Khaani: Mera Dushman Mera Ishq

Mir Hadi strikes

Upon seeing Hadi, Khaani quickly got up from the ground and stepped back in shock. Slowly getting up, Hadi said,"Kya baat hai tum mujhe dekh kar itni shocked kyu ho? Yeh reaction to mera hona chahiye tha. Main kabse tumhe dhund raha hu aur tum mili bhi mujhe kaha? Election Commission ke office mein. Waise kissi cheez ko agar dil se chaho to puri kayanat usse tumse milane ki saazish karti hai yeh baat maine suna tha aaj yaqeen bhi ho gaya...tum jaanti nahi main tumse dobara milne ki kitni besabri se intezar kar raha tha tumhara ek karz hai mujh par usko utaarna-". "Khaani!",a voice called. Hadi turned. It was Sarim Khan coming through the corridor. Reaching them, he addressed Khaani, "Main kabse tumhara wait kar raha hu...". Khaani fumbled to say something when Hadi spoke up,"Excuse me?Aapne abhi apni missus ko kis naam se bulaya?Khaani, what a unique name.". Sarim chuckled and replied,"Yeh meri chhoti behen hai Sanam Khan hum sab isse pyar se Khaani bulate hai. Woh kya hai na meri behen ko gussa bohot jaldi aa jata hai..bilkul Pathano jaise iss liye Ma ne iska naam Khaani rakha hai.".
"Bilkul sahi naam rakha", Hadi muttered to himself. "Kya?", Sarim asked. Hadi shook his head and said,"Kuch nahi". Sarim's eyes fell on Hadi's neck. It had a bandage peeking out of the collar. "If you don't mind me asking, aapko yeh chot kaise lagi?", Sarim ask curiously. Hadi glanced at Khaani, who turned white dreading Hadi's answer. "Woh..main apni gun clean kar raha tha to galti se misfire ho gayi.", Hadi replied. His words surprised Khaani. "Oh", Sarim replied,"Lagta hai aapko shooting ka bohot shauk hai.". "Obviously", Hadi replied with pride,"Main ek Mir hu after all. Aap bhi to Khan hai gun se mohabbat aapke bhi khoon mein hogi.". Sarim said,"Not at all.Humare baaki family members ke paas gun hai. Lekin Khaani aur main US mein bade huye the. Humari maa ne hume inn sab cheezon se humesha door rakha hai... I don't think Khaani ne apne life mein kabhi gun pakri bhi hogi.". "I see", Hadi responded in mild wonder, his eyes meeting Khaani's, who sensed the underlying sarcasm in his tone. Khaani decided to take cut short the meeting. "Sarim hume late ho raha hai, chale?", she asked her brother. Sarim nodded. He shook hands with Hadi,"All the best", he said. Hadi replied,"Same to you...I will see you around. Bye Khaani.". Khaani simply nodded and hastily followed Sarim. Before turning to the exit, she turned paused and turned around, only to find Hadi staring at her from afar.
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~Two weeks later~
Carrying her bags, Khaani walked across the parking lot towards her car. After days of rallies, campaigning and meet and greet, Khaani finally got an 'off-day' which she spent shopping to her heart's content in the nearby mall. It was a day to relax and laze around. She was no longer worried about Mir Hadi. If he wanted to expose her in front of the press or her family he would have done it long back. But for some reason (maybe male ego) he is lying about his bullet wound, Khaani guessed he too does not want anyone to know about that night's incident.

Khaani sat in her car. She was about to start it when suddenly the door of the passenger seat opened. Mir Hadi sat in the car. "Hello, Khaani.", He greeted smiling at her. "Yeh kya badtameezi hai?Meri car mein kya kar rahe ho tum?!", Khaani demanded. He feigned shock and replied,"Badtameezi? Abhi to maine kuch kaha bhi nahi. Humari uss din ki baat adhoori reh gayi thi.". Khaani protested,"Mujhe tumhari koi baat nahi sunni. Meri car se niklo abhi!". Hadi said,"Yaar bohot hi ungrateful ho tum..uss din tumhare bhai ke saamne tumhara saach chhupaya aur tumne ek thanks bhi nahi bola mujhe. Waise hats off to you kya bewakoof banati ho logo ko. Raat ko chhoti dress aur heels pehenkar innocent logo pe goli chalati ho....aur din mein sati Savitri bankar Bhai ke peechhe sir hilati ho. Kya cheez ho yaar tum....I am impressed(giving a mock salute).". "Innocent? Aur tum?", Khaani fumed,"Agar Maine Sarim ko bata diya hota na uss tumne mujhpar banduk taani thi to woh wahi tumhe zinda gaar deta. Ab jaldi jaldi bolo tumhe kya chahiye isse pehle main tumhe phirse goli maar du. Aur iss baar seedha seene pe goli chalaungi.". Mir Hadi took out his phone and passed it to Khaani. Hadi smirked as Khaani's expression turned from frustration to horror. It was the CCTV footage from the night of the shooting. The footage showed Khaani taking a gun out of her car and firing at someone. Hadi was conveniently out of the frame. "Picture kaisi lagi?", Hadi asked as he took his phone out of Khaani's hands,"Mujhe to bohot pasand aayi. Tumhe lagta hai baaki awaam ko yeh movie achchi lagegi? Especially tumhare ghar walo ko?". Khaani didn't rise to his bait this time. After a moment's silence she said,"Tum mujhe blackmail karne aaye ho yaha?". Hadi clicked his tongue and said,"Sach mein bhalayi ka koi zamana nahi raha. Main iss waqt police station ho sakta tha tumhare khilaaf complaint file karne..abhi meri jagah police ho sakti thi tumhe hathkadi lagate huye...pure duniya ke saamne tumhare family ki izzat ki dhajiya udd sakti thi..lekin nahi!Maine aisa kuch nahi kiya...ulta main khud tumhare paas aaya hu saboot lekar. Kaha tumhe Mera ehsaan Maan na chahiye aur tum ho ke mujh par ilzaam laga rahi ho.". Khaani rolled her eyes. Just when she thought things were going well for her this man had to come and ruin everything. "Iss video ke badle kya keemat loge saaf saaf batao mere paas pura din nahi hai!",Khaani demanded again. Hadi replied "Agar tumhare jagah koi aur hota to ab tak main yeh video viral kar chuka hota. Lekin tum mujhe pasand ho. Iss liye main yeh video destroy kar dunga. Iske badle tumhe apne bhai ko bolna hai ke woh apna nomination wapas le le.". His words shocked Khaani. She glared at him. "Have you lost it?", She almost whispered,"Tumhe pata bhi hai tum kya keh rahe ho?". Hadi replied in a serious tone,"Tumhare paas next week tak ka time hai...yaa to Sarim nomination se apna naam hatayega ya to main tumhare shooting ki video ko public kar dunga....aur uske baad woh election bhi haarega aur apni izzat bhi. So isn't it better ke woh kahi aur se election lade at least uski izzat to rahegi.". Khaani said angrily,"Agar tumhe lagta hai ke main tumhare dhamki se darr jaungi to tum bilkul galat soch rahe ho! Aur tum yeh nahi samajna ke tumhare iss dhamki ke peechhe chhupe darr ko main dekh nahi paa rahi. Survey humne bhi karaya hai...Sarim ki popularity din ba din badhti ja rahi hai elections to wohi jeetaga tum chahe jitna haath paer maarlo!". Hadi replied coldly,"Hum Mir haath-paer nahi maarte...hum shikaar karte hai. Aur jab shikaar tum jaisi ho to uska mazaa hi kuch aur hai. Kismat achhi hai tumhari ke uss raat ke goli ka jawaab mein itne civilised way mein de raha hu...warna uss goli ke jawaab mein tumhe aur tumhare bhai ko kabka-". Hadi couldn't finish his sentence. Khaani angrily grabbed his collar with both hands. Her face was white with fury. Glaring at him she whispered with gritted teeth,"Tumhari dushmani mujse hai na? Usse mujh tak hi rakho. Agar mere bhai par tumne ek ungli bhi uthayi to main tumhara haath kaat dungi.". With his face inches apart from hers, Hadi stared at her eyes. They weren't desperate or scared but had a strange fire in them. Stunned, he quietly pried his fingers out of her collar and leaned back against his seat waiting for her to say something. Khaani did the same. She closed her eyes trying to rein in her anger. She needed to keep calm and think with her head. Antagonising him would only make matters worse for her. After a few moments, she said,"I am sorry...ainda aisa nahi hoga.". Hadi smirked. Her knuckles were tight from grabbing the steering wheel; her breathing harsh. She was struggling hard to keep her temper in check Hadi could clearly see it. Sorry?My foot! Tumhara bas chale to abhi mujhe Jaan se mardo, he thought to himself. He decided to add insult to injury."I am sorry?", Hadi asked pretending confusion,"Mujhe theek se sunayi nahi diya.". Khaani took a deep breath before saying aloud,"I am sorry abhi Jo hua uske liye aur uss raat maine jo kiya uske liye bhi...main Sarim se baat karungi.". Hadi smiled and said,"Mujhe pata tha ke tum jaisi samajdar ladki sahi decision legi.".
Waving goodbye, Hadi got out of her car. As Khaani watched him go, the wheels started turning in her head. There was no chance in hell that she was going to make Sarim withdraw his nominations. She dialled Ahmed's number. When he picked up, she said,"Ahmed? Mujhe Mir Hadi ki saari information chahiye...jald se jald. Putting on her Gucci shades, Khaani drove out of the parking lot, if Mir Hadi thought she was going to cower and do his bidding he was going to be sorely disappointed.

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As he was getting ready for bed, Hadi's eyes fell on the left side of his neck. There was an angry red scratch. When Khaani grabbed his collar, she had accidentally scratched him. Neither of them noticed it at the time. Mir Hadi, he thought running his finger along the mark, yeh ladki to tumhari jaan le kar hi maanegi. At twenty-six years with ruggedly handsome looks and cocky attitude that comes only with being the sole heir to one of the most prestigious political dynasties and feudal families in Pakistan, Mir Hadi was something of a national crush. Women found him irresistible and were ready to do his bidding at the flick of his fingers. And men knew better than to challenge his gunpower or political power. Mir Hadi was invincible. Or so he thought, until he was hit by Sanam Khan's bullet.

"Khaani", Hadi whispered to himself as he took the bullet she hit him with in his hands. It had found a permanent residence in his wallet just like its owner now constantly occupied his thoughts. It was rare for Hadi to have people stand up to him and here was a girl who gave as good as she got. Bringing her under his control was going to be fun. Although, he thought wistfully, it would have been even better if she hadn't been Sarim's sister. As a rule Hadi never got involved with women hailing from political and business families. It was simply a rule of not mixing business with pleasure. Things tended to get overcomplicated.

However, Khaani being Sarim's sister worked very well for Hadi. The CCTV footage would help him win the elections and teach Khaani a lesson. He'd be killing two birds with one stone. Sarim was a strong contender. He was charismatic, approachable and most importantly popular in the constituency because of his relief work. If Sarim was removed, the seat would virtually be Hadi's even before the election. So, why should Mir Hadi waste his time and money on the chance that he could win the election when Khaani was going to offer him the constituency on a platter?