OH MY GOSH you guysss, I am like totally freaking out. The blue screen of death ate my hard drive and I have dead plastic for a computer now. I am in a strange town which I am convinced is cursed by a witch or something cause otherwise I wouldn't be this miserable crying over a laptop. This thing wasn't even old enough. Now wasn't it's time.
Ahem, I am back to being myself. In short, most of my files are gone because my last backup was centuries ago. I managed to save two chapters that end this story which I will post only because I have a (legitimate) fear of losing them in the mess of data I have left. This is the opposite of how I pictured my holiday to go. Deep breaths. Minor setback. Sorry for constant botheration. I am not fun to be around when I am mourning a dead piece of technology. Whine, whine.
"I am going rogue". Her grip on his fingers, her confidence in his competence was a beautiful sight. He had been so proud of her in that second. The commotion around them halted, time stopped. Like in the movies, she became the center of his being. He could not believe his ears. Never did he think someone would be so passionate about him, so devoted that she led her life with the goal of keeping him alive. Well, symbolically the country. But everyone knew it was secretly just him. He was the King after all. Now he was just ruining the moment with self-aggrandizing bas***dness. The point was, the queen was ready to commit treason so she could have a life with him.
As he passed her a glass of water to wake her from the nervous unconsciousness, he thought of the best political move. From a king's perspective, a soldier is a chess pawn. A respected chess pawn. Still, a mere pawn. His best bet was to shoot orders like he did to every other serviceman who worked for him.
"They don't know your intentions. They know you love me but, they don't know how far you will go. They don't know you have disclosed their plans to me. They don't know we are together again".
"Well, only a matter of time before they find out".
"Then, let us not waste any more precious minutes sitting idly. Tell me everything I don't know".
Madhu narrated bits and pieces of her journey that were relevant. She was not sure if Rishabh was ready to face her demons. So, those would be tucked away safely in a need-to-know pile. For now, he would realize that three of the six heads of his intelligence agencies, directly in charge of domestic espionage were conspiring against him. His wise spy spouse had advised not to harm the bureaucrats They take orders from any hollow soul with a title. If the men at the top were dead, the rest of the food chain would crumble without effort. Destroy them and the world order would be restored.
Except, there was one big problem: she did not know which three men were the traitors. So, he recited the very words a soldier never wants to hear: "I want them dead. Look each of them in the eye and pull the trigger. They must pay for what they did to my father. You have your personal grudge against them. Now is your chance".
It was unlike her to argue. The highest order she would ever received had been given. It was almost as if all her life had built up to this moment. This was the end goal. With fire in her veins, she loaded Glock 9 and stood waiting behind the tainted glasses of the conference room. An old joke came to mind, why do spies never have a party?
Because this happens.
One dead motherf**ker. Boom. A bullet straight to the head. The others should not have time to react or, get their hidden amo out. Else this would be a blood bath. Well, more than she was going to make it anyway.
Two dead motherf**kers.
Adrenaline pumping through her vessels, she could taste the death in the air as she delivered the sentence.
Three. Four. Five. Six. All dead on spot.
The splatter had colored the king as he stood and watched from a corner. He was somehow amused by the art of her act. The glass was shattered just enough to pierce the bullets through it, no extra damage. The blood was marking the bodies though, most of it still within confines of the flesh. The damage was minimal like she had been considerate of the cleaning crew. Of course, by the time the royal entourage of bodyguards surrounded the king and queen, Madhubala had melted the gun into a block of iron indistinguishably from junkyard furniture. The adrenaline had worn off from both their systems and panic was kicking in.
His reaction was mostly disgust, with the happenings. Maybe with her too but, he rationalized those thoughts out of his conscious. She had done it for him and they would get through this. He had reassured her countless times now. Her response was close to none. The look on her face was plain, she had a tremble in her step. But, the dark ops training had everyone fooled. She knew how to disguise her emotions behind a poker face. More trusted people had been appointed to the now vacated intelligence executive positions in advance. So, Rishabh could go to work like any other day.
Since the deceased members were overt, a short news segment announcing their retirement would be run on TV, one by one, over the course of months. The general public did not bother with the lives of the intelligence agency employees so, putting out a death notice would not be needed. If anyone of importance asked, it was either the men had gone on a long vacation to a remote island or declared dead of natural causes, depending on the clearance level of the questioning party. The bodies were disposed off by a special squad whose only job was to keep secrets. All said and done, the big mess and the big cleanup promised a hope for a brighter future.
All hope shattered when she drowned deeper into her whirlpool of worries. They had gone back to being the normal couple to the world but, in the solitude of night, she wouldn't let him touch her. Twelve long, unbearable months later, two sexually frustrated individuals sat across from each other with a marriage counselor playing referee. That is when they realized, they had to start from scratch.
"How do we go from here?" Rishabh threw himself on the rock hard mattress in Madhu's room. The woman had an odd habit of buying unsleepable sleep sets. The bed frame was made of iron, turning subzero in the dead of winter. The mattress was far from comfortable and the sheets had so much texture, it was an allergic reaction waiting to happen. No wonder why she never got any REM sleep. "Pretty much all the sexy times", he spoke in a sleazy voice."...happened in my palace. You really ought to invest in a better bedroom if you want me"
"I am not very keen. Thank you".
"For a woman looking to win me back, you really have an attitude".
"I am not looking to win you back. I think I have redeemed myself enough. I am happy with my service and it's time to retire. Adios to being the good soldier. I am a civilian now".
"Do you not love me any more?" He phrased it like a question but the words sounded more like a statement. Was the honeymoon over now?
She turned to face him, her cheek marking the imprints of her terrible choice in comforters. Making figure eights on the exposed skin of his leg, she comforted him the best she could.
"As much as I swear by science, love does not die overnight. I will probably always be in love with you".
"I will too...I don't love you because of...I wish I could but...I love you in spite of...you are my rock. Don't you ever forget that".
"Where do we go from here?" She closed her eyes for a minute, her fingers gaining access to the base of his scalp.
Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi 2
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