Authors: Kartik Iyengar

Tags: #Fiction

Predator (27 page)

BOOK: Predator

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‘Ah! There you are! Come, sweetheart. My SUV is parked in the backyard, let’s leave through the backdoor,’ said Manja, sliding his hands familiarly on Nikita’s hips. It made her feel like a cheap whore. There was nothing she could do but play along and hope that she was being watched.

Manja gripped her hand tight as they cut through the crowded dance floor and reached the rear exit of the Club. Pushing the door open, he briskly walked to the SUV parked a few feet away as the music died. He beeped the doors open with his key, opened the passenger door, and quickly shoved Nikita inside. Nikita was speechless, she hadn’t had the time to check if there was someone with him and spoke nervously as Manja climbed into the driving seat and slammed the door shut, ‘Hey! That was rude … where … where are you taking me?’

Manja locked the doors, without bothering to reply and the car screeched out on to the main road.

‘Suraj! I’m asking you a question! I’m scared! Where is your friend?’ said Nikita, on the verge of tears as the SUV picked up speed. The dark, tinted windows made it impossible for anyone to see what was inside.

‘Ah! You want me, sweetheart?’ said a voice from the backseat. It was Chris. Nikita’s blood froze as a wet handkerchief covered her nose and mouth, and then she lost consciousness.

Manja smiled and took out his cell phone and punched in a number with one hand, the other upon the wheel. Chris looked behind to see if they were being tailed. The street that led to the highway was empty with not a single vehicle on the road.

He smiled as he reached for his breast pocket and took out a small packet of white powder. Rolling a large currency note, he deftly managed to take a few snorts in the fast moving SUV.

‘Hello? Salmonella? I have your little whore, Nikita. She’s beautiful! By God!’ said Manja.

‘Asshole! How many times must I tell you not to call me on this number?’ barked Salmonella at the other end and cut the call.

At the Club

‘Bloody hell! We lost them; this wasn’t part of the plan! The slimy bastard took her inside. Quick, Raman, the rear entrance! Pronto!’ cursed Inspector Khan.

Dr Raman sped through the crowded lanes and expertly manoeuvred the motorbike towards the rear entrance of the Club and caught a glimpse of an SUV with tinted windows as it peeled out of the parking lot at top speed. He turned off the headlights and decided to follow it. He knew that the road led to Grace’s house where Salmonella lived. Inspector Khan’s cell phone rang and he took the call on his Bluetooth headset, ‘Hello? Yeah, tell me … what? Shit!’

Inspector Khan yelled through his helmet as Dr Raman zoomed behind the SUV, ‘Raman! To Grace’s house, quick! Manja is Officer Amar Singh! The bastard!’

‘Call up Goose and inform the control room! Now!’ said Dr Raman as he rode like the wind, not tearing his eyes away even for a moment from the speeding SUV.

Grace’s House

It was midnight when Derek and Hound saw an SUV with tinted windows stop in front of Salmonella’s house. From their assigned post in the grocery store across the street from the house, they saw Chris alight and look around furtively. He nodded an all-clear to the driver.

Further along the street, Motormouth was silently parked under a tree from where Chief and Goose watched Manja haul a limp body from the passenger seat and sling it across his shoulder in a fireman’s lift. Goose’s cell phone buzzed, ‘Did you see that? The cops goofed up! Should we make a beeline and rescue her?’ whispered Derek.

‘Give them five minutes. Not more. … wait! I see Inspector Khan’s call coming through. Let me confer you in,’ said Goose and switched his phone to conference mode.

‘Guys, we’ll be there soon. Stay cool for five and then rush in. I’ll have an army out there within fifteen minutes!’ yelled Inspector Khan from the zipping motorbike. Goose hung up and said, ‘Fifteen minutes? My ass! Nikita will be raped by then! What do you say, Chief?’

‘I agree. Dump them! We wait for five minutes for them to come and then we barge in and start thumping,’ said Chief, ‘Ask Derek and Hound to dart across the street!’

Goose sent an SMS to Derek. A faint buzz and they could see the thumbs up signal from Derek. The next moment, two figures ran crouched and noiselessly towards Salmonella’s house and stood by the door.

The sound of a motorbike switching off its engine and coasting down the street from a distance made Goose turn around and exclaim, ‘Awesome! Dr Raman and Inspector Khan are here!’

The motorcycle came straight to where they were parked and Inspector Khan alighted. Chief slid the windows down, ‘Where are Derek and Hound?’ asked the Inspector. ‘Stay in Motormouth! Reinforcements will be here in ten minutes!’

‘What the hell, Inspector? She’s in there! She’s unconscious! Derek and Hound are already by her door. What the heck do we do? Twiddle our thumbs?’ hissed Chief.

‘Stay here, son, We’re going in now. I need to be there for Manja is … Officer Amar Singh. He’s tough! Just learnt that from the Cyber Cell … Now, any one comes out of the house, bring him down … I’m counting on both of you!’ said Inspector Khan and rushed towards the house without waiting for a response.

The shock left Chief speechless as Goose smiled cynically, ‘Wow, Chief, I wonder if we can trust anybody anymore. Start Motormouth, let’s go to the rear of the house, I’m sure there’s a car parked out there somewhere. Salmonella is a shrewd bitch … she must have a Plan B!’

Goose was right. In the backyard of Grace’s house, an open jeep stood facing the road like an emergency getaway vehicle. There were faint lights, which appeared to be coming through a window in the upper storey of the house.

Salmonella’s Fate

Nikita woke up groggy and found herself lying on a large bed. A video camera stood facing her on a tripod. The bedside lamps glowed dimly as Beethoven’s ‘Choral’ played softly in the background.

Officer Amar Singh was stroking her face as he lay beside her. Chris who was lying on the bed behind her was running his hands over her back. Both had their shirts off while Nikita was still fully clothed. Salmonella, dressed in an athletic tracksuit stood beside the camera, in front of the wide window seat on which Grace and she used to sit.

Nikita came fully awake with a start and scrambled out of the bed. Chris and Amar Singh didn’t stop her, and lay back on the bed smiling lazily. Nikita’s head still felt woozy, but she shook it off and stood facing Salmonella who was also smiling in an evil way, as she poured a glass of red wine from a bottle.

‘Ah! Sleeping beauty awakes,’ said Salmonella, and she walked across to Nikita to offer her the glass. ‘Here, drink this. You’re about to be sandwiched and served up to the world, my little whore. You should’ve kept your filthy hands off Derek!’

With a loud, crack, the door splintered, and Derek burst into the room with Inspector Khan and Hound in tow. Nikita flew into the Inspector’s arms and Derek said, ‘Ah! The beautiful witch, Salmonella, did you call my name?’

‘Speak of the devil! It’s the man himself,’ was Salmonella’s smooth rejoinder. She slid her hand inside her jacket as though touching her heart and out flashed a pistol, ‘I should have killed all of you the night I followed you to the guesthouse. That fool, Chief, had come to the rooftop where I was hiding. I could so easily have taken pot shots and bumped you all off then and there!’

‘Ah! So it was you! Chief said nothing but I knew he was spooked that day. Bitch, had I been there, I’d have flung you off the roof and spared you the misery of our meeting tonight!’ said Derek.

‘Fuck you, assholes!’ said Salmonella and pointed the gun at Derek’s heart. Then without warning, she spun around and shot Officer Amar Singh twice right between the eyes. The room echoed with the sound of gunshots and the air filled with the smell of gunpowder. Chris sat dazed on the bed.

Upon hearing the gunshots, Chief and Goose leapt out of Motormouth and ran to the back door.

Dr Raman, who had sidled out of the door, reached in for Inspector Khan who had his arm around Nikita. Khan had his gun in his free hand, and just as he fired two shots at Salmonella, Raman yanked him out. The bullets went wide as he was off balance.

Salmonella lunged towards the large window seat and smashed through the glass. Within seconds she’d rolled over on the soft patch of grass below and stood up.

As if on cue, Chris leaped off the bed and followed his sister through the window without a second thought. He fell headlong and landed head first with a dull crunch. He was dead in a moment. Salmonella paused briefly to glance at her brother’s still body.

Chris’s head was at a strange angle, his neck was obviously broken, and Salmonella realized that he was dead. He’d followed her just the way she wanted. Cold reality gripped her, and she jumped into her jeep and revved up the engine.

Goose and Chief, who had managed to break open the rear-door, were sneaking into the dark kitchenette. They stopped. ‘Damn! Wait! Someone’s starting the jeep,’ shouted Goose. Chief paused, and then ran back to where they’d parked Motormouth. As he gunned her engine, Goose jumped into the passenger seat and yelled, ‘Go! Go! Go!’

They could see Salmonella screeching onto the road and driving full throttle towards the highway. Salmonella could see her pursuers in her rear-view mirror and she floored the gas pedal.

Over the next fifteen minutes, Motormouth relentlessly pursued the jeep, inching ever closer. Salmonella was an expert driver and foiled Motormouth’s attempts to overtake the jeep to cut her off.

The bell sounded its warning from the small, railway shed as the night watchman flipped the lever to shut the barrier at the level crossing. He noticed the two vehicles speeding towards the crossing.

‘Bloody, reckless, city drivers’, he grumbled. Salmonella accelerated as the gate started to close, but she couldn’t make it in time and the barriers inexorably clanged shut. At the very last minute, she braked and stopped with the jeep’s nose almost touching the arm of the gate. It was the same crossing where Derek had bought strawberries from the pretty fruit vendor on their way into town for the reunion the previous week.

‘Phew! Just in time,’ muttered the annoyed railwayman. He couldn’t understand why the city motorists were always in such a rush.

Sleepily, he continued to tug at the cord attached to the clapper. It could be heard from many miles away.

‘Wait, Chief! We know this signal takes ages to open. We stay put inside! She’s got a gun with a coupla bullets left!’ said Goose as they watched Salmonella halt in front of the railway crossing. Motormouth stopped barely a couple of feet behind the jeep.

‘Yup, bullets enough to plug us, bro. I can see a goods train approaching. It’s the same freaking “Chow Mein” line.’ Chief and Goose tensely waited for Salmonella to make her move as Motormouth’s engine idled.

The sound of Salmonella’s heavy boots on the tarmac caught the night watchman’s attention and he watched in horror when he saw the woman jump out of the jeep to make a dash towards the crossing.

‘Oh my God! No!’ yelled Goose as he saw Salmonella take to her heels.

With her athletic build, she vaulted effortlessly over the barrier gate. The warning bell continued to peal as the night watchman yelled out at the top of his voice, ‘Watch out! Get out of there!’

Salmonella could see the train fast approaching but it was still about five hundred metres away. Ignoring the night watchman’s panicked shouts, she briefly turned to flip her middle finger at Chief and Goose.

Chief saw an evil smile cross her face as the powerful beam from the locomotive engine bathed her.

Suddenly, a piercing shriek rent through the night as Salmonella’s boot slid between the wing rails of the track and got wedged in the groove.

She turned pale with the agonizing pain of her sprained ankle, as she struggled desperately to free her foot. The train was now barely a hundred metres away and she screamed in terror, ‘Help me! Somebody! Please!’

‘The poor devil’, said Chief softly when they saw the powerful engine hit her with a force that remorselessly dragged her mangled remains for more than a kilometre as the train squealed protestingly and was forced to a halt. Unseen in the darkness of the night, her shattered remains lay scattered all over the track.

Chief and Goose alighted as a fleet of police jeeps with flashing lights closed in.

Salmonella was dead and gone. She’d met her fate. Perhaps, it was the hand of God that had put an end to her vicious existence.

Epilogue