Authors: Aditya Mewati
Karthik dived to take cover behind the desk at the entrance hall, the bullets pounding behind him and things kept shattering all around him. Piper and Javed had taken cover behind the pillars and now he could see the two guards approaching toward them and more were coming including their leader.
Damn it!
He felt something wet under his right hand. He raised his hand and found red drops smeared on it. Blood. But the big question was whose? He was pretty sure that he was not bleeding and then he saw it. Ramses. His blood smeared body lying just a few feet behind him. His stomach felt twisted into an ugly knot. First Mr. Walker and now Ramses. These people had nothing to do—
A frame, which was on the opposite wall, shattered into pieces. He craned his head and glanced at the guards. They were just a few feet away from Piper and Javed.
He frantically looked around him and spotted a shotgun lying on the floor. Ramses's shotgun.
He picked up the shotgun and aimed at the approaching guards. His arms were shaking with terror. He aimed at the guard who was close to him. Right at the head. He was not sure whether he should kill him or not. Maybe shooting at his legs will do? He lowered his gun at the legs.
Then back to the head. Back to legs. Head. Legs. Head. Legs.
They were now very close.
He pressed the trigger and staggered by the recoil. He was surprised by the force the shotgun had summoned. It felt like he would lost his shoulder. He had never used the shotgun before and was sure he will never use it again. How wrong he was.
He regained his balance and gazed ahead at him. One of the guards was now lying on the floor.
I Killed him!
The other guard had taken cover behind the pillar.
Karthik fired at him but missed. He fired back at Karthik. But Karthik dived behind the wall. Meanwhile, Piper and Javed had edged away from the pillar and had now taken shelter behind the wall in front of Karthik.
More guards were now thundering toward them.
"I'm going to Distract them. You guys just run as fast as you can to the car," Karthik said.
"What about you?" Piper said straining to keep Javed on his feet.
But Karthik didn't reply he just got up and started walking back and firing bullets. Piper Heaved Javed and carried him out of the entrance hall and into the dooryard. Karthik fired his last bullet and ran behind them.
They got in the car. Karthik plunged behind the steering wheel and sat regaining his breath.
Where is the key?
He looked around and found the key resting on the dashboard in front of him.
"What are you waiting for? Drive!" Javed cried, holding his wounded leg.
"What about Lilly and Jack?" Piper said feverishly.
Karthik glanced at the hotel entrance and rear view mirror to his left shattered into pieces. He quickly dropped the leg on the accelerator and the car zoomed forward.
What about Lilly and Jack? the line kept lingering in his mind.
Lilly and Jack ran down the stairs. The huge seven-foot human followed them. Jack turned, and raised his gun to fire, but the giant pounced on him like a lion pounces on its prey. He grabbed Jack in his both hands and raised him up.
“I’m goin to squeez yo lik a bug.” the giant squawked. His voice echoed in the staircase. “Lilly run!” Jack said. His face had completely turned red.
“No way! I’m not leaving you behind!” Lilly said and raised her gun.
The giant jerked his head in her direction. It seemed like in excitement of squeezing jack he had forgotten about her. But now he stomped toward her.
She aimed at him but didn’t fire. Jack was still in his grasp. She was afraid that if she fired the bullet will not only hit the giant but hit Jack. She now knew that the giant can regenerate but Jack can’t.
Struck in her thoughts, she never saw the giant heaving Jack up over his head and throwing him in her direction. Jack dived into her stomach and of both them fell on the floor.
The giant went over to them. Jack and Lilly grimaced in pain and rolled on the floor. Her stomach seared with pain, and Jack’s head throbbed as if someone was beating it with a hammer. Lilly tried to get up, but before she could get to her feet, the giant grabbed her hair in his left hand and heaved her up.
She grimaced as he lifted her from her hair. The pain was beyond her enduring limit. He swung her and laughed as her face turned red with agony. Jack tried getting to his feet, but before he could do anything, the giant placed his leg on Jack’s shoulder.
Then something came to her, and she pulled out the Swiss-Knife from her pocket and slashed it through her hair. She dropped on the ground. The giant threw the strangled hair aside and dashed at her. Lilly acted quickly and the dug the Knife in his eye as he bent down to pick her up. The giant squawked and lost his balance.
She quickly lifted the gun from the floor and fired at the giant’s feet. He staggered backwards and fell on the floor.
Lilly pulled Jack to his feet and together they ran for the exit. The giant struggled and climbed to his feet. His left eye was bulging and lots of blood was oozing out of the cavity. Then a foam started forming... slowly his eye regenerated. His legs regenerated, and he let out a ferocious growl.
The car rounded a corner, screeching on the road. Karthik, behind the steering wheel, was panting hard and was nervously glancing at the rear view mirror. He had heard a growl. A ferocious growl. Although, he had no idea about what kind of animal is capable of making such imposing sound. But Karthik knew one thing for sure that whatever thing made that sound was damn close to them. He increased the speed.
“What was that?” Javed asked. But Neither Karthik nor Piper had an answer to his question.
Daybreak was drawing close. As he gunned the engine, out of nowhere, Lilly and Jack plunged on the road.
The car stopped with a jolt; Lilly and Jack hurried toward them. Piper opened the door, admitting them in.
"Quickly, hit the road," Jack said feverishly as he hurled himself in the car.
"How did you got out?" Karthik asked.
"No time to explain. Just—"
They heard a dull thud and then breaking of glasses. The huge man, around seven feet tall, had jumped down from the second-floor window and had landed on the ground, unharmed. Karthik stared at him in utter bewilderment as the man approached the car. There were holes and red marks in his clothes. Karthik had no why he had holes on his cloth. But he had few wild guesses. The holes were made by the bullets. Even inside his mind, the guess sounded stupid and lousy.
The man stopped few feet away from them, blocking their path as if he could stop the big car with his hands alone. No matter seven feet or eight feet tall, the confidence the man radiated made Karthik chuckle, which turned into a hysterical laughter.
What a silly guy. He thinks he could stop me? Huh?
But, a chill ran down his back. The hair on his nape stood up when Lilly said to reverse the car. Something in her voice told that he should fear that tall guy. He obediently shifted the gear to reverse, and the car started moving backward.
The tall man realized what Karthik was doing, and started trundling behind them. His heavy foot striking the ground, arms moving around his sides, soon he was gaining on them.
Karthik realized that if they kept going like this, the man would easily catch—he did not want to imagine what the man was capable of doing.
He yanked the steering wheel and the car whirled. The tires screeched on the asphalt road.
He shifted the gear to drive mode, making the car zoom forward. It was much easy for him as he was driving the car forward. The tall man was still running behind them. For a moment, Karthik thought that the car would outrun the tall guy. But to everyone's horror the tall man redoubled his speed, and now he was just a few feet away from them.
Karthik dug his feet into the accelerator but it was futile. The car was already at its maximum speed. Karthik was now holding the steering wheel so tightly that is hurt his fingers. The car rounded another corner and an another deserted road came into view.
"He is close!" Javed cried, looking behind.
"I Know. I know." Karthik spat. He pushed the accelerator. Now, the giant was just one foot away from them, and he pounced on the car and grabbed the back bumper.
The car abruptly came to a halt. Karthik flew forward, Banging his head and hitting his nose to the windshield. The rear end of the car started moving up. The man was lifting the car up. The car kept tilting forward, its rear wheels spinning vigorously in the mid air. Everyone tumbled inside the car.
"Do something!" Piper told Karthik as she rolled in the car.
"I can't," Karthik cried, pressing his palm on the windshield, and lifting himself up.
Then something happened. The man's skin started bubbling and he started shrinking. But he didn’t let go of the car’s bumper.
"What's happening to him?" Piper asked. She was now lying in an awkward position in between Karthik and Javed.
"I think he is becoming normal!" Lilly said;
"I've got this," Jack said. He squirmed in the passenger seat, aimed at man's head and fired. Glasses shattered into pieces. Piper and Javed covered their ears and eyes in order to protect themselves from the splinters.
The man let go of the bumper and stumbled back, and as soon as the rear wheels touched the asphalt road the car bounced forward. The shrinking man cried in pain and dropped on the road.
Few seconds later, Lilly looked back, waiting for the man to stand up. Bullets to pop out of his head. But nothing like that happened. He was dead, at last. The car slowly moved forward.
“What happened here?” Lilly asked in bewilderment. Her hair was now completely disoriented.
“I think that serum doesn’t last for a very long time,” Piper said, “And I know what Gun Katz is planning to do with the X-virus.”
“You know?” Lilly said.
“Yes,” Piper said, “He is planning to create a powerful army that can regenerate itself within a matter of seconds.”
“But if he has created the serum then why did he abduct Dr. Sharif?” Karthik asked.
“Maybe I know that answer, too,” Piper said, “I’ve heard a lot about Dr. Sharif from Dr. Alex Bill. As far as I know about him...Gun Katz is planning to use his knowledge and my file to enhance the serum so that its effect will last forever. He is planning to create an army that will never lose any battle.”
Silence fell over them, and they all savored it. Their last few hours were full of tension.
“Our mission again failed,” Lilly muttered. Everyone including Javed stared at her. “First we failed to protect Mr. Ford,” she went on, “And now we...”
“It’s okay,” Jack said, placing his arm around her, “We’ll fix everything.” He looked around. “Where is Mr. Walker?”
“He,” Piper said, “He...”
“Died,” Karthik said, finishing her statement.
“What?” Lilly cried. “He died?”
Piper morosely nodded. “He was a brave old man.”
"What now?" Karthik said, glancing at rear view mirror.
"To the airport," Jack said, "Let's leave this place as quickly as we can."
Karthik turned on the GPS.
Now, the dark buildings were silhouetted against the orange glare. Streetlights were fading away. The wrecked car silently trundled toward the rising sun.
"He will be okay," Karthik told Piper, placing his hand over her hand and squeezing it.
She nodded, but not lifted her eyes from the porthole of the private jet. The sky outside was bright blue with clouds. They had been traveling for more than twelve hours.
"It's just... he has lost his parents and his uncle," she said and blew her nose. "And we just left him..."
"Javed will be okay," Karthik said and he believed it, every single word of it. "Lilly said that the United Knights will take good care of him..."
"But, But, he is just a kid," Piper sobbed.
"Trust me, He will do fine." He lifted his hand and moved it around her shoulders, embracing her. She didn't pull away; that was a good sign; in fact, to Karthik's surprise, she moved close to him and placed her head on his shoulder. It was a damn good sign!
Lilly was staring at them from the corner of her eyes. They look like newly married couples, she thought, and a feeble smile crossed her face. Am I jealous? But why? She didn't knew and raked her mind to find a valid answer.
Her hair was now completely uneven. She decided that she will need a haircut after landing in Sydney.
The speakers on the wall blared. "Okay guys," said Jack's voice, "We are about to land so buckle up your seat-belts."
The plane shook. Piper pulled away from Karthik and fastened the seatbelt around her. For the last time he squeezed her shoulder, and she nodded at him, which meant that she was okay. The plane started shaking more violently than ever, and Karthik wondered: was it a good idea to allow Jack to fly the plane?
The plane touched down on the taxiway with a jolt. Their seats shuddered. Karthik’s heart leaped into his throat. For a moment, he thought that they are going to crash land. But after few minutes, the plane slowed down and then finally came to a halt.
"Sorry." Came Jack's voice. They unfastened his seatbelt and got up, and moved toward the exit; Karthik first and Lilly brought up the rear. They climbed down the stairs.
After they all had exited the plane, Jack took the plane back to its hanger.
"What will we do now?" Piper asked. Now they were standing outside of the Sydney airport.
Lilly and Jack exchanged looks. They were looking very tired and worn out.
"Let's just rest for now," Lilly said, "then meet in the evening."
"Where?" Piper asked.
"Don't worry about that. We'll call you," said Jack.
Only Karthik went alone because Jack and Lilly insisted that Piper should stay with them and not in her house ("It's not safe," Lilly kept repeating her). She wanted to go back to her house, Karthik knew it (he himself was missing his own small rented apartment), but did not support her. He knew that Lilly and Jack were right so he decided to take their side.
"You too?" cried Piper indignantly.
Karthik shrugged. They bade their goodbye to Karthik and then parted away.
Karthik hired a cab. The driver was a man in his early forties.
He asked Karthik where did Karthik want to go. Karthik told him his apartment address. The driver nodded and gunned the engine. Karthik glanced back and started at the departing airport. He exhaled. After half an hour, his apartment rose into view.
He paid the rent and crossed the road. But instead of going inside the building he skidded to his left and went inside the restaurant, in which he regularly ate. He ate a burger and then grabbed the parcel of his three burgers and walked out of the restaurant.
He hurried to the curb and saw a homeless old man sitting outside his building and staring at a kid, who was eating a sausage. Karthik pulled out a burger from his paper bag and handed to the hobo, and climbed his building’s staircase.
Karthik rapped his knuckles on the wooden door and waited. From another side of the door, he could hear dull footsteps approaching—the door flung open. An elderly woman with big square glasses and silver hair pulled up in a tight bun gazed at him with her wide eyes.
"Karthik, my boy!" said she, overwhelmed.
"Good afternoon Mrs. Murphy," said Karthik, flashing his PR smile, the one he always saves for his clients and the situations like this.
"Where were you?" she said and moved away from the door, gesturing him to move inside.
Karthik shook his head. "I'm really tired. Uh... I lost the keys. Do you have a spare key? said he, timidly.
She stared at him, horror-struck. Being his Landlady she had all the rights to scold him for losing her Keys but she decided against it, looking at his tired condition.
She nodded. "Just wait here for a sec." She went inside the room and returned with a pair of jingling keys. Karthik took the keys and stalked toward his apartment door.
"Listen," Mrs. Murphy called after him, "On your absence, your assistant, Jane had visited twice—she was looking very angry dear."
Damn it! How did I forget about her?
. But he did.
He opened the door and slipped inside his room. Fished out his cellphone and the charger from his bag and ran for the sockets.
He turned on his cell and messages and missed calls started popping on his screen. Most of them read:
"Where are you?"
"Hey! reply!"
"I think we need to meet!"
"I'm done. You are fired."
Then there was Jane's message: "You know what, boss? I'm quitting the job. Bye :( I really enjoyed working with you."
No, no, no.
What have I done?
He dropped on the floor. His heart almost pounding in his throat. He stared at the ceiling, ready to curse the god. But stopped himself.
Whatever has happened to me is all my fault. Get a grip on yourself. You need to protect your sanity.
He stood up, wondering what else has god planned for him.
He soon got the answer as the phone started vibrating in his hand. He fumbled and then touched the green-color-accept-button on the screen.
The voice he heard was of a female. "Mr. Karthik Peri?"
Karthik swallowed and nodded then realized that she could not see him. "Yes, that's me."
"Great! We have been trying to contact you—” He heard shuffling of papers— “Officer Carl Hancock has summoned you for a little interrogation."
Carl Hancock, that Interpol guy!
Karthik felt his grip loosen around the phone. He said, "When?"
"Tomorrow morning."