“He’ll be getting a hefty paycheck from me if this works out. Much more than he will ever make from being Shah Rukh’s lackey.”
“But…” I began, but stopped short as my phone rang and I looked down at the screen to see it was Pooja Didi.
“Hey… Are you busy…?” Pooja Didi’s soft voice came through the line, “You’ve been gone quite a while, and we are worried…”
She had no clue what was happening, and I didn’t feel like this was the right time to worry her either. “No, everything is alright. I just have something to take care of… I should be there soon. Don’t worry.”
I quickly cut the call and looked up at Karan who gave me an amused look. He’d not seen the name on the phone but did hear her voice. “Secret girlfriend that I don’t know about…”
“Shut up and focus…” I muttered as we both looked ahead towards the mansion where the guards just finished checking Peter for weapons before allowing him and Binoy in.
‘The game was on!’
***
Shah Rukh Bhai was sitting on his couch. His right-hand man, Aslam, was also sitting there. Two glasses of whiskey rested in front of the pair, as they eyed Binoy and Peter with suspicion.
“Well, look who decided to show up. It’s our Binoy.” Shah Rukh sneered as Binoy walked nervously up to him, “We thought you and your gang had decided to skip town after the fuck up you boys had with that Kapoor kid!”
“N-No no Bhai… How could anyone even consider that?” Binoy replied, his eyes darting about anxiously, “I would never do something stupid like that. Never.”
Aslam scoffed, “Oh really, where’s the rest of your gang then?”
Binoy gulped nervously, “Bhai… They were picked up by the police. I just barely escaped by the hair of my skin!”
“So, you’re here to apologize for messing up, while your friends are in jail?” Shah Rukh commented sarcastically, “And you think you can just waltz into my house and ask for forgiveness, huh?”
“No, no, no! Not at all… No! I’m here to give you something better than an apology, Bhai…” Binoy insisted, and Shah Rukh frowned, “Err… Well, I was thinking of ways to redeem my mistake with the Kapoor kid. That’s when I brought Peter here. He wants to meet you…”
Peter, who till that point hadn’t said anything, stepped forward and handed Shah Rukh a visiting card. “Peter Thomas, Head of Security at MalGaon Port. I believe that I may be of use to you…”
“MalGaon Port…” Shah Rukh looked down at the visiting card, scrutinizing it before handing it off to Aslam, while keeping an eye on the tall, muscular man in front of him, “And what exactly can this man offer me?”
“We’ve been trying to move our shipments back through that port for years” Binoy replied nervously, “Ever since Thapar shut down all the illegal stuff a few years ago. Peter here says he can get in a weekly shipment of grade-A coke.”
Peter nodded in confirmation, “I’ve been with the Thapar’s for years, but to be honest, I’m kind of tired of the scraps at the table while these hot-shot rich folks enjoy life king size.”
Shah Rukh nodded at Peter and gestured towards the sofa and then flicked his finger towards Binoy, indicating him to leave, “You may wait outside…”
“Sure Bhai…” he mumbled and scurried off, leaving Shah Rukh and Peter alone. Shah Rukh sat facing Peter, while his bodyguards stood guard at either side.
Shah Rukh studied Peter for a moment and then spoke, “So, Mr. Peter Thomas, how can you help me?”
***
“How did it go?” I asked Peter as we sat down later at one of Karan’s clubs, ‘The Pirate Ship’. A beautiful waitress dressed up like a pirate wench, with a low-cut corset and a short mini skirt, served us drinks as we discussed the details of the meeting.
Peter’s eyes lingered over the buxom girl, taking in her cleavage with an appreciative grin before turning his attention to me, “I’ve laid the bait, pretending to be a disgruntled employee who has struck a deal with some international smugglers and need a local partner to handle the distribution once the drugs come in. ”
“Well, you don’t get to be a man in his position without being cautious, do you?” I commented, sipping from my glass, “What’s the hiccup then? Isn’t he interested?”
“Of course, he’s interested.” Karan interjected, “Rumour has it that even though Shah Rukh heads the largest gang in the city, he’s been facing immense pressure from an upstart gang that broke away a few years ago and also from the police who’ve issued an arrest warrant against him already. So, this gives him a chance to bolster his business with new weapons and money!”
“Hmmmm… that’s true. But I’m still not sure if all this planning to lure him out of his house is needed at all. As you said, the police are already on the lookout for him. Can’t we just lead them to him with an anonymous tip or something?” I asked, not sure how Karan and Peter had managed to plan this out in a day.
Karan shook his head and said, “If only it were that easy… The police already know where Shah Rukh stays. But he’s been holed up in his own little gangster land for years, never once stepping out. The police won’t risk an all-out bloodbath to take out Shah Rukh while he is protected by 100s of his armed goons!”
“Yes, but if we lay the trap well with the chance to get these new weapons, that might just convince him to leave his fortress for once.” Peter nodded along, “Leave him to me, Mr. Suraj. I know what I’m doing. Within a week, Shah Rukh will have bigger troubles than you to worry about.”
“Fine… fine… I’ll leave it to the experts.” I sighed and raised my glass to Karan and Peter, “To a successful operation, gentlemen!”
***
The drive back from Karan’s place had me lost in thought. While the plan to lure out Shah Rukh and get rid of one of Ravi’s major allies was underway, my mind went to my other problem: Ravi and Oberoi’s shorts and raising the money for that play.
Karan hadn’t mentioned anything about that part of the help I needed and as I thought more about it, his silence meant that it wasn’t possible to help me there. Pooja Didi was right, Karan was already doing so much for me. How in the world could I expect him to pull out Crores for my cause. I knew he wouldn’t say it out-loud, but it would be too risky of a proposition for him.
This was a totally different scenario, and I had to find another way to deal with it myself. Maybe I could talk to Dad, without revealing too much and get him to help me buy the options. But I didn’t know how I would even approach him out of the blue and get him to lend me so much money, given our strained relationship.
My thoughts were interrupted as I turned the corner to our house. I looked at my watch. It was around 7 PM and Kishore was probably back home. I didn’t really have the energy to deal with my smug brother today. I knew Ravi won’t be back home for a few days, so I pulled my car over to Pooja Didi’s place.
Maybe spending the night with her would take my mind off things!
As I pulled my car into the driveway, I noticed there was another car already there. I wondered who had popped by as I climbed the stairs to Pooja Didi’s door.
Her house wasn’t as grand as ours but Pooja’s and Jhanvi’s parents had left them a pretty big place. It sort of stuck out a bit with its simplicity in the posh neighbourhood that surrounded it, but it was actually quite a big place, with a garden and plot area even larger than even our house. It was their ancestral house and their parents, while not rich, had held on to it while the rest of the city grew richer around them. Pooja Didi’s parents didn’t really care much for money, and I guess that’s why they were able to raise their two daughters so well.
I decided against using my key, and knocked lightly on the door, not wanting to have the ‘mystery guest’ wonder why the neighbour boy has the keys to a married woman’s house.
I heard the sound of some footsteps and Jhanvi unlocked the door. She looked surprised to see me, “Chotu? What are you… Ohhh…” her expression was worried and guilty at the same time, “I thought you were going to be busy with Karan for a while longer?” She asked me, opening the door further for me, and letting me in.
“Who is it?” Pooja Didi’s voice called out from the other room as Jhanvi quickly shut the door behind me.
“Uhm…It’s Suraj!” She replied as we stepped into the living room.
I frowned at this odd behaviour but put that aside for now as I noticed an older man in a suit seated with Pooja Didi on the couch. There were a bunch of old yellowed files and papers strewn about on the coffee table and the man seemed to be inspecting one. There also were some stacked velvet boxes, like jewellery boxes, on one side of the table.
“Suraj?” Pooja Didi looked up in surprise, “I thought you were going to be busy…”
“Yeah… uh… The thing with Karan wrapped up earlier than expected…” I replied, looking curiously at the suited gentleman.
“Oh…” She replied and then turned back to the man, “Mr. Patil… this is my neighbour, Suraj. Suraj this is… er…” She hesitated and stopped in her words.
“Padmakant Patil, Branch Manager at City Bank. Good to meet you Mr. Suraj.” The elderly man stood up, holding up his card for me, smiling, and I took it, nodding politely.
“Good to meet you too, sir.” I greeted him, and then looked curiously at Pooja and Jhanvi, wondering what this banker could possibly be here for.
“Well, I guess I’ll get going. Thank you for letting me go through these documents Mrs. Patel.” Padmakant said with a smile. “I will get back to you by tomorrow with the decision and I will send over someone to do the appraisal on the jewellery.”
“Thank you so much for your time, Mr. Patil. We appreciate it.” Pooja Di smiled back, avoiding my eyes with a guilty look. “We’ll be in touch…”
report I watched in silence as she and Jhanvi escorted the older man to the door. But once it closed shut, I immediately rounded on the two of them, “Okay, what the hell was that all about? Why was a banker at your house?”
Jhanvi bit her lower lip and looked at Pooja Didi. “I told you he’d be mad.”
Pooja Didi sighed and walked past me, back into the living room. “Come on… sit down. Let’s talk.”
Leave a Reply