YOU’RE NEXT, BUDDY
PRE-NOTE:
Kindly excuse correct the grammatical mistakes. Thanks
in advance. :-)
PART 7:
“What? What just happened?” Sylvia ran into Prashanth’s room
and questioned Priya breathlessly.
Priya didn’t answer immediately as she was staring at both
the papers in each of her hands and then scrolled her cell phone as though she
was verifying certain details. “What?” Sylvia asked one more time with a
puzzled expression as she came closer to her friend. “What is it, Pri? You’re
scaring me.”
“Not much. But this guy had an appointment with James Alwin
on the day he died,” she handed over the medical test results with the logo of
the Malar Hospitals on top and James Alwin’s signature on bottom.
“That’s it? That’s why you screamed as though The Arrow
sprang up from behind and tried to strangle you?”
Priya pouted naughtily. “Come on, don’t be dramatic.”
Sylvia grinned. “Am I?” Yet while looking at Priya’s
determined face, a guilty expression passed across her face and she became
serious. “Priya, you can’t second-guess ineffability.”
“Listen, this is important because the story is not over yet.
I just found out that this guy ordered a pizza in the morning that Badrinath
got killed.”
“Probably I’d have done that too but I just don’t remember
what I ate that day. Is eating pizza a crime these days?” said Sylvia, rubbing
her hands distractedly.
Priya looked wretched. “You’re so dumb!”
Sylvia was offended. “Come on!”
“Aren’t you gonna ask me interesting questions like ‘Priya,
how do you know that the pizza delivery guy’s name is Badrinath? Priya, how do
you know that it was the same day that he was murdered?’ etc.,”
Sylvia pulled the other paper from Priya’s hand and noticed
that it was a feedback form from Pizzahut with Badrinath’s name on it. “I can
guess the rest. As you saw two victims’ signatures, you went ahead and checked
the internet for the dates that they were killed.”
“And it coincided with the dates that this guy met them. Come
on, we gotta turn him in,” said Priya desperately.
“The police will think that we’re mad if we just showed a
pizza feedback form and a blood test. We need more than that.”
Priya nodded thoughtfully. “You’re right. Will there be any
other evidences that would connect him with the other two victims?”
“I am psyched. Let’s search,” said Sylvia excitedly.
But she didn’t commence her search like Priya – more like she
couldn’t. The complete difference between the two brothers’ rooms bemused her
first and later she was amazed by the beauty of the younger brother’s room. If
Vasanth’s room was full of books, Prashanth’s room was full of little creative
things. There was Iron Man toy made of bottle caps alone, a robot done using
pipes, a building built of match boxes, a princess doll carved out of a soap
and the list went on.
It was like he could build anything out of nothing. “He is an
architect…”
“That doesn’t matter to us. Call me when you find something
more interesting than that,” said Priya irritably from the other end of the
room.
“Yeah, yeah, I am doing that. It’s just that I can’t believe
that this guy could damage anything…”
“What?” Priya sounded more chagrined.
Sylvia gave her an awkward smile and said defensively, “I am
looking for further evidences…”
Her eyes fell on a tall construction with cardboard – the
outside was painted in blue and was pleasant for eyes whereas the interiors
were painted in purple that gave a sudden intimate feeling. “Beautiful!” Next
to it, she found a letter and read it aloud. “Hey, he has got a meeting with
the CEO of The Purple Penchant to get an approval for the new office. You know,
Priya, they actually look forward to creative ideas and I think…”
Priya didn’t seem to be listening. She interrupted Sylvia
midway and said, “Got it, Sylvi. The fourth victim Juhi Sinha is a painter,
remember? He had bought a picture from her on the day of her death – look, it’s
hanging right here,” she pointed out and Sylvia verified the signature on the
portrait and gave a thumbs up. “Incredible, Priya, so he meets them
professionally and then just tortures them to death. I am missing something
here.”
“We’re not missing anything, Sylvia. Who is the next guy that
he’s got appointment? You said something now… The purple what?”
Sylvia’s face wore an unbelievable expression. “You’re
preposterous. You don’t know the CEO of the purple penchant?”
“If you do, let’s just go straight to him and we gotta warn
him,” said Priya, pressing her hands together.
“Warn who?” Both the girls jumped at the male voice that was
coming from the entrance of the room. It was Vasanth.
************
The Arrow set the camera at an angle, gave a satisfactory nod
and went out. Vijay’s throat burned and he started saying something but ended
up coughing.
“Vij, is there a way…”
Finally after considerable effort, he said, “I can loosen the
chain a bit now. But I’ll lose all my strength in 30 minutes and I’ll be
useless. So it’s important to get you out at first.”
Bhargav turned his head slowly. “What are you? A saint? Did
Indhu dance around you to wake you up from your penance?”
“Listen, there is no time for your protests now. Let me see
if I can bring the chainsaw close to me and operate it with my legs.”
“All right, kill yourself. That’s all what I want,” said
Bhargav vaguely.
“No, I am going to try to cut the chains around me. It’s okay
if I am getting hurt – like I said, I am not going to get out of this alive.
But you should make sure that you will stop that guy.”
“Stop him? I’ll tear him limb by limb and…”
Vijay gave an appalling look and shook his head. To Bhargav’s
horror, Vijay went on to work his way with the chainsaw using his legs. Even
though he was being careful, Bhargav could see that he was slowly slipping away
as he shook his head to keep him awake and his breathing got heavier. It must
be the effect of poison, thought Bhargav.
Vijay let himself slouch to the right in the chair, at first
trying to ignore the pain in his right side — pain that felt like an increasing
bubble of pressure, something similar to a tooth impaction— and then giving way
and panting. He slumped farther in spite of the pain. His toes brushed the chainsaw
but succeeded only in pulling it a quarter of an inch closer. Vijay slid down
in the chair, still slumped to the right, and bit his lower lips harder at the
pain in his thighs.
He pinched the tip of the saw between his toes . . . grabbed
it . . . almost lost it . . . and then managed to get it under the chair. “This
is harder than I thought. I wasn’t trained for this.”
“Obviously. No one is trained to operate a chainsaw while
their hands are bound in the back. But don’t worry; I am going to teach it to
my kid in the future. Of course, I won’t forget to poison him and make sure
that he will bleed like hell as well,” said Bhargav, looking away and his voice
acidic.
Vijay’s mouth flew open. “Why are you even mad at me? What
did I do?”
“It’s more about what you didn’t do – I want you to be mad at
me. I want you to shout at me. I want you to tell me to go to hell. I want you
to ask him to poison me as well. I… I hate you for leaving me to face Indhu. I
do…”
“That would be the last thing that I… See, you’re struck here
because you were with me. How could I be mad at you?”
“I don’t know, Vij. But don’t talk to me…”
Vijay sighed and decided to have a go at the chainsaw once
again. He figured out the knot and realized that if he could just manage to cut
the connection between the two chairs, freeing themselves would be easy. And to
their luck, that part of the chain was in the floor. He had to use his right
leg to bring the chainsaw and the steel chain together and the work brought a
fresh slough of pain, and when the act was accomplished he could do no more
than sit and pant for a while. He was quite sure he was going to puke, but that
passed.
He waited calmly for his head to
stop spinning. ‘What are you doing?’ Part of his mind scolded wearily after sometime. ‘Are you
waiting for the pain to go away, Vijay? It won't. Your mother taught you Yoga
and what did she tell you?’
Sitting there, head thrown back, face shiny with sweat, hair
plastered to his forehead, Vijay spoke one of them aloud now, almost as an
incantation: “There may be fairies, there may be elves, but God helps those who
help themselves.”
“What?” asked Bhargav despite himself.
“My mom’s favorite quote,” said Vijay. “Bhargy, I am having
only one chance. I am going to try to cut it in one shot. It’s going to make
lot of noise and so you have to free your bonds in 40 seconds – that is, before
The Arrow comes in. And you should be ready to tackle both of them, just in case
something goes wrong. Will you be okay?”
Bhargav’s face brightened for the first time since the
evening. He understood that this was his only chance to save him and his
sister’s husband. He must do his best. He nodded firmly.
“Thanks. And if I fail, forgive me.”
“Vij, please…”
He looked at the door once and shushed Bhargav. “Fight him
only if it’s necessary. Otherwise just escape through that window and go
straight to the next house. Get help.”
Bhargav’s jaw dropped. “Do you want me to leave you here?”
“You outnumber them by 1 to 2. Trust me, our chances are
better if you don’t involve in a fight.”
“Vij…”
“Please!”
“Okay,” said Bhargav half-heartedly.
Vijay turned his lower half in his chair and pulled the plug
with his toes. He breathed a sigh of relief as the sharp blade of the chainsaw
cut through the chain faster than he expected. “Thank goodness,” he said when
the bond between the two chairs was undone. Bhargav worked his way to loosen
the chain and when he was completely free, he saw the door open.
“Please, go,” shouted Vijay. “Do not…”
Bhargav stood speechless in a dilemma and then decided to
follow the words of Vijay. The next house was just three minutes away and more
help was better in this case. He definitely could not handle two lunatics and
he shouldn’t risk the chances of getting both of them alive out of this mess.
He made a quick run towards the window, unlocked it and jumped out.
The Arrow reached for the window but didn’t succeed in the
attempt of catching him as Bhargav dodged the enemy easily. He slammed the
window door back at his face and the arrow had to back away. Vijay felt weak
but when Arrow’s partner was close to him, he released himself from the last
steel band that fastened him to the chair.
“No,” cried the partner, as Vijay sent his fist out in the
driving blow that caught the opponent just above his heavy gut. He doubled over
with a loud “Ooof!” Vijay leaned out of the chair and delivered a quick chop to
the back of the neck of the partner. His karate teacher would have given a deep
bow to the blow. The partner dropped to the floor as if felled by an ax.
The Arrow didn’t waste time admiring Vijay’s skills though.
Yet unlike his partner, he didn’t dare to face Vijay directly even though he
was at his worst. His hands pulled a dart gun out of his pocket and used it
wisely. He aimed perfectly and before Vijay could duck, the dart from the gun
stitched in his chest. Vijay smiled. “I know why you want to kill me now. I am
beginning to get your story,” he said before his eyes drooped and he went down.
The Arrow walked to his partner first and sprinkled water at
him. The partner blinked. “What happened?”
“One second,” he said, moving towards Vijay. He slowly pulled
the dart gun’s Arrow out – it was drenched in blood and he smirked. “I am
sending this Arrow to Indhu along with the video. Clear our, everything. Now!”
“Is he dead?” asked the partner, getting up slowly.
The Arrow took Vijay’s hand and checked his wrist for the
pulse. There wasn’t any. He nodded shortly and said, “He’s dead. Mission
accomplished.”
To be continued.
Comments and criticisms are welcome. :-)
For previous parts, kindly check
Thanks & Regards,
Lavanyaa
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