Morning 2 AM
“Click.. Click.. Delta Charlie Oh two Oh one Oh one to ATC…Over..”
“Come in Delta Charlie Oh two Oh one Oh one.. Over..”
“Requesting Permission to land urgently in KIA.. Code Red…Over..”
“ETA .. Over..”
“30 Minutes .. Over…”
“Runway 3A.. Over..”
“Thank you… Over and Out…”
Reminiscing the last 8 hours, I
sit like a statue in the plane. There is a lot of hustle and bustle around me,
but I am transported to a different dimension. My friend Hamid has his arm in a
warm gesture, but today, I am not ready to accept the reality. The gravity of
the situation has already killed me and I am already a Ghost.
“Kausalya Supraja Rama….” Plays the traditional wake-up song in every Brahmin’s
house in the Agrahara. Bhagyamma was putting the traditional Rangoli in front
of the house. Janardhana Sastry was performing his daily Sandhya vandana. Like
a hustle, two children run into the Pooja room dressed in their traditional attire.
Their bare bodies with the Jannu make them a living form of Vamana murthy, one
of the many avatars of the Lord Vishnu. Shankaranarayana (Shanku) was the elder
one and was like a father figure to the bubby Krishnamurthy (Kicha). The two
boys took their appointed places and started their daily ritual.
I was still staring at the report
in disbelief. What if there was a remote chance if this could be false? Being
in the elite commando squad, I know that the chance are absolutely ZERO. Slowly
for the umpteenth time, tears run down my cheeks. Hamid’s hand pressure
increases, clearly trying to comfort me.
“ETA 10 minutes.. Get Ready…”
The two boys grow up in traditional Brahmin household, combining their
studies and vedic studies. Quickly, the built up quite a reputation of being the
role models in the agraharam. Bhagyamma and Janardhana Sastry couldn’t have
been more prouder… For Kicha, Shanku was all he wanted to become.. For Shanku,
Kicha was more of a kid than brother.. There was brotherly love, fatherly
respect between them…
Knowing that duty comes first, I
go through the checklist. Trying the never tried before, we all go through the
safety checks again. Elite team of 8 commands with me as their leader was
something never planned for the kind of operation before. We all get into our respective
vehicles, boring into the umpteen darkness that lies beyond the door. Hearts
pumping and Adrenaline increasing, we all await for the proverbial orange
light. Darkness holds so many secrets to be unraveled.
Shanku fell head over heels on Sharadha, his mama’s daughter. Stealing
glances, the adolescence and hormones egged him on. He had confided in Kicha
who was very happy for his role model. Tragedy struck Shanku when Sharadha’s
marriage was fixed with another groom. Unable to express his love or the
disappointment, he receded into a shell and became a part of his former self.
Kicha noticed the sadness in Shanku, but was bound by his promise to him. Kicha
told Shanku to consider his career, but clearly something had changed in Shanku’s
mind and slowly, he made up his mind. He wanted to go away from Agraharam and
expressed his desire to pursue higher education far away from home. Janardhana
Sastry’s world was changing and he was at cross-roads not wanting to hurt his
son’s desires. Reluctantly, they agreed for Shanku to join NDA and continue his
education.
“ETA 30 seconds..”
The dreaded orange light and the
horn start beeping. The door starts receding slowly and we know that the plane
is on the runway. The runway starts becoming visible and the black tar with the
florescent lights against the dark sky await us. The door becomes a ramp and we
get a green signal.. Go.. Go.. Go… We rev up our engines and slowly start
accelerating our bikes. Slowly, the bikes start coming out of the rear door in
pairs.. My friend Hamid is just in front of me and I close my eyes, let a slow
prayer go, touch my left shoulder and kick my engine..
Shanku excelled in academics, but what surprised most was the ability
of the diminutive Brahmin at extremely physical tasks. To get his mind over
Sharadha, Shanku started building up an impressive body and started making
strides within the Army. Impressed by his intellect and skills, he was
recommended by his platoon commander to the elite commandos. Shanku met with a
lot of other boys of his age and slowly they formed a closely knit group and
bond between them went beyond brothers.
In the meantime, Kicha grew up to be a studious boy and was enrolled in
Medical College. Janardhana Sastry was ecstatic over the progress of his two
sons and thanked Shriman Narayana at every opportunity. Kicha was good at
studies, but hormones hit him the moment he saw Neha. Stealing glances, he was
in love with Neha. Life seemed beautiful and sky was painted in a hue of deep
red.
“Comm Check..” “Check…”
“Time to target 1 hour..”
“Let’s rock and roll boys ..”
Vroom Vrooom… The engines kicked in full power.. The bikes were
floating on the black tarmac.. We got out of the VIP gate of the airport,
unseen from common eyes.. All one could see was 2 neat rows of bikes with a
leader in the behind. As we approached the exit of the Airport Road and joined
the road leading into the city, the heart pumping got faster and engines were
working overtime. 9 bikes speeding in excess of 150 kmph and in a neat
formation was impressive.. Except there were no watchers as the roads had been
cleared and it was 2.45 AM in the morning.
“Captain.. Captain..”
“Yes”
“There is an emergency.. You are requested..”
My mind went to the conversation
that was about to change my life forever.
“Captain .. Come in….At ease..”
“There is a situation in a resort close to Bangalore… We need your team…
Plane up in 3 hours.. Whatever information you require are in this file..
Leader is wanted dead or alive”
“Yes Sir…”
“This is a special situation.. You see everything is very discreet… So
you take your best men.. Let’s say a lot of vested interests are in this
operation..”
“Yes Sir..”
“That shall be it.. Good luck…”
I place a call for an urgent team
assembly and walk towards my office. I open the file and start reading the contents..
And stopped dead in my tracks..
Love does wonders to one’s heart. Kicha had a beautiful life going all
along and Neha, his muse was the perfect wife he was looking forward. One day,
taking courage, Kicha went and proposed to Neha. Neha was blushed, but was embarrassed.
She was already in a relationship and though she admired Kicha, she politely
declined the offer.
Kicha had been brought up in a loving household and was able to handle
this heart break. He focused all his energies on his studies, though he couldn’t
take his heart out of Neha. He became a silent admirer and a reluctant
introvert. Life seemed mundane and routine, until one day. Early morning, he
finished his Sandhya Vandana and was walking towards the library, when one of
his friends came running up to him. The news shattered him that he just stood
like a statue. Neha had died… WHAT !!!!
Kicha couldn’t believe his ears. His friend was shouting out to him,
but he couldn’t hear.. His whole world and the whole reason of his existence
ceased to live. After a lot of physical shaking, he came to his senses. Tears
in eyes, he enquired what had transpired. She had died of Drug Overdose.. What …
This can’t be happening… When? How?.... Apparently, her boyfriend was rich and
had friends all around.. A birthday party had turned into a horror when Neha
was administered with what became a fatal dose..
Kicha collapsed… He became a living corpse. Shanku didn’t have an iota
of inkling of what was happening in his brother’s life. The calls had become
sporadic with Shanku’s promotion to captain and Kicha focusing more and more on
his studies. After the 11th day, Kicha woke up, had a bath. That
day, he was very ferocious in his pooja.. A steely determination had taken
birth in his mind… He did the unthinkable.. He took the plunge that no one
expected to take…
WHAT.. This can’t be happening..
Is this report true? Thousands of questions were popping in my mind.. The whole
world around seemed spinning. The report was about a top vigilante who had become
very notorious leader, Christian DeMute. He had built an impressive record of
his hatred towards the wealthy, which didn’t go down well with the powerful. I
read and re-read the report multiple times. As I reached office, my world had
shattered and was looking into those deep black eyes of Christian DeMute
That seemed a long time back,
considering that we were 10 minutes away from our destination. Parking our
bikes, we took a hilly trek with our Gear. This was routine for all of us
having done this much earlier multiple times. Yet, the mission we have embarked
upon this time was different. This wouldn’t ever happen again in my life and
this was a life-altering decision. Hamid came to me and asked..”Captain… Are you sure…” I said, “Yes.. Hamid”
We moved in stealthy and took up
our positions.. The Vigilante camp resembled a rowdy gang of college kids..
They were in fact college kids not long ago, but were sucked into this group due
to one reason or other. We checked our targets through periscopes. My sight was
solely on the leader, Christian DeMute. He looked very reserved and lost in
thoughts. The eyes looked dead, but were all too familiar for me.
“Snip..” “Snip..” “Snip…” The night sky was lit up by the barrage
of bullets flying from different directions. Before the group could fathom what
hit them, the whole group was decimated. The leader was killed by a single shot
right in between the eyes.
The commando team moved towards
the slain group to take stock. 15 vigilantes were shot dead. The leader’s face
seemed serene in death. I walked up to him, closed his eyes and started
breaking down.
I am Capt. Shankar Narayana
Sastry. The dead corpse of Christian DeMute was none other than my kid brother,
Krishnamurthy Sastry. Neha’s death had forced him to become a vigilante and he
had taken a personal pledge to eradicate the rich who flaunt their wealth
around. The wealthy who were the reason for the death of his dear Neha.
I silently gaze into the face of
my kid brother. I had fired the bullet right into the place where I used to
keep the kumkum after our Sandhya Vandana everyday in our childhood.
Who is right and who is wrong? Me
for having done my duty .. Or my brother who tried to correct a wrong in the
society.. Torn between the question, I stand with the dead body of my Kicha…
Disclaimer: This is purely a fictional story that came into my mind exactly this way. If there is any resemblance to earlier piece of work, please do leave a comment and I will take remedial actions.
