Chapter 8

The bond that links your true family is not one of blood, but of respect and joy in each other’s life.

-Richard Bach

In the unbearable heat of Hydrabad, Mrs. Ranawat was sipping tea from her usual cup which was dangerously hot, her eyes never moving away from the book she was reading. The easy chair moved in a rhythm, matching the curtains on the window which were moving back and forth due to the AC wind which was already on high. Behind her, the maid was cleaning the show pieces on the self, humming a tune under breath.

The phone rang then.

Putting the book aside, the elderly woman fixed her glasses, sitting up as she took the phone from the small tea table beside her chair. Some grey curls fell over her face as she leaned over the phone, the lines in her forehead smoothening instantly as she stared at the number.

She raised her hand in air without a word, and the humming stopped behind her. The Maid exited the room in a hurry, the lady never noticing it as the former closed the door quietly behind her.

She took a deep breath and clicked on the green answer button, "This better not be a call from Hospital." She threatened to whoever was on the other side. In response, there was silence for a couple of beats, then a small chuckle.

"Riyali Ranawat, you are going to give me coronary in this old age." The lady admonished in a stern tone as she removed her glasses which hung around her neck by thread, leaning back to her chair.

"I should not have called then." Came the quiet reply.

"It's good to hear one's granddaughter's voice in every one year or so, who walked away without a single glance." The bitter words had no heat, "You were worrying me, Sweetheart."

"Don't pretend you were not getting the news of whether I was alive or dead from sources." There was smile in her reply.

"If you had called, I would not have done it." She shrugged, unapologetic. There was no response from the other side, even the touch of smile was vanishing.

"How are you?" The lady asked, playing with the chain of her neck absent mindedly.

"Tired." Her voice sounded the same like her answer, exhausted beyond anything.

"Then come to me." The former replied immediately.

"Hydrabad is too hot." She teased, to which the elder lady scoffed.

"Mumbai is not snowing either. What is the temperature there, 40?"

"42.7."

"See? Here it's only 41."

"One degree less, Granny, doesn't matter much."

"It would matter if you come to me." She replied, emotion quoting her words a little.

"I don't fit there." The former replied, voice emotionless as she went, "Doesn't feel like home."

"I know." She sighed, "It stopped feeling home the moment you walked out."

The reply came a few moments later, the tone teasing, "I so wish I could rub it in Bro's face."

"Don't." The elderly woman said with a smile, "He will drive his poor secretary crazy. She is a nice girl."

"You sound impressed." Came the observation.

"Only because she appreciates how much Bengali food revolutionized the cooking of Fish through the passage of time."

Another chuckle was heard, "You are living in South India for 5 decades, and still so possessive about Bengal."

"That is the place I grew in. My motherland." She said with a sense of pride and possessiveness, "You are changing the course of conversation, are not you?"

"Busted." The smile was still there, which was followed by a sigh, "I want to run."

"Where?"

"Somewhere." She said, "I want to drive and never stop. Never look back."

"When you will stop running?" Mrs. Ranawat asked gently. There was silence on the other side.

"Maybe when someone runs after me."

The elder lady pinched her eyes shut, her long and thin fingers curling the chain between them as she asked after a while, "Do you remember that beach house when we were in Panaji?"

"The house that smelt like Sun."

" . . . Sun." Both of their voices merged, and she carried on, "So much light and air, sometimes it felt like there was no walls in that place." She paused, now opening her eyes, "The keys are with the caretaker. I will give him a call."

"I will remember that." The voice was grateful. There was no double meaning or pretense with the old lady, only honesty and rare moment of expressing real emotion.

The lady sighed sadly, "You are going to hang up, are not you?"

There was no answer, only a deep inhale.

"I hope I will hear your voice soon." She said, resting head against the chair's back.

“Hope is the thing with feathers," The granddaughter rhymed, which the lady picked up.

"that perches in the soul,/ and sings the tune without words," She paused, letting the former to take over.

"and never stops at all.” She finished. After a few beat, the call was cut abruptly.

Keeping the phone on her lap, Mrs. Ranawat started playing with her chain absent mindedly, eyes clouded with unsaid worry and questions. In front of her, the wall was full pictures of her family, yet her eyes were on the particular picture which held her three grandchildren, Sravan, Riyali, and Dia, from her only son's side, caught in a moment of happiness years ago when the Eldest Son graduated from Cambridge in Business.  

Sravan was always a people pleasure-er. Everything he did, was for his family and to make his family proud, be it the decision to study Business or join their ever growing Hotel Empire. Dia was a diva, who had brains but decided to use it only for setting up her party planning business. Loving these two were easy, too easy, Sravan would do anything his family asked from him and Dia was the perfect person to have girl-time, share gossips and gather more. But Mrs. Ariyana Ranawat never had it easy, who married a person from another caste five decades ago when prejudice was too strong in this country, and moved far away from her motherland which she still dearly loves, never looking back. Loving her middle granddaughter proved to be the biggest difficulty she had ever encountered, because the former never made it easy for anyone. She had spine made of steel, unflinching eyes which demanded from the world to accept her the way she was. When her world, her family, didn't, she walked away and never looked back. Mrs. Ranawat sees herself in her, the backbone and stubbornness, also the ability to leave behind everything and start over. She likes to think the sarcasm was all her as well, something which remained dormant in her gene.

Her life turned out alright. Wealth, family, a bliss which was incomplete without the other woman, but it was there. She just hoped it turns out exceptional for her granddaughter whom she loves more than anything, because she deserves that. The young lady always thought it's better to stay alone, and whenever she reached out to people she termed it as selfishness. She was yet to learn that letting people in doesn't make her selfish, it makes her Human.

The clock rang thrice, announcing the passing of an hour. Sighing, the lady stood up, walking out to the balcony, in the unbearable heat.

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Since time immemorial, family has always been the foundation of a society, and it will always be, until stars give out and human cease to exist. Human are born within families, tied by blood, but as they live their lives they make new ones, which are created from trust, solidarity, and friendship.  As unbreakable that tie sounds, nothing in the world can guarantee that family ties will remain throughout our lives, even if they are the one we were born in.

Generally when people hear someone belongs to a big, old- fashioned family where cousins and uncles live together under one roof, share meals every morning and night, are partners in a family business, they assume the person must be really happy, with no demon to torment him or her every night and no shadow lurking under the person's eyes. Happy family guarantees rave review in society, but only each of us know what skeletons we are hiding in our closets. Sometimes, there is no happiness behind those flashy smiles. Sometimes, those are just facades. Sometimes, the troubled middle kid of family is not really a rebel, but someone who can't fit it and getting desperate to break out of the shackles, the expectations her family pressing on her shoulders are too much for her even though those are easy to fulfill for her other siblings. Sometimes family, for all the smothering, love and laughter, can be really cruel when one member can't fit in like the rest of people. Sometimes it's really hard to find a sympathiser for the rebel kid, who really, just needs someone to hear her out.

And sometimes, the rebel kid does the latest act of 'Recklessness' when she moves out without any sound, and makes a life for her like she wants to. Family first shakes its head at the foolishness, then frowns when they see the rebel kid didn't fall flat on her face. Then they shrug, because she left, they didn't exactly force her out, and she is a rebel, if that's what she wants, then let her be. Nobody is at fault. Sometimes having blood relation doesn't guarantee life -long commitment. They were not match. They were not meant to be. That's it.

Maybe that was the reason Riya never got too hyped up when other people talked about family reunion or family function, because she knew what exactly goes on in those things. While she is sure other people enjoy because they were exact fit meant for their respective families, she was seldom bothered about her own lack of one. If the air was too quiet around her, there were always Bars and music, parties which went on till the dawn. In morning, she had work. A city where thousands of people stayed alone, she didn't worry much about family. She never even bothered to find out what an ideal family looks like.

What she did value, and came across in years throughout her life, is Team. Sure, she likes to work alone, but she also appreciates a good, efficient team which can work fast and get results in less time. Sometime, people in the same team works for years together and call each other family. Maybe that's the closest thing she had ever encountered to a real, flesh and blood bond.

She rolled her eyes in self- admonishment, clearing her head from these thoughts. Whenever she talks with Granny she has these thoughts, which may have something to do with the Elder woman's words about coming home and family. Both the women knew that place was not her home, and those people didn't feel like family just because they share same DNA. It might be rude, but she was never the one to sugarcoat her thoughts.

The team was discussing a new case, where a Sub- Inspector has been killed last night by a drug dealer when the latter was having a secret meeting with some buyers. Faces of wanted suspects were pulled, voices were raised to give their opinion about them, the team members forced their brains to come up with a plan, their eyes shining as one finished others sentence, connecting the dots, secret smiles were shared.

It was just another day in the crime fighting department.

"Any plan to share?" Sameer asked her with a chiding tone, "You know, before you shoot another suspect."

Rest of them gasped at the comment which was totally offensive, even though Aisha rolled her eyes in annoyance.

"Funny." Riya narrowed her eyes, then went straight to business, her eyes roaming to the rest of them "We have five suspects who deal in that area. The only way to know which one of them is involved, we need an insider."

"Or a rat." Aisha supplied, "A small time dealer."

"With eyes and ears in every place." Arjun added, catching up.

"An Informer." Sameer said, neck turning to look at Chotu, "Anyone on your mind?"

The Commando thought for a moment before answering, "Rajesh." Then pursued his lips, "He is hard to find though."

"Anyone else?" Shree asked.

"Karim." Came the joint reply from Riya and Chotu, the latter blinking in surprise even though the question went unvoiced. The ACP was already calling someone in her phone, the sound of ring echoed in the room thrice before someone picked it up.

"I am afraid whatever it is, I have to say no." The cautious male voice said in lieu of Hello.

"I am afraid if you do not listen, you will end up in jail." Riya mocked, earning suppressed chuckled from her team mates. Sobering, she added, "It's been months since Junaid, so I say you get over that."

"You were supposed to protect us." The Man raised his voice in agitation.

"Really? I think I missed the contract." She mocked again, then turned serious, "I don't give a damn about your hurt feelings right now. I need you to fix a meeting with Rajesh as soon as you can."

There was silence for a couple of beats, then he asked, "I don't want to get into risk."

She huffed, "Thirty thousand. Just to fix a meeting." Across the table, Sakshi gaped at the unnaturally high amount, "Worthy enough of the risk?"

The answer was immediate, "I will message in the evening." Then he cut the call. Riya flipped the phone shut and threw it casually over the table.

"You got Karim in speed dial?" Chotu asked, partly in amusement, partly in surprise. She met his eyes.

"Him and some others." She looked at others, "I think meeting will be sometime tomorrow."

"Meanwhile we need a plan." Sameer said, "One of us need to meet him under disguise and trap him so that he can lead us to others."

"Will he even meet any buyer?" Sakshi said skeptically, and hurried to explain when others looked at her, "I mean one SI was killed in his area, he should be cautious. Maybe even avoid doing business for a period of time."

"Which we will know when Karim rings us back." Arjun said, dismissing her with one sentence, before looking at others, "If the meeting is fixed, we need someone less suspicious. So that Rajesh won't bat an eyelash."

"Someone young." Shree muttered. Unknown to him rest of them meet each other’s eyes in a silent plan, mirth dancing in their eyes. The IT genius picked on it after a while, first frowned, then made a face.

"I just volunteered myself, didn't I?" He asked with resignation.

"Who else looks like College kid among us?" Aisha asked rhetorically, to which the IT genius nodded, gulping down the earlier hesitancy in the presence of the Director. Turning to Riya, she said, "We should send another person with Shree, to make it look more convincing."

The ACP frowned at the odd glint in the eyes of her former best friend, but before she can open her mouth the Director turned to Sakshi, "Why don't you accompany him, Sakshi?"

The loud cough came from Sameer as he hurried to grab the glass of water in front of him, while Arjun looked away to stifle his laughter and Chotu just looked confused at the Director's not so subtle order. The latter never liked the crime journo in this office, much less in field, why she is sending her out for a UC? Shree just looked horrified, not only he has to pose as druggy college kid, now he has another companion who, he was pretty sure, not going to help him. At all.

"Really?" Riya asked dryly, one eye brow rising, which the Director mimicked.

"Any objection?"

The women engaged in a staring contest which could rival Mexican standoff, before the ACP shook her head, seemingly giving up, "Director's order. Can't not follow it."

Sakshi seemed to pick up the hint that though, it looks like the removal of the Director's earlier order of not accompanying the team to field, in reality it was really a punishment to offend the ACP earlier. She didn't know if she should laugh or cry, but put on a brave face as she said, "Of course. I would love to accompany Shree."

"It's settled then." Aisha said with a bit forceful enthusiasm.

As expected, the SMS came at the evening and the meeting was scheduled near a fish market the following afternoon. The team prepped the duo on their appearance and the plan, the IT department fixed cams and bluetooth so that the team stayed in touch all the time. The ETF even contacted the local PS so that their men in civil dress can keep an eye on them, just in case. They just wanted Rajesh to hand over some drugs to Shree and Sakshi, so that they can put tracker on him and pick him up at a later time and have an evidence against him ready at hand.

The next morning, the rest of team gathered in the cabin adjacent to Director's along with IT department and other ETF officers to monitor the progress in UC. They put on the comms which will connect them with the duo, and Sameer remarked to himself quietly, "I am in love with a Tigress. A manipulative, snarky Tigress."

Arjun decided its best not to comment on it, even though his lips twitched upwards. Chotu still didn't understand why Sakshi was in field, his eyes frowning at the sight of Director who was talking to one of IT guy in another corner of room.

"Why she allowed Sakshi to go?"

Sameer sighed sadly, "So innocent." He patted the former's back, making the frown deepen, "Stay like this forever, yeah?"

After a while the duo informed in their ears that they are near the location, the police in civil dress near the location confirming their status. Sakshi stage whispered in their ears, that they both should practice their part as they are appearing as Lovers, something which made the others groan.

"Liza will kill him." Chotu said.

"She is stronger than that." Arjun commented good- naturedly. Aisha came to stand near them and made a face when she heard the conversation going on, shaking head as if to gather some strength.

Even though Shree was reluctant, soon he was getting into his part, trying to utter pathetic cheesy lines which made them wince, which changed to cringe when Sakshi let out high pitched giggle. They seemed to forget they were still connected to others, which is why maybe the flirty lines got a little bold.

"How's it going Shree?" Riya's unexpected loud question startled the duo on the other side, and they all heard how Shree fumbled with words while Sakshi went absolutely quiet. This time Arjun started to laugh silently, while Sameer raised a fist toward her which she hit.

Aisha slapped them both on the back of their heads one after other, wordlessly telling to get back to work. Members, who were till now enjoying the joking atmosphere totally unfitting for a serious UC, looked shocked at the action, then hurried to get back to their work. Beside the duo Arjun looked away to hide his amusement. Riya looked annoyed, while Sameer grumbled like a petulant child.

They heard the drug dealer, Rajesh approaching Sakshi and Shree and the short conversation. At one point, after he handed over the drugs, she faked a trip which let Shree to plant the GPS tracker on the dealer. After some 5 minutes he left, it was another several minutes until the crime journo declared they were back in ETF SUV safely and were now heading toward HQ.

"You have no idea what you missed." Chotu muttered to Shree when everyone else moved to clean up the cabin, but before the IT expert could inquire further he cut off the comm.

As the team reunited once again in the bullpen, filling each other up even though they were connected throughout the operation, making new plans and having secret whispers, Riya stood in a side line, observing them. They made their way to the discussion room to talk further, and there was a moment when they all turned to look at her, as if to invite her to join in. Even the self- loather in herself could not find a single trace of judgment, hesitation, or reservation in their eyes due to her actions and confessions, just pure trust and loyalty, open, ushering her in.

If the Monster inside her could not scare them away, she was sure nothing will.

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 The team picked up Rajesh in the evening of the very same day, and as expected, he let out few well- chosen curses when he saw the two members of the team were the same customers he had encountered in the afternoon. Chotu picked him by collar, leaving his legs nearly hanging in the air as he dragged him to interrogation room, while Sakshi gulped at the violent drug dealer who looked nothing like the sweet talker of few hours back, her eyes turning to Arjun to search for a little bit of sympathy, which he denied, looking away.

Riya let out an exaggerated exhale of breath at the action to which he semi glared at her, cracking his neck to look at the ACP standing beside him.

"Something to say?" He asked in a warning tone. She stared right back, but only for a moment as she locker her jaw and flared her nostril, silently showing her disapproval.

"You know what?" Before she could finish that, her phone rang. Irritated, she took it out, and growled at the number, pushing the disconnect button with more force than necessary and shutting the phone. He frowned at the action, but before he could ask about that she stopped Shree, who was passing by to monitor the interrogation through CCTV.

"Do you have something which will block these unknown numbers in my phone?" She sounded frustrated, and the IT genius was already nodding before she finished, to which her expression soften.

"I have an app, which I developed actually. If you want I can do some modification so that you know if it's the same person who is calling you, a prank call or just Credit cards companies. Maybe I can even track GPS . . . " He rattled away, but abruptly stopped, flushing at his babble. Wordlessly, she gave him her phone, which he took and walked away, adjusting the specs over his nose.

Arjun looked at Riya, and suddenly had a thought, that, maybe, Shree's technobabble reminded her of her Ex, who was also Computer expert. Did he also babble like this? Did she used to go to him for her tech problems? Does Shree's presence remind her of Him? 

She looked at him quizzically as he continued to stare, to which he shook his head. Of course, she didn't buy it, but didn't press him further. They both made their way toward Interrogation, but even as the interrogation started and they monitored it through the cams, the question lingered in his head.

Nowadays, he found himself thinking what kind of person Neel Sahaay used to be prior to his fake-death stunt. Was he funny, who made her smile through her broodiness? Was he caring? Or he was a Man-child, craving for her attention? Was he like her, restless and energetic all the time, or content to stay in bed all day long? Did he have juvenile dreams of saving the world, or he was hard hitting practical like her? Was he horrified by her violent personality, or mildly amused at someone different? Did he treat her special? Did he Love her enough?

Arjun didn't know the answers. But he knew one thing - Neel Sahaay must have been special. After all, he had Her. It could not have been easy.   

He also thought other things, thoughts that were ever present in the back of his head but left him uneasy every time they surfaced back. Can He win her back? Can He convince her of his innocence? Can He make his way back to her life and heart? She said she was done with him, and of course, his faking death left a deep scar in her life, a void which she tried to fulfill by planning to extract revenge. The fire in her eyes and sharp retort came from that purpose. But now he is back, and that fire is gone. Her eyes didn't have the same intensity, neither her words sounded biting like earlier. He was the reason behind that fire. Who says he can't fill the void, that he can't repair her broken heart? There is absolutely nothing Love can't do.

And he despised that.

30 hours later, Rajesh cracked and let out the name of the drug dealer who shot the SI. It took another 2 days to get the location of the place where he was hiding. They were listening to the news of growing pile of freak murders in the hand of a serial killer in Delhi, where reporters were grilling the DIG in the press conference held by Delhi Police, when they got the location and got up to move. The toll had already reached to 23, and there was no suspect yet.

The guilty proved to be one courageous guy who held a 10 year old kid at gun point to escape ETF- Police joint team. He was surrounded by armed forces, and the kid looked like a sure shot ticket to freedom.

"Crazy Son of a bitch." Muttered one old Inspector, before rising his voice, "He is a kid. Let him go, you have no way to escape."

Predictably, he tried to run, and when the police was feeling helpless as they can't use gun due to kid being held hostage, Chotu picked up one medium size stone from ground and threw at him. It hit the guy in chest, and he fell back. Seizing the chance, police ran to capture him, freeing the kid and giving a few kicks for killing one of their own.

"Nice one." Shree complimented to the Commando, which he accepted silently by bowing his head.

The press conference after catching the accused proved to be one laughter riot for the team. The IG of the area merely acknowledged the help of ETF in the case, trying to put his department up in the pedestal and get some credit in the resume. Director Kapoor plastered a fake smile throughout his rambling, but when she started speaking, firmly pointing out her efficiency of team, passive-aggressively mentioning previous cases which ETF took over from Police and solved way before anyone expected, and the lack of casualty in her team, the IG shut his mouth and sat with a sour expression on his face, while Press ate up every word that came out of Aisha's mouth.

"Tigress." Sameer said once again, looking awed at his girl.

"Yeah, we got that." Arjun said in mock exasperation, but the pride in his eyes for his Boss was unmistakable.

"Now I know the perks of being Boss." Riya quipped, "The red tapes were just distraction."

"Are you thinking about taking the Director exam then?" The senior officer inquired, curious. She snorted.

"That ship has sailed. Disciplinary hearing, remember?"

"Ah." He exclaimed good naturedly.

"We should be independent." Shree muttered sulkily, "We take over cases from Police and solve them, in the end has to share credit with them. And for no reason." He huffed.

"Maybe you should hack Internal Affairs website and put the demand there." Chotu joked, earning a glare from the former. He put his hands in air in an act of surrender, then put them around the former's shoulder, dragging him away with the promise of fast food. Sameer also took his leave, only the two remaining members of ETF left to witness the conference.

"Look at the circus." Muttered Riya, more to herself than for anyone else's ear. Arjun frowned at the comment, turning to look at her and noticed the barely held contempt there.

"Nothing we have not seen before." He replied.

"Never gets old." She looked away in annoyance, like she can't stand the sight.

"You don't like Press conference, do you?" Come to think of it, maybe Arjun should have rephrased his rhetorical question. She doesn't like reporters. He still remembers the instant mutual dislike between her and Sakshi, and wondered if that comes from a deep part of her heart and not because their in house crime journo is one irritating person.

"No shit." Her smirk was twisted, "Does they even care when they take pot shot at people? Does they even bother that while their headlines will change after a few hours, the person's life might be damaged forever? Does they care about anything else besides TRP and viewership? Does they?" She stopped abruptly, locking and unlocking her jaw like she is battling with herself to say something further. He waited anxiously, eager to hear more, and was glad when she opened her mouth to speak again, "When I went catatonic in His crime scene, someone got a whiff about it and post an article saying how female police officers were unable to handle dead bodies and gruesome crime scenes. Did they reporter even bother to find out why I was like that? No, all he cared about juicy article. A tragedy of life became a matter of feminism and work ethics. Just because that reporter didn't do his research."

He silently took in the outburst, heart breaking in empathy for the woman beside him who had endured so much, and for no reason. If he envied Neel Sahaay before, he was once again back to despise him. He went back and forth between the two emotions depending on her reaction.

Suddenly, she walked away, like the atmosphere was suffocating her and she could not breathe enough. His eyes followed her until she was a blip in his vision and then gone.