The pink sky

 *Creak! creak! creak!*

The sound of the rusted metal creaked as I slid the aldrop blocking the metal door behind me. I sat on the dusty ground leaning my back on the cold metal with my legs outstretched.

"Sigh! It's quite cold today."

I said as I reached for the last cigarette in my breast pocket and smoked it to relieve my nerves. After I calmed myself I flicked the cigarette as it fell down drawing  a parabola. In that dark dead night, not even the stars and the moon hid behind clouds that covered the sky. 

*Clang! Cling!*

On normal occasion I would have enjoyed this sound of metal hitting metal, but I am busy today. The door has visibly deformed from all the attempts they did to force their way in... or way out.

Surprisingly the door is holding pretty well. Now I have decide between jumping off of this cliff hoping to survive or getting caught and hope they just torture me. It's like taking the idiom 'between a rock and a hard place' literally.

Sigh!

I stood there with my body still pressing against the door. I took the rope that was wrapped around my waist. The snap hook at the end of the rope attached to the door handle. The other end of the rope went into the belay.

Although there were stairs leading straight to the town, I would rather climb down the mountain like this because I am lazy. (Also it looks cool.)

I tightened the rope and started slowly moving, one foot at a time. The gloves became hot from the friction as I slowly let the rope go. "Shades would have been a great addition to this all black outfit" I thought.

"Creak!""Clang!"

The tension on the rope vanished as I heard the sound of metal breaking. Luckily I was a couple of meters above the ground.

"Thud!"

I fell on the ground and got hit on my butt. I quickly rolled on the ground as I somehow managed to avoid the door that fell right at place I was seconds ago.

"That is a thicc door" I said as I looked at the door from the side. It was probably one inch thick. Imagine that falling on your head. I shivered as I imagined it.

The sound when it hit the ground was deafening. It probably woke the denizens of the nearby town. The stray dogs howled and barked as the houses lit up one by one. That must have scared the hell out of them. I hope there aren't any heart patients.

I somehow stood up almost shaken from the fall, and walked towards the town which was now starting to turn noisy. I looked back up and saw them flashing light at me from top. Some of them even fired some rounds.

After staring at me for sometime they decided retreat. I guess they won't be coming after me now. But I still need to get out of here as quickly as possible. I walked limply towards the town looking for a back alley to rest. 

I can't move around freely as the townsfolk are still looking for the source of sound. I have to wait until they give up. I found a dark alley in which I decided to get some rest. I used a bike cover that was parked nearby and used as blanket against cold. The warmth of the cover made me drowsy.

I opened my eyes to the sound of footsteps. Looks like I won't be getting much nap. I sighed and peaked from behind the house. "Herrscher, you better be ready for a lecture," I thought as I saw men in black moving around the locality, loaded with guns. This won't go well for me, but man I am jealous. Even with that outfit I won't be able to pull that intimidating look. "Hmm, maybe I should grow a beard," I thought.

I ran back and put the bike cover back on the bike and hid under it. From the small hole in the cover I saw a flash of light towards me. One of them was flashing light around the alley carefully looking for me I suppose.

He looked around a bit and moved forward. All the other s also continued to walk further. Phew, I breathed a sigh of relief. "For me to get out of here I have to find something fast", I thought as I got out of my hiding place.

The bike under which I was hidden appears to be a pretty old model. I doesn't have a self start nor a headlight. I looked around to make sure no one was watching and removed the number plate from front and back of the bike using the tip of my knife. I punctured the plastic to remove the ignition switch. Then connected the two ends of the wire to closed the ignition circuit.

Vroom, the sound of the engine roared as I kicked it. The bike is well maintained since it started so smoothly. I put the bike in first gear and gave a gentle race. The moment I got to the main alley I switched gears and went full throttle.

The men who were a little bit further saw me and called out to stop, but seeing that I didn't stop they fired at me. But the funny thing was even with guns in hand they couldn't shoot me down as I slithered the bike like a snake.

I was moving at high speed through the alleys with a bigger problem than the black suited group that is following me on cars, firing at  me whenever they got a chance. The wobbling wont stop, the brakes won't and now the throttle is jammed.

I somehow took a right turn which increased the wobble even further. The stress from all this wobble and a sudden bump in the road shattered the spokes and the suspension broke. Gladly the wobbling stopped but now I have to somehow make do with only my rear wheel.

I quickly glanced to see if they are still onto it, but looks like the turn is too narrow for their cars. I somehow made way wheelieing through the narrow roads and somehow reached the main road.

In the silence of the night, the street lights glimmered on the lake that reflected the dark sky. Behind me is a parking lot with all sorts of vehicles parked. I have been to this lake before at night during my investigations but this is the first time it feels so eerie. If I weren't here for this job I would have stayed here for longer.

"weewoo!" "weewoo!"

The police vehicle zoomed through the street in full speed cautioning the empty street of their arrival. I hid behind a red hatchback that was parked. Maybe the locals called the police after the firing.

Anyways I have to get out of here before they reach me. I carefully looked around and saw a car that looked old enough that it might not have a car alarm. I walked upto the car and looked inside. It appears that the owner of this car has left some food inside of it. 

"Growl!"

My stomach made a sound as I stared intently at the burger, fries and a beverage placed on the passenger seat of the car. 

"I can't take it anymore," I said as I broke the window glass using my screwdriver I used to infiltrate. The shattered pieces of glass spread all over the seat and floorboard. I unlocked the door and used a minus screwdriver to start the car somehow.

I used a cloth that was stuffed inside the headrest of the seat to remove the shards spread on the seat. I stepped inside the car, rested my hand on the steering wheel and put the car in gear. The car crawled slowly through the empty road occasionally lit by the street lights. 

It was already dawn by the time people appeared on the streets. The sky gradually turned golden pink while the sun hid behind the houses at a distance from the road. The lake from before is already long gone.

I rode the car as far as I could. By the way the chicken burger and the salted fries were tasty. I abandoned the car in the bushes and walked for half a day until I reached the bus stop. I bought some bandages and disinfectant from the nearby medical store, and changed the dressing on my hand. 

Thankfully the bullet passed through my palm and didn't stay lodged in or it would have been critical. For the time being I made a makeshift splint with some bamboo I found near the roadside.

I took the bus that came and reached the nearest train station. From there I took the train and somehow dragged my ass back home. 

"Ah! nothing feels as great as seeing your home," I said as I saw my building. It is a very weird feeling.

It is weird how the more polluted air of Mumbai feels more cozy than the fresh air of Udaipur. Although the constant honking and noise from the cars is rather unpleasant. 

"Oi! Who are you and where do you think you are going without permission?" cried a man in a navy blue uniform. He didn't appeared to be fat but his belly bulged out the so called bear belly. I don't remember his face so maybe he is a new security guard.

He isn't wearing his nameplate and his uniform is neither ironed nor clean. 

"Who are you to stop me ?" I questioned him while turning around to face him. 

"I am the new security guard here, don't think you can do whatever you can. No one can hide from my eyes, so tell me who are you?" He said in a weird way. I guess he is the type that is all talk. He isn't much of a threat I guess.

Being an assassin I sometimes have to go out at midnights without anyone noticing me. If the guard is a diligent one, then it hinders my work so it is best have such type of people. For now I just want to get to my car and get my hand checked.

I forced a smile on my face and said,"I am Mahendra Kutti. I live here on fifth floor. I just returned from a trip so you might have not seen me here. I hope to get along with you." I said as I presented my hand for a handshake. 

He instead bowed in front of me joining his hands. Oh right it totally slipped my mind but due to the ongoing pandemic it was advised to socially distance ourselves from others. He remembered the guidelines for sure but he failed to put on mask himself.

I bowed in response and left without uttering a word. I quickly ran to the elevator and grabbed my car keys. I drove my sedan to the clinic nearest to me.

"Looks like you still don't how to cut vegetables without cutting your hand." said a man with who was standing in front of a bed. He wore round glasses with golden rims. He also wore his stethoscope around his neck. 

"Yeah, I am still clumsy when it comes knife." I said showing a smile. I entered his office and closed the door behind so that no one can enter. The person in front of me is Dr. Verma. It is obviously a made up name as one would expect.

He knows my real identity and my connection with the underworld after all he is also one of us. He also one of the few reliable doctors who treat us without asking for any details. By the way the goons, thieves and spies are part of underworld. But they are called the tip as in the tip of an iceberg. They do have connection with underworld but are used as disposable pawns by those in power.

Even if its called a connection, it is usually indirect. They are given orders via carriers, and never directly. Also sometimes the news regarding the capture of mafias or some drug cartel getting caught are the type of people not having any connection with the underworld. The reason they get caught is because they operate independently.

I sat on the chair in front of his desk and showed him my hand. He cut the bandages and removed the sticks I used as a splint. Then he closely examined the hole that had turned black due to blood getting hardened. He used the pincers to remove the small clumps of blood that had dried and cleaned the wound using a cotton ball.

Now that the blood was clean I could somewhat see my bones and some muscles through the whole. Dr. Verma stitched whatever he could and left whatever he couldn't upto my own natural healing. 

After wrapping some bandages he prescribed me some medicines. I took the paper he handed me.

"I wonder when I will get my pay. Looks I will have to close my clinic." Verma said while showing a concerned expression. 

"I get it, I get it. I will clear my tab once I get paid for my mission." I said while I opened the door and stepped out of the office.

After five minutes of drive I reached my apartment. The security guard from earlier opened the gate for me. I parked it at my designated parking spot and took the lift to my floor. This time for real  I was entering my house after week. I unlocked the door and entered. I removed my shoes and placed them in the shoe rack besides the door.

The moment I turned around a bullet hit me in the chest. My clothes got dyed in red. I looked at direction from which the bullet was fired from. A lady in blue top and black jeans sat on the chair with her legs crossed. In her right hand was a gun pointed at me.

I fell on the floor face first.