You're Next, Buddy -- Part 3!

YOU’RE NEXT, BUDDY

PRE-NOTE: 

Kindly excuse correct the grammatical mistakes. Thanks in advance. :-)

There is going to be lots of characters obviously as there are four deaths and there is a past that connects those four murders. Can you make a connection before Vijay? ;-)

PART 3:

“That’s it, Vij. We’re going to the commissioner now and then let me take you to a safe house that will be surrounded with securities till you can catch the next flight. You are going to…” Before Raghav could complete his sentence, Bhargav interrupted throwing up his arms. “Whoa, whoa, whoa, Raghav, slow down.”

“You don’t understand the seriousness of the situation,” Raghav’s voice could’ve killed Bhargav if he had enough power.

“Like this chocolate?” Bhargav’s lips twisted sardonically as he snatched the chocolate bar from Vijay.

Raghav was unmoved. “Like this blood,” he caught Vijay’s left arm and brought it in front for a better display.

Vijay said, “If you guys allow me to say a word…”

Both of them ignored him. Bhargav’s lips curved even more. “Yeah, you’re right. But why don’t our Vijay get ‘Z’ category protection? He is valuable, funny, not-so-whiny-despite-being-married and…”

Vijay began, “Guys…”

But Raghav was still looking at Bhargav with expressionless eyes. “And why don’t you go and join as an assistant to The Arrow? I heard that he is hiring.”

Vijay tried again, “Raghav, you should…”

Raghav turned to him angrily. “Seriously, Vij? I know you hate protection but you’re gonna let your best friend down in front of your careless brother-in-law?”

“Carefree,” said Bhargav.

Vijay shook his head. “Raghav, you know I’d never do that. But shouldn’t you be checking that old lady who went inside? Indhu was there… And Indhu’s going to be with that old lady in the plane. Shouldn’t you be stopping her? I can’t. But you can stop that lady as ‘Head of The Arrow’ squad. You…” Raghav already broke into a run towards the security check and Vijay smiled.

Bhargav chuckled. “Or you could just call Indhu and ask her to come back.”

“No, I am sure now that I meant to be The Arrow’s next victim. Indhu is safe. The death always happened at the address that he forwarded to the police. So… Well, shall I give the rest of the explanation while we are on our way?”

Spadiha shook her head as though she sprang from sleep. “What if… What if Indhu comes back? She would’ve found out by now that you’re not in the plane.”

“Very good. That’s why you’re going to wait here and send her back saying that I am in it. Understood?”

Spadiha’s jaw dropped. “But…”

Vijay already started walking with Bhargav following him. “Do you actually take my sister to be THAT stupid?” Bhargav asked reproachfully as they both jumped into his car.

“Of course not. Indhu is not coming back. A pretty air-hostess happens to be a friend of mine and she already messaged me that Indhu was sleeping peacefully in her seat.”

“Sleep… What? Did you drug her?”

“Kinda. I never intended to get on that plane. I was worried about what I should say to Raghav but the old lady provided a great solution.”

Bhargav consulted his watch. “In another 5 minutes or so, Raghav would’ve found out the truth and informed Spadiha as well. What if Indhu wakes up at London and decides to come back to India instead of taking the next connection flight to USA?”

“She can’t. I made sure of that.”

“You’re gonna get killed for sure. If not Arrow, Indhu will kindly do the job.”

Vijay laughed while bending the steering wheel to the right and then became serious after a minute. “This Arrow character needs to be stopped at any cost.”

Bhargav made a face. “Not at the cost of your life.”

“I am not a soldier or a hero and I have no idea of sacrificing my life. But I am going to try and catch this guy.”

“So are we going to wait for this guy to catch you in your house? I remember this famous quote – If you want to catch the lion, let it catch you.”

“The first place Raghav would look for me is my house.”

“Oh, swell! Where are we going now then?”

“To the commissioner, of course.”

Bhargav looked confused. “Excuse me? That’s what Raghav’s plan is. Why do we have to ditch him to implement his plan?”

“I am going to the same place but for a different purpose.”

“Did I ever tell you that you were so exasperating when you try to talk like Sherlock Holmes, genius?”

Vijay grinned. “You’ll understand in a minute. We’re so close.” He parked his vehicle and gestured Bhargav to join him. After a few formalities, he was allowed inside his uncle’s room.

“Hello uncle.”

“Ah it’s you. My niece-in-law couldn’t manage to pack you back to Boston then?”

“I bet that you predicted that long before.”

The commissioner laughed. “There is a reason that I put Raghav on that case. I never thought that it would backfire.”

Bhargav interrupted. “I knew it. I thought the Commissioner had an angle in putting Raghav at the head of this special Arrow squad. So that Vijay would help for the case. That’s the only reason that Raghav ever gets any work, I think.”

Commissioner Ravindran frowned. “Raghav is brilliant in his own way. What does he do to spite you?”

Vijay said, “Ah, nothing much, uncle. As you know already, Bhargav was our junior in our college and Raghav, as a senior, had screwed around with him a little. Mainly because of the fact that Indhu and I were in cold war ourselves. It’s too funny that they carry it after years.”

Bhargav clicked his tongue. “You never behaved like a senior to me and you treated me well. You know what kills me? That someone wants to torture you to death. It’s just unbelievable.”

“I’ve dealt with loads of cases and I’ve spent people to jail…”

“You’ve sent criminals to prison,” corrected his uncle Ravindran. “I am still disappointed that you shut down your detective agency.”

“Me too,” agreed Bhargav. “You’re a screwball and when are you going to snap out of the sulks and get back to using the crazy talents God gave you?”

“Oh, shut up,” said Vijay.

“No, it’s true. Sometimes a case comes along,” said the Commissioner, one eye on Bhargav, “that’s so off the trail, so eccentric, it licks even the finest cop. I think this Arrow business needs the kind of special talents you’ve demonstrated so brilliantly in the past. A fresh and unorthodox approach.”

“You’re too kind. Thanks,” said Vijay, extending his hand. “I am taking this case.”

His uncle shook it but gave a warning look at him. “That’s my boy. Before we get into business, you must tell me what your plans are. I want to know everything and confirm that there are no insane plans.”

Vijay looked offended. “I never had insane plans.”

“Well, but you’re with this guy now.” Ravindran nodded at Bharghav.

Bhargav shrieked. “That’s too much.”

Vijay suppressed his grin and kept his face straight. “I don’t have any plans at all. And I’d like the details – obviously there must be some that the public didn’t know.”

“You know about the emails.”

“I do.”

“We tracked them – all of them were sent from Chennai. We even narrowed it to…”

Bhargav shook his head impatiently. “Chennai? What kind of security system do you have? Just show me those emails – I bet I’ll come up with the exact location in two hours. I am an expert in this kinda work.”

Ravindran looked insulted and said a little harshly, “We have the exact location…”

Bhargav heaved a deep sigh. “Ah, I get it. It must be a computer center. But then did you check the owner? Even if he has some little details about the appearance of this guy, I could draw…”

“Vijay…” said Ravindran, closing his eyes.

“Bhargav, shut up,” said Vijay again. “Please, excuse the nuisance that I brought along with me. Continue, uncle.”

Bhargav leaned back and murmured something inaudible. Ravindran looked back from Bhargav to Vijay. “This guy sends mails from different cell phones – the sim/IMEI gives the location as the locations where our victims were found dead. Now before your brother-in-law asks an idiotic question like why we didn’t track down the cell phone, I must say that they were stolen.”

“Stolen from whom?”

“From the previous victims. For example, the first mail was sent from James Alwin’s cell. He sent the mail and discarded it. The second mail was sent from Badrinath’s cell, the third was from Gokul’s mobile and the fourth mail that eventually leads to you was from Juhi Sinha’s phone.”

Vijay chuckled bitterly. “So another one of your clues had gone astray. You couldn’t touch this guy.”

“Exactly.”

“I am sorry but…” Bhargav stroked his chin thoughtfully. “If you were aware of this before, you should’ve put a tracker chip in Juhi Sinha’s cell phone. Well, it’s not late now – put one in Vijay’s.”

Vijay smiled a little. “So that when I am dead and when this guy uses my phone to send out a mail…”

Bhargav snapped. “That is not funny.”

Ravindran said considerately, “But it’s a good idea. In that way if something is wrong…”

Vijay wasn’t very happy. “See, this guy is planning to kill me in my house. How would you know that there is something wrong in my house?”

His uncle scrutinized him with his gray eyes and said, “Because your house is going to come under our control from now on and if your cell phone says that you’re there, we’ll send our forces immediately those were already deployed in and around your house.”

“You deployed… What? That’s ridiculous,” said Vijay, trying hard not to let out any signs of anger.

“Listen, Vij, I know you won’t like it. I may not tie your hands but I’d keep my arms around your shoulders always. Not just in this case but all through your life.”

“Uncle, you don’t have to do this.”

“Yet I do it,” Ravindran smiled. “Not just that. I ran through all your past cases. None of them were convicted to a death sentence. Some cases are still in court and few people got some years of serving in jail. I met every one of them and I am damn sure that none of them is violent enough to kill you. There is this girl Malavika actually blushed while saying your name and said that you’re the only one who ever stood up against her.”

“Are you cheating on my sister? Who is this girl Malavika?”

“She is a teen that I… Never mind. Uncle, this was all unnecessary. If you had used your power to achieve all these, I am gonna sue you.”

Ravindran continued as though there was no interruption. “Personally I looked back through your entire life and made sure that there were no enemies.”

“Did you find any connection between Vij and the other four victims?” asked Bhargav.

“No.”

“You wasted your time and power then,” said Bhargav. “God save you, Vij.”

Vijay glared at him and then cleared his throat. “Let’s forget the past and think about the future. How long does it take for The Arrow to kill after he sends out the email?”

“A week.”

“Cool. If this guy had watched my life at least for a day, he’d have known that I’ve got a tight security that he can’t breach. Yet he chose me – that clearly sends out a message, doesn’t it? He already knew how to break into my house.”

At the same time, a tall young man separated a book from the neatly stashed books from Vijay’s library, shrugged his shoulders and then put it back. He walked a little and stopped near the photo frame that was shaped like a flower and had Vijay-Indhu’s wedding picture in the center. Each petal had a picture on its own – one from their college days with friends, one with their dog, one with their siblings, one with their parents and one with a baby he wasn’t aware of. He concentrated on the last photo for quite some time – he thought that he had every information on Vijay but somehow he missed this baby. Who could it be?

“This man knows how to live. Seriously you want him?” asked a voice behind him. But he didn’t turn around.

“Yes. To teach a lesson.” His voice was impeccable and cold.

“How are you going to bring him here? He is not weak like your previous victims. We both together can’t beat him if it comes to a fight. However I suspect that there will be a fight at all, considering the fact that he is untouchable.”

“Let’s make sure that he won’t fight when we meet him face to face.”

“How?”

“Injure him. Maim him. We want him alive, but not with full power.”

“How?” The question was asked in the same tone that The Arrow wondered whether it was echoing. He pulled a car key from his pockets and tossed it. “Today. As soon as he got out of his uncle’s tent.”

**********

“Vijay!” Sylvia shouted as she ran. “Vijay, Vijay, stop. God, somebody, pull his earplugs out. Hey!”

Prashanth wasn’t sure what bothered him but he stopped short to look back and found Sylvia waving her arms. She was short of breath as she had chased him for quite some time but she was smiling. “And then people say that the sun and the moon can’t appear together,” he said, coming closer to her.

Sylvia bit her lips and her corners widened without her permission. “Neither of them appears, Vijay. The Earth revolves around the sun and the moon revolves around the Earth.”

“Ah, you annoy me like my boring brother.”

“Oh, do you have a brother?”

“I should be more careful from now on,” said Prashanth, realizing that she wasn’t supposed to learn anything about him. That was their bet.

“Uh huh. By the way, why wouldn’t you stop? I have been calling, calling and calling…”

“The name ‘Vijay’ didn’t register yet in my head.”

She seemed amused then, and yet he felt an infinitesimal withdrawing, like the stir of a small animal in the dark. “This is why you shouldn’t conceal your identity. Why don’t we tell us about each other and just stay as friends?”

He shook his head firmly. “No, Priya. I am not letting you go as easy as that.”

Sylvia sighed. “All right, let’s run.” They jogged together in silence for three minutes and then Sylvia couldn’t stand it. “Okay, let’s talk about something else. Do you happen to know a Professor named Vasanth?”

Prashanth’s eyebrows knitted in surprise. “I most certainly do. Why do you ask?”

“He is weird and he has this forlorn look which interests me. He speaks as though he is out of the world which makes me curious.”

“Ah, he was fine back then till Supriya disappeared.”

“Oh! There is a story then.” She stopped track and sat on a bench.

“Yes, there is one which I can’t tell.”

He saw a flush creeping down her throat. “Why would you do that? You won’t tell me about yourself, you won’t tell me about others but you expect me to hang around. You’re cruel.”

He watched her working up her lips, blowing through her nose and narrowing her eyes. He loved her even when she sulked. ‘God, this woman!’ He averted his eyes suddenly but then sat down. “She was a student of his. She loved him, tried to get his attention and always got a distinction in his paper. In the beginning, he was indifferent but on one birthday…”

<Prashanth’s Story to Sylvia>

“Vasanth sir…” Supriya knocked the staff room door and waited for an answer.

Vasanth looked up and welcomed her inside with a nod. He set the answer papers aside and offered her a seat. He smiled at another staff who just entered and she wanted to pull his smart cheeks. But when he faced her, he didn’t look happy. She wondered what was wrong as she had always been his favorite student.

He pulled the drawer and took a book out. He placed it on the desk and raised his eyebrows. Supriya was more confused than ever. “Sir?”

“How do you know that it’s my birthday today?”

“Is it?” Supriya jumped. “Wow. Wish you a very happy birthday. Have loads of fun. Have…”

Vasanth waved his hands impatiently. “And how do you know that I love Neil Gaiman’s books?”

“Wh…what?” There was something wrong.

“See, wishing me is good and finding a rare book for me is better. But the ‘I love you’ message – I didn’t expect it from you.” He moved it across the table. “Take it and leave.”

“Oh, no, I… I didn’t… Sir, please, no…” When she finally woke up, she heard her heart racing literally.

“Is it the same dream again?” Her hostel roommate Ayesha asked casually without looking at her as her eyes were on the computer screen. Her fingers were busy typing a message in the Gmail chat.

“Yes. Same staff room. Vasanth in that blue shirt. Neil Gaiman. I don’t understand.” Supriya got up and gulped a lot of water down her throat.

Ayesha looked uninterested. “It’s time that you declare your love for him.”

She wiped the perspiration off her face and said, “He’d call me insane.”

“You’re mad about him.”

“But…”

“Listen, just because you’re having the same dream every night doesn’t mean that I can go through the same conversation every night. So just shut up and sleep or tell him that you’re in love with him tomorrow.”

She massaged her forehead and said, “Today I saw more details though. I saw the ‘I love you, Vasu’ clearly. I never called him Vasu before and I didn’t even know that such pet name exists. And it was written in green ink. The signature…”

“Why are you telling me all this? You ought to see a doctor…”

“Listen, I always sign along with the date – the date was today.”

Ayesha looked fascinated for the first time as she closed the laptop and jumped into Supriya’s bed. “Meaning that it’s his birthday tomorrow?”

“We need to confirm that now…”

“How?”

Supriya picked the phone that had been lying calmly on the side of her pillow and dialed Vasanth’s number. Ayesha rolled her tongue inside her cheeks as she looked at the wall clock that conveyed the time as one. “Is it a good idea to disturb a professor in the middle of the night?”

“I am his favorite student,” Supriya smiled and waited for the answer.

“Hello,” it was Vasanth. He sounded tired but not sleepy.

“Happy birthday, Vasanth sir.”

“Hey, thanks. How do you know? I received your package all right. Will open it tomorrow.”

She felt a little series of twitches in her spine and looked at Ayesha with fear-filled eyes. “It’s his birthday tomorrow.”

***********

“Let me drive this time. Where to?” asked Bhargav.

Vijay climbed in as he threw the keys at his brother-in-law. “You heard my uncle – to his place.”

“What are we now? Two five year old kids playing around with toy cars?” Bhargav hit the gas and pulled smoothly away from the curve.

“We’re just going to show up there and the next place we’re stopping is my place. Whatever he doesn’t know isn’t gonna hurt him.”

Bhargav scoffed. “You know what? You really mastered the art of lying to the people who trust you. Indhu will blame it on me.”

Vijay made a face. “Bhargy!” Before he could say anything, he noticed something odd. “Hey, we got a tail.” He pointed the rear view mirror.

“Somebody is following us?” Bhargav checked and decided to speed up but it was already at their side. A voice in the other car said, “Pull over.”

“It’s Raghav,” said Bhargav, slowing it down. Vijay stepped out to find Raghav watching him with his arms crossed across his chest. His face was grave. “I am sorry,” Vijay began but stopped at Raghav’s gesture. “I don’t want to talk to you, Vijay. I just wanted to leave this girl with you. Spadiha?”

Spadiha got down from the car with the same frustrated look as Raghav but her anger was directed more towards Bhargav. Raghav got into his car before Vijay could think of a proper apology. “Raghav…”

“That old lady said that a tall guy asked her to stop you. She couldn’t identify him as her eyesight isn’t good enough but she said that he was wearing a platinum chain with small star shaped dollar,” he said as he started the ignition. “She is still under our custody.”

“Raghav…” Vijay called out as the inspector’s car roared off. “He is really furious.” Bhargav had to strain to hear Vijay’s voice over the noise of the departing engine.

“You guys are unbelievable. Seriously Vij, since when have you become irresponsible like Bhargy?” Spadiha screeched. Bhargav could not concentrate as something else disturbed him.  He turned to Vijay and at that second, he caught a silhouette. A dark Nova, lights out, was heading straight for them.

The onrushing car flashed in front of Vijay’s BMW, obviously aiming for them. Vijay calculated the damage in a second. He split up from the other two and headed for the other side of the road – he didn’t want to risk the others’ lives on behalf of him.

Tires squealed as the driver realized that he missed his target and changed course. “Vij!” Spadiha screamed. The roar of the engine drowned out her words. Vijay whirled to find the car almost on top of him, and no place to escape. His muscles clenched for a dive, but estimating the car’s speed, he knew his dive wouldn’t take him far enough. The Nova would taste his blood for sure.

To be continued.

Comments and criticisms are welcome. :-)

For previous parts, kindly check

https://www.facebook.com/wonderlandatleisure
http://lavanyaa26.blogspot.in/

Thanks & Regards,

Lavanyaa