Naina

“What do you think will happen today at the trial, Captain Mohit? I am worried.” I shuffle in my seat on the room where the trial was going to take place, unable to keep myself still due to the nervousness I felt.

Mohit was sitting on his seat in front of me, his papers sorted on the table in front of him.

No one except the authorities and the people called to give their statement are allowed inside the courtroom.

I remember the last time I was in the courtroom after joining KMA.

It was during the time Major Bhargav was in the academy and he had brought out the truth about me being Naveen’s sister in front of everyone.

The trial had taken place then, to determine whether I should be expelled from the academy or should be allowed to remain in KMA and complete my training.

Rajveer had fiercely fought for me then, saving me from getting thrown out of the academy. And now, it is my turn to do my best, to save him from going to prison.

“I don’t know, Naina. For now, I am only focusing on presenting enough evidence and arguments in order to get a second date for internal trial. If we get at least a few more days, we can try and find the original red box and also the nuclear trigger,” Mohit tells me.

“How about Captain Abhimanyu? Do you think he will confess?” I ask, feeling uneasy and guilty after what happened with Malini.

Malini had arrived to the academy day before yesterday.

No one knows what happened in Captain Abhimanyu’s quarter that night that Malini had to be rushed to the hospital late at night. Not only that, but when we got to the hospital to meet her, we found out that she had suffered miscarriage.

When I heard that, I had felt extremely guilty. Because I felt it was partly because of me that it happened to her. If I would not have called her here, maybe she would not have had to suffer such devastating loss.

I did try to inquire the cause behind the misarriage, but the doctors did not divulge that information to me, citing the doctor-patient confidentiality. And when I tried to meet with Malini, I was told that she did not want to meet with anyone.

She only met with Captain Abhimanyu once, but after that one time, she refused to meet with him too.

Malini is still admitted in the hospital and will be discharged tomorrow. I only hope I can meet with her once, not to talk about Rajveer’s case, but to apologize to her for calling her here.

I do not know what Malini said to Captain Abhimanyu. Did she tell him to speak the truth or to save himself? I have no idea.

But I had seen Captain Abhimanyu’s remorseful face and red eyes when he had emerged out of the hospital room.

He refused to talk with anyone in the hospital and stormed out of the hospital as soon as he walked out of Malini's room.

That was the last time I saw him.

I am sure he will come to the trial today because he has been summoned too.

“I will try my best to make him confess. But the mental state he is in right now due to the recent loss he faced, it can go either way for us, Naina. Especially if Malini has told him about you calling her here and if she has blamed you for her condition, he can try to incriminate Rajveer more just to spite you,” Mohit says and my worry as well as my guilt increases.

“Do you think Malini thinks I am the reason behind her miscarriage?”

“I am not sure, Naina. I am only basing it on the fact that she refused to meet with you in the hospital even when you tried to meet her many times yesterday. It could either be because she is angry with you or because she is too devastated to speak with anyone.

“Anyway, this is not the time to focus on that. For now, we need to focus on Rajveer’s case. Not only is his case weak, but also because the lawyer on the prosecution side is Captain Ishika Salve. I have fought a few cases with her. Some cases I won and some she won. She is one of the sharperst lawyers out there.

"Do remember to be calm and collected when she will call you for the interrogation on the stand. Even one second of you getting flustered will give her a window of opportunity to pin Rajveer,” Mohit says and I nod at him, trying to calm myself down.

I have never been this nervous in the courtroom before today. I was not this flustered even when I fought my first case as a lawyer after graduating from the law school.

I know this increased nervousness is due to the fear festering within me. Fear of what might happen to Rajveer after this. Fear of him having to go to prison and get tortured if he could not successfully run away.

‘No, Naina. Think positive. Only positive things,’ I tell myself, willing my brain and heart to hope about Rajveer’s innocence getting proven in the internal trial itself and him not having to run away.

***********

So far, the trial is progressing as Mohit and I had expected.

Captain Ishita Salve is trying her best to pin motive to Rajveer’s actions, but Mohit’s counter arguments are not letting her be successful in it.

But I know she is saving her best argument for the last because she has not called me yet.

It is a good tactic, actually. She is slowly increasing the intensity, trying to put her point forth in judge's mind by step by step increasing her points’ strength.

I am sure she is expecting her interrogation with me to be the ending note she can provide to the judge to prove Rajveer guilty, not only by defaming his character, but also by giving a solid motive to his actions.

Rajveer is not aware of this plan of the prosecution.

We wanted to tell him, but it was already late when we got wind of this plan. By then, the order about no one allowed to meet Rajveer until the trial was already in place.

I only hope he will also maintain his poker face when I get interrogated by Captain Salve. And I also hope he won’t get angry or hurt when not only his but my integrity and honor too will placed under question.

It is crucial to keep emotions under control in the courtroom. If you let emotions get over you, it will be hard to think logically.

This is the tactic most lawyers use. They try to fluster witness as much as possible so that they can get their questioning pattern to such point that the witness will answer whatever they want them to answer.

My thoughts get interrupted when my name is called and I am asked to come to the witness box.

This is it, Naina. This is it. Don’t mess up.

With that thought running in my mind, I walk to the witness stand.

***********

After taking the oath, I answer the few basic questions about the mentorship program asked by Captain Salve.

I know she is easing me in. Not being intimidating now, but increasingly being firm, trying to get me flustered.

But I remain calm. Not losing my patience, even when she slightly raises her voice.

It seems like instead of getting me flustered, she herself is becoming more agitated. Maybe because she did not expect me to be this calm and collected.

Well, it is not her fault, after all. This was also a part of our plan.

When she interrogated me and my friends before the trial, I deliberately lost my cool with her, shouting and being defensive whenever she questioned me anything out of the ordinary. Like asking me if I was more to Rajveer than just a protégé.

I also told my friends to tell her that I easily lose control. That I used to shout at them when they questioned me about the rumors about Rajveer and me.

All in all, she had an impression about me easily losing control. And I know that was what she was planning to play at.

Too bad that she did not see this coming. Well, too bad for her, I mean. And too good for Rajveer and me.

“Did you know why Captain Rajveer was after that red box, Cadet Naina?” She asks me, and I realize she is now drawing out her final card which she thinks is her trump card.

Again, too bad for her, because I already know how to tear up her trump card and shred it into million pieces.

“Yes, I do,” I reply. “Rajveer Sir was looking for that red box because he believes that my brother was framed. He wanted to get to that red box so he could expose the real conspirators and bring justice to Captain Naveen Singh Ahluwalia.”

“You also have the same notion, don’t you, Cadet? That is why you joined KMA, right? To prove your brother’s innocence?”

“I did join KMA with that intention, yes. But as I started my training, I found myself being more focused on training than my original mission. Maybe it was because after Rajveer Sir became my mentor, he told me to focus on my training and leave the mission of proving Naveen’s innocence to him.”

Captain Salve smirks because she thinks I have given her the opening.

If only she knew I was slowly whirling her in my rope but, at the same time, also giving her the notion that I was playing her hand.

“You had such trust in your mentor that you left the mission of proving your brother’s innocence just because he told you to?”

“Of course, I trust him, Ma’am. He is, after all, my mentor. And the exercises we were made to do in the mentorship program also included the trust test. We were taught to trust our mentor and have faith in them. So, I don’t think it is wrong to have such trust in my mentor. If it was, academy would not have taught us to do so.”

I see slight red hue creep into Captain Salve’s cheeks after hearing my reply. I could feel her mind churning, thinking of a way to get her another opening.

I hope she does think of a way. Because I want her to bring up the fake content of that red box.

Once she does that, we can easily defy her motive of pining the motive to the crimes Rajveer has been falsely accused of.

“Ok, I will accept that, Cadet. I will accept that you trusted your mentor to certain extent because you were taught to do so through academy’s drills.

"Tell me then, Cadet. Did academy also teach you to forgive your brother’s murderer? I assume you know about that too since you are standing here preaching about the trust mentor and protege should have in each other,” Captain Salve says, arching her brows at me.

“There is no question of me forgiving or not forgiving him when during the investigation after my brother’s death, the authorities cleared of any wrongdoing,” I tell her, and she smirks at me.

“You maybe saying that now, but it must not be easy to trust and respect someone who killed your brother. Let alone develop feelings for him. Captain Rajveer also knew that. Which is why he was so desperately searching for the red box.”

“What do you mean?” I ask her, giving her the opportunity to put forth her point and get the file which she will claim to have been in the red box.

“I mean the rumors that were afloat in the academy about Captain Rajveer and you, Cadet Naina. It was during the mentorship program of the academy that you and your mentor were late in returning from the camp and almost everyone in the academy speculated that it was done deliberately so you and Captain Rajveer could spend more time alone with each other in the forest.

“With time, the bond between Captain Rajveer and you grew and feelings started getting stronger. But Captain Rajveer knew he needed to show you he did not kill your brother, so you could fully give into your feelings and get into relationship with him.

“That is why he started to desperately search for the red box. Because he wanted to prove to you that he did not kill your brother. He wanted to prove it you because he loved you and wanted more from you.

“We got the red box from Captain Abhimanyu who also was searching for it, and in that, we found a file that proves Naveen Singh Ahluwalia was being given a slow poison when he was in the prison. That meant your brother was already dying when Captain Rajveer shot him. In a way, Captain Rajveer had given your brother a merciful freedom rather than letting him get the painful death from the slow poison.

“Alhough Captain Abhimanyu was able to get the red box, before him, Captain Rajveer had been contacted by an unknown person, who proposed to Captain Rajveer about giving the red box in exchange of the nuclear trigger.

“That was the reason why he stole nuclear trigger from the headquarter and also killed Lt. Chaubey when he found out about it. But due to Lt. chaubey’s far-sightedness, he was able to call the backup so Captain Rajveer could not run away that night.

"It is shameful that a soldier like Captain Rajveer stooped to this level just to prove to the girl he loves that he did not kill her brother so he could get her.”

As Captain Salve was speaking, I was looking at Rajveer, sitting in the stand in front of me.

My heart clenched painfully when I saw hurt flitting through his face. The lone tear that slid down his cheeks which he quickly wiped.

I know the pain was due to the way our love and relationship was being cheapened in front of everyone. Our true feelings given the face of lust and motive for him to commit a crime.

How much I want to run to him and give him a hug. How much I want to tell him that none of these words matter. That the only thing that matters is the feelings we have for each other. As long as we know how pure and true they are, nothing that others think or say should matter to us.

But I stop myself. From running to him. From even showing any expression to Captain Salve’s words. I struggle to keep my expression neutral especially when I can see how hurt Rajveer is due to it. But I do my best.

The sound of clap makes me avert my gaze from Rajveer and glance at Mohit. He was walking toward Captain Salve, still clapping and even slightly bowing in front of her.

“What are you doing, Captain Bhatt?” The judge asks. “Please maintain the court’s decorum.”

“I am sorry, your honor. But Captain Salve just now fabricated such an elaborate story that I could not stop myself from praising her creativity,” Mohit says. “But it seems like my colleague has forgotten this is a court and we need evidence to back everything we say.”

“Who says I have forgotten anything, Captain Mohit? I do have the evidence to back my claim,” Captain Salve counters.

“Please tell me then, Captain Salve. Other than the file that you have claimed to be gotten from the red box, which contains the details of Naveen Singh Ahluwalia being poisoned, what other evidence do you have?” Mohit asks Captain Salve, his voice firmer now.

I know he is going for his own end to this trial so we can get a date for the second hearing and buy some time to gether evidence.

“Let’s dissect your claim one by one,” Mohit continues, looking at Captain Salve. “You said Captain Rajveer and Cadet Naina were late in returning to the camp because they wanted to spend some time with each other. You also added that rumors about Captain Rajveer and Cadet Naina’s relationship were making rounds in the academy during that time.

"But regarding that, we have a written statement from Brigadier Chandok in which he has explained how it was all Major Bhargav’s plan. From tricking Captain Rajveer and Cadet Naina to stay longer in the forest to corrupting others’ minds in the academy regarding their relationship. It was all Major Bhargav’s doing. Brigadier Chandok claims to have heard Major Bhargav confessing to it.

“Other than that, you saying that Captain Rajveer having feelings for Cadet Naina. Please tell me what proof do you have for that? Do have have a statement given to you by Captain Rajveer, confessing his love for his protégé?

"Also, how could have Captain Rajveer known what was in the red box? No one knew about it until the box was open right in front of everyone after Captain Abhimanyu handed it to us a day back.

“And, even if, for a moment, if we assume that Captain Rajveer knew what was in the red box.” Mohit steps closer to the witness stand I was standing in and speaks to me. “Cadet Naina, would you please tell us about the mail you had received a week after your brother’s death?”

Nodding at him, I start speaking. “After a week of Naveen’s death, I had received a letter. It was an anonymous letter and there was no address or the name of the sender. Inside it was a letter that told me that my brother was innocent target of a huge conspiracy. It also contained his post mortem report from which I understood that my brother was being poisoned in the prison.

“It was after that I got the letter that I decided to prove my brother’s innocence. I waited and completed my law study first because it was Naveen’s dream that I become a lawyer. But after practising law for a year, I decided to join KMA. Because I wanted to prove Naveen’s innocence and also know about the reason why my he was being poisoned.

“But after joining KMA and becoming Captain Rajveer’s protégé, when I shared with him the letter and the post mortem report I had received, he also confessed to me about being the one who shot Naveen.

"He did ask for my forgiveness then because no matter what, he had shot my brother. But I never held any grudge with him for that. Because I knew Naveen was already dying even before that. So, there was nothing to forgive. We simply moved on from it with me trusting Rajveer Sir when he told me he would try his best to prove Naveen’s innocence.

“The reason he was behind that red box was to bring justice to an innocent and honest army officer and also expose the conspirators who still are the threats to the country. I have no idea why Captain Salve weaved such elaborate story in the court which is entirely false,” I finish speaking.

And this time, I had to bite my cheeks harder to stop myself from smiling widely at the shocked expression marring Captain Salve’s face.

I also glance at Rajveer and see neutral expression on his face. I know he, too, is shocked by everything I said because I had not discussed this with him beforehand. But he seemed to have caught on and was not showing the surprised expression on his face.

I do feel slightly guilty about lying while standing in the court, but this was needed to be done.

Our enemies are trying their best to ruin us are playing unfairly, doing everything they can to take us down. So, it is only fair that we tweak our facts too and fabricate our own lies in order to save our truth and get Rajveer’s freedom.