The preperation began from the very next day, and to Daya's misfortune, it began with walking in heels. In all honesty, Daya hadn't seen such heels before. They looked like normal shoes from the outside but had an elevation on the inside. Surbhi was guiding him, helping him to walk. But it had been only an hour and Daya's feet HURT!
Smiling patiently, Surbhi told him to rest for sometime. He went to a corner and slumped against the wall, slowly sliding down to sit on the floor. He was massaging his feet when a shadow fell over him. It was Abhijeet, standing right in front of him. Abhijeet looked way taller than before, Daya realised, but had such a peaceful smile that Daya was sure he must be habituated to wearing those odd shoes by now.
"Sab theek hai?"
Daya scoffed, focusing on his footsole. "Sure." He smiled when he heard Abhijeet laughed.
"Koi nahi. Adat ho jaegi." Abhijeet sat down beside him.
"Jabse aaya hun aaj, tabse yahi kar raha hun." Daya expressed his frustration. "Aur koi kaam nahi hai kya mereliye?"
Abhijeet nodded thoughtfully. "Kyun nahi? Tumhari khasiyat hand-to-hand combat hai ne? Hathiyaaron se tumhara itna lagav nahi hai. Am I right?"
"Guns chalani aati hai mujhe." Daya immediately defended himself. "Lekin aap bhi jaante honge ki guns aur chaku vagera, voh sab silent killing keliye kaam nahi aata. Jab mai Zikri ke paas tha toh mera zyadatar kaam yahi tha ki mai kisi ko dhoke se maaru yah kisi organization mein ghuus kar use andar se khokla karu. Isliye fighting skills zyada necessary thi."
Abhijeet smiled at his elaboration. "Hmm. Toh phir jab Surbhi tumhe aaj keliye chhod de, toh tum niche jaake sparring kar sakte ho. 5th floor pe ek club hai. Vahanpe sparring, shooting, gym vagera sab kuch hai. Rahul hoga vahanpe. Uske saath ladh sakte ho."
Daya's face immediately lit up. "Ab yeh hui na baat. Aisa hi kuch--"
"Abhijeet!" They looked at the door and saw Arjun charging towards them. Two men following him, holding huge stacks of papers and files. Daya frowned whereas Abhijeet rolled his eyes.
"Abhijeet." Arjun pulled Abhijeet up to make him stand who reluctantly compiled. "Itne kaam baaki hai aur tum yahan baithe ho. Agar khudse hota nahi, toh zimmedari lete kyun ho?" Saying so, he took the stack of papers from one man and handed it to Abhijeet with a great force, making Abhijeet nearly go down due to the weight. Well, he almost did when Arjun slammed the files over the papers. Bless Daya for reacting immediately and supporting the weight.
Abhijeet glanced at him and mouthed 'thank you' whereas turned to Arjun in irritation. "Yaar cabin mein rakhte. Yahan kyun le aae ho."
"Cabin mein hi rakhe the." He replied, giving Daya a scrutinizing gaze. "Subah se vahi pade hue hai. Ek paper tak nahi pada tumne."
Abhijeet noticed the way Arjun and Daya were glaring at each other and clicked his tongue. "Arjun."
Arjun looked at him and huffed. "Shaam tak sab papers padhe hue aur files signed ki hui chahiye mujhe. Don't slack off."
He walked out of there, followed by his men. Abhijeet eyed him, looked at the pile of papers in his hands and sighed.
"Kitna akadta hai yeh. As if yahi yahan ka boss hai." Daya gritted his teeth.
Abhijeet shook his head, snorting softly. "Khair. Inhe cabin tak lejane mein meri madat karoge?"
"Haan, chalo." Daya said. He murmured, "Voh toh khud do aadmi lekar aya apne saath aur sab vazan tumhare upar daal diya. Psycho."
Abhijeet looked at him in amusement, hiding his smile, planning of the many ways to mock Arjun the next time they meet.
...
Daya underestimated Rahul, he clearly did. Mr. Pradyuman was absolutely right when he said Rahul acts like a child but is quite dangerous. For the first time in many years, Daya had found someone he could consider an equal. One moment's of distraction, and Rahul would overpower him. That, Daya was sure of.
"Tumhari techniques bahot alag hai." Rahul said with a smirk, breathing heavily. His lips were bruised and he was sporting a black eye.
Daya smiled way too sweetly. "Yun kaho ki upgraded hai."
Rahul's smirk deepened and he attacked. Daya smoothly side-stepped, blocking the fist with his right arm. And then Rahul was charging, aiming blow after blow, not giving Daya any time to retract, but Daya knows to fight. He's done it for years working under Zikri and even before. He was expertly blocking each punch, avoiding every strike and retaliating. Rahul's weakness, Daya observed, was the more he failed to hit his opponent, the more it irked him. Daya said so.
"Sachi?" His big eyes bore into Daya's who didn't know what to say. He expected irritation, not surprise. "Mai..mai aage se dhyaan rakhunga. Sir bhi yahi kehte the. Mujhe laga mai seekh gaya hun." He whispered.
Daya didn't get to ponder over his words because he received a solid kick in the ribs. He gritted his teeth. Got to focus.
A few more kicks and punches were exchanged. Rahul mostly attacking and Daya defending himself, attacking only when there was an opening, and then they were done for the day.
"Tumhari techniques bhi vaise itni kharab nahi hai."
Rahul laughed, uncapping his water-bottle. "Maine kaha tha ki tumhari techniques alag hai. Mujhse achi hai, yeh thodi kaha tha?"
"Uhh, nahi." Daya smiled. "Mujhe lagta hai meri techniques tumse zyada achi hai."
Rahul gave him a challenging look but when Daya returned it, they both ended up laughing.
Rahul was collecting his accessories, getting ready to leave. "Chot zyada aai ho toh medical bay se dikhwa lena. Aur chaho toh kal bhi aa sakte ho." He said. "Lekin I have a gym session tomorrow. So no sparring."
"Sure, why not?" Daya shrugged, already looking enthusiastic. "Mai bhi kai dino se gym gaya hi nahi hun."
Rahul grinned, giving him a high-five. "Theek hai phir. Join me at 12pm tomorrow. Tumhara Surbhi ke saath ka session toh tab tak khatam ho hi jaega. Chal see you then. Bye."
He waved at him and Daya waved back. Although, hearing Surbhi's name he slowly lowered his head, gazing at his feet sympathetically.
...
Kabir entered Abhijeet's cabin on receiving his permission, and forwarded him an envelope. "Abhijeet yeh invitation cards--" He stopped, grimacing at the many papers and files on Abhijeet's desk, who gave him a warning look.
I swear if you even utter a word--
"You know what? Nevermind. Mai yeh apne paas hi rakh leta hun." He waved an envelope in the air. Abhijeet's eyes hardened, causing Kabir to stifle his laugh. "Okay, okay. Bas yeh mere paas hai. Cards aagae hai bas yahi batane aaya tha."
Abhijeet kept the pen down and tiredly leaned back in his chair. "Daya ke upar nazar kaun rakh raha hai, Kabir?"
"Tumhe pata tha?" Kabir asked, not in the least surprised.
Abhijeet kept quiet.
Kabir looked at him grimly. "Dekho Abhijeet, aise hi hum kisi par bhi itni jaldi bharosa nahi kar sakte. Arjun ko sirf tumhari fiqar hai issliye usne Daya ke upar nazar rakhne ko kaha hai."
Abhijeet sighed. "Mai jaanta hun. Magar agar Daya ko pata chala ki uske upar nazar rakhi jaa rahi hai, toh uska humpar se bharosa uth jaega. Tum log samajhte kyun nahi ho?"
"Abhijeet--"
"Unhe hatao, Kabir." Abhijeet said, authoritatively. "Daya koi dudh pita bacha nahi hai. Agar voh itna hi incapable hota, toh mai kabhi use iss organization ka hisse banne hi nahi deta."
Kabir pressed his lips tightly. "Aur Arjun se kya kahu?"
"Usse mai baat karlunga."
"Voh gussa karega."
"Toh karne do." Abhijeet replied, calmly but firmly. "Use lagta hai ki mai apne aap ko handle nahi kar sakta lekin mai khudko bhi handle kar sakta hun aur iss company ko bhi, thank you very much." He huffed, making Kabir smile.
"Chalo acha hai. Boss must be proud." He winked at him teasingly, earning a glare. "Mai hata deta hun unhe. Baaki sab tum sambhal lena. Ab mai jau?"
Abhijeet nodded, gesturing him to go. Prior to Kabir's departures, he looked at the stacks in front of him and rested his elbow over the desk, palming his cheek. He kept starring at them, side by side considering his options to deal with Arjun. Oh the workload!
He sighed.
"Kya musibat hai."
A/N So yeah the 'desktop mode' was gone from the mobile phones and I couldn't give a single update. Yesterday Chitra msgd me and kinda made this possible haha. Big thanks to her.
Thanks for reading. Other updates coming soon.
Take care,
Janhvi.