"You have been useful to me, sweetheart. With the information you have given me, I could save shipments worth crores and annihilate my enemy. Also, I have to keep my end of the bargain. So, you will get one last confrontation with your dear husband," said Suraj, tracing his finger against her chin as she struggled against her restraints to pull herself away from his touch.

__________________________________________________________

"The location is still live and we have credible information that our target is inside the building. Remember, we need him alive. He is wanted for the information about the drug trade going in the country. However, if he poses immediate threat to our lives and the mission, do not hesitate to shoot but our priority will be the capture him alive. Jai Hind!" instructed Atharv to the various teams ready to carry out the operation. They had deployed paramilitary forces for their support.

"Jai Hind!" replied the teams in unison as their chant resonated in the entire gallery.

"Arnav.."

"Sadrakshanay, Khalnighrahany! Sir, rest assured, my utmost priority and my loyalty is towards the country, till my last breath," replied Arnav, decked in bulletproof vest and the ammunition appropriate for the mission.

"Make us proud! Jai Hind!" greeted Atharv, nodding at him with hints of confused smile tugging at the edges of his lips as he patted Arnav's shoulder in assurance.

"Jai Hind, Sir!"

_____________________________________________________________

"We will surround the building. Shoot on sight for everyone except our targets. We will be coordinating through our mics about our locations and casualties on both the sides. We are not expecting many offenders so let us make this mission successful! Has everyone understood their positions?" questioned Arnav, sighing deeply as the adrenaline rush threatened to drown him. The onslaught of emotions were concealed by his stern no-nonsense demeanor but the ones who knew what had happened at the headquarters could see dying hope and desperation in his focused eyes.

"Shrikant, Shukla and Arora, we will go to the topmost floor where our sources have detected some activity. Remember, do not shoot, unless it is required and only I will enter first. It will boost his arrogance to see a lone officer and maybe we can catch him when he commits any mistake," Arnav instructed the officers who were following him as they raced over the stairs to the topmost floor after their path had been cleared by the officers preceding them.

"Okay, Sir!" they replied as they reached the topmost floor. They immediately identified two henchmen of the Boss and eliminated them without any noise, to prevent the Boss from realizing that he had been surrounded. Arnav nodded at the officers in approval as he walked into the lone room of the floor.

"Release her and surrender yourself! Or you will be killed!" announced Arnav, walking into the room with his gun pointed the tall and quite handsome man standing in front of him, close to the woman who owned his heart.

"Ah! Here comes your enemy, or shall I say your hero, darling? Isn't he the one who hurt you so badly that you decided to betray the country?" drawled Suraj, smirking at Khushi who glared at him in reply.

"Hands where I can see!" yelled Arnav, stepping towards them as he looked around to see if there were any more of the henchmen around. The absence of any of his followers made a shiver run across his spine rather than relaxing him. He knew that the man in front of him had laid a trap for them and they might have just walked into it.

"Officer, as you wish!" replied Suraj, raising his hands into the air at the backdrop of heavy firing which had begun. The sound of metal clanging against the floors and horrifying screams of those who were hit by the bullet seemed to reverberate in the entire building. The intensity of the sound only seemed to intensify, indicating that they were facing armed opponents who were as resolved as them to clinch the victory.

"What is it that you are holding in your hand? What is that remote? Throw it to the ground and kick it away!" instructed Arnav, desperately trying to avoid looking at Khushi, lest his morale and spirit gets destroyed. He knew that if he had the Boss in his control, the armed combat would immediately end and he had no intention of leaving the Boss.

"You mean this key to my freedom? You see, this remote here is connected the bombs on your wife's body. One touch and she will anyways explode, and so will all of us. As far as I know, I am not useful as a deadbody to anyone. Let me go and you will have chance with your dear wife and maybe a chance to catch me in the future but after I press this, there are no more chances," replied Suraj, smirking daringly as his derisive gaze challenged Arnav to act on his inner instincts and kill him.

"No, don't listen to him. He is setting everyone up! Shoot him!" pleaded Khushi, struggling against her restraints as she gazed at Arnav pleadingly.

"You hurt me, dear. You had willingly accepted my help when you wanted to bring him down and now you are siding with him. I am hurt," drawled Suraj, displaying no signs of fear like a true psychopath that he was.

"I had lost my path along with my love in the past and when love seeped back into my life, so did my conscience. I will do everything in my control to bring you! Shoot him, Arnav!" begged Khushi, tears flowing out of her eyes as she felt her insides burn with regret and pain.

To hear the confirmation that she had indeed supported the perpetrator of several heinous crimes felt like the worst punishment he could ever imagine. Her betrayal felt like innumerable swords being stabbed with no possibility to erase the pain. It took him moments before he regained his logical sense and his arm holding the ammunition against the target faltered. He was wanted alive and he had specifically laid the trap outside for him. Weighing the risks against the possibilities of their victory never felt tougher with his wife's life on the balance but he made his decision.

"I cannot risk my wife's life," he said, throwing away the gun in his hand and stepping away from the exit as he looked at his juniors from the corner of his eyes who nodded in affirmation at his sign.

"Good choice! Like I promised, he is all yours now!" muttered Suraj, blowing kiss at Khushi who seemed to be repulsed by his behavior as he began walking towards the exit, holding the remote in his hands, eying Arnav suspiciously. Arnav gave a curt nod to his juniors who tackled him down to the ground and tried to snatch the remote from his hands but it was too late; he had managed to press the button at the first hint of trouble.

Much to their surprise, they were alive and breathing and could not see or hear any hints of a blast.

"Let me go! The bombs on her body will burst in three minutes!" pleaded Suraj, hints of panic surfacing.

Arnav reached to Khushi's side in long strides and took away the veil shielding her to see that it had indeed set the timer off and they had less than 150 seconds left before they could defuse the bomb. She could not help the sobs which left her lips at the revelation. She had been unconscious when she was brought to Suraj and she had assumed that she had been restrained and would be used as a bait but nothing would have prepared her for that moment.

"EVACUATE NOW! We need a bomb squad in here!" yelled Arnav, looking at his juniors who looked at him expectantly.

"NOW!" Arnav said fiercely as his juniors nodded and dragged Suraj along with them as they spoke to the rest of the officers deployed to evacuate within two minutes, irrespective of their current status.

"The bomb squad is unable to enter through the armed combat, they might not be able to make it in two minutes. Describe the bomb, maybe they can provide remote assistance," replied Atharv from the headquarters, with his breath hitched.

"It has no wires. I can see the casing and the screen with the timer but no wires," answered Arnav frantically as the seconds ticked away and they seemed to be inching closer to death.

"It sounds like one of those complicated bombs, I don't think the officer has enough training to defuse it!" replied the bomb squad member with regret lacing his tone.

"Okay, then!" replied Arnav, tossing away his microphone much to Khushi's surprise.

"Arnav, leave! There's nothing you can do!" pleaded Khushi, as he descended onto his knees in front of her, undoing the restraints in an uncannily calm manner. His expressions did not betray the storm wrecking him internally as he had already made his choice.

"I am not leaving you alone!" replied Arnav, looking straight into her eyes as he cupped her cheek affectionately, noting that they had less than a minute left with them.

"Dying here is my redemption for betraying my country, Arnav. I couldn't see sense. You don't have to die," she stated, sobbing inconsolably as she tried to push him away as her ties were removed by Arnav, but he had no intention to listen to her.

"Dying with you is my redemption, then. In life, I had never been able to fulfill my role as your husband. At least, let me do justice to my love for you. People usually say 'til death to us part' and ironically, it will be death in which we will be united. I have no complaints, Khushi. I love you," he replied, resting her forehead against his as he looked into her eyes which swirled with love which he never thought he will be able to see in his life.

"I love you, too!" she whispered, wrapping her arms around his neck as she pressed her lips against his, and allowing love to erase the fear and agony which wrecked her.

In life, they had parted and in death, they had united. Numerous lines were blurred, of duty, of justice and of love but in the end, they had ensured that every one of them had triumphed.

______________________________________________________________

Ending note on the next part as it is already too long.