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'I don't want the money… I want to study!' said the boy staring both hopefully and earnestly at Freddy, who was still too shocked to react.

Both Sachin and Freddy had just offered the little boy a 1000-rupee note and were preparing to leave when they heard the boy say this to them. 'Come with me. I'll take you home', said Freddy even without a second thought. He looked briefly at Sachin, and the later gave him an understanding nod. 'I will make sure you get the best education', he confirmed as he took the boy's little hands in his palm and gave it a squeeze.

The boy was plainly overjoyed and that was visible on his face as well. 'What owner sir say?' he asked. 'Don't worry about that. How can he make a small child work in a restaurant? I'll show him who I am' said Sachin, as he and Freddy gave the boy looks of assurance. 'By the way son, what is your name?' asked Freddy.

'Chotu', the little fellow replied as the three made their way towards the exit.

'Walking around and wasting the time is all you do!' the hotel owner almost screamed into Freddy's ear, scaring him out of his wits. 'Who me?' he asked, visibly surprised; rubbing the side of his ears. 'I am referring to this nitwit' the hotel owner, now almost boiling with anger retorted, pointing to the tiny trembling figure besides Freddy. 'How dare you call him a nitwit?' screamed an angry Sachin moving forward, ready to punch him. But Freddy intervened and placed a warning hand over him. So he said nothing more.

'Sharma-ji, I going with this sir to…', began Chotu, only to be stopped short by Freddy. 'You owe him no explanation', he affirmed giving Sharma-ji a dirty look. And much to the hotel owner's surprise, Sachin flung the wash cloth that the boy was using to clean the tables, at him, before the trio made a dramatic exit – the boy in the centre, flanked by two very happy officers, who had by then, taken over the role of his guardian angels.

It was close to midnight. And the three kept walking in silence. They could have afforded a taxi. But, No! They didn't want to take one. They wanted to walk. They wanted to stall time. They wanted to think!

Each had a different thought running through his head – Chotu was happy. No. 'Happy' was an underrated word. He was ecstatic. He was overjoyed. And he was delighted! All he could see in front of his eyes were books and teachers and blackboards and himself in a smart school uniform. He was looking forward to it.

Sachin was worried about Freddy. He seemed very content and happy after they had shared their troubles. But now again, he seemed to have gone back into a depression mode. There was another thing that worried him even more. They had left the bureau for lunch. It was almost close to midnight. They still had an hour's walk left. What would the others think of them? What would they think of him? They knew that Freddy wouldn't go out alone, and all by himself. Would they blame him for taking him out? For bringing him back so late? For trying to evade responsibility and pass on work? No. That wouldn't do. That wouldn't do at all. He had gone through so much of trouble, worked really hard to get into the CID team. Would this thoughtless act of his get them both into trouble? But again. You can't really consider the act thoughtless. He only tried to help Freddy out. And he succeeded in it. Well almost. Will all of that be considered? He sighed, and thought to himself 'I'll handle the situation as it comes' as he walked ahead.

Freddy was the most disturbed of the lot. He knew he was in serious trouble. ACP was sure to fire him for leading the new entrant Sachin, astray. Yes!. That's exactly what he would say. Daya and Abhijeet would laugh listening to all of this. Vivek and Tasha would whisper behind his back. And then there was Manisha. Oh God! What was he to tell her about the boy? Out of the sudden enthusiasm he had, he had agreed to take him home and sponsor his studies. But what if Manisha didn't like the idea? She would throw him out. And where could he go? The only friend he had was Sachin. But even he didn't have a home. He was living in a hostel. They were very strict about their timings and Sachin had just been telling him that he may have to spend the night at the bureau because the hostel shuts at 9 and no one can go in after that.

His eyes filled, right up to the brim with tears as he thought of the impending troubles. But he consoled himself thinking of the nice day he had. He had made a friend; he had been the ray of hope for a little boy who almost lost all hopes of enjoying childhood. He felt nice. He looked at their faces. Chotu was happy. And Sachin seemed content. That was all that mattered to him. He thanked the Lord, put on a brave smile, said a small prayer and walked ahead, his head held high.

As they neared the bureau, Sachin checked the time again. It was a half past one. They took longer than they expected. Chotu wasn't very fast. You couldn't blame him. Could you? He was small, and tired after the day's work. His fragile body couldn't take it all. And yet, he had politely refused when Sachin had offered to carry him back. He liked the boy. He was glad that Freddy decided to adopt him. He would have loved to do that too. Only, where could he keep him?

The roads were practically empty. The only sound that could be heard was the soft snores of the roadside dwellers. They could now see the bureau at a distance. Freddy began trembling again. His newfound courage seemed to have vanished. Some where in the distance a dog could be heard barking. His heart was beating faster. Sachin, he wanted to call out. But no sound would come out. His hands had gone cold. And Chotu noticed it.

'What happened sir?', he asked ' You scared of dog?'. 'Nnn… No!', he stammered. Sachin turned around to look and realized that Freddy was trembling inside out. 'Sir', he said. 'There is going to be no one in the bureau now. We only have to face them tomorrow. We can think of something by then!' he assured him.

'Well, if you say so!' said Freddy, still unsure.

He was scared. He didn't want to accept it. He knew he would have at least 10 missed calls on his mobile from Manisha. And he would have to call her back. Why did he forget to carry his mobile along? She wouldn't be half as mad if he had answered her calls on time. Even Sachin's mobile had drained out before they reached the restaurant. He suddenly realized that he hadn't informed anybody regarding his whereabouts.

And then there was Chotu. Should he tell her about him now? Or would it be better if she saw him first? And if she didn't let him in, where was he to go? What if he didn't call her then, and waited for morning? No. That would only make her go wild. The more he kept thinking of it, the more worried he got.

He didn't want to reach the bureau too early. He wanted to make sure that everyone had left. He aimlessly kept kicking pebbles on the road as he walked along. 'No sir, Don't!', began Sachin. But he was late. The pebble Freddy kicked, had hit one of the sleeping road dwellers, who angrily charged forward with his friends in tow.

It took Sachin a good 15 minutes of apologizing, and Rs. 2,500/- as compensation to convince them that it was an accident. They finally left, after threatening to beat up Freddy if he ever 'caused' these accidents again.

That was it. Freddy was quite sure that his day, rather night was ruined. He was a bit superstitious when it came to these matters. For the second time that day, he began howling. He sat on a ledge nearby and refused to move. Sachin didn't know what to say, and so he sat with his arm around Freddy.

Li'l Chotu was feeling very sleepy. His day had started at 4 in the morning. He had been working for almost 17 hours before Freddy decided to adopt him. He was finding it very difficult to keep his eyes open. And Sachin and Freddy seemed to go on talking. He did the best he could. He lay down by the side of the ledge and drifted into sleep – deep sleep.

He wasn't aware of anything that happened afterwards. He didn't realize that Sachin, who with his other hand was also supporting a confused Freddy, was carrying him. He didn't know that they had reached the lift and had pressed the button that would take them to the bureau.

And none of them knew what they had in store for them at the bureau.

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A/N:

Thank you for taking your time off and reading my story! Concluding part – next week.