My first attempt at a thriller...planning to put it down in the form of a screenplay...be liberal with your comments.
The sun was just about to break open over the horizon. People had just started to turn and laze around in their beds, still half contemplating whether to get up or not. But there were some of their counterparts for whom the day had begun a couple of hours back. The newspaper boys were busy peddling their cycles through the roads, avoiding the ladies who had come to put the traditional kolam , and threw the papers into the households before speeding away.
It is such a wonderful moment, just as the sun is about to break through the horizon, when the first streaks of sunlight cut through all. It is almost as though a captured soul breaks free from its chains and ready to wreak vengeance on the world for wrongly imprisoning him. Everything becomes beautiful at daybreak. Everything becomes peaceful.
The ladies finish up with their work and come out, hearing the cries of the vegetable vendor shouting out his prices. It is an early start for him as he has to finish off before it becomes time to take his kids to the school. At least this street the households buy lots and don't haggle too much. Unlike the posh gated community next street. Those skinflints, he thought to himself as he wiped his face with a towel. It was very unlikely that he was sweating, so early in the morning, that too in the middle of December. Something was bothering him but he wasn't sure what was wrong.
"Vaanga ma...vendakka fresha irukku...thakkali cheapa irukku ma...paarunga...thevai yanatha eduthu intha koodaila podunga..."( come madam come. Ladies fingers are fresh..even tomatoes are cheap today...take what you want and put it in the basket) he spoke to the growing crowd of ladies surrounding his cart.
"Enna Easwar..rendu naala aala kaanum...enga poi iruntha...koyambedula settle aitiya.."( what happened Easwar..you were missing for two days..where did you go..got settled in koyambedu vegetable market itself?) quipped one of his regulars.
"Athu ellam onnum illa ma...paiyanukku school la exam...kaalaila avana ezhuppi padikka utkara vechutu appram school ukku kootitu pogarathukulla neram aiduthu...avanavathu ozhunga padikanum"(nothing like that madam, my son has got exam in school. have to wake him up in the morning and make him sit and study and then drop him at school. that takes time. atleast he has to study properly) ,he beamed proudly.
Before she could open her mouth to reply, a single sound split the early morning silence. A gun shot..a rifle shot.In the early morning hours when the noise levels are just picking up, this was almost thunderous. Just like thunder before a lightning storm, the single shot rang out and left the people confused and dazzled.
Where Easwar's head had been, was a mangled mass of flesh torn apart to accommodate the bullet's physics. Parts of his head were now lying among the vegetables and fruits that he was selling. The ladies didn't realize anything for a couple of seconds after which they started screaming...
The car came to a stop in front of the decrepit government building. No one from the outside would possibly understand how such a building was still being used when it looked like it would collapse anytime if someone sneezed hard. The issue was that particular building was on corporation land and there had been a tussle for long time for reclamation. The police wing that occupied it didn't budge out of it, even for minor repairs since they feared the loss of such a location in the prime of the city.
A middle-aged man stepped out of the car and walked up to the first floor of the building. A couple of officers saluted him as he made his way, room after room and entered a small office. There was a desk and someone sitting on one side already. He made his way and sat down. The other man didn't budge.
" Switch on the fan...do you have a smoke."
The other man looked up at him, took a pack of cigarettes and handed it over to him and switched on the ceiling fan before sitting down again.
"enna solranga Mr. Naveen... report vandhucha.."( what are they saying Mr. Naveen...did the report come)
"Yes sir. A single shot, from a high powered rifle, possible use of sniper scope. .50 caliber. typical overkill. Shooter used armor piercing rounds."
"Damn it...who ever heard of such a thing...a military grade weapon being used to kill a commoner..unheard of. Any leads?"
"No sir, we are investigating. So far, we weren't able to identify any VIPs in that area...We have no clue as to who was the intended target. We are doing a door-to-door screening of the entire neighborhood. Since the defense colony is nearby, we suspect it might be some person in the military sector. We are waiting for more information."
"hmmm seri seri..(alright) and what about the vegetable vendor? what about his background? its confirmed that he hasnt anything shady in his past? We dont want the media to come up with an expose that he was secretly some government operative. Ensure that its properly researched."
"yes sir, it is done. He is just a commoner. Nothing noticeable stands out in his past. Its confirmed that this was a wrong target...he was at the wrong place the wrong time."
"Get moving on this.. I want this closed at the earliest." he said and walked off.
Naveen shrugged off and lit another cigarette. "ithu seekram mudiyaathu"(This will not end soon)
The sun was just about to break open over the horizon. People had just started to turn and laze around in their beds, still half contemplating whether to get up or not. But there were some of their counterparts for whom the day had begun a couple of hours back. The newspaper boys were busy peddling their cycles through the roads, avoiding the ladies who had come to put the traditional kolam , and threw the papers into the households before speeding away.
It is such a wonderful moment, just as the sun is about to break through the horizon, when the first streaks of sunlight cut through all. It is almost as though a captured soul breaks free from its chains and ready to wreak vengeance on the world for wrongly imprisoning him. Everything becomes beautiful at daybreak. Everything becomes peaceful.
The ladies finish up with their work and come out, hearing the cries of the vegetable vendor shouting out his prices. It is an early start for him as he has to finish off before it becomes time to take his kids to the school. At least this street the households buy lots and don't haggle too much. Unlike the posh gated community next street. Those skinflints, he thought to himself as he wiped his face with a towel. It was very unlikely that he was sweating, so early in the morning, that too in the middle of December. Something was bothering him but he wasn't sure what was wrong.
"Vaanga ma...vendakka fresha irukku...thakkali cheapa irukku ma...paarunga...thevai yanatha eduthu intha koodaila podunga..."( come madam come. Ladies fingers are fresh..even tomatoes are cheap today...take what you want and put it in the basket) he spoke to the growing crowd of ladies surrounding his cart.
"Enna Easwar..rendu naala aala kaanum...enga poi iruntha...koyambedula settle aitiya.."( what happened Easwar..you were missing for two days..where did you go..got settled in koyambedu vegetable market itself?) quipped one of his regulars.
"Athu ellam onnum illa ma...paiyanukku school la exam...kaalaila avana ezhuppi padikka utkara vechutu appram school ukku kootitu pogarathukulla neram aiduthu...avanavathu ozhunga padikanum"(nothing like that madam, my son has got exam in school. have to wake him up in the morning and make him sit and study and then drop him at school. that takes time. atleast he has to study properly) ,he beamed proudly.
Before she could open her mouth to reply, a single sound split the early morning silence. A gun shot..a rifle shot.In the early morning hours when the noise levels are just picking up, this was almost thunderous. Just like thunder before a lightning storm, the single shot rang out and left the people confused and dazzled.
Where Easwar's head had been, was a mangled mass of flesh torn apart to accommodate the bullet's physics. Parts of his head were now lying among the vegetables and fruits that he was selling. The ladies didn't realize anything for a couple of seconds after which they started screaming...
The car came to a stop in front of the decrepit government building. No one from the outside would possibly understand how such a building was still being used when it looked like it would collapse anytime if someone sneezed hard. The issue was that particular building was on corporation land and there had been a tussle for long time for reclamation. The police wing that occupied it didn't budge out of it, even for minor repairs since they feared the loss of such a location in the prime of the city.
A middle-aged man stepped out of the car and walked up to the first floor of the building. A couple of officers saluted him as he made his way, room after room and entered a small office. There was a desk and someone sitting on one side already. He made his way and sat down. The other man didn't budge.
" Switch on the fan...do you have a smoke."
The other man looked up at him, took a pack of cigarettes and handed it over to him and switched on the ceiling fan before sitting down again.
"enna solranga Mr. Naveen... report vandhucha.."( what are they saying Mr. Naveen...did the report come)
"Yes sir. A single shot, from a high powered rifle, possible use of sniper scope. .50 caliber. typical overkill. Shooter used armor piercing rounds."
"Damn it...who ever heard of such a thing...a military grade weapon being used to kill a commoner..unheard of. Any leads?"
"No sir, we are investigating. So far, we weren't able to identify any VIPs in that area...We have no clue as to who was the intended target. We are doing a door-to-door screening of the entire neighborhood. Since the defense colony is nearby, we suspect it might be some person in the military sector. We are waiting for more information."
"hmmm seri seri..(alright) and what about the vegetable vendor? what about his background? its confirmed that he hasnt anything shady in his past? We dont want the media to come up with an expose that he was secretly some government operative. Ensure that its properly researched."
"yes sir, it is done. He is just a commoner. Nothing noticeable stands out in his past. Its confirmed that this was a wrong target...he was at the wrong place the wrong time."
"Get moving on this.. I want this closed at the earliest." he said and walked off.
Naveen shrugged off and lit another cigarette. "ithu seekram mudiyaathu"(This will not end soon)
1 comments:
good start.... waiting for the next part... don't make us wait for long... thriller!!! fast fast!
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