The next day, he entered the lobby of the hotel and subsequently dashed someone… He looked up from his phone to check who it was and was shocked to find her… She too had surprise written all over her face… “Aap??” both said together… “Aap yaha kya kar rahi hai?? Woh bhi duty ke samay, sadharan vastron mei??” “Yahi sawal hum aapse bhi puch sakte hai…” she retorted… “Hum vyaktigat kaam se aaye hai…” he replied… “Hum bhi…” she said… “Aisa konsa vyaktigat kaam hai aapko??” he asked… “Pehle aap bataiye…” “Hum nahi bata sakte…” he said looking away… “Hum bhi nahi bata sakte…” she replied… “Thik hai… toh jaiye aapko der ho jayegi…” he said… “Aap pehle jaiye…” she replied… He huffed and walked away to the staircase… She saw him leaving and walked off to the elevator… She had to wait for a few minutes before the elevator arrived… She walked out of the elevator on her designated floor and again crashed into him… “Aap firse… Aap humara picha kar rahi hai??” he asked sternly… “Yahi baat hum bhi keh sakte hai…” she retorted again… “Hum aapka picha kyu karenge??” “Toh hum bhi aapka picha kyu karenge??” “Dekhiye Sona…” “Aap dekhiye Kaju… Hume der ho rahi hai… Aapse baad mei ladh lenge hum…” “Hum bhi wahi kehnewale the… Chalte hai…” Both walked off into opposite directions… He had to take the longer route to avoid walking down with her… But when he reached the designated room, she was already there… “Aisa pratit ho raha hai ke hum dono ka vyaktigat kaam ek hi hai…” he said putting 2 and 2 together… She gave him a tight-lipped smile and nodded…
They knocked on the door and entered in once they were permitted… “Jai Hind Sir…” both greeted the SO… “Jai Hind… I like the punctuality…” he commented… “Please have a seat…” he offered them to sit… It was a suite with a living area and a bedroom… There was an office table setup in the living area and the SO was seated behind it… They took their seats when, “I know… aap dono ko bohot se sawal hai… I will answer all of them… First things first… How are you Anubhav??” “Hum thik hai Sir… Dhanyawad” AS replied… “Aur aap Miss Malik…” “Hum bhi thik hai Sir… Thank you…” HM replied… “Good… and I want you to stay the same…” he said with a smile and got up from his chair… “Now to the unasked questions… Yes… Aap dono ko naye mission pe bheja ja raha hai…” He said turning to them… Both smiled and inhaled sharply as the adrenaline rushed through their veins… He smiled… “Aap dono bilkul ek jaise hai when it comes to national duty…” he commented to which both looked at each other and smiled… “But let me make a few things clear at the very beginning…” he said and walked over to the pantry to pour them some coffee… “Yeh ek Covert operation hai… Seedhe lafzon mei kahe toh agar is mission ke dauraan, aap pakde jaate hai ya… worst case maare jaate hai, department aapko nahi jaanta…” SO said stressing the last line and looked at them for any sign of fear or retreat… But both being the patriots they were, they did not even flinch…
SO smiled… He knew he had few bull-headed people when it came to National Duty and these two were amongst those… He had a proud smile on his face looking at both of them… “Now that we are clear on that part… Let’s discuss about the mission…” he said while handing them their coffee… “Ji Sir…” both replied… He took his seat and switched his laptop on… He turned the screen towards them where they saw a picture of a pretty girl in her mid-twenties… AS’s expressions changed which weren’t unnoticed by the other two… “Naina…” he whispered… HM looked at him with surprise… How did he know her? She thought… “Right… Naina Alhuwalia…” SO confirmed… “Aap inki tasveer hume kyu dikha rahe hai Shreeman??” AS asked… “SHE… is your mission…” “Arthat??” “She is MIA Anubhav… Aur aap dono ko use dhundna hai aur wapas lekar aana hai…” SO completed… AS’s face lost its colour… MIA means Missing in Action… The bright and bubbly girl of 21 with determination in her eyes, flashed in front of him… HM was observing the ever-changing expressions on AS’s face… She found him rubbing his right wrist… But him being the rugged agent, he quickly recovered and focused on what the SO was about to say next…
SO then opened a picture of a man in his forties… “Kon hai yeh??” HM asked… “Yeh hai Shiva Reddy… Srigiripadu naam ka ek gaav hai Andhra Pradesh aur Telangana border ke paas… Shiva Reddy us gaav ka bohot bada aadmi hai… Or say Don hai… Waha ke log iski izzat kam karte hai aur darte jyada hai… Iska food processing ka business hai… Gaav ke log jo pure saal mehnat karke apne kheton mei ugate hai, us anaaj ko yeh kam keemat mei kharidta hai… uspe apna trademark laga kar high price mei bechta hai aur profit kamata hai…” SO said… “Lekin yeh iska asli business nahi hai??” HM asked… “Right Miss Malik… Iska asli business hai Diamonds… Yeh illegally diamond mining karta hai… Processing and then illegal export…” SO said while HM and AS looked at each other… “Lekin iska aur Naina ka kya sambandh hai??” AS asked as his patience was wearing out… “Batata hoon… Have patience Anubhav…” SO said… “Shiva Reddy ka network bohot strong hai… Due to which, we could not get our hands on evidences to prove his wrong doings… Iski Diamond mines ki location bhi hum track nahi kar paa rahe the… That is when we decided to send in a mole into his house… Humne Naina ko waha bheja as a governess for Shiva Reddy’s daughter…” “Aapne itne khatarnaak mission ke liye Naina ko akele bhej diya??” AS said a bit agitated… “That’s her job Anubhav… Aur aise mission ke liye use train kiya gaya hai and that too by one of our best…” SO said eyeing AS while speaking the last words… “Naina ne bohot information extract ki before her cover was blown… She has not contacted us since then… Humne use Shaheed maan liya tha until we received this…” SO said handing an envelope to AS… “It’s addressed to you… Isme ek microdot mila hai that has a message… Jiske mutabik, woh log Naina ko nahi marenge till they extract the memory stick from her…” SO continued… “Memory Stick ka location sirf Naina ko pata hai… We don’t know what all is there on that stick Anubhav… But we sure know it’s something that Shiva Reddy wants and he is willing to spare Naina’s life for it…” SO said… “Naina wants you to find her… Shayad woh tumhe sabse jyada trust karti hai…” SO said…
SO played the video message for them… Naina appeared on the screen… She didn’t look her usual bubbly self… The stress of the mission had taken its toll on her… She smiled but AS could read beyond it… He could read the fear of not finishing the mission… He felt proud of her… “Hi Anubhav Sir… Kaise hai aap?? Long-time haan?? Yeh message jab aapko milega, my cover would have been blown… Lekin jaise aapne sikhaya tha… I have kept my back-up plan ready… Yeh log mujhe nahi marenge… Lekin mera yaha se nikalna impossible hai… Unless aap aake mujhe yaha se le jao… I am waiting for you Sir… Bye…” with that the video message ended… HM felt a tug at her heart… Naina’s smile reminded her of Santu and she promised herself to rescue Naina at any cost… AS saw it in her eyes and felt blessed to have her by his side during the mission… SO was sure they would return but somewhere afraid of losing his best…
