Durga Takes Aim At Queen Bee

Prologue: In Durga, Nikita outwits her assailant. The video goes viral. In the second episode Durga Arises, Nikita together with Wasan lays a trap for a wife abuser who finds himself debilitated for life with an accident injury. In the third episode, Nikita and Wasan take the help of the Baba to dispatch 3 evil doers altogether. Nikita works at the Women’s Self Defense Institute; Tara is the psychiatric counselor. Wasan runs a private detective agency.

It was an unusual morning for Nikita as she and Wasan were taking a leisurely stroll in the Cubbon Park. Nikita felt totally relaxed and the cool breeze added to her comfort. Nikita and Wasan were in a reflective mood and they were taking stock of the new direction in life they were into. Nikita said this seems to be the aim of my life. Doing what one can for these wretched women and of course, the adrenalin rush one gets in settling scores and providing succor to them. Wasan was also of the same opinion and she said: “you are like the ‘Holm’ing pigeon, always on the target” with a twinkle in her eye. Best friends they were they chatted for some more time and departed.

Later in the night, the apparitions came back in Nikita’s dreams. The morning saw Nikita with an adrenalin rush as she prepared for office in anticipation. Tara was waiting for her with case papers and she said that the count of the missing teenage girls had risen to 3 in the last 30 days. Their mothers were inconsolable. Nikita quickly called up Wasan and a field operative was put on the track of Shahbanu Begum, also known as the queen bee in underworld circles. There were unconfirmed rumors going around that the queen bee had become very active during the election season as the demand had gone up among the businessmen, police, and politicians. The institute’s well-wishers in the police circle reported that the FIRs filed by the mothers were collecting dust the excuse being election duty. They too suggested that the queen bee may be behind the scene and she was well connected.

A week later the report that Nikita was reading could not confirm the link between missing girls and the queen bee. Nikita had then suggested to Wasan that they need to dangle the hook. It was by chance Kali had enrolled for Nikita’s defense class. Kali was looking for money as her mother’s treatment required it and her income as a part-time actress was not enough. When Tara did the psychological appraisal, it came out that both the mother and Kali were themselves victims of physical abuse and her mother had become an alcoholic and liver needed to be operated. Kali like her name suggested had ferocious will power and willing to take on anything to meet life squarely. 

Wasan made the brief to Kali and provided some essential training for Kali’s safety. At the posh Windsor apartment where the who was who lived, a burqa-clad woman approached the security and said she wanted to meet the queen bee. When she came face to face with the queen bee Kali removed her burqa and revealed her dangerous curves. Queen bee liked what she saw especially the pouting lips like that of a fish and when Kali responded that she was good at playing the mouth organ, she knew she was making excellent recruitment. Kali didn’t fail to notice the paan reddened lips of the queen bee and the silver laden box containing paan, beetle nut, and other accessories. Queen bee’s mobile rang and as she moved to her bedroom to pick up the conversation, Kali eavesdropped on her. Kali heard her saying new recruitment can do the job very well. Two days later the first assignment was given to Kali which Kali politely declined stating that the mother was in the hospital and her presence was required. A week later Wasan answered Queen bee’s call on behalf of Kali and reported Kali was suffering from Dengue fever.

As Nikita was finishing a Sherlock Holmes story in her bed her mind lit up with the idea of a poisoned paan. The next day she rushed to the private forensic lab to discuss with Mrs. Sithalakshmi about poisons. Sitha was thinking of the last tutorial she had given Nikita on mixing alcohol and drugs and now about poison. She read in the newspapers about the accident of the wife abuser, a minister’s son in whose case the mixing of drugs and alcohol as was tested in the blood was hushed up. She knew as the pathologists who had done the test had consulted her. As Nikita was leaving, Sitha quietly handed over a vial of Belladonna extract with instructions on how to use and store the drug. Sitha saw in Nikita, her lost daughter who succumbed to drug addiction.

Nikita had worked out a plan for the poisoned paan on her drive back to the office.

Nikita and Tara called on queen bee and invited her to be the chief functionary for the Women’s Day celebration at the institute. Queen bee gleefully accepted the invitation as it was rare that anybody would invite her. When Nikita mentioned nice flat, queen bee took them round in the flat. Nikita noticed that the queen’s bedroom was southeast facing and said it was always Vastu aligned. The queen bee nodded and remarked, “so you know about Vastu as well, I always keep the balcony door open as it lets in sunlight in the morning and in the evening, I get a cool breeze.” Nikita noticed the rocking chair facing the balcony door.

Shahbanu was there fully decked up and enjoyed the program. As she was leaving after a sumptuous snack Nikita handed over a cute little gift box with a set of two Benaresi paans and said it was specially brought from Kolkatta as they knew she had a fondness for paan. As queen bee opened the box it was written on the front bon voyage, Nikita smilingly said it meant a safe journey in French. Queen bee tucked a paan in her mouth with élan laughingly said where does she go anywhere? She never knew that night she would be a taking a lifelong journey.

Queen bee was in a great mood as she returned to her penthouse Windsor apartment on the 10th floor. She felt very lightheaded as the paan had begun its effect. As she entered her bedroom the cool breeze from the opened door to the balcony enveloped her and added to her lightness she had felt. She tucked her second paan and started humming the tune “kaike paan Benaresi wallah” and did a jiggle too ala Amitabh. Then began the delusionary effect of the Belladonna laced paan. She sat on the rocking chair and closed her eyes. Durga came dancing in her eyes from the play she had seen put up by the women. Durga was stabbing at the demon. Suddenly the demon’s face changed, and she saw her own face. She screamed and tried to open her eyes. Her eyes, she felt, had got stuck. She now started feeling the stab of the Durga’s trident. She saw herself bleeding wherever the trident stuck. She called out to Nikita for help and saw Nikita’s face turn into that of Durga’s. Kali came in her dreams and she too turned into a monster like a figure with her bloodstained tongue hanging out. Kali was sucking at her blood pouring from her wounds. She ran towards what seemed to be a door. In her delusion, she did not realize that it was the balcony door and stumbled on the parapet wall. The last thing she was thinking, when she felt herself flying was that she must call the mason and put a railing to the parapet wall as it was too low for comfort. She told herself ‘bon voyage.’

Nikita’s police sources informed that a diary was found hidden underneath her bed. It helped to trace the missing 3 girls and others who were in the queen bee’s nexus. Wasan said once again Nikita’s aim was perfect and had ‘holm’ ed on the target.

Sitha read about the ‘leap of death’ of Shahbanu as the newspaper had headlined and further said she was allegedly involved in trafficking and prostitution. Sitha thought of Nikita and muttered to herself ‘may Durga stand by you in your action.’