Cross Roads: Pick a Path (8 page)

As I continued to glance through the window,
admiring my new unfamiliar setting I noticed a red vehicle racing
by. The men in the vehicle were masked; within a blink of an eye I
was witness to Marona’s vehicle heating under heavy fire. As our
driver slammed the break, I felt the pressure of the seat belt
surge against my chest. Remone was quick to react; he reached over
the seat into the trunk grabbing two sub-machine guns, and as we
ducked our body behind the seat he quickly showed me how to use the
gun. There was a calm relief running through my body, and the
emotionless soul I’ve had the past few months was beginning to get
the best of me. I closed my eyes, and the sounds around me drifted
seemingly slow. Remone had taken cover behind the left passenger
door; I could hear him desperately crying out my name for
support.

Opening my door, I watched as our elderly
driver attempted to flee. His attempt fell short as he received an
immediate piercing bullet to his head. Closing the door behind me I
started walking towards the masked men, with a gun in my hand,
blazing. Without any training, I really just fired at will; looking
forward in the direction of Marona’s vehicle I noticed that the
henchmen had already taken down a few of the masked men.
Unfortunately for them they’re pure flesh wasn’t bulletproof; I
tried shooting down the surrounding masked individuals but, the
henchmen fell to their deaths.

I could hear Remone calling out to me,
pleading to take cover behind the SUV. I ignored him, continuously
pacing towards Marona’s Range Rover; at this point I did not even
know if Marona was alive, but he called me his son. Emptying my
clip, I brought down three of the unidentified men; only one
remained. Through the tinted rear window I could see movement; it
was Marona! He was fine, but if I didn’t think quickly, the last
remaining foe would have surely got him. Dropping the empty gun to
the ground I began to sprint in the direction of Marona’s vehicle;
“ARRUN! Watch out,” Remone shouted. I was in a clear aim for the
masked man; he could end my life right there, or maybe he’ll miss.
I was willing to take my chance with him; racing straight for the
man, I heard the bursts of rapid fire.

Remone managed to take down the last man;
turning in his direction I playfully said, “Nice shot bro,” he
didn’t seem to be pleased with my methods. Marona stepped out of
his vehicle, unharmed. He was furious; it was probably his
disbelief that someone actually tried to take him out. But the poor
soul Remone shot didn’t die just yet; Marona walked over and
unmasked the covert man. “Tell me who sent you, and maybe you’ll
live to see another day,” he whispered. “Shekhar Khan,” responded
the man in hopes of being spared, but sparing the man who tried to
kill him was the last of Marona’s belief. With mighty force Marona
clomped down into the mans face, merely using his foot.

“Remone! Call one of those idiots to come
pick us up,” ordered a furious Marona.

I stood beside Remone as he made the call,
and before you knew it there were vehicles hammering in left and
right. Seeing the amount of back up rolling in I could not stop but
wonder why these fools couldn’t just be with us in the first place.
The lives of the innocent drivers could have been spared; I wonder
who’s going to support their families now.

“Arrun! Come over here, I want you to meet
some people,” called out Marona.

I began walking towards Marona, and I
watched as he began gathering all his men in a crowd. As I stood
side by side with him he began to speak; the way everyone stood
around him, you would think he was a politician or something.

“
I am your king, there is no denying
that; nor will there ever be any change in that. Starting today
along with Verone and Miran, you’ll be listening to the orders of
Arrun, my third son. He’s saved my life on two occasions now;
something you idiots should’ve been doing. While were talking about
that, would anyone of you idiots like to explain to me why the
these two dead henchmen were sent to protect me?”

“Remone, saved your life too,” I
interrupted.

Marona and the other men immediately turned
their head in my direction. “Remone’s the one who shot down the
last man,” I said calmly; I don’t think these guys respect Remone
enough to be such a big piece of their kingdom, and it bothered me.
Remone running next to me spoke, “Sorry Marona, I don’t think he
meant to interrupt you.” I stood confused; I don’t understand why
he watched as I was given all the credit.

“Are you serious, with all this bullshit,”
intruded a voice in the crowds.

“
Verone and I are you only sons. You
bring some pampered kid from Canada and throw him in to the deep
waters, thinking he could swim? You’re getting too old pops,
allowing some little bitch to speak up to you. Oh look the bitch
and our pet dog Remone saved the day. Get back on the plane and
ship your ass back to Canada little one, this game is for the big
kids.”

Through the crowd of men walked forth Miran,
with an attitude to complement what Remone vouched. I did not
appreciate a single word that came out of his mouth; I did not come
here to be another one of their pets. Stepping eye to eye with the
animal, I replied, “You call Remone the dog, but you’re the one
barking.”

“What did you say to me?” Shouted Miran.

“What are you deaf,” I questioned.

The heat was rising; I noticed that I wasn’t
off to a great start at making friends. Like statues we stood face
to face, waiting for the other to instigate something. “Both of
you, get yourselves together,” said Marona as he attempted to break
the tension. He ordered everyone to head back into the cars and
make way to the Duranji residence.

I rode in the same vehicle as Marona, Remone
and Verone. From what Remone told me on the flight I knew that he
was closer to Verone, in contrast to the rest of the family.

“Arrun, you sure know how to make an
introduction don’t you,” asked Verone.

I returned to my ritual of replying with a
smile once again; Remone sat next to me, without words. Once we
were near the Duranji residence, I went back to staring out the
window with astonishment. I could not comprehend whether I looking
out at reality; I knew that Marona is rich, and titles himself as
king, but this guy was serious. He did not live in some ordinary
house, it looked like a palace, and the amount of land it covered
was beyond what I have ever seen.

By the time we got to the residence, I
realized that the confrontation between Miran and I had already
reached the rest of the henchmen. I felt like a movie star
considering all the attention I was getting, it was actually quiet
annoying. Nudging me, Remone whispered, “Bro are you for real?
Where the hell did you get the balls?” I was actually amused at
Remone’s disbelief; “We’re a man of our own, we aren’t meant to be
controlled by another. Remember that,” I replied. I noticed that
Miran didn’t return back to the residence as the rest of did.

“Arrun, why don’t you go eat something,
while someone gets a room ready for you,” suggested Marona.

I kindly refused; I already had told Remone
that I’d live with him and a few others we’d be working with.

“He can stay with me Marona,” suggested
Remone.

“Yeah, it would be preferable if I stay with
someone I already know,” I supported.

“
Alright kid, suit yourself. It’s
probably for the best anyway, seeing how you and Miran have already
started getting along so well. Go there and get some rest, we’ve
got some serious work to get down to tomorrow. Remone, keep a good
eye on this solider; he seems to be a fierce one. By the way, swing
by Raja’s place and get Arrun acquainted with him.”

“Will do,” responded Remone.

Back on the road, I asked Remone about this
Raja character. “Filling you in on everything is going to be a
part-time job,” he said sarcastically.

“
Raja Krishnamurthy is Marona’s right
hand. Seriously, this guy has been with Marona from the get go. No
one but Raja knows the complete story of how Marona managed to
build the colossal empire that he is. When you see Raja you’re
going to have a really hard time believing that this guy is
involved in any criminal activity; he’s the purest definition of
innocence in disguise. He’s a lot older now, so he takes care of
the business portions accompanied by Verone. Although his focus is
in the business world, his opinions in Marona’s decisions still
remain very crucial.”

Raja’s home wasn’t so far from the Duranji
residence; we were in Raja’s driveway within a short span of ten
minutes. These guys cease to amaze me; Marona’s place was a palace
but Raja’s home is hardly a step down. Being someone who was raised
in North America, I found it really hard to believe that some of
the housing in this part of the world exceeded what I was used
to.

Getting out of the SUV, Remone pointed out
Raja who was accompanied by a few other classy looking men. Remone
was not kidding when he said that I would be in disbelief; Raja was
actually quiet short, with slicked black hair, and glasses. He just
did not fit the description of someone who would be involved in
criminal activities. “You’ve got to be kidding me,” I said, as
Remone smiled back. Raja must have known that we were coming; the
moment he saw us, he left his company and approached us.

“You must be the infamous Arrun that
everyone has been talking about,” said Raja.

Seriously? How on earth is the news
spreading so fast, I feel like I’m surrounded by a bunch of gossip
girls trying to act like tough men. Just as I have grown so
accustomed to, I responded to Raja with a smile. “If you need any
money, be sure to swing by and ask me,” he said. At this point,
replying with my fake smile, started to become an automatic
response, but I would much rather throw them a smile than having to
actually converse with them.

“By the way, what’s your full name,” Raja
asked.

“Arrun Durai,” I responded.

“
Alright Arrun, I don’t want to hold onto
you and Remone the whole day. Take the day to get acquainted and
comfortable to your new environment. I’ll probably be seeing you
both tomorrow morning at the meeting.”

I was actually glad to be able to leave; I
didn’t want to stick around with the tiny man the entire day. The
heat is one thing that I am going to have a hard time tolerating.
Living in Canada we did have warm summers, but India was just too
hectic. Besides, I have already had an eventful day, and some rest
is what I needed. Especially because tomorrow would not be a walk
in the park, of course considering the day I had today.

~

On the way over to Remone’s place, he let me
know that we would be living with three other guys. Thambi, who is
apparently an overgrown, overweight twenty-five year old; Sethu the
odd ball, a twenty-seven year old who is always down for anything
and everything; and Renny, the twenty-seven year old who is the
funny guy that turns serious according to the situation.

For guys who are criminals for a living,
these guys knew how to live a fancy lifestyle. Even those working
under Marona, lived in nice places. Parking the SUV, Remone pointed
out to me that it was Renny who was standing outside having a
smoke. Stepping out of the vehicle I gave him a head nod. “Arrun
bro, a nod? That’s all I get, give me a hug brother,” yelled
Renny.

“I guess you already know who I am?” I
asked.

“
Know you? You’re like the only
unexpected event we’ve seen happen in years. All of us were there
earlier today when you got into a dispute with Miran. You’re one
badass man! Never thought anyone would have the guts to speak back
to anyone in the Duranji family. Also it’s pretty clear that you’ve
really impressed Marona, seeing how you’re still alive after
speaking up to his favorite son.”

“Someone had to let him know right?” I
questioned.

“Well nobody who values their life would,”
replied Renny.

He was right, someone who valued their life
would not have done half the things I did over the past few days.
Maybe I didn’t value my life, or maybe I am still searching for a
life to value.

I only brought a luggage of clothes and some
cash over from Toronto; walking through the front door, I stood eye
to eye with a hippo! I did not need to ask Remone to know which of
the three I was looking at. Thambi was cramming down some chicken
when I saw him. The dude smiled back at me while holding a piece of
chicken in his hands. “Want some,” he questioned. I stood steady
for a brief moment just staring at him; a second later dropping my
luggage to the floor I began to laugh uncontrollably; it felt
great. I couldn’t remember the last time I laughed; Thambi
translates to little brother in Tamil, but I knew I was going to
have a hard time calling him that. Remone and Renny walk in curious
as to what had me laughing so hard. The moment they turned through
the doors, they too joined in laughing intensely; soon after even
Thambi joined us.

The only person left to meet was Sethu, the
odd ball. Remone was in Toronto for some time prior to coming back
to India with me; he spent some time catching up with Thambi while
Renny showed me my room. Walking up the stairs I got a whiff of a
familiar smell.

“Is someone smoking up?” I asked.

“Probably Sethu,” responded Renny.

Coming here for a new beginning, smoking
marijuana was definitely something I wanted to keep out of the
picture. I need to create myself a stronger mentality; I don’t want
to rely on a drug to help me forget memories. Observing myself over
the last few days I know there has been change in my behavior.
Things were beginning to look brighter; I am able to sleep, laugh,
and communicate with others. I may never find the person I used to
be, but maybe I could recreate myself.