Yaar.... Really missing one thing today. My first cartoon that I used to watch on DD 1. 😂
I'm sure you all watched it too. 👇

I'm mising out on Shabhigya scenes. I know, I know. Will add them from next!
😊😊😊

Anyways, Onwards!!!

"Words in double quotes" - Talking

'Words in single quotes' - Thoughts

(Words in braces) - Spy piece/ Telephone conversations.

Chapter 27 - Knowledge is a Tricky Thing

Aliyah leaned back in her seat as the teacher babbled on about some great ancient king. 'Even Candy Crush is better than this.' She opened her bag to get her phone. Suddenly, something dropped out of her bag. She picked it up and found it to be a chocolate. 'This looks almost melted. But I don't remember putting it here. Then wher-' She was reminded of the day when Pragya was poisoned. Sumit was the one who gave it to her earlier that day.

Aliyah couldn't help but smile. So much had happened since that day. But one thing has been constant. That is his support by her side. He was the one who gave her the courage to face the truth, he believed her when everyone should have been against her, helped her friends understand her. She opened the chocolate with a smile.

"Oho. Any reason for your dreamy smile? Maybe a boy? More specifically, Sumit?" Kriti wriggled her eyebrows at Aliyah.

Aliyah rolled her eyes. "It's nothing Kriti. He's just a good friend."

Kriti smirked. "Good then. That means I can flirt with him. After all, he's so handsome, muscular, cute, dashing, an-"

"Don't dare lay eyes on him!" Aliyah glared at her.

"And you say he's just a friend?" Kriti chuckled when Aliyah blushed. "Don't worry Aliyah. I've already found my love." she said, smiling at Vivek, who sat on the other side of Aliyah.

"I feel bad for you Vivek. You are so good and understanding. But Kriti harasses you so much. Yet, you don't raise your voice against her. Such a gentleman."

"Hey! That's not true. I truly love him. I hit him, but that's my way of showing my love to him." she said with a wink. Vivek just rolled his eyes.

Aliyah was about to reply, when she felt her phone vibrate. She checked the message on her phone.

Control your brother! Abhi has activated his spy piece. Activate yours. And for goodness sake, get some sense into his head! - Pragya.

'Eh? I thought it would be Shabbir who would mess up first.' Nevertheless, she switched on her ear piece.

"What did you do bhai?"

(Nothing much. Just beat up a guy who thought he could taunt me and get away with it.)

"What the heck!? Bhai, you're supposed to act like Shabbir, not yourself! What are you doing?"

Kriti wanted to know desperately what was going on, but kept quiet looking at Vivek's face.

He was listening to Aliyah intently, without interrupting, and she decided to do the same.

(I'm sorry, alright? You know I can't bear it when someone dares to command me.)

Aliyah held her head in frustration. "Okay... Okay look! Now don't do anything, alright bhai? No matter what happens, stay calm and do as I say."

(Ok Aliyah. As you say.)

"Now listen carefully bhai. You sh-"

(Yo little ones! Big brother's listening!)

#With Abhi#

Abhi was currently standing outside the auditorium taking to Aliyah. Pragya told him to stay out as she didn't want anymore mess ups. She decided to deal with the sponsors alone.

"Ok Aliyah. As you say." Abhi spoke, waiting for aliyah to speak.

[Author's note : Aliyah's words are in bold]

(Now listen carefully bhai. You sh-) However, a new voice interrupted their conversation.

(Yo little ones! Big brother's listening!)

"Shabbir? How did you know we were taking?" Abhi asked in wonder.

(I didn't. The device just gave a beep. So I activated it.)

"Hmm... I see. I guess father deviced it to give a beep whenever two are active, to alert the third one. Interesting."

(It's for the good I guess. I think you would be able to tell Abhi bhai how to act better than me. Shab-bear please help.)

(But what's the crisis? What happened?)

"Forget that. Just guide me from now on Shabbir. By the way, where are you? I hope you didn't do anything you weren't supposed to."

Abhi heard Shabbir snort. (Give me some credit. I managed not to mess up like you. I even taught a good lesson to that Manish guy. That too without Karan's help.) Abhi could imagine Shabbir making a smug face.

"Whatever. Where are you now?"

(In the class. Writing your Advanced Maths test.)

Abhi's eyes widened at that.

"You don't know anything about that subject. I hope Karan is there for help." Abhi spoke in panic.

(About that. Your bestie Karan is of no help. He's the worst wingman ever! I'm just ticking everything that falls in line with my favorite lyrics.)

(Ahahaha... Too good bhai. Nice idea.)

"It's not funny Aliyah! Shabbir, stop doing that and tell me the questions. I'll tell you the answers."

(Nope. You deserve it for cutting my hair. Get ready for the big egg shaped zero that you would get. Start thinking if you're gonna cook an omelette with it or let it hatch.)

"Shabbir Mehra, you are so dead. The moment I catch you, I'm gonna make you wish you never messed with me."

(What did you say? Sorry, can't hear you over the sounds of my victory.)

(Abhi bhai, chill. He's just trying to rile you up.)

Abhi was about to respond when...

"There you are, you bastard!" Abhi saw the same guy that he punched earlier. "You don't know who you're dealing with! I'm the son of this city's MLA. You dare hit me!? Don't you know what I can do, huh Shabbir? Apologize this instant!" he spoke as he walked near.

Aliyah and Shabbir could hear him over the device.

(Alright Abhi. Don't lose your cool. Try to act like me. In such a situation, I would try to become his friend so that neither he or I get into trouble. Try to settle the matter.)

"Are you crazy? That would mean I would have to act like a sissy. I'm not ruining my male pride." Abhi whispered.

(Shabbir is right bhai. Please don't fight. Just try to calm down. Besides, it won't affect your image or reputation. They all know you as Shabbir, remember?)

Abhi stilled at Aliyah's words. 'She's right. Whatever I do, it won't affect me. Everyone would think it was Shabbir.' He let out an evil smirk. 'Payback time, big brother.'

Abhi joined his hands and bowed his head. "I'm so sorry. So so sorry, oh great one. I'm sorry for punching you, for being rude to you."

(What the heck?! I wouldn't drop that low! I would never apologize to that jerk! You're ruining my name on purpose Abhi! You son of a b-)

(Hey! Watch it Shab-bear. Abhi's mother is our mother too. I won't tolerate it.)

Abhi was enjoying Shabbir's anger. He continued apologizing. "Please forgive me. I'm nothing but a weakling, a chicken and a loser. Please leave me."

'He punched me so hard, and now he's apologizing. I think he's gone crazy. I better leave.' The guy looked on in shock and fright. "Um.. O-okay. Don't do it again. Bye!" he promptly ran away.

Abhi laughed to himself. From the corner of his eye, he saw Prasanth looking towards the auditorium. He looked in that direction to find him looking at Pragya, who was busy talking to some sponsors. On seeing Abhi looking at him, Prasanth left. 'Okay. Now I really think there is something wrong with this guy. But what?'

"Shabbir! Knew we would find you here." Abhi looked back to find six men waiting there. "Now hand over the chip!"

(Abhi! Abhi, who's there?)

(Bhai you need to get out of there!)

Abhi did a mental calculation. 'These guys look tough. But what about Pragya and Purab? They could get hurt. I need to take these men away from them.'

Abhi started running towards the gate. "I'm taking them out of college. There's no other way!"

(Bhai listen! Bha-)

(Abhi listen t-)

However, Abhi cut the connection. Pragya came out from the auditorium at the same time. Her eyes widened when she saw some men chasing Abhi, who was heading outside. 'I need to find Purab. Fast!'

#With Aliyah#

"Bhai listen! Bha-" the line went dead. "Shit!"

"What happened, Aliyah?" Vivek asked in worry.

"It's Abhi bhai. Some men are after him. We need to help him!"

"But how are we supposed to leave in the middle of the class?!" Vivek exclaimed.

Kriti stood up and clutched her stomach. "Ahh! This pain! Oh my! Somebody take me to the medical wing! Aliyah, Vivek, help me! Aah!" her legs weakened and she fell down on the floor.

The teacher and the class turned to look at her with worry and shock. Aliyah and Vivek picked her up by holding her shoulders on either side.

"Oh dear! Please escort her to the medical wing. Fast!" spoke the teacher. They nodded and carried her out.

Once they were away from the class, Kriti broke free of their grasp and pushed them away. They looked at her shocked. "That was... That was fake?"

Kriti looked at them with a smirk.

"Yep Vivek. I'm awesome, I know. Now go after Abhi you two. I will remain in the medical wing until you come back. That way the teacher won't suspect. Now go!"

"Thanks Kriti. Let's go Vivek."

Kriti watched them leave and smiled to herself. "Oh Kriti! Your acting even fooled the entire class! Why haven't you got an Oscar yet? You could be a great actress one day and be famous! Go me!"

#With Shabbir#

"Abhi listen t-" Shabbir's eyes widened when the line went dead. Abruptly he gathered his things to leave. "Karan, Abhi is in trouble. Let's go!"

Karan nodded and packed his things. They both went up to the teacher and handed him the test papers. "We're done. May we leave?"

"You may leave Karan. But I need to talk to Abhi for a minute."

Karan looked at Shabbir who motioned him to leave. Once he left, Shabbir turned to the teacher. "Sir, I really need to leave. Can we talk later?"

"No. I want to talk now."

"But I don't. Let me leave!" He spoke, forgetting that he was talking to his teacher. His worry for his brother was his main priority at that moment.

"How dare you talk to me like that!?"

"Look! I don't care what punishment you give. Right now I need to go. My brother needs me." He said with determination.

Before the teacher could say anything, he rushed off.

#College gate#

Pragya, Purab, Karan, Shabbir, Aliyah and Vivek met coincidentally at the entrance. Looking at each others faces, they immediately knew why each of them were there.

"Any idea where he might have run off to Shabbir?"

"No Purab. What about you Aliyah?"

"Me neither bhai."

Karan's phone rang. He checked the caller ID and he picked up, relieved.

"Hello? Thank goodness you're alright Abhi. Where are you?"

"I'm hiding near Restro Corner at an alley. These guys are strong Karan. I can't beat them on my own."

"Don't worry. We're coming!"

#Shekhar's apartment#

"I can't believe you're defending them! The Mehras are the ones after Pragya, which makes it clear that they were the ones behind your parents' death! Yet, you refuse to put them behind bars!?" Shekhar screamed.

Prasanth had called him and told him that he had found out the culprit. He said that he would leave for College to check on Pragya and had sent Samay and Sumit to explain everything. However, Shekhar wasn't expecting his nephews to defend the ones guilty.

"We aren't sure if they are the ones responsible uncle. The only thing that we are relying on is a symbol. Do you really want to proceed with such little information?"

"Little, Samay? Little?! Those are people who have left no traces for us to trace them. Even such a little clue should be like a big tip for us. And here you are refusing to accept the reality of this fact!?"

"Uncle those people are generous people. Yes Shabbir can sometimes be an arrogant jerk, but that doesn't mean that they could do such a thing. Please trust us." Sumit spoke, desperately trying to convince him.

"Just because of your new found friendship, you've forgotten about your parents' deaths? You forgotten about the threat to your sister's life. I really didn't expect you both to be swayed by emotions so easily. Emotional fools the both of you!"

"Uncle look. Knowledge is a tricky thing. Knowing too much or too little is always dangerous. I'm not saying that I won't punish them if the Mehras are really guilty. I'm saying that we should at least try to find out more before proceeding. What if we end up punishing them for nothing? Our parents wouldn't want innocents to suffer because of our misconceptions."

"I agree with bhai."

Shekhar looked at them pointedly. Finally, he sighed. "Alright fine. I'll give you a week's time. Until then, make sure you keep Pragya and Bulbul away from them." the brothers nodded, hoping that the Mehras are really not at fault.

#With Abhi#

Abhi peeked from the place he was hiding at the men. There were six of them. The leader looked thin and scrawny, but the other five were well built. He knew he couldn't take out all five at once.

"Boo!"

Abhi looked back in horror, which soon turned into anger. "Shabbir, you idiot! What if I ended up screaming and alerting them?"

"Hahaha...sorry, couldn't resist. But you're face was priceless. Haha..." Shabbir calmed down when he saw Abhi's glare. "Okay okay. I'll get serious. Goodness! You don't know how to have fun."

"Get. To. The. Point!" Abhi gritted out the words.

"Alright, look! Purab has a plan. See that road? We need to separate these guys there. Karan, Vivek and Purab are hiding in different spots. Together, we can take care of one guy each. Five of us against five of them."

"And what about that scrawny guy?"

"Forget about him. Even Pragya and Aliyah can take him out."

Abhi nodded. "Okay. How do we proceed?"

After sometime...

"Hey ugly!" The men looked towards the voice to see both the twins standing there with a smirk. "I bet the mirror broke when you looked at it!"

The leader turned red in anger. "Get them!" On his command, all the five men rushed towards the twins. Abhi and Shabbir nodded to each other and took off in different directions.

Abhi ran as fast as he could with three men following him. He stopped when he reached a dead end.

"Now you've got no where to run. Give it up boy." Said one of the men.

"Actually, you should say boys." Spoke Karan, as he and Vivek emerged from behind the men.

Vivek cracked his knuckles. "Ready guys? Let's play."

Shabbir, on the other hand, wasn't having such a good time. The men that were following him had guns. "How come I get the ones with the guns?! Ugh! I shouldn't have listened to this stupid plan of Purab! 'Nothing will go wrong' he said. 'Everything will go according to plan' he said. I swear Purab. If I die, my ghost is going to haunt you for the rest of your life!"

He turned the corner and heard a scream. He looked back to find Purab standing over the two men, with the guns thrown away.

"Nice work Shabbir." Purab remarked with a smile.

"Next time, if someone has to play bait, you do it!" saying that, Shabbir pushed past him with a huff.

Soon they all gathered and headed where the girls were supposed to be. There, they found the scrawny leader lying unconscious on the ground, with Pragya sitting on his back and Aliyah waiting near, putting a foot on his shoulder.

"Nice work girls. Now we can hand all of them to the authorities."

"No Shabbir. Not now. First we need to question him and get some answers ourselves. And I am getting my answers no matter what." Abhi spoke with determination.

"He's right. We mu-" Pragya paused as her phone rang. "Hello Samay? What do you mean come home? But... But Sam.. Okay. Okay I'm coming." she looked up at the others. "I'm sorry but I need to leave. See ya all."

#Shabbir's apartment#

Aliyah and Vivek had to leave for college as they had left with an excuse. Shabbir, Abhi, Karan and Purab tied the rest of the men in another room and were now standing before the leader, whom they had tied to a chair.

"Tell us who hired you."

The scrawny leader just laughed. "Never!"

"It seems you don't value your life then." Abhi spoke.

"I do. But I know that you won't kill me. Probably get me arrested, but you won't shoot me. However, if I tell you the truth, my boss will surely kill me."

Shabbir punched him in anger. "But we should kill you! You're even ready to harm innocents for that chip. What did Pragya ever do to you?! One of your snipers tried to kill her! She didn't even have the chip!"

The leader looked confused. "Sniper? What are you babbling about? We only want the chip from you. We never attacked any girl with any guns."

Purab, Karan and the twins looked at him shocked. "But... But if you didn't, then who attacked Pragya? Who would want to harm her and why?!"

"Maybe it's because they want Bulbul and want to harm Pragya to hurt Bulbul. They aren't being able to get to Bulbul because of the security." Purab spoke. Seeing all of their puzzled faced, he explained about Bulbul being threatened and Mr. Mehra's guards. "But I still don't know who maybe behind all this."

"Prasanth." They all looked wide eyed at Abhi who spoke. "I've seen him keep an eye on Pragya today. And not only today, I've also seen him do it some other times before. You even said that there could be someone from the college involved, right Purab? I bet it's him."

"Wait Abhi. It's not good moving to conclusions without enough knowledge. We should try to find more information." Karan reasoned.

"I guess you are right. From tomorrow, we begin spying on Prasanth." they all nodded in affirmation.

***********************************
To be continued...

I'm mising out on Shabhigya scenes. I know, I know. Will add them from next!
😊😊😊😊😊😊😊

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~ 🌹 Mona 🌹