At night, Vikram goes to Rimi's house and calls her from the garden. Rimi comes to pick him up, and they both go to check the CCTV footage. As they review the video, they see that Lieutenant General Ashok had visited Thapa. The two of them drank in the balcony, and after Ashok left, Thapa came inside, sat at his desk in the office room, and suddenly experienced chest pain before collapsing and dying.
"See, I told you there's nothing suspicious in the footage," says Rimi.
"Did you notice that Uncle had a cardiac arrest immediately after Ashok left? And they didn't seem to have had any serious conversation that could have caused Uncle's heart attack. In fact, they were laughing and giggling," says Vikram.
Rimi begins to wonder. "I want to check Uncle's room," says Vikram, and they both head there. Vikram checks everywhere and then goes to the balcony. From there, he notices another bungalow close to Rimi's house, which has a CCTV camera pointed toward the balcony.
"Can we get access to that CCTV camera?" Vikram asks.
They exchange hopeful glances, and then Rimi and Vikram go to the neighboring bungalow. Since it's empty and no one stays there, they bribe the watchman, and he agrees to give them access to the CCTV footage. In the footage, they see Thapa and Ashok sitting on the balcony, drinking. Suddenly, Thapa gets up and goes inside as if he received a call.
"I remember I called Papa because the network was weak, and I told him I'd call later," says Rimi.
Meanwhile, Ashok adds something to Thapa's drink. They finish their drinks, and Ashok leaves. Soon after, Thapa dies. Seeing this, Rimi starts crying, and Vikram hugs her to console her.
"I'm sorry, Vikram. I doubted you," says Rimi.
"It's okay," Vikram replies. "But this isn't enough. We have to prove that Ashok added something to Uncle's drink that caused his death."
"But how? We don't have the body. We already cremated him," says Rimi.
"Did you see that before Uncle died, he vomited on the floor?" Vikram asks.
"Yes, but the room's already been cleaned," Rimi responds.
"Still, we can take a chance and check the room and the carpet again."
They take the CCTV footage with them and go to Thapa's office. There, they check and find some vomit residue under the table. Immediately, they roll up the carpet to take it for testing. As they walk downstairs, Rimi's mother, Mrs. Thapa, comes out of her room, having heard the noise. When she sees Vikram, she becomes emotional, smiling through her tears.
Vikram holds her hand, kisses them, and wipes away her tears. "You don't know how blessed I feel today. It's like I've gotten my son back," Mrs. Thapa says as she touches Vikram's face with motherly affection and kisses his forehead.
"I missed you, Maa," says Vikram.
"I need to go, Maa," says Vikram.
"But where?" asks Mrs. Thapa.
"For the world, I'm still dead, Maa. I'm on a mission. I'll meet you after completing it," replies Vikram.
Vikram and Rimi walk towards the door.
"But listen, Rimi... Vikram..." says Mrs. Thapa.
"Bye, Maa," say Vikram and Rimi together as they leave.
Vikram drives the car while Rimi sits beside him.
"Rimi, how do we make Verma confess his crime? Do you know where he keeps his secrets hidden?" Vikram asks.
"No idea," Rimi responds.
Meanwhile, Jiya calls Vikram and tells him, "I got the permission to tap Ashok Verma's and Defense Minister Chandra Mohan Shah's calls. And guess what? I found their secret location. Anand and I are heading there."
"That's great," says Vikram.
Jiya and Anand reach the location, park the car at a distance, and observe as Ashok Verma and Pravin exit a car. Rana stands behind Verma. The three of them talk briefly before going inside the house.
"We should go inside. That's the only way we'll find something," says Anand.
"But Anand, it's too risky. We're not prepared, and we don't know what's inside. I mean, how many men are there? What weapons do they have?" Jiya cautions.
"Don't worry, I'll handle it," says Anand. "Give me the camera." He attaches it to his T-shirt, opens the car door, and steps out.
Jiya stops him. "Take care, Anand," she says.
Anand nods and leaves. He climbs the wall and reaches the balcony of the room where the meeting is happening. Hiding behind the wall, he tries to focus the camera attached to his T-shirt, but Jiya tells him through his earpiece, "I can only hear the voices. I can't see their faces clearly."
Anand then starts recording with his mobile phone. Inside the room, Verma, Pravin, and Rana sit on the couch around a center table, drinking.
Pravin asks Verma, "How much longer until you become Army General? The Russians are waiting for the arms deal."
"Just a few more days," Verma replies.
"I can't keep the Russians waiting like this, you know that. I'm even getting calls from Razak in Afghanistan about the arms. Hurry it up," Pravin demands.
"Do you think this is a joke? I'm trying hard. I killed Thapa for this deal, but if I rush, everyone will suspect me. Somehow, tomorrow I'm meeting Shah to discuss the matter," says Verma.
"Did you clear the evidence from Thapa's house—the CCTV footage and everything in his room?" Verma asks Rana.
"I cleared everything, Verma Sir, including the glasses you drank from and the entire room. No evidence is left—except for the CCTV footage, which I didn't delete," says Rana.
"You fool! Why didn't you delete that?" Verma snaps.
"Relax, Verma Sir. I checked the footage; there's nothing incriminating in it. It's just you and Thapa having a good time. Nothing suspicious. If I had deleted it, the case would have been viewed from a different angle. Now, it just looks like Thapa had a heart attack. If anyone gets suspicious, don't worry—I'm a hacker. I can delete it at any time. I've worked for RAW for the past 15 years," Rana explains.
Meanwhile, someone enters the room, notices movement on the balcony, and shouts, "Who's there?" Everyone's attention shifts toward Anand.
Panicking, Anand drops the listening device into a nearby plant and runs. As he jumps over the wall, Rana shoots him in the leg. He drops his mobile in the bushes beside the house but tries to keep running. Rana shoots him in the back.
Seeing this, Jiya drives the car toward Anand, manages to pull him inside, and rushes him to the hospital.
To be continue...........................
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MISSION PINK ROSE
General FictionThis revolves around a woman named Janvi, and how her ordinary life changes overnight. She unexpectedly becomes a RAW agent and succeeds in thwarting a terrorist conspiracy to destroy India. The story also follows how she takes revenge for her husba...