Hey guys, here's the first Chapter of Der Lagi Lekin.. Hope you enjoy it.. 😊
Chapter 1
Riya rested against the tree, struggling to keep her eyes
open. She felt a sharp pain shoot up her left arm; but it wasn't the physical
pain that was hurting her this time! She blinked back her tears and looked at
the man crouched on his knees, tending to her wound. He seemed to be completely
engrossed in the task, occasionally glancing up to check on her.
She couldn't meet his eyes, not after what she had done. He
saw guilt etched on her face and tears rolling down her cheeks. It hurt him to
watch her in pain. How he wished to rid her of all her troubles! Maybe he
couldn't, because he was a broken man, in need of care and comfort, himself. He
glanced at her wound; maybe he could try and ease her physical pain, if not her
heartache.
She felt him gently blow over her wound, before he wiped it
with the burning antiseptic. She shuddered inwardly and shut her eyes..
***Flashback***
The ETF headquarters was in a chaos. Rathore was barking
orders at someone over the phone, while Shree was typing away furiously on his
tablet. Chottu was flexing his muscles, readying himself for a combat, while Riya
bent over her desk and was analyzing a GPS navigation device.
Rathore walked up to them, "Team, we're leaving in 10
minutes. I want all of you on your toes. Let's quickly run through all our
clues." He saw them scurry to their feet and occupy their seats. Rathore glanced
around the room and frowned, "Yeh Rawte kahan reh gaya?"
They heard the door swing open and ACP Arjun Rawte entered
the ETF conference room, stuffing his pistol into his belt.
Rathore shot him a glare and walked over to the white board.
They had a new case on hand. A wealthy businessman's daughter, Latika, had been
kidnapped on her way back from college. Initially, the police had suspected it
as a case of normal kidnapping. However, when their efforts seemed to have hit
dead ends, the case had been referred to the ETF.
It had been over a year since Arjun and Riya had joined the
ETF. Rathore had despised both of them initially, Riya for her inexperience at
the field job and Arjun, for being himself! Rathore had known Arjun since their
training days at the academy. They hadn't been the best of friends; yet they
shared a cordial relationship till date. Though Rathore hated to accept it, but
ACP Arjun Rawte was the best cop he had come across in his lifetime.
Rathore shot him a glare and motioned towards the wall
clock. He saw Arjun pay no heed to his gesture and occupy his seat. Riya
shifted uncomfortably in her seat and looked at him, through the corner of her
eyes. Why did this man have to be devilishly handsome? He was hotness
personified.. His coal black eyes, his square jaw, the light stubble, his
lion-like gait, all commanded respect and attention, the moment he stepped into
a room. It had been more than a year since she had met him; yet why he managed
to steal her breath away, every time she set her eyes on him, was a mystery
that the ETF Research Specialist had been struggling to solve all these months!
Chottu and Shree had been mere spectators to the silent
love-story blooming between the super-cop and their friend. Arjun had mellowed
down a lot after having killed Sikandar and avenged Roshni's murder. Just when
they had mentally prepared themselves for his exit from the ETF, he had stunned
them by choosing to stay back.
It hadn't taken the
two young officers genius to conclude the reason for his sudden decision.
They
had seen Arjun softening towards Riya. Though he still reprimanded her for her
carelessness and her inefficiency sometimes, they could clearly see that he
respected her work and her attitude towards her work. They had often caught him
gazing at her occasionally during a briefing or while driving. Her frown
disturbed him, her troubles troubled him and her pain distressed him deeply.
They hadn't given up on their silly bets and teasing Riya.
They loved it when she blushed like a schoolgirl, providing them with fodder to
last during their free times.
They heard Rathore instructing someone over the phone,
"Team, ab tak humein jitni clues mili hain, unse yeh saaf hai, ki yeh koi
mamuli kidnapping nahi hai.. Chottu, tum ladki ke pita se baat karke confirm
karo, ki kya koi ransom ki demand ki gayi hai; Shree tum jaldi se uss phonecall
ko trace karne ki koshish karo, jo Latika ki kidnapping ke fauran baad kiya
gaya tha.. Riya, tum.. Nahi rehne do.."
They had left for Goa immediately after receiving the first
phone call. They suspected the involvement of the underworld mafia in the
kidnapping. Riya had gathered information about a few more kidnapping cases in and
around Mumbai, on the same day. Though the motive wasn't clear yet, they were
sure that it wasn't a normal kidnapping case. There was a lot more to it.
After scouting the dense jungles day and night, they had
finally managed to discover the spot where the girls had been kept. Rathore had
devised a strategy where Arjun and Chottu would stealthily enter the compound,
so as to estimate the number of men they had to deal with and also try and
trace the girl's whereabouts. Shree, Riya and himself, were to follow them after
a while with extra backup.
Everything had been going on as planned, when Chottu came
out running and informed them that he had lost Arjun's trail and couldn't
proceed further without informing Rathore. Rathore had been livid with rage at
Arjun's callousness. Though he was worried sick for Arjun's safety, he couldn't
barge in, without the backup force, since that would be foolishness. However,
he had failed to notice that Riya had fallen silent since then.
She had been pacing outside the warehouse, occasionally
trying to peep in. The sun was slowly setting in, the backup force hadn't
arrived yet due to the difficult terrain of this place. Riya saw Rathore, Shree
and Chottu crouched on the floor discussing a new strategy.
She slumped on the ground and shut her eyes. Why does he
have to be soo reckless every single time? Waise toh poori duniya ko samjhate
phirte hain, lekin khud itni si baat kyun nahi samajhte? Main yahan aise,
chupchap haath par haath dhare nahi baith sakti.. I have to do something..
Lekin Rathore Sir?
She slowly stood up, not making
any sound and checked her pistol, it was fully loaded. Perfect! She tied
her hair and straightened her clothes. It was action time! She carefully
tiptoed in the direction of the warehouse, often glancing back. She slowly
pushed the heavy door open and stepped into the dark corridor.
Arjun had finally found the girls.
He had smartly planned an escape for all of them and guided them out of the
warehouse. He was now hiding in a closet in one of the rooms, where the men sat
playing cards and drinking. He rested against the door of the closet and
checked his pistol. All he had to do now was to wait for Rathore to enter with
his team and gun down the men. Things were just going as planned, when the
unexpected happened!
He saw a shadow lurking outside the door. The
men seemed to have not noticed it since they had their backs towards the door.
Arjun flexed his wrists and prepared himself for a showdown, assuming the
person outside to be one of the ETF members.
The door slowly creaked open and
he saw someone peep in. He could've identified those doe-shaped eyes anywhere in
the world. Riya yahan kyun aayi hai? Aur baaki sab kahan hain?
And before he could make sense of
the situation, one of the men had spotted her and opened fire. He saw Riya
escape and hide behind the door. He knew hiding wasn't going to help. Why
weren't the others helping her out? What if she was alone?
He shook his head and struggled
to focus on the scene in front of him. He carefully moved out of the closet and
hid behind a wooden partition. He saw Riya dodging the bullets with a gun in
her hand. What was with her? Riya goli kyun nahi chala rahi ho? Riya Shoot..
Shoot Riya.. Riya goli chalao!!'
He gritted his teeth and clenched
his jaw, when he saw her fumbling with the gun and the gun drop to her feet.
Before he could press the trigger, he heard a gunshot and a familiar female
shriek. No! Riya had been shot!
Arjun couldn't hold back anymore
and began firing bullets in all directions, having kicked the partition away.
He reached Riya in a few steps and carried her out of the room, hoisting her on
his shoulder. He punched a couple of men, cracking their jaws open and shot a
few bullets behind his back, before sprinting out of the warehouse.
The other ETF members heard
gunshots coming from within and sprang to their feet. They sprinted into the
warehouse, on not finding Riya around. Rathore and Chottu had been tackling a
few men, when they heard tyres screeching outside. They ran out of the building
leaving behind the criminals and found the girls hiding in the woods. Upon
hearing the girl's statements, the ETF had finally concluded that Arjun had yet
again outsmarted the lot and cracked the case.
But then, where was he? And
where was Riya?
Arjun had seated Riya on the bike and thrown her arms around
his chest. She held on to him for support, placing her forehead on his back,
mumbling incoherent words. Arjun rode the bike deep into the forest, holding
onto to Riya and checking on her every few seconds. Finally when he realized,
that the bike couldn't go any further, he had hoisted Riya on his shoulder once
again and had run into the woods, never looking back.
He was slowly running out of breath, having run non-stop for
a while, supporting Riya's body. He carefully placed her on the floor and
helped her rest her back against a tree, still supporting her body with an arm
wound around her shoulders. He felt some liquid on his hands and smelt it. Blood!
His eyes darted off to Riya's left arm and saw blood
dripping down her sleeve. Without any further thinking, he tore the sleeve of
her shirt to expose the wound to him. Luckily, it wasn't bad since the bullet
had just grazed her arm. Yet, there was a lot of blood loss. His eyes shot up
to Riya's face. He found her eyes shut.
Arjun gently let go of her shoulder and cupped her cheeks,
"Riya! Riya, aankhein kholo.. Riya.. Open your eyes, dammit! Riya, look at me."
He saw her struggling to open her eyes. He grazed a thumb
along her left cheek, "Riya, please open your eyes.. Riya!!"
She slowly fluttered her eyelashes and peeped at him. She
saw him bent over her, mumbling incoherent words and patting her cheeks. "Arjun
Sir.."
He heard her utter his name and a sense of relief flooded
his senses. He bent down and moved a lock of hair from her forehead, "Haan
Riya.. I'm here.. Main yahin hoon.."
Riya shifted on the ground and attempted to sit upright,
"Sir.. Woh aap andar.. Main.. goli.."
Arjun looked into her eyes and a something within him
snapped; he stood up with a jerk and glared at her, "Kya pagalpan tha woh
Riya.. Tum wahan akeli kyun chali aayi? Rathore kahan tha? Aur tumne goli kyun
nahi chalayi.."
He bent down and clutched her shoulders, "Tumhe pata hai,
aaj agar main wahan nahi hota, toh tumhari jaan jaa sakti thi.. Laparwahi ki
bhi hadh hoti hai, Riya."
She winced in pain as she felt him gripping her shoulder,
"Sir! Aah.."
Arjun heard her moan and softened his grip, "Riya.. Woh..
I'm sorry.." He sat back and grabbed the waist bag from her waist.
He knew she
always carried first aid with her.
He emptied the contents on the floor and picked up the
torch. He flashed it on her wound and examined it. Riya followed his gaze and
was taken aback. "Sir, woh mera shirt?"
Arjun looked up at her annoyed, "Riya, yahan tumhe goli
chookar gayi hai, aur tumhe apne shirt ki padi hai.. Tum na sach mein, meri
samajh se bahar ho!"
Riya bowed her head down as he started tending to her wound.
Her mind drifted back to the scene a few minutes back. Why hadn't she been able
to shoot? She could've avoided all of this had she fired her gun.
*Flashback ends*
Arjun had carefully wiped the wound clean with antiseptic..
He pulled out a tube of ointment and took some on his index finger. He blew
over the wound occasionally while applying the cream on her wound. He felt her
shudder each time, he touched her wound. His eyes shot up to meet hers, "Riya,
dard ho raha hai?"
She nodded in negative and a lone tear escaped her eye.
Arjun's hand instinctively went up to wipe it, "Riya, its okay. Halka sa ghaav
hai, kuch hi dinon mein theek ho jayega.."
She turned her face away, his fingers still on her cheek and
broke into muffled sobs. Arjun's eyes popped out on hearing her cry. He let go
off her arm, gently held her chin and made her face him, "Riya! Baat kya hai?"
Chap 1: Pg. 1
Chap 2: Pg. 2
Chap 3: Pg. 9
Chap 4: Pg. 14
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NOTE: I do not own the characters.. My stories are my fantasies and are based on ideas derived from the show.. My works are only meant for members of IndiaForums and are not to be copied to other sites..
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Edited by mohabbatgirl - 11 years ago
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