It was the third time that Daya felt conscious of his clothes. Every single person in the meeting was so well dressed, that the people downstairs felt shabby to him now. He awkwardly stood near the door as he watched everyone taking their seats. Though, when Abhijeet noticed him still standing at the door, he glanced at his colleagues and walked towards him.

"Andar aao." Abhijeet said, "Sab tumhara intezar kar rahe hai."

That's when Daya realised that he was the cynosure of all eyes. He followed Abhijeet and on his signal, sat in a chair beside him. There were seven people present in the room, excluding himself. Only one of them who seemed to be senior.

Predictably, Daya's intuition was proved right when the older person coughed to gain everyone's attention. "Toh jab sab aagae hai toh shuru karte hai." He signalled towards Daya and said, "Yeh hai Daya, Zikri ka aadmi." at the mention of Zikri's name, Daya noticed how except Abhijeet and Arjun, all looked at him rather hateful. "Mera matlab hai, Zikri ka aadmi tha. Yeh abse humare saath kaam karega."

The intensity of the gazes over him reduced, making him twitch his lips in confusion.

"Sir," a woman uttered hesitantly, "Are you.." she glanced at Daya, "Are you sure?"

"Surbhi," Abhijeet said in a firm tone, "agar humne koi decision liya hai toh puri jaj-partal karke hi liya hoga. Hai na?"

The stress lines on the girl's forehead disappeared. She nodded, "I'm sorry."

The older man looked between the two and leaned back in his chair. "Agar shuruvat jaan-pehchan se kare toh behtar hoga." He looked at Daya. "Mera naam Pradyuman hai. Abhijeet aur Arjun ko tum jaante ho," he signalled towards Surbhi, "iska naam Surbhi hai. Yahi tumhe humara plan samjhaegi."

Surbhi nodded at Mr. Pradyuman and said, "Mishti Roy ne ek hafte baad apne farmhouse pe ek party organise ki hai. Uski company ke dus saal pure hone par. Bahot se log invited hai. Unhi mein se ek business man ke invitation ke zariye tum aur Abhijeet uss party mein jaoge. Disguised."

"Papers kiss kamre mein hai yeh hume malum hai." Mr. Pradyuman said in a serious tone. "Kabir, zara voh naksha dikhana."

The man sitting on the other side of Daya stood up with a nod. He adjusted the projector screen and then switched off the lights. The very next moment a houseplan was projected on the screen and Kabir began to explain,

"Pure farmhouse mein sirf panch kamre hai, sir. Hall area, and dining area will be filled with guests. Niche ke do kamron mein bhi guests keliye intezaam kiya gaya hai. So, it's highly unlikely that we'll find our documents here." He pointed the remote towards the upper rooms, "upar ke teen kamron ka lekin hum kuch keh nahi sakte. Ek toh Mishti Roy ke personal use keliye hai, baaki ke do ke baremein mere paas koi jaankari nahi hai."

Mr. Pradyuman nodded gravely whereas Daya questioned, "Yeh aapko kaise pata chala?"

"Mishti ke event manager ke saath thodi baat chit ki," Kabir said with a smile and shrugged, "toh pata chal gaya."

He then switched on the lights and another man put forward his doubt, "Sir, teenon kamron ko check karne mein toh bahot samay nikal jaega."

Abhijeet shook his head, smiling wittingly, "Uhun, Rahul. Aisa nahi hoga. Kyun Zaira?"

Zaira was the only other girl in the room. She titled her head, puzzled but when Abhijeet signalled something to her she raised her eyebrows and laughed in realisation. "Okay, okay, lekin iss baar kya bankar jaana hai?"

"Caterer?" Abhijeet asked, looking at everyone for their approval, "Caterer banke jaegi toh pure ghar ka access hoga iske paas."

Everyone nodded in agreement.

"Tumhe Mishti aur uski security guards ka dhyaan apni taraf khichna hai." Surbhi said, pointing at Daya. "Aur Abhijeet ko vahanse nikalne keliye que dena hai."

Daya smiled sarcastically. "Itne saare guards ka attention mai akela khichunga?"

She smiled politely at him, "Nahi, Zaira tumhari madat karega."

Daya furrowed his brows and looked at Zaira, "Kaise?"

Before Zaira could reply, Rahul waved in the air and said, "I'll explain." He winked at Daya. "Upar ke floor pe khade guards ko khane mein se yah paani mein se neend ki goliya khila denge." He grinned. "Khaana koi khae yah na khae, paani toh piyenge hi. Tum niche khade guards ko toh sambhal hi loge..kyun?" He asked the 'kyun' so dangerously that Daya doubted his bubbly spirit was a facade.

Arjun who was quiet since long, spoke in a straight voice, "Jab voh papers mil jaenge, toh tum dono vahanse nikal jana. Farm se hi thodi duri par Rahul apni bike pe ruka hoga. Tum dono jaate waqt toh Mr. Tripathia ki car mein jaoge magar vahanse nikalte waqt bike se nikalna hai."

Daya gave Arjun a pat of praise in his head. Cars increase your stature and bikes are easy to handle, to run away. If their plan went wrong, it could be an easy option.

"Jaate waqt jiss route se jaoge vahan ek divergence hai, do raaste nikalte hai wahan." Arjun went on to add. "Dusre raaste se highway 3km par hai. Easily nikal jaoge. 1km par Rahul hoga. Use voh papers dedena. Aur Rahul-"

"Pata hai, pata hai," Rahul said in a sing-song tone, "unn papers ko leke jungle ke raaste se dusri taraf nikalna hai. Aur unn papers ko," he snapped his fingers, "jala dena hai. Kyun?"

Arjun nodded silently whereas Daya uttered "Jala dena hai?!" He looked between Arjun and Abhijeet in disbelief. "Hum yeh sab mehnat unn papers ko jalane keliye kar rahe hai?"

Arjun didn't bother but Abhijeet smiled and said, "Unn papers mein kuch secrets hai jinki abhi hume koi zarurat nahi par galat haton mein pad gae toh bhi humari koi khair nahi."

Daya nodded, "Oh. Samaj gaya." He then looked at Mr. Pradyuman and said, "Aap inn sabke boss hai?"

Everyone exchanged looks, except for Arjun, while Mr. Pradyuman shook his head. "Nahi, bas thoda experience zyada hai."

"Chaliye sir," Rahul teased, "toh aap mante hai aap budhe hogae hai."

Mr. Pradyuman gave Rahul a serious look, "Sahi keh rahe ho Rahul. Magar phir bhi mere paas tumse zyada kaale baal hai."

Rahul opened his mouth in shock. "Kya keh rahe hai, sir, sachi?" He touched his hair, "Maine toh aaj hi dekha tha sheeshe mein. Sirf do safed baal the. Maine toh kaat bhi diye the, phir kaise.." he stood up in worry, "Sir, Abhijeet, mai zara aata hun haan. Vaise bhi mera kaam hogaya hai na? Mai nikalta hun. Koi problem ho toh phone kardena, acha? Bye." He hurriedly ran away from there, still trying to pull a few hairs in a fruitless effort to see them.

His departure was followed with a few laughs from inside the room and a smirk from Mr. Pradyuman. "Bada aaya mujhe buddha kehne vala."

Surbhi shook her head in disappointment and started collecting her files. "Theek hai sir, phir mai bhi chalti hun. Make up artist aur kapdon ka intezam karna hai." She glanced at Abhijeet and Daya, "Inki height bhi badani padegi."

Daya looked at her and asked hesitantly to Abhijeet, "Tumhara toh theek hai magar..che foot kam hai kya?" He added in a low tone.

Abhijeet laughed at him. "Nahi Daya, bahot achi height hai tumhari. Voh bas isliye ki hum vahan bhes badal kar jaa rahe hai. Toh height bhi badalni padegi. Precautionary measure."

Daya nodded, understandably. "Kitni?"

"Tumhari teen inch, meri paanch inch." Abhijeet said. "Voh alag tarah ke joote hote hai. Andar se heel zyada hoti hai unki aur bahar se kam. Khair mujhe toh adat hai," he shrugged, "tumhari pehli baari hai isliye teen inch."

Daya gaped at him. "Ek minute, aap teen inch aise bol rahe hai jaise bahot asan hai. Mai yeh kaise-"

Surbhi intervened with that soft voice of hers, "Suniye Mr. Daya, bas thodi practice ki zarurat hogi. Aap seekh jaenge. Bahot asan hai. Abhi party ko ek hafta baaki hai. Aur mai aapke liye bahot hi ache quality ke shoes mangaungi." Daya didn't say anything. She turned looked at Mr. Pradyuman and said, "Theek hai sir. Mai chalti hun."

"Ruko," Zaira said as she requested Pradyuman sir, "Mai bhi jau iske saath, sir?"

He nodded to both of them, smiling lightly. As they both walked out of the room, Kabir said, "Mai Mr. Tripathia se baath karlunga sir invitation card ke baremein. Aur uss event manager se bhi baat karke Zaira ko vahan bhej dunga. Aur sir.." he licked his lips nervously, "Sir voh uss doctor ka-"

"Abhi tak pata nahi laga uska?" Arjun sternly interrupted him with his question.

Kabir sighed. "Pata lag gaya hai. Magar boss ne use sirf dhamkane ko kaha hai. Use pakadne nahi." He looked at Pradyuman sir. "Ab aap hi bataiye sir mai kya karu."

Mr. Pradyuman heaved a sigh too. "Pata nahi iss aadmi ka kya hoga." He murmured then looked at Abhijeet who was looking somewhere else. "Tum kya kehte ho? Kya karna chahiye?"

Abhijeet clicked his tongue in disappointment. "Aap humesha mujhse kyun puchte hai sir? Kabhi khudse bhi kuch kahiye na."

Mr. Pradyuman gave him a teasing, yet angry smile. "Mai kya kahu? Kuch kaha toh tum logonko raas aata hai? Humesha mai hi galat ho jata hun."

Abhijeet looked away trying to hide his smile, "Ab hum kya kare? Aap zamane ke saath badalna hi nahi chahte."

Mr. Pradyuman shook his head whereas Arjun stated firmly, "Abhijeet, sir ne tumse opinion manga hai. Mazaq mat karo."

Abhijeet rolled his eyes at him. He turned to Mr. Pradyuman and said, "Sir, jo hua so hua. Uss Agarwal ko toh ab koi puchta bhi nahi hai. Use koi kaam bhi dene ko tayar nahi hai. Use pakadkar mujhe nahi lagta koi fayda hoga. Dhamkane se at least humse darkar rahega. Humare khilaf jaane ki sochega tak nahi. Boss ne kaha hai sir, yunhi toh nahi kaha hoga."

Arjun jerked his head away whereas Mr. Pradyuman nodded grimly. "Theek hai. Kabir, tum bhej do Rahul ko apne aadmiyon ke saath uss Agarwal se milne. Rahul acha samak sikhaega use."

Daya raised his eyebrow, "Yeh vala Rahul?"

Mr. Pradyuman nodded in smile. "Voh bachon jaisi harkate toh karta hai, magar asal mein kaafi intimidating hai."

Daya shook his head as he face-palmed. Another one.

"Phir mai bhi chalta hun sir." Kabir said. "Kaafi kaam karna hai. Aur.." he looked at Daya. "Mr. Daya, iss kaam ke pure hone par aapko ek laakh rupae milenge. Aapko.. chalega na?"

"Kya?" Daya uttered, extremely confused. "Kagzad churane ke ek laakh?"

"Rakh lo, rakh lo." Kabir said with a smile. "Iss baar toh guarantee hai ki wapas aaoge. Aage aur bhi toh kaam milenge na? Tab wapas nahi aae toh paise mai rakh lunga."

He winked at Daya, waved at the rest and left the place. Daya watched him go dumbfounded. He slowly turned towards Abhijee and said, "Mujhe laga tha ki yeh thoda sidha hoga, lekin nahi." He paused, "Tum sabko multiple personality ki bimaari hai kya?"

Abhijeet and Mr. Pradyuman laughed at that.

"Nahi, aisa nahi hai." Abhijeet said, amidst the laughter. "Voh ladka shant hai par thoda dark humour ka fan hai. Don't mind him."

Daya shook his head smiling as well and leaned back in his chair.

"Vaise Abhijeet," Mr. Pradyuman said, hesitantly, "Kal Subin ka phone aaya tha. Keh rahe the ki-"

Abhijeet interrupted him, irritated. "Mujhe nahi sunna. Mai jaanta hun aap kya kahenge. Mai unki baat nahi manne wala hun and that's it, sir."

"Abhijeet!" Mr. Pradyuman warned him sternly. "Ek baar unse mil toh lo. Kya kehna chahte hai sun toh lo."

"Zarur, zarur sununga mai unki baat." Abhijeet said in anger. "Lekin agar unke paas apni stupid ideologies ke siwa kuch aur kehne ko ho toh."

Mr. Pradyuman jerked his head away, "Dekho tum samaj nahi rahe ho-"

"Sir." Arjun intervened, grimly. "Aap use force mat kijiye." He looked at Abhijeet with a straight face, "Samjhaya unhe jata hai jo samajna chahte ho. Iski toh zidd hi khatam nahi hoti."

Abhijeet looked at him fiercely. "Humare liye acha yahi hoga ki hum unki baat na sune." He said emphasising each word.

Arjun turned away. "Pata hai."

Mr. Pradyuman sighed. "Chalo Abhijeet, tumse thodi baat karni hai." He saw Abhijeet was going to protest so said, "Subin ke baremein nahi. Business ke baremein. Chalo."

Abhijeet nodded then. "Sir! Um..Arjun." He looked at Arjun and signalled towards Daya, before moving out with Mr. Pradyuman.

Prior to their departure, Arjun stood up and asked Daya to do so too. "Chalo."

Daya, who was taken aback by the sudden small argument between the three, silently followed him outside. They were in the lift when he managed to ask, "Yeh..Subin kaun hai?"

Arjun sighed, pushing his hands inside his pockets. "Subin humare boss ke saath kaam kiya karte the. Abhijeet aur unki banti nahi hai. Unke vichar ek dusre se bahot alag hai."

Daya frowned. "Lekin agar boss chahe toh Abhijeet ko toh Subin ka kaam karna hi padega na?"

Arjun shook his head negatively. "Upar meeting mein jitne bhi log the voh boss keliye thode khaas hai. Ek team ki tarah. Subin agar Abhijeet ke saath baat-chit karna chahte hai toh 'haa' yah 'naa' ka faisla Abhijeet ka hi hoga. Aur.." He gravely looked at Daya from head to toe, "tumhari bhali keliye tumhe batadu ki agar tumne use iss mission pe dhoka dene ki sochi bhi toh uske baad tum kabhi kuch bhi sochne ke layak nahi rahoge." At the same time the elevator stopped and the doors opened. "Yaad rakhna." Arjun warned with a finger pointed at Daya before turning around and walking away.

Daya looked at him in annoyance as he stepped out from the elevator too. "Aam se tapka, bagal mein atka. Huh! Baaki sab theek hai, bas ise dekhke dimag phir jaata hai mera."

A/N I hope information kuch zyada nahi ho gai. If you've got any questions related to their plan, you may ask. It's fun to write such characters haha.

Thanks everyone for your reviews. They help alot.

Hope I didn't bore you. Will update the other story too.

Take care,

Janhvi.