*tw: drug abuse, alcohol, violence, death*
Segment #1
Darshan Rathore was having a hard time not slamming his head on the table. He wanted to yell, "Yes, your husband is having an affair, move on!" to the latest potential client sitting opposite his boss, Nushrat Sheikh, but only rolled his eyes.
When the woman left, Nushrat looked up at him.
"Absolutely not! I will not spend my next few days stalking her husband."
"Darsh..."
"Nope! I am your best detective, I swear I'll walk if I have to follow another cheating scum."
"You are my only detective!" She huffed. Sighing, she rubbed her eyes.
"Fine, can you at least go to this bar? Fiza is going there with her friend and something about that place is giving me the creeps. I just want to be sure she is safe."
"It's fine if she is going to bars. Lay off your kid, she is older than 21!" Darshan said and earned a whack on his head.
"No, I will not. The bar is called Vodoo Club. She is going there with a guy."
"She is going to THE Vodoo Club?" He asked and smirked. Maybe Nushrat should stop worrying about Fiza's guy friends and start worrying about her gay friends.
Nushrat looked at him in confusion.
"Do you know something? Do they sell drugs? Is the place unsafe? Should I stop her from going?" She asked in a breath, leaning so close to Darshan that Darshan could see the fear in her eyes.
"Relax, woman. The bar's safe, as far as I know. But sure, I'll go." He sighed. Nushrat thanked him and stepped away. He walked to the door.
"How do you know she is going there?"
"I am a detective. I can find out anything." She shrugged. Darshan tilted his head and raised his eyebrow.
"I overheard her on the phone."
____________
The bar was buzzing with music. Darshan had picked a navy blue shirt and black jeans, he had kept it casual. He had hoped that he wouldn't draw much attention, especially Fiza's. He was average to look at but fit the phrase "Dark and Handsome" with his dark curly hair, six feet height, and the "exotic" skin tone. Being a private detective, his job description demanded him to be charming to get people to talk, which also helped his love life.
He looked at the people around him and wondered what it must be like to be this free with their truth. He could never, his mom would never understand. However, living in the city of Mumbai meant that you could have some semblance of freedom from hiding as he had in Chandigarh for about fifteen years.
He walked up to the bar and ordered a drink. He looked around when he saw Fiza, who seemed to be waiting for someone. He kept an eye on her, wondering how his gaydar had missed Fiza. But then, he saw him walk up to her.
Slightly shorter than him, Ishaan Kesrani looked cute. Yes, obviously he had done his research about Fiza to know whom to expect that night. He was dressed in casuals, a grey t-shirt, and pants to go with it. He was lean, and something about him made Darshan just stare at him. Ishaan kissed Fiza's cheek and waved at the bartender who gave him a drink. So he was a regular at the bar, then.
A few minutes later, a man approached Ishaan, and Darshan felt an ugly bout of jealousy raise it's head inside his guts. He looked away, even though, through the corner of his eyes, he saw that Ishaan refused the man's advances.
Feeling a little giddy with glee, Darshan stood up to leave. He realized that Nushrat was worrying for no reason. So Fiza was a gay, big deal! She also had a cute (probably) gay friend. Darshan made a mental note to get his number from Fiza. He turned to leave when he noticed a man pass a packet to another customer.
"Not my circus, not my monkey!" He said to himself as he tried to look away, but then there was a huge crash, followed by a gunshot. He hurriedly looked for Fiza, who seemed fine except startled at the sound. Then, he saw Ishaan on the floor, his arm bleeding.
He instinctively turned around to see a man run while a few others followed them. Darshan looked back at Ishaan, but Fiza was already dialing a number.
Was this the case he had been waiting for? Was this his chance at finally proving to the world that he was actually a good detective? Should he follow the case?
Segment #2
Darshan felt his phone buzz in his pocket. Fiza was calling him. He walked upto her and helped Ishaan up on his feet.
Fiza looked confused at his sudden arrival. "Teleportation much?"
"I have The Anywhere Door, Doraemon gave me." Darshan said nonchalantly.
"Did my mom send you here to spy on me?"
"Nah, I'm here to my friend."
"Friend?"
Ishaan faints as Darshan holds him steady and takes them out of the club.
Darshan brings over his car and helps Ishaan get in. Fiza joins them. Darshan uses the first aid box to tie the bleeding arm of Ishaan after inspecting the wound.
He drives towards his home.
"You really didn't come because my mom-" Fiza asked again.
"I said I was here to meet a friend. You know I only work for money. You think your mom would pay me to spy on you? No chance."
"Where are we going?"
"My place. Tell your mom to pick you up."
"I will go on my own."
"Not at this hour." Darshan sighed and looked over at Ishaan, who was unconscious.
Darshan carried Ishaan inside his house. He checked the wound again and sewed it shut. The bullet had moved past his skin. He sprinkled some water on Ishaan's face. He opened his eyes groggily.
Darshan gave him a painkiller and let him rest. He looked at Fiza. "How long have you known him?"
"A few weeks."
"So, someone tried to hurt him purposefully or he was just in the way?"
"You're the detective, go find it out."
"I am trying to."
"Well, I don't know. We were having drinks and this random guy crashed into the one beside me and then another one pulled out a gun."
"So he was in the way." Darshan tried to recall the moment. He hadn't seen anything.
"I think. Not sure though."
"Do you remember anything about those two men?"
Fiza looked at him with a blank face.
"I mean, could you recognise them?"
"Not sure. I didn't see them properly and the light wasn't enough either."
Nushrat knocked on the door and walked in as Darshan opened it. She hugged Fiza. "Is everything alright?"
"Yes mom, I'm alive. Thank you."
"Tone down that attitude, I'm your mother."
"That doesn't mean you send a spy behind me."
"I didn't send him. Why would I waste my money on something so trivial?"
"Whatever, shall we go home? I'm sleepy."
Nushrat glared at her daughter. She left after glancing at Ishaan and Darshan. 'Not in the mood for another unpaid task.' She thought.
SEGMENT #3
Ishaan stared at the man. Blessed with dark hair, a good height and that "exotic" skin tone, he was undeniably... handsome. Oh well, it was probably a far cry to think he would be interested in men.
"Fiza said you were in the way", the man said. "And you accidentally got shot. Is that true?"
It wasn't. He wasn't a lucky person but even he couldn't have that bad of a luck, could he? He shrugged a little, wincing when pain flared up in his injured arm. "I guess, yeah", he lied. "What's your name?"
"Darshan", he replied.
"Ishaan", he introduced and he nodded. "It was nice to meet you but I should go, I guess. I don't want to intrude."
The man- Darshan- kept a strong hand to his chest, pushing him back down to the couch when he started to get up. "Rest", he said firmly. "It's not a lot of blood but too much of excitement now can make you faint. Again."
Too much protesting leads to suspicion. Ishaan laid back, closing his eyes. Call it exhaustion, call it the painkillers, but sleep came easy although not dreamless. A gun, a bar and the dark haired man featured in them.
-PAGE BREAK-
Darshan kept the plate in front of Ishaan, the next morning, sitting down and grabbing the sandwich from his plate. He couldn't ask why Ishaan was lying directly the last night, although he has his own suspicions.
But... all this did point to a much bigger thing happening. He stopped himself from fidgeting excitedly in his seat. He might be getting a big case to solve. Finally, a case that was more than just following a cheating scum.
"So", Darshan started. "How do you know Fiza?"
Ishaan shrugged with his uninjured arm. "Mutual friends", he dismissed vaguely.
He hummed, looking at him eat slightly. He grabbed the television, switching to the news. Ishaan looked up, watching in interest but Darshan watched him in turn. It was a news report of crime statistics. "It's startling, no? How much organized crime has started to rise?"
Ishaan looked at him. "Yeah", he said softly. "It really is."
"I am sure the police must have taken several steps to ensure our well being", Darshan continued. "But really, the best way to take them out is from inside. No?"
The other man studied him for a few moments. "How do you know?" He asked quietly.
"I am a mind reader", he said nonchalantly. "I have powers." He leaned back. "So, you are a undercover cop?"
"Yes", he said. "But you already knew that. Tell me, Darsh, how did you figure it out?" He narrowed his eyes. "Are you one of Simba's people?"
"Simba", Darshan repeated. He had never heard that name before. "No. I am a detective." Ishaan stared at him, still expectantly waiting. He sighed. "It's not that hard to figure out. You were lying when you agreed that you were just caught in the middle. Too many scars from bullet wounds on your arms when you were patching up. Oh, and there was this." He slid a folded paper to him. "That slipped out of your pocket."
He opened it. It was from his handler. 'A STICK IS GOING TO BE POKED INTO YOU.' His handler was a cartoon in himself but the sentences were random enough.
"It is easy to back trace", Darshan continued. "A stick going in represents the Voodoo Club. And you knew you were going to be attacked."
Ishaan sighed. "It was staged", he admitted. "The two men were cops. We were trying to take advantage of the panic that happened after the gunshot and we kind of did."
Darshan smiled. This was turning out to be great. Actual detective work. He needed some excitement in this boring life of his.
Following Fiza was turning out to be a great decision.
Segment #4
Darshan waited outside Fiza's office, waiting to see her face in the swarm of corporates. He raised his hand when he finally saw her and her colleagues. Fiza looked at him in confusion and bid goodbye to her coworker.
"Are you still spying on me?" She asked as she approached him.
"Can you drop it?"
"No! Ever since Ammi found out about Afshaan, she is being weird."
"I am not here to spy on you, I just want to ask you something and I couldn't do it over the phone. What were you exactly doing at a gay bar?"
"Meeting a friend." Fiza shrugged. Darshan sighed.
"Fiza, it could have been dangerous, why are you not getting it? You could have gotten hurt! I can't believe a cop risked a civilian's life for an undercover mission."
"No, he didn't. I called him to meet up, I needed someone to talk to. Ishaan tried rescheduling but I was adamant, and then someone in his background said something along the lines of meeting him in the bar and I thought he was ditching me to go clubbing, so I insisted we meet there. If anything had happened, it would have been on me, not Ishaan."
Darshan nodded.
"So, what were you doing at a gay bar?" She stressed on the word gay, making Darshan uncomfortable.
"Nothing. I was meeting a friend."
"You don't have friends!" Fiza said savagely.
"That hurt."
"Are you gay?" She asked and then looked at him apologetically. "You don't have to answer that."
"Does Ishaan go there regularly, or was it just for the mission?" Darshan asked after a few seconds, wanting to confirm the hypotheses he had made based on Ishaan and the bartender's interaction.
"Does Mom know you are working this case?" Fiza asked instead.
Darshan's eyes widened as he realized something.
~~~~~~
"Mummy, I told you not to call unless it's an emergency!" Ishaan whispered hurriedly on the phone, his eyes on Ayesha, as he tried to lipread her.
"You told Sneha that you can't make it to her house and that you aren't interested in her?"
"Because that's the truth? We had this conversation two years ago, and if Pappa can't accept it, it's not my fault."
"But you are attracted to both, so why not a woman?" his mom asked, almost pleadingly.
"I'll ask my hormones and brain and get back to you, bye now." He answered and hung up as he lipread Ayesha say the name Simba.
~~~~~~
Ishaan stepped in the bar which was marked like a crime scene. He nodded subtly at Gaurav, who was investigating when he noticed a familiar mop of curly hair.
Segment #5
Ishaan noticed a familiar mop of curly hair. So, you decided to pursue this case? Wrong choice buddy. he sighed. Should he tell Darshan to stay out of this mess?
-
Darshan walked up to Gaurav and shook his hands, the other man smiled warmly, in acknowledgement.
"I want to help you with this case." Darshan whispered.
Gaurav looked at him for a minute, he knew Darshan's keen eye and the ability to detect lies. He would be an asset. Gaurav noted. "But you won't get paid for it. Acknowledgement, maybe."
"I know. But I want to do this, please?"
"Alright. Make sure you don't mess anything up, this is your one and only chance. I will not be answering your family if anything goes wrong."
"They don't need to know anything, trust me." Darshan answered with a hint of sadness in his voice.
Another policeman came up to Gaurav, "Sir, ye CCTV footage hai. Jyada clear nahi hai."
"Jo hai ussise kaam chalao."
-
Later that night, Ishaan walked into Gaurav's house disguised as a plumber.
"You shouldn't let Darshan into this case." Gaurav came to the point.
"He is useful. I know him better than you do. Tell me, who were those people?"
"Simba ke chuze hai, kuch jyada kaam ke nahi hai. I'm trying to contact ek medium machhli."
"Kitna time lagega?"
"Do teen din. Ek rave party organise kar raha hu. Jaan bichha diya hai, machhli ka intezaar hai."
"Darshan ko sath rakhna, backup mein."
"Nope. I can't risk my cover like that. I don't even know him."
Gaurav sighed. "Tujhe pata nahi hai ki wo kitne kaam ka banda hai. Trust me."
"Ye mera mission hai and I get to decide things, not you."
"Ishaan. You need to learn how to trust others. Not blindly but properly."
"Last time I trusted someone, I had to lose my best friend. I am not doing it again."
"Toh kya zindagi mein kabhi kisi par bharosa nahi karoge, bewakoof?" Gaurav was irritated.
"Mera ek simple Funda hai life mein, zindagi mein ek galti ek hi baar karo, dusri baar nayi galti karo."
Gaurav smacked Ishaan's head. "Nayi galti karni hai na, toh, go do him." He winked.
"Ayy!" Ishaan blushed. "I don't do strangers."
"Then go on a date first. It's not rocket science."
"Tumhe bada pata hai ye sab?" Ishaan raised his brows, teasing his old friend.
"Mera chance nahi tha. But you have it. Jao, Ishaan jaao, jee lo apni zindagi."
Ishaan cringed at the dialogue.
Gaurav waited for a moment. "Keep Darshan with you during the mission, he will really help you. Trust me on this." He patted Ishaan's back.
"Kal batau, thoda soch kar?"
Gaurav nodded.
SEGMENT #6
"What's the deal with Simba?" Darshan asked.
Nushrat sipped her chai casually- too casually- as she looked over the documents. "Simba? Lion King waala ya Ranveer Singh waala?"
"Ishaan Kesrani waala", he said. "Isliye tum itna worried thi, na, Fiza ke liye? Especially because she was going to a bar? You knew yeh sab."
She looked up, taking another sip. "Mujhe kuchh nahi pata tha. I was just concerned about my daughter. And turns out, I was right to be concerned."
He leaned back in his chair, studying her. She wasn't meeting his gaze, not too much anyway. It kept flickering around and her fingers gripped the cup a tad too tight to be normal. She was lying. "I want to work this case. Make it happen", he demanded.
"I do not decide that."
Darshan got up, walking out. He paused outside the doorway, peeking in. As expected, she sighed, picking up the phone. He smiled happily. His work would be done.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Darshan opened the door, raising an eyebrow. Ishaan? He strolled in wordlessly and Darshan closed the door behind him. "Well, why don't you come in?" Darshan mocked. "Apna hi ghar samjho."
"Very mature of you", Ishaan said, sitting down on the couch. "Approach lagwaakar you have forced me to let you come, huh?"
Darshan sat down. "You would want me in this case", he said. "I can help you. I have skills that will be of use."
Ishaan leaned forward, staring into his eyes deeply. "Mujhe akele kaam karne ki aadat hai."
Darshan let the smirk spread on his face, leaning back and holding his gaze. "Aadat badal sakti hain. Koshish toh karo."
A moment. And then another. And then another.
Ishaan exhaled, leaning back. "Just this once", he conceded.
"We will see if it's a one time thing."
"It will be", he said firmly. "Let me brief you a little bit about the rave party. Our target is Ayesha Kalkarni." He threw a photo on the table. She was a pretty girl- perhaps in her mid 30's. "Drug dealer."
"So, this Simba is a drug lord?"
"Drug lord, gang leader, whatever you want to call him. But he is a big name in organized crime. Bahut lambi naak hai iski aur zyaadatar doosre ke kaam hi rehti hai."
"Surpnakha ki tarah, naak kaatni hai?"
Ishaan shook his head. "Ramayana nahi chahiye", he said. "We need to work our way up. Carefully. If things aren't handled correctly, all the trained criminals will fall into anarchy. But it doesn't matter to you. All you are allowed to do is come together."
Darshan hummed, studying the photo.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
"So, you decided to give him a chance?" Gaurav said, smiling. He leaned forward. "Is it because he is handsome?" He laughed slightly. He was in a good mood. He wouldn't have to worry as much about him now.
Ishaan gave him a look. "Nahi, it's because I was told to. Superiors se."
"Sure, sure", he teased. "Nothing to do with his looks. You can't tell me you don't find him handsome."
The undercover cop's head hung slightly, studying the file of information in his hand. "Maybe he is pleasing to the eye", he admitted. "But he's annoying."
"Annoying se endearing bante zyaada samay nahi lagta."
Ishaan looked at him. "Tumhe badha pata hai. Do one thing, no? Charge for this advice. Mohalle ki auntiyon ki tarah free mein mat do. Now, let me work."
Segment #7
Ishaan placed a mug of coffee in front of Darshan who was looking over the case file, studying it meticulously.
"Find anything?" He asked and Darshan gave him a blank look as if his chain of thoughts was broken. He took a sip of the coffee and nodded.
"Yup, this tastes much better than the stuff I make. Thank you." Ishaan raised his coffee mug to acknowledge the compliment.
"Can I ask you something? Are you a regular at the bar? You just waved at the bartender and he gave you a drink. It could have been a complimentary drink, but it was during peak hours, so no bar would risk business giving out free drinks."
Ishaan looked at him in surprise and nodded appreciatively.
"You are good. Yes, I was a regular at the bar, it's... It's good to be surrounded by the people of your community. I found the people who could relate to me and my feelings. After coming out to my parents, home stopped feeling like home," He looked at Darshan who was looking at him intensely, so he cleared his voice to make the lump in his throat go away. He realized Darshan doesn't care of his coming out sob story, because Darshan won't be able relate to it.
"And also because it was the bartender, Mike, who noticed the drug smuggling a few weeks back. He wanted his name out of it, so told me about it off the record and we dug around a little to trace Ayesha back to the club."
"So you staged the sting there."
Ishaan nodded.
"Fiza ruined your plan by being there and by helping you."
"That's on you, actually, that you treated my wound. But it still worked." Ishaan said and took another sip of his coffee.
"But why would they select a gay bar to peddle?" Darshan asked after a few seconds.
"To increase their market?" Ishaan asked and Darshan tilted his head and raised his eyebrow.
"The owner has many bars and clubs in Mumbai, is this the first club of his where such dealings were reported?"
Darshan asked.
"Well, clubs, bars and parties are usually where drug peddling takes place, but on record, Mr Shashwat Juneja is clean. The only incident I can think of had happened three years ago, when..." Ishaan looked at him and stopped talking. A shadow clouded his eyes and the familiar older voice called out "Kesrani!" The voice that still haunted his nightmares.
His reverie was broken when his mobile rang. He received the call and the same dread that had crept in his heart three years ago crept in again as he heard Trisha cry on the other side. He promised her that he would get to her as soon as possible and hung up.
"That was Gaurav's wife. He has been shot." He told Darshan with no emotions. Before Darshan could react, he sprung on his feet and started searching for his keys.
He could hear his heart thudding in his chest and the tears in his eyes made it impossible to see, but he had to be strong, he couldn't make the same mistake. He felt a strong hand on his chest and bicep, so looked up.
"You are undercover. You can't be by the side of a policeman, you'll blow your cover. I'll keep you posted." Darshan said and he tried to protest, but the gave up and nodded. Darshan looked at him for a second, as if to ask if he'll be fine and Ishaan hugged him, without a thought.
Segment #8
Darshan patted Ishaan's back. "I'll be back soon. It's gonna be alright." He muttered.
-
Reaching the hospital felt like an eternity. Darshan walked up to Trisha, who had been pacing around impatiently outside the operation theatre.
"Trisha." Darshan voiced solemnly. "He will be okay."
"Where's Ishu?"
"He will join us soon. Don't worry."
Trisha's heart was pacing.
The doctor. "Mrs. Sharma, we have removed the bullet. We shall keep him under observation for two days. Make sure he gets proper rest."
"Thank you doctor. Can I meet him?"
"He's under anaesthesia so you'll have to wait."
Gaurav was shifted to the ICCU. Darshan texted Ishaan. The bullet missed his heart by a few centimetres. He is critical but stable.
-
Later that night, Ishaan sneaked into the hospital disguised as ward boy. Gaurav was sleeping and Trisha has dozed off on the couch. He held Gaurav's hand.
Gaurav opened his eyes and smiled.
"You scared me." Ishaan sat by his side. "I will find those f'kers and-"
"Continue your work. Don't worry about me." Gaurav voiced feebly.
"Take rest. I need you on your toes ASAP."
-
The Pitcher's Club.
A rave party was in full swing. Darshan and Ishaan in their respective disguises were dancing on the grooving tunes.
Ayesha was sipping her drink when a young boy perched on the counter beside her. She slipped a small packet to him.
Afshan? Darshan recognised him. Is that why Nushrat wanted to keep an eye on Fiza?
Darshan concentrated on Afshan who was now with his friends, sharing the packet. He turned to find Ayesha missing. Ishaan wasn't on the dance floor either. He felt a cold metal on his back, a hooded figure towering over him. "Come with me."
Darshan walked out of the club. The man pushed him onto a wall and unlocked the gun. "Who are you working for?"
"I- I'm here t-to party." Darshan answered. "W-what d-do you want?"
"Who are you working for? Give me a name." The man's voice was dangerously low as he traced the gun on Darshan's face.
"Uhh- could you stop playing with the gun? It's a turn on for me. And not gonna lie, you're kinda hot and my type too." Darshan smiled sheepishly.
The man sighed. "Kids these days." He shook his head in disbelief. He locked the gun, placed it back and pulled out a sleek knife. "Now, if you don't want your mother to find your tiny pieces, answer me."
Darshan looked behind the man, "I knew you'd come." As the man turned around, Darshan twisted his hand, kicked his back and pinned him on the ground. "Now you tell me, who sent you here?"
Before the man could utter a word, a bullet pierced his head, blood splattered across Darshan's face and clothes.
Segment #9
As soon as Darshan saw his couch, he threw himself on it. It was a long night. From the police investigation to him proving himself innocent and just a bystander and using the CCTV camera in the room as proof, to spending the next few hours at the hospital with Gaurav, he was tired. But he was also scared, he hadn't still heard from Ishaan. His phone pinged and he sighed in relief when he saw Ishaan's text.
"Sorry for being AFK, will be back soon.🥰"
The emoji confused him, and kind of made him panic because Ishaan didn't seem like the guy to use emojis, let alone cheesy ones.
He decided to go to the hospital to talk to Gaurav and opened the door to see Ishaan on the door.
"What the... Where were you?"
"Sorry, Ayesha approached me and it was all madness. What's with you and going to the police station? Fiza called me saying you shot someone."
Darshan told him everything as Ishaan grabbed a bottle of beer from the refrigerator.
"Damn! Did you see the shooter?"
" No and I am assuming you heard nothing from your team."
Ishaan shook his head. "My phone was taken away. I changed your contact ID to Babe and sent you the text before Ayesha took my phone. Then she switched off my phone. Sorry about the weird text, by the way."
He blinked in surprise. Of course, it was a part of the mission.
"So what did Ayesha want?"
"She wanted to know if I could get her some buyers, big shots. I agreed. She then took me to her house and gave me some cash. I guess she didn't want me to be tracked so switched off my phone."
Darshan looked at him for a few seconds.
"Don't you think it's a little too convenient for her to trust you?"
"I know, but I guess they are getting desperate. Their network is strong, but at the same time, weak, with the Narcotics department doing raids time and again. At least I hope that's the case and my cover isn't blown."
Darshan nodded.
"Any news on Gaurav's shooter?"
"No. But I kind of have a theory. Ayesha said something along the lines of me not having much choice but to be loyal to her when she bid me goodbye. So I guess they shot Gaurav and wanted to frame me. He was the one who shot me in the Voodoo Club, after all, so then they can make it look like I gave a hit on him or something as revenge."
"That is possible. Or maybe it was a warning."
Ishaan shrugged.
"I cannot wait to catch that..." he fisted his palm. Darshan placed a hand on his shoulder.
"We will, I promise."
Segment #10
Darshan was sipping his coffee, when Fiza walked in hurriedly. "What happened last night?"
Darshan waited for her to settle on the chair next to him. "How much do you know Afshan?"
"I've met him like three times. One of our mutual friends introduced us. Why? Still spying on me?"
"I wasn't there to spy on you, but to keep you safe. I saw Afshan last night, taking drugs. So, if you're going to hangout with him-"
"Look, I go to club to have fun but that doesn't mean I'm going to do drugs and all. I don't even drink. You know it."
"Fiza." Darshan sighed. "I'm just looking out for you. I shared my concerns and it's your life, you can make your choices."
"Tell mom not to worry about me so much. It's annoying." She stared at the painting in the cafe. "She has raised me, why doesn't she trust me?"
"It's not about trusting you. It's the others that may hurt you, she just wants your safety."
"Whatever."
-
Ayesha was working out when her phone buzzed.
"Boss wants to talk to you."
"Sure."
"What is going on?" Simba hissed. "Why is that Gaurav still alive? Who killed Alex? What were you doing?"
"Gaurav is not going to live long. I have given the task to a better marksman this time. About Alex, I'll make sure he's avenged. And I'm working on a bigger fish currently."
"I want Gaurav dead in the next 24 hours and his family too."
"Why family? Don't we keep them out of business?"
"Don't teach me the rules I made."
The call was disconnected. Ayesha hated it.
We always keep family and business separate. I mean, shouldn't there be someone to cry over the dead?
-
Ishaan looked across the street again. Shashwat Juneja was talking to someone he had on watchlist. He focussed the lens on the other man. Bissa. His moustache covered a good part of his lips, Ishaan hated it.
They shook hands and exchanged black leather bags. Bissa walked out of the room.
Ishaan packed the binoculars and zipped up his hoodie. He shared his live location to Darshan and followed Bissa.
After about half an hour, Bissa reached his hideout. Ishaan noted the number of armed guards and their positions.
-
Darshan's House.
Ishaan mapped the hideout and guards position. Darshan looked at the chart. "Should we raid or ask the police to do it?"
"Let's wait until the next party. I have a feeling that Bissa might prove helpful."
"How close is he to Simba?"
"Quite close, I think. Ayesha might confirm." Ishaan nodded.
"About her, do you think she's an undercover cop like you?"
"I haven't heard about her but it seems unlikely to have two undercover agents together on the same mission."
Darshan looked at the text from Nushrat. "Cool then, let's take turns in keeping an eye on Bissa and Ayesha."
Segment #11
The house of the Telecom Minister, Manohar Gaikwad was practically a palace. The rest of Mumbai seemed like a nightmare every time Ishaan stepped into the house.
He stood with a notepad in his hand as Aarav was bench pressing, reading the latter's schedule for the day. The 28-year-old was apparently the upcoming future of youth and Maharastra, but in Ishaan's personal opinion, he was nothing but a rich spoilt brat who was one snort of cocaine away from being overdosed.
"Did Ramya's manager confirm that she is coming to the party? Bro, she has to be there! Imagine the two youth icons, one from politics and one from Bollywood partying together. Page 3 would have a blast."
Ishaan gave a non-committal nod, wondering if he didn't hear the irony in his own words. A youth icon partying was a good news for the nation with a crumbling economy and facing job losses?
"You can go now, Mr PA!" Sarah smirked as Ishaan almost winced, trying to control his anger. He hated that guy!
As he walked out to the door, he heard a familiar voice coming from one of the rooms and stopped. He lingered on till a man stepped out and saluted as soon as he saw the DCP.
"You'll blow your cover." Ravi Yadav scolded his subordinate.
"Sorry sir, force of habit," Ishaan answered as he relaxed.
"Any progress with Gaurav's shooter, sir?"
Ravi nodded as he started walking.
"That's what I wanted to talk to you about. We got a few CCTV footages, she knew what she was doing. But there was one footage of her, she seemed athletic, because she ran very fast."
"Ayesha?"
"No, Ayesha is about 5'8. This one is shorter, 5'6, perhaps.Do you think you have seen someone like that around Ayesha? I can't give you anything more because she wore a helmet and the bike was stolen." Ishaan shook his head.
"Keep an eye. The Narcotics Department too is getting good results from raids, but the problem is they are small-time peddlers and don't have any big names to give."
Ishaan sighed. Why couldn't there be a small, good breakthrough in the case?
"Also, this PI, is he any good? Is he worth the risk?"
"Yes sir. He helped me with the Juneja connection and also, he had worked with Gaurav in the Shyamlal Jewellery burglary case. He is good."
"I trust your instincts. Good luck, officer." Ishaan couldn't help but smile.
"I am sure you miss it," Ravi said as he looked over Ishaan's shoulder. Ishaan turned to see Aarav walk towards him.
"Sometimes, but being called Mr PA is the highlight of my career."
Ravi barked a laugh.
"What's so funny, Ravi uncle?" Sarah asked and Ravi shook his head.
"I hope your narcotics department is staying away from my parties." Aarav smiled viciously and Ishaan almost face-palmed. Some icon! He couldn't even hide the fact that he was having a party that would have drugs at the venue.
Ravi nodded and left.
_________
Darshan reached his office. He expected Nushrat to be there, but instead a woman sat on her chair, with a grim expression.
"So, why were you in the same room as Alex when he was shot?" Ayesha asked, not waiting for a second.
Segment #12
"So, why were you in the same room as Alex when he was shot?" Ayesha asked.
"Who is Alex?" Darshan frowned.
"The guy killed at the Pitcher's Club." Ayesha answered, toying her gun.
"Oh that one. Funny fella. He was asking me who I work for and all. Then died before I could answer any of his questions. He didn't even introduce-"
"Shut up." Ayesha groaned. "You talk too much."
"I only answered what you wanted to know. But I don't know -"
Ayesha slammed her hands on the table. "Who killed him?"
"I don't know. It was some biker."
"Anything about the biker?"
"No. I barely saw the shadow."
"Good. If you want to stay alive, stay away from Simba."
"Umm, is he actually Simba?" Darshan imitated the Lion King scene. "Sounds like he doesn't believe in Hakuna Matata."
Ayesha looked at him in disbelief. Is he really the best spy?
—
Trisha came to the ICU ward. Gaurav was sleeping. She tried to wake him up for lunch but he didn't budge.
Her heart sank. She rushed to call the doctor. The doctor checked his pulse and declared him dead.
Just an hour ago he was fine. He had demanded to eat aloo paratha and she reluctantly went home to prepare it.
"Gaurav… utho please. Tumhara aloo ka paratha thanda ho jayega. Utho, chalo."
The nurse held her, "Sambhaliye apne aap ko."
"No…" Trisha's voice was barely audible. Her throat hurt from holding in the tears. She called Ishaan and he along with Darshan were by her side in an hour.
Doctors had taken his body for autopsy.
Ishaan hugged Trisha, who cried her heart out. Ishaan felt numb.
---
"Oye, Sharmaji ke bete, ye kya kar raha hai?" Ishaan asked Gaurav who was smoking a cigarette.
"Kuch nahi, bas thoda pareshan tha."
Ishaan took the cig and threw it away. "Marne ki itni jaldi hai kya?"
"Nahi toh. Ek hi cigarette hai yaar. Kuchh nahi hota."
"Aaj bol diya, dobara mat bolna. And promise me, no more smoking."
"I'm not a smoker." Gaurav pouted.
"Mere liye nahi toh Trisha ke baare mein soch kar hi promise kar de."
"Usko beech mein mat la."
"Muh boli hi sahi, behen hai meri. Tune agar usko rulaya hai na, toh tujhe main zinda nahi chhodunga." Ishaan glared.
Gaurav burst out laughing. "Saale! Policewale ko maarne ki dhamki deta hai? Tu kya hi kar lega?"
"Pata nahi."
—
Ishaan closed the door of his room. He let the tears flow. "I really don't know what to do, Gaurav…"
He cried his heart out hugging a pillow and screaming into it. "Simba. Whoever did this will not have an easy death, I promise."
—
Darshan had felt the ground beneath his feet slip away. Gaurav. One of the few friends he had in the police department, a person who was the most honest and hardworking. They had worked on a few cases together, and now he was gone. He lied on his bed, staring at the ceiling.
SEGMENT #13
Ishaan wasn't a chatty person but there was rarely silence when they were working, courtesy to Darshan. But even with him, the room had been shrouded in a mourning silence. He wouldn't dare admit it but he kind of wanted the chattiness. It would distract him.
He had lingered in his house, trying to work but it had quickly becoming suffocating. The unusual seriousness Darshan was working with, the mourning silence, and the weight of the knowledge. Gaurav was dead.
And so, he had bid him a goodbye, excusing himself with the reason of going to meet Trisha.
Ishaan knocked on the door. A moment. And then another. He sighed, grabbing the spare key, and pushing open the door.
Something wasn't right.
His eyes darted to the stairs as he heard a muffled noise. He slowly walked up, his gun drawn and cocked. The noise intensified.
He pushed open the door and his blood ran cold.
"Ishu", Trisha whimpered, clutching her stomach. It was stained. With blood. He froze, watching her. She was stabbed.
"Trisha." He quickly ran up to her, gently prying her hand away from the wound. The knife was taken out. She was bleeding out. So fast. He ripped off his jacket, balling it up and putting pressure on the wound. "Trisha... hold it." He guided her hand to it, and she gasped in pain, but pressed against the wound. He slipped his hands underneath her, carrying her out.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"That b*tch!" Nushrat swore, inspecting her desk. She looked at Darshan who watched her quietly. "Woh... yahan baithi thi?" She pointed to the chair. He nodded. She grabbed the sanitizing liquid, spraying it on the chair and wiping it aggressively.
"Do you know anything about Bissa?" He asked. She had a vast knowledge of organized crimes, having eyes and ears in both their police department and the crime world, although the sources were sealed and were nothing more than snitches. No loyalty. In Hindi, perhaps the phrase- bin painda ka lota- would suit them.
"Who Bissa?" She snapped, spraying the liquid on the desk and wiping it. "My desk has been tainted by criminal butt."
"My friend has been killed", he snapped.
Nushrat paused in her whining, staring at him. She released the bottle and the cloth, clearing her throat and sitting down on the chair. "Bissa?"
He passed her the photo and she inspected it wordlessly. "His name is not Bissa. At least, not the name I know of. His name is Kaami. He is involved in a lot of cases but never convicted. He has some corrupt high ranking officers in his pocket. He is close to Simba."
"Kitna close?"
Nushrat shrugged. "Major cheezen toh sab pata hongi Simba ke baare mein. But minor workings... pata nahi."
Darshan looked down when his phone buzzed. Ishaan.
Segment #14
Darshan rushed to the hospital. Ishaan was talking to the doctor.
"There are multiple stabs, piercing vital organs and there's been a lot of blood loss. She won't be with us for long. I'm sorry, we tried everything possible."
Ishaan's heart sank. The duo went into the ICU.
"Do you recognise the person who…" Darshan asked, hoping for some lead.
"A woman, quite tall, fair. Masked face." Trisha answered.
"Ayesha?" Darshan looked at her and then at Ishaan, who had his fists clenched so tight that the knuckles turned white.
"I will get to be with my Gaurav now. It's alright. Take care of each other." Trisha looked at them and closed her eyes.
—
"You have been missing for two days, Mr. PA." Aarav snidely remarked.
"I had a family medical emergency." Ishaan answered.
Manohar looked at the two boys, "Aarav, learn how to talk to your employees properly."
"But he-"
"Leave."
Aarav rolled his eyes and left. Manohar sighed. "I am sorry for his behaviour. I should have been a better father. Anyway, what happened?"
"My mother has a cardiac arrest."
"How is she doing now?" Manohar picked his cheque book.
"Stable and slightly better. Doctor said they will be putting some stents in."
Manohar wrote 5 lakhs in the cheque, signed and gave it to Ishaan. "Yeh lo, Prateek. Apni maa ka ilaaj achhe se karwa lo."
Ishaan looked at the cheque and him. "Thank you sir. But I can't accept this."
"You don't have a choice." Manohar looked at him intently. "In tomorrow's party, I want you to be the shadow of Aarav."
"As you say, sir." Ishaan nodded.
—
The Jinx Club
Ishaan, donned as a college student, was following Aarav. He hated this brat with all his heart.
Ayesha walked in, hand in hand with another woman. She was somewhat shorter, maybe 5'6.
Ishaan felt his heart beat faster. The murderers. He wanted to rip their heads off with his bare hands.
Aarav and Ramya were busy dancing with their friends.
Darshan was in a corner, keeping an eye on every movement while pretending to be high. Bissa's man Friday showed up with another man. The two exchanged glances with Ayesha and her partner and nodded in acknowledgement.
Soon, almost every tween had had some sort of drug. Most of them seemed regular. The party was in full swing when there was commotion on the dance floor.
Ishaan and Aarav had gotten into a fight. Aarav tried to punch Ishaan, which he easily dodged, Aarav pushed him on the floor and jumped on him. Ishaan tried to dodge the punch but it landed on his abdomen.
Darshan stood up to help Ishaan but stopped as Ramya stepped in and screamed at Aarav. He slapped her in retaliation and everyone stood stupefied. Ramya tried to hit back but her bodyguard picked her up and dragged her out of the dance floor.
Aarav turned his attention to the floor, Prateek, his Mr. PA, was gone.
Segment #15
Darshan ran behind Ishaan who was running behind a motorcycle. The thin figure on the motorcycle was a woman. Darshan prayed that the dim streetlights hadn't given away Ishaan to the rider. When he was close enough, he grabbed Ishaan's arm and pulled him closer and then pinned him to a wall.
"Are you mad?" He asked the shorter man, his grip tightening with each second to hold the resisting Ishaan down.
"Leave man, let me kill that..." But Ishaan didn't get to swear as Darshan was so close to him he could his brown eyes in the dark. He looked at the other man and sighed heavily. Darshan took it as a win and stepped back, but that was enough to send Ishaan into a fit of rage.
"I could have killed her! Why did you stop me?"
Darshan looked at him as if he was the biggest idiot to walk the planet.
"You could have blown your cover. "
"It's always about the cover." Ishaan pushed him away.
"You just want a big case on your record. You are nothing but a detective who thinks he is too big to stalk cheating husbands so you want something big. But guess what? This isn't about you! This never was. So stop trying to control me! Because you don't know what any of this feels like. In a week, I lost the only two people who care for me like a family, I could have avenged them!" Ishaan snapped and glared at Darshan.
To his credit, Darshan was unfazed. His calm expression was back.
"I am sorry that you lost your chance. And yes, I can't understand how you feel, I just knew Gaurav as an acquaintance, didn't even know Trisha existed before this case, but I am truly sorry for your loss. However, this is not how you are going to avenge them. You have to bring them all to justice. Ayesha, Bissa, and Simba, they all have to be brought to justice, and killing them won't solve any of this. And yes, this was just a case before, but now, all this means so much more, because I realized I could lose so much, I could lose..."
He stopped himself before he could give away anything more. Ishaan looked down at the ground, guilty of his outburst. Before he could open his mouth to apologize, Darshan said, "Let's just go home."
Ishaan slumped his shoulders and followed the other man.
_______
Darshan threw himself on his office chair.
"Are you leaving?" He asked Nushrat who was packing her bag.
"Shouldn't you be leaving? Why are you here? Go home."
"Can I stay here? I don't want to go home." Nushrat studied his tired, dejected face and nodded.
"I am sorry about Trisha." Darshan nodded, accepting the condolences.
"It's just that nothing is falling in place. It's like Pandora's box, it's unending events of drugs and violence. Does it even end? What's the point of this, Ishaan's cover isn't helping, Aarav is a massive jerk and Simba is just some bloodthirsty hound waiting to kill someone."
"What do you mean Ishaan's cover isn't helping?"
"No, I mean, Ishaan gets great access to the big shots in the city, which means he can be of use to Ayesha, but aren't we using them just to get in Ayesha's good books."
"Is that what Ishaan told you his reason is for his cover?"
Darshan shrugged. "He never said, but it is kind of obvious."
Nushrat huffed. "Remember the shooting at the restaurant in Chembur about three years ago?"
Darshan squinted his eyes as he tries to jog down his memory and then his eyes widened.
"Didn't an inspector die in the shootout?"
"Ganesh Kulkarni, Mumbai Police."
"What's that got to with this?"
"The restaurant was a front for money laundering. The silent partner was Juneja." Nushrat answered, enjoying the feeling of knowing something that Darshan doesn't.
Darshan looked at her in confusion. "But Ishaan said that he was in clean."
"Silent partner, Darshan. And who kept him out of this whole mess? Manohar's P.A, himself. A direct call from the office of the MLA."
Darshan looked at her in shock. He asked the question without even meaning to.
"Was Ishaan there at the restaurant that night?"
Nudhrat nodded.
Segment #16
Darshan used a source and money to find the case file of Ganesh Kulkarni. He scanned the file and returned the original.
He studied the file. Too many missing links or deliberately left out details. The paperwork was shoddy. Bloody MLA. Darshan swore under his breath and felt a presence behind him.
"What are you reading?" Ishaan sneaked on him.
Darshan jumped, instinctively closing the file. "This Manohar fellow is interesting."
"A shrewd, cunning man with a diabetes-inducing sweet demeanor. He helps people so that they stay indebted and loyal to him." Ishaan huffed. Ishaan brought out the cheque. "Do you know someone who can access bank records?"
Darshan looked at the branch name and nodded. "A friend here."
Friend. Ishaan's heartache returned.
"Dinner?"
Darshan served the two plates. Ishaan looked at his favourite food and teared up.
"Maa, phir se katthal? Tumhe pata hai na mujhe ye sabji nahi pasand."
"Par Ishu ka favourite hai. Tu bhi kha hi sakti hai."
"Haan, bahut achhi bani hai." Ishaan said with a mouthful.
"Mere hi ghar mein mujhe koi pyar nahi karta." Trisha pouted.
"Are you okay?" Darshan tapped Ishaan's shoulder.
"Yeah."
"You know, you can say no. Last few days have been really difficult. If you want to talk about something, I'm here." Darshan offered solemnly.
"Thanks." Ishaan nodded.
____
Ayesha was reviewing the CCTV footage of the club.
"Who's next?" Nadia sharpened her knife. "The curly hair one or the cute one?"
"Curly one, I think. If Simba is after your cute one, then he shall suffer the worst death possible."
"Me likey. The fear and despair on his face." Nadia smiled.
____
"What do you think you were doing?" Manohar chided Aarav. "Do you have any idea how difficult it was to keep the media silent on this entire fiasco?"
"It's not my fault."
"Don't talk back."
"Why did you send that good for nothing PA to my party?"
"To make sure you don't do anything stupid. But it's impossible."
"I'm not stupid. I know what I'm doing."
"You are ruining my political career, if you weren't my blood, you wouldn't be standing here."
"Fine. I'm leaving."
"You are not going anywhere. Not before you learn how to behave in public."
Aarav rolled his eyes and left.
#Segment 17
Darshan walked quietly, heaving a tired sigh. In the dead of the night, his thoughts were a little too loud for his liking.
He heaved a sigh, rubbing his face. He had spent some time looking at the files of Ganesh Kulkarni and before he knew it, it was pitch darkness outside.
Were those... footsteps? He paused. The footsteps stopped too. But not immediately. Too late for it to be an echo. He turned, inspecting the area. No one.
He turned back, walking ahead. He stared into the side mirror of a car, trying to stop the trail.
There!
Ayesha.
Oh look, he thought. The murderer herself.
He turned into the next street, quickly ducking behind a car.
He heard the foosteps, and he ducked down lower as they walked closer. A few uncertain steps. A little fidgeting.
"Ugh!" She let out a frustrated groan, the gravel squealing as she turned sharply and stalked out.
He paused for a few minutes. He peeked out, hesitantly taking a step out. Another step and he peeked into the street.
No one.
He sighed, walking back to his house. So, the next target was him?
-‐---‐----------------------------------------------------------------------
Ishaan threw open the door. "Yahan kyun bulaaya hai mujhe?" Ishaan asked.
"Hi Ishaan", Nushrat said. "Darshan was busy."
He raised his eyebrows expectantly. "Toh?"
"I heard a piece of gossip."
Ishaan heaved a sigh. "I don't care kiska kiske saath chakkar chal raha hai. Mujhe kaam karna hai."
"Manohar and Simba have connections."
"I know."
She smiled a little, leaning forward. "But do you know ki Manohar and Simba are related." Ishaan's eyebrows dipped. "They are brothers."
What?
Ishaan blinked. He grabbed the chair, slowly sitting down.
WHAT?
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Pata nahi kahan chala gaya yeh!" Ayesha fumed.
Nadia sighed, tilting her head. "Chill, Ayesha. Mil jaayega next time."
"Simba won't let me have a next time if I don't fix up fast enough. He will kill me just like he shot Indra." She paused. Nadia's jaw clenched. "Sorry. Mera woh..."
Nadia stood up. "Ek din I will kill Simba for killing my husband."
Ayesha kept a hand on her mouth. "Apne iss muh par thoda lagaam de. Kisi ne sun liya hum dono mar jaayenge."
Nadia frowned. "Doesn't this make you angry? Indra was your brother! Simba ke under kaam karne ke alaawa koi option nahi tha warna... Achha hai tune uss Trisha ko bhi maar diya. At least meri tarah toh nahi jeena padega."
She huffed, storming out.
Segment #18
In the dark alley Darshan was rushing home after meeting one of his informers. Nadia was waiting for him around the corner. Darshan dodged her attack and defended the blows she threw at him.
He could hear her swear under her breath as he dodged and defended himself. Seeing her get slightly tired, Darshan yanked her towards the wall.
"You can't escape your death!" Nadia yelled, holding her bleeding head.
Darshan managed to escape to his house, Ishaan got worried seeing his bloodied face and injured body.
"What just happened?" Ishaan brought the first aid kit.
"Not sure. Someone tried to attack me." Darshan went over the possibilities of revealing things to Ishaan in his head.
"Who was it?"
"I couldn't see, it was too dark."
Ishaan studied his face for a moment. You're lying, but why?
"Oww!" Darshan winced as the antiseptic burned his wounded skin.
"It's not that deep."
"But it hurts."
"Princess." Ishaan teased.
"Only if I get my Prince Charming, you know." He winked.
"Is flirting your only option to escape difficult situations or you can do other things too?"
"Who started it?"
"I was only returning a favour. You're not special." Ishaan stated in a matter-of-fact voice.
"You don't have to be a meanie about it." Darshan looked at him. What if we-
"Meanie? I'm not mean. If I were mean, I wouldn't be helping you here." Ishaan placed the antiseptic cream in his hand and walked out.
Ah, angry young man. Darshan's heart skipped a beat when he heard a glass shatter.
Ishaan had walked into the balcony to clear his mind when he felt being watched. He glanced in the houses around and saw a silhouette. A sharp shooter? He ducked and the bullet pierced the glass window behind him.
"Ishaan? Are you alright?" Darshan screamed.
"Yeah, I'm fine." He eyed the shooter who wasn't preparing for another shot. Why? What was this? A warning? But that's not Simba's style.
The shooter took position again as Darshan stepped closer to the balcony.
Ishaan pushed Darshan on the floor as soon as he realised who the real target was.
Another bullet missed.
Ishaan and Darshan leaned against the wall.
"They're here for you." Ishaan whispered. Darshan nodded.
"I don't wanna die like this."
"You won't. I promise." Ishaan held his hand sincerely. They say still for a few minutes, waiting for some movement. "They will come back. Before that, we should move out."
"Go where?"
"I know a place. Before that, let's get a new cover."
"This way." Darshan sneaked into his bedroom. He opened his wardrobe that contained all sorts of disguises.
"It's a treasure I'd like to steal some day."
"Be my guest." Darshan smiled and sorted some clothes.
___
"Damn, the sharp shooter isn't that sharp anymore?" Nadia looked at a visibly angry Ayesha.
"If you were able to do your job in the first place-"
"Nope. The task was yours, I was only helping. And this is what I get in return." Nadia pointed at her bruised forehead.
"He's a tough one. This is going to be fun." Ayesha smirked.
Segment #19
Manohar wanted to kill someone, the second those cursed words left the DCP's mouth.
"You know I need Ishaan around Aarav, you know what that scum will do to my son!"
"I am sorry sir, but Ishaan's cover is blown, keeping him around Aarav is a greater risk."
"You had one job, use Juneja to get to Simba and kill him! How the hell could you mess that up?"
"I am sorry, sir, but Ishaan has gone into hiding and asked me to give protection to his family, there is nothing I can do."
"What about that detective?"
"I don't think he is trained in protecting someone, sir. He can escape from harm, but that too was sheer luck that his attacker was killed."
Manohar yanked at his hair. He could envision Simba coming for him, to take what was his, and he had to protect it at all costs.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Simba bent to look in Ayesha's eyes who was practically shaking in her seat.
"So, you missed the target?"
Ayesha didn't answer.
"Your brother was much better, shame I had to kill him." He sighed and moved away. He paced the length of the small room, waiting for Ayesha to give an excuse, but she didn't.
"But what will happen to poor Nadia when she finds out what you did, will she come for you too?" He asked her, his tone so sweet as if he wasn't just threatening her.
Ayesha opened her mouth to plead to Simba but he raised his hand.
"I don't care about your family dynamics, just do your job right and don't miss. I want the two dead, and I want it done fast." He waved and she left.
"Shame I couldn't kill her like that Alex." He sighed.
Segment #20
Nushrat opened her account diary and started writing.
"Hey mom, whatcha doin'?" Fiza asked, sitting across from her.
"Tallying the accounts."
Fiza fidgeted with her hair. "How much of the debt is still unpaid?"
"2.7 crores." Nushrat closed the book.
"How can someone be so irresponsible? I seriously don't get it."
"Some things aren't in our hands."
"Gambling addiction is real mom, it is in our hands. He chose to gamble away everything that his forefathers had earned and saved. He chose to leave his 15 year old child and his wife to fend for themselves. He chose to take his life. It was a choice."
Nushrat looked at her angry daughter. She never really figured what her husband did was a choice or compulsion but her daughter's anger wasn't misplaced. She was left with a dead man, a teenage child with no house and 5 crores of debt. She had answered the debtors every month and decided to pay them every single penny her useless husband owed.
SOS. Will be off radar. Nushrat looked at Darshan's text. She whispered a small prayer for him.
___
"Hello there brother! Missed me?" Simba straightened on the couch.
Manohar's eyes flared up. "What are you doing in my house?"
"I came to meet my dearest nephew, where's he?"
"Stay away from my son." Manohar tried to remain calm.
"Tch tch. Bhai! How can you be so heartless? Our darling Aarav is going to be 28 in two days. I've planned a big surprise and wanted to take him with me on a small vacation. Don't be a party pooper."
"Shut up and get out of my house."
"Dad, why are you talking to Uncle Sam like that?" Aarav walked in.
"Aarav, my boy!" Simba hugged him. "How have you been?"
"Fantastic as always uncle! How are you?"
"Getting scolded as always." Simba chuckled. "Anyways, what's your birthday plan?"
"Party with my friends. Why?"
"How about I take you on a three day trip to an island where you can have all the fun in the world and your dad wouldn't scold you for a minute."
"Sounds like a great plan. I'll pack my bag."
"Why? I'll take you shopping. Spend all you want."
"Stop spoiling my son, Shyamal."
"It's my birthday gift. Not spoiling him."
"I'll be back." Aarav ran to his room.
Manohar looked at Simba. "Get out of our lives, if you want to live."
"Now who is the real gangster? Damn brother, that was cold AF. But sadly your boy already made his choice clear. Stop me if you can."
"Don't do this Shyamal. I will not hesitate to-"
"Your son is with me." Simba smiled.
"And your wife will give me another one."
"Keep her name out of your dirty mouth."
"The choice is yours." Manohar smiled.
"You will regret these words."
"Get out."
Segment #21
Bissa looked at Simba, tired out of his mind. He had many names, but Bissa was special, it was the memory of his first kill, the name of his first victim, and he treasured the sadistic feeling of using that name as his own.
"Do we really need that idiot?" He nodded at Aarav who was sleeping in his seat. Simba nodded, as he looked out of his private plane, the clouds flying past him.
"He is the only one who can control Manohar, and I can control the entire state if I wish if I can control him. The ruling party is in his pocket."
Bassi shrugged.
"Ayesha is still searching for Alex's killer." Simba barked a laugh.
"That's funny."
"It would have been, but why? We both know you did it, so why the hunt? Why did you lie to her, to all of them?"
Simba sighed.
"Loyalty. I need them to be loyal to me, and if they found out I just killed him because he failed to get me the name of the undercover cop, which was actually a more difficult task than I anticipated but the answer was so simple and so stupid, then they might start questioning their loyalties to me. Plus, they think it's one of the cops, so they are hating the cops some more, which is a bonus. If there is one thing Manohar has taught me, it's mind games, use the mind to play with people."
"Fine, but why lie to Ayesha? I thought you trusted her, she was going to raise the ranks?"
"She is, and I do. But not enough, she is the woman who killed her own brother and lied to his wife, is that woman really trustworthy enough?" Simba asked him.
__________
Darshan knocked on the door of the small one BHK and his heart skipped a beat when he didn't get any answer. The previous day was tough, from running away from Mumbai to driving to Pune in a stolen car to shifting into the small BHK that Ishaan had as a backup, it was a long day, and the two had almost fallen asleep, him on the sofa in the living room, and Ishaan in the bedroom, but still, he couldn't help but be scared when there was no answer.
He opened the door without making any noise and saw Ishaan breathing gently, he looked peaceful. He looked... beautiful. Darshan couldn't help but just stare at him. The white vest fitted perfectly on Ishaan's toned torso and he looked like he was having a good dream.
Darshan pulled out the burner phone and dialled the number he had to his memory.
"Are you safe?"
"Yes, but I need you to do me a favour. Lead Nadia to us."
"Are you insane? She'll blow your face off," Nushrat scolded him.
"I know, but this has to end. We just got into hiding, but they will find us one day, it's better to lead them to us, we will at least be in control and get some answers. Look, you could make some money out of our deaths."
"Darsh, no!"
"I know why you are scared of Afshaan, but you forget that you raised Fiza, she is smart and strong, she won't let fate repeat itself. She'll be ok with her heart being broken, but won't let anyone hurt her self-respect. Do this for her, please."
"Does Ishaan agree to this stupid plan of yours?"
"He doesn't know, but I will tell him, promise."
Nushrat sighed and hung up.
__________
"Sir, this is a good tip, we should raid the restaurant."
Ishaan looked hopefully at Ganesh, who gave him a sceptical look.
"I know you trust Andrew, he is a good source, but something feels off."
"Sir, I am going today, now you have to decide."
A bullet shot Ganesh, right in the chest, as Ishaan fell to the ground, pushed out of the bullet's way. He turned to look at Ganesh.
Darshan ran into the room to see Ishaan screaming. He tried to wake the other man up, but he couldn't, and when he finally did, Ishaan just stared at him and then hugged him, tears escaping his eyes and a son from his throat.
"I failed Sir, I failed Gaurav, I failed Trish, I cannot lose you too, Darsh, please." He said in his chest, sounding tired. Darshan couldn't bring himself to tell Ishaan that maybe this was the last time he was seeing him.
Segment #22
"Darshan, B-304, [REDACTED] Pune" Nadia scribbled the address the stranger told her. She looked at Ayesha. "You coming?"
"I will get the job done, don't worry." Ayesha counted her bullets.
"No, I will finish him off."
Ayesha nodded. "Alright then."
___
'I can't lose you too, Darsh.' Ishaan's words kept playing in his head.
The doorbell interrupted his thoughts. Ishaan shot a quizzical glance at the door and Darshan. He unlocked his gun and peeped through the eye hole. A masked person was sneaking around.
Darshan stood beside the door, ready to attack on entry.
The doorbell rang again and Ishaan opened the door. Darshan immediately hit the bat on the intruder's head. She yelped in pain. Ishaan pressed a nerve and she fell unconscious.
They tied her up in a chair and waited for her to regain consciousness.
"What is Nadia doing here?" Ishaan asked, barely controlling his anger.
"I have a plan."
"To get yourself killed?"
"We are in control of the situation." Darshan answered calmly.
"You know what, do whatever you want. I'm going."
"Where?"
"Anywhere but I can't stay another moment with a person who is so careless and -"
"Calm down Ishaan. I had this thing planned so that-"
"You could get your dumbass killed. Wonderful." Ishaan locked his gun and tried to walk out only to be held back by Darshan.
"I know this looks crazy but at least listen to me."
"You have one minute." Ishaan looked at his watch.
"So, I planned to lure the killer here so that we can try to get some information from them. Like why they want to kill me, who is asking them to do this. We could also figure out some information about Simba maybe."
Ishaan closed his eyes and sighed. "You are a f*king idiot." He rubbed his temple.
Darshan opened his mouth to say please don't leave me but no words came out.
Nadia opened her eyes and blinked a few times to adjust the bright light.
"Speak up." Darshan pulled off the tape from her mouth.
"Open my hands and I will show you."
"I'm not interested."
"I am here to kill you." Nadia gave him a cold stare.
"Before that, tell me, why do you want to?"
"I'm getting paid for it."
"How much?"
"What?"
"I will pay you double, tell me the name."
"Your broke ass can't even pay half the original price."
"Oh, is my life that expensive? Damn."
"Never seen a man so full of himself. I don't mind killing you for free. It's a service to mankind."
"Calm down woman. Who is this all about?"
"Not sure but it's for some PA working for that minister. Simba is after him for some reason."
"What reason?"
"I don't know. I don't get such information."
"Why not? Do they think you're not useful enough?"
"Aaj tak aisi koi supari nahi bani jo Nadia na tod paye."
"So, they only keep you around to kill people."
"Technically, yeah."
Segment #23
Darshan looked at her, trying to figure out if she was lying, but he knew that she wasn't. It would make far more sense for Simba, or anyone, to keep their sharpshooters out of the loop, the less information passed around, the safer the people at the top are.
He wished Ishaan was here, but he had stormed off, and right now, Darshan didn't blame him.
"Were you hired to kill Gaurav too?"
She shrugged. Darshan wanted to kill her, but instead, he just kicked her chair.
"Did Ayesha kill Trisha?"
"Simba is a lunatic, he found out Gaurav has some stuff on him from someone from the Mumbai police and lost his mind. He ordered the family's massacre." Darshan was a little surprised by the nonchalance in her voice, but then, maybe she was like her boss too, a lunatic and a sadist who enjoyed it when the world around them burned.
"Oh, and now that I am done, I can kick your ass."
Before Darshan knew it, she was standing massaging her wrists. He got a second to step back to avoid her kick, but she threw the chair in his direction and the wall behind him blocked any way of escape. She used the chair to jump on him. But before they knew it, the main door opened and Ishaan stood there, a gun in his hand.
Nadia looked at him and the armed cops. She raised her hands, in surrender and took a step back and pulled Darshan closer to her. His height was enough to cover her entire body.
She looked around and found a glass vase, which she broke and kept the sharp edge around Darshan's neck. Darshan raised his leg to kick her but she yelled.
"I puncture this vien of yours and you die. Everyone, guns down."
Ishaan looked between the two, his heart thudding. He looked at the officer to his right. Veda nodded to him and they slowly bent down, but before their guns touched the ground, Veda pulled the trigger. Darshan used his strength as Nadia yelped in shock, to pin her to the ground.
"Nadia Vaz, you are under arrest." Ishaan's voice was almost like white noise to Darshan who fell to the ground.
"We'll take it from here," Veda said and Ishaan raised his eyebrows.
"That was the deal, remember? I help you with your pretty boy, you let Pune Police take over the case."
"What's going on?" Darshan asked softly, but Ishaan simply pushed him off and went outside the flat. He followed him.
"Why did you let the take over? When did you talk to her? Who is she?" He asked him as he passed a few more constables. They stopped near a window near the staircase. Ishaan stared outside, grimly.
"Veda. We were in the academy together. My mother and I have a system, if she calls me and I don't receive it after three rings, she contacts Veda. Veda contacted me last night."
"You chose Pune because you had backup. Or at least you thought you did." Darshan said slowly, as realization dawned on him.
"They have a huge lead against Bissa, but she got greedy, she wanted Simba too, and when I saw Nadia, I thought maybe this was it. This case was never mine to begin with. I lost a lot to the case, might as well just lose it."
"No, you can't! You have to fight for it, for your Sir, Trisha, Gaurav. Nadia confessed to killing him."
"It won't hold in the court, anyway. Whatever confessions the Pune police will manage to wiggle out of her, it will just give them more leads, nothing that will hold her down. And if I am right to guess, she won't know half of it, she might confess to killing, but at max, she'll give away Ayesha. "
"And that's something, isn't it? And that's where I want it to end. It's time to focus on the bigger picture, Darsh." Ishaan said. Veda approached them as the female constables dragged Nadia away.
"Great job, guys." She said, patted his shoulder, and left.
Darshan looked at Ishaan, who simply shrugged. This wasn't the man he had known, what was going on? Darshan hated the way Ishaan's shoulders were slumped, the way he was avoiding eye contact. What had he done?
But then, he sighed. "You are right, maybe this case was never about me, to begin with."
Veda sighed in relief and walked away. She hoped the two men hadn't noticed her.
__________
Bissa wanted to kill Ayesha.
"You know what they'll do to her."
"You gave her an order, and you know she sees things through."
"We cannot save her."
"It doesn't matter, she doesn't need saving. But be assured that she won't snitch on us." Ayesha answered, looking at her boss's distorted image. Wherever he and Simba were, the network was very down there. The video call was more static, less conversation.
"Yes, unlike your brother, we all know. At least she has more in her to stay loyal to herself than be like your sell-out brother."
"Don't talk about him!" Ayesha growled.
"You know Simba is not going to protect her, or you, when all this ends. He did it once, he lied once because he thought killing off a snitch was setting an example, not because he was protecting you."
"I know."
"So, go underground."
"No, I can't."
"I don't know as of yet how much that detective and Aarav's assistant know about you. She didn't get to talk to either of them about what Nadia told them, but if they know, and if they are coming for you, you need to be safe."
"I am safe! Those rats aren't coming out of their hiding holes, but when they think they can, they'll have to face me."
Bissa sighed and hung up. Sometimes he didn't understand how the two women could work for a man who had broken their family, but other times, he knew. The loyalty Simba commanded, the promises he made, the lies he told, they were always worth believing more than any questions that would pop into your mind, Bissa had seen and experienced it first hand.
Ayesha knew Bissa was right, but the emotional part of her was ready to kill. One google search and she knew that both her targets were in the same area.
Veda Raikar
Segment #24
"I'm hungry, what's for dinner?" Ishaan asked, lazing on the couch.
"Khichdi? I'm thinking of Kheer for dezert." (Pronounced like desert)
"It's dessert. Desert is like Gobi and Sah-"
"Gobi ka kya? First of all I don't even like gobi. It tastes so bland." Darshan looked at Ishaan who burst into a hysterical laughter. "Why are you laughing?"
"I-" Ishaan took a breath, composed himself from the laugh. "My bad. I was only trying to correct your pronunciation. Should've used a better example."
"World geography isn't my thing so, I'm still not sure what you were laughing about." Darshan looked at him cluelessly.
"Gobi is a desert in Mongolia and China."
"Oh!" Darshan's cheeks flushed with embarrassment.
Ishaan sat upright. "I'll help you with cooking."
"No, I don't like it."
"Why?"
"Just a thing, I feel that it's distracting."
"I am distracting you? Now that's some news." Ishaan looked at his face in the mirror.
"Not you, anyone. When I'm cooking, I like to do it on my own." Darshan rushed into the kitchen. What is wrong with you? Darshan slapped his head. He portioned rice and was washing it as he felt a presence behind him. Darshan turned around and jumped, seeing Ishaan next to him.
"You okay?" Ishaan furrowed his brows.
"Stop sneaking on me."
"I came here to drink water." Ishaan filled himself a glass of water and walked out.
___
'What are you doing here?' Darshan's mother looked up.
'I wanted water.' A teenage Darshan told his mom.
'How many times I've told you, if you need something just ask me or the servants. Don't bother yourself.'
'Mom! I'm twelve, I can get myself a glass of water. Please.'
'Darshan, you are a boy. In our house, boys and men don't do household chores. It is a woman's job.'
'But mom-'
'Go, play your video games dear. I'll send water, juice and some snacks for you.'
___
Later that night, Veda opened her eyes as she heard a soft thud against her window. She clutched her knife and waited for some movement of the intruder. She saw a shadow move behind her and it attacked her.
Veda swiftly blocked the attack and jumped on the attacker. After a few blows on both sides, Veda pinned down the attacker. She reached for her cuffs and put them on. She turned on the lights to get a clear look.
"Ayesha?" Veda saw her face. "What are you, Flash?"
"You'll be six feet under and nobody will ever know you existed."
"Your hands are locked."
"I don't need my hands to kill you." Ayesha lied on her back and kicked Veda with both feet.
Veda landed on the floor with a broken jaw. She texted a SOS to Ishaan before resuming her fight.
Ayesha got up on her feet and tried kicking her again but Veda blocked and twisted her leg. She picked up a mosquito repellent spray and lighter, made a makeshift flamethrower to attack Ayesha.
___
Ishaan groaned as his phone buzzed. He slowly moved Darshan's hand from his chest and reached for his phone. He saw Veda's message and picked up his gun.
"Ish, where are you goin'" Darshan opened his eyes groggily.
"Stay alert, I'll be back soon." Ishaan left.
Segment #25
When Ishaan entered the house, Ayesha was on the floor, screeching. Her face was burnt. Veda was tieing her to the table, ignoring her screams.
"Are you ok?" Ishaan asked and she nodded, tightening a knot.
She gave the other woman another spiteful look and stood up.
"You know no one can save you, yet you were dumb enough to attack me?" She asked and walked away. Ishaan almost winced. This job was ruthless, he knew, but sometimes he forgot how much ruthless it made people.
"What are you going to do about her?"
"I have called the police station, they'll be sending a team soon." She answered as she passed him a glass of water.
"You are going to get her arrested?"
"Of course, she attacked a police officer."
"So she is no longer useful?" Ishaan asked, reading between the lines.
"You know?"
"It's obvious. Your ambition was always greater than anything, was more important to you. You weren't following Bossa or Simba, you were protecting them."
Veda smirked and drank some water.
"Are you going to turn me in?"
"I have no proof." He shrugged. "And I have learned it the hard way, this system isn't messed up as people think, it's well functioning if you mess up and try to make it right, you'll just be replaced."
"You were the brightest of our batch, just a little too noble. Glad you started seeing sense." Veda answered and raised her empty glass to toast him.
"You were never going to let the case go, were you?"
Now it was Ishaan's turn to smirk.
"I should have known. You were obsessed with solving the unsolvable case that Diwedi Sir had given and had tried to solve it, even though the rest of the batch had given up."
"I wasn't obsessed. I just thought it had to have an answer."
"Did you find one?"
But before he could answer, Ayesha gave in to her pain and fainted.
"Do what's right, Veda, for once," Ishaan said. The police sirens became louder as if to echo his statement. Veda looked away.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"What was all that about? I was worried?" Darshan asked Ishaan the second he entered the flat.
"Are you ok?"
"They arrested Ayesha," Ishaan answered. He looked at Darshan who was looking at him in shock and the cheered happily.
"What? How? Tell me everything."
And in that second, the reality hit Ishaan. Both the women who had killed his friends were behind bars. Granted, they had a chance to go scot-free, manipulate the law, and use money and power to run away, but he had done it, he had given his friends justice and in the right way.
"It'll be over soon." He said as raised his hand to touch Ishaan, but he couldn't, his heartbeat had suddenly elevated and he realized how close he was to Ishaan, not physically, but emotionally.
"You should get some sleep, it was a long night." Ishaan nodded.
As Ishaan started walking to the bedroom, Darshan's burner phone beeped. He sighed in relief as he saw the known phone number of the sender.
We haven't spoken for a long time, but I was catching up on our favorite TV show, the one about the rich businessman whose child is kidnapped, remember? The child is still away, but the informer got paid and is safe. Hope you are liking the show too.
"Ishaan,I think Simba kidnapped Aarav."
Segment #26
"Ishaan, I think Simba kidnapped Aarav." Darshan told Ishaan as he walked out after a quick shower.
"Not my circus, not my monkey."
"But you're his PA."
"Exactly, PA, not bodyguard." Ishaan laid on the bed.
"How can you sleep knowing-"
"Go to sleep Darsh, it's not our problem."
Darshan looked at him with questions but Ishaan turned off the lights.
___
On Simba's cruise, Aarav was busy partying with the special guests his uncle had bought for him.
"You having fun, son?" Simba asked.
"Yes uncle! I'm so happy that you invited me here. Dad would never let me party like this."
"This evening we shall have a grand celebration for your birthday."
"Sure!" Aarav went back to his room.
"Is he really that dense or…" Bissa puffed smoke from a cigar.
"Not sure but either way, as long as he's with me, I can make his dad dance on my tunes."
"How's the dance coming along so far?"
"Pop n lock."
___
"I want my son with me by this afternoon." Manohar ordered the DCP.
"Sir, we are looking for him but if you don't co-operate with information on Simba, we can't do much. He doesn't have his phone with him either. How do you expect us to track him?" Ravi tried to keep his calm.
"Where is Ishaan? I want him here, right now."
"Sir, I can't -"
"I know Nadia and Ayesha, both are in jail. So, call him, here, right now."
"Sir, my team is-"
"I want Ishaan Kesrani on this case." Manohar screamed.
"You remember the last time he worked on a case this big, got the businessman's son killed. You want that?"
"You want a transfer where not even drinking water is available?"
"Sir, do not threaten me with a transfer, I will do my duty, no matter where I'm posted."
"Ishaan."
Ravi sighed and dialled a number. What felt like an eternity, the phone was answered.
"The number you're trying to reach is currently out of reach." Ishaan answered robotically.
"Need you in Mumbai in an hour."
"Well, I ain't Shaktimaan to fly there."
"Send my chopper. Ask him to bring that detective along." Manohar promptly answered.
"Fine." Ishaan groaned.
"Pack up, we gotta rescue that piece of turd." He told Darshan after throwing his phone away.
"Hope to see some fancy clowns."
"You are one."
___
"Birdie says the cop and his twink are coming to the party."
"Make the party grand."
"On it, boss."
___
"Where do you think Aarav is?" Ishaan asked Manohar.
"Sy-Simba said he was taking him for a trip on an island."
"Which island?"
"Somewhere in the Indian Ocean."
"Sir, please give me specific details possible, your answers are not helping." Ishaan drank a glass of water.
"I need my son."
"How long has he been missing?" Darshan asked.
"About 36 hours."
"We will get back to you." Ishaan closed his notebook and saw Ravi's text. Fishes have seen a cruise floating with our cargo.
"Please bring me my son." Manohar almost begged.
"We will." Darshan answered.
Segment #27
"How do we not have anything?" Darshan groaned. "It's like Manohar just gift-wrapped Aarav as a parcel and gave him to Simba and didn't even bother to check with the delivery person if the parcel is delivered to the right address."
"That's the analogy you could come up with?" Ishaan asked as a constable chuckled. Darshan looked at her and she ducked her head.
"Can we focus? We know that Simba won't have any legal paper trails to any ownership of any private island or at least he wouldn't take Aarav there. Aarav being an idiot that he is, didn't even bother to tell anyone where he was going."
"Unless he didn't know too." Ishaan supplied.
Darshan wanted to snap at him but his eyes went wide.
"There is no way he didn't know. Remember you had said that despite all his misgivings, he was actually very cautious of the places he stays because he is a Karen like that?"
"Yeah, but they could lie to him. Once he is there on the island, they could tell him to shove it."
"Sure, but what does Aarav do when he gets something fancy?" Darshan wiggled his eyebrows.
Ishaan's eyes widened with crazy excitement as he dialled a number.
"Are you sure she'll know?" Ravi asked from the other line.
"We could try sir, at least we could have some breakthrough," Ishaan answered.
______
Ramya Kapoor was in a fight with her director for cutting off her action scenes when her manager, Kiya, came to her, her phone in her hand.
"The DCP said this is urgent." She whispered in her ear.
"Hello, sir."
"Hi Ramya, this is ACP Ishaan Kesrani, Mumbai Police," Darshan answered, struggling to keep Ishaan from fighting for the phone. He shushed the other man as Ramya greeted her.
"Is everything ok, sir?"
"I need to talk to you, it's urgent. Is this a good time?"
"I am heading to my vanity van, give me a minute." She said and Ishaan muted the call.
"What the hell?"
"She is an actress who can lie through her teeth and has been manipulating the whole world with her PR team for the last fifteen years. You are someone who can't even lie to me about eating your breakfast. Who should be the one talking?" Darshan asked as the phone cracked to life again.
"Hello." Ramya called out for. The other side. Ishaan sighed and slumped in his chair. Darshan unmuted the call and answered.
"Hello. We were wondering if, in the last week, you were in contact with Aarav Gaikwad?"
"Yes, what's all this about, though?"
"When was the last time you spoke to him?" Darshan asked instead.
"Last night. He drunk-texted me about loving me and stuff. Honestly, it was a great dopamine rush reading through his nonsense."
"Last night? That's impossible. He has been ki...away for almost a week now. Are you sure it's him?"
"Yes. He has been sending me pictures of an island, some random girls, who to be honest, look minors to me,"
"How..." Ishaan whispered.
"Can you send me the number he has been texting you from?"
Ramya nodded at Kiya who tapped on her laptop and then gave a thumbs-up. Darshan checked the notification bar and looked at the number in confusion.
"That's not his number?"
"Oh yeah, Aarav gifted me an iPhone with a sim and everything, when we met, but I didn't take it, so I guess he just kept it for himself?" Ramya asked.
"But you are sure it's him. Like it's not photoshopped or anything?"
"I can't say, but the texts do sound like him. I could have Kiya send the texts to you."
"That sounds great, Ramya, thank you so much," Ishaan said.
"Honestly sir, why bother? I get it he is a person in power, but he just abuses it. It's good that he is in a ditch." Ramya said and Kiya widened her eyes, asking her to shut up. Ramya was clearly not over the fight at the party and the fight with director had just caused her to speak without thinking.
"I know what you mean, and I have seen the way he is with you."
"You have?"
"But honesty, I feel like it's men like Aarav get to hack the system sooner, because they are men with privileges, and that's why, I don't want to save him, but the state depends on it, and I am doing it for the people who can't hack the system."
Ramya blinked in surprise. She had never seen people, especially men, sound so vulnerable unless they were just characters on paper. This was a human telling her that the system was flawed and he was helping the ones wrong, and it didn't sound fake to her, and Ramya knew what fake sounded like, she lived that life.
"Do you hack the system, sir?" she asked, without meaning to.
"I did, but then I realized something about myself and the world took away that privilege from me."
Ishaan raised his eyebrow and Darshan hung up the phone.
"You should find the other phone."
He said and turn to leave the room.
"What are you hiding, Darshan? Why can't you hack the system?"
Darshan looked at him, wondering if he should tell him the truth. Ishaan, of all, deserved to know, he had to know, but it was the truth Darshan hid behind alleys of gay pubs, in the room of his one-night-stand partners and in the ignored texts of his ex-partners wanting more from him, emotionally, but he could never be them for them. He hid the truth behind his own denial to accept it.
Segment #28
Darshan plated the dinner for himself and Ishaan. They had a silent dinner.
"Darsh? What is bothering you?" Ishaan asked.
"Nothing."
"You know you can share things with me, right?"
"I've never had friends like this, so sharing things that are on my mind isn't my thing."
"So, we're not friends?" Ishaan furrowed his brows. His heart fluttered with a possibility. Wait what?
"You are- I mean yes, we are friends - I think -" Darshan mumbled. What is wrong with you? His brain screamed.
"Darsh?" Ishaan placed his hand on Darshan's hand. "Are you okay?"
He looked up, his heart beating loudly. "Yeah, I'm fine." Darshan slid off his hand.
Ishaan's phone buzzed.
"I found the approximate location of our parcel." The tech expert said. "It's near Maldives coast."
"International waters?"
"No sir, close to the border of India, Sri Lanka and Maldives."
Ishaan looked at Darshan, hoping for some witty or stupid remark but he had none. Ishaan called Manohar to inform him.
"Take my chartered plane and bring back my son."
"Sir, our jurisdiction-"
"Don't bother about any of that. I am sending my driver, be ready."
Ishaan prepared his weapons. Darshan secured some knives on himself.
Few hours later they were flying over international waters, close to the cruise. They landed on a fisherman's boat and we're taken towards the cruise.
Ishaan and Darshan sneaked on the cruise and found Aarav partying with his special guests. They searched for Simba and Bissa, both missing.
Ishaan dragged a drunk Aarav into a bathtub and tried to sober him up. "Where is your uncle?"
Aarav tried to protest but Darshan pulled out his knife. "Answer what we ask."
"I don't know. We cut my cake and then I didn't see him."
"When did you last see him?"
"A few hours."
"Exactly how many hours?" Ishaan asked impatiently.
"Give me your phone." Darshan said. He went through the pictures and found the cake cutting ones. "Six hours ago. That's a long time to run away in any direction."
They heard sirens. The Indian Navy was warning the cruise captain.
"Why is the Indian Navy here?" Darshan peeked through the window.
"Because we were close to the border, seems like we're in the Indian waters now." Ishaan answered.
Two officers from the navy came on the cruise to talk with the captain.
"Who is the owner of the ship?" The officer asked.
"Aarav Gaikwad." The captain answered.
Ishaan held Aarav's face. "You own this ship?"
"I don't know." He shrugged. "Maybe this was the gift uncle was talking about." Aarav chugged a glass of water. "He made me sign some papers yesterday. I don't know what they were about."
"Let's talk to the officers." Ishaan said. He tied up Aarav and the duo walked out.
"Hello officer. ACP Ishaan Kesrani, Mumbai Police." He shook hands with the two officers.
"Dev?" The taller officer moved closer to Darshan, taking a close look at his face.
"No, he's Darshan." Ishaan corrected the officer and glanced at Darshan who seemed uncomfortable.
"You're mistaking me for someone else, officer." Darshan said.
"Unless you have a twin who also has curly hair, I know who you are, mister. Even if you are hiding your real name." The taller officer leaned in. Darshan took a step back. He hated running into his exes, especially the ones who remembered him too well, but he didn't.
Segment #29
"We have it under control, Dev. But I didn't know you were with the police." Kabir said, breaking Darshan's reverie.
"I am a PI, actually, Kabir, Aarav's dad hired me for a case."
"And we'll take over. This is concerning the national security, thank you very much." Ishaan and Darshan shared a confused look. Another officer handed Ishaan the papers.
"I think there is some mistake, Aarav has no idea what's going on here. He didn't even know he owns a ship."
"But he does have ton loads of drugs in his system?"
Ishaan looked at Darshan, who shrugged.
As the officers dispersed, Ishaan and Darshan looked at each other, not knowing what to do.
"I think we should just go." Ishaan sighed.
"But it's clearly a set up or something."
"Darsh, Aarav's father can handle this. Or even if he can't, there is nothing much I can do, alone."
"You have me!"
"You know that's not I meant. Look, there is something going on here that we don't know about, and if we try to interfere, it won't go well. Atleast, now we know Aarav is safe, if we go back and find a way to get Aarav out of this mess, that'll make more sense."
"I honestly have zero flying effs to give about him, but right now, I just feel so bad for him. Why would Simba do that? Did he do all this just to set Aarav up? Can someone be that cruel?"
"He once got a 10 year old shot because his father refused to pay the extortion money. They all say it was my mistake the kid died, but I know I did everything right, the intent was to always kill the kid, he was just playing mind games with the family and the police."
Darshan looked at him sadly.
"That's messed up."
"I thought I could never understand cruelty, but from that day onwards, I started associating cruelty with Simba. And then, when Trisha died, I spent ages trying to figure out why he would kill her, but now I know, he was doing the same thing he did ages ago, send a message, to me, though he didn't know then, to Ravi Sir, to back off or we would lose our loved ones, like Trish lost Gaurav." Darshan placed his hand on Ishaan's shoulder.
"Hey Dev!"
"Damn it! Will this dude just give up?"
"Why did you lie to him?"
"I...I was on a case and couldn't tell him I was a PI!"
Ishaan gave him a "are you serious look" but Darshan shook his head and walked over to Kabir.
"Come on, we can't miss out return flight!" He said and Ishaan jogged to him, a part of him wondering how long could they just keep this "will they, won't they" going.
Segment #30
"Are you still in touch with Mike?" Kabir asked as they settled in for the flight.
"Yeah!" Darshan nodded.
"Cool, give my regards to him." Kabir looked around to make sure Ishaan wasn't looking. "Where did you find this twink and how long have you been together?"
"We aren't together. What made you think that?"
"Please, have you seen the way he looks at you or are you still in denial, not to be confused with the river in Africa." Kabir chuckled at his own joke. Darshan rolled his eyes.
"Look buddy I am not sure what is going on with you but I know for one that sometimes just accepting who you are relieves you of a lot of burden and life becomes a tad bit easier with one less secret to keep. And I know he is a good man and will keep you happy. Trust me when I say this."
"Kabir you don't know anything about my life but I appreciate your concern."
"Dev, we met three years ago for a few hours and I haven't been able to forget you or the time we shared. You're just that good." Darshan looked at him sheepishly.
"Don't look at me like that, you beast."
"Beast?" Ishant raised his brows at Darshan and Kabir trying to understand what they were talking about.
"It's not good manners to over here people's private conversations." Kabir said in the matter of fact manner.
"Sorry we are cops and if we start respecting people's privacy we cannot contain crimes. But, don't worry I did not hear anything before the beast part."
Darshan continued to look out of the window.
"Darsh, have you never seen clouds before?"
"They're quite relaxing." Darsh said, ignoring the two.
Kabir walked up to his colleague and Ishaan sat beside Darshan. "So, how is the case of mistaken identity going? Saw you two have a heart to heart as well."
"Why are you so interested in my personal life?" Darshan said rather curtly.
"Darsh!"
"Sorry I didn't mean to be rude, probably the lack of sleep is getting the best out of me." Darshan apologised immediately.
"Hey, do you want some drinks?" Kabir asked the two. Ishaan is about to pick a glass for himself. "We also have your favourite cognac, Mr D."
"No thanks, I'm good."
"You sure? We got a bunch of variety."
"No thanks, I've quit drinking and been sober for over a year now."
"Oh that's amazing, keep it up." Kabir put his thumbs up.
Ishaan left the glass in the tray.
___
Manohar was pleased to see his son safe and got enraged the moment he heard about the trap Simba had plotted. "Ishaan, get me Simba, dead or alive." Manohar looked at Darshan. "Bring him alive, I will do the honours with my hands."
"Sir, you shouldn't taint your hands with a wanted criminal's blood." Darshan said quietly.
"Find him first, I'll tell you what to do." Manohar dismissed the duo.
Segment #31
"Hi." Nushrat almost shrieked in joy as she saw her visitor.
"I am so happy that you are doing ok." She continued as she engulfed Darshan in a hug.
"How are you?" He asked.
"All good, thanks to you."
"Debt paid, then? Did Fiza ask you anything?"
"I said you struck a deal with Manohar on behalf of the firm." Nushrat shrugged.
Darshan looked at her, studying her face. He had always trusted Nushrat. She was his mentor, after all. She had been there for him when he was clueless about himself. She had trained him, from the investigation to the physical training, it was all her, she had practically taken him under her wing when he had moved to Mumbai five years ago.
She was happy, really happy to see him. So then, why was the question bugging him?
"You want to ask me something?" Nushrat asked and smiled.
"Sorry, forgot where I learnt the expression reading from." Darshan smiled sheepishly.
"If you knew Ishaan would lead Fiza to danger, why didn't you just stop her from going to the Voodoo Bar? You knew Juneja was a criminal, yet you let her go to his bar."
"I cannot stop her from doing what she wants. I tried that when I found out that she was dating Afshaan and you remember how she behaved then, so I thought it was easier to put my best detective on the case, to protect her. I should have warned you, I know, but I was scared you'd say no."
Darshan gave her another look and sighed.
"Still on the case?"
"Aarav is in some mess with the Indian Navy. It's mostly something Manohar can deal with, but I think we should still be on Simba's case, to..."
"Give Trisha and Gaurav justice."
"And Ishaan's ex-boss and the kid..."
"The Malhotra kid?" Nushrat asked cutting him off. Darshan stared at her like she was a ghost.
"How do you know everything!"
"I told you, I am a detective." She winked at him.
_________
Darshan went to the Voodoo bar, bored out of his mind. Though he didn't drink like he used to, the noise at clubs was a great distraction from the thoughts in his head. Studying people was always his hobby, and pubs and clubs were the best place, some would be so conscious of themselves, like people on their first dates, and some so unabashed, like the ones sloshed out of their minds.
Mike kept a glass on the table, breaking his thought chain. He looked up in confusion and Mike pointed to the end of the bar. A man in his early thirties in a green jacket waved at him. Darshan picked up the drink and walked upto him.
"Hi, I am Maanav." He smiled. He had a nose ring that glistened in the dim lights of the bar.
A few drinks down and Maanav waved for the check.
"Want to get out of here?" Maanav asked. Darshan stared at him, as a cute smile flashed in his mind, and he remembered the messy morning hair that he woke up to in the past few days, the whiny groans accompanied by an outburst, it all came back.
"I am sorry, I have to go." He answered and walked oit.
_________
Ishaan cut the call after three rings, hoping his mother would get the message. He looked around the huge living room of the house Manohar had given him and Darshan to lay low. He wasn't sure where Darshan was, but he had plans of raiding the liquor cabinet when the doorbell rang.
Ishaan saw Darshan on the door and moved aside to let him in, but Darshan didn't budge.
"I have a question and a confession." Ishaan looked at him in confusion.
"Who is your handler? The one who gave you the note?"
Before Ishaan could answer, he continued.
"And I am gay...and I like like like you, like really like you."
Ishaan blinked in surprise, not sure how to respond.
"Do you want a beer? Manohar might have something stronger than that too." He said, instead.
Segment #33
Ishaan had been knocking on the door for about five minutes now. He then sighed and knocked on the neighbor's door.
"Hi, I am looking for Raunak Menon, your next door neighbour?"
"Oh, I haven't seen him since a while now. The last time I saw him was when he had two visitors and then after that, I didn't see him at all." The old woman shrugged.
Ishaan's heartbeat rose as fear gripped him. He dug through his bag and pulled out the keys he had. The house was a mess, Raunak had gotten into a fight. He tiptoed around the room and the scratch marks on the furniture were a tell-tell sign of struggle. He knew he was late. He was very late.
When he got back to the house, Darshan almost winced. He was as pale as a ghost. Darshan opened his mouth to talk to him but Ishaan walked past him. He then pled out the last note from Raunak.
'A STICK IS GOING TO BE POKED INTO YOU.' He burnt it and a loud scream escaped him. He then pulled out the calender and read the date Raunak had circled, the Gaurav was killed.
"I know how they found out about me," Ishaan said to Darshan who was reading a novel in Manohar's library.
"Raunak. My handler. They kidnapped him, possibly even killed him, else I would have gotten a message by now. He was kidnapped the day Gaurav died, so they must have tortured it out of him."
"Ishaan, I am so sorry." Darshan stand and stood up to look at the shorter man. He extended his hands to hit him but didn't.
Ishaan looked in his eyes and hugged him.
"Will this ever end?" He asked.
"I don't know, but Manohar's lawyers had called me, they will exploit our ink theory to get Aarav out of the mess, so I think we should stop." Darshan answered, sadly.
The two sat in silence for a long time.
"I am sorry, your first big case was such a mess." Ishaan said, twiddling his fingers.
Darshan laughed. Ishaan smiled weakly.
"I wish I had just stuck to cheating husbands, at least the end of such cases was rewarding. The wives would either beat or curse their husbands, which I loved, or take them to court, which was still fun, me do nothing about it, which was sad,"
Ishaan nodded. His burner phone pinged and he looked at Darshan in confusion.
"It's your Kabir."
"My Kabir?" Darshan asked and Ishaan looked at him.
"My ex Kabir?" Darshan corrected him.
Ishaan read through the message.
"They found Bissa."
"What? Where?"
"In the ocean. He was poisoned. They found another body."
"Who is it?" Darshan asked but Ishaan didn't answer. He just fell to the ground.
"I am sorry to inform you that they was another body on the island. It was Raunak Menon's. The preliminary reports of autopsy suggest that he must have been killed about a week now."
Segment #34
Darshan sat beside Ishaan who was staring into nothingness. Darshan engulfed him in a bear hug. Few moments later, Ishaan broke down crying, sobbing like a child. Darshan stayed with him, gently patting his back as he cried his heart out. This was probably the first time Darshan saw someone cry like this, his eyes teared up too.
Darshan put Ishaan to sleep, gently cuddling him. He heard him mumble in his sleep, he was probably having a nightmare.
Darshan whispered, "It's okay you're safe. I am here."
Next two days were uneventful, Ishaan was silent, barely eating. Darshan gave him space to recollect himself. Later that day, a message popped up on Ishaan's phone from Veda's number. Nadia and Ayesha have escaped the prison and we are on the lookout. You guys keep a low profile. I am not sure who they will be attacking next. Stay safe, I will keep you posted.
Ishaan received Veda's message and called her. "How did both escape from the jail? Did you help them, Veda?"
"No. Why would I do that? I was paid to keep them in jail not to help them escape. But I have heard your boss paid one of my constables to let the girls run away. So, question him."
"My boss?"
"Manohar."
"He's not my boss. Also, why would he do that?"
"I don't know. You figure it out, it's not my case anymore." Veda disconnected the line.
"Maybe Manohar thought the girls would lead us to Simba?" Darshan thought out aloud.
"How would they know where he is hiding?"
"What do you think, should we follow the girls?"
"You know what, I am out of this. I simply don't care who lives and who dies anymore."
"Ishaan?" Darshan furrowed his brows.
"What? I already lost all the people that I loved and cared about, there's no one else remaining."
"So, you don't want to avenge any of those innocent deaths?"
"What is that going to do? Will it bring back my Trisha or Gaurav or Raunak sir? Anyone? No. None of them are coming back. What's the point of any of this? Just let me be. You can also leave. There is no future for us anyway."
"Ishaan, look at me." Darshan cupped his face. "You cannot lose hope like this. you took an oath to save the innocent and punish the evil doers. You cannot let go of the very things that make you, you."
"Me?" Ishaan chuckled sadly. "I am not me. I don't even recognise myself in the mirror. The person you met isn't me. Goodbye, detective. See you in another lifetime, maybe." His voice was emotionless.
"What are you talking about?" Darshan's heart sank with the dark possibilities Ishaan was implying.
"I don't know." He shrugged and walked out of the house.
"What do you mean you don't know? Ishaan, answer me." Darshan ran after Ishaan, his heart beating faster.
Segment #35
Ishaan turned to look at Darshan, and Darshan's heart broke. He looked so tired, so angry, and so sad at the same time, that all the questions swarming in his head just died down. He left from there, not turning back to look at Ishaan once more. He wasn't even sure if he could look at him one last time.
Ishaan went into the house and packed his things. He left the burner phone and sent Ravi a text, asking him for a break. He didn't know if he would get that break, but he didn't care, it was as if his brain had snapped off from reality.
*A week later*
Darshan woke up to his phone alarm. It had been seven days since he has spoken to Ishaan. He wasn't even sure where the other man was.
He had managed to collect everything Manohar's lawyers would need to save Aarav. He knew that Nadia's confession about killing Gaurav wasn't enough, so he decided to be on the case. Bissa was dead, Simba was underground, and no one knew where, but Ayesha and Nadia were still out there.
I'll do it.
He smiled as he read the text from Manohar. He wished he could tell Ishaan that Juneja would finally lose the political backing he had, but he knew he couldn't.
He sent the drafted email to Ghanwals and Palkar Associates, Aarav's layers; a video and a simple text reading "Rest of it when Juneja is behind bars"
Nushrat nodded at Darshan who entered the office.
"Day 7 and still alive."
"They are still in India. Ishaan too." Nushrat and Darshan shrugged.
"I don't care, just alert me when Nadia and Ayesha are at the door so that I can be prepared to die."
Nushrat sighed and looked at him.
"Stop pretending to be ok, you aren't. You should go search for him."
"Why? He said he doesn't want to do this anymore. He said he wants to be alone."
"You don't even want to tell him this?"
She passed him the photocopied papers. Darshan shrugged.
"I doubt he cares if the CBI is taking over the case. He doesn't care about anything anymore." Darshan sighed. He hated the way Nushrat was looking at him, with pity, as if he would burst out crying or something.
"What's going on the Walia's case? Did you find anything?"
Nushrat looked at him for a second and then started theorizing about the new cheating husband she was following. Darshan looked at her, but his brain wasn't registering. He was just wondering how Ishaan was. And a small part of him was wondering where Ayesha and Nadia were.
_________
Nadia looked down at the body as blood spluttered around it. She had done major damage to the organs, and she hoped it was just like how Indra's was mutilated. As she looked at Ayesha's body, she remembered Indra's, the same look of shock and betrayal, the same brown eyes, now without any life in them.
"I am sorry, Nadia. It was me." The words rang in her ears as she spat at the body.
_________
Ishaan stared at the note. Each day, he would look at the note, put it in his bag and continue with his day, that is, doing nothing.
He had never felt like this before, without any purpose, any motive, and even though he had tried telling himself he was done with the whole thing, he knew he wasn't.
"To bringing Simba down" Raunak's voice rang in the back of his head followed by Gaurav's "Let's get this son of a gun!"
Ishaan sat straight and looked at the mirror in the hotel room. A tired image stared back at him.
"Let's get this son of a gun!" He whispered to himself.
He dialled the number that he didn't even know he had managed to by heart.
"Hello?"
"Ishaan?" Darshan asked in surprise.
"Any updates?"
Segment #36
"Aisha was found dead, Nadia is still missing and nothing on Simba so far."
"I'm coming over." Ishaan came in after an hour. He looked barely alive. Darshan walked up to him and embraced him, "Good to see you back." He was relieved.
They had a silent dinner. Darshan tried striking a conversation and got nods and hums in response.
Two days later. Darshan waited for Ishan to pick up his phone.
"Yes I am alive."
"I got something, meet me." Ishan reached the location mentioned by Darshan.
" Hi there!" Darshan tapped his shoulder. "Birdie has it, Nadia was seen here an hour ago. She rode a boat and we are going after her."
"You think we can find her again?"
"Yes, I know she is around the corner and he may also be there."
After a short boat trip, the duo reached a mansion. It looked deserted. both prepared their weapons and walked in. The house was a mess. They heard someone shouting. Following the direction, they reached a wall. After a few tries they managed to open the room. Nadia and Simba were both badly injured, probably in a fight.
"I will kill you !" Nadia screamed at Simba.
Darshan hit Nadia, holding her down while Ishaan went on a rampage seeing Simba. Before Darshan could react he heard a scream. Simba fell on the ground and Ishan let out another scream. All his pain and anger was out. Ishan leaned on the wall and pulled out his gun and shot Simba's multiple times. He had done it, finally.
"Ishaan!" Darshan pulled him away, "He is dead, stop shooting him."
Nadia tried to hit Ishaan but Darshan slashed his knife across her throat and she fell down. Blood oozing rapidly. Darshan dropped the knife; he couldn't believe he had just killed someone with his own hands. He turned towards Ishaan who had called Ravi to inform him of Simba and Nadia's death. Ishaan grabbed Darshan by his arm and walked out of the mansion.
The local police arrived shortly.
___
A few days later.
Darshan's phone rang multiple times.
"Darsh, your phone is ringing."
"I know then pick it up."
"I don't want to."
"It'st your mom. There's been 3 missed calls. Maybe you should just talk to her." Ishaan handed over the phone.
The phone rang again and Darshan picked up. "Darshan, beta your papa is in the hospital and he wants to see you."
"Are you sure he wants to see me? What happened to all the I will never accept you as my son and everything that you two said to me all those years ago?" Darshan answered bitterly.
"Just come and meet us." His mom pleaded.
Darshan put his phone aside without answering.
"What happened?"
"Not sure. My parents want to meet me."
"And?"
"I don't want to."
Segment #37
Ishaan leaned against the hospital wall. He hated hospitals, especially after losing Gaurav. The memory of seeing Gaurav on the bed, surrounded by machines was etched on his mind. The three hour flight to Chandigarh and the commute from the airport only added to his fatigue.
He smiled awkwardly as Darshan's mom stepped out of the room.
"I am Ishaan, Darshan's... colleague."
She nodded.
"How is uncle?"
"He is ok. His BP has always been high, and the last few months have been tough. It's good to have Darshan home, I always worry for him and I know his father does too." Kavita Rathore said, but Ishaan knew it was just her talking to herself to stop her mind from wandering to darker places. His mom did that a lot too.
"Thank you for making him come here. My Darshu is very stubborn, only someone more stubborn than him could have convinced him to come here."
Ishaan blinked in surprise. All it had taken him to get Darshan to Chandigarh was a "Please, come on, it won't be that bad." He simply nodded at the older woman.
Darshan stepped out of the room after some time when the doctors came to check on Pradeep Rathore. Ishaan tried to study his face, but he looked like he was exhausted.
"I should go now," Ishaan said.
"Maa, I have to go."
"Can I...Ishaan, can you give us a minute?"
Ishaan nodded at Darshan and walked the long corridor. Darshan stared at his retreating figure.
"I am sorry, I never understood you."
"Maa, not right now, please. Your husband has given me enough, just leave me alone."
"No, listen to me. I used to think there is something wrong with you when your father told me why you left home,"
"Just what I wanted to hear."
"But I was wrong," She ignored him pointedly and continued. "In this one month, as I watched your father become weak, I realized that I was giving our ignorance more importance than you. So, I read about...it and tried to understand you, and I don't know if I have gotten there, but that man there, he understands you, and it's rare to find someone who does."
"Maa, it's nothing like that,"
"Darsh, come on, you had told your father that you cannot lie when you came out to him, so stop lying. I can see it, the way you are with him, it's different."
Darshan looked down at his mother, his first best friend. She smiled at him.
"Have you told him?"
"He...we... It's complicated."
"If I know a thing or two about love, it's supposed to be complicated and only becomes easier with the right person." She patted his chest and went inside the room.
"Is everything ok?" Ishaan asked as he changed the gear of the car, driving through the streets of Chandigarh back to the airport.
"Yeah, my mother... She thinks she knows me too well."
"How was it with your dad?"
"Same old. Maa... She might be coming around. I never really came out to her, I did tell my father after a fight and he just told me to get out of the house. I think I should have told her though, she seems to be trying, you know what I mean?"
"Lucky, my mother is trying to dig into the part where I like women and hopes that I'll have amnesia and forget I like men too."
"I could hit you on your head and you could go all Bollywood and lose your memory."
Ishaan snorted.
"Or, You should pull off an Aman," Darshan said.
"What's an Aman?"
"We were in college together. When he come out to his parents as gay, they went all crazy on him and tried to get him married. So he did the next big thing, took me to a family function and kissed me infront of the whole family."
"What the..." Ishaan asked in surprise as Darshan broke into laughter.
"True story. The faces, man! It was one of the best days of my life. I imagined my father in the crowd, the satisfaction, Ishaan, I can never express it."
Ishaan looked out of the window for a few seconds, his heart thudding.
"How would you like to piss off some more homophobes?"
Darshan raised his eyebrows.
"I think it's a bit overkill now, but sure, as soon as we land in Mumbai, we'll go to your parent's house and kiss infront of them."
"Want to practice?" Ishaan asked. Darshan pressed the brakes so hard that they lurched forward, the seat belt safeguarding them.
"Are you flirting with me?"
"What do you think?" Ishaan asked he leaned over, his breath fanning the other man's lips.
"Want to take the beast for a ride?" He asked and cringed. Darshan laughed and kissed him, a soft peck on the lips.
"I have been waiting to do this for so long." He sighed as he moved a little away from Ishaan. Ishaan smiled as he gave him another small peck on the lips.
As the aeroplane flew through the clouds, Darshan didn't focus on them, this time, he focused on the man who had entered his life and had brought along tons of drama, action and more. He had never imagined that his quest for a big case would give him something more, a quest to be real to himself, a quest to be himself, a quest to fall in love.
Epilogue
A month later.
"Mom, you were right." Fiza hugs Nushrat. "Afshan wasn't worth my time."
"We all learn from our mistakes. But be careful who you trust." Nushrat kissed her forehead. "Come on, let's go shopping."
"Sure, you're the best mom!"
"And you are the best daughter." Nusrat said proudly.
___
"Darshan, where are you? I am getting late."
"Here darlin', just made some soup."
"Okay," Ishaan quickly had the soup. "I'll leave now, my therapist will be waiting."
"You did your homework?
"Little bit-" Ishaan bit his lip.
"Cool"
"Mom called."
"And?"
"She suggested going for some counselling together."
"That's a good idea, I hope someday my parents also come along." Ishaan pecked his cheek before leaving.
___
Ravi looked at Ishaan. "What have you decided? Would you continue with the department now?"
"No, I am done with the department. I'd like to do something of my own." Ishaan forwarded his resignation.
"Joining your detective friend?"
"Maybe that or something else." He shrugged.
"Take care of yourself and don't forget, I believe in you." Ravi patted his back.
"Thank you sir, have a good day." Ishaan saluted him for the last time.
___
"Aarav! This is your first and last chance. Do not mess this up or I will kick you out of the house and give no share in the property." Manohar said.
"Dad, I am your only heir and I know you well enough. But don't you worry, I have learnt my lesson and I will be more careful. Is Mr P A coming back to work?"
"No, he has resigned. New person is joining us today."
"I hope he has a cute face." Manohar looked at him with suspicion.
__
"So, what have you decided?" Darshan asked as they lay on the bed.
"I am yet to decide but my therapist has given me a whole lotta homework and I think by the end of next week I will have it decided."
"Take your time, there is no hurry."
"I know." Ishaan held his hand. "By the way, what do you think of getting married?"
"I haven't thought about it yet but I'd love to spend my lifetime with you, with or without marriage." Darshan cupped his face and pecked it.
"You are one cheesy mother f*k*r." Ishaan slapped his arm.
"Nope, I don't do mothers." Both burst out laughing.
Edited by oh_nakhrewaali - 7 months ago
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