Shadow to my Light
I have known Noor since our trainee days at NIA. The recent rumours of her involvement in bombing NIA’s new facility in Junagadh incense me. She’s a dedicated agent and my best friend, for Christ’s sake!
NIA’s new building is a wreck with ruined equipment, technology, and infrastructure. The accusations sprung from Noor’s ID card found under the rubble. The probe commission suspected an insider’s involvement.
I’m part of the investigating team they chose. A surprise, since they know I’m Noor’s friend.
Our lead investigator, Arjun Raj Chadda, and I date back to our academy days. He was the condescending, uptight senior I couldn’t stand. Working with him on training assignments was a nightmare. The scenario remains unchanged years later.
I gulp down my third cold coffee in the agency’s cafeteria at midnight. Agent's lives are crazy. 24/7 investigations, paperwork, mean bosses, seasons’ extreme weather. I ought to persist and save Noor. Four months of her suspension. Despite my worries, I didn’t contact her.
My phone now beeps. Her message says, “meet me at the abandoned pub on the city’s outskirts.” How did she contact me? Doesn’t matter. I must see her.
***
I wait outside the pub, surrounded by darkness. A while later, a hand grabs my arm and drags me towards my car.
“You were conspicuous, so I followed you. Here you are, Alana!”
“Arjun!”
I stare at his handsome 30-something face, serious in profile. I’m 27, but he makes me feel like a child. Ugh!
“You fool, why defy my orders and come here? You were supposed to help Milind unlock Noor’s laptop. We need proof against her. They put you on the team to sabotage her, and you fell for her tricks? How naïve you are!”
***
The weight of Arjun’s words hits me days later. No proof found against Noor; the shadows of suspicion abandon her, clinging to me.
The pub I visited, the message I received… Turns out, I even replied to Noor, which I didn’t. Milind deduces my phone was hacked! He and Arjun already suspect Noor collaborating with a terror outfit. Her laptop probably bugged my phone. The result: I’m the villainess, coercing Noor to aid me.
That sunny afternoon, my head spins at the proof the probe commission gathered against me. Arjun and Milind support my case. I remain under house arrest as Noor’s restrictions ease, unable to assist them.
Miraculously, they unearth Noor’s pictures inside the pub, her call-data, exposing her link to the terror outfit. Tears flood my eyes when I’m proven innocent. Regret and gratitude overwhelm me.
***
One morning, Arjun finds me in the cafeteria after I resume my duties. Milind is with him, their eyes consoling me. Arjun tells me I’m not terrible for trusting my friend. His words touch me deeply.
I never thought we could be friends. All these years, I thought Noor was my light; Arjun, a dark shadow of the past. But in the end, he was the shadow to my light.