Hello Arakshians...back with a new long part...really long but ek logical point pe rokhna tha...sp pls bear with it!
pls read and reply...errors ho toh maaf kardena...
Thanks for liking and commenting on it! ur comments is my driving force...thanks a ton!
Dedicated to Payal...another gift for her b'day! happy b'day dear!
Disclaimer: all characters, situations and names used in the story are fictional...any similarity is purely by coincidence!
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Part 13B:
Before Arjun could cut the call, Shree voiced slowly making Arjun hang on, "Arjun sir..."
Arjun: haan bolo...
Shree: Sakshi ab kaisi hai?
Shree was worried seeing that crying, screaming, vulnerable side of Sakshi at the crime scene...He was hell shocked seeing her react like that! He too didnt expect such a weak side to her...
Arjun: [understanding his concern] woh teek hai...dont worry!
Shree nods...and then cuts the call!
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Meanwhile, in another part of the city...Rathod insisted on dropping Aisha back home...Both were a bit shocked by the sudden attack on their new team member and also by the way Nikhil had been killed...
Yes all such murders and attacks weren't new to them...Being cops, they had to face it every other day...
But still, at the end of the day, they were humans too and some emotions never leave human minds...it will lie dormant or will be forced to remain hidden but at some point of time, it surely resurfaces and today's happenings had definitely triggered such worried emotions in them...
Death was a hard core cruel reality that they had to face and expect always...
As cops, they had to be mentally and physically prepared for all of it...Death or a fear of death could never deter them away from their duty!
Once their duty was taken care off, the human tendencies inside them seemed to come out and a silence sets in...Both of them preferred that silence as they did not want to speak anything and display their weaker or vulnerable side to the other...
Might be their ego or the thought that tough cops don't have the liberty to cry or express their weaker emotions!
This silence was definitely soothing...
But Rathod broke the silence as he pulled up the SUV before her gates...
He spoke up as Aisha got down after a silent thanks for taking that effort, "Aisha, main tumhe uphar ghar tak chodne aa raha hoom"
It wasn't an offer to escort her to the flat but more of a command from a senior officer but his concern did reflect in his stern tone as well...Something inside him told him to do that escort tonight...
May be he felt that there could be possible trouble or a gut feeling that they were in for a surprise or a shock!
They walked past the gate...the security at the gate was sleeping as usual...Aisha was accustomed to such late timings and so didn't find it weird that the security was sleeping but that scene irked and annoyed Sameer to the core...he banged his fist on the table but the guard was deep in sleep to have heard that banging sound...
Aisha was taken aback by that action of his and responded, "its well past midnight Sir...bechaara, usse sone dijiye..."
Sameer shook his head in total disbelief and anger but decided to let it go for the moment...he muttered in anger, "sab apne apne duty poore imaandhaari aur dedication se karenge toh iss desh mein sab teek hoga! Pehle aise logon ka akal teek karna hoga!"
Aisha just chuckled at his anger as they enter the lift...
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As they walked out of the lift and neared her flat, Sameer senses trouble as the door was just ajar...
He holds back Aisha..."Aisha, alert...looks like you have guests!"
They pull out their revolvers and take their positions on either side of the door while Sameer slowly pushes the door open...Sameer nods at her and she switches on the light just at her door step which had the two way switch and one of them was outside the door!
He aims the revolver and peeps in to check the space which was lighted now...
Scanning the entire hall way in one shot, he finds no activity or movement inside...He slowly enters gesturing Aisha not to step in till he calls her...
He walks slowly staying alert and his eyes darting to all directions...
All of a sudden, a gun points his head...and a threatening voice speaks up, "woh ladki kahaan hai?"
Sameer tries to turn around but the voice warns him poking the gun further into his temple, "hilna matth...warna goliyon se udaa dhoonga"
It looked like the man was waiting for Aisha or Sakshi's arrival...
Sameer knew that he couldn't afford to lose his temper, he slowly voiced, "dekho...mera baat suno...gun neeche..."
The man snapped him short, "mujhe tumse matlab nahi hai ACP...mujhe bass woh ladki chahiye...bas woh batha dho aur apna jaan bachaalo warna bewajah mar jaavoge..."
The next moment, a gunshot his heard and the man falls to the floor...Sameer is a little stunned and turns back...He sees the man behind him falling down and Aisha standing right at the door with her gun pointing to his direction!
Sameer sighs a breath of relief and crouch before the dying man, "kaun hai tumaara boss??? Kisne bheja tumhe yahan?? Jaldi bolo"
The man smirks at him even in that sinking state and utters, "Bolo jai maata ki!"
Those were his last words...
By then, Aisha steps in and switches on the lights...the sight around shocked them both...the entire area was turned upside down...everything pulled down from the shelves, drawers and show case...
And perhaps in his desperate frustration due to his search gone in vain, he had pulled down all the crockery and glass stuff which Aisha had neatly placed on the racks...Every damn thing lay in a heap of debris now! Aisha controlled herself and steadied her mind from slipping away seeing the mess in her home!
It looked like a bulldozer had run over her entire flat...The bedrooms and kitchen were no better...there was no space in the entire house which was left untouched!
She looked around trying to judge the damage and planning what to do next while Rathod calls Shree, "Shree...looks like we have more work tonight! Haan Liza ko leke Aisha ke ghar aa jaavo.."
After cutting call, he joins Aisha and looks around voicing, "aisa lagtha hai ke woh Sakshi ke alaava kuch aur cheez bhi talaash raha tha...par kya?? Shaayad..."
He seemed to have realized what the man was looking for...
Aisha speaks up, "Arjun sir ko inform karein?"
Rathod: nahi...let this night pass away Aisha...unn dono ko ab yeh sab bathaake bhi kya faydha??...bas unnke bachi hui peace of mind bhi chali jaayegi! We will handle this for now!"
Aisha nods...perhaps he was right...Sakshi would feel guiltier for having caused this trouble for Aisha...Already, Nikhil's death had left her burdened with guilt and she was blaming herself for that!
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Shree and Liza are on their way...
Liza is also shocked by the sudden array of murders and direct attacks on ETF members..."na jaane yeh sab aise kaise acchanak ho raha hai Specky..."
Shree: [forgetting their rivalry and tit for tat fights, he senses the tension lurking in her voice...] ETF mein hai toh yeh sab chaltha rahega Liza...tumhe darr toh nahi lag raha, huh?
Liza: nahi darr toh nahi hai parr thoda tension hai...I cant deny that...[pausing and then adds]..I wonder how Sakshi is...
She seemed genuinely worried for Sakshi...They weren't very close to each other but from Sakshi's wrong number waale times, Liza had always admired and adored her intelligence and courage...
Meeting Sakshi personally only added to her admiration and respect!
Shree assured her placing his hand on hers gently, "don't worry Liza...Arjun sir usske saat hai...aur jab tak woh dono saat hai, koyi gadbad nahi hoga..."
Liza nodded knowing that what he said was true...
The next instant, Shree took his hands off her smacking himself for the gesture he had mindlessly or unknowingly done...
Weren't they enemies, then why was he making sure that Liza was fine and trying to ease her tensions?
Liza was stunned by his sudden withdrawal...she always failed to understand what was it that made them share such a unique love hate relationship..
"Friends or foes?" that was a question to which both didnt have a definite answer...They were always ready to fight and at loggerheads...If he says east, she was up with west!...she also didn't know the reason which made her mock him at the slightest chance...
She just couldn't keep herself in tab when it came to him...Yes she was smart, confident and a total fighter cock and he was smart and confident too but always preferred to keep himself well in control...and by coincidence, the limits he set for himself were always evident while dealing with her...
She looked at him as he drove and though he could feel her gaze on him, he totally ignored her presence beside him and also her gaze on him and kept his focus on the road!
She shook her head amused at his forced indifference to her and turned away to the window!
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During the course of the night, almost nearing dawn...Chotu came with a replacement car for Arjun and Sakshi...He messaged Arjun about his arrival...
Arjun stood up slowly realizing that Sakshi was in deep sleep...he slid outside the room without a noise...Bolting the door from outside, he sprinted downstairs...
The exchanged the keys and also some more information about the case...Rathod had instructed Chotu not to let out anything about the attack in Aisha's place to Arjun...So he kept silent about that as per his senior's orders!
Arjun came back to the room...He saw that Sakshi was still sleeping...
He couldn't stop himself from a brief glance at her sleeping form...She looked so innocent and appeared to be in a deep peaceful sleep!
He felt an unexplained joy seeing her peaceful...His restless mind seemed to relax too seeing her like that!
He broke away from that locking glance and walked back to his place...
It seemed to be a long night...A part of him wished that this night didn't end at all because she was safe with him now and she looked relaxed as well!
He didn't know what tomorrow holds for them...life had never been so unpredictable and even he didn't know where all this was heading to or what would eventually happen...
All he knew was that he wanted her to stay safe and also get justice for her dad! Arjun wanted to bring out her dad's innocence before the world!
Even if 100 criminals were left to escape not one innocent should be punished...Well in this case, the innocent man was already punished for no fault of his...he was killed for his good deeds!
But atleast, his soul deserved to rest in peace and only justice could give him that peace!
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Once the formalities were over, clues and other evidences like the finger prints were collected, Aisha's place was sealed for the time being...
Sameer suggested that Aisha stay at Liza's hostel till the case was solved...There were some hiccups and formalities to get accommodation in the hostel right away...But Sameer didn't want to take any chances regarding Aisha's safety...He couldnt let her stay in some random place all alone...
So he insisted that she should come to his place for the time being...Aisha was reluctant but then agreed eventually as it was just a matter of 1 or 2 days...
Sameer stayed alone...There was a old maid who lived in his place and did all his house chores which included cooking...She was recruited by Sameer's mom herself to take care of Sameer in her absence!
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Next morning, Arjun opened his eyes when his mobile buzzed...It was almost 6 AM...He instantly picked it up seeing Rathod's name flashing on it...
Seeing Sakshi sleeping, he quietly slipped out to talk to Rathod...
Rathod updated him about the latest happenings...and also told him about the way Aisha's place was searched and left shattered by the man!
Arjun's mind was already working on the details and he replied, "haan shaayad, woh unn files aur evidences ke peeche hai! We need to keep it safe!"
He finished the call after assuring Rathod that he and Sakshi will be safe!
He turned around to see Sakshi staring at him with worn out eyes!
She was tired and the sleep had probably brought out the weariness onto her face as well!
He voiced, "Good morning wrong number!" just to cheer her up!
She responded after a long second, "Morning Arjun!"
She felt that there was nothing good about that morning...it was one another bad news which came in! He could read from her pale face that she had heard his conversation with Rathod!
Arjun sensed her silence and her thoughts and replied to her unvoiced question, "Aisha is safe in Rathod's place...dont worry!"
Sakshi sighed in relief and then gave a faint smile just to show her momentary relief while he added, "Get ready...we need to get out of here as soon as possible!"
Sakshi nodded and went inside...He also went in and quickly freshened up so that he could give her the space and privacy sooner...
She saw that her dress which she had left for drying wasn't fully dry yet...She wondered what to do now and was scanning through the pile of new dresses to pick something which she could wear!
He came out of the restroom and voiced, "main neeche restaurant jaake tumaare liye coffee laatha hoom...tab tak ready ho jaana...door lock karlo ...open it only when I come back...Samjhi ya samjhaavum?"
She nodded...and he walked out...She followed him and bolted the door!
She quickly brushed, took a quick bath...He knew that she would require some time...so he decided to give her that and bought a newspaper to read the headlines...he browsed the paper as he sipped his tea...
The newspaper had all the happenings...The panic caused due to the attack in the store was mentioned...
Nikhil's murder and ETF working on it was there too but Arjun was thankful that Sakshi's name and the connection between the cases weren't published...
Rathod had taken extra care and made sure of that! Nothing had leaked out to the media!
He couldn't stop himself from thanking and applauding Rathod mentally for that! Some day, he would get himself to do that personally as well! He sighed!
He came back with her coffee...he knocked the door...
A few minutes before, Sakshi wore one of the dresses which looked better than the rest...She felt real awkward and uncomfortable wearing it...it had a plunging neckline and the back was a deep cut too...
The navy blue frock went up to her knees...so she was kind of okay with the length but the neckline and back cut was a problem for her...
She stood before the mirror wondering what to do about it...Thats when she heard the knock...
He voiced, "Sakshi...main hoon...agar ready hogaye ho toh door knolo..."
She walked to the door and slightly opened...
She peeped through the parting...He tried to step in only to be stopped by her sudden closing the door back again...he was confused by her action and voiced, "kya hua?"
She gathered herself up and replied, "Arjun, yeh dress kuch..."
Her words trailed off not knowing how to explain the situation to him...
He realized what it was and replied to her concern, "uss wardrobe mein ek jacket hai...le lo..."
Saying that, he moved away from the door giving her time to wear the jacket...
She couldn't thank him enough for having sensed her problem and also give her an instant solution...she muttered "thanks"
Sporting a sweet smile, she went to the wardrobe and took his jacket out...
She wore it quickly and then opened the door for him!
He looked at her once head to toe and oblivious to himself, his expressions showed that he was impressed by her look!
Both were a bit embarrassed by that tricky situation but they were matured enough to handle it as well...
Once the hesitation faded, he put forth the serious question that was nagging him since yesterday night, "Sakshi, woh files aur evidences kahaan hai?"
She looked at him for a long moment...she knew that it was time to bring it to light...
He added seeing her hesitation, "trust me...I just need to know that its all in a safe place..."
She looked into his honest and sincere eyes...and slowly voiced out..."Presley college"
[To be continued]
So how was it?? pls do reply...yes its a long one...sorry about that...
Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi 2
