Desi Train

Chapter Two : Are you ready for, a Masala Life?

To : tigermane342@yahoo.com
From : mcat765@gmail.com
June 06, 2006 9:45PM GMT

Sir, We received the shipment on time from R*v&^i__n++dr$$a M#a~h{{a||j))a||n.

As per your wishes, I will be arriving on J17 and will meet you at the appointed place to deliver the notes of the meeting.

Bhenchods have been advised by our supplier. Hence canceling the supplier was important.

We are checking for new communication systems as the walls have become very thin.

See you shortly.

Regards,
Mousecat

——————————————————————

“The Churchgate fast will arrive on Platform number 6 instead of Platform number 4. The train will stop at Bombay Central, Marine Lines and Churchgate only.”

Sidhu jumped off the platform and landed on the tracks, rushing towards platform 6.

Bombay’s suburban railway was the only way he could reach anywhere on time. Even on a Sunday.

The fast local to Churchgate arrived on time. Sidhu stepped in and stood at the door. He checked his watch. He still had 20 minutes to go. Deep within, he had already assumed that he would not be able to reach his destination on time. But there was still hope. Things did not always go as planned for the other side too. He had seen it numerous times.

The train jerked a bit before moving ahead, on its way to Churchgate.

——————————————————————

It was 10 am on a Sunday morning. The elevator doors opened and Aryan stepped out. He walked towards his office and found the door unlocked. Strange… someone was here on a Sunday morning… who else is having a marital problem?

The air conditioner was switched on. The office was cooler. The sweat on Aryan began to dry off. He walked towards his office. His office, along with that of the other senior managers, were a row of closed glass walled cubicles facing the Arabian Sea.

Aryan stopped dead in his tracks. He saw Ravi sitting on the chair with his hands in his palms. He looked miserable. Perhaps he knows, that I know… Bastard.

Aryan didn’t know what to do. For a moment he thought of turning back and walking out of the office. He didn’t want to face Ravi. Not now. He wasn’t sure how he should react. Should he be angry? Should he just smile and feign ignorance?

His other thought got the better of him. Walk in. Confront him. You have done no wrong. It is he who’s fucking your wife. It is he who should be ashamed.

Ravi was staring down on his desk. He was tensed. He had not eaten for more than 24 hours. Hoping hard, that he had made the right decision, he waited on his desk for the call. Call from the dons, to confirm they would not harm him or his business. He had nearly wet his pants earlier in the morning while making the delivery to the goons on the bridge.

The opening of his office door had him jerking his head up to see who it was. Aryan walked into his office.

“Hi…”, Aryan paused, “… I know what you have been doing.”

Ravi’s jaw dropped. How could he?… I never told anyone!.

“Aaaa… what are you talking about Aryan?”

“You know what I’m talking about, … you,… you,… unethical man.”

He knows. Shit. But how?

“Aryan… sit down… I’m not sure how you know… but please understand,… it was a question of life and death.”

Aryan was puzzled. Life and Death? Since when the fuck did screwing someone else’s wife was a matter of life and death.

“Are you nuts? How could you label this heinous deed, as a matter of life and death? You should be ashamed of yourself Ravi.”

“I am. I am. Believe me. I am. But what could I do?”

“What the hell do you mean ‘What could I do?’,… I mean what exactly does that mean? You could stop yourself from doing this? You are something Ravi, you are a psycho. I knew you couldn’t keep your dick in your pants, but this!!!!!”

“Aryan, do you seriously think, I liked doing this? No. No Way. I would rather have chosen a different path if given a choice. But there was no other option.”

“NO OTHER OPTION???? NO OTHER OPTION???? HOW DARE YOU SPEAK LIKE THAT???”

“Aryan, calm down. Please. I know you are hurt. This was your baby. But trust me, I have someone right now on our side. Things will work out quite well.”

“You aren’t making any sense. Now you are involving other people in this issue!!!! AND SHE IS JUST NOT MY BABY DAMMIT. SHE WAS MY WIFE. WAS. I’M FUCKING DIVORCING HER. TAKE THE BITCH WITH YOU.”

It’s at that point Ravi Mahajan eyes opened on what Aryan was talking about.

“Holy Shit. You talking about your wife!!!”

“YES DAMMIT. WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?” Aryan was puzzled.

Ravi cracked up. He let out a throaty laugh. It was more from the relief that Aryan didn’t know about what he was afraid off.

“Oh Man… You gave me a scare there Aryan. I thought you were talking about something else..”

“Something else? You are fucking MY wife and I should be talking about something else? Have you gone nuts?”

“No no… Aryan, look… I’m sorry about hurting you. But there is something real bad going on, and I have been involved in that.”

“Sorry. What more worse could be there than screwing my wife.”

“I…”, just then some movement outside the office caught Ravi’s eye. There were three men walking towards his office. Ravi recognized all three of them. I met them on the bridge this morning… What the hell are they doing here??? Panic gripped Ravi, almost instantly. The three men were drawing out guns as they paced towards Ravi’s glass cubicle.

——————————————————————

Sidhu jumped off the train even before it came to a stop. He started running in a zig zag manner to avoid bumping into people. He took a right to take the exit which lead to the taxi stand.

“Sharing taxi Sir. Come in”

“Nariman Point. No sharing. Let’s go”

——————————————————————

“Answer my question Ravi. How could you do this???” Aryan was still not aware of Ravi’s situation. He failed to notice the panic of Ravi’s face… “How could you…”

The first bullet shattered the glass and missed Ravi by more than a foot. A second found it’s way to his phone, splitting it into a dozen pieces.

Ravi jumped off his chair and hit the floor. Aryan still had his mouth open, trying to complete his sentence. The third bullet hit the glass wall of Ravi’s cubicle and grazed Aryan’s neck. Reality dawned. WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON HERE?. Aryan turned around to see three guys with guns shooting at them. They were are a couple of feet away from him.

“First take this dog, chutiya”… The thin guy pointed to Ravi who was cowering behind his chair.

All three turned towards Ravi.

A mere movement of their index fingers produced a firepower in the glass cubicle, that had, sheets of paper, splinters of wood and glass shooting in all directions. The foam on Ravi’s chair tore open, and it joined the various elements zipping in the air, in all directions.

Aryan stepped back in slow motion. His back hit the glass wall at the far end. His brain had stopped functioning. His neck was bleeding from the bullet that had grazed him, but he wasn’t aware of it. He stood there in shock, simply observing.

52 rounds were fired. Only 8 found their target. The first had hit Ravi on his knee. It was the second that lunged into his heart, tearing up its muscles and shattering the blood vessels instantly. It was this bullet that ended the existence of Ravi Mahajan.

“Stop stop,… he is dead” The thin guy spoke again… “Check him.”

The guy on his left walked up and kicked Ravi’s body. There was no response. Blood was seeping out and dripping onto the plush dove grey carpet.

“What to do with him?”, the third guy asked of Aryan, standing frozen, desperately sticking his back to the glass wall behind him.

“Kill him” the thin guy responded back.

The third guy aimed at Aryan and fired. Almost instantly, Aryan’s survival instinct pushed him to the left, setting him off balance. Aryan fell on the floor. The bullet missed its mark. The third guy immediately pointed his gun at Aryan, now lying on the floor.

Aryan’s mouth was wide open. He wanted to scream. He wanted to beg. He wanted to plead. He wanted them to let him live. But no words came out of his mouth. It was just like a dream. He had seen himself in many a dream, shouting or screaming, calling out to people, but no sound would come out. He would try again, but his voice box was always turned on mute. He would get desperate, fear would grip him and before anything happened, Aryan would suddenly wake up with a vivid memory of the fear.

This time it was real. Surreal.

He heard the sound of a gun being fired, Aryan with his eyes pinch shut, felt warm liquid splattering all over his face.

He started to cry. Loud wails flew out of his throat and then silence. His mouth was still open, his facial muscles stretched to their limit, his eyes tightly shut. He was still crying.

Another loud sound, followed by the crash of something breaking into pieces.

“WHO THE FUC…” Aryan heard the voice of the thin man.

An instant later another loud bang. A thud on the floor.

Aryan was still crying with his eyes closed. The wailing sound reverberated from his throat once again.

Footsteps.

“Open your eyes. You are safe.”

Aryan shakily opened his eyes. Infront of him stood a guy wearing a blue checkered shirt and khaki pants. He carried a backpack and was wearing a baseball cap.

The man pulled a half shattered chair in front of Aryan and sat down. He placed his bag on the floor and unzipped it. Pulling out a pair of rubber gloves he started to wear them.

“Are you ok?”

Aryan wasn’t answering. He sat on the floor, completely still, his eyes gazing at the three dead bodies, bodies which were once alive and threatened his very existence. Behind them at the far corner, lay, Ravi. Dead.

“Would you like a glass of water?”

Aryan didn’t answer. He had just seen the face of death. His death. Staring right into his eyes. An inch away from his face. He did not want to die. He did not want to die. He did not want to die.

The stranger returned with a plastic cup of water.

“Here, drink some water.”

Aryan didn’t move. He was still staring at the floor, at some insignificant point on the carpet. His eyes were wide open, but they were not seeing anything. The stranger lifted Aryan’s hand and carried it towards the glass of water.

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Aryan dropped the glass and his hand fell back on the floor like a dead weight.

The stranger fished out a pencil flashlight from his bag. He moved close to Aryan’s face, stretched his eyes and pointed the flashlight at them. He checked the other eye.

“You are ok. Just in a shock…” he put the flashlight back in the bag and turned towards Aryan,… “this normally happens when someone sees something very frightening… and it could be that…” and suddenly without any warning, the stranger slapped Aryan right on his face…

“AAAAAAAAAAAAAA…. I DON’T WANNA DIE. I DON’T WANNA DIE…”

The slap ejected Aryan out of the shock that had numbed his brain.

“I’m a cop. You are not going to die. It is over.”

Aryan looked at him.

The stranger stretched out his hand.

“Sidhu. And you are…?”

“Aryan”… Aryan mumbled his name.

“Ok Aryan. We have to act fast. No time for explanations. Are you with me Aryan? Can you answer some questions for me Aryan?”

Aryan nodded.

“You know that man lying there?”

“Yes. He is… was my boss… Ravi Mahajan”

“Good. Now do you know anything about the Xuberg Project?”

In a normal situation, Aryan’s mind would have gone on an alert overdrive. Suspicion alarms would have started ringing. Not now.

“Yes… we designed it.”

“And do you know if the transponders on XPEC 26.89C have been activated?”

“Yes. We… we were testing it and had them activated on that satellite, a month ago?”

“Good. And I assume you know how to search, filter and decode any sets of RFID data that we provide you.”

Aryan was still staring at the floor. “Yes… with the synth-anilizer we developed in our Xuberg Project… wait… How do you know all this? Who are you? And who are these people?”

Sidhu didn’t have much time to waste. He came straight to the point.

“Well… I’ll tell you, but you have to keep your mouth shut. Or I’ll come back to finish the job which these three idiots couldn’t.”

“Ok.”

“Your boss… ex boss was sent by us to deliver a package to some people. People who work for someone, we want terminated. So your boss helped us deliver the package to these people this morning.”

“Package?”

“European Bonds…” Sidhu went on to tell him the events of the morning.

——————————————————————

It was evening. Aryan leaned against the glass window of the apartment, Sidhu had taken him to. He had spent all day explaining to Sidhu about Xuberg. And Sidhu had told him what he planned to do with all the information Aryan gave him.

“So you think you know everything to track it down?”

Sidhu looked up from his notes, “Yes… I think so”

“I did not mention this to you. The Xuberg changes its frequency every 6 hours. You will be fishing for that one frequency in a million to activate the synth-anilizer.”

“What do you mean?”

“That there is a one in million chance that you will succeed”

Sidhu stared in Aryan’s eyes… “But surely there would be some method… You haven’t told me everything.”

“No I haven’t. And it’s difficult to explain all this stuff and expect you to get it right. I’ve spent 6 years on Xuberg and I still have difficulty at times.”

“What do you suggest?”

“Take me with you. I can help accomplish this mission”

Sidhu was taken aback. “You must be nuts to even think about it.”

“Yes I’ve gone nuts.” Energy was rushing back into Aryan’s body. For the first time he had his focus on something he wanted this bad. “And you know why? Because the first thing that crossed my mind before the guy pulled the trigger on me was ‘God, please don’t let me die. I haven’t done anything of substance in my life’. Yes Sidhu. I have led a pathetic, boring, stupid life. Chasing dreams, goals and ambitions which revolve around profit margins… and for what?”

“For what?”

“Exactly. Nothing. Nothing. Nothing. Because when tomorrow when I face death, I don’t wanna beg to live. I don’t wanna plead. I don’t wanna live just because I want to make life much more meaningful. I don’t want this boring, pathetic life anymore.”

“Aaaand how does your not wanting a boring, pathetic life, involve me?”

“Because I want my life back. I want to spice up my life. I want the chase, the action, the exuberating speed in my life. And if I live for a short span, I don’t care, for I would have lived to the fullest.”

“Aah. Excuse me. I’m not your philosopher but you can get your masala life doing something else… now be a good boy and tell me how can I track the changing frequencies.”

“You are not listening. Please don’t do this. I will be an asset.”

“Yeah sure. I had to slap you to get you out of the shock a few hours ago. Remember…”

“Comeon. It won’t happen again. Don’t you see, what’s happening here within me? I have just walked away from sure death. Life is this whole new ball game for me. Whatever I did was so fucking meaningless.”

“You are nuts. Stop your stupid masala life talk and show me how to track those changing frequencies”

“Do you want me to go back to my stupid fucking life. To a wife who screws all men in the world. Comeon. I’ll pay you for this. I’ll give you whatever I’ve saved so far… which isn’t much, but it is a decent amount.”

“Aryan, does it look like I run a Disneyland in my backyard for stupid, boring adults like you. Now,… give me the info.”

“No”

“No?”

“No”

“Then, in that case, I’ll have to kill you.”

“Ok. Go ahead”

Sidhu lunged forward, grabbed Aryan’s neck and slammed him to the wall. He was getting irritated.

“Don’t let your fucking stupid childishness end your life. Now are you gonna give me the info or not?”

Aryan coughed… Sidhu’s choke on him was tight and making it difficult to breathe. “…. Khaaaaa…. Noooo.”

The grip on his neck got tighter. Sidhu slammed him to the wall again. “Come to your senses, you idiot.”

The cell phone started ringing. It was Sidhu’s call. He let go of Aryan, who dropped to floor almost instantly.

Sidhu took the phone and went in.

“Situation.”

“Pointless. AA wants to tag along”

“What? Impossible.”

“Yes. This is what he says…”

——————————————————————

Aryan sat on the floor for the second time in the day. Talking to Sidhu had raised the curtain off the true path. His true path. The path he always dreamed of walking on, but never dared to. Job Security. Financial Security. Family. Control over his life. Approval from Society. And for the first time in his life, he realized, how utterly meaningless all these bonds were. For the first time he realized how easy it was to walk the path he secretly dreamed of, but never dared to. He listened to Sidhu and his plans, and the layers evaporated. He now saw clearly, quite clearly. The exuberance, the excitement, the passion. It was all clear to him on what he had to do.

Sidhu came out and saw him sitting on the floor.

“I… I’m sorry about the choke” He offered his hand to help Aryan get up.

“So do you have a passport?”

The smile jumped on Aryan’s face without giving him a moment’s notice. He knew where this was going.

“YES!!!”

“Ok Mr. Aryan Arya. Let’s spice up your life. We don’t have much time. Our flight leaves in 3 hours”

“Where are we going?”

“Mauritius”

“Mauritius?”

“Yes. You wanted a Masala Life. Let’s begin that with two lessons.”

“Which are?”

“Never question your Guru. And I’m assuming I’m the Guru here.”

Aryan nodded with a slight smile. “Yes ofcourse! What’s lesson two?”

“To have a Masala Life, you need some masala friends. We are flying to Mauritius where you’ll meet my Masala Gang.”

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This entry was posted on Friday, July 14th, 2006 at 2:21 pm
Filed under Fiction, One Masala Life
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