Right or Wrong

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 11^th 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.