I replied to everyone's comments in the prev pages! Thanks heaps again guys!
Here goes the next one! Let me know what you think...
Part 21...
"Unhe aur mujhe dono ko waqt chahiye Arjun. A lot of things have been said...we both need time for all that to sink in"
Arjun sighed, Riya looked up at the man sitting inches away from her. He did not have anything to say but he had a look on his face that clearly said – I am here for you!
That was all she needed!
*****
"Wow!!" Rathore exclaimed once Arjun finished telling him everything that happened since Mr. Mukherjee's arrival last night.
"No wonder Riya was so apprehensive about him coming to India!" He concluded.
"I just hope they sort this out soon" Arjun said lost thinking about everything that happened that morning.
"Hmm, but I am surprised at you. You were pretty calm" Rathore was waiting throughout the story, when Arjun was telling him, for the part where Arjun starts yelling at Mr. Mukherjee but it never came.
"Bahut ghussa aa raha tha, issiliye kuch nahi kaha! Aisa na ho ki ghusse main kuch keh diya aur baad mein isske liye pachtana pade" He looked at Rathore meaningfully; Rahtore understood immediately what he was referring to.
"Anyway I couldn't have said anything, aage jaake bhi relation nibhani hain unse."
"Hmmm...woh angle bhi hain" Rathore paused and smiled. That particular angle would be a beautiful, new start for Arjun with Riya. Rathore was patiently waiting to see that day of his best friend.
"And if you ask me, from a father's point of view whatever he said wasn't completely wrong!" Arjun finally voiced out his concern.
"Oh c'mon Arjun, he had no clue about you or your past...he just..."
"But, he's still right Sameer. I can't live in a lodge anymore..." He paused and sighed, "...I have Anu's responsibility and if not now after sometime Riya's as well. I should seriously start looking for a house"
"Don't do this because of what Mr. Mukherjee said, Arjun do it only if you are comfortable..."
"No, I am not doing this because of him. Ya, he made me realise it, but he is not the reason for it...I'll talk to Riya once she calms down a bit..."
"She didn't have to come to office today. She could have taken leave under personal..." Rathore stopped talking when he saw her coming towards them.
"Sir, Chotu's informers are gathered they are waiting for your orders" Riya informed the duo.
"Okay, let's go"
Riya, Rathore and Arjun walked into a smaller room where Shree and Chotu were already present with about seven other men.
"Shree did you show them the airport footage?" Arjun asked once inside. As soon as Arjun reached office, the first thing he did was contact airport officials and got the CCTV footage of the last 24 hours. He then informed Rathore and the rest of the team of the current situation.
"No sir, I am just setting up the laptop" Shree replied busily.
"Tum logon ko koyi khabar milli hai, kisi bhi tarah ka attack ke baare mein? ETF par?" Rathore asked the group of men.
"Na saab, hume toh aisa kuch khabar nahi hain" one of them replied on behalf of all of them.
"Sir, it's ready" Shree looked up from the laptop and projected the footage on the screen opposite them.
"Pause it there Shree, uss aadmi par zoom karo..." Arjun instructed.
"Isse kahi dekha hain?" Chotu asked his informers.
The men shook their heads looking intently at the man on screen except for one.
"Saab, yeh toh Chintu hai..." he said frowning and trailed off.
"Chintu?..." Shree said with disgust, "Yeh kaisa naam hai for a criminal? I mean Chintu..."
Rathore and Arjun looked at him with raised eyebrows while Chotu and even Riya couldn't help but smile at his comment.
"Jab usse pakadenge Shree tab poochlena...now can we continue with the enquiry?" Rathore asked him teasingly.
Arjun meanwhile rolled his eyes and turned to the informer, "Who is this Chintu?"
"Saab iss mein itna himmat nahi hai ki ETF officers ke hi peeche padjaaye...chota mota chor hai saab"
"Kaha milega yeh?" Arjun asked.
"Saab uska ghar toh pata hai, lekin kaafi din se mila nahi hain"
"Mujhe bhi kuch aisa hi lag raha tha...phir bhi bata do ghar kaha hain...kahin na kahin se toh shuru karni padegi. Chotu isse saari information lelo" Rathore said and walked out of the room followed by Shree, Riya and Arjun.
"Shree when you went to drop Anu, no one was following you were they?" Arjun asked.
"No sir, I saw no one" Shree informed.
"Ek chota mota chor tumhara picha kyun karega?" Rathore said more to himself than the team.
"He won't unless he's been hired by someone else" Arjun said deep in thought.
"One more thing I noticed Sameer is that, whoever this person is wants us to know we are being followed. They are not really taking precautions to stay hidden, even the guy at your window that day Riya..." He paused as Riya remembered that incident, "...he could have been much quieter, it's almost like they want me to know they are after us"
Silence fell around them as Arjun came to that somewhat creepy conclusion. Chotu joined them few minutes later and gave Rathore the address and other information on Chintu.
"Okay, unfortunately we can't ALL work on this at the moment because we are already handling two other cases, but safety of our officers is a priority so...we'll split, Shree and uh..." Rathore was thinking whom to send with him, when Riya offered to go, "...alright, Shree and Riya go to this Chintu's place and the bar he usually hangs out in and get as much information as you can"
Riya and Shree nodded and got up; ready to carry out their task when Arjun slowly walked up to Riya.
"Are you okay?" He asked.
"Ya, ya I am fine" she tried to smile but it did not reach her eyes.
"He'll come around Riya, if not now after sometime but he will understand"
Riya nodded and said nothing. Arjun wanted to give her space regarding her father's matter so he did not push her.
"Be careful out there okay? We don't know how serious these people are"
Riya assured him she'll be careful and headed out with Shree who was waiting for her. Arjun saw her retreating form and headed back to Rathore and Chotu to work on the cases already on hand.
Shree started the car and soon hit the road towards Chintu's house. The car was unusually quite considering Riya and Shree were in it. He glanced at her a few times but did not say anything seeing her upset. Riya on the other hand knew he was looking at her; she tried to ignore it but failed.
"What is it Shree??" She finally asked giving up.
"Nothing, nothing I am just...making sure you are okay!" The concern in his face was evident.
"I am okay. Just upset with...with whatever happened with dad"
"Ri, everything will be alright" Shree said softly and held her hand.
"With you and Arjun next to me, I don't think it will be any other way then being alright!" Riya said gratefully.
"That's right! So, never ever look sad like this ever again. As for your dad, I am sure he'll come around...soon"
Riya smiled genuinely for the first time that day. When asked by Shree what she was smiling for she replied,
"Arjun said the same thing to me before I came out"
*****
Arjun and Rathore were looking at some evidence regarding a case while Chotu was a few feet away seriously going through a file.
"Oh, I wanted to tell you something else" Arjun suddenly looked up at Rathore.
"Ab kya?" Rathore asked.
"Your sister is in love!" Arjun said simply.
"What?!"
"Your sister is..." Arjun started saying it again, more slowly.
Rathore rolled his eyes, "I heard you the first time Rawte! Who is the guy?"
"I don't know. She won't tell me" Arjun said bitterly.
"What do you mean she won't tell you? Did you ask her??"
Arjun looked at him with a raised eyebrow, "Bewakoof dikh raha hoon tujhe??"
Rathore chuckled, "Pata toh karna padega, ladka kaun hain" Suddenly a brotherly protectiveness took over Rathore.
"When and if you find out, let me know" Arjun said seriously, Rathore noticed he's angry.
"Itna gussa kyun ho raha hain?"
"Toh phir kya karoon? Riya knows who the guy is, even she wouldn't tell me"
"Toh Riya pe gussa hai ya Anu pe?" Rathore was now confused.
Arjun let out a frustrated sigh, "Kissi pe nahi yaar, so many things are happening at the same time – Riya's dad, Anu ki love story aur ab yeh jo humare piche padgaya"
"Tension math le, sab thik ho jaayega!" Rathore tried to comfort him.
Arjun nodded and let the matter be, for the time being concentrating on the case.
Edited by Aukview - 12 years ago
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