HEY everyone!
I am really sorry for the late update. And no replies too. Please forgive me, i am just under a lot of stress right now due to some unsuspected work load and poor health.
A few updates would go without any replies, i am really sorry.
SS1912, Rhia Dubey, Tina, Priya, Shikha Sharma, Guest, Angelbetu, Krittika, Ad Fan, Js ABHI, Guest, Duosun, GD, Tia and Kirti. Thanks allot guys. Your all reviews are always much appreciated and much awaited. I am sorry for not replying individually guys. Though i am answering the common query some of you had below...
Abhijeet sir is not behaving rudely, it's just he has a different perception than all of us in this condition. We have an emotional attachment to her character like others but Abhijeet sir is not much emotionally attached to her. He is rather more disturbed at this point because it's her appearance creating trouble in his life.
About Daya sir behaviour, i explained it that he is angry yet the lie is not something sooo big in his heart, it's bad, YES, but he is reconciling with it himself. Forgiving his buddy himself through arguments as he is not really aware of anything more now. Also he turned soft towards Abhijeet sir in beginning after seeing his condition. Joh maine describe ki thi.
SS 1912 - about Salunkhe and freddy, yes, it's in chapter 5 that they know something else.
GD - Yes, they know something more. About Daya sir, yaar woh kyun security rakhenge? There was nothing which suggested that her life was under some danger from someone. About ACP sir and Abhijeet sir...yaar...why witness protection for her? Dada's tez dimaag moving ahead of everyone else and even chapters... ;) hehehehe...Hmmm...yaar dekho abhi tak lady ka actually mein koi bhi connection ya role in past reveal nahi hua hai...so i can't say anything. But i think next chapter satisfied your these queries. Thank you for reviewing Dada.
DIYA! - HI! BIG WALA HI! HEY! And then lots of daant for being missing for so long and not coming on new year and not giving kiddo anything on christmas...hunh. But then A BIG WALA HUG! Awww...and story bhi padhni start ki. Aur burai bhi kardi aur compliments bhi...haaye...i am so much filled with gratitude and giddiness and comments right now. "smiling biggg" Kair chalo padho padho...you are much behind than everyone else. But koi baat nahi...i am glad that you are reading. Itne waqt baad it's nice to have you as a reader again. Chalo start hojao...bahot kamiyan nikalni hain abhi...;).
Sami - First of all i am really very sorry for not replying to you in previous chapters. You are reviewing on 1st chapter only and as i had to reply to 2 chapter reviews i was opening only chapter reviews so missed yours. Really sorry yaar. It's my mistake i know. But maaf kardo na please! Hmm...ABHI based stories. Acha waiting for some time yaar, mujhe search karni hongi as abh bahot waqt hogaya kuch padhe. Saturday Episode was ok ok. Bearable and better than expectation but still not good enough. Thank you so much for reviewing yaar.
Now let's move to the chapter guys...have fun reading!
Chapter - 9 - Slowly ahead - faster back.
He took a deep breath and moved forward again and asked in low tone after reaching Abhijeet's side... " kaisi hain woh abh?". He couldn't help but be concerned when Abhijeet's body gave a small jerk when daya began. He saw the man taking a deep breath and heard the grave voice of his friend speak after a few minutes...
" Doctors ka kehna hai sabh theek hai...woh bas darr gayi thi aise achanak se uss aadmi ke aane se toh hyperventilate karne lagi and in her condition it's not good...baaki sabh theek hai..(confusedly) ussne goli bhi sofe ki taraf chalai thi...unpar nahi..."
Daya asked confusedly too... " Kya?"
Abhijeet looked up at him with those eyes turning sharp at edges so daya just rubbed the back of his neck before he heard again... " Haan...(asking) woh aadmi mila?"
Daya nodded and showed Abhijeet the pic he had taken earlier. Abhijeet looked shocked after seeing the photograph but he looked up towards Daya at same moment with a questioning expression on his face so Daya answered his question quietly with... " haan mar gaya hai, jante ho isse?". Abhijeet nodded either after looking at the photograph for another minute said while shaking his head... " nahi...main nahi janta isse..."
Daya nodded and now hesitatingly sitting beside Abhijeet on the bench asked in a faked angry concerned tone... " tum ghar chale jao abhi...main yahan dekh loonga...thodhe waqt baad baaki sabh ko bula lunga.."
Seeing the soft pained smile on Abhijeet's face made Daya feel both relaxed and infuriated at the same time as the smile relaxed him about his buddy health while it also told him that abhijeet got the fake anger behind it as well. He took a deep breath and sat silently for a few minutes before he finally heard...
" Abhi nahi...ek baar pehle yahan ek baar dekh lete hain...(softly) main baadme chala jaunga ghar..."
Daya wanted to protest on principle but after seeing Abhijeet's face just nodded and decided to rest there on the bench itself for a few moments before continuing with their search. At least it would give Abhijeet some degree of rest before they were plunged into work again. So he relaxed his shoulders and back more and settled a little more comfortably on the bench, well as comfortable as anyone could be on these monstrosities of comfort.
Both buddies sat in silence after that for few moments. Gathering the strength to face the storm that awaited both. Hearing the silence of each other forgiving, asking, concerned and angry all at once. But it were those few moments required by both desperately. After few more minutes of comfortable silence Daya decided to give abhijeet as much time as he wanted to take to gather himself up and so settled himself to thinking about this mess with a clearer mind this time.
He didn't really get much time but just enough to create a mental tally of all the odd things associated with aunty jee and this attack coming in their notice till now. He made two columns for both incidents but kept them on the same board. His eyes going back and forth between all the things known till now.
Here, Abhijeet looked towards Daya and after seeing him settling down comfortably without any conversations or questions or accusations felt himself release a long breath realizing suddenly how much reluctant he had been to answer anything right this time. He took a deep breath trying to settle his nerves and his thoughts in something of a order he normally possessed but it was all still mostly jumbled so he decided to lock away most of his emotions and messy feeling about this scenario and deal with the situation before those. He knew that Daya was deliberately giving him this time to gather himself up and he did exactly that as he knew that for long hours now he won't be getting this time back again.
He started after taking few more minutes for himself... " woh aadmi...kuch bataya ussne? marne se pehle?"
Daya replied after opening his eyes while already shaking his head... " nahi...(looking towards Abhijeet's face) cigarette pi raha tha jabh mujhe mila...ya toh uss cigarette mein kuch tha ya phir woh pehle se kuch khaye baitha tha...(low tone) aisa laga jaise mera intezaar kar raha tha..."
Abhijeet stiffened a little but controlled himself hurriedly and looked towards Daya with... " Body forensic bhej di?"
Daya nodded and asked further... " kisi orderly ya nurse se pooch taach ki abh tak.?.."
Abhijeet shook his head in no and stood up signalling daya to do the same with replying... " doctor se kaha hai sabhko ikhata karne ko...sabh log darke idhar udhar hogaye the...dekhna padega..."
Daya asked again trying to act normal but looking towards Abhijeet suspiciously... " tumhe kya lagta hai kya wajah thi aane ki? darana ya marna?"
Abhijeet took a deep breath and replied to that honestly as knew Daya must be connecting everything now and it's really not something of a big difficult puzzle where someone can't figure the connections out... " mujhe lagta hai kisi kisam ki warning thi...(looking towards daya only sideways) ya at least reminder kisi cheez ka kyunki usska shot bahot jyada galat tha...woh marne aaya hi nahi tha...(shrugging and then say again) magar yeh bhi hosakta haiki kisi aas paas wale ne usse dhakka diya ho jisske wajah se usska nishana chuka...aur uss case mein bhi...
Daya continued now looking forward... " aur uss case mein bhi yeh hamla tumse related ho bhi sakta hai aur nahi bhi..."
Abhijeet nodded even after knowing Daya can't see him properly right now. Both moved towards the reception area where the doctor gathered everyone on duty during those hours on their floor. And other medical personnel who frequently visited the floor. They asked the few required questions and some more about the other hospital staff and the entries and exits in the building and after noting the required details let the agitated personnel leave with instructions about not leaving the place till they cleared the matter. They didn't get anything much other than the fact that the hospital originally had 2 entrances but one had been closed long ago and that nobody had seen the man or interacted with him anywhere in the hospital or when he had been in the woman's room.
The whole only left the two man with mere few leads to go on.
Daya asked again after seeing Abhijeet jerking his head for the 4th time... " ghar chale jao Abhijeet abhi...yahan dekhne ke liye kuch jyada nahi hai abhi...main bas woh doosri entrance dekhke (after pointing towards the time) team ko bula hi lunga..."
Abhijeet shook his head either feeling pain with the act but it helped him focus too, also he didn't want to leave Daya alone right now with already one attack on aunty jee and from what Daya had said about the man, that it had looked like he had been waiting for him, all his old fears were surfacing again and he didn't want to put Daya in any danger just because he left him alone. He said after confirming that daya was not going to fight him on it ( which really somehow made Abhijeet feel hurt in his heart)...
" Chalo pehle phir ek baar woh entrance check kar lete hain..."
Daya said nothing in reply and just moved ahead.
All of it made Abhijeet feel a little surreal really. So many things, so many emotions, so many lies, so many mysteries and all he was able to really focus on was the fact that he had lied all those years ago and that the lie has come in front now and, he didn't think about how it all would affect his relationship with his colleagues but how it was all going to put them all in so much danger. And how it would unnecessarily also pull ACP sir in something he had had no control over and no fault in.
Abhijeet shook his head a little again and looked at Daya's retreating form for a few minutes before following him outside as well. He would not let any of this harm his friends and colleagues. He was sure of that at least. Rest, well...rest he had accepted long ago that he would deserve any reaction the lies got him. He wouldn't be able to accept a no reaction though. May be.
Both moved out of the hospital and took out their mobiles to look around due to the darkness outside. Abhijeet spotted a camera and pointed it out to Daya with... " Camera bhi hai yahan per...ek baar isski bhi recording dekh lete hain..."
Daya replied while moving forward with a shake of his head... " koi fayda nahi hai...most probably (Abhijeet looked towards him questioningly to which Daya explained himself further with) maine pata kiya yahan ke security staff se...cameras working hain magar electrical system faulty hone ki wajah se most recordings erase ho jati hain..(grumbling in frustration) khud ki security ka khyaal nahi hain inn logon ko..."
Abhijeet who was moving behind him while looking all around asked... " toh memory chip toh le hi lete hain...kya pata kuch haath lag jaye? "
Daya nodded without replying feeling himself turning irritated and frustrated right now due to everything that has been going on for the last few days and hours most particularly. He sighed and ran a hand through his short hair as he reached the rusted iron gate, his sharp eyes taking everything in to look for something unusual.
Abhijeet reached the gate behind him after searching around and presented him with some burned cigarette buts in his gloved hands to which Daya said... " chain smoker lagta hai..?"
Abhijeet seemed thoughtful at that observation either Daya felt it's rather obvious as he already saw the man smoking during a point where he should have been thinking more about either running or something else probably, so said questioningly... " kya lag raha hai...?"
Daya felt Abhijeet startle at the question and he found himself feeling concern for this man whom he had never known to have been startled so easily. He looked towards his buddy's face and found him only looking tired and may be agitated but daya felt all those things be normal in these circumstances. He wanted to ask Abhijeet to leave now seeing the exhaustion only increasing with every passing moment but felt the sharp eyes settle on him as if the man had heard the very thought. He averted his gaze from his buddy's easily this time, before focusing his eyes on the gate in their front.
He heard the man answer him though... " mujhe lagta hai ek se jyada log the...( Daya didn't want to look at his buddy again so nodded after a moment showing his confusion and asking for further explanation to which Abhijeet complied easily) sabh ander nahi aaye lekin shayad...ya phir hospital se hi koi staff mila hua hai...joh bhi hai...(showing the buts to Daya) different cigarettes hain...at least company different hai...baaki toh abh salunkhe sahab hi bata payenge pakka..."
Daya at that moment really wanted to turn back and focus his glare and accusing gaze on his buddy instead of feeding it to the unsuspecting and non responding iron gate but he couldn't do that right now. So he pacified himself by just responding with a terse... " of course..". He was atleast glad that Abhijeet sounded apologetic when he uttered a small " sorry " without thinking.
Of course, it was not that Abhijeet was a daily smoker or a chain smoker but he, in Daya's eyes took a smoke enough times a month for Daya to be wary of the habit. Daya had never had the habit himself and he never even wanted to develop one but he was wary of it being Abhijeet's because he thought Abhijeet mostly used it as a connection to his past rather than a relief and after so many years it had indeed turned into something of a stress relieving habit.
It also didn't help the matters in these cases when the man had such keen observation skills and ironically so good a memory that he remembered the brands he saw and was even able to differentiate between various kinds of brands by their smells efficiently. It really irked Daya the wrong way.
He sighed and jerked his head now suddenly observing unthinkingly in his brain that he seemed to be doing both of those actions allot today. He lighted a space in front of him pointedly by the torch in his light and said... " yeh dekho...yahan per grass dabi hui hai...(saying again after focusing the light on the locked iron gate) magar tala nahi tuta hua hai...aur aas paas hi grass sahi hai...matlab koi toh aaya hai recently.."
Abhijeet nodded in agreeing with... " hmmm...matlab kisi ander ke aadmi ne darwaza khola hai? (thinking) magar sabhke paas iss tale ki chabi nahi hogi..."
Daya straightened up now after observing the near by area more closely for any more clues but after finding nothing due to low light nodded to Abhijeet's observation with... " haan yeh bhi hai...(looking towards Abhijeet who was now looking around broadly with what light his mobile flashlight provided) pehle guards se poochte hain? ". Abhijeet nodded so now both moved inside the hospital again.
It's mostly a silent walk to inside where both just looking here and there trying to avoid looking towards each other and avoid any conversation which wouldn't be really any fruitful in these moments but was on both minds at the forefront. Abhijeet was avoiding the topic because he wanted as much extra time as he could get and Daya avoided it because he really didn't knew how he would react to the truth being spoken directly by Abhijeet confirming every suspicion and lighting up every hope of all of it being a joke or a cruel plan from their enemies or something.
Abhijeet slowed his speed after feeling the vibration in his pocket and took his phone out to read the caller ID in shocking tone as " ACP sir". Daya who had moved ahead a little due to Abhijeet's slow speed stopped completely and turned around to questioningly look towards his buddy's phone. While Abhijeet picked up the call with some delay so as not to give the man to suspect anything and start the conversation with suspicious questions and before he could have said anything heard from the other end a calm but hurried tone... " Abhijeet mere ghar right now..."
He could utter only a shocked " Sir " before the man at the other end said in a clear tone telling Abhijeet the seriousness of the situation now not only limited to them both... " HQ se log aaye hain Abhijeet..". Abhijeet nodded and before he told ACP sir anything about Daya's presence with him and the case the call got cut and he stayed still with the phone still at his ear for a minute more to avoid Daya's questioning eyes.
Clearing his throat a little he said to the empty air on the other side of the phone... " sir woh ek case aa gaya hai main aur Daya wohi...nahi sir main aajata hun koi problem nahi hai...Yes sir...".
He removed the phone from his ear after a minute more and said while meeting Daya's eyes assuredly... " Daya tum yahan dekh lo, (watching time) abh team ko bhi bula lo chahe...mujhe ACP sir ne bulaya hai kuch zaroori kaam hai...DCP sahab aaye hua hain...tum log...
Daya shook his head and a teasing smile came on his face which stopped Abhijeet in his explanation before the man said in a cool and calm tone oozing suspicion... " tumhe pata hai Abhijeet Salunkhe sir ne aaj hi iss baare mein ACP sir se bhi baat ki hai...? (Abhijeet pretended to be shocked with that knowledge but after seeing Daya's glare eased his shoulders and released a sigh before hearing more) jaao tum..."
Abhijeet wanted to say something more but after seeing Daya's completely uninterested glare towards him and set shoulders decided to take it as the escape it was and left with a low and very apologetic... " i am sorry, Daya...". He left it to Daya to decide about what it had been for.
Daya shook his head lightly after Abhijeet left with a small resigned whisper... " Abh bhi jhooth Abhijeet.." before he decided to give the team a call finally after checking up on aunty jee once. He wasn't sure whether any of their other colleagues would recognize the woman or not. At some point they may have seen her photograph or may have not, Abhijeet's past is a known fact in their department, if anyone tries to look him up that is. But the people associated with his past are not and Daya wasn't sure they even had the woman's face in their records. He hadn't found one. Their team was intelligent enough to not to question it immediately if they recognized the woman but there would have to be answers at some point.
He sighed and ran a hand through his hair once again making the already messy jumble on his head even more uneven. At least he would be able to pin his state of disarray to the late hour of the night. Small favors really.
Abhijeet stopped his car outside Acp sir's house feeling uneasy after seeing few other vehicles already present in front of the estate. He still couldn't believe how the situation had escalated to this point where his whole past was in question in front of his friends and family and how he have again reached to this place where he and Acp sir were again going to face those people who were if not completely but partly responsible for what was happening now. He sighed softly and after turning the car off got down and stretched himself a little, trying to ebb away the tension in his shoulders from long hours of journey earlier in the day and then the stress of everything after.
He wondered how the people inside came to know about this new development or how they hadn't known it earlier or why they hadn't warned them about it if they did? When they all had parted, with deals settled and promises made and things discussed, the case buried and closed under lost evidences, betrayed officials and an injured officer who remembered nothing, it hadn't been said but understood that it should be something buried under all their heads and hearts as well. Abhijeet had never been able to manage it though, and he suspected neither had Acp sir.
He sighed and knocked on the heavy wooden door, waiting now for the noise of the footsteps and a door knob behind. Sometimes observing such small details or things, Abhijeet had found early on, helped him focus more. It had become a dependence and habit from then on.
The old man whom he had now known for many years opened the door and greeted him with a smile which turned into a frown as Abhijeet entered inside. Abhijeet waited for the question patiently...
The question came unhesitatingly a few seconds later only, although in a voice too soft to carry across the hall, too accustomed to secrecy now.." Abhijeet beta...aap toh bahot jyada thake hua lag rahein hain...(nodding disapprovingly) mere samajh nahi aata aap log yeh kaam waam bina araam kiye kar kaise lete hain...(grumbling) yeh log toh sabh aaye honge ache se soke...per itna toh pata hona haina ki aap log aaj hi aayein hain..."
Abhijeet couldn't help but smile at the soft words and the matured grumbling from the older man, it always made him feel a little warmer inside which restrained him from ever interrupting the man, he said now though... " kaka yeh sabh toh chalta hi rehta hai...(asking either knowing already) Sabh log study mein hi haina?"
The old man nodded either making a disapproving face on Abhijeet's lack of anger but told softly instead of continuing his grumbling... " kaafi waqt se intezaar kar rahein hain Acp sahab aapka...(asking softly in concerned tone) aapke liye chai bana du beta?"
Abhijeet shook his head in no even though he craved the escape to the warmth of the hot liquid but right now it wouldn't really be welcomed. He continued towards the study nodding to Kaka who disappeared to whatever he had been doing earlier after grumbling about their stubbornness again.
He gave a specific knock, buried under his memories from long ago and waited for the sharp sound of " Come in " before opening the door.
HAwww...EK aur DUO wala chapter...yeh kya hogaya! ;)
Anyways, it's probably the last duo chapter for a long time now. So enjoy it.. ;)
DO read and review guys.
Next update on wednesday!
Have fun and Take care guys.