Chinatown

Chinatown

The trap had been laid. It had all been meticulously planned. The wait was on.

They called themselves ‘messiahs’, saviors of shoddy Chinatown, completely refusing to buy into the moniker society had tagged them with. “Outlaws”.

Justice was meant to be served. And it was meant to be served with a pinch of salt and a dash of lemon.

The crimes hadn’t stopped. They’d tried. In vain.

They tried taking the peaceful approach, the non-violent ways that many of the world’s greats had proponed. It hadn’t worked. No; not with these hooligans.

Today was the day. The day crime would be met with violence.

There were three of them initially. The beginning. The start to a new era of ‘total peace’, as they termed it.

It was always waiting to happen. The final trigger was when one of their wives got raped in the middle of town. They couldn’t hold on longer. No. Not now.

A place where no justice prevailed was meant to be cleansed. Cleansed with a dose of the criminals’ own medicine.

Three soon became thirteen and thirteen became thirty and soon the “Outlaws” were ‘wanted’ by the very system which had failed to maintain peace in the first place.

The system wasn’t failsafe. The hooligans had wasted no time in spotting chinks in the armor. Pockets were filled. Mistresses were given as an option. Children were held at gunpoint. Messiahs were termed Outlaws.

But the thirty men who’d taken this valiant stance weren’t going to go down so easily.

No; not this time.

The confrontation would take place at twilight. The set-piece was planned to the minutest detail.

They’d draw the hooligans into their territory. The attack would be quiet, like the slither of a snake before it hisses at its prey.

But they knew the enemy was no fool. They’d have to be sure that the criminals take the bait. And for that, the bait would have to be perfect.

Perfection was achieved in the form of beauty. Beauty the hooligans could never resist.

The messiahs knew it was a tough one for June. She’d have to be on their side. She’d have to be brave. She’d have to be strong.

Only June knew how easy it was for her to take the decision. The hooligans had been no stranger to her mother and she’d always been thankful to Uncle Jake for putting up a fatherly act for the goddamned society.

She chose a little black dress for the occasion. After all, her velvety skin shone the brightest in black.

The messiahs had covered the alley. The alley was narrow and imposing. The messiahs had sealed the exit. Escape was impossible.

Shadows began to fade away as night began to fall. The dingy streetlights would be kept off that day. What the alley was about to witness deserved no light.

June leaned against the brick wall, waiting. Waiting for the hooligans to strike.

As the messiahs waited with bated breath on top of the narrow walls that lined the alley, a match suddenly lit up at the entrance. The alley was filled with smoke. The hooligans had arrived.

They wasted no time in masquerading as forlorn lovers of June. They wasted no time in revealing their desperate selves.

June had to hold on till the time was right. The hooligans had to be surrounded. Two of them were guarding the entrance now. Not all were in the alley. Not all were in the right place.

June looked up, a trifle frightened as one of the messiahs signaled her to lead the other hooligans into the alley. June knew she had a job to do. And she was determined not to make a hash of it.

A generous twirl of the little black dress and the pretense of a sensuous smile on her lips was enough for the others to crowd in. The messiahs knew. It was time.

The attack was sudden. No warnings. No speeches. Nothing left to chance. The knives were out in a flash, the bullets were shot without thought, the blows were struck without guilt.

June was pulled up onto the narrow walls. The hooligans were shot down into the dark alley. Not one survived.

Total peace had come at a price for the messiahs. There were three casualties; the founders- the ones who started it all. Men well martyred.

As dawn broke, the town had been cleansed. The system would be fortified. Hooligans would no longer rule Chinatown. The messiahs were here to stay.

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