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“This is wound ballistics....! This study of the impact of a bullet shot on your body...!” The Doctor said gravely.  

“And here is what the bullets did to the tissues, bones and organs of his body...!” He took out multiple frames of the X-Ray films...! 

He looked at it with bated breath.  “About the destructiveness of the projectiles....!” The Doctor was cut off...

“What are the chances....?” a prolonged question was raised and the Doctor gaped for a long time.  He waited clutching his fists impatiently.  

“Umm.... Te... Ten percent...!” was the reluctant answer.  

“Ok.  Work on that 10%...! I will hold on to it...!” He said slightly quivering but with confidence that his boy will hang on...! 

“We are doing our best...!” The doctor finally found his voice.

“Thank you...!” he said getting up, shaking hands with the Doctor and came out.  He kept his shaking hand on his wife’s, Swarnima’s shoulder for support.  She supported him and they both came out of the Hospital.  Their orderly, who was waiting outside the gates dashed forward.  She gestured him to get water bottle.  He ran back to the vehicle.  Inside the vehicle, he drank water and she waited for him to calm down.  

 “She must know...!” Swarnima said stroking his head on her lap.  He looked up “No..!”

“We have to...!” Swarnima was the strongest.  Goldy came around wagging, licking his face.  “Yes.. Veer... she must know!” Swarnima said gravely picking up the phone.  

“Doctor said we have 10% chances...!” he said losing his hope... his strength.  She was taken aback in shock.  But immediately gaining her composure said... “We will hang on to that ....!”

“Connect me to Bridgier Randhawa...!” she said to the operator ....

*********  ***********

“Two bullets remained in his body.... Here.. His hip bone... is crushed... and his lower rib... is broken.... The infection of Lead poison is spread all over...! Another bullet.... here... had passed through his body... His shoulder... !” The Doctor showed the X-rays and MRIs.  She stared sitting upright....! 

“The particles of bones are to be removed and the problem is we cannot do it in one go... The kinetic energy transferred by the bullet in his body has spread the shock waves, his heart functioning weak... his femoral bone is fractured .... !” The doctor added.  

“Four days.... Four days he was carrying the bullet in his body... his hip joint, his shoulder is replaced... the Lead toxicity has affected his heart, intestines, kidneys and nervous system... We are yet to assess the effect on his reproductive organs...!” The Doctor said to her dismay.  Her breath was sucked out.  The next moment she made up her mind and thanking the Doctor, came out.

“Dharini..” Swarnima ran out of words seeing Rini’s pale face.  Rini forced calm on her face. 

“We should keep trying....!” she could only say and fell in Swarnima’s arms.  “... We won’t give up....!” Swarnima whispered patting Dharini.  “He is a fighter....!” 

*****  *****

“No Dhatri.... Please... Please listen to me....! I will call you once we reach...!” Dr. Salil tried to console Dhatri but she was not at all in a state of rationale....! 

“No Papa, I am coming...!” she said wailing in anguish.  “Dhatri... Listen... Let me just go there first and see... I will call you....!” Salil said helplessly.  Nilima took the phone from him.

“Dhaa... We will inform you... And then you plan over the weekend ok?” she said glancing at panic struck Salil.  Dhatri disconnected.  Poorva stood before her.

“I want to go...!” she said looking at Poorva.  Poorva and Ragini were trying to reach Dharini since they heard about Vinit...! 

“But Dhaa...” Ragini started off but Dhatri turned to her raising her hand.  “No but..! I am going...!” she said pulling her bag from under the bed.  

“Dhaa... Chal mere saath....!” Poorva pulled her out of the room.  There was a message from suresh.  He was waiting for them outside the girls’ hostel.  

“Suresh.... I want to go... and I am going...!” Dhatri said with determination.  Suresh nodded and took out the papers...

“Tickets for tonight...to Delhi....!” Poorva looked at Suresh with satisfaction.  “I am coming with you... “ Suresh added and Poorva was shocked.  

“You have your elective internals....!” she said aghast.  “Yeah... Best of three...and I have already scored enough...!” he said smugly and poorva nodded.  “Thank God! They had finished their internals a day before...!” Dhatri had ran back to her room.  Poorva and Suresh discussed the situation for a while.

“Don’t worry... I will bring her back once she meets Rini didi....!” Suresh said confidently.  

**********  ********

“Dhaa.....!” Rini lost her words seeing her Dhaa in the Military Hospital.  Dhatri hugged her tightly and Rini lost all her courage.  She sobbed in Dhatri’s arms and Swarnima couldn’t stop her tears.  Suresh was not sure, how Dhaa would react in the hospital but Dhatri had forgotten her trauma seeing her Rini didi in distress.  

“Its Ok, Didi...! Now that I am here....!” She said in a bare whisper..! Rini looked up shocked.  “No... Dhaa... Its beyond your .....!” But Dhatri broke apaprt raising her hand looking around.  “Dhaa.... No!” Rini clutched her palm on her mouth but Dhatri left her and went back to Suresh. 

“Dhaa... When... How...? I had told you .... !” Salil was equally shocked seeing Dhatri in the Hospital.  He was with Wng. Cmdr. Virender Pandit.  “Papa...” Dhatri dashed to her father. 

“I want to see him....!” Dhatri said looking at Vinit’s father.  He shook his head...! “No one is allowed...!” he said hopelessly.  “He is still fighting his battle.... Now with death...!” he said gravely looking away hiding his emotions...! 

When the MI received the intelligence report, Maj. Vinit, the Hawk was summoned.  The highjacked Boing 707 TE 435 of Air India left New Delhi airport at 8:30 pm for New York, was forced to land somewhere in Afghanistan.  Vinit with his select Six landed in Kabul en-route Jerusalem, Isreal...! The Mossad Special Operations Team joined hands.  The plan to rescue 213 passangers was chalked out.  Vinit moved out of the team alone to investigate further...! The huge Boing was diverted to the smaller asfalted runway of Eshkashem in Badakhshan Province...somewhere in the north, at the height of 2625 meters above sea level.... The runway strip failed to take on to the Boing and It crashlanded nose down... Damaging the aircraft heavily.  All the passangers were unhurt but the highjackers threatened the crue and cabin members to death.... Two Cabinate Ministers life was at stake.  The Palestine highjackers had no mercy.  The started off shooting with the elders...! The dead bodies of five people who resisted were thrown out of the aircraft.  All emergency doors were sealed... the Passangers were starved and suffocated....! 

The team had to act fast and Vinit and two Commandos were first to reach....! The operation was carried out with a nano second precision but in the process Vinit was shot several times... The next seventy two hours were very critical for him.  He had to clean up...! Take the surviving crew and passengers in smaller air crafts and ensure their safety, bring them back home...! .... The clean sweep took toll on him... He was flown to the Military Hospital in a pretty bad shape... The chances of survival were meek....!

The media was singing the praises at a very high tune, of the Military personnel and commandos for the rescue operation and Vinit was fighting his battle with death..! Completely drained out of blood... he was on ventilators supported by artificial respiratory systems... The blood transfusion and the smaller surgeries were carried out.  Once stabilized... his Shoulder joint and Hip joint were replaced....! The toxicity had taken toll on his vital organs and the Doctors too were losing hope...!

“But Dhaa...!” Suresh was not sure whether Dhatri could sustain the ordeal.  After her US trip she had not gone through the experience of curing anyone.  She was deliberately and consciously kept away from any illness around.  Rini too was not sure about Dhatri’s healing power.

“Those people experimented on you.... I do not know, Dhaa... What effect it had on you...!” Rini was very sceptical... ! Dhatri kept on saying... “I want to see him....!” She was not allowed inside....! Dhatri was desperate... Vinit was losing his battle...!