Author's note:

Thanks a lot for waiting guys. Actually had to change and modify the story plot a lot. So the pre-written chapters were irrelevant, had to write new ones from scratch. As according to the old plot this story was supposed to end within 3 to 4 more chapters. But this change in plot will make it a bit longer and hopefully better.

Anyways I hope you like this chapter. It's not long but kind of like a filler one. The next one will be longer and mostly more intense.

Thanks a ton for all the reviewers and readers. It had been a very warm responce from your side.

Nisha: Thanks a lot dear for your kind words! I am so glad that you love abhi acp and abhi salunkhe sir parts. You're going to have a lot of them coming really soon. Stay tuned for more. And thanks a lot again take care and lots of love to you!

Abhishikha: Thanks a lot dear for your support and words. I am super glad that you liked this story, as it's specially based on trio! With hell lot of duo and trio moments. Yes you're potentially right about Abhijeet being tired, but yeah I won't say more..haha..Keep reading dear. And stay safe.

Summiya: Thanks a lot for your words dear. I am so glad you're liking this story. I think you must've read all the chapters by now :) hope you liked the updates too. Take care dear and stay tuned!

Poojaabhidewani: thanks a lot dear for your words. Let's see how this story goes ahead. Let's hope it doesn't get too long.

Guest: thanks a lot for your words! Hope that you like the further updates too. Thanks again.

Perfectabhi: hahaha..yes suspense is truly at its peak. But itne jaldi khulega nahi suspense. Now this is going to be a longer journey :) Hope that you love this ride. Take care dear and lots of love to you!

Abhinidhi: Thanks a lot dear for your words! Yes you're right Abhijeet sir is hiding. But not necessarily something big or tragic. Yes abhi acp and unke beech kuch ajeeb chalraha hai..but with time let's see kya aur hota hai. Stay tuned for more :) Thanks again dear and take care.

Abhijeets fan: Hey thanks a ton for your detailed review. I am so so glad that you're liking the way the story is going. Yes Abhijeet is finding this odd. And so is acp sir. But don't know when they'll realise that something is wrong to fix. Let's see ...anyways thanks a lot again and take care. Lots of love to you.

Vaishnavi: Hey! This had been one of the most favourite review of mine. As you had been super indetail and had been a lovely review to read. Thanks a lot for the time and effort you put to write. Then talking about the story then yes you're absolutely right the silence bwtween abhi and acp sir is not normal. And the fact that acp sir didn't say anything to him was actually more unusual than the usual scold that they recieve. I know it's complicated to begin with. As acp abhi sir bond has always been a complex matrix. But dekhte hai..abhi toh kahani shuru hui hai. Let us see where this whole thing leads us. Take care dear and lots of love to you from my side!

Jyotia: ata kay ch bolu mi..tumhala awadtay na means changlach ahe. As long as you're happy with this story. Everything is worth it :) Baki tar ata pudche chapters fast fast deycha try karte. Mag baghuya Kay hotay. Thanks to you yewhda detail amdhe Kay awadla t sangitlay baddal. Mandal abhari ahe ;)

Guest: I am so glad that you're liking this story. Hope that you stay tuned to read more! Thanks again.

Lekhika: sorry yaar late hogaya this time. Agle bar se time pe update pakka. Chalo take care and thanks a lot again.

Abhidaya lover: thanks a lot for your review and kind comment. Hope you like the update too.


Chalo now no more blah blah. Enjoy the chapter.


Next day morning at the bureau:

The days that followed were one and the same. More like, a mechanical one can say. The cases were getting reported more frequently and there was hardly any moment to actually get lost in these unsaid things. But more often than not it wasn't possible to overlook the silence that roared between the people in the bureau.

"Sir wo manjiri murder case ka file maine HQ submit kardiya hai sir. Ab mai report banau uska?" Vivek said as he came near rajat who was working.

"Han theeke tum banalo report.." rajat said when daya came in there with.

"Nai ek min..abhi thode din ke liye reports and all backburner pe rakho.." daya said as everyone in alert looked at him so he continued with. "Abhi acp sir se baat hui hai..hum logo ko ab ek high profile case pe Kam karna hai.. actually mai usiki briefing dene ke liye yahan aya hun.." daya spoke this Abhijeet came in there from the file room carrying files in hand. He went to his desk to keep them as the discussion continued.

"Sir high profile? Kaunsa?" Sachin asked.

"Rakesh kamra..(everyone looked quizzed)inshort raka.." as daya said this his eyes met with Abhijeet who walked ahead into their discussion.

"Sir raka..wo woi criminal hai na jise humne 7 saal pehle pakda tha.." Freddy asked to confirm as Daya nodded and spoke.

"Han woi hai(gazing at them all)kalse iss case pe sab kam karenge. Baki cases bhi rahenge..(in a serious voice) but this case will be the priority. Baki briefing iss hafte me karenge.." Daya said as everyone nodded and dispersed to their work. As Abhijeet too turned to his desk and daya came forward with..

"Hame iss week se hi planning to start karni hogi .."

Abhijeet just nodded as he gazed up at his pc. It had been this way since the past few weeks, where everything was comparatively normal. As the days were mostly spent working and being there. Rather than anything else. Seeing no reply from his side daya continued with.

"Raka ka case hai.. complicated hai.." he said as he sat besides the desk Abhijeet was working in.

Abhijeet nodded again and spoke. "Woh toh uske sath hamesha ka hai..(pausing)let's see iss baar kya karta hai.."

When daya continued with "han actually mujhe lag raha thi ki..jab tum Manish ke case se free ho jao thode..toh iss ke bare me bhi baat karenge..(pausing)abhi lead toh mai kar raha hun...par raka ko sabse acchese tum jante ho..so hum aaj discuss karle pehle toh.." when Abhijeet interrupted with.

"Aaj bahar jana hai..milan bar ka visit hai..(daya gazed silently at as Abhijeet continued)badme karlenge?"

"Han toh sirf bar me hi toh nazar rakhni hai..tum sachin vivek kisi ko bhej do..hum.."

"Abhi possible nahi hai daya..(dayas face changed as he said that)filhal muze hi jana hoga..(putting files in place) badme discuss karenge hum.." saying he just got up and moved to the file room. As daya just sat there staring at the space where Abhijeet was.

He just wanted to discuss it with him. Not just some other case but a high profile one. And this was his revert, something he had been doing for weeks. Now this avoiding thing has become so frequent that it has become their new normal. A normal that was far from it.

Daya just sat there as he caught Freddy gazing at him. His eyes carry the same questions as him.

How is this normal?

How is this fine?

Daya sighed as he averted his gaze from Freddy as he just sighed. Before a few weeks there was something to say. But now? What was he going to say when everyone else was seeming to be fine with this, whatever this thing was between them. Sighing, he just got up and left from the bureau.

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Next morning at the bureau:

Daya arrived early at the bureau, as he had left early. And didn't find Abhijeet coming back any time soon. So I had just slept in time and arrived at the bureau early to begin the important briefing. He had already explained the other documents and major events, since the last one and half hours. Now he wanted to concentrate on the profile briefing.

"Han toh sabse pehle ye sab sets lelo sab.." daya said as everyone passed on the set of documents to each other.

"Isme sari important documents, court ke..maps sab hai..(gazing at all) before we begin ek bar sab log dekh lo theek se.." after everyone checked them daya continued with.

"I feel tum logo iss sab data se raka ke bare me sabkuch pata chal jayega..even though it's not enough to know a person like him..(pausing)for begining we can start from here.."

"Sir hum sab log iss case pe Kam karenge?"

"Han..(pausing)I know hame aur load bhi hai..par iss bar we have no choice. Ye operation ka wait hume bohot time se tha..(pausing)so ab hum koi bhi risk nahi lesakte..so everyone's included.." daya said as he gazed at rajat who nodded and continued.

"Manish murder case ka sara kam Abhijeet sir ko hi report karna hai..aur raka case ka daya sir se..(pausing) baki sare cases ke liye mai hun hi bureau me..(pressing) but these cases are high profile..so make sure ke hum log inke preparation me time de rahe hai..so..ab shuru karte hai.." as rajat said that Pankaj asked.

"Sir par Abhijeet sir nahi aaye hai ab tak..unke liye hum.." before rajat could say anything daya replied with.

"Nai..(seeing everyone's gaze at him he continued)wo badme join karlega..(gazing at his empty desk)hum log discussion shuru karenge.." everyone nodded as rajat began the discussion. As daya just silently gazed at the empty space on the Abhijeet desk. He too felt that he should be there for this discussion. Actually he was needed there. But he didn't know where he was, or where he is nowadays. So just ignored his absence and continued the discussion.

"Toh..file toh tum logo ne padhi hogi..ke usne kya kya kiya hai aur kya nahi..(pausing)par beyond what that file can tell you. I want to say Cid ke sath raka ka record kabhi theek raha nahi hai..(walking back and forth) aaj tak kamsekam 6 se 7 baar usne humpe attack kiya hai har ek mutbhed me.. kabhi alms dealing ke liye toh kabhi double murder ke jurm me..hamesha usne kuch na kuch karke aapne aap ko court se baizzat bari kiya hai.."

"Sir jaise last time kiya hai..(reading from report)use toh pakad hi nahi sake the.." Vineet spoke

"Han last time bhi kuch alag nahi tha..(pausing) but it was worthwhile kyuke humne uske deal aur 4 major dealers ko andar kiya tha..jiski wajah se uska kafi nuksan hua tha..and wo inactive bhi tha for these many years. But of course( gazing at them all) it came at a cost."

"Han sir maine suna tha ke Abhijeet sir pe bohot bura hamla kiya tha usne..(pausing)halaki unhone hi use pakda tha..aur ye sab samne laya tja last time.." Pankaj said as he gazed at others and then at daya who nodded.

"You're right. Actually isi cheez ki wajah se ye mission aur jyada risky aur important bhi hai ..(pausing) kyuke ab wo Cid ke khilaf jaroor koi na koi sajeesh karega.." as he said, purvi added concern.

"Sir fir toh Abhijeet sir ko khatra hai sir.." as she said that daya looked at her. Acknowledging the fear inside him that she verbalised. But he carefully masked that as he spoke in a confident voice.

"Khatra toh kahan nahi hai purvi..but han..it's risky. Especially for him. And hame us baat ko consider karna hoga when we operate the plan.."

"Sir toh Abhijeet sir ka kya plan hai? Wo toh raka ko jante hai bohot acche se …" as Vineet said that daya just sighed sensing that he doesn't even know what abhijeet even thinks about this.

"Sir hume Abhijeet sir ke guidance ki bohot help ho sakti hai..(gazing at all) last unka hi confrontation hua hai matlab wo sabse jyaada jante hai uske bare me.." shreya said as others agreed to her. Daya nodded as he agreed with them. But didn't have any concrete answer to this.

"Ofcourse uska guidance rahega..(pausing)uske involvement se hum aage ka planning successfully kar sakenge.."

"Sir par fir hum aaj plan karenge ya.." Pankaj said as daya continued.

"Aaj..(seeing Abhijeet still not arrived)itna hi kafi hai..kalse hum karenge.." he said as he tried to just postpone the questions and quries to lead back to Abhijeet.

Soon everyone dispersed as daya was gathering the files. When Freddy came near him. "Sir.."

"Han Freddy.." daya said as he was looking down at the files.

"Sir mujhe lagta hai Abhijeet sir ka presence bohot needed hai abhi.."

"I know Freddy.." daya said as he picked up those files. As Freddy followed him behind with.

"Sir agar wo baki case ke wajah yahan concentrate kare toh..(gazing at daya)I mean sir unki jaan ki fikar hi rahi hai sir.." Freddy said as he just concluded his concern. While daya sat down on his chair and looked up.

"Mai samaz Raha Hun..(pausing)actually raka ka nam sunke hi muze ye sab lag raha hai..(pausing)par wo busy hai.."

"Sir aap kahenge toh manenge sir wo..aapka kaha thodi talte hai wo.." Freddy said as he genuinely felt concerned hearing these new updates regarding raka. But what was daya going to say? And to whom? The same person who was absolutely absent most of the time from the bureau? How was he going to tell Freddy that he doesn't know which out of the world case Abhijeet is dealing with? Well there were only questions on his end. The questions Abhijeet was skillfully avoiding to answer.

Daya gazed at him for a moment as he just nodded and added. "Dekhta hun..tum tension mat lo..niklega solution.." nodding Freddy silently left from there. As daya gazed at him going.

What is he going to assure Freddy, which he is unsure of himself?

Sighing,daya just gazed at the empty desk in front of him. Yet another day without him, without knowing where he is all this time? Without knowing what he is avoiding.

Just absence.

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The day went just like that, as Abhijeet didn't return and didn't even call him. After a time in late evening, vivek came to him as majority of people had left.

"Sir aap rukne wale ho?" Vivek asked as daya gazed up from his work.

"Han kyu?"

"Kuch nahi sir..maine report pura kiya tha..Abhijeet sir ne kaha tha wo..abhi wo nahi hai toh aapko dedu aap ek bar dekhlo.." As he said that he forwarded the file to daya. Who took it and opened it and while reading said.

"Theeke mai dekh lunga..(reading) tum niklo ab.."

"Theeke sir ..good night.." saying vivek was about to leave when daya read something in the report so in a confused gaze looked up and called vivek.

"Ek ek minute vivek.." looking down at the file in hand. As vivek turned and came towards his desk.

"Ye toh brijesh ki hi report hai na..(pausing)matlab wo bar me.."

"Han sir woi hai.." daya hearing his answer was quizzed so asked ahead.

"Accha par..iski report bhi banadi tumne ..matlab..aaj hi toh hua tha na ye.."

"Han sir..(daya gazed up at him)wo toh subah hi complete ho chuka tha .." daya stopped for a second as he heard that so continued asking.

"Subah?matlab?"

"Sir kal raat humlog bar me ruke the..aur aaj humne use pakda tha..(pausing)so subah tak sab data clear jo gaya toh maine report banadi.." Vivek saidas he was finding these questions confusing. Daya gazed at him for a moment as he was trying to understand what was happening.

Vivek who wasn't able to understand why daya was silent so said. "Sir kya hua report me kuch gadbad hai kya?"

Daya, who was lost in thoughts, looked up at him and spoke in clarification. "nahi..report ki baat nahi hai..(changing the topic) sorry actually mai kuch aur soch raha tha..tum..tum jao..(smiling)good work..`` Vivek nodded as he wished him a good night and left.

Daya keeping the report aside murmured to himself. "Agar bar ka kaam kal hi hogaya tha toh Abhijeet mujhe uska reason kyu deraha tha subah..(pressing his forhead slightly)samaz nahi raha hai ye kar kya raha hai..kal kam ho chuka hai aur..(gazing at the clock)abtak ye bahar hai..samaz nahi aaraha aur ab kaise puchu isse..(gazing at the empty cabin) na yeh Abhijeet samne aaraha hai baat karne ke liye aur na ..(gazing at the cabin)na inse ab kuch bat kar sakta hun..(in frustration getting up)aur kehne ke liye kya? Sab theek hai..(banging the file on the table)kya khak theek chal raha hai yeh.." ending his self talk he just wrapped up the files and left the bureau in frustration. While dialing the call to Abhijeet.

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Ring

Ring

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Abhijeet silently gazed at the call id as he just looked away from his phone. And looked ahead, staring at the vast sea that gazed back at him. Taking a deep breath he just ignored the call until it got disconnected. Silently he just took a break, as he pressed his eyes shut for a while.

It was late, he was supposed to be home. Or maybe working. Or maybe working in some cases. But it hardly mattered. It didn't matter if it was day night morning. As there was hardly anything that he felt.

Kuch na kehne se,

Kash sab sahi ho jata,

Iss doori se,

Kash sab sulajh jata,

Kash ke sab bikhrne se pehle,

Muze samaz jata,

Closing his eyes he just felt the peace he so much needed. He knew that it was short-lived. But he just needed it. He just needed to be away. As he thought maybe that's the best way he could deal with this, the best way he could be normal.

But only if he knew, that whatever this was. It was far from normal.


This was much of a filler chapter. The ride has just begun. Let's see how and where this goes.

Hope you liked this one folks! And please tell me how you found it. Thanks a lot for your time! And yeah please review, the early and more you review the faster you get the update. ;)