The soft, golden haze of the early morning sun filtered through the iron-grilled windows, casting narrow slashes of light across the dusty air. A ceiling fan rotated in an energetic way above, its blades whining fast. The atmosphere inside the police station was heavy with routine muffled chatter, the rhythmic tapping of a constable typing a report, and the distant clang of a cell door being shut.
In the middle of it all sat Vikram in his cabin, razor-sharp, and unfazed. His uniform shirt was slightly creased, sleeves neatly rolled to the elbows, and his fingers moved with quiet precision over a stack of case files, flipping through them as if the chaos outside these walls didn’t concern him. A half drunk cup of chai rested beside a loaded service revolver, both sitting like loyal companions on his cluttered wooden desk.
Then, the silence cracked.
The main door slammed open with a thud that shook the station. Papers fluttered. Heads turned. And in walked Raj Kulkarni, a storm wrapped in a designer blazer, fury etched into every line of his face. His presence was a threat in itself. He was in his late 20s, broad shouldered, eyes burning with vengeful rage. The kind of man who didn't knock, didn't wait, and never heard 'no'.
An inspector approached to stop him but was held back by Shinde. The inspector looked back to see Shinde shaking his head to him in a no.
"Mat ja, Vikram Sir ko handle karne de. Woh hi iss kutte ko apne jagah la sakte hai" He smirked.
Raj without any warning, stromed inside Vikram's cabin. Only to find him sitting there unbothered, continuing his work. Which angered him more if he was angry any less.
Vikram didn't flinch. He didn't even look up immediately. He flipped the page in front of him, underlining a sentence with methodical calm. Only when Raj's shadow fell across his desk did he finally lift his eyes, cool, sharp, unshaken.
"You think you're some kind of hero here?" Raj questioned, fury lacing in his voice. His teeth gritting in immense anger.
Vikram sighed and tapped his fingers on his table in a rhythm.
"Not a hero. Just doing my job. Can't say the same for your brother" and Raj saw, he saw the damn tiny smirk that Vikram passed.
Raj stepped forward, fists clenched, his knuckles white. His tone shifted from angry to venomous.
"Tujhe kahi ka nahi chorunga mein sale. Mere bhai ko mara hai tune. Raj Kulkarni ke bhai ko. Tujhe agar meine ek din jamin pe nahi laya na toh mera naam bhi Raj Kulkarni nahi" he fumed, his body shaking in anger.
"Thik hai fhir, i will wait for the day patiently" Vikram leaned on his chair, clicking his tongue on the side of his cheek with a sense of mock.
Raj slammed his palms down on the desk. The noise rang through the room like a gunshot. Everyone outside froze, constables glanced over nervously but didn't dare intervene. This was beyond protocol now. This was personal.
"Touch my family again, and I swear to God, Vikram I will burn yours to the ground. One by one. Your whole family" He warned, pointing his finger at him harshly.
"I will bury you. And everything you love" Vikram smirked at it and shook his head.
"Ahh! For that toh you need to work very hard. Hmm, all the best trying then. Try very hard to find each of my family members" he tsked.
A thick silence hung in the air.
And suddenly Vikram's facial expression changed from playful and nonchalant to serious. He leaned forward just slightly, enough to close the distance between them. And whispered hoarsely.
"I have had guns pointed at me. I've buried friends in uniform. I've stood in front of bombs and broken bodies. You think a threat from a politician with blood on his shoes and money in his veins scares me?" Raj didn't say anything, he just fisted his palm in quiet anger and humiliation.
"Madhav ko ek na ek din marna hi tha, usne karma jo itne aache kiye hai. Aaj nahi toh kal ya toh mere haathon marta ya kisi aur ke. Aur dekho bhagwan ne uska taqdeer mere haathon marna likh diya" Vikram tsked in a sarcastic way and leaned back on his chair.
"Waise bhi tumhara bhai ne jitna kand kiya hai, uska chittha khola jaye toh he deserves worse than an easy death-" Vikram couldn't complete his sentence as he was flung closer by a pull on his collar harshly.
"Mere bhai ke baare mein ek aur sabdh nahi samjhe. Khal uther dunga" Raj gritted his teeth in fury, clutching Vikram's collar in a death grip.
Vikram whereas chuckled and looked in the eye.
"Calm down Kulkarni. Itna josh bhi thik nahi. Aur on-duty police officer ka collar pakarna? Yeh toh bilkul bhi thik nahi" he tsked and shook his head, masking a pity expression.
"Tere jaise hazar kutte mere aage piche ghumte hai. Tu mujhe jail pe dalega?" Raj growled lowly, his voice dangerously growing.
"Kyu? Nahi dal sakta mein? 30 ke toh tum ho hi gaye ho. Itni bhi akal nahi hai ki kabhi sochlo MLA ke bete ko marke bhi kaise mein khule mein hoon?" Vikram smirked and rubbed his jaw lazily.
Hearing it Raj froze for a moment, before turning away with a clenched jaw. He left Vikram's collar harshly and groaned loudly in frustration.
"Ahhh" Raj punched the nearby wall. His breathing grew heavier, but his confidence was beginning to crack. Vikram whereas was calm, he chuckled seeing the latter's condition.
He leaned back on his chair and dusted his collar off as if it was dirtied earlier.
"6 saal se police pe kam kar raha hoon Kulkarni. Itna toh meine bhi apna jagah banaya hai ki koi tum ya tumhara baap jaisa aera gera aake mujhe apni jagah na bata paye" He fixed his hair, raking his fingers through it.
For the first time, Raj faltered. His eyes flicked away, just for a second. Enough to reveal the cracks beneath his fury. He straightened his blazer with a trembling hand, masking it as pride.
"This isn't over. I will come again, and next time I will make sure you witness the death of your love ones" he gritted his teeth, planning for an upcoming revenge.
"Umhm, i will be waiting" Vikram responded nonchalantly, sipping chai from a paper cup.
Raj turned and walked out, stiff and silent. The echo of his footsteps faded behind him. The station slowly exhaled. A few constables returned to their tasks, murmuring nervously.
Vikram opened his file, picked up his pen, and resumed filling out the report, as if nothing had happened.
Slowly a cricking sound of opening the door was heard. And Shinde stood behind it, slowly and cautiously stepping in, as if testing the water. Vikram noticing it shook his head while writing, his head still bowed down to the files.
"Jo bolna hai jaldi bolo Shinde" Shinde froze at it. Smiling sheepishly to himself, he scratched the back of his head.
"Uhm, sir..- is your mood good?" He hesitantly asked. To which Vikram pet out a sigh.
"Kya hoga mujhe. Bolo jo bolna hai" He urged. Shinde opened his mouth but then closed it again, maintaining a silence for a few seconds before breaking it himself.
"S-sir. Bura mat manna lekin aapki sachmein family nahi hai?" This made Vikram pause in his hands. He immediately stopped writing.
Family.
This was a word, he wasn't really familiar with. Vikram has grown up in an orphanage, no parental love, no love of siblings. Nothing at all. He has never seen his parents faces. Neither any of his relatives took him in.
He was bullied, beaten up. But one day. One day he decided to stand up for himself, and he fought back. From that day onwards he decided, that he won't let anyone press their power on him.
He would build himself in such a way that no one would be able to raise a finger before him.
Maturity quickly arised in him. In the age of playing with toys, he worked. He trained himself, so that no other kids would ever bully him again. He silently worked in a restaurant. Cleaning dishes and tables. Saving every penny he gets from the small part time job.
With the money he collected, he used to buy books to study. To become something, so that people respect him, yet fear him.
And that's how he cracked UPSC in his 3rd attempt.
Vikram sighed and looked up to see Shinde standing near the door with an expression which seemed like he regretted every decision he ever made in his life. Suppresing a chuckle he shook his head.
"Abhi tak toh nahi hai koi. Future ka pata nahi" he felt his lips twitched upwards a little as he said it. He looked away and poked his tongue to his inner cheeks, trying to suppress the smile that was threatening to come.
Masking his expression, he cleared his throat and stood up.
"Shinde, jaw gari nikalo" with that he clutched his revolver and cap and marched out of his cabin.
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It was early evening, 4:32 pm a crowded street jammed with vehicles, the fading sunlight turning everything golden red. Thabal had left the college a little late than usual as she was handled some tasks.
The evening air was thick and warm, the streets buzzing with honking cars, shouting vendors, and birds flying in flocks together.
She sat in the back of an auto-rickshaw, squished between two other passengers, her bag resting on her lap, eyes half-closed squinting a bit due to the wind's force. Her already small, monolid eyes looked like it was closed fully.
The auto suddenly came to stop in the traffic. She exhaled a sigh and let herself relax a bit. It was such a hectic day to begin with. If the two chatterbox were there with her, she would have at least enjoyed the ride. But now she was stuck all alone in the boring 13 minutes ride.
As Thabal sat quietly, waiting for the traffic to move. She suddenly felt conscious about herself. As if she felt eyes on her. And not the kind of good one. Wanting to be aware of her surroundings she moved her eyes to her left and right. Watching any uncommon thing.
Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed a group of three men sitting on a bike. At her left. Staring at her, with a dirty smirk. Eyes filled with lust. If they would have been a cartoon character Thabal was sure drool would have dripped down their mouth, the way they were staring as if starved for months.
One had a toothpick dangling from his lips, the others looked her up and down without shame, their expressions laced with something dirty and unspoken.
She stared at them back with a disgusted expression and moved her eyes away, feeling really disturbed by the looks. She just wish if she was able to climb down and slap the shit out of them.
With a clenched fist, she sat quietly, trying hard to ignore the looks. Suddenly she heard a low, vulgur whistle.
"Oi Madam! Jara idhar toh nazar ghumayiye" a man chuckled, followed by a few laughs from the other.
"Aare aare madam ko tang mat karo. Madam idhar ki nahi lagti. Madam ke saath pyaar se baat karo, pyaar se peshawo. Full love treatment milna chahiye. Itna gora badan, bedak twacha" Thabal cringed hard, closing her eyes shut in disgust.
"Aare-" another one was about to start when suddenly a loud horn continuously starting banging hard, without a pause. Not the usual traffic horn, but a deep, commanding blast that made even the vendors fall silent.
"Abey kon hai sale. Itni kya jaldi hai-" One of the men shouted, irritated. But the words died on his lips. Sensing the silence, Thabal opened her eyes and turned to her left to see the three of them turning back with a horrified expression over their face as if they have just seen their biggest nightmare.
Along with it she noticed the other people in traffic looking back with a sense of apology in their face, some whispering to each other and talking among themselves very lowly as if they were scared to be heard. Which raised her curiosity more. Hesitantly Thabal gripped on her bag and leaned across a passenger, sticking her head out of the auto.
And she froze as soon as she saw the view outside. There was Vikram sitting on the bonnet of his jeep as if he owned the whole city. With sunglasses on, his silver watch lazily resting on his wrist. The only thing that was easily eye catching was the shining silver pistol on his right hand. Which he was twirling with his fingers, as if it didn't scare the shit out of the people in traffic.
"Shinde" Vikram called, his voice lazy and rough. Still managed to calm the whole traffic.
"Yes sir!" Shinde immediately responded.
"Jaw teeno ko jeep pe bithawo. Police station ki ser karate hai" Vikram voice out, raking his hand in his short hair. The three men seemed to lose their colour as their face turned pale in fear.
Before they could apologise or beg, Shinde immediately jumped down and approached them, grabbing them by their collar. The last one in between the grip of his arms.
In between watching all those commotions happening, Thabal happen to meet eyes with him. Her eyes stuck, not able to advert elsewhere. Vikram removed his glasses and watched her with his keen eyes, yet softening it for her. To admire her.
And something happened. Something very surprising that was unexpected. Thabal smiled at him, a full blown cheeky smile. And quickly moved her head inside the auto.
Her heart raced, her cheeks warmed up with a hint of red tint. She sighed and slapped her cheeks softly, as if trying her best to not blush anymore. She didn't know why she smiled at him, it was not just in her control. She couldn't just help but smile at his gesture.
Now she was regretting it as hell. She was fucking embarrassed. Why did she did that? Why? Just why??
What must he be thinking?? She slapped her forehead in embarrassment.
Whereas Vikram. He just sat there, on the bonnet. Still stuck upon the smile she flashed. He wasn't supposed to be here. Not on this route. He was heading back from a brief meet with the commissioner when his eyes caught the familiar shape of a girl sitting in a rickshaw, half hidden behind another passenger.
He didn't know how, but somehow his internal instincts recognized her immediately. And that's when he realised, he was down bad for her.
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Hope you liked it
Stay safe sweeties 🌛🌷
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