Chapter One
The phone rang loudly breaking the silence of the night. Ayush groaned as he rolled on his side and extended his hand to the phone on the side table. His eyes still shut tight, his hand fumbled on the table for a few seconds before it found what it was looking for.
"He...hello..." he talked into the phone groggily.
At first he heard nothing, irritated he was about to hang up when he heard a faint sob. His eyes opened and he instantaneously became attentive.
"Kaun hain?...Hello??" He talked softly into the phone.
Few seconds of silence followed and then a low, broken voice spoke on the other end, "Ay...Ayu...I...I am sorry Ayu..."
Ayush sat up on the bed with a jolt, eyes wide and breathing fast, he looked around the room plunged in darkness and realised he was dreaming - again. He hung his head back and took a few deep breaths, trying to calm himself. The dream has triggered the worst of his memories and before he could stop them, tears started rolling down his face. He tried to chock back the sobs but they came anyway.
Ayush threw the comforter off him fiercely and made his way to the washroom. Bringing his palms together under the tap, he filled them with cold water and splashed it on to his face. Looking up at the mirror he could no longer distinguish the tears from the water drops, but his face looked haunted and pale as a ghost. He set his jaw in a closed lock and turned away from his reflection before it asked the same haunting question again and again...
Why? Why, couldn't I be stronger?
Couple of hours later...
Mumbai city was waking up to start another crazy, busy day. Ayush rolled down the widows of his car and let the crisp morning air ruffle his hair as he sped up the road. He was about ten minutes from his destination - the ETF headquarters. This day could have, would have been one of the happiest days of his life if some things in the past haven't happened the way they did. Ayush tried his best to live life as normally as possible but it was proving to be next to impossible. More than often he found himself standing alone in the busy crowd, his heart burdened with guilt too heavy to bear.
Ayush shook his head as if doing so would lessen his burden but in futility. He sighed heavily turning on the radio and smiled as some old classic songs started playing. His car came to a slow halt at the traffic lights. Looking around as he waited patiently for the lights to turn green, his eyes caught something a few feet away near a narrow street. Before he could get a coherent image of whatever was happening, the lights turned green and the cars behind his started honking loudly. Making his way to the left side of the road, he came to a stop near the street and pulled his gun out ready.
The dingy, narrow street was deep in shadow making it a perfect place for criminals to do their business without being noticed. As the street came into a full view, it didn't take long for Ayush to understand what was going on. He shook his head in disappointment and moved forward taking conscious and deliberate steps with his gun held high.
"Stay right where you are!" Ayush warned the two men in front of him.
One of the men turned to the other, "Yeh sab kya hain?"
"Mujhe pata nahi yeh kaun hain!" the other one said.
"Shut up! Main ek police officer hoon. Chup chaap mere saath chelo, warna..."
"Listen..." the first man who spoke said and started moving forward.
"DON'T YOU DARE...don't you dare take another step forward" Ayush said, now moving all his attention to the man who walked towards him.
"Dekho mere baat suno...mein..." The man yet again took a step forward.
"Tumhe samajh main nahi aata? Ek toh yeha subha, subha drug dealing kar rahe ho aur ab...yeh final warning hain...chup chaap jo main kaho wahi karna"
With his attention fully on the man in front of him, Ayush failed to notice when the other man - a couple of steps behind - slowly slipped away. When he finally took a glance back he was gone, nowhere in the eye sight. Ayush cursed out loud, making the man look behind him. Disappointment shaded his eye, but as he turned back to Ayush his eyes became as cold as a stone.
"Ho kaun tum?" He yelled, his eyes moved from Ayush's face down to his toes and then back again, before lingering on his badge - safely tucked in his belt.
"ETF ka badge..." he said through clenched teeth, but could not finish his sentence as Ayush had enough of this man and cut him short.
"Would you like me to answer all your questions here or in the warmth of an interrogation room?..." Ayush paused while he took a couple of steps forward. Now standing right in front of the man, he held his gun up and forwarded his other hand to check the man for any weapons when he stopped him.
"Inspector Ayush Singhania...pehle apne senior officers' se kaise milthe hain aur unse kaise baat karthe hain yeh seekhlo..."
Ayush's eyes widened and he took a step back out of surprise. He looked at the man's fuming face and realised he is not what he looks to be.
"Tum...I mean...aap...aap ETF se...?" Ayush started hesitantly.
"ACP Arjun Rawte. ETF ka second in command hoon!"
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