Chapter 25: chapter 25

MADHAVBusted!Shit! I had forgotten about that. I stare at Sruthi like a deer caught in headlights. I have no proper explanation for why her photo is the wallpaper of my phone except for the fact that I am in love with her. It was exactly six months ago, I set her picture as my wallpaper on my personal use phone. I came to my house after a particularly exhausting assignment. On the way, I met a couple who were so in love with each other. I felt a pang of jealousy seeing them and as I opened the door to my house, a feeling of emptiness consumed me. I felt hollow inside. Life seemed like a black-and-white movie with no twists and turns. Just plain old and boring. Nothing in life interested me. For days after that, I felt that emptiness until I saw Sruthi in Vikram’s house. Having a snarky conversation with her, brought back all the emotions that I had buried inside me to the surface. That day, after I came home, I set her photo as my wallpaper to remind myself occasionally of the fact that I am human too with emotions. But I can’t confess that now. Can I? She is already stressed out about the prep. I don’t want to add more to the burden. Quick Madhav! Think about something. Something to say. Dammit, come up with a lie.Idea!“Oh! Come on, Sruthi, I am your loving and doting husband to the media. Of course, your picture would be my wallpaper,” I answer. I don’t think she will buy the lame excuse of me setting her photo as wallpaper for the media. Because, honestly, the media doesn’t care about my personal phone and I have no intentions of giving it to anyone else. “Makes sense,” Sruthi says with a nod of her head and scrolls through it. I cannot let her know that I am in love with her. She would feel disgusted to learn it and the last thing I want is to witness her disgust. We haven’t made a big progress in our relationship. We hardly talked with each other the last couple of days. She never came out of the guest bedroom. Even when she does, she is silent and wistful. I want to break the ice between us but I have no idea how to do it. I want her to take her sweet time to accept this marriage and move on from her trash of a fiancée.“I am going out today,” Sruthi’s word snaps me back to reality. She hands me back my phone.“Where and why?” I ask.“Not with whom?” she questions back with amusement.“No, I trust that you wouldn’t cheat on me,” I reply.  “Now, answer me, where and why?”“I am going to the ‘Purple Café’ to meet my Gabe, my friend whom you met in the hospital,” she answers.“You can invite your friend here,” I offer.Sruthi narrows her eyes, “Why? Am I not allowed to go outside?”“Sruthi, I am not asking you not to go out. It is your wish to visit her wherever you want. I am just concerned about your safety. If given a choice, I prefer that you stay in this house until the threat is eliminated but I am not going to impose it on you. It is your wish.”Sruthi frowns in deep thought for a moment before answering, “You do have a valid point. But I can’t always stay inside the house. I promise to stay safe and have you on my emergency dial.”I sigh, “Fine. But remember, the moment you spot something or someone suspicious, you leave that place without a second thought and give me a call.”“I will,” she assures me. But I am not assured.  ❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥My footsteps are light and soundless as I follow my victim. The hood of my black hoodie is up and my face is hidden behind the mask. My prey has no idea that I am following him because he is immersed in his mobile phone. Mobiles made my job a lot easier. Most of my victims were always looking into their phones unaware of their surroundings they had no idea that a killer was on their trail until I put a knife to their throats. I am on the outskirts of the capital city trailing behind the prep who tried to hit Sruthi with a bike when she went to her wedding shopping with that jerk Praveen. It took me some time to find this man. Biker Govind. That is the name he uses. He is famous in the underworld for hitting and killing people on the road. There are a lot of hit-and-run cases on him but the police cannot find him. Because, he is good at his job and hiding. He owns a bike mechanic shop and every time uses a different bike. He has been escaping the police and justice for a very long time. But not anymore because I found him and I am going to make sure that he has an unforgettable meeting with me. When I am sure no one is around the surroundings, I quicken my pace to decrease the gap between the man and me. We enter a dark alley. Rookie Mistake! We are in an abandoned area and there are no CCTV cameras to record what is about to go down. The man stops suddenly and I seize my opportunity. “Don’t turn around if you want to live,” I warn in a low tone pulling a gun out of my jacket and pressing it on his back. The man’s body tenses not in fear but in a way that is ready for a fight. “Who are you?” he asks with a steel in his voice.“Deathwhisper,” I answerThe fight leaves him and I can feel the fear rolling off him. Oh! Yes, like him I too have a reputation in the underworld. I am infamously known as the Deathwhisper. I am known for killing people silently and when they least expect it. Not boasting but I know thirty ways to kill someone without the use of violence. The underworld is scared of me. They have no idea who I am. I reveal myself to my victims before their last breath. “I don’t have money or anything you need. Please spare me,” he pleads, the steel in his voice disappearing.“I don’t need money. I want to know the name of the person who hired you to carry out the hit and run last week near the ‘WearIt’ store,” I say pressing the gun harder into his body to let him know that this is a serious business.“I have no idea what you—” the man starts but I point at the back of his knee and pull the trigger.BOOM“Arrghh,” the ugly sound of the man’s voice echoes in my earbuds as he shouts in pain and kneels on the ground. Blood oozes from his leg and he clutches it tightly. Sruthi’s scared face flashes in my mind and I can barely contain my anger. Some people may look tough on the outside but have zero tolerance for pain like this man. On the other hand, some people look soft and vulnerable on the outside but have a great tolerance for pain like Sruthi. I am not only talking about physical pain. Emotional pain included. “If you don’t answer my question then you are going to die a painful death,” I say pressing the gun on the side of his face. “Octopus,” he answers.“What?” I say bringing the gun to his neck and pressing it harder.“That is the name of the person who approached me on the dark web. I am a professional hit-and-run biker,” he says with a hint of pride in his voice. A professional hit-and-run driver? Why is he saying that like it is something to be proud of? Is there a real thing called professional hit-and-run? I mean the extent people nowadays go to identify themselves.“People contact me in the dark web to carry out a hit and run. I have a success rate of eight percent,” he boasts and I can’t hold back any longer. I hit him in the face. “That is not something you should be proud of,” I say. “I asked who hired you and not your autobiography.”“I don’t know who it is. I only know the name ‘Octopus’. It was from that ID I got the order to carry out the hit and run,” the man answers. “Are you telling me the truth?” I ask going to stand before him. “I am,” he says nodding his head furiously. His face is twisted in fear and pain. I think of all the lives this man had taken. How twisted and dark he is to boast about his killings like some achievements. The usual war between right and wrong wages is in my mind as I watch his face for sincerity. He looks scared and I know that the man is afraid of losing his life. Fury fuels my decision. I put all my emotions and humanity in me into a tight box and shove it into the corner of my mind. I don’t feel an ounce of guilt or regret or satisfaction or anything as I pull down my mask. Recognition and surprise flicker through him followed by anger. I raise my gun and a cold smile curves my lips at the stark fear on his face.“Well, then, you have no use for me anymore,” I say and pull the trigger again but this time I aim at his heart. I fire the bullets until my gun runs out of it.Another criminal down in the city.❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥