Chapter 22

Bloomie

@bloomie

Part 23 [MEMBERSONLY][NOCOPY]

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

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

Arjun sat back in his chair mv “Shree zaroor kuch na kuch karega, already ek baar hamla kar diya hai. Bas sawaal ye hai ki woh sirf mere aur Riya ke peeche padega ya pure ETF ke? Assets bhale hi freeze ho jaaye lekin usne ab tak koi na koi plan bana liya hoga.”

He falls into thought, hoping to get some clue. There had to be something that could lead them to him before he did. His neurons fired at an enormous speed. A few minutes later, he jerks out of his chair and heads to the record room.

Arjun searched through for the papers he had printed for the dump data analysis. To his dismay, they were all piled up together. He empties the box on the table there and starts searching through it. An hour later, he finally finds the piece of information he was looking for.

Conference room-

Rathore, Riya and Sakshi were seated in their places working on trying to somehow get further information when Arjun barged in.

Arjun: Riya!

Riya(startled): ji sir?

He placed the paper in front of her and pointed to the highlighted number.

Arjun: Chetan ke marne ke baad Shree is hit man se apna kaam karwaya tha, ho sakta hai ki use kuch pata ho. Dekho ye number kiska hai aur phone company se saari details mangwao

Riya: ji

She picked up the paper. As she noted down the number, she realised what the paper was. She looked up to him in shock.

Riya: ye toh dump data analysis hai

Arjun: ha toh?

Riya: kisne kiya?

Arjun: maine

Riya: WHAT?!!?!?

Rathore and Sakshi giggled.

Arjun: are tum sab itna chillate kyun ho?

Riya stared at him without blinking. He could not be serious. Her mind drifted to the conversation they had had previously.

“lekin tajub is baat ka hai ki tech expert ko pakadne ke liye tech se zyaada research hi kaam aaya”

Riya: aapne Shree ko pakadne ke liye… dump data analysis kiya?

Rathore: ha! aur woh bhi akele, pata hai?

Her eyes widened in terror. She looked at Arjun as if he was some alien. Arjun glared at Rathore for adding fuel to the fire.

Arjun: Riya! number pata karo!

She snapped out of her thoughts: uh, ji!

She got into the system and contacted the phone company concerned. They waited a few minutes as they sent the details.

Riya: sir, iska naam Sanjay hai

Rathore and Arjun froze. They felt like banging their heads on a wall. The girls looked at them weirdly.

Sakshi: tum dono aise kyun khade ho jaise ki koi bhoot dekh liya ho?

Arjun: Ayesha kaha hai?

Rathore: woh commissioner sir ka phone tha, toh maine use, Chotu aur Liza ko ek peddler pakadne ke liye bheja hai

Arjun: peddler? Seriously?

Rathore: are main kya karu? aur peddler hi tha toh socha woh teeno handle kar lenge

Riya: sir, jo address phone company ke paas hai, woh fake hai aur humare records mein is naam ka hit man toh hai lekin uska koi address nahi hai bas suspected location Lower Parel hai  

Rathore: waha mere kaafi informers hai, main jaakar dekhta…

Riya: sir please akele mat jayiye, Arjun sir aap bhi jayiye na

Rathore smiles: I will be fine Riya

Riya: fir bhi sir, please

Rathore: agar Arjun mere saath aayega toh yaha kaun rahega?

Riya: office ke andar itne logon ke beech woh kuch nahi karega aur Chotu bhi toh baakhi sabke saath jaldi aa jaayega, aap dono jayiye please warna aap unke aane ka wait kijiye aur unke saath kisi ko le jayiye

Arjun: Riya woh ETF ka Chief…

Riya: aur aap bhi ETF ke second in command hai! marte-marte bache na teen baar?

Rathore mutters audible enough for Arjun: chaar

He glares at him. Sameer gives him a goofy grin.

Sameer: theek hai Riya, hum dono jaate hai lekin tum khayal rakhna (turning to Sakshi) tumhari gun aur iski body same hai, chalti hi nahi

Riya (embarrassed): sir!

Sakshi scowls at him.

Sakshi: lekin Sameer tumhare kitne bhi informers kyun na ho, woh area bahot bada hai search karte-karte kam se kam ek do din lagenge

Sameer: ha toh main kaunsa khud dhundhne waala hun? Unhe bas inform karna hai, chale Rawte?

He nodded. They sprinted out of the office and jumped into the car.

Sameer: ab kya karenge? Uske paas information hogi woh kaise mili kya bolenge? Itni jaldi kaise mil gaya?

Arjun(irritated): gadhe ho tum ek number ke!

Sameer: excuse me?

Arjun: usne mujhe kal maarne ka plan kiya, tab se ab tak usne Tarun se contact nahi kiya aur nahi news meri maut ghum rahi hai. obviously unhe pata chal gaya hoga ki plan fail ho gaya hai. Agar Sanjay ke paas zyaada information hai toh woh apna plan change kar denge aur! Nahi bhi hai toh bhi, uske badle kisi aur ko hire karenge

Sameer (angrily): toh interrogation nahi karna?

Arjun: karna hai

Sameer: toh shut up! Zyaada dimag mat jhaad!

Arjun: are…

Sameer: warna main Riya ko kal raat ke baare mein bata dunga!

Horrified at the thought, he shuts up and looks straight ahead. Sameer shakes his head in disbelief as he drives to the police station.

At the station-

Arjun punches Sanjay hard on his face making him shriek in pain.

Sameer: are pehle puch toh sahi, maar kyun raha hai?

Arjun: isliye taaki use na bolne ki keemat pata chale

Sameer shook his head in disbelief as Arjun grabbed Sanjay’s hair.

Arjun: tujhe Tarun ne kya kaam diya tha?

Sanjay: tumhe…tumhe maarne ka

Arjun: aur kya? Kya Karne Waale The Tum?

Sanjay remains mum. Angry, Arjun punches him again breaking his jaw. The hit man screams in agony.

Arjun: BOL!!!!

He moaned in pain: baad, ladki… ko…

Arjun: LADKI KO KYA?!?!!

Sanjay: kidnap…

Sameer clenched his fists mv “firse Riya ko kidnap karne ki koshish kar raha hai Shree? Is baar haath aane do! Dammit!!! Tum itna kaise gir sakte ho Shree?!!?”

Arjun grabs his collar: Aur Kya Plan Tha Tum Logon Ka? (Shaking Him) Aur Kya Karne Ko Kaha Tha Usne?!?

Sanjay: team ko… khatam… karna

Arjun and Sameer look at each other in shock. Leaving Sanjay, Arjun stormed out of the room. Rathore follows him. They were both furious. That damn man had the audacity to start all of it again! And this time he was after the entire team? Arjun felt a fire burning inside of him. If that ba*tard tried as much as to breathe in Riya’s direction, he would empty his gun inside him. At the same time, they also realise Riya's fears were right. Shree would come after all of them. Now that Sanjay was captured, they would try to execute their plans in a different way or through someone else.

The car ride back to the office remained silent with both being lost in their own thoughts. Rathore looked up to see the sun setting on the horizon.

Rathore: tumhe kya lagta hai Arjun, humara agla step kya hona chahiye? ab tak Shree, Riddhima ya Tarun teeno mein se kisi ki koi khabar nahi mili hai. woh teeno jaha bhi hai definitely koi plan bana rahe hai, Sanjay ke pakde jaane se woh bhale hi delay honge lekin chup nahi

Arjun sighed: mujhe nahi pata Rat…

He stops abruptly recalling Riya’s words in the morning.

Sameer: Rawte?

Arjun: Rathore! Riya ne kaha tha ki Shree karodpati ka beta hai

Rathore: ha toh? humne uske assets freeze karne ki procedure shuru kar di hai, kal shaam tak bank ki taraf se…

Arjun: nahi Rathore! Woh toh hai hi lekin socho, woh do bungalow aur woh ghar jaha Riddhima chup rahi thi woh toh hai hi, lekin saath-saath aur bhi toh properties hongi. Woh log unhi mein se koi jagah use kar rahe honge

Rathore: lekin Rawte, Shree ye nahi sochega ki hum ye sab check karenge?

Arjun: sochega lekin! Zaroori thodi hai ki saari properties legal ho, benaami bhi toh ho sakti hai

Rathore: kaise dhundhenge?

Arjun: dhundhna padega Rathore, aur koi option nahi hai aur jo legal hai unhe bhi check karna hoga! Shree, Riddhima, Tarun aur Avinash, chaaron ke naam ki properties check karni hogi.

Rathore: aur Tarun Enclave mein kaam karta tha, ho sakta hai kuch properties ke possession uske paas ho professional purposes ke liye. Unhe bhi trace karte hai

Arjun nods. They sprint into the office and relay orders to the rest of the team. Riya, Ayesha and Chotu quickly work on a list of the legal properties and the ones that were in Tarun’s care. At the same time, Rathore, Arjun, Ayesha and Chotu put their informers to work, finding out about the illegal ones. Rathore splits the team into three groups.

Arjun and Riya in one, Rathore, Ayesha and Liza in the second and Chotu and Sakshi in the third. They were all to start searching for signs of life in the dormant but potential lairs of the villain. They took off in different directions to scour through the city.  

Chotu braked outside a penthouse in Lower Parel.

Sakshi: ye toh band pada hai

Chotu(thoughtfully): lekin watchman bhi nahi hai? aisa kaise?

Sakshi: use pata hoga ki koi aata hi nahi, isliye gutli maar li hogi

Chotu: fir bhi, ek baar check karna padega

Sakshi: toh chalo!

They got out of the car. Chotu pushed open the iron gate. They went in two different directions, around the house. Chotu inspected the windows trying to figure out a way to get in. Just then,

Sakshi: AAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!!

Shocked, he runs in the direction of her voice. Just as he turns around the corner a rod comes down heavily on his head. The impact throws him behind. The skin on his forehead tore causing blood to flood out. His vision blurred as he fell to the ground. A hazy image of his assailant was the last thing he saw.

Carter Road-

Rathore stops at the signal. He props his elbow on the window sill and rubs his temple.

Liza: sir, ye properties toh theek hai lekin are we sure ki Shree desh ya shehar chodne ki planning nahi kar raha hai? for all we know woh literally bhaag raha ho

Rathore: uh… actually nahi, we have confirm intel ki woh attack plan kar raha hai

Liza: confirm intel? Kaha se? kab? Kaise?

He and Ayesha exchange glances.

Ayesha: ek bharosemand khabri hai Liza, usne kaha ki woh kuch gundo ko collect kar raha hai

Liza: oh, but sir I still feel ki hume…

Their conversation was interrupted by a knock on Ayesha's window. They turned in the direction to see a beggar child in his mid-teens. Ayesha stuffed her hand into her pocket while pushing down the button for opening the window.

He throws a metal cylinder into the car and runs away. A gas fills up the space of the car, the half open window barely doing anything.

Rathore: What the…

Liza covers her nose recognising the tingling feeling that it caused: nitrous oxide…

The strong dose gets into their system immediately. They start laughing hysterically. Their mind is numbed within seconds. Rathore tasted metal in his mouth as he hit the steering wheel while guffawing. Ayesha clutched the edge of her seat to try and control herself. Liza falls on the backseat as the gas tickles her mercilessly. Her hand tries to open the lock of the door. She fumbles as her body shakes with laughter. The sedative effects quickly take over and lull the three of them into deep sleep.

On the other hand-

Riya was completely silent in the car. He glanced at her every now and then hoping to see changes in her face. However, the curves on her forehead did not act as he wished them to. Instead, every time he looked, it seemed as though there was a new wrinkle gracing her face. He gently placed his hand on hers. She snapped out of her thoughts.

Arjun: tensed ho?

Her face flattens: nahi bahot khush hu

Arjun chuckled and pulled over. She sighed as he entwined her fingers with hers.

Arjun: we’ll get him Riya

Riya: I know par… agar kisi ko kuch…

Arjun: Riya hum ETF hai, khatron se ladna humare liye roz ka kaam hai, fir chahe woh Shree ho, ya fir koi aur

Riya: lekin har dushman aisa toh nahi hota jo hume dost ki tarah jaane, humari taaqat, humari kamzori sab kuch jaanta hai woh, bas isi liye thoda zyaada dar lag raha hai. pichle kuch dino mein uska jo chehra mere saamne aaya hai use main chah kar bhi bhula nahi paati. Aisa lagta hai jaise ki woh koi aur hi hai, koi ajnabi hai. Agar main pehle hi uska asli chehra samaj jaati toh shayad kuch logon ki jaan bach jaati

Arjun: Riya pehchaan toh hum mein se koi bhi nahi paaya, warna tum bach jaati

She lowered her eyes.

Arjun: jo ho chuka hai use hum nahi badal sakte aur kya tumhara itna tension lene se sab safe rahenge?

She nodded a no.

Arjun: toh fir kyun ye sab soch rahi ho? sochna hai toh ye socho ki kaise woh humare haath aayega

She smiled lightly: aap sahi keh rahe hai… thank you

Arjun: are maine kaha tha na? (she looked at him in confusion) you are always welcome

She blushed a little. He smiled and cupped her face.

Arjun: bharosa rakho, sab theek ho jaayega

She held his hand and nodded. He embraced her. She closed her eyes feeling the security of his hold.

Riya: pata hai Arjun sir, jab bhi aapke saath hoti hu toh aisa lagta hai jaise duniya ki koi bhi taaqat mere saath kuch bura nahi kar sakti, aap humesha meri himmat ban jaate hai

Arjun smiled and kissed her forehead. He was about to say something when their car jolted. Before they could realise anything, they were pushed on the road.

Riya: Arjun Sir!!

He grabbed the steering wheel while looking into the mirror. Another SUV had crashed into them from behind and was now dragging their car. Arjun quickly steered in another direction. Riya removed her gun and loaded it. She peeped out the window and aimed at the tyre. Their car changed direction just as she fired, making her miss.

Riya: Dammit sir!

Arjun was still trying to control the circular motion of the vehicle. He flipped the wheel again and straightened the vehicle to make a quick escape. Changing gear, he pushed the accelerator. Unfortunately for them, the assaulting vehicle too had changed direction. It crashed into the bonnet of their car from the side. His hand went reflexively in front of Riya’s body to protect her.

Arjun: Riya shoot!

However, she doesn’t get the chance to. Another SUV showed up from behind and crashed into them from behind. She screamed at the jerk. Arjun cursed the lot of them desperately trying to change direction but the bonnet crash had sent the systems for a toss.

Arjun: Dammit!!!

The SUV behind them continued to push them with full force as the one on the side reversed. Arjun earnestly pressed the brakes but it was of no use. She peeped out the window and fired a shot. The windshield of the SUV shattered.

Arjun: take the driver!

Riya: visible nahi…

The SUV on the side changed gear and sped on full throttle! It crashed into the car, ramming it against a tree on the sidewalk.

Arjun: Riyaa!!!

Her head crashed with the window sill while he fell on her. The windows had shattered. The metal had scrunched. Dizzy, Arjun looked up to find Riya unconscious. There was blood trickling down from the side of her head.

A whisper managed to leave his lips: Riya…

He tried to push himself straight. A pin stabbed his neck. His hand goes to sting. He feels the metal of a dart before falling unconscious himself……………………..