~Chapter 9~

Bureau:

"If you are reading this letter then I am dead. So trust me. Your boss isn't who you think he is. Those papers you had in your bag were the plans of the latest machinery. I swapped it with dummy papers when you went out. I can't go back to the army with these papers. I can't meet you now. It's dangerous. As soon as I get a plan to put these back, I'll come meet you. If not, you know where to find this."

Zoya read and re-read the letter she had just found. In the last page of Raghav's diary, she had found a mini map of the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus railway station. Knowing that there was a mini locker room outside where he always kept his goods when he came back from an assignment, she had immediately gone there and found a packet waiting for her.

Her eyes now burned with pain as a multitude of thoughts crowded her mind. She had to think... how could she have been so foolish in love? The sound of footsteps quickly made her close the letter. Purvi entered and saw her.

"Hey... isn't your shift over? Aren't you leaving yet?"

"I will..."

She nodded and took her bag, about to leave, when Zoya called out.

"Sorry."

Purvi looked at her, surprised.

"Huh?"

"Nothing."

She curtly nodded and left. On the way out she called Daya.

"Sir, Zoya is behaving weirdly... Ok, sir... Thanks for keeping an eye on her... Yes, sir, see you... bye..."

****

In the woods outside of Mumbai:

Abhijeet brought the car to a halt. They hadn't exchanged a single word throughout the journey, although they had a lot to say. Tarika looked around and realized he had brought her to the place he used to bring her whenever they were in the middle of some difficult case. It was a hidden cliff that overlooked the city. The sun was setting and it was starting to get dark. She opened the car door and got down. A gentle breeze blew and she breathed in. She walked towards the front of the car and leaned against the bonnet, soaking in the warmth of the last rays of the sun. He stepped out and walked towards her, drinking in her sun-kissed beauty. He had often dreamt of her standing here exactly like this over the years without her, but no dream could match the sight in front of him. Softly he called her.

"Tarika..."

She didn't turn around.

"Yes?"

"I missed you..."

"Mmmm."

He stood beside her and wrapped his hand around her waist and held her close as the sun slowly disappeared. She turned and looked at him.

"What is it, Abhijeet?"

"Huh?"

"Why are we here?"

"Shreya said she felt someone following her."

"What?"

"Don't worry, she is safe now... In Wonderland..."

"Why did you bring me here then? You should have taken me to her... Let's go..."

"Tarika, Tarika... she is safe and we will see her... She wants to see you too. But first... You looked upset and I know we have to talk."

She nodded.

"What is it, Tarika?"

"A lot happened when you were away... you talked to Purvi? The one who called you seems to be Zoya."

"Hmmm, I guessed so..."

Recollecting the conversation back at the locker room, a lump came into her throat, she shivered a little and put her hands around him, snuggling closer to him. She buried her face in his chest and breathed in his scent, feeling comforted at once.

"Oh... I missed you so much, Abhijeet."

He gently stroked her and let her stay till she calmed down. Pushing her apart, he looked into her scared eyes.

"I am here now."

"You'll stay?"

"I will... Always... Do you... uh... still trust me?"

"I never stopped trusting you."

He felt his heart lighten. She was the only one who could do that in the midst of the turmoil he was currently in. Resting his head on hers, he shut his eyes and whispered.

"My pretty darling... I love you... oh, I love you so much..."

He said that without thinking anything. It was only after the words rushed off his mouth did he realize what he had just said. All those years of running away and contemplating, when it had been oh so simple. He gently hit her forehead with his as his lips curved into a smile. She shut her eyes, soaking in the moment. All the years of longing had finally ended. He had finally confessed what they had always known. She smiled as she felt her heart tumbling with joy. Unable to hide the red that was spreading across her cheeks, she put her hands around him, hugging him tight. They stood there until the stars came out. Thinking of something, he gently pushed her apart, making her look at him.

"Yes?"

"You kissed me... why?"

She raised her eyebrow. He shook his head.

"Oh... you have all the right, Tarikaji... but I know you didn't kiss me that day for no reason. I saw that look..."

"Did it mirror the look you give when you see Vaibhav?"

"No... I... uh... don't... what?"

She giggled and then sighed.

"You are right, Detective... I was about to tell you something."

She pulled out her phone and showed him a photograph. It was a photograph of himself at around 20, showing thumbs up with his left hand and holding a woman on his right. She was wearing a dark blue salwar that glittered with small stones. A sudden memory of himself smiling and holding the dress while someone was laughing beside him flashed before his eyes.

'Abhijeet...'

The tinkling voice called out to him and suddenly a tall shadow loomed over them and they turned around. He felt his head getting lighter as the ground beneath him started to wobble. He held his head in his hands. He felt his breathing get heavier as his heart rate soared.

"Abhijeet... Abhijeet..."

Her voice pulled him back to reality and she gently shook him. Holding his hand in hers, she carefully guided him to sit down on a stone and then rushed to the car to get him some water. She sat beside him, making him drink water and rubbing his back. It took him some time to recover. He said softly.

"Show me the photograph again..."

She gave him the phone. He looked at it and his eyes widened with surprise.

"Zoya? It's not possible... she is too young..."

"True... but I had just found this picture while digging into your past that day... and... I heard the news you got shot for her... and.. uh..."

He gave a small smile.

"You got scared."

She looked down and then took a deep breath.

"Abhijeet, I talked to Salunkhe sir and we sat together and cleaned up this photo to get the real face behind Zoya. Abhijeet... I... uh..."

He looked at her as the memory of the tinkling laughter resonated in his ears again. Sighing, he said softly.

"That laughter... I have heard it often throughout the years... For the past three years, though... it had become more reserved... It's her, isn't it?"

Tarika nodded and opened the cleaned-up picture and held it up to him.

"Yes... it's her... Bhabhi... Manisha Bhabhi..."

He got up slowly and said in a soft voice.

"Tarika... I don't know what to trust right now... The hazy memory of ages past or the crystal clear memory of yesterday... I must see her and know the truth. You'll come, won't you?"

He looked at her with pleading eyes. She simply nodded and followed him to the car.

****

Manisha's home:

The shrill sound of the doorbell made Manisha look up from the book she was reading. She looked at the clock which showed half past eight. Wondering who it was so late, she walked to the door and looked at the security camera. Seeing ACP Pradyuman, she quickly opened the door.

"Sir... you... now?"

"Yes... Can I come in?"

"Of course... come, come..."

He came in and sat on her couch. She locked the door and sat in front of him.

"What is it, sir? What happened? Abhijeet... uh... is Abhijeet ok?"

"Why do you ask?"

"Well, you don't come without calling, do you? The only other time you came unannounced was... it was when my husband died... what is it?"

"Abhijeet is ok... Manisha... you know you are family to me... you know I trust you and I care about you... don't you?"

"Of course, sir. What does that have to do with anything?"

"Why did you hide it from me?"

"Hide what?"

"The truth..."

"Truth?"

"The truth that you knew Abhijeet long before you married Freddy."

Manisha sighed. She had known that this truth would also come out someday but she didn't expect this just now. As she felt herself drowning in her memories, the doorbell interrupted her. She was about to go to the door when Pradyuman said.

"You sit down... I'll go see who it is."

He opened the door and saw his right-hand man and his girlfriend.

"Abhijeet... Tarika... are you okay? Is Shreya alright?"

Abhijeet stood still as he saw his boss at the place he least expected. Tarika responded.

"She is... What are you doing here, sir?"

Manisha came running, hearing Abhijeet's name.

"Abhijeet?"

And that concern in her voice was all it took for him to let go of all his doubts. She might have hidden the truth from him but she never could have been his enemy. She could never betray him. He whispered softly.

"Why, Bhabhi?"

She looked into his eyes and knew what he meant immediately.

"You know?"

He nodded. She sighed and pointed to Pradyuman.

"He was just asking me about it. I hoped you wouldn't remember... Come in..."

As they settled down on the couch, Pradyuman looked at her.

"Why, Manisha? Why didn't you tell us before?"

"Because he didn't know me."

"Huh?"

"He was my neighbor growing up. His mother was my mother's friend and we practically grew up together. He had no siblings and I was akin to his sister. He loved playing pranks on me but he also protected me. Then he went on that mission and lost his memory. He didn't recognize his mother, I knew he wouldn't recognize me. I never came forward. Anyways, a year later, my family brought Freddy's marriage proposal and we got married. When we met after his marriage, he looked upon me as a stranger and I let him think that way."

"Did Freddy know?"

"He didn't, of course... but he used to kid me often, saying that Abhijeet and I ought to be siblings, looking at the way he would always take my side in any issue... little did he know how close to the truth he was."

"Why didn't you tell Freddy or me?"

"Well, it was the past. It was enough that I had to live through the pain... uh... of losing... uh... I really wanted to move on. Living with Freddy kept me close to him and that was all I wanted. Although he didn't recognize his Mannu, he was just the same to his Manisha Bhabhi and that was enough for me."

Abhijeet looked at her, knowing that what she said wasn't the complete truth.

"Why didn't you want me to remember? You say that we were very close. Had I remembered you, wouldn't you have been happy? Did you hate me so much that you wanted us to be strangers?"

"Hate you, my foot. Don't you dare talk to me like that. Do you know how difficult it was for me when you looked at me like a complete stranger? Do you know how hard it was for me to stay at a distance?"

"Then why did you?"

"I did it to protect you... remembering me meant remembering him... It was hard enough for me when we lost him that I didn't want to lose you too..."

"Lost who?"

The color drained out of Manisha's face. Her voice choking, she said.

"You don't remember everything?"

His keen eyes noted the change in her face.

Pradyuman said softly.

"Abhijeet... son... let's talk about this later..."

Abhijeet fumed, his temper rising.

"Oh no, sir... not at all... I want to know the truth... Enough of your protection, I need an explanation... and I need it now... and sir, you can't run away anymore..."

His cell phone ringing interrupted his raging. He took the call.

"Hello... what, where? I am coming."

He put the phone down and pulled Pradyuman by the hand. Rushing out, he said.

"Sir, Purvi is stuck in the elevator of her apartment. It seems, she was knocked unconscious. Now that she's up, she found a bomb strapped to her. Tarika, call the bomb squad and backup..."

They sat in his car and zoomed out.

****

At Purvi's terrace:

He smiled knowingly as his cell phone rang. He had been waiting for her call.

"Hello, Darling..."

"What did you do?"

"Don't you want to see your enemy dead? She killed Raghav, did you forget?"

"I did not. But I don't remember telling you to kill her."

"Uh uh uh... You were starting to pity her... Someone had to remind you of reality, don't you think... The Zoya act was getting boring..."

"Shut up and tell me how to diffuse the bomb."

"Darling, did you think I would present you with a gift that wouldn't work... You can't diffuse it. The bomb would blast in uh... exactly 7 minutes from now."

"I hate you... Really, really hate you..."

"Come on, darling, I am just serving the justice that the courts denied your brother."

"Justice? You are a fool... Raghav loved her."

"Pffft... so much love... girl, I am gifting you your enemy and you are lecturing me?"

"The only gift I want from you is my life back and I am going to get it."

She hung up. Muttering expletives, he walked to the hide hole he had made. He wasn't going to walk away now.

***