Jeremy squatted on the ground, snatched the kid from the man’s grasp saying ‘He’s my son’, and shook the boy’s head from one side to the other.
‘Sorry mister, your boy is no more,’ the man said.
Jeremy glared at the man before shoving him away and turned back to Rick. ‘Rick, come on! Get up son!’ he said repeatedly.
Someone placed a soothing hand on his shoulder. Jeremy ignored the hand and continued his vain endeavor to resurrect his son from death. As he remained squatted beside the car, he saw a lifeless Evelyn, as some socially responsible citizens dragged her gently out of the wreck. If not for Rick’s death, Jeremy would have laughed at the corpse. But he had no laugh left in him.
Life is so fucking unjust!
BACK FROM THE PAST
‘You were just a fucking coward, addicted to alcohol and stupid researches, and couldn’t even love his family. You know your guilt, Jeremy. And, you even killed Lehane’s son and wife, accusing him of your family’s death,’ Ethan said.
Jeremy tried to resist giving in to his past. However, he was too weak to resist, and he gave in. ‘No, if not for her affair with you, she would have been alive.’
Ethan gave a malicious grin and made a fist with his left hand, which he released before repeating again. ‘Now you blame me! Your irresponsibility led her to me. You are the one to be accused!’ he said, pointing an accusing finger at Jeremy.
Jeremy wept even more as Ethan accused him. Suddenly, he stood up from the ground and yelled, ‘I will kill you, you son of a bitch!’ He ran towards Ethan and ended up on the bed. He turned around and found Ethan unmoved.
‘Jeremy, don’t you remember a fucking thing of your past? Have you mutilated your memory beyond recollection?’ Ethan ranted, shaking his head. ‘You tried to kill me after Evelyn’s murder, the same way you thought you did yesterday. The only difference was that your maneuver left me with quadriplegia when I fell off the cliff. But, you ultimately killed me on this very same bed you are lying on.’
Jeremy reflexively lurched off the bed and ended up on the ground. He banged his head repeatedly on the wall before he could do it no more and collapsed. The tears seemed impossible to stop and so did his agony. Once again, his memories came back. But this time, he did not force them back. He welcomed them with an open mind.
THE MEMOiR
FEBRUARY 29, 2016
Jeremy stepped out of his car and walked towards the front door of the summerhouse with Fleming’s words, which he had heard months ago, echoing in his mind.
‘Mr. Ethan Holland ordered your car-wreck. He gave me money and told me about your lone trip to Mercupo. He told me to ram your car off the cliff on that ring-road.’
Jeremy was amazed at how Ethan’s disability, which he had awarded him, did not prevent him from having vengeance. He rebuked himself for not ensuring if Ethan had succumbed to his fall those six months ago, when he had pushed him off the cliff. But Jeremy had clarity about something. His source was confident about Ethan collaborating with Donald to plan his accident and he had his proofs. Restraining the excitement his adrenaline rush produced, he knocked on the front door. Jacques Holland opened the door, and the first thing Jeremy noticed was that he looked older than his age.
‘Good morning, Mr. Holland,’ Jeremy wished him.
‘Jeremy, come in,’ he said, moving aside to let Jeremy in. Jeremy entered the living room and stood observing the familiar place.
‘So, where’s Ethan?’ Jeremy asked, fighting back a grin.
‘He’s upstairs in his room. Durian will escort you there,’ Jacques said.
‘No problem, Mr. Holland. I am not a stranger in this house. I know the room very well,’ Jeremy said, and walked towards the stairs.
Relieved at finding some privacy with Ethan, Jeremy ascended the stairs and reached the room. The door was slightly open. He pushed it wide open and stepped in. Ethan turned his head and his eyes widened at the sight of Jeremy. Jeremy closed the door behind him, walked over to the bedside chair, and settled in it.
‘Jeremy…what are you doing here?’ Ethan bellowed.
Jeremy pressed his index finger to Ethan’s lips. ‘Don’t make noise! Your parents are downstairs.’
Ethan complied. ‘So, you could talk,’ Jeremy said.
‘Jeremy, I mean you no harm. Just go away,’ he said.
‘Shush! Don’t you get it?’ Jeremy bellowed. ‘Let me tell you an equation. The more the noise you make, the more vulnerable your parents are. So, maintain silence and listen to me carefully.’
Ethan swallowed hard.
‘Good. Now, first of all, congratulations! You are alive and…’ he paused to examine Ethan, ‘well. Sorry for landing you in this condition. I would have come to apologize for bringing you to this state, if not for the accident that you planned, which landed me in the hands of SAF,’ Jeremy said. ‘Now, coming to the purpose of my visit, I just wanted to elaborate what I told you that day before the assault. Moreover, I am in no mood to repeat it all over again. I’ll concentrate on the parts I left out. What do I have to say? You killed my wife and son. I think I told you that. The SAF people tortured me and then I fell into the hands of Mercupo Liberation Society. I didn’t tell you that, right? And… Fleming was the one who revealed to me that you were behind the accident. I offer my condolences to his family in your presence since he is dead from an accident himself. Ironic, right?’
Jeremy paused for a moment to study the impact of his remarks. Ethan swallowed hard. ‘I think it’s just about everything I wanted to tell you. I can’t explain the surprise when your father called me to inform that you were in hospital and that you had fallen off the cliff. I visited you in hospital. But you were heavily sedated and unconscious. I would have killed you right there if not for the setting and your grieving parents. I wanted them to spend your last days with them. Your actions gave them more time than I had planned, and I believe that they had had enough of it.
‘So, quick question, what do you think I would do now?’ Jeremy asked.
‘Jeremy,’ Ethan pleaded, ‘I didn’t kill your family. You killed them yourself.’
‘What?’ Jeremy bellowed. ‘You had Fleming ram my car off the cliff and kill them. Now, you accuse me of murder. What a stupid joke!’ Jeremy said, slapping Ethan.
‘You are a sick son of a bitch!’ Ethan said.
‘That I know, and you need not mention. So, any final words, anything you want me to say to your parents after you die?’
Ethan shook his head and tears streaked down his cheeks. Jeremy stood amazed at the variation of expressions Ethan presented. ‘I would have turned you in for your crimes, Jeremy. I did not do it. I did not want you to suffer. Please don’t do it.’
Jeremy shook his head. ‘So, you believe that I was treated as a fucking VIP during my capture, right? I heard that quadriplegics are prone to respiratory failure, and your father even mentioned that it happened to you several times’ Jeremy said, lifting a pillow off the bed. He pressed it over Ethan’s face and held it tightly. ‘Do you have something of that sort? You are breathing properly, right?’
Jeremy gazed at his watch and removed the pillow after thirty seconds. Beads of sweat streaked down Ethan’s face and he breathed in deeply. The blanching was unmistakable. ‘That’s how it feels to see death. Now, get ready to meet Mr. Death.’
Jeremy once again pressed the pillow over Ethan’s face, only this time to remove it after even more time. Jeremy placed his index finger near Ethan’s nose and found no breathing.
‘You better be dead this time, instead of fooling me like last time,’ he said, and turned around. ‘Mr. Holland!’ he called out.
Jacques came up the stairs panting and stopped at the sight of Ethan. ‘What happened to him?’
‘I don’t know. I got a call from an associate. And, when I went into the corridor to attend the call and came back after five minutes, he was like this.’
Durian came forward and checked for the triad of life. He
turned around and shook his head. ‘I am sorry, Mr. Holland.’
Jacques Holland collapsed on the ground and began sobbing. Jeremy knelt down beside Jacques and embraced him.
‘I am sorry for your loss, Mr. Holland. I can understand your pain. Ethan was my best-friend.’
BACK FROM THE PAST
Jeremy felt weak and his attempt to stand-up ended in vain. He raised his head and gazed around to find Ethan standing few feet away from him.
‘Like I said, you are sick, Jeremy. You have been a loner since your childhood, despite your parents’ presence. You imagined non-existent people to fill that gap in your life. When you met me and then married Evelyn, a physical presence filled the space for the first time. However, circumstances left you a loner after you lost Evelyn and Rick. Then, you weaved a story to shift the blame to my account when I tried to ram your car, which had only you, off the cliff in Mercupo.
‘When you found out about our affair, you killed your family and spared me. Do you know why? It was because you were afraid of losing me. You were afraid you would be a loner again. But when you repeatedly recollected that I had an affair with your wife, you couldn’t balance your emotions and finally took to killing me. You felt so lonely after that that you imagined a positive me and filled that gap in your life with my fictional presence.
‘Everything that you weaved and imagined was your excuse for a purpose. A purpose for living which you had lost when you killed your loved-ones yourself. Jeremy, you long for a purpose to live and continue to create such purposes till you finally realize that living in itself is a purpose and there is no need for a purpose to live.’
Jeremy plugged his ears and bent down sobbing. When he raised his head, Ethan was nowhere. Jeremy stood up and moved around the room, as if he expected Ethan to be hiding somewhere in the room. He had vanished. Before he could settle down with the explanation that it was part of his imagination, the door flung open, and in came Jacques Holland with a shotgun in his hand.
‘Jeremy, get the fuck out of here before I blow your brains out. I saw the news. And, I couldn’t mingle that I am giving shelter to a criminal like you!’ he yelled.
With his jeopardy still unsettled, Jeremy walked backwards towards the table. Slowly, his jeopardy evaporated, and a new emotion took place. As the tears dried on his face, a grin appeared on his face, which widened as his grasp of his gun tightened. He flung the gun forward and pulled the trigger, shooting the old man in his throat. The bullet pierced his trachea, and the old man swiveled backward and to right, and ended up rolling down the stairs. Jeremy paced to the door and peeked out to catch sight of the old man. He found Durian beside the old man’s body; on seeing Jeremy, he took the shotgun into his hands and aimed it in Jeremy’s direction. Jeremy lurched out of its range and took cover behind the wall. But the shotgun never went off as another shot rang in the house, followed by a loud thud as Durian’s dead body slipped down the stairs to the bottom. Jeremy came out of his cover and discovered Adam with his gun puffing smoke out of the barrel.
Before he could shower his appreciations on Adam, his phone pinged. Jeremy curiously retrieved it from his pocket and read the message-
CAPTURED VANESSA NOW- 45 minutes ago.
WILL BE AT THE DESTINED LOCATION IN THIRTY MINUTES- now
Wondering how he had missed the first message, Jeremy tucked his gun in the waistband of his trousers and patted Adam’s shoulder. He silently thanked Tim Bronson for the information about Daniel’s girlfriends. ‘They are arriving with the girl to the destination. Let’s go.’
Just as they were stepping out of the house, Jeremy heard a female voice, which he recognized as belonging to Melissa Holland, Ethan’s mom. He had totally forgotten about her till then. He followed her voice and ended up in the ground floor bedroom, where he found her on bed. Not giving much attention to her weak appearance, he moved into the room with Adam at his heel.
‘Jeremy, what were those sounds?’ she asked panicked.
‘No need to worry about those sounds, Mrs. Holland. They were just boys having some fun.’
‘Jeremy, don’t lie to me. What were those sounds?’
Jeremy felt the rising exasperation. He walked to her bed and stroked her hair gently. ‘Mrs. Holland, I never expected to see you in such a worse state. And, looking at you right now, I feel like freeing you of this burden.’
He turned around and started walking out of the room. But he stopped in his tracks, turned back and said, ‘Durian’s steak wasn’t as tasty as your steak. I am going to miss it,’ before walking out of the room. When he reached the patio, the gunshot rang through the deserted surroundings; Adam followed Jeremy in his stroll to the van. As the van made a U-turn, Jeremy saw the silhouette of a man in a black-suit at a far distance, visible under the moonlit sky.
THE COUNTRY OF CHAOS
ALISON’S MOTEL- 1991, ON THE DAY OF PRESS CONFERENCE
ROSS SWITCHED OFF the TV as the people in the press conference made false accusations against him in front of thousands of people. Rachel was already worried about Ross’s entrapment in something he had not committed. And he did not want to worry her more by letting her know more of the disgrace, which he had garnered. He had actually approved the explosives for the implosion of an old building in old Silvinkeria. His assistant, whom he blindly believed, presented the blueprint and design of Rochen Fort to him in the disguise of those of that old building. He did not have the time to visit the building personally and he had signed it without the knowledge that he was deceived by the company.
He opened the door of the motel room and walked into the balcony. He could see Rachel walking in the parking place with Michael beside her. Ross wondered what must have been running in Rachel’s mind now, despite the confusion in their lives. He tucked his hands in his pockets and walked down towards them after closing the door. He toyed with the idea of informing her about his photo telecast on the TV with the tagline “perpetrator”. He knew that it would not be long before someone recognized him and reported to the authorities. He thought of moving away from the place first, and then to decide where to stay. Before he could move few feet towards the stairs, the phone began ringing in his room. He hustled back into the room and answered it.
‘Ross, it’s me,’ the voice said. ‘Get ready within half-an-hour. I will be there soon.’
Ross replaced the receiver in its hook and hurried out of the room to inform Rachel about the good news.
THE NIGHT HOUNDS CARAVAN- 1991, ON THE NIGHT OF PRESS CONFERENCE
The Night Hounds are a group of military-trained cadets, who are specially trained to conduct top-secret operations for the government. Markus Byn Levisohn, aged thirty, was the youngest cadet to become the Head of a unit of The Night Hounds. He was having a casual chat with his cadets when the second-in-chief of his unit informed him about a phone call for him. He walked back into the tent and answered the call.
‘Markus,’ the voice said. ‘The source revealed Ross’s location. He is less than an hour from your location. Ready your unit. I want this done secretly.’
‘Yes sir,’ Markus said.
He walked out of the tent to inform his unit about the new developments. After notifying them, he walked back in to ready his gear. He opened his rucksack for his gear, and found the grey-overcoat he had worn the morning of the blasts. He felt that taking part in that operation was the best thing he had done since a long time, and geared up.
THE MAN WHO LOST IT ALL
JEREMY LOOKED FORWARD for the specified GMC SUV as they neared Byason’s Junction, where he was destined to meet the captors of Vanessa Romero. To Jeremy’s excitement, the GMC waited facing their way. Adam halted the van facing the SUV, and Jeremy stepped out of it. He hurriedly walked to the van and stood beside the SUV, peering in to look for a woman. The people in the SUV remained inside the SUV, which annoyed Jeremy. Only after Adam came to stand behind him that the doors opened and they stepped outside the vehicle with sub-machine guns in their hands. Jeremy
felt that it was too big a show on a highway for people to step out of a vehicle with automatic guns in their hands.
‘Adam, why didn’t they get out after seeing me?’ he asked, feeling disrespected.
‘Sorry boss, they are my new unit. They don’t know that I work for you. They were waiting for me,’ Adam said.
‘I see,’ Jeremy said, nodding his head. ‘OK, tell them that as long as they are with me, I am the leader. OK?’
Adam nodded.
‘Get on with the usual,’ Jeremy said.
Adam stepped closer to them and announced, ‘I want all of you to turn in your phones to me. You will get them back once the work is done.’
They stood still without moving for a full minute.
‘Are you fucking deaf?’ Jeremy bellowed.
They still did not move for a few more seconds, and Jeremy expected them to form a group and discuss the decision. Surprisingly, they reluctantly dropped their phones into the sack Adam held out for them, without an exchange of a single opinion. Once the phones were in the sack, Jeremy turned his attention to Vanessa, who lay unconscious in the back of the SUV. He called out in their direction to carry Vanessa into the van. First, one of the heavy ones moved forward. But another one shoved him back and moved forward, while the first one stood glaring at him.
As the man carried Vanessa to the van’s rear and loaded her in the back, Jeremy stopped Adam as he got into the van.
‘Adam, can I trust your guys?’ Jeremy asked, maintaining his serious face.
‘Yes…sir,’ Adam said, wiping the sweat off his forehead.
‘Good,’ Jeremy said, patting Adam’s shoulder.
Jeremy’s serious face worried Adam. He prayed for Jeremy not to know that the group was a newly assembled group of crooks; the members hated each other, and were famous for their disunity. Vanessa’s phone began vibrating as Adam ignited the engine. Jeremy pulled the phone from her trousers’ pocket and found a contact named EVIL PRINCE. He wondered who it was and his doubt got its solution, when a message followed from the same number.
The Memoir Page 21