Samsaara : Malakh-ul-maut

2. The High Stakes

A stake-out. I can’t seem to remember the etymology behind this word. Perhaps, it was because the ‘stakes’ are always high, but on this occasion I suppose it is because the pointy stake of boredom was being driven into my brains. 

It has been six long hours since I made my way into the premises of the veterinary college. As I had told our surprisingly clean Dr. Logan, the security to his premises were a joke. It took a little more than a hop-skip-and-a-jump to make my way to this hiding spot.

A small run-down building which was scheduled to be demolished was where I found my hiding spot. Perched atop the roof of the structure was the perfect vantage point to see everywhere. My trusted cloak of black smoke, a gift from Krodhaksh kept me hidden in the dark. Over-time I realised that the cloak gave me a couple more abilities, one of which was to summon a layer of smog around me. This ability worked better in the obscure veils of the night. And this had helped me get out of many a tough spots, since that day where I lost a friend.

Finally, just before day break I saw what I was looking for. A cone of light projecting out of a torch, followed by the creaking of the old rusted gates opening. I knew I was hidden in the right place because of what I had seen, or rather what I had almost seen yesterday. Mr. Logan had mentioned that the thefts that took place were of ‘exotic’ animals. And the guttural growling that I had heard yesterday were as exotic as it got.

As expected, the shuffling of feet grew louder as the person intruding came closer. The beam of light turned around a corner and illuminated a path straight from where the person stood till the cage. He walked towards the cage far more confidently than I expected from the little bunny rabbit. Dr. Vamshi had a side business.

The layer of smog scattered the beam of light and illuminated his face just enough for my camera to capture his face clearly. He walked towards the cage and pulled out a piece of meat from his bag, stuck a pill into it and tossed it into the cage and slowly walked away.

The beast, much sharper than what the Doctor expected, kicked the piece of meat out of the cage. The sound of the meat being thrown violently alerted the doctor who returned towards the cage. The doctor, now unafraid, kicked the cage with his feet and mumbled, “So, you insist on being tranquilized.” (Yes, I read lips). And walked away for good this time. The entire scene was captured on video with the brazen bunny as the hero.

This evidence would have been enough but I also have the task to find the missing animals, so my stake out would have to continue. I snuck down from the roof almost slipping twice because of the lack of a certain abilities (We’ll get to that later).

I maintained a small distance from Dr. Vamshi until he reached his place of work. The window of his operation theatre was a good place to see what he was upto. He opened a cupboard filled with glass vials and boxes. Took out one small sealed, labelled vial and a syringe. He filled the syringe with the contents of the vial and took a gun out of the other end of the cupboard.

It is common knowledge that certain big-cat organs are used in Chinese medicine to treat a lack of virility, stamina and ‘manliness’. There is no way I would let such a majestic animal perish for the greed of man. I waited till Dr. Bunny left the operation theatre, he left the door bolted, but unlocked. Thus saving me the time to pick the lock. I looked through the garbage-bin to find the vial. It was labelled “Ketamine”. A quick google search showed that it is generally used as horse tranquilliser and another far more devious use.

That meant I had time. Since he was no killing the beast on the spot. I would have time to get to the bottom of the case without having to ‘interrogate’ the Doc with my fists. I swiftly made my way towards the cage, slowing down before I reached close to avoid the sound from spooking the Doc.