This post has been published by me as a part of the Blog-a-Ton 24; the Twenty-Fourth edition of the online marathon of Bloggers; where we decide and we write. To be part of the next edition, visit and start following Blog-a-Ton. The theme for this month is BLACK AND WHITE.
February 21, 2002.
Holding the camera and looking straight
into the eyes of the journalist had been the toughest part of the job
yet. When he had been briefed three months ago, he knew he would have
to be part of terrible deeds and he would have a lot of innocent
blood on his hands. But he never though it would be something as
high-strung as this. Filming a man who knew he was about to die in a
short while was scary. At least he didn't have to do the job himself.
No, the bosses wanted the glory. Thank goodness for that. A minute
and a half into filming, Daniel Pearl's throat was slit and then with
a calm that would put pristine lakes to shame, the commander took his
right hand away and brought the great knife slashing through the
dying journalist's neck.
------------X----------X-------------X-------------
Too many years had gone by
and Abdul Karim had risen in rank and power. Always on the move, he
had evaded death many times. Too many times. There had been
miscalculations by himself. There had been errors on the part of his
leaders too. Too many years had he spent in exile. He remembered the
time when growing up as a young boy in Afghanistan. The wars had not
been enough. Since the Soviets left, he had waged many wars and
fought multi-faceted enemies. The hardships he had gone through and
those he had literally made his family endure was unbearable. They
had been shot long ago. The vengeance is what coursed through his
veins and made his decade long battle remain inviolable. He knew
where his allegiance lay. Too many loved ones had died because of
him. He himself had killed too many that others loved. No more.
“It's time. We do it on
the date mentioned in the package. You know where I stand today. Mark
this spot. He will be on top this time then. It's three stories high.
You can watch it from a variety of angles. Don't miss again. I've had
enough. ”
------------X----------X-------------X-------------
After years of living in
Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, the USA and the Philippines, he had
died over and over and again. Envisioning deaths had taken their toll
on him and he had become quite reckless. But lately, he had though of
his mother who had been shot at point blank range. Whether they were
for or because of his deeds did not matter. They said his mother was
an informer and they killed her for good measure. No matter. They
would all go down in flames. It was just a matter of time. A matter
of twenty four more hours. He smiled to himself as he thought of the
next day and impending doom. He slept like a baby.
------------X----------X-------------X-------------
The day had passed. At
night, everything was still. The night air was despondently hot. He
was waiting, but not for long. Throughout the day he had thought of
the means of his own death. It seemed ironic that it had been put off
so long and that success meant his death. But maybe Allah would grant
him his mother's lap again if he lived another day longer and no
more. That's all he wanted. Peace.
The landing filled with the
slightest crack of street light as the door opened. On the second
floor, Abdul Karim lay quiet in bed, waiting. The soldiers started
filing up. Operation Neptune Spear was in play. Then, like a blaze of
lightning, they came from everywhere. A helicopter flew close
overhead. The erstwhile leader ran down and Karim told him,
“There is now nowhere we
can go. I just woke up. They've got us surrounded. Let's fight to our
death. May Allah be proud of us when we go to heaven.”
Storming into the mansion,
the US Navy SEALs pierced the darkness and shot like they knew every spot. Few bullets were
wasted. The great leader was shot dead. A second later, so was he.
It was May 2nd,
2011. Operation Neptune Spear had been successful.
------------X----------X-------------X-------------
Abdul Karim was an unknown
man captured in Manila in connection with planting a bomb under a
bridge on which then President Clinton's motorcade was to pass in
1998. After torture and rigorous grilling by the CIA, he was shown
satellite images of his family being shot by members of the Taliban
soon after the US embassy bombings in Africa. The psychologist on
their team said that she saw some good in him, that he was an
ordinary man, not a Jihadi. He was requested to help in the hunt for
Osama Bin Laden. After what seemed like an aeon, he nodded. In
October 2001, he joined the Al-Qaeda as a soldier. It took him, the
dark knight, nine years to reach a silent unacknowledged martyrdom.
PS. This is a purely
fictitious account of a long and broiling history of terrorism and
the war on terror. True events have been considered and the
protagonist is a fictional character.
11 comments:
Well well well! That's an excellent story out there. After reading this, I wish I was a little more interested in world politics.
Gripping through and through and the bomb was rightly thrown at the end!
The plot was put forth in very well-distributed manner.
Winning entry...Again!
good scene construt a character scope.
Enjoyed reading.
hey great story you have written.... nice character making....
Enjoyed your plot a lot D2. All the best..
Someone is Special
Very well written post, I liked the thought and the idea behind the post, enjoyed the narration good job.
@Enchanta : That's a little too much to say, don't you think? But thanks. I do believe you have recognized how I intend to write as well. :D
@Gyanban: Thanks a lot. :)
@Siddhesh : Thank you. :)
@SIS : Thanks a lot. :)
@Harsha : Thanks a lot. I had a number of thoughts on what to write for this theme, but this caught my imagination in the end. :)
thats vivid imagination into real incidents.....nice plot....cheers keep writing
rajathecritic - BLACK AND WHITE
Interesting concept.
@the critics : I surely will. Thanks.
@The Fool : Thanks.
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