From the Author's desk- Here is the next update dears.. Oh.. I am so moved- almost everyone who commented was worried about Shyam babua.. I cant break your hearts sweets- not yet 😉
Happy reading and and thanks so much for your lovely reactions through comments.. Oops another long one...
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Part 55
"Atleast 6 people including an ACP of police were hurt after a bomb planted in a parked police car went off in a secluded bus stop in the capital city today, the officials have said. The wounded have been rushed to the nearby hospital- the injuries are minor and injured are out of danger,as per the reports from the hospital.
No reports of death have been reported however. The device went off during the afternoon and the usually crowded bus stop was scarce. The officials however are considering that this might be an early warning call for an attack on the capital city. No group has claimed responsibility for the bombing.
The official reports from the police department convey that a huge disaster has been thwarted by Assistant commisioner of police, S.M.Jha who was driving the vehicle in which the bomb was planted, Its said that he got an early suspicion and called the bomb squad who deduced that it was a time bomb according to the indications given by the ACP. As per the directions of the Bomb Squad, the vehicle was parked in a secluded area and the bomb went off soon after.
Though the ACP is unavailable for comments, one of the onlookers said that as soon as the vehicle screeched to stop in the middle of the road, The ACP jumped out of the vehicle and screamed at everyone to lie face down on the ground, Some of the people who didnt understand or follow the instructions are the ones who were injured.
The police have tightened the security of the city and are on high alert. The prime minister has condemned this act and has told that the people responsible for this would be punished severely. The home minister who visited the place and the hospital thereafter a short while ago assured the citizens that the situation is much under control and investigations are already on for the reasons for the attack. Archana Sagar with Camera Man Ryan Thomas for News Live"
As the news flashes and scenes of the incident were shown, Shock was itched on the faces of the four who stood in that room
Kushi clutched Arnav's arm tight for support as she came to terms with the news that was being telecasted on the TV.
"This is not about out Shyam isnt it? tellme it is not... " Kushi looked from Sid to La
"It is" replied Sid with a serious tone
"Why the hell are you standing here still?" Arnav asked with urgency "Didnt you try to call him?"
"I spoke to him a few minutes ago, he told me he is fine- He was only wounded by the intensity and proximity of the blast- otherwise he is OK.."
"But is this related to-" Arnav started to speak
"Rana? yes... It is everything to do with Rana. Atleast I think it is- Didnt he tell us yesterday that Rana knows about him? Shyam is atleast for now not sure- he thinks it might be a coincidence that his car was chosen to plant the bomb..."
"but isnt it too much of a coincidence Sid?" La asked tears still etched in her face
"But obviously Shyam doesnt want to rush it unless he is particularly sure- this is one of the rare times that his profession has taken precedence to his personal goals- he wants to be sure it is not a terrorist group"
"We have to go meet him Sid. I want to see if he is OK.. after all that he did for us-" Kushi told after a few minutes of silence
"I and La are leaving right now Kushi- He asked us not to bring you or Arnav- he asked us not to come either- But I am going to give it a try.. If they let me see him now- " Sid told her solemnly
"But why? - Why cant we meet him? " Kushi asked Sid again
"He says he is having some interogations happening regarding the bomb blast- they wont let us see him most probably- It seems he spoke to me in front of those officers only- As they let him inform his family and We are the only people close to him - a nearly family he has you see..."
"Oh Sid... " Kushi gasped "Are you sure he is Ok? Does - Does Dadi know this?"
"He asked me not to inform- But seeing that the news channels are broadcasting this news, I am not sure if they will stay ignorant of this..."
"Oh god.. Di.. If Di comes to know about this..." La gulped "how are we going to manage keeping her out of Shyam's secret after this?"
"Why? what if she comes to know?" Arnav asked puzzled
"Shyam will not like it... Remember, his whole drama to make her hate him and all that..." Sid cut it quickly and the sighed "Its time we started from here La" He said as he turned to go, throwing the remote control on the bed.
"We are coming with you" Arnav informed Sid and La
"you are not" Sid repeated again " we dont want any other mishap to happen. and again, I hope you realise the criticality of the situation - there will be reporters as well- If they get a wind that the Raizadas are there then"
"you are a familiar face too Sid.. you think people will not miss you?" Kushi replied back with diffidence
"Kushi, I dont even know if they will let us to meet him- besides if it was Rana's men responsible- they are most likely to be hanging around- and if by chance Shyam was wrong that Rana was suspecting him- his men will be around as well and do you really think it is a good idea for you both to go and meet him now- increasing his chances of getting murdered?"
"We will surely call you once we reach the hospital Kushi..." La offered considerately and Kushi finally gave up her desire to visit Shyam at the hospital.
Sid who was about to go out of the room, paused and turned back to look at Arnav
"Atleast now do you realise how nasty and malicious Rana can get Arnav? He will not stop at anything until he gets what he wants"
"I still maintain that if I had been involved into this earlier, I would have not let the situation get this dangerous for everyone involved- there was no need at all- We could have dealt it differently"
"And what kind of plan are you thinking will work with a merciless man like Rana? - just see what could have possibly happened to Shyam this afternoon"
"Not any plan- it is ridiculous that you people want to get me something that I dont even want- Why take the risk for something I dont want?"
"Dont you get it still Arnav? its not about what you want or dont want- If we are lucky, Rana would have got the news that you are planning to get married after the Will criteria expires and would have swallowed the bait- But I am sure that your genuine wish for a wedding after your 30th birthday itself would be looked upon by him as a bait- and he would react to it"
"you think he knows what I told today morning about getting married a month later? this is absurd"
"He would obviously know about it- and If I know him well- he would think that it is a plan to throw him off guard"
and thus the men got into an argument, It was as if a tennis match being played by Arnav and Sid as La and kushi kept looking from one man to other as they argued about their view points.
"Sid- ASR please stop this.." La finally shouted "Look we have more important things to do other than whose plan works best"
"Sid, I told that I and Kushi will get married in a month's time -only to put a stop to all this. If Rana comes to know about this through his so called secret informers- I believe that he will for sure stop all this hurting business- I dont want the estates- I cant care less- When he knows that I am not a contender for his aspirations to lay his hands on the estates- He will leave everyone of us alone" Arnav told him finally
"Look Arnav, I really wish that your intentions to put a stop to this works out.. But I am afraid you dont get the intensity of the situation we are all in- Rana is not someone to take so lightly- he is capable of much more evil things than this- One of the ways to stop him is to invalidate his attempts to get his hands on the estates- But if you really wish not to claim it- Its your choice- we wouldnt force you or as Kushi requested us- we wont get involved in this- because it is your and her life- but still we will find other ways to stop him- we will not stop- just because it is difficult or dangerous - because he wont stop - because he wont trust anyone" Sid told Arnav in a really serious tone that he had not used since the time he landed in RM- its not about what is easy- its about what is right!. " Sid told him putting up his hands and dropping it as if in surrender.
Arnav and Sid looked at eachother for a moment, then Sid turned back and took La's hands as he walked towards of the door
"Come Lav, we are getting late, We need to visit Shyam at the hospital and then we have a flight to catch"
At the door he paused and turned back to the other couple watching them still
"and sorry about barging into your room when you both seemed to have a private conversation- The situation was little serious" he said with a wink, his cheerful demeanor returning back as he turned once again and left the room, pulling Lavanya with him.
Arnav watched Kushi as she sat down at the edge of the bed with grief. He went and sat next to her and held her by her shoulder, providing her his silent support
***
Sid and La bid farewell to all the family. La came and held Arush close to her
"Oh Baby, I will miss you so much..." she whined
"I will miss you too" Sid told as he kissed the boy lightly on the forehead. La gave the baby back to the parents.
"Will miss you Kushi... " La told as she hugged her friend
"You will be back soon right? for the wedding?"
"ofcourse, I cant miss it" La promised "and hey this is yours" she said as she handed kushi her white plastic bag full of her stuff.
"See you soon Jelebi.. take care" Sid told her as he gave her a hug too. Sid then came to Arnav and extended his hand. Arnav who was quiet until then took his hand
"thanks for looking after my wife and son for these two years" He murmered to Sid and La
"Dont be silly ASR.. what are friends for?" La chided him playfully
"Are you serious La? this is a rare prize you know " Sid drawled with his tougue in cheek "a thank you from the great ASR for something that he thinks was pointless and worthless"
"Sid" Kushi and La called out together
"Yeah.. yeah I know, I am mannerless git to say that when a man was being nice to me for the first time ever after we met" he smirked as Arnav looked at him with raised eyebrows.
"Do call us and let us know" Arnav said at last, as Sid curtly nodded in affirmation and then they were gone
***
Later in the night, Arnav entered the room to see Kushi standing by the pool side. He noticed that Arush was already asleep.
"Are you still worried about Shyam?" Arnav asked "He said he was alright..."
Eventually early that evening Sid had called them when he and La reached the hospital and as Sid had predicted, it took them an hour to gt permissions to see Shyam. He was there only for 10 minutes and they had to start off immediately to catch their flight. Shyam had also spoken to them.
He had assured them that he was alright- but was little upset that he lost the data which he had acquired after a long struggle. He had also explained that he was lucky that his car speedometer had was a digital one and as the timebomb was coded to start after he crossed 40 Km/hr, a beep followed by fluctuations in the digital meter, araised suspictions and thats why he was still alive- Sid had also said that the injury was minimal and the doctor had assured that he can get discharged in a day's time.
"No" she whispered
"He will be OK... "
Kushi nodded
"How can people be so selfless?"
"you are one of them too Kushi" Arnav told her "May be you know the answer yourself.. But still I feel little weird thinking of Shyam"
Kushi looked at him "you dont trust him?"
"It is not about trusting him... his past associations with us has been a sham- I was thinking about the consequences and all that... Somehow I dont feel so confortable about it honestly"
"I can understand... I felt so too.. initially when I came to know about his true face"
Then they both kept staring at the stars for a few minutes.
"By the way Sid and La reached safely- they called me a few minutes ago" Arnav broke the silence, casually putting his arm around her waist. He had been intending to hold her by her shoulder to offer support- but didnt know why his hands reached her waist.
"they called me too" Kushi replied back as she removed his hand from her waist stepping back from him as she turned to face, shocking Arnav
"Ku- Kushi" Arnav started to say something
"time to sleep Arnav" she murmered and walked past him to the bed.
Arnav stood there for a little while, thinking about how she flinched the moment his hand had touched her waist- He guessed it had everything to do with his lie the previous night- tonight again, it will be long time before he will fall asleep, he sighed before he went inside.
To be continued
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