Part 10
The air inside the ETF office was thick with tension. The breakthrough in the case should have been a moment of relief, but instead, it felt like the calm before a storm. The team's key witness, Alok Sharma, had finally agreed to testify against Rakesh Khurana, but they all knew—Rakesh wouldn't let it happen without a fight.
Arjun stood near the large board where all their evidence was pinned. His sharp eyes scanned every detail, every thread connecting Rakesh to Rajeev Malhotra’s murder. They had enough to make an arrest, but not enough to make it stick in court.
Sameer walked up beside him, arms crossed. "Rakesh bahut shaatir hai, Rawte. Agar Alok gawahi dene se pehle hi mar gaya toh?"
Arjun's jaw tightened. "Iss baar aisa nahi hoga, Rathore. Alok ki security humaari zimmedaari hai."
Sameer gave him a look. "Aur agar Rakesh ne humse ek kadam aage socha toh?"
Arjun didn’t answer immediately. He never underestimated his enemies. Rakesh had money, power, and men willing to do his dirty work. They had just cornered a dangerous man—and dangerous men always retaliated.
"Hum sirf protection pe bharosa nahi kar sakte," Riya spoke up, her voice firm. She had been reviewing the files from across the room, but now she approached them. "Humein Rakesh ko ek aise crime mein fasaana hoga jo airtight ho. Jismein uska bachna namumkin ho."
Arjun turned to her. For a brief second, their eyes met—an unspoken understanding passing between them.
She was right.
And for the first time in a long time, they were thinking like partners again.
***
Rakesh Khurana was a man used to controlling things. When he walked into his luxury office that evening, he wasn’t expecting to feel… vulnerable. But as he settled into his chair, his phone rang, and the moment he picked up, a distorted voice greeted him.
"Mr. Khurana, ETF tumhare peeche hai. Tumhari sachai bahut jaldi duniya ke saamne aane waali hai."
Rakesh stiffened. "Kaun bol raha hai?"
The voice chuckled. "Woh mat socho. Yeh socho ki ab tumhara kya hoga."
The call ended.
Rakesh slammed the phone on the desk, his face dark with rage. He had spent years eliminating threats before they could become problems. But this…
This was different.
"Agar ETF mere peeche hai… toh mujhe bhi kuch karna hoga."
His fingers hovered over his phone for a moment before he made a call.
"Alok Sharma… zinda nahi bachna chahiye."
***
Alok sat in the dimly lit safe house, nervous, sweating, restless. He had agreed to testify, but the fear hadn’t left his bones. Every small sound made him flinch.
Shree and Chotu were outside, guarding the premises, while inside, Riya sat across from him, watching him closely.
"Agar tum itne dare hue ho, toh pehle bata diya hota," she said softly.
Alok looked at her. "Tumhe nahi pata yeh log kya kar sakte hain… woh Rajeev ko bhi maar chuke hain, mujhe bhi maar denge."
Riya leaned forward. "Toh phir chup rehne ka kya faayda? Tum daroge toh jeet unhi ki hogi. Gawahi doge toh tumhare paas ek naya jeene ka mauka hoga."
Alok swallowed. He wanted to believe that. He really did.
But outside the safe house, danger was already lurking.
Hidden in the shadows, two men observed the building from a distance. They exchanged a nod, confirming their orders.
They weren’t here to scare Alok.
They were here to kill him.
***
1:37 AM.
The silence of the night was shattered by the sound of gunfire.
The first bullet struck the glass window of the safe house, sending shards flying. Alok screamed, ducking under the table.
Riya instantly reacted, pulling out her gun. "Alok, neeche raho!"
Outside, Shree and Chotu took cover behind the parked SUV as more bullets rained down on them.
"Sir, hum par hamla ho raha hai!" Shree shouted into his earpiece.
Sameer and Arjun, who were monitoring from a distance, immediately sprung into action.
"Shree, Chotu, cover lo! Main aur Rawte aa rahe hain!" Sameer commanded.
Arjun was already behind the wheel, his foot pressing hard on the accelerator.
"Aaj Rakesh ne apni sabse badi galti kar di," he muttered.
***
Riya kept her body low as she fired back at the attackers. They were professional—they knew exactly where to aim, how to avoid direct exposure.
But they had made one miscalculation.
They had underestimated her.
She spotted one of them trying to sneak around the back. In a swift move, she aimed and fired—one precise shot.
The man collapsed, clutching his bleeding leg.
The other, realising they were losing, tried to retreat—but before he could, Arjun burst into the scene.
With a single, calculated shot, Arjun hit the gun out of the attacker's hand. The man froze.
"Hath upar," Arjun’s voice was dangerously low. "Agar ek aur kadam bhi chalaya toh zinda nahi bachoge."
Sameer arrived seconds later, backing him up. The remaining attacker surrendered, dropping his weapon.
The battle was over.
But the war wasn’t.
***
Back at ETF headquarters, Riya was bandaging a small wound on her arm when Arjun walked in.
For a moment, neither of them spoke. There were too many unsaid words between them, too many wounds deeper than the ones on their skin.
"Tum theek ho?" he finally asked.
Riya’s hands stilled for a second before she nodded. "Haan."
Silence again.
Then, she looked at him. "Agar aaj hum late ho jaate, toh Alok bhi Rajeev ki tarah mar jaata."
Arjun held her gaze. "Lekin hum late nahi hue."
She exhaled. "Hamesha hum late nahi honge, Arjun."
There was a weight behind those words, a meaning beyond the case. A reminder of the time when they had been too late to save something precious between them.
Arjun didn’t answer.
Because some wounds… even time couldn’t heal.
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