Ishq-e-Watan

Chapter 54- Results

CHAPTER 54

RESULTS

"Raawat ka naam case file mein padha toh tha", Karan said. "Par it's been 11 years since unhone EFR ke against kuchh kara hai. I didn't think they would have planned an attack on him."

"Sir ji, kahin..." Sanju trailed off.

"Kya?" Faizi asked, eyebrows furrowing. "Bolo."

"Kahin yeh EFR ke saath... Matlab, Rahul ne sirf naam suna tha."

The two men stared at her in surprise. "Sanju, bakwaas hai yeh", Karan said. "Raawat ki nature jaise bhi ho par sabse pehle, he's a soldier. A good soldier. Desh se gaddari nahi karenge."

"Hum bas... keh raho the", she said quietly.

"Sanju, we have no reason to believe that Raawat is a traitor", Faizi said patiently. "Aur yeh bahut serious allegation hai. Jab tak hume aisa koi bhi fact ya even rumor nahi milta ki Raawat traitor hai, hum unpar, as a soldier, trust karenge."

"Ji, Sir ji."

Karan pinned up a picture on the white board. He patted on it. "Sheikh", he said. "EFR ka ek kaafi known leader tha. Raawat ne maara tha. 11 years back. It's one of the reasons EFR went almost silent 5 years later. Revenge is enough of a reason."

Faizi nodded. "Hume Raawat ko warn karna chahiye."

"Hum Batra Sir ji aur Raawat Sir ji ko bulaato hain", Sanju said, standing up.

"Nahi", Karan said quietly. "Raawat ko naa pata ho toh behtar hoga. Ek tareeka fail hua, unki chah nahi hai maarne ki. We can use him as bait."

The two paused. "Bait?" Faizi said. "Karan, yeh bahut dangerous hai."

"He's a trained commando. And obviously, inhe aise akele thodi naa ghoomne denge. We'll have someone keep an eye on him whenever he's out of the academy." He glanced around the photos he had pinned up on the white board. "Chal, Faizi, Batra Sir ke paas. Sanju, Mridul ko keh security plans banaaye dobara. Jo teri bait ke liye gaps chodhe the, use smoothen out kare."

"Ji, Sir ji."

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

The exam week passed without a hitch in the academy. The cadets fell into an almost monotonous routine of studying and writing their exams and the trainers a quiet schedule of waiting and anticipating for change in the mission. But it rolled by quick and thankfully, Raawat hadn't had anything too much to say.

"Cadets ne kaisa kara?" Karan asked, the Monday of the result week. The official results would be out the next day, but the officials had compiled the results. "First kaun?"

Faizi shrugged. "Raawat ne kaha sabke saath hi batayenge hume bhi."

"Foxtrot mein se hi aayega koi", Karan said, sitting down on the chair. "Koel se baat hui? Uske exams kaise hue?"

"Keh rahi thi ki Military Geography ka bura hua. Baaki achhe the." He flicked his eyebrows up. "Monami ka?"

Karan looked at him with narrowed eyes. "Tujhe yeh kyun lagta hai ki mujhe-"

"Tumhe pata hai, na?"

He looked away. "Theek hue", he said after a moment. Faizi smiled. "Baaki zyaada bataaya nahi. Par nervous nahi thi toh I gathered ki kaafi achhe hue honge uske."

There were beeps from their phones, and they both sighed, picking it up. "Meeting", Faizi said disappointedly. Karan heaved another sigh. The continuous meetings were getting on his nerves too.