MUMBAI
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Abdul was rushing out of the lift when he almost collided with someone...who was in equal hurry to get into it. Abdul was about to burst out at that jerk but he looked up only to find...the one crashed into him was not other than Mirza himself. 'Buddy what happened? Where are you running to?' Asked Abdul to a visibly tensed Mirza, who by then had already stepped into the lift.
'Abdul...inform the ATC to get my jet ready. I am going to airport.' Mirza uttered this much in reply and pushed the button for ground floor. But his words threw Abdul in the middle of nowhere...he failed to fathom what possible worst thing could have happened to his friend that he was not even bothering to leave his prescheduled conference for!!! And that too without sharing it with his buddy! Abdul made his last attempt to get the fact. 'Where are you going?'
'Kolkata.'
With this the door closed. Mirza's lift started descending to ground. He didn't explain much but his last reply disclosed the reason to Abdul...there must be something wrong with Razia!!!
This thought filled Abdul with unknown worries...worries about Razia's wellbeing. 'Ab kya ho gaya? Mirza kuch batake bhi nehi gaya...I hope she is fine...' A tensed Abdul was about to move towards the corridor, suddenly a housekeeping interrupted him. 'Sir...Mirza Sir has left his mobile in cabin. Ek number se call a raha hai...there's already 13 missed calls.' Abdul took the phone and dialed the number that called 13 times. A heavy voice hurriedly answered, 'Sir, I have been calling since long...I have very important news to give you.'
'May I know who this is?' Asked Abdul as he had no idea who this guy was and what kind of news he was supposed to have.
'Sir...it's me Rashid. You appointed us for Razia Madem's security.' Quickly replied the guy on phone.
'Ohh yah...yes Rashid...what is it?' Abdul tried to manage the situation somehow.
'Sir...there is something very important you need to know...'
'Yes Rashid...go on...' Abdul ordered. Rashid followed. He told everything he had in store for Mirza. Abdul listen to every bit of it. At the end he spoke, 'reach Kolkata airport...wait for the IMPERIAL jet to land.'
'Alright Sir.'
With this the call ended, leaving a much more tensed Abdul behind.
IMPERIAL jet
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MID AIR...
2 and a half hour never felt so long to Mirza. Every second was taking ages to pass by, making him weaker both at heart and mind. He still didn't know what has happened to Razia...whether she was safe or not. He left his mobile in hurry which had Rashid's phone number...so Mirza had no other way but to wait till the jet reach Kolkata to get any information on Razia. And that waiting was killing him. A stinging pain that took birth inside his heart few minutes ago was now stabbing his soul. He was feeling uncomfortably suffocated inside his plush carrier...perhaps for the first time.
Few more minutes passed by. Mirza was now staring outside the window. His gaze was fixed somewhere in the blue sky. More his jet was closing in on Kolkata, more his heart was sinking in worries. Million questions were flooding his mind, sweeping his sanity away. 'Is she ok? Has Rashid been able to save her?' These unanswered questions were ruffling his mind like hell...pushing his inner frustration to the edge. In addition to this there was a guiltiness that was making the situation even worse. To some extent Mirza held himself too responsible for all these. He felt such situation would have never appeared if he had brought her to Mumbai.
'I shouldn't have listened to her...I shouldn't have let her stay in Kolkata. I shouldn't have...'
Mirza couldn't control his outburst anymore and kicked the table in front of him hard to vent his rage out. But the jerk, his body felt due to that kick, rippled through his broken right arm, which was still wrapped under plaster. 'Ahh...' Mirza winced in pain and for the first time...he regretted venting out his anger this way.
Few hours later...
Mirza's jet touched down Kolkata. From the runway, it was slowly taxing towards its designated hanger. Inside Mirza was bracing himself for his future...bracing for the news that was awaiting him in Kolkata. Just then the door of his coupe opened... entered the attendant. 'Sir...some people are waiting for you in the hanger. They have a lady with them.' The mention of a 'lady' blew a light through Mirza. Without wasting any more moment he ordered, 'bring them to me...as soon as the jet reach hanger. No delay. Am I clear?'
'Yes Sir.'
The attendant left. Mirza ran to the window if he could catch a glimpse of the people waiting in hanger...his heart was shouting out to him...'there is Razia...waiting for me.' But the hanger was not visible from Mirza's window. Hence he had no other option but to wait till those visitors board the jet.
Few minutes later...
The door opened and Rashid entered. Still no Razia...MIrza was about to burst out at Rashid...but before he could open his mouth, she entered the coupe. Her sight pumped a ton of oxygen through Mirza. He felt as if his heart started beating all over again. He felt as if...his life got back his soul again.
His Razia was fine...standing in front of him. What else he could have wished for. Mirza couldn't control himself anymore. He jumped out of his seat and rushed to Razia. Oblivious to others presence, he hugged her with all passion. He wrapped her with his one arm and pulled her to his chest. Mirza wanted to feel her heart beat against his...that was the only way to heel his wound...that was the only way to console his torn state. Strengthening his grip around, Mirza slowly dipped his face in her shoulder. He just wanted to get lost in her...wanted to sooth all the pain he felt in last few hours. Her fragrance, her feel was like a heeling touch to his body. He clutched her tight to get more of her.
Mirza was lost in Razia...so much so that he almost forgot that two people were standing there and staring at them in wonder. This was something they never came across in life. They never saw their master showering affection on somebody...that too in public. It was the eighth wonder for them. Hence they could not help but stare...and to their huge luck...Mirza was too busy to notice this. Though Mirza himself could not continue his soothing for long as his trance was broken with a strong push Razia gave him.
A stormy beginning to her day, highly threatening intruders, gun fight and people dying in front of her eyes...everything together numbed Razia's senses to a huge extent. Before she could even understand what was going on, she saw people moaning to death around her. There was blood everywhere, when her bodyguards rescued her to the Mercedes. She never came across such a frightening sight in her entire life. People, who were alive few minutes ago, were shot to dead within next few.
Off course Razia wanted to get out of that trap...get away from those suppressors but she never expected them to be killed this way. This entire episode nearly traumatized her. She lost her mind for some time. When she came back to her senses...the car she was in, was speeding towards the airport. She protested but only to be overruled by a heavy voice...that they were ordered to bring her to airport. Partly disturbed, partly annoyed Razia had no other option but to wait, till they reach airport, to lodge her complain...she knew it was useless to bargain with these pawns.
After an hour the sedan reached airport. Within next few minutes...Mirza's jet arrived. Razia didn't know Mirza was coming, nobody informed her...but for some unknown reasons she was feeling the same uneasiness which she feels whenever Mirza is around. This feeling plus the arrival of Mirza's jet - together they convinced Razia...that...Mirza was there.
Be it in her distress or her despair...the very last thing Razia ever wanted to cling on to was...Mirza. To come into his sight was like a soul raking torture for her. His philanderous gaze, his daring touch...everything Razia detested like hell. He was a curse Razia prayed everyday to get free of but God never listened.
She liked it or not...Mirza was in front of her again. She was just about to shoot her questions to him, when he suddenly got up and rushed to her...hugged her. A well-known disgust flushed through her body. She felt like pushing him to the floor right there but the presence of outsiders restricted her outburst. She somehow managed to bind her anger in control. But her restrain couldn't last long...it broke with his next move towards intimacy.
She could feel Mirza was drawing her more and more close...trying to feel her intimately. This growing intimacy was piercing Razia sorely. She was gradually losing control over her temper...within next few seconds it breached the ultimate barrier...when she felt his lips on her shoulder.
Razia pushed Mirza with all her strength...causing him to jerk away from her. He was so immersed into her that couldn't apprehend her reaction...and faltered.
Mirza was a bit surprised at her move. He thought after this whole fiasco Razia must be in need of some psychological support. He actually thought he was providing her that. But he was wrong. The lady who could fight the world on her own... never needs a shoulder to shed her tears on...that too from the person she hates most.
Her dhakka brought Mirza back into reality...back into the presence of a small audience...at whom he looked with an irate face. 'What?'
'Aaa...Sir...', the attendant fumbled for exact word in front of this sudden encounter. Without giving him anymore time Mirza cut into. 'I think you already know...what you are supposed to do. Am I right?'
'Yes Sir.' Nodding to the master the attendant and Rashid both left the coupe, leaving a disturbed Razia behind...who was still trying to fathom what was going on!
'Why have you brought me here?' asked Razia in a high tone.
'To protect you.' Mirza answered briefly before retiring to his couch. This made Razia even more pissed off. 'I don't need your protection. It's because of you that I am going through all these. Why don't you just leave me alone?' Razia vented her frustration before Mirza. But the addressee seemed not to be affected by it...not even an inch. He poured some water into his glass and drank it at once. There was a mild sign of relief floating on his face...the reason off course was not very difficult to guess. But his indifference irked Razia even more. This time she started on a different note. 'Maarne aye the na mujhe...achha hota maar hi dete...even death is better than this life.'
Now this sentence of Razia suddenly changed the temperature inside the coupe which reflected in Mirza's eyes. They turned burning red from gleaming golden in no time. Mirza's stiffened jaw line was clear enough to say the arrow has hit the mark. He smashed the glass on floor and walked up to Razia in rage. His glaring gaze sent shiver down her spine. Her steps started receding back automatically...it continued till her back felt the wall.
The pain in Mirza's broken arm was increasing but it was nothing compared to what her words caused him. He knew he can never expect soothing words from her...not after what he did to her... but he can never tolerate anyone questioning his concern for Razia...not even if it is Razia herself.
Mirza griped her arm with his left hand and pinned her to the wall. This sudden turnaround momentarily seized her mind. Razia gasped under his rough breath.
After piercing her with his stern look, Mirza finally began, 'what do you think...they came to kill you??? Then let me clear it for you dear...THEY DIDN'T. They don't want to kill you. They want to KILL ME. They would have done every possible thing to you...that could have killed me. That's what they were supposed to do. That's what...they were paid to do.' Mirza finished it in one go. All the while his infuriated gaze was fixed on her eyes. His warm breath was brushing her face, making her heart beating at a faster rate. Razia didn't know what to utter in response. She was literally speechless after hearing his words. She could now envisage the true gravity of the danger she would have been in. But she didn't know...whether to thank him for saving her or to bash him for putting her in this situation...she didn't know that.
'I...I...' Razia tried to utter something but Mirza didn't let her, 'Now go and sit there. We are leaving for Mumbai.' Hurling his final sentence at her, Mirza went back to his place, leaving Razia wondering...what he just said!!!
'What!!! Mumbai!!! Are you even serious!!! Am not going anywhere with you. NEVER.' Razia took almost no time to retort back.
It's not that the idea of going to Mumbai never came to Razia's mind. In fact since Rico left with Mirza, there had never been a day when Razia didn't think about leaving everything behind and run to her son. But she couldn't. Because she knew...the way that leads to her son...leads to Mirza also. And she can bear anything on this earth...but NOT MIRZA. Hence the mother in Razia always had to put her arms down in front of the woman who lost a lot in the battle.
But just as they say...you make it, Fate breaks it. Razia took her resolve but, fate rejected it. Well...more precisely Mirza rejected it.
'I am not going anywhere. I am getting down off it...right now.' Without waiting for Mirza's reply, Razia rushed to the door...twisted the latch. Twice...Thrice. But the door didn't budge. She tried to pull it forcefully but that too didn't work. Razia was about to burst out but she stopped at Mirza's voice...which sounded a bit sarcastic to her ears, 'I thought you know...once the plane starts taxing to runway, doors get auto locked.' Razia quickly turned her gaze to the window...only to find...the jet has already reached the runway...it was taking position to fly away. Razia couldn't believe her own eyes. She actually thought Mirza may argue to take her to Mumbai or maximum force her like always. But such an arbitrary treatment!!! Not even in her dreams!!! She walked up to him in utter disgust. 'You are such a...such a...' Before she could define what he was Mirza made an offer...though a lil strange one. 'You want some coffee? We have an exclusive Italian brand. Trust me you would love it.' A sly smirk on Mirza's lips had it all. Razia felt like slapping him hard on his face. But keeping in mind the possible outcomes...she somehow controlled her anger and made way towards the couch on the farthest corner of the coupe. Once again she lost to him.
After some time...
There she was...his love, his life, his Razia ...sitting with him in his luxurious jet. Ever since Mirza met razia, he wanted to make her part of his world...part of his life. He wanted to give her everything he dreamt of bestowing on his queen. But she never let him. In future also Mirza had very little hope that she will. But that surely didn't stop him from trying his luck. For Mirza...no challenge is challenging enough if it doesn't take the man out of a man.
It's not that Mirza had planned anything. He didn't plan an attack on Razia or framed the rescue mission that followed. These all were the handwork of his enemies. He had no role in this. In fact this time he was actually more into keeping his word to her...by keeping her away from his life. But just as always...fate had another design in mind. And he had to take the decision to bring her to Mumbai...both for her safety and for his peace. But the million dollar question was...can two worlds ever collide without a storm? Possibly the answer is NO.
The storm started brewing once they came into each other's sight. For one it was the heart wrenching effort to bear his presence...for another it was the painful struggle to keep his word...to stay away from her. Both of them were fighting their battle in their own way. Razia was trying to focus on her future meeting with her son...at the same time trying to forget what led to this. She was forcing her mind with all strength to become obliterate of the presence of her co passenger. If her struggle was tough, then Mirza's was tougher.
Looking at the condition of Razia...all soulful, all drained...Mirza knew she was badly in need of love and care. She was badly in need of somebody who could soothe her much hurt soul. Mirza felt like taking her in his arms and love her till she forgets every pain of her. But he knew the barrier of consent will always be there between them. He had no idea when he will be able to cross that barrier. All he could do was...WAIT. And this was something that always burdens Mirza's heart with unbearable weight...the same he was feeling right now.
For last half an hour...Mirza didn't move his eyes from Razia...his lone, yearning gaze was roaming all over her. Not that he was always doing it intentionally; rather it was more sort of a natural reaction from his mind, when she is around. But for Razia it was the same lusty gaze she detests like hell. In spite of looking at the opposite direction, she could feel his heated gaze touching all over her...much to her annoyance. Razia couldn't hold her frustrations back anymore and she shot off, 'I am not going to your house or stay with you. I will arrange something for me.'
Mirza was in a trance which Razia's words broke. He actually missed what she uttered. Hence he asked for a replay. 'Sorry...did you say something.'
'Yes. I just told...I am not gonna stay with you. I will arrange something for me.' Razia was still staring at the blue blank outside the window. MIrza kept looking at her for a while and then stood up, 'don't worry you won't have to. I have already made some arrangements. I have...' Here Razia interrupted Mirza. She turned to him and uttered in an irate voice, 'I said I will make my arrange...' But before Razia could finish off, Mirza burst in on a much higher tone, 'NO YOU WILL NOT. You won't make any arrangement. You will stay...where I will tell you to.' Giving an extra stress on last few words, Mirza stated his mind...but only to infuriate Razia many fold. She walked up to Mirza in rage and pointed her finger towards him, 'I warn you Mr. Mirza...don't try to play with me again.'
Her words hit mirza hard. Her blatant challenge punched his ego. It made him forget what actually he was upto and filled his mind with an urgent need to strike a befitting reply. Mirza erased the distance between them in a fraction of second and grabbed her arm. Fixing his gaze on her, he hissed, 'you bet, I will. Even God can't deter me off.'
Only after uttering these lines Mirza realized he didn't want to. Why would he! He wasn't playing any game! He wasn't trying to frame her! Then why he needed such lines! Mirza squeezed his eyes in frustration...scolded his mind for such burst out.
After pausing for some moment Mirza began in a rectifying tone, 'Am sorry...I shouldn't have talked to you like this. I...I just...I just wanna tell you...see keeping in mind what just took place in Kolkata, it would be highly irrational to let you live like this. It will be disastrous...for you, for me, for Hasaan...for everybody. And all I will do is...arrange a safe place for you and intensify your security. That's it. Nothing else. You can do your job; pay your own expenses...everything at your will. And most importantly you can meet Hassan whenever you wish to. At my home, at his school...anywhere.'
Now the mention of Rico spread a different emotion through Razia. Her heart twisted imagining how she was living without her 'Jigar ka tukra'. The heart of a mother melted with the mere mention of this possible union. She could feel...a rush of emotion clogging in front of her vision...blurring Mirza out of her sight. She could feel...somewhere deep inside...the fiery lady put her sword down before the doting mother.
This changeover in her didn't escape Mirza's eyes either. Rather it moved him. Her flooded eyes were a sight completely unbearable for Mirza. He never hated anything more than her tears. Looking at her like this was a soulful experience for him. What added to his despair was his helplessness at her negation. Hence Mirza kept staring...although his mind not!
Mirza couldn't feel when his hand left its place to reach her soaking cheek...to wipe tears from her face. He realized only when it touched her. But that was also the same time when Razia realized...his proximity and his touch. Within a fraction of second she jerked back from his touch...and went back to her seat, leaving an upset Mirza behind.
Precap: "Ammijan..."
