Author's Note: Thanks for the kind reviews, everyone. :-)
Candy126 – Thank you so much. Yup, Purvi di zindabaad. :D
Purvi's Niharika – Thank you so much! Haan, ye humari early stories mein se ek hai isliye thoda straightforward hai. I'll try to improve in future ones. :-) Agreed, she's best single.
Tejal – Thanks a lot!
"Purvi, ye sab kya tha my child?" Lisa asked as student and teacher walked towards the taxi stand.
"Ma'am, ye kaun hai mein bhi nahi jaanti, magar kuch log aise hain jo na jaane kyun mere saare professors ko target kar rahe hain", said Purvi quietly. She looked calm, and yet her eyes showed nothing but unadulterated vigilance.
"Kya? Yaani mere alawa kisi aur ko bhi maarne ki koshish ki?" exclaimed Lisa.
"Haan, professor Conrad pe bhi humla hua tha! Ye jo koi bhi hai, mein isse nahi chodungi", replied Purvi in silent fury.
"Ye tum kya keh rahi ho? Professor Conrad? God in logon ko buddhi de aur ehsaas dilvaaye ki woh jo kar rahe hai kitna galat hai!"
"Haan, ma'am." Purvi was interrupted by her buzzing cell-phone. She pulled it out and read the text.
Umeed hai tera saans lena ho gaya. Chal, do ko bacha liya, ab teesre ki baari hai. Tere chemistry teacher, professor Baruah mere paas hai! Unki salaamati chahti ho to aaj theek 6:00 ko Mount Chelsea aa ja. Agar 1 minute bhi der hui toh professor Baruah ka the end!
Purvi looked up angrily. Ab bas! she thought. Iss aadmi ko mein nahi chodungi, ek baar mere saamne aa jaye. Par philhaal professor Baruah ki jaan bachaani hogi! But she could not keep taking risks. She needed to keep calm and stick to her plan. She unflinchingly kept walking as Lisa eyed her questioningly.
"Kya hua, Purvi? Tumne wahaan bus pe bhi phone pe kuch dekha aur upset ho gayi. Batao na mujhe?" said her teacher.
Purvi sighed. "I need to think, ma'am. Ye jo bhi hai, hadd kea age badh raha hai."
"Matlab, ek aur professor…" whispered Lisa, her eyes wide.
"Haan, ma'am", said Purvi. "But trust me, kuch nahin hoga unhe. Aap wohi kijiye jo main kahun, please."
Lisa nodded, feeling both anxious and proud of her student. The air was gradually rent with ambient noises of horns and whirring engines as they neared the taxi stand.
Several feet behind them, the tall man ambled along, the black motorbike silently steering under his arms. She didn't seem to have noticed anything despite him trailing her for the entire day. Stupid girl, he thought with savage pleasure. He watched as she ushered the teacher into one of the taxis… and then proceeded to get in herself. He perked up. She was supposed to be going to Mt. Chelsea… so why was she apparently accompanying the teacher home? And that too so calmly? Was she up to some tricks?
He hastily hopped onto his bike and hit the gas. He followed the taxi all the way out of Luni road to an area just outside a large group of chawls. Abruptly, the car stopped by the footpath and so did he. Purvi got out and, motioning her professor to stay in the car, proceeded to walk into a small PCO among a small group of shops. The man almost laughed out loud. Did she think she could contact her teammates from a PCO and get away with it? He had been instructed to deal severely if she tried it, and now he would do it. He waited to see if she would come out, but she didn't. He couldn't see inside the shop from his position.
Just as he was dismounting for a better look, faint footsteps thudded behind him. He spun instinctively, but it was too late. There was a blur of motion and stars burst out in front of his eyes as a well-placed blow struck the side of his head. He fell, and his motorbike painfully landed on top of him. He felt the barrel of a gun pressing on his forehead.
"Bahut shauk hai logon ka peecha karne ka?" whispered a menacing yet melodic female voice over him.
"Hahaha! Tumne bohot acchi nakal ki Purvi ke awaaz ki! ACP ko laga ki sach mein uski officer hi hai!" the caller said with unabashed glee.
"Thank you, ma'am", said another girl standing beside her, who had mimicked Purvi's voice.
"Ye lo tumhaare paise", the boss said, giving her a bundle of cash. "Ab jaao; na toh main tumhe jaanti hoon, na hi tum mujhe."
"Ok, boss!" Saying so, the other walked away.
"Boss ab kya karna hai?" a man next to her asked.
"Karna kya hai?" chuckled the boss. "Professor Baruah toh humaare kabze mein pehle se hi hai! CID bhi phas hi gaayi hai, aur Purvi beechari ko aapni zindagi ka sabse bada phaisla karna hoga! Shayad stress mein aake woh apni jaan hi le le! Haha! Bhai, aaj samajh aayega usse gaddari ka anjaam. Tadpegi woh, afsos karegi, gidgidaayegi par koi fayeda nahi hoga!" She eyed him again. "Woh ready hai na, Vicky?"
"Ekdum ready hai, boss", answered Vicky sycophantically.
As if in counterpoint, there was a loud groan from the next boon. The woman cocked her head towards the sound, clicking her tongue.
"Tumhe bola tha na, boodhe ko chup rakhne ko?" she snapped.
"Haan boss", said Vicky nervously. "Rukiye, abhi main…"
"Main khud karti hoon", interrupted his boss, walking into the room where the feeble-looking professor Baruah was bound and gagged. He looked up at her, his eyes wide, and struggled to free himself, tugging hard at his tied hands. The woman glanced at them and remembered the same hand's pincer-like grip upon her arm years ago. He hadn't even bothered to respect that she was a girl as he did it. She felt an incredible surge of pure loathing as she stepped forward and slapped him hard before seizing a handful of his hair and pulling back his head to stare directly into her eyes.
"Woh din main kabhi nahin bhulungi, Professor", she whispered. "Aur agar aapki pyaari chamchi Purvi bhool gayi ho toh aaj usse bhi yaad dilaungi. Kitne saal intzaar kiya maine iss pal ka!"
Her voice rose abruptly to a shout; she looked crazed, frenzied as she let go of him. Professor Baruah watched the boss walking a few steps ahead and smashing a bottle on the floor, snarling, "Purvi, ab tu toh gayi!"
"Koi faayda nahin, sir", said Freddy, looking up in desperation. "Call kisne kiya, kuch pata nahin chal raha. Aur ab toh 6:00 bajne mein bas 15 minutes bache hain!"
"Purvi ka kuch pata chala?" asked the ACP heavily, turning to Shreya.
"Sir, gavahon ne kaha hai Purvi Lisa ke saath wahan se nikal gayi aur kisi ko nahin pata woh kahan gayi", said Shreya.
Before the ACP could react, Abhijeet and Daya rushed into the bureau looking unusually alarmed.
"Sir, aap vishwaas nahin karenge abhi kya hua", said Abhijeet.
"Kya, Abhijeet?" said the ACP questioningly.
The duo revealed what had happened, and everyone sprang to their feet in a single fluid motion. As they finished, the atmosphere in the bureau changed considerably. This had changed everything.
The abandoned warehouse in Mt. Chelsea was bathed in the twilight, casting long shadows onto the cracked surface on the table which the woman boss was now aimlessly drumming with her fingers. The area was deserted for several miles; nobody would know about the horrors about to take place there, as long as the fools did as she said. Perfect. She glanced at her watch: 5:58 PM. Anytime now.
A little white speck was growing larger and larger on the horizon. It was the CID car. Her lips curved into a malicious smile, hidden behind the mask pulled over her head. Twirling a cheap country-made pistol in her hand, she got to her feet and lumbered out onto the road, waiting for them. The Qualis slowed down as it approached her; she walked forward and as the windows rolled down, she saw ACP Pradyuman and Abhijeet frowning at her from the front seats. Smiling, she raised her weapon-free hand and gestured them to drive into the nearby shed.
"Wahan kyun, ain?" said Abhijeet sharply. "Tum chahti kya ho? Kahan hai Purvi?"
"Apne officer ko zinda dekhna hai toh sawaal band, jaisa kaha hai vaisa karo", she said loudly.
The ACP gestured Abhijeet to do as told. Reluctantly, the other drive the car into the shed and parked it. At once, there was a hiss of gas inside the shed. She could see the cops writhing and screaming inside the car before going motionless. Vicky walked up to her side.
"Bilkul sahi se ho gaya na?" she asked.
"Haan, boss", answered her henchman quietly.
"Darta kyun hai?" she chuckled. "Kisi ko kuch pata nahin chalega. Bechari Purvi ko toh pata hi nahin ki uske saathi yahan nerve gas inhale kar chuke hain. Bas ek ghante mein sabki kabr khudegi yahin."
Purvi walked into the warehouse exactly as the clock struck 6:00 PM. The woman smiled as she walked forward to greet forward.
"Yahan pe bhi right on time! Manna padega, Purvi", she said quietly, though her eyes behind the mask showed nothing but venomous contempt.
"Kaun ho tum, aur kya chahiye tumhe?" asked Purvi angrily.
"Pehle ye batao ki tumhe kya chahiye", replied the woman, pointing to a gargantuan, rusted shutter several feet away and snapping her fingers. "Professor Baruah, ki apne saathi?"
With a deafening grinding of metal, the shutter slid upwards to reveal a terrible sight. In the large space separated by a single partition, were both the hostages. In the left one, Professor Baruah was lying unconscious with his neck on a large plank, a huge blade dangling over it. On the other one stood a car, each of Purvi's unconscious colleagues clearly visible inside. The woman grinned as Purvi's expression changed to one of horror.
"Tumhaari dushmani mujhse hai na?" said Purvi angrily. "Toh phir mere saathiyon aur professor ko kyun –"
"Professor ki baat hi na karo, Purvi!" snapped the woman. "Aur jahan tak tere saathiyon ki baat hai, inke bina tumhara exam kaise loongi? Yahan pe bhi top karke dikhao na!"
"Exam?" repeated Purvi.
The woman pulled out a remote and tossed it to her. "Bahut simple hai. 2 buttons hain. Left waala dabaogi toh Professor chhut jaayega, par car par laga bomb blast ho jaayega. Right waala dabaane par bomb neutralize ho jaayega, par who blade girega aur professor ka sar…" she ended by motioning a violent beheading. "It's your choice now."
Purvi stood frozen, her mouth hanging open, her eyes pleading for mercy. The woman felt an incredible rush of vengeful pleasure. "8 saal pehle mera bhi kuch aisa hi haal tha, Purvi. Aur tumhaari wajah se mera duniya khatm ho gayi. Ab tumhaari baari hai."
"Ye kya bol rahi ho tum?" exclaimed Purvi. "Maine aisa kiya hi kya? Aur tum aakhir ho kaun?"
"10 seconds!" snapped the woman. "Agar koi ek button nahin dabaya toh blade bi girega aur bomb bhi phatega. 10… 9… 8… 7…"
Purvi's eyes narrowed. She raised the remote and, her hands shaking, pressed the right button. There was a great explosion behind them, a shockwave that almost knocked them off their feet. The woman turned to see the car reduced to a pile of flaming debris of twisted metal and flaming tires. She let out a savage peal of laughter.
"Ab bataiye Purvi ji, how do you feel apni choice ke baare mein?" she cackled.
"Bahut khush", answered Purvi calmly.
The woman turned to face her and was astonished to see her smiling grimly.
"Hum bhi bahut khush hain, madam", said a husky voice courteously from her side. "Ab behtar yahi hoga ki aap surrender kar dein."
She spun to see the unhurt CID team approaching her, guns drawn. Fredericks held a scowling Vicky captive behind them. Her brain was flooded with shock and reckless rage; she drew her pistol and opened fire. Ignoring their shouts and warnings, she threw herself behind a pile of boxes and engaged in a reckless gunfight. She knew it was hopeless, but she didn't care. She shot without aim or goal, feeling a small part of the terrible rage inside her being fired along with the bullets. Within minutes, the ammunition was exhausted.
"Dekho, ab tumhaari bhalaayi isi mein hai kit um surrender kar do", said the ACP sharply, walking forward cautiously. "Hum goli nahin chalaana chahte hain. Tumhaari kismat acchi hai ki kisi ki maut nahin hui, so shaayad court tumhe –"
"Court?" shouted the woman, springing to her feet and glaring at him. "Tumhe kya lagta hai, I'll let you people drag me to court like a dog? Mera maksad badla tha, bas badla. Woh toh pura hua nahin, phir ab main je eke kya karungi?"
She flung her gun aside and withdrew a small bottle from her jacket, pulling off the cork with her teeth.
With a jolt, the ACP realized what she was about to do. "Ruk jaao! Fek do usse!" he cried as everyone surrounded her, alarmed.
The woman shook her head and laughed. "Aur nahin fekungi toh kya karoge? Mere jeene ki koi wajah nahin rahi, ACP. Goodbye."
She raised the bottle of poison. Before she could put it to her lips, Abhijeet raised his gun in a flash and fired. His shot was utterly precise – the bottle exploded to pieces right in her hands and fell with a resounding shatter to the ground. Before she could do anything, she found herself seized powerfully from behind.
"Bahut ho gaya", said Purvi's voice angrily. "Ek ke baad ek gunaah kiye jaa rahi ho! Zara dekhein toh aap hain kaun."
The woman fought back fruitlessly. Purvi ripped off her mask and threw it aside, her eyes growing wide upon seeing her captive's face.
"Shipra, tum?" she exclaimed.
"Haan, main", snarled Shipra. "Bahut shukriya bachaane ke liye. Ab tu toh gayi!" She tried to strike at Purvi, but found herself seized by Shreya as well.
Purvi looked at her with a mixture of anger and pity. "I'm sorry, Shipra, par tum aise nahin maanogi." She held her shoulder and delivered a crackling slap across the woman's face.