Chapter 10: Under the Surface

Shree and Chotu were watching Riya on the monitor as she was knee-deep in file sorting in the record room.

CHOTU smirked, “So... revenge, but make it digital?”

“Let’s just say... she wants the script? She gets the script. But maybe... a version that's a bit too helpful.”, Shree smirked.

He tapped a few keys, opened the auto-digitization script, and tweaked the permissions.

“There. She’ll think it’s a blessing. And Arjun sir? He’ll think it’s a cyber breach.”

The two fist-bump, satisfied.

---

In the record room, Riya was finally making headway. The scanner ran smoothly, auto-tagging files, cross-referencing with old case logs. The interface Shree gave her was intuitive. She smiled.

“For once… this feels like progress.”, Riya spoke to herself.

But across the office, Shree casually knocked the door to Arjun’s cabin.

“Sir, I thought you should know. Riya is using an unapproved script to digitize records. Custom-coded, from outside ETF protocols.”, Shree said innocently.

“Whose script?”, Arjun was alerted.

“No idea, Sir. She said it was open-source. Could be anything.”, Shree shrugged.

Arjun’s jaw clenched. He stood up and moved towards the records room, while Shree and Chotu followed.

Riya was so caught up in her progress that she didn’t hear the door slam open.

Arjun was furious. “What do you think you're doing?!”

Riya was startled. "What? Oh! I’m digitizing the files. Using a script from Sh—", hoping he could see her efforts.

Arjun cut her off. “A script you didn’t verify? Didn't get cleared by IT? You just ran an unauthorized tool on confidential, national-level case data?”

Riya was taken aback. “I asked Sh—"

“You’ve compromised this office.” Arjun was cold.

Riya was shocked. She glanced at Shree and Chotu and the smirks on their faces were enough to tell the truth.

“I’m not lying! He—", but she knew it was useless to argue.

“That’s negligence. This isn’t your college lab. You’re dealing with sensitive data and real lives. And I’m not risking my team for your recklessness.”

Riya opened her mouth to respond—but the words didn’t come, instead tears made way. Her throat tightened.

“The other day too, you let the caretaker enter the record room, which is filled with confidential data. You want to prove yourself here? Start by respecting the job.”, Saying so, Arjun stormed out of the records room.

Riya stared at the screen. The smile she wore an hour ago—completely gone.

---

The office was quiet as there were no cases. Arjun walked through the corridor with his usual silent intensity. He paused near the conference room, hearing soft typing and quiet laughter.

Inside, Shree and Chotu were looking at something on Shree's laptop, amused.

Chotu whispered, “I still can’t believe she used it! You should’ve seen her face when Arjun sir shouted.”

Shree chuckled, “I didn’t think he’d go off like that. That was... maybe a bit too much. No, it actually was a way too much!”

“You mean definitely. She looked like someone kicked her puppy.”, Chotu joked.

Arjun pushed the door open without knocking. The door hit the wall with a loud thud.

“What was too much?”, Arjun asked coldly.

Shree and Chotu froze. They snapped around like guilty teenagers.

Shree quickly closed the laptop. “Sir! We were just... going through system updates.”

“Try again!”, Arjun spoke in a calm but deadly tone.

Shree was nervous now. “We were—uh—it was just a joke, sir. The script thing. Nothing dangerous. We tweaked a version of my old digitizer and—"

Chotu interrupted, guilty, “It was just to mess with her a little. We never expected you to scold her that badly.”

Arjun’s jaw clenched.

“You gave her an unauthorized tool. Then let her take the fall in front of me. Knowing I’d react that way?”

“It got out of hand.”, their heads dropped.

“I want to know WHY!” He stepped closer, voice low and sharp.

“We thought the only person who liked her, Rathore sir, is not here. If we managed to trouble her enough, this could be the chance to chase her away!”, Shree accepted it all.

Arjun gave them a death stare, enough to convey his warning to the duo, and then turned to leave but paused at the door.

He walked out, leaving behind silence heavier than steel.

At this point in time, Arjun was unsure. He knew what they did was wrong, but didn’t he want the same thing, to make sure she leaves. He was in a dilemma.

---

Later in the evening, Arjun stopped outside the record room. Through the glass, he saw Riya, sitting quietly, though her face was tired and distant.

He watched her for a moment—guilt flickering across his otherwise stoic face.

“You didn’t deserve that. But you don’t deserve a fate similar to theirs too!”

Here, Riya sat alone, her head bowed, scrolling through her missed calls again. None from Kabir today. Even the world outside felt cold. One glance at the clock and she decided to pack up. She opened her locker. A plain brown file dropped out.

Her brows furrowed. No label. Just a date:

“March 17, 2024” — written in red ink.

She opened it.

Empty. Except one line on a page.

"You could be next."

Riya's hands shook.

---

“Package delivered!”

The tall man smiled wickedly.

“We don’t need to do anything, we let her uncover everything, on her own, till she falls in our trap! And then we take her out.”

---

Thunder cracked in the distance, and within moments, dark clouds unfurled across the Mumbai sky. By the time Riya stepped out of the ETF office, the first drops had already begun to fall—soft, hesitant, like a question hanging in the air.

Then the sky opened up.

It poured.

But Riya didn’t run.

No umbrella.

Her files safely zipped. Her eyes unfocused.

She just walked—straight into the storm.

Clothes clinging to her frame, hair slicked against her skin, the world blurred around her. The rain was cold, harsh, and yet—strangely comforting. It drowned out everything: the stares, the judgment, the silence inside the records room.

"Why do I always have to prove myself?"

"Why is it always me fighting to be enough?"

"And where the hell are you, Kabir?"

Her heart whispered.

Tears mingled with raindrops, and for once, she didn't know the difference.

---

From the staff quarters balcony, Arjun Raute stood with a half-drunk cup of tea, watching the rain hammer the streets.

He spotted her.

Drenched. Walking slowly. Alone.

No umbrella.

No panic.

Just… silence.

He tightened his grip on the cup.

"She didn’t even defend herself. Not properly."

"And I didn’t let her."

His mind replayed the scene—the flash of betrayal in her eyes, the way she looked at him, like she'd expected more. Hoped for more.

And that made him uncomfortable.

"I wanted her to leave too,"

"So why does it feel like I crossed a line I shouldn't have?"

"Why does seeing her like this—hurt?"

The rain whispered its own answers. But Arjun, as always, stayed silent.

---

Miles away, under a thin shelter at the edge of a military training camp, Kabir leaned against the pillar, watching the rain blur the forest beyond.

A memory struck—sudden and vivid.

Riya, arms outstretched, spinning in the rain outside the cafe.

No umbrella.

"Dance with me, Captain!"

She had laughed.

Kabir had resisted. She pulled him anyway.

That day smelled like coffee, wet earth, and mischief.

Now, his smile faded.

He pulled out his phone. Drafted a message. Erased it. Drafted it again.

"Riya. I might be away for a few days. Special mission. No contact. Just... don’t worry. Please. I love you."

He stared at the screen, then typed more:

"You always said you’re scared of things that vanish without goodbye. I won’t vanish. I promise."

But he didn’t hit send.

"She’ll worry more. And if something goes wrong..."

He closed his eyes. The fear of what this mission held… was real.

"She deserves peace."

He deleted the message.

Instead, he whispered to the rain,

“Take care of her for me. Please.”

---

Back on the street, Riya paused at a corner.

Cars honked. The city churned. But for her, the world had stilled.

She looked up—face to the sky, eyes closed.

"Kabir, if you were here, you'd have danced with me. You’d hold my hand and make me believe this storm can’t touch me."

But all she had was the downpour.

No umbrella.

No answers.

Only the rain—washing away everything that held her down… until tomorrow.