SAGA- THE REVENGE STORY OF A BLO0DY SURGEON

CHAPTER 13

R

aghu was a second year General Surgery resident. He had dishevelled hair and an overgrown beard which he never bothered to trim. He was Surya’s colleague in the NIMS posting. He was sitting in his room and was lost in his thoughts, trembling with fear.

He’d often borrow money from his friends and spend it recklessly on parties. He had met a girl on a dating app few days ago. It was the first time he’d matched with someone. Last night he was texting her. After a while, she said that she was interested in coming over to his place. He was stupid enough to make that blunder.

He lived in a pent house that was on the terrace of an apartment complex. Sai Sree arrived at around midnight. She sat next to Raghu on the bed. They had been texting each other just for a few days. He was shocked that she agreed to come over so quickly.

She had curly hair and a wheatish complexion. “Do you want to start?” she asked curtly.

Raghu nodded. She undid the buttons on her top. Raghu kissed her and then took off her top. They began making out on the bed. Things soon got steamier. She moaned softly.

“I’m beginning to like this,” she whispered

He was on his knees at looking at. He tried to undo her skirt. But she gently took both his hands and placed them on her breasts. He continued kissing her lips and neck. His hand again slid towards her skirt but she gently resisted. There was a tense moment. He looked into her eyes and tried to discern what was holding her back.

“What happened? Why aren’t you taking off your skirt?” He winked. “Let’s just enjoy the foreplay and forget about s*x”

“Why?” Raghu asked being perplexed. She hesitated a bit. But she knew she had no choice.

“I have a uterine condition. There’s occasional bleeding too.”

“Do you have an STD?” He suddenly shifted to the other end of the bed.

“Not an STD. But… I just can’t. Don’t embarrass me, please.”

Raghu shouted “Come on! If you don’t want to have s*x then why did you come over?”

“It’s not what you think dear. I had some issues. Please try to understand” She tried to come closer. But he looked at her sternly and pointed towards the door and asked her to leave.

“Asshole!” She dressed up and left at once.

Later, he tried to search her name on the internet. He came across a profile with her name on a site. He went through the posts on the screen. After scrolling through several posts something caught his attention. He was shocked beyond belief. He rubbed his eyes and moved closer to the screen. The post had a link to another website. It was a list of transgender people who had undergone gender reassignment surgery from a well-known hospital which offered such surgeries at a reasonable cost. On further scrutiny he came across a photo of a man named Sai Srinivas Panchal. The facial features were similar to the girl who had just left.

“I tried to have s*x with a transgender?!”

Suddenly everything made sense. He opened another bottle of beer and continued searching for other things about her on the internet. She had appeared for an interview at an airlines which was hiring cabin crew but she was rejected for some unknown reason.

Her i********: bio was “I can’t tolerate any discrimination against my people” He had previously seen the statement and assumed that she was referring to her family. But now he understood what she was referring to. He was terror-stricken and gulped down the entire bottle out of fear.

She knows where I live. What if she returns with her friends?

He couldn’t sleep all-night. He sat cross-legged on his bed, covered himself with a blanket and watched the gate of the terrace. He kept a stick handy just in case. A few times he dozed off but his fear kept him determined. He made a few calls to his friends but none responded as it was already past midnight. He could even hear his own shallow and rapid breaths in the eerie silence. He wanted to leave his room at once. But he was too drunk to drive. At dawn he went to sleep.

That morning Surya was in his room. He was furious. He clutched his head and shrieked loudly out of sheer frustration. He dialled Sandhya’s number. But it was switched off. He kicked his Bullet motorcycle to life and revved it hard. He rode towards Sandhya’s house. The speedometer showed 100km/hr but he didn’t care. The gate was locked! He asked an old woman who was passing by, "Do you know where this family has gone"

She seemed confused.

“The building has been empty for several years. No one stays there except a bachelor guy along with his friends. They come here only on weekends to drink and make merry."

"How does he look like?"

"I don't remember much. But he looks lean, has a wheatish colour, curly hair and some marks on his right arm.” Surya checked the time. He was posted at NIMS in the Vascular Surgery department. He was so occupied with tracking down Sandhya that he almost forgot about attending the postings. A resident from Vascular Surgery called him on the phone. But he didn’t answer the call. Luckily the hospital was not very far away.

Surya reached the Vascular Surgery Department on time. Rajeev, a Vascular Surgery resident, approached Surya.

"Where is Raghu?"

"I will call him, sir."

He called Raghu but his phone was switched off.

"Sir, his phone is switched off"

"Try again! How long will you work alone? It will take a lot of time. Call him again"

"His phone is switched off."

Rajeev sighed, "I don't even know if this fellow will ever come. He just sent me a text message that he had to attend a workshop "

"Yes Sir! He is very reckless. I bet he’s not at any workshop. He just needs a reason to escape."

Surya was so tired of working alone. He usually never said anything against his colleagues but this was a different scenario. He texted in the w******p group which the surgery residents had made, "Where are you Raghu?"

Raghu woke up in the afternoon and looked at his phone which was switched off. After switching it on he got a message from Surya. "Where are you, Raghu?"

Raghu was not in a mood to reply then. He took a cold shower and replied after an hour. Later he texted in the group that he was interested in exchanging duties with another resident.

Surya texted “Do your duty properly. Later you can do other’s duty.”

Raghu messaged out of enrage “Who the hell are you to ask? It's my personal matter. Don't get involved in it."

This ticked off Surya. He had to do all the work alone. He had expected a decent reply. But Raghu's indignant behaviour irked him a lot!

Soon, Surya sent another text, “Oh really? You must be quite busy too. I have heard about your romance stories." Raghu was paranoid. He thought that everyone got to know about last night’s incident..

He went into his bedroom and fished out a bottle of whiskey from the cupboard. He felt better after a few gulps of whiskey. He wanted to vent his anger. He dialled Surya’s number at once. But Surya didn't answer the call as he was busy. He took few more gulps of whiskey.

He rode straight to the NIMS hospital. He didn’t even bother to park his bike properly. He left it in the emergency bay that was meant for ambulances. The watchman was about to argue with him but he just pushed away and went to the Vascular Surgery department on the 3rd floor. He noticed that Surya was updating some case sheets. A head nurse was organising the medicine cabinet. Raghu barged inside, shouted "Motherfucker!" and whacked Surya on the head. The blow sent his glasses flying across the room. "Mind your own business," Raghu warned, waving his index finger with a murderous expression on his face.

The head nurse had seen everything. She intervened and said, "What kind of a doctor are you? Don't you know how to behave with your colleagues?"

"Sister! You just stay calm! You don't know anything," Raghu snapped back at her.

Vishal, a tall brown skinned general surgeon from Gandhi Hospital was posted in NIMS. He stood erect looking into his eyes with disgust.

"Why do I have to be calm? If you have any issues, deal with them outside. If you don't have respect for your colleagues, at least have respect for the profession and the hospital" Raghu contorted his face to a grim look and walked away.

One of the patients’ attendants said, "Who is that rogue?"

"He is a surgeon in Osmania Hospital" Surya sighed.

Vishal patted on his shoulder “Surya! You should not leave that bastard. People like them were parasite to our society. Teach him a lesson.”

Raghu was dazed! He left the ward to prevent any further escalation. He saw Surya texting something near the elevator. Raghu ordered nervously "Let’s just end this here. Shall we?"

"You hit me in front of everyone. You won’t get away with this so easily. I will see your end" said Surya.

Raghu's phone beeped. He looked at the notifications, in which, it mentioned "Raghu, you manhandled me?! I will not let this go. Everything was recorded in the camera! I have political and media connections. My relative is a renowned film actor. I will see your end.'' Raghu was trembling with fear. He immediately removed Surya from the group.

Meanwhile, Surya was going downstairs. He ran into someone accidentally. "Watch where you’re going,” he muttered. He was shocked to see who he’d run into. It was Sandhya.

"Surya!" She gasped and began running towards the rear gate of NIMS. Surya chased her. He managed to catch up with her at the gate.

"Sandhya! Tell me! Why exactly did you leak those pictures?"

"I can't say anything right now. But you need to acknowledge that the mess you are in right now is much bigger than what you are assuming it to be."

“What are you saying?"

“I know what happened to Fathima. She did not die because of your negligence. Her death was planned. To…to cover up a truth”

“That day when the MCI inspection was happening…” She glanced behind anxiously "I can't tell you now Surya!" She handed him a locket that was shaped like a cross. “I have no choice” and she rushed out of the gate. She stopped near her scooter and looked behind. Surya was a few feet away. She decided to ditch her scooter and fled on foot instead.

As she fled, a black Ambassador car veered in her direction and hit her from behind. The impact caused her to stumble forward and hit her head on the pavement. She lay there unconscious in a pool of blood. Surya looked in the direction of the ambassador car.

A man in a black hoodie wearing dark goggles peeked out. Surya desperately ran after the car but it was too late. He rushed back to her and called out her name. Sandhya woke up with a flinch and locked her eyes with his. Her face was bloody and breathing was shallow "I …. I have no choice…Surya… I have no choice… Surya!" and she fainted. Someone had already alerted the paramedics in the hospital. She was strapped to a spine board and placed onto a stretcher by the paramedics.

The doctors in the emergency room got to work soon. She was later taken to the operation theatre. Surya was quite distressed by the sudden turn of events since morning. He perched on a visitor's chair. Her last words echoed in his head.

Who was the hooded guy? Is he the one who blackmailed her to honey trap me? But why? Why did he try to kill her? What does she know about Fathima? Her death was planned?! The guy in the hoodie just tried to kill her!

What about the junkie living in Sandhya’s apartment? Is he connected to all this?

He asked the neurosurgeon about her condition just as he was about to enter the OT. "She has a severe head injury. We have to operate on her soon."

"Sure doctor! Do what you need to do." The neurosurgeon, Dr. Sampath, gently patted his shoulders. Surya’s shirt was stained with blood.

The nurse handed him a bag that contained her belongings. There was a bracelets, a phone and her neatly folded blood-stained dress.

He remembered that she’d left her scooter in the parking lot. He went outside and noticed that the key was still in the ignition. He retrieved the key. The keychain had a peculiar design. Surya wondered why she didn't take her scooter. Then he recalled that he was chasing her. Maybe out of anxiety she left the vehicle behind and fled on foot. He regretted what he had done as it cost her life.

Shit! I don't even know anything about this girl! Everything about her was a lie. I don't even understand why I am so worried about her. She looks like someone familiar. He put the key in his pocket along with the locket in shape of a cross.

Surya went through her phone. He checked for her parents’ phone numbers. He couldn’t find anything about her parents. Who are her parents? She seemed more enigmatic to him now. He was reminded of her last words.

Had no choice? Was she blackmailed to honey trap me?

He had to wait for her to become conscious to find out all the answer. He thought of Raghu again. He recalled the words of Vishal, Don’t leave the bastard! Teach him a lesson, Man!

Later, the neurosurgeon came out. Surya asked obediently regaining his attention, "Sir, how is she?"

“She is doing well. We managed to evacuate the blood clot from her brain. We have placed her under sedation for faster recovery.”