SHOT - worth what ??

Chapter 1:

“Must be at least 1:30” he thought. This was the fourth time Ray was checking his watch. Still 12.17 “Oh no, another 9 hours to go. Why can’t everything be over right now?”. It had been sleepless nights for Ray ever since Max’s phone call last week.
Max... Ray thought... his mind now was flooded with thoughts of how they had met.

It was about 2 months back. Ray was in need of money. As he walked past the bank one morning, he saw a middle aged man walk past him, clutching on to his bag tightly. This is it, decided Ray.
He walked a few feet away from the bank gate and stood there watching people who walked out. After about 5 minutes, a lady who must have been in her early 30s walked out. “No, not a lady...next one...” he thought. Soon after, an old man walked out, looking around cautiously. He had a bag in his hand.
This was going to be easy. Ray stood still... holding his breath. As the old man approached him, Ray suddenly stretched forward his right leg. Little did expect to see a walking stick whack him. Before Ray could even realize what hit him, the old man was screaming out loud as he held on tightly to Ray’s shirt. People started running towards them.

Out of the crowd, quickly emerged a man dressed in black wearing back shades “Let go of the poor man” he said in a dominating voice. “Look at him, he must be starving”. He quickly took out his wallet, drew a hundred note from it, shoved it into Ray’s hand and pulled him away from the crowd.
As the crowd slowly dispersed, Ray stood still in front of the stranger. He was so ashamed of what he had done, he could not look the man in his face.
“I’m Max” the stranger said stretching out his hand. “Any help you need, just give me a call” he said as he handed Ray his card.

Chapter 2:

The rally was to start at 10:00. “Should be sufficient if I get to the old abandoned building close to the venue by 9” Ray mused.
The abandoned building, once upon a time used to house a restaurant. No one really knew why they closed down but it served as a very convenient meeting place. This was where Ray had been given detailed instructions.
Also, this was where he had to pick up the package.

3AM: Time just didn’t seem to pass at all. Ray walked up to the table and gulped down some water from the bottle. Next to the table were his suitcases all packed and ready.
Suitcase... This reminded him of how he had met Max the second time...

Ray was waiting outside the airport’s international terminal. He was going to pick on a foreigner’s pocket. A sure visit to the forex counter would mean a fully loaded wallet, he figured. 1 hour, still waiting. Then he saw a potential scapegoat. A rather large man, carry a bag and pushing a trolley full of luggage.

“This is my chance” Ray thought. He made his way to his target and walked quietly next to him, moving as close to his body as possible. In a fraction of a second he seized the man’s wallet and was running. Faster, faster he was saying to himself. The parking lot was just round the corner.
As he turned, he tripped over a huge red suitcase and fell on his face, the wallet fell out of his hands. He had no time to grab it, he just got up and ran. He weaved his way through the parked cars and ran for the exit.

Suddenly a car stopped in front of him, the front door jerked opened and the driver beckoned him to get in. Without thinking further, Ray jumped into the car and shut the door.
He turned around to see who his saviour was. Max! he exclaimed.
“Hi Ray. How have you been? In a tough spot eh?” Max asked grinning. Ray didn’t know how to respond. He only looked at Max sheepishly. About 2 minutes passed before either of them uttered a word.
“So! That makes it twice that I’ve saved you. Isn’t it time you did something for me in return?”
“Anything for you Max” said Ray.

That was when Max told Ray about a certain politician who was so bad for society that she needed to be removed.
“Removed?”
“Yeah, like removed from the face of the earth” Max replied.
At this, Ray shuddered. He.. kill? He.. an assailant??
No. Max could not make him do it. No.

Max knew what was running through Ray’s mind. “You owe it to our country. Politicians like these are so selfish. All they think about is themselves. They eat up our money. We get poorer and they get richer. You would be performing a great deed for the nation. You do realise that don’t you?” Max reeled on.

“Ok ok just give me your contact number, I will speak to you some time” Max said as he signaled to the driver to stop the car. Ray gave him his number and got out of the car. As he stood there still hazy from all that he had heard, Max’s car whizzed past him. “I need to get back home before someone else comes looking for me” he told himself as he quickly headed back home.

Chapter 3:

A week later the dreaded call came through. Ray’s could just not forget Max’s icy tone. Max explained that Ray had nothing to worry about. Before anyone realised who the killer was, he would be out of the country, far away from anyone’s reach. Over a period of time the police would lose hope of finding the killer and after that it would all be history. Ray was still not convinced but when Max mentioned the dough he would receive for this act, Ray just could not resist the offer. Thus he agreed.

Ray was then told the day, the time, the place, the name. He would be receiving the photograph the next day.

“All you have to do” Max said “is go unobserved, pull out his gun, shoot Mrs X and get away from there”.
That isn’t as simple as it sounds.. thought Ray.
Everything else would be taken care of Max promised. He would be handed over the flight tickets. He would fly to Dubai by the late evening flight and spend the rest of his life peacefully and… luxuriously.
Fly..Dubai..Money.. all this was heaven for a small time thief like Ray.

“Am I doing the right thing? Is the money going to be worth all this”
“Now is not the time to think... It’s the time to act... Once I get to Dubai I will find myself a job and then all of this will be in my past” Ray assured himself.

Chapter 4:

6:30 AM: Ray could no longer stay in bed. He got up and walked to the window. It was a bright and beautiful morning, but all that Ray could think of was if he would get away with what he was going to do. The morning went by slowly.
8:25 AM: Ray did a final check to see that he was dressed inconspicuously and that his weapon was well hidden.
He made it to the old abandoned building by 8:50. He waited for 10 minutes before he started walking towards the venue of the rally. The roads were all jam packed. People seemed to be coming for the rally from all over the place.
As Ray reached the venue, he tried to make his way through the crowd gathered there. He had to position himself so that he had a clear view of his target.

It was almost 10:15 when the car sirens were heard. Ray’s heart started racing. Any faster, he knew his heart would pop out his chest. It was very difficult to spot his target. She was surrounded by bodyguards on all sides. As she reached the podium, there was a huge applause and then she began her speech.

Slowly, Ray reached below his shirt and pulled out the pistol. The lady was nearing the end of her speech. Little did she know these would be the last few words that she would utter.
“You, the people are my strength. Together we can make a better nation” she said. And the crowd just went wild with hoots and shouts of approval.

It was time... Ray aimed the pistol at her chest. It had to be just one shot, he had to be very careful with his aim. His hands were shivering, his legs were shaking, he tried to stay still as he took his aim. Bang - went the bullet. He had shot her in the stomach. “Oh no, not good enough.. shoot again..” He aimed again and shot her, this time in the chest…

Bang! He felt a sharp pain in his shoulder. He went numb for a moment. Run, run you fool.. his mind ordered. Ray he ran like the wind, he ran for his life..

Old abandoned building...run run..he was breathless...run..run..
He made it to the spot, but where was Max? where were his men? Where was the money? His tickets? Ray stood there wondering Where????

He heard the police siren in close vicinity.. It was too late..Do something…his mind urged him..
The police now were running towards him..
BANG!
Ray fell down.. He had shot himself.
Everything was a blur to him now.. he could hear voices, people screaming to him, nothing of which he understood..

His mind went back to when he was seven, the day he had robbed from his dad’s purse. He had been beaten for this. It was then that he then started to steal from his own house. He was 14 when his father caught him in the act..and that night he had run away...
Dad...Ma...
He saw his mom’s loving face...his stare froze!
He was dead!

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My thoughts:
- When Ray stole the first time, instead of beating him up, if his father had explained to him why it was wrong, it would have made a great impact.
- @ Max: People like him are the ones that need to be removed from the face of the earth.
- @ Mrs. Politician: Every other person is like this, shooting them all is not a solution, it only reduces population.
- @ people like Ray: Don’t be lured away by money. If your heart tells you something is wrong – stay away from it!
Be a person others can look up. Be yourself!