Ishq-e-Watan

Chapter 65- Alone

CHAPTER 65

ALONE

"Report accurate hai", Param said, leaning his head against the back of the chair. "Itni baar software issue hone ka chance close to impossible hai. So, either... Hamza is not dead ya yeh hume mislead kar rahe hain."

Karan looked at the other agents. "Par... agar mislead kar rahe hain, toh this would have taken their fair share of planning. Unhone uske fingerprints 2015 se preserve kare hue hain. That's... unusual. And what's the point of planting it wahan par? I think he's not dead."

"Hume bhi", Faizi put in his vote. "Sanju?"

"Gumrah karne ka zyaada koi faida naa dikh raho hai hume", she agreed.

Param looked at their board of information. "That's... a problem then", he muttered. "Leaders resurface kar rahe hain."

"Informers ko alert karte hain", Karan said. "If he's not dead and uske fingerprints warehouse mein the, then that means he was in Deolali. Kisi ne toh dekha hoga. Kisi toh reason se hoga yahan par."

"Okay", Param said. "Main... Hamza ke baare mein padhta hoon. He was pretty good with bombs. Maybe we'll find a hint." The rest nodded.

Karan grabbed his phone, texting his informers. He exhaled. He hoped this wasn't a dead end.

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

Monami smiled at the agent. "All s-set", she muttered softly. "Z-Zyaada d-dard ho toh you k-know wh-where to f-find me." She smiled back, nodding and moving out of the door.

Her smile dropped and she sighed, shaking her head. She hated talking to random people. It was exhausting. Probably why back in the hospital, OT was her favorite place. No need to talk to people. Just music and instructions.

Footsteps echoed in the room, and she turned around. Param. He was clutching his hand tightly, a white cloth wrapped around it. "Hi", he said sheepishly. "Can you bandage me?" He tilted his head, showing the stained cloth.

She frowned in concern, nodding for him to sit. Unwrapping the cloth, she found a large gash on his palm. "How d-did you g-get this?" She asked quietly, grabbing some cotton and wiping the blood away. "I-Iron se?"

"Nahi", he assured. "I was playing with my knife and it slipped. No rust."

She paused, looking up. "Pl-Playing with y-your knife?" He nodded. She stared at him before scoffing, shaking her head. "Aap d-dono bh-bhai aise ho?"

He chuckled. "It slipped warna main apna dhyaan rakhta hoon."

She shook her head. "Sure", she muttered. "K-Karan Sir bh-bhi yeh hi k-kehte hain." She turned around, grabbing a bottle of antiseptic and putting some on cotton.

Param tilted his head, watching her. "Tu... Tu kaafi badal gayi hai, Monami. You're... You're so much better. Last time se."

Her fingers paused. She glanced up before back at his palm. "It's b-been 9 y-years. Wh-What d-did you e-expect?" She murmured.

"Pata nahi. But I never thought ki tum yahan aaogi."

She chuckled bitterly. "B-Because you th-think I am t-too weak?"

He tilted his head. "Agar tum weak ho, toh mujhe nahi pata main apne aap ko bulaaon", he said softly. "You're not weak." She turned away from him, and he heard her take a shuddering breath before grabbing the gauze. She turned back, her head bowed as she wrapped her hand. "How are you? How's your Dad? And-"

She held up a hand, her teary gaze snapping up to meet his. "Please don't", she said quietly.

"Monami..."