Chapter Two
"ACP Arjun Rawte. ETF ka second in command hoon!"
Ayush's eyebrows lifted up on their own accord and his eyes nearly popped out. ACP Arjun Rawte! Good one Ayush, first day shuru bhi nahi hua abhi se senior officer se panga.kya hoga tera?! Kuch kar, situation ko sambhal!! Ayush thought as he burned under Arjuns glare.
"Sir...sir...I - I am soo...wait, how do you know my name?!!" The thought just occurred in his mind and slipped out of his mouth before he could stop it.
Arjun rolled his eyes before walking past, shaking his head. Ayush smacked himself mentally and followed his senior out of the alley they were in.
"Sir, main jaake usse dhoondne ki khoshi karoon??" Ayush asked tentatively.
"Dhoondne ki khoshi nahi inspector Singhani...aagar usse leke nahi aaye toh ETF building ke andar aane ki sochna math!!" Arjun said, his eyes hardening with every word he spoke.
"Samjhe...ya?" Arjun almost yelled.
"Samajh gaya sir!" Ayush said and thought, samajh ne ke ilava koi aur choice hain?!
Arjun turned around and left without giving Ayush another glance. Sach main, kitna akudu hain yaar! Mujhe kya sapne main aayega ki woh koyi drug dealer nahi...actual main ek officer hain!!
Ayush turned around and looked at the dark long alley, he sighed as he tucked his gun back into its holster and ran in.
Couple of hours later.
His fingers were fisted around the collar of the man as he dragged him into the ETF building. At the reception sat a cute girl chatting animatedly on the phone with someone, seeing him approach she smiled at him and ended the call.
"Hey! Main Inspector Ayush Singhania...aaj mera first day hain" Before he could continue the lady spoke.
"Yes, Chief has been waiting for you...yeh...yeh kaun hain?" The receptionist asked looking at the man he was holding.
"Yeh, ACP Arjun ke amanath" Ayush said.
"Oh! Aap fourth floor pe chele jaayiye...sab wohi hain..."
"Thank you!" Ayush said politely and winked making the receptionist blush.
Ayush along with the man, got out of the elevator on the fourth floor. He just started admiring his new office when his phone started to ring. Seeing the caller name, he smiled before answering it.
"Hello, haan main pahunch gaya, where are you? Ek minute hold kar..." Ayush said not giving the person on the other end a chance to speak. He first needed to find someone to hand the drug dealer over to.
He looked around to see if he can find ACP Arjun anywhere, upon not finding him he chose a person at random and walked up to him, all the while dragging the drug dealer with him.
"Hey!" Ayush said brightly to the man in front of him.
"Hey, can I help you?" The man asked, eyeing the drug dealer suspiciously.
"I am Ayush, mera aaj..."
"Pehla din hain...I know. We have been waiting for you. Hey, I am Shreekanth, call me Shree...aur yeh Chotu hain..." Shreekanth said holding his hand out and introducing another man who just walked towards them.
"Hey guys! Nice to meet you" Ayush said shaking hands with both men.
"Yeh kaun hain?" Chotu asked.
Ayush looked at the man and rolled his eyes and said, "Long story...ACP Arjun aaye kya?"
Shree and Chotu exchanged amused looks, "Arjun sir? Kyun?"
"Isse unhe dena hain..." Ayush said pushing the man forward.
"Aate hi impress karne main laga hain kya? Par yeh? Koyi aur nahi mila? Tumhe lagta hain isse woh impress honge?" Shree asked looking at the man thoughtfully before laughing with Chotu.
"Impress my foot! Pehla din shuru bhi nahi hua...unhone already mera band baja diya" Ayush said slightly disappointed.
"Kya matlab?" Chotu and Shree asked in unison.
"Pehle isse thikane lagana hain, Chief se milna hain phir bataunga..."
"Isse hum sambhal lenge tum Rathore sir se mil lo..." Chotu said and pointed towards a door at the far end of the office.
"Thanks guys!" Ayush said and started walking towards the door when Shree called out from behind,
"Waise Ayush...didn't you put someone on hold on the phone?"
Shit! Ayush cursed and brought the phone to his ear but it was too late, the call was disconnected. I am a dead man! Maar degi ab mujhe!! What a first day yaar!
Shaking his head he made his way towards the chiefs office. He knocked and waited till he got a 'come in' before going inside. Sitting behind the desk was ETFs chief, ACP Sameer Rathore who was lost in a file. He looked up only when Ayush stood directly in front of him,
"Ayush. Welcome to ETF keh deta par suna hain tumhara welcome Rawte ne already kar diya hain" Rathore spoke softly but his face was stern.
Ayush looked down embarrassed before he spoke, "Ya, I am extremely sorry about that sir. I had no idea that he is an officer let alone that hes the second in command in ETF..."
Rathore nodded, "Hmm I can understand. Par Rawte bahut ghusse main hain..." he paused as he took in Ayush's worried expression and continued, "...don't worry he'll come around. Ab uss aadmi ko pakadna hain"
"Sir, main le aaya usse!" Ayush said quickly. When he saw Rathore raise his eyebrows he added sheepishly, "...woh actually Arjun sir ne warn kiya tha ki, agar main usse nahi laata toh woh mujhe office main aane nahi denge"
Ayush thought he saw Rathore smile but it was gone as quickly as it came. His chief nodded before getting up and walking towards the door, gesturing him to follow. He led Ayush to a double doored large conference room where the whole team, including Arjun, Shree and Chotu were seated around a large table.
"This is the core team of ETF Ayush. Yeh Ayesha hain, yeh Liza, yeh Shree aur yeh Chotu..."
Ayush shook hands with the girls and smiled at Shree and Chotu, "Shree aur Chotu se mil chuka hoon sir..."
Rathore nodded and looked at Arjun, "Inn se bhi tum mil hi chuke ho - ACP Arjun Rawte"
Ayush smiled at Arjun, in return he got the same burning gaze he got an hour back. His smile faltered,
"Sir, main le aaya usse" he said turning to Chotu and Shree who confirmed and told Arjun that the drug dealer was in interrogation room 1.
Arjun said nothing, instead got up to leave when the conference room doors opened with a bang and in walked another member of their team. Ayush smiled looking at the pretty lady who walked in with attitude and refused to acknowledge him. He rolled his eyes at her antics, moving forward he held her arm just as she was about to sit down,
"Sorry yaar...uss waqt woh drug dealer tha toh ussko..."
"Haath chodo Ayush..." she spoke without looking at him, her voice stern and anger clear on her face. But, Ayush knew her too well to misunderstand it to be anything serious.
"Ab chodo bhi, sorry keh diya na..." he lightly tugged at her arm.
"Ek minute tum dono ek doosre ko jaante ho??" It was Arjun who spoke and Ayush only looked up at the rest of his new team when he heard his senior's confused and angered voice. He saw Arjun eye his hand which was still holding his friends arm and immediately let go.
Wow! What was that? Ayush thought as he looked at Arjun and then back at his friend. He looked at the rest of the team to see varied expressions - Shree and Chotu looked at each other trying to supress a smile, Liza shook her head and went back to a file she was looking through, Ayesha too smiled before stealing glance at Rathore who was eyeing him with a confused look.
Looking back at Arjun, he saw his senior now glaring at his friend and the poor girl was burning under his stare.
Hmm, I am definitely missing something here!!
Cricket
