chapter four: burn
word count: 2k
Redlight: [3] ... [5]
Now it was the weekend, and Queenie made sure you wouldn’t forget.
You were in the dressing area getting dolled up for tonight. Sita was seated beside you, putting on her own makeup, but the other girls tended to ignore you. You were Chief Rana Singh’s favorite, and no one was allowed to forget it. Already in a revealing red dress that complimented you perfectly, you were currently applying makeup to accompany it. The radio was broadcasting the news as you swiped on some mascara.
“Baba shakti today held a public prayer for victims of the ongoing land disputes, advocating that violence is never the answer. Elsewhere, the transgender inhabitants in Yatana’s northern district have been filmed being attacked by officers. Chief of Police Rana Singh assured the public that the culprits will be brought to justice.”
Putting on some accessories, you twirled for Sita. “How do I look?”
“Hold on.” She grabbed the perfume sitting on the counter and gave you a light spritz. It had some glitter in it, making you sparkle. “Perfect,” she grinned. Mirroring her grin, you linked arms with each other and took the elevator up to the VIP lounge.
- - - - - - - - - - - - -
Devu's hands shook as he passed through the building’s metal detector successfully. Taking a quick detour through the kitchen to get to the alley, his eyes searched the room for you. You weren’t there. Disappointed and nerves growing ever so steadily, he went through the back door that led into the alley and whistled. The dog came trotting along and dropped a bundle of cloth at his feet. Opening it revealed a gun. He concealed it in the waistband of his pants and walked back inside.
Devu met Alphonso in the hallway where he had just finished putting coke into vials. Devu was dressed in his finest waiters uniform, gun tucked into the inside of his coat pocket. Bumping into a cart and causing a clatter, Devu slicked back his hair, trying to hide the sweat.
“Where the fuck you been, man?” Alphonso asked, cocaine evidenced upon his lip. “I nearly finished it all waiting for you,” he complained, referring to the small vials filled with drugs. “You ready?”
Devu took a trembled breath and nodded. “Let’s boogie.”
“This guy!” Alphonso laughed. “Come on.” He escorted him to the elevator, handing him the tray full of vials. “Hey Fresca,” Alphonso greeted the woman in charge of admitting guests into the VIP area. “Brought you a new boyfriend.”
Devu did not smile.
Fresca admitted them in. Alphonso opened the door with a smug look. “Welcome to heaven, baby.”
Devu took a deep breath and swallowed as he walked into the room. His eyes were darting everywhere, but they never lingered anywhere for too long. Women were dancing and entertaining men in every square inch of the lounge. He immediately busied himself by passing around the vials of cocaine.
Just when it was becoming too overwhelming, he spotted you. Sparkling underneath the blue glow of the dimly lit room, your red dress was tight and revealing, leaving little to the imagination. Looking closer, he saw you straddling a man, red manicured nails raking their way through his hair. Heart pounding, his mouth became dry and he smoothed his own hair back.
The man below you was worshiping you; his hands danced around your skin as he muttered something Devu couldn’t hear. He wished for a moment that he could magically switch places. You giggled, but there was no warmth in your eyes. When the man looked down, you couldn’t hide the pure hatred you had for him.
You bent over to whisper something to the man. Devu’s eyes followed–of course they did, he couldn’t keep them off you. He saw the distinct scar slashed across his ear; it was Chief Rana. Breath quickening and panicked, Devu stumbled away and into the restroom.
- - - - - - - - - - - - -
“Hey, Alphonso. Show us your leg,” Rana said smugly. You were currently nestled against him on the couch. Alphonso just so happened to pass by–he was entertaining the guests. Rana’s boys laughed as Alphonso’s smile dropped. “Fucker tried to run from a drug deal so they chopped it off. Isn’t that right?”
Alphonso looked away in shame as the men laughed harder. Frowning, you also looked away.
“Tell me one thing,” Rana demanded, voice smooth and deep. “Your dick still works, huh?” He was leaning forward by now. His men cackled. “He doesn’t need one. He’s got no balls.” Rana leaned back into the couch and into your arms. Alphonso looked to the ground as you caressed the man under you.
“Fuck off. Go get my maal now.”
“Here, sir.”
Your body froze when you saw who the voice belonged to. You didn’t know he was even able to work in the VIP lounge–he wasn’t supposed to be here. Devu had an outstretched vial of cocaine for the man, but his eyes were on you. They were watery, but other than that he was calm. You continued to stare at him, even as Rana lifted your leg and raised your dress.
“Come here, baby.”
As Rana organized the contents of the vial into a neat line on your thigh, you peaked under Devu’s suit jacket. Eyes widening at the reveal of a gun, your gaze snapped back to Devu’s. Your quiet anger subsided into fear, an emotion not well known to you. Devu’s resolve hardened as he watched the emotion in your eyes change and he gained confidence in the consequences that would soon follow. Both of your attention turned to Rana as he snorted the powder and relaxed against the chair.
Devu stole your hatred expression as he watched the man twitch before screaming in pain. Blood was pouring out of Rana’s nose. Getting off him, he quickly went to the restroom.
“Bobby,” you warned, grabbing his arm and using the name on his name tag. He held your hand briefly. Squeezing it once, he pried his hand away and followed after Rana.
It wasn’t long before a loud bang echoed across the room. Everyone looked around, assuming it wasn’t serious, until a second bang confirmed it was from a gunshot. Panicking, women screamed and men clambered to get to the elevator. Alphonso quickly found you.
“Come on! We have to go!”
“But Bobby! He’s-”
“We have to go now!” Alphonso ordered, grabbing your arm and dragging you away.
Eyes wide in terror, you rode the elevator down to the lobby. You spotted Queenie angrily yelling into her phone while trying to make her way up to the VIP lounge. Alphonso grabbed your arm again and led you to the parking garage. Running through the exit door, Alphonso’s rickshaw greeted you by revving and doing circles around the garage.
“Is that your-!”
“Hey! Hey! Bobby, wait!” Alphonso cried, dropping your arm and hobbling towards the vehicle. The car skidded to a halt.
“Get in!” Devu’s voice rang. Alphonso limped as fast as he could, leaving you behind.
Gunfire chased after them. The men going after the rickshaw sprinted to their cars to give chase, but it was already gone. Devu was gone.
Tears welling in your eyes, you had to stifle a sob. The world was moving too fast. Your world was moving too fast…this couldn't be real.
Now you were walking alongside the road, heels in hand and on the way to the temple. Some time had passed and you were reflecting on everything; your job, tonight, Devu…
…Devu. The new tears that formed were wiped away before they could fall again. A soft whirring sound could be heard in the distance, and it was growing ever louder. Looking up, a bright beacon attached to a helicopter was shining past you and onto the rooftops. Squinting, you could barely make out a tall lanky figure running across the horizon. Was that…?
“Police!” the speaker on the helicopter roared. “This is your last warning!” Following the beacon, you picked up the past, briskly walking before breaking out into a full sprint. You were close, but not close enough. A river flowing through the residential area separated you from Devu. A loud crack bounced off the walls of the apartments, and a bullet whistled through the air before hitting its target: Devu.
He fell off the roof and into the water, his body sinking. Crying out, you ran and threw yourself to the wall’s edge, which was keeping the river contained, and watched for movement. Not even a bubble.
The helicopter and it’s beacon quickly flew away, deeming their target down.
Breathing deeply to calm yourself, you dropped your shoes and took a few steps away from the edge. “This is crazy,” you whispered. “This is crazy, this is crazy, this is crazy–!”
Soaring through the air, you held your breath before plunging into the cold, dirty water. You didn’t find him your first try, nor the second. It was during your fourth dive beneath the surface did you actually brush up against him. Wrapping an arm around his midsection, you pulled him up to the surface and swam toward the nearest exit.
- - - - - - - - - - - - -
“Please!’ you cried out, gaining the attention of anyone who was awake at the temple. “Alpha!”
The woman, Alpha, appeared and gasped. Quickly, your friends helped you drag the man who was draped over your shoulder over to a clear area.
“Please, Alpha, you have to help me!”
As the women ran around to grab supplies and tools, Alpha stood frozen, stunned. You were soaking wet and shivering from head to toe with tears streaming down your face; blood was smeared across you. Alpha feared that the worst had happened again, but she quickly realized the blood was coming from the man on your shoulder.
She had never seen you so…vulnerable. Not since…well, nevermind. She nodded gravely and helped you strip the man of his clothing. There were scars–some old, some new–bruises and cuts, but the ones concerning you the most were a stab wound on his leg and a bullet hole on his abdomen, just below his pec. Under better circumstances you would have loved to admire his physic, but not now.
“Hold him down,” Alpha ordered. The women around you took hold of his limbs and secured him to the ground. Alpha, now wielding a red hot rod of metal that was given to her, approached Devu. His beautiful eyes snapped open and an impossibly painful cry erupted through him. His body tried to curl in on itself, but the women held steady. Someone was breaking the handcuffs off his wrists.
“Devu?” You kneeled above his head and over him. Your hands rested on the sides of his face and held his head in place. Eyes jumping across his face, studying him, you tried to meet his gaze but he was looking straight forward and through you. His eyes were open but he wasn’t seeing.
Glancing down his body to see the progress made, the women had cauterized the stab wound and had just dug the bullet from his abdomen. Devu’s body was tense and twitching the whole time, but his head fell and rested in your lap, eyes rolled to the back of his head. Kissing his forehead, you clenched your teeth as the wound on his stomach started to be cauterized as well. The smell of sizzling fleshed burned your nose while his screams pierced its way into your ears. His eyes fluttered and he fell limp against you.
Alpha gave you a minute to study the man. She had never seen you with this much emotion–this attached to someone. When you came home every evening, you never mentioned being with someone; although you coming home almost every night with a small smile gracing your lips should have been a sign in itself.
The woman gently touched your shoulder and encouraged you to move away from the man. Sniffling, you followed and joined in the prayer circle around his body. Devu’s eyes flickered from under his eyelids after a while before opening briefly. Sliding to his side and brushing his curls away from his face, you whisper, “It’s okay. You’re okay.”
Devu gave a short, incoherent nod before passing out. A single tear slid from under his lashes and down his cheek.
taglist: @larascorneroftheworld
