Things We Do For Love

Vivek and Arman were discussing the plan to raid Supratim's house, while Ashish and Andrews were out buying costumes and men for the mission. Vivek said, "OK. Shirley has told me that Supratim usually doesn't keep a gun with himself and most of the killings are done by his goons. He is less likely to come to the deal, but he will certainly be in the house. Andrews and Ashish will block the main entrance and will be there to kill anyone who tries to escape. Drugs will be fake and we have to atleast keep them busy for Shirley to leave the scene." Arman said, "Tell her to leave early. Things can become unpredictable once we enter the house. Supratim must be a dangerous man and we shouldn't be dependent on possibilities." Vivek gave it a thought and called Shirley. The phone rang for three times and a voice answered, "Hello." Vivek asked, "Is Ms. Shirley here?" The voice replied, "No. It's her boyfriend this side." Vivek said, "Well. Would you please forward it to her? I have some news for her." The voice said, "You can tell me instead." Vivek said, "She previously applied for a diploma in horticulture and plant development in London. I am glad to inform that she has been selected for an interview. It will be on next Sunday. We hope to see her." The voice replied grimly, "Well, she has reached quite for her age. Keep your diploma with you, she won't go anywhere." Vivek asked politely, "Can I have her word?" The voice said rudely, "Fuck your ass, bitch." The call disconnected.

Vivek put the phone down and laughed. Arman asked, "Did she tell any joke?" Vivek narrated the whole conversation. Arman patted his shoulder and said, "Don't worry, brother. At the end of the day, he will be lying dead at our feet." Vivek smiled, "I am not offended by his behavior. This was expected from that leech. But he dominates Shirley, my Shirley. How could he?" Arman said, " If someone had done that to Survi, I would have thrown him into a pit full of scorpions." Vivek asked, "You have that?" Arman replied, "We have a pit. But, it is filled with water, not scorpions. Scorpions are scarce in our areas." Vivek asked, "Where's Ashish and Andrews?" Arman looked at his watch and said, "They are inspecting the area for any possible loopholes." Vivek said, "You always modify the plan at the last minute."

Arman said, "Adaptation is always neccessary in such situations." Arman's phone ringed and he picked up. Andrews said, "There has been some problem." Arman asked, "What problem?" Andrews replied, "Some dark skinned man is beating Shirley. Looks like there has been some argument among them." Arman said, "OK. Keep an eye on them, we're coming." Vivek asked, "What's the matter?" Arman replied nervously, "Andrews said that there has been some argument among Shirley and Supratim and he is mercilessly beating her." Vivek's eyes became red with anger and he said, "He has certainly called his death."

He quickly left and got in his car. Arman quickly got inside the car and Vivek rode off towards the mansion. He stopped the car near the gate and said, "Call Ashish and Andrews. It's showtime." Ashish and Andrews knew what was to come and they already wore their armor and loaded their guns. Vivek and others quickly got into the car and rammed the gate down. Arman, Ashish and Andrews started shooting at the guards. They got outside and ran towards the door. Arman threw a grenade at the door and the door blasted throwing away the guards behind it. Vivek went inside the hall and meet with other goons. They started shooting at them and he quickly hid behind the wall. He threw a smoke grenade on the floor and the gas started irritating their eyes. Vivek took the opportunity and shot down the goons. Arman said, "Be careful. They have Shirley with them." Everyone nodded and went into different directions.

There was suddenly tranquility and suddenly a boat engine roared at the back of the house. Vivek and his gang quickly went outside and saw Supratim was taking Shirley in a speedboat. They quickly jumped on the jet ski nearby and started following the speedboat. Vivek said, "Don't shoot at the boat. I don't want any bullets on Shirley's body."

They kept following the speedboat, when suddenly some goons in a helicopter started shooting at them. All started dodging the bullets, but one bullet hit Ashish's chest and he fell in the water. Andrews quickly took the control and started dodging the bullets. Arman said, "Ashish is gone. Do something." Vivek quickly went under the helicopter and said, "Andrews follow the speedboat. We will attract the helicopter towards us." Vivek quickly turned and started driving towards the pier. The helicopter started following them. Vivek said, "It's time to initiate plan B." Arman quickly took out his phone and dialled a number. Arman said, "They will be here soon." Vivek replied, "Good."

They kept moving around unpredictably and after sometime, a swarm of drones started flying towards them. The drones sticked on the surface of the helicopter and after three seconds countdown, they started exploding. The explosion was enough to damage the helicopter and it clashed it the water, killing the people inside it.

Vivek and Arman quickly went to the place they left Andrews to follow the speedboat. Arman took out his phone and called Andrews, but he didn't pick up. Vivek looked around and saw a blown up jet ski floating on the water. There was blood in the water. Arman angrily punched the water and said, "Lost two friends, got heat on us and couldn't stop that bastard from taking Shirley." Vivek bowed his head in disappointment and said, "Let's go." They went back and quickly went inside their car and went away towards the hideout. Arman said, "Let's go to the airport. We can't stay here." Vivek replied, "OK." They quickly went towards the airport and booked a flight to England. Both Arman and Vivek waited for the flight sadly.

They got inside the plane and after a long period of eight hours, reached London. They booked a taxi and went towards their home. Arman asked, "Won't High Table haunt us?" Vivek replied grimly, "No. They have been neutralized and any movement from them can cause trouble for them." Arman said, "Call Charan." Vivek said, "No. It's my problem and I will deal with it myself." Arman looked outside the window and said, "I am sad for Ashish and Andrews. They didn't get a proper funeral." Vivek said, "They had accepted their fate long ago. This line of business don't have comforting ends." Arman took out his phone and called a number. Arman said, "The mission failed. Keep an eye on Supratim and keep updating about his every movement." Vivek asked sadly, "Do you think Shirley is alive till now?" Arman replied, "Supratim has more benefits from alive Shirley." Vivek took out a cigarette and started smoking. Arman sighed and closed his eyes for a quick nap.

Cathy was petting Hopps on her lap, while I was sitting near the fireplace reading newspaper. The recent news was that- 'In Goa, a couple of armed men barged in a renowned drug dealer's house and bloodshed occurred on a high scale. Police authorities claims it to be a gang fight which has become common since the High Table has withdrawn its control over Asia. The house has been sealed and police are trying hard to locate its owner's whereabouts. Many locals blamed the slowness of the law in nabbing criminals as the main reason of such daily bloodshed. The SP of Goa denied any such allegations and stated that people usually succumb to illegal activities to earn easy and quick money which breeds crime on such a high rate. While this blame game continues, a question haunts us all- Will there be any end to this senseless bloodbath or we have to get used to this injustice?'

Cathy looked at me and asked, "What are you reading so attentively?" I replied, "Nothing particular. Just the state of every country." Cathy took the newspaper and read the article. She said grimly, "Both the sides are correct. But, I will agree with the police. People, particularly the less literate usually likes to have a gun in their hands rather than a pen. People like Syman feeds this mentality inside their minds and makes soldiers out of them. JK and Lucas were nobody till they got associated with Syman. Now both sacrificed their lives for him, but he doesn't even cares. He recruit some other fools, inject false hopes and will make them brutal criminals." I said, "I highly agree. But, what is the solution? Mass killings or mass awareness? One dies, two arises. We cannot kill everyone. You said the less literate, what makes them less literate? They don't want to remain illiterate, but are forced to. Lack of conscience, nepotism and capitalism makes them helpless. Being born in a poverty stricken country, I can relate to this. People are literally begging to stay alive. There are many people who spend a week on a pack of biscuits. Their bodies are covered with filth as they prefer to drink the water than to bathe with it. They send their children to work rather than school, because they know that the degrees won't mean a shit if their pockets ain't heavy. Now, status makes friends, rich with rich, poor with poor. Let's say, a rich child gives a ₹100 note to the poor child to polish his shoes. The child agrees and from that day, the poor child became his permanent slave. The rich child does some mischief, he puts the blame on the poor child and the poor child has no option but to agree. This leads to a discrimination on the basis of financial status. The rich child gets good school, rich education, lavish job and reputation in the society. The poor child gets nothing and to fulfill his needs, he has no option but to accept crime. Now, who is to blame?"

Cathy was about to say something when her phone ringed. She picked up and said, "We were waiting for your words. OK. We will be there." She disconnected and looked at me. She said, "Come with me. I have something to show you." She took my hand and took me to the car. I asked, "Where are you taking me?" Cathy replied, "Alberto told us to meet him near the Clarke Tower. He needs some job to be done and he requires our help." I fastened my seatbelt and we rode off towards the Clark Tower. The weather was a little cloudy, indicating rainfall in the near future. Winds was blowing in a fast pace, with tides clashing on the base of the Clark Tower. Alberto was standing near the base and was silently looking at the horizon. The sun was peeping through the clouds, giving a golden shade to the clouds. We climbed down the stairs and reached near Alberto. Cathy said, "We have arrived. What do you want, sir?" Alberto pointed towards a colony of gulls pecking bread on the ground. He said, "Every single being is fighting for his survival. Be it gulls or humans." I said, "Survival is a wild thing, civilized world doesn't need it." Alberto smiled, "A container of drugs is arriving tonight at Bronson's house." Cathy said, "Bronson? Richard Bronson? He is doing this things now." Alberto laughed, "Bronson has been doing that for ages. Jimmy trusted him more than Ivan." I asked, "Who is Richard Bronson?"

Alberto said, "Bronson by profession, is like you. A doctor. But, he is very greedy. He usually sells counterfeit medicines for money and charges heavy fees from patients. He is also biased, giving more importance to rich people. Eventually, his patient list became minimal. His greed led even to join hands with Jimmy and started dealing drugs. He would inject small amount of drug inside the patient in the name of medicine. The patients slowly started becoming addicts and had to pay high prices for drugs. All was good till one patient killed herself and blamed Bronson. The police investigated and Bronson fled Italy. All his licenses were canceled and was declared a criminal. Jimmy kept Bronson under his protection and he kept distributing drugs, eventually becoming more influential than Ivan. He had Ivan arrested and all was good for him till Syman had to fled Malaysia. He returned Italy and kept a low profile for some years. But when Syman fled Italy, he gained freedom and now he is back to business."

Cathy said, "OK. Consider the job done." Alberto said, "As per rules, it is an unofficial mission. Any harm is personal and the subject should be dead." I asked, "Kill him?" Alberto smiled, "Civilized world doesn't need such filth." We saluted him and went towards the car.

We were in our armor, waiting for Bronson to come. Cathy is keeping an eye on them through a drone. Cathy said, "Some heat is seen on the gate. I calculate four or five guys. The house is not clearly visible, but I can sense some guys moving. Alberto said Bronson was young when he fled Italy, so they don't have a present picture of him. He is 6 ft tall and has blonde hair. I really don't see any blonde man but some Asian guards are drinking beer. Looks like Bronson has control in Malaysia now. A car is approaching the gate. It entered and three guys went out. A man has a large briefcase, probably full of drugs. He enters. A guard takes him backside of the house. A blonde man comes out. Yep, that's Bronson. Has lost his hair very much. Come on." We got down and Cathy called a backup team to surround the house. We hid behind the wall and on the count of three, we rolled and gunned down the guards. Some other guards came and the backup team killed them. We entered the house and meet with guards on the staircase. We quickly dodged some bullets but some caught my hand. A couple of the team got killed. We retaliated and cleaned the area. Cathy jumped out of the window and caught the dealer and pinned him down. She shot a bullet in his head and went to search Bronson. We gunned down the remaining goons and saw Bronson on his knees, surrendering. Cathy quickly took the gun and pointed her gun on his head. He pleaded, "Leave me. I already surrendered. Arrest me, but don't kill me." Cathy looked at me. I signalled her to wait. A policeman came and said, "We have seized the drugs. We are safe to proceed." I looked at Bronson and said, "Sorry, sir. Rules are rules." I signalled Cathy to end the mission. She shot Bronson in the head and the team members took the body in the ambulance.

We quickly got inside the car and rode off towards our home. Cathy said, "It was my first kill. My hands are still shivering." I smiled, "I feel sorry for him. He should have gone with a good job and his life would have been different." Cathy smiled, "This afternoon, you were saying poverty makes criminals. What about him? He wasn't poor nor uneducated, knew the consequences and still opt to become a bad element of the society." I sighed, "Greed and need are very much similar. They both starts with wish and ends with fulfillment." Cathy smiled, "No matter what you say. A crime is a crime, no matter you forced to do or chose to do." I smiled, "Let's agree to disagree." Cathy smiled, "Your wish." We silently rode off as the night became darker....