Taken

Chapter 10

It was almost midnight and the air was surprisingly cold for a mid-September night. The lights in the house were out now. The girl was probably sleeping, but he wasn't going to take any chances. Varun lighted his cigarette and took a drag. With fake beard and moustache covering his face, he wore glasses to look as different from the usual as possible. He felt impatience rising in him, but he was in control. It was a queer combination of feelings that were coursing through his veins like drugs. How would it feel to be both extremely impatient and excellently in control of oneself? He thought he knew exactly how it felt.

He sat there in the public park bench from where her house was distantly visible. He closed his eyes as he took in another drag of the addictive poison. He wasn't a heavy smoker, but he allowed himself the luxury every once in a while when he felt beyond himself. Tonight was that time. His mind was heavy with images of girls that he had killed and enjoyed afterwards. Sometimes it was fun when they were alive and fighting, but mostly he liked them dead, their bodies devoted to him, a well-earned prize. He recalled how it felt as they died, life leaving their bodies breath by breath and how it felt afterwards as they served him, unopposing and devout. He closed his eyes as a wave of pleasure passed through his body.

Trying to gain the control back, he quickly stood up,  walked around a bit and lighted another cigarette. It felt like after a very long time he was going on a hunt for the very pleasure of it instead of money. He felt high and he was scared that he might not be able to stop himself once he caught her. But he knew he had to wait.

The caller- that's how Varun has started referring the man to himself- had called earlier this evening. Varun was at first infuriated by the change in the plans because there was no layout done at all- the only agenda on the table for the day was delivering that weird letter to the girl. Varun had expected a bit of scaring and goofing around would be involved, but now he had to kidnap her tonight.

He had outright refused to do so. He was a man of planning, innovation not really his cup of tea. He always planned everything, that's how he had survived so long after all. He couldn't afford to be on a ledge- it was a wrinkle in the clearly laid out map. But the caller was adamant that it must be done today. He said that the plan was already made and everything was settled and that was it. Varun had decided he wanted out of this case money or no money- he couldn't go on like this.

But the caller had other ideas. He recalled the conversation that had taken an unexpected turn...

"If you already have planned everything out, why don't you do it on your own then?" Varun seethed.

"I can't afford to be involved. Not right now, in this part at least. And you can't get out of it at this moment either." The caller was calm and so sure of himself that Varun felt he might combust due to anger if he heard his metallic voice again.

"I can't get out of it? You really wanna try that?"

"Oh, do you want to?" The voice threatened but maintained its composure. "Your first target was your high school teacher, wasn't it? And you killed her because she scolded you for stuttering while you read a poem. Is that true?" He said the last line exactly the way that his high school teacher did- 'is daht trueeee?'

Varun didn't know how the man could have known something like this, but he did. The memories of that awful classroom suddenly came fresh in his mind. The teacher always reminded him of some cartoon character- busty and big butt, red lipstick that was always smearing her teeth, a cheap perfume that made him nauseous as she passed through the class and singing everything in her high-pitched voice as if she were talking to kindergarteners instead highschoolers. The desire to be wanted and alluring was so strong in her that it reeked worst than her perfume, and the sweet persona that she tried to project was painted as bad as her lipstick and Varun thought there couldn't be a more disgusting person than her on the earth.