*10*
‘I am sorry about all this’ The man spoke as the woman turned
around after closing the main door behind her.
‘Shivu go and get ready for school’ The woman ignored the man
and instructed her son.
‘Mumma! It is Sunday’ The boy rolled his eyes as he admonished
his mother, before running to place his young behind on the settee and grabbed
the TV remote. He punched buttons on the remote and Ninja Hatori came on the
screen.
‘How long was I out?’ The man questioned as he tried standing up
on his feet, with the bedsheet clutched around his waist. The woman walked to
the kitchen ignoring the man. The man stretched and took support of the couch
and the dining table as he followed her into the kitchen.
‘I didn’t mean to cause you guys any trouble. I will be out
soon. As soon as I figure out where my shirt is’ The man explained. The woman opened
the fridge and pulled out six eggs. She loudly plopped the skillet on top of
the stove, yelled to her son from the kitchen.
‘Shivu, what eggs do you want?’
‘Kacha-mucha’ the boy
yelled back.
‘You fine with scrambled eggs?’ The woman looked at the man for
the very first time. She stared at him with deep disdain.
‘Yes. Thank you!’ The man smiled.
‘Go into the bedroom, you will find shirts hanging in the
cupboard on your left.’ The woman instructed as she pointed the way. As the man
made his way towards the pointed direction, the woman spoke again. ‘I hope you
are out after breakfast.’ The man nodded his head.
‘Switch off the TV! Come and have breakfast’ The woman ordered
her son. The man sat down opposite the boy, dressed in a pair of jeans which
was a size too big for him and a pale blue shirt cinched together with a
leather belt.
‘The whole floor was flooded.’ The boy exclaimed looking
excitedly at the man. ‘Water, water everywhere…’ He boy sang as he picked up
toasts from the tray onto his plate.
‘What’s your name?’ The man smiled looking at the boy.
‘Shiv Shankar, but everybody calls me Shivu’ The boy grinned as
he stuffed his face with scrambled eggs and toast.
‘Close your mouth and eat’ The mother admonished.
‘How long was I out for?’ The man gingerly raised the subject
again, softly enough for Shivu to ignore the adult talk.
‘Thirteen hours. I think I need to apologize to you. I am vet
and I don’t do humans. I am afraid that I may not have done a good a job. You
might want to go to a hospital and get it redone.’ The woman spoke hurriedly
avoiding the man’s searching green eyes.
‘It is good that Shivu came and saved me.’ The man smiled as he
gave the young boy a conspiratorial wink.
The man pushed his plate away and sighed.
‘Thank you for breakfast and everything else.’ The man pointed
to his shirt, ‘I will get out of your way now.’ The man declared as he sipped
the last of his orange juice.
‘If you need anything, let me know’ the woman offered with a
weak smile as she held the main door open for him.
‘Mumma? Why is he wearing dada’s shirt? Will he return it?’ The
boy inquired as he plonked himself in front of the television set again.
‘Bye shivu!’ The man waved, ‘And yes, I will bring back dada’s
shirt’ the man grinned before awkwardly turning his back.
The man gently pushed open the door and heard the door sweep the
broken glass behind it.
#
He heard the door bell ring. He turned the
water off, he loosely wrapped a towel around his waist. He pulled the gun from
the shoulder holster hanging behind the bathroom door, he checked the magazine
and the silencer. He quickly walked to the door. He looked through the peep
hole and saw nothing. The door bell rang again. He put the chain latch in its
place, pulled the safety off his gun. He heard the rustling of cloth against
the door and wall. He opened the door ever so slightly when somebody kicked the
door. The chain latch did its job. But there were too many hands with makeshift
swords and iron rods.
Zffft!
The first shot caught an eager man trying to push his way past
the door in the knee.
The chain latch gave away. A sea of bodies tumbled in.
Zffft!
The second shot caught another assailant in his shoulder. A rod
swung high in the air and caught the man on his shoulder, forcing him to drop
the gun. Reflexes took over. His fist moved through the air, catching somebody
right in the solar plexus, his heel catching somebody in the neck. Things were
hurled. Flesh was pounded. Bones and fragile objects were shattered. But the
chaotic flaying about of sharp objects was intense. A sword cut through the
flesh on his arm, a sickle sliced through his shoulders and an iron rod found
itself deep in his guts.
#
The man quickly walked to the bedroom,
pulled out a new white t-shirt, jeans, fresh socks and slipped on his vans
sneakers. He jumped and pulled out the taped plastic bag from behind the geyser
in the bathroom. He quickly counted the stack of money and pushed it back
inside the plastic bag. He pulled out a red passport, his gateway identity, the
color synonymous with the country – Swiss Red. He stuck his hand inside the
plastic bag one last time and pulled a switchblade and a brass knuckle. He slid
the knife in his socks and stashed the brass knuckle in his jean’s pocket.
He stepped out of the apartment complex,
crossed the road and bought two packs of classic milds from the pan shop. He
lit a cigarette as he waited for change and scanned the road from behind his
aviators. He saw the nondescript Tata-Indica waiting on the corner of the road,
leaning on it, two plainclothes men wearing khaki shoes. He smiled and waved at
them. The two plain-clothed policemen ignored him. He chuckled to himself.
As he stood pulling hard on the cigarette,
he weighed in his options. He couldn’t take the nano, not because of its garish
color, but because using it would lead them to connect the vehicle with the
dead Hamas body back at the hotel. Taking an auto meant going around with a
giant target painted on his back. He stretched his back and winced at the pain
around his gut. He felt the soft spongey feeling of the bandage underneath his
t-shirt.
‘Hello!’ he heard a
voice yell at him from across the road.
He saw Shivu waving at him as his mother steered the car to a
stop outside the apartment’s main gate. The man jogged his way to the car.
‘Should I drop you somewhere? The hospital perhaps?’ Dr. Sinha
inquired as she looked at her son smiling gleefully at the man, whose name she
hadn’t bothered to inquire yet. All she knew was that Shivu had dragged her
down the stairs and pointed to the water flooding out of the bathroom from
Apartment 3A. She saw the wreckage and stepped gingerly into the room while she
instructed Shivu to go down and call the watchman. When she saw the naked man
laying on the floor, his finger stuck deep inside his gut, with blood trickling
down. The many years of medical training and practice kicked in. She called out
to Shivu to go fetch her medical bag and instructed the watchman to call the
cops and an ambulance. The watchman stood watching perplexedly at the woman
deftly wipe and clean the wound before sticking the thread in the eye of the
needle.
The woman called out to the watchman to help her lift him. The
two of them struggled to carry the man into the lift and drag him on the
woman’s couch. The young boy kept his distance while excitedly looking on at
what his mother did.
‘That would be great!’ The man hurriedly got to the other side
of the car and got in. As he buckled in his seat belt, and a moment of thought,
he added ‘Only if am not imposing on you’, The man smiled.
‘You were naked yesterday!’ Shivu exclaimed as he burst into a
fit of giggles. The man turned around and smiled at the young boy. His eyes
were glued on the Tata-Indica as the two men got inside and instructed the driver
to follow the Honda City.
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