"Oh gosh... there's a staircase here..."
"There’s always a staircase in front of such doors," Ikram smiled.
"We need to go down very carefully... because the enemy will be at the bottom," Ikram said softly.
"That old man turned out to be quite sharp... he fooled us," Liaquat remarked.
They began to descend. At the bottom of the staircase was a large room. They looked around... there was no one there...
"Oh... there's no one here..." Confusion was evident on Liaquat's face.
"Do you see that green door in the opposite wall? They are surely beyond it," Ikram said with a smile.
"Beyond the door..." Liaquat said in a dazed tone.
"Oh... Liaquat... you reminded me of Farooq," slipped from Ikram's mouth.
"If he were here, he would say... 'Hey... this could be the name of a novel!' What a pity... he isn't here right now... I like him a lot."
"He is liked by everyone... Come on, let's go to the other side of that door."
They walked briskly and reached the door... When Ikram pushed it, it opened effortlessly... On the other side was another staircase... but this one was going up...
"Oh... this is going up..."
"Th... that means... up..."
"Oh... run! What if they escape? Papri Wala has tricked us!" Ikram said hastily. They quickly climbed the steps and reached the top, only to be utterly shocked... They were standing in a street outside the house...
"Oh... Afzal Papri Wala really fooled us... He took Muhammad Hussain Azad and Asad with him... Who knows what treatment he might have given them," Ikram said, looking annoyed.
"Where do we look for them now... Hey... we can at least call them... That way we'll know where they are right now!" Liaquat said, startled.
"What do you think... did Papri Wala leave their phones with them?" Ikram said. Then suddenly he started smiling. An idea struck his mind. He took out his phone from his pocket and started calling Mahmood:
"Hey...! Why is Mahmood's phone turned off...?"
"What happened, sir...?" Liaquat asked, startled.
"Mahmood's mobile is coming off... Strange... he never turns off his phone..."
"You should try calling Farooq and Farhana..."
Ikram dialed Farooq and Farhana's numbers one by one, but couldn't get through to anyone... Their cell phones were also turned off.
"What is happening to us? Hey... I should talk to Khan Rehman."
"Sir! Shouldn't you talk to the IG sahib?" Liaquat asked.
"Not yet... Nothing is clear yet... It would be better to talk to Khan Rehman first," Ikram said and dialed Khan Rehman's number... From the other end, his cheerful voice struck his ears:
"Aha... Ikram, how come you remembered me today...?"
"Sir... I am very worried..."
"Why are you worried? Tell me quickly," he spoke.
"The reason for my worry is Inspector Junaid...!"
"What do you mean...?" Khan Rehman's startled voice was heard.
"And my subordinate Muhammad Hussain Azad is also the reason for my worry..."
"Ikram... you are worrying me too... Tell me quickly... what's the matter... why are these two troubling you?"
"Sir... Inspector Junaid and Muhammad Hussain Azad, along with his subordinate, have been made to disappear by someone," Ikram told quickly.
"What...!!!" Khan Rehman shouted.
"I am telling the truth... strange circumstances..."
"Oh... oh! Where are Farooq and Farhana...?"
"I called them, but the cell phones of all three are turned off."
"Wh... what do you mean...? What are you saying?"
"What can I do... I find myself forced to say such a thing, sir..." Ikram said helplessly.
"Tell me the details..." Concern was clearly reflected in Khan Rehman's voice.
Ikram began to tell him the details...
"Oh... oh... circumstances are really bad, Ikram..." Khan Rehman said after hearing the details.
"That's right, sir..."
"Ikram... I am coming... You reach Inspector Junaid's house, I will come right there... Insha'Allah," Khan Rehman said, and Ikram hung up the phone.
"Come on, buddy... we have to go to the main gate of the house and from there to Inspector Junaid's place... Khan Rehman is coming there," Ikram said. When they turned around and reached the front of the house, they were stunned... Their motorcycles were missing.
"Oh... Papri Wala turned out to be faster than I thought..."
"Sir! How will we go to Inspector Junaid's house now...?" Liaquat asked anxiously.
"Why worry? We are not standing in some jungle. We will surely find some ride to the city..." Ikram said.
"Why don't we hitchhike?" Liaquat suggested.
"Hitchhiking happens on the highway... nobody is going to come here to give us a ride... Hey..." Ikram was speaking when he suddenly stopped, startled.
"What happened, sir...?"
"The city is half an hour's journey from here... Khan Rehman will arrive in an hour..." Ikram said.
"So sir... where is the room for 'hey' in this?" Liaquat laughed.
"I thought... before meeting Khan Rehman, I should gather some information about this house. Whose is it? Does Papri Wala really live here? Is this where Inspector Junaid and Muhammad Hussain Azad along with his subordinate were made to disappear? That's why we should have all the information about it," Ikram went on.
"You are right, sir..."
"Then let's go... let's meet the people of Ghaziabad town... maybe we'll get some useful information."
They raised their eyes and looked ahead... two men were standing under a tree talking. They felt that... they were repeatedly glancing at them from the corners of their eyes...
"Why don't we talk to these two guys... anyway, they are watching us subtly."
"Let's go... but keep in mind... they might also be Papri Wala's men," Ikram said with a smile.
"We will stay alert."
As they walked up to them, the men were startled to see them close by.
"Who are you... young men...?"
"We ask you the same question... Who are you, and why are you roaming around Afzal Papri Wala's house?" one of them asked with a smile.
"Well... that's more like it... I am a police inspector, and this is my colleague."
"Oh dear... you... you are policemen?" They jumped.
"No need to be scared... we want to ask you something... Will you answer our questions?" Ikram said smilingly.
"We surely will... ask whatever you want to ask."
"Very well... first of all, tell us your names so that conversation becomes easy."
"I am Shehzad and this is Rafiq... we live in this town... we belong to a landlord family..." said the young man who had been speaking so far.
"Alright... what can you tell us about Afzal Papri Wala?"
"Meaning... what kind of man is he...?" Ikram asked.
Shehzad and Rafiq looked at each other... as if asking whether to tell or not... then they turned towards them:
"Papri Wala is not a good man, Inspector sahib," Shehzad said softly.
"Oh... what does he do...?"
"He doesn't do any work... but he has a lot of money... the people of the town are afraid of him," Rafiq said.
"Oh... oh... but where did he get so much money from?"
"We don't know where he got the money from... we only know this much... he has connections with big people... they often come here to meet him..." Shehzad said.
"How do you know these things...?" Ikram smiled.
"Not just us... the whole town knows." Rafiq laughed.
"Does he have any children?"
"He hasn't even married yet, so where would children come from?"
"What do you mean, he hasn't married yet?" They were surprised.
"But he was saying he has two sons." Hearing Liaquat's words, both laughed and said:
"He must have been lying to you. He just roams around having fun. Whenever he goes to the city, he stays there for days. We heard... he has built a house there too."
"Roams around having fun... at this age..." Ikram said. Their words were astonishing.
"Age... what happened to his age...? He is a young man, and people just have fun at this age. They go sightseeing, eat, and drink," Shehzad said laughing.
"What did you say... Afzal Papri Wala is a young man?" They were stunned.
"Yes... I didn't say anything wrong."
"Bu... bu... but the one we met... he was an old man..." Ikram said in surprise.
"Inspector sahib! Papri Wala is not old... by the way, he takes very good care of old people," Rafiq said.
"Oh... thank you very much..." Ikram said.
"No problem... we respect the police a lot," Shehzad smiled.
"Good thing... now we must leave... by the way, will we easily find some vehicle here for the city...?"
"You surely will..."
"Thanks again... you cooperated a lot with us... Allah Hafiz," Liaquat said with a smile.
Surprised and worried, they reached the road... Soon they got a lift in a car. It was a young man...
"Where do you guys want to go...?" he asked in a polite tone.
"Drop us at Sarwar Chowk..."
"Alright..." the young man smiled and drove the car forward.
They had traveled only for five minutes when the car came to a jerky halt. At the same time, they saw signs of worry on the young man's face.
"Oh... it had to break down right now too... Sorry... I'll have to get down and check..." he addressed them.
"Do check... if you consider it appropriate, I will help you," Ikram said with a smile.
"Oh no... I'll check... don't trouble yourself... stopping in the middle of the road is its habit," the young man smiled and got out of the car. He kept tampering with the engine... then started talking to someone on his mobile. They were watching everything from inside. Finally, he put his mobile back in his pocket and started checking the engine again... Soon he was back in the car. He turned the key and the car started immediately. Their journey began once again.
"I hope... you didn't mind... it keeps bothering me, its service is due, but I never get the time," he went on saying.
"No problem... by the way, what do you do for a living?" Ikram asked.
"I am a businessman... what do you do?"
"I am Sub-Inspector Ikram and this is my subordinate..." Ikram said smilingly.
"What did you say...!!!" he shouted... and at the same time the car came to a jerky halt... He applied the emergency brakes. There were occasional cars on the road.
"What happened, young man...?" Ikram was surprised.
"You get down from my car right now..." he screamed.
"Wh... what do you mean...!" They were stunned.
"I said... you get out of the car right now... I am not going to take you to the city," he growled.
"But why...!!! What happened to you all of a sudden...?" Liaquat asked in astonishment.
"I hate the police... in fact, I hate them intensely... so you get out of my car," he made an ugly face and said.
"Oh... but why do you hate the police...? Do tell me."
"Why should I tell you...? Just get out of my car." There was harshness in his tone.
"Okay... but you are not doing the right thing," Ikram said.
"Sir... introduce yourself."
"You are policemen... and I intensely hate policemen... so get out quickly now," the young man flared up.
"Do you know Inspector Junaid?" Liaquat asked the young man.
"Inspector Junaid... which Inspector Junaid...?"
"Liaquat... don't waste time... get off... we will take some taxi. I don't like traveling with such ill-mannered people anyway..." Ikram made a face and got out of the car. Liaquat followed him. As soon as they got down, the young man drove away.
"Strange man..."
"If I wanted, I could have gone to the city by force... but Inspector Junaid didn't train us like that... we have to find some taxi..." Ikram said. Soon they were inside a yellow taxi...
"We have to go to the city..."
"Alright..." the driver drove the taxi.
"Hey... you didn't mention the fare at all..." Liaquat asked in surprise.
"Because whatever you give... I will happily keep," the driver laughed.
"Wow... you are a very good man... nice to meet you," Liaquat said with a smile, and he smiled back.
The taxi was running fast on the road... Suddenly the driver said:
"Sir... if you smoke, may I offer you one?"
"Oh no, I don't smoke... cigarettes and things like that take my life. Thank you though," Ikram said quickly.
"Oh... can I smoke?"
"Sorry... I don't even like cigarette smoke."
"Alright... at least allow me to eat a toffee," the driver laughed loudly. He was a cheerful young man of thirty-thirty-five years.
"Yes... you can eat toffee..." Ikram said with a smile.
The driver put a toffee in his mouth... then handing two toffees to Ikram, he said:
"Sir... these are very special toffees... one of my brothers brought them from abroad... I kept them in the car... I eat them with pleasure and if I find a good passenger, I offer them too... Believe me... whoever eats my toffees... praises them endlessly!"
"Oh... are these such fine toffees?" Ikram said with a smile. He handed one toffee to Liaquat.
"I don't eat toffees, but since you praised them so much, I thought... let me check," Ikram said laughing. He started unwrapping the toffee... then as soon as the toffee was unwrapped... poisonous smoke hit his nose and the very next moment he began to lose consciousness. On the other side, Liaquat had also lost consciousness. As soon as they lost consciousness, the driver slammed on the brakes... He was smiling.
(To be continued)
