Chapter Forty Five
Naina tried not to smile as she watched Raj bustle around the kitchen preparing breakfast for her. Since the day they had found out she was pregnant he barely allowed her to do anything at all. According to him the only three things she were allowed to do were study, look after her health and be happy.
"I know that you find this ridiculous," he told her even as his back was to her, "But don't think that I'm going to give up anytime soon. No work allowed at all for you!"
He was so cheerful about the idea that it was almost unnatural.
"But my cooking is better than yours," Naina protested, "Do you really intend to cook every single day for the next six months?"
"Even longer," he told her, "Because you won't want to cook after the delivery either."
"Exactly," Naina told him, "And that's exactly why you should be letting me do it now."
"I thought you would enjoy me looking after you," he told her, frowning slightly, "Or am I not doing a good job of it?"
"No, no, you're doing an excellent job of it." Naina reassured him quickly, "I think I'm just a bit too used to being the one to look after you."
Raj had just set down a plate in front of her and was about to reply when his phone rang. Frowning slightly, he checked the number and then immediately picked it up.
"Lala Saheb, it's wonderful to hear from you!" he told the older man, "I was planning to call you soon to…"
"Yes I heard the news about your wife," Lala told him, "Congratulations, you must be very happy."
"I certainly am," Raj replied, beaming as he talked on the phone. Naina looked at him curiously and he made a gesture for her to start eating.
Knowing it was best not to disagree with him in his current protective mode, she did so.
"I hadn't expected you to begin your family quite so soon," Lala commented dryly, "But I suppose that these things do happen."
"We hadn't been expecting it either, but we're both thrilled." Raj told him, "Sherry has been very excited too."
"And how is my daughter?" Lala asked him, "Is she behaving herself?"
"She's a model cadet, Sir, has been excelling at the training lately." Raj told him, "And on that topic, I wanted to ask you something."
"Yes?"
"I know that you and Sherry don't get on well together… since she's been here with Naina and I she's been much happier, much more settled. I was wondering whether we could have her live with us permanently. Perhaps eventually… your own relationship with her would improve." Raj suggested, praying that the older man would say yes.
"I don't see why not." Gehlot told him, "Anything to stop her being an embarrassment to me. If she's happy then she can stay with you."
"Thank you Sir… was there anything else?" Raj asked him.
"No, I had just called to congratulate you. Give my regards to your wife." Gehlot told him, and hung up.
"He agreed?" Naina asked him after finishing her mouthful of food.
"He did," Raj told her, a broad smile spreading on his face, "She'll be staying with us."
Reaching out for his hand and pulling him down to sit with her, Naina kissed his cheek. "You're a good elder brother." She told him.
"I just hope that I can be one…" Raj said, a sudden frown coming to his face, "She still won't tell me what the problem really is… I worry that she's bottling it all up inside."
"I think it's possible that she does confide in someone…" Naina suggested, not knowing exactly how much to say. "Perhaps not everything, but…"
"Really, who?" Raj asked curiously.
Naina shook her head at him, wondering how he could've missed it when it was so obvious to her. But she knew that men were always less observant to women.
"She's quite close to Abhimanyu," Naina told him, "It's possible that she confides in him."
"I hope so," Raj replied, "If she does then I trust him to do the right thing and help her however he can…. Now keep eating or we'll get late for our appointment."
Naina sighed, wondering if he was ever going to realize exactly what it was that she wanted to tell him.
**
With the Captain and his wife gone from the academy for their doctor's appointment and all of the cadets in classes, it was the perfect time for Ritu to carry out the next part of her plan.
She executed it quickly, ensuring that nobody was around to see her actions, gloves on to make sure that her fingerprints were not found on anything.
Having finally finished her work and relocking the door behind her, Ritu smiled. This time… it was impossible for anything to go wrong.
**
"Do you think that it will be a boy or a girl?" Pooja asked the rest of the cadets as they took a rest during a drill that Captain Abhimanyu was taking. Much more generous than Nair, he had given them a full fifteen minutes to relax until the next part.
"It doesn't matter," Sherry replied, "Boy or girl, it will be the most beautiful child in the world."
Aalekh nodded his agreement at this, followed by the rest of them.
"I was just wondering," Pooja said brightly, "So that we can think of what presents to buy for it. Just think how much fun it's going to be when our new connection arrives! How many games we'll play, how many new covers we'll get for the baby!"
"Careful Osool, soon she'll be wanting one of her own." Huda teased Ali, causing both him and Pooja to turn bright red.
"Oy missed call!! Turn off your outgoings!" Pooja demanded.
"Make me!" Huda teased her, and as Ali tried to stop her, she began to chase him.
Yudi laughed, cheering Pooja on, while Aalekh muttered something under his breath.
Spotting Abhimanyu returning down the slope, Sherry got off the ground, dusting off her pants and walked to meet him.
"What's going on?" he asked her, looking amused as Pooja continued to chase Huda, who was now trying to use Aalekh as a barrier.
"Nothing, Sir." She told him, "We were talking about Bhaiyya and Bhabhie's baby and Huda couldn't resist the opportunity to tease Ali and Pooja."
"Well we're all excited," Abhi told her with a grin, "I can't remember the last time that I was this excited about something."
She grinned back at him, "And from now on I'll actually be able to live with them… Bhaiyya spoke to father this morning and he's agreed. I don't have to go home this holidays!"
"That's fantastic!" Abhi told her, resisting the urge to hug her when he heard the good news, "In that case I hope I can convince Raj to bring you both to visit Balmer, you'd love it there, I know you would."
"I would like to visit…" Sherry admitted softly, "I remember that when Bhaiyya went there to visit you he said it was beautiful."
"And you could meet my family, I know my parents would love you." Abhi said without thinking, and Sherry hurriedly looked away, wondering whether he had really meant it the way that it sounded.
"Our break is over now, right Sir?" she asked him, still not looking directly at him.
"Uh, yes…" he admitted, a little dazed as he tried to judge the meaning of her reaction. "I'd better go and rescue Huda from Pooja."
As he walked ahead, calling out to the two cadets, Sherry struggled to hide a smile. She was not a foolish schoolgirl, she reminded herself. She was reading too much into his last sentence. However despite her best efforts, a smile still came to her lips.
**
An hour later, Raj was back in the academy after having dropped Naina off at college. They had gone to the local hospital for a first proper check up, including an ultrasound and had both watched in amazement as they saw their child's heartbeat for the first time. He had clutched her hand tightly, wondering if it could really be true, and now back in the academy he couldn't wipe the smile off his face.
"Everything went well?" Abhi asked him when they met in the hallway.
"It's something that I'll never forget," Raj told him honestly, "I could never have thought that my life would turn out this way… after Naveen's death I thought that I didn't deserve any happiness, that I could never…"
Impulsively, Abhi hugged him, wrapping his arms around Raj. "You deserve every happiness in the world, my friend." He told him, "Everything that you have today, you fully deserve."
"It's like a dream…" Raj told him, "A dream that I'm afraid I'm going to be woken up from."
And watching them, a smile on her face, Ritu left to make the final call.
**
Raj and Naina had just finished chatting with Shalini in her office in the afternoon and were returning to their own room when they heard a sudden commotion and spotted several unknown officers heading down the corridor towards them.
"Are you Captain Shekawat?" One of them asked him, Raj nodded, wondering what was going on.
"I have orders to search your room," The man told him, "I would appreciate it if you would cooperate with us."
"Orders?" Raj asked him, "Why? What reason are you searching my room for?"
"You'll find that out soon enough," The officer told him, "For now… take us there."
"Naina… you stay here with Shalini." Raj told her, noticing that her face had turned white with fear. "Shalini… look after her please."
Shalini just nodded, also worried, and took Naina back inside the office.
Raj led the officers to their quarters, opening the door and letting them inside. He watched as they methodically searched everywhere, opening cupboards and drawers and checking inside, looking for something.
"What is it you're looking for?" he asked them, frustrated at not knowing what was going on. They just ignored him and continued their search.
"Sir!" One of them called out, pulling something out from the back of Naina's closet, a box that had been covered with a shawl.
"What is that?" Raj asked them, "It's not ours."
"Not that you know of anyway…" The leading officer informed him, "Lieutenant, open it up."
As Raj watched, the box was opened, and as the contents were revealed his head reeled with the implications.
Some communications equipment… his lost security card… some important papers and what looked like a list of contacts… this was….
They had been set up.
"We received a tip off today that the spy in KMA is actually your wife, Captain." The lead officer informed him somewhat smugly, "That's why you were never able to work out who it was, she was under your nose the entire time."
"No, this isn't true." Raj told them desperately, "We know who the spy is… we just haven't been able to prove it yet. This is a set up to trap Naina so that the real person can get away with it."
"Right now all evidence points towards Mrs Shekawat, we need to take her in for questioning." The officer informed him, "I assume that as a member of the Armed Forces you won't obstruct us in any way."
"Don't do this to her," Raj pleaded with them, "She's pregnant for god's sakes, this kind of shock…."
"Don't try to emotionally blackmail us, Captain." The officer told him sharply, "If you cooperate with us, you can accompany her. If not… you can stay here."
There was no way out, he realised. While they had been planning to trap Dr Mishra she had woven her own web for them and now they were firmly stuck in it.
He nodded helplessly and they headed back to Dr Shalini's office.
"Just… wait here." Raj told them, "I'll explain to her… then bring her out."
He entered the office, closing the door behind him, and gazed down at his wife. Her face was still pale, and she was obviously nervous.
"Something has happened, hasn't it?" she asked him.
"Somebody called them… gave an anonymous tip off…. They found some things in our room and they think that you're the spy." Raj told her, knowing that he had no choice but to be honest. "They want to take you in for questioning now."
Naina gave a sudden sob as the implications hit her. Raj gathered her to him, hugging her as much to reassure himself as to reassure her.
"Nothing will happen to you Naina… we'll prove them wrong… we'll prove to them who the real spy is." He promised her, "But for now… we have to go with them. You'll have to answer their questions. I'll be there right by your side, I won't leave you."
"I'll ask permission to come as well," Shalini informed him, "With Naina's health as it is, I don't think she should be questioned without a doctor present."
Raj nodded, and they left the office together, Naina clutching his hand tightly.
"We're ready," he informed the guard and they set off, the leading officer was just about to turn the corner when he almost collided with Abhi, who had been running at full pelt down the hallway.
"Raj… I heard…." He said, out of breath.
Seeing the scene in front of him, he knew that what he had heard was true.
"Call Colonel Chandra," Raj told him, "See if he can do anything for us, he knows…." He didn't complete the sentence in front of the officers there, but Colonel Chandra already knew their suspicions about the spy.
"I'll call him right now," Abhi promised, "I'll do anything I can, you don't worry Naina, nothing is going to happen to you!" he promised her. She couldn't even respond she was so scared, because all of this reminded her, most of all… of what had happened to her brother.
Was she about to suffer the same fate that he had?
**
The questioning lasted for hours… the accusations came again and again about what Naina was doing in the academy, why she had come there. She told her story honestly and accurately, trying to answer their questions without breaking down.
"Who did you give your husband's security card to?" they asked her, "Who tried to break into the triggers room?"
"I never even knew that there was a triggers room!" she protested, "We never discussed anything about that… I never knew about his security card!"
It went on and on, the questioners only allowing her breaks when Dr Shalini protested that it was too much and she needed one.
Naina was worried that in the end, she would be the one to break.
**
"For god's sakes, Sir, do something, please!" Abhi begged Colonel Chandra, "You know that she's innocent… she's been framed by the real spy. Don't let what happened to Naveen happen again."
"Captain Chauhan for now my hands are tied," Colonel Chandra told him, "The most I can do is ensure that she's not arrested for the time being. Unless you can prove that the spy is somebody else then I'm helpless."
"But Sir…"
"The higher ups in Delhi are nervous, Captain. They want the triggers removed from KMA as soon as possible and I'm afraid that it's going to have to be your responsibility alone. They're not willing to trust Captain Shekawat after what has happened."
"Sir…"
"I'm honestly very sorry," Colonel Chandra told him, and Abhi could tell by the tone of his voice that it was genuine. "I'll contact you with further instructions about the triggers, for now all I can tell you is that you should do your best to prove the identity of the spy."
He hung up the phone and Abhi was left staring at it, trying to work out what on earth he could do to fix this.
**
The cadets had been in a state of shock when they had heard it, Aalekh was so angry that everybody was afraid he would do something foolish.
"How could they ever believe that about Mrs Shekawat?" Ali asked helplessly, "Can't they see that somebody is tricking them?"
Sherry abruptly got up from the table at this, "Where are you going?" Pooja asked her, worried about what she might do.
"I've got to try something," she informed them, barely able to stop the tears spilling out from her eyes. "I've got to try…"
Leaving the mess where they had gathered, she went to the phone in the hallway and dialled a familiar number, a number that she hated.
"Father," she said into the receiver when he picked up, "Father I need…"
"Oh I know what you need," he told her, "You've called to ask for my help. How strange that you want it today of all days."
"I know that you can fix this if you want to." Sherry told him pleadingly, "For Bhaiyya's sake, for my sake, please do something…"
"You're right, I could fix this if I wanted to." He told her, "But I don't. It's your brother's fault for marrying her in the first place. Don't waste my time by calling again."
He hung up the phone and she stood there, tears stinging her eyes as she held the receiver in her hand. She had never asked him for anything, and today out of helplessness… She was more convinced than ever that whatever had happened was his doing, that he was responsible for this.
"Is something wrong, Cadet Gehlot?" A sugary sweet voice asked her from behind and Sherry swirled to find herself facing the person who she hated most in the world right now.
"You…" she started to say.
"Yes, me." Ritu replied with a smirk, "Why, did you have something to say to me?"
"You bloody bitch," Sherry told her, "I know what you are… I know what you've done… and I'll…"
"Yes I know that you know," Ritu told her calmly, "And trust me, I'm not scared. Instead, you're going to help me."
"Help you?" Sherry asked her disbelievingly, "Never!! I'll prove to everyone what it is that you are, I'll…"
"If you want to save your Bhabhie, then you'll help me." Ritu continued calmly, ignoring Sherry's anger. "Do you want to hear how or not?"
Sherry froze, because what Ritu was offering was like making a deal with the devil. She knew that there would be a cost, there had to be a cost… but Naina…
"Tell me." She commanded through gritted teeth.
"Poor Naina… suspected by everyone right now. I promise that I'll get her out of this trouble if you do something for me." Ritu said in a clear voice. "But you'll have to make the choice."
"Just hurry up and tell me!" Sherry told her, "And you had better not be bluffing, or…"
"Oh no, I'm not bluffing. If I can get what I really want, then your sister-in-law means nothing to me." Ritu told her, "I would happily arrange to get her out of trouble. You see what I want, what I've wanted all along… are the nuclear triggers. They were out of my reach, it was impossible to get them but defeat is something that my bosses will never accept. Now with the current situation the triggers are about to be moved out of the academy by our very own Captain Abhimanyu."
Ritu paused, the same smirk on her face as she looked down at Sherry's horrified expression.
"I've realised a long time ago just what a 'special connection' you have with Captain Abhimanyu." She informed Sherry, "He trusts you… and if you were to find out about his plans to move the triggers for me… then your precious sister-in-law could be free."
"Never," Sherry swears solemnly, her hands shaking from the shock, "I'll never do it, I won't…."
"Think carefully before you make your choice." Ritu tells her, "I promise… that I'll do my best to ensure that your Captain Abhimanyu isn't harmed too much when we get the triggers. Now it's your choice, your Bhabhie… or your beloved?"
With a cry of rage, Sherry launched herself at Ritu, crashing her down to the ground and slapping her hard on the face. She could hear the orderlies running to stop her but right now she didn't care, all she wanted was to cause this woman pain in any possible way!
"I'll kill you!" she screamed at her, "Do you hear me? I'll kill you!" She was raising her hand to slap her again even as Ritu shifted her position, preparing to stop her, when the orderlies pulled her off.
"Cadet Gehlot what do you think you're doing?" Major Nair asked her, enraged as they pulled her back, still fighting. "I'll put you in solitary confinement for a week!"
"No that's really not necessary Major Nair," Ritu told him, standing up and dusting herself off, "Cadet Gehlot's mental state is quite disturbed right now, and as a psychologist I can understand this. I think that one night in solitary is more than enough for her to realise her mistake… and what it is that she should do in future."
Having said this, she gave one last smirk in Sherry's direction as the younger girl was pulled away, still fighting.
**
The anger wore off fast enough once she was alone in the cell, only to be replaced by despair instead.
Dr Ritu had thought of everything, she had trapped them on all sides, and now… she had given Sherry an ultimatum.
Whichever option she chose, she would be betraying somebody she loved. If she did nothing then Naina might be imprisoned as a spy… if she betrayed Abhi then he might even be killed.
And right now there seemed to be no way out, unless…
Unless.
And Sherry finally decided, that desperate times called for desperate actions… and she was desperate enough not to care about the consequences.
**
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