Sometime ago,
"Faizal, don't move, if you get hit, then don't complain," Aditya shouted as he had a devilish smile on his face. Aditya's body formed a perfect 'T' shape. His feet were shoulder-width apart, and his bow shoulder was low & relaxed. Aditya squared his shoulders and pulled the string so that it almost touched his nose tip. His weight was evenly distributed, and his body was perfectly relaxed with no unnecessary tension in his bow arm muscles. Aditya's eyes shrank a little bit as he released the bowstring.
Faizal's heart almost stopped when he saw his boss aiming the arrow at him. A dark red apple, with some dark spots, was sitting comfortably on his head and his boss was some 40m away from him. Although he knew that Aditya had never missed before, it did not help keep his heart steady in the least. What if this was the first time he missed?
Faizal almost cried when he heard his boss's words about complaining. If his boss missed, he might not even have an opportunity to complain. He felt that he was the unluckiest person in his gang to have been selected by his Big Sis Taarini to follow Aditya. But he did not dare to make even a tiny movement.
Faizal had never imagined that when he brought the archery set from Taarini, it would turn out to be this way. All the happiness and relaxation, he had enjoyed in Mauritius, was thoroughly gone. It turned out that Aditya wanted archery set for competitions and Taarini had bought a 'hunting' set. Now that this set was not useful, his boss started 'playing' with it and him.
What pained Faizal, even more, was that his boss had kept an almost spoiled apple on his head citing that 'food should not be wasted'.
Faizal looked at the three other candidates who were also trembling with fear and cursed them in his heart. All four of them had a fun-filled tour. Every day they would wake up to luxurious services and sleep fully drunk. They all made promises to each other that they will be brothers for life and that not even boss could separate them. Dhanush was particularly dramatic as he cut his thumb with a fruit knife and made a 'blood' oath that he would give his life for his brothers.
Now when Faizal required these brothers the most, all three of them were busy avoiding eye contact with the boss. They feared that if they tried to dissuade Aditya, they would become the next tools of target practice, instead. Dhanush kept the apple on his head. He lightly whistled as if this thing did not have anything to do with him.
Thud!
The apple blasted into pieces as the arrow dug into the aerial root of the Banyan tree. Yes, that was where Aditya was practising. Showing his skills or bullying Faizal was not possible to do in the actual archery range.
"Again," Aditya shouted with mirth as he took another arrow from the set. They were all kinds of arrowheads in that sachet ranging from broadheads (hunting large game) to bullet point (small game), fish point to target point. Everything was available, even Aditya's blood started boiling when he felt the razor-sharp steel blades on the broadhead point. This arrowhead could easily penetrate even the thickest of bones. He took out a target point and attached it to the arrow. These arrows were safe and harmless.
Aditya had to do something to cool his head. Even now, a small flame raged in his heart when he thought of what happened in the gymnastics gym. Yu Yan had asked him to watch her practice artistic gymnastics as she wanted to know how her form was.
Aditya knew that it was most probably just an excuse, but he still played along. Aditya was never one to avoid these things. So he was not surprised that there was no one in the gym when he and Yu Yan went. Aditya couldn't help but swallow when he saw Yu Yan in her training clothes, which caused an itch in his heart. She was very appealing in that dress. The way that Yu Yan moved as if she did not have any bones in her body was alluring.
Aditya had to agree that Yu Yan had the potential to become a professional. She was very flexible, and her movements flowed effortlessly like water. Her feats were enchanting and pulled him into a trance. After some time, for no apparent reason, Yu Yan 'strained' her back. Aditya knew that this was an 'opportunity' that this little girl was giving. A slight blush could be seen on her dimple cheeks.
Aditya took it up as his duty to 'fall into this honey-trap' and started massaging Yu Yan's back. Her skin felt soft, and her bones were pliable. Aditya doubted if all the gymnastic performers had the same kind of body. He utilised his unique knowledge of the human body to give the best massage. Aditya slowly loosened her muscles and tendons. With his experience, Aditya could easily see the small irregularities in the circulation of blood in Yu Yan body, and he corrected them.
Most of the people think that there is not much connection between mental stress and physical body. But Aditya knew that it was false. Every positive thought and happy experience or negative thought and a dark experience affected the body. No one was able to have perfectly happy lives in this modern society. There was bound to be tensions and stress. After a while, these mental pressures manifest in the form of strained nerves and clogged blood vessels.
Aditya could tell these places from a simple touch, and he targeted these places to correct the irregularities. Of course, since Yu Yan was just in her teens and her body was filled with vitality, these problems were negligible. But when she turned forty, these small things will cause significant aftereffects to her body. But with Aditya's extensive understanding of the human body, he could remove these hidden dangers and bring Yu Yan's body to its most natural state.
In the beginning, Yu Yan was trying to get closer to Aditya by using this outdated plan given by her 'expert' friend. But when she felt the effects of Aditya's massage, she lost herself in the euphoric experience. It was as if Aditya was removing her stress and worries, one by one, with this sturdy but warm hands. She felt light like a feather as if her body was filled with air. Her eyes blurred as she looked at the dedicated expression of Aditya.
Yu Yan bent forward to kiss him. But before she could go any further, an arm stopped her. Aditya lightly knocked on her head, "grow up first." Yu Yan giggled as she stuck her tongue out when she saw the care in Aditya's eyes. Aditya rubbed her head playfully and took his leave.
If Aditya was a normal seventeen-year-old kid, then he might not have thought deeply about this and moved according to his instinct. But Aditya had spent 28 years of life in the 'dream world' which made it impossible for him to act on such impulses anymore. It did not mean that Aditya would change his ways. That was not possible, but he would have a line which he would not cross.
"Boss, you can't do this," Faizal protested when Dhanush came to keep the fifth apple. Aditya looked at Faizal with mild amusement as he asked, "and why is that?"
Faizal rebellious expression vanished when he saw Aditya's expression. A piteous expression replaced it as he pleaded, "Elder Brother Adi, we had spent a week in a foreign country just for you. We also got those new registrations and foreign bank accounts made for you. It is alright even if you do not reward us, but you should not punish me like this."
"Oh?" Aditya looked at Faizal as he asked, "Then, what should the reward be? A 3000 USD massage at the Heavenly Pavilion?"
"That would be aweso… Ahem, what are you talking about, Boss?" cold sweat started forming on Faizal's forehead. He instinctively looked at the other guys who shook their heads with apprehension in their eyes.
"Oh, you don't know about the 'heavenly pavilion?" Aditya asked with a surprised expression, "How much did you spend to get the job done?"
"50,000 USD, Boss, the confidentiality of these accounts were hard to get hold off," Faizal said as he was starting to feel that his boss seemed to know something.
Aditya nodded as an audio file started playing from Faizal's smartphone. Faizal's voice could be heard saying, "Boys, today let's enjoy ourselves. I have found a place called the 'Heavenly Pavilion'. The 'hardworking' women who reside there are on the next level. You can't find them in India. The services offered by them will be once in a lifetime opportunity. These are trained professionals."
Faizal gulped when he heard these words. He tried to shut his phone down, but it did not respond to him.
Dhanush's voice was heard, "but big brother, what would Boss say?"
"Pfft! Who would tell the boss? Let me tell you, even though our boss looks cool, he still a small kid. These are affairs of elders and Boss does not need to know. He is an amateur in this issue. Come, let's go. I will manage everything. Boss wouldn't even get a whiff of this matter. Laila is waiting for me." Faizal's excited voice was heard.
Faizal trembled when he heard his words and then looked at Aditya, who was looking at him with a smile on his face. 'Finished' was the only thought running in Faizal's mind.
"Boss, this was nothing, we were… BOSS!" Faizal was frightened when he saw Aditya pulling the bowstring. He did not even have an apple on him; where was this black-hearted evil boss aiming? Faizal scrambled to find an apple to place on his head.
Just then Aditya's smile froze when he heard Tya's words. "Adi... Kumari, Anupama and Kavya are in trouble. Save them."
Aditya had hacked into the school server and surveillance system on the day that he joined. One of the minor tasks of Tya was to keep an eye on the happenings in the school. It was not for any particular purpose but a protocol designed by Aditya. Wherever he was, all the electronic surveillance (connected to the web) in the surrounding two kilometres should be under Tya's purview.
So, when Tya saw that these girls were in danger, he immediately notified Aditya. The CCTV footage was directly seen by Aditya in his mind, through Tya's glove in his right hand. Aditya's eyes became cold when he saw Javed's sneer and the frightened expressions of Kumari and Anupama. He could tell the conversation through lip reading.
Aditya knew that time was essential. He knew that straight distance from his position to Kumari was 109m and increasing. But the old school building was in the middle. The time was not sufficient as Aditya observed that though Javed was earnest about 'killing', with his 'Sensifull' abilities.
Just then, he saw his elder sister Saira come. He immediately contacted her and asked her to strand Javed and others in one place for a few seconds. Aditya knew that he had to take down the three men at once. Otherwise, he would be endangering the lives of everyone.
If he had a gun, he could have taken them down smoothly as the duration of the bullet taken was negligible. But again, the building would be an obstacle. Aditya had to calculate multiple factors for an accurate shot. Force applied on the bowstring, weight of the arrow, material and aerodynamic design of the arrow tip, distance of trajectory, angle of release, air friction, wind direction and speed.
On top of that, these three people were moving at an irregular pace. With the distance between them was varying at an inconsistent rate, things became even more complicated. The time taken for the arrow to reach the target would change based on the angle of release, and the distance travelled. So, Aditya could not take a clear shot as he watched them move towards the podium.
Aditya sighed a breath of relief when he saw that Javed and others stopped on the podium. Through the CCTV surveillance and his elder sister's spy equipment, Aditya was able to get an accurate picture with his supernatural calculating abilities. He had already utilised this ability once when Faizal had gone to give a warning, but this shot was going to be more intricate. Aditya had already connected 'deer hunting' broadheads to three arrows. The blades glittered in the sunlight which was able to pass through the dense Banyan foliage.
Faizal and others noticed that their boss's expression looked grim and did not disturb him. Aditya prepared the arrows and adjusted the settings on his compound bow. Aditya's brow slightly wrinkled when he saw that Javed was behind a wooden structure. This wood was protecting him from a possible impact.
Now, Aditya had to fire two times separately for Javed and the other two men. He kept two arrows in his mouth and changed the angle of release so that the first arrow had to travel a longer distance and consumes more time. Aditya had to delay the arrow by 0.67 seconds before the other two arrows caught up. The first arrow had to travel a longer distance and stay in the air for a longer time.
Aditya had to curve the first arrow a little to avoid that wooden structure, but the other two was more straight forward. Although it felt like a long time had passed, Aditya had completed his preparation in a few seconds. His hand muscles tightened as he pulled the arrow. Aditya looked at the gaps of the foliage, from which the sunlight was coming.
Aditya pupils shrank a little as he released the arrow. Before the string could come back to its original position, Aditya had already placed the two bolts in position. He changed the 'angle' a little and released.
Faizal and others looked the quick release with awe in their eyes. They said a silent prayer for those victims of their boss's arrows.