Enigma (3)

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Chapter 3

A deathly silence filled as the room. He hesitated to took a step towards the women whose eyes screamed accusation. “You did this purposely right?”

After all that they had shared, she hadn’t expected that he would take such a drastic step. “Lis…”

“Why?” her voice cracked and the pain laced in her word hurt him more than her. If only she knew that.

“I didn’t mean it.” He sighed and walked closer to her while the woman turned her head away “I never expected this.”

“You shouldn’t keep expectations from me.” The words came harsher than they were intended. He shut his eyes in his mistake.

“Look… I…” “Enough!” The woman wobbled on her foot and stared at the man who had almost meant something to her. “It was my mistake. Just mine. Where’s the question of trust or even sensibility at this moment!”

Just as she was about to make her way out did he hold her elbow and and pull her against his chest “No one walks away from me!”

“What should I expect after what you did?” She hobbled away while he held her “Please listen to me.”

“Tell me…” and he remained quiet, he wasn’t ever good with words.

He left an exhausted sigh as he noticed her walking towards the door “How ar…” “I’ll manage…”

“The hell you will.” He whispered and her eyes darted to his when he caught her wrist in blatant possession and led her to his car, he swiftly picked her up and placed her inside.

He clenched the steering wheel tight till his knuckles turned white, his senses betrayed him when he had picked up her soft form in his arms. He turned aside to find her pressing her face to the window.

“Itna shauq hai bahar chipakna toh gaari ke upar beitha doon?” He bit it out while she glared at him with equal fury.

He stopped his car in middle of a deserted road and tugged on her arm, brushing away the look of worry on her face he spoke “Listen Sakshi, I never knew that sending you to retrieve a fake passport would end up injuring you. I was there. Trust me.”

“You were there but you failed to keep me fine!” Sakshi bit out and regretted the minute she saw his face harden and mist cloud his eyes. She was being furious and unreasonable since the minute he had offered to pick her up from her apartment for office.

She barely could explain the fact that her injury would lead to her mission getting hampered and being with the man with a temper and sinful heat, Sakshi Anand found herself becoming more like him. She yelled at him for no fault of his!

“I didn’t mean…” “Office’s here.” Arjun whispered and got out of the car and stormed towards the office while Sakshi struggled to get out of the car. She yelped slightly in pain to find him coming back to her, holding her elbow in a startling gentleness. He gently lifted her like a child and placed her back on the ground “The worst thing about me is that, no matter whom I am with - my presence leads to the end of any other person. I could never save anyone.”

“I am sorry Arjun.” Sakshi whispered and held on to him while he frowned and shook his head “Yeh itni asaani se kaise aa sakta hai? Yeh sorry bolna… maafi mangna… It doesn’t work like this Sakshi.”

“I barely make a mistake Arjun, sorry isnt’ too common for me either. Saying the word and meaning it has a difference. I didn’t mean what I said before. The thing is that you were there hence I got shot, if not I would have probably been dead.” Sakshi smiled and felt an anger towards herself.

For the first time in her life she had been distracted during a mission as trivial as the one before. All because her eyes were fixed on his lithe form as he pounced on the gang with a panther like agility.

Since when was Sakshi Anand focused on the hollows of a man’s collar bones, his clenched jaw, intense eyes and chiseled figure and the way his shirt stuck against his ripped torso? Sakshi blinked and stepped away in anger.

If she needed to dig deeper in her brother’s death - in spite of the fact that she was a witness to it - the she needed to stay away from Arjun.

Period.

She remembered how Kapoor had admonished her a week before.

“What! No no… wait, you are asking me to believe that a high intelligence officer who has been in the Emergency Task Force as a disguise and has dodged a bullet of AK-47  is shot by a pistol? What the f*** is wrong with you Sakshi Anand!” Kapoor blasted at Sakshi who looked at her feet and whispered a sorry.

“Kappy love, I think it is fine…” Verma tried to intervene to be shut off by Kapoor “I don’t want to speak to you Verma, so please don’t come in between.”

Kapoor sighed and looked at an embarrassed Sakshi who gulped at the fierce gaze. “I d…”

“You got distracted right?” Kapoor walked close to Sakshi who shifted uncomfortably, Kapoor changed the course of question on seeing her turn tense.

“Your double got a foot injury right?” Kapoor asked while Sakshi nodded “Don’t forget to keep that in mind. How’s your hand?”

“Fine…” Sakshi squeaked and sighed in relief when Kapoor walked out and Verma passed a sad look.

Sakshi stormed off rapidly unaware of Arjun staring at her.

The next thing Sakshi knew was being pinned to a wall while Sakshi threw him an incredulous look yet shut her eyes at his proximity.

“We need to discuss more on the Shekhawat case and I need to draft a report.” Sakshi whispered while Arjun frowned “You are so wonderful in lying aren’t you?”

Sakshi’s eyes snapped open at his words “What?” she asked and to his horror he bent down and grabbed her ankle and twisted it slightly “No pain Miss Anand!”

Sakshi stammered at her lie being caught, for the first time she felt tears dwelling in her eyes when Arjun told her that she disgusted him.

She was lying, her feet was fine but the hate in his eyes was…

Painful…

“I didn’t lie…” Sakshi said and Arjun stopped on his tracks. She wiped her tears and gulped.

“Lie… lie to gain his trust, his sympathy… you know he feels for you. Lie to get his…” Sakshi’s heart whispered to her...

“No Sakshi what are you thinking of! This is the best wedge which can be created between you and him” Verma warned.

“Why should I lie?” Sakshi took a difficult breath as Arjun walked towards her with confusion in his eyes.

“Then how could you walk normally?” Arjun crossed his arms and stared at her.

“He’s listening to you… lie Sakshi!”

“Shut up… no Sakshi, let this create a barrier!” Verma tried to yank sense in Sakshi.

“I have a weak ligament with momentary shifts of pain and relief. I had torn it when I had gone to catch hold of a bite for the paper. I also go for physiotherapy classes… I felt better so I tried to walk normally but then at times it does hurt.” Sakshi looked away while Arjun shook his head and placed his hand on his hips.

“You aren’t serious… is it true?” Arjun asked and Sakshi felt a jolt of anger in her.

Anger on herself for actually lying to Arjun for selfish reasons.

“What do you think? That I die for you! That I can go to any extent to just get your favour and feelings for me! You mean nothing for me Arjun and I won’t justify myself anymore! BYE!” Sakshi shouted and stormed towards her cubicle.

At one end Arjun was in shock to have received such an answer and he really thought if it was indeed nothing but a lack of judgement. A strange feeling of negativity filled him when he recalled her bursting on him.

He didn’t want her to hate him.

Sakshi sat in her cubicle, staring helplessly at the ceiling. She wasn’t supposed to lie only to be in the good books of Arjun yet she did it. She lied and she saw regret on his face. Damn it! Why was she screwing up her life?

She didn’t want to fall in love with him and be selfish enough to make him feel the same!

~*~

“Who are you?” Sameer asked, refusing to read the hurt in her eyes.

“An ETF Officer.” Ayesha whispered, gulping the pain which rose like bile in her throat.

“Liar, wherever you are not there in the office something wrong goes around. You seem to know every information even before we happen to know it. So why are you here Ayesha? Wait… is that even your name?” Ayesha flinched at his words laced with sarcasm and bit back a soft cry of the broken woman in her.

Sameer’s eyes widened slightly as he noticed Ayesha’s sagged form take in a powerful posture. Ayesha flipped back her hair and took a deep breath in “Mr. Rathore, you must have noticed that when I was not in the office, something good happened to the society?”

“No don’t mistake me for a vigilante of sorts.” Ayesha took a pause “Everyone in the ETF is allowed to do a continue a certain sector of their work even after being an officer in ETF. As far as I am concerned, on one hand I was an officer - on the other, Nadia still existed. That’s all Sameer…” Ayesha’s voice cracked as she lied at the end.

Sameer’s grip on the gun faded as her words made sense to him.

“Why didn’t you ask me? What was the need for this! This nice behaviour, gentleness, behaving like someone much more than a friend. Why did you need to show me something I wanted to see?” Ayesha whispered and sniffed harshly to control her emotions.

Sameer stammered as he tried to speak, so clouded was he by his emotions that he didn’t understand that she didn’t reveal enough of information. He was sure that Ayesha had been leaking the messages but now as he tried to re analyse what he had observed, Ayesha had done nothing wrong.

Another lack of judgement, after Rawte.

“Ay…”

“Don’t even take my name Mr. Rathore!” Ayesha yelled and yanked the gun off his hand. “You have every right to question me as the Chief of ETF, but you had no right to… kiss me” hot tears poured out of her eyes.

For the first time Ayesha had felt alive, she had begun to accept the little person in her who died years back. She wanted to feel and live… but her dreams were crushed brutally.

She was still the brutal merciless Nadia and the emotionless Ayesha.

“You just proved that all men are same. What was the need for this?”

“I… dd.. don’t know why I kissed you.” Sameer confessed while Ayesha chuckled “Yeah… I just know why you did so? A temporary rush of lust? Knowing you, now, one thing is clear. You’re one of those guys to run away if you stay with a girl through the night…”

“It wasn’t lust Ayesha…”

“Oh don’t give me the love thy enemy crap. You did consider me an enemy right?” Ayesha threw the gun away and took wobbly steps towards the door.

“To even think I loved you…” Ayesha whispered and bolted out of his house.

Sameer Rathore had made the biggest mistake of his life.

~*~

“Hmmm…” a guttural moan left his throat while he worked on her pliant form. He didn’t pay heed to her shifting or her soft little whispers. A ring on his cellphone brought him back to reality.

Sikandar shot up, looked below to find Ingrov in a tousled mess and digested the bitter feeling which crept up his skin.

For the first time he had been dragged towards a woman, just because she was young and so like… her.

Still resting atop her, he picked up his phone and chatted with his right hand man.

Ingrov opened her large eyes and peeped at the powerful man before her who was rattling off in a strange language. She gulped a little and tilted her head slightly.

It was fearful to admit but it was true, she had begun to feel.

It had been six years in this disgusting line where every man was a parasite, except the man before her. She received fresh food and clothes. She was not experimented and he never brought men home to feast her… with them.

A tear rolled by as she recalled her bitter past but she brushed them off and let affection take a place in her heart as she gazed at his features. A few flicks of hair touched his forehead. A droplet of sweat trailed from his prominent Adam’s apple till his hard torso.

Ingrov didn’t complain, the man before her was sheer perfection. She never bothered that he was the most dreaded. She was fed daily, was allowed to sleep, was not clamped and wasn’t stuffed up.

She felt like she was in a domestic relationship. He went, did his work… came back home at night and slept off.

Sometimes with her.

Ingrov smiled at herself, she wouldn’t mind living with this man for the rest of her life. He was an escape for her.

“Off.” he said and shook her shoulder slightly as Ingrov came back to reality. She crawled out and put on her discarded robe… she was used to him isolating her whenever they were together. She was surprised to not find disgust but guilt etched in his eyes.

If only she could removed the immense sadness from his eyes.

Sikandar stared at the ceiling and let the rare moment of self introspection hit him.

What if he had never met Arjun? What if he was nothing but a simple sports coach with a teacher for a wife? What if they were nothing but simple humans?

He closed his eyes and recalled his dead wife’s smile towards him. Her soothing caresses and the times when life was good.

A beep broke his dream and he checked his message.

Life was a boring routine, deals would be sanctioned and he would knock down those whom he thought as a threat. Casinos weren’t of his taste and girls were never good enough. Except the one with him.

He only waited for the right time - the death of Arjun Rawte.

Till then he could, relax.

~*~

“Four year back… hmm checking…” Kapoor searched through various files while Verma coughed slightly.

“You seem to be in a bad mood.”

“Mind your own business if you can?” Kapoor snapped back and Verma nodded sheepishly.

“Okay, so Arjun’s had a pretty boring career. From the past four years, the information I got was boring - the usual knocking down some great criminals, espionage activities - he’s just a normal great cop. However…” Verma put on a little smile as finally Kapoor seemed to give some attention.

“However…” Kapoor tapped the table impatiently,

“Wah wah Kappy, over there Ayesha is tutiya dil and over here you seem to be sad and depressed kya Kapoor Kapoor connection!” Verma laughed to be whacked by Kapoor.

“Done?! Now if you can please cut off the crap.”

“Woah calm down yaar! Okay, so I found something interesting… not related to Arjun but to Samrat, someone within had leaked the information to Rafiq’s then right hand man about Samrat and his whereabouts.”

“Good work Verma, so it’s an officer - good we have solid proo…” Kapoor stopped abruptly and coughed.

“What?” Verma asked.

“Have you checked why the ETF Delhi is asking for a Chief replacement? See what happened to our man right there!”

Verma nodded and set to work, was the Chief of ETF dead…. but how?

Kappy blew a breath of relief as Verma walked away.

A gaze on the paper and anyone would have been shocked to his wits to know…

That Arjun had leaked the information of Samrat’s whereabouts.

~*~

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