A/N: The second chapter folks! Might be a bit OOC for Kabir but... I can't control my thought process in a story! I am quite an instinctual writer, I write down what I get at the moment and don't revisit it unless I need to refer so... prone to mistakes!
Warning : Auto corrects and typos are always behind my back so please forgive me for any mistakes. And please don't get mad at my attempt at typing Hindi, it is NOT my First or Second language so I am prone to make mistakes.
The day Khalid joined the army, he knew that it was going to be a great struggle to reach the top, given his history and background. After all, he'd been facing it since the day it was announced that his abbu was a traitor to the world. Honestly speaking, he himself didn't believe that he would be able to come this far without his mother's support or her prayers.
As expected, if the others had hard work, he had double the work. People talking behind his back, often picking him out for demonstrations, all the jeering and badmouthing, the extra assignments and all those training sessions where he was told to achieve more than he could chew upon.
But he took it in his stride and bit his tongue as he completed what was given, striving to get to the top, determined not to let anything get in his way as he knew, one wrong move and he was out. And he didn't want to give the satisfaction to all those people by proving them that he was like his father.
And so he worked hard, day and night, trying to prove his worth to all the people out there, working hard to achieve the ultimate goal - to remove the dirt from his family name and bring back the honour that was lost.
And his hard work paid off when everyone, grudgingly, admitted that he was the best of their batch and was nothing like his father and he considered it as a win. But he still hadn't reached his goal - to get into the team of Major Kabir, the person he'd looked up to even before he joined the force, his inspiration.
And now he is standing there along with Colonel Sunil, waiting for Kabir to come back in order to talk about whether Kabir will take him into the team or not.
The first time he saw him approaching, he stood there, staring at him in awe like a fan would look at their star, excitement and hope surging through him. But it was suddenly dropped low when Kabir went through his file and looked at him in the eyes, asking "Main kyon team main is gaddar ke bete ko haath main hathyaar dekar leke jaaun?"
And something inside him snapped. "Permission to speak sir?" he asked the Colonel. When the permission was given, he looked into Kabir's eyes before speaking. "Mujhe bas ek chance chaahiye sir. Once chance yeh daagh mitane ke liye. Haan, mere abbu gaddar the, sabko woh nazar aa raha hai. Par main mere ammi ka bhi beta hoon. Bas mujhe ek chance dijiye please! I promise I won't let you down" he said, hope and determination in his voice.
Colonel Sunil, after looking at the two of them, dismissed Khalid, realising that Kabir needed some time and space to think about it. Khalid complied and left the place, leaving the two of them alone.
Kabir paced for a while before stopping before Sunil. "Can you please step outside while I make my decision sir? No offence par... I want to think it all out" Kabir asked curtly and he nodded, noticing the conflict on his face and left the place.
"Kuch kaha sir ne?" Khalid asked, hope in his eyes but was disappointed when he saw the Colonel shake his head. "Still making the decision. I did what I could do. The ball is in his court" he admitted and Khalid fisted his hands tightly, nails digging into his flesh as he silently prayed for his entry, for a chance to prove his worth.
His eyes glazed over at the thought of his mother, his pillar in those hard days, not letting him give up, always giving him the strength to fight, the one who believed in him even when he didn't believe himself. And the only thing she wanted from him was to bring back the family's honour, something that his father had brought down to dust. And he didn't want to let her down just because someone had rejected him for who his dad had been.
"Ek baath yaad rakh Lieutenant" he heard the Colonel say and he turned around to face him, pulling himself out of his thoughts. "Major Kabir... he never disclosed completely on whatever happened between your father and himself... Par whatever it was, it hurt him really bad. So thread carefully Khalid." he said and Khalid nodded, understanding the gravity of the situation.
Meanwhile, Kabir was pacing again in the room, clearly conflicted on what to do. On one hand, there was Khalid's achievements, which were clearly above the required skill set he searched for, and on the other was the fact that his father was the same person who'd tried to kill him, who'd killed his partner, who'd betrayed the nation, who'd... Kabir shook his head out of those thoughts, not wanting to spiral down there, not when he had a decision to make.
He could see the passion burning in his eyes as Khalid spoke to him, he could see the determination for earning back the family honour his father had lost, he could see the hope in his eyes when he asked why he couldn't accept him, the fire to prove himself... but there was that nagging part in his mind that always asked 'What is the guarantee that he wouldn't betray you? Gaddar ka beta hai, gaddar ho saktha hai'
But then there were the words he spoke. "Mera abbu gaddar tha, sabko woh nazar aa raha hai. Par main mere ammi ka bhi beta hoon. Bas mujhe ek chance dijiye please!" Khalid had pleaded and it still rung in his head.
Kabir finally sat down and held his head in his hands. The answer was right in from of him but yet, he was conflicted on giving his verdict and if there was one thing Kabir hated, it was being clueless. He almost felt like pulling his hair off his head but then sighed and stood up, walking towards the door.
"Colonel, a word with you please?" he asked and the Colonel nodded and stood up, patting Khalid on his shoulders before going towards Kabir.
"Your decision Major?" he asked, knowing very well that Kabir was still conflicted and wanted a second opinion. "I don't know Sunil." Kabir started and that set alarm bells inside his head as Kabir rarely called him by his name, unless he was in distress or had no clue of something.
"I mean, ek taraf I can see his potential, his passion, his fire par doosre taraf it's scary Sunil, the passion in his eyes... the admiration I can see... its soo familiar that... I don't want to let him down par..." Kabir rambled, panic slowly setting in.
"Par kya Kabir?" he asked calmly as he gently placed his hand on the other's shoulder. "Par I can't forget what his father did to me. Haan, main jaantha hoon ki they could be complete opposites but... its hard to get over that fact when..." he trailed off, not wanting to talk about it.
Sunil held back a sigh and shook his head. "You really need to talk about what happened that day soldier. It's slowly eating you up from keeping it inside you." he said.
"I can't! Kitne baar keh chuka hon ki yeh personal hai! It's not something I can tell about to anyone freely... I can't move on without some bloody answers and it is all stuck with a person who is bloody damn dead" Kabir shouted as he sat back down, breathing heavily after his outburst.
"Personally, I think you should consider taking Khalid into your team. Shaayad he is the only one who can get you to move on. Soch lo Kabir, iska pita gaddar the, but still he has reached here, a topper in everything, no less than anyone in your team. I know you could see his determination and hard work Kabir. What is it that is stopping you, other than the fact that his father betrayed you?" Sunil asked, wanting to get to the root of it.
"Exactly what you said sir, uska who determination, hard work, the way he looks up to me, even though he knows that I killed his father. Honestly sir, I don't want history repeating itself all over again." Kabir admitted.
"Maybe it won't soldier. Ek baar usko chance dedo. Har din agnipariksha dene ke liye tayaar hai who. In the end, its your call." he said. Kabir just took a deep breath and contemplated for a minute before nodding. "Ek chance doonga. Par ek bhi galti hua toh…" he said, leaving the Colonel to fill in the blanks.
Sunil nodded and smiled, that was all he'd wanted from him and left to give Khalid the news. "You're in soldier. As I said before, ek bhi galat kadham liya toh… Welcome to hell" he said with a pat on his back before leaving the place, the determined look in both Kabir and Khalid's face stamped in his mind.
Khalid, a soldier determined to right many wrongs and Kabir, a soldier who was determined to make life hell for the new recruit.
A/N: Well... if I hadn't warned before... people might be a bit OOC than expected... And Khalid is in, Kabir has a ton load of personal issues he ever got to sort out with Abdul. And the next is the first mission... Hope you all like it! All comments and criticisms accepted and appreciated! Prompts are always welcome!
Thank you all for reading!
Rasi10 signing off
Published on 10 April 2020