FF: Ishq-e-Watan *Chapter 78 Posted* - Page 2

CHAPTER 2

HERE WE COME

Karan swung the rope in his hand around playfully, chewing on the inside of his cheek.

“Janaab... bottoms up ki taiyaari?” Faizi asked, chuckling.

He let a smirk spread on his face. “Academy hai, chidhiya ghar nahi. Sab jaanwaron ko entry nahi milegi yahan par.” He looked at the rope. “Kuchh janwaar jungle mein bhi rehne chahiye. Chal.”

Faizi shook his head, chuckling. He ran up after him, hopping into the jeep.

---x---x---x---x---x---x---x---

“Mumma kehte the ki military academy ka sabsa important principle discipline hota hai”, Monami scolded. “Aur tu abhi tak ready hi nahi hua hai.” She tugged on his arm. “Chal, na, Sid! Hum late ho jayenge.”

“Koi late nahi honge”, he said, tying his shoes. He flicked her forehead. “Kamini, bahut time hai. 8 baje bolkar 6 baje utha diya tune. 12 baje pahunchna hai. Abhi 7 bhi nahi baje hain.”

“Haan, toh Mumbai se Deolali kya Doraemon ke anywhere door se jaana hai? Chaar ghante ka raasta hai. Half an hour ka buffer time for traffic and all. Aur agar wahan jaakar kho gaye toh? Chal, chal, chal, Sid! Jaldi chal.” She bounced around the room, restlessly pacing.

He shook his head. “Excitement mein aakar-“ He flinched as she yelped, slipping off the bed. “...Gir jaayegi”, he completed needlessly. He facepalmed. “Gadhi.” He helped her up, inspecting her. She didn’t seem hurt. He sighed. “Ab khadi reh chup chaap.” He looked at the mirror, setting his hair.

She whined, stomping her feet childishly. “Jaldi kar, jaldi kar, jaldi kar.” She pulled him and he sighed, letting her drag him. “Koi nahi dekhne waala hai tujhe.”

“Khaana toh khaane de”, he said. “Breakfast, bro!”

“Car mein khaa lena”, she said. “Maine Vinod Dada se keh kar tere liye tiffin pack kara diya hai. Ab, chal!”

“Chal”, he said, chuckling and following her out to the car. She bounced on the backseat eagerly, and he ruffled her hair affectionately. “Tu soyi nahi, naa, raat bhar?”

“Bro! Itni excited hoon main kaise so jaoon?” She sighed happily. “Parakaram SAF, here we come!”

Sid chuckled.

Here we come, indeed.

---x---x---x---x---x---x---x---x---

“Kya soch rahe ho?” Faizi asked.

Karan glanced up. He shrugged, closing his eyes again. “Yeh soch raha tha ki namoonon ko kaise train karunga. Koi zyaada efficient tareeka dimaag mein aa jaaye shayad.”

“Tum sach mein serious ho isko lekar?”

“Humaara kaam civilians ko protect karna hai. Apna best de rahe hain phir bhi bahut si jagah fail ho rahe hain. Jaise wo 13 hostages. Uss group ke leader tak bhi nahi pahunch paaye hum. Agar inn civilians ko train karne se hum baaki civilians ko protect kar paayenge, toh yeh duty ka part hai. Aur Batra Sir ne humpar bharosa karke apne medals daon par lagaaye hain. Main unko best possible results dunga”, he answered. He shook his head. He looked at his best friend, sighing. “Saare namoone honge, na?”

Faizi laughed. “Haan. Aur tum sochoge ki kyun tumne aisa socha ki yeh civilians special agents ban sakte hain.”

He sighed again. His phone vibrated in his pocket. He frowned, seeing the caller ID.

Raghav?

He accepted the call. “Hello?” He said.

“Jai Hind, Sir!” He said. “Sir, mujhe pata hai ki aap aur Faizi Sir civilians ko train karne waale project mein busy ho, par... thodi urgent baat hai. Agar aap academy aa sakte hain abhi, toh...”

“Hum aate hain”, he said.

“Thank you, Sir. Jai Hind, Sir.”

Karan frowned a little, cutting the call. “Chal, Faizi.”

“Kya hua?” Faizi asked, following him out of the room. “Kahan jaana hai?”

“Chal, gaadhi mein batata hoon”, he answered. “Sanju! Tu unn cadets se attendance par sign karwaa aur trek ki starting site par lekar jaa. Aur introduction jaisi faltu cheezon mein time waste mat karna. Aadhe academy pahunchenge bhi nahi. Mujhe aur Faizi ko kuchh kaam hai, hum tujhe trek ki starting site par milenge.”

“Ji, Sir ji.”

He stalked out quickly. A body slammed straight into his shoulder, and he frowned.

A girl. She had her head bowed, rummaging through her bag for something. She didn’t even glance away, just continuing inside. He shook his head. Brat. He rolled his eyes, moving to his jeep.

Monami turned around, opening her mouth. She bit her lip, sighing. Too far away now. ‘Sorry bolna toh reh hi gaya.’ She shook her head. ‘Tu bhi, na, Monu, dekhkar nahi chalti hai. Aur itna dhyaan bhi nahi diya ki insaan se takrayi, wall se nahi. Tube light kahin ki.’

“Kuchh serious hota, toh Batra Sir khud call karte hume”, Faizi said. He sat in the passenger seat, as Karan drove the jeep back to the academy. “Yeh Raghav aise kyun bula raha hai?”

Karan shrugged. “Pata nahi. Ab yeh toh jaakar hi pata chalega.” Faizi sighed, pulling his phone out. He clicked his tongue. “Kya hua?”

“Bomb blast Delhi ke pass kisi chote se shehar mein”, he answered. “2 log mar gaye. Kisi warehouse mein hua hai.”

“Warehouse?”

He hummed. “Initial speculation yeh hai ki bomb ki testing thi yeh. High alert to Delhi forces about possible bombs as acts of terrorism.”

Karan heaved a sigh. He clicked his tongue. “This is getting out of hand”, he muttered.

He pulled into the academy, hopping out of the jeep. He scanned his ID on the entrance, before walking in briskly, Faizi right next to him. He threw the doors of debrief open.

“Bolo, Raghav”, he said.

“Jai Hind, Sir”, the man said, saluting the two. “Sorry, Sir, aapko kaam ke beech se bulaana padha.”

“It’s okay. Par seedha kaam ki baatkaro”, Karan said.

He glanced behind him at the open door. Faizi closed the door, taking the hint.

“Sir, baat ajeeb lagi par koi evidence nahi hai isliye aapse baat kar raha hoon aur Batra Sir se nahi. Kal raat ko main aur meri 5 special agents ki team, ek rumored terrorist ke chote se adde par raid maarne waali thi. Meri ek team member, Radhika, ko gut feeling aa rahi thi ki kuchh galat hai, isliye humne wahan rehkar uss warehouse par thodi der nazar rakhi. Hum har raat do hafte se uss warehouse par nazar rakh rahe the, aur us adde mein ek time par 12 se zyaada log kabhi nahi dikhe. Par kal raat, wahan par kam se kam 100 log the.”

Their eyebrows shot up. The two looked at each other, identical, contemplative expressions on their face. The night of the raid and the numbers suddenly increased? Without warning?

“Tumhe lagta hai yeh coincidence nahi hai?” Faizi asked.

Raghav sighed. “Mujhe kuchh nahi lagta, Sir. Humne raid toh maari, back up ke saath, par... kuchh zyaada haath laga nahi. Ajeeb lagi baat, isliye bata raha hoon. Koi proof nahi hai naa kuchh zyaada basis hai, isliye Batra Sir ke paas nahi jaa raha.”

“Raghav, kis kis ko pata hai ki tumhe shaq hai ki there might a breech in security?” Karan asked.

“Kisi ko nahi. I mean, maine kisi ko nahi bataaya. Shayad mere team mein se kisi ko shaq ho aur usne kisi ko yeh baat bataayi ho. Hum sab ko thodi ajeeb toh lagi yeh baat.”

“Tumhaare mission ka naam kya bataaya?” Faizi asked.

“Mission Blue Bird, Sir.”

“Mission Blue Bird ki files aur usse related saari information hume chahiye, aaj shaam tak. 1900 hours. Saari matlab saari. Every single detail”, he ordered. “Kisi ko apne iss shaq ke baare mein kuchh nahi bolna. Hum dekhte hain. Tumhe jo karna hoga, hum wo tumhe order de denge, par usse pehle, kuchh bhi mat karna.”

“Yes sir”, he said.

“Dismissed”, Karan said. Raghav nodded, saluting them before going out of the room. The two agents left looked at each other. “Coincidence?”

“Ho sakta hai”, Faizi said. “Par risk lena worth it nahi hai.”

He nodded. “Abhi yeh hum dono ke beech rahega.”

---x---x---x---x---x---x---x---

“Naam?” Sanju demanded.

“Koel. Koel Roy.” She handed her the ID. Sanju passed it to Ustaad ji, who checked it.

“Idhar sign kar.” Koel quickly scribbled her signature. She took back the ID, pocketing it. “Jaa. Jaakar sabke saath khadi ho jaa. Next!” A man walked up, smiling at him. She resisted the urge to roll her eyes. “Naam aur ID?”

“Siddharth Ganju”, he answered, holding out the ID. Ustaad ji took it, running another check.

Siddharth. She quickly flipped through the papers, turning the board when she found it. She tapped on it. “Sign kar.” He patted himself down, glancing around for a pen. “Yeh le.”

His fingers brushed hers as he grabbed it. Her eyes narrowed. “Sorry”, he muttered, taking the pen and quickly scribbling his name. “Here.” He kept the pen down, sliding it over to her.

“Yeh le ID”, Ustaad ji said. He nodded, taking it back and falling back into the lines.

It was a long process and it was just a few minutes past 1 when the 100 cadets were done. Well, 98. Who knew where the 2 were? And who was interested in finding out? They didn’t need recruits like that.

“Gaadhi mein kuchh problem aa gayi hai”, Ustaad ji muttered to her. “5 minute lagenge bas.” She suppressed a sigh, nodding.

Her gaze scanned the recruits. It fell on one, who had her phone up, clicking selfies happily. She rolled her eyes. “Paagal khaane se bhaagi mareez lag raho hai”, she muttered. Another one was holding up a mirror, painting her lips with some lipstick. She sighed. “Kahan phas gayo hain hum? Karan Sir ji aur Faizi Sir ji bhi hume yahan akela chodhkar chale gayo hain.”

“Dekho, dekho”, a guy said. Her gaze snapped to him. “Aise join karengi ladkiyan force? Phone mein ghuskar, make up lagaakar.” Her jaw clenched. “Arey, ghar par raho, yoga karo.” She stood up.

“Taaki yeh jo tumhaari China glass se bhi fragile “masculine” ego hai, use koi challenge naa kar paaye?” A male voice snapped back. Sanju paused in surprise. Her gaze turned to the man. Siddharth? That was his name, wasn’t it? Siddharth something. Siddharth...something from G, maybe.

“Ab tum jaise log force mein participate karna chahoge”, the girl who was putting make up on said. “Toh hum jaisi ladkiyon ko toh aana hi padega. Tumhaare hawaale desh ko chodh diya, toh...” She gave him a condescendingly dirty look. “Chodho. Buri cheezen kyun sochni?”

“Tumhe dekhkar lagta hai, tum #country toh kya, ek khaane ki plate bhi #protect nahi kar paoge”, the selfie girl said. She gave him an overly polite smile. “#Burn.”

Sanju ignored the laughter, stopping in front of him. “Ka hai, na? Ladkiyan bahut saare kaam ek saath kar sakto hai. Ek yog aasan humne bhi ijaad karo hai.” Her hand slammed into his face, making him hit the ground. “Ise kehte hain lappad aasan.”

“Bro”, Siddharth’s voice called from behind her, laughter heard in it. “Ground se uthte hue, China glass wale ego ke pieces bhi utha lena. Littering karna achha nahi hota, you know.”

A smirk played on her lips. She liked that recruit.

---x---x---x---x---x---x---x---

Monami pushed herself to her tiptoes, trying to see over the tall boy in front of her. The head trainer- why was she so bad with names- was talking. He had a smooth, deep voice and if she had to guess, he was young. In 20s or 30s, perhaps.

‘Yeh dikh kyun nahi raha? Naam se nahi, par shakal se toh pehchaan karni zaroori hai.’

She pushed herself higher. She stumbled slightly on her own feet, heat rising to her cheeks, as her butt found the hard pavement on the ground.

"Kya circus chal raha hai wahan par?" The head trainer said,and she closed her eyes in embarrassment. Footsteps walked closer, before a hand was thrusted in her peripheral. She swallowed. The man clutched her hand, pulling her up with a strong yank. She looked up, breath catching when she saw the head trainer. ‘Way to make a first impression, Dr. Monami Mahajan,’ she told herself.

"Sab theek?" He asked.

"Y-yes sir", she said.

Karan took in the girl. Average heighted, soft looking skin, fancy clothes, and a baby face. Pretty. But perhaps not made for the academy. She couldn’t even stand straight. His gaze fell on the locket she was wearing- a yellow and blue pendant, shaped in the form of an eye. Was that a damn sapphire? Wait a second. Wasn’t the brat who bumped into him and didn’t even bother to glance up wearing the same clothes? Great. Another rich, civilian kid who would treat the academy as an outdoor, adventure sport camp.

‘How absolutely amazing’, he thought sarcastically. He let go of her hand. ‘Bas yeh hi bacha tha aaj ke din mein.’

"Aao", he said, and Monami looked at him with wide eyes, as he turned, walking to the front. She followed with hesitant steps, glancing at Sid, who held up a hand, and imitated taking a deep breath. She took a deep breath, as she followed the head trainer- what was his name again?

She swallowed, as she faced the people all standing in a line. Her eyes found Sid's again, and he held up a hand again, gesturing to her to calm down.

"Main aapse teen baatein kehna chahta hoon", the head trainer said. His hand found her wrist, holding it up, before his fingers forced a single one of hers up. She looked up at her hand, before down at the man, who paced back and forth in front of the lines.

"Pehli, swimming aati hai iska yeh matlab nahi ki bina soche samjhe kood jao. Neeche garam tel hai ya paani, yeh janna zaroori hai. Warna tairne se pehle hi fry ho jaoge", he said.

She tilted her head slightly, acknowledging his words. For all that you know in the world, there are always things that's above your head. And the easiest way to die or fail was arrogance.

His fingers found hers again, and he raised the other one, two of her fingers pointing in the air. "Doosri baat, aapki chalaki aur smartness shayad academy ke bahar aapke kaam aati hogi. Lekin agar aap khudko chaalak aur smart samajhte hain, toh yeh academy mein aapki sabse badi bewakoofi hogi."

'Monami beta, military academy ka sab se pehla usool discipline hota hai. Jo aapka commander kahe, aapko woh trust karna hai. Apna dimaag kahan lagaana hai, kahan nahi, wo seekhna padega, kyunki har jagah nahi lagana hota hai. Hum soliders hain, har information nahi hoti. Par iska yeh matlab nahi ki blindly apne commanders ko trust karna. Yeh bhi seekhna hota hai ki kahan karna hai aur kahan nahi', her mother's words echoed in her head. ‘It is a very thin line.’

"Teesri baat", he said, looking up at her hand, and she raised the ring finger on her own. "Academy yahan se 20 minute ki doori par hai, lekin aap log iss raaste se jayenge." He pointed to the jungle beneath them, and she leaned forward slightly, like everyone else, to watch the track. It looked steep. "Chota sa trek hai, 3 ghante ka. Aap logon ko academy pahunche mein 3 ghante lagenge. Khuli hawa mein saans lene ka aapko mauka diya jaa raha hai. Ustaad Ji, time!"

A middle aged looking man lifted his wrist, glancing at the watch. "1400 hours", he said. 2 pm, she translated silently.

"Aap sab ke paas samay hai 1700 hours tak academy mein pahunch ne ka", he said. 1700 hours means 5 pm, she thought to herself silently, her arm starting to ache slightly, but she didn't dare to keep it down.

"1700 hours matlab shaam ke 5 baje", Ustaad ji said, holding up 5 fingers. His 2 thumbs was a brief detail that her mind registered immediately, before she forced her attention back on the head trainer.

"Sir, excuse me", a girl said. "Agar late ho gaye toh?"

"Toh itni door aaye hai, jungle mein ek raat enjoy kijiye ka, aur kal subah, ghar waapsi."

Monami glanced around at the faces of the people, nervous and unsure the most common expression, a couple mirroring her determination. She was not going to fail. She was not. She was going to be at the academy by 5 pm.

"Are you ready?" The head trainer barked, and she almost jumped. Everyone nodded, but he just glared at them. "I asked, are you ready?" He barked louder.

"Yes sir", came back the reply.

The head trainer turned to her, glancing up at her still raised hand. He waved his hand slightly, and she slowly kept her hand down, staring at him.

He took a step closer, and Monami internally tried to stop herself from panicking, eyes shooting to Sid, who exaggeratedly gestured to her to take deep breaths.

'Bhooke sher ki tarah dekh rahe hain. Kaise calm down kar loon', she thought to herself, staring up at the man. 'Inka kya bigadha hai maine? Pehle haath nahi chodh rahe the aur ab yeh. Aur thodi bahut galti agar ho bhi gayi ho kabhi aur yaad na ho, toh please thoda toh rehem karo. Arey, kaun aise sabke saamne laata hai? Wo hi punishment hai. Aur itna paas kyun? Door rehkar bhi toh jo kehna hai woh keh sakte hain. Mujhe sab kuch sunta hai. Itna paas kyun?'

He reached out, taking her scarf, and she resisted the urge to take it back and hug it close. It wasn't too expensive or precious, or even all that much sentimental, but it was a gift from Sid nonetheless, and he had given it to her with a lot of love.

He walked a couple of steps away, holding up the scarf, and then releasing it. "Go!"

The trainers and the cadets moved, and Monami stared at her scarf as people walked over it. What had she done that this man targeted her specifically? Moreover, what had her poor scarf done to him?

"Chal, Monu", Sid said, clutching her arm. "Sirf 3 ghante hain."

She glanced down at the scarf, and then at the man who was still silently standing, with his arms crossed.

"Scarf ko chod", he said. "Bro, sher ke muh mein haath nahi daalte. Main ek aur de doonga tujhe."

Monami glared at him, before stalking over to the man. Their eyes met, and Monami's entire confidence, which wasn't much to begin with, drained out of her. She didn't acknowledge his presence with anything more than her gaze, bending down and grabbing the scarf.

"Chal", Sid said, and the two followed the other recruits and trainers. "Tu ise jaanti hai kya, bro?"

"First time dekh rahi hoon, bro", she replied.

"Phir isne personally kyun dushmani li hai tujhse?"

She shrugged cluelessly. "Shayad mazaa aata hoga inhe." She shook her head. "3 ghante", she said, and Sid glanced at her. "Academy har haal mein pahunchna hai, Sid."

Sid nodded, and Monami's lips turned up a little, seeing the determination in his eyes. When Monami was ranting about the program, for the first time, she saw a glint of interest and determination in Sid's life, and on her insistence, he had checked out the details. Before picking the phone call at 2 in the morning, she knew what he was going to say. 'Monu bro, aag laga dete hain.'

"Waise inka naam kya tha?"Monami asked.

"Thoda memory improve kar le."

"Meri memory, na, bahut achhi hai. Bas naam nahi yaad hote."

"Aur medical ke itne naam ho jaate hain?"

She shrugged helplessly. "Ab kya karoon? Nahi hote logon ke naam yaad."

"Karan naam hai unka. Special Agent Karan Shergill."

She nodded, repeating the name. She took a deep breath.

3 hours. All that remained between her and the academy.

Parakaram SAF, here we come!