Fantasy CRUSADE OF KAVYA IN AGARTALA

[Anoop Nair]

Update – 13
 
The next morning, Kavya woke up early, her mind still clouded with worry. She skipped breakfast, took a quick shower, and dressed in her crisp security officer uniform. She didn’t want to waste a moment. Without a second thought, she drove straight to the hospital.

By the time she reached, the corridors were already starting to fill. She walked with purpose toward the ICU, where Inspector Chandan had been kept under observation since his collapse.

She found the doctor near the nurse’s station and approached him immediately.
“Doctor,” she said, “Any update on his condition?” The doctor looked up from his clipboard and nodded. “Yes, madam. His vitals have stabilized. He’s out of immediate danger… but he’s still in a coma. There’s no neurological activity strong enough to wake him up yet.”
Kavya’s face tense. “Will he recover?”
The doctor gave a cautious shrug. “We can discharge him by next week if the family wants to continue treatment at home or in another care facility. But I won’t give any false hope. Right now, we can’t say whether or if he’ll regain consciousness. It could take weeks… or months.”
Kavya stood silently for a moment, absorbing the weight of the uncertainty.
She turned and saw Chandan’s parents sitting quietly on a bench nearby, looking tired and worried. She approached to greet them gently, offering quiet strength with a simple nod. They gave her a respectful, grateful smile.

That’s when she overheard a nurse quietly mentioning that Shalini had gone to meet some of her friends to try and arrange money for Chandan’s treatment.
Kavya froze. A wave of guilt hit her. The very officer who stood by her through thick and thin, the one who risked everything to help her expose corruption, now lay in a hospital bed, while his wife scrambled to gather funds.
She turned without saying a word and walked straight to the billing counter.
“I’d like to make a payment toward Inspector Chandan’s medical expenses,” she said.
“Are you a relative?” the billing clerk asked.
“No. I’m responsible,” she replied firmly.
She paid a significant portion of the pending amount, without revealing it to the family.

As she walked back through the hospital corridor, her eyes were sharp and focused. This wasn’t just duty anymore. It was personal.
And whoever brought Chandan to this point would answer it.
As Kavya stepped out of the hospital, the morning sun felt harsh against her face. Her mind was weighed down by emotion, but she forced herself to stay composed. She had just reached for her car when her phone rang again.

Private Number – HQ She exhaled and answered. “Hello, Kavya Shetty speaking.”
Her superior’s voice came through, stern and direct. “Kavya, what the hell is going on over there?” Kavya straightened her posture instinctively. “Sir?”
“We’re getting heavy pressure from political circles about the harbor case. Media is stirring up noise, opposition parties are fishing in chaos, and people are pointing fingers upward. We need results.”
“I understand, sir. We’ve identified connections, but we’re working to confirm who’s behind”
“We don’t want vague lines and assumptions, Kavya!” he cut in sharply. “We need solid evidence. If Gajender Singh is the one behind this, we need proof strong enough to hold in court.”

Kavya clenched her jaw, silently absorbing the blow.
“You’ve gotten days,” he continued. “If you don’t bring something concrete by then… we’ll have to shut this operation down. And you know what that means.”
Kavya closed her eyes. “Yes, sir.”
The line went dead.

She lowered her phone slowly and stood still by the car, the city noise fading in her ears. The walls were closing in from politics, from betrayal, from the weight of responsibility. She looked back at the hospital, where Chandan lay unconscious, and at the sky, where vultures circled silently. This was no longer a routine case. It was a war.

Ten days?
To uncover the truth. To bring down Gajender Singh. And to protect everyone who still believed in her.
Kavya started the engine. Her expression was calm, but her eyes burned with resolve. “Game on.”
Kavya’s head throbbed with a dull ache as she gripped the steering wheel. The weight of the last 24 hours Chandan’s condition, the hospital, the pressure from her superiors had settled heavily on her shoulders.
She made a quick decision. “No more today,” she whispered to herself. “I need to breathe.”
Turning away from the city’s chaos, she drove straight back to her villa, her mind clouded with fatigue and quiet frustration.

As she parked and stepped out of the car, Balraj looked up from the small garden he was tending to. One glance at her face was enough. Her eyes were tired, her movements slower, and she didn’t even acknowledge his presence—something she always did, even on her worst days.

Balraj watched silently, sensing something had gone terribly wrong.
Kavya walked straight through the front door and climbed the stairs to her room without a word. Once inside, she shut the door gently behind her and let out a long, strained breath.
She unbuttoned her uniform shirt and slipped it off, dropping it carelessly over the armrest of a chair. Dressed in her undershirt, she collapsed onto the sofa, letting her head fall back.
Silence filled the room thick and still.

She closed her eyes and pressed her fingers to her temples. The tension in her body refused to fade. Everything felt like it was falling apart.
But for now, she didn’t want to think about the case. Not about Gajender. Not about her husband. Not about politics. She just needed one moment… to feel human.

Downstairs, Balraj hesitated near the stairs, listening to the faint movements above. Something was wrong. Very wrong. And he had a feeling this was just the beginning.
Time: 10:00 AM
Kavya was still seated in her upstairs room, nursing her headache and lost in thought, when her phone rang again.
Caller: Vivek Sharma
Her jaw clenched the moment she saw the name. She stared at the screen for a second before answering sharply.
“Hello?”
Vivek’s voice came through, casual and carefree. “Hey Kavya… thought I’d check in. You free tonight? We could meet, relax a bit, maybe even have a little fun”
He chuckled softly; his tone laced with overfamiliarity. That was it.

Kavya’s eyes flared with anger. Her voice, though low, carried a storm. “Look here, Mr. Vivek Sharma,” she said with chilling calm, “I’m not your wife. I’m not your friend. And you have no right to speak to me that way.”
There was silence on the other end, but she didn’t stop. “I am an IPS officer, and you will treat me with the respect that comes with it. Don’t ever call me again with your nonsense. I know very well you’re the one pressuring my higher officials behind the scenes on this harbor case. Whatever happened between us that night was a mistaken accident, and I took full responsibility for letting my guard down. But don’t think for a second that you can use it against me.”
Her voice dropped even lower deadly calm. “You try that, and I promise, Vivek… you’ll regret it.”
She ended the call.

For a moment, there was silence in the room. Kavya stared at the phone in her hand, her fingers trembling not with fear, but with rage.

Behind her door, unseen by her, Balraj had been quietly passing by when he heard everything.
He froze. His expression twisted slightly—not with sympathy, but with smug curiosity.
“So, this is what’s going on?” he thought, a small, amused smile creeping across his face. “That night… you and Vivek Sharma? IPS officer or not, madam… even you have your weaknesses.” He walked away silently, his thoughts already spinning.

Time: 10:10 AM
Balraj walked silently down the stairs, a strange expression lingering on his face. He headed straight to the kitchen, opened the fridge, and pulled out a few vegetables. His hands moved mechanically, washing, peeling, cutting but his mind was elsewhere.
His thoughts swirled with what he had just overheard upstairs.
“So, Vivek Sharma… and Madam IPS…” He smirked to himself, slicing through a tomato with precision.
“Ballu, this is your chance,” he muttered quietly, just under his breath, his eyes gleaming with a mix of mischief and calculation. “This is the moment you’ve been waiting for.”
The chopping grew more rhythmic.
She walks like a lioness, talks like a queen… but even queens fall when someone knows their secrets. This time, I won't just be her shadow in the house. This time, she'll know who Balraj really is.
He didn’t know exactly how he would use what he’d heard yet, but a seed had been planted. And Balraj, with his quiet presence and loyal servant mask, had learned the most dangerous skill of all,

About an hour later, Kavya came downstairs, having changed into a fitted T-shirt and dark leggings. Her hair was loosely tied, and she looked more relaxed but still carried the weight of the morning in her eyes.
She walked to the dining area and sat down, flipping through her phone briefly.

“Hey Balraj, I’m hungry. Please bring the food,” she called out.

From the kitchen, Balraj’s voice responded promptly, “Coming, madam.”

Moments later, he appeared with a tray of warm food steamed rice, dal, and a bowl of fresh vegetable soup. He set it all down carefully in front of her.
Kavya, visibly tired, didn’t speak. She simply started eating, slowly and quietly. Balraj didn’t leave right away. He stood a few feet from her, pretending to tidy the counter, but his eyes occasionally flicked toward her.

He watched the way she drank the soup, her lips gently pressing to the spoon completely unaware of the gaze behind her.

But his expression didn’t show desire, it was calculating and full of lust on her

“You look calm now, madam,” he thought. “But I know the storm that’s coming. And I’m going to be right in the middle of it.”

He quickly looked away as Kavya placed the spoon down and glanced up at him briefly. She didn’t say anything, just gave a quick, polite nod, still lost in her own world.

Balraj smiled slightly, bowed his head, and stepped back into the kitchen. In his mind, he had just taken one more step in a game only he knew was being played.

Balraj returned to the dining room after a few minutes, wiping his hands with a towel. He lingered near the table, watching Kavya as she slowly finished her meal.
There was a pause before he spoke. “Madam ji,” he said cautiously, “you look very upset today. Is everything alright?”

Kavya didn’t respond. Balraj took a step forward, speaking more boldly now.
“Handling criminals in Agartala… it’s not an easy job. You need more than just intelligence. You need power, madam. Both mental and physical.”
Kavya’s eyes snapped up, her glare cutting through him like a blade.

“Watch your words, Balraj,” she warned coldly.
But he continued, now walking a thin line between concern and provocation.
“Madam ji… people like you come into this post with top ranks and merit marks, no doubt. But the field is different. It’s ruthless. You need stability. Strength.”
That was enough.
Kavya stood up, her chair scbanging sharply against the floor.
Her voice was filled with fire:
“You third-rate, disgusting man how dare you speak to me like that? Mind your place!”
Balraj raised his hands immediately, backing away. “No, no, Madam ji, please… I didn’t mean disrespect. I only want to protect you.”
She said nothing, her chest rising and falling with fury.
Balraj took a deep breath, then dropped the real reason for his return.
“Yesterday, when I went to the market… Mr. Gajender Singh called me to his office. He gave me a brand-new smartphone and some money.”
Kavya’s expression turned cold. Sharp. “He asked me to keep an eye on you. To report everything. He said if I refused, he’d make my life hell.”
Kavya stared at him, stone-faced. Balraj slowly pulled out the phone and placed it on the table. “I took it… but I didn’t use it. Not once. You can check. Madam, I’m on your side.”
There was a long pause. Kavya finally spoke, her voice low and deadly calm.
“If you ever speak out of line again, Balraj, I’ll make sure you’re the one inside a jail cell.”
He nodded quickly, almost shaking. “And from now on,” she added, picking up the phone, “if Gajender Singh tries to contact you again, you play along. But only under my instruction. Understood?”
“Yes, madam,” he said. Kavya turned and walked away, her eyes focused now not on the anger, but on opportunity.
Balraj thought to himself, “Saali... I stood against Gajender Singh and supported you, and still, you treat me like a dog. You’ll pay for your stubbornness.”
Balraj said, “Madam ji, you know how it is here everything runs on money. If someone else had been in my place, they would’ve taken money from Gajender Singh and passed all the information to him. But I’m not that kind of man. You’re like my granddaughter.”

Hearing this, Kavya felt a twinge of guilt.
(Balraj had begun playing his game carefully acting like the loyal and honest one. But Kavya hadn’t forgotten what she saw that night in the room… him doing something suspicious using her name.)
Kavya thought to herself, “Was he right? If he cared more about money than me, he could have easily accepted Gajender Singh’s offer… but he didn’t.”
Finally, Kavya exhaled slowly, pushing back the storm rising inside her. She turned toward Balraj, her voice surprisingly calm. “Hey, Balraj…” she said, eyes steady, “I’m sorry if I was harsh earlier. I’ve been dealing with it a lot. Work pressure, political heat, and… personal stuff. It’s all been piling up.”
Balraj stood quietly, watching her expression soft, humble.

She gave a small, tiring smile. “Still,” she added, tilting her head slightly, “don’t tell me you see me like your granddaughter…”

She leaned in just a little, eyes narrowing with a glint of knowing mischief. “…I can smell your breath.”
The smile on her face didn’t fade but neither did the quiet warning behind her words.
Balraj’s smile twitched. For a moment, his mask almost slipped. “Oh… sorry, madam ji, I didn’t mean…” he stammered.

But Kavya was already walking past him, the tone of her voice shifting once again cool, controlled, and distant.

“Next time, brush before playing grandfather,” she said without looking back.
Balraj stood frozen for a moment, Kavya’s words echoing in his mind. “I can smell your breath.”
She hadn’t shouted. She hadn’t accused him of anything outright. But the way she looked at him calmly, sharp, amused, unsettled him deeply. As she disappeared into the hallway, Balraj’s thoughts began to race.
“Wait… what did she mean by that? Was she just joking?” he wondered.
“Or… did she actually see me that night?”
A cold sweat formed on his neck. He clenched his jaw, silently cursing himself.
“That light was off… was it? Or maybe… maybe she noticed something? Maybe she heard my voice?”
His face darkened. “No. No one saw. She’s bluffing. She must be. Right?”
But the unease in his chest grew heavier. Kavya’s composure wasn’t just strength, it was strategy. She didn’t reveal everything she knew. She tested him.
Kavya said, “Hey Balraj, what are you thinking? I was just joking.” She didn’t want to ask the question on her mind, so she quickly changed the subject.
Hearing this, Balraj felt a little relieved. Then, with a sly smile, he said, “Madam ji, are you playing a tricky security officer game with me?”
He paused, then added teasingly, “And you know, your commitment to me is still pending. You agreed to the competition, remember?”
Kavya said “Hmm
Balraj stood a few feet away, a smirk playing on his lips.
“Madam ji, look at me sixty years old, and still ready for a challenge. But you... you’re still thinking about it?”
He chuckled, shaking his head. “This says something, doesn’t it? Maybe you're not as tough as you pretend to be. Maybe… just a little weak?”
He said it playfully, but the aim was sharp. A carefully thrown dart at her pride.
Kavya turned sharply, her eyes blazing. “Balraj, enough.”
She stepped closer, her voice firm and unwavering. “Fix the time. Fix the place. I’m ready for your so-called competition.”
Her pride wouldn’t let her back down now. Balraj’s eyes lit up, though he kept his face composed.
Inside, he was almost grinning. “Yes,” he thought. “Just where I want her. The trap is set… and she walked right into it herself.”
Balraj, still playing the role of the humble old man, suddenly softened his tone.

“Madam ji, before we start this little competition, I’d like to take you to a place just once.”
Kavya raised an eyebrow. “Place?”
Balraj nodded, his expression unusually nostalgic.
“Trishna Wildlife Sanctuary. Deep inside the forest, there’s my old village. My family lived there long before the government moved us all out. Now it’s abandoned just a few broken houses, and one small temple. Our family god still rests there.”
He paused, looking at her face carefully.

“It’s quiet… untouched. If you go there, I swear, your mind will feel at peace. And maybe, in that silence, we can decide how we’ll play this ‘game’ of ours. Away from the city, away from stress. Just once, Madam ji.”
Kavya looked at him, measuring his words.
Her instincts whispered something. The location was remote. Unknown. Convenient for a setup.
But at the same time… what was he up to?
She said nothing for a long second. Then finally calmly she replied,
“You want me to come to the middle of a forest, with you… to pray before a cooking competition?”
Balraj smiled earnestly. “It’s a tradition, madam ji. One prayer before any challenge. Just a little trip. We can be back before nightfall.”
Kavya didn’t give an answer right away. But in her mind, wheels were turning. “Fine, Balraj,” she thought. “I’ll come. But I’ll be watching your every move.”
 
Balraj had executed his plan with precision.
Trishna Wildlife Sanctuary dense, remote, and long forgotten lay nearly 90 kilometers outside Agartala. Once home to scattered tribal families, the area had been cleared and absorbed into protected forest land. No one lives there now. No one watched.
It was the perfect place. Perfect for what he had in mind.
He had chosen the location carefully: an old shrine near the remains of his ancestral home, overgrown with vines and silence. It gave him an excuse and more importantly, isolation.
But despite his growing sense of control, a sliver of fear crept into Balraj’s mind.
This wasn’t an ordinary woman. This was Kavya Shetty, the sharpest, most respected IPS officer in the state. She wasn’t someone easily tricked. She had survived more dangerous traps than he could imagine.
“If she senses anything wrong… if she even suspects… she’ll destroy me,” he thought.
His lips tightened as he glanced at his packed bag. He wasn’t just playing with fire. He was dancing in the center of wildfire. But still, something in him pushed forward the thrill of control, the dangerous height of thinking he was finally one step ahead of someone like her.

Kavya rose from her chair and gave Balraj a brief nod. “Alright then, we’ll go on tommorow.”
With that, she turned and headed upstairs without saying another word.

Balraj watched her disappear, a quiet smile curling at the corners of his lips. His plan was to move. Upstairs, Kavya stepped into her room and closed the door behind her. She sat on the edge of the bed, untying her hair as her mind processed the decision she’d just made.

“Maybe this little trip isn’t such a bad idea,” she thought. “I do need a break. A change of scene. A moment to breathe.”

She stared at her reflection in the mirror for a long moment. “And Balraj… he’s just a 60-year-old cook. Whatever he’s trying to prove with this ‘competition’, I’ll win it with my eyes closed.”

There was confidence in her voice but also something more dangerous: underestimation.
She didn’t know the game she’d agreed to play had stakes she hadn’t seen coming.