The Memory Key

His eyes gave a blurred vision as He struggled to open them and a feeling of nausea engulfed his eyes and head. It was some time until He could completely open His eyes. He lay on His back on the footpath that was by the side of the main road. The limbs ached and the joints seemed like they were jammed. He looked around and the Sun hadn't been there for too long & the chill air of the morning breeze could still be felt. Few pedestrians passed by Him, mostly those going to their school, colleges & those returning from their morning walk. He slowly shrugged off the dizziness, shook his limbs & sat up on the pavement. There were shops behind him which were yet to open & he adjusted his back to one of the shutters of a closed shop & took deep breaths to get back to His senses. He then glanced at His clothes & the parrot green shirt & Khaki pant with formal shoes below them were tidy and neat. The aching on his body had now subsided but the bladder pressed hard as he realized that he had to clear it out. He staggered and stood up & searched for a public toilet around him. Everything around seemed strange and yet oddly familiar. Had he been here before? or was it all something new? and importantly how did He end up on that pavement by the road and for how long had he been lying there? As he walked by he realized that he didn’t even know anything about himself. As he pondered on all these things His bladder pressed harder. Taking note of it He walked straight by the pavement & took a sharp left turn & there stood a public toilet that he was yearning for. As he went by the counter the man at it demanded the fee be paid & he straightaway put his hand in his side pocket & pulled out a 10 rupee note & slapped it on his table as the man gave him a smirk. After which He went by the urinal & relieved himself. Then coming by the sink washed his hands & filling water in both his hands splashed it on his face & saw himself in the mirror as he wiped off the dripping water from his face. It felt as if he had seen a stranger that he had hardly known. He thrust his hands in his back pocket & picked out the napkin & in another pocket, he found a wallet which he slowly opened as he came out of the toilet. As he went by, He gave another glance at the mirror & turned away, and went by His way. He then began frisking the wallet in the hope of finding out something about Himself. The black leather wallet in its first partition contained a visiting card belonging to a certain Driving School, the other side of it had a couple of credit cards & what dragged his attention was the main section of the wallet which contained a wad of cash made up of 500 rupee notes and as he took out the lump of cash & counted it briskly, which amounted to 10,000 rupees and a couple of notes with lesser denominations too were present in it. Also, the wallet contained what looked like an Identification card. Putting back the money in its section He slowly pulled out the ID card. Taking a long breath it examined the image on it & the name beside it - MAYANK MOHAN KUMAR. The other side of the ID card contained the address & the contact number & also revealed His age to be 30. He knew now where he was supposed to go & as he slid back the wallet in his back pocket & headed straight a person watching Him from closeby in incognito texted from His smartphone ‘Step 1 complete’.

Mayank now felt hungry & thought of getting breakfast & headed to a nearby small canteen beneath a huge tamarind tree. He got himself a plate of ‘idlis’ & as He gobbled them up he enquired the address in the ID card & the way to reach it. He was instructed by the server cum

owner of the canteen that he’d have to take a local bus & a cab or a rickshaw in order to reach the destination. He suggested that a personal vehicle would’ve made His work easier. Mayank requested the owner to call the number on the ID card. However, it wasn't of any use since it was ‘switched off’. A bit disappointed he peered hard at the number & as he read them again & again He seemed to remember another such number & He spelled them out & asked the owner to dial the number which he did so reluctantly. It was yet to connect & the disinterested owner was about to cut the call it began ringing & was instantly picked up & a sharp voice spoke ‘Mayank’.

The owner right away handed it to Him. As he took it by His ears to speak, the person on the other side gave out some instructions in a breathless tone & told them to follow if He were to reach home. The call was cut off & Mayank handed over the phone to the owner, thanked Him & got off on his journey.

As instructed He came by the edge of the traffic signal & gave the beggar sitting by it a 10 rupee note & who expressed his gratitude with a smile & gave Him a pink rose & told him it’d look good on Him. He promptly decorated His shirt pocket with the rose & took the pavement. As he thought of continuing by it, the instructions from the phone came back to him & accordingly he had to wait on that pavement. As he did so, a shiny black cab pulled by His side which visibly alarmed him for the moment. The back door opened from the inside & the arm of a woman motioned Him to get in. As he did so, there sat a beautiful, maiden-like female with a black suit, tinted aviator goggles & a black mask over her nose & mouth.

As he entered the Cab, the beggar from a hidden place watching closely texted ‘Step 2 Complete’

He adjusted his back by the seat as the car began its movement. The woman slightly turned herself towards him & with her fingers gestured for the money. Mayank pulled out the wallet & took out the lump cash except for a 500 rupee note & went on to hand it over to the lady. However, she pulled back her hand & resisted accepting it. He then remembered the instructions & he was to give the whole amount to the lady accordingly. He took out the 500 rupee note & added it with the wad of cash and gave it to her which she gladly accepted. Putting the cash in her coat pocket, she lowered the mask & slightly bending towards him kissed his cheek & eased back.

The car picked up pace & the muffled sound of its engine could be heard as Mayank was now having a strange feeling inside him. He felt as if he was regaining his lost consciousness as he

was having glimpses of what seemed to be the bits & pieces of his memory. Muffled voices & blurred images of men roaring & running around in small groups & strange formations. His name was being called out as if he was getting summoned for a task. But, where was HE? What was the place?. He closed his eyes & pressed hard & could recall himself walking rushing of a dark, cave-like place towards an open, barren field. Presumably , a desert. There were others like him who stood around Him in long files & numbered in hundreds or even more. They were dressed in rags, faces covered except the eyes & hands tied at the back. A large, burly & bearded man appeared by his row & called out his name. He stepped forward & bowing his head, greeted him in a whisper. While remembering so, the lady held his arm & shook him slightly & brought him back to the present. He looked at her curiously as she gave him a vague smile peering at him with her cherry-like eyes. The woman with her kiss had unlocked something in him & Mayank felt it.

‘Who are You?’ asked Mayank with genuine & visible confusion.

‘Worry not. You’ll get to know soon.’ replied the lady.

He was making up his mind & mouth to ask something, but the car came to a sudden halt by the roadside. A beggar came by it & promptly knocked on the glass of the door by the lady’s side.

As the glass was lowered, the beggar spread in His hands & asked for alms. The woman took out the bunch of notes & put it in the shaky, dingy hands of the old, crooked beggar. He reverently accepted it and went towards the pavement which consisted of old, scrappy shops hidden behind the worn-out compound walls.

‘Can you please…’ as he was about to complete the sentence she again arched toward him & holding his jaw kissed on His other cheek. This made him forget the remaining words as he felt her tender lips cushion his muscular jaw. The lady slid back to her seat & as she did so, he felt a rush in his mind which seemed to be driven by some memories & remembered he was supposed to complete a task that had abruptly got halted. He looked at the lady who seemed relaxed & in control of her senses. Until she was disturbed by a knock on the door & as she lowered the glass the beggar stood by the door & now in his hand he carried a cloth bag in the same shaky hands. Handing it to the lady, he gave a smile of satisfaction & looking at Mayank gave a nod as if he approved of something.

The girl thanked the old beggar & to which he gently replied, ‘It was a pleasure being a part of this mission. My life is now fulfilled.’ saying so, he promptly walked away towards the road at the speeding vehicles & stood in the center of the lane while a speeding truck advanced towards Him. The driver pressed the brake hard & tried to avert it which was to no avail & dashed the beggar who instantly died, with a smile. Seeing the sight of the accident Mayank closed His eyes to make sense of the situation. The halted engine of the car revved back to life. The car began its movement & so did His mind began to travel by the memory lane. The man addressed Him & His row ‘You’ve been chosen for this great cause. The One which Your predecessors have designed & designated for You to fulfill our great goal. You shall not think or remember anything except your duty. A final test awaits you before You head into the real world. Go ahead.’

At the stroke of HIs final words, they charged towards tables meant for each of them with random scraps cluttered on them. As he went by his table he uttered the words, ‘the smoke shall black the sky, the cries will deafen the ears & the world would burn in chaos as we fulfill our Ultimate goal.’ By the time He finished uttering the words the lady again gently shook His hand & broke his lane. She then gave Him a serious stare as Mayank now looked at her with a smile & the car then came to a grinding halt, He calmly collected the bag from Her & closed His eyes for a moment as if He understood something & reassured him him him of it to her.

‘It was a pleasure serving with You’ said Mayank, as he prepared to get out of the car.

‘Pleasure is Mine’ responded the lady with a gleam in Her eyes.

For a second their eyes locked & later their lips. Mayank felt transported to another world. His body went numb, his mind got blocked & the spine of His back got a chill that traveled through his back & sparked His brain. Their lips now parted & Mayank made His move as if He was executing a command that was assigned to a machine. As he got out of the car, away from His Memory Key, he moved towards an old house & behind which stood the State Legislative building. The lady picked out her smartphone & texted ‘Final step accomplished’.

The car drove away towards the main road from the back alley. The door of the house was latched & not locked & as he made way towards the backdoor he

had flashbacks of the moments that had led to this. He was an alibi, trained as an assassin & being used as a weapon. His time had now come. Coming out of the backdoor he found himself at the outside compound wall of the building where a busy session was about to get on its way.

The parking bay was packed with cars & out of which Ministers, representatives, media personnel hurtled towards the building. He then sped his way towards the building & walked half a mile compound road with the bag in his hand. He went by the gate & was greeted by the guard stationed by it. However, his response was cold. Taking out His ID card he flashed the barcode imprinted on it on the scanning machine and was granted immediate access. He could feel the rush & energy of the place as he walked by inside. But, that couldn't distract him from his objective. He straightway made his way to the Transformer room which contained the control system of the electricity supply of the behemoth 80 acres, 500 room building. The ID card was again His access inside. An ante-chamber in it contained a somewhat central panel that looked like an Electric Map from where the power supply to all the sections of the building was controlled.

Mayank closed the door of the chamber & latched it tight from the inside & emptied the cloth bag on the table which contained metal scraps. Looking at them he gave a smile & closed his eyes & remembered the assembly drill which was the final part of his training. Eyes closed, his hands got into the action as his memories of training translated into actions & within a minute the scraps were assembled into a machine bomb which he quietly picked up & placed conveniently at the center of the map & taking a deep breath pressed the Red button & closed His eyes. In a minute the entire building was electrified which in seconds had turned the transmission line into lines of fire & flames which ejected electric fire, which like a fiery whip beat & sucked the life out of all those in the building. Anything connected to electricity acted as a detonator & burst into flames. Within minutes the entire structure was in flames & later turned to ash along with

Mayank.

The very next day as the majority of the city’s Police & intelligence services engaged in the case of the building blast a couple of policemen accidentally stumbled upon a body in a nearby sewer that was washed onto the street with the face badly smashed. Almost unrecognizable & without any proper Identification it got no serious attention in the midst of the devastation & the case was simply discarded by the police.

The women from a mysterious palace texted to an unknown person ‘First of our many attacks has been successful, they won't even have a clue of our operation’