CC was waiting at the intersect... He had reached exactly on time not wanting to make AS wait... Soon a car stopped in front of him... He looked inside and found AS... “Aa jaiye Cheetah...” AS said and “Jai Hind Sir...” CC said and entered the car with a smile... “Kshama kijiye cheetah hume vilamb ho gaya... Aap kafi der se pratiksha kar rahe the??” AS said... “Kshama mat mangiye Sir... Hum bas abhi aaye the...” CC replied... AS smiled and started towards their destination... “Hum kaha ja rahe hai Sir??” CC asked... “Cricket ka mukabala dekhne...” “Ka baat kar rahe hai Sir... waah...” CC said excitedly but soon realisation dawned upon him... “Ek... ek... ek min sir... IPL ka sara match toh Mumbai aur Pune mei ho raha hai... Hum match dekhne Mumbai ja rahe hai??” CC asked... AS smiled at his innocence... “Sir hum kaise ja sakte hai... Humne toh kal ki chutti ka bhi nahi bola hai MS ko... woh daantengi Sir...” CC continued... “Shaant ho jaiye Cheetah... Jaruri nahi ke muqabala kridasthal pe hi jaa kar dekha jaye... Aur bhi jagah hoti hai jaha waise hi mahool ki anubhuti hoti hai...” “Aisa bhi hota hai??” “Ji... aur yaadi aap kal deri se pohche toh aapki MS se hum baat kar lenge... aap nishchint hokar mukabale ka maza uthaiye... Aur yaad rakhiye hum duty pe nahi hai... toh aupchariktaon ko bhul jaiye kuch samay ke liye...” CC smiled... He had always had a special for AS in his heart... They had shared an unsaid bond; of friends, of brothers... Today it felt like the bond was officiated...
AS took CC to a sports bar... Both settled themselves on the table reserved by AS... CC looked around... It was a big hall with a large screen on one wall and bar at the opposite... Tables and chairs were arranged across the hall with chairs facing the screen... CC noticed AS had chosen a table with the best view of the screen... The room was dimly lit as the screen displayed the pre-match presentation... “Eh jagah toh bohot badhiya hai Sir... Hum pehli baar aaye hai yaha...” CC said excitedly... “Hum bhi pehli baar hi aaye hai yaha...” AS replied... “Ka baat kar rahe hai Sir?? Toh aapko is jagah ka bare mei kaisa pata hai??” “Humne padha tha is jagah ke bare mei antarjaal pe...” “Ka??” “Internet pe...” “Ohh... Toh Sir aap pehle kahe nahi aaye yaha...” “Yaha kisi mitr ke saath aao toh maza aata hai... Hum akele aake kya karte? Ab jab humare pas mitr hai toh hum chale aaye...” AS replied causing CC’s eyes to fill with tears... “Kya hua CC??” “Sir itna bada baat bol diya aapne aaj... Humne kabhi nahi socha tha ke aap kabhi hume apna mitr manenge...” “Aur humne kabhi nahi socha tha ke humara kabhi koi itna khas mitr banega...” “Ektho personal level pe baat bole Sir... Aap akele hai jinhone kabhi humare prem ka mazaq nahi udaya... Humesha humko protsahan diya... Dhanyawad Sir...” “Isme dhanywad kehne ki kya baat hai... Aap khud nahi jante aap mei kitni kshamta hai... Aur aapka prem saccha hai... Toh hum aapka saath kaise na dete...” AS said with a smile... CC smiled back... “Abhi baatein chodiye aur screen pe dhyan dijiye... muqabala shuru ho gaya hai...” AS said and both turned their attention to the screen... They spent the rest of the evening enjoying the cricket match...
AS was on his way back home after dropping CC at his quarters when his phone rang... “Hello...” he answered the call after parking his car at the side of the road... “Kaise ho Anubhav?? Oh... Sorry sorry... DSP sahab kaise hai aap??” the woman from other side replied... “Kon bol raha hai??” AS asked... “Mujhe nahi pehchana Baby?? Itni jaldi bhul gaye??” she replied... “Dekhiye deviji, hum aapko nahi jante... kon bol rahi hai aap?? Aur aapko humara durbhas kramank kaha se mila??” “Are are kitne sawal puch rahe ho... Sabhi sawalon ke jawab tumhe zaroor milenge... lekin phone pe nahi... mujhse aake milo... pata bhej rahi hu...” “Hume hamaron prashno ke uttar abhi chahiye...” “Agar maine tumhare sawalon ke jawab de diye toh tum mujhse milne nahi aaoge... Isiliye pehle mere bheje gaye pate par pohcho...” “Deviji aapko ek bar mei baat samajh nahi aati kya?? Hum kahi nahi aa rahe...” “Soch lo Baby... Kahi tumhare mana karne ka anjaam bura na ho...” “Aap janti hai aap kise dhamki de rahi hai??” “Ache se janti hu... Lekin tum shayad yeh nahi jante ki mai apni baatein manvana bhi ache se janti hu...” “Aap...” “Isse pehle ki tum kuch aur bolo mai tumhe kuch sunana chahti hu...” she said... A sound of a slap echoed through the phone... “Aaa... Mat maro please... mujhe chod do... please jane do mujhe...” Another smack reverberated through the earphone... He was stunned... “Hello... Hello...” he said to gain attention towards him... “Suna? maza aaya??” “Kise pakad rakha hai aap??” “Pata nahi... Ghar jaa rahi thi shayad... Utha liya raste se...” “Kya chahti hai aap??” “Abhi bataya toh... bas mujhse milne aa jao...” “Lekin...” “Kitna bolte ho... kahi der na ho jaye...” “Us ladki ko chod dijiye...” “Chod dungi... lekin tab jab tum yaha aaoge aur woh bhi akele... Chalaki karne ki koshish ki toh kal police ko lawaris lash milegi... Aur uske zimmedar tum hoge... Tumhari har chal par meri nazar hai... Samjhe Baby??” “Aap jaha kahengi hum aayenge... Bas aap us ladki ko kuch nahi karengi...” “Promise... Lekin jaldi aana... jyada der tak mai apna promise nibha paungi aisa lagta nahi hai mujhe...” “Aa rahe hai...” he said and disconnected the call... He contemplated informing the control room for back-up but the lady’s words echoed in his ears... If she had his phone number, she surely was tracking him... He decided against calling the control room but dropped a message to HM saying, ‘Aapka anumaan sahi tha GENDA ke phool ke bare mei...’
He drove like a mad man towards the location that the woman had sent... All the while he prayed that HM could decipher his message... Soon he reached the location... It was a cottage in a secluded place... Not a single vehicle or human had passed by him since the last turn... It seemed like the place was deserted... He took his gun from the glovebox and tucked it in his waistband... He put his phone in his pocket on silent mode and slowly started walking towards the house... He knocked on the door, but the door was already left ajar... He pushed and walked in... “Deviji... Hum aa gaye hai... Kaha hai aap??” he asked but got no reply... He closed the door to block the woman’s path if she tried to run away... He was determined to catch her at any cost... It was also a precautionary measure from an attacker sneaking in from behind... He pulled his gun out and slowly headed towards the rooms on the ground floor... He checked all the rooms and found them empty... He was back in the living room and moved towards the stairs... The top of the stairs had only two doors along the hallway... He walked into one and found it empty... He was sure the last room was where he was going to have a face-off with the mystery woman... He took every step with caution and pushed the door open in one single move simultaneously pointing his gun, prepared to shoot if attacked... But he found no one inside... He walked in... He had just taken a few steps when he was pushed from behind... Being unprepared, he fell face down on the bed... He quickly rolled and aimed his gun at the intruder... “Aap!!!” he exclaimed... He was shocked would be an understatement...
