Planned Deception

This story is purely a work of fiction. All characters and events in this story are completely fictional. Any resemblance in whole or in part to real people, living or dead, or any events is purely coincidental.

Dheeraj was a happy man tonight. Why wouldn't he be? He was about to receive 30 Crores for organizing a drug deal. He just spoke to Gaurav who was confident about the deal taking place tomorrow without any hassles.

This was the biggest drug deal that he had handled, probably bigger than the biggest India had ever witnessed. It was a month back that he was asked to find a potential buyer in India for the American dealer. It took Dheeraj some time to finally find someone. He only met Gaurav, who represented the buyer during the talks. Once the deal gets over, 30 Crores is his for just acting as the middleman. "If everything goes well tomorrow..."

Pranoy, an upcoming businessman, was not as lucky as Dheeraj and was trying hard to catch some sleep, at the other end of the city. It was like this for Pranoy for the last 2 weeks, from when he received the first of the many anonymous phone calls.

Pranoy was not much different from many other successful businessmen in India. To surge ahead even Pranoy had to take paths which were not pleasant. Somebody just found out a lead that could connect him to a famous political murder, with which he accidentally got involved, that he thought was very well covered after so many years. They had decided to meet tomorrow to settle the whole thing.

If this leaks out then he would be spending the rest of his life in jail, and he didn't want that to happen at any cost. Pranoy closed his eyes, though he knew that he couldn't sleep. "If everything goes well tomorrow..."

Gaurav's boss was spending the night planning for the day ahead. "Poor Dheeraj and Gaurav" he thought, "What ever happens tomorrow, those 2 would be dead anyway". It was impossible to pay up the money that the American demanded. But he wanted the drugs anyway. And the only way to get it was by force.

His agents were good at tracking down all members of the American gang that landed in India. They scattered themselves within the city, to avoid being captured if something goes bad. "Not bad, but not good enough to save you all" he thought. Now its up to his men to finish them all off and he had a very good plan to cover up the entire operation too. "If everything goes well tomorrow..."

Pranoy met with the blackmailer, by 10:30pm next day, at the Railway station, but was not given the evidence that he was promised. "You won't stop milking me for money huh? I bet you'll regret your decision!", thought Pranoy and just pressed the send button on his mobile phone to send a message that he had composed earlier. The blackmailer left in some time and Pranoy merely smiled.

Gaurav's boss had a busy day making sure his plans worked to perfection, and he was sure it would, based on the progress he made so far. He merely turned on the TV and waited for the action to begin.

Gaurav reached the hotel as he was asked to by 10:45 at night and met Dheeraj there. The American came a while later. Everything went fine till a gunshot killed the American. Gaurav started running but a bullet found him too. Before taking his last breath, he saw Dheeraj lying dead among many others. The guns didn't stop firing that night.

Gaurav's boss was getting live updates of the "terrorist attack" that he had planned. It was 2 days since it all started, and the attacks still went on, even after all his targets were dead. "They are worth the money they were paid." It took some meticulous planning to make it all look like a terrorist attack and it worked. The vague clues given to the intelligence was his agents' idea and that too worked to perfection. The only thing that he couldn't understand was a bomb blast that killed a man in a car.

The man who triggered the explosion in the car couldn't understand the gunfire that killed his boss near the railway station.

David Abraham, the underworld kingpin, could only smile watching the news on TV that related him to the attacks!

The Day I Woke Up

I woke up late at night feeling really fresh, which was quite abnormal given the fact that I hated sleeping during the day and I always felt tired after waking up. It was then that I noticed that the room I had been sleeping in was not my bed room. I failed to notice it in the first place as it was quite dark inside.

It took me sometime to find the door to the room, and once I got outside, I found that it was not night exactly, the darkness inside the room made me feel so. How did I end up sleeping here? I couldn’t remember anything now. Suddenly it seemed that everything went blank all of a sudden. Did I lose my memory??

I sat down on the floor near by and tried to remember things. It seemed futile at first but slowly everything started running through my mind. I was getting my memory back! Strangely it was memories from my childhood that came to me first.

It took me sometime to remember the recent times. I was married to my girl friend from college, and we had a very happy life together. We had decided not to have children for the first 4 years, and so it was just the two of us. Then more recent memories revealed that we had problems lately. There was a virtual break up between us. We slept in different rooms now, found excuses to avoid talking to each other, and when we talked, it was just her asking me to get a new ‘water can’ or me asking her for an extra ‘dosa’.

I then figured out where I was, and started walking back to my place, which was not very far from where I was standing and more memories started flooding my mind. The problems started with her arriving late from office rather frequently. She was into a new project and it was in a critical state was how she explained it. That was followed by frequent phone calls at odd times, which again she said was because of the nature of the project. As I was working in a software company too, I could understand what she was going through. Even I was part of many such projects before, but once I got married, I made sure that I left office early to spend more time with her.

I once woke up at night and found that she was on the phone outside in the hall and was about to ask her something, when I heard few words that she talked, and it was normal chit chat. I thought that it was one of her friends that she called up, and then I asked her who was on the line. She was startled to see me awake, and quickly disconnected the call. This was not one of the reactions that I expected to see and obviously suspicions filled my mind. I quickly rejected them and went to drink some water from the fridge, by which time; she went inside the bed room. By the time I went in, she looked asleep.

Some time later I happened to read a message on her phone and that ignited the doubts again. This time I decided to find out what exactly was happening. The detective work that I did helped me find that her project was not exactly running in critical mode! And she was leaving office like she was doing it right from the start - early!

It was yesterday, that I followed her on her way back from office, and she went directly to a house at the far end of the city. I followed her there, and had a tough time deciding on whether to follow her into the house or not. At last, something got into me, which got me going into the house. I had a knife in my hand, when I banged the door.

I was near my house now, and found that the front door was open. It was a man who opened the door, and I couldn’t find any trace of blood on his face; he was staring at me in bewilderment, probably the knife helped too. I went inside the house and there was nobody in the hall. I could hear voices from the bedroom.

In a fit of rage I tried stabbing him and he somehow prevented me from doing it. We ended up in a brawl. Now I could hear her shouting to stop the fight but who cared to stop? I was outside the bed room now and found them both inside. They both seemed to be in a hurry packing things. I barged into the room shouting. But they didn’t seem to care. I felt pain near my chest! ‘Oh my God! Am I…??’

I wish...

I wish that you people would be sharp-eyed reading this story!! Or you will be disappointed for sure.

Now read on!

I checked the time on my laptop and it showed 11:30pm on June 13th 2008. The work was not all that interesting all week, and I was relieved that it was Friday night. I was reading a post on my friend’s story-blog. The recent story that he posted was quite interesting and he had tried his best at creating a Robert Ludlum effect in his ‘not really a short’ story. After I read the last line I felt disgusted. The story ended with a twist!! – What ever happened was a dream!!! “Can’t you think of a better twist? How can you all be so naïve?” I wondered how many more stories I would be reading that gives me the same ‘extra ordinary twist’ – a dream - crap!! I quickly switched off my laptop. I didn’t want to spend anymore time on the internet. I even removed my friend’s blog from my Google reader.

By the time I went to bed it was around 12 and its then that I remembered that it’s Friday the 13th. “Is it just a coincidence that I am all alone here?” I virtually cursed my room mates who left for a trip to Coorg that evening. I turned off the lights and quickly got under the sheets. “Did I close the front door? Yes, I think I did. But, should I go recheck? No, I’d better sleep” and then I turned on the music on my phone. I had a specific playlist created on my mobile to help me sleep – songs that will induce sleep in you. I actually got so used to it that I just had to listen to a minute or two of the first song and I was sleeping the next minute. It was usually my room mate’s job to turn off the music. Now that he’s not here, it’ll play till the end of the play list. It was then that I noticed the battery power left on my mobile, it was less than 10%, “but why care, I don’t need an alarm to wake up tomorrow”!!

I woke up hearing a small sound, “a ‘thud’ of paper on the door? No it’s not morning yet”, I searched for my mobile to check the time. The Mobile was off, I tried to turn it on but it wouldn’t. “As usual…, when you need something, that something either wouldn’t work or you can’t find the Damn thing”, I fought the thought of whether to turn on the light or not. I decided not to. I made me to conclude that it would be Lokesh going to his apartment which is above mine, drunk as usual, may be with his girl friend too. I tried to sleep again and this time I didn’t have my mobile for help.

It was then that I heard another sound and it was from inside the house for sure. It was the sound of fiber chair legs scraping against mosaic floor. Considering the size of our Hall and the way we have arranged our computer tables, it was difficult to avoid one of them. “Didn’t they go for the trip? Did my room mates cancel the trip?” This time I decided to check who it was and fear gripped me a little as I was not so sure that it was really them. I tried getting up from the bed and my mobile fell down and it sounded like it got disassembled. It was total darkness and afraid of breaking any parts of my mobile, I tried getting out of the bed by the other side. It was then that somebody jumped over me; it felt like his weight will crush my bones.

I was sweating all over now and was in total panic. I wanted to scream but couldn’t as he pressed the pillow against my face. He asked for my purse and I frantically pointed towards the cupboard where I keep my purse. He then asked for my mobile, to which I pointed to the side where it fell. He then asked me for the pin numbers to the credit and debit cards, and he removed the pillow so that I could tell him the numbers. He instructed me not to shout as he moved the pillow– but I couldn’t control myself anymore. When I started to scream – he just let a small sound out of me as he quickly covered my face again with the pillow. And then something pierced my chest and blood was oozing out. I could feel the handle of the knife that he used.

The pain was unbearable but it is reducing now. With the pillow still pressed to my face, screaming was not an option. I struggled to escape from under him, but I was losing my strength. I am losing a lot of blood; my hands couldn’t prevent the bleeding. My vision started blurring too. I knew that it wouldn’t be long…

So many images started playing in front of my eyes; images of my parents and my dear ones- my memories! I couldn’t believe that all this was happening to me. I wished this was just another dream. I wished for a twist in my tale too; let this all be a dream.

Then I remembered something – I pinched my hand to see if I could feel the pain; I couldn’t!! And that means it’s just a dream!! I felt like laughing out loud; but couldn’t!! I did smile though..

NB- All those who thought that what ever happened was just a dream - please read this story again - I guess u missed something, please dont let the last two lines fool u! If this was just another dream, why would I give it such a title? :)

Last few minutes from the life of Mr.. what’s his name?

He was getting ready for his much awaited travel abroad. He knew that this is a long term onsite assignment unless something bad happens in production. He was quite happy with what ever happened in the recent past. It was not easy for him to get this far. Many of his project mates were also expecting this onsite, but all the others failed during the interviews and tests. Even the client didn’t want so many of them there. “So, it’s just me”, he thought, “I’m traveling tonight, for a life abroad. I’m really lucky; my friends might be envying me now. They got reasons too!” Just then he saw something, somebody is looking for him. “Why anyone would be doing that now?” he couldn’t think of any possible answers!

Then he heard the manager shouting, “How did you miss that bug, after all these tests? Ask the development team to fix it now!”

The testers were busy assigning a name, a sequence number, to the bug and assigning the bug to a developer.

"I will never travel onsite", thought the shattered bug, "funny that these people assign us names just before they actually kill us!"

A Dog's Life!

This is one story that i wrote - when i got really bored! Probably my intention was - 'c, m getting all bored here - y shld u b any different? read this and join the club!' :)

Nadeem was ecstatic after watching the Indian win over Pakistan in the twenty20 world cup finals and was celebrating all night yesterday. He decided that he will proceed with the ‘mind travel’ today. He had enough fun reading the minds of Adam Gilchrist and Collingwood during the matches. They both were wondering how to get Yuvraj out. How they wished to see the back of Yuvraj! He also listened to the silent prayers of Shoaib malik - asking Allah to protect them and their families from crazy fans.

Nadeem had this ability to read minds from birth, though he couldn’t exactly differentiate between ‘people thinking’ and ‘people talking’. During his childhood he tried telling his parents that he could read minds, but nobody bothered to even listen to him. From then on he kept the secret to himself and started using it mostly for his advantage. Then he started reading minds when ever he got bored. He knew how much the servant disliked her husband, but always said, ‘Darling, I am so lucky to get you as my husband’. He also tried reading the minds of many politicians and wondered where they will end up if he ever joined the police force.

Today he was planning to try his ability on animals. He saw the dog of his wealthy neighbor, while looking out of his balcony. The German shepherd was named Jack and had all the freedom within the house. He was then looking at a street dog, Kallu, across the street. He tried reading his mind and yes, he was able to do it.

Jack thought, “Though he doesn’t spend most of his time in AC, or live in extremely posh apartments, he is living his life, enjoying it. There are no rules by which he has to live. He can eat where ever he wants and needn’t always eat the same packaged/fast food that he gets. How I wish my master ate the same food as I did. Kallu has all his freedom. Look at me. I am locked up within these walls most of the time. And I never get to enjoy life the way every other dog does. I can only still dream of the life away with my own family. I was brought here when i was a year old and from then on I was never allowed to go home. How I miss my family. Kallu doesn’t need to be awake all night to do his work of guarding the house. He gets to roam around with the girls of his choice. Didn't i count them? Was it 10 or 11? oh.. does it really matter? How many girls did I date so far? How can i date one if i cant even go out? I have even heard that a Master often kills his dog when a dog is old. May be I should escape from this place! But then how will i survive? I dont know how to find my food. I never had to fight or hunt for my food. Where will I stay? If I leave this place for a life of my choice then will the other dogs envy me the way they do now? I have often heard the silent murmers, filled with jealousy, of other dogs when I walked past them. May be I should stay here. Where else will i get the comfort that I get here? Where else can I keep my self clean and eat clean food? The rule of life is that i should sacrifice something to gain something else? What am I sacrificing here? My own life? My freedom? God.. help me.. What should I do here? Please help me decide. "

Nadeem wondered how much of the dog's thoughts really differed from that of his friend's who works as a Software Engineer in a big Firm.

The Initial Days!

Even this was written for the same competition - but this time, nothing's borrowed - had this in mind 4 sometime - twisted it a bit to accomodate the dialogue ;) and this was the output. This still is my favorite! - though i've not written many!

Patience is a virtue and u mite need plenty of it to read the entire thing! :), so...here goes...

He just completed his work for the sixth day in a row and decided to rest the next day. He looked around and felt happy with the work. It was tough to complete the task. Creating something from scratch requires lots of thinking. Analyzing the impact if something goes wrong, and redesigning to make it work according to the initial plan, ate up the king’s portion of the time he allocated.

He decided to take rest as most of the work was done. He just has to do the maintenance from now on. And he smiled happily at the prospect.

He decided to take a stroll, the next afternoon, and walked down the garden to meet the man. They sat down by the river that ran through the centre of the vast garden that he maintained. The land around them was an epitome of beauty. They really liked talking to each other, and talked about everything under the sky!

Days went by and everything was going smooth in their lives and he felt that nothing can go wrong in the future too. He thought about the man and felt happy to have him near by. He was so innocent and child like. He had no bad intentions and evil thoughts in him.

The man lived in a small hut, which he built, with his wife. She was the most beautiful creature he had ever seen and was head over heals in love with her. She loved him a lot too and was happy with the life that they led. She loved walking around the place during the day and collected the vegetables she could cook from the garden and also the fresh fruits that they could have after dinner. They had nothing to worry about and were the happiest couple alive.

Then the day came when everything went out of kilter. The happy family suddenly felt insecure. So many things started running in their mind. They started thinking of tomorrow and worried about what future had in store for them. They were not used to all this. And this was the reason for their sudden feeling of insecurity too. He started blaming her for everything and she was not quite sure what to tell him.

They were forced to vacate their place and they had no where to go. They moved out of the hut and went far down south. They settled by a river.

They left their old place empty handed and had to work real hard to make ends meet. They made a house using the remains of a fallen tree. They found it easier to build a house now and remembered that they struggled a lot to build their old hut, and constantly were in need of advice. They made a vegetable garden near by and produced what they needed for food. They loved each other a lot more now and found solace in her love when ever his thoughts disturbed him.

Days moved at its usual pace and months and years went by. They now had a bigger family. They had two sons now and she was busy looking after them. The husband and the wife worked for most of their day. They had a farm near the house, and also cattle and sheep. They also wore better clothes now.

He went to the river one evening and sat by the river side watching his wife bathing their sons. He got lost in his thoughts looking at them. He still worried a lot about his future. He knew that all of mankind will have this thought at the back of their mind till their last breath.

"I'm happy. I know you aren't. Such things do happen in life. I know I will have to accept your decision, and I do." The man recognized the voice instantly. Why wouldn’t he recognize it? How will he ever forget the times they spent together by the riverside at Eden? Adam was happy to see him here and the lump on his throat reminded him of his decision which he took in his quest for wisdom. God was smiling now, looking at the paradise that Adam made on earth.

Unconditional Love!

There was this competition happening in CTS sometime back, where i had to develop a story around the dialogue "I'm happy. I know you aren't. Such things do happen in life. I know I will have to accept your decision, and I do." I thought of giving it a try and this was what i came up with. This was inspired (RGV style ) from a short story that I read long back. :)

Now read on!

It was one fine evening and Sonia was on Pranoy's lap. They were on the sofa in the drawing room and he was gently fondling her, the way she liked it. He used to caress her, at the back of her neck, often when he was talking to her, even when he was angry. His touch soothed her and it seemed that it helped him to unload his tension a bit too.

"Post”, cried the postman at the top of his voice. She abruptly left the comfort of his lap to collect the post. The postman had left by the time she reached the door. She collected the only mail, left by the doorstep, and took it to him and lied down next to him resting her head on his chest.

It was from his wife Ramya, and it contained the divorce papers that he had sent, signed by her. And attached was a note that said "I'm happy. I know you aren't. Such things do happen in life. I know I will have to accept your decision, and I do."

"He isn't happy reading this", thought Sonia. He initiated the divorce procedures, and that was mainly because he had had enough already. It was not long since she moved out. But Pranoy was convinced that they can’t lead a life together.

Pranoy got up from the sofa to get himself a drink. He gulped one down in no time, and filled the glass again. He lighted a cigarette and walked towards his bed room.

It was easy to read from Sonia's face that she was not happy with the sudden change of his mood. He drank occasionally and whenever he did he didn’t want her to disturb him. He even sleeps alone those days completely ignoring her. She wanted to go to him today to try cheering him up and even walked till the bedroom door, but decided against it. He was already on his rocking chair with his eyes closed, and it meant that he wanted to be left alone. She went back to the sofa and started thinking about her life with Pranoy.

It’s been almost 2 months since she entered his life and Ramya was not living with him then. "I understood him better than Ramya" thought Sonia. He wanted somebody to listen to him and she always did, even when she didn’t understand what he was talking about. Pranoy never discussed about his married life with her, and she didn’t really want to hear much about it too.

Sonia rarely went out for anything. Even when she went out to meet some of her friends living in the neighborhood, she always made sure that she returned before Pranoy was back from office. She knew that Pranoy wanted her company, to forget his bitter past. She did what ever she could to make him happy. She even danced for him when they were alone. She went out with him whenever he asked her to accompany him, and never once tried to take him out to meet her friends. She was not sure if he will like it or not.

She felt bad thinking about him. She knew that she was the only one in his life now, and realized that it was up to her to keep him happy through out his life. He loved her a lot, and she was determined to give it back when he needed her the most, and today was one such day. She suddenly got up and walked to his bed room.

He was on his bed now and she crawled next to him. There were tears in his eyes, when he hugged her tight. He kissed her on her forehead and dragged her close to him. Her presence consoled him. “May be this is why they call us ‘A Man’s Best Friend’”, thought Sonia, and licked the tears off his cheeks!