Rajveer stood rooted. Stunned. She loves me ? How was this possible ?How can she love me ? he thought. He knew she respected him, liked him, was concerned for him...but love ? Rajveer din't know what to feel. The happiness bubbling up in his heart was dangerously bubbling to the surface. No, he thought.This is wrong. He knew it was wrong. But only he was wrong until this point, now she is too. She cannot love him. 

Raj broke the hug harshly. "Pagal hogaye ho tum? Jante bhi ho kya keh rahe ho ?"

Naina looked at him shocked. This was definitely not the reaction she was hoping for.

"Naina, dekho, yeh galat hai. Mein tumhara..."

What ? he thought. Teacher ? Mentor ? Superior ? None of them were part of the army anymore.

"This is not possible" he concluded.

Naina din't understand anything. He just said he loved her. Why was he behaving like this ?

"Sir, aap aise kyun keh rehe ho. Aur kya galat hai ? Aap ne abhi abhi mujhse kaha ki aap mujhse pyaar karte hai."

"aur tumne yeh kaise nahi suna ki mein keh raha tha ki mein galat tha.." he said harshly in a pitch higher than usual.

God, this girl is crazy. Doesn't she understand why this is wrong ?

"Dekho Naina, just forget abut it. Let's just concentrate on the situation we are in and how we are going to fight to get out of it. And in battles, there are no place for emotions. Please Grow up and understand this."

He turned and left for the basement leaving her there in shock and confusion.

Rajveer sat on the couch, hands in his head ,breathing hard.  What was she thinking ? In love with him ? And asking him why it was wrong on top of it. Stupid girl, he thought. No, just young and innocent. It was this purity that made him fall in love with her in the first place. Made him go crazy and made him do things he would have never done otherwise. Going without any plan and backup to meet someone who said they would give him the Red box ? He had yelled at her once, calling her an emotional fool, but he had no idea when he became one.

He had confessed with the hope that once it is out in the open, she would stay away from him. But the exact opposite happened.

Feeling frustrated, he put the blanket on himself and laid down.Just as he was falling asleep, a thought popped in his head, which made him smile.

She loves me :-)

******************************************

Rajveer woke up the next day and went upstairs. The cadets had already woken up and sitting at the table. Pooja and Alekh were making tea in the kitchen. 

"Good morning sir, aapka ghav kaisa hai abhi ?"

"I m fine, cadet ali"

Naina just looked at him once. Rajveer joined them at the table. Pooja got tea for all of them.

"Ab hum cadet nahi rahe ,sir." said Ali, pain evident in his voice.

Everybody's face fell. Ali was right. They had no relation to the army anymore and that was unbearable to all of them.

"Sahi kaha aapne, ab hum army ka hissa nahi rahe...mein aapka suuperior nahi raha...so you don't have to call me sir. Call me by my name." said Rajveer with a small smile on his face.

All of them looked up, stunned. Yudi choked on his tea and started coughing.

"Naam se hi kyun. Tum log mujhe yaar, bidu..kuch bhi bula sakte ho"

Huda looked as if he saw a ghost. Pooja 's mouth was still open.

"Kya bol rele sir, aap ye..." . Even Alekh looked stumped.

"Sir, humse toh ye hoga hi nahi..." said Ali, as if he was committing the biggest sin.

"Exactly" said Rajveer. "Rishte itni aasani se nahi badalte. Aur hum iss yakeen ke saath lad rahe hai na, ki ekdin jab sab theek hoga, humein humara wardi wapis miljayega. Toh hum kya uss umeed ko iss naam ke sahare zinda nahi rakh sakte ? Hum sipahi hai aur humesha sipahi rahenge. Kisi bhi rishte ko badalne ki zarurat nahi..."

He glanced slightly at Naina while saying this.

"Yes Sir, you are right."

They had tea and some biscuits.

"Ok guys, ab suno. We need to decide what to do. First, no one should know about us meeting here. No one should know I am alive, and we should be very careful who we talk to as you phones back home could be trapped. We need to project that you guys are at home and moving on with your lives. I think you should go back home, pretend you ll are either going for a vacation or some course and make your way back here. "

"Mein kahi nahi jaa raahi aapko chod ke" said Naina, clutching his arm above his elbow.

Rajveer got a 100 volt shock. He dis tangled himself quickly looking at the other cadets.

"I meant all except Naina and Alekh. As Naina's parents think she is abroad, it is best to keep it that way. But your parents might get worried and start reporting. So cadet Sahani, you first, you need to go back immediately as Mr Sahani has contacts with KMA the most. It will be easy to know if you are there or not. And I am assigning you a task. There is a storage unit near KMA. There is a locker in my name, locker number 455. All the important documentation is there. You need to get it for me. It will be a little difficult, but I know you will be able to do it."

"Yes sir" said Yudi.

"Apun ammunition ka intezam karega...apun ke..contact hai." said Alekh.

Everybody smiled. They knew exactly about the nature of Alekh's contacts.

"Cadet Huda. We will need disguises we we ever have to go out."

"Yes sir, apun jaanta hai aisi ek dukaan. Mein le aaunga." said Huda.

"Be very careful, Cadet huda."

"Cadet Ali, aapke father army mein hai na ? Unke paas knot ropes honge ?"

"Sir , humare ghar pe pade rehte hai, sekhdon, hum asani se le aayenge."

"Cadet Ghai, mein chahti hu aap Capt Ahimanyu ko contact karein."

Everybody looked up at him. 

"I trust him guys and we need someone in KMA."

"Then , I ll contact Dr Shalini." said Yudi. " We trust her right ?"

"Asking her for help will be imposing on her, a very big risk. You do realize what we are doing is illegal."

"Yes sir, but I know her. When I saw her for the last time, she said how sorry she was about everything that happened to you. And if there was anything she would do to help you was possible, she would have done it, even if it meant that it was breaking rules."

"Fine Cadet Ghai, contact Dr Shalini from a different phone and not on the kma numbers"

"Yes sir."

"Ok then, we ll meet here in 4-5 days. Be very very careful guys. Always anticipate somebody is watching you. Good luck and dismiss."