Rohit's face fell as Virat announced his retirement, but Jinks looked completely devastated--because he had begun to realise that Virat was up to something insane.
The media was buzzing excitedly and one of the reporters near Rohit and Jinks asked, "Why did you not accept the charges earlier?"
"Because he's innocent, you idiot," Rohit told him angrily, and Rohit's voice was magnified by his mic, so Virat heard him.
Just as the excitement of the crowd was reaching a crescendo, Ash and Rahul burst in, leading Jassi, Kuldeep, Yuzi and Hardik.
Rohit and Jinks, wild with delight, cheered loudly as Ash walked to the stage and told the host, "Play this video."
"Ash--" began Virat, but Ash ignored him.
The host of the conference looked bewildered but Ash sounded so commanding that he obeyed him without a word.
Mahi bhai had edited the video and Jaddu wasn't on the frame; Bhuvi's acting was impeccable, and Robin's confession was so genuine that it couldn't be doubted.
Virat stared at the screen and then at his best friends, both of them looking content--though Jinks looked the slightest bit apprehensive--at the kids, shaking with excitement, and Ash, towering over the reporters as a figure of power, and Bhuvi and Shikhar, and wasn't that Jaddu's laughter in the background?--fighting to prove him innocent, and he felt his resolve breaking.
But he had honestly had enough, and cricket didn't feel worth to him anymore.
When the video was finished, and the host annouced, "Well, that changes everything."
One of the reporters shouted, "The BCCI has released an official statement clearing Mr Kohli of all charges!"
Kuldeep, Jassi, Rahul, Yuzi and Hardik dashed to the stage to hug Virat and Rohit realized that he and Jinks had never stopped clutching each other's hands, and he pulled Jinks to the podium too.
Though Virat knew he had to shake himself free of all of them, he couldn't not hug Kuldeep and Jassi who were clinging to him.
So, no one but Jinks saw it coming when Virat, unable to meet any of his family's eyes, said distinctly, "I thank the BCCI, but my decision of retirement stands even if the charges have been cleared."
A hush fell over the entire crowd--and maybe the entire country.
Avoiding the horrified gazes of his friends around him, Virat walked off the stage as the crowd parted to let him pass and his team hastened to follow him.
_____________
Rohit grabbed Virat's arm and swung him around the moment they reached a relatively quiet place.
"You know we're all tired of your unfunny jokes?" he demanded.
Virat tried to snatch his arm away but Rohit wouldn't let go.
"I've thought it all out properly," said Virat quietly.
"You're mad," said Rohit.
"All right then, I'm mad!" said Virat, his voice rising. "I have my flight back to Delhi in two hours, so I'm leaving."
"You're not going anywhere!" said Rohit.
Virat finally managed to wrench his arm free from Rohit's grasp.
"Goodbye," he told the others, pointedly ignoring Rohit as he turned and started to walk off.
"Virat bhai, no!" cried Kuldeep vehemently.
Not you, please, Kuliya.
"I have to Kuliya, I'm sorry," said Virat.
Jassi looked too numb to speak, and the others knew it was absolutely no good trying to force anything on Virat.
Virat vanished out of sight.
Rohit stood up straight, his eyes flashing. He summoned their bodyguards who were standing some distance away.
"Go after that idiot immediately and blindfold him or make him unconscious or whatever, but just bring him back," Rohit instructed them as his team looked on, awed.
"But sir, we're--" began one of the bodyguards hesitantly.
"Not supposed to leave the team's side," said the other.
"And also not supposed to apply force on a former member of the team," said the first one.
"For your job, you mean?" asked Rohit, raising an eyebrow.
"Yes," they said.
Jinks looked at Rohit exasperatedly--did he really think this was going to work?
"How much do you want?" asked Rohit quietly, and thus won the lifelong admiration of all his friends by bribing goons in broad daylight against his best friend.
They named an amount.
Rohit shook their hands and said, "Go before he reaches the airport. Bring him straight back to the hotel."
After they went, the first one to recover from the shock, which happened to be Hardik (obviously) shouted, "Three cheers for Rohit!"
Everyone started to laugh then, hoping against hope that Rohit's bizarre trick worked.
_____________
Virat was intercepted on the way to the hotel by his own team's bodyguards.
"What happened?" he demanded as they blocked his path.
"We've got to take you back," said one of them in a monotone.
"Take me back? Where?" asked Virat, annoyed.
"To the hotel."
"Says who?"
"You don't need to know," said the cheekier one. "You better come with us."
Virat tried to push past them, disgusted, not quite considering the idea that they would dare to stop him.
Unfortunately, he was wrong.
Within a few minutes, the two bodyguards had literally dragged him into a car and was driving him to the hotel.
"Do you think I'm a fool?" yelled Virat furiously.
"No, but we have orders. And we're quite capable of knocking you unconscious, too."
Virat shut up after that.
"Can't believe he'll do something like that..." "After all the times I woke him up to catch a flight..." "Never again...never again..." "Wait till I catch up with him..."
Virat kept grumbling all the way to the hotel, thinking that there was no way out, and by the time he got the bright idea of opening the door and jumping out, it was too late to catch the flight anyway, so he decided it would be better to go back to the hotel and give Rohit a piece of his mind.
________________
When Rohit's goons dragged back a snarling, kicking Virat, they found the entire team lounging around in the lobby, talking casually, but everyone quickly shut up when they saw Virat's expression.
At first Virat seemed too furious to speak.
Then he burst out all at once, glaring at Rohit.
"Will you stop trying to control my life?" he yelled. "I've had enough interference from all of you, I've retired--I'm never going to play cricket again, I'm going back to Delhi, and I warn you, Ro, don't dare try to stop me again!"
Virat paused for breath and Jinks, noticing everyone glancing at him hopefully, quickly broke in.
"Virat, you're not thinking clearly for some reason--why don't you stay with us for two days more so that you can take a decision calmly..."
"Jinks," said Virat, trying not to shout on him. "I have been staying with you all for months without being in the team and I tell you I'm no longer interested in cricket. I'm no longer part of the team--this team..."
"You'll always be part of the team, Cheeku."
Virat turned on Mahi bhai at once.
"Where were you!"
"I couldn't go to there for obvious reasons, Cheeku."
"Obvious reasons--really? Why weren't you there to stop Rohit from sending those villains after me!"
No one even cracked a smile.
Bhuvi, Shikhar and Jaddu chose that moment to barge into the hotel in a celebratory manner.
As Bhuvi rushed to hug Virat, he saw the latter's furious expression and stopped short.
"Aren't you happy, Virat?"
"He refused to take back his retirement," said Ash, feeling that the three heroes deserved to know.
"But why?" asked Shikhar, shocked.
"I'm not going into the details again," muttered Virat, feeling bad about welcoming the three of them like this.
"Shikhar and I went to Gandhinagar and back with a sword and threatened to slit the neck of a 4-year-old child to track down Rawal and Bhuvi acted proud of him and accepted all his devotion like a lord to worm the truth out of him," said Jaddu, in single breath. "So you better tell us why you're doing this."
"I'm forever indebted to you," said Virat sarcastically. "But I'm not going to play cricket again."
It was impossible to face the reproach in Bhuvi's eyes, so Virat turned back to Mahi bhai.
"I'm booking another ticket to Delhi tomorrow, and if you don't stop Rohit--and everyone else--from trying to vandalise my flight again, I'll never, never talk to you again, Mahi bhai."
Out of the corner of his eyes, Mahi bhai saw Rohit putting an arm around Jassi, who was already looking tearful. Virat noticed it too and looked away quickly.
"All right, Cheeku. No one is going to stop you tomorrow."
Jinks' eyes held a similar glint to Rohit's, two hours ago.