Kismat Connection Part 7

Next morning…..

Location: the resort’s Gym…..none except Sameer and Arjun……they talk as they run on the tread mill….

Arjun: ek guard ka missing hona…….unidentified laash milna……aur phir woh exotic varieties ke plants mein acid daalna……yeh sab kuch aur hi kahaani bathaa rahi hai Sameer…..

Sameer: kaunsi nayi kahaani hogi?? Hoga koyi paagal criminal!! humaare liye headache denae aaya hai….

Arjun thinks silently….

Sameer: tum kya soch rahe ho??

Arjun: kuch toh hai jo humme nahi dikh raha hai…..mera intuition kuch aur taraf ishaara kar raha hai……

Sameer: matlab???

Arjun: main yakeen ke saath keh saktha hoom ke yeh saari incidents ke peechae bohat badi reason hai……aur woh reason iss garden ya flower show ke security issues se related nahi hai……..kuch aur hi badaa wajah hai……..

Sameer: paheliyaan bandh karo aur saaf saaf kaho…..

Arjun: samjhe nahi samjhaathahoom……yeh sab incidents, home ministry ke through ETF ko iss case mein involve karwaane keliye kiya hua hai…….par kyun??? Yeh kuch clear nahi hai….

Sameer: par kaun aisa kar saktha hai???…..aur kyun???

Arjun: isske kahee reasons ho sakthe hai…..but uss mein se dho mujhe clearly dikh raha hai…..ek humhe Mumbai se itne din baahar rakhna……. tumhe Mumbai police ko alert karna hoga……….wahaan security badaana hoga Sameer……

Sameer: hmmm……I have already done that……ek baar phir alert kar dhoonga…….

Arjun: aur doosra reason, ETF ko unke security circles se baahar laana……..

Sameer: [tensing up] tumaara matlab……[pauses when Arjun completes]

Arjun: haan, tumne teek sochaa……a trap for us…..humme bohat saavdhaan rehna hoga…..team mein se koyi bhi akela baahar nahi jaayega……Sonali se bhi keh dho par usse daraana matth…….she will panic…so tell her indirectly……….ek ek kadham soch samajh kar rakhna hoga……..

Sameer: [nodding] hmmmmm…tumaara andaaza sahi ho saktha hai……ETF ko dushmano ki kami nahi hai………

Arjun: [nodding at him in agreement] jaise Riya ne kahaa, unn dho anjaan group members ke baare mein bhi pathaa karna hoga……

Sameer: aur woh blood spots…..unka kuch pathaa chalaa??

Arjun: unko local police ne conveniently ignore kiya hai……….par humhe pathaa lagaana hoga……maine Shree se keh diya hai….. kuch na kuch karke pathaa lagaa lega……

 Sameer: okay….

[They part after some serious discussion……..Arjun decides to jog along and also meet Shree to get some clarifications…….some serious discussion is going there between Shree and Chotu………..]

**********************************************

Chotu: Shree……yaar, yeh Rohan kaun hai????

Shree: pathaa nahi Chotu……kal maine Riya se bohat baar poocha……. Par ussne kuch khul ke nahi bathaaya …[pausing for a few moments]…but guess what?, Riya ke account mein 300 offline messages chodaa thaa ussne……aur bohat saare emails bhi……

Chotu: [suspiciously] tumne Riya ke account ko bhi hack kiya???? Sharam nahi aathi??

Shree: arre nahi yaar…….usko login mein kuch problem thi, maine hi teek kiya……tab accidently dekhaa…...

Chotu: itne saare messages???……kahi woh Riya ki ex BF tho nahi???

Shree: [shrugging] may be…..or may be not…….

Chotu: agar hai, tho phir Arjun sir se shaadi kyun karegi??

Shree: sochne waali baat tho hai……par kuch bhi ho…..Rohan na tha bohat handsome…..aur shaayad Riya ko pasand bhi kartha hai………..[He sees  Arjun at his doorstep and stops abruptly] Arjun sir….aap yahaan??? [confused at his sudden entry and also a little tensed whether he heard their talk about Riya and Rohan]

Arjun: [confused with the mention of Rohan] gud morning Shree……hope I didn’t disturb you guys?

Shree: [snapping out and walk to Arjun] arrey nahi sir…..andar aayiye na…….

Arjun: uss blood samples ka kuch hua Shree??

Shree: haan sir……report kal tak milega……uske baadh criminal records se match karke dekhloonga……parso shaam tak list mil jaayega…..

Arjun: hmmmm! [He stands there for a little longer and is silent too…….which is quite strange from his usual behavior….Shree is more tensed if he is going to ask something about Rohan and wonders what to do…..Arjun is intensely observing Shree and Chotu in the pretext of going through some file lying on their table] tumhe kuch kehna hai Shree??

 Shree: [stammers] haan……mera matlab nahi sir……

Arjun: bohat confused sound kar rahe ho……koyi problem hai kya???

Chotu: [pitches in to save Shree] nahi nahi sir….koyi problem nahi….hum toh bas…….

Arjun: agar idhar udhar ke baatein chodh kar sirf kaam par dhyaan dhogey toh koyi confusion nahi hogi….case bhi jaldi solve hoga!……..[hands back the file and looks at them] samjhe ya samjhaavum??

[Shree nods while Arjun doesn’t wait for their reply….he walks out furiously banging shut the door behind him]

Shree: achaanak yeh Arjun sir ko kya hua??? Subah subah humein kyun sunaakhar chale gaye???

Chotu: shaayad sir ne Riya aur Rohan waali baatein sunli…..

Shree: hmmmm….lagtha toh aisa hi hai……aaj humaare kismat acchi thi…..baal baal bachae hum…….agar aur samjhaana rukh jaathey toh band baj jaathaa…….

**********************************************

Arjun returns to an empty room……Riya was sleeping when he left and now the bed was empty……..She seems to be literally avoiding him as much as possible……He gets ready and sits on the couch with his tea when Riya bounces back to the room……She explains her absence before he questions her…

Riya: main unn dono ke baare mein information collect karne gayi thi…[though he is enraged that she went without his permission, he glances up and pays attention to the details…..]…Mr. Raj Shikhawat banglore se hai……businessman hai…..unke wife ke saath kuch problem chal rahi hai……isiliye ek escapist mode mein yahaan aaye hua hai……lagtha hai wife ke saath bohat badaa jadga hua hai….[he looks at her and their eyes meet for a moment….she turns away and continues]………aur doosra Mr Salil, thodi shady character hai…… identity chupaane ki khoshish mein hai…koyi bhi details kisiko nahi pathaaa…..naam bhi galath hi lagtha hai……

Arjun is impressed at her findings…He is also curious to know how she got to know so many details in such a short span of time…..but then hides it well behind his totally inscrutable stern face……

“Tumhe mujhse poochkar jaana chahiye tha….”

Riya: [that instantly blows her fuse…she replies angrily] excuse me Sir…. iss mein poochkar jaane waali kya baat hai….. I only did what my duty demanded…...Shaayad aap bhool rahe hai ke main pehle ek ETF officer hoom aur uske baadh aapki wife…….

 Arjun: [furrowing his forehead and sternly shoots back] shaayad tum bhi bhool rahe ho ke ETF mein bhi main hi tumaara boss hoom…[glaring at her for a moment]…I am warning you Riya……agle baar mujhe poochae behair kahi nahi jaaogi……samjhi tum??

Riya: [fuming but mutters in a low voice] aapko toh bas mujhe neecha dikhaaney ka bahaana chahiye……

Arjun: kuch kahaa tumne???

Riya: ji nahi……[sarcastically] ab agar aapka permission ho toh mein ready ho jaaum…..[hearing that, he stares at her while she responds to his stare] aise ghuriya math…..baahar jaahiye……..I need to change…..ya yahi rukhna pasand karenge?

[He walks off fuming at her curt replies……As a matter of fact, it wasn’t his ego or bossy attitude that made him talk so rudely to her…….His protective instinct had taken over while he said all that……though, as a ETF officer,  she had the right to know about his suspicions of a possible trap, he decided to hide it from her atleast till his doubts were confirmed……he didn’t wish to tell her all of that and scare her…….…he knew well that it was the husband in him who decided that but he preferred to leave it that way……..As a husband, he understood that all these doubts would make the trip horrid for his wife!.....so he preferred to hide the real reason for forbidding her from going out…..]

**********************************************

A little later…….

All heads turned to her as she walked to the lobby where the entire group was waiting for the bus……..The ladies instantly start speaking in hushed voices….while the male population look at her like they are seeing a female for the first time…….ETF members look at Arjun for his reaction while he is confused at what the source of all this commotion is……he turns to the direction and is shocked to see Riya……

She is dressed in a sleeveless top and a khaakee shorts which just reaches her knees….The sudden make over of Riya was the source of gossip among all people in the group……

Arjun glares at her and then walks to her quickly…….he speaks up in a low miffed up voice “yeh kya pehan rakha hai tumne?????”

Riya: [rolling her eyes] kyun ji?? Aapko accha nahi lagaa?? Aur waise bhi, insaan ko wahi pehnna chahiye jisme woh comfortable hai…….[grinning at him] yeh maine nahi aap ne khud kahaa tha jiiiii…..

Arjun: haan kahaa thaa……par uska matlab…..[Riya snaps him short]

Riya: matlab ab aap mujhe meri dresses ke specification bhi samjhaayenge??? Aise pehano…woh matth pehano…...wagera wagera….

Arjun: [grabbing her arm and taking her aside sensing that there are people noticing them…..] yeh attitude na, tum apne paas rakho……don’t even try it on me!!...[locking eyes with her for a moment….] ab jaldi jaao, kuch aur pehan lo………

Riya: [not willing to give up] kabhi nahi……main isi mein teek hoom…..comfortable bhi hoom……fieldwork bhi asaani se hoga…..

Arjun: [mellowing down and turning sideways, breaking the eye lock] fikhar matth karo……aaj hum waise jagah nahi jaayenge……..

Riya: nahi nahi….mujhe koyi fikhar nahi hai……[teasing him] I love this look of mine….

Arjun: par mujhe pasand nahi…..

Riya: [teasing him further] accha jiiiiii….toh aisi baat hai!!……..phir toh main isi dress mein ghoomoongi……[saying this much, she frees herself and walks away giving him a wide sarcastic smile enjoying his discomfort totally….]

Unwilling, yet left without a choice, Arjun joins her in the bus…..

Throughout, she was acting like a free bird out of a cage…….totally ignoring his presence and troubling him to the fullest……….he could do nothing much about it……..his sky rocketed ego prevented him from taking the initiative to bring her closer…It seemed to him like for every step forward in their relationship, they were going 2 steps backwards……He wondered if Rohan was the reason for the new tension between them……..Little did he know that Riya was doing all this purposefully to bring Arjun to the right track……..She was done with her pati-vratha patni role…..now she wanted to turn the tables and try something new…….

They reach the lake and decide to ride on the toy train there…….the train took rounds along the lake side and Riya was all excited about it…….Arjun, being the akdu he is, didn’t like the whole idea as usual…

Riya: aaap aana nahi chahthe, fine…..par main toh jaavungi……[she made her way to the queue]

Arjun:  Riya…Riya……[his calls go into deaf ears….sighs at her childishness and goes towards a waiting bench……..just then he sees a few guys, probably from a college tour group rushing towards the same compartment……..They seem to be overly interested in Riya……eyeing her the whole time and that sight made Arjun furious again] yeh ladki mujhe kabhi chehn ke saas nahi leni degi……ab mujhe uske bodyguard bankhar jaana hoga…….

[As the train starts moving, he rushes and enters it……Riya is already sitting near a window seat and the seat next to her is already occupied…..So, Arjun sits diagonally opposite to her…..She notices him and smirks……”aakhir aap aayi gaye”……..

The guys who were behind her are sitting opposite to her and enjoying the sight before them…..While Riya seems unaware of it and is in a different world enjoying the natural visuals outside…….her hands waving outside and acting like an innocent child……The guys are also passing remarks on her……]

Unfortunately, the comments of the guys aren’t left unheard by Arjun…..

Guy1:  kya piece hai yaar!!! College mein hogi ya school mein??

Guy2: kahaan se bhi ho, usse kya farq padtha hai…..tum bas picture dekho na!!!

Guy3: aur picture bhi kaisa…….hot hot yaar….. [they all hi 5 each other oblivious to the fact that the hot hot picture’s husband is fuming right next to them…….]

Another comment and god only knows what will happen to them……..Arjun bangs his fist on the side seat and keeps glaring at Riya for all that is happening…….

As the train stops, he gets up and grabs Riya’s hands and gestures her to come along quickly….She playfully resists his action……One of the guys voice out “arrey arrey, Whats up dude??? ladki ko chodho!”

Arjun: [balling his fist] biwi hai meri….ab isska matlab samjhe ya samjhaavum??

Riya, not wanting a major fight, immediately interferes…..”guys guys…..chill….he is my husband”

The guys are stunned to hear all this and one of them replies sarcastically “oh okay…[giving both husband and wife a final look]…par aisa lagtha toh nahi…”

Riya grins and drags Arjun out before he breaks their bones……he leaves after glaring at the guys……

Rathod who is standing at the stop notices the whole scene and grins too….He silently walks to Arjun when he is alone………”hota hai bhai…….ab agar patni sundar ho toh yeh sab problems free mein aathi hi hai……par itna gussaa???? Control karo Arjun……bhoolo matth ke tum undercover mission mein ho”

Arjun: pati hoom usski, isiliye gussaa aaya….[Arjun walks off towards Riya leaving behind a stunned yet happy Rathod…..”chalo, aakhir yeh ehsaas toh aagaya!!”]

******************************************

Once back in the room……..Arjun keeps glancing at Riya and keeps track of her activities…..Though she can feel his eyes on her, she keeps doing her routines…….She freshens up…..straightens the bed sheets and makes it ready for sleep………arranges the pillows properly……then lights the lamp before the small ganapati idol she had brought with her…….She always takes the idol and the lamp wherever she goes……Arjun watches all this intently…….

After she is done with all this, she turns back to him……reading his mind well, she voices…….”aapko mujhse kuch kehna hai??” she rolls her eyes and looks at him enquiringly….

Arjun: [sarcastically] tumhe aisa kyun lagaa ke mujhe tumse kuch kehna hai???

Riya: agar nahi kehna hai, toh fine…….[shrugs her shoulder and turns away…….but Arjun looks disappointed that she didn’t prolong the conversation….but he is no mood to stop at that]

Arjun: teek kahaa tumne…..mujhe kuch kehna hai……..idhar aavo….

Riya: [just to tease him] but, ab mujhe sunne ka mood nahi hai……

Arjun: [grabs her back….locks her within his hands and corners her to the wall] baaki saare baat keliye mood hai…..par mera baat sunne keliye mood nahi……how dare you Riya?? How dare you cut me out like that???[he thrusts his fist on the wall in anger but ends up hurting himself……] OUCH!!! [the train seat where he banged his fist earlier had a protruding nail and had already hurt him…..now with this, the wound starts bleeding……Riya gets tensed seeing it bleed…..]

Riya: [catching hold of his hand] yeh kya hua???? Kaise??? [though he tries to pull his hand back, she doesn’t leave…..She forces him to sit and does first aid……..He sits there staring at her doing…….] aaap plz, itna gussa matth keejiye……calm down!

Arjun: main gussaa karoom ya na karoom, yeh tum par depend karthi hai Riya.......

Riya: ab maine kya kiya??....[understanding from his stare] acchaaa…..toh aap abhi bhi un ladkon ke baaren mein soch rahe hai………forget it na?? ho jaatha hai kabhi kabhi….

Arjun: [angrily] tumaare saath tho kabhi kabhi nahi…..har baar aisa hi kuch hota hai Riya…..

Riya: [pushing off his bandaged hand away] agar un ladkon ko main shaadi shudha nahi lagi….toh iss mein meri kya galthi hai??

Arjun: tumhi ne unko aise sochne ka maukha diya……waise bhi tumhe bohat mazaa aaya hoga na, unn ladkon ke baatein sun kar……..

Riya: [almost snapping him] haan aaya….aur kyun na aaye??? [muttering under her breath] aakhir koyi toh hai jinne main hot lagthi hoom……[unfortunately for her, he hears it]

Arjun: [pinning her to the chair and coming dangerously close to her that she trembles….] tumhaari problem kya hai Riya???? Main dhoor rahoom toh problem…….paas aane ki khosish kartha hoom toh bhi problem………aakhir chaahthi kya ho tum???? [his furious accusing eyes hurt her more than his fingers boring into her shoulders…….]

Riya: [mind voice: main toh bas aapko hi chahthi hoom sir……..par aap yeh shaayad hi kabhi samajh paayenge] plzz sir…..you are hurting me……just let me go……

Arjun doesn’t move away….but a sudden knock at the door takes away the tensed moment……Riya pushes him away and gets up…….Sonali’s voice fill the room……

Sonali: Riyaaaaaaaaaaa Riyaaaaaaaaaaaaa……..ready ho kya????

Riya: abhi aayi…….bas ek minute…..[she walks away and then speaks out without even looking at him] main aur Sonali shopping pe jaa rahe hai……….agar late ho jaaye toh aap dinner karleejiye….

[As she starts to leave, Arjun calls her back…..]

Arjun: ek minute Riya…..[He walks to the dressing table……picks the mangalsutra and the sindoor box……He comes to her who is obviously surprised………He ties the chain around her neck and also applies the sindoor on the parting…..He kisses her forehead lightly sporting an apologetic look on his face……he realizes that he went overboard and reacted in a bizarre way……] main bhi chaltha hoom tum logon ke saath……

Riya is super excited that he is accompanying them for shopping…….She never expected that he would volunteer like that……..

They come out of the room to see Sameer also ready and standing along with Sonali…….Both Sameer and Arjun, being responsible husbands, turn protective towards their wives………They want to safeguard their dear ones from the dangers lurking there……while the wives are happy that their husbands have taken a sudden liking towards shopping for their sake……

************************************************

[Arjun knows that he is getting flared up for the smallest of things but he just cant get a grip of himself…..While Roshni’s memories fill up his heart, Riya doesn’t seem to leave his head either……Riya’s random behavior and attitude confuses him further…and then there is Rohan too who makes life more miserable for him……He is not able to maintain his sanity while Riya is around…….there is an air of insecurity that keeps haunting him always……mainly due to the fact that Riya hasn’t become his in the real sense..........] 

Precap: Rohan enters…..Riya meets Rohan……..

 [To be continued]