Vodka on the rocks

Part - 1

Sunny was having the time of his life. He had married his girlfriend who had millions to her name and had landed in the proverbial palace of Hyderabad. Some would say that he was mad, consciously creeping in the lion's den on his own violation. Some would say he had already lost his marbles if he thinks that he could seize the Devil's kingdom under his nose. But those some people would be eating their own imaginary hats if they saw him today.

He still hadn't thought about when is he going to replace the picture in the seating hall with his own but other than that, he had already won. He popped a sweet in his mouth laughing internally and wondering about the twist of fate. He, Sunny Ahuja, practically a penniless no body is walking around Raghav Rao's mansion like he owned it. Well, he did now, didn't he?

Sunny chuckled.

He, the jackal has finally triumphed over the lion. Yes, you heard it absolutely right. He has won and Raghav Rao has lost. Humiliatingly and hilariously .... hah! Who would have thought that the man whose very name made people quake in their shoes had more brains than this but... well. Let's just say, Sunny Ahuja has been given far less credit.

He has successfully brought to light his so called brother in law's illegal business in front of his lovely wife and the police at one strike. It was fun. The looks on all of their faces was worth all the punches he had received till date from the self proclaimed fiend. He almost regretted not bringing a DSLR to zoom in and out of every face in the hall that day, two weeks ago.

Pallavi understandably was distraught. She was a woman of high moral standards. Sunny knew her righteousness would only tear her personal life apart one day. However much she claimed to love the Demon, she finally couldn't bear to hold up to those promises. Sunny would add the sound of the slap Raghav had received from the love of his life to the list of his most favourite sounds.

A slap for a slap Pallavi Raghav Rao.. oops sorry Deshmukh... or maybe Sawant! Heh!

He hummed a tuneless melody as he skipped down the winding staircase as he remembered about the next sound which he would treasure throughout his filthy rich life as well. The slap of the handcuffs on Hyderabad's most notorious kingpin. It was such a blissful sight. Seeing the arrogant man being dragged out of his own kingdom by a chit of a woman.

Inspector Lakshmi Singh, the unwilling pawn in his game had kept her end of the bargain.

In return of Sunny's aid in the investigation she had very gratefully let Raghav's massive wealth alone leaving the necessary cut off for the customs he had bypassed. Of course, it wouldn't have served his purpose had his entire asset and liquid cash been frozen due to perjury. Jaya had broken down so bad after her son's arrest that they had to shift her to the hospital.

Pallavi had packed her bags and gone back to her brother's at Kolhapur. Good riddance! He could barely stand the sight of her face otherwise. Though he had initially wanted her to get arrested at well but her punishment was far greater than it looked. She was veritably and completely broken. Pallavi Raghav Rao was snuffed out like a flame in a breeze. She was finished, over, never to rise again. And Sunny relished the sight of her massive downfall as much as he had savoured her husband's ruin.

Left alone now was Keerti. The woman was annoying. She didn't look very happy with how everything had suddenly transpired. He didn't get her sometimes. One time she looked like she would very well slit her own brother's throat and the next moment she looked regretful of her own action. Sometimes he thought she had schizophrenia. Well she wouldn't be a problem now. He winced hearing her piercing screams, a mix of fury and sadness ringing at the back of his mind as he pulled her out of their room to throw her out of the house as well. She had seen him kissing that girl... what was her name...? Sheena... something yesterday at the club. And so the tantrums had started last night. The nerve of the woman, she had tried to slap him. he had given her a nice one in return. She had looked heartbroken but he couldn't seem to find any sympathy for her. He couldn't bear stupidity and Keerti Rao was a stupid woman to be honest.

How could she have been so blind not to have noticed what he wanted even as he unwittingly left hundreds of hints. She was dumb and quite ugly to be fair. The only reason he had shown interest in her was after hearing his surname - Rao. A name stuck forever in his brain. This entire drama he had to drag on, for two years was because he was waiting for a perfect opportunity to hit the iron when its hot.

He wanted revenge. Revenge from Raghav Rao. And now, he had it.

Rest in peace mom and dad. I have taken care of Mr. Raghav Rao.

His face darkened automatically thinking about the man who was most probably rotting away in prison and he would stay there forever, locked out from light and life. Sunny would take care of it. Lost in his thoughts he almost missed the last step and would have fallen face first on the ground had he not gripped the railing of the staircase at the last moment. The hall lights were put out for some reason. Which idiot did this?

Phew! Saved.

"Careful Mr. Ahuja. Wouldn't want you to break your Eugene O'Neil long nose before opening night now, do we?"

Sunny felt all the bones in his body jump in shock as his heart suddenly felt like he had run a marathon in a moment. He braved looking up and felt his body literally leap back as if in involuntary violation as his throat dried up completely. He could feel one of his hand climb up his throat as he struggled to force out words from his protesting mouth.

"What happened Mr. Ahuja? Not so brave now are we? How does it feel to be at the other end of the barrel for a change? I for one missed it so much. She was getting rusty lying around the place wasn't she?"

Raghav Rao stood unfazed, tall and towering, his frame just laconically bent to a side as he had one hand in the pocket of his pristine jet black three piece suit and the other curled determinedly around the handle of his self declared mistress.

Sunny didn't know what scared him most.

The man he thought was rotting in a prison cell looking like he had just come out his expensive car still smelling of the obnoxious wealth and power he commanded or the deadly mouth of the barrel glaring at his face. almost on his nose.

"You.. you.. you were supposed to... how.."

Raghav's expressionless face twitched and a dark smirk graced his lips. He looked like he had suddenly aged backwards, the softness his handsome face had acquired for the past few months since his marriage to Pallavi seemed to have once again evaporated into the heat of the flames burning in his pitch black eyes. His posture wasn't tensed at all, yet Sunny knew he would have a red hole painted on his face if he moved an inch. So he stood still... well, as still as one can be while trying not to pee in his pants.

If death had a face. It would Raghav Rao at the moment.

Sunny finally managed to squeak a few words feeling the air around them start getting colder almost as if Charon's hand could be seen advancing towards him, the skeletal frame with pieces of rotting meat hanging from it. This wasn't the Raghav Rao he had met before. This was the one spoken in scared whispers, he had heard before.

"What happened Mr. Ahuja? Cat got your slimy tongue?"

"You were.. in jail. How...?"

Raghav took a languid step forward looming almost menacingly over Sunny's frame as the moon light played the malicious sorcerer tonight lighting singular stripes over him giving him an almost deadly aura.

"When you decided to force your crooked pathetic way into my life I think you forgot a very essential point my dear former brother in law."

His voice seemed to be dropping in decibels, becoming softer and softer and somehow sharp like the cold steel of a merciless blade increasing the flames of horror and petrifying terror in Sunny Ahuja's heart even more than his explosively scorching anger ever had.

"I am Raghav Rao."

His dark voice was the last thing he heard before a stone like grip squeezed his throat with an inhuman strength which could only be possessed either by God or by Satan.

Or by Raghav Rao it was proven... 

To be continued