CHAPTER 17 - Part 1
By 7:45PM the ETF team along with Avantika was ready
to start for the airport. They didn't even have time to pack their belongings,
because they might have to stay back in Jaipur overnight. But Rathore assured
his team that all arrangements for their stay will be taken care of.
There was tension
everywhere, but Shree and Chotu still had time for their own private jokes!
"Ab hum kis gaadi
mein baithe yaar?" Shree asked Chotu.
"Kya matlab?" Chotu
asked, unable to understand Shree.
"Har baar Arjun sir
aur Ri ek gaadi mein aate hain aur hum Rathore sir ke saath, right? Lekin iss
baar.." Shree said pointing at Rathore and Avantika getting down the stairs,
"Kiske liye kabaab mein haddi bane?" Shree winked.
"Besharam. Saumya ki
jaan khatre mein hain aur tum ho ki.." Chotu said becoming serious leaving
Shree stunned.
"Arey yaar, usse kuch
nahin hoga. Hum usse bachalenge. Hamare serious hone se kuch nahin hone wala
hain. Tumhe kya lagta hain main bahut chilled hoon. Bas mood lighten karna
chahta tha aur tum mujhpe hi gussa ho rahe ho," Shree said rolling his eyes.
"Woh tho sahi hain.
Ab gaadi chun na hoga kya?" Chotu said looking at the two SUVs as Arjun and
Rathore approached each of them. Riya pulled Shree and said, "Hamare saath
chalo."
"Are you sure Riya?"
Shree asked sarcastically. Chotu suppressed a laugh.
Riya raised an
eyebrow at Shree and Chotu.
"Samajh gaye, chalo
chalo," Chotu said and pushed the two of them towards the SUV.
30 minutes later..
In the airport:
Rathore made sure
that by the time they arrived the CCTV footage would be ready for them. Also,
no one was informed of their arrival in the village, except for Rathore's
father and elder brother. Checking was imposed on all the exit gates of Jaipur
and roads to their village.
Shree started playing
the tapes.
"Saumya!" Rathore
said as he spotted his daughter on the screen. His heart sank. His precious
angel's life was in danger! The thought itself sucked the life out of him!
"Saumya," Avantika's
eyes were filled with tears as Rathore put a hand on her shoulder and comforted
her. Avantika held onto his hand.
Arjun was right! "Hum
sahi the!" Riya said.
Aditya, Saumya and
the driver were together. Aditya confirmed the tickects at the counter. They
went through the other camera which showed that Saumya was pretty happy and
excited, unaware of the impending danger. The trio went through the checking
and then left to board the flight.
"Matlab Rawte ki
theory sahi hain! Saumya Jaipur gayi thi Aditya ke saath aur woh driver bhi unn
dono ke saath hi hain," Rathore said.
The six of them
boarded the flight. Rathore and Avantika sat together. Arjun settled in a
window seat, while the one beside him was empty. Shree Chotu and Riya
approached their seats. Chotu was about to sit beside Arjun when Shree stopped
him, "Chotu! Mujhe na tumse kuch baat karni hain. Mere saath chal," Shree took
Chotu with him leaving the seat beside Arjun for Riya. Riya saw that and was
fuming in the inside. "Damn you Shree!" she thought, "Itna obvious mat lago!"
"Excuse me mam' take your seat please," the
air hostess told her.
She sighed and sat
beside Arjun. Arjun was observing the entire scene, that just happened. It was
so embarrassing for Riya! Arjun looked irritated on the outside, but for him it
was actually, highly amusing..
Then suddenly
"Riya.." "Sir.." they
spoke at a time.
Riya wanted to
disappear into thin air. Her heart was racing. Shree and Chotu who were
observing all of this were having an absolutely great time. They showed a 'thumbs
up' to each other. Shameless, aren't they?
"Tum kuch kehne waali
thi," Arjun decided to end the awkwardness.
"Sir,
actually..Rathore sir ek baat batana shaayad bhool gaye. Jis constituency ka MP
Chauhan tha, ussi constituency ka, usse pehle MP Purushottam Singh Bhati tha.
In short, Chauhan succeeded Purushottam Singh Bhati," Riya said.
"Are you sure Riya?" Arjun
asked.
"Yes sir, I'm sure,"
Riya said.
Arjun frowned and was
lost in thought immediately. Riya closed her eyes. She was tired. Images of
Saumya running around her uncle happily, in the CCTV footage, flashed in front
of her eyes. She opened her eyes immediately. She sighed, "I hope Saumya ko
kuch nahin hua hoga. Ganpati bappa, uski raksha karna," she prayed to God
silently.
She closed her eyes
again, and felt peaceful.
"Taayi! Kaisi lag rahi hoon?" sixteen year old Riya said, showing off
her her new red coloured lehenga,
running around her Taayi who was busy cleaning Riya's room.
"Kuch khaas nahin," Roshni said faking reluctance.
Riya pouted. Roshni smiled and picked up the dupatta. She made Riya
stand in front of the mirror. Roshni then put the dupatta on her, like she
would on a bride, and said, "Bahut khubsoorat lag rahi ho Chutki."
"Haan, bilkul ek dulhan ki tarah," Roshni's mother said as she walked
into the room.
"Taayi, aap bhi na. Abhi tho Riya bachi hain," Riya's mother said to
her.
"Haan, haan aise hi soch thi raho. Maasi bhi tere baare mein aise hi
kehti thi. Ki tu bachi thi, aur waqt yun guzargaya. Ab tu Riya ke baare mein
aise keh rahi hain. Dekhna.." Roshni's mother said to her cousin, Riya's
mother.
"Aayi, mamma theek hi tho keh rahin hain. Mujhe tho abhi bahut aage
jaana hain. Police officer ban na hain," Riya said as Roshni smiled at her. "
Agar kisi ko shaadi ki jaldi hain tho woh Taayi hain," Riya said winking at
Roshni.
"Dhat! Pagli! Abhi uss mein bahut waqt hain," Roshni said hitting Riya
on her head.
"Ouch! Sach mein. Ye dekho," Riya said pulling Roshni to stand in front
of the mirror.She then put the dupatta around Roshni and said, "Kitni sundar
lag rahi hain aap! Na jaane woh kush naseeb kaun hain."
"Chutki!"Roshni said and blushed a little.
"Bilkul sahi kahaan hain Riya," Riya's mother stood beside Roshni and
said, "Tu jiski naseeb mein bhi likhi hain na, woh iss duniya ka sabse khush
naseeb insaan hoga. Kisiki nazar na lage tujhe."
"Aur woh khush naseeb insaan kaun hoga, main decide karoongi! Yes, woh
pehle mujhe pasand aaana chahiye," Riya said looking at Roshni.
"Aur tera bali ka bakra pehle
mujhe pasand aana chahiye," Roshni said winking at Riya.
"Taayi!" Riya said frowning.
"Arey! Main bas mazaak kar rahi thi! Itna gussa kyun ho jaati ho?"
Roshni said and hugged Riya.
"Haan haan, tab Ganpati bappa hi jaane aap dono ki shaadi kab hogi.
Mujhe tho abhi se dhoondna shuru kradena chahiye," Roshni's mother said and
smiled.
Riya and Roshni burst into laughter and embraced each other. Riya
looked at her mother who was smiling.
She wanted everything to stay like that. She, her mother, Taayi and her
family. She didn't want anything to change. But, fate played its cruel game.
Riya and Roshni were walking down the stairs of the temple, talking.
Riya's mother was crossing the road already. Riya turned towards the road to
see something that took her breath away.
"Maasi!!!" Roshni screamed. Riya was left speechless. A rogue driver,
driving an SUV lost control and hit Riya's mother with great speed. She was
hurled across the road, and hit the foot path. The wound on her head killed her
instantaneously. It was a hit and run accident.
Riya couldn't find her voice. "Chutki! Chutki tu theek hain?" Roshni
was shaking Riya to bring her out of the shock, as her mother's horrible death
played in front of Riya's eyes again and again.
"Riya! Riya tum theek
ho?" Arjun panicked as Riya gripped his hand on the hand rest of the seat,
tightly and started crying.
Shree and Chotu
beacame alert too. Rathore and Avantika who were sitting right behind Arjun and
Riya, were worried.
"Riya!" Arjun shook
her, his hand still in hers; she came back to the present, her eyes red from
crying. Riya couldn't understand anything for a moment. The air hostess came
running to them with a water bottle. Arjun took the water bottle, opened it and
gave it to Riya. She drank some water and wiped her tears. She unbuckled her
seat bealt, "Excuse me," she said and left for the washroom.
Riya washed her face
again and again but the tears weren't stopping. Finally she managed to control
her tears.
She washed her face
again. She was about to open the door, she remembered how she held Arjun's
hand. "Mujhe maafi maangna chahiye," she thought, but suddenly realized
something. He held onto her hand! Even though she was out of her nightmare, he
still held onto her hand! "Riya, bas! Kuch zyada hi soch ne lagi ho tum!" she
chided herself and returned to her seat.
"Tu theek hain Ri?"
Shree asked on her way back. Chotu looked concerned too. "Haan. I'm fine," Riya
assured them.
Rathore and Avantika
asked her if she was fine as she sat down in her seat. She answered them and
turned towards Arjun.
He still had that
frown on his face. She misread it and apologized to him.
"Maafi kyun maang
rahi ho? Tum theek tho ho na?" Arjun asked. It was genuine worry and Arjun
didn't find any reason to hide it.
Rathore observed
that. He had been observing Arjun and Riya for quite sometime now, and did
notice the tension between them.
"I'm fine sir. Bas
bura sapna tha," she said and turned away, glad that he wasn't angry.
Jaipur airport:
10:20PM
A police officer was
waiting for them in the airport.
"Inspector Rathi," he
introduced himself.
They checked the CCTV
footage of the airport and confirmed that the trio left the airport safe and
sound. But after that?
"Ek taxi driver ne
unhe dekha tha. Usne unse taxi ke liye poocha, lekin unhone mana kar diya. Unke
liye ek gaadi aayi thi aur woh log uss gaadi mein baith kar chalegaye. Gaadi ka
number pata nahin lekin keh raha tha ki ek private cab hi hain," the inspector
told them, the result of their investigation near the airport in the past two
hours, "Check posts pe bhi kuch nahin mila abhi tak."
"Mushkil hain milna.
Checking shuru hone se pehle hi shaayad woh log check posts paar kar gaye
honge. Hamein jald se jald is Devilaal ke paas jana hoga aur uske baad Hari
Singh," Arjun said.
Rathore nodded and
they left for Ajmer.
This time Arjun drove
the SUV and Rathore sat in the passenger seat in the front. Riya and Avantika
sat at the back. Shree and Chotu were following the SUV in the police jeep.
Shree was keeping a track of the mobile phone hoping they might be able to
trace it.
"Rathore, Hari Singh
aur tumhare parivaar ke beech koi dushmani hain?" Arjun asked.
"Nahin. Woh hamare
parivaar ke bahut kareeb hain," Rathore said.
"Tab woh jaanta hoga
ki Saumya tumhari beti hain."
"Haan, sabhi jaante
hain."
"Tho phir woh kya
Saumya ko chot pahuchayega? Woh na sirf Avantika Chauhan ki beti aur, Bhagwat
Chauhan ki pothi hain, balki Sameer Rathore ki bhi beti hain. Kya tumhare
parivaar se woh dushmani paal ne ka risk lega?" Arjun asked.
"Kaisa parivaar. Sirf
naam ke liye hain parivaar. Kabhi Saumya ko apne Dadasa ya Dadisa ka pyaar bhi
nahin mila. Nahin milne diya," Avantika said suddenly. Anger was evident in her
voice.
"Avantika.." Rathore
was about to say something when Arjun stopped him.
"Kisne milne nahin
diya?" Arjun knew he was unraveling something personal, but it was necessary
for the case. But, Rathore seemed a bit miffed.
"Mere Bhabasa ne.
Hamare aur Sameer ke parivaaron ke beech ki dushmani aur bhi badh gayi. Tho
Hari Singh meri beti chot kyun nahin pahuchayega?" Avantika demanded.
"Kyunki woh ye baat
jaanta hain ki jitna pyaar main apni beti se karta hoon, utna hi pyaar mera
parivaar bhi karta hain. Unki bhi kuch lagti hain Saumya," Rathore lost his
cool, "Kitni baar tumse kahan tha maine ye baat. Lekin tumhare baap ko tho sirf.."
Rathore stopped, realizing that Arjun and Riya were there too.
Avantika bent her
head down.
"Tum sahi ho Rawte. Nahin.
Hari Singh Saumya ko chot nahin pahucha sakta hain. Hamare parivaar se agar woh
dushmani rakhe ga tho sirf uski barbaadi hi hogi. Isiliye woh na hi Avantika ko
chot pahuchaayega ya Saumya ko." Rathore said firmly, making sure that Avantika
heard him clearly.
"Iska matlab agar
Hari Singh isme involved hain tho Saumya safe hain," Arjun said.
Riya and Avantika suddenly
felt relieved.
Just then Arjun
received a call from Shree, "Sir! Woh cell phone on hua hain. Hamse aage paanch
minute ki doori par ek checkpost hain. Ussi taraf ja raha hain," Arjun
immediately cut the phone and told Rathore. The orders were passed that no
vehicle must be allowed to leave the checkpost until they reach the place.
In five minutes, the
team reached the checkpost.
The officers saluted
Arjun and Rathore and handed them a phone.
"Sir, ussi gaadi mein
mila hain. Driver ko rok ke rakha hain," the officer said and took Rathore and
Arjun to the driver. Avantika followed them. Riya, Shree and Chotu were searching
the taxi.
He wasn't the driver
they were searching for. Rathore grabbed the man's collar and demanded, "Ye
phone tumhare paas kaise aaya?"
"Pata nahin saab! Ye
phone tho uss suitcase ke saath tha, jo mujhe le jaane ke liye kahaan gaya tha," the driver begged.
Rathore was about to
ask the guy something else when, "Sir! Bachi milgayi hain!" Chotu called out
for Rathore.
Rathore and Avantika
couldn't believe their ears!
Avantika ran towards
the car followed by Arjun and Rathore. But when she saw Riya carefully taking
Saumya out of the suitcase, her heart beat stopped. Rathore and Arjun were
shocked. Arjun stopped right where he was, but Rathore walked towards the car
his heart throbbing.
Shree checked
Saumya's pulse as Riya held her in her arms.
A broad smile
appeared on Shree's face. He turned towards Rathore and said, "She's safe."
Avantika ran to her
daughter and took Saumya into her arms. She hugged her tightly, and cried her
heart out. She then kissed the girl on her forehead. Saumya was still
unconscious. Rathore walked towards Avantika and knelt down beside her. He
caressed his daughter's forehead and hugged her tightly. He thought he had lost
her! Rathore had tears in his eyes. Riya, Shree and Chotu were the happiest of
the lot. Arjun smiled seeing Rathore and Avantika unite with their daughter
again..
PRECAP: Arjun stood
fearless as Devilaal pointed his gun at him.
"Nikaljao! Nahin tho
anjaam bahut bura hoga."
Riya had her gun
pointed at Devilaal, ready to shoot him if he made a move, "Hamein sirf talashi
leni hain. Warrant hain hamare paas. Isliye gun neeche," she said. But Devilaal
didn't listen to her.
"Suna nahin? Talashi leni hain. Agar aap cooperate
karenge tho behtar hoga," Arjun said as he folded his hands, challenging
Devilaal.
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Hello! I'm back with my update!
I hope you liked it..😃
I'm working on the second part right now...I will update it as soon as it's done!
Thanks a lot for liking my FF and leaving such wonderful comments!
P.S. DO LEAVE YOUR COMMENTS! 😉
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