Heroes R Us

by Mainak Dhar

  In the midst of all this, a large crowd emerged from the mall, talking excitedly about the movie they had just seen in the multiplex upstairs. As they jostled for space in the narrow exit, Arnab lost sight of the men for a few seconds. When he tried looking for them again, he realized to his dismay that he couldn't see the men anywhere. He rushed to where they had been standing, and frantically searched for them, but in a few seconds he realized that his indecision had completely botched his plans.

  The next day, Arnab was in a foul mood, and even Jayantada took notice of this sudden change in his otherwise reliably good-humoured assistant. At lunch, he asked Arnab if anything was wrong, and Arnab told him that he was worried about his preparations for the upcoming exams. It was only a partial lie, since Arnab knew only too well how badly his preparations had been hit by his misadventures of the last few days. That thought only served to make his mood even worse. He debated whether he should go again that night, and finally, realizing that he would drive himself crazy thinking about whether the men had come again that night, he decided to give it one more shot. If they didn't show up that night, then he would just give it up.

  It was mid November, and the Delhi winter was beginning to make its presence felt. Now knowing how late he would probably be out, Arnab decided to wear something a bit warmer. He took out an old sweatshirt that had been gifted to him on his birthday several years ago by his friends in college. It had been a favourite of his, and one thing he liked about Delhi was that the winters gave him an opportunity to wear it more often. Years of wear and tear had taken its toll, and of the original 'GAP' brand logo displayed prominently on the front, only the 'GA' remained. He took the sweatshirt in his hand and set out once again, praying that the men would be there that night, and resolving that if they were there, he would not throw away the opportunity like he had done the previous night.

  By about half past nine, Arnab was beginning to lose patience, and put on his sweatshirt, ready to start on the journey back to his home. As he stepped on the curb, he saw a black Sumo parked a few feet away to his right. He kept walking a few paces, and then stopped to turn around. There was no reason that this had to be the black Sumo Mishti had described being chased by, but he figured that there was nothing to be lost by waiting a few more minutes. So he sat down near the car and waited, pulling the hood of his sweatshirt up around his head to keep out the cold wind that was now blowing at a brisk pace.

  He couldn't believe his luck when a few minutes later, three men walked over to the car. They were the same men he had seen the previous night, and if he had any remaining doubts about their identities, their conversation was a sure giveaway.

  'Which bitch did you guys fancy?' asked the big man with the bandana around his head.

  'I liked the one in the jeans and the white top. The one with the long legs' responded one of his friends, a smaller man, who was holding a can of beer in his hand.

  They all laughed and passed a few vulgar comments about the women they had seen in the mall that night, when the big man pointed to a woman walking towards them.

  'While you've been lusting after everyone you see, I've been making a plan.'

  When his friends asked, he said that the woman was alone, and her car, a Honda, was parked just a few feet away. He outlined a plan to follow her till the highway and then force her car off the road in a dark spot. Arnab was sitting just a few feet away from the men, and their conversation had made his blood run cold. It was one thing to think about these criminals in an abstract sense, but quite another thing to see them as flesh and blood people, calmly planning a rape as if they were planning a family picnic. He felt anger build up within him, and stood up to confront the men. Just as he stood, the woman the men had been discussing got in her car and drove away. The men rushed into the Sumo to follow her.

  For a second or two, Arnab stayed rooted to the spot, not knowing what to do. Then, distraught that he would lose them again, and even worse, that his inaction would enable them to attack another victim, Arnab started running after the Sumo.

  Arnab didn't think much of it at first, but after a few seconds, he realized what was happening. He was chasing a car on foot and keeping up! He had no idea what speed the Sumo was driving at, but by any stretch of the imagination, he was running faster than any man should. As he tried running faster, he realized that at full tilt he was actually travelling a bit faster than the Sumo and was steadily gaining on the car, which was now perhaps no more than a dozen feet ahead of him. Feeling the wind blow into his face at high speed was hardly comfortable, but the hood helped a bit, and the sheer adrenaline boost of the chase made him forget everything but catching these men. He stumbled on a rock and fell by the roadside, wincing in pain as his elbow hit the ground. His glasses were knocked off his face, and he cursed himself as he tried to find them, knowing that without his glasses, he would not be able to do much, no matter how fast he ran. That was when he noticed something that blew his mind. He could see clearly without his glasses! No, more than that, despite the near pitch darkness of the stretch of road leading to the highway, he could see everything as clear as daylight. All the objects he saw had a bit of a green tinge to them, of the sort he had once seen displayed on a Night Vision scope on some Discovery documentary, but he could see them crystal clear without needing his glasses. What sort of magic was this? The sound of the Sumo making a tight turn into the highway brought him back to his senses, and he put his glasses into his pocket, as he resumed his pursuit, determined not to let the men get away.

  As he pushed himself, Arnab saw that he could run even faster and now things seemed to be passing by in a blur as he closed on the cars. By now, both vehicles had reached the highway, and the Sumo suddenly accelerated past the Honda and veered into its path. The woman panicked and swerved to the left and off the road, her car coming to a halt in a mound of dirt left over from the omnipresent construction work on the Delhi Metro around the area. Arnab watched the men clamber out of the Sumo and the big man with the bandana yanked open the door of the Honda. The woman, disoriented by the crash, must have thought that some passer by was trying to help her, and held out her hand, only to recoil in horror as the man grabbed her roughly and pulled her out, throwing her hard against the ground. His friends shouted in delight as they grabbed her and tried pulling her into the Sumo.

  The woman screamed-a high pitched sound that seemed more like an animal in pain than a human being.

  And then Arnab arrived on the scene.

  ***

  Arnab had begun slowing down when he saw what was happening on the side of the road, but given the speed at which he was travelling, slowing down was not as easy as he had thought. As a result, he was still travelling at a fair clip when he rushed into the scene. That actually worked in his favour, as he really had not thought through much by way of a plan of attack. He bumped into the nearest man with the impact of a car travelling at a dozen kilometres per hour, sending him flying several feet. The man landed in a heap with several cracked ribs, and was going to take no further part in the night's proceedings, other than to be a mute spectator to the fate that was to befall his friends.

  In the darkness, the two other men shouted, trying to see what had just hit their friend. As the scrambled to get their bearings, Arnab told them to let the women go. As he did, he regretted not having used his advantage of surprise to take out the two remaining men. They now knew that they faced a solitary man, and he had given them a chance to prepare themselves.

  One of the men whipped out a large knife, circling Arnab, looking for an opportunity to strike. It was dark, and the man seemed to be both orienting his eyes to the darkness and fishing for an opening, but Arnab could see everything clearly and simply stayed well out of the knife's reach. That was when it struck Arnab that his advantage of speed, strength and vision notwithstanding, this was going to be no cakewalk. He was up against someone who clearly knew what he was doing, while he himself had not the foggiest idea of what to do in a fight. He f
igured that it would be best to play to his strengths and let them make up for his lack of any real fighting skills. The man lunged at Arnab, the knife sweeping up towards Arnab's ribs. Arnab thought back to the fight on the bus and realized that this man was moving much faster than the college ruffian on the bus, but it still seemed to be slow enough for Arnab to move out of the way with ease. After the third abortive attack, the man stumbled in the darkness and fell to the ground. The large man holding the woman started getting restive and screamed out to his friend,

  'Stop playing with the fucker and kill him!'

  That spurred Arnab's frustrated attacker to strike out with renewed vigour, but two more knife thrusts met empty air as Arnab moved out of the way. Arnab too was getting frustrated, as he realized this had to end somehow. He thought back to his school days, to his sporting icons who had once taken the field for Machester United, and his own half-baked attempts on the playing field. He struck out with his right foot as the man swung the knife again. It was ungainly, and almost caused him to lose his balance and fall. It certainly wouldn't have done him any credit on the Football field, but at the force with which it was delivered, it proved decisive. The man's kneecap popped with an audible crack and he fell to the ground, moaning in pain. Arnab looked on with some horror at the devastation he had caused with just one kick, and then he looked up and realized it was far from over.

  The large man had now released the woman, throwing her to the ground and now stood facing Arnab with a grin on his face. Despite what had happened to his friends, his facing Arnab with such confidence would have seemed misplaced had he not produced a revolver from under his coat. For the first time that night, Arnab was truly afraid. He knew he was faster and stronger than the man, but he also knew he could bleed. Dodging a man swinging a knife was one thing, but he was certain that there was no way he could dodge a bullet. The man pointed the revolver straight at Arnab and barked at him,

  'Get lost or you die tonight.'

  Arnab said nothing but looked straight into the man's eyes. He had come too far to walk away. He would now have to deal with what lay ahead the best he could. The man shouted at Arnab to go away once again, and this time Arnab took a step closer to the man.

  The man fired.

  Arnab would later reflect back on the moment and remember seeing the bullet coming at him, seeming to travel about as fast as a tennis ball thrown at high speed. But at that moment, all he focused on was somehow getting out of the way of the bullet by diving to his right. When he saw Arnab fall, the man assumed that he had been hit, and moved in to check if Arnab was dead. That proved to be a huge mistake. Arnab saw the man approaching, gun at the ready and lay still waiting for him to come closer. When he judged that the man was close enough, he lashed out with his left hand. The man was shocked at seeing his 'dead' adversary spring to life and stumbled backwards. Arnab's hand connected with the man's stomach in a grazing blow, but that was enough to send the man crashing to the ground. Arnab was soon on top of him and before he delivered the final blow to the man's head, the man looked up at him, asking with bewilderment,

  'Who the hell are you? What are you?'

  'Just someone who decided that your time was up.'

  Arnab brought his fist down on the man's face. Part of him wanted to smash the man's face in with all his strength, but another part of him held back, not yet willing to take a man's life. The man fell unconscious with Arnab's final blow and Arnab got up to take stock of his surroundings. All three men were no longer moving, and a few feet away, the woman was lying on the ground, sobbing. As he took a step towards her, she cringed in fear, and he realized how fearful he must have looked with his hood on in the darkness, and with the violence he had just dealt out. He tried to sound reassuring but spoke way too fast, being psyched up from the action of the last few minutes.

  'Please don't worry, I am here to help. Call the police and I'll wait here with you till they come.'

  The woman dialled the police with shaking fingers, and then looked up at Arnab,

  'Who are you? How did you do what you just did?'

  Not knowing what to say or do, Arnab just stood there, feeling very uncomfortable and wishing the cops would arrive soon. When he saw the lights flashing and heard the sirens in the distance, he took one last look at the woman and raced away at high speed. As the woman gaped at him taking off like a rocket, her words followed him into the night,

  'Thank you.'

  ***

  Arnab woke up the next morning, his muscles aching from the previous night's adventure. The first thing he did was to check if he could see without his glasses, and to his disappointment, everything seemed a blur. As he put on his glasses, he realized that of all the things he had discovered himself capable of doing; his being able to see without his glasses had perhaps given him the biggest thrill, even more than his strength or speed. He could not remember the last time he had been able to see without his thick glasses, but remembered only too well all the taunts they had earned him in school. One of his friends had once told him, 'You know, Arnab, without those ghastly glasses you actually look pretty handsome. Too bad, the girls never see you like that'. He had meant it by way of encouragement, but it had made Arnab resent the necessary crutches his glasses had become. Alas, it seemed that his ability to see without glasses existed only in the dark, if the previous night's events were anything to go by.

  As he dragged himself up and went to work, he kept thinking back to the night's events. A part of his mind was telling him that he shouldn't feel so good about maiming other people; a part of him was even repelled at the thought of such violence. But he realized that both of them were far overshadowed by an overwhelming feeling of exultation, even catharsis. For the first time in his life, he felt that he had done something that had really mattered. He had set out with a vague goal of punishing Mishti's pursuers, but in saving the woman he realized he had achieved much more.

  His reverie was brought to a rude end when he met Jayantada at the library.

  'Arnab, you are thirty minutes late. I hope you haven't taken to drinking or going to the disco like today's spoilt youth.'

  Arnab, who had never tasted alcohol and never been inside a disco, was mortified, and protested that he hadn't. As he spoke, his mind churned out possible excuses, and he settled on one that seemed close enough to the truth.

  'Jayantada, I'm not feeling too well. My body aches.'

  At lunch time, when Jayantada announced that he was going to get Mishti from the hospital since she was due to be discharged, Arnab asked if he could come along. When he entered Mishti's room, she looked much better than he had last seen her-her wounds seemed to have healed to a large extent, and while her hand was still in a sling, she was smiling and humming some old tune. When she saw Arnab, she scolded him by asking why he had not visited in the last few days.

  'Mishti, I thought you needed some rest, that's all.'

  'Well, today I feel like celebrating!'

  'Because you're leaving hospital?'

  'No, because the monsters who attacked me are out of business!'

  Arnab's throat went dry. Had news gotten out so fast of what had happened the previous night? Mishti was now standing up, talking excitedly.

  'It's all over the TV news, Arnab! They tried to attack another woman, and someone busted them. Can you believe it? Someone thrashed them so badly they're all in hospital and then they'll get locked up for a long time, I hope!'

  Arnab asked her what the news channels were saying.

  'Come on, haven't you seen TV today? It's all they're talking about.'

  With that, she reached out for the remote and switched on the TV in the room. As the screen came to life, it showed a young reporter in the studio, talking to the camera.

  'As we have been reporting, the big news for today in Delhi is how an unknown hero saved a woman from three attackers last night. Police have confirmed that these three men have been behind at least four cases of assault or rape over the last few mon
ths in the Gurgaon area, preying on lone women drivers. This is what the woman he rescued, Miss Anita Duggal, had to say earlier in the day.'

  Arnab watched with growing fear as the camera panned to the woman he had met the previous night. Had she seen his face? Would he get into trouble with the law? His thoughts snapped back to the TV when the woman began speaking.

  'He was an angel sent down to save me. I couldn't see his face since it was covered by a hood and it was so dark, but he moved faster than a car, and his strength! Oh my God, his strength! He tossed those men aside like dolls! They fired a gun at him, but he dodged the bullet! I don't know who he is, but I'll never forget what he did for me.'

  Arnab was relieved that she had not seen his face, but had never thought about the risks of making his new skills publicly known. Mishti was now talking excitedly to Jayantada,

  'Who do you think it was? My God! Imagine, someone outran the car! Arnab, what do you think?'

  Arnab tried to keep a straight face as he answered.