Hey guys! I know it's been long but my college work has increased exponentially. So although I am starting the story, my update will mostly be irregular. However, I'll try to post as soon as I can.
And more importantly, I dedicate this to AnjuRish who really helped me with the plot. I was stuck for God alone knows how long on this. So a big thank you!
The Silent Attack
Arjun sat on the bench of the tea stall. The lane was lonely but the stall was lively. The tea seller whipped up his usual cutting. He sat there lost in thought about the day’s case. This private detective work was in some ways more taxing than his previous job. Of course, Arjun Rawte never fell short of resources but somewhere he never found the satisfaction of delivering justice. The fact that he had left loose ends behind in his previous lifestyle did not help.
Munna holds out a cup of tea. Arjun takes it only to realize there was a piece of paper with it. He looked at Munna questioningly.
Munna: pata nahi, koi chodkar gaya aapke liye
Arjun: kab?
Munna: abhi aapke aane ke pehle
Confused, Arjun opened the chit.
“Sikandar ka pata chahiye?”
The statement made his eyes widen in shock. He turned his head to Munna.
Arjun: kis taraf gaya?
He pointed to the gate of the park outside which the stall was. Leaving his tea, Arjun ran. He ran like the wind, jumping over the tiny gate of the park. He scrutinized the surroundings for any sort of clue and then his eyes fell on her. A lady was standing with her back to him. There was a small light coming from front of her indicating she was on her phone. He stopped a few steps away. Something about her was familiar.
Feeling his presence, she closed her phone and slipped it into her pocket.
Arjun: ladki ho?
She rolled her eyes: aurat ki kabiliyat par kabhi shak nahi karna chahiye
Arjun froze. She turned around to face him, crossing her arms. He took 2 more steps in a trance.
Arjun: How did you find me?
She giggled: I was not expecting that to be your first question
Arjun jerked out of his shock: Riya tum…
Just then they heard two-three different voices calling out to him.
Arjun turned his head to look for the source, recognising them. The next second, Riya kissed his cheek. He jerked his head.
Riya: I’ll see you
His palm went up to touch where she had just kissed whereas she slid away through the bushes.
Karan: are tu yaha hai?
Arjun turned. Simran and Anjali showed up behind him.
Simran: Arjun tum koi jadugar ho kya? Baar-baar gayab ho jaate ho? humne bola tha na hume bhi chai peeni hai. Ekto akele aa gaye upar se waha se bhi gayab
Anjali: Mr. Arjun, I am sure woh machar ab tak mar chuka hoga. Aap apne chehre se haath hata sakte hai
Initially confused, he took his hand away hastily and glared at all three of them as they giggled.
Karna: aur tujhe yaha ka nazara chahiye hi tha toh chai waha thandi chodkar kyun aa gaya?
Simran: tu kabhi bhi kaam ki baat nahi kar sakta na? Arjun Munna keh raha tha ki tujhe koi chit mili, kya hai usme? Ek aur case? Tum yaha uske peeche aaye the na (looking around) mila kya?
Arjun took a deep breath: tum log bolte-bolte thakte nahi?
Karan: are tu jawab dega toh hum sawal karna band karenge na, kya shera? Common sense
Arjun exhaled deeply to calm himself down: meri chai thandi ho rahi hai
Without waiting for anyone’s reaction, he left. The other three exchanged glances of confusion but followed. To their surprise, he tore the piece of paper in his hands and dunked it into the dustbin, brooding more than ever.
The next night-
They were all at the garage along with a family, arguing with police officers. A 17 year-old-girl was to be taken into custody. Her parents and the gang were all protesting. The inspector in-charge of the investigation, Manohar Gaikwad was clearly bought by the other party.
Riya entered the garage only to see the mess: Gaikwad!!
All eyes turned to her. The inspector straightened on seeing her, adjusting his belt and collar.
Gaikwad: madam!
She walked across with her hands in her pockets. Arjun is surprised to see her yet again while Karan is bowled over by her beauty. The others just look on in confusion, unsure of who the inspector was paying respect to.
Riya: kya chal raha hai?
Gaikwad: madam main toh bas apni duty kar raha hun (he sneered at Arjun and the others) ye log beech mein tang ada rahe hai. Is ladki ke khilaaf report hai
Riya glanced at the girl and smirked. She scrutinized him from top to down. Gaikwad straightened again in attention.
Riya: suraj dhalne ke baad auraton ko arrest kabse kar sakte hai? woh bhi minor? Bina arrest warrant ke? CrPC bhul gaye? Textbook kharid ke du? tere liye muft mein
Gaikwad fumbled: woh… woh madam, ye bhaag na jaaye toh…
Riya: chaar havaldaar laga aur nikal yaha se
Gaikwad: madam…
She bored holes into him: sunayi nahi deta ya fir akal ghaans charne gayi hai?
Gaikwad looked down: ji madam
He obeyed her instructions. Meanwhile, Riya stepped towards the girl and took her hand in hers to see the burn mark.
Riya: acid?
Arjun: stalker badi baap ki aulaad hai, isi par ilzaam laga diya ki ye peeche padi thi aur self-defence mein gir gaya. College chemistry lab
Riya fumed and turned to look at Gaikwad posting his men at the entrance of the garage. Calming herself, she turned to the parents.
Riya: aap logon ko detective ki nahi lawyer ki zaroorat hai. Ye aaj garage se baahar nahi jaa sakti. Waise bhi ghar se zyaada safe rahega. Aap jaakar lawyer pakadiye
Her father agreed gratefully: thank you, thank you so much!!
He hurried outside. When Gaikwad tried to stop him, Riya glared at him. Cowering, he let the father go.
Karan steps forward: aap toh aaj Jannat ki Pari bankar aayi hai humare liye
He took her hand in his and bent in an attempt to kiss her knuckles. The next second, he was spun and pinned on the bonnet of the nearest car.
Riya: don’t touch me!
Karan: ouch!
She let go of him and turned to Arjun.
Riya: you need a license for whatever you are running here
Arjun: tum yaha sirf…
Her phone rang and she held up her hand to silence him. Arjun squinted.
Riya: ha Shaurya
Simran couldn’t contain any longer seeing Arjun fall silent at her command: tum ho kaun?
Riya fished out something from her pocket and thrust it into her hand as she stepped to the side to talk. Simran looked at it. Her ETF badge.
Simran(shocked): ACP Riya Mukherjee?!
Arjun: What?!
He snatched the ID from her. He ogled at it. Riya… ACP? When did that happen? How did that happen? When did she even recover? What was she doing there? How had she found him? Why after all this time? Didn’t she know Chotu and Liza died because of him? Why was she behaving so weirdly? Why did she kiss him?
Karan: tujhe nahi pata? Tu toh usse aisa baat kar raha hai jaise tu use jaanta ho
Arjun flipped the badge close: jaanta hu
Karan: toh bol nahi sakta tha? (massaging his arm) haath tod diya mera
Arjun: tu usi laayak hai, ab jaa kar Anjali ko ghar chod kar aao
Karan: tu humesha mujhe iski home delivery pe kyun bhej deta hai? aur waise bhi (looking at the girl) aaj toh Kiran ko meri zaroorat hai
Arjun(sternly): Karan!
Karan rolled his eyes: jaa raha hun mere baap! Chal choti dimag
She sighed at the new nickname and went with him. At the same time, Riya finished her call and returned.
Riya: hi!
Arjun returned her ID. He gestured to Simran to stay there with Kiran and her mother.
Simran: main akele? (glancing at Gaikwad and the constables) inke saath?
Arjun: paas hi hu aur Karan bhi aa jaayega 10 minute mein
Simran: acha… ok, par please zyaada der mat karna
Part of her still wanted to know what the hell was cooking between Arjun and the girl. Who was she? Why did she help them? How did Arjun divulge the case details so easily?
Arjun and Riya stepped outside. He spoke when they were out of earshot of the policemen.
Arjun: So how's your life?
Riya: fun actually
Arjun: tum ACP kab bani?
Riya: bas mere ETF join karne ke kuch ek mahine baad, October mein
Arjun is surprised. It was December. She had eaten the godforsaken capsule the previous October. That means she had lost almost a whole year?
Arjun: itne waqt tak tum coma mein thi?
Riya: are nahi, main June mein hi discharge ho gayi thi but field ke liye fit nahi thi. Aur ghar par kaun baithega? Toh maine socha desk par baith jaati hu kuch din but Rathore sir didn’t trust me to not poke my nose around in the office. So main ETF ke bajay research desk pe thi. Haala ki uska koi faayda hua nahi unko
Arjun: kyun? tum waha se bhi ETF ke kaam mein ghus gayi?
Riya: Nahi, I met an intelligence officer, ACP Rudra Deshmukh. Aapke jaisa tha. Kuch under the table investigation karni thi use. Toh maine uski help ki. Eventually, I ended up on the field with him too. Acha admi tha, bahot kuch seekhne ko mila especially since aapne mere shooting ka dar nikal diya tha. In fact, I also took the time to complete my 5th black belt
Arjun: 5th?
Riya: ha not black belt exactly, I mean I completed the training
Arjun: But 5, really?
Riya: ha karate, jiu-jitsu, Taekwondo, MMA aur bas Krav Maga abhi complete kiya. Duty join kar li thi toh last level baakhi reh gaya tha. Anyway, mission toh confidential tha, (giggling) sach kahu toh illegal tha but authorities ko toh pata tha na toh they promoted me with Xora aur sab kuch
Arjun: so you’re in my place
She chuckled: aapko jalan ho rahi hai?
Arjun: nahi bas puch raha hu
She laughed again: nahi, main second-in-command nahi hu. R&D ke saath training ki bhi head hu.
Arjun: tum! Train karti ho?! junior staff aur humare commandoes ko?
She raised her eyebrow: kyun main sikha nahi sakti?
Arjun: Nahi, I just… I never imagined you in that place
Riya smiled lightly: toh ab kar lijiye. aur waise bhi main supervise karti hun, literally train nahi karti sabko. Ha kabhi-kabhi I step in but otherwise trainers hai. I’m just in-charge, recruitment, training aur apne R&D ke staff ko main khud cheezein sikha diya karti hu. You know the best part is ki mujhe koi paperwork nahi karna padta! Main sirf statements deti hu aur sign karti hun. Bichare sab usme pade rehte hai aur main training mein ya fir department mein chali jaati hu. (laughing) Aur fir waha se inko phone karti hun ki report hui ya nahi?! document karna hai mujhe!
Arjun smiled: guilty pleasures of seniority
Riya: Yesss!!!
Arjun: so tum maze kar rahi ho
Riya: ha, bahot. You know I am used to people staring at me every now and then but this is irritating.
Arjun sighed and turned behind taking Karan and Anjali by surprise.
Arjun: maine tumhe use ghar chodne ke liye kaha tha
Karan: woh… woh… ye, ye Anjali! Iski wajah se. Isne bola ki dekhte hai Mr. Arjun aur us officer ka kya connection hai
Anjali: nahi! maine kuch nahi kiya. Ye toh inhone hi…
Arjun: Karan use ghar chodkar aao
Riya: iska interest usmein hai hi nahi, aapko hi jaana padega
Without any other warning, she stepped forward and kissed his cheek. His hand shot up to his cheek again. His gaze darted to her but she had turned and was walking away to a parked car.
Karan and Anjali were staring with their mouths agape. They looked at each other and then back to Arjun. He was still gazing at her back as she got into the car and drove off. The duo hurried to him.
Karan: Ye Kya Tha Bhai?!
The scream jerked him back to Earth. And suddenly Arjun realised she had kissed him again that too in front of them.
Arjun: use ghar chodkar aao Karan!!!
Karan: Arjun tera…
Arjun: for god’s sake, leave! Uske parents wait kar rahe honge!
The boy grumbles and takes her hand in his: chal beta, ye admi na paraya ho gaya hai. ladki ka chakkar bhai, ladki ka chakkar (seeing Arjun squint at him, he made a face) huh! Khadoos kahin ka
Arjun shook his head at the drama. His mind replayed the sequence of her kissing him the day before and now again. A warm feeling rose up his chest, diversifying to all parts of his body. The cool December night sent him down on a sweet memory lane. He leaned against a parked car, reminiscing his times with her. His time in the ETF………………………
Index:-
Part 2 : Pg 5
Part 3 : Pg 8
Part 4 : Pg 11
Part 5 : Pg 13
Part 6 : Pg 17
Part 7 : Pg 19
Part 8 : Pg 22
Part 9 : Pg 25
Part 10 : Pg 27
Part 11 : Pg 30
Part 12 : Pg 32
Part 13 : Pg 36
Part 14 : Pg 38
Epilogue: Pg 41
CID
480