Escape

“Hey brother!,” came a velvety voice from the street along side the dark Koregaon Park.

Vishal reluctantly stopped and looked at her, sweat dripping under his shirt.

“Where are you sneaking to, handsome?”

“Er, nowhere. I’m just..,” Vishal didn't know how to complete the sentence.

“Better watch out. It’s not safe walking alone this late around here,” the gorgeous woman said.

She was one of many hookers that stand around the big park. Vishal had come around to sneak a look at them, as he did on lonely Saturday nights. But look is all that he did.

“I assume you got money?”

“No. How much?,” asked Vishal.

“Just 5,000 will buy you an hour with lil’ ol’ me… Interested?”

“Er, yes…but I don't have that much money.”

“How much have you got?”

“2000.”

She laughed so enticingly.

“For that you get one finger,” she said, lifting up her index finger.

“One finger?”

“Give me the money and I’ll show you,” she said with a wonderful smile.

The woman approached him now with exaggerated swaying steps. Her excessive perfume arrived well before her body in the humid night.

She pulled Vishal by the hand behind a defunct phone booth and placed both his hands on her ample and soft breasts.

“Go on, squeeze. It’s a bonus,” she laughed.

Vishal did as he is told, and just about melted into the night from the pleasure of it. He could do this all night and all day.

The young woman now placed his right hand under her skirt where it met a dense bush of soft hair,  not covered by any underwear.

She put his middle finger on her warm and moist opening, as a pungent smell rose.

“Go for it,” she said.

Go for what?, Vishal thought.

Instinctively, he held his breath and slipped in his middle finger to its base. The tight hole squeezed it alarmingly in return.

“Now you’ve got it. Or I got you, really,” she laughed.

“Oh, goodness, oh…”

“Good, is it?,” she asked.

“Oh yes … but…too late, too late,” mumbled Vishal, shuddering.

“Has the water main burst already? Don’t worry. Come to my house and I’ll clean you up,” the woman said.

Her house was dingy and filthy with just two rooms. There was a large and soiled one-way mirror built into the wall between the two rooms.

Vishal sat down in an armchair. The mirror gave the full view of the woman’s large bed in the next room.

"So what are you doing alone in this neighbourhood, handsome?" The woman smiled and spread her legs suggestively as she sat across from Vishal.

"Just needed to get some things off my chest," Vishal grinned in a calm manner. "Been up to a lot of naughty things lately."

 The woman was surprised to see his sudden gain in composure.

"What's troubling you, huh?" She looked on at Vishal with a mischievous affection.

"My shrink tells me I've a lot of pent up emotional energy that does not find a release."

"That's sad. So what are you doing about it?" The concern in her velvety voice sounded too synthetic.

"I killed my ex-wife and her baby some nights ago," Vishal said non-chalantly."As well as her hubby. Trying to move on and find some closure now."

"What?" The woman's jaw dropped in surprise.

"You realize I'm going to have to kill you now, don't you?" Vishal's lips curled into a cruel smirk. "Nothing personal. Just can't afford too many people knowing about this."

The woman tried to bolt away from her chair but he was upon her in a flash. His big rough left hand clenched her right wrist tightly as his other hand coiled around her slender neck.

"If it's any consolation," Vishal started saying with an affected look of regret and remorse on his face, "I had no wish of finishing you off tonight. Thanks for the wonderful time though. But I'm kinda moody."

The woman started choking as his grip tightened on her windpipe.

"Nighty night, beautiful." His words fell ominously on her ears as darkness descended in her eyes.
--------
Two weeks ago
"Let my baby go, you psycho!!!" Radhika screamed in terrified agony, clutching her bleeding stomach where Vishal had just shot her.

"Oh, I think he kinda likes my toy," Vishal smiled a crooked sinister smile as he watched the baby eagerly grab the nozzle of his revolver, its big cherubic eyes dancing in wonder at the object in its hands.

The baby's father was lying on the floor in a pool of blood. Vishal had cracked open his skull mercilessly with a heavy marble statue a few minutes ago.

"Vishal, please...don't," Radhika pleaded, her face a paroxysm of shock and fear.

"Oh,look, how cute," he observed cruelly as the baby started sucking on the nozzle ."Your kid has found a nice pacifier."

"Vishal,nooooooooooooooooo!!!!!" Blood gushed out even more forcefully as Radhika screamed on top of her lungs, straining her stomach in the process. "Fuck you, Vishal!! I am gonna kill you if you dare do anything with him."

"Funny thing," Vishal let out a guttural slur as he looked on at the baby. "Your mom always called me a sucker when she was with me. Life sure has a ....ironical way of evening out stuff." The baby had taken almost two inches of the gleaming metal into his mouth by now, happily sucking on it as if it were some candy.

"Bye bye, beautiful," Vishal winked as he pulled the trigger.
---
Present time
"So what do you want to report?" The paunchy police officer looked lazily at Vishal as he sat across from him in the police station.

"Murder.Three. Oh no. Make that four." Vishal replied ,pinching the bridge of his nose, as if suddenly remembering.

"Four murders?" The officer now sat up in his chair. "When? Where?"

"Three of them two weeks ago. One tonight." The corners of Vishal's lips curled up into an imperceptible sneer.

"And you witnessed them?"

"I should say," Vishal chortled."I killed them."

"Is this your idea of a joke? " The officer on duty said irritably. "One night in the lock-up will set you strai.."

"On the contrary," Vishal interrupted. "I am as serious as serious can be. My wife left me for another guy a year ago. She had been sleeping around with that fucker even when we were married. Got a kid  from her dalliances. Sad for them, I snuffed out all three ..man, woman and baby."

"Didn't you mention four? " The officer's eyes squinted. The tone of the man had bothered him from the moment he heard it. There was a cold pathological aloofness to it. And his words were not helping making things any better.

"I killed a hooker tonight," Vishal continued with his characteristic insouciance."Don't ask me why. She was a sweet kid. We shared a....deep intimate moment." His lips curved into a smile involuntarily, savoring the memory. "Guess I was just getting tired of not killing anybody for so long."

"And you want to turn yourself in now? " The officer couldn't help sounding incredulous.

"Something like that.Not been able to sleep for the last two weeks. Frankly, not been sleeping at all for the last one year. Ever since the wifey walked out . Guilt and too much unresolved shit ,I guess."

"What exactly do you have in mind?" The officer's curiosity shot one notch higher.

"Yeah. I am about to attack you and I hope your constable out there can shoot straight enough to do me in." Vishal grinned and before the officer could react, Vishal had picked up a pen from the pen stand on the desk and pushed it into the officer's hand with brutish ruthlessness.

The officer howled in pain as blood spurted from where the pen punctured his hand. In an instant, Vishal was behind him and had taken out the policeman's revolver from its holster. A bead of sweat formed on the officer's forehead, as Vishal touched the cold metal against his Adam's Apple.

"Now maybe a good time for call for help," Vishal whispered in the cop's ear.

"Hari,help!!" The officer yelled, wincing in pain as he did so. "Bring everybody!!!"

A geriatric, bespectacled constable appeared seconds later, shakily aiming his rifle at Vishal. Behind his inch-thick lenses, his magnified fear-laced eyes looked hopelessly grotesque.

"This is everybody?" Vishal shook his head in a disappointed fashion and continued with sarcasm, "A toothless oldie who can't even hold his gun straight? I'm gonna pretend it is not symbolic in any way....A scathing commentary on our law and order."

"Hari,shoot him," the officer barked.

"Yeah,Hari...shoot me!!! And hurry up, will you?" Vishal shot back as he poked the revolver further into his hostage's throat.

Hari leveled his gun, but his hand continued shaking. The whole scene was almost funny to watch. Vishal could easily see Hari would miss him by a wide margin.

"At this rate, he is probably gonna end up shooting you in stead of me," Vishal smirked at the officer. "Maybe I should just kill you myself. And then him. Just where are all your other men, officer?"

"Please..don't shoot me," the officer pleaded, sweating profusely now.

"Give me one good reason why not," Vishal said with malevolent relish.

"I..I've a fiancee," the officer blurted. The rifle continued awkwardly oscillating like a vibrator in Hari's shaky hands.

"The line is..I've a wife and two kids," Vishal said with disdain. "And no..in my book..that still falls short."

Within the blink of an eye, Vishal raised the revolver and shot Hari squarely between his eyes. As his lifeless body slumped to the floor, Vishal went on,pausing liberally and injecting a bit of regret in his otherwise deadpan,  matter-of-fact tone, " This was supposed to be my fucking moment of glory....Had it all pictured. Me.... riddled to death with bullets by five or six cops. Bye-bye insomnia. But you and your pathetic helping hand.... ruined my fucking night."

"Why..why are you doing this??" The officer was on the verge of tears now.

"Oh..I want to go out..But with a bang!"

"You're fucking crazy!!" The officer's eyes almost popped out in panic.

"Sure took you a long time to figure that one," Vishal fired again and watched the officer's throat blow up spewing blood like a geyser. "Guess they don't make cops like they used to," Vishal rued as he rubbed his finger-prints off the revolver handle and flung it aside.

Two years ago, Vishal had been a cop too. He had slogged his way through IPS to be in the force. Just as Radhika had been.
---
Two years ago
"Five broken bones. Jaw displaced. Ribs fractured. Gosh, Vishal! The commish is gonna have your head for this!" Radhika exclaimed at her colleague.

"The commissioner should be happy," Vishal replied indifferently. "I finally got all the information we need to shut their cartel down."

"This is the third time you almost killed someone in your interrogations, Vishal," Radhika protested. "Despite the warnings. That's not how we are supposed to.."

"I don't want to go over this again, Radhika," Vishal said dismissively. "You're just not .." and he left the sentence trailing.

"Just not what?" Radhika demanded.

"Forget it."

"No,I want to hear it."

"Willing to do what is necessary," Vishal's face hardened.

"Gratuitous violence is necessary?" She stared at him.

"Without a doubt."

"Truth is you just want to beat someone up badly. You just need an excuse, don't you?"

"Excuse me?"

"Don't pretend as if you don't know it."

"You're starting to sound like my parents, " Vishal shrugged. "Nothing I ever did was enough for them. Not even IPS."

"Vishal, I told you...you need help," Radhika's tone assumed a softer timbre.

"We've been over this," Vishal's indignation rose. "I don't need a shrink!"

"Please, Vishal, Animesh was telling me yesterday he knows a good counselor. Maybe you can.."

"Animesh?" Vishal furrowed his eyebrows. "You've been meeting that school buddy of yours a lot lately."

"I already told you," Radhika tried to defend herself. "He's new to this town. He doesn't have any friends here."

"It's been six months since he has been here, Radhika," Vishal protested. "He even knows a good counselor by now. And he still hasn't managed to get any friends besides my wife?"

"You're being impossible," Radhika made no attempt to hide her irritation. "I think you should be more worried about your job right now. You've  a lot of heat headed your way for the way you manhandled the witness this time."

Radhika was right. Vishal was soon charged with misconduct during duty and asked to file his resignation. At home, with nothing to do, Vishal got sucked into a quagmire of whiskey-fueled rage. Radhika tried to put up with a brave face for some time, but after a year, she decided she had had enough. She was already pregnant when she filed for divorce. Vishal begged her to stay, promised to change, but all his entreaties fell on deaf ears.

They day she left their home, Animesh was there to carry her and her belongings away in his car.
---
Present time
"Oh,no Dr. Trisha," Vishal said warmly into the phone as he neared his house. "I don't think I'll need that appointment next week. I'm feeling absolutely fantastic these days."

"But Vishal," a concerned voice came from the other end. "You need help. Please trust me. Let me help you."

"On the contrary," Vishal replied as he opened the gate to his house, " I've never felt this great in a long long time. You always urged me to be myself, remember? Guess what? I finally found who I am."

"Vishal, listen.." the psychologist tried to say.

"Dr. Trisha, I think I'll have to go off now," he said, noticing someone standing in front of the door to his 2-BK house, and disconnected the call. "My escape plan is here."

"It's about time," Vishal grinned. "I was beginning to think you won't show up."

"You're too eager to die at my hands, aren't you?" Radhika barked back, her face twisted in disgust.

"Oh c'mon, I shot you at point blank range taking extreme care to avoid your spine and major organs," he answered with an air of pride. "I think the academy's shooting gold medalist deserves a round of applause."


"So what do you want to report?" The paunchy police officer looked lazily at Vishal as he sat across from him in the police station.

"Murder.Three. Oh no. Make that four." Vishal replied ,pinching the bridge of his nose, as if suddenly remembering.


"You're gonna regret not killing me when you had the chance," she said coldly.

"Frankly, been waiting for this for the last two weeks," he quoted with his trademark indifference. "I knew you wouldn't call the cops on me. You'd want to finish the job all by yourself."

"Trust me, Vishal, I would have come earlier if I could," she breathed vengeance. "Those two weeks in the hospital..you're all I thought about."

"How romantic," Vishal said impassively."And FYI..I was getting bored waiting..Been up to some more killing..just to kill the time. I must say I am beginning to enjoy.."

Without giving him a chance to finish, Radhika brought out a pistol, took aim and fired at a startled Vishal. Before he had had any time to react, the bullet had grazed past his shoulder.

"It...tickles," Vishal bit his tongue, trying to tune out the physical anguish and burn in his shoulder blade.

"My wounded stomach..for..your shoulder," she flung aside her gun as she said so. "I guess that about evens the odds. Let's finish this." She brought up her fists in front of her face in a boxer's stance. "Man to man!"

"A bleeding man versus a woman who's been nursed back to health?" Vishal ignored his aching shoulder and lunged for his former wife. "Still no contest!"

Radhika clutched her stomach to brace it from the shock and raised her leg swiftly to meet Vishal's hurtling body squarely in his nose.

Vishal fell onto the concrete pavement, red fluids oozing out of his broken nose.

"Bleeding so soon,Vishal?" Radhika mocked. "But the night is so young...and I have so much planned."
She kicked with all her might against Vishal's flank and immediately after, she bent her knee and used her weight to ground her knee-cap into the base of Vishal's left palm.

Vishal could feel more than one of his ribs breaking from the impact of her assault. His left wrist was crushed and his ribs were moving with a life of their own.

"You're beginning to get the idea, aren't you?" Radhika snarled as she punched him in the ribs again. "This is the end... for both of us."

"You...two-timing whore!!!" Vishal growled, wincing in pain as he swung his fist, but still missing Radhika by inches.

Radhika delivered a hard upper-cut to his chin and simultaneously kicked in his shin. Vishal grunted in pure agony.

"That was your own baby, Vishal! You killed your own baby," she cried out, tears pushing out of her eyes.

"You'll say that now, won't you?" Vishal looked up to meet her eyes.

"It's the goddamn truth, you fucking bastard!!" She screamed so hard the veins on her neck stood out.

"If you're expecting me to get burnt up by an overpowering remorse ,then forget it," Vishal managed to wink. "My baby or not..the look on your face...as I pulled the trigger on him...Pure pleasure!"

"You're nothing but a monster, Vishal," Radhika spat on him. "And I used to think..underneath all that...you were a good person somewhere."

"I'm just a desperate man doing desperate things," Vishal breathed heavily. "Well, I did try to turn myself in. But those dickheads at that under-staffed police station simply weren't up to the task."

"Remember what you used to say, Vishal?" His former wife smashed her fist against his cheek. "That the world only makes sense when you force it to? Guess what..I finally see your logic!"

"Stop!" Vishal cried out. He could feel some of his teeth shattering.

"You want me to stop now, Vishal?" Radhika smiled, mockingly yet ruefully. "After you've so successfully brought me down to your level?"

"Oh, hardly ..my sweet," he gasped out. "I wasn't talking about the pummeling. It's your incessant jabber that's driving me crazy." Saying this, he swiftly withdrew a pen-knife from his pant pocket and lunged it in her stomach. The blade was so sharp, she hardly felt it enter her. But there was the searing pain soon after to remind her.

She grit her teeth and reached for Vishal's neck with both her hands. Vishal was going on talking. But she couldn't hear him. She couldn't hear anything. His neck would have to do.

She slowly started twisting it. He was moving more quickly than she was. Stabbing her. She went on applying pressure with a single-minded determination.

kraaaaaak

The bones in his neck started snapping. She could hear that. And she could hear something else. Voices. Calling her a killer.

She wished she was. She let go of Vishal.

"I'm really...very disappointed in you..my sweet..," Vishal struggled to speak."The moment was..perfect..and you didn't have the nerve..Paralysis..really?"

Radhika was in a world of pain of her own to reply and he went on,"Just a little bit more of pressure..but you've always let me down..darling..your nerve gave out...See you... in hell!"

And with a devil's strength, he twisted...

kraaaaaak..
And twisted...
kraaaaaak.

What was left of his spine ...went. All the while, Vishal laughed. An eerie laughter which filled the night. Long after whatever was in him rustled and left.

For Radhika, the world was going dark..and cold. She passed out too, wondering whether she would live to see the next morning's sun.

Not that she wanted to. She would rather see her baby.

The End