Phulwa handed the jewellery and money to Irawati.
"I know it's not the papers of your land. But I could not find it. This money will help for your children's future." She smiled at the woman.
Phulwa could not read therefore finding the papers and recognizing it had been impossible for her but either way, Thakur would never have left the woman in peace even if she got the land back. As it is, Irawati had been selling the land when Thakur offered to buy it with no mind of giving her its worth.
"How can I ever repay you, Phulwa?"
The woman grabbed Phulwa's hands and smiled at her, tears of gratitude shining in her eyes.
"Please do not say that. You are one of my people and helping you was my duty. But you can repay me in one way." She paused and Irawati looked at her waiting for her next words. "Give your children an education especially your daughters."
Phulwa pressed the woman's between her own then turned to go leaving Irawati looking at her. She was the villagers' strength. Whenever there would be injustice done to them, Phulwa would be there to correct it.
***
Phulwa shook Babu. Her brother was sleeping like the dead. He stirred groaning in protest.
"Come on, Babu. We need to go get the ammunitions."
Babu sat on the bed reluctantly, rubbing his eyes.
"Jijia, I was dreaming about something so nice right now." He complained and ran a hand through his hair making it stick up even more.
Phulwa affectionately ruffled it.
"Yes, I am sure Gauri must have been somewhere in there." She grinned at him.
Babu laughed and quickly got down from the bed.
"No there was nothing like that," he said mischieviously, "But I forgot to ask. How did yesterday's plan go? You purposefully left me here Jijia." He looked a little annoyed and hurt at that.
His sister was all he had and he hated it when she put herself in danger. She had not told him anything yesterday also. Just went and broke into thakur's house by herself.
Phulwa hugged him briefly then tried to end the conversation. She did not want to say exactly what had happened there. Babu would have a fit if he knew she had been face to face with a police man. Literally face to face. She pushed that quickly away from her mind.
"There was no danger. It was easy really, so stop fretting, will you? Get ready quickly now."
She gave him a little push and he obeyed, but not before he noticed the strange expression in his sister's eye as she had replied. It was almost as if she did not want to meet his eyes.
***
Abhay was pacing around his office like a caged tiger. He banged his fist on the desk making the things on it rattle. Nobody made a fool out of ACP Abhay Rai Singh. He was seething. How could he have felt attraction towards her? He was now angry and confused. The latter was a feeling he was not used to. He glanced at the map on his desk. He was sure Phulwa must live in Chambal's jungle, somewhere she could observe the village yet stay out of sight. He would send a search party to scan the area. Then he got an idea which made him smile. He called Aarti in his cabin.
"Inspector Aarti, has there been cases of guns being transferred here in the village recently?" he asked her without even glancing at her. He was deep in thought.
Aarti thought for a second then nodded.
"Yes Sir. Actually a month ago, some officers had caught a suspicious van getting out of the village. According to our sources, the van was carrying ammunition but when we checked, it was empty so we had to let the driver go. "
Abhay nodded frowning little. The van had been empty. What did that mean? Had the information been incorrect or had he already delivered when the police had stopped him?
"Can you tell me the exact date and around what time this happened?" he turned his attention back to Aarti.
"I'll check and get back to you, Sir."
Abhay signalled that she could go and went to sit behing his desk. If he was thinking right, then Phulwa would be needing regular supplies of bullets and guns. Either she went to get them or they came to her. But he was betting on the last. If they were not too late, they could catch her at it. Aarti came back holding and opened file.
"Sir, they were spotted on the seventeenth, it was around noon."
Abhay looked at the calendar on his desk and a wide grin spread on his face. Aarti watched this feeling a little lost. What was he planning to do? ACP Abhay was one handsome man. She had never seen him grin before. It was quite a sight. Aarti brought her mind back from her reverie blushing a little.
"Sir, if I may ask. What are you planning to do?"
Abhay focused on her, his smile still in place.
"Noon is when the shift occurs, right? Sometimes no officers are there for the checking. There is about half an hour when the road is completely clear for anybody to cross."
Aarti still could not see where he was heading. He sighed and explained further.
"Phulwa must be getting regular deliveries of ammunitions. There is a great chance she might get one today. We need to be there when that happens. Tell all the officers no one will block the road today. Just assign two of them to stay around the area and tell them to call as soon as they notice any van crossing into the village."
Aarti nodded and turned to go. But Abhay was not finished.
"And yes Inspector Aarti, tell them to dress as civilians". He ordered.
As Aarti left the room, Abhay got up, took his gun and smiled to himself again. It seemed like fate will continue to bring us together until I catch you, Phulwa.
****
Babu drove the jeep, hiding it among the bushes. Jagan was coming to deliver the guns but this time they had changed from their usual place. After the police incident last month, they had to do it. The new meeting place was in a shed which belonged to a villager. Phulwa and Babu walked the rest of the way. Light streamed through the trees on them as they waited.
***
Abhay was in the jeep, hidden on the side of the road. He was waiting for the call before making his next move. He waited impatiently wanting to get his hands on Phulwa as soon as possible. Then he paused in mid thinking. His body burning up as his mind conjured the image of him touching Phulwa. He was now seeing hidden meanings in his own sentences. He slapped the steering wheel in frustration. This was not the Abhay he knew. He was not affected by beautiful angry eyes, soft creamy skin, hair dark as night….. Abhay opened the door violently and got down. He breathed in deeply trying to tone down his thoughts. His phone rang and he looked at it gratefully.
"Sir, the van just drove into the village. It's heading north." Jitendra's voice came through.
Abhay smirked, self-satisfied. He had been right then. She was getting a gun consignment today.
"Ok, I'll take it up from here. Stay behind but don't make your presence known until I tell you to, ok?"
He wanted to see to this matter himself. After all, Phulwa had crossed ACP Abhay's way. Nobody would take her down but him.
*****
Jagan waved to Phulwa and Babu as he got down. He looked around out of precaution then pulled the wooden box out from the back of his van. Babu came to help him, grunting with the effort. They put it in the shed and Phulwa told Babu to go in with him.
"I'll stay here and keep guard. You go inside and deal with him."
Babu glanced back at her and reluctantly went in. Phulwa shifted from one foot to the other while scanning the area. What would he be doing right now? He must know there had been a robbery at Balwant Thakur's place last night. Would he put two and two together and discover she was Phulwa? She had the strange feeling he knew already.
****
Abhay looked from his hiding place behind the bushes. There had been two men with her earlier but now she was alone. He sent Jitendra a text message telling him to send some men at the shed but to approach from the other side and make no sound at all. He himself was having trouble figuring out how to catch Phulwa from where he stood. She had a gun and was continuously scanning the area. Then the perfect opportunity came. Abhay could have thumped his fist into his hand with satisfaction. Phulwa was bending down to tie up the lace of her boots. Her gun lay on the ground near her but her concentration was no longer on her surroundings. He moved fast avoiding crunching fallen branches under him. It was only when he was almost to her side, that Phulwa jerked her head up grabbing the gun out of reflex. Abhay was faster and knocked the gun down. Phulwa uttered a cry of surprise and tried to kick him in the shins but he dodged and clamped his hand on her mouth pressing her close so she could not move.
Abhay yelled out for Jitendra who was further back. Phulwa sunk her teeth in his palm hard making him release her mouth. Abhay had a flitting thought: How many times would he get bitten by this woman?
"Babu, run!" Phulwa shouted.
She twisted from his grip bringing her knee up to hit a very specific area of his body but he moved just in time. Her knee collided with his thigh making grunt and curse under his breath. Phulwa used the opportunity to free herself and ran towards the shed but police officers now surrounded it. She wanted to go to Babu but she knew that would be a foolish move. Getting both of them arrested would end all hopes. She continued running into the woods, Abhay close at her heels.
Abhay was surprised at how fast Phulwa was running. The blow to his thigh would have prevented him from running himself if it had not been for the anger he was feeling. It fuelled him making him forget the pain and concentrate on the running figure in front of him. He had to catch her.
Phulwa glanced back at him as she barely avoided tripping over a rock. The wretched man! He really was not going to give up, was he? She increased her speed using her knowledge of the place to trap Abhay. But she had not counted on getting trapped herself. She failed to notice the cavity in the ground in front of her. It was too late to stop her momentum now and she started falling, her arms flailing out….
***
Abhay saw Phulwa falling. His arm involuntarily shot out to grab her. Instead of pulling her to safety as he had counted on, he felt himself lose balance.
Phulwa fell with a thud in the hole and Abhay fell down on top of her. They were both shocked at the sudden impact of the fall. Phulwa felt small rocks pressing painfully against her back but most disturbing was the body of the man currently on her. She groaned with the weight of it, trying to push him aside.
Abhay was transfixed. He suddenly felt as if someone had grabbed his heart and was squeezing it. This time his eyes were level with her lips and it was impossible not to notice their fullness. Like a flower bud, he thought. But those lips were now pressed together in anger.
"Get off me," Phulwa pushed against his shoulders.
He ignored her and kept pining her to the ground but shifted just a little so his full weight was no longer on her.
"I said get off me!" Phulwa was now growling, struggling to get up. "otherwise, I'll kill you."
She kept muttering protests but Abhay was no longer hearing any of them. In fact, all sounds died down around him. Everything fell silent. Against his will, he inched forward and pressed his lips to Phulwa's shutting her up instantly.
Phulwa's eyes open wide. Her mind was totally clogged. It was as if hundreds of lights were exploding in her head. The feel of his lips on her was troubling and made her heart beat faster. She felt weak at the knees and was almost grateful she was not standing. His eyes were closed. He increased the pressure and it was only then that Phulwa realised what was happening. A man was kissing her!!! How dare he? She should be killing him right now, what was she doing lying still? She tried to twist her face away to break the kiss, but Abhay's mouth refused to leave hers.
Her hand moved on the ground searching for something, anything which could stop what was happening right now. She touched a rock, seizing it then brought it down hard on his head. Abhay jerked up and growled in pain.
Phulwa quickly sat up and grabbed his gun from its holster. She inched away, putting as much distance as she could between Abhay and her in that hole. Abhay held one hand to his forehead, bringing it down to see it covered with blood. He scowled at Phulwa who was now pointing the gun directly at her.
Her mouth looked fuller and more flushed than before. Phulwa noticed his eyes straying there again.
"How dare you kiss me? I'll kill you for this," she was yelling but her breathing was still irregular making her voice sound unsteady. She had that fierce wild look in her eyes again.
Abhay just looked at her silently. Thankfully, his eyes returned to her face and not to the part at which he had been staring a while ago. Abhay was shocked at himself. What exactly had happened there? One moment he was pining her down thinking of catching her only, then the next he was kissing her??? This was crazy. But he had more serious matters at hand right now. Phulwa was aiming his own gun at him. He thought of how to grab it back.
"Don't even think about it!" her carefully controlled voice was filled with anger. "I won't hesitate to pull the trigger."
She got up, keeping him at gunpoint and put a hand on the edge of the cavity.
"Get back to the other end and do not move."
Abhay looked almost shamelessly back at her. He had a defiant look in his eyes which told you he did not like to be ordered around. Phulwa wanted to bash his thick head with a rock again. Why was he so stubborn? She was scared he might make a grab for her if she inched herself up. But she had to take the risk.
She pressed her hand on the edge and hauled herself out of the hollow. But Abhay moved lightning fast and was already up and standing in front of her when she straightened up. She was just in time to do so and lifted the gun again as he made to move towards her. The gun was now between his eyes but there was not an ounce of fear in them. In fact, he look amused which infuriated Phulwa further. His eyes seemed to taunt her, challenging her to pull the trigger.
He looked the ultimate bad boy with blood slowly dripping down his temple, fearless eyes looking into hers. At any other time, if a man had dared to touch her let alone kiss her, she would have killed him on the spot without the slightest remorse. Here this man had touched her God knew how many times already and kissed her. He should be lying dead on the ground right now but she was unable to pull the trigger. Something prevented her from doing that. While her mind told her to shoot, her heart protested vehemently. Finally she did the only thing she could think of. Without warning, she slammed down the handle of the gun on his wound. Abhay could not help it, he doubled over in pain closing his eyes with the force of it. He felt faint suddenly. When some moments later, he could muster enough strength to open his eyes, Phulwa was gone.
***
Phulwa ran all the way home darting through the thick vegetation. Her mind was in turmoil. She had felt a painful pang when she had hit him. Why was that for goodness sake? Because of him, her brother might be behind bars right now. She tried to divert her mind from it but it cropped up again. He had kissed her. She cursed under her breath.
She had to think of how to save Babu. As much as she did not like it, there was only one way . And that was………….going to the police station.
Your criticisms, comments..anything actually, are welcome😊
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