, what exactly he had found?

She made up her mind the next moment, she had to go back to his apartment. Go through his stuff.

She exhaled a sharp breath at the prospect. Even when they were together, she seldom used to go there, because his apartment was always messy and she, being a hygiene freak, hated every minute inside there. He soon figured out that staying inside his apartment was not good for her, so he never took her willingly in his place. They mostly spent their time in her apartment, or a special cafe of their choice. After his death, the idea to go there felt surreal, and also, she was busier with the whole revenge thing. Going there didn't look like a choice, or the idea didn't even cross her. But now, she needs to go there. She has to go there and find out why exactly he was killed, because now, she knows the person responsible and the whole thing just increased outside her grasp.

She leaned back on her seat, twirling a pen between her fingers. She had no idea a simple case of a bomb blast, the death of a regular hacker guy could lead to something like this. Really, National security and classified information? Surveillances and abandoned warehouses? What is this thing? She put the pen down and crossed her arms on the table, resting her head on it. Maybe she should not have come back. She should have stayed away like she did these 3 years and would have do all these digging staying away from the department. Maybe she should have taken Raghu sir's help but never should have accepted this job. She is not regreting it, but the way things are shaping up, she don't want anyone to get hurt because of her. Also, it doesn't seem right to stay inside department and not being truthful to the people around her, doesn't seem right to push the Man to such extent to earn surveillance on her because she is unable to come clean to anyone. She hates the way Aisha looks at her, like she knows what is going on but just waiting for her to answer, which she never does. Sometimes she looks so angry at all the secrecies and lash out at her, just to have some answers, but she never gives anything in return. She, deep down in her heart, knows she own to this woman who was an amazing companion during academy days and a good friend during service, even afterwards when she was going through crisis and she did her best to help her get through it, and now just to put up with her. When things become too intense sometime she feels she did the right thing not to involve her into anything, but then she sees the questions and frustration in her eyes and feel angry at herself all over again. It's another addition to her personal hell, not doing anything and condemning her for the same.  

Her mind nearly exploded when she thought about the ways this evil gang can come up with the secret location of Nasir's. if except for IB and her none knew where he was kept, did anyone from IB leaked anything? If this Man is meddling with all sorts of people and deals with terrorists, who knows, he might have sources inside IB as well. What if some insider gave up the location? What if this insider is keeping an eye on this investigation right now? What if not only Raghu sir's men, but someone else was watching her too? Or maybe they all are being watched, ETFians, maybe even Raghu sir and Agent Rahane. What if they attack one of them when things hit close to them, just like they did with Nasir? She cursed herself when she thought how she just dragged everyone into this blackhole of sh*t, she used Chotu's informers to seek out Nasir, she went to one of her Computer expert to break into RAW database and now, to find the location of call in Delhi. Also, now Agent Rahane is with her in this mess, Raghu sir knows almost everything and Aisha is suspicious of her. She just endangered everyone just for her own benefit.

She never considered herself an Angel, but she never thought she will become a Devil either.

Cold dread filled her and her mind worked in overdrive mode in the guilt-way, cursing herself and trying to understand, even if she failed, just what she is leading herself and everyone else into. She had a bad feeling about everything, yet, she can't distance herself or push aside everyone else from it. This was the reason she stayed away, she always had this idea that one day, she will get the SOB who killed her Lover, look in his eyes and shoot him in head, and in all those fantasies, she was alone. She never added National security, RAW or other people into it.

Hours might have passed in this trip because when she jerked away from it, there was a hand on her arm, a pair of black eyes staring at her, Sunrays were filling inside the room and there was smell of her favorite McD. But today, not even the smell can push the dark clouds or the worry from her mind. She straighten her back and looked ahead, the black eyes looked confused at her lack of enthusiasm at the caffeine and the lines on forehead.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

"Want to talk about it?"

Arjun had witnessed many shades of distress on the ACP Mukherjee's face. He had witnessed her fury which was directed toward him, so frightening and dangerous that he never even want to think about it twice. He had witnessed her frustration with something, which she took out on the punching bag. He had witnessed her confusion when she felt guilty that her informer died and she was unable to do anything, even thought she could not have done anything. It's safe to say he had seen her in her best and worst, but nothing can quite compete with this silence, statue like posture which he was staring at right now. She had this habit of expressing two things at once, and he felt something was eating her inside, at the same time it was so serious that she was not fidgeting with worry, but rather sat still, unmoving. She didn't even react to the smell of coffee, or looked irritated that he saw her. She merely sat straight, looking but not quite looking. He knows better than to ask, but he wanted to say something.

To his question, she was silent. He thought maybe it was best to leave her alone, because sometime people want to stay alone when things goes south. He was about to leave, when she started speaking.

"Maybe this was a mistake."

"What is mistake?" He inquired, tilting head to a side. She took a deep breath before replying.

"This. Coming back. Rejoining."

Now he was more intrigued and somewhat shocked, "Why do you think like that?"

She was silent for some moments, and he thought maybe she shut herself down again. He was about to give up on waiting when she opened her mouth again, "I . . . " She paused, thinking over her words, "I was working on something."

His mind went back to months ago, to a conversation between her and the Director one night which he overheard, "The reason you came back, is this work related to that?"

She stared at him at the reply, then nodded slowly, "I thought I can handle this thing alone, but with time people associated themselves with it. And now . . . " She exhaled a shaky breath as she leaned back in her seat, "Now it looks like it's going towards hell, and I am regretting it all. Letting those people in. Coming back. And there is no way to undo it all." She looked sideways in frustration.

"Hey." He scooted closer, gently keeping his palm over the back of her hand, "Answer me one thing, are you afraid that they will get hurt, or that they will get hurt and they will regret working with you? That they will blame you?"

"They should not have been in this." She spoke in a hurry.

"They had a choice. They chose to stand beside you. You can't take that away." He said softly, to which she shook her head repeatedly.

"But they didn't know what they were signing up for. What if the result ended up becoming like a black hole? It just su*k them in? They had no way to escape?"

"Listen to me." He cut in before she can finish, "I don't know who these people are, but they joined you because they trusted you. Trusted this work. Just because the result won't be anything pleasant that doesn't mean they will blame you. They had a choice to work with you, they will have a choice later too. They can either stand with you afterwards, or go back to their own life. You need to trust them to take care of themselves." He frowned after he finished, "Why do you think the result will be like a black hole? Did you come across something?"

She shook head slowly, "I had this instinct, I don't know but I just . . . " She let it hang in there, leaving him to take it all in.

"Then come clean. Tell them everything. Give them the choice so that they can be cautious. Warn them."

She met his eyes instantly, something flashing in her orbs. He felt like she was really looking at him this time, like she was really there.

"Come clean." She repeatedly slowly.

"Tell them something. Just to satisfy the guilt trip?" He gave a small smirk, to which she smirked back, the confusion in her face clearing up finally.

"Arjun Rawte, you give good advice sometimes." She grinned.

"Well," He leaned back in his seat, relaxing, "you made me felt like a counselor in there for a moment."

She chuckled and took a deep breath before getting up, "I better clean up." Before she could take a step ahead, the palm over her hand tighten a little.

"The Coffee." He handed it over with the other hand, "Though it's cold." She took it and took a sip instantly, humming under her breath.

"Still the same." She replied, and stared at him, silently waiting for him to let her go. He did, not before saying the last words.

"Whatever it is, you will figure it out."

An unreadable expression crossed in her eyes, but then it passed as quickly as it came. She left the room, heading toward locker room, taking occasional sip from her McD.

As soon as she was out of his sight, his mind started to work fast. Whatever she said to him, even if it was the most roundabout way to tell anything, it cleared up some things for him. This thing she was working on, she is not alone in it. He was sure Raghu sir, the person who himself recommended her rejoining in here and occasionally took her out for 'Lunch', was helping her all along. He had a feeling maybe the ETF Director too was into this, maybe not thoroughly, but in bits and pieces. Or maybe, it was not about the people she is working with. It's about the people around her, the people she works and lives with. He had no idea about her personal life, but he can make sure the people working with her in this very officer remains safe, which is something falls under his authority too. He don't know what this is which made her worry, and even though it doesn't involve him, but da*n him if he doesn't follow his own instinct and do something to ease her worry, even though chances are she won't notice, too busy in her own world.

Office started to fill up as time passed, and when Sameer Rathore entered through the door, he was out of his seat, taking long steps to the senior officer.

"Can we talk?" He asked the latter, to which he nodded, frowning a little. They went to the balcony, closing the glass door behind them.

"It is no business of me, but still I need to ask." The second- in- command said hesitantly, to which the officer looked half amused, half curious, "Do you spend all your time outside work with the Director?"

The amusement vanished from his face, "Most of the time." He answered slowly, "Not always though."

"Okay." He exhaled slowly, "And does the guards are always present?"

"What this is all about?" The former asked seriously.

"Just answer please."

"Yeah." He frowned, "What is this? Did you come across anything?"

The Second- in- command gave a small smile, "No. I just noticed the guards were not doing a good job. Tell them to keep an eye, will you?"

The senior officer gave a classic look of 'Don't-BS-me', "The truth, please."

He thought for a moment before answering cautiously, "I am not sure, it maybe just overreaction, but do it, okay?"

"Why all of a sudden? What happened?"

"I just had a conversation with Riya. She said something . . . probably not concerning the Director, but still be careful, okay?"

"Did she mention her?"

"No." He pressed, "But like I said, just do it."

"Of course." He nodded, "What exactly did she say?"

"Later." Rawte dismissed, "I will tell later I promise. Just do this, and take care of yourself too. Never leave anywhere alone, and don't let anyone else leave alone too."

"You are making me nervous Man." Sameer said under his breath as they both went back inside, "What's this all about?"

"Later." The former dismissed.

The day was uneventful. There was still no clearance for the burner phone from Service provider company so they had no other thing to go on about that case. The day mostly passed in speculation about it, and paperwork. The crime journo was not present, took a day off to finish an article for her newspaper. ACP Mukherjee was thinking why no summon from the Director's officer till now regarding this case, but she figured maybe Raghu sir told her not to interrogate her right now. The Director might not be much happy about it.

She got a call from Agent Rahane sometime before lunchtime, the former informing he along with 4 agents going to Delhi to check the location right then.

"I don't like this." She said quietly, to which he sighed.

"Me too. Feels like a trap." He paused, "But we will take as much precaution before going in."

"No person will leave a burner phone around for us to find, especially not your classified person." She spoke under her breath in a hurry, eyes going everywhere.

"Maybe we will find nothing." He replied, "Anyways, they are calling for our flight. Will inform you after we get anything."

"You better." She said semi-warningly, to which he chuckled.

"I remember the punch for last time, don't want that twice."

"Be careful." She said before pressing the end button.

She also had some words with Chotu, telling him casually to take care of himself and tell the same to his boys, to which he nodded, looking suspicious but not asking anything more. She felt little after that, smiling to herself after she did like her 'Boss' advised her to. Maybe she should listen to others too.

Next day around the afternoon a delivery Man came with a courier, which had the address of ETF but no name on it. Shree, who was the closest near the door, signed for it and took it, looking over the front and back. There was a card inside, he noticed after he tore the side of the envelope, but he could not open it as there was a call for him.

As he stepped aside, ACP Mukherjee, who was coming to him to ask about the progress on the burner phone, just to make sure she had the latest update, noticed the card. She took the card and opened it. It was blank, but there was a word written in capital letters.

WARNING

There was nothing else in the card, not on the front, back or inside. Her brows knotted together as a bad feeling crept inside. Keeping the card slowly on the desk, she picked up the envelope, immediately making face as something powder like fell on her fingers. At first she looked around for tissue, then she froze, like an alarm went off in her mind.

"Ma'am?" The IT genius came near her as he finished call, his face twisting in confusion at her blank expression, "It didn't have any name on it so I opened it."

"When you opened it?" She asked in a quiet voice.

"Just now, like 2 minutes ago."

"Did you touch anyone?" He was baffled at her question, but shook head in negative.

"Anything wrong?"

"I hope not." She muttered, then looked at everywhere, eyes stopping at the team inside discussion room, "Call them." She ordered, them looked here and there, searching something, "Do you have any plastic bag?"

"No but I can go and bring some." He replied after he shouted for Chotu and motioned them all to come out, which they did, frowning. She shook head vigorously at this.

"No."

They stopped several feet away from them, "What?" Sameer asked.

"Call the Director and Liza, start alarms and clear this floor as soon as you can." She spoke hurriedly.

"Why?" The Second-in-command took a step, but she raised her hand, signaling him to stop, she herself going backwards.

"I think there is virus in this envelope. I think we both are infected and chances are you can be too."

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

The alarms went off some 10 minutes later and the evacuation of the whole building started. Thankfully it was lunch time, that's why only 19 people were inside the ETF main officer floor. The Director came running, the doctors and forensics followed. For safety purpose they all had to wear body suit and oxygen mask and all 19 of them had to do blood test.

"Here. Careful." ACP Mukherjee handed over the envelope and card to Liza, who cautiously put it inside a plastic bag. Her face looked gloomy with worry as she took blood of the IT genius.

"If it's possible test our blood first." She said.

"Of course Ma'am." She stood up and left, not before giving them all a last glance.

After she left the Director started throwing questions at the duo, "Who brought the envelope?"

"Some courier guy." Shree answered, nervous but handling himself quite well, "There was address of ETF on the front, but no name."

"Anything written in it?" Sameer asked.

"Nothing." He answered, even though took a glance at the ACP beside him. The Director looked at her.

"Do you really think there was virus in it?"

"I hope I am wrong." She replied gravely, and their hearts sank.

The blood tests came one and half hour later. All 17 of them were clear, except for the ACP and Shree.

"I am so sorry." Liza said tearfully.

"You didn't send the virus." Shree replied, trying to appear calm and playful, "Even though you have one evil brain."

She huffed, before continuing, "It spreads just by touching, not by air or anything else."

"That means no need for this suit right?" Chotu was eager to get out of the body suits. She shook her head.

"Thank God." Sameer took off the oxygen mask and helmet, irritated.

"What is this virus?" Rawte asked, crossing arms over chest. Liza turned to him to answer.

"The virus belongs to the same family of Anthrax." Everyone took sharp breath at it, "But it's modified and deadly. Works fast."

"How much time do we have?" The ACP asked.

"10 hours." She replied remorsefully.

The duo took shelter inside the discussion room after the team cleared it up. They closed the door and sat on the floor, cut off from the rest of world as the team outside started to work to catch this SOB who sent virus in their office and infected two of their own. They moved their work station to Liza's forensic floor, just to be cautious. They kept an eye on their two officers through security cams, connected to them through bluetooth. Shree also helped them, even though he didn't have all resources at his hand, but he is someone who can do scary things with a tab.

"I thought attacks like these happens in other countries only.'' Chotu said.

"Now it's happening with us too." Aisha remarked with a touch of irritation.

"But why us? Why not somewhere more important, like Police control room or any other public places?" Sameer asked.

"It might be a trailer." ACP Mukherjee's voice rang through their bluetooth, "To see how much damage it does, then modify it more and do a larger attack on somewhere."

"It might be a diversion as well." Shree chimed in, "So that all eyes are in this while the bad guys plan something more sinister."

"The danger level in country, especially in city had been raised." Aisha informed as she read a text that just came in her phone, "Nothing can escape from our eyes now. We have full support from the department."

"Nice to know." Mukherjee muttered dryly.

"Modifying a virus like these, there can't be more capable people." Rawte said slowly, "They need the money and resources to research." He looked at Liza, "Anyone?"

"Mostly overseas scientists and research companies. Checking them will take days." She replied.

"We don't have days." Sameer said, "Let's focus on the cure."

"I have already talked with a Chennai based lab. They are making the cure as we speak, I will let you guys know once they finish." She said.

"Great, one problem down." The Director rubbed her temple, "What about the courier guy? Anything on him?"

"I called their office." Chotu said, "They said someone came to their office, they caught the person in their CCTV. They will send the picture to my cell soon."

His phone chimed after a minute and they had the picture of a girl. Chotu and Sameer went to check on it, Liza worked with her team to analyze the virus, Aisha standing beside her. Rawte decided it's time to pay the duo a visit, as Shree had muted the bluetooth, sensing the team meeting is over.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

"Anything on your mind, Genius?" ACP Mukherjee sat on floor, leaning on the glass wall behind as Shree frowned looking at his tab.

"I was thinking what Liza said, about overseas research facilities and scientists. There is too many risk to send virus from overseas, also no other Anthrax cases said anything about virus which came from outside country."

"You think it came from the country?" She asked, bringing knees near chest and keeping hands over them. He nodded.

"In my digging, I can't find any big shot companies. So that leaves scientists." He said, swiping thumb across his tab's screen.

"Most scientists work in collaboration. With companies and Universities. If no companies is raising alarm then. . . . " She trailed off.

"Then it must be Uni scientists." He finished in a hurry, face beaming with this discovery, "Not too many people can modify viruses like this. I should find someone with extra degrees, chemistry and Biology, a couple of PhDs too .  .  . " He buried himself behind his tab. She smiled softly at his action, even when his life is in danger he is more driven toward work than worrying over it.

"Good work Genius." She said quietly, to which he nodded absent-mindedly. Her eyes fell on someone outside the discussion room and she noticed the Second-in-Command himself walking toward them. He stood near the door as she got up, his eyes fixed on the IT expert. She stood near the door as well, both of them so near but yet far due to the glass wall. She gave a rueful smile at him, which he returned, then typed something in her phone.

UR COUSIN IS GONNA BE OKAY

His eyes widen in surprise and question, wondering how she knows about his and Shree's relation because he never remember anyone ever mentioning it around her, then shook head, because she just knows, there is no How and When. She tilted her head on the other side at his action, then frowned a little as he typed something else in his phone. Her phone buzzed and she read the reply text.

IT'S NOT ONLY HIM THAT I AM WORRIED ABOUT.

Something unreadable flashed in her eyes as she looked back at him, time seems to be freezing. His eyes were so clear that she could see herself in them. But the spell was broken when he looked away from her, and she noticed their resident Crime Journo was running to him, fear etched in her face. He moved toward her and she threw herself in his arms, crying and asking questions at once.

Something happened inside her as the scene played itself in front of her eyes. She could breathe properly only when she turned her back to the glass door, and half heard the victory exclamation by Shree as he found something useful, which he immediately told Liza. She scrunched her nose absent mindedly, and stiffened when she looked at the fingers.

She was bleeding from her nose.

She rubbed near her nose to clear the blood as Shree put his bluetooth down on the table, walking toward the glass door to see Sakshi and Rawte, the former tear stricken and looking animated from this side as no sound can get in or out through these glass. She put the bluetooth in her ear slowly, at the same time looking for tissue without making too much noise.

"Liza, you there?" She asked softly to the forensic expert.

"Yes Ma'am." Came the instant reply.

"Are you alone?"

There was silent for some seconds, then she replied hesitantly, "Director is here, but she can't hear me."

"What are the symptoms of this virus?" She found tissue and wiped her nose, halting only at the sight of blood.

"Bleeding from nose, dizziness, feeling cold." She replied, "The symptom starts after 3 to 4 hours."

"Well I am bleeding from nose right now." She commented dryly, curling the tissue like a ball and throwing it to nearby dustbin, "Anything special with me?"

"I am only speaking on speculations Ma'am." Liza replied sadly, "But I think it's because the number of Virus in your blood is higher than Specky."

"What does that mean?" She asked, now turning toward the trio some feet away from her, "I am showing signs before the deadline. What does this mean for him?"

"I am guessing that means your state will deteriorate fast. Maybe you . . . " She paused suddenly, but ACP Mukherjee realized anyway.

"I might not have 10 hours then."

"I am so sorry Ma'am." Liza's voice broke at the end.

"Did you send the virus Liza?" She asked lightly, then sobered, "Stop saying Sorry. Let's keep this between us, okay?" She muted the bluetooth, giving a small nod to the 'Boss' Rawte as he took the crime journo away from them, holding her arm.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

7 hours crossed after the virus break out. Even though it was established that it didn't spread by air, the 2 KM radius around ETF was evacuated, police and media alike stood vigil there, speculating each moment as it passed. The latter tried to create panic into the hearts of citizen, because its what they do, take any random statement and twist it to suit their own, while the former tried to dismiss it, and effectively failed.

Inside the ETF, the team was simultaneously getting updates from the Chennai lab for the cure and expecting it in next 3 hours, also worked on the case which hit two of them. After hours of running back and forth, they finally had the culprit, like Shree's hunch he turned out a Versity professor. The thing puzzled them was his motive, which was none. They were grilling him for 2 hours now, but he didn't buzz, like he had sealed his lips with some invisible glue he created in his ultra-modern lab. He was the one who had sent his student to the Courier service for the virus delivery, the girl had no idea what a dangerous thing she was carrying for him. Every one of the team wanted to tear his head at his silence but composed themselves with great difficulty, also the nagging feeling was deep in their heart. Sure, they had a face for the culprit but no motive. A lunatic with less than crazy vengeance for ETF seemed like a nice idea at the face of a 40 something Professor, whose CV spoke he is a nerd for his whole life, going back and forth in Universities for research. Even his colleagues were shocked to know what he did. It didn't make sense in a lot of ways.

ACP Mukherjee's health was showing sign of decline since the 2 hour mark, and now Shree was showing too. Coughing blood, having difficulty to breathe and dizziness had already started. The IT genius demanded a blanket in middle of a team discussion on the 7th hour mark, to which everyone glanced at each other, then Liza was the one who sprinted out of lab to fetch it. Even though the ACP can't feel much of temperature change due to her genetic disorder, from the goosebumps that appeared on her arms it was evident her body needed it, even if the brain could not feel it. Still, she didn't demand one, so used to overlooking her physical need for years. Even if she is different than others, physically and emotionally, she refused to indulge herself. Call it her stubbornness.

Around the 8 hour mark, when the team was observing with great difficulty from the upstairs lab how two of their own suffered badly with each passing second, desperate to comfort them, at the same time punch that professor and scream at the God for this unfairness, their eyes welling up and flashing with fire in a blink, the duo decided to switch on the TV to entertain themselves, because one of them will rather die than to talk about feelings (M), and another one doesn't want pity from the other or anyone (S). It's a case, which just included them. The cure will come and soon Liza will barge through the room with needles and poke them, the team will baby them and lighten up the tense situation for hours and soon they will be back in work, working this case or another. Until the worst moment arrives, they refused to either self-pity themselves or think about final departing words. For them, the worst has not arrived.

Shree was laughing and coughing at the same time when he put on the channel where his favorite comedy show was having a repeat, the tissue turning red with an alarming speed, yet the pain didn't completely take over his face. ACP Mukherjee silently handed over a tissue which he took, wiped his lips, and started smiling again as the funny anchor started to tell another joke.

Rawte clenched his fist as the scene played itself through the CCTV footage in one of Liza's lab monitor, like it's something out of a film, helpless-misery-guilt-anger all mixing inside him and creating one giant emotion, his brain blocking out the noise and discussion behind him and making it sound like a low hum. Beside him Sakshi won't stop sniffing and he wanted her to, because God, it's not a solution. Shedding tears is not solution at all, it's the last option and when it comes to people of his life, and there is nothing which is last or final. They are not going to die down there. The situation doesn't look good, but all will be okay, they all just need to hang on and stop with the waterworks.

It has to.

Sameer kept a hand on his shoulder, supporting at the same time sympathetic, to which he exhaled a bit, thankful for his presence, even though the tension in his body stayed there.

"They will pull through."

"They have to." The latter answered darkly, eyes fixed on the monitor.

The clock chimed outside the Discussion room, which was now worked like a cage, containing the two dangerous virus body and separating them from rest of world, more for the benefit of the world than the two people inside. The sound announced the 9th hour mark, and the door was open, Liza's lab people with additional doctors from different department entering inside to test them, like they did every hour, taking their blood sample, BP level, checking their eyesight and listening if their heart is still taking the pressure well. Their suit contained their expression well, in case they are feeling remorseful for these two officers. Shree struggled to keep his breath intact throughout the checking, like he had run miles, even saying 2 or 3 sentences continuously making them tired.

After the doctors left, Riya wondered why she had to be there the moment the letter came. Is this because she has a history of bad timing? Maybe it's karma, she thought, and then laughed at her silliness. Is this dying talking? Is a twisted part of her mind is already thinking she is going to be dead? Beside her, Shree stirred a little at the sound, but didn't open his eyes behind the glasses.

"What's so funny?" Came the low and terse reply of the Second in command in her ear. She sobered up.

"I was thinking about karma."

He snorted a little at that, "You and karma? You don't believe that." He dismissed it as soon as it came.

"Hey!" She tried to sound defensive, "You know nothing about my thoughts." Even though she said those words, she had a feeling this Man was the only one who knew very less about her, but could predict her how mind works at the same time. The contradiction was weird, and should not exist, but somehow it does.

"I don't think you believe in those things." He said in reply, his voice sounding much like it always do, even though the tension was still lurking there.

"The situation demands right now for those thoughts, doesn't it?" She remarked dryly, at the same time hand reaching for tissue. She stared at the tissue box oddly, suppressing an eye roll.

He didn't answer to her earlier question, instead asked, ''What's wrong?"

"Tissue is finished." She scrunched her nose with fingers, the blood nearly coating all of them, "Geez, if it's not the virus then the blood loss will surely be the cause of death in my autopsy." She didn't say 'Us', "But it's the virus, is not it?"

"You are blabbering." He sighed a little, at the same time curious.

"Is that a symptom?" She asked sarcastically. She heard sharp intake of his breath in her ear.

"You are not going to die Riya."

"Of course not." Her reply was instant.

 Around the 9 and a half hour mark, Shree coughed and struggled so badly to breathe that he laid on the floor, pulling knees to chest to stop, at the same time cocooning himself with the double blanket to stop the cold. Thankfully the ACP didn't have the coughing symptom, or maybe it was a bad sign, who knows? But she could not find the flippancy inside herself for the life of her at the sickly state of her Genius. The IT head must have sensed her stare, as he cracked open one eye as the coughing stopped for some moments, exhaling breath through mouth.

"I should not have come to work today."

She laughed that breathy laugh which is so rare, and only in the presence of the other member of his family, "Too tough case, huh?"

His eyes were impossibly sad as he replied, "If I didn't sign the delivery order and opened the envelope. . . "

She cut even before he could finish, because how dare he blame himself for his own deteriorating health? Only the person who sent the da*ned delivery was guilty, "If you didn't have, someone else could have."

"Maybe, maybe not." He whispered, "I dragged you in this as well."

"Did you forget how much of a trouble maker I am?" She arched an eyebrow. He slowly closed his eyes, like he didn't even hear her.

"Sorry." He mumbled. Something twisted inside her at his state, and for the first time in these 9 and half hour, she felt something close to desperation. She was too focused on treating this like another case, another day, maybe different circumstances but a case. She pushed the 10 hour deadline deep inside her mind, because how many time she had those deadlines and she overcame those? Hell, according to her genetics, she should not have been alive after twenty, but here she was. She refused to think about death, or failure, because she didn't fail, if it's not the most important case in her life. ETF doesn't fail. She didn't flinch at the sight of blood, even this lab rat like treatment or the sad faces of the team, but at the shivering sight of the resident IT genius, she felt out of breath, panicky, which has nothing to do with the virus.

Thankfully, the panic didn't stay for long, as nearly after 5 minutes, the team along with those doctors were rushing toward them, even though they can't enter inside. They had the injection with cure, and when they approached her first she shook her head, pointing toward Shree.

"Him first."

She stubbornly refused injection until one of the doctor pushed the needle in Shree's arm while others hovered near him, checking BP and other necessary thing. She shakily stood up after she was injected with the cure, hands on the glass wall on which she was leaning till now, brushing aside the medics who fussed over her, because she was fine and someone else needs all the attention right now. They immediately told her to take a shower to clean up and dump her clothes in a safety bag, which was welcoming since the concern from the welcoming party outside through the glass wall was bothering her now.

 She never went back to the team, quietly slipping away in the darkness of the night, amidst the chaos.

Yea, and if some god shall wreck me in the wine-dark deep,Even so I will endure…For already have I suffered full much,And much have I toiled in perils of waves and war.Let this be added to the tale of those.

― Homer, The Odyssey

It's interesting, that whenever something bad happens to someone else, people around him or her seem to be more affected with the situation. A health issue, misfortune, a tragedy, or the giant of them all, Death, all these things touch person of interest or not alike, and leave sometime bigger impact than the situation might have intended. The unfortunate events link minds alike, make them retrospect their lives and choices.

But some people don't have the time, or the interest for the retrospection. There is always something else to do, something important, so hours later, she planned to get back at work, as good as new.

But of course, plans are like your temper, every now and then it keeps changing.

She was hoping there is actually a case and not tons of paper work, no team mate showing excessive concern for her or anything remotely closer. Unfortunately, the world and red tape-ism of Indian Offices doesn't get back at feet as fast as hers. Merely hours had passed after the bio-attack at the ETF had occurred, media was still there in front of entrance of office, the workers were still busy whispering and speculating what happened after evacuation, their imagination letting them go overboard. The Director was out of office, keeping in loops with other Intelligence service about the attack and investigating it further, she is probably pissed at the ACP too, as last night the latter snuck out without telling anyone and didn't receive any calls from her. Not that it's anything new.

The summary is, no new case.

She figured it as much the moment she walked out of the lift, the absence of team in the discussion room only putting a stamp on it. Without the team, the room looked hollow, the emptiness glaringly obvious. She could not remember a day when she had seen the room empty, without any team member inside it.

Irritated, she walked through the glass door and slumped on her usual seat, fingers tapping on the edge of table in impatience. Outside the room, everyone was peeking at the officer, the whisper only intensifying, which she noticed from her peripheral vision. Pursuing her lips in disapproval, she started to think what else she can do if she walk out of here now, and with a surprise realized for the first time in her life, she had nothing to do. No informer visit, no secret meeting with higher intelligence officers, no pissing off Director. She was . . . free.

Which was strange. And so very unusual.

The glass door was suddenly opened and she turned her neck, only to see the Second-in-Command Rawte and Senior Officer Rathore entering inside, brows knotted together.

"What are you doing here?" The Officer asked, "Should not you stay at home or something?"

"I am not contaminated." She remarked dryly, head tilting to a side, to which he made a face.

"He didn't mean that." The Second-in-command replied quietly, intensely staring at her. She stared back for some moments.

"No case today?" She asked instead, shifting her eyes on the officer. He dragged a chair nearby before sitting on it.

"I hope you didn't forget about the case last night? You know a virus which came in ETF inside a 'Dear John' letter."

"It was not a 'Dear John' letter." She answered, then frowned, "You guys captured the Professor, right? What else now?"

"It doesn't add up." The Second-in-Command spoke, "There is no reason why he will do something like this."

"Maybe he was working with the bad guys." Rathore added, "A guess, even though it is not going anything. The Director and other Bosses are brainstorming as we speak in the HQ."

She took it in, and silence descended around them, before a shrill of Phone broke it. Rawte took out his cell and pressed the answer button without checking the ID, already walking out of the room.

"How is Shree?" The ACP asked.

"Healthy physically, mentally torn with guilt, which, frankly, is out of my logic." He rolled eyed.

"He is being silly." She agreed, looking at him straight, "But he is alright?"

"Yes." He confirmed, then narrowed his eyes as he asked, "What about you?"

"I am here, aren't I?" She leaned back in her seat, the flippancy back in her, to which he stared for a moment, before shaking head. They were both silent for a while, and she turned her eyes to the giant LCD near them, watching the news.

And cursed in mind.

Aside from the breaking news of ETF, there was a news of 4 civilians killed in a shootout in South Delhi. The address was eerily similar to the one her 'Personal Hacker' gave her and the IB-Liaison officer 2 days ago.

She was out of the room even before her head could process it all, the thumb pressing the speed dial for Agent Rahane. It went unanswered the first 2 times, to which her impatience and anger increased, foot tapping on the floor. Then someone picked up the call.

"Who’s this?" The voice was of an older female, who sounded as irritated as she felt.

"Rahane?"

"Who’s this?" She repeated.

"I want to speak with Vir Rahane, where is he?" The ACP demanded, jaw clenching.

"I am asking who’s this!" It's like her record is stuck at the same place. The ACP exploded on the old lady.

"I am his wife! Now answer me where the hell is he!"

The poor lady apologized and informed the officer has been admitted to a hospital. The ACP took the address, cutting the call without bothering to hear anything else. In the course of shouting she totally missed when Sameer was coming toward her, but stopped and turned immediately after he heard her 'His wife' comment.

Rawte was pacing in room when Sameer returned, "Where is she?" He demanded. The Senior officer looked confused.

"I think she is talking with her husband?" He sounded unsure of himself.

"Her what!?" Arjun rather yelled in surprise, staring at him with wide eyes for a second, before storming out of the room. He looked for her everywhere, before seeing her vanishing behind the lift doors which was fast closing. He ran, and slipped inside, the doors joining behind him once again.

"What's with the running?" She frowned, her voice a strange mixture of exasperation and annoyance.

"Where are you going? And why you even came today? You should have stayed home, you need rest." He went on in one breath.

"Yeah, I was just going to do it, rest and all." Her tone indicated how much of the rest she will take, and he realized for what it is, his expression showing disapproval. He took a step close to her, totally getting into her private zone, but what the hell, she does that all the time.

"Don't ignore your health Riya." He said quietly, concern dripping from it. She could not immediately brush it off.

"I am not." She said after a few moment, "I am alright."

"But you were not." He took another step, which made the space between them mere centimeters now. He looked down for a second, which her eyes followed, and noticed his fingers were hesitating for something, before softly holding her wrist, "Take care of yourself."

She could tell he was now staring at her face, but she could not tear her gaze away from his hold on her wrist, not too tight to suffocate but not loose either. Some other time, she would have pulled back the moment he held on, but now, she didn't. Why, was a question she will ask herself later (never).

"Yeah. Sure." She answered, rather mumbled, pulling her wrist slowly, but suddenly his grip tighten.

"You are running a fever." His fingers now were on the back of her hand, checking the temperature. He gave a stern gaze to her and said, "Home. Rest. Now."

"Yes Boss." She remarked as lightly as possible, and the lift opened almost immediately behind him. She walked out, feet taking her as far away as possible from him, mentally sighing in relief. It's not like she was uncomfortable in the Second-in-command's presence, probably none in the world can make her uncomfortable in her own skin, but she was not overly excited either. Maybe it had to do something with the fact that she hates when people show her concern, and he was doing that too much in there. Yes, that makes sense.

(It doesn't.)

5 hours and a flight later, she was in the hospital room of Agent Rahane, which was, surprisingly, devoid of any IB/RAW colleague of his. He was sleeping peacefully, the room dimmed for his comfort, the nurse walking out as soon as she stepped in, giving them both the unwanted privacy. For a moment, she felt irritated, maybe a part of her had actually hoped he will be awake, given how tenacious and eager he was to come here and check things for himself, but now all turned upside down and they both needed answers. Then the sensible part of her brain kicked in, and she sighed, rubbing her temple. Staring around for a moment, ACP Mukherjee slowly walked toward the furthest sofa in the room and sat on it, exhaling slowly. His injuries doesn't look much, some scratches on face and his hand on sling. The Nurse mentioned something about a car accident, to which she was surprised, then decided it must be another of IB's closing up loopholes. She wondered what else they did in this situation.

In the semi darkness of the room, it suddenly hit how both of them had come close to dying in the last few hours, both for different reasons. She walked out unscathed, he didn't. She always believed in Destiny. There was a deadline hanging on her life since the moment she was born, as with genetic disease like hers, patient do not stay alive for a long time. But she did, and she was sure she must be alive for something, she must have some work to fulfill. If her Destiny brought her at this moment, here, she wondered how her destiny and his are intertwined. When it was intertwined, and why? What's the purpose, what's the endgame?

Feeling tired, she took out her shoes and curled them on the sofa, head falling backwards. Maybe the Boss was right, maybe she was running a fever. The medics did mention something about weakness and temperature after the cure was pushed, even though she was too eager to get out of the office to hear it properly. Her eyes fell shut, the last thought on her mind was this Agent better wake up fast.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

When Agent Rahane woke up, it was 5 in the morning.

He blinked owlishly for several seconds, then remembered about the shooting and groaned, eyes falling shut and soft groan escaping from his throat. What a disaster it has been coming here, he has no idea how much damage had happened. He has to contact HQ, get himself updated. But first, he has to check himself out of here . . .

"Oh, you are awake." One older female nurse entered, pushing her glasses over nose, then glanced to a corner of his room and shook her head, "Poor thing, she fell asleep hoping you will wake up."

"Who?" He turned his neck, and saw one figure curled up on the sofa in the farthest corner of his room, the cover on the window near it has not been removed so it was dark over there.

"Your wife." She answered conversationally, to which he snapped his neck so fast that it might crack, "She flew last night, was very worried about you."

Before he could process it all down, the nurse was hovering over him, letting him sit properly and checking his vitals. He frowned a little as he looked toward the figure once again, and as if it could sense his gaze, the figure stirred, then stretched like a cat, feet falling on the ground.

"Hello Husband."

He can never mistake that dry voice mixed with sarcasm and some inside joke only she could understand. ACP Mukherjee.

"The heck . . . " He muttered to himself as she smirked, the nurse giving them both look and slowly left, closing the door behind her as she finished her job. The ACP got up from the sofa, now pushing the cover of the window aside. He was momentarily blinded by the sudden light around her hair, but adjusted his eyes, thousand questions running in mind.

"How do you know I am here?" He asked. She dragged a stool near his bed as she started answering.

"I called your cell." She answered, then tilted head to a side, "I take it you were not in touch with your department?"

He shook head, "I was out since last night. The last thing I remember is being carried to an ambulance." He frowned, "There had been a shootout. It must have made headlines." He straighten his back, "What they are showing?"

"Trigger happy person shot and injured several people in a locality in South Delhi." She answered, "I figured you guys arriving here and shooting can't be co-incidence. Thought it will be better if can just ask you."

"So you are here just for the case." He gave a small smirk, feeling suddenly somber. She rolled eyes.

"How many days do you have to stay here?" She asked instead.

"Zero, starting for now." He pushed the call button beside his bed.

2 hours later, Agent Rahane along with ACP Mukherjee were out of hospital, the former's arm in a sling. The IB-RAW liaison officer had a one hour call with his seniors, now fully updated and in loop with them. The Intelligence Agency was working overtime to mislead the news, at the same time trying to investigate the culprit behind this act. The Officer was summoned back, which he fully intended to respond, but first he along with the ACP were heading toward the shooting site.

The location of burner phone turned out to be a congested and overpopulated locality in South Delhi, the exact location was a narrow lane which literally smelt like sh*t and allowed no signal in cell. They searched the area, the slums owned by manual labors from different states, some old two-three storied buildings which were illegally occupied by tenants from years. One floor of such a three-storied was empty, which they went to check, when all hell broke loose. First they thought it was one person, but soon bullets were getting inside from all direction, making holes in wall and shattering glass, when the IB team realized it was an ambush. They had walked right into a trap, and no matter what amount of preparation they did, it was no match. They could hardly see their enemy, and before they knew they were outnumbered, 3 out of 9 people were dead. They tried their best to fight back, but it was over in less than one hour, 7 from their team dead, 3 terrorist dead. The team has no idea how many more were there.

Rahane and Mukherjee stood in front of the yellow CRIME SCENE DO NO ENTER ribbons, which marked the start of the scene, when the former finished his tell, the veg roll in their hands which they had grabbed earlier forgotten.

"The news saying they were civilians." The ACP said quietly, to which the liaison officer snorted without any humor.

"They were one of us. No civilians were hurt. The terrorists’ obviously wanted us, not any other collateral damage." His face slowly twisted in disgust, "Yesterday they were one of us, today, they are none. One mission stripped them off their identity." He exhaled slowly, half hoping a quip from the ACP beside him, who was occasionally vocal about his intelligence agency and its’ method. But she was silent, maybe feeling merciful for him. It's not like he didn't know the drill, live for the country, die for the country, loyal to the country- but witnessing it has never been easy.

He took a deep breath, calming himself down, and then walked ahead, the ACP following as they both dipped under the ribbon, entering the crime scene. They had to stop for identification several time, and then they were inside the room, where it all started and ended before any of them could grasp what was happening.

It was a simple long hall room, painted in light green. There were big bullet holes everywhere, one side of wall almost falling due to severe holes in it. Blood on the floor was almost dried up, but the amount of it was sickening. The opposite building, where the gunmen took shelter and fired, was damaged too, but not quite as much as this floor.

The duo came out almost after one hour, both of their mind in different shapes. When the ACP started talking, the agent nearly jumped, clearly startled.

"Why it happened, you think?" She asked, looking at the ground but not quite looking, "What was the motive?"

"It was obviously a warning, to show us what they are capable of." The Agent fixed his jaw. She shook her head even before he finished.

"What are they hoping here?" She now met his gaze, "First they left the burner phone and lured you out, then attacked you. You were not even hoping for anything, still they made their first move. Why?"

"There are many things that doesn't add up." He said slowly, "First of all, how they know we are here? It was almost like they were waiting for us to walk right into it. Second, we didn't even find the phone, where is it? I don't think the gunmen had the time to stop and gather a burner phone which they used to lure us. Most importantly, we chased Nasir and reached here. He was not a big fish, still we had to face this. Were we wrong to assess him? Was he much more powerful than we had assumed?" He was now asking questions to himself.

"You didn't reach here by chasing him." The ACP reminded, "You chased that middleman guy. Anything on him?"

He exhaled, "NSA is on him. They are yet to track him in this country." He then frowned, "Why he showed himself? A Man like him won't leave trails behind him so that we can find him. Why he let himself out for us to find him? What is going on here?"

Nobody had the answer for these.

The duo returned to city that night, parting ways at the airport after another brief discussion in the parking lot.

"I will keep you updated." He vowed as his taxi arrived, putting his luggage inside.

"You better." She semi-warned, to which he chuckled, bidding her bye. He watched her figure vanishing into the rear view mirror, and sighed to himself. Watching her in his hospital room has been shocking, to say at least. Was she there just for the case? He wondered if she had anticipated these turn of events when she had first left the IB breadcrumbs to reach her during the surveillance of Nasir. Was these turn of events baffling her as badly as him? Or the reaction was much more intense?

He don't think he can get these answers anytime soon.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

 What was you up to, Nasir?

Riya was asking herself the same question from past 3 days, since her return from Delhi with the IB-RAW liaison officer, Rahane. There was no new news on the shooting, even though now NSA was involved into this. They wanted to tag this as a terrorist activity from the neighbor country, but the timing and planning was too perfect, so that idea was scrapped. The NSA was still trying to track that middleman, and as he was not spotted in country they assumed he is not here. The Intelligence agency got the burner phone, which was the root, in a dumping ground some 2 KM away from shooting site. There were mostly incoming call, and large part of numbers were untraceable. The IB had made sketch of 4 remaining shooters and spread them across the country, they are yet to hear anything regarding that.

It was a temporary dead end.

AS if IB was not already busy with its’ . . . whatever task it does every day, and the additional liaison case with RAW, they were also handed over the bio-attack case on ETF, which was decided jointly by Home ministry, DIG Raghu sir and several other senior IPS officers. Director Kapoor was not happy, but they could not investigate it and it was a decision, and she is nothing if not strict abider of protocol. ACP Mukherjee nearly dropped her pen when the liaison officer, along with several other IB officers, entered in ETF to collect those files, an ironical smirk coming on her lips which almost everyone missed (but not everyone).

"You didn't mention anything about attack in your office." In a rare moment when the duo were close, the liaison officer asked the ACP in irritation, with a touch of concern.

"Time to brush up on current affairs." She threw back dryly, looking away.

Sameer called on it after the IB peeps were out, "What was that between you and Agent . . . ?" He could not remember the name.

"Rahane." Chotu supplied, to which he nodded, then looked back at her.

"Just trying to be social."

Shree snorted beside them, not even bothering to hide that smirk. She gave a mock glare at that, but didn't indulge more.

But none of the good mood was there in the late night when the discussion room was suddenly filled with a stunned looking Director, furious liaison officer, curious Sameer Rathore and Arjun Rawte, and an irritated ACP Mukherjee, staring at the red eyed crime journo who was glaring at the liaison officer.

"Will somebody tell me what's going on?" Aisha finally snapped, no idea what the hell is going in her officer anymore. Everyone stopped with the staring session, jumping slightly at the loud voice.

"Yea, explain Agent Rahane." Sakshi's voice dripped with anger, to which everyone looked at the agent in question. He huffed, not before his eyes going slightly at the ACP who looked irritated at this whole ordeal.

"Miss Anand here, is holding classified information and trying to leak them anonymously on the internet. I am here to grab those sensitive data."

"What sensitive data?" Rawte asked the same question which run through everyone's mind, the ACP's expression turned curious and slightly surprised.

"My one journalist friend recently came across some information regarding Delhi shoot out case." The ACP stiffened at it, which Aisha noticed, filing it in the back of her mind for the moment and focusing on Sakshi, "She tried to publish them, but some IB officers barged into her home and office and took it all. She gave a copy to me, so that I can publish them."

"There are more copies?" Rahane was appalled.

"What is the information?" Sameer asked.

"That's classified." Rahane raised voice even before the crime journo could open her mouth, "I am asking you to hand over the data, Miss Anand."

"Why should not we publish them? It's our right to bring out the truth." She demanded.

"Because you can't." He pressed, now looking at the Director, "She is your team mate, order her."

The Director looked torn between her curiosity and the duty, but like always the duty won, "Hand over whatever you got Sakshi, he is not going anywhere."

"But . . . " She tried to protest, but was cut by Rawte.

"What is so important in the data that you are ready to imprison yourself?"

She stopped at that, the desperation now turning into coolness, "Why don't you ask that to Riya, Arjun?"

Everyone's eyes were now on the ACP now, who stared back at the crime journo calmly.

"Elaborate." Sameer looked back and forth between the two.

"That's enough." Rahane took a step to the crime journo, but the Second-in-command out himself between the two, earning an impressed and thankful look from the latter. Pleased that the situation was suddenly on her side, she started to tell her story.

"I saw the pictures, you and him in Delhi airport." She said, then looked at the liaison officer, "Interesting, is not it? How do you know him anyway?"

"We are childhood sweethearts." The ACP deadpanned, to which everyone simultaneously rolled their eyes and sighed in exasperation. The Crime journo blinked, clearly not expecting this lie even when the former was in danger of exposing herself.

"Maybe I need to call some help from my department, because clearly, ETF is more interested in drama than following protocol." Rahane was now taking out his cell, but Aisha signaled him to stop, fixing a stare at the crime journo, who looked ready to protest, then slumped in defeat, handing over a pen drive to him.

"It's the last copy." She mumbled.

"If any sensitive data goes out, Miss Anand, then you can kiss your life goodbye and expect 10 years of imprisonment." He warned, taking the pen drive and putting it safely in his pocket. Giving a last look and almost invisible nod to the ACP, he left.

Sakshi slumped on the nearest chair, all energy for rebellion draining, "My friend nearly risked her life and job for this, now it's all gone."

"Don't tell us anything." Aisha rubbed her temple, feeling an oncoming headache. The Crime journo's head shot up at the comment, the glare on the ACP back.

"Why don't you ask her? I am sure she will tell."

"Okay that's enough.'' The ACP straighten her back and fisted hands on both side, ready to end this once and for all, "I don't know what you saw in pictures, so you better watch your words before accusing me of anything."

"I saw you two's pictures in Delhi airport." The crime journo stood up. Near them both the trio scoot closer, ready to intervene before this gets any more heated.

"So? It's a crime for both of us to be in the same place or me and him to stand near each other?"

"In same place? At same time? Away from city? You are not supposed to know him."

"I don't." The ACP looked straight in her eyes, "I didn't before this morning."

"So what were you doing in Delhi?" The Crime journo demanded, to which the ACP glared back, before answering quietly.

"Professor Rao."

Sameer hissed in sympathy, "DU professor, expert in Bio-science?" The team did background search on all people in country who were expert in the field of bio-science during the last case, when the name popped up along with many other.

She nodded, "I was having fever. I thought maybe the virus . . . " She stopped, but what she intended happened. Everyone stared at her with concern.

"But it didn't, right?" The Second-in-command asked in quiet voice, to which she shook head, looking away.

Everyone sighed softly at it, and the crime journo said after a long time in a shaky voice, "That's hell of a co-incidence."

"I think it's enough for one night." Aisha said almost immediately, more like replying to her even though her eyes roamed on everyone, "Go home guys, tomorrow is a new day." Then fixed her eyes on the ACP, "I still didn't get your official statement on the last case."

"I will finish it tonight." She replied in a hurry, before walking out, like she could not bother to stand in the room. The men looked concerned at it, slightly annoyed that the crime journo pushed her to this extent. The journo picked her bag and followed suit, as Rawte walked out in a hurry.

Sameer stood closer to the Director, who was looking outside through the glass door, like she didn't even feel his presence. He frowned at it.

"Are you thinking about the sensitive data on the pen drive?"

"No." She shook head, now looking at him, "Did you ever read anything on Human behavior in your Psychology books? About humans and lying?"

He shrugged and frowned at the same time, "Sure."

"But those rules doesn't apply on exceptions, right?"

"Pathological liars." He confirmed.

"Yeah." She nodded slowly, "Pathological liars."

He understood about whom they were talking, but not the reason. He was ready to voice it out when she started speaking again.

"She will never show herself vulnerable. Even when the situation demand it."

"But she did now." He added, now getting the picture. She exhaled at that.

"She could always look right into your eyes and lie."

He squeezed her hands, feeling for her plight, at the same time curious about the 'why'.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

"Your journalist friend know that those dead people in South Delhi shoot out were IB officers." Vir was venting frustration in phone with ACP Mukherjee, who was running down the stairs, cell pressed in ear.

"She is no friend." She nearly gritted her teeth at the word, "How?"

"Obviously some footage hungry officer tipped them. Maybe police, maybe ours, who knows?" He paused, "Why she is in ETF anyway?"

"I ask myself the same question every day." She murmured at that, then frowned, "How much does she know?"

"Not about the middleman or Nasir, we are safe." He replied, "How you handled it over there?"

"I handled it." She stressed.

"She looked pretty determined for answers."

"Are not you smitten?" She asked sarcastically, to which he was about to say something when she cut the call, sensing a presence behind her.

"You are running quite awful lot after me, Boss." She stopped walking and turned, facing the Second-in-command in the semi darkness of the basement parking lot.

"You are moving too fast." He took a step toward her, standing too close for a decent space, "You were worried about the virus, that flippancy was all show-off."

She shrugged, "Can't take lightly these bio-weapons."

"You didn't mention about Delhi." He tilted his head to a side, slightly annoyed at her. She gave a look, the infuriating smirk forming at the corner of her lips.

"We are now sharing cooking recipe too?"

He tried to huff in frustration, but it came out as a disbelieving laugh, "You don't cook."

"I don't look like cooking type?" Her words were so similar to the same conversation they had months ago, when they were standing in two separate points, literally, so far from each other even though physically they were near.

"You don't look any type." This time, he didn't say those words in mind, but aloud. She looked away at that, a small smile tugging at her lips, both moving toward their cars.

"But We are okay, right?" He asked hesitantly after some moments when they had to part ways toward their cars. Some other time, she would have picked up on 'We' or throw some dry comment to his question, but this time, she merely nodded her head, before turning around and leaving.

Like that day in lift, she refused to think much about that.