CHAPTER 8

A/N: Hello guys! Thanks to you all for reviewing and also for the best wishes for the exams. So sorry for making you guys wait.

But not to worry about it now. Here is the present update. Enjoy reading it guys.

Recap: Tanishka has informed ACP sir and Rajat about a looming danger on Abhijeet's life.

Days were passing as usual. Though ACP sir and Rajat were extremely tensed about the danger that Tanishka had pointed out, they used to mask it very effectively in the bureau. They had set all of their informers on the trail of DIG sir's informer and the gang which held similarity with the caught gang. It had been two weeks. But still they were empty – handed. Rajat was still vigorously digging into the previous cases solved by Abhijeet. That day, Rajat had returned from the spot of an ongoing case with Purvi, Sachin, Shreya and Vineet. He opened the bureau door to find Tanishka sitting there. He was shocked to see her there. She stood up seeing them.

Rajat: "Tum yaha?"

Tanishka: "ACP sir se milna tha."

Rajat; (smirking) "A-C-P SIR! Lagta hai tumhe wapas academy jana hai."

Tanishka: (embarrassed) "Kya Rajat sir, aap bhi! Okay…. ammm…. Dadu se milna hai."

Rajat: (laughing) "Good, warna mai ACP sir se complain karta tumhari."

Sachin: "Sir, yeh kya tha?"

Rajat: "Arre Sachin, woh Tanishka ne ACP sir se request ki thi ki use academy se kuch mahino ki leave dila de. Tab ACP sir ne uske saamne shart rakhi thi ki agar woh ACP sir ko sir na kehkar Dadu bulaayegi tohi woh use leave dilayenge. Warna leave cancel."

Everyone laughed at it while Tanishka was averting her gaze to hide her embarrassment. But there was one person standing behind the pillar looking at his baby with moist eyes. And suddenly an incident flashed in his mind.

Flashback

Tarika was six months pregnant. Abhijeet always tried to reach home as early as possible so that he could help out Tarika with things related to her, the house and most importantly, Tanishka. Though due to her extraordinary abilities, Tanishka had learned to take basic care of herself, there were many other things where she needed parental help. But that one day, Abhijeet got stuck up due to a late night shootout plan. IT WAS FATHER'S DAY. Tarika was constantly trying to make Tanishka have her dinner, but she stubbornly wanted to take it with her Papa. Atlast Tarika left her attempts and had her own dinner and went to her room to take rest. Though she couldn't sleep with her daughter sitting there with empty stomach, she was so tired that as soon as she closed her eyes to rest, the sleep angel took her into her dreamland. It was at around 11, when Abhijeet returned. He opened the door with spare key and entered to find his angel sitting at the dining table waiting for him. Tanishka immediately ran into his arms.

Tanishka: "Papa…."

Abhijeet: (picking her up) "Are! Meri angel soyi nahi abhi tak?"

Tanishka: "Nahi. Maine na aaj mamma she ke diya ki mai shirf papa ke shaat kaana kaoungi aul unke shaath hi shoungi."

Abhijeet: "Accha, toh thik hai phir. Papa abhi fresh hokar aate hai. Aur phir papa aur Tanu saath me khaana khayenge. Thik?"

Tanishka nodded and Abhijeet, on setting her down, went to freshen up. He checked on Tarika to find her sleeping and softly covered her with blanket. He came out after freshening and saw that Tanu had already set the plates with her little hands, as the food items were already on the table.

Abhijeet: (picking her up and settling her in his lap) "Aap ne kyu kiya? Papa aakar kar dete na?"

Tanishka: "Aishe hi. Aap bhi toh thak gaye honge na."

Abhijeet smiled at her pure concern and started feeding her while simultaneously having his dinner. They had their dinner and Abhijeet washed his and Tanu's hands. He cleared the table as well as the kitchen. However when he came out, he saw something kept on the table in the hall. He came forward and picked it up. It was a blue coloured card. He opened it. It went as follows:

TO THE WORLD'S BESTEST PAPA,

THANKYOU FOR BEING IN MY LIFE AND HELPING ME OUT WITH EVERYTHING. THANKYOU FOR HELPING ME GET UP WHEN I FELL DOWN, FOR MAKING ME SMILE WHEN I FELT SAD AND FOR HELPING ME JUDGE WHAT IS RIGHT AND WRONG. THANKYOU ONCE AGAIN FOR EVERYTHING.

YOUR TOUGH WARRIOR, TANISHKA

Abhijeet's eyes went moist seeing it. He looked around to find his tough warrior standing behind him with a shy smile and averted gaze.

Abhijeet: "Yeh sab tumne likha mere liye?"

Tanishka: "Woh Daya chachu ne mujhe bataya kya likna hai aur mai phil lika."

Saying this, she tightly hugged her father and hid herself in his chest. Abhijeet's eyes were constantly streaming.

Abhijeet rubbed off the tears from his eyes. Here was his angel, standing in the same way, carrying the same shyness and averting eyes. Had she really grown up into a young, confident, 17-year-old maiden? He still saw that stubborn, yet sweet and shy baby standing there. And then, he remembered the previous night and shivered. He thought something for a while and entered the bureau. Everyone stopped laughing seeing him. Tanishka too looked up to find Abhijeet coming towards her. Though he was nervous from inside, he hid it well behind his tough posture. Daya and ACP sir too entered the bureau behind him, but no one noticed them except Tanishka as everyone's eyes were fixed on Abhijeet. He stood infront of her who was confused at it.

Abhijeet: "Tanu, woh… woh tum… woh tum humare saath GHAR chalogi, humare saath rehne?"

Everyone was looking transfixed at that question. Even Tanishka was amused. All of them had thought that after that big hungama, he would never talk to her. But here he was, asking her to come home. Tanishka looked at him for a while, then looked at ACP sir and Rajat and nodded slowly.

Tanishka: "Thik hai, mai shaam ko apna samaan leke aajaungi."

That was another shock. Even ACP sir and Rajat. Abhijeet was deeply shocked at the easy approval. He was expecting something harsh from her side, but she didn't do any such thing. Seeing him in that condition, Daya instantly spoke up.

Daya: "Nahi, tum akele mat aana, mai tumhe pick-up karne aa jaunga Rajat ke ghar."

Tanishka: "Thik hai. Ammm… Dadu….. woh mujhe aapse kuch baat karni thi."

ACP sir: "Aao cabin me baat karte hai."

Tanishka went with him in his cabin. As she was engrossed in her thoughts, she unknowingly sat on ACP sir's chair. ACP sir smiled and sat on the chair opposite to the table.

ACP: "Bolo, kya kaam hai."

Tanishka jerked back into reality and was going to start speaking when suddenly she realized their positions.

Tanishka: (getting up) "Sorry Dadu, woh mera dhyaan nahi raha, sach me – "

ACP: "Yeh jagah meri badi poti ne apne bachpan me haasil ki thi. Maine bohot pyaar se use yeh haq diya tha. Aur aaj tak yeh haq usika raha hai. Na maine woh kisi aur ko diya, na kisi ko lene diya. Aur aage bhi usika rahega. So…. ab bataao kya baat hai?"

Tanishka sat down back on that chair, smiling internally at the fact that still there were some privileges to which only she was authorized. She sighed peacefully and started to tell him what she had come for.

Tanishka: "Hume Paris ki school me detective science me basic hacking bhi sikhaayi gayi thi. Toh…. usse maine DIG sir ka phone hack kiya hai.(ACP sir tried to say something but she stopped him) Aap please meri puri baat sun lijiye. Maine use hack karke uski contact list nikali hai. Bas…. Phir maine academy ke ek dost, jo hacking expert hai, usse mobile company ka server hack karva ke un sabhi numbers ki details nikalwayi hai. Aap log do hafte se try kar rahe the par koi result nahi aa raha tha to…. maine socha thodi help kardu."

She gave the list and details to ACP sir. He angrily took it from her. And studied it. Being in this profession for years, he immediately separated out the numbers of the informers and sent the list to his informers. Tanishka was silently sitting there as she knew that interrupting him would only force that volcano to erupt. After sending the list to the informers, he started dialling a number. Tanishka got suspicious and –

Tanishka: "Ab aap kise call kar rahe hai?"

ACP: (coldly) "Academy ke principal ko."

Tanishka: (shocked) "Aap… aap unhe kyu call kar rahe hai, Dadu?"

ACP: (angrily) "Maine tumse mana kiya tha na ki tum isme khudko involve nahi karogi, kiya tha na? Phir kyu kiya yeh sab kuch? (worriedly) Beta, yeh jo bhi log hai, bohot khatarnaak hai. Aur agar Abhijeet par khatra hai, toh jaahir si baat hai ki woh log uski family ko bhi target karenge. Yahi sabse aasaan tarika hoga us tak pohonchne ka. Aur agar unhe yeh bhanak lag gayi ki tumhe sab pata hai aur tum humare jariye untak pohonchne ki koshish kar rahi ho, to woh log tumhe bhi nuksaan pohoncha sakte hai."

Tanishka: (suddenly realizing something) "Woh target karenge nahi, unhone target karna shuru kar diya hai."

ACP: (confused) "Matlab?"

Tanishka: "Aaj achanak aisa kya ho gaya jo papa ne khud aakar mujhse yeh kaha ki mai unke saath ghar chalu? Wo chahte to yeh baat bohot pehle hi aakar mujhse keh dete. (in low tone) Aur jaha tak humare jhagde ki baat hai, to uske baad jab tak mai sorry na bolu, woh mujhse baat nahi karte the. Phir aaj kya hua? Kahi aisa toh nahi ki koi unhe mere naam se dhamki de raha hai?"

ACP sir was totally tensed hearing it. Yeah, it was just so possible. He looked outside towards Abhijeet who was engrossed in starring at the blank laptop screen.

Someone came and tapped his shoulder. He looked up to find his best buddy there. The person who was among the few people having ability to draw words from his silence. He just averted his gaze.

Daya: "Tanu ki fikar ho rahi hai na? Samajh sakta hu. Chahe jitna jhagad lo, rahegi toh woh tumhari aankhon ka taara hi."

Abhijeet: "Us taare ko maine apne haatho se toda diya hai. Pata nahi, phirse apni zindagi ke phalak par saja paunga ya nahi."

Daya: (pressing his shoulder) "Itna hara hua kyu sound kar rahe ho, yaar? Naraaz hai woh tumse sirf, mana loge toh maan jayegi. Tum toh aise bol rahe ho jaise use tumse nafrat hi ho gayi ho."

Abhijeet: "Jaanta hu, Daya, ki woh mujhse naraaz hai. Par kaise manau mai use? Kya kahu? Usse kiya hua har promise maine toda hai. Sabse badi baat, uska bharosa toda hai maine. Us waqt jab use sabse jyada meri jarurat thi, maine use akela chhod diya, yaar. Ekdum akeli thi woh. Pata hai, uski aankhe dekhkar hi mai samajh gaya tha ki usne kuch nahi kiya. Woh ilzam usne apne sir liya hai kisi wajah se, phir bhi maine usse woh sab keh diya. Phir jab wo us centre se chutke Paris jaa rahi thi tab bhi usse nahi mila. Aur najaane aisi kitni galatiya ki hai maine. Kis muh se manau mai use, Daya, kis muh se?"

Daya just kept pressing his shoulder. He knew what Tanishka meant for Abhijeet. But his care and fear for Minu had blinded him and made him take Tanu for granted. After few moments of silence –

Daya: (in low, whispering tone) "Kuch pata chala, us phone number ka?"

Abhijeet: (coming out of the painful aura and entering his 'Officer' mode) "Nahi. Woh phone waise bhi kal shaam ko chori hua tha aur phone call ke baad se switch off hai."

Daya: "To ab?"

Abhijeet: "Pata nahi. (determinedly) Par itna toh tay hai ki mai use apni bacchi ke 100 m ke dayre me bhi nahi aane dunga."

And both of them remembered the phone call which had blown away their sleeps last night.

There you go, guys. Done with the update.

One important thing. Please do tell me if you have got any plots. Though I have some of mine, but would also appreciate to give you all some stories which you would like to read. Do let me know. Till then, please Read and Review.

Thankyou!