hey all! here's the next update...this will most probably be the second-last chapter of this story. This chapter will continue from the previous one and narrate what happened earlier on that day which made daya so distraught and abhijeet on guard against nightmares...

again, before I begin, my replies to my awesome reviewers whom i could not pm...

Rajvigirl: glad you liked the chap.

DA95: mujhe khushi hai ki aapko dono jodiyan pasand aayin. last ka twist iss chapter ke baad clear ho jayega.

Naina: Thanks for your wishes and your support dear!

Rukmani: It makes me happy that you loved the way the team supported daya. After all, he is the heart of CID! You will be able to understand the end after this chapter.

guest: thanks for your review. I'm trying to update the other story also faster.

so here we go...

Chapter 7: ye tune kya kiya?

In the previous chapter:

Abhijeet was fully aware about what triggered the nightmare. Infact, he was on watch tonight. He had only gone for a minute to get some water when his brother's screams brought him back. And now abhijeet was tensed. If one day without her can bring Daya's nightmares back full force ...how will his brother cope with the days ahead?

That was the last thought in his mind as abhijeet dozed off, succumbing to his exhaustion. It had really been a long, long day...

Ab aage:

Earlier that day:

Scene: CID Bureau:

The bureau was full of laughter. Nothing unusual, just light chit- chat as they await a new case, but frankly, after that tense month and a half without Daya sir, everybody was truly glad for such normal days. The experience had shaken everybody to the core. Watching the heart of CID struggle was a heart wrenching experience for everybody, and they were glad to have their Daya Sir back after defeating the devils of his past. All that had actually instilled in everybody's hearts a sense of respect for life as it was. They now knew better than to crib about workload and this thankless job as they realized that life could have been much worse.

Suddenly, all eyes turned to one corner in the bureau where three people were in fits of laughter. The heart of CID and the sharp shine of CID were laughing madly over some joke by Freddy Sir, just like old times. However, laughing along with them today was the newest addition to the lovely family of CID Mumbai, Inspector Shunya. Every face had a warm smile as they looked at them.

In the last six months, Shunya had turned from just being a new officer and Daya sir's childhood friend to an integral part of the CID family. All of them had grown to respect the woman and had accepted her as one of their own. True, all of them missed Shreya and she could never be replaced in their hearts, but Shunya had created her own special place.

"Kya baat hai Sir? Humein bhi to bataiye na!" said Sachin.

"Haan Shunya! Batao naa? kyun hass rahe ho aap log aise?" asked Purvi.

It was the heart of CID that answered. "wo..wo freddy...freddy ne..." and then he began laughing again.

"Kya Sir! Aur kitna hasenge aap? Meri wife ne mujhe talak ki dhamki di hai aur aap hass rahe hain?" said Freddy Sir with an annoyed expression. But inwardly, he was also smiling. Seeing Daya Sir laugh after those times of struggle soothed his heart. He hated to see the smiles lost from the faces of his family. Perhaps that was why he gave them so many occasions to laugh out loud.

Before anybody could explain the humour in the situation, however, the landline of the bureau went off.

" Hello, main sub-inspector Ishita bol rahi hoon CID bureau se. Kya? Theek hai, hum abhi pohonchte hain." and she dropped the receiver.

It was at this moment that ACP Sir emerged from his cabin. "haan bolo Ishita, kya khabar hai?"

"Sir, andheri se kisi Rohan Sharma ka phone tha. Wahan ke XYZ apartments ke flat no. 26 mein ek laash hai."

"Theek hai. Tum sab pohoncho wahan."

"Sir, usne ye bhi kaha ki flat ki deewar par khoon se ek nishan bana hua hai. Kuch spider jaisa..."

"Kya!"

Everyone turned towards the source of the outburst, surprised. It was Daya who had spoken.

"Kya baat hai Sir?" said Purvi.

"aisa kaise ho sakta hai? Tumhe yaad hai Abhi, aaj se teen saal pehle maine Raghuvir naam ke ek serial killer ko arrest kiya tha. Ye spider ussi ka nishan hai."

"arre haan...yaad aaya." said abhijeet. "Par usse to phansi ho gayi thi. To ye kaun hai? kahin aisa to nahi ki koi uss Raghu ko copy kar raha hai?"

"ya uska koi puraana saathi bhi ho sakta hai." said Shunya.

"ab ye to wahan jaa kar hi pata chalega...Daya, Abhijeet, tum dono team ko lekar wahan jao aur tehkikaat karo. Sachin, tum uss Raghu ki kundali nikaalo. Jo bhi recorda hain humaare paas uske aur uske saathiyon ke, sab nikaalo. Aakhir pata to chale, kaun hai ye jo Spider Killer ko wapis laana chahta hai!"

"Yes Sir!"


The investigation continued with full zeal. The case became complicated at one point with three more corpses emerging at different places in Mumbai, along with the fact that Dr. Salunkhe reported that all four murders were done by different people, but in the same manner as the Spider Killer, as Raghu used to call himself. However, it was the last corpse that yielded clues for them to lead them to one of Raghu's former subordinates. From there, it was pretty smooth sailing.

The man at first refused to tell anything. "Maine ye dhanda chhod diya hai sahab!" he insisted. But one slap from Daya Sir and he cracked. He revealed that a man had contacted him via phone to give him the details of the killer. The money was given to him by a masked man in an abandoned warehouse. The warehouse and the phone number led to two separate branches of inquiry. However, both lines of investigation led them to an abandoned factory on the outskirts of the city.

The officers stealthily took their positions, with guns in their hands and fiery determination in their eyes. They had reached their target- this was the hideout of the killers. Daya, Abhijeet, Purvi, Sachin, Jaywanti and Shunya entered silently- the first three from the main entrance and the last three from the rear entrance.

Every goon they encountered on the way was effortlessly neutralized by power-packed punches, graceful kicks and wonderfully executed shots, while taking care to make as less noise as possible so as not to alert the mastermind.

Finally, they reached the main room where five men were having a discussion. One of them- wearing a black mask- was addressing the other four.

"good job guys! tum sab ne bohot achha kaam kiya hai. Aaj Raghu yahan hote to unhe tum sab pe naaz hota. Spider Killer ka naam ab sab ki zubaan pe phirse hoga. CID humein kabhi nahi dhoond payegi."

"ye tumhaari galatfehmi hai"

and that was when it started. Things soon escalated into a heated shootout- a full-blown struggle between lethal killers and valiant officers. Shots were being fired from every direction. It took about fifteen minutes for the officers to finally subdue the four subordinates. Now, they all surrounded the mastermind.

"Ab tumhaara khel khatam!" said abhijeet

The man tried to run, but was immediately captured by Daya. "arre arre! Kahan jaa rahe ho bhai! apna chehra to dikhao!"

They unmasked him to reveal the face of Raghu's younger brother. The man wanted to immortalize the name of his brother, the Spider Killer and also take revenge on Daya for getting him arrested. but his plans were thwarted midway. "mera badla zarror poora hoga...zaroor!" said the man with an evil smile.

"ab badle ke plan banate rehna jail mein...phansi ka order aane tak!"

with that resounding statement fro CID's sharp shine, they turned to leave. Purvi and Sachin were leading the way with the handcuffed criminal and the rest trailed behind. Abhijeet was looking at Daya, concerned, as a bullet had grazed past him during the shootout. Daya was trying to convince him not to send him to hospital. Shunya, who was walking a bit ahead, caught their conversation and turned back to look at him, to convince him to get the wound checked.

And that was when she saw him. A man, on the roof of the building, with a rifle in his hand and his aim towards Senior Inspector Daya! She wanted to shoot him right there, but she had used up all her bullets. Before she could warn anybody, however, he shot!

"Dayu!"

With all the strength that she could muster, she pushed Daya out of the way. Daya landed on the ground with a loud thud and the bullet grazed her shoulder. Before anybody could understand what happened, the man shot again, this time hitting Shunya right on the chest! Before the man could do anymore damage, however, he was expertly gunned down by Senior Inspector Abhijeet.

Shunya collapsed, the pain and the blood loss becoming too much to bear. Before she could hit the ground, however, she was quickly caught in the strong arms of her childhood friend.

"Shuna! Shuna! shuna aankhein khuli rakh shuna! kuchh nahi hoga tumhe! kuchh nahi samjhi! Ambulance! koi ambulance bulao! Shuna! hosh mat khona please, shuna! "

"Sir! ambulance bula di hai! kuchh hi der mein aate honge wo log!" Jaywanti's voice barely registered in the mind of a panicking Daya.

"Shuna please! Shuna aankhen band mat karna! Abhi-abhi to vapis paaya hai tumhe! Dobara nahi kho sakta! please shuna, pl...!"

The words died in his throat as a shaking hand moved towards his face. With a small, serene smile, Shunya wiped the tears of her Dayu, while the others looked on, emotionally overwhelmed. Purvi was trying to stop the bleeding as best as she could while Sachin was still restraining the criminal. Daya was staring into the beautiful black eyes of his childhood friend, tongue-tied. They seemed calm, despite the pain she was in- as if she was satisfied, as if she had nothing to lose, as if she had fulfilled her purpose in life. Her hand kept stroking his cheek.

And then Daya's entire world shifted as the hand suddenly fell.

"Shuna!"

hasrat thi dil-e-nadan ki

ki tere saath beete ye zindagi

zindagi to nahi, paar saanse akhiri

milli mujhe teri baahon mein hi

aur meri ye zindagi adhuri

ho gayi poori...ho gayi poori...


Kya bach payegi shunya? ya phir daya hamesha ke liye kho dega apni iss dost ko? jaaniye agle update mein...

hope you liked it...sorry i kept the investigation short...i'm terrible at writing up investigation scenes...the next chapter will probably be the second last or last...hope you liked the story so far..

please read and review!