Of Monsters And Men

|prologue

◇ y u v r a a j ◇
 

Nineteen years old

I knew I was always meant to conquer. 

I was born to rule and fight and survive.  The motion had been drilled into me ever since I was a child. 

So when I come across a challenge — a mission — I am ready for it. 

Same for tonight. I stood before the building with guns and my men. It was odd how I was one of those men just yesterday and today, I was leading them.

And all for what? Just because I was the firstborn son of my father.

I wasn't going to say many people were pleased about it. 

"You are not an adult to drink yet," one of my soldiers, Satyam, remarked as he glared at Abhimanyu. 

Satyam was one of those many people.

A grin spread through Abhimanyu's face, nothing cheerful and pleasing behind that gesture. 

He was leaning against the car with a silver flask in his hand. His gun rested on the windshield of the car like he couldn't care less that we were in the enemy's territory. 

"I am legal enough to kill but not legal enough to drink? Nice," he chuckled darkly. 

In our world, children learned to fire a gun before they could learn how to hold a pen. It was a truth no one could erase. 

Satyam looked at my way and I did not miss the disdain glint in his eyes. "I am sure the Boss would disagree with that." He emphasised the word Boss with sheer mockery. 

I was not the Boss yet. Not until my father was alive or unless he gave up on that position for me to take over and even then, he could never retire from the underworld.

But I was definitely old enough to make decisions for the Cartel no one else could. "It doesn't matter unless he isn't drunk enough to get his ass killed."

Abhimanyu gave out a low whistle. Satyam looked displeased with the way his face had turned red but he didn't argue. He probably thought I was favouring Abhimanyu, giving my cousin an upper hand but I was simply stating facts.

I didn't give two flying fucks about Abhimanyu but I still wasn't ready to face the melodrama in my family if something happened to him. 

Satyam scrunched his face at Abhimanyu like he had smelled something foul before leaving with a nod; I nodded back in return as he disappeared from our sight. 

"I smell jealousy from far away," Abhimanyu said behind me. 

I stiffened. I didn't like it when people were behind me. I had witnessed enough shit to know what happened to those who were too trusting. They got killed easily. 

"He doesn't like two nineteen and seventeen-year-old boys being his superior," I muttered without turning back to look at Abhimanyu but still kept my guard up. 

Satyam had worked with my grandfather before my father and now that I was slowly but surely rising as a snake, he was feeling unappreciated. 

And jealousy was a bitch.

"Let's get over this," I said, holding up my gun. Abhimanyu grinned in return. 

With a low whistle, a few of the soldiers followed ahead. Satyam who was bragging about being brave, stayed the most behind. Abhimanyu decided to take the backdoor while I was his cover.

This mission was more like a retribution against the Solidarity — a drug ring — for blowing up one of our warehouses in Kolkata. 

While the Cartel and Solidarity didn't go neck to neck much whenever they did, barely anyone returned in a single piece.