Cold Love (20 page)

“Yes bhaiyya! We will go away. You don’t
have to worry about me, bhaiyya. I will not speak to Rakesh or Riya or anyone!”
There is a long pause as Puja desperately tries to compose herself but finally
breaks down crying loudly now, “Where are you bhaiyya? Please come to me quickly!
I am all alone here!”

“I will, Puja....very soon, I will.
Don’t worry! Everything will be fine. I will come to you after I’ve taken care
of everything here. Don’t worry, sis!”

“Ok bhaiyya,” Puja has evidently stopped
crying. “You take care of yourself, bhaiyya!” Arjun puts down the phone and
stays there for a moment staring at the wall. He then gets up and walks out,
grabs the file that an officer hands him on the way out and drives away at top
speed in his car. He could feel the pain like a dagger piercing through his
spine. But the pain doesn’t stop here… he was driving towards more of it.

“Come on, I’m ready for more!” Arjun
tells himself, “It can’t hurt anymore.”

A strong sense of guilt and fury engulfs
Arjun, as he steps on the car’s accelerator. The world around him is
collapsing; all those whom he cared for are suffering because of his
carelessness.
His
dad is fighting for his last breath in the hospital and now his darling sister
has to go through the heartache of a break-up with her childhood sweetheart.

He needs to set things right… and fast.

Trick
or Treat

Riya is waiting outside her house as
Arjun drives in. She rushes excitedly to greet him, but she notices that he has
a stern expression on his face. She stops in front of him, short of hugging
him. Riya’s parents stand next to her.

“I asked you to stay inside didn’t I?”
Arjun asks her coldly. Though there is stiff security in the area, unknown to
everyone, from a distance a camera clicks Arjun and Riya together. Within a few
minutes, another click, and more photographs are taken of the couple.

“Uncle and aunty, if you don’t mind I
need to speak to Riya privately.”

“Yes beta! How are you Arjun? We are so
worried about you.” Shanti responds.

“I am fine, aunty.” He pauses to look at
Riya, “Should we? Please come in.”

Both enter Arjun’s home. He enters a
passcode to open the new security locks that have been installed in the house.

“Arjun! How are Uncle and aunty now?”
Riya asks but Arjun ignores her.

“We are waiting for one more friend,
Riya. One minute.” He calls on his mobile. “Ok Krish. See you in a few
minutes.” Arjun eventually turns to speak to Riya, “Why don’t you sit down?
Will you have something? Tea?! Coffee?” Riya shakes her head no, “Water?”

 “Arjun. You are scaring me. What is it?
Uncle… aunty…Puja… are they ok? Please tell me.”

Arjun, however is in no mood to talk, at
least not yet. A few minutes later, Krish is at the door. Arjun speaks into the
security microphone to let him in.

“Hi Krish…Do you mind if the guys check
you out?”  The security guards frisk him, taking away his guns and knife. Riya
is perplexed. When Krish enters the room, Arjun continues in his cold tone
again. “I don’t need to introduce you guys to each other, do I?”

“No. We met in Afghanistan. Krish
rescued me.” Riya finally speaks.

 “Yes sure. And after that?” He looks at
Riya and then at Krish. “Then where did you meet again next? Will you guys tell
me everything yourselves…?”

There’s a strange tone of anger and
resentment in Arjun’s voice. Krish responds calmly, “So how did you know Arjun?”

Riya is feeling extremely vulnerable
with Arjun’s sudden need to cross-examine them both. Krish, on the other hand,
is his professional self, calm and composed.

“Why don’t the two of you tell me your
story first? Then I’ll narrate mine.”

“Ok. Fair. Well, I understand you saw
the ballistics trajectory file then? That is how you guessed, right?” Krish
asks and Arjun nods his head slowly in an affirmative.

“So Krish!” Arjun continues, “You are
the undercover RAW ‘rogue’ agent who was at that operation. There is only one
person in the department …or should I say, in this part of the world that I
know of, who can take that difficult shot.” He taps his fingers on Krish’s
chest.

“Undercover RAW agent, yes! Rogue, no!
Arjun, before you jump to any conclusions, let me tell you … our goal is the
same.”

 “But the path to reach to that goal is
completely different.” Arjun clarifies.

“But Arjun, for the sake of truth and
justice, isn’t the eventual goal our ultimate motive?” Riya jumps into the
debate, “And if that goal is legitimate, then the path taken becomes legitimate
as well, right?”

Arjun claps sarcastically, “Aaha! Bravo!
You have learnt to talk deep strategic stuff too Riya! How beautifully the two
of you made a fool of me! So Krish, framing the ISI lieutenant general for the
shooting and using Riya to convince me to testify in the case! The plan worked,
right?”

Krish and Riya look at each other;
neither of them answers.

Arjun approaches Riya, and moves his
finger gently around the edge of her chin, “And you … I could have never
imagined that my best friend could ever betray me. I was a sitting duck,
right?”

“Arjun!”, Riya mumbles, “… I…”

“So Arjun, when did you suspect us?”
Krish asks curiously, interrupting Riya.

“When I saw the trajectory file… And
when Riya told me the other day that she would call you to ask about the
₹
2 crores. How did Riya have the number of RAW’s most
accomplished undercover covert agent? Unless you gave it to Riya yourself,
Krish?”

Riya and Krish stare at each other
without responding.

“So Krish, was this eventually about the
neutron missiles?” Arjun continues, “Because very few people in the department
know about it, and you are one of them!”

Krish sighs and finally decides to speak.
“Yes Arjun! You are right. That was the eventual plan. But first, we wanted to
build the right environment where the use of these missiles can be justified.
And because of the political situation today as a result of this case, the
international community is with us, they will support us… In fact, they will
thank us… like a savior getting rid of the cancer of terrorism from the most
notorious part of the world today.”

“Interesting. I don’t agree with your
viewpoint, but very interesting indeed!... And what about you Riya?”

Riya is extremely afraid and confused
about what to say. She knows she has betrayed her childhood friend. She had
never expected Arjun to unravel everything so quickly, and scrutinize her like
a criminal being interrogated in a police lockup.

 “Yes, Arjun; we met and planned this
together. When Krish came to know about your Mumbai operation and that you were
joining the same MBA school as I was, he came to meet me in Singapore. Krish
knew that you and I… I mean… that we are very close family friends … Krish
asked me to gain your confidence further, so that we can get access to the
codes for the neutron missiles.”

“So you planned everything, even …”
Arjun doesn’t complete the sentence and simply stares into Riya’s eyes. She is
rendered speechless, understanding his implication about the way she has led
him into love. A medley of images assault Arjun’s memory as he recalls the
various moments that he now knows must have been planned meticulously… but now
he realizes that they were nothing more than an act. The various activities at
the picnic, the drive back when Riya had casually slipped her legs on to his,
pretending to be asleep, and the ruffians at the park.

“Huh!” Arjun continues, “now I know why
I couldn’t find a single police record for any one of those ruffians who
eve-teased you in the park. Phew! And the stone that cut your feet Riya? Bet
you stepped on that intentionally, didn’t you?”

Riya nervously looks at Krish, getting
extremely concerned now at Arjun’s knack of narrating her actions with such
precision.

“What about the tennis game Riya? You
play much better tennis than I thought you did!” He starts laughing loudly
adding to Riya’s anxiety, “And the cherry on the top… literally Krish… your
fake bomb! I should have known earlier when I read Riya’s report… that she had
learnt and took part in gymnastics in Singapore! What an act Riya… fainting in
my arms when you reached the top of the dam!”

Arjun claps again, still smiling
bitterly, but Riya can sense he is fuming with wrath and a deep sense of
disappointment. She looks at Krish helplessly and is on the verge of tears.

Arjun continues, “I am sure you must
have planned the timing of all Riya’s activities, right Krish? Everything was
done to plan!”

“We had a purpose and a direction Arjun,
but it was a coincidence that things fell into place on their own… like the ISI
lieutenant general and agent Vinod Shukla being coincidentally at the same
place at the same time. I improvised as things happened. Another example was
Riya’s birthday coinciding with the Jammu operations.”

“My birthday!” Riya exclaims, curious.

“Yes Riya, your birthday actually paved
the way for everything. That opportunity simply fell into my lap. Remember,
Riya, you had called me when Arjun was to go to the Internet security seminar
in Delhi? The Jammu mission was strictly classified and neither of us had told
you about it. And then, coincidentally, Lt Gen Khanna asked me for the video
evidence to be flown over to Mumbai immediately after the operation. Arjun, I
improvised on the spot and deliberately brought about the conversation casually
to you … you naturally took the bait.”

“Hmm!” Arjun reminisces with a grim
frown on his face.

“Arjun, you might have noticed that Lt
Gen Khanna took longer than usual that night to go through the de-briefing with
you.”

“Yes. I was surprised that Lt Gen Khanna
was asking operational level questions. Often my meetings with him barely last
five to ten minutes, as all he cares about discussing is the final result. But
that night he was going into needless details.”

“The de-briefing was longer Arjun, so
that you get just a fifteen or twenty-minute window to wish Riya on her
birthday before midnight. Look at it from the perspective that a typical boy or
a girl would see it… imagine flying down just to wish someone in person for
barely fifteen or twenty minutes! I think that’s a big deal! That birthday
night set the tone for everything else to follow between you and Riya.”

“So Arjun did not come to meet me that
night?” Riya says softly, not realizing that she was speaking out loud.

“Yes he did Riya, but…Apologies Riya, if
you thought Arjun came specifically only for you… he had to deliver those video
cassettes. And that evening set the environment… I remember it was a beautiful
full moon night… and all that was left to do was to make sure both of you met
and you acted naturally!”

“Hmm! So it was all an act?” Arjun turns
to look at Riya, speaking in a grimmer tone, “What about… us, Riya? …
Everything was a game?”

Riya is weeping; tears run down her
cheeks. She tries to say something but almost chokes as she fumbles in her
choice of words. Finally, she replies boldly, taking a moment to compose
herself, “What do you think Arjun?”

“You tell me, Riya! To tell the truth… I
am absolutely spell-bound by your performance! Absolute genius!” Arjun
continues in a mocking tone, waving his hands, “Ladies and Gentlemen, the Oscar
for the best actress award goes to…”

Riya interrupts him with a stern
response, “Just say it once Arjun, I can die for you. Try me if you want!”

There’s an awkward pause as Riya stares
back at Arjun, extremely offended with all that she has just heard. She walks
over to sit on a chair by the desk. Arjun follows her to sit next to her and
looks at her intently.

“Ok, do it!” He puts a gun on the table
and briskly rolls a silencer on it.

“What do you mean?” Krish takes a step
forward but Arjun pulls another gun from his pocket and points it at Krish.

“Stay right where you are Krish!” Krish
stops immediately in mid-step.

“Right Riya, let’s do it then!” Arjun
flips open the magazine of the first revolver and empties all but one bullet.
He then spins the magazine around several times within his palm and places it
back on the desk right in front of Riya. She stares at Arjun with a confused
look. Arjun pulls his chair closer to her, the second gun still in his hand. 
Riya looks at Krish and then towards the gun on the desk, and picks it up.

 “Before I do this, let me tell you
Arjun, you may think everything was an act… but… but I do not know for certain
the time since when I have… liked you… perhaps when we were children. But just
like you, Arjun, I loved my country more. I was tempted several times to tell
you, but I controlled myself, because I genuinely believe that what Krish has
planned is best for our country in the current circumstances.”

Krish is astonished at Riya’s words. He
never knew that Riya really loved Arjun.

“Riya!” Krish interrupts her, “you told
me that Arjun was just a good friend and that you were happy to play your part
in this mission.”

“What difference does it make, Krish? At
least sometimes I didn’t need to act!” She continues with a half-smile, “And on
other occasions, even I could not distinguish whether my feelings were genuine…
or fake. I have chosen this destiny, Krish, to make a fool of my own love…
Arjun, I do not blame you. Your childhood friend has betrayed you.  I knew even
before we started that my love was destined to lose. But that is ok… because I
wanted you to win Arjun... I wanted our country to win this war. And you have
that power to make us a winner! You can end this cold war forever. I want you
to decide correctly because you hold the power to make us all winners!”

“Go on Riya, pull the trigger,” Arjun
prompts her in a dry tone.

Riya puts the gun to the side of her
head and pulls the trigger immediately. The gun clicks but without a bang.

“Arjun, the problem is that I know you
too well,” Riya smiles sarcastically, “If you do want to test my love, why
don’t we make this game even more interesting? I am sure you must have kept the
bullet on the last slot. So let’s see,” she starts rotating the magazine in her
hand, “rather than clicking five times, should we cut to the chase and rotate
the bullet in the other direction… twice anti-clockwise?” She stares back at
Arjun. “Do you want me to shoot again?”