Episode 1

 

“All the very best. I will be there to guide you along” 

The words echoed. He felt he could hear these again and again. His ear drums were throbbing. His perfect suit was ruffled and the cuffs presented to him by his son for the great event was missing. There were a few cuts on his linen trousers and shoes looked fray.

He felt a sharp pain in the elbow and knees. There were many small bruises on the fingers and hands and looked red. Is it because of all the forcible tags and drags to pull him to safety? His lips were dry and throat felt parched. He remembered someone handing him a bottle of water only to have that tossed away from his most trusted aide and personal bodyguard Arjun.

The room felt too big, empty and haunting now as he felt shaken and the state of fear setting.  He saw the big chair placed ceremoniously at the back of a big teakwood study table, the supposed throne. The throne of responsibilities, the throne of roses and thorns. The one he made his own today.

“Why today?” “Why him?” He was puzzled for the first time after all the chaos today. A sudden realization dawned. “Was it planned for me? Was he the collateral damage?” A chill of fear ran down his spine, and he felt a rush of sweat on the temples. The already soaring pain on the body seemed to settle fully on the brain and his head felt like bursting.

The quiet room suddenly felt reverberating. He could hear a faint noise. Maybe the door is getting opened. “We need to shift you now immediately” Arjun almost commanded. He was accompanied by 5 very serious looking uniformed personnels whom he had met in the morning. They had conveyed their regards to him, and he had shared a few lighter moments just a couple of hours back.

“What is happening?” He managed to slur out a few words though not sure he sounded legible.

“We are not sure. Only thing now is to get you to a safe place. We do not want anything more happening today.” Arjun sounded very calm, but he could sense a ton of tensions under his vein.

“He is gone” Arjun’s eyes met his for the first time in the last two minutes since they had entered the room. Did it show regret? Fear? Guilt? He could not sense it. He did not want to. Even he did not know what emotion he felt at the moment.

“You both stay here. We will go out and check and come back to move him to safety.” One of the officers commanded a couple of the others and went back to the chaos. Arjun stood by his side seemingly with a fiercer attitude to protect him better.

“Can I have some water?” he turned to Arjun.

Arjun looked up quietly, reached for the bottle of water lying on the table, unscrewed the cap, and extended it toward him. Just as he was about to take it, hesitation flickered across his face. Arjun paused, pulled the bottle back slightly, and took a slow sip himself.

He raised his hand gently, signaling him to wait. Perhaps it was caution. Perhaps distrust. Or perhaps a silent attempt to prove that the water carried no threat.

The minute that followed stretched unbearably, heavy with silence and suspicion. Every second crawled forward like an eternity, the air between them thick with unspoken fear. Finally, Arjun extended the bottle once again — this time with quieter assurance in his eyes.

As he grabbed the water, he felt his knees go weak. He wanted to sit. The throne gleamed so mysteriously but he had no other option. As he proceeded to sit on it, the papers on the table rustled and he could see his signature and name at the bottom of the papers that seemed to record his oath on black and white.

Aadhan , CM of Tamilnadu.

The first signature.

Minutes after signing the oath, the ex-CM is shot. He felt blood on his hands. There was another gush of sweat and he pulled his handkerchief when a small paper crumble fell out. It had the four words in big black font. 

"This is the first"