Chapter 4
A/N: Here's the next chapter, Sorry it's short, but this is the best I could do right now in between exam preparations. Than you sooo much for the reviews! :D They really mean a lot! :D I've not had the time to thank all my reviewers in person, so here it is! :D
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Two days later:
At the Hospital:
Daya was pacing across the corridor in an impatient manner. It had been half an hour since the doctor went in, but it seemed like an eternity for him. ACP Pradyuman looked at him with a sigh. He could not blame him for being so paranoid after what happened two days ago. That moment which could have changed so much... shedding away thoughts about that moment quickly, he was about to tell Daya to to keep his head over himself when the doctor appeared from the room. But before Daya could say anything, the doctor hurriedly exclaimed:
"Mr. Abhijeet abhi bilkul theek hai. Unki body ab puri tarah se detoxify ho chuki hai, par phir bhi hum unhe kuch dino ke liye hospitalized rakhenge kyunki unki blood count kaafi low ho chuki hai. Bas 10 minute wait kijiye, hum abh unhein dusre room mein shift kar rahein hai. Uske baad aap unse jaa ke mil sakte hai."
Saying this, the doctor put a consoling hand over a now-relaxed Daya, while he walked towards his cabin with a smile over his face. Daya heaved a sigh of relief. Finally a good news after 2 days. He shared a look at ACP Pradyuman just then and a lot was said in that moment. Taking a similar sigh, ACP Pradyuman took out his cellphone to inform the other team members of the news, while Daya now peeked into the ICU room where Abhijeet was being attached to various instruments.
The moment the nurse came out, Daya rushed into the room. Abhijeet lay there looking considerably weak, yet his eyes seemed to have regained part of its old twinkle. Taking a seat by him, Daya gave Abhijeet a tired smile while Abhijeet returned an exasperated one. Before the two of them could say anything, ACP Pradyuman entered the room, now accompanied by Dr. Salunkhe.
"Arre yeh kya Abhijeet! Tumne toh hum sab ko bas shock dene hi lage hue ho!"
"Salunkhe sahab..."
"Kya Salunkhe sahab! Salunkhe bilkul sahin bol raha hai!"
"Aur nahi toh kya! Mujhe toh yeh samajh main nahi aata hai ki har baar tum hi aise cheezon ke shikaar kyun bante ho!"
Looking helplessly at all the inevitably angry faces and the chorus of scolding that was taking place, Abhijeet looked at Daya irritably and chose to reply to his jab.
"Daya, mera yakken maano, yeh sawaal main apne aap ko pichle 14 saalon se puchte aa raha hoon!"
Everyone stopped bickering and looked at Abhijeet. He looked so irritated that his nose had turned red, a common sign. But at that moment, he looked so comical, that evryone burst into bouts of laughter. Abhijeet gave an outraged look, before a tiny smile unconsciously came up his face. Just then all the team members entered the room. And more scoldings and more rantings continued up to the point that Abhijeet refused to look at anyone, let alone be patient enough to answer back. Judging his friend's growing annoyance, Daya finally stepped in to stop the chorus.
"Chalo abhi bohot ho gaya. Mujhe lagta hai ki ab tak Abhijeet samajh hi gaya hoga ki hum sab kya kehna chahte hai." While Abhijeet gave Daya one of his pronounced scowls, he was nevertheless grateful for the intervention. There were so many things that he wanted to know about the case, that he couldn't keep them in any more.
"Sir, Akash ke maut ke baare mein kuch aur pata chala?" And all the high spirits from before seemed to diminish. ACP Pradyuman now took the lead in answering.
"Nahi Abhijeet, abhi tak Akash ke maut ke baare mein jo pata tha bas wahi par hai hum."
"Aap logon ne ghar ki talaashi phir se kiya hi hoga... usmein aapko kuch mila?"
"Kuch khaas nahi mila tha, bas kuch dhamki bhare khat uske ghar se mile the, yeh kehte hue ki ab uski ulti ginti chalu ho gayi hai, ki ab uske saath woh sab kuch hoga jo usne kabhi Rajeev ke saath kiya tha."
"Aur sir, uss zeher ke baare mein kuch aur pata chala?"
"Nahi... par hum logon ko yeh pata chala hai ki Akash ki uss illegal company mein yeh zeher ki mass production hoti thi."
"Par woh company toh Rajeev ke marte hi Goverment order se seal kar diya gaya tha na?"
"Haan Abhijeet... Akash ki company band to ho gayi thi, par usne appeal karke production factories ko band karne se rok diya tha yeh kehke ki uss factory mein kaafi Class A type ke chemicals bhi hai, jise safely dispose off karna hoga. Bas, phir undertaking leke, Court ne Akash ko unn factories ka legal caretaker bana diya, aur Akash ne apna business underground se phir se shuru kiya. Kal main aur Sachin gaye the uss factory mein, sab pata lagane ke liye, tab pata chala ki teen din pehle, ek consignment mein se ek bottle kam ho gaya tha."
"Aur woh bottle issi chemical ka hoga?"
"Haan... wahan factory godown mein CCTV cameras lage hue the, par itna andhera tha ki uss aadmi ki shakal hi dikh nahi paya. Agar yeh Rajeev hi hai jo yeh sab kar raha hai, phir toh humein aur savdhaani parakhni hogi, kyunki woh apna kaam bohot hi chaturaai se kar raha hai."
"Par mujhe ek baat samajh mein nahi aayi, agar woh chemical itna khatarnaak hai toh phir uska asar sirf mujhpar hi kyun hua?"
"Abhijeet, jahan tak Sachin ne mujhe bataya hai, jab tumne laash ke pulse ko check kiya, tab tumne gloves pehne nahi the. Ek baar tumhein pata chala ki Akash mar chuka hai, tabhi tumne apne gloves pehene aur usse inspect karne lage. Jab Sachin ne tumhein join kiya, tab usne already gloves pehene hue the, isiliye uspar uss zeher ka asar hua hi nahi. Aur jaise ki main woh din bhi lab main keh raha tha, yeh zeher sirf aur sirf direct skin contact, yaane ke choone se phailti hai. Agar tum apne gloves ko check karoge toh uspar se tumhein zeher ka ek bhi trace nahi milega."
Abhijeet looked much at peace now that most of his questions had been answered. He, however, had still one question in mind, but did not know how to phrase it. Catching his distress, Dr. Salunkhe got wind of what he wanted to ask and gave him a simple reply.
"Uss wakt jab tum lab mein aaye the tabhi mujhe sak hua ki kahin tum uss chemical ke contact mein nahi aaye the. Par tabhi tumne mujhe yeh bataya ki laash ko tumne aur Sachin ne saath mein check kiya tha. Uss wajah se main confuse ho gaya. Par phir bhi maine woh antidote ko apne jeb mein rakh liya tha, agar zarurat pad jaye. Aur mera shak sahin saabit hua. Zeher ke wajah se tum cardiac arrest main chale gaye. Antidote ne tumhaare heart ko rokne se bacha diya, lekin phir bhi tumhein uss wakt medical attention ki puri zaroorat thi. Phir do din ke liye tumhein special room mein rakhna pada tumhaare body ko detoxify karne ke liye, kyunke yeh zeher ka asar bohot dheere se utarta hai, agar insaan bach jaye, jiske chances 2% se zyada nahi hote. Aur usmein bhi hazaaron complications hote hai. Tum sachmein kimat waalon mein se ek ho ki tum bach gaye." At a much lower tone Salunkhe muttered "Hum hospital kaise pohonche hume hi pata hai. Uss wakt agar kuch ho jaata toh..."
Abhijeet averted his gaze, only to find Daya's shoes very interesting. Luckily for him, at that moment, the doctor came in, breaking up their discussion.
"Chaliye ab inke medicines ka time ho gaya hai. Aap inse thodi der baad aake mil sakte hai."
Nodding at the doctor, everyone bid Abhijeet goodbye, when Abhijeet had a brainstorm. Just as the doctor about to inject him, he stopped the doctor and quickly called Daya.
"Kya baat hai Abhijeet?"
"Daya, woh dhamki bhare letters. Kya woh handwritten the?"
"Nahi Abhijeet, woh ek xeroxed letter tha, newspaper alphabets ke saath." At that moment, Abhijeet could not have looked more elated.
"Daya humaara khooni samajh lo mil hi gaya!"
"Kya?! Yeh kaise keh sakte ho tum?"
"Daya yaad hai kuch saal pehle hum logon ke pass ek aisa hi case aaya tha jismein ek baccha kidnap ho gaya tha aur woh kidnapper ne humse 20 crore rupay ka ransom demand kiya tha?"*
"Kuch halka sa toh yaad aa raha hai... Uss wakt woh kidnapper ne humein bilkul aisa hi ek xeroxed letter humein bheja tha na?"
"Haan Daya, aur tab ne humein bataya tha ki har xeroxed letter ke peeche uss xeorx machine ka number print ho jaata hai. Bas Daya, iss baar bhi waia hi hai. Jaldi se lab jaao aur Dr. Salunkhe ko bol letter ko UV light mein scan karein! Phir aage ka apne aap hi case sulajh jayega!"
Daya looked stunned. Giving Abhijeet a squeeze on his arm along with the first genuine smile he must have given in so many days, he quickly left Abhijeet's room while apologizing to the now irked doctor who was now waiting since 10 minutes to tend to his patient, and headed towards Dr. Salunkhe's lab, with a new ray of hope in his heart taking birth.
Forensic Lab:
Everyone feels a new hope bubbling inside them, and and all are waiting for Dr. Salunkhe eagerly, who is analyzing the paper right now.
"Yaar Salunkhe, jaldi bata yaar!"
"Arre boss, zara shaanti rakho, abhi pata chal jayega!"
Sprinkling black powder over the edges of the paper, Salunkhe re-examined the paper once again, before he found what he was looking for.
"Yes! Mil gaya! C13009006709. Main production database mein yeh serial number check karke dekhta hoon."
Everone waiting patiently for the next five minutes, including ACP Pradyuman, who looked more than happy with yet another brilliant brainstorm from his officer. And the result was just as sweet.
"Yeh machine Bandra West mein ek Mangalyam Printing & Stationery ka hai!"
At Mangalyam Printing & Stationery:
Daya, Sachin and Vivek enter the stationery store. Walking straight towards the xerox boys, Daya shows them the copy of the letter.
"Tum logon mein se kisne iss letter ko xerox kiya tha?"
"Saab, humlog toh roz aise hazaaron cheezein xerox karwaate hai, ab bhala humein kaise yaad rahega!"
"Dekho, sahin sahin jawaab do, aur iss letter ko theek tarah se dekho."
"Par saab aap log hai kaun?"
"Hum log CID se hai, aur humein pata hai ki yeh letter yahi se xerox karwaya gaya hai!"
"CID... Layiye saab, letter dikhaayie..."
After some moments, the boy replies
"Haan saab, yeh letter yahi se xerox karwaya gaya hai."
"Ab aa gaya na uth pahad ke neeche... waise yeh letter kab xerox karwaya tha?"
"Saab teen din pehle."
"Par tumhein itni acchi tarah se kaise yaad hai?"
"Kya saab! Yaad ho toh problem, nahi ho toh problem!"
"Seedhe seedhe jawaab dete ho ki..."
"Kya saab, aap toh gussa ho gaye... saab yeh mujhe isisliye yaad hai kyunki jisne yeh letter xerox karwaya tha woh yaha ke regular customer hai... sab xerox werox apne se paas se hi kawaata hai..."
"Uska sketch bana paayega?"
"Haan saab... hum usko acche se pehchaanta hai!"
Suddenly Vivek got an idea. Asking Daya for permission, Vivek now removed five photographs from his pocket.
"Kya woh aadmi inn panchon mein se koi tha?" Putting his finger on the 4th photo, the boy exclaimed in shock.
"Arre! Yeh toh wahi aadmi hai!"
But even more in shock were three more faces. The photo he selected was Mannu's.
Mannu's house:
Breaking open the door, Daya, Sachin and Vivek enter the house, to find Mannu in alomst the same position as Arjun, a gun wound in his stomach. Rushing towards him, Daya lifted him on his lap, while Vivek called for an ambulance.
"Kyun kiya tumne yeh sab haan? Batao kyun kiya?"
"Maine yeh sab... sab... Rajeev ke kehne pe kiya tha..."
"Rajeev? Par woh toh mar chuka hai na?"
"Nahi... wo... wo.. zinda hai.
He started speaking in disconnected phrases now.
"Woh... sab... sabko... chun chunkar... phasa... raha hai..."
"Kahan hai woh?"
"Woh... isi company mein... kaam... kar raha hai... kisi aur ke... bhes mein..."
"Kaun hai woh, haan? Kaun hai woh?"
And his eyes rolled back in his head. Shaking his head hopelessly at the now dead form of Mannu, Daya asked Vivek to send the body to the Foresic Lab, while he reported this to ACP Pradyuman.
*The case reference made is The Case of the Jewel Thief
A/N: It's much shorter than I expected it to be. Par the next update should be longer than this. Also, since exams are starting from the 9th, I'm not going to have any time for writing, so a big sorry in advance! :( It may go up to three weeks too, so I would love your support on this! :)
Sorry for any typing errors and reviews and constructive criticism will be more than welcome! :D