Ishq-e-Watan

Chapter 25- Decisions And Permissions

CHAPTER 25

DECISIONS AND PERMISSIONS

Karan leaned back in his chair, fingers tapping against his desk.

'Third floor ke camera ki wire hi kyun kaati?'

'Use bahut achhe se pata hai ki cameras kahan lage hain aur kya capture karte hain.'

'Usne Monami par do hafte pehle attack kiya tha', he thought. 'Aur 8-9 din pehle uska peechha kara. And then, he vanished. Naa Monami se baat kari aur naa kuchh aur kara.'

'Academy mein koi aisi activity toh thi nahi. Inhe kaise pata chal gaya? Spy ka kaam hai ya phir coincidence?'

His fingers paused. 'Euphoria ki information isne leak kari kya phir?' His fingers started drumming again. 'Par yeh kya information di hai phir? Naa log zyaada hue, aur naa plan kuchh achha tha. Sirf peechhe ke raaste par 2 log khade kar diye.' His fingers paused. 'Par... hume wahan se zyaada drugs nahi mile. Could it be ki uss information se unhone drugs ko protect kiya ho?'

He stood up, opening his laptop. He typed in his access codes, opening up the list of items they had confiscated from Euphoria. He scrolled through them, staring at the amount of drugs. It really wasn't that big for a supplier.

'Aas paas ke saare shehron mein yahan se supply karte hain.'

'Supply karne jitni toh bilkul bhi nahi hai.' Karan kept the laptop aside. 'Agar usi din information leak hui hoti, toh unhe itna time toh nahi milta ki itni saari drugs idhar se udhar kar paaye. Matlab, yaa toh information pehle se thi yaa Laxman ko galat pata hai. Jo log humne pakde the, unhe toh kuchh nahi pata. Nihaayti useless hai.'

He took his phone out, sending a message to all his informers. Unn clubs ke naam pata karo jahan par Euphoria drugs bhejta tha. ASAP.

He drummed his fingers on the bedside table for a few more seconds. "EFR... cameras ki knowledge... third floor..." His fingers paused. He grabbed his phone again.

"Ustaad ji", he said into the phone. "Pichhle ek saal mein Parakaram ne EFR ke against jitne bhi operations aur missions conduct karein hain, aur information collect kari hai, woh mujhe chahiye. Mere room mein bhejwaa dijiye, please."

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"Haan, Amma?" Sanju said, sighing a little.

"Sanju, hume naa tere laane ek bahut achha ladka milo hai", his mother said. "Hum tere phone pe photo bheje hain. Dekh le."

She suppressed a sigh. "Bhejo." She pulled the phone away from her ear, looking at the picture. She brought the phone back up. "Theek hogo. Hum shaam ko padh lenge. Inhe pato hai ki hum army mein hogo."

"Haan."

"Aur inhe koi aapati hogo humaare kaam karno se?" Her mother fell quiet. Sanju narrowed her eyes. "Amma? Woh hume kaam karne se rukenge?"

"Sanju... kaun tujhe kaam karne dego? Aur woh bhi sena mein? Mahinon tak ghar nahi aati tu. Kabhi kabhi phone nahi uthati, kabhi baad karne ki fursat naa aur kabhi iss mission par, aur kabhi uss par. Kaun karego byaah tujhse inn sharton par?"

"Ek shart hogo, Amma. Aur agar koi naa kar sakto hai poora, toh hume bhi naa karno hai shaadi."

"Kaa zidd pakad kar baith gayo hai tu? Aiso hi hota hai. Ladki ko sasural jaakar ghar grasthi hi dekhni padto hai. Shehar jaakar bigadh gayo hai tu. Humaari baat ki koi kadar hi naa hogo tujhe ab."

"Amma, humne itne saal training aise hi thodi naa karo hai. Amma." She pulled back the phone, shaking her head in disbelief at the dropped call. She dialed the number again, listening to it ring for almost a minute before the automated voice started.