#theswallows

[hand-written-dreams]

CRIMSOM SHADE

Prologue

The Monster in the Shadow

2 Weeks ago

A shadow loomed in the dark stillness of the night.

A pair of eyes gleamed.

The eyes of a predator.

Eyes like fire and thunder, laced with venom.

Multiple computers flickered to red all of a sudden. Someone had dared to invade the monster's lair. He was at once thrilled and in awe of the audacity of the intruder, "TheSwallow."

TheSwallow had breached the first layer of firewall the monster had built around his empire of dark web.

And the monster was no stranger to TheSwallow.

He knew her.

He had stolen from her.

How did the monster know the intruder was a "her"? Experience. Years of navigating in the dark corridors of hacking taught him to distinguish between a "he" and a "she". The "she"s usually had a specific style in writing code. These codes in his screens were so damn gorgeous to be written by a man.

The "she"s were very rare in the hacker business, but when there was a "she", it was a fucking spectacle to behold.

Just like what's transpiring right now.

The monster could kiss her dainty little fingers for the show she was putting on. So sexy, so sensual.

A smile curved in the corner of his lips.

His smile was a blade wrapped in silk.

A sinister mixture of danger and delight.

It was time to lay a trap for the little bird. Let’s see how the swallow fared in the sky of the eagles.

------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 1

A Serpent in the Eagle's Den

TheShadowMonster

It was the name she hated the most in the whole universe right now. Who was TheShadowMonster? She didn't know. No one knew. He was a notorious hacker on the dark web, the lord of that shadowy world. Hackers all over the globe admired him, some worshipped him, others peed their pants at the mere mention of his name. He was a name of admiration, reverence, and fear in their world.

Khushi Sen Gupta used to admire him, even worship him in certain weak moments, but not anymore. Right now, she hated his guts.

TheShadowMonster was a thief.

He had no morals.

Growing up in a notorious mafia family of Kolkata wasn't bad enough, now she had to face this drawback in her secret life as well.

Yes, Khushi Sen Gupta was a hacker.

A highly proficient one.

A childhood full of mommy issues and daddy issues does that to you, when you find computers more emotionally available to you than your own parents.

Khushi Sen Gupta was a born genius. She discovered the language of computers when she was 8 years old, and since then, she never looked back.

Her father, Sashidhar Sen Gupta, the Deputy Commissioner of Police in Kolkata, was also the most corrupt in the country's history, not that anyone knew about his crimes. He was a member of 'The Serpents,' one of the three families that established the mafia in this country in the fifties.

The infamous 'Triad.'

Three families had formed an organized mafia syndicate that had been dominating the county for decades. They had vowed to follow the rules set by the Godfathers and assist one another in times of crisis.

When territories were being distributed, the head of the Serpents, Samol Kumar Jha, had claimed West Bengal and its borders. They had started operating from there. The Sen Gupta family had the honor of being the consiglieri of the Serpents and had held that position ever since.

A consigliere was someone not related by blood to the family.

An outsider.

But he offered legal and financial counsel to The Boss while shielding them from impending threats. That was Khushi's father now. The consigliere of the Serpents.

The Serpents ruled West Bengal for decades, but a few years ago, they moved to Delhi when The Boss, Prakash Narayan Jha, decided to dip his toes into politics. As a result, the Sen Gupta household also relocated to Delhi. Even after The Boss was mysteriously murdered, they didn't move back. The Serpents now operated their business in Kolkata from Delhi, as the brother of the deceased boss took over that part of the business. The Heir wanted to venture into even more dangerous games.

The Politics.

The son of the deceased boss, Shyam Manohar Jha, was eager to try his luck in the political arena, just like his father.

People called him "The Viper".

A fitting description of his nature.

The second family was the Mumbai Wolves. As the name suggested, Mumbai was their territory. Khushi didn't know much about them. She had never needed to. She hadn't encountered any of them in her entire 22 years of life. But she could vaguely recall that last month, the boss's daughter was killed in plain sight, such an insult to the power the Wolves possessed.

And the last but not the least, the most notorious of them all.

The Black Eagles.

In whose territory she was standing right now. The Serpents and the Black Eagles didn't see eye to eye. They were enemies. But since they were in the same alliance, they had to tolerate each other. Why were people who were once friends now enemies? That's a long story. Let's just store it for another time. For now, there's more pressing issue to focus on.

Her whereabouts.

Fuck, Fuck, Fuck.

It was a mistake.

It could be nothing but a mistake.

A grave one in nature.

Entering enemy territory like this!

But it was a mistake she needed to make.

A party was going on. A costume party with masks, nonetheless. At least it would be a tad bit easier to hide her identity.

The knives she strapped to her thighs were biting her skin.

Ignoring the pain in her thigh, Khushi simply observed. She had been preparing for this night for days. She had meticulously transformed her appearance for the evening. The long black gown concealed the knives strapped to her thighs. She paired the dress with a simple black lace mask. Her dark hair was curled into long waves with lips painted a vivid red.

It wasn't her.

But it was essential for her plan.

She forced herself to maintain an air of nonchalance, her wine glass raised in one hand. She feigned drinking from it, but her eyes were locked on the crowd, never losing focus. A few sips of the drink might have soothed her jittery nerves, yet she refrained. A clear head was more crucial than any liquid courage. The party was being held in a mansion associated with the Black Eagles. The mansion was alive with the vibrant energy of the party in full motion.

Perhaps tonight she would get some answers. It was good that she had gathered as much information about them as possible over the past few days.

"Mr.Rathore, so nice to see you."

A man's loud greetings drew her attention. Khushi studied the man being greeted. He stood tall, his medium-built frame filling out the sharp lines of his tailored suit, a classic black that contrasted with his neatly combed white hair. His face was wrinkled with age.

Vikrant "the Butcher" Singh Rathore.

The boss of The Black Eagles.

He had so much blood on his hands. Everyone in her world did. But he had the bloodiest of them all.

Hence the name "The Butcher."

His ruthless demeanor commanded respect in their world, admired by many. Khushi had encountered enough men like him in her life to remain unfazed, or at least to hide it well.

Standing beside him was his son, the Prince of the Rathore Empire, Akash Singh Rathore. A tall, well-built man. His role within the Eagles was still uncertain. Rumor had it that the Junior Rathore wanted to leave the mafia world. Not a promising prospect for the Rathore family, with an heirless empire hanging in the balance.

Those men in the eastern corner cared very little about the masquerade, standing barefaced while others concealed themselves behind masks. Good for Khushi. Nonetheless, she had studied them so much over the past few days that she would recognize them anywhere-masked, unmasked, veiled, or unveiled.

Khushi finally let herself take a little sip of the red liquid for the first time that night. The bitterness of the wine burned her throat. A spark compared to the burning hate prickling her skin as her eyes wandered to the man who stood silently beside Junior Rathore.

The man she had come here for.

Arnav Singh Raizada.

The consigliere of the Black Eagles.

The Outsider.

Her eyes traced over him, lingering on every detail. He stood tall in an all-black suit. The black shirt underneath had its top three buttons open in absence of a tie. His black hair was slightly messy, as if he had just run his fingers through it. He kept his gaze fixed on the man in front of him with the most bored, expressionless face she had ever seen. It was hard to see his eye from this distance.

But she knew they were brown.

Light chocolate brown.

Like caramel and chocolate mixed together, sprinkled with a hint of orange and green if you got the right angle.

Eyes like shadow and flame.

Eyes that could kill you, literally and figuratively.

She had seen pictures of him in great detail, just for research purposes.

Purely and absolutely.

Not because she found him attractive or anything. Like right now, she couldn't take her eyes off the handsome man, not because his well-built body was flexing in all the right places as he shook someone's hand, but because of the stories she had heard of him over the years since he returned from the States seven years ago.

The words had it that after Senior Rathore's retirement, he would be the boss of The Black Eagles, not Junior Rathore. They said Vikrant Singh Rathore favored Mr. Raizada over his own son. In parts, Mr. Raizada even bore a closer resemblance to Senior Rathore than to his own father.

Arnav "The Vulture" Singh Raizada.

He was The Vulture among The Eagles.

In the business world, people called him ASR. He was the son of the former consigliere of The Black Eagles, Arvind Singh Raizada. After Arvind was murdered, his wife committed suicide. Following that, Senior Rathore had sent him to the USA to study at Harvard. He had taken over the Rathore Industries at 25 and transformed the once-dying company into a Fortune 500 corporation. People said his net worth was over 500 million dollars, with some even claiming it was more.

But the more impressive thing was how he got his nickname. He cleared away all their illegal affairs and whitewashed all of their black money, giving them the cleanest reputation in the entire mafia world in the police database. Under the shade of the massive wings of The Vulture, The Eagles could easily operate their business without any hitch.

Such a waste of a Harvard education, Khushi huffed.

There's a saying in her world that became popular in the last few years, "When the vulture surrounds you, try not to die."

He had the reputation of being the deadliest Eagle of them all,the most predatory. He would rarely go on a hunt though, but when he did, it was over. He went straight for the jugular.

No distractions.

No playing around with the prey.

But no one had ever seen him in action. Her bodyguard-turned-driver, Mohan, thought it was all just rumors The Eagles spread to create fear about the next boss among the masses.

She smiled politely at an older lady passing by, slightly raising her wine glass and pretending to take a sip. She kept her inspection ongoing from under the rim of her glass. She was right. Mr. Raizada did run his fingers through his hair a lot. The tattoo on his hand caught her eye.

He had a tattoo of a swallow on his right hand. Her favourite bird.

She had even named her hacker ID "TheSwallow." She yearned for the freedom of the bird and wanted to fly away to a far-off land one day. She didn't want to be frowned upon like the peacock or the swan. She wanted to be free, lost in the crowd like a normal human, not caged away in a castle.

She felt bad for the bird inked into his skin. Such a pretty bird trapped on the hand of such a despicable man. Just as he had caged the swallow forever in his skin, The Vulture had robbed her of her freedom as well.

She worked through all her university years at IIT Delhi to collect information and proof about the crimes committed by his father and the Serpent, so that by the end of her graduation, she could share them with the police in exchange for protection and escape from the country. She also coded a deadly virus that could evade any high-end security system, which she intended to sell on the dark web for a high price. But as she was transferring the data to the CBI, it stopped at the 10% mark, and all her data and the virus she created were gone. Absolutely gone. Not a single file remained on her computer. To make matters worse, her computer was formatted.

He was hacked by none other than TheShadowMonster. Why the infamous hacker in the history of all hackers needed to target someone like her, she had no idea. She didn't have any idea about the 'why's, 'how's, or 'who's anymore.

She only knew that the information he had hacked was dangerous. It could destroy the entire mob world if it fell into the wrong hands. They could use it as leverage against the mob families, especially the Serpents, to achieve anything. And it had fallen into the worst hands possible.

The hands of an enemy.

She had been tracking the data and TheShadowMonster relentlessly for the past few days. She even managed to hack TheShadowMonster's server. All of this tracking had led her to Mr. Raizada. TheShadowMonster had sold the information to him. She discovered text messages, transactions, and every detail that pointed to the fact that the information was sold to Mr. Raizada in exchange for a huge amount of money.

And with that, all her escape routes had been blocked. She was trapped in this hellhole.

She couldn't stay in Delhi any longer. She couldn't afford to wait to collect more information against them as the day of her wedding approached rapidly. She needed to retrieve the information tonight, at any cost, from none other than Mr. Arnav Singh Raizada.

She was going to kill The Vulture.

She knew it seemed foolish, utterly illogical, but she had no other choice. Either she would kill him and obtain the information, or he would kill her and put her out of her misery. Either way, she would be free.

There was one more reason behind her desire to eliminate The Vulture.

Her only friend from university, despite her father's hovering and overprotectiveness, had vanished after the hacking incident. She didn't want to assume the worst, but her efforts to track him down and inquiries among other students led nowhere. Nikhil Khurana, whom she called NK, had vanished without a trace. She knew NK could remain untraceable if he wanted, as he was skilled with computers and in removing his online tracks as well. But Khushi was Khushi. She discovered a number NK had shared text messages with before his disappearance, and that number belonged to Mr. ASR.

Khushi didn't have time to cry over her pathetic life or the fact that she had befriended someone sent by The Eagles to keep an eye on her. Not just befriended, but she had made him her best friend for life-the pathetic, lonely, friendless life that she had.

That was indeed a solid reason to kill Mr. Raizada, for giving her a best friend and then snatching it all away.

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@featheredclover @arshifiesta @phuljari @jalebi-weds-bluetooth @chutkiandchotte @arshisrabbaves @titaliya

[faizal-skudal]

La O Be #theswallows #bapakmetal #popyehyeh https://www.instagram.com/p/Cb5CV6phsNi/?utm_medium=tumblr

[letsjoyful]

#CancerSupportGroups #cancer #cancerhelp #InspirationalSpeaker #shrenikshah #shrenikshah2110 #beingfearless #LaryngectomeeSPEAKEStoo #stoma #LiveTalkShow #ImageBuilidingBeyondBoundaries #GoingBackToWorkAfterCancer #BringingBackLostSMILE #hncconf2019 #hncconf2018 #theswallows #IWIllNotQuit #MakingDifferenceInLifeOfOthers #DedicatedToTheWillToWIN #electroLarynx #Laryngectomy #Laryngrctomee #FromDisabledToEnabled (at Nottingham, United Kingdom) https://www.instagram.com/p/B5NkWfMghwM/?igshid=17xl50tais1hg

[cbarrowman]

Read a book! Right now! Link to my @morningblend fall book club seg in bio. #notreallyangry #liveTV #thewarehouse #theswallows #thedutchhouse https://www.instagram.com/p/B1-MafJHeBU/?igshid=1nh38k67ucg5d

[decoratingreader]

Happy Friday Eve 🤗 This week has flown by once again. I swear life went by slower when I was younger. Is it just me? . Thank you to @penguinrandomhouse for gifting me The Swallows by @lisa.lutz . It released this week and it’s high on my tbr. Have any of you read it yet? Or do you plan to? (Summary in comments) . When I went shopping Tuesday I stopped by @marshalls and found this Blessed @raedunn pillow and a sunflower candle that smells like fall 🍁🌻 because I am seriously SO ready for it. I also grabbed some sunflowers from Hobby Lobby! That place just makes me so happy every time I go in there. 😂😂 Anyone else? . . . #theswallows #lisalutz #thebookstagram #bookstagrammers #hygge #readersofinsta #lovetoread #bookaesthetic #ofquietmoments #penguinrandomhouse #tbr #raedunn #raedunnfinds #hobbylobby #cosy (at Memphis, Tennessee) https://www.instagram.com/p/B1MSTyWHeM_/?igshid=1wzpcy2gc6y9j

[triadin]

I made a new post on #Patreon as the #Triadin tales move forward. “Time to let go of fear ... That is why we are here...” #Rogar #Ashyu #TheSwallow 🎨. #asiancharacter #panel #representation #translivesmatter #love #family #fantasy #love #LGBTQIA #ric4art #Japan #Shikoku #Kagawa #日本 #四国 #香川 #drawing #wizard #sketch #wip (at Kagawa Prefecture) https://www.instagram.com/p/CGLe_prnIFE/?igshid=qdyw908vboui

[tugglegrassblues]

Book Review | The Swallows

Book Review | The Swallows

The Swallows Book Review | 📚📚📚 1/2 3.5/5 Lisa Lutz (author) | Ballantine (Random House) Books

The Swallows is a book about a high school prep school with a secret society, a badass teacher whose past troubles follow, and a growing group of renegade students. What could possibly go wrong?

Why I was interested in this book: I read a lot of grit lit and literature with social messages. I needed…

[awe86]

Layan Kopi ☕️ #nowspining "Senandong Malam" cover by The Swallows 👌🏻. #okgo ✊🏻 #kassimselamat #theswallows 🎸🥁

[henrycavillportal]

#CᴀᴠɪʟʟᴏɴSᴏᴄɪᴀʟMᴇᴅɪᴀ | Zireael

#TheSwallow

#TheWitcher

@Netflix

@WitcherNetflix

@HenryCavill

#HenryCavill #Zireael #Sorceress #TheWitcher #Witcher #Geralt #GeraltofRivia #Netflix #NetflixWitcher #hexer #thewitchernetflix #thewitcher3 #gwent #Ведьмак #wiedzmin #witcher3wildhunt #gameofthrones #cirilla #bloodandwine #wildhunt #ciri #polish #yenneferofvengerberg #sapkowski #monsterslaying #yennefer #monsterslaying #cdprojektred

We're NOT Henry Cavill. He's @HenryCavill

[loomedbylacy]

I don’t even have words for the way these turned out after all the roadblocks I hit on the way to the end 🥰 Sometimes things don’t go as planned and the outcome is even more beautiful 🤩 ⁣. . . #bleachdye #trio #easysubli #purple #pink #blue #cassette #theswallow #sublimation https://www.instagram.com/p/CQJxT54ruEI/?utm_medium=tumblr

[hcbraziliansfans]

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by ꧁༒•Hcbrazilianfans•༒꧂®️ (@hcbrazilianfans)

Zireael #TheSwallow #TheWitcher @Netflix @WitcherNetflix #Repost @henrycavill #hcbrazilianfans https://www.instagram.com/p/B0zeCVphe0I/?igshid=1103qtfrhqcey

[letsjoyful]

#CancerSupportGroups #cancer #cancerhelp #InspirationalSpeaker #shrenikshah #shrenikshah2110 #beingfearless #LaryngectomeeSPEAKEStoo #stoma #LiveTalkShow #ImageBuilidingBeyondBoundaries #GoingBackToWorkAfterCancer #BringingBackLostSMILE #hncconf2019 #hncconf2018 #theswallows #IWIllNotQuit #MakingDifferenceInLifeOfOthers (at Nottingham, United Kingdom) https://www.instagram.com/p/B5Njv_gg2G3/?igshid=1rmti516b19kj

[thesixweekseeker]

A land without a plan…

(5/2-5/12/17)

So I don’t always (usually) have a plan in life but I really didn’t have anything lined up for my next venture to Ireland that was coming up in less than a week. The only plan that I did have was a flight in and out of Dublin, and that kept changing by the minute. You can credit bad influence besties and a hot new romantic interest in NYC who were supporting my United change fee habit.  So, I decided to just wing it in the Emerald Isle and stick with no plan is the best plan.

I landed bright and early on Tuesday morn’ and I luckily slept most o’ the way (I’ll stop) from EWR to DUB.  I apparently slept so soundly that I even missed the customs form handout portion.  I had a panic moment when I rolled up to the counter at the Dublin Airport ….

Agent: (Serious face) Customs form please.

Susie: (Red face) I’m so sorry, I don’t have mine … I slept through that on the plane … and

Agent: (Cuts off my monologue) Well, where are you staying in Ireland?

Susie: (Trying to sound like I have a plan) Ummm, I don’t know yet.

Agent: (Looking at me like I’m a hot mess) Well how long are you staying in Ireland?

Susie: (Feeling like a hot mess) I think 6 Weeks.

Agent: (Flabbergasted) Why would you stay in Ireland for 6 Weeks?!?

Susie: (Return Flabbergasted) Why wouldn’t I stay in Ireland for Weeks?!?

Agent: (Finally chuckling) That’s a good answer I suppose.  You don’t need a customs form.  Enjoy your stay.

True story.

After making it through that thorough interrogation, I needed to figure out where I would venture to first.  From those who have gone before me, the feedback was “you pretty much can’t go wrong” followed up with a general consensus of Galway City being the best.  So I decided to embark upon “The West Village of Ireland” and was off to find a mode of transport.  

Since I was still pretty loopy and a little anxious about driving on the left side (since I can barely drive on the right side), I passed on the car rental option for now. You’re welcome everyone in Ireland.  *Side note: learn how to drive a manual before arriving.  A monthly car rental was about $1,000 for an automatic but as cheap as $200 for a manual.  Click here for some good tips if you plan to rent a car while in Ireland.

Luckily, the bus system is super legit across the entire country.  At the Dublin Airport, each “city” or destination has its own bay if you walk around to the area between Terminals 1 & 2.  It is very clearly marked and organized, and for each destination there are several bus options (see helpful link here).  I found a CityLink Bus heading to Galway City, and I was wifi-enabled and set for the 2.5 hour journey for a mere 20 Euros.  Winning.

I unfortunately slept through most of the bus ride to Galway, but the parts that I saw half-awake/half-delirious were gorgeous. We arrived at the city centre bus station and since I was rolling with a non-low maintenance checked bag, I found a taxi right outside.   *Second side note: Everything less than 5 Euros is given in coin format.  So whereas my ride was 6 Euros and I thought I was giving him .40 Euros back, I actually gave him 4 Euros back.  I’m counting that as my Six Week Random Act of Kindness for the day. #rakitup

My friend had a friend who has relatives who own a B&B in Lower Salthill called Wards Hotel (did you follow that).  Lower Salthill is a pretty seaview area right next to Galway City, so I figured I would start my lodging adventure there.   Unfortunately as I strolled up to Wards I was shut down by the bartender (in a very kind manner of course) who let me know that it was completely booked.  If only there was a way to pre-book your accommodations and avoid this sort of thing…

Anyway, I was sticking to my no plan/spontaneous game and he directed me down Father Griffin Road where there were 6 B&B’s back to back.  Luckily there was one that still had vacancies called The Swallow.  I met the lovely grandpa-like owner named Jimmy.  *Btw, EVERYONE here is named Jimmy.  Makes it super sweet when addressing people if you are inept at remembering names like myself.  I can just say “hey Jimmy” to any guy and it usually sticks.

My reservation exchange with Jimmy lasted all of one minute.  He smiled at me and said “number 6 is available – go have a look.” To which I did and it was good. Bed, bathroom, clean, quiet – score.  I came back down and he said “take it day by day, stay as long as you’d like, pay when you leave and here’s your key.”  This man clearly knows his audience.  One day turned into two, which turned into three, and I ended up staying for ten days so that’s how it goes.

Jimmy and his wife Patricia are the owners at The Swallow, and they made everything great for me.  They were there when I needed them, and out of my way when I didn’t.  Breakfast was solid (not a full traditional Irish breakfast if that’s what you are searching for) but more than plenty to start the day.  They will also set you up with the West Coast tours that are must-dos (Connemara, Cliffs of Moher and Aran Islands) and can even get you picked up right outside of the B&B.  

However the best part, next to them, is the location. It’s perfectly situated right between Galway City and Salthill.  Both are about a 10-15 minute walk away depending on your destination, and both spots are equally good (IMO).  The Swallow isn’t extravagant, as most B&Bs there aren’t, but with 45 Euros getting you an ensuite, free wifi, breakfast, amazing owners and an unbeatable central location, it’s a perfect deal for your home base in the West.  Click here to learn more and/or book your stay.

 Galway City completely won me over with its small town charm + big city energy. I’ll be sharing more of my epic highlights there along with my hunt for healthy eats (and maybe a few unhealthy ones that are worth the cheat) in blogs to follow.  I know most people say “it’s impossible to stay healthy while traveling” so it’s my mission to continue to prove that statement as a big fat FALSE. 

Stay tuned in eager anticipation for all of the goodness that is to come from Ireland …

[hellavende]

📷 by The Swallow Photography. Model: Hellavende

[triadin]

I made a new post on #Patreon as the #Triadin tales move forward. “Time to let go of fear ...and your momentum...” #TheSwallow #Rogar #Ashyu🎨. #panel #representation #translivesmatter #love #family #fantasy #LGBTQIA #ric4art #Japan #Shikoku #Kagawa #日本 #四国 #香川 #wip (at Kagawa Prefecture) https://www.instagram.com/p/CI_9UqqnCSu/?igshid=1r2zsnfmnpidw

[speedypeachglitter-blog]

Texts: Kent Parson LVA

Bitty: Hey Kent!

Bitty: It's me, Bitty! From Samwell.

Bitty: Speaking of Samwell, we have this thing called the Swallow? It's mostly gossip and stuff but. You came up in it. Yay :/

Bitty: http://theswallow-su.tumblr.com/post/155469862316/does-kent-parson-know-how-fruit-works

Bitty: Not sure if this will affect your travel plans or anything. Or if you need to talk to PR about the kissing thing.

Bitty: Anyway. Let me know if I can help. I usually try to fly under the radar with the Swallow, but I guess anyone seen talking to someone as famous as you is good for gossip.