Cross Roads: Pick a Path (17 page)

“
Arrun? What was the hurry? You should’ve
just made sure that Nilani got home safe! Oh right, right, you had
that show to catch right? The one at Napier Bridge, how was that by
the way? It was quite a scene, right? This is what happens kid;
this is what happens when you try to cross paths with people like
me. This game isn’t for people who have feelings; just look at you;
you must feel so miserable right now. I’m a nice guy though; I
won’t do anything to harm your girlfriend, but I can’t speak for
the other guys. They’re probably going to beat her, and then pass
her around like the piece of trash she is! I want your head, and
I’ll continue to take the people you care about till I get it.
There’s no walking away from the game now kid, the only way out is
for you to die.”

“Khan, I swear to god if you,” the line was
cut before I could finish. Though if things happen according to
plan, Nilani’s father should’ve been able to trace that call. The
beep on my phone confirmed of that too; he had been able to trace
the call, but the location of her being wasn’t so satisfying.

She was apparently held in what was probably
one of the most criminally active zones in Chennai. A place where
men live lawlessly, and what was worst is that it was one of the
spots that backed Khan’s activities. It wouldn’t be easy to go in
there and come out alive, but better me going alone than risking a
big riot. The car was already left on idle, and Trent remained
unconscious. I expected the Commissioner to be on his way with back
up soon, but I wanted to get there and handle the situation prior
to his arrival.

I took the wheel, and drove off as the
traffic remained still after watching me drag Trent into the car. I
was impatient, as I should be; driving as fast as I can, I swerved
through the few cars on the road. A few angry drivers, and horning
didn’t stop my pace and I got near the zone in due time. See the
problem was that I forgot my handgun once again. I was left with a
machete, and I planned to put it to good use on some of Khans men.
Unable to follow my normal guns blazing method I parked the car two
blocks out, there was a reduced amount of movement, and it was
fairly quiet.

I remained in the car, and waited for brief
moment in time as the streets cleared completely. I saw what was a
large building, and I if my assumptions were right, Nilani had to
be held there!

I stepped out the vehicle and checked around
once more before opening the back passenger doors; I wasn’t
planning on leaving Trent in the car. He’s going to serve a
purpose, because he’s obviously part of something I’ve yet to find
out. It is going to be difficult; right now he’s practically dead
weight, and caring him the entire way through will be quite
hard.

It was exhausting but I dragged him the
two-block distance, before throwing him over a fence. The fence
gated the tall building, and the back part I laid him at wasn’t
guarded at all. My initial thoughts were to just walk to the front
steps, attacking anyone who tried to stop me, but I should probably
try walking in as an ordinary person. I wasn’t sure if anyone even
knew me, I was actually quite unknown by many here, and it maybe
easier to just walk by as an ordinary citizen.

It might be a stupid move, but I tucked the
knife between my boxers and pants, and then used my shirt to cover
it. I was a bit nervous walking past the sketchy few on the street,
but no one recognized me. Once I reached the entrance to the
building I realized that it was an unfinished project. Much like
most places in the area, really dirty, and probably filled with
hazy people.

The man at the front of the building stared
at me for a while; I was beginning to think that he maybe knew who
I was. I placed my hand on the right side of my hip where I helmed
the machete and he began to pace towards me. “How long you
staying,” he asked. I was quite confused, but he obviously thought
that I was here for something else, so I decided to play along.

“Half-hour maybe?” I replied.

“Only? You maybe want to stay for an hour,
more worth the money,” he continued.

“Sure,” I responded, hesitant and unaware of
where things were going.

“
You seem fairly young, head to the fifth
floor. We’ve got a new girl, she may not want to cooperate because
you’re the first, but you know what to do.”

Yeah, it became fairly obvious as to what
sort of things were go on around here. He mentioned a new girl, and
it has got to be Nilani. “Follow me,” he said as he began to lead
the way. We walked up the steps to the entrance, before stepping
through the doorway. There wasn’t much lighting and the place
reeked. There was a counter and room to the left, and stairs
leading up on the right. I began to follow the pimp up stairs
before another man began to walk down from above. He walked right
on by before, asking us to stop.

When we turned his face rang alert, I knew
what to expect next so I reacted quick. I pulled the knife quickly
before he could act. I first jumped the stairs, and waited for him
to react likewise. I had the advantage, holding the machete but I
noticed the handgun at his waist. As expected he went for his gun,
and it was the best time for me to react. I swiped at his neck and
watched him fall, then stuck the machete through his skull.

His blood spattered across my shirt, and
when I turned towards the pimp he attempted to flee. I got a hold
of his left foot before he could take another step more and dragged
him back down the stairs before stabbing him a few times through
his chest. This has already become a mess; I noticed a space
underneath the stairs that had a door leading outside. It served as
an opportunity for me to get Trent in here; I could probably leave
him in the room I saw to the left.

After bringing him in, I dragged the two
bodies into the room as well. By luck, no one else had made their
way down to notice the dead figures. I insured that the door was
securely locked before moving back up the stairs. I was on alert
most of the way through, but I noticed a man on the steps up to the
fifth floor. There was a solid piece of stone I threw to lure him
down, and the man who came down was quite old to be a henchman. I
ran up on him; like Trent, slammed him against the wall, but used
the machete to enlist more fear.

“Where is she? The new girl!” I
demanded.

“Next floor above, last room on the left!”
He cried, trembling upon seeing the knife forced to his neck. I
used the handle part of the machete to knock him unconscious before
racing up the next flight of steps. I really don’t know why that
man was standing there, but the fifth floor was empty much like the
others. I was expecting a lot more of Khans men to be watching the
premises. Walking cautiously down the narrow hallway I reached the
last room on the left without being caught. You could hear the cry
of woman inside, and when I opened the door tied and placed in the
corner was not Nilani.

“Don’t come closer, please leave me alone!”
Cried the girl.

“Look, I’m not going to do anything to you,”
I said.

“Please, show me mercy. I’m not that type of
girl.” She begged.

I walked closer, and with every step I took
she yearned to be left alone. I placed the knife on the ground, and
continued to walk closer. I kneeled down beside her, and she was
drenched in tears.

“Please let me go, I don’t belong here.
Please!” She continued.

“I’ll take you home, where do you need to
go,” I inquired.

“Toronto, Canada,” She said.

“Toronto? How on Earth did you end up here?”
I asked.

“
They kidnapped us, I’m not the only one.
There are so many more girls like me. These men are monsters; they
keep us all at a house next to this property, for months we’ve been
hoping for a way out. They’re using us as sex slaves, who gave them
the right to determine our lives? I was a med school student, and
now I’m here. Some of the girls have even leaped over the top of
this building after they get raped. While the rest of us remained
in that house, praying that we won’t be next. Some of the girls
have just given in, and they’re just miserable. They can’t speak,
they’ve been beaten, they’re practically used till they serve no
purpose; its completely gruesome. Please, help me”

“What’s your name?” I questioned.

“Sarah,” She replied.

“Sarah, that’s my mothers name. Think of me
as your brother, you and all the girls will get home,” I
reassured.

I could tell she felt relieved of sort, kind
of like her prayers had been answered. She smiled in the midst of
tears, but I still had no clue of where Nilani might be. Perhaps
that’s why this building was empty of Khan’s men. Maybe Nilani was
in the same house, among those other girls, praying for me to come
get her.

“When did they bring you here from that
house,” I inquired.

“It’s probably been about half an hour,”
presumed Sarah.

“Was there a new girl? One that was brought
in earlier today?” I questioned.

“It’s you, you’re Arrun! She kept saying
you’d come!” She replied.

“How is she? Is she fine?” I asked.

“They were kind of aggressive when they
brought her in, but she’s fine,” said Sarah.

There it was, finally the break in my head,
I form of relief. It was enough to know that she was fine, but it
was another thing to be able to save her. It was going to be much
harder, trying to facilitate through a house to get Nilani. It
would be more compact and there would be more men for me to take
out in a certain space. She was going to come home with me though,
that was one thing I was set on.

I untied Sarah, and picked up the machete
before asking her to follow me. We eased back down the stairs,
right back to the sketchy street; there seemed to be more attention
on us, though this time I didn’t hide the knife. They saw the blood
on the machete, how it matched that of my shirt and hands. I
continued to walk in direction of the house next to the building,
scratching the machete against the floor beneath us. I was hoping
for Khan to hear the scratching, as I did after he slashed my
friend.

While a few stared at the sides of the
street, two men were present the entrance. They knew exactly who I
was, they didn’t hesitate a second before running towards me. I
stopped and waited for them to cover half the distance between us.
Once they reached the half waypoint, I ran up towards them as well.
They both carried knives, like mine; and when they swung I dropped
to the ground as they missed. Though I didn’t, I insured to make a
cut on one of their legs, the man on the right was the easiest to
catch. Once he dropped to the floor, I was left having to deal with
the other. After running past me he stood in front of Sarah, I
thought he’d maybe use her as a method of killing me so I decided
to draw more attention towards me.

Smacking the machete against the ground I
shouted, “Do something, you piece of shit!”

There was one certain thing about men; many
of us don’t have the capability to think twice. Especially when it
comes to insults being thrown at one another, we act off instincts,
and that’s what he did.

He came at me once more I was able to dodge
his first attempt, but he got me on another. A slice over my left
shoulder, I fell back a little and swung my knife upwards through
his abdomen. Once he dropped, I insured that the both of them were
dead. I then told Sarah to continue following me.

“You’re bleeding,” she said.

“I know, don’t worry about it, keep
following me,” I replied.

She walked behind every step I took, and she
pointed me in the direction I should walk. I wasn’t looking forward
to crossing the third man; he was huge! He was a bit slow to notice
me, his back was turned the other way, and I saw it as an
opportunity.

“Hey, fat slob!” I shouted.

He was slow to turn, and the moment he did I
hove the machete straight through his abdomen. Yet, he stood;
looking straight down on me he kicked me right down. I felt the
sharp pain through my chest, but the stab was doing its job. He was
acting slowly, and I gained the strength to get back up. I ran to
find more strength and drop kicked him to the floor before pulling
the machete out. Then, I slammed it once more through his chest.
That was the end of that, and to my luck his revolver had fallen to
the ground. I left the machete on the ground and picked it up
instead, something I’ve grown a bit comfortable using. The big ogre
was blocking the doorway that was supposed to lead us to the
captive girls. Sarah helped me roll him over before we walked down
the steps.

“Khaj?” Spoke a voice; I guess the big
ogre’s name was Khaj. I’m pretty sure they heard the big thump to
the floor when he fell, and so they were going to be prepared. We
remained at the top of the steps.

“Sarah, I think we should roll this guy down
the stairs. Help me out,” I said.

I assumed that we could use Khaj as a
distraction of sorts. It was hard, but we managed to roll the fat
slob down the steps. We waited, and the men that remained
downstairs did the same. I made Sarah wait behind the wall to
insure her safety; I remained in a prone stance atop the steps. It
took sometime, but I could hear the footsteps of a man walking
slowly towards Khaj’s body. He walked with his foot dragging
against the floor; he let me know exactly where he was with every
step he took. A sudden bang, he fired a shot. It just missed me; I
guess he tried to fire it for assurance. He slipped though, because
he didn’t fire a second bullet fast enough. He made himself
vulnerable, and I saw it work to my advantage. Sarah remained
upstairs, and after the man fell to the floor I took quiet steps
down the stair.

I could hear the whispers of two men; there
was no hope of picking up Khaj’s body so I used that of the second
mans as a shield. It was obvious that the remaining men had not
seen me; if they had I would’ve been gunned down by now. I took the
body of the man and threw it in front of me, and just as I assumed
bullets were fired. I waited for their clip to be emptied before I
walked out. I shot down a first man on the left, while the second
was having some difficulty reloading his gun. I began walking in
his direction and he probably assumed that it would be smarter to
just rush me. Though we both knew that he wouldn’t win, I gunned
him down as well, and he fell straight down to my feet. Now all
that remained were a few dead bodies, and a door on the left of a
dark basement.