Three days later:

New Delhi :

Anosha hurried down the steps taking two steps at a time. As she crossed the car park in quick strides, she saw Sam parking her bike. There were grocery bags hanging along the handles of the Scooty.

"Hi Anosha, how are you?" Sam greeted her in her usual cheerful way.

"I am good, I mean I am okay..." Anosha answered her a in fluster as her glum face reflected her tone.

"What happened Anosha? Why are you looking so..." Sam stopped midway as she noticed Anosha's tearful face.

"Hey what's the matter?Are you not feeling well?" Sam reached Anosha in quick strides and held her arms gently.

"There's nothing wrong with me. It's Victor... He was admitted in our hospital yesterday. I had no idea. I was trying to contact him for the past week or so, but his mobile was coming as switched off. I thought he had just gone... I mean it is quite usual for him to go offline when he is working in remote areas, so I didn't bother again. And I was so busy and exhausted with all the new routines at the hospital that I had no time to think about it. But yesterday, I came to know that he got injured in Goa few days ago, and now they have shifted him to our hospital here. I was so devastated. I begged and begged Dr Ghoshal to make me his assistant, so that I can help him in treating Victor. I stayed at the hospital till late last night. He is okay now, but I was so worried." Anosha wiped her tears off.

"I am sorry for all this.. it is just stupid of me, he is perfectly fine." She added, feeling embarrassed.

"Hey, don't be silly. Of course you should be worried, he is such a good friend of yours. And even if you are a doctor, you would still feel worried about him isn't it? Probably more because you know more about his condition than the rest. Oh!! This is so terrible. Can I come and see him? What are the visiting hours at your hospital?" Sam asked anxiously

"Hmm no no.. He is still not allowed to receive any visitors at the moment. But I will tell you once he is ready."

"Oh..I understand. Come on, I will drop you at the hospital." Sam offered.

"Thanks Sam! You are so kind, but its fine. I called for the taxi and it should be here any moment. Your mom must be waiting for you for the groceries. I will see you soon." Anosha waved to her with a smile and left, leaving a worried Sam behind.

Misha and her Nani should be home anytime soon, now that the holidays are coming to an end. But still, she needed to break this news to her dear friend. Sam hurried with the grocery bags towards their apartment.
****.

Rajiv Malhothra and Ajit Doval sat across the desk of Dr Ghoshal in his rooms at the BMS speciality hospital. Ajit Doval keenly observed Dr Ghoshal. He seemed a bit nervous, even though he was an expert doctor who was vouched for, by all the top surgeons. May be it's his general nature, Ajit reconciled himself because Dr Ghoshal otherwise remained quite focused and even strict in his treatment of Victor.

Victor got transferred to the Delhi hospital more than a day ago, but Dr Ghoshal did not allow any visitors as Victor's vitals were causing some alarm after the journey.

"Mr Doval I really appreciate you coming over here so promptly on my request, even though you are such a busy man. Considering the security status of our patient and the overall scenario," Dr Ghoshal coughed nervously and continued, " I thought it would be best if I speak to the top officials rather than anyone else about Victor's health."

"Thanks Dr Ghoshal, and I don't mind coming at all. Please don't hesitate, and tell me everything." Ajit smiled at him.

"Hmm, I know that you guys are keen to speak to him and the doctors at Goa also mentioned that he's required in testimony for some case. Look... all that is immaterial to me. Victor, though he is physically fit othewise, is not in a good shape right now. The angle at which the bullet hit the body and the emergency operation that was done, there is still lot of scarring around the two bullet wounds. Also some glass shreds got embedded in his face and we might have to perform some skin grafting on his face. As the medical team in Goa had no record of his previous medical history or what he was allergic to, the anesthetic and some of the post surgery medicines they used, worked a bit adversely on him. And he is also showing acute signs of depression. I understand that there was another fatality where Victor was injured, and the report here says that he was heard to be talking and crying in his sleep as to how sorry he was..."

Ajit looked at Rajiv gravely and turned his attention back to Dr Ghoshal as he continued.

"Now these post traumatic stress issues like depression are quite common and we have already started medication on him to treat it, but emotionally too he needs a bit of counselling etc. Most of these drugs have side effects, and you might find that Victor in a confident and jubilant mood one day and in a very irritant bad temper the next day. I kept him under observation since yesterday and it is my firm opinion that he should be treated in the hospital under full supervision at least for few weeks. I understand that this is a high profile case and you might need him to be fully fit very quickly, but we will have to keep him under periodic observation even after discharge. From the brief chitchat I had with him so far, he might be resentful of this, but between you and his family, you should counsel him to agree to this. Otherwise, as a doctor, I wont be able to help him. I hope I am clear." As he talked on, Ajit was pleased to observe that Dr Ghoshal sounded more confident.

"Is Victor aware that he is being given anti depressant tablets? And how long does he have to take them?" Ajit asked.

"Well, it differs from patient to patient so I cant tell you. But after one week of treatment, I would be able to give you a clearer picture. Has his family been informed? I do not have any details of them in the patient chart either." Dr Ghoshal looked at Victor's file again.

"Yes Doctor and they will be coming here soon. Actually there is another sad news that he needs to be aware of. His father passed away just after he got injured, and we thought it would best for him to know it from his family. Considering what you just told me, his condition might get worse after that and needs more attention." Ajit sighed.

"Oh god, really! I haven't been told anything about this, so so tragic." Dr Ghoshal's lips quivered and his face paled. Ajit appreciated what a sensitive man he was as Dr Ghoshal grabbed a glass of water nearby and gulped it down in a haste. He wiped his mouth with a tissue and continued in a steadier tone. "Well then, what I said earlier about him becomes even more critical. Now this other patient, Ashwin, he has been allotted a room adjacent to Victor's just as you requested. He had few fractures as well but thankfully nothing major, and he is now fit to be transferred to a room. I know Ashwin quite well and have treated him before. He was seriously dehydrated and wounded when he was brought here. I will check his condition once a again tomorrow, and he should be ready to be discharged after 3 or 4 days. You can go and visit him if you like."

He took a deep breath as if he was glad he finished all the talking.

"Thanks a lot Doctor and I am glad that you spoke to me directly. We will see Ashwin first and then Victor. Perhaps you can come over and tell Victor directly about your treatment plan and I will make sure he agrees to it." As Ajit Doval rose and shook hands Dr Ghoshal, there was a knock on the door and Dr Banerjee and Dr Anosha Malik entered his rooms.

" This is Dr Banerjee, and this is Dr Anosha Malik one of our new interns. Luckily, she also happens to be a very good friend of Victor. She will be helping me and Dr Banerjee in our treatment of Victor and Ashwin." Dr Ghoshal made the introductions as the two doctors smiled politely.

"Oh! That's wonderful news Dr Malik. Our Victor is in safe hands then." Ajit smiled back at her.

"Indeed, Mr Doval. Why don't you guys meet Ashwin and Victor. I have few urgent cases I need to look into and we will join you later." Dr Ghoshal shook hands with Ajit Doval before turning to his team, "Let's go and see our patients."

As Ajit and Rajiv strode towards Ashwin's allocated room, Rajiv let out a low whistle. "Victor is in depression... I just can't believe it. Of all the stories I have heard about him, I never imagined him to become so weak."

Ajit stilled and turned his steely gaze on Rajiv, making the latter cower.

"I am sorry Sir, I didn't mean to..."

"Comments like yours are exactly the reason why most people who suffer from these ailments never admit their condition. "Depression doesn't discriminate" is the prime slogan of Anti Depression campaign, and the sooner you guys realise that, the better. I know that you, like all other agents resent why Victor is given so much lenience by top officials, and feel prejudiced against him. Most of the time I don't care for petty issues like that. But if you continue to have such attitude towards him as an investigating officer, I will have no hesitation in replacing you." Ajit warned.

"Sir, I am extremely sorry, it was wrong on my part to make such callous statements. We all know how attached he was to Nanda Sir, and that must have affected him so badly. I promise you that I will treat this case with an open mind, just like I do for all other cases." Rajiv hurried to assure Ajit.

"And I would really appreciate if you treat Sharmila and Monty with the same respect that you give to everyone else. They are just suspects at the moment as we do not have enough proof of their evidence. I know you do a thankless job Rajiv, everyone hates a colleague whose job is to suspect and investigate them, but if that makes you feel judgemental and resentful, then you got it all wrong." Ajit's deep voice resonated in the empty corridor.

"I.. I understand Sir. I will make sure that no one will find any complaint in the way I deal with this case from now onwards." Rajiv cast his eyes down.

"Hmm.. let's go. So what has this Ashwin been saying?" Ajit began his long strides and Rajiv hurried to catch up with him.

"Well... I heard from the nurses earlier that he was insisting on meeting us and Victor urgently, as he had something important to say. ACP Savlekar also said that Victor was asking about Ashwin in his initial statement. So it looks like Ashwin too was involved somehow in this whole shootout. It is quite extraordinary Sir, that he survived on his own for four days in that shop, tied up and all that." Rajiv said skeptically.

"Rajiv!! What did I say about not jumping to conclusions. Did we get any statement from him as to who the kidnappers were? Well anyway, we will ask him directly now."

Suddenly they heard a commotion in the room two doors away and a female voice yelling..."Excuse-me you are not allowed to move yet.. Hey stop... Doctor Doctor!!" And a man in a wheel chair wheeled himself out of the room door and looked around frantically.

Ajit and Rajiv recognised Ashwin and rushed towards him. A relieved Ashwin gasped "Thank God Doval Sir, you are here. I was waiting for you. Sir, Please take me to Victor's room. I want to say something to all of you, especially to Victor. I must apologise to him, this can't wait."

The nurse behind him began to object but Rajiv calmed her down.

"Nurse, it is okay, he is our colleague and we will bring him back here once we have a quick chat. Trust me, Dr Ghoshal has already approved of this."

"Oh, okay. Please bring him back as he needs to take his medicine in half an hour."
Rajiv pushed Ashwin's chair towards the next door and Ajit followed them. They found Victor lying on bed and staring at the ceiling with a blank expression, his face and elbow still in bandages. But the moment he noticed their presence, especially Ashwin, he began to get up from his bed.

Ajit hurried to his bedside.

"Victor please don't... just rest up."

But Victor's gaze, full of rage and contempt, was fixed on Ashwin as the latter bravely wheeled himself closer to Victor's bed.

"H...Hi Victor. Look I know you are quite mad at me right now, but first let me..."

"You bastard... you sold me out! I almost got killed. And they killed Nanda Sir.... You shouldn't be here but in Jail... Sir, please arrest this guy, he is the one who asked me to come to that Guesthouse in the first place." Victor resisted Ajit's attempts to push him back on to his bed.

"Victor calm down. You do not know the full picture. Let us hear Ashwin first." Rajiv too came towards Victor and persuaded him to lie down.

"Okay, Ashwin I am not going to believe any thing you will say, but at least let Doval Sir and Rajiv hear you out." Victor slumped back in his bed with disgruntlement.

Ajit Doval rubbed his eyes tiredly and took a long breath to calm himself. Why is he stuck with brash and opinionated daredevils rather than sensible and calm achievers. Sharmila's face flashed in his mind all of a sudden.

"Sir, I can explain everything, please give me a chance." Ashwin pleaded.

Ajit sat down in one of the chairs in the corner of the room and nodded at Ashwin.
"Sir, it is true that I invited Victor to come to that guesthouse on that night, not to trap him but discuss my doubts or rather my conviction that there is a mole in our organisation. Not just him but I invited Nanda Sir too."

"What?" Rajiv exclaimed.

"Yes Rajiv. I will explain from the beginning. I was in Goa and we successfully seized Sharath Nair's big chunk of Drug supplies and arrested his gang member too. I stayed back in Goa as we were waiting to trace the rest of the supplies. Just few days later, I got a call from Victor. I had no idea then, but Victor was following Sharath Nair on his own and saw someone showing my photo to Sharath. He immediately called me and alerted me. But, like a fool I couldn't understand how anyone could get hold of my details and photo like that, and even shouted at him... well lets forget that... but I rushed back to Delhi on the same night and once I made sure my wife was all right, I felt relieved. I came back to Goa as I still haven't finished my handover or paperwork on the seize.

But the more I thought about it, the more it seemed clear to me that there is some mole within our organisation who is working against me or perhaps even against others.Otherwise how would Sharath Nair get my picture? Next day, I met Victor at a restaurant on the beach and tried to explain my doubts to him, but he was in too much of a rush to listen. As I understood later, he caught someone taking pictures of him. But luckily with a clever disguise, he managed to get the SD card out of the camera, so no harm was done. Later, when I called him back, he began to yell at me with the same insinuation that he is blaming me right now. He just assumed that I set him up for those guys. I calmed him down and explained my theory that there was some mole in our organisation who is leaking all our personal details to these drug cartels. And he began to understand that I was speaking the truth." Ashwin paused and looked at Victor who continued to ignore him.

"I asked him to come to the guesthouse so we can discuss and explain this to Nanda Sir also and he agreed."

"Wait, when did your call Nanda Sir?We couldn't find his phone, but tracked all his calls and there was none from yours on that day!" Rajiv interrupted.

"My mobile was out of charge, so I called from the restaurant; you can easily check the records." Ashwin said haughtily before continuing, " I was in the guesthouse and the cook had prepared dinner for all three of us and left for the day."

"Sorry to interrupt again. Yes, we found meals prepared and table set for three people in the dining area. But who put you up in that guesthouse? None of us know anything about the owner of that yet." Rajiv asked.

"Ohh! It was an old friend of mine... I caught up with him in Mumbai, just few days before the seize, and he invited me there. He had rented it for a week or so from a rental agency for a family holiday but then he had to suddenly leave for an office trip. The rental agency was refusing to refund the amount it seems, so he offered it to me instead, at half the price. Once I went there and saw the ambience, I just couldn't refuse you know, it was so good."

"Lets's not get distracted by these side issues. What happened next Ashwin?" Ajit asked impatiently.

"As I was waiting I heard the doorbell Sir, and trust me when I say this, it definitely sounded like Victor's voice. So I let him in and opened the door and there they were... three men in masks and before I knew, I was surrounded by them. Two guys held me up while the third stuffed my face with a chloroform filled cloth. I tried to fight them a lot, but they kicked and punched me before I was subdued and the effect of the drug took over. By the time I regained consciousness, there was a mask over my face and a gag in my mouth and I was tied up against something. I was in a lot of pain due to their abuse and was helpless. There was no sound, nothing... and I couldn't feel or hear anyone around me. I had no sense whether it was day or night because I couldn't see any light. After what felt like many hours, someone came and dragged me outside and ordered me to relieve myself. Which I did, shamefully, because I was bursting." Ashwin closed his eyes in agony and everyone, including Victor looked at his face in sympathy.

"That guy still kept me masked but removed the gag from my mouth so he could make me drink some water. And then it was back to square one. I was masked, gagged and taken back inside and tied up and this went on for 4 days or so... the night before the shop owner found me, no one came to feed me water or anything and I just collapsed, as I was too weak. Till the police came over and unmasked me I had no idea where I was. Later I came to know that I was a in shop very near to the villa. This is exactly what happened, trust me." Ashwin folded his hands and looked at all three of them.

"Victor! I know you don't like me, but even you wouldn't think me capable of doing anything that would cause harm to you or Nanda Sir, right? I loved that man, I respected him so much. To think that he died like that when I was so nearby and could do nothing about it, is eating me away like anything. Please Sir, I would never ever do anything which will bring disgrace to our agency. But what I suspected earlier has now been confirmed. There is a mole in our agency and the sooner we find him, the better. Otherwise we might become more compromised. Sir, please forgive me if I have caused all this calamity or somehow misread the danger signals, but trust me it was completely unintentional." Ashwin looked at Ajit Doval with unshed tears.

Rajiv watched as Ajit Doval got up slowly and patted on Ashwin's shoulders.

"As I always say, there is much more to this unfolding mystery. We still dont know what exactly happened in that guesthouse and who planned the bloody thing. But unless we get to the bottom of it, we should all work together rather than fight with each other. What do you say Victor?" Ajit asked.

Victor sighed deeply and finally looked up.

"I agree Sir, but didn't those two agents who had come with Nanda Sir tell you anything? Where are they? I want to see them and thank them. It is due to their effort that I am alive today."

"Did you hear that Rajiv? What did I say about those two brave rookies? Victor, don't worry about them. They are tucked away in a safe house away from prying eyes, because we now fear for their safety as much as yours, as they were exposed to those murderers. Why don't you and Rajiv sit together later, so you can tell him exactly what happened once those agents arrived, as we are still missing some details." Ajit suggested.

"Sure Sir, but I wont be able to tell anything as to what happened to them because I didn't speak to them or fought those bastards with them. I just knew that they were there. I was shot and running for my life... it was utter chaos." Victor shook his head in exasperation.

"Hang on! Sharmila told me that she spoke to you before she helped you escape from that Tanvir guy." Rajiv said sharply.

"Oh yes..Sharmila. Yeah I did speak to Sharmila but that was like for few seconds or so. It just slipped my mind." Victor bit his tongue apologetically.

"Rajiv, why don't you brief Ashwin and Victor on everything that happened, so that we are all on the same page and if you need any further details, you can ask them too. I need to go back to office." said Ajit, and Rajiv nodded his head in agreement.

Jus then Dr Ghoshal and his team entered Victor's room and began to check him and go through his stats on the patient chart attached to the bed. Anosha reached out to Victor with a smile, checked his pulse and temperature and noted them down on the chart.

Dr Ghoshal shared some inputs from Victor's Medical reports with Dr Banerjee and Anosha Malik and explained the treatment plan.

He then turned to Ajit and said, "Mr Doval, Victor's vitals are not normal. In fact, they are bordering on dangerous limits, and he cannot be moved from the hospital for at least 2 weeks. I have checked his reports from the doctors in Goa, and his wounds are still a long way from recovery. So any questioning you need to do, please do it quickly so that Victor can have as much rest as possible."

"There is nothing wrong with me!" Victor said angrily, "I want to get out of here fast, so I can go find the killer of Nanda Sir."

Anosha hurried to Victor's side with a frown as Ajit warned him in his booming voice, "That's enough, Victor. Please follow the instructions of the doctor. We have a full team investigating the death of JP and this is not the time, nor place, to discuss this."

Dr Ghoshal took the hint and walked away. Anosha pleaded with Victor with her eyes as she left the room.

"Sir, you don't understand, we have already lost so much time and I want to help... " Victor cried but Ajit cut him short.

"What exactly do I need to understand? JP was my colleague for 35 years, we joined the agency together and if you think that I will rest till I find the bastard who killed my dear friend, you are sorely mistaken. And I don't need your help in doing this. First of all you are not fit to join service and more importantly, you are a key witness. You cant be involved in this investigation. Do I make myself clear?"
"Sir, but..."
"No ifs and buts... I want you to get fit and healthy and if you really want to help, then help Rajiv and team with any questions he will ask you, perhaps multiple times about what happened that night. Rajiv, I will see you later in the office. " Ajit fumed and Victor had no choice but to obey his orders.

"Victor, trust me. You have more important things to worry over than this. Hmm... I just got a text earlier from Mohsin that they are on their way to the hospital. He is taking care of the security of your family at the moment. Speak to your mother, sister and spend some quality time with them and stop worrying. I want my whole team fit and healthy very soon." Ajit gave a curt nod and left the room.
***.
Few Hours later...

Nirmala walked slowly through the hospital corridor as if she dreaded meeting her son. Arunya wrapped her arm around her mother and hugged her gently.

"Maa it is going to be okay. I will tell Chotu about Baba. Don't worry."

Nirmala smiled feebly at her daughter and walked along, as they followed Mohsin and Sunil towards Victor's room. Mohsin and Sunil shook hands with Victor and asked about his health. Victor replied monotonously as his eyes kept roving back to his mother.

Mohsin and Sunil left the room to give the family the much needed privacy.

"Maa..." Victor spread his arms and called out to his mother as tears flowed freely along his cheeks. Nirmala stood next to the bed and hugged her son as he buried his face into her shoulder and broke down completely.

"Maa... I missed you so much. I keep thinking about you all the time but never could talk to you." He wiped his nose noisily.

"How have you been Beta!" Nirmala softly kissed Victor on his forehead.

After some time, Nirmala freed herself slowly from his embrace and wiped his face with her saree pallu. But Victor held on to her hand possessively, and made her sit next to him on the bed.

Arunya's eyes welled too as she had never seen her brother feeling so vulnerable.

"Chotu, it's okay. Thanks to all the gods Maa keeps praying to, you are fine. We couldn't come earlier as they didn't allow us." She cupped his face gently but Victor winced and turned his face away, as her fingers grazed the bandages on the right side of the of his face.

"Oh I am sorry Chotu, did I hurt you?" Arunya asked worriedly.

"Yes you did, a lot..." Victor glared at her and then slowly broke into a loud laugh and Arunya joined him.

"How are you feeling? How is the pain? Are they still giving you medicine intravenously?" Arunya asked as she noted the various monitors surrounding her brother.

"Yes, they are still giving a lot of medicines and it just makes me feel sleepy. I hate being stuck here. And the Doctor says lie down but don't lie down in the same position... its horrible." Victor kicked the bed sheet away grumpily and it fell on the floor.

"Oops, can you pick it up?" Victor requested Arunya as she bent down.

"Where are your manners Victor, call your sister Di" Nirmala admonished her son.
"Oh come on Maa, he is my dear Chotu. Why don't you cut him some slack for goodness sake? Have you forgotten that he is a patient here?" Arunya asked in exasperation, as she spread the bed sheet upto Victor's waist.

"Thanks Di and Sorry Maa, I didn't mean to." Victor smiled nervously at his mother.

"It is all right, I am not myself the last few days. All this stress..." Nirmala got up from the bed side and sat down on the chair, and covered her face in her hands.

"Chotu, there is something else you need to know." Arunya began, and paused, as she tried to gather her inner strength to break the tragic news of their father's death.
*****.
A few hours later, Rajiv re entered Victor's room to find him worn out and red nosed.

He met Sunil and Mohsin on the way who were taking Victor's family home.

Rajiv felt sorry for Victor, that he had to hear the news of his father's death like this and couldn't even see his father for the last time. He did hear rumours that Victor didn't get along with his father or family much, but all families have some rifts or other. He wouldn't wish this kind of punishment even for his enemies. Rajiv's heart was filled with sympathy.

He cleared his throat nervously and Victor turned his gaze slowly towards him. As he began to get up, Rajiv hurried towards his bed side.

"Do you need something Victor? Water or juice?" He asked in a small voice.

"No, I am okay. Did you want something from me?" Victor asked in a toneless voice, still lost in his thoughts.

Rajiv hesitated. He wanted to discuss the blank shells found at the crime scene but Victor looked too depressed to be thinking straight, let alone shed some input on such mysterious evidence. He didn't have the heart to bother him tonight. Instead, he pulled out the drawing the police made of Tanvir, from the description Sharmila gave them.

"Do you recognise this guy at all Victor?" He asked as he observed his face keenly.
"No..." Victor shook his head slowly and looked back at him with questioning eyes.
"Oh.. that's okay. This is what Tanvir the AK47 gunman looks like, as per Sharmila's description but she too saw him in dim light." Rajiv sighed in defeat.

"I am sorry Rajiv, as I said before, he was running behind me and it was pitch dark. I hardly had any time to see him. But if Sharmila is confident of it, go by her evidence."

"Rajiv, can you do me a favour?" He asked after some hesitation.
"Ask away!" Rajiv said with a smile.
"I know Ajit Sir said that both Sharmila and what's his name... Monty are in a safe house, but I really want to meet them and thank them for saving my life. If you can manage to get them here on some day, I would be really grateful. But, there's no hurry. Take your time."

"I can't promise you anything, but I will try. Rest up now Victor. I will see you again soon." Rajiv smiled and left the room.

******

^==============^

As I write more, I feel less confident as to how I am faring in the narration of this story.
If you ahve any doubts or find any faults, please feel free to share.
As always waiting to hear your feedback.

cheers

Sesi