|AUTHOR|

Warning: There's some violence in this chapter!

|7 months later|

Meera blinked her eyes open as the flight landed. She hissed as she tried to stand up, her legs were numb from sitting in the same place for a long time. Her hand had been shot when they had been ambushed when they were patrolling. These seven months breezed by fast but that didn't make it easy. Veer too had received his deployment orders two days after Meera had gotten hers.

Veer had been posted in Jammu and Meera in Punjab. In all these months they had only spoken to each other one time and that was precisely five months ago. Meera was happy to be home but she was not ready to be bombarded by everyone.

Technically there was still a month left in her deployment but it was cut short because of her injury. Meera was not looking forward to this month because Veer was still on duty. He would only return next month. She snapped out of her thoughts when one of the Air hostesses offered to help her.

Things had really taken an ugly turn. One of her teammates Tushar was shot dead right in front of her eyes. She tried to save him but it was already too late by the time they landed on the base. She fainted the very next minute after they had landed. Only she knows how she flew with an injured arm. It was really painful but she managed.

The next time she woke up in the hospital bed and Kabir had told her everything. She had cried the entire night. Tushar was exactly her age and he was even engaged. Now the woman who was waiting for him would just have to greet him who would come to her wrapped in the Indian flag.

Kabir tried to comfort her but she only wanted Veer. She even tried to call him but unfortunately, there was no network. The very next day she was ordered to go home because of her injuries. She completed the paperwork and two hours later she was on the plane.

The air hostess helped her until she found her parents waiting for her. Arjun let out a huge breath of relief when he saw his daughter. He had been on the edge ever since she had called them and informed them that she was coming home early.

Meera had a sling over her neck to restrict the movement of her right arm. Arjun's eyes pricked with tears. Annie let out a sob and rushed towards Meera. She hugged her carefully trying not to jostle her arm.

Meanwhile, Arjun thanked the air hostess and collected Meera's bags from her. "Oh god! Meera, sweetie are you okay?" Annie pulled away and held her face in between her hands. Meera's eyes filled with tears and she started sobbing.

Andy sprinted towards them, his heart broke when he saw his sister crying. She was usually the strong one. Arjun passed the bags to Andy and asked him to bring the car. Andy nodded and walked away. Arjun tugged Meera towards him and she buried her face in his chest.

"He died Daddy! I could have done better! I should have saved him! I can't even imagine what his finacé must be going through." Arjun sighed and rubbed her back. Thankfully they were at a secluded spot. "Baby it's not your fault. You did everything to save him. These things just happen sweetheart. I know it's hard but you have to learn to live with it. Come on let's go."

Meera felt a bit better but the guilt was still eating her away. Even Kabir assured her that there was nothing she could have done but she refused to believe that. She wished Tushar would have been alive. She wished she had bought him back at least ten seconds before he took his last breath.

She wiped her tears and let her father guide her. She was without a doubt a strong woman but this was one of her weak moments and she had to live with it. Meera's dad opened the back door and Meera settled herself in the seat. Arjun sat next to her and urged Annie to sit in the front seat. She was reluctant but did ask what her husband requested.

There was no one else better who knew what Meera was going through. Meera sighed and stared at the surroundings with a blank face. She leaned her head against the window and fell asleep. The last thought that she had before sleeping was how she was going to find out who these bastards were and why the hell did they do this? More than that she was going to kill them. Arjun sighed and covered her with a light blanket.

They reached home within an hour. Arjun gently woke her up and helped her towards her room. Meera was already in comfortable clothes so she didn't want to change. She sighed as her father helped her onto the bed and tucked the covers around her.

He was about to leave when she held his hand. "Don't go until I fall asleep! Please!" Arjun smiled at his daughter and nodded. "Of course, I'll be right here." He leaned against the headboard and caressed her hair until she fell asleep. Meera sighed closing her eyes as her eyelids grew heavy.

Arjun sighed, he knew this was really hard on her. The first time it happened with him his mother was there for him and he's forever grateful for that. She had passed away a few years back. He remembered how fond she was of Meera and proudly stated that she would make an amazing officer even better than Arjun someday.

Arjun couldn't help but agree. He was proud of his daughter and did not doubt that even for a second. She just needed time to grieve and come to terms with everything that had happened. He knew this wasn't the first time she had lost someone who she had worked with. But, this was the first time it had happened that she had tried to save someone and they didn't make it.

He very well knew the burden and pain. He caressed her hair for a few more minutes and kissed her forehead hoping things would get better for his daughter. He had confidence that she will overcome this situation.

***

|One month later|

Meanwhile on the other side somewhere in Jammu Veer was chasing a man hardly a man he was still a teenager hardly nineteen or eighteen who was spoiling the minds of other teenagers and asking them to sell and smuggle weapons. That's not all they were even manufacturing bombs. He had finally caught him. He leaped over a huge rock and growled as the guy ran away.

Veer took a turn and made a beeline through another turn. He stopped following that asshole and took another turn. He was going to catch him from the front instead of chasing him the traditional way. He had to use a different strategy and this was a perfect one.

The boy who he was chasing stopped running when he realized no one was following him. He panted trying to catch his breath and leaned his arms against his knees. Veer was now in front of him and only a few meters away from him. He finally had the guy in his trap.

The boy didn't even realize that Veer was making his way towards him. He was exhausted because of all the chasing. Veer smirked and held his collar. The man screamed and tried to run away. Veer kicked his stomach and dragged him towards the van. He threw him inside and shut the door.

The boy banged his fists against the door and kept repeating he was innocent. "Aaha I see you caught him! What's that about?" Mithun one of his teammates pointed towards the banging. Veer sighed and shook his head. He had an angry expression on his face.

"Nothing, just the usual! Trying to play the victim." Mithun threw a nasty glare at the boy. "Of course these bastards are only good for that! Anyway, we found a couple of them too. We need to go and report back to Officer Khan. He has been eagerly waiting for us."

Veer narrowed his eyes at the other two who were dragged towards the van. Veer could make out an outline of a tattoo on his neck. He walked towards him pulled the collar of his shirt. There was a scorpion tattoo on his neck. It was evident that this man belonged to Adams's gang.

He slammed the man near the van and held his neck in a chokehold. "Who are you? Who sent you?" Veer was blazing with anger. He wanted to kill this asshole right here. This Adam was back yet no one was ready to believe him. The man clawed at his hands trying to free himself.

He was literally choking and spluttering, trying to catch his breath. Karan walked towards his friend and pulled him back. "Veer control your anger we'll interrogate them! You cannot fucking kill him! Are you insane? Step aside!" Karan pulled him back.

Veer panted and finally let him go. That man almost looked like he was smirking at him. Veer once again lunged but this time he was pulled back by Mithun. "We'll get to the bottom of this for that you can't lose your cool. Chill go drink something! Here take a water bottle, cool down."

Mithun threw a bottle in his direction. Veer caught it without any hassle. He unscrewed the cap and took a long sip. "What made you lunge at him that way? Did he say something to instigate you?" Karan asked him and glanced at the van where the three captives were held.

"He has a fucking scorpion tattoo on his neck! I have never seen anyone here with that in all this time! He's fucking back! Adam is back. We need to inform the other members of TIIS and Officer Karthik. If he doesn't listen then we have to take help from Officer Khan who will help us no matter what." Veer ranted and Karan looked at their three captives with a dazed look on their faces.

"What does this mean?" Karan asked Veer with a hushed voice. Veer took another long sip and glared at the captives while the other team members were clearing the area. "This means something big is coming and if we don't take the first step we'll be in deep shit. In short, the war has begun. The last time we did kill most of his men but that doesn't mean anything because as long as Adam and Jeffrey are alive they can recruit a hundred or even thousands of these people like them. They definitely have sleeper cells. That much was clear in our last interaction."

Karan absorbed everything Veer had said. He nodded and maintained a stoic expression. "Let's go back to the headquarters and interrogate these bastards," Karan stated, Veer nodded and followed him. An hour later they were taken the three captives were taken to a highly secure cell.

Mithun tied them to the chair while Veer crossed his arms across his chest. He was in his olive greens and had a lethal expression on his face. "Well, if all of you want to stay alive then you better start speaking! I know that all of you know the questions and all I need is the answer."

Veer commanded and waited for an answer. The three captives were injured but none of them were ready to answer. They were scared of Veer but disguised it very well. Veer waited for a few more minutes and not one of them uttered a single word. They sat their mum. More than Veer they feared their master who's words always rang in their ears.

"If you get caught don't you dare open your mouth about me! If you do then I'll kill your family." He had warned them with a sinister laugh. Veer was losing his patience. He punched the guy who had the scorpion tattoo until he was bleeding. He plucked out his nails while he screamed and screeched in agony. The other two were watching and trembling with fear.

He couldn't take it anymore he begged Veer to stop. "Are you willing to tell or I'm not going to hesitate to do the same with your other hand?" The man nodded and took deep breaths. "Who do you work for? Who's the head?" The man gulped and when he was calm enough he started speaking.

"We were there today to plant a bomb there. But, before we could do that you guys caught us. We usually deal with um weapons and making bombs but our boss Charlie asked us to plant the bomb this time. We have no idea why. We only follow instructions and nothing else! Please let us go." The man pleaded. Like hell was he letting them go.

Charlie was definitely someone new. They had never heard his name before. Veer turned his head to the other two who told the same versions of the story. "What about the tattoo? Why do you only have it and why don't these two have it?" Their eyes widened and they trembled with fear when Veer asked them about the tattoo.

That was enough for Veer to confirm what he already knew. They were undoubtedly Adam's men. "I thought I asked you a fucking question!? Answer me!" The man who had the tattoo on the neck came up with a reason. "W-what tattoo? We don't have any tattoos! What I have on my neck is some kind of skin disease." He stuttered while answering.

Veer smirked at his and held his collar. "Do you take me for a fool? Give me a straight answer now! That's not a fucking skin disease! What. Does. The. Tattoo. Mean?" Veer gritted his teeth. When he didn't answer Veer pulled out a huge pin and held it near his neck. "Tell me right now or you'll go to hell this very second! The choice is yours!"

The man was now hardly breathing. One of the boys answered. "Leave him alone he's old. I'll tell you! We do have a tattoo but it's on um our arms." Veer whipped his head towards the boy who spoke. He stalked towards him and cut out the shirt that was covering his arm with a knife.

Karan squinted his eyes he was making a report and recording their statements for proof. Veer let out a shaky breath when he saw the tattoo. It was a combination of both, the Scorpio and the snake. Jeffery and Adam had finally shown that they have officially joined hands.

Karan walked towards the boy and looked at the tattoo over Veer's shoulder. "Oh Fuck!" One thing was clear, the man who had a scorpion tattoo on his neck was clearly an old member of the organization while these two boys were newly recruited.

Everything was falling in place. "Great just freaking great! Now they're showing to the entire world that they're working together! Fucking hell! They have even hidden the tattoo well." Karan exclaimed with frustration while Veer nodded his head solemnly.

They made the entire report and a few more questions about this Charlie. But, unfortunately, they couldn't find anything. All they could find was that he was someone they had never seen but only taken instructions from. Clever bastard this Charlie was.

Another hour later Veer was seated in front of Officer Khan who was going through the report with at most concentration on his face. He hummed and closed it. Officer Khan was part of TIIS as well. "Well done Veer. I have already informed the TIIS analysts. They had been kept a close eye on Jeffrey and Adam for quite some time now. But it seemed like nothing was out of the ordinary. Looks like that's not the case anymore. I have given all the information and even asked them to dig out information on Charlie. Unfortunately, until we have all the facts and everything is clear we can't do anything!"

Veer had the urge to roll his eyes and scoff at his senior but that would be a huge disrespect and it will put him in some deep shit. He had to stay quiet for now. "Sir, with all due respect why can't we take quick action! We know who the culprits are! It's pretty clear Adam and Jeffrey! They're working together! Let's do an undercover operation and capture them both!"

Veer ranted with frustration. Officer Khan sighed and shook his head. "I wish it was that simple, but it isn't! We need to wait. Also, if I may remind you Adam is dead! He has been dead for six years." Veer was about to interrupt and tell him about Colt when Officer Khan held his palm asking him not to interrupt.

"Don't tell me it's Colt Malik! Just don't, you already know how powerful he is. Let's just say for a second we assume it's him okay?" Veer nodded but he knew what was coming. "Well, then what's proof besides the fact that he looks like him? Nothing right? If we need to pull this Adam we need to catch Jeffery. For now, this meeting is done. You may leave now. Excellent work!"

Veer sighed nodding he stood up and saluted with a "Jai Hind" he exited the room. Although he had his ways of keeping tabs on Jeffrey it hadn't been that great. There was practically nothing suspicious about the entire thing. Someone was definitely rigging the entire system and he still had no idea who it was. Which was angering Veer.

He returned to his bunker and fell on the bed. He sighed and removed a photo that he had kept under his pillow. For the first time in the entire week, he felt peaceful. It was a picture of Meera and him from the dance that they had shared almost eight months ago.

Tanya had sent him a few pictures right before his deployment with a message that was meant to tease him. He had printed out one of his favorite pictures and had kept it with him. He traced her face and smiled. In the picture, their foreheads were touching and both of them had serene smiles on their faces.

He sighed and placed it on his chest. It and been almost six months since he had spoken to her. He has no idea how she was. He only hoped that she was safe and sound. The last thoughts before he fell asleep were Meera and her beautiful smile.

A few days later his deployment had finally ended and as of now, he was approved with two months' leave. Before he left Officer Khan had told him discreetly to stay alert. He immediately knew that this wasn't a vacation but more of work. A soldier is always on duty no matter what and he was immensely proud to be one.

***

A few hours later Veer's flight had landed. He collected his bags and loaded them into the trunk of the cab. He hadn't informed his family that he was returning today. He wanted to surprise them. Some part of him hoped that Meera would land at the same time. He even had made plans to spend some time alone together but he knew the chances were very slim.

He sat on the back seat, as the car began moving he sighed and leaned his head against the headrest. Karan had gone with Sheena who had come to pick him up. He almost gagged when they began making out in the middle of the airport. God those two were sickly in love.

They offered to give him a lift but he politely declined because he wasn't in the mood to witness their romance and that would only remind him as to how much he missed Meera.

Veer pulled his phone from his pocket and switched it on after almost nine months. Most of the time he preferred not to use his phone as connecting to the wifi there was too much of a hassle. His phone started pinging and vibrating with messages and missed calls.

He sighed with frustration and waited until the vibration stopped. A few minutes later when he stopped he pressed on the missed call notification to find that at least a hundred missed calls from Meera. He frowned when he noticed that some of them were dated at least a month back.

His heartbeat thudded with anticipation. Why had Meera called him so many times? Was she back home early? Did something happen to her? All these questions began gnawing him. Swallowing the dread and ignoring the other questions he called up Meera.

Meera's hand had now healed, well almost healed. Thanks to physical therapy and a lot of coddling from her parents she was good as new. Although her nightmares were recurring. They were eating her away. Instead of Tushar dying she dreamt about Veer dying which left her scared every single time. It was chipping her soul and sanity, piece by piece.

In the past month, she had managed to come to terms with what had happened. This wasn't the first time but something about this incident had stung her in the wrong way. She even went and meet his fiance Anjali who was really sweet.

Meera explained to her what had happened. Anjali began crying and that caused Meera to cry. They hugged and Anjali assured her that what had happened was unfortunate but she was immensely proud of him. Meera assured her that she would stay in touch with her. That gave her a lot of relief.

Currently, Meera was sitting on her bed and flipping through a magazine. She frowned when her phone began ringing. She retrieved it from the nightstand. She jerked sitting up straight when she noticed it was none other than Veer. Her eyes filled with tears and she let out a huge gush was the breath that she had been holding for almost a month.

She swiped the answer button and held it to her phone. "Hello, Meera? Are you okay? When did you come home? Tell me what's wrong damn it!" He cursed and a few tears fell from her eyes. "Veer! Are you back? I'm fine! I'll um tell you everything in person. Just go home for now."

Veer pinched his nose and controlled his anger. He was already frustrated with everything that had been happening with Adam and Jeffrey. This was making him more anxious and insane.

"Meera I'm not in the mood for all of this. I'm coming straight to your house right this very second. No arguments. Understood?" Meera sighed, he used his commanding voice. They were no point in arguing. He was going to come here either way.

"Fine! But, you'll have to climb the terrace just like old times because Mom and Dad are there in the living room!" Veer laughed a little, old times were the best times when he sneaked into her room so that they could watch movies all night long.

"Sure, not a problem at all! It's not a big deal. I'll be there in a few and you better be ready with an explanation!" Meera sighed and muttered a yes. Veer cut the call and instructed the driver to take him to Meera's place. Once the car stopped near Meera's house, Veer collected his bags.

He paid the driver. He carried the duffel bag over his shoulder and carried one more in his hand. Luckily Meera's room had a balcony so it was easy for him to enter the room. He texted Meera. "Rapunzel! Let down your hair!" Meera quickly came to the balcony and laughed out loudly.

Veer gave her a cheeky grin. Her room wasn't that far away. He threw the duffle bag which Meera caught it and then the other bag which was a bit heavy. Meera hissed in pain but she pulled it up. She moved her healing arm a bit and then the pain subsided.

Veer climbed the pipe and finally jumped into the balcony. Meera slammed into him and buried her face in his neck. "I missed you so much!" Veer sighed in relief and closed his eyes. "Me too Meera me too!" He buried his face in her hair and breathed in her lavender scent. He could feel all the tension ebb away.

Meera breathed in his cologne. Tears filled her eyes. At that moment she forgot about all her nightmares. She reminded herself that he was here and safe. Their first time away from each other after confessing their feelings was each other was hard.

Meera tightened her arms around his neck and fisted his shirt. Veer frowned and pulled Meera away when he felt something wet on his neck. Meera's face was tear-streaked. "I'm sorry! I just this was really hard more than I had expected it to be!" She sniffles and wiped her tears.

Veer's eyes pricked as well, the first time was always the hardest. They had no idea how they were away from each other all these years. He shook his head and wiped the tears with the pad of his thumbs. "Shh, it's okay! I'm here you're here! We're fine! That's all that really matters!"

Meera nodded her head and sniffled again. She closed her eyes and relaxed when he placed a long kiss on her forehead. "Yeah!" She was about to tell him she was shot but for now, that can be done later. "By the way seriously Rapunzel? You had to use that dialogue?" Meera asked him with a laugh and pulled him inside.

Veer chuckled and followed her. She had already locked the bedroom door. She sat on the bed and pulled Veer next to her. "Well, I have always wanted to do that so here it is!" He exclaimed with a cheeky grin. Meera laughed shaking her head.

A few minutes later Veer's face turned serious. He took a deep breath and gave her a stern look. "Jokes apart. Meera tell me what happened? Are you really okay?" Meera took a deep breath and mentally prepared before she began narrating. She mentally patted herself for wearing a jumper over her shirt. She can only hope that Veer wouldn't blast off with anger.

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A/N: You guys I don't really know what to say. Can't imagine what they and their families go through. I put all my emotions while writing this. I hope you guys connect just like I did. Proud of our heroes! The real heroes!

How will Veer react to Meera's incident? Will he catch this Jeffery soon? Stay tuned to find out!

Hope you liked this chapter! If you did please do vote and comment! I would love to know what you guys think!