The 3 Mistakes Of My Life (29 page)

forward. The man took Ish captive and pushed him against the wall.

Omi had crushed the toes of the fourth man with the bat. The man winced as

he fell on the floor. Omi kicked his stomach but the fifth man punched hard on

Omi's back. The man grabbed Omi from behind.

'Buffalo, you can't get free now,' the man said.

'Tch, tch. Stupid bastards. Like playing with fire eh?' Mama said as he sat on

the branch manager's table. The three of us were pinned to the wall. The three

remaining able men had blocked our bodies with their trishuls.

Mama sat on the branch manager's table and looked at us.

'I want blood. Give me the boy, or it will be yours,' Mama said. He took out his

hip flask and had a big sip of whisky.

'There is no boy here,' Ish said, 'as you can see.'

'You are not to be trusted, as I have seen,' Mama said. He threw the empty

flask at Ish. It hit him in the chest.

Two injured men lay on the floor. Mama kicked them.

'Go search,' Mama said.

The men hobbled and left the room.

'Nobody here,' they screamed as they traversed the various rooms of the bank.

Their voice had pain. Something told me they'd had enough.

Mama went close to Ish. He pulled Ish's hair hard. 'Tell me you bastard,' Mama

said. 'He is not here,' Ish said.

'I will...,' Mama said as a phone ring interrupted him.

The phone didn't belong to me or Omi. The ring didn't come from Mama and

his men either.

Mama followed the sound. The sound came from the manager's table. Mama

went to the wall behind the manager's table. It had the vault. The sound came

from within the vault.

'Open this,' Mama said as he pointed to the wheel shaped lock of the vault.

We kept quiet. Ish's phone rang again. I guessed Vidya had called to explain

things to her brother.

'I said open this,' Mama said.

'This is the bank's vault. We don't have the keys,' I said. I wanted to do my part

to help Ish. I wanted to do anything to make me less of a creep.

'Oh yes. The smart boy has spoken. No keys,' Mama said.

My head turned to Ish. Ish looked away from me.

Mama grabbed my chin and turned my face to him.

'So we are idiots isn't it? You don't have the keys, but how did the fucking

phone end up inside? Search them.'

Mama's minions began the most violent search possible. The man searching me

ripped open my shirt pocket. He slapped me once and asked me to turn around.

His nails poked me as he frisked me from top to bottom. I told him I didn't have

the keys more than ten times, but he wouldn't listen. He searched my pant

pockets and grabbed my groin twice to check. Whenever I tried to squirm, he

jabbed me with his fist.

The other men did the same to Omi and Ish. The man searching him ripped off

Ish's shirt. He took a trishul and poked him in his rib cage.

'This bastard doesn't have it,' my man said and gave up his grip. He pinned me

to the wall again.

'This one neither,' the man with Omi said.

'This one needs to be tamed,' the man with Ish said as he tried to take off Ish's

pants. Ish kicked hard in the man's shins. I noticed the blood on Ish's chest.

'Should I help,' Mama said from the branch manager's desk.

'Don't worry I'll tackle him,' the man said even as Ish bit his arm.

Mama came to Ish. He jabbed the blunt end of the trishul again at his chest

wound.

Ish screamed in pain and fell. The man searching Ish slapped him a few times.

Ish clenched his teeth and continued to kick. Mama reached into Ish's pockets.

He felt something. Ish had worn practice shorts underneath his pants. Mama

took his hands out of the pants and slid it again into Ish's shorts. He pulled out a

bangle sized keyring. It had two six inch long keys.

Ish lay on the floor taking heavy breaths from his mouth. His eyes looked

defiant even as his body refused to cooperate.

Mama twirled the key ring in his hand.

'Never looted a bank before,' Mama said, 'and what a prize today. Father and

son, I'll root out the clan.'

Mama took a minute to figure out the vault keys.

'Don't Mama, he is a child. For my sake,' Omi said.

Mama paused and turned to look at us.

'My Dhiraj was also a child,' Mama said and went to the vault.

Ish sat on the floor. The man guarding him suffocated Ish with the trishul rod

around his neck.

'Don't touch him. He is national treasure,' Ish growled. The man suffocated him

further.

'I'll pay you, whatever you want,' I said.

'Businessman, go sell your mother,' Mama said to me as he turned the wheel of

the vault.

'There is the bastard,' Mama said.

Mama yanked out Ali from the vault. His thin body in the white kurta pajama

shivered intensely. His smudged face told me he had been crying inside. Mama

grabbed Ali by the neck and raised him high in the air.

'Ish bhaiya,' Ali said as his legs dangled.

'The more innocent you look now, the bigger devil you will be in ten years,'

Mama said and brought Ali down. He released his grip on Ali's neck.

'Stop it Mama,' Omi said as Mama lifted his trishul.

'You won't understand,' Mama said and folded his hands to pray.

'Run Ali, run,' Ish screamed.

Ali tried to run out of the room. Mama opened his eyes. He ran after Ali and

jabbed the trishul into Ali's ankle.

Ali screamed in pain and fell down.

Mama kneeled down on the floor next to Ali.

'Don't you try and escape son of a bitch. I can kill you in one clean shot. If you

try to be clever I will cut each finger of yours one at a time. Understand?' Mama

roared. His eyes were red, the white barely visible.

Mama closed his eyes again and mumbled silent chants. He took his folded

hands to his forehead and heart and tapped it thrice. He opened his eyes and

lifted the trishul. Ali stood up and tried to limp away.

Mama lifted the trishul high to strike.

'Mama no,' Omi screamed in his loudest voice. Omi pushed the man blocking

him. He ran between Mama and Ali. Mama screamed a chant and struck.

'Stop Mama,' Omi said.

Even if Mama wanted to stop, he couldn't. The strike already had momentum.

The trishul entered Omi's stomach with a dull thud.

'Oh ... oh,' Omi said as he absorbed what happened first and felt the pain later.

Within seconds, a pool of blood covered the floor. Mama and his men looked at

each other, trying to make sense of what had occurred.

'Mama, don't do it,' Omi said, still unaware that the trishul blades had

penetrated five inches inside him.

'Omi, my son,' Mama said.

Omi writhed in pain as Mama yanked the trishul out.

I had never seen so much blood. I wanted to puke. My mind went numb. The

man who pinned Omi earlier now held Ali tight and came close to Mama. Mama

had Omi in his lap.

'Look you animal, what did you do,' Ish screamed. Ish had seen the scene from

behind. He never saw the trishul inside him. Only I had seen, and for years later

that image would continue to haunt me.

'Call an ambulance you dogs,' Ish screamed. Ish's captor held him super-tight.

Ali put his free hand on Omi's chest. It moved up and down in an asymmetrical

manner.

Omi held Ali's hand and looked at me. His eyes looked weak. Tears ran across

my cheeks. I had no energy to fight the man holding me. I had no energy left to do

anything.

'Leave us you bastards,' I cried like a baby.

'You'll be fine my son, I didn't mean to,' Mama said as he brushed Omi's hair.

'He is a good boy Mama, he didn't kill your son. All Muslims are not bad,' Omi

said, his voice breaking as he gulped for breath.

'Love you friend,' Omi said as he looked at me, a line that could be termed

cheesy if it wasn't his last. His eyes closed.

'Omi, my son, my son,' Mama tried to shake him back to life.

'What? What happened?' Ish said. He had only witnessed the drama from

behind.

Mama put his head on Omi's chest. Ish started kicking and shoving the man

holding him. The man jabbed Ish with his elbow. Ish gripped his trishul rod and

pushed back hard until he could slip out. He gave the man a kick in his groin.

The man fell down as Ish kicked him again thrice in the same place. Ish pounded

his head with his foot until the man became unconscious. Ish ran to Omi.

Mama left Omi's body on the ground and stood up. Ish went over and touched

Omi's face. He had never touched a dead body before, let alone his friend's. I saw

Ish cry for the first time. He sniffed back hard but the tears wouldn't stop.

'See what you made me do you bastard,' Mama said, 'made me kill another

son. But I am not weak. I haven't cried yet, look.'

Ish ignored Mama. He went through the same numbness I did a few moments

ago. He touched Omi's body again and again.

'Hindus are not weak, am I weak?' Mama said as he turned to his men. The

men looked nervous, as things had not gone as planned. The man who held Ali's

arm looked at Mama, looking for guidance for the next step.

'Hold him back, next to this mother pimping businessman,' Mama said.

The man brought Ali next to me and held him back with a trishul.

Ish's captor had recovered from the groin attack. He woke up and ran to Ish

from behind. He struck the blunt end of the trishul on Ish's head.

'Ah!' Ish said in pain as he fell down, semi-conscious. The man dragged Ish

back to the wall. Ish faced Ali and me.

'No more chances,' Mama said as he came in front of Ali. Mama asked Ali's

captor to release him. I looked at Ish, around fifteen feet away. His captor looked

extra-alert. Ish looked at me. His eyes tried to tell me something.

What?
I asked myself,
What is he trying to say?

I squinted my eyes to look at Ish. He moved his eyeballs from centre to left in

quick succession. He wanted me to run out and block Mama. Just the way Omi

had, unsuccessfully.

I examined my captor. He blocked me but his eyes watched Mama and Ali. It is

hard to take your eyes of a live murder. I could slip out. However, what was the

point of getting killed?

'Get ready you pig,' Mama said as he lifted his trishul and took five steps back.

Maybe I could extract myself and try to pull Ali towards me. That way Mama's

strike could hit the wall. Ish could push his captor away, come from behind and

protect us all. Is that what Ish had tried to say? I had limited data beyond the eye

movement. I had limited time. I couldn't analyse, I had to do first and think later.

The exact opposite of when I slept with Vidya. There, I should have thought first

and done later.

Mama ran towards Ali. I knew I had to get out of the captor's grip, grab Ali and

pull him to my side. I got ready to move. However, I looked at Mama. The sight of

his huge frame and a sharp weapon sent a fear inside me. And I wasted precious

time thinking when I should have acted. Ish and I exchanged another glance and

he saw my fear mixed with self-interest. What if the trishul ends in my stomach?

The what-ifs made me hesitant, but I snapped myself out of it and made a dive to

my left. I grabbed Ali and pulled him towards me. Mama struck, but missed Ali's

torso. One blade of the trishul jabbed Ali's wrist. Ali would have been completely

unhurt only if I had dived a second earlier. And here it was, something I didn't

realise then, the one second delay being the third big mistake of my life.

Of course, I didn't know I had made a mistake then.

Ish did exactly as I thought, and banged his head against the captor's to set

himself free. It would have hurt Ish, but I think Ish was beyond pain right now.

Ish took his captor's trishul and struck it into the man's heart. The man

screamed once and turned silent.

Ish ran to us.

'He's ok, he is ok,' I said turning to Ish. I held Ali tight within me in an embryo

position.

★

There were two captors left and Mama. We did not want to kill anyone.

'We just want to go away,' Ish said as he held his trishul, facing Mama. Mama

had a trishul too. Their eyes met. Mama's men watched the impending duel. I ran

with Ali to the other end of the room. The men came running after us.

'Stop you bastards,' the men said as we reached the end of the room. One of the

men went and bolted the door.

Ali lifted a bat from the floor. I picked one too, though not sure if I could really

fight right now,

Ali winced as his right wrist hurt when he lifted the bat.

'Heh? Want to fight?' the two captors said.

Mama and Ish were still in their face off. Each had a stern gaze. Mama rotated

his trishul in his hand.

One of the men turned to go back to Mama.

'I'll take care of him, you finish the boy Mama,' he said.

'Sure,' Mama said as he moved away. As he left, Mama struck his trishul at

Ish's toes. Ish didn't expect it. He lost his balance and fell down next to the