Monday, February 05, 2007

All in the Game – part VIII

The trio was locked in a small room measuring approximately 10x8. It looked like some kind of storeroom, which was sparsely used. There was dim light emanating out of a bulb, which looked like it would run out of brightness any moment.

“Where the hell are we??? Who are these people??”Anil was the first to speak out.

“Be careful,this place could be bugged” replied Imran in a low voice as he looked around carefully.

“The only bugs that can be present in this room can be roaches and anyway I don’t give a damn! I hate these ropes!!” so saying he tried to reach out for the ropes that were being tied to his hand the back. After trying unsuccessfully he turned over to Imran and said”hey Imran !! can you please bite these off my hands“

“I wonder why did they leave us tied up knowing fully well we can bite it off us in minutes” remarked Imran as he moved towards Anil.

Just then there was the sound of men approaching the room. After a while the door was opened and three men came into the room.

They untied the rope off the hands and took them to three separate rooms. There they were separately questioned for hours. In the end they were locked up in three separate rooms with a bed.

They were given food after which all three of them slept for a night of peaceful sleep.

The next morning the three were taken to the captain again. This time he looked a lot relaxed than they had seen him before.

“Hope you had a good night’s sleep kids” greeted the captain.

“We are not kids” Anil replied in a low voice which was not audible to anyone and then he continued to say” Oh yes sir, thank you so much. In fact the stupid interrogation had exhausted us enough to ensure a sound sleep, thank you”

“ha ha ha!!” the captain started laughing loudly and then said “ you have got a very good sense of humour kid!! I like it!!”

Anil responded with a smile with fakeness written all over it.

“Ok listen up!! I have got a very important thing to tell you. We have checked out and have found out that you guys are not spies!! But we can’t just let you go or take you to the authorities as that will compromise our secret identity”

The subordinate slowly nodded is head in approval and the captain continued.

“But we have thought of an idea to get you back to your place. We will take you to the star cruise “Virgin princess” under the command of Lieutenant Lakshmi where you will await orders from her and shall be told the future course of action. We have made arrangements to get you to the proper authorities, who shall get you back to your homes without involving us anywhere. In return we expect you to forget all about us and this place and do not mention this to anyone for the rest of your lives, even to your spouses. Any situation that could compromise our identity shall be dealt severely.”

“You mean we can get back to our homes??wow!!!!!!!!!great great!!! I promise I would never tell this to anyone. Not even to my mom!!! You can count on my word“ Anil was visibly very excited as he said this.

The captain looked at him as if he was looking at a Neanderthal and continued “let me have the pleasure of introducing lieutenant Lakshmi” so saying he signaled to one of the guards. The guard went out and retuned with a lady in her mid thirties. She was a fairly strong woman with above average height and was wearing khakis. Her hair was cut short like that of a man and the lack of excess fat indicted that she exercised daily. One would be very careful while dealing with her as her mannerism was such that it looked as if she was always on the lookout for punishing people.

“Ha there you are !! This is Lakshmi! Lakshmi meet the kids I was talking about” the captain introduced as he pointed the trio with his open left palm.

Lakshmi who was chewing a gum scanned them from top to bottom and replied “good” as she took her nonchalant sight away from them.

“Alright kids!! You can go now .The guards will help you get ready!! “ The captain said in a dismissive tone.

Anil, Imran and Puja followed the guard with Anil turning back to have a one last look at Lakshmi before leaving the room.

After making sure that they have left the room,Lakshmi thundered.”I asked for Decoys, not a bunch of puppies and what’s with this lieutenant thing anyway!!”

The captain who sounded authoritative in front of the trio sounded more like a tamed cat in front of Lakshmi.

“Now Lakshmi,you should understand this is the best we could find . These kids would do just fine for our requirement”

“We are running a mafia, not a nursery and I need men who can distract the attention away from me, not a bunch pesky kids who would distract me from my work”

“Its just for a short time, isn’t it?? I have all confidence in your abilities. All you have to do is to let them roam around the cruise so that they don’t disturb you in your work ,plant the bomb, lure the kids into attending the party ,give them a slip and get back here with our man . If everything goes according to our plan the bomb will go off killing hundreds along with these kids and we get our remaining amount. Its that simple. You should know how handy it is to have a scapegoat around. Remember what happened during our “Pattaya*” operation??anyway we shall be monitoring them all the while so that we will know if they try to act smart”

Lakshmi seemed to be convinced by the explanation as she acknowledged with a thoughtful nod.”But I swear I shall just shoot these pests off my back if they turn out to be nuisance” so saying she got up from her chair.”Alright ,got to go now,got some preparations to do“.

“Ok!!! All the very best. I hope you shall finish this mission with the same efficiency as you have completed our other missions.” The Captain remarked on a parting note.

When the trio returned to their respective rooms, they were asked to get ready within an hour.

They found a new set of clothes and other accessories on the bed. They washed themselves and wore the new clothes. Soon they were taken away through the thick jungle to a far away place, which they realized as a helipad as they neared it.

It was situated very close to the ocean. There was a helicopter ready to climb up in the air with its blades rotating. Lakshmi was already seated inside. As soon as the three of them entered in it the chopper took off and soon it was crawling over the vast Bay of Bengal.

Imran pushed himself tight to the seat and as Anil was watching it with a smirk Puja enquired “Lakshmi where exactly are we going??”

Lakshmi who was thoughtfully looking into the sea turned her head with a jerk and said ”huh???”

“I said where exactly are we going?”

“We are going to the star cruise “Virgin princess” replied Lakshmi.

“”Virgin Princess”!! hmm tell you what? I like the name. So what “orders” can we expected from you once we reach there??” Anil interrupted with a lighter tone.

“Orders?? Just eat,drink have fun and then have a peaceful rest!!” Lakshmi replied slowing down as she uttered the last words.

Even though Imran had his eyes closed, his lips let out an involuntary smile as he heard this. But nobody noticed it and the chopper got lost in the blue sky as it tore into the horizon.

To be continued…….

*- a tourist spot in Thailand.


· All in the Game - part I

· All in the game – part II

· All in the game – part IV

· All in the Game – part V

· All in the Game – part VI

· All in the Game – part VII

· All in the Game – part VIII

· All in the Game – part IX

· All in the game – part X

· All in the game – part XI

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