10:30 am
24th May 2025
As he approached the SP office, he could feel his heartbeat rise. Never before at this rate.
Not even when his NDA result came out and his dad was sitting behind him while he was checking it.
As he knocked on the door, he could feel his hands trembling. This did not happen even when his company was attacked at the most unexpected time.
As he waited for the SP to answer, he could feel his knees go weak.
Even terrorists were not capable of doing what this woman did.
When he entered SP Rathore's office, he asked him to take a seat.
The venom in his brain had been so thick, he wanted to bite him but could not.
Instead, she just stared at him with a stoic, expressionless face.
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Aditya reluctantly sat down.
He should not do anything to trigger this man.
The power imbalance here was evident to both of them.
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"Captain Shukla, thanks for coming in on such short notice. I know things are chaotic here, but it's among chaos that men like us thrive."
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"Instead it is." Aditya added that, though in no mood for small talk, he had to entertain this man.
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"Constable Shah, why don't you go and bring us two cups of chai?"
SP Rathore asked the man on his left to do so; as he left the cabin, only two of them were left in the office.
"So, I'll come to the point, Captain."
Rathore shifted a little in his chair before taking out a phone from his drawer.
He unlocked the phone and opened a WhatsApp chat.
Aditya could see a video media there.
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SP Rathore kept the phone near Aditya and played the video.
That was a clip of his and Jahnvi's heated encounter. Someone had shot that video from a little distance, far enough to be unnoticed by him and near enough to show his face.
Hardly a forty-second clip, but enough to villainize him amidst the chaos.
When the video ended, Rathore asked him to read a text right below that media.
Not saying anything yet, but if things like this keep happening, this video will not take a second to go viral, and the public will not take a minute to react.
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He read that.
He understood that was a potential threat.
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There was a moment of silence between them.
Aditya's face was in his hand, which was taking support from the table.
He was staring at the phone screen, which had now turned black.
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Rathore took a deep breath and broke the silence between them.
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"See, Captain, this video came to one of my men through an anonymous number. When we inquired a little, we got to know it is not on any social media platform as of yet. I have asked my man to let us have his phone for someday, you know, so things are handled in a better way. But the thing is, this video is also with this sender, whose identity is unknown yet; we are trying to figure out things."
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Rathore makes eye contact with Aditya. Who at this point was starting at him? If eyes could kill, Rathore would be dead by Aditya's stare by now.
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"I'm sure you understand how these things work. If it goes out, it won't take a minute for the public to go haywire. One clip, and suddenly half of the public thinks the army is mishandling doctors. Or doctors are compromising security. Depending on which side they are."
Rathore looked around.
"I expected Dr. Sharma to accompany you. It would have been better to explain the situation to her too."
He sensed Jahnvi's absence as a mark of disrespect. He felt she was too egoistic.
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"You see, both of your faces are clear in the clip. So I thought I should inform you personally."
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Was this the reason why she came to meet him in the morning?
Did she receive a letter too?
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Aditya inquired,
"So you sent a letter to Dr. Sharma too, and she did not come here?"
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"Not a separate letter. I had mentioned it in your letter. I had requested you to come along with her. That way I thought things would be in control. A civilian receiving a police letter will definitely lead to chaos and can do something unexpected."
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Listening to this, Aditya raised his eyebrows and shifted his posture to take support of the chair back.
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Yes, the letter did mention it. But he did not do so; he was too busy with his hurricane-like thoughts.
He thought she was well aware of the situation she had created.
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"See, sir, Dr. Sharma did want to accompany me, but as you can see, the patients are many and the doctors limited. Her senior did not permiter to do so. I did not pressure her senior, as it would make this issue go out of hand."
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Rathore nodded with an Oh, I get it expression.
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"Let's handle this situation within us, sir." Aditya added.
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"Captain Shukla, there are two options for me right now.
One, I send this to the Eastern Command of the army with an official letter explaining the situation.
Two, let this video stay under the surface for as long as it can.
But I want to clear one thing. If this video gets out before we catch this antisocial element, I'll be left with no choice but to go with option one."
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"I understand what you are saying, sir. And I'm ready for full cooperation from my side."
Aditya exhaled and added further,
"Just a small request from my side. Let this be between you and me until some solution arrives or, worse, this video goes viral."
"Yes, Captain, this is what I was thinking about."
After final greetings, Aditya came out of that room.
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He walked toward his jeep.
While walking, he thought to himself,
If things go south,
One thing was clear: police will not hesitate to make me the scapegoat.
And the army will not hesitate to set up an inquiry on me.
One thing that was not clear, and the biggest problem. Who could it be? How does he get around now? He cannot sit as his opponent plans his execution.
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----
As he started driving towards the village. He was unaware of the stir in Palanpur. He was unaware of what he was about to deal with now.
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and then Add to home screen.