Ariya The Wait

The Wait

Another case was solved,another day over. The team had started to retire for their homes when the second-in-command barged in barking orders at them.

Arjun: Shree!!!

Shree jumped: yes sir?

Arjun: Hetal ke murder ki report ka kya hua?

Shree gulped in fear. He glanced at the others trying to think of an escape.

Arjun: main tumse kuch puch raha hun!!

Shree: woh…woh sir….abhi tak khatam nahi hui

Arjun: Toh Ek Hafte Se Kya Machar Maar Rahe Ho Tum Log?

Ayesha: sir, time nahi mila hum…

Arjun glared at her: mujhe aaj ke aaj report chahiye! Warna Kal Se Office Aane Ki Koi Zaroorat Nahi Hai Samjhe Ya Samjhau?

The juniors opened their mouths to protest but he left the conference room not giving any of them a chance to voice out anything.

Liza: Rathore sir ko complain kare kya?

Shree: paagal hai? agar unhe bhi pata chala ki ek hafte purane case ki report baakhi hai toh aur bhi zyaada daant padegi

Liza: toh kya ab aadhi raat tak jaag kar report banani padegi? Already 9 baj chuke hai

Chotu: are yaar! Mujhe neend aa rahi hai!! ye khadoos kya ab hume sone bhi nahi dega??

Sakshi: are tum chinta mat karo, main usse baat karti hu, dekhna abhi maan jaayega

Shree: please try kar,atleast woh tujhe daant te toh nahi hai

Sakshi giggled and went behind Arjun. She managed to catch him outside his cabin. He pushed open thedoor and was about to step in when her voice feel on his ears.

Sakshi: Arjun!!!

Arjun gritted his teeth.She came forward and tried to talk him out of the report.

Sakshi: Arjun tumhe toh pata haina hum kitni mehnat se case solve karte hai ab ek report reh gayi toh reh gayi hum kal de denge na, itna atyachaar mat karo na, I promise main tumhare liye tumhari favourite cutting laa kar dungi, please maan jao na

Arjun: ho gayi tumhari bakwas?

Sakshi gulped: Arjun woh main toh…

Arjun: Toh Jao Jaa Kar Apna Kaam Karo! Aur tumhare un doston se keh dena ki agar mujhe 2 ghante ke andar-andar report nahi mili toh main unhe apni chai mein mila kar pee jaunga Samjhi Ya Samjhau?

Sakshi: lekin Arjun…

But he entered inside and slammed the door shut on her face. Sakshi sighed and went back dejectedly to the conference room. All eyes looked at her eagerly.

Sakshi: do ghante

The hope turned into horror as they hurriedly picked up papers and fished out the evidences they had collected. Rathore entered the room, wondering why none of them had left, only to find them doing paperwork. He was taken aback. He knew all of them hated the formalities and always tried to escape from them. What was even more surprising was that they were doing all of it without a sound, like their life depended on it. He quickly gathered that it must’ve been a threat from team’s supposed monster and shook his head in disbelief.

Rathore: ho jaaye toh bata dena, cabin mein hu

Shree answered without looking up: ok sir!

Amused, he went back to his cabin to find something to while away the time. A laborious 2 hours later,the file was finally complete and the juniors heaved a sigh of relief.

Liza threw her pen across the table: ye Arjun sir sach mein roz-roz aur bhi zyaada khadoos hote jaa rahe hai

Shree: sach mein, mujhe toh laga tha ki Sikandar ke maare jaane ke baad, unka gussa thoda kam hoga, unki hitlergiri thodi shaant hogi lekin nahi!! in fact uske baad toh aur bhi bad gayi hai. jab dekho tab transfer ki dhamki dete rehte hai

Chotu: aur upar se kar bhi dete hai, yaad nahi tujhe? Agar Rathore sir nahi hote toh main abhi training mein hota

Sakshi: ha yaar, baal-baal bach gaye tum us din, woh bhi sirf isliye kyunki tu conference room mein bina lunch time ke khaana kha raha tha, kabhi-kabhi mujhe samaj mein nahi aata hai ki bhagwan ne itna handsome bande ko itna khadoos kyun banaya?

Ayesha(irritated) : ab koi jaa kar file dekar aao yaar taaki hum sab ghar jaa sake!

Shree: tu hi jaa

Ayesha faked a smile: Shree abhi agar main sir ke saamne gayi na toh 3-4 gaali diye bagair baat nahi kar paungi aur uski saza tum sabko bhi milegi chalega?

Chotu grabbed the file: main jaa raha hun!!!!

He ran out to submit the file.

Shree: main kya keh raha hun…Arjun sir aaye uske pehle hum sab patli gali se nikal le?

They exchanged glances amongst themselves. Bags went on shoulders and the next second the entire conference room was empty.

Arjun’s cabin-

He tried concentrating on the report in front of him but wasn’t able to. He sighed and glanced at his watch. It was a few minutes to 12. The entire office was dark except for the light in his cabin. He put the file down and made a cup of tea for himself in the pantry. He wasn’t fond of the teabags but had no other option at the late hour. He went to the terrace with his mug and sat up on the platform enjoying the light breeze and city line.

It had become his favourite place in the past year. It reminded him of her promise. It gave him hope for the next day and will to live through it.

Flashback

They were standing in the exact same place, with the silence that they always perfectly shared between them. Rathore, Shree and Chotu had thrown her a tiny farewell in the office of which Arjun was a silent spectator. It had only been a few days since he had put Sikandar to justice and she had been his strength all along. He was unable to accept the fact that she was leaving ETF. He left the room and had come up there for solace where she had followed him. How could she ever not?

She finally broke the silence: aap jaante hai main kyun jaa rahi hu

Arjun: isliye nahi rok paa raha hu

He had decided to checkup on her at the hospital as she recovered from Xora because he had overheard Shree telling Rathore that she had no family who they could contact. Arjun found her muffling her sobs into the pillow unaware of his arrival. Needless to say, he was shocked at seeing the ever so cheerful Riya in such a vulnerable state. He had seen her before, when she shot a criminal to save his life but something told him this was different.

He immediately went forward to comfort her. She was surprised to see him there but her emotions had taken over her. She wept in his arms crying bitterly. In the weak moment, she spilled the beans in front of him.

Her father, a police officer himself, had been tortured brutally and killed in front of her eyes.She was 15, when a gang of men attacked her house. He had hid her safely in a closet and faced 10 of them alone. With his wife taken hostage, there wasn’t much that he could do except bear the pain they were inflicting upon him in exchange for information. He knew that even if he gave the information, neither of them would be spared hence, decided to keep his mouth shut. The men tried everything in their power, beating him up, molesting Riya’s mother, breaking glass on his body, singing him with cigarette butts and what not. Tired at last, they shot both of them and left the house, unaware of the traumatized child in the closet who had witnessed the horrific crime through the keyhole.

She missed them terribly while lying on the hospital bed, barely out from the jaws of death. Such had been her disorientation that she had expected them to be on the bedside when she opened her eyes, forgetting the painful memories for a few moments.

She smiled lightly and turned to face him: aapko pata hai, mere papa mujhse kehte the ki insaan ki sabse badi taakat aur uski sabse badi kamzori humesha ek hi hoti hai kyunki hum taakat ko khona nahi chahte aur kamzori ko kho nahi paate

Arjun: you do realise tum police department ke sabse adiyal insaan se baat kar rahi ho, right? Tum chahe kuch bhi kar lo, main tumhara intezaar karnewaala hun

Riya: rishton mein ekdusre ka faayda nahi uthaya jaata

Arjun faced her: rishton mein ek dusre ka saath bhi nahi choda jaata

She sighed: mujhe nahi pata ki main kamyaab ho paungi ya nahi, mujhe ye bhi nahi pata ki main waapis aa paungi ya bhi nahi

Arjun: mere jazbaat na waqt ke mohtaaj hai aur na hi zindgi ke

Riya: aap sach mein bahot adiyal hai

Arjun: jaanta hun

He turned to look outside again. Riya shook her head in disbelief. She glanced at him for a few seconds and started walking towards the door.

Arjun turned suddenly: Riya ruko!

She paused and turned: ji?

Arjun walked to her,removing the chain from his neck. He opened it and slid out his engagement ring before wearing the chain again. She looked on, confused at what he doing. He took her hand and placed the ring in her palm.

Arjun: mujhe yaad rakhna(he gazed into her eyes) tum meri taakat ho. Umeed karunga ki ise dekhkar tumhe bhi hausla mile

She teared up as she clenched the ring: agar lauti, toh zaroor aaungi

Arjun: niklo ab, warna tumhe dhundhte hue pura circus yaha aa jaayega aur ETF ki pyaari si research specialist ko aakhri din uske doston se door rakhne ke liye mujhe gaaliyaan milengi

Riya giggled: tension mat lijiye, un dono mein itni himmat nahi hai

Arjun rolled his eyes: jao Riya

Riya grinned and shook her head as she left the terrace. Arjun went back to the platform. He closed his eyes and a tear rolled down his cheek.

Flashback Ends

There had been no contact with her ever since. The others were only under the impression that it was a routine transfer but only he knew the truth behind it. Time had passed and she had remained a beautiful memory for everyone. Ayesha, Liza and Sakshi had then joined the team progressively but her absence continued to prick him more and more. The uncertainty of her being in some corner of the country,alone, maybe scared, maybe wanting a shoulder to lean on, maybe needing words of encouragement tore him apart from the inside. The days tormented him and the nights even more so.

The more he tried to brush away negative thoughts the more they strengthened and kept coming back for him. They manifested themselves in his dreams and in his anger. Many a times, he knew he was getting aggressive unnecessarily, removing his anger on everyone around him but that was the only way he could let out his emotions. The atheist ACP had even turned to praying every day for safety and success. And in between all of this, time tortured him the most………………………………

Index

Part 2 : pg 6

Part 3 : pg 9

Part 4 : pg 12

Epilogue: pg 15