Chapter 5 – The Merge
Arjun stood on the balcony of his home, gazing at the full moon. His face reflected the heavy thoughts running in his mind. He suddenly became alert, hearing the footsteps. A silhouette of a man came into his view.
“Sam, why are you walking like a thief?”, asked Arjun.
Sameer Rathore looked at him.
“Acha, now you are calling me Sam! In office you always call me Rathore, Khadoos kahinka…”, muttered Sam.
Arjun chuckled at his best friends for years.
“Pouting look doesn’t suite you Sam.”
Sameer’s countenance changed from pouting to a bit more serious.
“Juno, kab tak hum aise dushmano ki tarak act karenge? I miss my best friend. Whenever we get into our shouting match or when you call me Rathore, it hurts, even though I know that it’s an act.”
Arjun sobered up seeing the change in his friend. He moved next to him and gave him a side hug.
“I know Sam, it is the same for me. But we don’t have any choice.”
“The hell we don’t! We are two of the top cops in the city and can’t we even protect our loved ones without all these dramas???”
Sameer walked towards the ledge of the balcony agitated.
“You know the answer to that Sam… We are not strong enough yet…It is not just about us. There are others depending on us…”
Sameer closed his eyes in frustration as he knew that Arjun was right. Their hands were tied, and one wrong move would result in death and destruction. He took a deep breath and turned back to Arjun.
“Waise Juno, what was that with Riya? You were behaving like a lovesick puppy. Kahi Arjun Suryakanth Rawte ke dil Riya Mukherjee pe aagaya kya?”
This sudden change in topic flustered Arjun. He sighed and looked at the moon.
“Yes… I think I have fallen for her…”
This was not the answer Sameer expected. He looked at Arjun with his mouth hung open.
“I have never felt like this before Sam. Ek ajeeb sa ehsas hai. Jab bi mein usko dekha ya uske bare mein socha, mere dil ko sukoon mila,jo sukoon zindagi mein pehli baar mehsoon kar raha hoon. Even when I know that I would probably end up heartbroken, I can’t help but to think about her. Will I ever get to see her again Sam?”
Sameer felt bad for his best friend. Their lives have been always complicated as far as he could remember. Loving Riya would be another complication in Arjun’s life which may very well break Arjun. Knowing this, he couldn’t give false assurances to Arjun, so he did the next best thing he could do. He held his friend close as they stared at the moon wishing for someone or something to guide them towards a better life, away from all the painful memories of past…
Next day in ETF
Sameer came out of his cabin to inform the team about a new case. He noticed that Liza and Sakshi were nowhere to be seen.
“Aaisha, do you know where Liza and Sakshi are?”
Aaisha nodded her head in denial. Even Chotu and Shree were unaware of their whereabouts.
“They are going to be late…”
ETF members turned towards the source of the voice and found Commissioner Raghu there. They stood up and saluted him which he returned.
“Sir, you are here… Is everything alright?”, enquired Sameer.
“Yes Sameer. Don’t worry, I didn’t bring any bad news. As far as Liza and Sakshi are concerned, I have deliberately tied them up with some work as I need to speak with you people without them.”
Everyone was perplexed by this. Raghu chuckled at this and gave them a gesture that he will explain in a few minutes. He looked back and saw that no one followed him in. Rolling his eyes, he called out.
“Are you going to come in or should I drag you in?”
Sounds of shuffling feets could be heard from the outside of the office. After a minute or so came in Riya, Karan and Tasha. Riya had a pout on her face while Karan was frowning. Tasha was indifferent and had a lollipop in her mouth. ETF team was surprised seeing them. Sameer glanced at Arjun, who had a million watt smile on his face.
“Riya, for God’s sake don’t pout… You too Karan. We have talked about this…”,said an exasperated Raghu.
Riya and Karan looked down, properly chastised. Raghu turned towards ETF team.
“Due to the success of the last mission, everyone has their eyes on ETF team. We told everyone at that time that Riya, Karan, and Tasha are part of ETF team, so we need to maintain that charade for some more time in order to maintain their cover. I have created a research team in ETF, with Riya as the head and Karan and Tasha as her subordinates, with the creation backdated to a month before. If someone asks their past positions, tell that their past work was confidential and a month ago they started assisting ETF remotely with the research work. They are going to be still working for the Pack, so I would want you to cover in case of their absence. Expect the people here, no one should know about their affiliation to the Pack, especially Liza and Sakshi. If Liza and Sakshi ask about how come they didn’t know about the research team, which I am sure at least Sakshi would do, tell them that only Sameer and Arjun were told about this. I am reiterating this, I don’t want anyone else apart from the people here know about the truth. Am I making myself clear?”
The ETF team nodded vigorously. Raghu sighed in relief.
“Riya, Karan, and Tasha. I know that you are frustrated with this situation, but play nice. May be some exposure to the police work would do you good.”
With that last parting word, he bid his goodbye and went back to his office. An awkward atmosphere prevailed at his departure. Arjun broke the ice as he stepped forward to Riya.
“So our paths did collide…”
Riya looked at a smiling Arjun. She gave him a dimple smile and replied.
“Looks like it…”
All these while, Chotu kept on stealing glances at Tasha. Tasha realizing this, walked towards him and took out a lollipop from her pocket. She extended her hand offering him the lollipop which Chotu took eagerly with reverence.
Sameer and Karan rolled their eyes at this exchange. The awkwardness truly broken; Sameer guided them towards the office spaces they would be using.
After an hour or so, Sakshi and Liza came to the office.They were a bit confused seeing the new members. Sameer introduced them. As Raghu correctly predicted, Sakshi had a lot of questions regarding the new members. Sameer went away irritated after scolding her for interfering in the matters which didn’t concern her.
Sakshi saw Arjun sitting next to Riya and stealing glances at her. She narrowed her eyes at this new development. She saw Riya getting up and walking away. Taking this opportunity, she slid next to Arjun. Plastering a wide smile on her face, she spoke to him.
“Arjunnn, dekho na kaise Sameer mujhe scold kiya? Why are you not saying anything to him…”
Arjun ignored her whining. Not taking clue, she continued.
“I wish he is as good as you. You are so nice and handsome. So lovable… And he is such a khadoos…”
Arjun's blood boiled hearing her badmouthing his best friend. He gripped the table to control his anger. Suddenly Riya came back with a tray full of coffee cups and just one look at her, his anger faded away. A smile came into his face as he moved to help Riya carry the tray. Riya thanked him for which she was rewarded with a beautiful smile from him. Riya and Arjun started distributing the coffee to everyone present. Riya forwarded the final cup to Arjun when Sakshi made her presence once again known.
“Arey Riya, Arjun doesn’t drink coffee. He only drinks the cutting chai. I will go and make it for him…”, said she with a saccharine smile.
Riya lifted her eyebrow at this and looked at Arjun who was glaring at Sakshi. If looks could kill, she would have been dead.
“Sakshi, I think Arjun can very well speak for himself. Arjun, would you like to drink this coffee?”
Arjun nodded feverishly and snatched the cup from her. Sakshi fumed while Riya let out a twinkling laugh at Arjun’s eagerness. She turned back to Sakshi and shrugged her shoulder. Sakshi stomped her feet and walked away. Riya looked back at Arjun and raised eyebrow. Arjun sheepishly replied.
“I don’t know what her problem is. She is always flirting with me even though I made it clear many times that I don't have even an iota of interest in her. Trust me, I never lead her on.”
Riya looked at him intensely as if searching for something. After a moment, she broke the eye contact.
“Don’t worry. I will save you from the big bad Sakshi whenever she flirts with you…”, said Riya sending Arjun a wink. He stood there stumped while she walked back to her seat.
Riya did keep her promise that day. Whenever Sakshi approached him, Riya turned his attention to herself making Sakshi fume in anger. Arjun on the other hand felt like he was on cloud nine with Riya’s attention. His demeanor changed 180 degrees, from hotheaded to puppy like, shocking his subordinates. They were having hard time reconciling these two images of Arjun. Nonetheless they were happy (of course except Sakshi), as the ETF team atmosphere considerably lightened, strengthening their bond further. In an extraordinary bit of serendipity, two different worlds collided and merged to become one world, one family…
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