"He...hello sirr..." Sreya spoke weeping through the phone. Her sobs made it difficult for the other person to figure out the words she spoke.

"Yes Sreya... What is happening there?" Azim asked quickly. He knew she was risking her life, sneaking to contact the police and didn't have much time to spend on the phone.

"Sirr... yaha bohot saare gunde hai..."

"Number... exact number pata hai?"

"Sir... umm yaha exact number nhi pata mujhe.... Kuch 50 honge" Sreya said after wiping her tears and composing herself a bit. There were other girls guarding her, and keeping an eye outside if someone sees them.

"Ok ok... aur tumhare saath kitni ladkiya hai?"

"25! 25 sir". She spoke instantly as she already pre-planned her answer. "Aur wo... ye log aaj hum sabko bhejne wale hai kahi..."

"Kaha? Kaha bhejne wale hai?" Azim asked.

"I don't know sir... please please hume bacha lijiye... please sir". She started crying vigorously.

"Yes Sreya... Hum apni team ko lekar aa rhe hai. We have your location. Please panic mat karna... ok. And ho sake toh please don't turn off your phone. Ok?"

"Ji..." She said before hanging up and hiding the phone inside her dress.

"Sir..." Azim called his officials from their cyber cabin. "Sir we must do something urgently. 25 ladkiya fasi hui hai waha pe..."

Sidharth and Kushal looked at each other in horror. The pressure they were under couldn't let them think properly.

"Location wahi haina abhi tak?" Kushal asked.

"Yes sir. Abhi tak toh woh log ussi warehouse mein hai... Lekin unko jaldi kahi le jaane wale hai wo log". Azim explained every bit of information he got from the phone call.

"Sidharth... I think unn logo tak khabar pohonch gyi hai ke humne unke store mein raid kiya tha.... Isiliye they are rushing to get out of the city..." Kushal said after a long analyzation.

"Kushal ab hume wait nhi karna chahiye... I think we should get going" Sidharth said.

The team reported to the nearest local station by the warehouse. They gathered more information regarding the location and the people involved. In primary investigation, it turned out that the warehouse was guarded by some 60-armed people. And the team Kushal and Sidharth got had nearly 23 officers including them.

"Kushal... I don't think hume yaha pe wait karke kuch milne wala hai. I say we attack first..." an impatient sidharth spoke.

"Sidharth tu kuch bhi mat bol... Humari priority unko attack karna nhi hai. Unn ladkiyo ki safety hai... Tu ruk! Maine armed forced bulaye hai... we can't go in without them." Kushal said to Sidharth making him frustrated. 

After a long wait of 4 hours, when it was about to be sundown, the battalion arrived at the local station. Sidharth, Kushal and Azim along with their driver drove to the spot, followed by the rest of the team. It looked like such an empty neighborhood that even a fly can be spotted from distance, and they arrived in official defense vehicles. Of course, the goons knew they were about to be caught. It was a literal war zone after that. The reality is far boring than what they show us in the cop movies. The police officers have to answer hundreds of people for even a single bullet fired from their gun. Whereas the goons, with no restriction as such and cared to save their asses only, rained bullets on the group of police. Many of them were injured but they all managed to hide and attack when it's the right time and defeat the goons. Sidharth being an encounter specialist, knows how to not waste a single bullet. And a part of the team finally managed to rescue the girls somehow.

They arrested as much as people were alive at the crime scene. The vehicles they got weren't enough to get all the girls and the gang members back. So they waited there until extra support comes from the nearby stations.

"Kushal... I'll go and see if anyone is left". Sidharth said.

"Wait... take team C with you. Aur log honge abhi bhi waha". Kushal said checking out his injury on the elbow through the jeep's side mirror.

"No, I can manage... saare team kaafi injured hai and tum log bass ye dekho ke agar inmein se koi bhaage na".

"Haa toh baaki ke team ko aane do... uske baad jaana. Why do you have to go alone? Ya phir mera wait kar. I'll end the call with IG soon. Mai chalta hoon saath". Kushal said making Sidharth annoyed.

"No... Tu aaram se finish karle call. Aur kya pata jab tak baki ke team aate hai tab tak wo log bhag jaaye kahi se. Aur honge bhi toh 2-3 hi honge, I can handle". Sidharth said walking inside the warehouse again without paying ear to Kushal's calls.

He wandered around silently, holding his gun, ready to shoot if anyone came into his sight. After checking for 14 minutes, he failed to spot a single person inside. He huffed and relaxed his body when he felt his phone vibrating inside his pocket. He always checked his phone even in every crucial mission because walky talky can't be trusted 100%. It was Kushal and he attended the call.

"Koi aur hai andhar?" Kushal asked.

"Koi dikha toh nhi..." Sidharth replied, still roaming his eyes around.

"Ok... tu aaja phir bahar... rest of the team will be arriving soon". Kushal said and Sidharth hummed before hanging up.

He let out a deep breath, exhaling all the stress and tension he held inside and relaxed his mind. He took a pause on his body movements and stretched a bit when he felt his phone vibrating again. He pulled it out from his pocket to find Sana's name flashing on the screen. He wanted to talk to her so badly and tell her everything that he solved all the tension and now she can come back to him without any worry. But his professional self didn't let him to pour his heart out to her right now. But he felt its fair to attend the call and have a brief chat as he was avoiding her from yesterday because he was so focused on the case. He put his gun back to his back pocket. A small but noticeable smile crept on his face with the thought that he can hear her voice now. His finger was about to touch the green icon on his phone screen when he felt a sting at his back followed by the sound of a gunshot. Without even knowing the phone fell down from his hand and he turned around to see the source. He couldn't see the face, just a shadow and another gunshot. Before he could feel the pain of the bullet fired on his back, another one pierced through his shoulder making him wince and fall on his knee. His vision was blurring, and in seconds he felt his body touching the ground and darkness consuming him. He doesn't know what happened to him after that, but he was feeling enormous amount of pain in different parts of his body. Even he couldn't recognize if he was being shot again or stabbed. Everything happened in mere seconds, and he screamed his lungs out with every ounce of strength left in him alarming Kushal and the rest of the team.

Kushal, Azim and a few officers ran inside to see 3 people moving away from an injured Sidharth's body lying lifeless on the ground. Azim shot one of the guys, below his knee making him fall down. The officers quickly arrested them, dragging them outside. Kushal and Azim went to Sidharth, who was almost unconscious with barely blinking eyes, and body unmovable.

"Sidddd" Kushal shouted near his ears but didn't get much of a response back.

"Shit..." Azim mumbled before dialing 108 on his phone for an ambulance.

"Sidharthhhh... what the fuck... uth na bey". Kushal pleaded desperately slapping Sidharth's cheeks. He could see how badly Sidharth wanted to open his eyes but he couldn't and his lips parting and closing like he was mumbling something but was inaudible.

"Sir.... Ambulance ka wait karna would be foolish. Lets take him in the jeep". Azim said and Kushal agreed instantly. They both lifted up Sidharth together but was failing as he had such a big body compared to them, which he had no control on right now. It was like they were dragging a 100kg sack outside. They could see how blood was oozing out of his body from the cuts which was all over his body. They were careful where to touch and where to apply pressure. They managed to drag him inside the jeep. Kushal handed over the in charge duty to Azim and Vikram and rushed to the hospital with Sidharth and the driver.

Kushal wasn't able to think properly. He had never seen Sidharth so injured and by the looks of it, he could say that it was difficult to save him. Kushal dialed his wife, Kajal who was a doctor herself with his bloody hands.

"Kajalll...." He spoke into the phone as soon as she picked up the call.

"Yes Kushal... you're coming back?" Kajal asked her husband who was out of reach for the past 10 hrs for this mission.

"Kajall... Sidharth has been shot". Kushal said making Kajal's breath hitch.

"Whatt? Tum log kaha pe ho abhi?"

"I will explain everything later. Abhi mai Sid ko lekar paas wale hospital jaa rha hoon... He's bleeding a lot... 2-3 goliya lagi hai and he's stabbed also...."

"Are you not in an ambulance?" Kajal asked.

"No... Hum police jeep mein hai."

"Kushal! Ambulance mein facilities hoti hai isiliye injured admi ko ambulance mein le jaate hai".

"I know I know yaar.. But ye ek remote area hai. Yaha agar mai ambulance ka wait karta to phir der ho jaati... Please meri help karo tum abhi... Jeep mein sirf mai aur Sid hi hai, koi assist karne waala bhi nhi hai... Tell me what to do?"

"Kushal... please don't panic ok..." Kajal spoke softly making him hum. "Ok... rumal ya koi saaf kapda hai tumhare paas to cover his cut?"

"Ek tha... maine already usse cover karke Rakha hai... But khoon phir bhi nhi ruk raha".

"Cut deep ho to rumal se farak nhi padne wala..." She mumbled to herself.

"Kajal his breath is uneven..."

"Ok Ok...! Pani hai toh pila do usse but make sure he doesn't choke. Aur uske pulse check karte rehna.. Agar heart beat kam hua toh you know how to give CPR right?"

"Yea yea... ok". Kushal said holding Sidharth's wrist immediately to check the pulse.

"Aur ho sake toh usse baatein karte rehna... Try to keep him awake. Hospital pohonchne tak ye sab karte raho... theek hai?" Kajal asked worriedly.

"Haa haa ok... we'll take another 15 mins seems like".

"Ok... tum khayal rakho uska. Mai hospital se nikalti hoon aur Sidharth ke ghar jaati hoon. Tum usko admit karke let me know. Mai uski family ko lekar waha aa jaungi". Kajal spoke but didn't get any response back. She could imagine what Kushal will be going through. "Kushal! He'll be alright.... Kuch nhi hoga usse".

"Ya". Kushal barely spoke before hanging up the phone and looking back to Sidharth's face on his lap.

"Yadav... paani dena zara..." Kushal said to the driver, and he passed him a half-filled bottle with water. Kushal sprinkled some droplets on Sidharth's face and called him name again gaining a very little response from him.

"Sidd...." He patted his cheeks again seeing him move a little. "Pani pee... Muh kholl..." Kushal cupped his chin, forcefully opening his mouth and poured some water into it. But it oozed out and he didn't attempt to pour some more fearing that what if Sidharth choke. He again sprinkled some water on his face and noticed his eyes blinking making Kushal relived a tiny bit.

"Hum abhi hospital pohonchenge ok? Tu tension mat le..." Kushal spoke softly.

"Ss...Sana". He heard Sid mumble almost inaudibly.

"Haa... Sana bola na tune? Mai phone karunga usko... She'll come to the hospital ok.... Wo aayegi".

"No..nooo".

"Kya?" Kushal asked confused.

"Usko mat batana..." Sidharth said hardly finding his voice. "Wo... mat aane...dena usko...pleassss". And he winced at the end holding his shoulder.

"Ha relax... nhi bolunga. Nobody will tell her. Tu relax kar please..." Sidharth heard Kushal saying before he closed his eyes and his senses got shut down.

---------------

Guys! 

I would say go back and read chapter 27, incase if you have forgotten. Cause the next chapter will be continuing from there only. 

Thank you for reading!