PART - 6:
AUGUST 21, 2009:
PLACE: DELHI:
Rajesh stirred and tried to get up, he couldn't. His head was very heavy and the hangover of the previous night was still there. Very slowly and with faltering steps, he stood up and looked around. He was in the bar of the hotel. A worried Roshni was sitting in front of him. Two waiters stood respectfully some distance away. "Roshni, what are you doing here?" he muttered with great difficulty.
"As if you don't know. What are you doing here?" she asked angrily.
He held his head in his hands. "I came down for a drink and was joined by Ms. Naina Singh who was waiting for Mr. Shekhawat. We had a couple of drinks. After that, I don't remember." He tried hard to recollect.
"From the state you are in, I can very well gauze that you didn't have a couple of drinks but many more." Roshni said sarcastically.
"I just had two, I swear."
"Shut up." Roshni hissed under her breath. "Don't create a scene here." Aloud she said, "It's okay Mr. Solanki. I think it would be better if you go to your room. I will take care of the fare." She signaled to the two waiters who came forward and helped Rajesh Solanki to go to his room.
Roshni was left thinking. Why was Naina here? Waiting in the bar for that Major didn't make any sense... especially when they were on the same floor. So was she here with some other intention? Nobody knew for sure, but she was a celebrated crime reporter and had a nose for breaking news as well as the ability to ferret out the truth. Whether she knew anything or not, she had to be silenced. There was still no news of Prem. Their goons had been waylaid. "Uufff!!!" she held her head in frustration. Nothing seemed to be making any sense.
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Rajveer had spent a sleepless night worrying over the myriad of problems which had encapsulated him in a cage and from which he could find no way out. Prem's kidnapping was logical but his mysterious rescue was baffling. Besides, if Prem had been rescued then why hadn't he returned? Was he with friends or foes? He had informed Naveen about Prem's kidnapping. They had planned to wait one more day before taking any drastic step. At this juncture any hurried and careless step would spoil their plan.
Aditi's condition was too distressing. She had been completely shattered. This kidnapping had served as the proverbial last straw. Then there was Naina to worry about who had run her head into danger. Rajesh and Roshni wouldn't spare her. The scene of the previous night came back to him for the umpteenth time. Not that he had been able to forget it; he had simply avoided thinking about it. Now everything came back rushing to him and he couldn't understand what had gripped him then. How could he do it? Was he so jealous and angry that he ended up kissing her? But it was not entirely his fault; she had responded as well. So why did she respond?
All these days he had been treating this as a simple attraction from both sides; but suddenly he came face to face with his heart. Was it the same case with her? He would have to find out. He decided to corner her later in the day. Now that he had given a patient hearing to his heart and mind; he felt bad at the way he had retreated last night. He decided to set it right and doggedly got up. He had to prepare for another hectic day and this time his mission was to trap Rajesh Solanki. He knew Naveen would co -ordinate the team at head quarters perfectly. He would have to see the divisions of tasks over here. He knew he had twin troubles... find out about Rajesh Solanki as well as to protect Naina from that rogue. If Roshni was involved... then there were chances of Lalit's involvement as well. Supposing Lalit was involved, he found himself in a disadvantageous position. There was no trace of Prem and he didn't feel like troubling Aditi at this juncture who already was at her most vulnerable point. He was alone against three enemies. It was not going to be easy to corner them.
He had finished dressing by the time the ringing of the door bell disturbed him out of his reverie. He had absolutely no idea about his visitor. Surprised and confused about his guest so early in the morning, he went out into the drawing room and towards the door.
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Naina hadn't slept a wink throughout the night. She simply sat there on the couch and kept a watch on Aditi for some time until she drifted off to her own world. She had been hurt by the way Rajveer had pulled out. It was too insulting for her. For the first time in her life she had fallen for someone who had come to occupy a special position in her life... and she had come face to face with his feelings and her own without any warning. Against her nature, she had trusted her heart instead of the mind and given herself to his demands and her own longings. But was this the result? Probably it wouldn't have shaped up this way if she had only cared to listen to her head.
She looked deep inside her soul and was surprised to find no trace of any regret over her actions. She felt unusually satiated... a strange sort of calmness. But yes... she had been hurt by his retreat. She wondered if it was because he thought that in such tensed times when his first priority should have been Prem, he felt guilty of indulging in his personal whims and satisfactions. The more she thought about it, the more she realized that she was right. He blamed himself for getting carried away in a flood of emotions. She thought for a long time and decided to give him a break... he should find out Prem first. He also had his other group members; they had to be informed. She realized that he was going through a rough patch; on top of it this confrontation with his inner turmoil was too much to bear. He needed time to deal with these problems; his first priority was the successful completion of his mission. The slip made by him was very human... but the way he retreated.... she didn't know what to think about it.
Lost deep in her thoughts, she didn't realize when night turned into day. A soft touch on her knee broke her chain of thoughts and she looked down to find Aditi kneeling down in front of her. "Aditi...!!! Are you all right?"
The girl nodded and looked at her. "You didn't sleep last night?"
"I couldn't." Naina said in a flat voice. "I really cannot understand what's happening." There was a pause and in the silence Aditi noticed the faraway look in the eyes of her companion. Naina shook her head to clear her muddled brain and looked at Aditi.
"So are you okay now?" she asked.
Aditi nodded in agreement.
"What do you propose to do now?"
"I will join Rajveer Sir now... it's not fair to dump the entire work on him." Aditi replied quietly. Little did she know that Naina knew everything about her work. She only saw the appreciative smile on Naina's face at her words.
"I'll leave now. See you in the fare grounds." She got up to leave the room. However she hesitated for a few minutes at the door and then again turned around to find Naina gazing at her steadily. She smiled at the other woman who radiated confidence with her very presence and had been a source of strength for her. "Th... Thanks for ... everything Naina." And she was gone leaving an amused Naina behind her.
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Prem woke up in a strange bedroom. It took him a couple of minutes to focus on his surroundings... then he remembered about the happenings of the previous day. "What had that girl said... yes... he was with his friends. He looked around and saw a door in the opposite corner of the room. That had to be the washroom. He got up and swung his legs from the bed. His attention was caught by a note on the bedside table. He picked it up.
"Good Morning Captain...
Hope you had a good sleep. If you are all right and in mood for some excitement then you are most welcome to join us in this mission which is same as yours. Your dress is there on the couch and the washroom is in the opposite corner, which I hope you must have noticed. After you finish your morning task... do come out of your room, the door isn't locked.
I had come to your room with a cup of tea in the morning according to your wont, but you were sleeping so peacefully that I didn't feel like disturbing you. So I have kept the tea on the center table. It is still hot... you can see that. Do have it.
Waiting to see you out of your bed and in the living room...
Ritika..."
Prem smiled at these arrangements. How did this girl know about his likes and dislikes? Reserving to ask her about this later, he went on following the instructions in the letter.
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"Did you understand what I said?" Roshni spoke in hissed whisper. Her voice was dead cold. Anybody might say that she was furious... but she herself knew that she was more scared than angry. The man at the other end of the phone however was not the one to judge her mood. He understood only one thing... his job. And why not... he was a contract killer after all... that was his job. A fount sound of his mobile made him pick it up. A MMS showed him the snap of a girl smiling at him. This was his new victim ' Reporter Naina Singh. He had to finish her by this evening.
He got up to contact his other henchmen. He was about 6 feet in height, heavily built with a thick moustache and bloodshot eyes which indicated that he was a heavy drinker. In fact, he always smelt of alcohol. They were a group of three people and they always worked together...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Rajveer opened the door to find Aditi standing in front of him. "Aditi... are you okay? Do come inside." She obeyed and closed the door behind her. Looking at him, she could see the concern in his eyes. With a start she realized that he knew everything and also understood her situation. She was ashamed of the way she had broken down yesterday when her job demanded her to be alert and watchful even in the face of gravest troubles and dangers. "I'm really sorry for my behavior yesterday Sir...!!!" she began but Rajveer stopped her in between.
"Don't be... I can understand how you were feeling. It was very natural reaction... besides we were expecting some trouble but none of us expected something to happen so soon..."
Aditi simply nodded her head in agreement deeply grateful to her senior for being so understanding. She didn't know how she would have explained her position otherwise. "Anyways... are you all right today?" he asked.
She nodded her head in positive and he indicated her to take a seat. "Then there is something you should know." And he proceeded to tell her all about Rajesh Solanki which Naina had told him leaving Aditi shocked to the core. "How did Naina knew about us? And how come she suspected Solanki?"
Rajveer smiled ruefully at this. "Believe me Captain Sehegal... I would love to know how she found out about me, but right now I can't do that. There are more serious issues which need our attention... and one of them is Naina's protection. I have a haunch that something is going to happen today. We need to be on alert."
Aditi nodded in agreement and asked. "So what are the orders Sir?"
"Fairly simple at this point of time. Get ready and then the three of us are going to the fairground today... and someone should be with Naina all the time. She is not to be left alone at any cost, though I know she is fairly capable of taking care of herself."
Aditi nodded and left the room. However, when half an hour later she went up to meet her senior; the things were no longer so simple. Because Naina had already gone out on her own. Rajveer was irritated as well as tensed. The situation had started to turn negative for him.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Prem came out of his room to find the ever graceful and smiling Ritika waiting for him in the living room. She was sitting in one of the couches and was engrossed in the morning paper. However she looked up as he came and stood by her side. Her face broke into a smile and she greeted him pleasantly. "Good Morning...!!! Hope you didn't have any problem!"
"No... In fact your arrangements were perfect. But I'm intrigued."
Ritika smiled. "I know you have a lot of questions but right now the first thing is breakfast. This way please." And she led him towards the dining room. Looking at Ritika, Prem knew that she was not a girl to be forced into answering a question, so he kept quiet and waited for her to clear his confusion on her own accord. The breakfast was excellent and inspite of all his restlessness, he found himself enjoying the food.
The dining room was quite large and in the form of a rectangle. The glass topped dining table was oval in shape with its borders made of dark coloured wood. The chairs were also made of same material. In front of the table was a large window which overlooked the garden. As far as Prem could see, the garden was a large area and just outside the dining room he could see the varieties of flowers - roses, tulips and lilies as well as tuberose and jasmine. The sweet smell from the flowers filled the room and he started inhaling them deeply. A cabinet stood in the far corner of the room and next to it was a door which Prem guessed to be the kitchen. The cabinet was sure to contain the crockery. After they had finished eating, Ritika quickly cleared the table declining to take any help from Prem, and then led him to a door which was just behind the chair on which he was sitting.
The door opened into a very large room which was covered with a myriad of instruments. There were 6 computers in the room which were active and blinking. In addition, three laptops lay open on a huge table placed in the centre of the room and were attached to various gadgets. A screen on the wall in front of him displayed the happenings in the fare ground. All these various gadgets reminded Prem of their tech savvy officer Captain Akshat Singhania. He turned to look at Ritika with a faint smile on his face. "Does this mean you are a gadget freak?"
She laughed at his question as she fiddled with the keys of a laptop. "No... that is Ashank's department. But I can manage reasonably well."
"You all are monitoring the fare grounds. Does that mean..." his eyes were fixed on the screen.
"Yes Captain Juneja... we are here in search of that smuggler cum terrorist. And we have to foil his plan."
"Call me Prem. And what makes you think it is a He?"
"Because it is Rajesh Solanki." Ritika replied without even looking up from the laptop. With a short excuse me, she picked up the microphone and barked into it. "Aalekh, take your position in the fair. Remember Solanki shouldn't leave his place till evening. And ask Ashank not to fiddle with his shirt button... it will give him away. Besides if the transmitter is destroyed, he won't have the ways to repair it or make a new one there." With that she disconnected the connection.
"Now, I guess you would want to know who we are." She had turned towards Prem.
Prem nodded in a yes and in a few succinct words Ritika told him all about herself and their mission. She also showed him her colleagues and also pointed them out in the screen.
"Ohk... But what about your chief?"
"Chief will be here by this evening. But we don't address Chief like this. We..." A beeping sound broke their conversation.
"Somebody is making a phone call." Prem remarked.
Without a word, Ritika crossed over to the 4th computer and picked up the microphone. She handed another one to Prem. Together they listened to the conversation of Roshni with the hired killer.
"What has Naina done to land up in this trouble?" Prem was too shocked to react.
"I think Rajesh Solanki knows that she has penetrated his disguise. I must alert the chief at once." She checked her pockets for her cell phone but couldn't find it. "Prem... keep a watch here while I get my cell phone. I think I have left it in the dining room."
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Rajveer was extremely irritated as well as worried by this turn of events. Naina was no where to be found. The receptionist had informed them that Naina had left in the morning with her usual set of cameras and Raj had assumed that she would have gone to the fare grounds. He quickly made his way there scanning the roads anxiously but she was not in sight. His concern mounting, he almost rushed to the grounds not even bothering to park the car properly... yet at the same time trying hard to maintain the identity of a businessman. Naina was not there.
Raj didn't know what had caused this disappearance and whether it had anything to do with the incident of the previous night. He could only hope that Roshni had nothing to do with this. He tried calling her up on her cell phone, but it gave him a busy tone. After that, all he heard when he tried to call her up was either unreachable or else switched off. Irritated and positively disgusted, he flung the phone away. "Don't these telecom people know if the phone is out of reach or switched off?" he asked in anger. Aditi kept quiet not wanting to infuriate him any further.
"Where the hell has she disappeared?" Rajveer thought to himself. He really was at a loss about the next step to be taken. Just then he noticed a shaken Solanki making his way into his stall with Roshni supporting him by his side. Inspite of all the troubles, Rajveer smiled to himself. Naina had obviously done a perfect job. From the way Rajesh Solanki was walking, Rajveer could realize that the after effects of the drug were still there. Almost out of his own violation, he murmured under his breath. "Well done Naina...!!!"
But Rajveer was not the only person who was looking for Naina. Roshni too had her eye for the reporter who had managed to penetrate their plans. But Naina was not there. And it was only in the afternoon that Aditi finally spotted Naina making her way towards the stall of Solanki Enterprises. Aditi rushed out without a second's hesitation and caught up with Naina. "Naina, I need to talk to you... please come with me."
Naina looked at the face of the distraught girl in front of her, but before she could ask anything, Aditi almost dragged her towards their tent and pushed her towards the inner depths of it where she found a positively tensed Raj waiting for her. Aditi had quietly confined herself to an end of the tent. But Rajveer hardly cared whether she listened to their conversation or not.
"Where were you?" he asked through clenched teeth as he took in her appearance. She was dressed in a black coloured frock teemed with white belt; the frock reaching up to her knees. Long black chandelier ear rings dangled near her shoulders and she had a wrist watch with black band on her right hand. She was wearing high heeled shoes.
"Had gone to see the Qutub Minar." Naina replied in a matter of fact voice which infuriated him further.
"You wanted to see Qutub Minar after the incidents of last night??? Don't test my patience Naina... as it is I don't have much. And you are not going anywhere alone." He declared firmly.
"Why so?" Naina wanted to know.
"Because you are in danger."
"I can take care of myself. Besides, how can you be so sure?" she wanted to know.
"Because I have a haunch that something is going to happen tonight. Besides, isn't it advisable to take a few precautions?" He held up his hands to stem her words. "Naina... please, for God's sake... listen to me." He pleaded desperately.
Naina stopped arguing, but she had a condition. "After this fare, you will be coming with me. You will have to don the role of my chauffer." She added in a very serious way.
Rajveer looked at her in wonder. Her face was expressionless and there was no trace of any feelings in her eyes. But if anything was the problem, she was looking more beautiful than before. Her red eyes proclaimed that she hadn't slept a wink last night. But that was the only trace he got from her persona about the events of the last night. He wanted to clear everything, he badly wanted to do it... but she turned and walked away to join Aditi in the front portion of the stall and whatever he had wanted to say remained within him. With a sigh, he got back to his work. He had been outlining the plan of surrounding the fare to Naveen.
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Roshni had immediately alerted the contract killer when Naina made her way out of the ground in the evening with Rajveer and Aditi. But what she didn't mention was that Rajveer and Aditi were army people. So when the trio made their way out in Rajveer's white limousine, they couldn't see another group of three goons following them in separate bikes.
Rajveer drove straight towards the Noida ' Delhi Highway where Prem's mobile was traced for the last time. "Why are you going there?" Naina wanted to know.
"I want to find out what actually happened there."
"And how will you do it? Didn't you visit this place with the police yesterday? If you couldn't find anything there yesterday, how would you find something today, especially after 24 hours?" Naina argued.
"You are right, but..." Rajveer trailed off.
Naina looked at him in surprise. "But what...?" she wanted to know. She had been avoiding Rajveer throughout the morning, but had agreed to remain with him because she had wanted to take him and Aditi somewhere.
"But... Oh hell... I don't know. I just want to take a last look at that place."
They stopped at the exact place where Prem had been rescued by mysterious people and had then disappeared. Rajveer asked the girls to remain in the car and started looking around for something... something which he had seen yesterday but it hadn't registered in his mind earlier. He was so lost that he didn't pay attention when the bikes neared closer. He looked up when they halted near them with a screech... and when he looked up, it was already late. Three guns were pointed at each one of them.
"Come out of the car." A man ordered Naina. He seemed to be their boss. Naina didn't budge from her place, she simply kept staring at them defiantly. The man perhaps was not used to such disobedience. He flared up immediately. "Chotu, get her." He ordered a thin, lanky man who was pointing his gun at Aditi.
This time Naina came out of the car on her own accord. Rajveer had to marvel at her courage and nerves. There wasn't the slightest trace of fear on her face. Instead she appeared nonchalant and carefree. She came and stood some distance away from her predator and stared at him. His height and built were intimidating, but Naina wasn't bothered in the least.
"You are going to die." He said without preamble. "And if you try to run away, then your friends here are going to be killed."
"As if you will leave them after killing me." She replied calmly. The smell of country made liquor mingled with sweat was nauseating, yet she controlled herself.
Rajveer meanwhile surveyed the man covering him. He was of the same height as him, stocky and was wearing a cap. He knew it wouldn't take him two minutes to bring the fellow under control. Nor would Aditi find it difficult to tackle the thin, lanky friend of theirs. But it was Naina who was pitted against the formidable opponent.
Rajveer was watching Naina continuously. From the way her body had stiffened, he knew she would be attacking him any minute now. Aditi too had come out of the car and was standing outside. She was looking at him. He signaled her with his eyes, and she knew. She turned her face in Naina's direction.
The goon had meanwhile reduced the distance and was standing close to Naina now with the nozzle resting on her forehead and his fingers curled around the trigger. "You are gone." He said with a cruel smile.
After that, everything happened at a breakneck speed. In a flash, a karate chop had rendered her enemy empty handed. The gun flew out of his hand and landed somewhere in the roadside bushes. Naina kicked him hard in the gut. Simultaneously Rajveer threw himself on his opponent and managed to knock him senseless in less than two minutes.
Aditi kicked the gun out of the hands of the man called Chotu and was now fighting with him. The gun landed near Naina and the goon. Naina was in the worst position. Her opponent had managed to throw her on the road and now picked up the gun which had been lying near him. As he pointed the nozzle at her as she tried to control her reeling head, someone pushed her out of the way. At the same instant, a gunshot rang out.
"RAJJJJ........................" Naina screamed out in terror. The bullet had hurt Raj in his left shoulder. Her eyes blazed like inferno. Picking up a stone, she threw it at him. Her aim was perfect; the gun went flying out of his hand. Aditi meanwhile had managed to knock Chotu senseless and now came running towards her. Naina however didn't wait for a second. She pulled out a small but powerful revolver from the left shoe and took aim. After a shot, everything fell silent. The man was dead.
Now she turned her attention towards Raj. He was lying half in her lap and half on the road. "Raj... Raj are you okay... are you all right??? For heaven's sake, tell me something." Her voice was chocked though she managed to keep her tears at bay. Raj groaned a little and tried to move... then winced in pain. She quickly checked his wound... the bullet had grazed his shoulder... but the cut produced was deep. "Raj... can you hear me... can you hear me... Raj..." she shook him.
"uufff..." he managed to get up with the help of the two girls. "Damn... I was knocked out or what...???"
"No... it was force of this bullet... Now come, get into the car." She supported him from one side, while Aditi held him from the other. Together they made their way towards the car. She put him in the back seat and slid next to him.
"Can you drive this limousine?"
Aditi nodded in agreement and took to the wheels.
"Aditi... follow my directions and steer the car accordingly." Her voice was commanding. Aditi looked at her in surprise but a look at Raj stalled all her protests and she did as Naina commanded her to. If Raj trusted Naina implicitly, then there was no reason why she shouldn't do it...
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Prem, Ritika, Abhimanyu, Sneha and Aalekh sat around the dining table sipping their coffee and chatting about the events of the day. "Raj and Aditi remained with Naina throughout the day." Sneha said.
"Yes... but why hasn't..." the shrill sound of the door bell broke into their conversation.
"It has to be your chief. It is almost time, isn't it?" Prem asked.
"So it seems..." Sneha smiled and rushed to open the door. A minute later they heard her excited hi which drowned as suddenly as it had begun. Sensing something to be wrong, all of them went out and the sight which greeted their eyes shocked them to the core. Naina and Aditi were supporting an injured Rajveer in to the room. The minute Ritika saw Rajveer, her face underwent a subtle change. Naina saw this and gestured her to keep quiet.
Aditi stopped in her tracks as soon as she spotted Prem among the crowd. "Pre...m" she managed to whisper. Rajveer too had seen his junior and was now staring at him with mixed feelings of surprise, concern and relief. Prem went forward. "Sir... how did this...?"
"I'm okay Prem, but how come you are here?" Finally the surprise carried the day. Leaving Rajveer in the care of his juniors and their other friends, Naina and Ritika went inside.
"They saved me when I was being kidnapped." Prem told him in brief. Raj would have questioned further but now Naina who had disappeared inside the house reappeared with Ritika by her side and put all the talks to a rest. "Reserve your questions for later. Right now, this wound of yours needs to be dressed. Come along." She said. Her bearing had changed ever since she had come here and looking at her Rajveer felt a bit strange. It was then that he noticed Ritika.
"Ritika.... what are you doing here?" Silence followed this question. The whole room had gone quiet. Nobody knew that Raj and Ritika knew each other except two people.
"Riti... I asked you something... what are you doing here?" Still silence followed his question. Ritika was looking at the floor. Naina looked at both of them and decided to intervene. "Can't you ask these afterwards?"
Rajveer looked at Naina and then again at Ritika trying hard to understand what was happening here. "All right... so what's happening here? Which place is this and how do you fit into these schemes of things?" The question was addressed to both of them, but the peal of the door bell disturbed them again. "Must be Ashank..." Ritika tried to go from there but Naina stopped her.
"Running away from a question doesn't help in any way Riti. Sneha, open the door. It has to be Ashank..."
When Rajveer set his eyes on Ashank, he was too shocked to react. "L..a..."
"No, not Lalit, Ashank... Ashank Dave. He is a member of our group and right now you are in the temporary head quarters of SPECIAL OPERATION CELL."
"What is this Special Operation Cell?" Raj wanted to know.
"It is a group of undercover cops. I'm Ashank Dave, he is..."
"Ashank, reserve the introductions for later. Right now, Major Shekhawat needs rest. He is injured and needs first aid now. Ritika, you attend to his wounds."
"So you also are a member of SOC." This statement was meant for Ritika and this time she nodded in a yes. "I'm sorry, I didn't tell you earlier. But I couldn't... I mean we are not allowed to...."
Rajveer didn't reply, simply looked at her with a blank face. His expressionless face scared her. "I'm really sorry... I couldn't tell you." Tears clouded in her eyes and she was about to cry when Raj burst out laughing.
"I perfectly understand your situation Riti..." His tone was affectionate and he continued in the same voice. "I know about PROTOCOLS Riti... so relax. I'm not angry with you... infact..." he paused and she looked up at him expectantly.
"In fact... I'm very happy with you. After all... my darling kid sister has grown up to be such a brave girl and I was not aware of it...!!!" He smiled indulgently at her and beckoned her to come closer with his unhurt hand. Crying and laughing at the same time, Ritika rushed into his arms.
"Idiot..." Raj laughed and ruffled her hair.
Naina smiled at this scene while the rest looked on in surprise.
"Ritika... oh..." Abhimanyu stopped in middle. He had just come out of the control room. He turned towards Naina. "Can you help in this?" he showed her a paper.
"What is this?" Both the girls asked at the same time.
"It's a code we just heard. One of you has to help us."
"Ritika... u see to his wounds, I'll check this code."
"Ch... uh... Naina... why don't you dress his wounds while I see to this code?"
"Why... anything the matter Riti..." Naina was concerned.
"Actually... I can't see Bhaiya wounded." Ritika conceded in a small voice. Rajveer started laughing.
"She always starts crying even if it is a mere scratch. As if it is not me but she who is hurt."
Naina stared at the pair for a couple of minutes, then agreed. "Okay... you all go to the control room, Sneha you take Aditi to her room, I'll see to his wounds." She took Raj with her knowing all the while that Raj wanted to ask her a number of questions. She was right, for the moment they were in the room and Naina closed the door behind her, Raj turned towards her. "Where do you fit in the SOC?" he asked though he had already guessed the answer.
Naina sighed and pushed him on to the bed. "Can't you ask these questions later?" she unbuttoned his shirt as she shot the repeat question.
"No... And I won't allow you to dress my wounds till you answer my questions." He held her hands in his tight grip. This time Naina didn't fidget in his grip... instead she sank on to the floor. "So you need an answer?"
"Yes... I do..." he was adamant.
"Raj... please... I'll tell you everything but let me see to your injury first." She again started unbuttoning his shirt and taking care not to hurt him more, took it off. It was drenched with blood. She pulled out his vest and made him sit cross legged on the bed. The bullet hadn't lodged itself in his shoulders but the cut produced was a deep one. She looked at his face once and then touched it to check its depth. He winced in pain but bit his lips almost as quickly to stop himself from crying out.
"Its paining... isn't it?"
"It's okay... go ahead." He replied with a slight smile.
Naina quickly brought the first aid kit and started wiping away the blood with a cotton dabbed in an antiseptic lotion. After she finished cleaning the wound, she applied some antiseptic cream and then bandaged it deftly. "Done...!!!" She said after some time.
He slowly opened his eyes to find her sitting in front of him. "It's paining, isn't it... and you are lying." She said in a soft voice. He smiled a little and shook his head in negation. "It might have been painful but with you around it wasn't. In fact... I'm glad I hurt myself..." He couldn't continue... she had put her fingers on his lips to stop him.
"Why did you have to come in between the bullet and me?" she asked.
"Do I really have to explain it even after..." he paused, not knowing what to say as she waited for him to complete his sentence. He sighed and took her hands in his. "So you are the..." she nodded.
"I'm sorry..." scared of his long pause she finally spoke in a small voice. He looked up at her anxious face and shook his head. "Don't be... I'm not thinking about SOC right now."
"On the contrary, I should be sorry... for... for last night. I... didn't..."
"Its okay... you didn't have to explain Raj. I can understand... you were worried for Prem and perhaps also for Aditi... You were feeling bad for it... weren't you? Why do you screw things up so badly Raj?" she was laughing at his expression now. She went forward and sat down on his lap and wound her arms round his neck. Almost automatically, he wrapped his one arm round her waist while another went up to her back to support her. "Yes... you are right, I was worried about Prem and at that time... I remembered about Aditi and couldn't help feeling guilty."
"I understood that much Raj... And can we drop that topic?" she asked.
"Does that mean I'm forgiven?"
"On one condition."
"What is that?"
"Next time... where I'm concerned... please don't apply your brains." She said in such a serious way that he couldn't help looking at her in surprise. Then he started laughing. "As you wish..." he said. "In fact, I am completely going to stop using my brains with you around... and it starts right from this moment." With a naughty glint in his eyes, he bent forward and captured her soft lips in his in a passionate kiss... which was both demanding and enchanting for her. She responded in an equal vein losing herself completely in his embrace. Her hands were moving softly over his bare back which heightened the sensations coursing through his vein and he found himself deepening the kiss with each passing second.
Soon he had pushed her on to the bed and was lying on top of her kissing her with rising hunger to which she responded with equal fervour. Naina didn't know what was happening... she only felt it to be so right to be there with him. When he unzipped her frock and bared her neck, she neither hesitated nor thought about stopping him. As he kissed her bare shoulders, she simply sought to hold him close.
"Knock Knock." Raj stopped in between and looked up thinking about who can it be. But Naina was quicker.
"Get into the washroom... I have already kept a spare set of clothes for you. Go quickly." He obeyed without a word. Arranging her dress Naina opened the door to find Ritika standing there.
"Chief... uh... Naina... dinner is ready."
"Ashank is up to his mischief again..." she remarked dryly. "He keeps addressing me as chief behind my back, doesn't he?"
Ritika smiled in agreement. They were joined by Raj who was wearing a white T ' shirt and a black trouser. "Dinner is ready Bhaiya... come along."
He nodded and they went together to the dining room.
That night Raj had an attack of fever because of his wound and Naina spent the entire night sitting by his side, not daring to close her eyes even for a minute.
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Edited by guglu088 - 15 years ago
Cricket
Anupamaa
5