Blackie by Sanjay Gora
Inder stopped his car near ITC Hotel, Jaipur and was about to call the number from which a girl had booked a ride to Delhi with him on a new car-pool mobile app.
Just then a beautiful girl knocked on the side-window. He rolled down the glass and she asked-Inder?
Yes.
Hi, Amanda here, we talked.
Oh, yeah.
He could not believe his eyes. Was this curvaceous model going to be his companion for next five hours.
Had he known she was such a dazzling diva, he would have worn his best shirt and brought the other car.
Can I get in? She asked.
He came out of his reverie and blurted, oh please, and unlocked the door.
Hope you did not have to take a long detour to pick me up?
No, not at all. Almost on the way.
Thanks for taking the trouble.
He smiled sheepishly as he started the engine. Inder did not want to be caught unawares again so he set his mind on alert mode and searched for best lines to use from the cache of phrases rushing into his mind.
So you use this app often to book rides, he asked.
No, I am using it for the first time, she lied.
Okay, me too. What a coincidence.
Yep, true that. So you work in Delhi or...
Well, kind of. I have offices in both the places. I go to Delhi 3-4 times a month.
You are a businessman then, she enquired giving the impression that she did not know.
Yes, Iam.
Software, marble?
No, I am into travel business, he gave out his standard reply.
Okay.
Inder was stealing glances of her cleavage as they talked and she did not seem to notice.
Her perfume was filling the car with its flowery scent which did not help his efforts to pretend to be in control of his senses. She was well aware of what her presence was doing to him. Amanda feigned ignorance of his hand rubs against her body while changing gears. She was enjoying the theatrics he was indulging in to give the impression that he was doing his best to avoid touching her while doing it all the same.
She thought of further arousing his interest in her and asked- Do you mind if I take a nap?
Mind ! You would be a visual treat while asleep, he thought and smiled a yes.
Amanda closed her eyes and let her body loose to relax. She was sleepy but stayed half-awake. She could feel his eyes checking her out in between. Her plan seemed to be going well till now. After an hour or so when she could bear his stare no more, she opened her eyes and faked a smile.
Inder took his eyes off her suddenly and managed to offer a lame excuse- Welcome back to the real world, I was just checking if your seat belt was on.
I know which belt you were checking, Amanda thought but said nothing.
He switched on the FM and the channel was playing a Kanika Kapoor song to go with his mood.
They stopped for a tea-break on the way. And as she walked away to freshen up, she could feel his eyes mentally scanning her from tip to toe, with not so good intentions.
By the time she came back, he had ordered tea and chili toast for both of them. By now he had shed his pretensions and was all out in his lecherous avatar. He asked, “You have not told anything about you? Are you from Delhi, guessing by your looks and style?”
No, I am from Jaipur and I am going for a job interview in Delhi. My third interview in fact.
I can’t imagine why anyone won’t give you a job in the first attempt itself.
Not everyone has a one-track mind like you, she thought and said, “My bad luck.”
Why don’t you join my company, he laid the trap.
Really, can I ? she asked faking excitement.
I don’t see any reason why you can’t, he replied in an authoritative tone.
He started an impromptu walk-in style interview then and there, with all the routine questions, to which she replied in a submissive manner.
And as they walked back towards the car, she had the job assurance. She need not go to the pre-scheduled interview, she just had to complete the paper formalities in his office and that was it.
Inder was now supposedly her employer and she an employee. Must have been one of the quickest job interviews in the hope of quickies, she thought.
During rest of the journey, he was more confident, imposing and almost possessive. She was marveling at his chameleon-mask, which changed colours with each passing hour.
As they reached Dhaula Kuan, he acted as if he had forgotten something very important and said, I am sorry, it just skipped out of my mind. I have some important documents to pick from my house at Connaught Place. It will just take a minute and then we will straight go to my office.
Documents, my foot, she thought and said, no issues, while checking her bag stealthily.
The traffic was moving very slowly on the ring road and he was getting impatient since she had said yes to stop over at his home. It took them more than an hour to reach there and he invited her to come for a quick cup of tea. She showed hesitation for a second then went along.
Inder unlocked the door to his apartment and asked her in. The studio apartment was well-furnished and as she glanced at the bed, she thought to herself, Plan-A is on.
He suddenly put his arm on her shoulder and said, feel at home, be comfortable.
Amanda shuddered within but controlled her reaction and managed to smile embarrassingly.
Now that we work together, let us be frank and open to each other and have some fun, he came straight to the point without losing any time.
She was amazed at his shamelessness. She played coy and demure for some time. But when he persisted with his touching and patting, she said, I don’t do normal, I am into out-of-the-box love making.
It was like a thousand bulbs lit up on his face. He said, I am all game.
She replied, let us do role-play. Let us pretend that you have been kidnapped and all tied up. I will come as the nymphomaniac kidnapper and have fun with you in that position.
He readily agreed.
So she asked him to take off his clothes and lay down with his back on the bed. He complied like a servant. She asked for some rope to tie him with and he pointed her to the drawer. She tied both his legs to the two sides of the bed. As she started to prepare for tying his hand, he hesitated. She knew that this was the most crucial moment, if he backed off, her whole plan would fail.
She took off her shirt to convince him of her noble intentions. As he saw her in her under-shirt clinging to her body, he was a slave after that, almost hypnotized by her presence.
She took her bag and went to the bathroom to get ready. She came out in the bathrobe with a sharp wide knife in her hand.
He was there without a thread on his body tied up on all four sides. As he saw her approach, he became excited. Now she will cut all the ropes like a lioness and be all over me like a nymph as she said. He glanced down at himself and then back at her with a look of pride and arrogance, as he was sure she must have been impressed with his endowments.
Amanda came near him and with a charming smile looked at his eyes. The look of anticipation, excitement, ego and money-power was all mixed up in his eye-balls, which almost popped out. She sat beside him on the bed. As he saw her flesh peeking out from under the bathrobe, he was almost bursting to seams. She kept the knife aside and took off her socks sensually as he became more and more excited. She took a mint from the bowl on the bedside table, unwrapped it and moved towards his mouth with mint in one hand and rolled-up socks in other. As he opened his mouth to take in the mint that she brought near his lips, she stuffed the socks in his mouth from the other hand.
His expression changed suddenly to shock and bewilderment. His pride became limp in a jiffy.
Amanda took off her bath robe and laughed at the mixed reaction from his body. While his left brain was making his eyes fearful and sad. His right brain still did wonders to his lower body parts. His eyes were begging for mercy but his body seemed to be begging for something else. She picked up the knife and swept it down towards him in a swift movement. Blood spurted out like a fountain and splashed across the room. His shrieks were muffled. For a few seconds, his eyes bled pain and then became listless.
She went back to the bathroom, took off her blue contact lenses and her wig, wrapped her blue silk scarf around the knife and put everything in her bag. She put on her clothes and walked out.
As she glanced at his unconscious body lying in a pool of blood, she spat at his face in disgust and walked out.
It was 3 pm and Amanda had called Simi for meeting at 4 pm in Connaught Place. They had decided to meet there irrespective of the outcome. She hailed a cab and reached their rendezvous point.
Amanda ordered a café mocha and took a seat from where she could keep an eye on the door.
As Simi rushed to the café, she glanced at her watch. It was still time.
Amanda saw her coming from afar and silently took out the scarf-wrapped knife and put it on the table.
As Simi neared the outer circle, Amanda came in her view. She sat in the Starbucks cafe, sipping her coffee and staring out of the window. The blood stained knife lay next to her handbag, covered with her blue silk scarf.
She walked in and casually approached her table. Their eyes met and Amanda signaled towards the scarf to indicate success of the mission. Simi took her seat on the table and made a thumbs up sign with her right hand, covering it with left. After hi hellos, Simi quickly glanced across the café to see that no one was looking and put the scarf in her bag. Amanda knew that she could rely on Simi to dispose the scarf and knife at separate locations so that no one can find them. She had proved that in last three cases. Simi handed over a dossier on 5th target along with tickets to Bangalore. Simi will join Amanda later after the Delhi noise settles down.
Both of them had sad smiles on their faces as they moved away. Necessary evil.
Next day, newspapers’ headlines screamed “Inder, rape accused who was let go scot-free a few months ago is in critical condition. His manhood was severed off with a sharp knife. This is 4th such case in last one year, when an accused in a fatal rape incident has been punished this way. All these incidents happened in different cities and with accused who were clearly guilty but had been let go due to lack of evidence. Suspect in all these cases is some woman whose identity is unknown.“
Amanda read the paper and wondered why the media had nick-named her Blackie.
(1983 words)
