The Righteous Bastard

Charan and Vivek were waiting at a local coffee shop for Bhaskar. Vivek looked around and saw some lively, young girls chatting and said, "Indian girls are indeed one of God's incredible creations. The simplicity with a mix of silliness is a combination hard to find anywhere." Charan kept looking at the newspaper and grunted. Vivek said, "I am thinking, an Indian girl will be a perfect match for you. Why don't you go and start a conversation with them?" Charan said, "Why should I? You go and do the talking." Vivek looked at Charan and said, "Okay. Your loss." He went near the table and asked, "Can someone tell me where can I find bustling bars and discos? Actually I came here to visit India and mingle with the locals." A girl amongst them replied, "Well, there is one club that you may find favorable and see many people to mingle. It is 'Club Nightshift' and is almost an hour drive from here." Vivek asked, "Do you have any plans for visiting the club tonight?" The girl asked, "Why?" Vivek smiled, "Nothing. Just thought it will be awkward going there all alone." The girl smiled, "Don't worry, brother. No one will even notice you, until you start a conversation with them." Vivek replied, "Okay. Thanks for the help." Vivek went near Charan and sat beside him. Charan looked at him and asked, "So, how was the conversation?" Vivek replied, "Nothing special. Just a little hi hello. Anyway, where is Bhaskar?" Charan replied, "We will have to go to him." Vivek said, "So, we wasted our time waiting for that stupid." Charan smiled, "Not really. Some girls know you now." Vivek blushed as they went outside the cafe. Charan and Vivek went inside a dense yet lightly isolated forest of poorly constructed houses and stopped near a house whose front door was lightly washed with brown paint and a number was painted on it with white polish. Charan went and knocked on the door and waited for some moment. A thin, dark skinned and unobtrusive boy of twenty two opened the door and asked in a weak voice, "Who are you?" Charan looked at him and said, "Alia sent me to take you back to her." The boy looked at both Charan and Vivek and said, "I want to have a call with Alia Didi." Vivek replied, "She can't." He asked, "Why?" Charan asked, "Can we talk inside?" Bhaskar stepped aside and Charan and Vivek went inside. The inside of the house was a little messy and an unpleasant smell was swimming in the air. Bhaskar said, "Actually, a rat died last night and my maid hasn't come yet." Vivek asked, "You can afford a maid?" Bhaskar replied, "Yes. I earn sufficient enough from tuitions and part time jobs to afford a maid." Charan patted his shoulder and said, "Just like your sister. Keep this attitude and you will be quite successful in the near future." Vivek said, "Okay. Start preparing your bags, Bhaskar. We will shift you to a much cleaner and safer place by the end of this week." Bhaskar looked at Vivek and nodded.

Charan and Vivek explained the whole story and the unfortunate news about his sister to Bhaskar in brief. Bhaskar sighed, "Playing with fire often burns down the player." Vivek said, "Not if he knows how to control it." Bhaskar smiled and said, "My teacher once told me that the person who puts himself first and neglects or abstains himself from serving the needy, goes straight to hell and remains entrapped in the never ending circle of pain and agony. I felt that to be false at that time, but looking at you two I can say that my teacher was right. Both of you lost a part of your hearts because of your misdeeds." Charan smiled, "You know what my said?" Bhaskar asked, "What?" Charan replied, "The person who is free from all the enchanting and greedy stuff of life often finds himself at the end of a plain and boring road which leads him to a never ending road of dissatisfaction. I have been in the prison for a long time and there I met an old man who was sentenced to death, but himself was too quite sick and died a couple of weeks earlier than his predetermined day of death. His story is quite simple and probably the usual one, but it had a tiny twist in the end. He was a little farmer some fourty years ago and had a good name in the village, got married, had kids and was happily seeing his grandchildren playing in the lawn. But, suddenly his heaven turned into a sea of agony. Reason. A small mistake he did years ago, he let an evil enemy of him alive and then that enemy's children destroyed his life and framed him for the murder of his children and grandchildren, which strangely didn't declined. Had he killed his enemy, when he had the chance, he would have died a happy man." Bhaskar smiled, "Karma. He may have sinned in his pervious life and have got his punishment in the next life."

Charan and Vivek laughed out loud and said, "Karma is superstitious, bro. One decides his fate in his very life. You may have heard the famous quote by Shakespeare 'Man is the writer of his own fate.' You can definitely blame your karma, past life sins and other bullshit. But, you can't change your life by that." Bhaskar smiled and said, "Tell this to the Lord on your judgment day." Seeing the argument getting heated, Vivek changed the topic and asked, "Where's your landlord? We have to settle your bills and other stuff by tonight. I don't want any pending bills on the day of departure." Bhaskar replied, "Don't worry about him. I pay in advance and also I have a slight problem which I think should be sorted before my migration." Charan asked, "What problem?" Bhaskar replied, "A gang of some uneducated and ruffian boys teased my girlfriend yesterday, while she was returning home from the market. I really want to teach them moral values and be in the good books of her father. So, can you help me in that matter?" Charan and Vivek looked at each other and smiled. Charan said, "Okay. But, remember you won't get involved in the fight." Bhaskar thought for a moment and nodded in approval.

While Bhaskar went inside his bedroom to change his clothes, Charan said to Vivek, "I don't want any witnesses. Vivek asked, "You want to kill them?" Charan replied, "If suitable, then with pleasure." Vivek said, "I don't think Bhaskar wants it to be that big." Charan smiled, "I saw rage in his eyes and he is a killer's son, once he gets blood on his hands; he won't stop." Bhaskar came outside the room and said, "I have called my girlfriend with me. It will be quite heroic to beat them in front of her." Charan and Vivek smiled and Charan patted Bhaskar's shoulder and said, "Let's go and make you a hero." After a long and curving road trip, they stopped near a girl who was waving at Bhaskar. Charan and Vivek looked at the girl. She was a little fairer than Bhaskar and have some good curves. She was wearing a yellow salwar with blue jeans and her hair was tied in a ponytail. Bhaskar went down from the car and hugged her and touched her lips with his lips. They quickly went inside the car and after a little navigation from Bhaskar, they reached near a small hut which was crowded with some drunken, pot bellied guys and a mud stove was letting out a grayish smoke. Bhaskar's girlfriend pointed towards a fat man with a stubble beard. Bhaskar went near the man and kicked him over from the cot. The man woke up startled and saw Bhaskar standing there with his girlfriend. Before the man can react, Bhaskar went kicked him in the chest and the man fell on the ground. Charan said, "He is quite stronger than he looks." Vivek smiled, "Love makes everyone stronger." Bhaskar took out a halfly burning piece of bamboo from the stove and hitted it hard on the man's head. He screamed and his drunken friends woke up and saw the scene. One of them caught Bhaskar and threw him over the cot and kicked him in the leg. Bhaskar rolled and hitted him with a nearby stone and then threw it on another's head. But, another guy caught him and punched him on his chin and then threw him over the stove. His shirt caught a little fire and also had some burns on his wrist, but managed to keep his face unharmed. Bhaskar said, "Come on. Help me." Charan looked at a man running towards the girl and he quickly ran and kicked the man aside and then said, "Go and stay near the car." Vivek also came near Charan and together they knocked down the bad guys. The leader caught Bhaskar by his neck and Bhaskar kicked him in his balls and then thrusted his head inside the stove, thus killing him. Charan, Vivek and the girl all were shocked by Bhaskar's deed and looked at him with both awe and fear. Charan came near Bhaskar and said, "Come on. Let's go. We have many other problems to deal with." All went inside the car and they soon left the scene.

Charan looked at Bhaskar, whose mouth was bleeding lightly. Charan said, "You shouldn't have killed that man. Now, both police and his allies will come behind your tail and probably try to harm the girl." Bhaskar looked at the girl and said, "Killing a guilty is the biggest virtue. Moreover, I didn't wanted to kill him, it was a sudden reaction and he himself fell in the stove. The police won't waste much time for such lowlife." Vivek looked at the girl and asked, "What's your name, darling?" The girl replied, "Sukanya." Vivek said, "That's a great name. Shirley also had a friend called Sukanya." The girl gave a smile and continued wiping the blood coming out from Bhaskar's mouth. Charan stopped the car near a normal looking house and Sukanya stepped out from the car and kissed Bhaskar." Vivek and Charan waved her goodbye and soon started the car and went away. Bhaskar asked, "So, you two are businessman, right?" Charan replied, "Of course." Bhaskar asked, "What business do you do?" Charan replied, "Vivek deals in import and export and I am a member of an elite group of people, which I can't reveal to you." Bhaskar asked, "Where did you meet Alia?" Charan replied, "It's quite an interesting story. I was coming from a secret meeting, when a girl jumped on my car and took me hostage. I was instructed by her to go to a place and then, she ran away. But in a hurry, she left a pendrive on the seat. After some days, she returned and asked me for the pendrive and then I caught her and never left her. That girl was Alia." Bhaskar smiled, "You are quite funny." Charan smiled, "We meet at a friend's housewarming party, liked each other, exchanged numbers and then started dating." Bhaskar smiled, "Pretty much like myself, but we met in the college." Charan said, "Good." After a long drive, they reached Bhaskar's house and dropped him there and went to their hotel.

The next morning, Charan and Vivek washed themselves and took out all their luggage and checked out of the hotel. Charan and Vivek booked a cab and went to Bhaskar's house. Bhaskar was waiting there with his luggage prepared. They stopped the car near him and he stepped inside the car. Bhaskar looked at the taxi driver and said, "Take a turn towards Mehendi Chowk. I have a person waiting for me." The taxi driver looked at Charan and he nodded in approval. After a minute or two, they reached Mehendi Chowk and saw Sukanya waiting there in a neatly ironed salwar keemez with a polythene bag in her hand. Bhaskar stepped out of the car and went near her. She hugged her tightly and then kissed his lips. Some ongoing people saw these and gave a small laugh, but the love birds didn't looked anywhere but in each other's eyes. Bhaskar said sadly, "I know that it is not fair to leave you alone and go like this, but I'm doing this for you and our future. Once, I finish my higher studies, get a good qualification and a heavy paying job, then I will call you there with me and the best part will be that your father won't stop you." Sukanya said in a low voice, "I know your mind and won't argue with you, but remember one thing, I can't keep my father waiting for years, as he is already planning my marriage with some rich idiot. I want to go with you, stay with you and become a witness of your success." Bhaskar said, "No, my love. I don't want to steal you, I want to earn you. And for the father part, let me see." They came near the taxi and Bhaskar asked, "Can you keep Sukanya safe till I get a job?" Charan and Vivek looked at each other and Charan asked, "Sukanya, what is your educational qualifications?" Sukanya replied, "I'm currently studying BBA." Charan smiled, "Then, you can have a personal house of your own in London as we are looking for someone like you." Sukanya thanked Charan and Vivek and kissed Bhaskar one more time and went away, giving Bhaskar the polythene bag. Bhaskar pulled out a nice yellow shirt and smiled. Charan said, "Hurry up, man. We have a flight to catch." Bhaskar went inside the car and they rode towards the airport.

After clearing all the required procedures, they boarded the plane. Charan and Vivek were sitting on the front row, while Bhaskar was sitting one seat behind them. Charan looked at Vivek and said, "Once we reach London, I wanted you to call Arman and tell him to contact his people in the desert. I think it's time to get serious about our enemies." Vivek nodded his head in approval. Charan said, "I want Bhaskar to stay with Liam and if possible I will shift him to Scotland where my old buddies will safeguard him." Vivek said, "Alphonso is coming to London." Charan exclaimed, "Why and when?" Vivek replied, "Apparently Syman wants him to check the climate of London and if suitable, finish us. He might be there by Saturday." Charan smiled, "No, my brother. It's time for us to finish him." Vivek said, "Amen to that." Vivek and Charan closed their eyes as the plane speeded through the clouds, ripping them apart on the way.....