Hi guys, I'm back with a TS on AsYa. This is the first time I've tried my hands at something different from the usual funny/ romantic stuff I come up with in my other two FFs. I intend to keep this story real short (max. 3 parts) as I know how much you guys hate 'cliff hangers' and poking me for updates. Besides, my other stories are also in dire need of updating, hence I'm gonna finish this one real fast. If you feel the subject interests you, please put down a few words and let me know your viewpoint.
NOTE: The story contains violence, strong language and depicts moments of intimacy. The theme is matured and recommended for an age group of 17 or above.
Dedicated to: My friend Fimmy, (it's a birthday gift for you), Alisha (aka Aloo aka ILuvAsYa) and Milli Bakshi (whose story 'Nightmare' inspired me to take a darker look at the AsYa love story)
THE MONSTER I LOVED
Prologue:
Zoya stared for a few moments at her blurry, indistinct image in the enormous glass door and ran her fingers nervously through her hair. After all, it's not every day you get summoned by THE Chief, and more so if you are just a new kid on the block with an experience of barely eight months behind you. *Don't get too much worked up. Just be yourself.* Zoya took a deep breath to calm herself and gently knocked on the door.
"Come in." A deep, husky voice greeted her as she stepped inside. The first thing that caught her attention was the simple, minimal decoration of the interior. At one side of the room stood a large cabinet, full of files with various tags ranging from 'Closed case' to 'URGENT' to 'CONFIDENTIAL'. A desktop computer, a printer cum photocopy machine and a fax machine were placed in the other side. There was no painting by famous artists or fancy potted plants in the room, as one could normally hope to come across in the room of the head honcho in such a big organization. Zoya admitted to herself that it was kinda underwhelming for a cabin which boasts of a nameplate outside with the name of the Zonal chief of CBI in the Southern zone engraved on it.
Her eyes roamed around a little before settling down on the person sitting at the table in the center of the room. Zoya felt a slight pang of anxiety and uneasiness in her heart, though this was not the first time she was seeing the man, Arjun Singh Ranawat, fondly referred to as the 'Chief' by everyone in the office. Zoya remembered him from her training days, when he came to give a motivational lecture to the trainees in Pune once. He appeared to be a straightforward, no-nonsense and down-to-earth person, perhaps a little too much straightforward for Zoya's taste, as she recollected how his theory about serial killer's psychology had given her many sleepless nights afterwards.
"Have a seat." Zoya noticed the lack of the word 'please' in the sentence, and 'Chief' (Zoya had secretly started calling him that) didn't even look up from the file he was eyeing with rapt attention. However, this was hardly a time to grumble over such silly things, and the suspense building up inside her was driving her crazy. "Thank you", she murmured, already knowing that it mattered neither to him nor to her, and waited for the man to speak.
"Zoya Farooqui, from the training institution in Pune, 2009 batch." Finally he spoke, after what seemed like an eternity to Zoya. She nodded, trying to meet his eyes, which were surprisingly bright and warm much to her relief. He was wearing a blue and grey check shirt, with a steel grey suit wrapped over his lean, athletic frame. Even at 43, his fitness could give young men a run for their money. Only the wrinkles on the forehead, which came with the experience of lifelong encounters with the country's sharpest criminal minds, and the recently formed dark circles around the eyes, were giving away his true age.
"Any idea why you are here?" The chief's questioned mirrored Zoya's own mind. She was about to say *No idea (or worst, she considered saying "Get an idea, Sir ji" but controlled herself at the last moment)*, but eventually ended up putting an open-ended question to him "Is there any new development in the Hyderabad murder case, Sir?"
"Oh, yes. I forgot. You have worked on it for...what...about a month, right? I can see you've acquired a degree in forensic science from Mumbai...and you have studied criminal psychology from NICFS as well." Chief looked mildly impressed, and a bit curious as Zoya could tell from the glint in his eyes.
"Yes, Sir. Human psychology, precisely Criminal psychology is a subject that had always enthralled me. It never fails to amaze me how a human mind can work in unimaginably twisted ways when he is pushed to his limits, and a large part of the credit goes to you, Sir." The chief raised his eyebrow questioningly as Zoya continued "It was your lecture on criminal psychology during our training days in Pune which got me interested in the first place."
"Very well, Miss Farooqui. I appreciate your eagerness to learn, but with due respect to all the theories and classroom lectures, I have to admit that none of them can match up to fieldwork, to have an actual experience of confronting your worst fears...and I am sure you will agree to that." Zoya tried to read Arjun Ranawat's expressions, her instincts telling her that something good or bad was coming her way. She nodded silently.
"Have you heard of 'The shadows'? Have you come across the name 'Alpha' before?"
Zoya's heart leapt to her mouth, and she gulped several times before answering him "Yes Sir. 'The shadows' is an organized group of criminals, who are on a rise in the Mumbai and Bhopal zone. The group was formerly known as 'Allah ke Bandey', and they were associated with charitable works, helping the poor, building charitable hospitals and schools in the rural areas in association with other government organization. But a few years ago, a new power took over the group, and restructured the organization and changed its values completely." Zoya paused for catching her breath. Chief was intently listening to her.
"This new man, known and immensely respected as 'Alpha' in the clan, has transformed it into a rebellious group, who are choosing violent paths to confront the social evils." Zoya looked straight into Chief's eye and spoke clearly "They have formed a kind of parallel government, making their own laws and punishing the offenders accordingly. And to be very honest, Sir, we have so far been a silent spectator to all this." Ranawat nodded understandingly, gesturing Zoya to carry on.
"The shadows' have garnered an unparalleled popularity among the common masses, particularly the underprivileged, the slum dwellers and prostitutes, those who are below the poverty line. These people think of 'Alpha' as the modern day version of 'Robin Hood', but the fact is, he is a thief. He is nothing but a conman who loves to show-off." Zoya's face turned red as she spit out the word 'conman' with much contempt.
"You've an issue with people who cheat, don't you?" Ranawat pointed out.
"Sir, perhaps it will be prudent to tell you something about my personal life, though it has nothing to do with the bureau or 'the shadows'. I left the only person who was closest to my heart, because he betrayed my trust. He was my father, Janab Ghaffur Siddiqui." Zoya noticed the subtle change in Chief's expression when he heard his father's name, but he was polite and discreet enough not to bring up her family matters.
Zoya could read his thoughts though, and replied with a ghost of a smile on her face "'Farooqui' was my mother's surname. I like to be known as 'Zoya Farooqui', not Zoya Siddiqui."
"Miss Farooqui, I can see that you're already quite aware of 'the shadows' and its activities. Here are a few files, which I want you to follow closely. Go through them, and let me know your views about them by the end of the week." Ranawat understood Zoya's unsaid questions "You must be thinking, why I've selected you to work on this project. Well, all I can say is your performance throughout your training sessions and on the job has managed to impress a few people, and allow me to say that I'm one of them. You will be a part of a team which will specially look after this case. The other team members shall be Vikrant and Rajini. Your task will be informed to you later. Any further questions?"
"Yes, Sir." Zoya could barely hide the excitement in her voice "Who will be our reporting manager, and who will lead the team?"
"You guys will be reporting directly to me." Ranawat's face broke into a rare smile as he spoke "Regarding the team leader, I want to know your opinion. Who do you think should it be?"
"I'm not going to be modest about this, Sir. Let me prove once and for all that age has nothing to do with one's ability to lead." Zoya's voice was steady.
"One day you will discover that it does. Mark my words, you will." Ranawat smiled again, "Anyway, I like your confidence, Zoya Farooqui. Make sure it doesn't turn into overconfidence. All the best to you and your team." He concluded.
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Zoya was smoking a cigarette, leaning against the railing of the balcony of her apartment on the 12th floor. Her black night dress with shoulder straps fluffed up by the chilly night time breeze. It had been a hard day at the Bureau, and she needed some time to herself, for the feelings to settle in that she'd be actually doing fieldwork from now onward and that too on such an important project. She watched pensively as the smoke rings gradually faded into open space, filling her with a strange sensation of victory and loneliness at the same time.
She hardly reacted when a hand wrapped around her from behind. Zoya could feel a pair of soft lips tracing her neck, gently pecking on her skin as they moved to her shoulders. She tried to jerk them off lightly, making muffled noises of protest.
"Farhan, please." Zoya didn't know how to say "F*ck off. I'm in no mood" to her fiance and put it in a more polite way.
*What's the point of choosing an independent, career-oriented girl as your life partner when you're not ready to give her an inch of personal or professional space!* she thought bitterly.
"Baby, what are you doing here? That too in this wee hour of night?" Farhan clearly didn't understand Zoya's signals, or maybe he chose not to pay any attention to that. Zoya didn't reply. She had an incurable apathy towards useless conversations; however, her silence had no effect on Farhan.
"I know, my honey bunny is thinking about some dangerous criminals, those who will not let her sleep the whole night." Farhan could sometimes adopt the tone of a love sick puppy, which had always managed to irritate Zoya "...but there's another thing, which could keep my baby awake the whole night...some cuddle-time with her would-be hubby." He nudged her cheek with his nose affectionately.
Zoya could've told him that she'd not had any real orgasm for a long time; all she could manage in bed was some fake moaning and mechanical movements, which is why any act of physical intimacy with him had always left her exhausted to the core. She was just playing her role of an ideal girlfriend, an ideal would-be wife and ideal bed partner with perfection. However, her eyes fell on the engagement ring on her finger and she refrained from saying anything.
"Zoya baby, you know na main tumhare liye kitna pareshan ho jata hoon. You seem so strange, so distant at times, it scares me, babe. Main tumhe pehle bhi keh chukka hoon, ab tumhe aisi naukri karne ki koi zaroorat nahi hai, jis mein tumhari safety ki koi guarantee na ho..." Zoya was about to open her mouth, but Farhan gestured her to keep quiet. "I know, I know, it's your life, you want to be financially independent and all that...but baby main hoon na, I am earning enough for both of us. Even my parents also feel that the field you've chosen is too dangerous for women." Farhan cupped her face in his hands and looked into her eyes "Baby, I love you so much. Please, I'm begging you, bhul jao iss naukri ko, aur mere sath wapas New York chalo."
"Farhan, please, let's not go through it all over again. If you really love me, toh tum mujhe yeh job karne se rokoge nahin...aur hum iss ke bare mein dobara baat na kare, toh hi achcha hai." Zoya said wearily.
"It's okay baby. We can talk about it later, whenever you feel like it...but now I just want my baby in my bed...chalo na jaan, tumhare bina neend hahin aa rahi hai." Farhaan pulled her closer, whispering sweet nothings in her ears. Zoya couldn't register a word of what he was saying, her mind wondering off to some faraway place down the memory lane. She allowed herself to be dragged to the bedroom by her would be husband, mentally preparing to surrender herself to another loveless night.
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P.S Part-1 is almost finished. I may update by tomorrow night. Please feel free to share your views on this one.
Teddy ❤️
Part-1 Page-7
Part-2 Page-13
Part-3 Page-24
Part-4 Page-32
Part-5 Page-38
Part-6 Page-45
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