~
We drove out an hour before reaching a view only the birds, and blessed ones may see. Verone handed me Remone’s ashes and stepped out the vehicle.
“Come out,” he waved.
As beautiful as the view may be, the thought of Hasini’s murderer being out there, alive, is still bugging me. As it should; to be completely honest I had no clue of whom I can trust anymore. I mean I went about thinking these past few days that I had found a new family, but there laid a quiet black sheep who is responsible for the soul depression in my life. I was able to forgive Marona; I mean I think I did, though it was certain that there was no forgiveness in sights for Miran. I stood beside Verone, and I was hesitant. He brought me to a really quiet place, the type of place where you’d kill someone.
“You don’t trust us anymore, do you,” asked Verone; It’s as if he read my mind.
“No it’s not that,” I said.
“There’s no reason to lie, I would think the same,” replied Verone.
“Though I really brought you here because this is a place Remone loved,” he said.
“Really, he’s never brought me here,” I replied.
“I’m sure he would’ve sooner or later,” claimed Verone; I didn’t know where he was going with this, but I listened.
“Remone was about nineteen when I first brought him here. Just a kid, scared of what his life will come of. I saw him to be more of a sibling to me; I considered Remone as god’s gift to me. When I first saw him he was getting beat by some of our men, I didn’t see a single tear in the kids eyes, but the first time I brought him here; he cried like a heart broken girl. One thing is for sure, he had a rough childhood, and he earned the right to let out that heartache. I let him cry to his hearts content that day, and you see the view of Chennai you see out there; I asked him to take a deep look into it. He stopped his tears and asked me why I wanted him to do so. I told him to forget the world that hurt him, leave the past behind, instead to prepare himself for the world he’ll be taming. He said he wanted to be like me. I didn’t understand why he’d want to be like me, but his answer was that I wasn’t a monster. He saw me to be something none other would consider. He saw me to be something else, and I don’t know if I lived up to what he thought of me, but I want to. I see it in you Arrun, you can help me be the idol he saw in me.”
“He loved you Verone, I could say that much,” I said.
“I know, but I want you to be the one to conduct his last rites, I know he’d want you to do it,” said Verone. I was quite hesitant, I thought Verone should be the one do so, but he insisted of me to do it. Holding the urn of Remone’s ashes I remembered the first time I ever spoke to him. I remember barking at him for being hesitant of selling me marijuana; thinking I was an undercover officer or something.
I felt a break within myself when I walked over to the edge of the cliff; I looked upon the view of Chennai and let the ashes run through the wind. It almost felt as if Remone was present amongst us. I only pray for the souls of both Thambi and Remone to be at peace.
“We should get going,” Verone suggested; I took a final glance of the view, and vowed upon myself to make sure the city runs as beautiful as it seems from up here.
We got in the car and drove off, but on the way back to the Duranji residence I received calls from Renny, Sethu, and a few others of Miran’s whereabouts; all of them ended up being negative responses. I felt a brief moment of peace atop that cliff, but once my head returned to the situation at hand everything changed. The urge for vengeance steamed to be priority. I noticed Verone feeling my vibe; he didn’t speak a word till we reached the house.
“We’ll get him don’t worry,” he consoled. It was shocking to see the amount of support I was receiving from the guys. I expected a lot of hostility after wanting to kill Miran, but I guess no one respects a traitor, even if they share the bond of family.
“He’s also responsible for Remone and Thambi’s death, I remember that,” he continued. Marona was waiting for us at the front steps of the house, curious to know if we had word of Miran. To be honest I had mixed opinions as to where he stood on the circumstances, I mean we are after his son. Though a man as reckless as him probably wouldn’t care for the bond of family, after all he didn’t care when he killed my father.
“Verone, stay here. Arrun, let’s swing by Raja’s place. I want to see if he’s okay,” said Marona. I was desperate to find Miran, and if it meant searching the world, I was ready. I nodded and took the driver seat in the vehicle. Through the ride he continued speaking in my favor; though he did mention that he had never thought Miran would stoop so low to turn against family.
I opened the door, and there he was. Miran! Leaving out the front door of Raja’s house. My immediate reaction was to pull out the handgun and fire at will, and Marona did the same, but we missed. Miran ran back into the house, and I after him. I rushed through the front door, and bam! Miran missed my head by an inch, as the bullet graced the side of the wall. Near death? Who cares, I raced right behind him. He ran out the back entrance and ran straight for the back wall. Marona fired a few shots at Miran from outside, but they all missed wide.
He had the head start; I jumped and held myself up against the wall to see how far he had gotten before rushing back to the car.
“Get Raja, one of his cars, and follow!” I shouted, as Marona looked upon in shock. He was too old and slow for me to drag along. I raced back into reverse and drove around the street to catch up to Miran. Turning right, I watched him pull aside an on coming driver. I shot the gun in the air, but it worked in his favor. The driver of the oncoming vehicle fled the vehicle in fear. Before getting into the car he gave me a smirk.
Both vehicles stood head to head, like two angry bulls. The engines roared, and we speared for one another. Both cars were on the verge of being totaled, and that meant the driver too. I was ready, but Miran wasn’t. He made a quick move to the right before both vehicles met. I got him nice though, a hit to the left rear bumper and both cars met side by side. We both fired shots, but missed. After the first shot was fired, Miran jetted in the direction he initially headed.
I followed recklessly, firing shots in hopes of getting him, but I trailed with no luck. Though I didn’t show any less of a fight, I chased him with a minimal break in space. I raced behind him through the residential premises, but we soon entered the busy streets of Chennai. A lot harder to drive in, especially considering the speed we were going at.
We raced through as an audience gathered, and in the midst of the citizens running was a little girl. I slammed the break hard enough to stop, but I failed to notice the on coming traffic. The impact to the left of the vehicle caused a flip, and there it went. The car was flipped upside down, as I attempted to crawl out. The stinging ring in my ear only made things worse for a blurry vision.
I attempted to snap out of it, and it took some time but I noticed that my stiches had opened up. A few scars and cuts but I should be fine, or so I think. When I finally got out, I leaned against the car. My ears were still ringing, and things still felt a bit fuzzy, but I noticed a girl jumping and waving her arms. I was in the midst of turning in the direction, and pop! I was stricken down with a menacing hit to my jaw; I shook out the feeling once more but I wasn’t pleased to see Miran in power.
He hailed over me, holding me by my shirt, knocking me continuously to the face. The pain was excruciating, and I witnessed the blood drip relentlessly to the ground. For the first time since I’ve arrived in Chennai, I was presented as the victim to the crowd gathered. I felt so weak, not because of my physical state, but because I was failing my lost ones. I needed to be the one pounding Miran; I should’ve seen the end of him for killing Hasini. The crowd watched, and not a single soul stepped forward to help. Nor did I expect them to; I wasn’t part of a single act to earn their love.
“C’mon hero! Where’d all that toughness go now? You were really dumb enough to think that I’d consider you a brother? I don’t even c
onsider Verone a brother, let alone a weak trash like you from Toronto. This is where you end up, when you cross paths with the kingpin of the underworld. My father? He’s old, and his time is most certainly up. I’m tired of listening to that old mans orders; Miran do this, Miran do that. It’s fucking bullshit! Yes, I’m the one that hired a man to take him out in Toronto. Yes, I’m the one who has been helping Khan know where every single one of our men are at all times. The incident when you first arrived, the brothel situation, I even let them know where Remone and Thambi were. Oh I heard the screams Thambi made when they cut him piece by piece; it was just symphonic. This is what happens when you cross my path; you could even ask, what was her name, Hasini? She was such a saint wasn’t she, trying to save people in my parts of the world. Oh, the way she begged and cried to be freed. Don’t worry “brother” you’ll be with your friends in the after life soon enough.”
I felt miserable; I couldn’t bear hearing the things he had to say. The worst of it all, is the feeling of death creeping the atmospheres. I was getting tired of running away from death. Maybe this it, maybe my end means life for my loved ones. Though the scorching energy of the sun didn’t give up on me. It’s radiant heat burned through the cuts on my face, waking me, bringing life within me once more. Miran walked back to the car; my guess, to probably get his gun. I saw it as a chance; I remained on the ground, but swiftly swiped a shattered piece of glass in my hand.
A bit late but on time, arrived the rest of the guys.
“Miran, don’t do anything you’ll regret,” warned Verone. Taking his handgun out of the vehicle, Miran paced towards Verone and the others. Walking right passed me he pointed the gun in their direction. I turned around, looked directly at my men and waived my head side to side. They knew to stand down, but no one knew of what Miran was thinking.
“Oh big brother, you know, you should be standing at my side. This empire will be ours. You, Raja, and me; we’ll run an empire like no other! Yes dad, you’re trusted friend Raja has been with me from the beginning. I thought I’d be safe at his house. Who would’ve thought you two would come storming in all the sudden. Raja, you might as well come stand at my side now, how long can you stay attached to the weakest link.”
Raja walked as asked, and stood side by side with Miran. While in the back, storming with the remaining energy I surged myself to my feet. Walked behind Miran and turned him to my face before diving the piece of glass through his chest. Utter shock, is what I saw in his eyes. He failed to know that the weak man on the ground would always surge to his heights when given the time.
On his knees he remained, eyes wide opened, awaiting his sentence. With the public to witness, I picked up Miran’s gun and drilled a bullet straight through his head. No speech, not a word; just a message. I didn’t wait a second more before shooting a bullet through both of Raja’s knees. His screams could wake the dead, and so on that note I called forth Verone and Marona. The clip was empty on the handgun, and so with a drop of tear, Verone handed me his gun. Bam! Bam! There went both knees of Marona too. Screaming in pain, his tearing soul had no answer, no explanations.
“I’m sorry dad, it is necessary for the greater good,” said Verone. Verone didn’t wish to take part; it was part of the deal.
~
I only pray for the souls of both Thambi and Remone to be at peace. I continued to stare out into the graveyard Chennai has become. Verone stood at my side, and I was pretty certain that he was having a battle of the mind, the worst kind of war.
“Stand with me for a better future, one that’ll allow you to live even after death. To live beyond death you need to capture the hearts of the innocent, and with our stat sheet it won’t be easy if we remain the same. Drastic changes are necessary; what I’m about to suggest may not set easy with you, but it has to be done. Just stand with my opinion, and the rest will prove to be for the best.”
“What do you have in mind,” asked Verone.
“Miran alone wont fixed this problem. The death of Marona and Raja is mandatory. It has to be done to end a dreaded chapter. I won’t ask you to do it, but stand with my plan. We’ll walk away; use our power to enforce the well being of the helpless civilians. This is the better person you could be Verone.”
“Understood,” responded Verone in acceptance to my proposal.
I was glad to see his acceptance, knowing it was a tough task. I turned away from Verone and continued to gaze upon the rebuild of a kingdom.
“We should get going,” suggested Verone.
~
Verone walked back into the crowd, and now I had center stage to make my voice heard. With time meeting it’s end, I felt at peace staring at the dead body of Miran. A pleasure of sorts, though I insured that Marona and Raja got my undivided attention. I drenched my hands with the blood off my face, and wiped it on the both their shirts.
“That’s the blood of my father, a man capable of forgiving,” I started.
“How unfortunate for you both, I may not be as kind as assumed. Marona, I honestly did see of you as a father, and to you I was a son I assume. Though at the end of the day that too is a lie. A world maybe built on lies, but a functional world cannot be a lie. The life you promise me will be a lie, unless I act accordingly. I want you to stare out into the crowd. The mass crowd of blameless people you’ve slaved and leeched off of for decades. I want you to beg for their forgiveness, and if they do forgive you, you will be spared. Beg!”
Marona lived to his name; the moment I asked him to beg, he sucked up all the pain and remained speechless. Raja on the other hand whom was helpless, weak, and unworthy of life begged for forgiveness. It was quite depressing; no one came to his aid. Bang! The moment he dropped, I looked out in to the crowd of watchers.
Amongst the crowd, I saw tears, I saw smiles, and I saw liberation, preparing to break free.
“Marona, Marona, Marona. You’re surely a man of your image aren’t you? So much pride, what shall we do with it. Why don’t we dismantle it?”
“You! Kid in the black shirt, and khaki pants. Come here,” I ordered. Nervous, shaking to the bone walked forth a young boy. Probably seventeen years old in age scared of what might happen to him.
“Spit on this guys face,” I demanded, yanking back Marona’s head. The kid was scared, and I didn’t want him to be. He needed a little push.
“Kid look me in my eyes! Men like this guy right here are responsible for the fear you feel. You’re a young man, strong, powering, and a leader of the future. You cannot be scared of people who abuse their power! Men like him are responsible for the deaths of parents, leaving children like you orphaned and alone! Men like him are responsible for the rapes of woman, woman that are scared to look at themselves in the mirror, because they’re unable to remember how beautiful they are! Men like him are responsible for the hardships in the lives of every single person in this crowd right now. Now spit!”
Hawking back, the kid gave Marona a nasty one to the face, and smiled up at me with great satisfaction. It caught on, I held his head back as men would come and give him a punch to the face. Woman would take off their slipper and slap him across the face. Children even came by and urinated in front of him. I let it go for a bit, and when I asked them to stop, they did. This time around I saw the liberation in the eyes of almost every individual standing in the crowd. Liberation from a world they were oppressed by, an independence day of the new century.
Letting go of his hair, you could see the life just drained out of him. A man left without his biggest asset, pride. I stood a meter away from him and watched as his head hung low in shame.
“You see Marona, you thought you had it all. You thought you had them all controlled. You helmed your pride so high, but where is it now? Why has your head fallen so short? You see this is it, a snap second. It’s all that it takes, to change the story of a life, and yours ends right here.”
Gun to the floor, the crowd roared in acceptance. A crowd symbolizing a new found family, and among them a hea
rtbroken love. I stood bloodied and transformed; within the midst of my next crossroad, I rose to be the king of my domain.
Cross Roads: Pick a Path Page 16