CHAPTER 36

HUNTING

"Kal Koel se mila tu?" Karan asked. Faizi hummed. "Kitne gusse mein thi? Parikshit par?"

Faizi looked at him. "Tumhe pata hai yeh log Pariskhit par gussa hain? Hume toh laga tumhe Monami ko nihaarne se fursat hi nahi mili."

Karan glared at him. "Chup kar", he said. "Bakwaas karta rehta hai bas."

"Hum bakwaas kar rahe hain? Kal dekha tha tumne aapne aap ko? Kaise dekh rahe the tum Monami ko?"

He opened his mouth, before closing it. "Tu... Tu woh bata jo main puchh raha hoon."

Faizi shrugged. "Of course. Koel Monami ko chhoti behen ki tarah treat karti hai. Ab use bura laga, toh Koel ko bhi bahut gussa aaya." Karan hummed. "Tum bhi toh mile hoge Monami se."

"Mila tha, coffee par. Zyaada kuchh bol nahi rahi thi. Chup thi." Karan looked at Faizi. "Phir se stutter bhi kar rahi thi." He sighed.

"Woh bina stutter ke bhi bolti hai? Hume toh pata hi nahi tha. Hume toh laga hamesha chalega uska", Faizi said. "Waise... sahi kaha tha tumne. Poori sherni hi hai woh. Hume bilkul umeed nahi thi. Par dekhkar bahut achha laga."

Karan smiled slightly. His attention turned to the door, and Faizi turned in his seat, finding Monami come in. The hood of her jacket was thrown up over her hair, her head bowed slightly as she walked in. She sat down quietly in a corner, and Karan held in a sigh of disappointment.

"Iski sherni dobara so gayi", he muttered quietly in complaint.

Faizi chuckled, shaking his head. "Aise kehte rehte ho ki kuchh feel nahi karte, par dekho, kitne interested ho us mein."

He clicked his tongue in annoyance. "Main bolta kuchh hoon, tu sunta kuchh hai. Tune kal Monami ko dekha tha? Woh... Woh, na..." He paused, a slow smile spreading on his face. "She was out of this world, Faizi. Matlab, uski aankhein dekhi tune? She was..." He shook his head, exhaling. He looked at his best friend. "I admire her, Faizi. Koi pyaar vyaar nahi hua mujhe, okay? Kisi ki strength admire karne ko pyaar nahi kehte hain."

"Toh kab hoga?"

He sighed. "Kabhi nahi", he said. "Mujhse nahi hota hai yeh pyaar wagera. Desh ke liye jeena hai mujhe, aur usi ke liye shaheed hona hai."

Faizi scowled. "Tum, na, yeh marne waali baatein mat kara karo. Hume achha nahi lagta. Aur abhi toh bilkul nahi. Pehle hi itne log maarna chahte hain tumhe. Kabhi kabhi toh hum bhi maarna chahte hain tumhe." He pointed to him. "Tumhaara murder ka haq sirf hume hai." He paused. "Aur Bhaiya ko."

Karan rolled his eyes. "Rulayega kya, Faizi?" He drawled sarcastically. The other agent chuckled. He gulped down the rest of his coffee. "Mujhe Mridul se milne jaana hai. Meeting hai." He threw a glance at Monami before moving out of the mess.

---x---x---x---x---x---x---x---x---x---

"Sir, humne security check kar li hai", Mridul said. "Koi bhi breech nahi lag raha."

Karan leaned back in the chair, nodding slightly. "Ek baat batao. Mission Euphoria ke baare mein kis kisko pata tha. Mission se pehle, I mean."

Mridul stared at him. "Sir, yeh baat toh sabko pata thi, na, ki aap log raid par jaa rahe ho?"

He clicked his tongue. "Nahi. Yeh detail ki hum jis club par raid maar rahe hain, woh Euphoria hai. Yeh baat kis kisko pata thi?"

"Sir, main pata kar leta hoon. But..." He shrugged slightly. "Kyun jaanna hai aapko?"

Karan looked at him. "Jitna kaha hai, utna karo, Mridul", he said.

He nodded. "Sir." He saluted him, before moving out of the debrief room. Raghav glanced at him as he went past. He knocked on the door. Karan glanced at him, nodding at him to come inside.

Raghav placed the laptop in front of him. "Sir, ek detail notice kari", he said, opening up two footages. "Yeh waali footages uss jagah ke paas ki hai jahan par Laxman ki laash mili thi. Uss din jahan par aapko woh parcel aaya tha." He pointed to a car. "Yeh 8:32 par aayi par 8:35 par waapas bhi chali gayi. Ab yeh baat toh hume pata hai ki laash ko usi din par dump kara tha. I think... there's a chance ki this is the car. Itne se time ke liye kaun aur kyun jaayega andar?"

Karan's eyebrows raised. "Tumhe lagta hai yeh car hai?"

"Sir... I know bahut zyaada hawaa mein baat hai. But hear me out. Subah 8 baje, there is a patrol jo aati hain and it inspects the entire area before woh jagah tourists ke liye khulti hai. Usually, jungle ke outskirts bhi check karte hain jahan par hume Laxman ki laash mili. Unhe laash nahi mili, matlab uske baad laash ko dump kara hai. Aapko jo parcel mila, it was around 10. Matlab, laash ko 10 se pehle dump kara hoga. Kuchh isi time ke aas paas baith rahi hai calculation time ki. I know koi hard clue nahi hai, par shayad, we can use it."

He hummed. "Yeh car hai kiski? Pata kara?"

"Sir", he said, nodding. He grabbed his phone, tapping on a few things. "Uh, naam hai Sachin Vijay. Teacher hai." He looked at Karan. "Sir, utha lein?"

"Nahi", he muttered. "Teacher kaha, na, tumne?" Raghav nodded. "Zaroorat nahi hai uthaane ki. Khud hi chalkar milte hain."

"Sir, aap bhi chaloge?"

Karan looked at him. "Koi problem hai?"

"Nahi, Sir. Matlab... hum log kar lenge. Aapko aane ki zaroorat nahi hai."

"Yeh purely circumstantial hai. Zyaada harsh ho nahi sakte hain. I just want to see a few things, try ki yeh circumstantial evidence se kuchh hard proof nikaal paaye. Shayad khud hi confess kar le." He glanced at his watch. "10 minutes."

"Yes, Sir", he said, nodding.

There was another knock on the door. Karan straightened up. "Parikshit", he said. "Come in." The cadet dragged himself in, sweat drenching his clothes. "Kya hua? Thak gaye?" He looked up at him, trying to catch his breath. "Bolo? Kal toh bahut bol rahe the tum. Aaj nahi nikal raha kuchh muh se?"

"Sir... Sir, main toh bas..." He huffed out.

"Ek aur kaam hai tumhaare liye", Karan said. Parikshit's eyes widened. "Third floor par jo store room hai wahan par kuchh weights padhe hain. 8-10 weights padhe hain. Jao, saare neeche training room mein rakho." He leaned forward, glaring at them. "Shayad phir tumhaara muh khulne se pehla, tumhaara dimaag thoda sa toh chalega. Jao!"

Parikshit looked at him miserably. "Sir", he said, nodding. He dragged himself out of the debrief. Karan stared after him.

'Baat izzat ki hai, Parikshit. Ethics ki hai. Punishment ki nahi. Yeh seekhne ki hai, jaanne ki hai ki kaunsi ladai ladni hai aur kaunsi jaane deni hai. Ek chhote se competition ke liye, do din ki weapon training ke liye, itni haddein nahi paar karni hoti hain. There are lines jo cross nahi karni hoti hain, and you crossed them. Jab tak yeh baat tumhe samajh nahi aayegi, I cannot trust you to be a good commando. Hume sahi cheez sahi tareeke se karni hoti hai. Tareeka matter karta hai aur hamesha karega.'

---x---x---x---x---x---x---x---x---x---

Monami stared at the screen as the phone rang. And rang. And rang.

The automated voice started, and she hit the end call button. She dialed the number again, staring at it ring again. The call ended.

Her jaw clenched. "Fine", she muttered to herself. "Nahi baat karni, na, aapko, Papa. Mat karo." Her eyes stung. "Mat karo. Main bhi dekhti hoon ki kaun zyaada ziddi hai."

'Tumhaari Mumma tumse chhini nahi thi. She chose her life.'

'Jab tak tum apni yeh zidd nahi chod deti, waapas ghar aane ki koi zaroorat nahi hai. Apni shakal bhi mat dikhaana mujhe. Call bhi mat karna mujhe.'

She stood up. She blinked her tears back, taking a deep breath.

If he didn't want to see her, he wouldn't. He wouldn't see her now.

---x---x---x---x---x---x---x---x---x---

Karan glanced around the house. It was fairly small, in lieu with the small car that was parked a few feet away. He walked over to it, inspecting it.

He tilted his head, inspecting the tires. Hints of dirt. His eyebrows furrowed. "Raghav", he called. The agent ran up to him. "Iska school kahan hai? Jahan yeh padhaata hai?"

"Sir, woh do gali chodkar school hai, na? Shiva ji Public School? Wahan par." He hummed. The door opened. Karan looked up, standing up when he saw the man. Middle aged, seemingly harmless. Perfect for a cover.

Karan held out his hand. "Special Agent Major Karan Shergill", he introduced.

His jaw dropped open slightly. "S-Sachin Vijay", he introduced. "Main kya kar sakta hoon aapke liye?"

He eyed him. "Bas... kuchh sawaal the. Tension mat lijiye, bas kuchh generic sawaal the", he said. "Can we come in?"

"Of course, aaiye." He walked in, letting in the two agents. "Kuchh lenge aap? Paani, chai, coffee?"

"No, thank you", he said. He glanced around the house. Homely. Innocent. He looked back at the man. "Mr. Vijay, last Saturday, aap subah 8 se 9 ke beech kahan the?"

"Main? Sir... main toh school ke liye ready ho raha tha."

He hummed a little. "Aapki car ka access kis kis ke paas hai?"

Sachin paused. "Bas... Bas mere paas." He took out his handkerchief, dabbing it on his face.

"Kya baat hai?" Raghav asked. "Itna kyun ghabra rahe hain aap? Bas kuchh sawaal hi toh puchh rahe hain hum." He eyed him. "Unless aapne kuchh galat kara hai?"

"Nahi", he said, shaking his head. "Main ghabra nahi raha. Mujhe bas... garmi lag rahi hai."

Karan raised his eyebrows. "October ke mahine mein?"

"Haan, woh... mujhe lagti hai."

His eyebrows flicked up in surprise. "Okay. Mr. Vijay, aap yahan jahan rehte ho, wahan toh poora civilized area hai. Koi jungle nahi hai." He nodded in agreement. "Aap jungle mein jaate ho? Uss side? Kuchh kaam hai aapko?"

"N-Nahi. Bilkul nahi. Main wahan kabhi nahi jaata. Never", he said, shaking his head.

"Toh aapke cars ke tires par itni dirt kahan se aayi? Aap aisi kaunsi jagah jaate ho?"

He looked outside the window. "Woh... car par?" Karan nodded. "Uh... haan, main... main ek baar gaya tha. Woh uss side ek cinema hai, na? Wahan par? Mere dimaag se nikal gaya tha."

"Koi baat nahi. Hota hai. Yeh bataaiye... kaunsi film dekhi aapne?"

"Koi bhi nahi." His eyebrows raised. "Woh main... main gaya tha, par ticket khareedne se pehle, mujhe call aa gaya. School ka ek zaroori kaam tha. Isiliye main waapas aa gaya."

"Kab hua yeh?"

"P-Parso", he said. "Parso gaya tha main." Karan hummed.

"Mr. Vijay, aap please hume yeh explain kar sakte hain?" Raghav asked, holding up a ward of cash. Karan's eyebrows raised. He looked at Sachin, whose eyes widened. "Yeh aise hi drawer mein padha hua tha? Sorry bina puchhe open karne ke liye. Meri thodi buri aadat hai yeh. Par... aap toh ek school teacher hain. Itna paisa, woh bhi cash, kahan se aaya?"

Sachin fell to his knees. "Maine nahi mara use", he said, folding his hands. "I swear maine nahi maara. Mujhe toh bas wahan jaakar uski laash phenki thi. Maine nahi maara. Main murderer nahi hoon. Main toh bas..."

Karan looked at Raghav, and then back at his blubbering form. He grabbed his collar, hauling him up. "Baaki ki baatein academy mein karni chahiye hume."

---x---x---x---x---x---x---x---x---x---

Faizi opened the door. A sweaty Parikshit greeted his sigh, heaving. He eyed him, opening the door wider. "Aao", he said.

"Sir... bas karo, na?" Parikshit said. "Please. I swear main kabhi... kabhi aisa kuchh nahi bolunga. I promise. Pakka waala promise."

He poured a glass of water, holding it to him. He accepted it, gulping it down quickly. "Aur chahiye?" He asked. Parikshit nodded hesitantly. Faizi held out another glass, which was quickly drowned down. He sat down on the chair, looking up at him. "Parikshit... punishment ke saath thoda socha hoga tumne ki kyun mili. Apni galti samajh aayi tumhe apni?"

"Zyaada ho gaya", he admitted softly. "Monami ki Mumma ko beech mein nahi laana chahiye tha."

Faizi hummed. "Bahut zyaada ho gaya. Hume yeh batao... Monami tumhaari kya lagti hai?"

"Colleague", he said. "Teammate."

"Teammate", he repeated. "Maan lo ki kal competition mein tum jeet jaate. Monami ko toh phir bhi bura lagta. Jo tumne kaha, usko toh bura lagta hi. Ek competition ke liye, which means nothing, tumne apni teammate ko hurt kara. If you had won it, toh bhi worth it hota? Haar gaye, kya chala gaya tumhaara? In fact, kal logon ko sirf yeh baat samajh aayi ki tum khud ke liye kisi aur ko neeche bhi dhakka de sakte ho."

Parikshit hung his head. "S-Sorry, Sir", he said.

"Jung mein ek baat jaanna bahut zaroori hai. Kitni battles jeetne se zyaada zaroori hota hai ki kaunsi battles jeeti hai. Tumne jis battle mein apni jaan lagaa di, uss battle ke jeetne ya haarne se zyaada koi farak nahi padta. Learn the difference, Parikshit. Warna dushman ko kam, aur khud ko zyaada nuksaan pahunchaoge."

He nodded. "Yes Sir", he said.

"Dismissed. Jao."

---x---x---x---x---x---x---x---x---x---

"Ma'am... maine kuchh nahi kara hai", Sachin said miserably. "Maine toh bas... bas uski laash ko thikaane lagaaya hai. Unhone kaha hai ki agar main nahi karunga, toh woh mujhe maar denge. Main toh bas..."

"Aye, bina break ke gaadi", Sanju snapped. "Ruk jaa. Sun liya yeh sab." She clutched his jaw. "Ab jo puchh rahe hain, woh bol."

"Puchho, na? Jo puchhna hai, puchho. Main sab bataunga."

"Kisne bola tha?"

"Kuchh log the."

Sanju stared at him. "Achha? Hume toh laga asmaan phat kar bhagwaan ne bolo hai tujhe. Shukriya bataane ke laane. Log kaun the, dhakkan dimaag?"

"Pata nahi", Sachin said. "Ghar aaye the. Pehle toh mana kar diya maine. Phir unhone mujhe hi utha liya. Apne boss ke paas lekar gaye."

"Boss?" She repeated. "Kaun hogo?"

"Pata nahi. Chai paani par baat thodi naa hui thi."

"Shakal dekhi?" He nodded. "Sketch banwaana." She clutched his hair, shaking him harshly. "Aur agar tere dhakkan dimaag ki seeti bajti hai, toh chup chaap gas band karke, woh karno hai jo hum keh raho hain. Bhaagne ki koshish kari, hume kuchh galat bataane ki koshish kari... toh aisi aisi jagah maar padego, ki zindagi bhar yaad rahego."

He nodded. "Abhi bhi rahega", he muttered. "Koi zaroorat nahi hai aur yaadgaar banaane ki."

"Lekar jao ise", Sanju said, looking at the door.

---x---x---x---x---x---x---x---x---x---

"Koel, jaa", Sid said. "Raasta saaf hai."

Koel stood up, walking over to the counter. Prakash- the kitchen help- leaned over to her. "Boliye, Koel Madam?" He asked happily. "Kya chahiye aapko?"

"Ek kaam karna hai", Koel muttered. She smiled at him sweetly, tilting her head slightly. "Please?"

The helper smiled back, nodding. "Ji. Aap toh kuchh bhi maang lo."

She glanced over her shoulder. "Woh ladka dekh rahe ho? Jo beech waali table par baitha hai?"

"Parikshit?" He asked.

She nodded. "Woh apni coffee lene aayega, na? Uske andar bahut saari mirchi daal dena."

His eyebrows furrowed. "Kyun?"

"Kisi ka muh bahut chalta hai. Muh mein thodi mirchi lagegi, toh hi toh line par aayega, na?" She smiled at him. "Aap hi hain jo yeh kaam kar sakte hain. Aapke alaawa koi nahi kar sakta."

He smiled. "Zaroor. Bilkul. Main abhi karta hoon."

"Abhi nahi. Jab woh coffee lene aayega tab. Aur kisi ko bataana mat ki maine kaha hai. Keh dena galti ho gayi aapse. Okay?"

Prakash hesitated. "Madam... Karan Sir ji ko pata chalega ki maine unke cadets ko mirchi khila di, mujhe ulta taang denge woh."

"Arey, nahi pata chalega. Galti ke liye thodi naa daantenge. Please?" She asked. She widened her eyes a little. "Please?"

"Achha, theek hai. Aap aise muh mat banaaiye."

She smiled. "Thank you." She walked back to her group. "Ho gaya kaam." They looked at each other, small, evil smiles on their faces.

"N-No one in-insults my M-Mumma", Monami muttered. "K-Koi bhi n-nahi."

---x---x---x---x---x---x---x---x---x---

"Karan Sir, sketch", the artist said.

Karan glanced it over. His eyebrows furrowed. The figure was kind of familiar. "Sanju", he said. "Ise Sanket ke paas bhej. Use keh EFR ke known faces ke saath face recognition karwaaye."

"Sir ji", she said, nodding and taking the paper.

"Aur kuchh bola isne?" Faizi asked. Karan shook his head. He paused suddenly. "Kya hua?"

Karan wordlessly turned out, walking back to the room Sachin was held in. He threw open the door, sauntering in. "Ek baat batao", he said. "Jo yeh boss tha, isne koi pair mein khaala dhaaga pehna tha?"

Sachin paused in thought. "Nahi. Mujhe toh jitna dhyaan hai, nahi. Nahi pehna tha. Aur mujhe bahut dhyaan hai, main pair mein jaakar hi gira tha uske."

He nodded. "Theek hai", he said. He turned out, stalking back out. "Tujhe yaad hai, Faizi? Woh jo Atif tha, usne kya bola tha? Baad mein nazar ka dhaaga nahi tha. Woh dhaaga nahi kata tha. Woh banda hi alag tha."

Faizi stared at him. "Tum kya yeh keh rahe ho ki academy mein do do spies hain?"

"Nahi. Pata nahi. Ho sakta hai. Par do bande the Euphoria mein uss leader ke alaawa. Ab dono spies hain ya ek andar, ek bahar, pata nahi. But reigns in dono ke haath mein hi hai." He paused. "Sun, academy mein kitne log dhaaga pehente hoge?"

"Bahut log, Karan", he said. "Usse narrow down karna possible nahi hai."

"Kitne ladke pehente hain?"

"Woh bhi bahut saare hain."

He heaved a sigh. "Fine", he muttered. "Hopefully, sketch se kuchh pata chalega."

"Karan..." He hummed. "Khaana kha sakte hain? Bahut bhookh lag rahi hai."

"Kab nahi lag rahi hoti?" He asked. "Chal. Achha, woh Parikshit se baat kari?"

"Haan, kar li. Sorry bhi bol raha tha."

"Monami ko sorry bola?"

"Keh raha tha bol dega", Faizi said. He shrugged. "Abhi tak nahi bola hoga, toh bol dega."

Karan heaved a sigh. "Aaj Sunday tha. Pata hi nahi chala", he said, clicking his tongue. "Ghar bhi nahi jaa paaya." He pushed open the door to the mess, walking in. He paused, glancing at the Foxtrot cadets. He tilted his head. "Yeh itne evil looks kyun de rahe hain?"

Faizi shrugged. "Hume kya pata?"

He eyed them. "Kya khichdi pak rahi hai? Faizi, jaa apni waali se puchhkar aa. Kaand toh nahi karne waale, na, yeh?"

"Arey, kuchh nahi karenge", Faizi said. He grabbed a tray. "Thoda bharosa rakho."

Karan glanced at them again, before shrugging and sitting down. "Waise bhi paagal hi hain. Pata nahi kya soch rahe honge yeh namoone."

Koel looked at Parikshit expectantly, a smile spreading on his face when he took a sip of the coffee. Parikshit paused, looking at the coffee. His mouth dropped open, and he huffed out, fanning his mouth. "Mirchi!" He said, grabbing a glass of water. "Coffee mein mirchi kaun daalta hai? Aa, Mirchi! Mirchi!" His face went red, as tears leaked from his eyes.

Monami stared at him.

'Waise, pakka Mahajan naam hi hona chahiye, na, tumhaara? Matlab, you know who your Dad is, right? If you know what I mean?'

A slight smirk spread on Monami's face. She lifted her chin, staring at his blubbering form. Sid tapped her on the shoulder, nodding to Karan nervously. Her gaze followed his and her smirk slid off. His eyes were darkened, a scowl marring his forehead. His gaze snapped to them, and she flinched lightly.

Karan was not happy.

Note- Oh my God! I can't believe the response of the last chapter. Matlab, 700 comments? *squeals* I love you guys so much! Thanks, people. You guys are crazy awesome.

Here's the new chapter. I know it's not as good as the last one, but hope you guys like it nonetheless. Also... just a quick reminder for you guys since some of you would tend to forget it. Karan is the head trainer of the civilian cadets. That means, he has some duties and responsibilities as well. Baaki, tum log smart ho, you guys would probably get what I am getting at.

I'd love to hear your thoughts, so if you have the time and will, please consider dropping a comment. It'd be very much appreciated. Drop a vote as well, that'd be appreciated too.

Question- What is one ship that's not yet explored properly in the story (like Karan-Koel, Faizi-Nikhil, for instance) that you would like to see?

This quote has nothing to do with the chapter, but it's more of a personal feeling or thought, and I really wanted to share this.

Quote- 'I hope that someday when I am gone, someone, somewhere, picks my soul up off these pages, and thinks, 'I would have loved her.'' -Nicole Lyons