Chapter 41: chapter 41

Major Neha hesitated at the doorway of Lt. Col. Kaushal's office, her eyes searching for an explanation. "Why do you want me to get involved? I thought we had already settled things in our last posting," she questioned, uncertainty lacing her voice.Lt. Col. Kaushal, wearing a stern expression, leaned back in his chair. "Because, if you don’t, then I still have enough evidence to expose your irrational actions in Mizoram, and instead of a promotion, you may get expelled from the Army!" Lt. Col. Kaushal declared, his eyes firmly fixed on Neha's.Neha hesitated for a moment, grappling with the gravity of the situation. "Okay, I admit that it was a mistake to talk about confidential matters in a public place, but I didn’t intend to disclose something critical. It was a slip of the tongue, and whatever you heard was not meant to cause unrest. How would I know that a terrorist was sitting in proximity? You salvaged the situation, and I will be grateful to you for all my life. But then, I helped you become a lieutenant by introducing you to my friend Sheetal, Colonel Prakash's daughter. Now I can't do anything more for you; whatever you're asking for is unethical. Major Riya has been doing fine; just because she doesn’t follow your orders doesn’t mean you should ruin her career!" Neha attempted to justify her reluctance."I just want to teach her a lesson for a lifetime, and then she will understand how to behave with seniors. I'm not going to ruin her career; I'll just put her on the slow track. You are not her friend, so why are you so scared?" Kaushal pressed on."Because she is righteous, and I feel bad she is getting dragged into dirty politics," Neha asserted, her concern evident in her voice."Don’t feel bad about her, but rather think about your growth. Are you not ambitious anymore?" Kaushal prodded, a sly grin forming on his face."Yes, okay fine! I will do it, but there should never be a mention of my name in this whole incident!" Neha accepted, realizing she couldn't win over Kaushal with words."That’s like my good officer. So, Major Neha, now just go back to your room, and tomorrow the action will start. You will give wrong details to Major Riya and let her spend time collecting all the futile information.""Yes, Sir. As you wish, but I shouldn’t be dragged later for this!" Neha tried to clarify her position, seeking some reassurance."No one will question you. Rather, you will concur with my remarks about Major Riya later," Kaushal reassured with a sinister smile. He was planning to put a false case against Major Riya.But the next day, when Riya’s planning unfolded like a surprise to him, he had no clue how to get rid of the problems he had brought upon himself.Riya had successfully interchanged the files to be submitted to Colonel Dinesh, and Kaushal got trapped in the event of sharing confidential information with a junior officer, resulting in his demotion to a desk job.After Kaushal was transferred from Leh, Neha thought of telling Riya about Kaushal’s plans someday, but during the insurgency and attacks on the cantonment, she never got a chance to relieve her guilt.But when she saw the secret codes of the Crimson Dagger and how this person was manipulating her junior officers Captain Veer, Aman, and Sameer, she doubted that Kaushal might be involved.~~~Sitting in his glass window office, Kaushal had been talking to a new identity "Crimson Dagger," who was helping him orchestrate problems in Riya’s life again. This time they were fatal too, as Colonel Dinesh got killed during his conspiracy.Crimson Dagger’s target was not only Riya but also the senior officer who had favoured her. It involved a fake terrorist group staging the attack on the cantonment, providing them with all the details of how to execute Col. Dinesh's extraction and interrogating him to find out who was this high-ranking officer who supported Riya but had found nothing. Thus, when they found Col. Dinesh useless, he was terminated and the blame fell on Riya's capability to handle an insurgency situation, resulting in her demotion from Second in Command to working under Major Neha.Major Neha who was now Lt. Col. under the Command of Colonel Rathore, torn between her loyalty to Kaushal and her sense of justice, knew all along that somewhere Kaushal was involved in the terrorist insurgency situation to push Riya into a dangerous predicament.As the events unfolded with more security breaches, Neha found herself more deeply intertwined in the web of deceit. She had achieved the promotion she was aiming for, taking over Riya’s chances, but now she wanted to change sides.Deep down, Neha knew she couldn't continue with Kaushal’s secret disturbing her mental peace forever. She had to make things right, even if it meant risking her safety. Unable to contain the burden of guilt any longer, Neha decided to inquire about Kaushal about the recent attacks and his links to them.The next day Neha called Kaushal, finding out his details from the official directory.“Hello, this is Major Kaushal speaking, who is it?“It’s Neha, Kaushal, how are you?”“Lt. Col. Neha, long time, what a surprise, I am doing good, but how come you remembered me after one year?”“That is great Major Kaushal, looks like the news of my promotion has reached you, it’s nice to see you happy, but is there any special reason for your happiness?” Neha tried to poke Kaushal.Kaushal somehow sensed the taunt in Neha’s voice and cleverly answered, “Yes, I am doing a desk job away from all the challenges, what more can I expect from life after the Leh debacle, I am a content man now! I am happy that you have been promoted!”“Are you content, Kaushal, or is Crimson Dagger giving you enough happiness to stay content?” Neha came to the point quickly, making her reason for the call evident.To her surprise, Kaushal laughed it off at Neha's question. "I am a completely changed man now, Neha. I don't know what you are talking about; who is this Crimson Dagger now?"“That’s great to know then, ignore me, just wanted to talk to you to know how you have been doing.”Neha couldn't shake off the feeling that something was amiss, but she somehow changed the topic and then cut the call.She was suspicious and thought again, and then planned to meet Kaushal in person, as it was better to understand whether he was telling the truth or not.Few weeks later, one weekend Neha travelled from Leh to meet Kaushal. She knocked on his office door.Kaushal, engrossed in some paperwork, looked up as Neha entered. "Neha, how come you are here? What brings you here?" he inquired, a hint of irritation in his voice."I need answers, Kaushal. I need to know the truth about what's happening in my cantonment. The attacks, the conspiracy, everything!" Neha demanded, her eyes piercing through Kaushal's facade.Kaushal leaned back in his chair, a sly smile playing on his lips. "I told you I am a changed man on the phone; then why are you bothering me?”“Because I know you better than yourself. This smile of yours is not of content but conspiracy!” Neha thumped his table.“Why the sudden interest, Neha? You've got your promotion, and your ambitions fulfilled. What more do you want from me?""I want the truth. I can't live with the weight of this deceit any longer. Lives are at stake, and I won't be part of a game that puts my comrades in danger. I will tell everyone about the plans you had in Leh." Neha declared, her voice firm.Kaushal chuckled, a sinister glint in his eyes. "You're in too deep now, Neha. There's no turning back. You should have thought about the consequences before dancing to my tune. Now you cannot do any harm to me; rather, it will be yours."Neha felt a chill down her spine, but her resolve remained unshaken. She was angry and with a loud voice spoke, "I won't be a pawn in your games any longer. Tell me the truth, or I'll expose everything myself even though it ruins my career!"For a moment, the room hung in tense silence. Kaushal studied Neha with a calculating gaze before finally relenting. "Fine, if you want to know the truth, I'll tell you, but not here; let's go out!" ~~~~~