Page 87 - Musings 2022
P. 87

the extra agility after removing the vest, he tried to get into a better position to curve his shot.

               But to his surprise, he wasn’t the one who got shot next. Another one of his officers succumbed
               to the invisible killer. John saw the sense of despair in the eyes of others and felt a malevolent

               quiver take over his body. The feeling of imminent death had taken over his body. He stood
               there like a statue, motionless and crippled. The two officers who were still alive were caught

               in  a  dilemma  whether  to  turn  around  and  flee  for  their  lives  or  to  honour  their  job.  But

               witnessing their leader in a hapless condition with no vest on and having visibly surrendered,
               they seemed as if they were about to run for their lives. The moment both of them turned in the

               opposite direction, Bang!


               One of them fell to the floor face first. It was at that moment, John realised the killer’s ploy.
               “IT’S THE BULLETPROOF VESTS!” He shouted, “Remove your vest right now and go

               inside and tell the ambassador to remove his too, and stay there; don’t come back until either
               one of us is dead. Now John had a possessed look on his face. “Who does that son of a bitch

               think he is? He has some kind of a device that can see through walls and locate the special
               material the vests are made of, and with his ability to curve bullets, he just has to aim above

               the vest and bam!” Clean headshot. “I have got you now, you bastard”, whispered John to

               himself. Taking rifles in both his hands he marched forward. He knew the killer couldn’t see
               him now. Having tiptoed his way forward he unleashed a curving shot upon seeing a glimpse

               of a shadow. He anticipated that the killer might reciprocate with a similar shot and jumped to

               his right to evade the incoming shot. As luck might have been, the bullet hit the chain on his
               neck to which his locket was attached. Clank! it broke and his locket fell on the floor.


               A sense of emptiness took over John’s body as he lost his precious locket. He was almost
               certain now that he was going to die. Wanting to take down the killer along with him to hell,

               he thrust forward as fast as he could. The killer couldn’t have anticipated this as he was taken

               aback by this manoeuvre. This shamble created a split second delay during which John was
               able to see the face of the killer. A young man, in his early twenties with bloodthirsty eyes

               stared right at John. Those eyes! They reminded him of someone. Ah yes, his ex-wife. He could
               never forget those eyes. And that’s when it all came together, in that few seconds, his entire

               life flashed in front of him. Everything made perfect sense now. How that man could master

               the skill of curving bullets and how the age of the killer and his long lost son could match and
               on and on. Few seconds passed, and the killer realised John had the upper hand as he was

               shocked by John’s sudden burst forward. But he seemed confused as to why John wouldn’t
               shoot.  With  no  remorse  whatsoever  he  unleashed  a  vicious  curved  shot  at  John  and



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