PART-66

"What's going on?"Khushi asked as soon as she reached near ASR,who was standing on the steps with an expressionless face,yet he had an aura,sheer power which was almost palpable!

"Nothing terribly exciting.Just the usual sweeping the place for possible bugs for snooping,you see.Not that any one will dare to do that S.T.F. office!They could as well go in front of a rampaging,mad bull!"ASR said mendaciously, keeping a watchful eye on Chandru who was lingering anxiously in the corner,obsequiously listening to each word he said.To Arnav's immense satisfaction,Chandru bought his theory and slouched off,but same wasn't true for khushi.

 

Had it been not been for the indisputable fact,that she knew his inside out,even though they had not been together for more than a few short months, she wouldn't have been able to detect the hard edge that was undercurrent in his carefully off-handed voice.Khushi raised her eyebrows questioningly at the look of contentment on ASR's face,making the latter realize that he could fool anyone but her.So,sighing resignedly,he sauntered to his cabin,shutting the door firmly behind khushi before turning to her.

 

"You are dubious regarding honesty of people working here.This sudden check is not simply adhering to protocols."Khushi stated flatly.

 

ASR affixed her with a hard,speculative look,apparently weighing how much to tell her.He didn't want to compromise her safety by putting a lot into her.

 

"All right!I won't persist.If you want confide in me,you can do it anytime!" She muttered,mistaking his silence to be his lack of trust on her.ASR's heart fluttered at the look of hurt on her face,though she attempted hard to disguise it behind her nonchalance.

He reached forward to grab the door knob before she could open and step out and pulled her in.

"Khushi,don't be ridiculous!Its not a question of trust because I've full faith that you will never betray me or this organization,but its merely my concern for your safety!"ASR said,guiding her to one of the chairs.

"What do you mean?"Khushi demanded,confusion apparent in her voice.

"I think someone is spying on us.I mean he is passing information regarding intricacies of our every move,our investigation to our enemies."ASR said lowering his voice.

 

"And who is in your radar of suspicion?"Khushi asked.

 

"Chandru."

 

"What?He I mean how could that be?Are you sure?Because we did all the routine check assiduously before employing him!All his driving license,voter ID, Aadhar card, everything to determine his identity was done meticulously,then how could he possibly hoodwink us?"Khushi spluttered.

"I'm aware of that khushi,but I'm sure of this thing too that Chandru is the infiltrator!"ASR's low voice was grim.He then narrated the entire incidents that led him to his deduction.

"We should sack him immediately!His presence poses danger to all sorts of high profile information that S.T.F. houses.All the names and residence of our spies in different nation,deals on armaments and secret missions,everything is at stake! We can't take risk of this magnitude!"Khushi exclaimed  vehemently,jumping to her feet.

"Khushi,Shut up and sit down!"ASR ordered,pulling her down.

"But how could we....."Khushi stammered.

"Khushi I could've sacked him long back if I had wanted!But, we can't afford to make any hasty decision in a sensitive situation such as this.We need to weigh our every step cautiously.Exonerating is not a viable option.We've to nab the kingpin of this obnoxious nexus!"ASR reasoned passionately.

"But..."Khushi began,but she was stopped short by a brusque knock on the door. ASR stood up and sat behind his table before saying a brisk 'Come in'.

"Sir,we found nothing!There is no electronic bug in here."The man said.

"Good!You may go now and thanks for coming here today."ASR said dismissively.

He had not expected anything to be found either.That would have been the most abysmal of mistakes.His foe was equally shrewd!