FF: Ishq-e-Watan *Chapter 78 Posted* - Page 99

CHAPTER 75

THE DANGER LURKING

Faizi glanced up at the faint knock from the weekly arms and ammunition report he was reading. He stood up, opening the door. Monami.

"Hi", he said, leaning against the door. He smiled slightly. "Karan se milna hai?"

To his surprise though, she shook her head. "Aa-Aapse."

"Humse, mahutarma? Arey", he said, taking a step back and letting her in. "Bataiye. Kya kar sakte hain hum aapke liye?" She swallowed nervously, fiddling with her fingers. He paused. She was almost withdrawn, much like the state he saw her in the training room. He frowned. Is therapy really taking that much of a toll on her? "Monami... are you okay?"

She jerked her head down in a nod. "C-Can you t-teach me how to sh-shoot?" He tilted his head. "S-Silencer ke s-saath." She shook her head. "I know... I know aa-aapka k-kaam z-zyaada ho j-jaayega and-"

"Beshaq, mahutarma", he interrupted softly. She smiled a little, and he smiled back, patting her head affectionately. "Shaam ko 5 baje chalega?" She nodded.

The door behind them, and they turned. Karan raised an eyebrow. "Kya chal raha hai?" He asked.

Monami opened her mouth. "Har cheez jaanne ki zaroorat nahi hai tumhe", Faizi interrupted. Karan's eyes narrowed and he smirked slightly, leaning against the desk behind him. "Monami..." She looked up at him. "Hum tumse milte hain? Aaj?" She nodded, waving to both of them before quickly leaving.

"Kya chal raha hai?" Karan asked again. "Kyun mil raha hai tu usse aaj?"

"Kaha toh sahi. Tumhe jaanne ki zaroorat nahi hai."

He blinked. "Par... kyun? Aisa kya hai?"

He smirked. It was amusing to rile him up. "Aapne hi kaha the, Janaab, aapko har cheez Monami se related hume bataane ki zaroorat nahi hai? Toh hume bhi har cheez bataane ki zaroorat nahi hai."

"But that's different. Monami meri..."

Faizi raised his eyebrows. What? "Tumhaari... kya?" He prompted.

He huffed. "Mat bata", he snapped. "Itna kya secret hai?"

He chuckled a little. "Woh humaare paas isliye aayi thi kyunki who chahti hai hum use shoot karna sikhaye." Karan frowned, tilting his head. "Silencer ke saath. Hume nahi lagta woh gunshots tolerate kar paayegi." He nodded his understanding.

"Agar... Agar kisi din tu free nahi hoga, toh I can help", he offered. Faizi's smile widened. Karan huffed. "Chup kar jaa. Bakwaas mat soch." Faizi let out a chuckle, shaking his head.

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

Darkness engulfed the room. Footsteps echoed in the eerie quiet that settled over it, nervous and hurried. They skidded to a stop in front of the desk and the man swallowed. "Sir... woh... ek khabar hai."

"Batao", the man behind the desk said softly, turning around.

"Sir, Sayed..." The man hesitated. "Woh... Woh mar chukka hai."

The man behind the desk- clearly the superior- opened the drawer and the standing man flinched violently, taking a step back. "Hume pata hai humaara beta shaheed ho chuka hai", he murmured. His gaze lifted to his. "Kaafi der se pata chala aapko yeh."

"Woh... academy mein..."

He leaned forward, keeping his elbows on the table. "Hume yeh batao. Kisne maara use?"

"Goli kisne chalai yeh nahi pata. Par kaun kaun involved hai... unmein se kuchh log pata hai. Special Agent Major Karan Shergill and Special Agent Major Faizuddin Siddiqui."

The superior hummed, closing the drawer. The man standing relaxed slightly. "Jo jo pata laga sako inn dono ke baare mein, who pata lagao. Shaadi ho chuki hai inki?"

The man furrowed his eyebrows. "Nahi, Sir", he said. "Jahan tak mujhe pata hai, dono kaafi young hai. 29-30 saal ke ladke hain."

"Koi baccha bhi nahi hoga phir", the superior muttered to himself, his jaw clenching. He shook his head. The superior's eyes lifted. "Girlfriend hai?" The man shrugged. "Confirm karo ki inn dono ki shaadi hui hai ya nahi and agar nahi, toh koi ladki hai kya inki zindagi mein. And agar woh bhi nahi, toh yeh pata lagao ki sabse zyaada pyaar yeh kisse karte hain." His eyes darkened as he stared at a photo on his desk. "Inhe pata lagna chahiye humse dushmani paalkar kya haal hota hai." His gaze lifted to the man. "Jao."

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

"How's it going?" Koel asked. "Sanju Ma'am ke saath?"

Sid smiled. "Good", he said. He sighed happily. "Pata hai? Training mein woh strict hain, but when she's my girlfriend then she's... calmer. Matlab, she's still Sanju. Abhi bhi mujhe dhamki dengi, but... she is more relaxed. And it's so nice, Koel. She's... amazing."

She smiled, leaning back on her elbows. "Is she a good kisser?" She teased.

He rolled his eyes. "Seriously? Sanju ne sun liya tu yeh bol rahi hai, pehle tujhe bahar phenkengi, phir mujhe maarengi phir tere saath bahar phenk dengi." She laughed. "Waise, I don't know. We have never kissed."

Her eyebrows raised. "Mujhe toh lagta tha tere liye yeh sab cheezen important hogi. I mean, deal breaker waali important."

"I mean, obviously, I would... I would like to kiss her but... I don't think she wants to. Not yet", Sid said. "Uska pehla relationship hai. You know the kind of background she comes from. I think she needs time. And obviously, main use force thodi naa karunga."

"Do you mind that? Does it bother you?"

He shook his head. "Not... not really. Not at the moment, at least. Just uske saath rehna... it's enough for me. I... I like being able to call her mine. I like ki hum... hum saath hain, you know." He smiled at her. "How's it with Faizi Sir?"

She smiled, shrugging. "He's... He's great", she said. "We have had our ups and downs, honestly. Abhi bhi he's kinda disturbed. You know, poora Sayed Mridul waala thing." Sid nodded his understanding. "Par..." She smiled shyly. "He told me he loved me. And... I love him too. I really, really love him."

"Nikhil ko pata hai unke baare mein?" Koel nodded. "Kabhi baat kari hai?"

"Haan, a couple of times. Jab Diwali par ghar gayi thi, mostly tab. I think they'll get along." Her smile faded slightly. "Sid, Sanju ma'am ne tujhse baat kari hai kya? About all this spy waala thing?"

He shrugged. "I know she was really angry about this. But... she didn't mention anything jo hum cadets ko nahi bataya gaya tha. Kyun?"

She bit her lip. "I feel like there is so much they aren't telling us. So much. Karan Sir ke khabri ka murder, that haath kaatkar bhejna. I remember ek baar Faizi ne yeh mention kara tha ki uspar goliyan chali thi. Jab... Jab Karan Sir internally bleed kar rahe the. No injuries and woh internally bleed kar rahe the? Kaise?"

"Tu kya keh rahi hai?"

"Their mission... I don't think who khatam hua hai. I think there's more to it. Unhe humaari zaroorat thi spy ke liye, because they needed people like you and they needed manpower isliye unhone hume bataaya. Par baaki, kuchh nahi."

Sid shrugged. "Isn't that obvious? Of course woh hume sab kuchh nahi batayenge. Har cheez strict need-to-know basis hoti hai. Kya unka mission sirf spy ko pakadhna tha? Maybe. But the question is spy ka kya mission tha? Just to leak data? Yaa kuchh aur bhi?" He shook his head. "Inn sab cheezon ka kya point hai? Agar yeh nahi, toh koi aur mission kar rahe honge woh. Maybe something less important or maybe something even more dangerous."

"Tu curious nahi hai ki kya chal raha hai?"

He glanced down, fiddling with his bracelet. "Kabhi kabhi naa pata hona behtar hota hai. Of course I am curious. But agar mujhe yeh pata hoga ki Sanju har roz exactly kitne danger mein hai... I don't know main use digest kar paunga. Even... Even Faizi Sir, Karan Sir ke liye bhi. I know they are soldiers. I know that. Par I'd like to be ignorant. Jaankar milega hi kya?"

She fell quiet, fiddling with her fingers, as she thought his words over. The dread that had settled over her the moment she had heard about the hand, the spy, Abhi's death. Was sating her curiosity worth the dread? She took a deep breath, letting it out. Perhaps not.

But her mind couldn't help but wander back. The mission wasn't over. There must be something. Sid was right. What happened to whatever mission the spy was here for? There was something related to this that was going to come up. She was sure of it. When, where and how. Now, that was the question.

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

Karan handed her the coffee, taking her drooped form in. "Kya hua?"

Her gaze lifted to his. "Kuchh n-nahi", she dismissed. "Just th-thinking."

He hummed. "Do you want to talk about it?" She shook her head. "Okay. Tumhaara din kaisa tha?"

"I... I a-actually wanted to a-ask you s-something. M-Mujhe chhuti ch-chahiye. 2 d-days. N-Next Monday and T-Tuesday."

His eyebrows furrowed together. "Chhuti? Okay. Application likh dena. Main sign kar dunga. Par... kyun?"

"M-Mujhe ghar j-jaana hai." She looked down, inspecting her shoes for a quiet moment. He tilted his head. Ghar? "M-Mumma ka b-birthday hai S-Sunday ko. Papa ch-chahte hain main w-waapas aa jaun, and... I w-wanna go too."

"Oh", he muttered, unsure of what he could say. "Are you... okay?"

She hummed, sighing. "C-Can we talk ab-about s-something else?"

"Of course", he said. "What do you want to talk about?" She shrugged. "Are you... reading something?"

Her eyes lit up and he smiled slightly. She nodded enthusiastically. "Usmein, na, ek bahut sweet character hota hai", she said excitedly. Karan paused, slowly looking up, blinking. What? "Woh, na, itni sunshine type ki ch-character hai. Aapko pata hai sunshine x grumpy trope kya hota hai?" He shook his head, staring at her. She was not... stuttering? What? He tilted his head, staring at her bright eyed face. She was excited.

She was... not stuttering. He exhaled, listening to her enthusiastic rant.

'M-Main s-sabke s-saamne n-nervous hoti hoon.'

Was she not... nervous? The thought brought an unexpected rush of happiness, and he ducked his head, smiling slightly. She was not nervous.

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

Karan stared at the cadets as they performed the regular, morning drills, now tuned to the ways and intricacies of it. Finally, they appeared as a unit, finally fit enough to perform the most basic of what is expected of soldiers. He crossed his arms, his gaze wandering over them.

His eyes paused on Monami. She was running quietly, right in the middle of the group, her head down. She has been quieter since therapy, and he would have been concerned, but her eyes shone just a little brighter when she was happy, and her hands shook just a little less when she was scared now. Her gaze lifted to meet his, and her voice stuttered on lesser words. She was getting better. Therapy was good to her, even if it made her uncomfortable.

'Woh ek bheedh ka hissa ho sakte hain and you will still pick them out because tumhe lagta hai unn jaisa koi ho hi nahi sakta.'

His breath caught as the words rushed back. She was supposed to be another soldier. Just another soldier. Merging into this well-oiled unit. Why did his eyes stop? Why did he pause to think?

"Karan?" He blinked, looking up to see Faizi looking at him with furrowed eyes. "Kahan kho gaye?"

He shook his head. "Kya hua?"

"Woh... Param Bhaiya..." He paused. "Param Sir ne ek meeting bulaayi hai." His eyebrows furrowed. "Aage plan of action decide karna hai." Karan jerked his head down in a nod. "1700 hours kal. Debrief."

"Okay", he said, his gaze returning to the cadets. His gaze traveled back to Monami. "Faizi." He hummed his attention. "Uniform mein sab same lagte hain." He glanced at him.

Faizi smiled slightly. "Haan", he said. "Army discipline... har baar, iss life se, iss lifestyle se, dobara mohabbat ho jaati hai, Janaab."

"Can you pick Koel out?" He asked. "Inn sab mein se?"

His eyebrows furrowed, and he glanced at him, tilting his head at the unexpected question. But he nodded. "Haan. Kaafi easily. Dekho, Siddharth se baat kar rahi. Bilkul saamne." Karan glanced briefly in the direction, not particularly interested. "Kyun? Kya kaam hai usse?"

"Kuchh nahi. I was just... curious", he said quietly. His gaze returned to the cadets. "Could you... Could you always?"

He hummed. "Shayad haan. Karan, agar kabhi bhi who kamre mein ho, na, toh hume pata hota hai woh exactly kahan hai. Kahin naa kahin ek lingering thought rehta hai uske paas hi. Humaara shayad thoda dhyaan toh hamesha hi uspar rehta hai, chaahe back of the mind hi kyun naa ho."

Karan looked at him, smiling slightly. "Look at you, Faizuddin Siddiqui", he teased lightly. "Teri past girlfriends sunegi toh kya kahengi?"

He laughed. "Janaab... hum jo 4 mahine pehle the, who ab apne aap ko dekhega toh who bhi kuchh nahi keh paayega." He glanced back at the cadets. "Hum... Hum apne aap ko usse shaadi karta hua dekh sakte hain."

His eyebrows shot up. "Faizi..." He glanced at the cadets, this time searching the faces till he found Koel. It was considerably harder than finding Monami. But he pushed the thought away. "Are you... Are you planning on proposing?"

He shook his head, chuckling. "Nahi. Abhi nahi, Janaab. Bahut jaldi hai", he dismissed. Karan relaxed slightly. At least he acknowledged that. "It's just a thought." He shook his head. "Hume yeh batao, Karan, yeh sawaal kyun?"

He shrugged, shaking his head. "Aise hi."

What did that mean for him? Could he pick her out just because she was a good friend? He had never been close to anyone particularly when he watched them perform something in a unit. Perhaps this was why he was able to pick her out. Because he was close to her. As a friend. He exhaled. She was not a crush.

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

"Aaj yeh special dinner kyun?" Monami said, scooping up some rice and shoving them in her mouth. Sid smiled at her, eating a spoonful of dinner himself.

"Aise hi", he said, chewing. "Mann kiya tere saath thoda time spend karoon." He glanced up at her. "Iss Sunday Aunty ka birthday hai."

She paused, her spoon halfway through her mouth. She sighed, keeping it down. "Haan. She'd be... 52. Main... Main ghar jaa rahi hoon. Saturday to Tuesday. Papa ne bulaaya hai." His eyebrows furrowed but he nodded a little. "Tu chalega?"

He shook his head. "I... I don't think I should, Monu. Matlab, main Aunty se close tha but tujhe aur Uncle ko thoda time spend karna chahiye. Waise bhi, Daddy ji bhi busy hain. He told me he was going to go to New York this weekend."

She tilted her head. "Is he giving you time?"

He nodded. "As much as he can, considering woh wahan hain and main yahan hoon. We talk every Sunday kaafi time. It's pretty nice."

"Sid... if you want to come, you know, na, ki Papa mind nahi karenge. And tu Mumma se close tha. You should... You should come."

He shook his head, sipping his coffee. "Monu, do you need me there?" He asked.

She shook her head. "I will be okay. But... tu phir bhi aa sakta hai."

"Monu, mera... mera mann nahi hai", he said. He sighed. "I... I want to stay here. Shayad saari team ke saath ya Sanju ke saath day spend karunga. Ghar jaakar, I will be... I will be sad. I will remember everything and I... I don't want to. Agar tujhe meri zaroorat hai, main aa jaunga, but... if it's okay, then I'd be here."

She nodded. "Teri marzi."

He smiled at her, leaning over and kissing her head. "Achha. I actually wanted to ask you something."

"Puchh, na?"

He looked at her. "How's therapy?" She looked up at him, chewing slowly. She shrugged. "Monu..."

She sighed. "It's uncomfortable, Sid. She is a nice person, she really is. I think she's a great therapist. And iss situation, she does try to make me as comfortable as she can. But she asks me questions I don't like thinking about." She shook her head. "But it's good for me. I know it is."

"Healing is uncomfortable, Monu. Tu quiet rehne lagi hai phirse."

She shook her head, waving her hand. "Just... soch rahi hoti hoon. She really makes me think."

Sid glanced down at her still full cup of coffee. "Tu coffee nahi pi rahi? Achhi nahi lagi kya?"

"Woh..." She looked down shyly. "Sid, Karan Sir aur main coffee peeyenge. So... zyaada ho jaayegi." His eyebrows raised. "Aisa kuchh nahi hai. It's just... it's a ritual and... I-"

"Hmm", he teased. "Rituals, huh? Aur... kya kya rituals hain tere aur Karan Sir ke beech?"

"Aisa kuchh nahi hai!" She covered her face with her hands, shaking her head adamantly. "Kya bolta rehta hai tu?"

"Blushing, huh?" He teased, laughing when she shoved him away. She raised her gaze, narrowing her eyes and glaring at him with as much heat as her embarrassed state can muster. "Aise mat dekh. Tu hi saare cute moments enjoy kar rahi hai Karan Sir ke saath."

"C-Cute?" She shook her head. "Kya... Kya cute moments? Hum bas... do... do dost ki tarah coffee... coffee peete hain and... and baat karte hain. That's it."

He shook his head at her bright red face, laughing. "Waise, tu kabhi Karan Sir ko date kare?" He chuckled. "That's a thought." She shook her head, shoving him again. He looked at her, the blood slowly receding from her face as she started to eat again. "You know, Monu... I think he really likes you. I think he has a crush on you."

She looked up, some color returning to her face. "Kya paagalon waali baatein kar raha hai? Woh sirf mere dost hain. And that's all I am to him. A good friend. Yeh sab cheezen mat laa beech meintu." Sid eyed her. "Sid... bahut saalon baad koi naya friend banaaya hai. Don't... Don't bring all this beech mein."

"Achha okay", he said, shaking his head. "Just for the record, I think you guys will be good together." She glared at him. He imitated zipping his lips, raising his hands.

Monami shook her head, looking at the food. Karan and her? She shook her head. That was ridiculous.

Right?

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

Param listened to her daughter babble on the phone idly, moving around and setting his clothes. He smiled, asking her the questions in between, as she rambled on about her day.

"Aur phir usne mujhe aadha tracing paper de diya", she said. "Isn't she sweet, Papa?"

"Tracing Paper?" He repeated, pausing.

"Arey Papa, woh hota hai, na, paper jiske upar rakhkar aapko neeche waala dikhta hai aur ab trace kar sakte ho?"

He hummed absentmindedly."Baccha, main kal baat karta hoon. Okay?"

"Par Papa", she whined.

"Baby, abhi nahi kar sakta, please", he said softly. "Papa ko thoda kaam aa gaya hai. Bye bye." He cut the call before she could protest, throwing it on the bed. He moved over to his desk, grabbing the sheet of paper they found from Mridul's desk. He foraged through the evidences they had, pausing when he found it.

A copy of the map.

He unfolded it, keeping the transparent sheet of paper over it. He tilted his head. How to place it now? He walked back to his bed, grabbing his phone and dialing a number. "Karan. Kahan hai?"

About half an hour later, Karan and Faizi stared at the transparent sheet and the map, trying to decide. Karan straightened up suddenly and the other two looked up at him. "Kya hua?"

"Maharashtra ka map", he muttered, taking his phone out and looking it up. He grabbed a black marker. He leaned over the desk, glancing at the map in his phone. "Army cantonments. Maharashtra mein 7 hain. Deolali, Pune, Ahmednagar, Dehu Road, Aurangabad, Kirkee, Kamptee." He marked the 7 spots on the map, before looking at the dots. He grabbed a green marker. "Yeh Mumbai. Yahan governor rehte hain and yahan chief minister." He marked the two spots. "And Shivaji Park. Jahan 26 January ki parade hogi."

"10 dots", Faizi muttered.

Param spun it around, trying to match the marked spots, pausing when they finally fell into place. "10 possible places of attack then", he muttered. "The first one 26th January." He shook his head. "Too much risk. We can't wait." He looked up. "Offense par jaa sakte hain?"

Faizi tilted his head. "We need information first. Uska kya karein?" He grabbed his phone. "Hum network activate kar rahe hain apna." The two brothers pulled their own phones out, doing the same before pocketing them.

Param rubbed his face. "Sochta hoon kuchh." He glanced at the clock. "So jao tum dono. Kal subah drills ke liye uthna hai." Karan glanced at the time, his eyes widening slightly. "Kya hua?"

"Woh..." He winced, grabbing his jacket. "Monami wait kar rahi hogi. Coffee. Already thoda late hoon. Jaun main?"

He chuckled, nodding. "Good night." He waved hurriedly as he ran out of the room. Faizi chuckled, watching after him. Param glanced at him. "Tujhe nahi jaana? Apni waali se milne?"

Faizi smiled, giving him a two fingered salute. "Kal milte hain, Bhaiya." Param nodded, waving at him. He chuckled, locking the door behind them.