At 5am in the Morning..
The crowd was busy in hustling and bustling, some betting over their favorite, some cheering up for the fighters, while the fighters were warming up in the underground fighting club.
The host of the event Danny was busy in fixing schedules of the fighters by taking money from them, when he felt a tap on his shoulder, and he turned around to come face to face with the young guy who had a hood covering half of his face.
"Naye ho? Audience uss taraf baithti hai."
Danny pointed his finger somewhere at his back.
"Bachon ka shauk ni hai ki game dekhne aaun. Fight karne aaya hun."
Rathore said arrogantly uncovering the hood from his face, that displayed the hardness on his face and determination in his eyes.
He knew Danny was operating the fight club since years and earning a good amount of money from this business.
Besides all the fighters there were well trained, so there was not much ruckus regarding the fights.
Danny roamed his eyes over his physic for once , then went back to counting the money in his hand.
"hmm.. Kitne paise.?"
"Paise nahi chahiye. Hospital jana hai, Kuch zakhm chahiye."
Rathore replied, causing Danny's eyes to snap up to him to ensure whether the man was joking or not.
But No. Rathore's face remained blank and stern, thus Danny nodded his head.
"Tere jaisa ek aur hai Yahan."
He turned his head to give Rathore a clear vision of someone who was preparing himself for the fight, near a corner.
"Tiger bulate hain usse yahan. Usse bas marne se matlab hai, paison se nahi. Warmup karle next tera number hai."
Danny walked away, while Rathore took the jacket off his body.
Soon the fight started, when both Rathore and Tiger entered the ring giving tough looks to each other.
Rathore threw a punch at him, which he returned with another punch and the chain continued.
At a time Rathore became weak for not having regular practice, meanwhile Tiger aimed his fist near his eye causing blurriness to appear in front of Rathore's vision.
His legs moved a step back trying to clear his vision but it didn't help.
Tiger lunged on him throwing 2-3 punches at a time, making Rathore stumble back but he didn't fall as someone held him by his forearms.
On looking up he met with a pair of concerned eyes.
"Tum.?"
"Chalo yahan se." the person tried to pull him out of the ring.
"Tum yahan kya kar rahe ho Rawte.?"
Rathore managed to stand straight, and his forehead screeched in confusion.
"itna zakhm kaafi hai hospital jaane ke liye Rathore, ab Chalo yahan se."
Arjun said calmly, ignoring his previous question.
Before Rathore could reply, Tiger interrupted them from back.
"ek minute. Kahan leke jaa rahe ho usse? Mera khel abhi tak khatam ni hua hai. Wapas leke aao usse.
Tiger apna koi kaam adhura ni chhodta."
Arjun was about to move forward, but was stopped by Rathore who walked forward towards Tiger instead?
Crawling his palm into a fist, he threw a heavy punch at Tiger, that he fell on the ground wincing loudly.
" Sameer Rathore bhi kabhi apna kaam adhura ni chhodta. Samjhe.?"
"ya Samjhayein.?"
Arjun completed his line, en both shared a look.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
ETF office..
Chhotu, Sakshi, shree, Ayesha all were waiting in the conference room for their chiefs to arrive, but they were no where in the sight yet, which was strange.
"ye Arjun, Sameer kahan reh gaye? Hame jaldi bulake khud gayab. Ab toh Arjun ki cutting Chai bhi thandi ho rahi hai."
Sakshi whined eyeing the glass of Chai on the table, she had ordered for him.
"mujhe toh abhi tak samajh nahi aaya ki Kal dono kis baare me baat Kar rahe the."
Ayesha murmured dejectedly.
"dono ki ya sirf Sameer ki.?"
Sakshi teased.
"aesi baat ni hai. Sir ka kya matlab tha ki hum hospital fake injuries ni leke jaayenge.?"
Ayesha sounded worried.
"waise ye sochne wali baat toh hai. Vo Rathore sir hain, unke dimag me kya chalta rehta hai ye Koi ni bata sakta." chhotu spoke, shaking his head.
"guys ssshh.."
Shree sushed them with his eyes fixed on the entrance, from where Arjun and Rathore entered in the same time.
All stood up from their chairs seeing Rathore's injured face and blood dripping down from a cut on his forehead.
"Sir, ye kya hua aapko.?"
Shree questioned pointing at his injuries.
"Mai... Mai first-aid box leke aati hun."
Ayesha was about to go from there, when Rathore stopped her.
"No Ayesha. It's OK. Relax guys, Kuch nahi hua hai. Aur agar yahan first-aid karunga toh hospital me kya karenge.?"
All except Arjun looked at their chief in horror, on realizing he had purposely injured himself for the undercover mission.
"Shree, tum micro cameras laaye ho.?"
Arjun broke the silence sipping his cutting Chai, making Sakshi smile a little.
"yes sir. Maine Ayesha ko dediya hai. Aur ye rahe sabke liye bluetooths."
Shree replied offering each person the device and all took it.
"Sir, maine sudeep se baat karli hai. Vo Rathore sir aur Ayesha ke aas pass rahega." chhotu added.
"Good work Chhotu. Ab hame nikalna chahiye. Let's go Ayesha."
Rathore announced keeping the bluetooth inside his pocket.
"ek min. Mission ke liye hi sahi per Ayesha abhi ke liye Sameer ki wife hai na? Salwar suit toh thik hai, per kuch aur baaki reh gaya hai.
Sameer tum car me baitho, Ayesha thodi dair me aati hai."
Sakshi smiled widely, while chhotu, shree narrowed their gaze at her and Arjun's face remained blank.
Rathore nodded walking away from there, whereas Sakshi grabbed Ayesha's hand till the bathroom.
" ab kya baaki hai.? "Ayesha looked puzzled.
" Arey Buddhu tum ye bhul gayi. "
Sakshi brought a mangalsutra and a small packet of vermilion out of her bag, forwarding them to her.
" mujhe pata tha tum bhul jaogi, issliye mai le aayi. "
Ayesha stared at the mangalsutra, then the vermilion, only to be elbowed by Sakshi.
" ab jaldi Karo isse pehle ki puri ETF team yahan aajaye."
"haan."
Ayesha quickly put the mangalsutra around her neck and filled her parting with a little vermilion, staring at her reflection in the mirror with a small smile.
"ab lag rahi ho na ACP SAMEER RATHORE ki wife."
Sakshi grinned, and Ayesha turned around to fake glare her.
"ssshh.. Kuch bhi. Ab Chalo."
Rathore was waiting in the back seat of the car, when he saw Ayesha coming out of the office through the review mirror and paused tapping his finger on the mobile screen.
She looked pretty and different in that white and peach colored suit with minimal accessories, that he couldn't blink until the door of the car was opened, then closed with a Thump sound.
"Sir chalein."
Ayesha asked sitting next to him on the back seat.
Rathore looked away and cleared his throat.
"yeah. Driver Chalo."
In some 15 mins they reached near the Sanjeevani Hospital and the duo took a brief glance of the place.
"hamari acting yahin se shuru hoti hai Ayesha. Tum andar jao."
Rathore said.
"yes sir."
She was about to get off the car, but stopped on hearing his voice.
"Sameer. Mere naam se bulao yahan."
She hesitated a little, then spoke up.
"uh.. OK si.. Sameer."
With that she rushed inside the hospital, hiding the bluetooth over her ear under her hair, all set to execute their plan.
--------
By the end of 5 days, after going through a lot of ruckus, and shocks ETF had two dead suspects, many names, information leading to a giant racket going on in the hospital, but they hadn't reached till the main culprit much to the frustration of the Chief.
In spite of the inner turmoil Chhotu, Shree were going through after watching the video footage of the hospital again and again, they did not stop from doing their respective jobs perfectly ; which both of their chiefs were proud of, though they did not show it.
After a lot of analysis, and spying on the doctors they found a way to a Secret Cabin in the hospital itself and they did no delay in entering inside to reveal some more dark secrets.
"pura room achhe se check Karo. Har ek file, har ek paper ko double check Karo. Hospital me kya chal raha hai ye yahin se pata chalega.
Shree vo computer se sare data check Karo. Fast."
Rathore ordered, as soon as his whole team barged inside the secret room and all spread out starting their search operation in every corner of the room.
"ye toh kuch medicines ki requirement lists hai."
Ayesha murmured while checking a file.
"aur yahan sayad medicines prepare karne ki processing likha hai. Ye sare formulas and all.."
Sakshi added checking upon another file.
Both nodded their heads at each other and resumed their work.
Chhotu was checking the drawers, when he got something among few papers and stood up.
" Sir, mujhe ek note book mila hai jisme kuch logon ke naam likhe hain."
"Ye kahin wohi notebook toh nahi jiski baare me Raghu marne se pehle baat Kar raha tha? Chhotu check Karo Usme kahin bhi Raghu ka naam likha hua hai kya.?"
Arjun asked thoughtfully, then went back to the file he was reading.
"Dekhta hun sir."
Replied chhotu, and flipped over the pages of that notebook.
"haan sir, iske piche Raghu ka naam likha hai."
He declared few minutes later.
"iska matlab ye unn patients ke naam hai Jo jinda hai, per doctors ne unhe mara hua bol diya hai.? "
Ayesha piped in, curiously.
Chhotu looked at her, then at the notebook, in surprise.
"Per ye toh kuch 30 se upar honge log."
All turned their heads to him that instant , stunned.
"kya.? 30 se upar.?"
Rathore muttered in shock.
"haan sir."
Chhotu confirmed his doubt.
"itne Sare logon ko duniya ke liye mara hua batake, ye doctors unke sath kya kar rahe hain? Abhi kahan honge ye sab? Aur zinda bhi hai ya..?"
Sakshi blabbered in disbelief, thus all fell silent afterwards?
"Hum jitna soch rahe the ye sab usse bhi kuch bada kar rahe hain Rathore."
Arjun chirped eyeing him intently,and Rathore silently agreed to him.
"ek min... Chhotu,Usme Jo naam likhe hain jara ek ke baad ek padhna."
Shree spoke, with his eyes fixed on the computer screen.
"haan Aakash chhabra, Rupesh Kumar, Anjali Taneja, Dev Mathur.. Isme toh Anita ji ke bete ka naam bhi hai."
Chhotu murmured, astonished.
"Sir, notebook me Jo patients ke naam hai, yahan unki puri details hai. Jaise ki vo kis din hospital me admit hue the, unhe kya bimari thi sab Kuch, Vo bhi unke photo ke sath."
Shree explained, hence Rathore came and glanced at the screen briefly.
"ek kaam Karo chhotu tum sare naam padhte jao, aur Shree check Karo kya sabke details available hai?
Agar kuch extra patients ka naam nikalta hai toh usse note down Karo. Quick."
"yes sir."
Both shree and Chhotu said in union, before going back to their work.
"Rathore."
Arjun called out.
"kuch mila Rawte.?"
Rathore approached him quickly.
"ye dekho, Kuch foreign companies ke naam pe presentation ready kiya jaa raha tha, deal ke liye . companies ki list hai isme. " Arjun handed him few papers.
"kis cheez ki deal.?"
"ek medicine ki."
Then Arjun thought something, before continuing speaking.
"ab kuch kuch samajh me aaraha hai Rathore.
Inn logon ne kisi medicine ki khoj ki hai, Jo na India na kahin bahar available hai.
Ye presentation dikha ke Jo bhi foreign company zyada bhav dega, usse vo medicine bech diya jaayega. Lekin ye presentation adha hi hua hai, pura nahi. "
" itna chori chhupe kaam ho raha hai, upar se crime kiya hai inn logon ne. Toh vo medicine koi achhe kaam ke liye toh ni hoga for sure. "
Rathore shook his head.
" Exactly. Medicine koi achhe purpose ke liye hota toh doctors itna bada racket ni chalate, Vo bhi hospital me. "
" Per ek baat samajh me ni aaya, medicine ki deal se unn masoom patients ka kya lena dena hai.? "
" lena dena hai Rathore.
Medicine naya hai, toh Zahir si baat hai uski testing kiye bina kisiko ni bech sakte.
Yaad hai Raghu ne statement me kya kaha tha? Ki usse aese patients pe najar rakhne ke liye kaha jaata tha jiski khabar lene wala koi na ho, ya jiski pariwar walon ko uske bachne ki umeed Kam ho ya doubt ho.
Kyunki aese logon ki maut se kisiko Shaq ni jaayega, aur doctors aaram se patient ke jaise dikhne wale kisi dusre admi ko uska face mask pehna ke mara hua bata sakte hain.
Aur Jo asli patient hain unpe ye medicine ki testing ki jaa rahi hai. "
" matlab ho sakta hai, abhi tak jitno ki maut hui hai unki maut ki wajah vo medicine ho.? "
" ho sakta hai. "
Both Rathore and Arjun sighed, when Rathore realised chhotu had stopped speaking, and Shree, Ayesha were calling him again and again.
" chhotu kya hua? Ek toh ye computer itna slow chal raha hai, upar se tum kyun ruk gaye.? "
Shree cringed.
" chhotu, Shree kuch keh raha hai."
Ayesha tried to shake him, but he was standing like a statue, eyeing the notebook blankly.
"Chhotu.?"
Both of their chiefs came standing near them, while Rathore shook him causing chhotu to jerk up with fresh tears rolling down of his eyes.
Rathore softened a little.
"kya hua hai chhotu.?"
"Sir vo vo..."
Chhotu stammered pointing at the notebook, then wiped his tears with his palm.
Arjun took the notebook from him and checked the front en back of it,but found nothing.
Taking a glance at chhotu's state he went through the patient's names, Rathore too joined him.
After some 2 pages Arjun suddenly stiffed on reading a particular name in the 3rd page, and he rechecked the list to ensure he read the name right.
The creased confused lines from Rathore's forehead disappeared, as soon as his eyes fell on the same name, hence he took the notebook from Arjun staring at the name blankly.
"guys kya hua? Sab suddenly itna tensed kyun hogaye.?"
Sakshi asked confusingly, specially eyeing Arjun.
"Sir, kiska naam likha hai Wahan.?"
Ayesha asked in a low voice.
"Riya Mukherjee."
Rathore replied, still in a daze, whereas Shree stood up from his chair that instant.
Sakshi and Ayesha looked at each other, then at their team members.
They may not know what attachment the girl had in their lives, but they knew the name.
They knew why Shree and Chhotu used to be silent sometimes in between their chit-chats, why Rathore used to look away at the mention of that brave girl whom he failed to save,why a tough guy like Arjun Rawte's face used to soften at her one mention.
And now by looking at their faces they could see the emotional trauma they were going through ;though it was hard to fetch any changes on Arjun's face, but then sakshi knows him a little after all.
"Per.. Ye Koi aur bhi toh ho sakti hai."
Ayesha murmured and Rathore looked up to her nodding in understanding.
"shree, pehle Chhotu ko Pani pilao."
"ji sir."
Shree blinked back his tears and took the glass of water from the table, when his eyes moved to the computer screen in front of him.
The next thing all heard was the breaking sound of the glass that scattered on the floor in pieces and turned around to witness a stunned Shree taking few back steps abruptly.
"Shree.?"
Arjun looked puzzled, while others went forward towards him.
"Sir ye kaise ho sakta hai.?"
Shree gulped, sounding in disbelief.
Everyone followed his gaze to the screen and their doubts were clear now.
"ye toh wohi hai."
Sakshi's lips parted a little in shock.
Rathore couldn't blink his lashes from the details of the patient no - 39 Riya Mukherjee, displaying on the screen.
Chhotu now smiled faintly, getting to see her face Again.
And Arjun leaned over the table to take a closer look at the photo of the patient.
Dressed in the hospital robe and an oxygen mask over the face , the girl laying on the bed was none other than Riya, and he suddenly remembered the day he had closed her eyes taking her as dead.
Being ETF officers they hardly believe in miracles, but what were they seeing now left them spellbound.
Since Arjun had seen the best and worst of his life, the picture in front of his eyes was enough to change his take on life itself.
He always believed - once people leave you, never come back,no matter whatever attachment you have with them ;that's cruel reality, but then here today he got to see the picture of whom he and others had assumed to be dead.
Though not willingly, still they had accepted her death.
Heck! They were even standing in her funeral with a heavy heart and red eyes.
Then how it could be possible?
"Team. Yahan Jo kuch bhi hai, sab office le Chalo."
Rathore's commanding voice broke his trance, as well as other's en all stood up straight composing themselves.
-------
Bade Achche Lagte Hain Naya Season
134