CHAPTER 10

Mumbai, 30th December, Daya's House (Morning) -

Daya was roaming to and fro in his living room.

Daya: Kaha hogi yaar Shreya? Abhijeet pata nahi mujhe kya ho raha hai. Chah kar bhi main usse nahi bhool sakta, nafrat nahi kar sakta usse. Mujhe bohot fikr ho rahi hai uski.

Abhijeet: Daya yaar tu fikr mat kar. Mil jayegi wo. Aur main usse baat karunga. Bharosa rakh mujhpar mere dost. Mujhe pata hai woh bhi tujse pyar karti hai. Hamne usse baat karne ka mauka hi nahi diya. Ho sakta hai wo kisi problem me ho aur isliye jaldbazi me usne sagaai ka decision liya hoga.

Daya: Yaar lekin Major saab aur woh dono kaise gayab ho sakte hai. Mujhe toh ye kuch aur hi chakkar lag raha hai.

Abhijeet: Haan. Chalo bureau chalke dekhte hai.

Same day, In a Bunglow, Mumbai (Morning) -

When Shreya woke up, she was in a totally new place.

A man sitting beside her saw her awake and shouted, 'Boss use hosh aa gaya hai.'

Siddharth came into the room followed by other 5 men. 'Good morning Shreya. Aaj bohot fresh lag rahi ho. Waise ghar pasand aaya tumhe?'

Shreya kept quiet.

'Lagta hai bohot jyada naraz ho mujse. Koi baat nahi kuch hi der me tumhari naarazgi door kardunga main.' said Siddharth.

'Boss ab aage karna kya hai? Party ko inform kar doon?' asked one of the men.

'Abe itni jaldi kya hai? Party ko new year me phone lagayenge. Pehle mujhe toh thoda maja lene do', said Siddharth.

Shreya looked at him. She didn't understand anything. What were they going to do with her?

'Kal toh 31st december hai. Thik hai to kal hum sab milke party karenge. Shreya ke saath tum sab thodi shaam bitao. Phir raat sirf meri', said Siddharth watching her seductively. Everybody cheered.

'Siddharth Shut up', Shreya yelled. 'Sharam nahi aati tumhe ek ladki se aisi baat karte huye', she shouted at him. More laughter from the audience and Siddharth's laugh was loudest of all.

'Kaisi sharam? Are ye toh mera kaam hai! Apne kaam se kisiko sharam hoti hai kya? Kya tumhe kabhi tumhari CID job ki wajah se sharam aayi hai kya? Nahi na? Phir mujhe kyun puch rahi ho?' he said.

'Siddharth main abhi isi waqt tumhara khoon kardungi. Chodo mujhe', she said struggling with the ropes which had tied her hands.

'Oh no! CID officer mujhe bohot darr lag raha hai', said Siddharth rolling on the floor laughing hysterically. The others clapped hard.

Shreya couldn't control her tears. Why wasn't the CID here to save her yet?

Siddharth got up. 'Accha pehle tumhe apni thodi introduction deta hoon. Mera naam hai Siddharth A.K.A Driller007. Ring any bells Shreya? Thoda socho.' he said.

She suddenly remembered a case in which they were working on. A psychopath serial killer who would murder only young women. He had a weird way of killing them using a driller and hence the name. CID had to leave that case unsolved. It was a mystery for them.

'Tumhe jaroor yaad aaya hoga. Ye mera favourite game hai. Aaj tak CID mujhe pakad nahi payi hai. Aur iss bar bhi wo kuch nahi kar payenge. Khair chodo. Itna introduction kaafi hai. Shreya tum bohot special ho. Abhi tak jitni ladkiyo ke saath maine raat bitayi hai un sabse tum jyada hot ho. Anyway ab tumhare liye kuch sawal. Kya tum kisise pyar karti ho?' he asked.

Once again she kept mum.

'Baat nahi karni mujse? Accha thik hai. Main hi batata hoon. Shayad Daya se?'

Shreya's eyes widened.

He smiled. 'Pata tha mujhe. Wohi sabse jyada pareshan tha tumhare liye. Par afsoos! Usse pehle mai tumhare saath ek naughty raat bitaunga', he said.

'Ye kabhi nahi hoga samjhe tum?' yelled Shreya.

'Chillao mat jaan. Accha thik hai. Maine tumse pehle hi kaha ki tum mere liye special ho. Toh kyu na hum uss pal ko bhi thoda aur special banaye? Hum ek chota a video shoot karke Daya ko bhej dete hai. Jara use bhi to dekhne do hamare romance ki ek jhalak!' Koi camera nikalo yaar, he said.

Siddharth went near her.

'Siddharth nahi kya kar rahe ho?' she shouted.

He covered her lips with a tape. 'Sirf Shreya dikhni chahiye, main nahi. Thike se shoot karo', he ordered one of the men.

He caressed her cheek and planted a kiss on her neck. He hugged her forcefully. She was writhing, trying to free herself. The pain and fear was clearly visible in her eyes. Siddharth left her.

'Karliya record? Mujhe send karlo wo video. Aur jaao sab. Aaj ke liye itna hi', said Siddharth.

'Par boss aap ne toh kaha tha sab milke.' said one of the men.

'New Year kal hai na? Toh party bhi kal hi hogi, Jao ab. Aur uss Major par nazar rakho', said Siddharth.

He removed the tape from her mouth after everyone left.

'Siddharth please chodo mujhe',she literally begged him.

'Aise rote nahi jaan. Abhi dekho main ye Daya ko bhej dunga abhi. Dekte hai wo kaise bachane aata hai tumhe. Chalo abhi tumhare sone ka time ho gaya', he said.

He drew out an injection from his pocket.

'No! Siddharth please', she was saying.

But he injected the drug in her vein and she lost consciousness once more.

Same day, In the Bunglow, Mumbai (Evening) -

Shreya woke up by ringing of a cellphone. She picked it up. 'Hello', she spoke into the receiver.

'Shreya', came Siddharth's happy voice. 'Tumhare liye early new year gift hai mere paas. Daya yaha aaya hai.'

'Kya? Daya sir yaha?' said Shreya loudly.

'Haan. Ab dhyan se meri baat suno. Wo tumhe yaha se nahi leja sakta. Use batao ki tum kisi kaam se yaha aayi ho. Aur usne video ke baare me pucha toh bolna tumhare saath aisa kuch bhi nahi hua hai. Aur mera naam tumne liya ya kuch bhi batane ki koshish ki to main Major ko maar dunga. Mera tumhe dekh sakta hu', he said.

'Nahi please! Papa ko kuch mat karna. Main Daya sir se kuch bhi nahi kahungi', said Shreya.

'Thike phir. Bye Shreya', he said and hung up. Immediately the man who was keeping a lookout snatched up the phone. He untied her.

She was desperately waiting for his arrival. He came almost running. 'Shreya.', he said.

The man who was on lookout got and aimed a gun at him. 'Kaun ho tum?' he asked.

But Daya kicked his hand and the gun landed on the ground. He punched the man in his face and he landed unconscious on the ground. Shreya ran to him and hugged him tightly.

'Shreya bina bataye kaha chali gayi thi tum. Aur yaha kya kar rahi ho?' he asked in a muffled voice.

'Sir main abhi kuch nahi keh sakti. Please mujhe le jaiye yaha se', she said almost in a whisper.

He now started caressing her back. 'Shreya mujhe ek video mila tha. Jisme tum.' he said.

'Sir main apko sab bataungi. Lekin Mujhe abhi yahan se jana hai.' she said in an urgent voice.

'Ruko Shreya itni jaldi kya hai', he said tightening his arms around her.

She found his behaviour strange. His touch. It was somehow different.

She pushed him away.

'Ye kya keh rahe hai aap? Aur aap akele kyun hai? Baki CID team kaha hai?' she asked.

He took her hand and kissed it. 'Main akela aaya hoon', he said.

He moved closer to her and tried to kiss her lips.

She jerked him away. 'Sir ho kya gaya hai aapko? Aap aise kyu behave kar rahe hai? Chaliye hame nikalna hai yaha se jaldi', she said.

To her surprise he started laughing. Tears of laughter were rolling down his cheeks. He opened the zip of his jacket. She could see it was stuffed with thick rubber like material to make the person appear a bit fat.

'Yeh? Kaun ho tum?' she asked.

'Abhi tak nahi pehchana?' he asked.

To Shreya's horror, the person put his hand on his face and pulled out a rubber mask to reveal his face.

'Siddharth?!' said Shreya.

'Haan main. Kaisi lagi meri gift? Waah Daya ka mask pehene ke baad to tum khud mere paas chali aayi. Main kya bewakoof lagta hoon tumhe? Tumhe kya kaga sachme maine daya vo video bhej diya? Main use wo jaroor bhejunga par kal raat ke baad. Nahi to meri new year party kaise hogi?' he said.

'Noooooooooo', her screams echoed throughout the silent room.

'Shreya ye drama band karo. Aur kuch khaa lo. Dekho main tumhare liye pizza laya hoon.' he said.

He picked uo the gun and pulled the unconscious man out of the room.

'Hum kal phir milenge. Trust me tumhe party me bohot maja aayega', he said and went off smiling wickedly locking the door behind him.

She collapsed on the floor. He had tricked her. 'I am doomed', she thought.

Same day, Daya's house (Night) -

He had returned home dejected as they still hadn't found any good leads.

'Jaroor kuch to chut raha hai. Aise lagta hai wo clue mere saamne hi hai jo mujhe Shreya tak le jayega par main wo dekh nahi paa raha hoon', he thought.

Suddenly his doorbell rang.

'Itni raat ko koun ho sakta hai', he thought.

He opened the door but the passage was empty. He saw a small brown paper package lying on the floor. He picked it up. It was unaddressed. He opened it and found a CD inside. He played it on his laptop.

His eyes went wide seeing the clip. He was literally shaking in anger. He banged his fist on the table. 'Iski itni himmat! Ek bar mujhe mil jaye! Main chodunga nahi usse.',he thought. He immediately grabbed his gun and disappeared in the dead of the night.