Chapter 14 – Boils Over
“Where’d you keep him,” I asked, as Remone drove. “One of our factories, it’s only five minutes away,” he responded. As we drove silent and anxiously, I knew that today would be the day it all boils over. The on going issues between the two groups can come to an end today, or it could just get bad, real quick. Either way, this needed to end. Too many lives have been lost, or have been affected over the power struggle. I would rather have this issue come to an end now; I’m not willing to lose anyone else.
As Remone pulled in, the three story high factory seemed deserted of sorts. There were still a few vehicles upfront, but they were probably that of our men. It was quite isolated from the city, and so I highly doubt anyone would come to know of the location unless told. Moreover, the place just looked creepy, like it was meant for bad deeds. “You sure know how to pick locations Remone,” I said as the others laughed. “I know this place looks beautiful, kind of like paradise,” added Sethu. We all turned our attention to him and simply nodded our heads, side to side. It’s when he says things like that; you can’t help but wonder the sick, twisted things that go on in his head.
Shaking off Sethu’s weird comment, we made way inside where a few henchmen were keeping things under control. “We’ll take over here now, why don’t you help with the other operations,” I suggested, as they agreed. After they left I sat around with my four friends, going over the game plan.
“We got hold of Abdul last evening, so the search for him has probably been underway for a while now. On our side, I say we wait it out. We should wait to receive calls from our men, till after they make the hit on all of Khans guys. After we receive confirmation I’ll make a call to Khan, how much do you think the ransom should be? How about ten million, in US dollars? That should be a plentiful, I’m pretty sure Marona would be glad to get some compensation out of all of this.”
“You think he would just walk in here and just hand us the money,” asked Renny.
“He would, Abdul is his only son,” replied Remone.
“Exactly! Abdul is his only son, I’m pretty damn sure that he wouldn’t risk losing his only son, for some cash. The guys loaded, he wouldn’t care to spend a few millions, if it meant saving his son. Now Renny you’re right about one aspect though, he probably will have a back up plan. Something along the lines of killing the five of us, saving his son, and keeping his money, but we aren’t going to let that happen. Once we get the call from our guys, confirming that they’ve whipped the targets; we’ll get them here to secure the perimeter. Making it difficult for Khan and his men to infiltrate us. Plus, they’ll be short in their body count after we take out their lead men.”
“Sounds good Arrun,” supported Sethu.
“I’m all in, with that kind of money I wouldn’t have to pay to hangout with girls,” added Thambi; we had a brief moment of silence before we laughed uncontrollably. The laughs were fun, and you can always depend on Thambi to deliver, but we had to get down to business.
~
Over the course of the last six hours we been receiving calls from all our men, confirming that they have finished they’re respective task. With the time closing in around 6pm, I thought this would be the right time to make the call to Shekhar Khan. Remone read out the number to me as I smiled and thought that it’s quite amusing of how easy it is to get the number of an enemy, but to get the number of a beautiful girl we must go to ultimate extents. As the rings continued I waited for a response from the other side. “Hello,” answered a voice. “Is Khan there,” I queried.
“This is him, who is this,” he confirmed.
“This is Arrun speaking; one of your dear friend Marona’s men. Listen close, cause I’m not repeating myself twice. We’ve got your son, and so you’ve got two options. You could either let him stay here, and we’ll kill him within the next hour, or you can pack up $10 million dollars in cash and come meet us in exchange for your son. I’ll text you the address, and you know it’s probably better if you don’t get the police or higher authority involved in this. You know it’ll never work in your favor. You’ve got one hour, so act quick.”
“I’m coming, I’m coming! Don’t do anything to him,” he pleaded.
It’s easy for any person to front like they’re the boss, but when put in a situation to pick family over power; things change drastically. I’m sure Khan will be storming in soon, for sure before his one hour of time is up.
I stood seated on a chair with one leg up, and as I waited for the Khans arrival Remone asked me to check on Abdul. I’ve yet to see the guy since we’ve arrived, it might be of some help to set some fear in him as well. It’s one thing to tame his father, it’s better to seat fear in his young blood before it gets out of hand.
He was practically imprisoned by us the past day, a dark room with a small whole of light. It was cruel, but he wasn’t someone that deserved more. He was fed, what more can he ask of an enemy? As I opened the latch to the door, it was quite visible that he was getting tired of confinement. “How long are you going to fucking keep me here, I’m hungry you bitch, I need to go out” shouted Abdul. “Well that’s up to your pops my friend,” I replied, keeping calm; I was sure that this conversation could get bad, real quick.
“You think I don’t know who you are? You’re that fool from Toronto, trust me leave. You don’t know the world you’ve entered, there is no getting out when you’re too far in. Just hand me over to my father, and try walking away as fast as you can. Go back to your princess life back in the western world, while I stay here with Nilani. Your little romance with her is no secret. Know one thing for sure, once you’re gone, I’ll marry her. Not out of love though, I may even beat her from time to time if she fails to listen. How could we forget the fact that I’ll show her what a real man could do throughout the nights; unlike little bitches that hit people from behind!”
“Abdul man, you should’ve just kept quiet and ate your food. Now you’re going to have to continue to starve, plus the food was actually good! As for Nilani, look at you, think of her, and now look at me. Does my face look like I give a single fuck about you?”
Oh the urge, the urge to just plumage his face ran through my body the entire time. I really didn’t feel the need to talk to him though; there was nothing to fear. I guess I tried to talk to him calmly and at this point his fathers fear can probably transfer over to Abdul if it hadn’t already settled in.
“The guys a prick, its hard to teach these fools a lesson sometimes,” I said, as Renny approached me. As he stood next to Sethu he replied,” Oh brother, you just figured that out.” I guess I’ve always been one to think that people deserve another chance, and so I had hope. Though there’s always a thing about hope, it’s not for everyone. “We’ve got word, that Shekhar Khan is almost here. With four vehicles worth of support,” informed Remone. It’s about time we prepare, to insure things don’t go south. I prepped some of the henchmen for activity outside the factory; it was important for them to stay undetected. With the amount of men we had with us, there was no chance for us to be out numbered on the inside.
As the time neared 6:50pm we heard the amount of roaring engines pulling in. Storming in was Shekhar Khan with nearly twenty-five henchmen. They came in with guns ready to fire, but I guess he really underestimated the amount of men we’d have with us. It was quite easy to circle them all, they were forced to drop their weapons. Standing amongst the mist our man, I watched; it was easy to spot the fear in Khan’s eyes. With both his hands slowly gracing the air he called out to me.
“Arrun! Which one of you is Arrun? I have the money, just let my son go!” He shouted.
My men moved out the way, as I became the centerpiece. “Couldn’t you just have done this from the get go,” I questioned, while the men around me held position to insure there weren’t any sneak attacks. “Please, just give me back my son,” he begged. I turned back to Thambi, who was standing in the back holding a tight grip of Abdul. Thambi brought him forwar
d, as Abdul stood next to me. “Thambi, go get the bag and check it,” I commanded as everyone waited for the confirmation. Its no fun playing with criminals, they can never be trusted; it’ll always be plain mind games.
Once I got the nod, I gave a gentle push on his back telling him to walk slowly. He took a step forward, before turning back towards me and giving me the finger.
“Man, you really should’ve just kept walking,” I responded; irritated to the bone.
His face woke up; noticing the gap between both his legs, I used my left foot to kick him behind his right knee. As he dropped on both knees, I simultaneously kneeled down.
“Eye to eye, is this man enough for you?" I asked. I removed the holstered handgun behind me, pulled back the slide aiming straight between his eyes, and with no room to spare I pulled the trigger. Seconds later a loud cry is all we heard, as Shekhar Khan was forced into to tears. His men stood in shock, unable to react in anyway; weapon less, powerless.
My men waited for my command. This wasn’t over just yet, as I raised my left fist in the air, the deafening roar of bullets bashing skulls of our enemies proved to be evidence to our strength. Standing strong, I looked down as the blood of Abdul streamed through the floor. Meters away, Shekhar Khans eyes remained opened wide, lost and alone.
It was scary, my heart didn’t race, and things seemed to be perfectly fine. Instead, I was able to hear the increasing pulse of Khans heart, with every step I took towards him. Speechless he remained, glaring at the body of his soulless son in the distance. He couldn’t even bear to look back at the dead bodies of his men around him; I holstered my gun behind me as Remone recommended that we move out.
“One second,” I responded.
“Khan, look at me,” I directed, as he remained blank. “When I say look at me, look at me,” I ordered; he did as instructed. He stared back at me with his eyes moist in tears, crammed with fright.
“You did this, you’re responsible for this. I didn’t kill your son, you did. Your actions, and greed to control killed him. The only reason we’re letting you walk away alive is so that you can live every second of your miserable life feeling responsible. What’s better for you now is to walk away, from everything completely, and never to turn back. This is our place; don’t try to take our place. Things are going to change; you’re the example we’re setting. Step down!”
On that note we walked, leaving behind what is now a man with an ample amount of regrets; it’s really hard to suffer anything more. At his age, killing him would’ve been a blessing.
~
I came out a criminal hero of sorts; I could see it through the way most of the guys reacted once we returned to the Duranji residence. I guess my actions have a tendency to be extremely anarchist, but I like to think that my actions are usually for the greater good. Criminals surround me; obviously they loved what I did today. I thought I did too, but on our ride over I tried thinking it over, and it may have been horrible decision making on my part. I may have let my anger get the best of me, and I’m pretty sure that’s what Remone thought. I noticed that he remained quiet while we drove here; all while Thambi, Sethu, and Renny continuously praised my method of handling situations.
I could see the same look in Verone’s face; it’s probably why the both of them are so close, they think alike. Marona is usually the first one up congratulating me, but today, even he seemed to be fairly quiet. I knew I was becoming a monster when it was Miran who came up to hug me. “You’re the man,” he preached; I didn’t know whether I should be glad that we’re getting along or upset about it. The fact that we were getting along was good for the business and family, but it meant I was becoming more like him, that’s not what I wanted, especially cause I initially hated his guts.
“Lets get some drinks going tonight,” recommended Miran, and so that’s exactly what we did. The time was around 11pm when we began popping bottles left and right; we were on a tear. An hour later I was beyond wasted; some of the guys continued to talk about the way I shot Abdul. Remone remained quiet; he hardly even drank. Then there was Thambi who sat next to Remone, drinking shot after shot, beer after beer, all while stuffing huge pieces of chicken down his throat. “Thambi you got to chill, you’re going to choke brother,” I teased. “I’m still hungry though,” he replied; he wasn’t even joking.
Soon it was around 1am, when everyone was beginning to lose it. Some of the guys were way out of it. Sethu, and Renny were literally sleeping on top of each other. Remone stepped away with Thambi to smoke a joint, leaving Miran and I to have a quiet conversation.
“Hey Arrun, what does it feel like to be in love?” Asked Miran.
“Oh man, you really are wasted. You do realize that a question about love doesn’t even suit your face,” I clowned.
“Quit joking around man, I’m actually serious,” he replied.
“Well then, I did not expect this from you! I really don’t know what to tell you bro, it’s easier to fall in love than to actually explain it. Love is actually a false term; we are not whole without the people in our lives. You meet some great people, who partially add up to try and fill the whole piece, and I guess the person that you fall in love with is the one that completes most of that whole? I don’t know brother, I’m wasted!”
“Believe it or not, that actually makes sense. So is that the way you feel about Nilani?” He asked.
“Oh for sure, to be honest with you I feel like I’ve changed so much since I’ve gotten here. I feel like she keeps me sane, and it maybe too soon to say, but I think I want to spend the rest of my life with her. I’ve fallen in “love” before, but there is something about Nilani that makes me feel like she completes me a lot more than I expected, a lot more than I need her too.”
“Oh god! What a line, what a line,” teased Miran.
“Shut the fuck up,” I replied. I knew he was just messing around, that dude and love would forever remain at a distance. When Remone returned I knew he was pretty high, he actually began speaking to me again. “This guy is my best friend,” I shouted; unable to control his laughter he responded, “Bro, you are so smashed.”
“Smashed or not, I still love you brotha!” I shouted.
Like that, things went into a momentary blur. Minutes later, I felt like we magically ended up near Nilani’s house. “Get out Arrun,” said Remone.
“Why on earth did you bring me here,” I asked; I was totally confused.
“Are you serious right now? You fucking begged and annoyed the shit out of me to drive you here. You’re getting out!” Shouted Remone.
“I did, didn’t I?” I responded, as bits and pieces of a conversation came to mind.
“Yeah you retard! Now get out, Thambi is sleeping. I don’t want to risk him waking up, he’s going to end up asking me to buy him a “snack”, and we both know how much that ends up being.”
“Thambi!” I shouted, waking him up. Remone was right on, Thambi wanted to buy more food. Like that, Remone was upset with me again, but it was hilarious. Though the joke was on me, because I was the one stuck outside the gated house. I didn’t even know which side of the house Nilani’s room was on, but I knew this wasn’t going to be as easy as walking through the front door past the security of a Police Commissioners house.
I walked around the concrete wall built to fence the house, and noticed that there was a balcony on the back end. Hopping the wall was a piece of cake; I did it with much ease, my athleticism definitely helped. It seemed easier to sneak through the yard of an officer than expected, well until I saw the sleeping guard dog. That’s when I had thoughts of becoming a track star, but maybe I should attempt to walk by as quickly and quietly as possible. It took me nearly half an hour to walk past the guard dog undetected, I could have done it faster, but my sober state of mind has taken a hit for sure!
I probably shouldn’t have bragged about how easy it was to sneak in, cause things seemed to be getting more difficult by the second. The bottom doors were locked, obviously. I should’v
e knocked myself in the head for even considering it to be open; my only option would be to climb the extremely narrow pole up to the balcony.
Man oh man, that wasn’t easy at all. My first two attempts were a total fail, and the third attempt would’ve been horrible if I didn’t grasp hold of the balcony with my leap of faith. Luckily for me, the balcony doors were open! I wasn’t a complete idiot; then again, here comes the hardest part. I’m in this huge house, and I have no clue of where my girlfriend’s room is. Calling her was probably my best option.
Cross Roads: Pick a Path Page 11