Cross Roads: Pick a Path (13 page)

“Life changes a lot from here,” I
stated.

“
Not really, I’m not going to ask you to
change everything for me, you know what’s best for you. You’re
smart Arrun, you don’t need to live the life of a criminal. You can
go about and find a great job and still lead an incredible life,
and it’s totally in your hands. It may be hard, starting from the
bottom, but I’ll be here through the struggle.”

“
I can’t just walk away Nilani, I’m
pretty far into this mess. I’m surrounded by devils, not to mention
that I’m no saint myself. I don’t support half the things the
people around me do. Corrupt politicians, crooked officers, all
bowing down to the criminal world. It’s hard to watch the lives of
innocent people collapse, all because of actions of people with
higher authority. Things have to change, but some people must go
for those issues to be fixed. I’m drowning in issues around me, and
I can’t think of change until those problems are dealt with. It
does feel great though, knowing that you’ll be at my side through
it all.”

“How will your dad react to us,” I
questioned curiously, he is not going to be ecstatic that his
daughter is with an unlawful person like me.

“He wants to speak with you, he’s observed
me being unusual,” she said.

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“
He noticed something different about me.
It started the day you left me at the front gate of my house. He
feels that there is more to you than an ordinary criminal.”

“
To be honest, I don’t think this is the
life I want to lead forever. Your presence made me realize this,
but I can’t let go of the impact my position can have. My voice is
actually respected amongst the group of criminals I’m surrounded
by. I can actually spark a change, but it’ll have to come after we
deal with a few issues.”

From the moment I saw that elderly driver
killed in the street shootout, I could not help but notice that
amount of lives being impacted by our actions. Then there were the
women in the brothel; some there because there is no other way to
support their families, but I wouldn’t be surprised if they are
forcefully there. It isn’t right, and after the Khan issue is over
I must talk to Marona about change.

“Wait, we’ve been talking so much about me.
Tell me some stuff about you,” I asked.

“
Uhm my life isn’t quite as exciting as
yours, so I’ll keep it short. I plan parties for a living, I know,
its like, is that even a job? But yeah, I love it. Especially when
you see the amount of people who come out and enjoy. I work with my
friend/business partner Dipti, she’s not Tamil like the both of us.
She’s Punjabi, and boy is she a blast to be around. Pretty sure
you’re dying to know of my past boyfriends, there were only two,
and they were both idiots. My mom passed away when I was a kid,
never really got to know her. I’ve always been spoiled by my dad,
he’s awesome, trust me! Beyond the tough police officer front he
puts up, he’s really soft and cute! Oh there’s another thing you
can probably relate to. You know Shekhar Khans son Abdul? Yeah that
guy is such a pig! He annoys me so much; I think my dad must have
mentioned me once. Ever since then, he’s been trying to hit on me,
like nonstop! He’s such a pervert; I wish he’d just be washed off
the face of the planet.”

If only she knew that we had him locked up
and beaten down right now. As amusing as it was, I couldn’t let her
know. I wouldn’t want her to get hurt, especially if it is because
of my actions.

I wanted to continue talking with her
throughout the day, but I got a phone call from Remone saying the
operation had started. It was going to be a busy day, and I had to
head home now.

Nilani dropped me off at my place, where I
saw Remone, Sethu, Thambi, and Renny ready to go. She waived
goodbye, and Remone checked to see if I was a go for today. I knew
I had to keep one life away from another. “Let’s get on with it
brother,” I said, as we all got in one vehicle.

“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 forward, 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.