Spies & Spice (Completed)

Chapter 20

New Delhi:

Rahim Chacha closed his eyes and offered his prayers with all his heart.  As he walked back towards ICU waiting room, he noticed Arunya and her mother crying their heart out, hugging each other, as the doctors and few other people looked on.

He felt a lump in his throat. Why is this God so cruel to the people who least deserve it?  As he hesitated whether to go and offer his condolences to Arunya or leave, his phone buzzed.

As he took out his phone from his pocket, he noticed there were couple of missed calls. May be he got them when he was praying. He answered the call in a hurry.

"Chacha where are you?" DJ's voice was impatient.

"Sorry Beta, I didn't notice your previous calls. I was offering a prayer. A dear friend of mine lost her father. I am here at the hospital."

"Oh!! I am so sorry Chacha. Please convey my condolences to your friend. I was just worried. I have to go out on some business. And as you know  Maa is not feeling well now a days. I think she is still sleeping. I wanted to make sure that you are at home while I go out, because she would never ask anyone's help other than yours."

"Of course Beta. I will be there as soon as I can. There's nothing for me to do here anyway."

"Ok Chacha. Your friend, who is she? If they need any help financially for the funeral, please find out and I will give you all the money they need."

"I don't know her that well Beta. But in this time, more than monetary help, people need emotional support and I will make sure that I give her and her family all the support they need. I will see you soon."

"Ok Chacha! Please drive carefully."  Rahim Chacha sighed as he ended the call and made his way towards the car.

****. 

As the initial shock wore out, Nirmala and Arunya lay in their chairs, crying silently for a long time. Arunya was the first to recover. Nirmala was still lost in her grief,  eyes closed, as she lay  slumped in the chair.The two officials from Intelligence Bureau were still with them.

Arunya wiped her tears and looked at them.

"Please tell me what happened to our Chotu, I mean Victor. How is he? What do you mean he is in a stable condition?"

"Ms Verma.."
"I am Arunya.  Please sit down." Arunya gestured towards the chairs. Nirmala slowly opened her eyes and pleaded with them to continue. The two agents sat gingerly in the Chairs.

"Thanks Arunya ji. My name is Mohsin Khan, and this is my colleague Sunil Khanna. I have worked with Victor briefly few months ago and I can't tell you how impressed I was with his dedication  and attention to detail. Coming to his injuries, trust me when I say this, we too don't know much at the moment. Except that he was asked to come to a particular spot in Goa and someone tried to attack him there. In fact our whole agency is on high alert now, because not only Victor, but our boss J P Nanda had been shot by the same people there and he died."

"Whaat?" Arunya gave a startled cry and Nirmala's eyes welled again.

"He was such a good man, Victor loved and respected him so much." Nirmala choked.

"Yes Mrs Verma, he was very close to Victor, in fact it is often said if there was anyone who could control Victor, it was Nanda Sir. I am sorry, I didn't mean that way." Mohsin Khan's said with a flustered face.

"Don't worry Beta, we all know Victor can be handful sometimes, and he is a stubborn guy. But I am really sorry to hear about Nanda Sir. Does he have a family? I don't think..."