Monday, December 10, 2018

Three days later, a dazed Raghuveer sat beside his son, watching him sleep. Relief and gratitude coursed through his veins, it had been such long a time since he had seen peace on Tarun's face that he had almost forgotten it. He took Tarun's hand in his, gently rubbing it, the wrist bony to his touch. Tarun was gaunt and thin, the youthful chubbiness lost in those bouts of radiation and medication, and that had often despaired him. But not tonight. Not when Tarun was sleeping peacefully in his room, the surgery had gone well; all Raghuveer felt was hope.

However, he could not deny the faint disquiet that troubled him. For things had happened too quickly and too easily to be dismissed as mere coincidence; the doctor's appointment, Tarun's easy acquiescence, the readily available surgery team and finally the initial tests which had revealed that the tumour was marginally smaller than it had been the previous week. Kamakshi had been ecstatic at that result and turned into an ardent admirer of Dr Anand.

He had his doubts.

While he admitted that Dr Anand was a capable doctor and his suggested methods could prove successful, he could not deny the most of it could only be possible with supernatural intervention and he wondered why the Devil seemed to insistent on using him. But the pragmatic in him knew that despite such misgivings, he had practically committed himself. There was no way he could turn back.

Later, Raghuveer slipped out of his home and walked to the park, wondering if the Devil would make an appearance that night. He hoped it would be so, having made up his mind to accept the deal, he wanted to get over with it as quickly as follows. Despite him being a soldier, the idea of killing someone, especially one whom the Devil wanted dead for reasons not shared with him, unsettled him.

He did not have wait long before Luc, as he had insisted he be referred to, made his appearance. Not did he have to say a word, his presence was enough to signify his asset. Though he was relieved to note that Luc looked more like a normal human, albeit still a handsome man, surprisingly dressed similarly to him. Black jeans and a black t-shirt. Sturdy sensible shoes. And thankfully, no flames.

Luc smiled, "Good to have you on board. And you seem dressed for the part. I appreciate your enthusiasm, there is never a time like the present. So shall we?"

Raghuveer merely nodded, unsure of what would follow. And the world around him spun, disappeared and instantly appeared differently. He looked out of the gigantic windows and wondered where he was and heard Luc's faint voice answer him, "The observation deck of Imperial Towers, Mumbai"

Mumbai, the city of dreams and riches, a city of contrasts, one that never slept. A city that had always intrigued him, but he could not admire the view. And it was a known fact that the observation decks of the twin towers were not open to the public. But apparently, that did not stop the Devil and his apparating powers. He was glad he had read the Harry Potter series with his kids, there could be no better word to describe what had happened. It would take him a few more minutes to orient himself; being snapped across a distance of over six hundred kilometres in a couple of seconds had disoriented and nauseated him.

"I thought you would enjoy the view, spectacular, is it not? I truly admire you humans, your imagination and tenacity that enables you to build such impressive structures. If only your moral compass allowed you to build better lives. But then, where would we be?"

Raghuveer had nothing to say, unsure if he should even try to answer that question. He gripped the window bar, taking deep breathes to steady his leathery legs, when he felt a tug and found himself in an empty flat, the dizziness hitting him harder.

It was quite sometime later that Raghuveer felt normal and opened the slim box Luc handed to him. He could not stop a whistle of admiration. The rifle was a piece of art and as he fitted it together, he knew that it was a custom made piece, there were features which were not available in a single model. In silence, he worked and within a few minutes had it assembled, but when he opened the box of bullets, he furrowed his brow; they were unusual. He lifted one out the box, it looked like the 0.338 Laupa Magnum round but was considerably lighter. Its tip was sharper too, far sharper than any round he had ever seen. However, he did not want to ask any questions about them, so once done, he glanced at Luc, "Where?"

Luc pointed to the opposite tower, "The man in that flat, Shiraj Patel. You will be able to see him quite well, but you will fire the rifle at the precise moment I say."

Raghuveer walked to the window and looked around, they were around fifty stories above and read the digital wind speed sensor for a few minutes before he objected, "It will not be easy, we are about one hundred and eighty feet above the ground. The wind speed would have to be factored in. So it would be preferable if I had more than a few seconds of notice. Why is the timing so important?"

Luc let out an audible sigh, "I know my reputation as an evil and destructive personality precedes me but even I have to follow some rules. I have to defer to Time and Death. All lives have numerous possibilities and there are probable points of death..."

He paused and a bewildered Raghuveer was about to ask a few more questions when he rushed on, "Forget it, it is too complicated for me to explain it, all you need to know is that there is a time for death and you have to shoot in that frame. Now as to the wind and other factors, you are the expert, do what you have to do. Wait and watch. I will let you know when it is the right time to strike but remember, you will hit the spot I specified, just above the ear where it begins to curve. And it will be only at my signal.

Grimacing, Raghu nodded and settled for the wait. Unfortunately, it would not be in silence for Luc continued, "But because I am generous, contrary to what you have been told, I will share some things with you. While we wait, I will enable you to see his actions with greater clarity, it might help you."

A snap and the wall of the flat opposite wavered and turned transparent. His target, a man in his early fifties was in the company of a young girl and his actions towards her were not fatherly. Raghuveer did not need more than a few seconds to come to a conclusion

"That girl is young enough to be his granddaughter. She would not be more than eighteen years."

"Sixteen, her birthday was last week. He likes them young. And this one is a willing partner."

"Willing? At sixteen?"

"But then your country's elders think it prudent enough to set the age of consent at sixteen."

Raghuveer gritted his teeth. For a moment he could almost see Trisha in that girl's place and he shuddered. No young girl should be in that position. It did not matter what the law stated and what the girl felt, in his book, it was harassment, if not rape. And he hated such men, harbouring a personal belief that they deserved no mercy, "It does not change anything, she is too young to even know the meaning of consent, let alone give it."

"And she is not the first, though she could be the last. Your call."

Any doubts he had vanished into the cold air. He did not need any further prompting. He shifted into position, and zoning out all thoughts, locked the viewfinder, waiting for Luc's signal.

The bullet left the rifle and he saw it with startling clarity as time appeared to slow down. He saw the bullet find its mark, as he had known it would. But what surprised him was that there was no blood splatter. The world around him blurred as if he had entered a dreamy state, the grip on the sniper rifle loosening. Luc was bent over that man, fluttering his fingers over the body, and a trail of mist, the colour of black ink, glistening and coiling, flowed into his hands.

Then the girl opened her mouth to scream. The next instant, Luc flashed beside Raghuveer and her screams echoed in his ears. The air rushed around him as he was pulled into a vortex, spiralling into nothingness...

...and woke up to Khaleed's worried voice, one that burst in anger, when he opened his eyes, "What do you think of yourself, scaring us like that? And if you wanted to take a walk in the middle of the night, could you not at least tell one of us? Do you know how terrified Kamakshi when we could not find you at the house?"

Raghuveer blinked, befuddled and unable to make any sense of what exactly had happened. His head was still spinning and nausea filled him; he buried his head in his arms and moaned, "What are you doing here?"

Khaleed scoffed, "When Kamakshi saw that you were not at home and that you had again left without your mobile phone, she and Uncle searched the colony and this park too, but when they could not find you. They called me and I came as soon as I could. So where did you go?"

Raghuveer shook his head, "How did I get here?"

At that question, Khaleed softened, "I think the stress is getting to you, you must have reverted to your childhood habit of sleepwalking. Come, I shall help you walk home."

It was proof of his tiredness that he allowed Khaleed to help him as he steadied himself. He was also grateful that Khaleed remained silent, after a gentle admonishment that he should be taking better care of himself, especially when injured. That comment surprised him, he could not recall any injury though his shoulder did tinge in pain. However, it could not be labelled an injury, not when it did not detract him from using a rifle. He tried to recall what might have happened over the past few days but could not remember any incident which might have caused him an injury. What was even more surprising was that the details of the past couple of hours were fuzzy; he could recall snatches of what he had learnt about and the moment he had fired the rifle, but the others were vague.

Only one fact was burned into his psyche, he had killed someone today. Not in a war, not in the line of duty, but in a covert operation, conducted by the Devil himself.

As he entered his home and was greeted by a relieved Kamakshi, he wondered if his actions could ever be considered prudent.

And so Raghuveer bit the bullet, okay that was a bad pun, but I could not resist it. So now, would you, my dear reader, let me know what you thought about his actions? Is it worth saving Tarun in such  a way? And would Raghuveer be able to emerge unscathed from the killing spree. Do let me know, I love to know your thoughts.

Thanks for reading,
Nyna