Chapter-4

“The Commissioner says no!”, Rathore almost threw his phone in anger. “I don’t understand what is up with him. First, he refused to provide security for that girl and now, wants us to risk everything for her.”

Arjun was quiet since long. He was still trying to comprehend what and how everything had happened so suddenly.

“Sir, isn’t it better that we first try to negotiate with them from outside and then, act, may be.”, Shree tried to reason.

“Of course! But we can’t do that now. Because the Commissioner has refused to give in to any demands, without even knowing what they are even asking for. So, we need to go in, NOW”, an irritated Rathore ordered. 

“Only one of us will go in", Arjun finally spoke up. “We can’t risk so many lives.”

The team very well knew that the girl was such an important lead for the case. Her picture in Shamsher's computer was the proof. The enemies might have been desperately looking for her all this while, and now that they had found her at her college, her life was at risk. They could take her away with them or might end her life here, but with her, their hopes to find Sikander could end as well. If this was all being done by Sikander and gang, they still had a chance. They might be here.

“Raute, you go in. We will handle the rest!”, Rathore spoke determined, placing an assuring hand on his shoulder.

“Yes Sir”, Shree and Chotu agreed.

Arjun looked at them and thanked his stars for having them in his life.

“What would I do without you?”, he looked at them and said.

“Nothing!”, Rathore joked. “You go in, we’ll call for backup and provide you with any help you want. Just take care of yourself.”

15 minutes later

Arjun carried Riya in his arms and ran towards  the ETF SUV, his face full of concern. 

Rathore saw his lifeless face and came running towards him, but stopped as soon as he saw him carrying Riya.

 Rathore looked at Arjun horrified, expecting the worst. Arjun had read his eyes, he nodded his head, assuring that Riya was still alive. 

Shree and Chotu, too joined them. Arjun asked Chotu to drive, while he and Rathore made Riya sit between them. Shree called the hospital in advance. Throughout the journey, Arjun kept on looking at Riya’s face. Her face was pale, almost lifeless. Blood oozing out from the corner of her lips, her forehead. Her elbows were bruised, clothes dirty, jeans torn near the knees. Rathore, on the other hand, kept shifting his gaze between Riya and Arjun. 

Riya was unconscious, but Arjun, wasn’t in his senses too. He hadn’t spoken a word since he returned, that was so unlike him. Something was definitely very wrong, more than what met the eye.

Still, he chose to kept mum. May be it was Riya’s condition that was bothering him, he tried to convince himself. In few minutes, they reached the hospital. Shree helped Arjun take Riya inside, and within no time, she was in the emergency room.

The four of them waited outside in anticipation. It was after an hour, that the doctor told them about Riya’s condition.

“Nothing major. Some minor cuts and injuries. It seems that the cut on her stomach, though made with a very sharp object, is luckily superficial, not very deep.”

Arjun closed his eyes hearing his last words, and this time, all three of them had noticed it. Rathore’s doubt no longer remained one. He immediately pulled him aside and asked,

“Raute, what happened in there?”, his voice, concerned.

Arjun didn’t say a word. Rathore held him by his shoulders. “Raute!”, his voice softened, “You are scaring me!”.

Arjun embraced Rathore in a hug, but said nothing. Yet the message was clear. 

Chotu signaled the Doctor to come with him. He quickly made arrangements to shift Riya into a private room, with an attached hall where they could work for the time being. They couldn’t leave Riya here alone, not even for a second.

Rathore, Shree and Chotu waited patiently for Arjun in the hall. Arjun was with the Doctor, who was here to check on the vitals of Riya. The doctor left in a minute or two, and then came the moment of truth. Arjun took a deep breath and entered the hall, closing the door of Riya’s room carefully.

He sat on the couch facing the trio.

 Silence prevailed in the room and everyone waited for Arjun to speak. Gathering courage, Arjun did speak, something that none of them were expecting.

“Shamsher did it. The hostage setup was just a façade. They wanted to harm Riya and ultimately, me.”

The trio kept mum and he continued.

“They locked all the students in the auditorium, but took Riya with them. They somehow knew I was going to be there. As soon as I reached, their actual plan began. They tied me and then they took me to where they had kept Riya..”, he took a deep breath and gulped.

The trio held onto their breaths , trying not to think any worse.

“Riya was drugged and tortured, she was bleeding, hurt just the way… Roshni was.”

They were shocked. Rathore immediately got up from where he was sitting and moved next to Arjun. He kept his hand on Arjun’s shoulder in an attempt to extend support to him, but in vain. His move completely shattered him.

“Rathore, they hit her, just the way they once did it to Roshni, in front of me.” , Arjun shouted.

“They dragged her on the floor. And then…”

“One of them, took out a knife, and was about to stab Riya, just like the way they did to Roshni.” 

By now, Arjun was on the floor weeping uncontrollably. Shree rushed to get water while Chotu and Rathore helped Arjun get up.

Arjun got up but didn’t stop speaking.

“But they didn’t, Rathore. They didn’t kill her. They gave her a cut here”, he said pointing to his stomach. The listeners were shocked beyond words.

“To show me, what they they could do. What they did once, they could do it again.”, Arjun shouted at the top of his voice.

The trio tried to calm Arjun down, but of no use.

“You know, who was there to witness all this. Pathan Lala…. Rathore, that b****** was there, to see me suffer, all over again.”

This was the last straw. Neither of them was expecting anything like this. All of this was planned. Right from Riya's picture in Shamsher’s computer to abducting her in her college.

“She is in this state because of me. I am responsible for this.”, Arjun spoke, accusing himself.

“Enough of this Raute!”, a concerned Rathore spoke, but angrily. 

“Stop this! Stop immediately. You have no right to blame all of this on you.”

Arjun shook his head vigorously, not wanting to hear a word.

“I've another one on me, Sameer", he said hugging Rathore. 

“Another guilt I’ll have to carry throughout this life. I couldn’t save Roshni, and now..”

“But now, you can save Riya! Raute”, he shook him, to break his trance.

“With Roshni, you didn’t have a chance, with Riya, you do. You can save her! You have saved her!”, Rathore tried to convince Arjun.

After a long pause, Arjun spoke,

“Yes, you are right. We can save her, Rathore. Please send her as far away as possible from this mess. Send her to a place where no one can find her, out of the country maybe.”

By now, Rathore had realized it was not Arjun who was speaking, these were the words of a broken, guilty man, not wanting to add on to his miseries any further.

“Sir, think about it. They are so dangerous. Do you think any place is safe for her?”, Shree tried to help Rathore in pacifying Arjun.

“Why are they doing this is to her? She has got nothing to do with Arjun Sir, I simply don’t understand.”, Chotu tried to reason.

“Whatever be the reason, we now know of them being after us. It’s the time we hold onto Riya. Clearly she isn’t the one they are directly looking for. If it were so, they had their golden chance today. They could have taken her along or killed her, whatever they wanted to rather than waiting for us to show up and save her. This was just a threat, to show Arjun what they can do.”, Rathore spoke.

“And if Shamsher and Pathan Lala, both were present there, we are very sure their boss, Sikander would have been involved too. They could have done it on his orders.”, Shree reasoned.

“What if they presumed Riya to be Arjun sir's…”, Chotu didn’t speak any further, but his words made sense.

Sikander and gang might have mistaken Riya to be the woman in Arjun’s life. And thus, they kidnapped Riya to hurt Arjun, again. 

“I'll find him and bury him alive. It’s time he rots in hell. But you just, send her away.”, Arjun swore out aloud.

“Only this girl can help us reach Sikander.”, all heads turned towards the Commissioner,  who was standing at the door.

“If that’s what they think of Riya, we'll let them. She will be our bait, to deceive them, to trick that b****** out. Because as far as I know, this was just the beginning. Nobody, other than Rathore and me, knew about ETF being officially assigned Sikander's case. Not even you guys. I am sure that’s why his men are trying to threaten us to back off.”

Arjun, Shree and Chotu looked at Rathore questioningly and he continued,

“Yes, last week, Sir had decided to officially give the case to us. But, it was just between me and him, I don’t know how come this news reached them, even before…”, Rathore couldn’t believe.

“All said and done, I can’t think of any reason you are suggesting to push Riya into this trap, that too, for me.”, Arjun refused.

“It’s not just for you! A criminal like Sikander, roaming around freely, is not just your concern. It is the society’s concern as well.”

“But, it has got nothing to do with Riya.”, Arjun protested.

“It had nothing to do with Roshni, too. Yet, we are here.”, Commissioner argued back.

“Roshni’s fault was that she was my wife, Arjun Raute's wife. And just this was enough to get her killed.”

“Arjun, they think the same about Riya. I am not saying that I want to sacrifice her. I agree she is unfortunate to have landed in a mess she is not anyhow related to, but you know that Sikander is not going to let her come out of it so easily. We’ll save her. I have full faith in my men. Rest, it is for you to decide. You had been asking me for this chance for so long, now that you have it, you want to step back. I might not be able to get you this chance again. Whatever you decide, let me know by tomorrow morning.”

Saying so, the Commissioner left the hospital room, leaving behind the four men, in moral dilemma.

After thinking thoroughly, Rathore spoke,

“He’s not wrong. It’s our responsibility that Riya doesn’t suffer the same fate Roshni had to. It will be our redemption, your redemption. Think about it Arjun. We can nab him this time. It is now or never.”

“I cannot believe it. I have always considered  Commissioner sir as my idol, a father figure in my life. I thought he valued the lives of people, he always supported me in my difficult times. He was the only one he showed faith in me when I talked of Sikander’s existence. But today, he sounds like a completely different person- apathetic and mechanical. And you, you are supporting him?”, Arjun wasn’t convinced at all.

“Arjun, it’s for you to decide now. You want justice for Roshni or not. And trust me, this time, if we join forces, we can get him. Riya can help us. They are here, after us, we don’t need to find them, they will come to us. Think about it. It is the right time.”, Rathore tried to motivate him.

“Sir, we can do it. He won’t be able to escape this time.”, Shree stood up.

“Yes, sir. He is against all of us this time. And if we go down this time, we go down together.”, Chotu lent his support.

“What if we..”,  Arjun spoke meekly.

“No, no, no.. We can’t fail this time Raute. We all trust you, we all trust ourselves. It’s a matter of so many lives now. Yours, ours and most importantly, Riya’s. It is the time to prove that my boys are the best.”

Arjun couldn’t stop himself from smiling, when he heard him say that.

He finally agreed.

“Fine then. It’s time for Sikander to die. But Riya’s safety will be our top most priority. If at any point, it is a matter of her life, we will step back. We can’t let her die for our revenge. Agreed?”

Though everyone nodded in a yes, they all somewhere knew it was not possible. They were pushing this girl into something so dangerous that she might not be able to come out of it, alive. But trusting themselves, they vowed to protect her at all costs.

 “So, are you guys in?”, Arjun asked and smiled.

The four men huddled in a hug, determined in their resolve, unaware that Riya had been listening to all of this.

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