Authors: Amieya Prabhaker
Cold Love (19 page)
Arjun finally showed up later that day.
He entered the living room while Riya and her parents were seated on the sofa,
flipping through TV channels blandly. Riya saw Arjun first, and she ran over
immediately to hug him tightly.
“Arjun! Where have you been? We were so
worried about you!” She holds his hand, brings him to the sofa and turns off
the TV.
Shanti comes up to sit next to him,
“Come beta. Sit down. How are you Arjun?”
Arjun nods to Shanti, without speaking,
and sits on the sofa.
“How are Kamla and bhai sahib? When can
we meet them?”
Mr. Saxena couldn’t hold back his
curiosity either, “Arjun, what has the doctor said? How are they?”
Arjun finally clears his throat “Papa is
still critical. They are at a secure hospital.”
“Where
beta? Can we meet them?” Shanti asks eagerly.
“I cannot tell you where they are. No
one can meet them …. Ma is conscious now and is walking about, but she is in a
state of shock and not able to say very much. One bullet grazed her arm.” He
touches his shoulder to indicate the wound. “The doctors cleaned her wound and
put a bandage upon it.”
“And uncle?” Riya dares to ask the ominous
question.
“Papa was hit twice. Once on his
shoulder and another… another bullet went through his heart. There is also a
clot in his lungs. The doctors have put him on both a heart bypass and an air
vent.”
Riya and Shanti gasp on hearing Arjun’s
words.
“Arjun! I want to meet uncle and aunty.”
Riya says impatiently. “Please! I want to meet them now. Where are they?” She
holds his hand in distress. “Arjun, please tell me; nothing will happen to
uncle right?”
Arjun looks at her and tries to smile,
“Doctors have kept him alive… so far!”
Both Riya and Shanti begin to weep.
However, Arjun continues to speak in a stern voice, full of intent. “Uncle, I
have spent the last few days thinking a great deal.” He pauses for a moment
with a finger on his lips. “I cannot live in this house any more. I have moved
to a new house, given to me by the department, outside the city. And when all
this is over… in a couple of weeks, I will move with Maa and Puja … to the US.”
“Where?” asks Riya, looking stunned.
“I cannot tell you.”
“What do you mean you cannot tell me?”
Riya asks in a confused manner. “Arjun, what are you saying? Please, where are
uncle and aunty? I want to meet them now! Arjun! Please!”
“No
one can meet them!” Arjun reiterates emphatically, “And perhaps … after today,”
he pauses to look at Riya, “we will never meet again. I wanted to say this
important thing, Uncle, to all of you.”
“Arjun one minute! What are you saying?
What do you mean never meet again?”
Shanti pitches in, equally confused,
“Beta, I don’t understand anything.”
“How could you say we can’t meet again?
How can you make such a decision?” Riya challenges him. “Uncle and aunty have
been like…I mean… and Puja… Puja is not just a friend; she is more like my
sister… my soul mate. You left to study abroad, Arjun, but we have been
together ever since we were children. We have shared each and every joy and
sorrow in life. And how could you just say it so easily that …” She breaks down
in tears before she can finish her sentence.
“Riya, please try to understand.”
Mr. Saxena intervenes. “Beta, we know it
has been tough on you. But Arjun, don’t rush into anything… think it through.
We are always here for you. We will never leave this house or your family.”
“Uncle, I understand but I have thought
it through. And this is my final decision.”
Suddenly Riya starts speaking to herself
with a dreamy look on her face. “Do you know Arjun, when I was eight years old;
Papa was out of India on a business trip? Puja and I were playing on the swing
and I fell down and hit a big stone. A lot of blood came out. Uncle carried me
to the hospital, and I was unconscious for a whole day.”
“Riya,
I know about that incident …” Arjun tries to speak, but is interrupted by Riya,
“Arjun, that night a strange thing happened. I was missing Papa a lot, I was
continually crying, not because of the pain, but because I was missing holding
Papa. Uncle carried me in his arms and told me, ‘Beta, I am like your Papa
too’. Do you know throughout the night, uncle carried me in his arms, because
the minute he put me down on the bed I would start crying? I slept on his
shoulder through that night.”
“Riya, please do not make this tough on
me. Uncle you should try to understand.” Mr. Saxena nods reassuringly, “As you
have been told already, you have 24-hour special security monitoring your house
now. All the windows and doors have been made bullet-proof. Your cars …”
“Arjun, I don’t care about your
security!” Riya shouts, extremely distressed now. “Damn the security! I want to
meet uncle and aunty!”
“Beta, let him speak.”
“But Papa!” Mr. Saxena holds up his
hand, gesturing to Riya to calm down. Riya sits down resentfully on the sofa
next to Arjun, visibly distressed and sobbing intermittently as Arjun continues
to speak.
“The house, windows and cars have been
made bullet proof. Whenever you leave the house, security personnel will escort
you. Riya, over the next two weeks, will you please not go to the school? And
as I said… uncle,” he clears his throat again, “I want to stay alone and I have
moved to a department house outside the city.”
“Beta, what can we say? I am just
stunned! But don’t rush into anything son.” Shanti tries to reason calmly with
Arjun.
“Aunty, you have given me so much love but
perhaps… perhaps the path we travelled together ends here.” He gets up
suddenly, folding his hands as he faces Mr. and Mrs. Saxena.
“Beta… and that day Kamla and I were
talking about your paths to be merged for generations.” She turns around to
look at Riya and holds up her wrists on which she wears the bangles. “Do you
know these bangles? These are your grandma’s shagun gift from Kamla!” Riya
stares, astonished as well. Shanti continues, “Yes beta, we didn’t tell you two
as we did not want to impose our will upon you. We thought the two of you will
come to this decision on your own. We old women are longing to see you tie the
knot together forever. Your parents wanted that too Arjun!”
“Aunty,
there’s no use talking about this now.” He folds his hands again and starts
walking away. Just then, Mr. Saxena shouts out to him.
“Beta!” Arjun stops on hearing his bold
voice, “One minute… sit down.” Arjun returns and takes the chair. Mr. Saxena
continues, “Arjun, I can understand and respect the reasoning and the
sentiments that underlie what you have said. But before you leave, I would like
to say this. I acknowledge we are not servicemen. But if there’s a race to lay
down our lives for the country, then none of us will lag behind you. Whatever
you have asked, we will do exactly what you tell us.”
Riya stares upon hearing what her dad
says. “Yes Riya,” he assures her as she lays her head on his shoulder crying.
“But remember this Arjun, my family, my friends… spending a few moments of love
with them is more valuable to me than thousands of years of barren life. Amit
and Kamla are dearer to us than our lives. And the doors of this house and our
hearts will always be open for you and your family.”
“Thanks uncle. It means a lot to me,”
Arjun is humbled on hearing Mr. Saxena’s words and puts on his sunglasses to
hide his tears. Without more ado, he starts walking out of the house.
“Papa! Mama, please stop him,” Riya
shrieks, and runs after him. Shanti follows her to watch from the balcony above
as they race down to the front courtyard of the house.
“Arjun! Please don’t go like this!” Riya
tries to obstruct his path. Arjun doesn’t respond. He walks past her. Riya
runs behind him again, blocks his way and holds her golden bangles out in front
of him.
“Do these mean nothing to you? Why don’t
you take them with you as well if have to leave?”
“I cannot take them. If Ma gave them to
you... these are her bangles, and only she can take them back. Moreover, I
hope I can trust that you will take better care of my grandma’s memory than I
ever can. I couldn’t even take care of my parents, Riya!”
Listening to those grim words, Riya does
not have the heart to stop Arjun. She is still and silent for a moment, but
then suddenly speaks, just as Arjun is walking away.
“Arjun! What is
₹
2 crores? Tell me!” She turns around to look at the balcony
and ensure Shanti is far away not to hear this, “It’s the money to kill you
isn’t it? Uncle got shot because he was driving your car, wearing your Ferrari
cap and your sunglasses? That is the reason you are getting away from our lives
too, right?” She tugs at Arjun’s arm, demanding an answer but gets no response.
“Tell me Arjun! I can call Krish and ask him about it.”
Arjun doesn’t reply, and continues to
walk to get into his car. Riya hesitates and cannot make up her mind what to do
next. She makes one last desperate dash towards him as he is about to enter the
car.
“Arjun! Arjun! Please don’t go!”, she
then speaks in a gentle hushed tone, as if speaking to herself in despair, “I
love you, Arjun!”
Arjun pauses, but pretends he hasn’t
heard her last words. He gets into the car revs up the car engine and starts
off with the screeching sound of the tires. His mobile starts ringing
immediately. It’s Riya, but Arjun doesn’t respond. He curses himself for having
let things between them progress to such an extent. A message beeps on his
mobile, “I know you love me too Arjun, that’s why you are going away from us.
But please don’t do this Arjun! Please!”
He picks up his phone to text Riya,
“I’ve always looked upon you as a good friend…a really good friend. That’s it!
Now it’s best for everyone that we never meet again… ever. Bye Riya.”
His phone beeps immediately. It reads,
“I’ll wait for you … forever!”
“Damn, this stubborn girl!” Arjun tells
himself as he chucks his phone to the side seat and races on.
Over the next few days, RAW agents and
special police continue raiding several known mafia locations in Mumbai. A
massive stealth operation to locate the hitman sweeps through the underworld,
disrupting the balance of power, putting several petty gangs and thugs behind
bars. Arjun leaves no stone unturned to find the killer. Every nook and corner
of Mumbai is turned upside down in the search. But the hitman still eludes the
administration.
Meanwhile Arjun’s dad is still holding
on to a single thread of life, continuing in a state of coma. Kamla has
recovered from her wound, though still in the state of shock, unable to
communicate with anyone. Puja has stayed along with her parents at the secure
private hospital unknown to the outer world. Arjun met his parents at the
hospital but returned immediately to his new home. He had a clear mission… to
capture the killer. Riya made a few attempts to contact Arjun but with time,
her calls and messages diminished, as she realized that Arjun was serious about
what he had said.
However, the silent pain of separation,
of an unfulfilled and unproclaimed love stung Riya and Arjun alike. Arjun has
managed to tide through by keeping himself busy with work and the mission at
hand. Riya on the other hand, has fallen into a deep pit of depression. She has
not been to the MBA class since Arjun’s last visit, and keeps to her room,
silent and lost in her thoughts. She cannot bear the isolation from her best
friend Puja who has not called them. Her number is completely unreachable from
the outer world. Can years of friendship, love and relationship die a feeble
death after this horrible incident? Sometimes, Riya felt a horrible sense of
despair; she wanted to shout at someone, shout her pain out at the top of her
voice till her lungs hurt. Instead, she became silent, to the extent of acting
as if nothing had happened at all. The whole family tried to put on a brave
front, for each other. She would try to smile and act normal during the day,
and sob into her pillow through the night.
Arjun is in his new home when he
receives a much-awaited call on his mobile from the department.
“Hello Sam. …Ok good. Thanks. Do I have
clearance for the names yet?” he exclaims, “No?! What?! Can I at least see the
case files? Ok thanks buddy.”
The mystery of the undercover agent in
the operation perplexed Arjun ever since he logged into the RAW geo-location
system. But for security reasons, he wasn’t authorized to know the names of the
undercover agents. One of them, of course, was the deceased agent Vinod Shukla.
Arjun had raised a request for access to learn the identity of the second agent
but his request was still pending authorization. He knew that the identities of
undercover agents are never compromised, even to top level executives in the
intelligence. That’s why he had spoken personally to Lt Gen Khanna, who could,
as director of RAW, authorize this request. Until today, he could only get
access to view the report of the operation.
Arjun opens his laptop and keys in
frantically the allocated password to look at the report files on the secure
RAW login. The screen shows several navigation frames and after reading through
a few documents, he clicks on an icon labeled, “Simulate trajectory”. This
would be the visual report of the ballistics department that analyses bullets
and explosives used during an operation, and also graphically simulates the
trajectory of the weapon or ballistics used. When Arjun clicks on the file to
open it, a message pops up, “
Access denied. You are not authorized to access
this file.
”
“What! Clearly someone doesn’t want me
to see this!” he thinks angrily. He frantically types some more code and runs
further intelligent scripts, eager now to see the files now… by hook or by
crook. The ballistic file opens eventually as Arjun manages to hack into it. It
shows a simulation of a person icon falling to the ground, with the bullet
tracing back towards the Jaguar car.
“That car would be the one that the ISI
lieutenant general Khan was in.” Arjun tells himself.
But the trajectory shown in the
simulation displays the bullet continue past the car, just missing the car’s
side mirror, missing a nearby tree by a whisker, missing another car by a
whisker and ending up behind a bush towards a male icon. The icon was marked
“undercover RAW agent2”.
“Hmmm… That is one hell of a difficult
shot!”
Arjun rocks back in his chair, his hands
locked behind his head. He knows only one person in the department can take
that kind of a shot. Arjun picks up his phone to speak to RAW’s lieutenant
general Khanna first.
“Sir. I wanted to speak something
urgently with you. … About Agent Shukla! What mission was he on? Why was he
eliminated?”
“Arjun, officially I cannot tell you
anything.” Lt Gen Khanna replies sternly.
“Sir, I’ve seen the ballistics trajectory
of the operation.”
“You were not authorized to access that
file Arjun. … Listen son, since you are asking these questions, I know you are
working things out for yourself. I did expect you to find out at some stage.
But just remember that I overlook several things for the sake of our country’s
security. So I expect you to understand these restrictions, and appreciate my
limitations too. So do what you feel you must do to satisfy yourself. But
nothing gets into the records. Am I clear, Arjun?”
“Yes Sir! I understand. Thank you so
much Sir”.
He puts down the phone, the mystery
slowly unraveling in his mind. Immediately, Arjun calls another number, “Hi,
Krish. I need to see you urgently. Can you meet me in an hour? Ok... My old
house. Thanks buddy. Really appreciate it. Ok see you there. Bye.”
Arjun makes a third call. “Hello Riya.
Where are you now? Ok. I want to meet you!.... In one hour? …Ok stay inside
your house. …. Yes, remain inside the house! Don’t come out… I’ll come and pick
you. Ok, bye.”
As Arjun is walking out of the house, he
receives a call from Rakesh.
“Hello Rakesh. … Oh! What!? Ok, I’ll
start off immediately. I can meet you in about fifteen minutes at the
department? Ok bye!”
Arjun leaves immediately. In another ten
minutes, he reaches the headquarters and greets Rakesh outside his office.
“Hey buddy! How are you Rakesh? Please
come in.”
Arjun talks softly to the officer who
escorted Rakesh, and the officer leaves the room with a file on the desk,
shutting the door behind him.
“I understand the agents have taken down
your report already. An artist’s sketch is being developed as well?”
“Yes, Arjun,” Rakesh responds with a
nervous look.
“Ok. Before you start, can I offer you
any tea or coffee?” Rakesh shakes his head in the negative.
“So tell me now, what really happened?”
Arjun sits down on the chair to listen to Rakesh.
“As I told you on the phone, last night
two masked men came to our house. I was out at work. They threatened to kill my
family. They were asking about you and your family… asking for your address and
the whereabouts of Puja, uncle and aunty. As my parents did not know anything,
they were tied to chairs while these men searched the house. They searched
through our phones…They had guns and knives with them … Fortunately they didn’t
do anything and just left… but papa and mummy are completely shaken, Arjun. I
don’t want to go through the details; I’ve said everything in the report. But
I’m here…” Rakesh clears his throat and continues hesitatingly, “I am here to say
something important …and I wanted to say it in person.”
“Go on, Rakesh; I am listening.”
“Arjun, I know that what I am about to
say is not correct, but I have to say this. As I said, Papa and mummy are
completely shocked by this incident… and I am extremely concerned as well
…Actually I cannot think straight at the moment. But we have jointly decided …
I have decided…”, he pauses to drink water lying on the table, “… I have
decided that I need to end my engagement with Puja.”
Arjun springs up from his chair, and
grabs Rakesh by his collar.
“What!” he roars in a loud threatening
voice. But he immediately composes himself, “I’m sorry!” Arjun brushes up
Rakesh’s shirt and tidies his collar. “I am sorry Rakesh… Please sit down.”
This is not happening, Arjun tells
himself. No! Not his little sister! A person for whose happiness he could give
away anything in the world …absolutely anything to see a little smile on her
face. She cannot be the victim of his deeds. Arjun curses himself for being so
reckless and for lacking foresight; for not having taken care of things
earlier. He was yet to overcome the guilt of being the reason why his father
had been shot.
“Arjun… I know your family is going
through a tough time … but you see… we are not ready for this. My parents are
not ready for this!”
“Ok.” Arjun returns to his seat across
the desk, “Did you tell Puja?”
“No. Not yet. I don’t think I am in a
state to talk to her at the moment.”
There’s a long pause and Arjun dares to
break the overwhelming silence.
“You want me to do the honors then
buddy?” Arjun smiles mockingly at his fate. Rakesh nods yes silently, “Do you
know Rakesh that she loves you very much?”
“Arjun, I love her too! But what good is
love…if there’s no life left to love one another? I will talk to her, but not
now. I can’t! I am sorry Arjun; I hope you will understand. That is why I came
to meet you.”
Arjun knows that Puja and Rakesh have
been in love for a long time. The sinister thoughts return to haunt him; he has
been the bane of his family, the reason for everyone’s pain, and now the cause
for the breakup of his little sister’s engagement. Even though Arjun’s head is
about to explode with these thoughts he adopts a calm and composed demeanor.
Perhaps it’s for the best that Rakesh is breaking up the engagement. It will
save her the despair that he is going through in his own relationship with
Riya. A deep sense of pain and anguish bites into his soul that he dares not
explain to anyone.
“Arjun?... Arjun!”
Arjun shakes his head, as if waking up from
a coma. He suddenly gets up and extends his hand to Rakesh. Rakesh stands up
awkwardly too, unable to read Arjun’s expressionless face. However, instead of
taking Arjun’s extended hand, Rakesh hugs him, pats his shoulder and slowly
walks out of the room.
“Take care buddy!” he says before
leaving the room.
Arjun walks out with him and shuts the
door behind him. He walks back to the desk and sits down for a moment.
Suddenly, with a swift powerful swing of his leg, Arjun smashes into the desk
with so much force that it breaks into two. He grabs one piece of the desk and
flings it with all his strength on to the wall.
“Aaaaahh….” The loud shout of pain
attracts the attention of his colleagues outside, as the door opens immediately
and an officer and a secretary pop in.
“Sir, are you ok?” the secretary asks
him.
Arjun nods and turns his back to them to
hide his tears, “Can I have some privacy, please? … Thank you!” he replies
sternly.
Both go out immediately, closing the
door behind them. Arjun walks to the broken desk, picks it up and assembles it
back to somehow put it back in place. He sits down on the chair beside it and
makes another phone call.
“Puja, how are you? Papa and mummy …”
Puja immediately starts speaking on the
phone, “Bhaiyya, nothing is right here. The doctors refuse to tell me anything
about papa!”
“Puja, don’t worry dear. I am in
constant touch with the doctors. We are getting everything done, Puja; the best
treatment in the world. Everything will be fine. …Ok listen, this is an
important thing. Rakesh came to me just now. Last night two masked men came to
his house when he was not around and they tied his parents up. They threatened
his family.”
“What! Can I speak to him bhaiyya? Oh my
God!”
“Yes, you can speak to Rakesh. They are
all fine. But listen to me first. Rakesh has told me… he wants to break the
engagement … he will speak to you sometime soon, but right now he was very
distressed himself.”
There’s a marked silence with no
response, “Are you ok, Puja? … Puja!”
“Yes bhaiyya. I am fine. I don’t blame
him.”
Arjun can hear her silently sobbing on
the phone.
“Puja, I know you must hate me.
Everything is happening because of me!”
“No bhaiyya. It’s not your fault!” she
continues to speak, sobbing quietly, “I don’t need anyone, bhaiyya. Don’t blame
yourself. You and I are here for each other and that’s all we need bhaiyya.”
“Do you want to speak to Rakesh?”
“No.”
“Are you sure?” Arjun crushes a paper
lying on the desk in his fist.
“Bhaiyya, I said no. I don’t want to
speak to anyone!”
“Puja, another thing… I’ve told you
already that we will not meet Riya, uncle or aunty… ever again. That’s best for
everyone. And once it is all over, we will move to California. Do you
understand Puja?”
