As the branch had decided that Geetika and her team would cover this topic and news, Mr. Singh started fuming. Everyone was present in the conference hall.
Anu leaned over and whispered in Geetika's ear:
"If Mr. Singh had any hair left, they'd be standing straight by now."
Hearing this, Geetika gave a mischievous little smile, which Anu also shared. Seeing both of them laughing like that made Mr. Singh's face turn red with anger. Gritting his teeth silently, he muttered to himself:
"I'll deal with you, Geetika. Then you'll understand who you messed with."
Thinking this, he clenched his palms tightly into fists but couldn't do anything.
Meanwhile, Geetika and her team started heading toward the location in their car. A little while after they left, Mr. Singh made a call to someone and asked them to cover the same news. Finishing the conversation, he said:
"You don't need to worry about anything else. Just do exactly what I've told you."
And he hung up.
Geetika's team had now reached the valley at the location of the incident. The road was so badly damaged that the car couldn't go any further.
That's when Geetika said:
"Come on, guys! If we move like this, we won't be able to cover anything. We have to walk from here."
Her assistant, Suraj, replied:
"Yeah, and we'll record everything along the way."
"Yeah bro, good idea," added Anu.
The three of them grabbed their cameras, parked the car on the side, and set off on foot.
Up ahead in the valley, in the middle of the mountains, there was massive construction work going on—government approved. The accident had occurred right at this very construction site.
While walking, Anu looked up at the sky and said:
"Oye! Could that be my Squadron Leader up there?"
Hearing this, Geetika gave her an irritated look. Anu pointed toward the sky, signaling Geetika to look. Geetika looked at the plane and then at Anu and said:
"You… you'll never change. And what do you mean my? Focus on your work."
When Geetika looked at Suraj, she found him—along with the camera in his hands—also gazing at the plane in the sky. She gave him a light tap on the head and said:
"You too? I didn't expect this from you. Come on, be serious!"
Both Suraj and Anu quickly accepted the scolding and replied:
"Yes, boss."
After they moved ahead, Geetika couldn't help but glance upward once more and muttered to herself:
"Why should I care? Even if it is her… arrogant lady."
She made a face and kept moving forward.
The three of them began focusing on their news assignment. They documented every single detail.
Geetika noted everything meticulously in her medium-sized notebook. With a camera in one hand and her diary in the other, she continued walking alongside her team.
Meanwhile…
Kalpana had already surveyed the entire area from her aircraft. She was observing and marking all the major damage points.
There were at least three critically affected areas. All three points were mapped and the information was sent to the headquarters. From there, the intel was passed on to the frontline relief teams to ensure rapid deployment of rescue materials and personnel—particularly to help the trapped workers and citizens.
Suddenly Abhinav said over the comms:
"Panda, we've got all points. The rest is clear."
Both of them were in the aircraft, speaking in raised voices due to the noise. Kalpana responded:
"Roger that."
"A chopper would be easier and faster through the mountains. So let's head to base."
"Roger. We'll return by chopper."
"Roger, Panda."
She turned her jet around stylishly and both of them headed back to the base.
Down on the ground, the situation was catastrophic. Everything was in chaos. Deep in the valley surrounded by mountains, many vehicles and people were trapped. Some were injured, some unconscious, and others had stopped breathing altogether.
Geetika was watching all of this, capturing it through her camera lens. A strange pain stirred inside her chest. Despite the emotional toll, she continued to help people as much as she could—she wasn't just there to cover the news. She offered assistance wherever possible, balancing her duty as a journalist with basic humanity.
As they moved forward, they saw more and more people in distress. Geetika advanced toward what appeared to be a tunnel. But when she saw the scene, she gasped:
"Oh my God!"
The tunnel had completely collapsed. The rescue teams were working tirelessly. Kalpana and Abhinav arrived at the site in separate choppers. Both of them instructed their pilots to steer into the mountains and began securing themselves with cables and hooks. Once the helicopters were stable, they began descending toward the affected area.
Kalpana signaled forward with her fingers, then gestured to Abhinav to head one way while she moved in the other direction. Both of them hovered through the air, dropping down to help the stranded people. They began extracting victims one by one.
Kalpana felt a strange ache in her chest every time she held someone who had stopped breathing. But she kept going—because even a faint chance of reviving a life was worth the effort. They both worked tirelessly, pulling out people from the debris.
Meanwhile, Geetika got separated from Anu and Suraj. The two of them frantically called out her name and began looking for her. Unbeknownst to them, a man had been following Geetika from a distance, keeping an eye on her. Once she was alone, the man—taking advantage of the chaos—pushed her from a dangerously unstable ledge.
Before Geetika could react, she began sliding down the slope, completely unaware of who had attacked her.
The entire area remained in a state of panic. Eventually, as things started to stabilize slightly, Anu and Suraj reached the nearby relief camp set up a little distance away. They saw Kalpana arriving with a chopper. As soon as she touched the ground, she began detaching her cables and hooks.
Anu and Suraj ran toward her with their cameras. Kalpana looked at them but didn't recognize who they were.
She yelled over the noise of the helicopter's blades:
"Hey! Where are you running like that? Look up! Your heads will be chopped off if you're not careful!"
Anu shouted,
"Wait! Wait—"
Kalpana signaled with her hand,
"Relax. Tell me slowly."
Anu, catching her breath, said:
"Geetika… we can't find her. Please help us, ma'am. Please help!"
Kalpana frowned at the name and asked:
"Who did you say? Geetika? Geetika Chauhan?"
"Yes, ma'am! Please, she's missing—help us find her."
Kalpana, now suspicious, asked:
"What was she even doing here?"
She spotted the cameras in their hands and interrupted herself:
"Journalists! Couldn't you find any other story to cover?"
Suraj tried to say something, but Kalpana stopped him with a gesture.
"Relax. Where did you last see her?"
Anu replied,
"She was heading toward the tunnel."
Kalpana grew visibly irritated.
"What? Is she brainless? Why would she head toward the tunnel? Did she think she'd get all her headlines from there? Who even gave her a press badge?"
She turned her head in frustration, then stabilized herself and signaled her pilot to start the chopper again.
As the chopper lifted off and Kalpana took flight once more using her cable harness, Anu looked up in awe and said:
"She's not just hot—she's so brave too. I could die for her."
"Totally," Suraj added.
Top of Form
Kalpana reached the location and spotted someone waving a piece of cloth — a signal for help.
Through the microphone attached to her collar, she directed the pilot to head toward that spot. The chopper hovered closer and became stable. Adjusting her cable, Kalpana descended right next to Geetika and stood before her.
Seeing Kalpana in front of her, Geetika was shocked — but the anger and annoyance on her face were equally visible. She didn't say anything. Kalpana, however, did:
"You can put your T-shirt back on now."
Geetika shook her head in refusal.
Kalpana, clearly frustrated, said:
"Fine, don't wear it. Whatever."
When Geetika still didn't react, Kalpana lost her patience and snapped:
"I didn't come here to take you out for tea. Understood? Let's go! Hurry up! Don't waste my time."
Geetika remained rooted to the spot.
"What kind of madness is this?" Kalpana thought.
Without saying another word, she grabbed Geetika's hand, pulled her closer, and secured her with a hook to her own waist belt.
It didn't take Kalpana much time to do this. She immediately signaled the pilot to lift them up. Geetika, annoyed and struggling, tried to free herself from Kalpana's grip.
Kalpana growled in frustration:
"What nonsense! Stand still!"
With eyes full of anger, Kalpana tightened her grip even more. As they rose into the air, Geetika's hair started blowing all over Kalpana's face, irritating her further. She tilted her head to the side, trying to adjust and said:
"Tie your hair!" (Kalpana barked quickly)
"What is this? Who even talks like that?!" Geetika shouted.
Then she yelled louder:
"Stop! Stop! STTOOOOP!!"
Kalpana had enough.
"Shut up! What is wrong with you? Even a two-year-old has more sense! You don't? Don't push me—I won't take long to open this hook and you won't take long to hit the ground either. But my duty is more important than my anger—so keep your mouth shut until we land!"
"My camera… I left it down there… Let me go!" Geetika pleaded, still looking upward at the pilot.
"What?! You're more worried about your camera than your life?!" Kalpana snapped.
Geetika stared into Kalpana's eyes and said:
"Yes! My work is more important than me. Stop the chopper!"
She yelled loudly.
Kalpana said nothing.
Instead, she signaled the pilot to descend. The two of them landed, and Geetika picked up her camera.
At Kalpana's next signal, the chopper lifted again. While handling her camera, Geetika's T-shirt slipped from her hand and flew away with the wind. The chopper climbed higher.
As Geetika looked down, she grew scared. Panic took over. Without saying a word, she closed her eyes tightly — and hugged Kalpana.
Yes, she hugged Kalpana, fully aware of who she was.
Kalpana was stunned. A hot flush rushed through her body. A strange, deep warmth spread within her chest.
The feeling silenced her.
For a moment, both of them were quiet. All they could hear was the sound of the wind. Along with it, Kalpana could also hear a pounding heartbeat — "dhak dhak dhak dhak."
She wasn't sure whether it was hers… or Geetika's.
Perhaps time would answer that.
Moments later, they reached the surface. As soon as Kalpana's feet touched the ground, she unhooked herself from Geetika and stepped away.
Geetika hit the ground with a thud.
Realizing she was now on solid ground, she felt dizzy — her head spinning. Even then, she shouted:
"You arrogant lady! How dare you drop me like that?! What are you so proud of?!"
Kalpana, freeing herself from the cables, replied:
"Couldn't you come up with anything new? Being a journalist and all. Don't they teach manners in your line of work? Never learned to say thank you?"
"Thank you?! I'll never say it to you," Geetika said bitterly.
"I knew it. Memorize this line then…"
Just then, Anu and Suraj came running.
"Thank you, ma'am! Thank you so much!" Anu exclaimed.
"You can see her, but not me?!" Geetika snapped at Anu.
Kalpana responded to Anu's thanks:
"She your senior?"
"Yes, ma'am."
Kalpana turned to Geetika and said:
"Your juniors have better manners than you. Do thank them. Because today, you got to meet me — not once, but twice. All thanks to them."
Saying that, Kalpana walked away.
Geetika gritted her teeth:
"You—!"
But Suraj and Anu weren't even looking at her. They were still watching Kalpana walk away.
"She's so sexy," Anu clutched her heart dramatically.
Geetika tapped Anu on the shoulder, snapping her out of it.
"Oh, Geet! Are you okay? Are you alright?" Anu asked.
Geetika glared and said:
"Come home. I'll tell you everything there."
"Namaskar 🙏"