Chapter 21

Bloomie

@bloomie

Part 21 [MEMBERSONLY][NOCOPY]

Rathore: they ran off!

Arjun: KYYYAAA?!?!?!..................................

Rathore sighs: ha

Arjun: WOH LOG KYA BHAJAN GAA RAHE THE WAHA PAR?!!? AISE KAISE BHAAG GAYE?!?

Rathore: attack hua, do havaldaar shaheed bhi ho gaye smoke grenade se sabki aankhon mein dhul jhonk diya…(he mutters angrily) Zaroor Ye Sab Us Tarun Ne Hi Kiya Hoga Undono Ko Chudaane Ke Liye, Dammit!!! Is Kamine Ko Toh Main Chodunga Nahi!!

Arjun: teeno ke liye red alert jaari karo!!

Rathore: Rawte! Riya ko lekar aao, uska akela rehna theek nahi

Arjun nods and immediately calls her.

On the other hand-

Riya was clearing dishes after breakfast when her phone rang. A smile appeared on her face seeing Arjun’s name flash across the screen.

Riya: good morning sir!

Arjun: good morning Riya, ghar par ho?

Riya: ji sir, bas nikal hi rahi thi office ke liye

Arjun: tum ruko, main lene aata hun

Riya(surprised): uh ok sir

Call Disconnect

She looked at the screen mv “inhe achanak kya hua?” She recalls the previous night and blushes. With a smile playing on her lips she goes to gather her belongings.

Rathore’s house-

Arjun: nikli nahi abhi tak, main lekar aata hun use office

Rathore nods: theek hain, pehle apna ghaav chupa lena

Arjun: tujhse zyaada mujhe fikar hai uski (standing up) bye!

Rathore: suno

Arjun looks up as he wears his shoes: ha?

Rathore: use tum hi bata dena ki Shree…

Arjun sighed and hummed in response. Pulling on the other shoe, he quickly left. Stopping at a cosmetic store, he bought a concealer and applied it to his neck in the car. He settled and adjusted his collar to hide the patch and drove off in full speed to Riya’s house. He messages her when he reaches below her apartment. She came within a few minutes and sat inside. Arjun hoped that she didn’t notice the injury. She greeted him pleasantly.

Riya: good morning Arjun sir

He heaved a sigh of relief: good morning Riya, chale?

She nodded. He twisted the key in the ignition and started driving towards the office. She gazed out the window, enjoying his presence and stealing glances at him every now and then. Meanwhile, he was thinking of how to break the news to her. He gripped the steering wheel. Finally, gathering his thoughts, he pulled over.

Riya(confused): kya hua sir? hum yaha kyun ruke?

Arjun turns to her and takes her hand in his. A tint appears on her cheeks.

Arjun: Riya, mujhe tumse ek bahot zaroori baat karni hai

Riya: yaha?

Arjun: ha actually, Riya dekho, tum ghabrana mat, hum sab yahi hai, main bhi hun tumhare saath

Riya: main kyun ghabraungi? Kya hua?

Arjun cups her face with his other hand: Riya darasal, aaj court ki pehli date di Shree aur Riddhima ki

Riya: oh mujhe gavahi ke liye jaana padega?

Arjun: nahi Riya, darasal jab, jab police unhe court le jaa rahi thi toh un par attack hua (her eyes widen in horror) aur woh log bhaag gaye

Riya froze. Her neurons started firing at an incredible speed. She felt goosebumps all over.

Arjun: Riya?

She could barely let out words: bhaag…. Bhaag gaya? iska…iska matlab ki… (panicking) woh firse aapke peeche padega!! Woh firse mujhe…

Arjun: Riya kuch nahi hoga! please shaant ho jao

She teared up: lekin Arjun sir woh…

Arjun: Riya, humne red alert issue kar diya hai, hum jaldi use pakad lenge

Riya: sir woh bahot khatarnaak hai sir main…

Arjun squeezed her hand: ha Riya, par we’ll find him. Please daro mat, main hun na? tumhe kuch nahi hoga

Riya: Arjun sir woh…

Arjun: do you trust me?

She nods. He hugs her.

Arjun: toh bharosa rakho Riya, kuch nahi hoga

Riya: aap mujhse kuch chupa toh nahi rahe haina?

A flicker of guilt washed over him. Shrugging it off, he answered.

Arjun: nahi Riya

She just tightened her hold on him. He softly kissed her head to comfort her. He separated from her when he felt she had calmed down.

Arjun: tum theek ho?

She took a deep breath and nodded. Arjun squeezed her hand in assurance earning a small smile. Satisfied, he turns to the wheel and starts driving again.

ETF-

The entire team had gathered. They were waiting for Rathore to arrive from headquarters. He barged in muttering curses under his breath. They were all shocked when he announced that Shree and Riddhima had eloped.

Chotu: bhaag gaya?!!? Agar Usne Firse Ri Ko Kuch Bhi Kiya Toh Uski Chutney Bana Kar Kha Jaunga Main!

Sakshi: lekin ye sab hua kaise? Kaun uski madad kar raha hai?

Arjun: ek baat aur, woh is sab ko afford kaise kar raha hai? Riya ke liye woh guards, security, getting people killed, Chetan ek high end professional hit man hai, obviously paise bhi zyaada lega, rishwat dekar cases band karwana, headquarters se files gayab karwaana? Aur itni sari properties? Uska ghar, the one where Riddhima underground thi, Riya ko rakhne waale do bungalow?

Rathore scratches his chin: baat toh sahi…

Riya: zyaada mat sochiye sir, Shree karodpati ka beta hai, unke bachpan mein unki maa ki cancer se death ho gayi thi, jab Shree 16 saal ka tha tab uske father ki bhi death ho gayi. Woh aur uski behan dono mein se kisi ko business mein interest nahi tha, toh unhone sab kuch bech diya and! Inherited properties, bank balance sab kuch toh tha hi, woh kuch bhi kar sakta hai!

Arjun: fir toh aasan hai, Riya list banao, uske saare assets freeze karo. fir woh zyaada din tak chup nahi paayega

She nods.

Arjun: Ayesha, Chotu, apne informers ko loop mein rakho!

Rathore: hm, aur red alert toh jaari kar hi diya hai humne.

Liza: sir, fir bhi risk nahi lena chahiye

Rathore: matlab?

Liza: sir Shree ko Riya ke ghar ke baare mein bhi toh pata hoga, I think hume police protection leni chahiye

Riya doesn’t answer. She was worried if he tried to kidnap her again but another thought was racing through her head. He had killed 4 people and tried to kill Arjun three times. It was only likely that he would come after them as well. Not just him, but the entire ETF. He would try to take revenge on all of them.

Ayesha placed a hand on her shoulder jolting her out of her thoughts.

Riya: ha?

Ayesha: are you ok?

She sighs: woh mujhse pehle, aap logon ke peeche aayega (glancing at all of them, she teared up) please aap log apna khayal rakhna

Arjun stiffened as he observed guilt trickling onto her face. If anything serious did happen, she would never be able to move on from it. And there he was hiding the truth from her. She was right, Shree was coming after them first. Her words ring in his ear.

“aap mujhse kuch chupa toh nahi rahe haina?”

She would kill him if she came to know that Sanjay had attacked him.

With similar thoughts, Rathore and Ayesha glance at each other and then at Arjun. He subtly shakes his head.

Rathore sighs: waise Liza ki baat bhi sahi hai…

Arjun: police? Seriously Rathore? Itna sab kuch hone ke baad tum chahte ho ki hum local police par bharosa kare? Humare paas imandaar officer dhundhne ka time nahi hai. jab tak ye sort out nahi ho jaata, Riya, tum mere saath ghar chalo

All eyes widened on hearing this. Rathore smirked mv “laga re Romeo! Shayad isi bahane woh Shree ke baare mein kam soche”

Riya: lekin… main, mera matlab… (Arjun raised his eyebrow, she gulped) ok! (changing the topic) I think mujhe pata hai ki jail ke baahar kaun unki madad kar raha hai

Chotu: kaun?

Riya: Tarun, Riddhima ka pati

Rathore: tumhe pata hai uske baare mein?

Arjun glares at him. Rathore winces mentally.

Riya: of course sir, aap aise kyun puch rahe hai?

Rathore: nahi mera kehne ka matlab tha ki tumhe aur kya pata hai uske baare mein

Riya: oh… Shree ne kaha tha ki woh engineer hai, Enclave mein kaam karta hai. Agar Tarun involved nahi bhi hai, toh bhi I am 100% sure ki use kuch na kuch toh pata hi hoga, unka beta bhi hai Avinash, Riddhima usse milne ki koshish zaroor karegi lekin…

Liza: lekin kya?

Riya: usne ye sab ache se plan kiya hai, aur woh ye bhi jaanta hai ki mujhe uski family ke baare mein pata hai aur main definitely aap logon ko bata dungi matlab usne pehle hi Tarun aur Avinash ko ache se chupa diya hoga

Rathore mutters: ha chupa diya hai already

Chotu: kya sir?

Rathore: uh kuch nahi

Chotu: fir bhi sir ek baar check karne mein kya harz hai? uske office aur bache ke school jaa kar dekhte hai

Rathore nods: Ayesha tum aur Chotu jaa kar uske office mein pata karo, Sakshi tum school phone karke pucho, Riya tum uske properties wagera ke baare mein pata karo

Chorus: yes sir!

As expected, they receive no fruitful information from either the office or the school. Riya works on Shree’s assets.

Sakshi: baap re! itni badi list? Shree itna ameer tha?

Riya: ab nahi rahega (she prints out a letter for the bank) main sir ki sign lekar aati hu

Sakshi nods as she leaves for Rathore’s cabin. Rathore readily signs on the letter and asks her to send it to the concerned authorities as soon as possible. She agrees and leaves the cabin. Her feet turn towards the conference room but stop mid-way. Her gaze falls to the nearby room. Taking a deep breath, she goes ahead and knocks.

Arjun stops talking on the phone: come in (Riya enters) jaldi pata karo!

He disconnects the call and places his phone on the table.

Arjun: ha Riya?

Riya: woh sir…uh, actually woh…

Arjun: kya hua? Koi problem hai?

Riya averts her gaze: nahi darasal, mujhe… mujhe aapse se kuch, kuch puchna tha

Arjun smiles: pucho

Riya: woh aapne, subah kaha ki main… main aapke saath ghar aau?

Arjun: ha yaad hai mujhe

Riya: main… kaise? I mean, aapko problem nahi hai (He raises his eyebrow) mera matlab ki aap comfortable hai?

Arjun somehow manages to control his smile. He walks upto her and cups her face.

Arjun: sach kahu toh (her eyes flutter, not wanting to listen to his refusal) mujhe tumhe permanently waha shift karne mein bhi koi problem nahi hai (her eyes widened in shock) aise kyun dekh rahi ho? kal raat ki baatein bhul gayi?

She blushed profusely: main…(stepping away) main chalti hun, bank ko letter bhejna hai

She runs away leaving a smiling Arjun behind………………………