"Good morning everyone.
Sakshi greeted cheerfully entering the bureau,hence Ayesha looked up from the file she was reading.
"morning.kya baat hai,aaj itni khush? Promotion ho gaya kya.?
Ayesha asked ,for which Riya too smiled looking up to them.
"arey agar promotion milega na toh bhi mai ni lungi.
Came sakshi's reply.
"aesa kyun.?
Riya's brow raised.
"kyunki jo khushi yahan hai,vo promotion me kahan.?
Wese meri khushi ki wajah ye hai ki maine aaj subah subah ek romantic movie dekhi.
Sakshi grinned.
"aur.?
Riya asked ,feeling sakshi's words were not complete yet.
"aur usme se mujhe idea aya ki Arjun ke sath apni baat kaise aage badhaya jaaye.
As soon as Sakshi finished her line Riya's gaze lowered a little,which went noticed by Ayesha only.
"dekho mai soch rahi thi ki kab tak aese slow motion me chalti rahegi meri gaadi,aage badhne ke liye kuch toh karna padega na.?
Sakshi continued .
"toh kya karogi.?
Ayesha mumbled slowly.
Sakshi put a file on the desk ,en the thermos next to it with the grin never leaving her face.
"ye rahi file ,ye rahi cutting chai aur vo raha Arjun ka cabin.
"per tum karne kya wali ho.?
Riya looked at her curiously.
"arey zyada kuch nahi,bs Arjun se help mangungi file ko complete karne ke liye aur phir chhoti si cutting chai date.
"oh.
"haan. Ab chalo mai jaati hun.
Sakshi got up to leave ,whereas both Riya & Ayesha kept watching her until she entered arjun's cabin and shut the door at her back.
Riya gulped looking down to the file in front of her ,unaware of Ayesha's constant gaze on her who somewhere felt bad for her.
"umm..ek baat puchun Riya.?
"haan.?
Riya uppered her lashes up to her.
"kal Jafar ki wife se baat karte waqt mere mann me ek sawal aya tha aur aab bhi hai.
Agar vo Sarfaraz se pyar karti thi toh unhone usse bataya kyun nahi? Agar bata deti toh sayad unki life kuch aur hoti.
"maybe unhe laga hoga agar vo sarfaraz ko apni feelings ke bare me bata degi toh kahin vo unse apni friendship na tod dein.
Ya phir unhe pata hoga ki sarfaraz ke mann me unke liye koi feelings nahin hai,issliye sayad ni bataya.
Riya answered thoughtfully.
"per batana jaruri hai na? Agar kisike liye feelings hai ,toh samne se batana bhi jaruri hai.nahi toh usse pata kaise chalega.?
"nahi Ayesha mujhe nahi lagta batana hamesha jaruri hai.
Kabhi kabhi agar dono me same feelings ho toh dono ko ek dusre ke bare me pata chal jaata hai,per jab feelings onesided ho toh batane se samne wala guilt feel karne lagta hai,ki vo same feel ni karta.
Aur wese bhi felings kabhi expectations ke sath ni rakhni chahiye.isme khud ko taklif hoti hai,aur dusron ko bhi.
Came Riya's reply ,thus Ayesha started thinking over her words.
"you know what? I understood what you wanted to say and you are right.chalo iss baat me coffee peete hain ,Ayesha special coffee.
Ayesha spoke getting up from her chair and Riya smiled accompanying her.
"achha ye Chhotu,Shree kahin dikh ni rahe hain.kahan hai subah se.?
Riya asked as they approached the cafeteria.
"vo Rathore sir ne dono ko kuch files diye the Liza ko dene ke liye,bas ussi ke liye gaye hain.
Shree ko call kiya that oh usne bataya raastein me chhotu ko uski 11.30 wali dikh gayi,issliye wahin ruk gaya hai uska naam puchne.
Ayesha chuckled,whereas Riya's eyes widened.
"really.?
"haan.lagta hai iss baar Chhotu jaan ke rahega uska naam.
"achha hai.atleast Chhotu settle ho jaayega. ETF team ka all alone' record toh tutega.
Riya too chuckled along with Ayesha who went to prepare coffee ,meanwhile Riya sat on a chair near her.
Suddenly a thought stroke her mind making Riya snap her eyes upto Ayesha that instant.
"achha Ayesha,sabki baat chodo tum kab settle horahi ho bataya nahi? "
"mai aur settle? Uske liye abhi bahut time hai.
Ayesha shrugged.
"achha? Ye tumhari akele ki decision hai ya Rathore sir ki bhi.?
Riya teased,casuing Ayesha to turn around to face her with wide eyes.
"Ra..rathore sir kahan se agaye yahan.?
"kahan se aaye matlab vo toh pehle se hi hai na.?
Riya played with her brows.
"KAUN KAHAN PEHLE SE HAI.?
Both Riya & Ayesha's eyes widened as soon as they heard Rathore's voice at their back ,thus Ayesha mentally facepalmed herself en Riya bit back a grin.
"uh...i hope maine tum dono ko disturb ni kiya.
Mai bas coffee lene aya tha.
Rathore added to clear the awkwardness en it worked as Ayesha relaxed a bit.
"oh.sir aap rukiye mai bana deti hun.
Ayesha offered with a small smile.
"no no it's okay.tum dono baat karlo mai bana letaa hun.
Rathore shook his head.
"it's okay sir,mai wese bhi hum dono ke liye bana rahi hun,aapke liye bhi kar deti hun.
"ok.
"umm..sir baithiye na jab tak coffee ban raha tab tak.hum aap hi ki baat kar rahe the.
Riya blurted out ,but regretted out the next moment seeing ayesha's glare thrown at her & rathore looked puzzled.
"uh...matlab sabke bare me baat kar rahe the.
Riya corrected herself biting her lip.
Rathore nodding sitting on another chair,then looked up to the duo.
"wese kya baat kar rahe the.?
"vo sir hum sabki settle hone ki baat kar rahe the.aur mai Ayesha se puch rahi thi ki vo kab settle hona chahti hai.
Riya answered purposely giving Ayesha a teasing look who looked away pretending to be busy in making coffee.
"aur.?
Rathore turned to Ayesha seeming curious.
"bas Ayesha bol rahi thi ki vo settle hona chahti hai ,per wait kar rahi hai.
Riya pressed further,meanwhile Ayesha almost choked on the water she was drinking by then.
"matlab kya...
Before Rathore could complete Ayesha interrupted them by putting two mugs of coffee on the table.
"sir aapki coffee.
"haan.thanks Ayesha.
Umm..chalta hun mera ek conference call hai.
Rathore got up en left ,but not before glancing at Ayesha for a last time.
Once he was gone Ayesha ,Riya looked at each other ,en then Riya burst out of laughing loudly which was audible to Arjun who was passing by the cafeteria.
He stopped on his track,taking two steps back only to find Riya laughing out accompanied by Ayesha a minute later.
"pata hai? Meri saans gale tak atak gayi thi.
Ayesha exclaimed pausing her laugh.
Riya let out another laugh ,causing Ayesha to shook her head at him ,while Arjun who was the mute spectator of the scenario took a silent leave without making them aware of his presence.
The day rolled by ,with ETF team working over the paperworks ,with a delighted sakshi gleaming due to her small tea date with Arjun,chhotu getting teased by his friends for not able to know the name of his 11.30 wali yet again,Ayesha avoiding meeting eyes from her colleagues at the constant nagging in the name of Rathore,Riya somewhere happy for sakshi and accompanying her friends in the relaxation period.
Next morning.
"Morning chhotu,Shree.
Rathore greeted as soon as he entered the conference hall,thus both Chhotu & shree paused their chitchats looking up to their chiefs.
"morning sir.
They said in union ,just when Rathore's gaze fell on the empty chairs around.
"baaki sab kahan hai.?
"sir vo actually hum dono aaj jaldi agaye the.abhi tak time ni hua hai na,sayad issliye koi ni aya.
Shree replied,en Rathore glanced at his wristwatch nodding his head.
"okay.tum dono tab tak jo pending paperwork khatam karlo ,aur Rawte aye toh bbolna mere cabin me aye.
"ok sir.
Chhotu murmured disheartenedly ,before Rathore was gone to his canbin.
"maine kaha tha na itni jaldi nahi jaate .thodi dair mujhe aur sone diya hota toh kya jaata tumhara.?
Shree frowned at chhotu.
"achha? Jab hum late hote hain toh meri galti,aaj jaldi aye hain toh mei galti? Ab jab tumhe late ho raha hoga na ,tabhi mai tumhe adhe raastein me chhod ke ajaunga.
Chhotu gave him a pointed look.
"tu aesa karega mere sath? Bas yahi rishta hai hamara.?
Shree faked a gasp.
"ab chal files leke aate hain ,nahi toh agar rathore sir ne dekh liya na toh vo ek alag rishta banayenge hamare sath.
Chhotu rolled his eyes getting up from his chair.
"point hai.
Shree agreed to him getting up as well ,en both started making their way towards the archive room .
"wese kitne din ho gaye mere pass koi new software ni aya hai,Rathore sir se baat..
Shree paused his talk in the middle,being getting bumped with another figure coming from the front and he adjusted his specs to get a clear vision of the person;only to find it none other than Arjun.
"uh..so...sorry sir.good morning sir .
Shree stammered quickly maintaining his posture,meanwhile chhotu suppressed his laugh.
"tumhare specs ka power kaam ni kar raha hai shree.?
Arjun raised his brow with a glare.
"uh..aesi baat ni hai sir ,maine bas apko dekha nahi.
"issliye puch raha tha.
Came Arjun's quick retort,and then he started leaving.
"ek min sir,apko Rathore sir bula rahe the apne cabin me.
Chhotu spoke ,to which Arjun nodded his head before walking away.
"huh. Ye Arjun sir hamesha khadoos the,khadoos hain aur khadoos hi rahenge.
Na inhe mera sorry sunayi diya aur na hi good morning.
Shree frowned.
"chal chal ab itni baar khadoos mat bol ,kahin agar Arjun sir ne sun liya na toh aankhon ke sath sath awaz bhi chali jayegi teri.
Chhotu chuckled dragging him along with him,ignoring shree's glare.
30 mins later...
"arey yar tabs eek page khatam ni horaha hai mera.ugh. abhi toh pura file pada hai.
Shree whined banging his head on the file.
"shree,aaj ye sare ladkiyan kahan gayi? Abhi tak ayi nahi.
Chhotu asked ,ignoring his complain making shree look at him curiously.
"haan yaar itna late hogaya aur Ri,Sakshi ,Ayesha me se koi nahi dikkhi abhi tak? Teeno ne chhuti toh ni le li aaj.?
Shree assumed.
"nahi re chhuti lena hota toh kal se batati na hame.
Chhotu denied.
"kya pata subah subah hi decide kiya ho? Ladkiyon ka wese bhi ni bol sakte inke dimag me kab kya chalta hai.
Tu ruk mai phone karta hun.
"haan tu Riya k phone kar ,mai Ayesha ko karta hun.
The duo dialled Riya & ayesha's numbers respectively ,then looked up to each other.
"Ri ka number toh switch off araha hai.
Shree started first.
"aur Ayesha ka ring ho raha hai ,per vo utha ni rahi hai.
Chhotu added.
"mai sakshi ko call karta hun.
Ye achha tarika nikala hai teeno ne ,chhuti me reh jao aur phone switch off kardo.
Bol raha hun agar hame bina liye ye tino vacation mana rahe hain na toh inki khair nahi.
Shree murmured dialing Sakshi's number,but it too called switch off.
"switch off.
Shree let out a sigh,causing crease lines to appear on Chhotu's forehead.
"aesa toh kabhi nahi karti ye.
Ek kaam karte hain Rathore sir se puchte hain ,chuuti liya hoga toh Rathore sir ko toh bola hi hoga.
Chhotu suggested.
"haan chalo.
Rathore was discussing about a file with Arjun when he heard a knock on the door ,hence he paused the discussion before answering.
"come in.
Arjun whirled his chair to face Chhotu,shree entering in when Rathore too looked at them curiously.
"chhotu? Shree? Kya hua.?
"vo sir,hum puchne aaye the ki kya Ayesha ,Riya ya sakshi me se kisine apko call kiya tha aaj chhuti lene ke liye.?
Chhotu questioned standing near the table.
" chhuti? Vo log aye nahi abhi tak.?
Rathore questioned back,puzzled.
"nahi sir,hum phone try kar rahe the unka per Riya aur Sakshi ka switch off araha hai.
Shree informed.
"aur Ayesha ka phone ring horaha hai ,per vo receive ni kar rahi hai.
Chhotu added quickly.
Rathore stole a glance at his wrist watch before sharing a surprise look with Arjun.
"nahi.mujhe kisine call ni aya subah se.
"tum dono ne unke ghar ka phone try kiya.?
Arjun spoke breaking his silence.
"uh..nahi sir.hum toh bas puchne aye the.
Aur Sakshi toh akeli rehti hai ,toh uske ghar me landline nahi hai.Ri ke ghar me ek maid hai,hum usse puch sakte hain.
Shree murmured.
"aur Ayesha apni cousin ke sath rehti hai,toh chhotu uske number pe call karo,shree tum Riya ke ghar call karo aur mai Ayesha ka phone try karta hun.
Rathore commanded taking the phone out of his jeans pocket quickly.
"ok sir.
Shree ,chhotu chorused and did what they have been told to do without any delay,while Arjun sat thinking over the situation.
"Sir,Ayesha ki cousin toh apni college fest ke liye Hydrabaad gayi hai 2 din se.subah se baat ni hui hai uski Ayesha se.
Chhotu said after disconnecting the call.
"Ayesha ka phone abhi bhi ring ho raha hai ,per vo receive ni kar rahi hai.
Rathore sighed.
"sir.
Shree came walking inside the cabin,looking worried.
"kya hua.?
Chhotu turned to him curiously.
"Riya ke maid ne kaha ki vo kal raat se ghar nahi pahunchi.
Shree sounded worried,hence all heads were snapped to him.
"kya.?
Arjun exclaimed in shock,then turned to Rathore who was already looking at him.
"na kisi ka phone lag raha hai,na kisiko kuch pata hai.ye teeno hai kahan.?
Chhotu muttered to himself ,when something stroke Arjun's mind.
"shree,sirf Ayesha ka phone on hai.isse pehle ki vo bhi switch off hojaye ,uska location track karo fast.
"yes sir .
Shree rushed to get his laptop en quickly put Ayesha's number for search.
"sir,ye toh Ayesha ke address kuch dur ka location show kar raha hai.
"okay .isko on rakho ,hum chalet hain wahan.
Rathore instructed ,and all left for the SUV without wasting anymore time.
As Arjun drove direct to ayesha's address ,Shree stopped him near a square point with his eyes never leaving the laptop screen.
"ek ek min sir.
"kya hua shree.?
Rathore turned his head from the passenger seat.
"pointer sidha nahi dusre raaste ke taraf dikha raha hai.
Shree chirped pointing his finger towards the other way.
"ye toh Ayesha ke ghar jaane ka shortcut road hai.sidhe raaste me traffic bahut jam hoti hai issliye hum kabhi kabhi dusre raaste se chale jaate the.
Raaste ke side me jungle hai jo sidha beach ki taraf jaata hai.
Chhotu said acknowledging the road very well.
"agar maan bhi lo dono iss raaste se Ayesha ke ghar jaa rahi thi,toh pahunchi kyun ni wahan.?
Rathore mumbled in confusion as Arjun took the other route to go through the second road leading to Ayesha's address.
Arjun seemed calm while driving the car,but there was a certain feeling of uneasiness nagging him constantly ,since he heard of the three girls of ETF going missing.
He refrained himself to express any kind of reaction by the news ,but somewhere deep inside his heartbeats were hammering than the usual beating for some reason unknown to him.
His trance was broken by the loud voice of Rathore beside him,who asked him to stop the SUV that instant.
Applying a break to the SUV Arjun moved his eyes to where all were looking at ,only to find Riya's car parked by the roadside ;thus all got off the vehicle and rushed to her car.
"ye Riya ki car yahan kya kar rahi hai.?
Chhotu muttered in disbelief,searching for Riya around ,but there was no glimpse of any human.
"Rawte
Rathore called out easily opening the side door and showed him Riya's mobile laying on the back seat.
"riya ka mobile.sayad charge nahi hai issliye switch off hai.
Arjun inspected the mobile then searched for something else to get a clue of the happenings but there was none.
"damn it.yahan kuch bhi nahi hai.
Rathore cursed ,frustrated when Shree again glanced at his laptop screen.
"sir ,Ayesha ka phone location aas pass dikha raha hai.
Vo bushes ki taraf.
Arjun slipped Riya's phone inside his pant pocket en all started following the path the laptop was indicating at.
After few meters suddenly Chhotu stooped on his tracks ,as soon as his gaze fell on something then he called out loud.
"Sir.
The other trio approached him with quick steps and found a 4/5 yr kid laying inside a bush with injuries all over his body.
Rathore bent down to check his pulse ,then looked up to his team shaking his head.
"mautu ho chuki hai.
Arjun roamed his eyes around for any suspect but not getting any he turned to Shree.
"shree,ambulance ko call karo.
"yes sir.
Shree nodded to him taking few steps back to talk on the phone properly ,but paused noticing something.
"sir,ek aur bacha.
"what.?
All went to where he was standing ,en indeed there was another kid lying in a worse state ;much to their shock.
"mujhe aesa kyun lag raha hai yahan aur bhi bache hain?
Shree ambulance ko call kardo,tab tak hum charon taraf dekhte hain.
Arjun ordered him,en others quickly followed his command.
After some 15 mins of search they had spotted 8 kids ,4 dead & other 4 unconscious in a very bad state whereas finally Shree reached up to Ayesha's mobile buried in the sand near the beach.
"sir,Ayesha ka mobile.
Ri,Ayesha yahan the,upar se itne sare bache .kahin ye dono musibat me toh ni phas gaye.?
Shree mumbled anxiously ,en others kept mum in the same doubt as him.
"sir,mujhe lagta hai hame aur search karna chahiye.Ayesha ,Riya abhi tak mile nahi hain,kya pata aas pass ho.?
Chhotu sounded hopeful.
"sahi keh rahe ho chhotu.Team spread out,har ek jagah search karo.fast.
Rathore announced pulling his gun out and so did others.
Arjun looked inside each and every of the bushes while Rathore,shree ,chhotu were in other directions en after a while he got something in front of him.
"rathore,Shree,Chhotu idhar ajao.
"kya hua Rawte? Kuch mila.?
Rathore questioned reaching up to him,followed by the other duo.
"vo dekho ek chhota sa ghar.i'm sure usme se hame jarur kuch milega.
Let's go & be alert.
Arjun informed them tightening his hold on his gun ,before making their way towards the small house one after another.
On reaching near the entrance Chhotu broke inside the wooden door ,en four of them stood stiff at the scenario in front of them.
Not one or two, many kids were laying inside the room with blood stains scattered all over the floor en the stinking smell made shree cover half of his face with his hanky.
A stunned Rathore tried to cross the room when his foot tripped over something making him fall down .
"sir aap thik hai na.?
Chhotu asked,concerned getting a nod in reply.
Rathore tried getting up but as soon as his gaze fell on who he was tripped over his eyes widened.
"SASKHI.?
Others bent down to look under the table and to their surprise Sakshi laid there unconscious with no external injuries.
Shree checked her pulse en breathed in relief looking up to his two chiefs.
"behosh hai sir.
" chhotu,kahin se paani leke aao jaldi.
Rathore ordered ,to which chhotu nodded not moving his eyes from sakshi.
"haan.
Chhotu looked here and there and at last found a water bottle in a corner ,then brought it to shree.
"shree,ye le.
Shree sprinkled a little water on sakshi's face while calling out her name.
"sakshi.sakshi utho.
After sprinkling some more water Sakshi fluttered her lashes open meekly ,when both Shree,chhotu made her seat leaning her back against the table.
"sakshi tum thik ho? Yahan kaise pahunch gayi.?
"Sakshi kya hua hai yahan? Itne sare bachon ki dead bodies ? aur tumhari aesi halath kisne ki.?
"sakshi sab kuch detail me kaho ki yahan hua kya hai.?
Shree followed by chhotu and then Rathore bombarded with her questions ,when arjun decided to ask what was not leaving his mind.
"sakshi,Ayesha aur Riya kahan hai.?
Tbc..
134