Chapter 89: chapter 89

MADHAVAll of Sruthi's actions and words for the past week make perfect sense to me now. She doesn't love me. On the contrary, she still sees me as a criminal. How foolish was I to think that she had feelings for me? Yep! That is impossible. How can you fall for someone in such a short time? That is not possible.I walk to the storeroom directly. I half expect Sruthi to follow me but then remember that she doesn't know that I was the one in the room and not some random stranger. I need to stop thinking about her. My heart aches at the thought of how she sees me as a means to an end. There are billions of women on this planet. Yet, I am in love with the one who would never love me. For, the second time in my life, I feel betrayed. Stupid me! I shouldn't have dreamed about living with her in the first place. In the end, I was destined to die alone for all the lives I took. Yes, they were the lives of bad people but lives nonetheless. Even in my state of misery, I don't forget the reason why I am here in the first place. I take a broom from the store room and knock the room number sixty. There is no response. It is locked. So, I use the spare key and open it. Vikram had got me a copy of the original keys. According to the techie, Gokul's phone's GPS location is somewhere away from the resort. So, this is the perfect chance for me to snoop in.The room looks normal like every other hotel room. I walk around it slowly trying to take in all the things in here. It has sparse items with no personal touch. The cupboards are empty and the beds are made. I wonder if he rented this room or if there is some mistake in the room number. I check every nook and corner for some clue but nothing. Half an hour later, and still, I can't find a single clue. Something doesn't feel right. There is no way Gokul would have reserved another room in the same hotel where his wife is staying. There were many chances of him running into her. He wouldn't have taken a risk like that.Heck!Then that could mean only one thing.This is a fucking trap to lure me here. I should have realised it earlier. Everything seemed too easy from the beginning. God! This is what happens when my mind is distracted. I didn't notice the obvious signs of danger and walked straight into the trap laid out for me.The door clicks open and closes. I heard the sound of footsteps before I could feel the press of a cool metal tip on my neck. The next moment, both my mask and cap are on the floor, revealing my face. “Don't you know trespassing another's room is a serious offence?” Gokul asks sounding angry and amused.In a quick flash, I push his hand away and then point my dragger at him. He gasps in surprise as he sees my face. The sound of a surprised whistle leaves him. “So, you are the Deathwhisper?” he asks staring at me like he has seen a ghost. His words don't make any sense. He is supposed to be asking me other questions, like why I am dressed like a cleaner and snooping in his room. “So, what if I am?” I ask. I am already in a bad mood and meeting him like this is only pissing me off more. I feel angry at myself for letting myself imagine a future with a woman who hates me with every fibre of her being. I am angry at myself for being vulnerable before Sruthi. My emotions are a mess, and I am not sure what I would do to this idiot. “You are going to die today.”Gokul laughs, “Just because I don't have a record in killing like you doesn't mean I am a weak opponent. I do–”I won't let him finish his sentence as I attack him vigorously. Surprisingly, he has quick reflexes and blocks my attack at the last second. But I throw another punch, and it hits square in his nose. I feel a twinge of satisfaction in me as I see a drop of blood trickle from his nose. Maybe I am a real sadistist and Sruthi would be better off without me. I remember her words and lose focus for a second. Gokul uses that as an opportunity and attacks. Unprepared, I fall on the floor. The next moment, Gokul is crouched near me, looking concerned. Wait! Concerned?Yes, there is no doubt. He looks concerned and that makes me wonder if I had hit my head too hard on the floor to see impossible things.“Are you okay?” he asks sounding worried.“Are you sure you are asking the right question to me? Who would care for the well-being of their assassin?”Gokul smirks at me, “Believe me, Madhav. I want to kill you. But, I can't because I promised my wife, and if something were to happen to you, then your wife would be upset and like a chain reaction that would make my wife worry about her friend, which isn't good for the baby.”“What did you promise Ragini?” I ask wondering if Ragini is ignorant of his activities. He must have seen the question reflect on my face because he shakes his head.“Ragini don't know anything about this trafficking. But, I did promise her to do only good deeds and avoid bad deeds at any cost.”“How touché,” I say with a bitter taste in my mouth. He gives me his hand to help me up but I avoid it and stand up on my own. “Aww, come on, don't be judgemental. I know you are also a sucker for your wife like me.”Yep, I am even if she hates me. But I, this bastard, don't need to know that.“You know nothing about me and my wife, and we aren't similar,” I say, pointing the dragger at him. He smiles and puts his knife down. “Prove me wrong, Madhav. Kill me and prove that your wife's ideal and righteousness don't influence you.”Right! I will kill him now. He doesn't deserve to live. He has committed too much crime to walk on this earth. Killing him would make things easier.I raise my hand in the air to plunge the dagger into him. A voice that sounds very familiar to Sruthi sounds in my mind.“Who the hell are you to decide who must live and who mustn’t?”“You have a hero complex Madhav. You think you are doing this society some good by justifying your killings. But, in reality, you are worse than all the villains in history. At least they are aware that they are villains unlike you.”“...you are a monster and I am more scared of you.”“.....I am afraid that the darkness that surrounds you will consume you wholly and there will be no humanity left in you.”I stop short when the point of the dragger is mere inches away from his chest. He is a criminal who has done bad deeds. In the past, I had no qualms about killing someone like him, but now, for some reason, I can't. I just can't close that minuscule gap between his heart and the dragger's point. Sruthi's words are playing in my head and I am starting to see the world in a grey light. I know Ragini is pregnant and killing Gokul now would cause her so much distress. I don't want a child to be born to a father and a pregnant lady to feel the distress of having her original beliefs about her husband broken to pieces. I don't even want to think about what would happen to Ragini if she were to learn the truth about Gokul. The dragger falls from my hand to Gokul's delight. “I knew you couldn't kill me,” he says with a smirk that I very badly want to wipe away.My shoulders sag in defeat, “What is your agenda? Why did you lay a trap for me? Surely, it is not for proving to me that I can't kill you?”Gokul's face turns grim, “I laid a trap for you to tell you about the details of the ship that is set to sail for the neighbouring country.”I stare at him for one unbelievable moment before bursting into laughter, “Surely, I am dreaming. Or I must have hit the floor hard now that I hallucinating things.”Gokul's face is grim, “As funny as it seems, I mean what I said. Do you think it was a mistake that I let my father-in-law eavesdrop on my conversation?”“What do you mean?”“I intentionally let my father-in-law listen to the phone conversation, Madhav. Because I know he would do something about it. He would stop the ship from sailing. I got into this business when I was very young and had nothing to worry about except for money. But, now I know what it is to be loved and to love. I am soon going to be a father and I don't have it in me to do this anymore. You can say my wife's righteous nature rubbed on me. That doesn't necessarily mean I should be forgiven for all my past deeds. I will atone for it once my child is born. But for now, I want to stop this consignment from shipping.”“You shouldn't have taken up this order in the first place,” I say.“It is not as easy as you think. Once you get into this business, you can never get out easily. If people found any signs of resistance or withdrawal from you, they kill you without a second thought.”“So, you want a third person to stop this. Someone who isn't entangled with these things.”Gokul nods his head, “Yes, I figured that letting my FIL know this would be the best course of action. Just like I predicted, he told things to Vikram, and he must have sent you here to stop this.”“It was a nice story and all, but why should I believe you? What if this is another trap?”“I know you would say that. That is why, I brought these to you,” answers Gokul giving me some folded papers. I open it to find it contains information about the ships that contain the kidnapped people. There isn't one ship that is set to sail. But, the kidnapped people are divided among nine ships that are unrelated to each other. “Do you know what this means?” I ask waving the paper in front of him.Gokul nods his head, “Yes, I do. I am willing to surrender to the police and serve a prison sentence or whatever punishment the court assigns me, but only after the child is born and I am assured of my wife's and child's safety.”I shake my head, “That is not my place to negotiate. You got to talk about this to Vikram. But, I will help you with stopping the consignments.”❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥