Cross Roads: Pick a Path (10 page)

~

I stood over the balcony to notice another
one of Marona’s Range Rovers to be parked in front of the house. I
guess he sent over a few more henchmen in case something was to
have happened. I guess you can never take too many precautions,
especially considering the event that took place yesterday.

Moments later I heard a loud cry for help,
it was coming from inside the house. Tossing my smoke over the
balcony edge, I rushed inside. The scream was coming from the room
we were keeping Nilani in. I tried turning the doorknob, but it was
locked from inside. “Arrun, Arrun,” screamed Nilani from inside. I
took a step back, and aimed at a spot beside the doorknob. With
full force I kicked open the door to see Miran trying to force
himself on Nilani.

Grabbing Miran by the shoulder I ordered him
to let Nilani go. “Get off me you piece of shit,” he said turning
towards me. He threw a punch straight to the right side of my jaw.
“Is that all you got,” I asked stepping back towards him. “Do you a
favor and step out till I’m done here,” he said. I continued to
stand in front of Miran, I did not say a word waiting for him to
try and hit me once more. Miran attempted to swing a second punch,
but this time I saw it coming. Quickly ducking, I dodged his punch;
I then swung a punch straight to his chest. He had a momentary drop
in breath; taking advantage of the situation I swung a solid punch
to his nose, and as blood began to flow down his face I gave him a
lateral stomp to the side of his left kneecap. The moment he
dropped to the floor I stood over him, as my left hand grasped his
shirt, my right arm swung ruthlessly to the right side of his face.
I’ve never felt anger like this before; I didn’t want to stop.

“Arrun! Stop! You’re going to kill him,
stop,” pleaded Nilani.

Sethu must have heard the screaming as well,
rushing into the room he tackled me to ground. I’m sure I could’ve
beat Miran to death at the rate I was hitting him. I didn’t want to
allow him to live; his existence is not needed. Sadly he will live,
but I was glad that he would be living with a few broken bones.
“You have to control yourself,” said Sethu, as he checked
Miran.

“He tried to rape her, what was I supposed
to do allow him,” I countered.

“Yeah! Who cares about her? She’s a nobody,”
said Sethu.

“I care, I’m not going to just let him do
shit like that,” I responded.

Turning over to Nilani, I untied both ropes
arresting her arms and legs. “Don’t run,” I commanded, as she stood
quietly. “What are you doing Arrun,” probed Sethu.

“I’m taking her out to the balcony, I didn’t
finish my smoke,” I replied.

Walking out the door, I held Nilani’s arm
for precaution. We turned left and walked over to the balcony where
I lit another cigarette. Looking over at Nilani I said, “Don’t
think about jumping, you wont make it.” Smiling at her, I turned to
look out over the balcony, with a vast amount of land in sight. In
the distance the city is nowhere in sight; these guys were pretty
smart to place a brothel way out here.

“Thank you Arrun,” said Nilani.

“For what,” I questioned.

“I’ve never been so scared in my life, thank
you for caring,” she responded.

“
Look, I didn’t come into the room
because I cared about you. Why should I? You aren’t my mother,
wife, sister, or girlfriend; I don’t need to care about you. I just
don’t like that guy. Besides I have a few women in my life that
mean the world to me. I wouldn’t have spared a sick bastard like
Miran, for laying a finger on them.”

“Gosh Arrun, you don’t need to be so rude
about it,” she retorted.

“It is, what it is,” I said.

“
If you don’t mind me asking, where did
you learn to fight like that? It was like watching a scene from a
Bruce Lee movie.”

“
I learned “Mixed Martial Arts” sometime
back; I think it was when I was in high school? Sarah was the one
who forced it on me; she thought I needed to learn to defend
myself. I used to get into many fights during those times, and it
felt great cause I actually knew how to fight.”

Nilani’s face explained the confusion she
was in. I forgot how high school was labeled otherwise in India. A
name like Sarah was probably not tossed around commonly either.

“I was raised in Canada, Sarah adopted me
when I was just a toddler,” I said, in hopes of clearing her
confusion. Although her expressions showed otherwise, she seemed to
be more puzzled than ever. “Why on Earth are you here; doing this
for a living,” she questioned. I wanted to tell her; I usually
always want to tell people of my reasoning, but I always hold back.
“It’s a long story,” I responded in hope that she’d just let it
drop.

“I’m going to be here for a few days, I
think you’ve got time,” she replied. Nilani seemed determined to
know what my story actually was. Of all the people I’ve met in
recent events, I felt more comfortable saying it to her. Seeing how
I probably wont have to come across her ever again, it would be
great to just know that someone else in the world knows my entire
story.

“
I was born in Chennai, but raised in
Canada. My parents were murdered when I was just a few months old,
and it was Sarah who adopted and gave me a meaningful life. Went
through schooling there, I graduated and found a job as a software
engineer at some big time company. I have five siblings
and…”

I was in the midst of explaining my story
when I heard the roaring of engines coming from the direction we
first arrived. Seconds later, I watched as six vehicles full of
unfamiliar faces pulled in with weapons in arm. They were not any
of our men; I took out the gun I had holstered at my side, in case
of a sudden interaction. “Nilani, stay down,” I ordered as I stood
waiting for someone to spot me. It didn’t take them too long to
make first contact. “Did Marona send you guys,” I investigated,
from the top floor. “Shekhar Khan,” one replied as they started to
fire at will. Taking immediate cover next to Nilani, I opened the
balcony door, dragging her in with me.

Holding Nilani by the wrist I was heading
back downstairs to regroup with the guys when I remembered that
Sethu was still attending to Miran. Running past the room I stopped
to see if they were still there. “Sethu, we need to go! Bring Miran
with you,” I shouted. “He’s too heavy, I need your help,” he
responded; I had no choice but to assist him. I trusted that Nilani
would not run, and she didn’t do so either as we helped Miran down
the stairs. We placed him on the couch, as we regrouped with the
other guys. In the immediate seconds later, three men stormed
through the door. I was able to shoot down two of the three, as
Sethu took out the final one.

“They’re still out there, a lot more of
them,” I said

“Then this is our chance to try and make
moves from here,” recommend Remone.

“There’s a back door, it’s our best chance,”
mentioned Renny.

Nilani held tight to my arm, I could see the
fear she was in. “Thambi, help me pick up Miran,” shouted Sethu. As
the both of them helped Miran, Remone and Renny led the way through
the back door. We walked around the back: I checked over the side
of the house to see how many people stood between the vehicle and
us.

“
Alright, there are seven of them outside
the house. The rest of them are probably raiding the house right
now. I don’t think we have much time before they notice a back
door, so we need to move quickly! Remone, you and I are going to
take that first SUV with Nilani. We’ll take out as many of them as
we can on our way to the vehicle, but Renny you’ll have to help us
from here. Then the three of you can take the second vehicle and
take Miran to a hospital.”

“Sounds good,” said Renny, while the rest of
the guys nodded. “Nilani, follow us! Don’t stop,” I instructed.
Executing by force I took out two more men; Remone cleared another
three, while Renny took care of the remaining two. I got into the
driver seat of the first vehicle as we were faced with more
gunfire; men were rushing out from within the house. “Arrun,”
called out Thambi as he held grasp of a propane tank. “Shoot it,”
he shouted as he rolled it in direction of the incoming men. I
waited to make sure all the guys were safely in the vehicles before
firing a final bullet at the tank. BANG! I watched as the explosion
incinerated the few men along with the front of the brothel.
“That’s what I’m talking about,” cheered Remone. Firing guns in the
air we drove off, cursing at will as we saw the remaining few men
run to the front of the house in shock.

“What now, where are we taking Nilani” asked
Remone as we watched the others turn in direction of the
hospital.

“We’re taking her to her house,” I
replied.

“
What? Did you get hit in the head or
something? What are we going to tell Marona? I’ve been listening to
a few of your wild ideas now, but this is the worst of them all.
Why don’t you just ask one of us to kill you? Because it seems like
you just do things to die.”

“
Calm down bro, I don’t plan on dying
till death comes and gets me. I just think it’s better if she goes
home now. Think about it, Shekhar Khan is supposedly working with
the commissioner, but the way his men came firing they could’ve
killed her as well. Which means, the commissioner probably didn’t
know of this plan. He’ll probably withdraw from their so called
deal; leaving Shekhar Khan to be our only problem.”

“Alright bro, fuck! I can’t believe I’m
actually listening to you again,” said Remone

“Trust me brother, you have to,” I responded
smiling.

Looking in the rear-view mirror, I watched
Nilani, as she seemed to look disappointed. I did not want to ask
her if anything was wrong; I just wanted to drop her off and end
this little issue once and for all. Though she remained quiet for
majority of the ride, she guided us to her house when needed. Once
we arrived at her house, I parked the vehicle a short distance from
the front gates.

“
Remone, stay in the car. I don’t know
how this will go; if this ends badly I want you to drive off. Don’t
think twice, this is my plan and I’ll deal with the situation.
Nilani come, you’re my ticket in and out. Don’t fail me.”

“Arrun, are you crazy? I’m coming,”
countered Remone.

“Shut up, and listen to me!” I shouted.

“Nilani, I’m going to hold a gun to your
head, but I wont shoot,” I promised.

I held a gun to Nilani’s head as I walked
through the front gates. “Muthumaran,” I yelled out, as I stood
waiting for the commissioner’s presence. Walking through the front
door was Nilani’s father in tears upon seeing his daughter. “Let
her go,” he pleaded. Muthumaran, the Police Commissioner of Tamil
Nadu in tears, proof of how great a weakness a parents love is.

“
I could shoot her right here, but I need
her to ensure my safety. Remone, drive a bit forward. Muthumaran,
I’m going to let your daughter go but I need to alert you of a
little situation. You’re dancing with the wrong person; you need to
avoid that relationship with Shekhar Khan. Your daughter could have
died today because his actions. We’re the reason why she’s alive,
withdraw from your deal before we actually hurt Nilani.”

“I will, I will. Please let her go,” he
pleaded.

“Nilani go,” I said, giving her a little
shove on the shoulder. Aiming my gun to her head, I walked back
slowly towards the SUV door. Opening the vehicle door, I noticed
Nilani enthused to run into her father’s arms. However she turned
to look at me, and for some odd reason her face seemed to be
drowned in disappointment; it bothered me.

I haven’t gotten much sleep since yesterdays
incident. I haven’t even got the time to go over to the Duranji
residence to seek punishment; well assuming they weren’t pleased
with actions. Instead, I have been practicing my shot at an
abandoned warehouse; I’ve come to notice that gun handling is a
must. I don’t want to be that one guy who is wasting bullets,
shooting into space.

Remone accompanied me half way through, and
he told me that I have become a fine shot. I guess that’s what
happens when you spend an entire day practicing. Although the
compliments did not last too long, soon he began pestering me with
questions of how I will explain things to Marona. To be honest I
didn’t know how to explain myself either. I mean, Miran now has a
fractured leg and nose; I even let Nilani return home in peace. My
intentions were right, and I do not doubt it at all, but I don’t
know if they will understand my true intentions.

“We have to go over to Marona’s,” said
Remone.

I could have avoided it for a bit longer,
but it was probably best if I don’t evade this problem. Remone
drove, as I started preparing for every possible scenario. Remone
mentioned that there wasn’t any form of hostility when Verone spoke
to him over the phone; which put my mind at ease. Upon reaching the
house, I noticed that most henchmen were starting to get more
familiar to me. A lot of them simply nodded their head, which is
usually a form of acknowledgement.

Verone was already outside; I assume he was
giving a job to the henchmen. Stopping me in my tracks he said,”
Have a seat inside, I’ll get father.” As Remone mentioned, there
wasn’t any noticeable intimidation in Verone’s tone. I really
didn’t need to fear for anything to go wrong, and I was right as I
saw Marona approach me with a huge smile. Getting up from the
couch, I was the recipient of a tight hug.

“My son, my son,” he exclaimed.

“You aren’t mad at me?” I asked.

“
Arrun, why would I be upset with you?
Because of you the commissioner has decided to cut ties with Khan!
I don’t care how you did it, but you got the job done and that’s
all that matters. Impressive kid, you just came and you’ve already
made a significant impact on the empire. As for the situation
between you and Miran; you’ll have to deal with that on your
own.”