The Target

It was almost 6:00 PM. End of day. Everyone around him was shutting their computers down and packing up. He called his contact to find out if his package was ready. It was ready. He too shut down his computer, packed his bag and walked out of the office. It started drizzling when he reached the bus stop. After waiting for about fifteen minutes, he decided to take an auto-rickshaw. He was in a hurry after all. The job had to be completed on time. He alighted from the rickshaw at national market and requested the rickshaw driver to wait for a few minutes while he made a purchase and then drive him to his final destination. But, driver refused. He cursed to himself and paid the driver. The rain had picked up pace when he entered national market- the grey market of Bangalore, where you can get everything from cheap jewellery to unnecessarily large televisions. He walked to the back of the building where his contact had a small electronics store. His contact saw him and invited him to the back of the shop. Once there, his contact showed him the package.

“It is imported stuff.” his contact told him. “You won’t get it elsewhere.”

He pulled the weapon out of the box and aimed it at nothing in particular. “Is it good?” he asked.

“It is good for short range” his contact informed him. “If you want something long range, I can show you something else”

“Nah! Short range is good.” he said, still aiming at thin air.

“I also have some special ammo if you want..” said the contact and handed him a small box. “Maximum damage guaranteed.”

He opened the box and was impressed at what he saw.

“I’ll take it.” he said.

He paid his contact and walked out. He was very pleased with himself. It had taken a lot of time to find this shop but, it had been worth it.

He took another rickshaw to the location of the hit. He messaged his informant to get the status of the target. He thought about what he was about to do. Money had been tight around the house. Very tight. Especially with his younger child’s sickness. There was an air of grief and frustration around the house. This job would help him bring some joy to his family, at least temporarily. Too bad the target was only eight years old. But, he had no choice. He got a message on his phone. It was his informant. The target was in place.

He asked the rickshaw driver to stop about fifty metres away from the apartment. It was raining quite heavily now. As soon as the rickshaw driver had taken his payment and left, he took out the weapon and loaded it with the special ammo. He tucked the weapon in his jacket pocket and walked up to the apartment. There was no security guard at the gate. He climbed the stairs to the second floor and walked to the target’s house. He put his office bag on the floor and pulled out the gun. He rang the bell and aimed at the door hoping none of the neighbours walked out. There was some commotion inside. A woman and a boy were arguing as to who should open the door. To his joy, the boy agreed.

He heard a latch release and the door opened. An eight year old boy stood in front of him. The boy’s eyes widened with horror. He pulled the trigger. The boy screamed as the purple coloured liquid from the water pistol sprayed on his white t-shirt and completely discoloured it. Once the ammo ran out, he took out another bottle of the coloured liquid from his pocket and started filling it inside the gun. The boy ran inside the house shouting “Ammmaaaa.......”.

The money was tight. Very tight. But, he knew he would find a way out. His son had been asking for the fancy water pistol for about six months now. He couldn’t afford one until his friend had told him about a man in national market who could get one for him at a reasonable price. The boy would get the pistol. But, not until he was done with it first. He finished loading the pistol and ran inside the house to chase his son down.