Authors: Aditya Mewati
"Oh god, my skin feels so itchy." Karthik whined, scratching his hands and fingers. He squirmed on the seat, trying to scratch the back of his neck.
"Shh... You are making too much noise. Keep your voice down," Lilly said sharply. She hoisted her infrared binocular and peered through it at the big Farmhouse or a guest house just two hundred feet away from them, surrounded by huge trees. Many trees.
The sky was now colored in the shade of dark purple; the late evening sun was barely visible at the horizon. The dusk was falling.
Lilly had parked the car behind the thicket of some kind of berry bushes. The silver car had led them to this place. After seeing the silver car pulling away from the highway and into a dirt path, Lilly had decided to wait at the edge of the dirt path for at least half an hour and then follow the rut marks. Following the rut marks, they had reached here, and now were concealed behind the bushes. Waiting.
"Why are we hiding behind the berry bushes?" Karthik grumbled, scratching his neck.
Lilly frowned. "This is the best place to hide. The bush is very thick, and it's not my fault that you are allergic to berries."
"Look at my hand," Karthik said, hoisting his both hands up. "They are so red—"
"Stop scratching them," Lilly said, keeping the infrared binocular behind the steering wheel. "And stop complaining, too. You want me to rescue Piper or not?"
"Yes, I want you to save her," Karthik said, solemnly. He peered out the car window and muttered. "It's pretty dark out ther—"
"It's not dark enough. We have to wait for another one hour."
"We can't wait! They will kill her!" Karthik grumbled.
"No, they will not. They want her alive."
"How can you be so sure?" Karthik said, angrily, narrowing his eyes at Lilly.
Lilly was not sure whether his face was red because of anger or because of allergy. She said nothing. She lifted the infrared binocular and started peering through it.
The two enormous black birds cawed from overhead. A small squirrel scurried on the ground. Karthik spotted another small creature scampering past the car.
***
When Piper opened her eyes and lifted her dangling head up, she found everything blurred around her. She blinked for at least dozen of time, and the images started getting into focus.
She found herself sitting in a small room; all windows boarded up. Two bulbs hanging from the ceiling illuminated the room, sending yellow light. A long wooden table stretched in front of her. At the other end of the table sat three men. The guy who was sitting in the center was completely bald and had a thick beard. His gray eyes gleamed in the yellow light, making him look strangely menacing.
Her head felt heavy and Dizzy. Her temples throbbed with an ugly pain. They had injected some kind of sleeping drug into her body.
She tried to move and realized that her legs were tied to the chair, and her hands were cuffed behind her back.
"What d-do want from me?" She managed to whisper.
The bald guy sitting in the center stood up from the chair and skirted around the table toward her.
Seeing him coming toward her, made a cold shiver ran down her back. She squirmed and wriggled furiously, trying to break free.
He stood next to her. Glaring at her; his eyes burning into her's. Even though her legs were trembling, she didn't drop her gaze.
"W-what do you w-want from me?" She stammered.
"You see that file?" He asked in a hoarse voice, pointing at the file on the table.
Following the direction, Piper spotted a green color thick file resting on the table. She soon recognized it. It was her file. Her life's work. Her research.
"You can't steal my work," She said.
The bald guy scratched his head. "I want you to tell me, how many pages were there in that file," He asked her.
Piper shook her head. "I can't let you take my file. It's my life's work." She said in a shaky voice.
The bald guy again scratched his head, and suddenly slapped her, and slapped her with such a force that she toppled over with the chair and slammed on the floor.
The other two guys rushed to help. They lifted her and the chair up, and grinning at her, they made her again sit in the upright position.
The bald guy twisted his neck and leaned in front of her. His hands propped against the chair.
"Tell me how many pages?" He croaked. Sour smell rushed out from his mouth.
Her cheek seared with pain. The rage it hit her. She was quivering with anger. If her hands and legs weren't tied up, she would have surely killed this man.
"You-bastard!" She spat in his face.
Glaring at her, he whipped his face, and grabbing her shirt collar, he lifted her up. He pulled out a pistol and pressed its nozzle against her forehead.
"I'll count till three, and if you don't tell me how many pages were there in that file before the count ends. Then..." He poked the gun nozzle deeper into her skin.
"You can not kill me. You people need me!"
"We Don't need you. We only need your work." He croaked.
"You can not kill me," Piper replied.
"Try me." He hissed. "1...2..."
Piper whispered something.
He motioned her to repeat it again.
"Three... Twenty...one" Piper said.
He turned toward the other two men.
One of them replied. "321. We've got the complete file." The other guy nodded.
He dropped Piper. "Good job." He strolled around the table and grabbed the file, and whispered something in their ears. After finishing he hurried to the door.
"Do we really need her?" One of the men asked.
The bald guy nodded. "We may need her," He said in a hoarse voice. "Keep an eye on her. We will leave in the morning."
The two guys nodded.
"Hey! You Asshole! I want my file back!" Piper cried and squirmed in the chair.
The bald guy turned away from the door and faced Piper, snickering. "Sorry girl... Finders, keepers." He hissed.
***
"Can I borrow that?" Karthik asked Lilly, pointing at the infrared binoculars.
She nodded, slipping her leg inside a black boot. She was now wearing black from head to toe. The dark brown hair was now hidden behind the black cap.
Karthik hoisted the binoculars toward his right eye and peered through it. Most of the things looked blue, which meant that those things were cooler. The warmer objects like human or other living animals looked yellow, orange or red. Depending on the temperature.
Now, he could see six yellow and red colored human figures; two on the top floor and four on the ground; patrolling the guest house.
When he dropped the binocular away from his eye, the only thing he was able to see was the big guest house and some lights coming from inside it.
Lilly glared at the full moon as if it bothered her and it actually did. She wanted the night to be darker. But the silver light from the full moon made everything around them to gleam. And unlucky there were no clouds in the sky to block the moon.
"I don't get it!," Karthik told Lilly. "Why are we not taking help of police?"
"Calling police for help will plummet our little chance of rescuing Piper," Lilly said, slipping her other leg into the black boot. "They are slow and make too much of noise."
Karthik snorted. He again peered through the binocular.
"Wow. He muttered. “They got the dogs."
"No!" Lilly gasped. "No! Dogs will make this thing more difficult." She snatched the binocular from Karthik's hand.
Peering through it, she muttered, fretfully. "I hate organized criminals..."
"Now what?" Karthik asked, scratching his forehead.
"They've got only two dogs," Lilly muttered, peering through the binocular. She sighed, dropping the binocular. She saw his face was twisted in terror. A thin smile crossed her own face.
"What are you smiling at?" Karthik asked grumpily.
"Two dogs will not be a big problem," She said shrugging,"Let's go outside. I'll explain you our plans." She squirmed and pushed open the door.
A swirl of cold air rushed in through the ajar door. The chirping of crickets greeted Karthik's ears. Lilly jumped off the car and motioned Karthik to do the same. He obediently followed her.
The night air was cool and pleasant. Everything around them from the trees to the dirt path glinted in the moon's silver light. The hooting of owls floated down from the trees.
Lilly led him around the car toward the rear end of the car.
He carefully Followed her.
"What's wrong?" Lilly asked him.
"I hate squirrels," Karthik replied, intently gazing at the ground.
Lilly snickered. "Why?"
"When I was a kid, I had almost lost my index finger to a stupid squirrel."
Karthik was just a ten-year-old kid, who loved playing cricket and listening stories, which is mother used to tell him every night.
The day was hot and dry. Karthik was sitting under the tree, watching the big boys playing cricket on the ground that was in front of his row-house.
"Karthik!" he heard his mom yelling from the front door. She was carrying a bucket full of clothes.
"Yes, mom!" He cried.
"Why are you not playing?" she asked and hung a shirt on the clothesline.
"They are not allowing me to play with them," he said.
Before his mom could say anything another voice bellowed. "Hey, Karthik. Give that ball."
Karthik saw a boy staring at him. The play had stopped. "Give that ball," he repeated.
Karthik looked around and saw a red ball lying on the foot of a tree. He grabbed the ball, and saw something else, a small squirrel gazing warily at him. Karthik threw the ball back to the boy and then squatted before the squirrel. "Hey, little guy," he said and extended his hand.
His mom was hanging Karthik's sweater when a voice floated up from the ground. The voice of her son filled with pain and terror.
Lilly stopped in front of the car luggage compartment. Karthik bumped into her because he was still staring at the ground.
"Okay. The plan is pretty simple." Lilly announced, shoving her hands in her pants pocket. "I'll sneak into the house; kill few men," she pulled out the car's key and pressed a small button on the key.
The luggage compartment door vibrated and started rising up. As it rose the moonlight invaded in the compartment, illuminating it.
" ... and will rescue piper." She added, staring at Karthik's amazement.
Karthik smirked, his shoulder shaking. He muttered something.
"What?" Lilly asked, straining her ears.
"It's empty," He said, pointing at luggage compartment.
Lilly jerked her head toward the luggage compartment, and it was actually empty." Oh, I pressed the wrong button. " She pressed the other button.
The rear end again started vibrating. The luggage compartment floor started rising. Soon Karthik found himself staring at twin guns, mini bombs, and many such gadgets.
Lilly scooted closer, and pulled a small glass ball, roughly the size of a golf ball. She raised it so that Karthik could get a good look at it.
"Now," Lilly said, "as they've got dogs. And those dogs could easily smell my presence, and could warn those jerks—"
"What's that thing? A mini crystal ball?" Karthik interrupted.
"It's the smell ball, designed specially to tamper dog's smelling ability."
"What does it do?" Karthik asked, scratching his neck.
"At first, it attracts dogs. Then block their nose." She handed it to Karthik.
He started juggling it. "It's warmer than it looks. So you are going use this—"
"Not me. You are going to use it." Lilly said, grinning.
"Me?" Karthik asked, scratching his neck with the mini crystal ball.
"Eww. I'll explain."
Lilly explained her plan. It was pretty simple. At first, she will creep up to the west side of the house. Then she will signal Karthik to launch the smell ball to the east side of the house. It will attract dogs and also the guards away from the house.
Karthik sighed. "So all I have to do is push this ball in the launcher and launch the ball on the east side of the house...actually, that's pretty easy."
Lilly smiled. She wedged the twin guns with silencer into her belt, and pulled out a rubber cord; she stretched it; pleased by its strength she wedged it into her belt.
"What's that for?" Karthik asked, pointing at the cable. "Don't tell me that's for choking people?" He gasped.
She nodded, and pulled out a Swiss-knife. Her favorite knife. She handed him the launcher. It was a black plastic pistol with the big nozzle. Karthik slipped the ball in the nozzle and pointed the launcher at the sky.
Lilly tugged his arm down. "Not now. You idiot." She whispered.
"I was just trying..." Karthik frowned.
Few minutes later. Karthik sat alone in the car, staring, as Lilly edged her way across the woods; sticking close to the shadows cast by the enormous trees.
You are my only hope for rescuing Piper.
There was a surge of statics and he heard her voice over the intercom. "Tell me their positions," She ordered.
"Uh..." He peered through the binocular. "I see three men on the second floor. Four on the ground with two dogs.They are just meandering around."
"Copy that," She replied. She moved swiftly, and efficiently, sticking close to the ground. "Okay. I'm on the west side of the house. Launch the smell ball."
Karthik opened the car door and climbed off, stepping on the damp dirt. His breast pocket felt heavy against his chest and was holding the revolver Lilly had given him for his protection.
He raised the launching gun and pointed at the east side of the house, but his neck felt itchy, so he dropped it and started scratching his neck.
"Have you launched the smell ball?" Lilly asked over the intercom.
"I'm on it," Karthik replied. He raised the launching gun and was about to press the trigger when from nowhere a small squirrel landed on his hand. He let out the soft gasp and swung his arm to shove the squirrel off his hand, and unknowingly pressed the trigger. The ball burst out and soared into the night sky. After it crossed a hundred feet, it swooped down and hit the ground with the soft clatter. The glass ball broke into a million small pieces; a green color smog rose from the ground.
Karthik watched at his own trembling hand. "Oops..."
"What happened? Did you launch it or not?" Lilly asked.
"I-I launched it in your direction." Karthik stammered.
"You what?" Lilly cried.
Karthik dropped the launching gun and hurled himself into the car. He peered through the binocular and gasped in horror. "Lilly," He whispered.
"What?" Lilly asked, exasperated.
"They are moving in your direction."
Then she heard the barking of dogs.