Cross Roads: Pick a Path (19 page)

“Call our guys in the area, and ask if
they’ve seen Miran,” I instructed; Sethu walked away to the corner
in response to my orders and began making calls. Verone stood
beside me and urged for me to get some medical attention, I tried
deny the request, but I was actually starting to bleed out quite
hard. There was an ambulance that remained on scene, and they
helped get my stiches done. All the while I forgot that Sarah and
the other girls were still present. The time was nearing 6am, and
the media started rolling in, and as I assumed they eventually
started shedding light on my face.

“Are you done yet,” I asked.

“One second…done,” replied the
paramedic.

That was my queue to walk away; I really
wasn’t ready for the camera’s to start capturing my face. I shoved
them to the side as I got into the car with Verone.

“I know a place we could go Arrun, it’ll
help, trust me,” said Verone, trying to keep my mind of things. I
really don’t think any place in the world would make me feel at
ease right now, but he was holding the ashes of Remone at his side,
so I sat quietly as he drove.

~

We drove out an hour before reaching a view
only the birds, and blessed ones may see. Verone handed me Remone’s
ashes and stepped out the vehicle.

“Come out,” he waved.

As beautiful as the view may be, the thought
of Hasini’s murderer being out there, alive, is still bugging me.
As it should; to be completely honest I had no clue of whom I can
trust anymore. I mean I went about thinking these past few days
that I had found a new family, but there laid a quiet black sheep
who is responsible for the soul depression in my life. I was able
to forgive Marona; I mean I think I did, though it was certain that
there was no forgiveness in sights for Miran. I stood beside
Verone, and I was hesitant. He brought me to a really quiet place,
the type of place where you’d kill someone.

“You don’t trust us anymore, do you,” asked
Verone; It’s as if he read my mind.

“No it’s not that,” I said.

“There’s no reason to lie, I would think the
same,” replied Verone.

“Though I really brought you here because
this is a place Remone loved,” he said.

“Really, he’s never brought me here,” I
replied.

“I’m sure he would’ve sooner or later,”
claimed Verone; I didn’t know where he was going with this, but I
listened.

“
Remone was about nineteen when I first
brought him here. Just a kid, scared of what his life will come of.
I saw him to be more of a sibling to me; I considered Remone as
god’s gift to me. When I first saw him he was getting beat by some
of our men, I didn’t see a single tear in the kids eyes, but the
first time I brought him here; he cried like a heart broken girl.
One thing is for sure, he had a rough childhood, and he earned the
right to let out that heartache. I let him cry to his hearts
content that day, and you see the view of Chennai you see out
there; I asked him to take a deep look into it. He stopped his
tears and asked me why I wanted him to do so. I told him to forget
the world that hurt him, leave the past behind, instead to prepare
himself for the world he’ll be taming. He said he wanted to be like
me. I didn’t understand why he’d want to be like me, but his answer
was that I wasn’t a monster. He saw me to be something none other
would consider. He saw me to be something else, and I don’t know if
I lived up to what he thought of me, but I want to. I see it in you
Arrun, you can help me be the idol he saw in me.”

“He loved you Verone, I could say that
much,” I said.

“I know, but I want you to be the one to
conduct his last rites, I know he’d want you to do it,” said
Verone. I was quite hesitant, I thought Verone should be the one do
so, but he insisted of me to do it. Holding the urn of Remone’s
ashes I remembered the first time I ever spoke to him. I remember
barking at him for being hesitant of selling me marijuana; thinking
I was an undercover officer or something.

I felt a break within myself when I walked
over to the edge of the cliff; I looked upon the view of Chennai
and let the ashes run through the wind. It almost felt as if Remone
was present amongst us. I only pray for the souls of both Thambi
and Remone to be at peace.

“We should get going,” Verone suggested; I
took a final glance of the view, and vowed upon myself to make sure
the city runs as beautiful as it seems from up here.

We got in the car and drove off, but on the
way back to the Duranji residence I received calls from Renny,
Sethu, and a few others of Miran’s whereabouts; all of them ended
up being negative responses. I felt a brief moment of peace atop
that cliff, but once my head returned to the situation at hand
everything changed. The urge for vengeance steamed to be priority.
I noticed Verone feeling my vibe; he didn’t speak a word till we
reached the house.

“We’ll get him don’t worry,” he consoled. It
was shocking to see the amount of support I was receiving from the
guys. I expected a lot of hostility after wanting to kill Miran,
but I guess no one respects a traitor, even if they share the bond
of family.

“He’s also responsible for Remone and
Thambi’s death, I remember that,” he continued. Marona was waiting
for us at the front steps of the house, curious to know if we had
word of Miran. To be honest I had mixed opinions as to where he
stood on the circumstances, I mean we are after his son. Though a
man as reckless as him probably wouldn’t care for the bond of
family, after all he didn’t care when he killed my father.

“Verone, stay here. Arrun, let’s swing by
Raja’s place. I want to see if he’s okay,” said Marona. I was
desperate to find Miran, and if it meant searching the world, I was
ready. I nodded and took the driver seat in the vehicle. Through
the ride he continued speaking in my favor; though he did mention
that he had never thought Miran would stoop so low to turn against
family.

I opened the door, and there he was. Miran!
Leaving out the front door of Raja’s house. My immediate reaction
was to pull out the handgun and fire at will, and Marona did the
same, but we missed. Miran ran back into the house, and I after
him. I rushed through the front door, and bam! Miran missed my head
by an inch, as the bullet graced the side of the wall. Near death?
Who cares, I raced right behind him. He ran out the back entrance
and ran straight for the back wall. Marona fired a few shots at
Miran from outside, but they all missed wide.

He had the head start; I jumped and held
myself up against the wall to see how far he had gotten before
rushing back to the car.

“Get Raja, one of his cars, and follow!” I
shouted, as Marona looked upon in shock. He was too old and slow
for me to drag along. I raced back into reverse and drove around
the street to catch up to Miran. Turning right, I watched him pull
aside an on coming driver. I shot the gun in the air, but it worked
in his favor. The driver of the oncoming vehicle fled the vehicle
in fear. Before getting into the car he gave me a smirk.

Both vehicles stood head to head, like two
angry bulls. The engines roared, and we speared for one another.
Both cars were on the verge of being totaled, and that meant the
driver too. I was ready, but Miran wasn’t. He made a quick move to
the right before both vehicles met. I got him nice though, a hit to
the left rear bumper and both cars met side by side. We both fired
shots, but missed. After the first shot was fired, Miran jetted in
the direction he initially headed.

I followed recklessly, firing shots in hopes
of getting him, but I trailed with no luck. Though I didn’t show
any less of a fight, I chased him with a minimal break in space. I
raced behind him through the residential premises, but we soon
entered the busy streets of Chennai. A lot harder to drive in,
especially considering the speed we were going at.

We raced through as an audience gathered,
and in the midst of the citizens running was a little girl. I
slammed the break hard enough to stop, but I failed to notice the
on coming traffic. The impact to the left of the vehicle caused a
flip, and there it went. The car was flipped upside down, as I
attempted to crawl out. The stinging ring in my ear only made
things worse for a blurry vision.

I attempted to snap out of it, and it took
some time but I noticed that my stiches had opened up. A few scars
and cuts but I should be fine, or so I think. When I finally got
out, I leaned against the car. My ears were still ringing, and
things still felt a bit fuzzy, but I noticed a girl jumping and
waving her arms. I was in the midst of turning in the direction,
and pop! I was stricken down with a menacing hit to my jaw; I shook
out the feeling once more but I wasn’t pleased to see Miran in
power.

He hailed over me, holding me by my shirt,
knocking me continuously to the face. The pain was excruciating,
and I witnessed the blood drip relentlessly to the ground. For the
first time since I’ve arrived in Chennai, I was presented as the
victim to the crowd gathered. I felt so weak, not because of my
physical state, but because I was failing my lost ones. I needed to
be the one pounding Miran; I should’ve seen the end of him for
killing Hasini. The crowd watched, and not a single soul stepped
forward to help. Nor did I expect them to; I wasn’t part of a
single act to earn their love.

“
C’mon hero! Where’d all that toughness
go now? You were really dumb enough to think that I’d consider you
a brother? I don’t even consider Verone a brother, let alone a weak
trash like you from Toronto. This is where you end up, when you
cross paths with the kingpin of the underworld. My father? He’s
old, and his time is most certainly up. I’m tired of listening to
that old mans orders; Miran do this, Miran do that. It’s fucking
bullshit! Yes, I’m the one that hired a man to take him out in
Toronto. Yes, I’m the one who has been helping Khan know where
every single one of our men are at all times. The incident when you
first arrived, the brothel situation, I even let them know where
Remone and Thambi were. Oh I heard the screams Thambi made when
they cut him piece by piece; it was just symphonic. This is what
happens when you cross my path; you could even ask, what was her
name, Hasini? She was such a saint wasn’t she, trying to save
people in my parts of the world. Oh, the way she begged and cried
to be freed. Don’t worry “brother” you’ll be with your friends in
the after life soon enough.”

I felt miserable; I couldn’t bear hearing
the things he had to say. The worst of it all, is the feeling of
death creeping the atmospheres. I was getting tired of running away
from death. Maybe this it, maybe my end means life for my loved
ones. Though the scorching energy of the sun didn’t give up on me.
It’s radiant heat burned through the cuts on my face, waking me,
bringing life within me once more. Miran walked back to the car; my
guess, to probably get his gun. I saw it as a chance; I remained on
the ground, but swiftly swiped a shattered piece of glass in my
hand.

A bit late but on time, arrived the rest of
the guys.

“Miran, don’t do anything you’ll regret,”
warned Verone. Taking his handgun out of the vehicle, Miran paced
towards Verone and the others. Walking right passed me he pointed
the gun in their direction. I turned around, looked directly at my
men and waived my head side to side. They knew to stand down, but
no one knew of what Miran was thinking.

“
Oh big brother, you know, you should be
standing at my side. This empire will be ours. You, Raja, and me;
we’ll run an empire like no other! Yes dad, you’re trusted friend
Raja has been with me from the beginning. I thought I’d be safe at
his house. Who would’ve thought you two would come storming in all
the sudden. Raja, you might as well come stand at my side now, how
long can you stay attached to the weakest link.”

Raja walked as asked, and stood side by side
with Miran. While in the back, storming with the remaining energy I
surged myself to my feet. Walked behind Miran and turned him to my
face before diving the piece of glass through his chest. Utter
shock, is what I saw in his eyes. He failed to know that the weak
man on the ground would always surge to his heights when given the
time.

On his knees he remained, eyes wide opened,
awaiting his sentence. With the public to witness, I picked up
Miran’s gun and drilled a bullet straight through his head. No
speech, not a word; just a message. I didn’t wait a second more
before shooting a bullet through both of Raja’s knees. His screams
could wake the dead, and so on that note I called forth Verone and
Marona. The clip was empty on the handgun, and so with a drop of
tear, Verone handed me his gun. Bam! Bam! There went both knees of
Marona too. Screaming in pain, his tearing soul had no answer, no
explanations.

“I’m sorry dad, it is necessary for the
greater good,” said Verone. Verone didn’t wish to take part; it was
part of the deal.

~

I only pray for the souls of both Thambi and
Remone to be at peace. I continued to stare out into the graveyard
Chennai has become. Verone stood at my side, and I was pretty
certain that he was having a battle of the mind, the worst kind of
war.

“
Stand with me for a better future, one
that’ll allow you to live even after death. To live beyond death
you need to capture the hearts of the innocent, and with our stat
sheet it won’t be easy if we remain the same. Drastic changes are
necessary; what I’m about to suggest may not set easy with you, but
it has to be done. Just stand with my opinion, and the rest will
prove to be for the best.”

“What do you have in mind,” asked
Verone.

“
Miran alone wont fixed this problem. The
death of Marona and Raja is mandatory. It has to be done to end a
dreaded chapter. I won’t ask you to do it, but stand with my plan.
We’ll walk away; use our power to enforce the well being of the
helpless civilians. This is the better person you could be
Verone.”