'Bulbul Pandey apne hadh mein rahiye,' warned Anubhav Singh.
'Kahe Sar? Kauno galat baat bole kaa? Aapka aur Haseena Madam ka rishta toot gaya kaa?' Bulbul asked curiously.
A few moments of tense silence followed. But then Anubhav Singh gritted his teeth and said hesitantly, 'Nahi. Aisa kuch nahi hain. Hum dono ki shaadi tayr hain. Sagai honewali hain kuch dino mein.' He threw a regretful glance at the women.
Pushpa Singh looked elated. Karishma Singh looked like she had been slapped.
Bulbul clapped his hands gleefully. 'Invite milna chahiye Sar! Phir toh aur bhi achha hua. Mahila thaana bandh ho jayega toh aap aur Haseena Madam dono ek saath headquarter mein kaam karenge. Baaki adhikaariyon ka kanha transfer hoga kaa jaane!' He sighed in mock resignation.
Anubhav had had enough. 'Aap jaa sakte hain Bulbul Pandey.' His firm voice left no space for arguments.
Bulbul was also done. Looking at Karishma's expression, he had achieved what he had meant to achieve. So he left, grinning to himself – 'Bulbul Pandey jo kehta hain karke dikhata hain Karishma Singh. Hum keh they na ki tumko aur tumhari Madam ko hum alag karke chhorunga!!'
Meanwhile Pushpa Ji leapt in excitement and began, 'Sir aap—'
Anubhav turned to Karishma and said at the same time, 'Behena humne jo kaha—'
A peon interrupted them both. 'Sir, SP Sir ne aapko cabin mein bulaya hain. Urgent hain.'
'Aap jaiye Sir, baad mein baat karte hain,' said Karishma quietly. 'Jai Hind.'
She marched out of the cabin immediately, Pushpa Ji trotting behind to keep up. The elder woman was bubbling with excitement and rambled away about having been correct in her assumptions all along.
Not a word of it reached Karishma's ears, which were filled with an odd painful buzz.
...
Meanwhile, as Anubhav Singh quickly made his way to the SP's cabin, he cursed under his breath. 'Haseena Mallik humein jeevit nahi chhorengi...'
...
It was night time. Haseena stared lovingly at the rose bouquet now adorning her study table. And the letter propped up against the vase. No matter how many times she looked at them, she still felt overwhelmed, her heart filling up with love and joy.
—'Hum itne lucky kaise ho gaye Karishma jo humko aap mil gayi? Darr lag raha hain kahin humari aankh na khul jaye aur yeh sapna na toot jaye...'
After their impromptu make-out session in her cabin that morning, Haseena and Karishma had agreed that they needed to demarcate clear boundaries about when they should act as SHO and SI respectively; and when they could afford to be just hashtag KarEena.
Therefore when wanting a private conversation, they decided to use their personal numbers. And when discussing work, they would use their usual professional contacts. In this simple way, they would always know what kind of behaviour the other was expecting in that moment.
This system was inaugurated today with Haseena and Karishma exchanging silly memes, lame jokes, funny observations etc. with each other all day long. But this one last message from Haseena remained "unread".
Haseena sighed – 'So gayi hogi bechari,' she thought fondly. 'Unhone kaha toh tha ki Valentine's week manayengi humare liye, lekin Buddhu Singh ko samajh mein bhi aya ki kal Propose Day hain isliye humne dinner plan banaya??? .... Hmmm kya karein unke izhaar ka intezaar karein? Ya hum hi pehle apne dil ki baat khul kar keh de unse?................. Par... hum toh keh chuke hain indirectly. Wohi baat ko ghumati rehti hain... Pyar type ka kuch toh feel karti hain humare liye... lekin kya woh "pyaar" wala pyar hain?
'Kya karein, kya karein??? ........... Hum hi keh denge! Kabhi kabhi bohot insecure ho jaati hain woh, pata nahi kyun...
'Aaj unki demotion wali baat ko lekar kitni udaas ho gayi thi.... Aap fikr mat kijiye Karishma. Iss bar apke saare sapne pure honge. Aur har kadam par hum aapke saath chalenge....'
Again, Haseena gazed at the flowers and whispered, 'Love you Buddhu Singh ji.'
...
Propose Day morning dawned grey and sombre. The mood was stifling at the Mahila Police Thaana. Karishma Singh walked around looking thunderous. Badnaam and Iqbal had both received a kantaap each for — not adding enough sugar and laughing too loudly, respectively.
Everyone noticed the change in her demeanour. Where she had looked sunny and joyful yesterday; today she looked gloomy, a storm brewing behind eyes that looked like she hadn't slept at all the night before.
'Yeh Karishma Madam ko aaj kya ho gaya hain Pushpa Ji?' asked Santosh.
Pushpa Ji giggled. 'Zor ka jhatka dheere se laga hain Karishma Ji ko!' she said in a low voice. She regaled them with what had happened at the headquarters the previous evening and Anubhav's admission. 'Pichhle kitne dino se Karishma Ji lagaatar humare saath behes kiye jaa rahi thi ki – "nahi, nahi Madam Sir Anu Bhaiya ko nahi chahti hain.. aur Bhaiya bhi Madam Sir ke liye kuch nahi mehsoos karte hain. Sab kuch mission ke liye tha bas" – phir kal jab khud DSP Sir ne keh diya toh bas saari tigrambaazi wanhi khatam ho gayi Madam ki! Santu mubaarak ho humara plan kaam kar gaya!!'
Cheetah, who knew nothing of what these two women had been up to, looked puzzled.
'Plan? Kaisa plan Pushpa Ji? Aur Santu ji aapne humare peeth pichhe plan banaya humko bataya nahi. Aap jaanti hain na hum aapke kisi bhi plan ko naa nahi karenge!' said Cheetah sadly.
'Maine plan nahi banaya tha Cheeteh. Main Pushpa Ji ke plan mein zabardasti ghusayi gayi thi. Lekin abhi sab kuch sunn kar lag raha hain shayad hum ghalat nahi kar rahe they,' said Santu slowly.
'Bilkul ghalat nahi kiya humne!' cried Pushpa Ji confidently. 'Do pyar karnewalon ko milaya hain. Yeh toh achha kaam hain! Ab Haseena Madam ke chehre par phirse wohi puraani waali muskaan aa jayegi. Humein toh yakeen tha, Madam Sir jaise insaan se pyar na ho jaaye, aisa bhi koi insaan ho sakta hain kya!'
'Arrey koi humko batayega aap dono kaunse plan ki baat kar rahe ho?' asked Cheetah.
So they told him. Pushpa Ji was convinced that Haseena Mallik's love had not been fake. DSP Anubhav's plan for Mission Jeet had broken her heart. But Pushpa Ji had set out to return her love and also to make Anubhav realise that he too had fallen for Haseena. Unfortunately Anubhav's ego and Haseena's resentment was stopping them from reaching out to each other. And blocking their path further was the supervillain – Karishma Singh (according to Pushpa Ji only; because Santu immediately clarified that Karishma Madam was still her hero) — nevermind, anyway— so Head Constable and Haseena's adopted mother Pushpa Singh had supposedly stepped in. She had been giving missed calls to Anubhav pretending to be Haseena. And her plan had worked spectacularly when it had finally drawn Anubhav to the police station last night... when Haseena was alone in here.
Meanwhile Santu had posted a reel on MPT's official handle making it look like Haseena was still depressed and heartbroken. This had further fanned the flames of invisible love. And just a day later, Anubhav was announcing their engagement!'
Contrary to what they had expected, Cheetah Chaturvedi did not look quite as happy at this news. 'Yeh toh ajooba ho gaya,' he murmured thoughtfully. 'Sach kahe toh agar DSP Sir khud aapse ee baat nahi kehte toh hum kabhi nahi maante. Ooh ka hain ki humare andar ka Women Psychologist keh raha hain ki Madam Sir Anubhav Sir se pyar... bilkul bhi nahi karti hain! Aur naahi Sir ke mann mein aisi koi baat hain. Gaur karne ki baat yeh bhi hain ki Madam Sir ne ab tak humein kuch nahi bataya iss barein mein. Nahi matlab aap logon ne dono ko saath mein dekha hain ka? Unke hav-bhav se woh pyar wali feeling bilkul nahi aati hain, jaisa ki humari aankhon mein dikhta hain jab jab hum Santu Ji ki taraf dekhte hain.'
'Cheeteh agar tujhe Madam Sir ki aankhon mein pyar nahi dikhta hain na toh chashme ki sakht zarurat hain tujhe! Aajkal toh Madam Sir jaise apna dil apne aakhon mein lekar ghumti rehti hain! Isshhhh!!'
'Actually main aap dono ke point se agree karti hu,' spoke up Santu frowning. 'Baat toh sahi hain ki pichhle do-teen dino se Madam Sir kaafi happy dikh rahi. Lekin DSP Sir ke saath unka patch-up ho gaya, sagai ki baat chal rahi hain aur unhone humare saath iss baat ko share nahi kii? Isliye main bohot confused bhi hu. Yeh Madam Sir ka romantic life itna confusing hain na, itni toh teenagers ki bhi nahi hoti hain........ Kahin Madam Sir ko kisi aur se pyar toh nahi ho gaya?'
Cheetah suddenly cleared his throat and scratched his eyebrow awkwardly.
Pushpa Ji flared up. 'Bhakk. TV serial nahi hain yeh jo ek pasand nahin aya toh dusra laga liya! Pyar hain....' She shivered all over and covered her face with her arm.
Cheetah jumped back a step in shock. 'Baap re. Lalla ke bauji ne entry le li.'
'... Pyar zindagi mein ek hi baar hota hain. Jaise humein humare Lalla ke pappa se hua tha. Madam Sir aur DSP Sir ko dekh kar lagta hi hain yeh dono ek dusre ke liye hi bane hain. Hain na Santu?'
'Nahi toh,' said Santu honestly.
Pushpa Ji made a displeased face and ignored her; continuing her diatribe. 'Humko yakeen tha ki ek bar, ek bar agar yeh dono apna apna ahankar chhor kar ek dusre se dil ki baat keh de toh bas saari uljhan sulajh jayegi! Aur woh humne kar diya!! Dekho aa gaye na dono jhat se kareeb?'
'Kaun kiske kareeb aya hain,' said Karishma Singh from behind them.
The three constables whirled around and gulped collectively.
'Uhh umm hum... Cheeteh aur Santu ka table,' stammered Pushpa Ji. 'Pehle dur dur tha. Ab kareeb aa gaya. Toh ab jaldi jaldi kaam ho jayega. Yehi baat keh reh they.'
'Ahh haan Karishma Madam,' added Cheetah quickly. 'Humko Santu Ji se kuch kehna hota tha toh pehle wireless karna padhta tha. Ab nahi karna padhega.'
Karishma squinted suspiciously at them, then looked fully at Santu, who was standing with her hand pressed against her belly. Karishma knew that if Santu was getting a stomach ache, it means there was a lie being told.
'Santu, bako. Abhi.'
Santu didn't hesitate. 'Pushpa ji humein bata rahi thi kal raat DSP Sir ne aapse kaha ki woh aur Madam Sir shaadi karne wale hain.' Santu breathed out in relief and patted her lie-detector-belly fondly.
Karishma glared at Pushpa Ji for several life-threatening moments before saying lowly, 'Itna uchhalne ka jarurat nahi hain Pushpa Ji. Humara baat bhi yaad hain na aapko? Anu Bhaiya ko saabit karna padhega ki woh Madam Sir ke yogye hain. Warna hum bhi dekhte hain sagai kaise hoti hain.'
Pushpa Ji opened her mouth, possibly to complain again but Karisma held up her hand and instructed the team to gather around her. She called Billu as well. Once they were all present, Karishma said seriously, 'Suniye aap sabhi, hum iss bar Madam Sir ka manmaani nahi chalne de sakte hain. Hum yeh thaana competition sirf iss liye haar jaye kyunki bhaiya humara thaana chalta hain Madam Sir ka jang lagaa jajbaat aur outdated ideology se? Nahi! Madam Sir ka kaa hain? Woh thehri SHO, upar se seniors ki ekdum favourite. Unko toh shayad headquarters mein transfer mil jayega. Lekin hum sabko pata nahi kanha kanha patak diya jayega. Hum aisa nahi hone de sakte hain! Aur humari jeet sirf humari nahi hogi. Humari jeet hogi har uss Mahila thaana ki jinko seriously nahi liya jata hain. Samajh rahe hain humari baat ko?'
'Lekin kaise karengi aap yeh sab Madam?' asked Cheetah dejectedly. 'Aapne suna na kya kaha tha kal Madam Sir ne.'
Karishma paused and took a deep breath. 'Kuch chal raha hain humare dimag mein,' she said, 'batate hain tumko.'
Karishma's phone suddenly rang. 'Madam Sir.' She clenched her jaw and turned to receive the call.
........................
... Haseena could only hope that Karishma would be able to arrive on time. She didn't know how long she would be able to hold off all these goons by herself. There were five of them attacking her from all sides and Haseena was alone. It had been a bad idea coming here without backup, but her informer had told her it was now or never. After all this gang had been evading the police for months now. And this was the first opportunity that they had gotten to catch them redhanded with the loot.
Haseena held two men by the throat and kicked a third one right between his legs. The man shrieked in pain and fell to his knees.
But then another man came from behind and hit Haseena on her arm with an iron bar, dislocating her hold on his two companions. Haseena shrieked in pain and fell to the ground. The man prepared to bring the bar down on her head. Haseena lifted her hands to cover her skull.
But the hit never came. Because a hand had shot out and stopped the bar from making contact with Haseena Mallik. That hand belonged to Karishma Singh. Haseena's Hero was here!
In seconds, the tables were turned. Because Haseena and Karishma were individually kamaal. But together, they were bhaukaal. Nothing could stop them.
Punches flew, kicks were landed, a couple of limbs might also have been cracked. And soon the gang was lying on the ground, groaning in pain. Haseena and Karishma turned to each other grinning and clasped their hands together in their signature handshake.
Then Karishma's expression changed. Her eyes widened in surprise for a split second. 'Madam Sir...' she whispered fearfully.
And suddenly Haseena felt herself pushed away. A knife came flying through the air. It speared into Karishma's chest. Right over her heart. Her khaki turned maroon with seeping blood.
Karishma took the knife meant for Madam Sir on herself. And collapsed into Haseena's arms. Eyes closed. Lifeless.
'KARISHMA SINGH!!!!!!'
....................... 'KARISHMA SINGH!!!!'
Haseena woke up screaming. She fumbled around in complete panic before realising that she was still in bed. It was a nightmare.
Haseena sat slumped, breathing heavily. Her tshirt stuck to her sweaty back. She reached for the glass of water on the bedside table with shaky hands and downed it all in one go. Then touched the cool glass to her forehead. Her heart was still racing. The dream had felt so real, so vivid.
Instinctively Haseena's eyes were drawn to the bunch of roses on her study table, with a note propped up. Her breathing began to ease.
Dull light from a grey dawn lighted up the room in muted shades.
'—yeh kya tha... itna daraona sapna... kehte hain subah ke sapne sach... nahi nahi. bakwas. Sab thik hain. Kuch nahi hoga unhe. Hum unhe kuch nahi hone denge...'
Haseena picked up her phone. Her last message to Karishma was still unread. She must still be asleep. Haseena sent her a 'good morning' text. There was a missed call from DSP Anubhav Singh, but Haseena decided to ignore it. She wasn't in the mood to speak to him at the moment. She had a busy day ahead. She had to drive Ammi to Khaala's house. On the way back she was planning to pick up some groceries, since she wanted to do the cooking herself for their dinner date tonight. — all of this before she had to report to work later in the day.
'Aaj propose day hain...' Haseena reminded herself, bit her lip in shy anticipation and got out of bed, tentative excitement slowly ebbing away the dread from earlier. But deep in her gut, a strange sense of unease remained... like something was wrong, or about to go wrong.
____________________________
A/N2: Jo log author ko gaali dena chahte hain woh sabhi yanha line lagaye aur ek ek karke aaye 🙏🏽
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