It was almost 6 a.m. when Aditya returned to Bandra Police Colony. It was a beehive of activity already, bustling with policemen who were leaving for work or returning from duty. Some residents were jogging in the small park inside the complex; others relaxed on the benches, chatting. The early rays of the sun were cutting through a metallic sky, promising a sunny day.
But for Aditya, the cold, hostile night persisted. He felt that all eyes were on him—questioning, accusing him. He could hear their murmurs as he passed. Maybe he was imagining it, he told himself, but it was still unsettling. The news would soon spread; of that, he was certain. He felt completely drained, both physically and emotionally.
He was slowly climbing the stairs to his second-floor apartment when he heard hurried footsteps behind him. He turned around to see Meera running up towards him. He hoped she would hug him. She did.
‘I am so glad to see you,’ he said, holding her tight.
‘So am I. Come, let’s go up and you can tell me everything.’
As soon as they entered his apartment, Aditya slumped onto a chair, exhausted. ‘Let me make some tea; then we can talk,’ Meera said, going into the kitchen. Ten minutes later, she came out with two steaming cups and placed them on the small dining table. Aditya sat down opposite her and took a sip from his cup. He felt himself relaxing almost instantly.
‘What a crazy night!’ he exclaimed. Meera was silent, waiting for him to talk. Aditya narrated everything that had happened, right from the time he left her house in Pune. The nameless anxiety he had felt along the way. Rohit’s distress call. Aditya’s response. The scene he had walked in on, at Paradise. And finally, the shooting. Meera poured Aditya a second cup as he spoke.
He went over every single point in minute detail. Meera listened without interrupting, partly because she was deeply involved in the case and partly because she wanted Aditya to get it off his chest. She knew what was bothering Aditya most of all—the terrible question of whether he had taken the right call when he fired the fatal bullet.
‘You did the right thing, Aditya,’ Meera said when Aditya reached the end of his account. ‘You did absolutely the right thing. You saved Rohit’s life.’ She hugged him warmly. Aditya smiled at her; it was just the reassurance he needed.
‘What now? What will happen next?’ Meera asked after a while.
‘You mean ... with me?’ Aditya asked.
‘Yes, how will the department take it?’
‘That remains to be seen. I will speak to ...’ Aditya trailed off as his phone rang. It was Gokhale.
‘Morning, sir,’ Aditya said.
‘I am calling for a press conference at Headquarters at noon today. Please be there,’ Gokhale said.
‘Yes, sir.’