The First Act of Action

Lorenzo was cleaning his gun and blowing away any dust present in the barrel. He inserted the magazine and put on the safety lock. He looked at me and said, "Don't you clean your guns?" I laughed, "Only two kind of people clean their guns..first police and second criminals. And I'm neither of them." Lorenzo raised his eyebrow and asked, "So, what are you, mister?" I replied, "I'm a doctor and a surgeon." Lorenzo laughed, "So, Mr. 'Doctor and Surgeon', don't you do operations? Doesn't it require cutting? You do it with scalpels and we do it with daggers. What's the difference, brother?" I replied sharply, "We do it to save lives, not end it." Lorenzo stood up and tucked his gun under his vest. He washed his hands and rubbed them with a towel. He asked, "You killed approximately twenty people till now. Did that saved their lives?" I replied frowning, "I did that to protect myself and my loved ones." He laughed, "So, killing people is also a way of saving lives, isn't it?" I sighed, "Damn, man. You are as good an orator as you are a soldier." He smiled.

A knock on the door interrupted us. Lorenzo pointed his gun and I opened the door. A young girl almost my age greeted, "Good morning, sir. I'm from room service. Would you like to have your breakfast here or in the dining room?" I replied, "The dining room would be nice. We will join you downstairs." She asked abruptly, "Excuse me, sir?" I replied, "I mean we will be there in a few minutes." She smiled, "Anything else, sir?" I replied, "Nothing particular right now. You give me your number and we will inform you if we need anything." She said, "I think calling the reception would be sufficient." I laughed, "I mean that too. It's just a slip of tongue." She smiled and went away. I closed the door and saw Lorenzo smiling at me. He asked, "Slip of tongue, ha? Or slip of heartbeat I should say." I looked up and avoided his eyes. I quickly took a bath and got ready. Lorenzo and I went to the dining hall to see three black suited men slowly munching their food. We choosed the farthest seat and started eating our breakfast. The men finished fast and went away. Minutes later, a small boy came and gave us a small chit. I opened it and read it "Meet us near Cafe Monrea at sharp 11." I looked at my watch and saw it was only 8:45 and there was still much time to kill. Lorenzo looked at the chit and said, "Well, I hope they didn't call us for a tea party. Let's get armed."

After an hour of cautious driving through some shady alleys, we finally reached a building of antique structure and aura. I asked curiously, "What are we doing here at this old horror house?" Lorenzo replied, "Treasures are always found in dark caves. Let's go." We went inside the building and saw a lady sitting at the reception. She was wearing a pair of horn rimmed glasses with a crimson border. Her face clearly showing signs of aging. She asked in a grim voice, "What do you two want, fellas?" Lorenzo took out a coin and put it on the reception desk. The lady examined it and smirked. She bowed and pulled a lever for which a wall slided and a door appeared behind it. Lorenzo thanked the lady and we went behind the door. I was amazed to see a library, a legit library of guns of all kinds. From old to new, assualt rifles to miniguns, grenades to tasers.

A young woman came near me and said, "I will be your assistant today. What type of weapons should I show you?" She handed me a catalogue of guns. I looked and saw every gun has a special tag number written at the right side. Lorenzo explained, "They are authorized guns. That means if someone uses it, the people here will know it's location and then will mark it in the records." The woman asked, "New recruit?" I smiled, "I'm much like a free agent." She whispered, "You mean the shady officers." The last line had some curiosity in it. I replied, "We are independent, but work side by side with all crime fighting agencies." She took my hand and took me to her room and then sliced my index finger and then rubbed the blood on a glass slab. She then kissed me and hugged me. She whispered in my ear, "I kissed you to avoid those curious eyes. Don't worry, now you are a certified member of the 'Library.' Feel free to take any weapon of your choice." She then took the glass slab and poured the blood in a test tube. She then poured it inside a machine and seconds later, the screen showed green. She smiled, "Welcome to the Library. Mr. Harsh Bhardwaj." I asked, "How do you know my name?" She winked, "Next time, be more discreet. Now, come on. Let's see some guns for you."

After a tedious shopping session, we finally came out of the 'Library'. I looked at the watch and it was already past 10:40. We hurriedly got in the car and drove to the cafe. We parked the car and got inside the cafe. Though we spent almost one and an half hour shopping guns, we hardly brought a lot. Lorenzo brought two Glock 22's and a set of grenades and I was forced to buy a Desert Eagle as an inaugural formality. I tucked it under my waistcoat and went inside the cafe. The cafe was mediocre and a good place to discuss business of this sort. The three men looked at us with sharp eyes and signalled us to sit. We took our seat and they gave us a chit. I read it, "Clark Tower, a herd of black swans are eating brown bread. Capture them." Lorenzo nodded and signalled me to go with him.

We hastily went towards the car, got on it quickly and Lorenzo started driving towards Clark Tower. I asked, "They said a herd of swans. Shouldn't we call some backup?" Lorenzo smirked, "My dear naive friend, this is Italy. Every ear is someway connected with Syman. We cannot take such risk." I preferred to remain silent as talking with him is futile but deep down, any sane person won't go in a minority. I looked out and saw that the place was well filled with Italians mobsters. Lorenzo said in a low voice, "Keep your head down. We shouldn't look suspicious to them." I asked, "They are here in crowd. Shouldn't the Italian police come and arrest them?" Lorenzo replied in a low voice, "They are not regular gangsters, they rebelled against the High Table and are called 'The Italians' and for the arresting part, why are we here, then?"

Lorenzo stopped the car quite behind the eyes of the mobsters and said, "Stay here. And take this. Call me if you see anything suspicious." He gave me a microphone and went towards the Clark Tower. I looked around and sensed that staying in the car for a long time will only bring suspicion, so I got off the car and went to a nearby stall. The man asked, "What do you want, sir?" I replied, "Can I have a smoke?" The man replied, "I'm sorry, but this is a non-smoking zone. Kindly pass the lamppost and have a smoke." I asked, "Do you sell cigarettes?" The man laughed, "I will the foolest person, if I sell cigarettes in a non-smoking zone. You can find some shops on the other side of the tower." I smiled, "Would you mind if I ask you an question?" He gave me an irritated look and said, "Only one question. I have to go home early, as situation can get quite messy here." I asked, "Why will the situation get messy?" The man raised his eyebrows and replied in a shocked tone, "Because the 'Italians' are here. Both the police and Syman Rocco are behind them and they won't get a better place and opportunity like now when about three fourth of them is present here."

I was about to ask another question, when a bullet pierced his head. I looked and saw Lorenzo running towards me with a gun grasped tightly in his hand. He stopped near me and said in a panting tone, "Take your position, buddy. JK and his team is coming here." We quickly ran towards the car and wore our armor. We then slowly creeped behind the tower and saw seven men lying dead on the ground. We tiptoed near them and stopped near some bushes. Lorenzo said, "I will be the sniper. You cover the ground. Kill everyone, except JK." I nodded and Lorenzo ran towards the tower's door and opened it. He climbed up the stairs and took his position on the topmost floor of the tower. I took a long breath and jumped out the bushes. A man shoot a bullet which I missed by a fraction. I rolled and shot him down. Seeing his comrade fall, three others lurched on my side. Lorenzo took them out and I went to the main battlefield. The 'Italians were almost finished, with some hiding behind the wall and waiting for a perfect opportunity. I hid behind a nearby wall and threw a grenade at them. Their blood coloured the floor red with their organs littering all over the floor. Seeing a sudden attack on their enemies, JK's men rushed towards the position. I and Lorenzo quickly took them out. Lorenzo cried, "JK is two blocks away from you. He is accompanied by four men. Be careful. That position is my blind spot."

I slowly crawled towards the location and saw JK was kicking a medium sized man, who already has a wounded body. JK screamed, "Tell us. Where is Francis Dortmund?" The man replied, "Kill me, you swine. I ain't snitching about my lord." JK laughed, "So, that bastard is your lord now. His father terrorized our land, raped our women and looted our wealth. Francis is a snake who will kill you once he is finished using you." The man smiled, "What makes you any better?" JK laughed and put a bullet in his head. JK said, "Let's go. We have seen enough blood for a day." I slowly creeped behind and caught one of the men and thrusted my dagger in his neck. JK and his men started shooting at me. My armor and the thick body of the man prevented much of the bullets and I managed to gun down the men. JK started running but I shoot at his left leg. He fell on the ground and started crawling towards his car. I shot his right hand and he started screaming in pain. I ran towards him and stomped on his injured leg. He asked, "What do you want, brother?" I picked him up and striked him in the stomach with my knee. I said, "You remember Ankita Grewal? The Indian girl whose parents you killed and then raped her?" He said, "See, my boss ordered me that. It's my job." I said angrily, "Then, it's also my job to punish you." I punched him and then threw him on the ground and kicked his injured hand. Lorenzo came running and saw me badly thrashing JK. He cried, "Stop. We need him alive." He came near JK and picked him up. He slapped him hard and said, "You have annoyed us for a long time. Now, it's our turn." Lorenzo tied his hands and legs and then gagged his mouth. We took him in the car and rode off towards our safe zone.

The hideout was a shackled shed covered by broken tiles and looked like a poor man's house. Lorenzo took JK and we entered the shed. There was a tunnel dug under the shed. We descended the stairs and walked almost half a mile and reached in front of a pair of stairs connected with a manhole. Lorenzo pushed the lid and went up and I helped him in pulling JK up and then climbed up and closed the lid. I was amazed to see a perfect room with a patient chair in the middle. Lorenzo threw JK on the chair and tied his hands and legs with the chair. He took out the mouth cloth and JK started pleading, "Leave me. I will make you rich." Lorenzo punched him in the face and went outside the room. Minutes later, he returned with the same lady who forced me into joining the 'Library'. She came near me and patted my shoulder. She said, "Well done, Harsh. You beat him up a good deal. But, now can you leave us alone for a moment."

I left the room and went to clean my bloodied clothes. I washed the blood off my face and hands and looked at the mirror. My face was red, both with blood and rage. I took a long breath and poured water on my head, lest I suffer from a stroke. I took out my armor and saw that I have huge lump on my stomach. The bullets did left some impact on my body and now I'm feeling the repercussions. I looked for a first aid kit and found one on the shelf. It was not the perfect kit as their was only two bandages and a half emptied bottle of antiseptic. I doubted it's quality and refrained from using them. I went to a vending machine and purchased a Coca Cola and gulped it down.

I went to the room and saw the lady was sitting, polishing her fingernails and JK was lying unconscious on the chair. His nails were pulled off and blood was dripping from them. I went to the woman and asked, "We didn't have a proper introduction. What's your name?" She smiled, "Call me Ms. Catherine or Cathy." I asked, "Do you have any fresh first aid kit available?" She looked at the lump on my stomach and smiled, "Come with me, doctor." She took me to her cabin and sitted me in a chair. She opened my shirt and sprayed some medicine on the lump. It initially burned but slowly the place became senseless. She took out a syringe and pulled out all the bad blood out and threw the syringe in a dustbin. She applied a soothing ointment on the surface and sticked a bandage on it.

I asked, "Did JK say anything?" Cathy replied, "Nothing till now, but he has no option." I said, "Where did Lorenzo go?" She replied, "I sent him out as he was fuming with rage. He plucked out JK's nails and was about to use electric chair. I stopped him and let him go out and cool down. No one tortures my victims in my clinic." I asked, "Your clinic?" She smiled, "Ooh, I just forgot to mention my profession. I'm a torture doctor or in layman terms, I torture criminals into spitting out all the information they have." I smiled, "I hope you don't use saws and hammers for torture." She poked my head and said, "I'm a doctor, not a sadist." I laughed, "Well, I'm feeling very hungry. Wanna join me for dinner?" She smiled, "Offer accepted." We closed the door and turned off the lights and went out for dinner.

We went to the car and she took the driver's seat. She asked, "Where to, sir?" I replied, "You know Italy, better than me. Your destination is my destination." She smiled and started the engine and we drove towards her favorite restaurant as the sun started hiding behind the horizon.....