Chapter 1
Love, money, life
“Asmi, I am asking you for the last time. Are you
serious?” Sometimes children can make parents wonder on which planet they are
living.
“Yes, dad. I am sure. I love Vineeta,” Asmi replied with
nonchalance of someone who is informing of having bought a packet of gum.
“But… how? I mean, weren’t you normal?” Incredulousness.
Sheer incredulousness.
“Dad, don’t be a homophobic. Lesbians are humans too.”
“Reeta, it’s all your fault! You should have taught her
better!” Blaming on the wife. The usual.
“Don’t blame her dad. I love Vineeta, that’s my issue.
Don’t drag her.”
“I just can’t believe it’s happening with me!” The
denial.
Asmi laughed out aloud. Her father was yet to grasp
whether she was laughing at him or at herself, when she said, “It’s not
happening with you, dear dad. But I wanted to tell you that many things are
worse in life than me falling in love with a boy who is not of our caste.”
“What?” The ecstasy and the agony.
“Yes dad. He is Amar, working as a general manager in a
multinational company. I love him so much daddy!”
“But beti, we
are one of the richest families in the city. I can’t allow my daughter to go
with any riffraff of that sort. You said he works in a multinational company.
You know which one?” The concern.
“Yes. Its… I don’t
remember the name. But its big company.
How does it matter dad? He is well settled, and doesn’t need your filthy money
that comes from slaughtering cows!”
“I will have respect about my company in my house!”
Anger. Sheer anger.
“Well then, you respect my choice, I respect you.
Simple.”
“Fine. Tell him to come here next Sunday to meet me.”
Resignation.
In the meanwhile,
in another part of the city
Pat, pat. Pat, pat. Footsteps are heard from a distance, their
frequency increasing with time. Amar does not risk looking back. They were the
henchmen of Jaggi, the local don.
“Amar, you
bastard! Stop Right now!” a wild shriek came from behind as he start running.
“Shit!” he
muttered, a she ran for his life. The sound of footsteps became louder, faster
and mingled with the boom of bullet
being fired. Amar ducked down in the nick of time. A few more shots followed so did a few more
jumps, feints and sharp turns. To his respite, the goons ran out of bullets,
and he run into a building.
“Billa, I want that bastard Amar’s ass right now!”
“But sir…”
“No questions! He dared to swindle one crore of Jaggi’s
money. I will cut his body into an equal number of parts for that!”
“But sir, he’s escaped us!”
“What? Escaped? One idiot fooled twenty of my men? What
are you all made up of, eh? Dirt?”
On the other end, Billa shuddered at the sound of his
boss. He knew Jaggi had a ferocious temper, and he didn’t want to be consumed
in the fire of his anger.
“Billa, you know what happens when I have headache. I
don’t take a goli. I give one. Right
into the head of the one who gives me a headache. And today, this Amar is
giving me the worst headache of my life. Understood?”
“Yes sir. I wont disappoint you again.”
“Better don’t. Otherwise I may get a headache from you
too.”
Soon after
“Jaggi, you little twerp, when are you returning me my
money?”
“Vikraant sir, I am extremely sorry! There’s this guy who
has swindled the money from me.”
“Don’t joke Jaggi. You tell me that you are the biggest
mafia boss in the city, and then you say someone stole one crore from you?”
“I can’t explain sir! Don’t worry. He cant escape my
clutches. Like an eagle’s claws, my men are following him. They are loyal to me
as a dog. Soon they shall have their prey, and will feast on them. I am the lion of this area, and he is like a
puny mouse. I shall…”
“Zoology aside, I want my money. I don’t know how you
get, from where you get it and how many animals you employ for that.” Vikraant
said with a coolness that comes with authority and cut the phone.
Jaggi stared at his phone and looked around to confirm
that none of his men had seen him groveling in front of Vikraant. Filled with
anger and humiliation, he shouted the one word that had been giving him
headache, “AMAR!!!!!”
Two phone calls at
the same time
“Amar, I did what you asked me to. Now fulfill your
promise and protect me from Jaggi. He will kill me if he doesn’t find you soon.
And if he knows of my role, he will kill me before I could speak my name.”
“Don’t worry Billa. Trust me, no one will touch you. I
will soon arrange for a means to escape the country and we’ll both be rich!”
“Your words encourage me, Amar. Now try to hide yourself
till we can escape. I don’t want to irk Jaggi again!”
“I have an idea. Why don’t you tell that idiot Jaggi that
you have killed me and thrown my body in the river? He doesn’t have brains to
check the facts, and he wont trouble you too.”
“And the money? He will want his one khokha too!”
“Tell him that I have spent all the money, and suggest
him to sell my house and properties to recover the money. He will reward you
for your intelligence!”
“Haha! I liked you from the beginning, lad. You always
had the brains that I never did!”
“I take it as a compliment, Billa.”
Amar wondered what would happen to Billa if Jaggi found
out the truth. He smirked at the idea.
“Asmi, bring that
boy for dinner today. I may not be here on Sunday. I am going out of station
for a meeting.”
“Dad! I am so excited! Thank you!”
Vikraant smirked. He knew that no matter how happy his
daughter would be, he would have the last laugh in the end. He had already
decided for his son-in-law, and he would reject Asmi’s choice on some or the
other pretext.
Chapter 2
A perfect picture of composure, Vineeta entered the
café. Although it wasn’t visible on her
cool exterior, she was terribly excited. She was on a blind date with a
software engineer called John. He seemed a genial, chubby and shy person,
typical of his creed, when they chatted on Facebook. It was time to see how
correct her assessment was. Nervously she glanced at the watch. It was about
time. Just then, a commotion made her look near the door of the café. There was
tall, well built man, sporting a fuzzy beard, holding a large bouquet in his
hand, that had accidently bumped into one of the customers and had the coffee
spilled over it. As he was arguing with the customer, Vineeta tapped on his
back and asked, “John?”
“Oh yes! I am John. And you must be Vineeta, right?” a
wide gazed expression, a combination of awe and wonder.
“Of course! Who else knows you here?”
“This gentleman, from now on,” he replied, pointing at
the man he was arguing with, and continued, “Well, I brought this little
present for you, which has now been a little spoilt. Will you accept it
nonetheless?”
“Oh sure, John! Come, lets have a seat and some coffee.”
“Only coffee? I thought conversation came free! I am
ready to pay through the roof, if it’s required to parlay with a charming
woman.”
Vineeta laughed coquettishly. Her cheeks turning a shade
of crimson, she replied, “No, no. the conversation comes free, depends on how
long you can sustain it.” She was beginning to like this man more and more.
“How much do you make in a month?” Vineeta asked.
John shifted uncomfortably. It was a tricky question to
answer, and much more on meeting someone for the first time.
“Um, I do get along well. I can’t discuss my salary
actually…”
One
week before
“Vineeta, are you there?” a concerned voice spoke from
the other end of the phone. Vineeta, though, had gone deaf. All she could of
was her father.
“Uncle, how could this happen?” she cried in desperation
laced with disbelief. It was natural to not believe that your father has
suffered a fatal heart attack.
“Yes, beta. He has just been administered an injection.
But the doctor says that unless we get a bypass operation done soon, he would
not live for long.”
“Uncle, how much will it cost?”
“The doctor says it will cost around five lakhs. Don’t
worry, I know you will do something.”
“What do you mean uncle? I was counting on you to help
me!”
“Sorry beta, all my money is tied up in business. I can’t
spare even a lakh!”
Vineeta slammed the phone down. And cried out aloud. It
helps to let out the emotions before they constrict your heart like a chain. It
helped too. Because it helped her lay down a plan. A foolproof plan. In three
simple steps, as she summarized it, it was:
1)
Get a rich boyfriend.
2)
Take his money.
3)
Sayonara!
Coming
back to now…
“So John, tell me. Do you like me?” Vineeta twirled a
strand of her hair with her fingers, and gazed at John lusciously. A lesser man
would have fallen. And John was even lesser. He was completely swooned.
“I love you princess!” he said, holding her hands.
Vineeta smiled inwards. John smirked. They hugged each other passionately.
In Jaggi’s den, some time later
Jaggi was pacing about like a lion whose prey has just
slapped him on the cheek before running away. He was livid, and beet-red with
frustration. If his anger had an
equivalent of fire, it would have burnt the whole world down. In any case, his
own world, and his ass, was on fire. And it would be literally on fire, if he
failed to find Amar and his money.
“Hello. is it Jaggibhai?”
“Yes. Who is it?”
“First tell me what do you like to eat? The mango or the
seed?”
“Eh?”
“It doesn’t matter to you who I am. What matters is
whatever I want to tell you,” the voice was mysterious. It promised a juicy
tidbit.
“Go on.”
“Billa is the man you want.”
“What?”
There was silence on the other end.
A little later, a different place
“What has happened to my money?”
“Vikraant sir, my men are on the trail. They will catch
him soon.”
“They better do, Jaggi. Otherwise I will personally cut
your balls off and sell them. They will fetch a high price, for you dared to
swindle my money!” The line went dead again.
Chapter 3
Hunger knows no limits of age, sex or social status. A hungry
millionaire is perhaps as desperate as a hungry beggar, perhaps more, for the
former isn’t used to the state of prolonged cephalic phase of gastric acid
secretion.
“Yaar Amar, I have mice running in my tummy!”
“Lets find some free food, Billa. For you don’t have
money and I have my credit card which I can’t use.”
“Why?”
“Because I am dead, you fool!”
“Oh!”
They say that if you pray hard enough, even God would come
to your doorstep. Food comes at a lesser price. A little ahead, in front of
them, stood, like the gateways to heaven, a large hall with a number of guests
milling about. Hoping to get a quick entry and a sumptuous bite, Billa and Amar
walked past the gates, surprised not to find any security or checks for
gatecrashers. As they walked towards the stack of plates, they didn’t find
anyone to question them or ask what they were doing there. It was all getting
too easy. And as they say, a straight, smooth road causes maximum accidents,
Amar smelt something fishy. It seemed to be a cultural gathering of some sort
and most people were carrying plates loaded with delectable delicacies. It was
time for action, hell with the consequences. As Amar went to pick up a plate,
his fears turned true,
“Sir, your pass please?” a courteous looking man, dressed
in a necktie asked.
“Um, pass? Well, I think I have forgotten it in my car,”
Amar fumbled for a reply.
“Sir, may I request you to come back with the pass? Its
an order that we cant issue a plate
without a pass.”
Dejected, rejected, Amar walked away. He was hungry and
food looked inviting. He had to do
something. And he didn’t trust Billa to carry out such a neat task. He was good
for the fist jobs. As he spied around, he saw a well dressed gentleman entering
the hall. He had in his hand what looked like a pass. Amar walked quietly up to
the man and slipped a hand past his fingers. The pass was in his hand! But
unfortunately, he had only one, and two plates were needed. He didn’t want to
wait longer anymore. And then, another idea struck him. Yes, it was dirty. Yes,
it was cheap. But it was the only solution, and Billa would have no issues.
Only men with dignity would have any problem with what he was going to do.
“Oy Amar! How come you have a plate in your hand and I am
roaming around hungry?” Billa asked angrily.
“Billa, I could get just one pass. But don’t worry. I
have an idea. Just roam about and choose the dishes you want. I will handle the
rest.”
Billa did as Amar told him. He trusted Amar completely.
In the meanwhile, his trusted friend was hogging on all the food with relish.
Once he was done, he asked for a napkin. Then he turned around and wiped the
dish clean with the napkin. It had a few stains left, but Billa ate in worse
plates daily. Then walking towards his friend, Amar proudly presented him, with
the swagger of presenting the world cup, a plate.
“There you go Billa! Go, enjoy your meal!”
Same place, same time
“Vineeta, you won’t believe how sweet he is!” It was the
hundredth time Asmi was repeating these lines. Vineeta was bored. Both had come
to attend the Annual Business Meet with Asmi’s father, who was to arrive later.
“Asmi, I got it. He is sweet, and rich, and dashing. I
heard it a thousand times now!”
“Oh Vinee you have to see him to believe me. I am so in
love!” Asmi continued her charade with a dreamy, lost look. Her reverie was
broken by some shouts from the direction of the food counter. It wouldn’t have
mattered them much, had the shouts not been of Asmi’s father. Both rushed to
the spot and asked what happened.
“This bastard, this waiter here says he won’t give me the
plates unless I produce the pass!” Asmi’s father yelled.
“But dad, don’t you have a pass?”
“I had! But I don’t know, maybe I lost it, or someone
stole it.”
“Who would steal a food pass here, dad? You must have
lost it.”
“But does that mean I shall have to go hungry?” he
retorted, and then turning at the manager, shouted, “Take me to your boss. Tell
him it’s Vikrant Sinha who wants to talk to him!” The manager would have heard
the name, for he scurried away in no time. It was then that Asmi’s eyes grew
bright.
“Vinee! Look, here is my Amar! Didn’t I tell you, he’s a
big businessman?”
Vineeta looked in his direction, but could only a man
wiping a plate with a paper napkin.
“Seriously Asmi, which businessman wipes plates after
eating?” On closer look, Vineeta saw something else. Something that shocked the
daylights out of her.
A different time, a different place
Jaggi had summoned Billa. He had some important matters
to discuss with his main henchman and his commander-in-chief.
“Jaggi, did you call me?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“That’s a question I would like to ask to you, my friend.
Why?”
“Eh?”
Those were last words Billa uttered before hearing a loud
boom of a revolver and feeling the
searing heat of a bullet fired at point blank range in his head. The entire
sequence took less than a millisecond before Billa collapsed to the ground.
Dead. Jaggi’s men rushed into his room.
“I do not like those who cheat me. You can cheat death,
but you can’t cheat Jaggi! This bastard here, tried to cheat me by joining
hands with that scoundrel Amar. Here is the justice meted out, Jaggi dada
style. Hope this serves as a lesson to anyone who might ever think of swindling
me. Raja, throw his body out on the streets. The dogs and vultures shall feast
tonight.”
A little while later
“Whoever you are, Jaggi thanks you for the information.
He wants to reward you richly. Tell me, when shall we meet?”
“Jaggi, I have no interest in your money. All I want to
know is whether Billa is dead.”
“Yes, I have killed him with my own hands, and except
Rajnikant, no one comes alive after that,” Jaggi chuckled at his own poor joke.
“Hardly funny.”
The connection went dead.
Chapter 4
Asmi and Vineeta were too shocked to believe their
eyes. Amar and John were same! The
bastard was cheating them both. The intention seemed obvious. Asmi had lots of
money. But why Vineeta? She intended to find it out soon. Asmi, in the
meanwhile, called her father. She had enough of lovey-dovey romances. She
didn’t trust herself anymore. Her heart was like a mirror, broken into a
million shards, unable to be one again, neither with itself nor with anyone
else. She decided to marry the boy her father would find for her. But before
that, she wanted revenge. And she wanted it served cold.
At Jaggi’s den
“Jaggi there?”
“Yes. Who the hell are you?”
“Your friend who helped you find Billa. Now, if
introduction is over, can we talk sense?”
“Oh, my friend! What is it? You have more news for me?”
“Two words- Amar Mehra.”
“Take whatever you want and give me the bastard’s
location.”
“I like dealing with people like you. One khokha is what I want. Keep the money
ready in notes of thousand rupees in a blue Samsonite suitcase,” he then
proceeded to tell him the exact location of placement of money, and added, “You
will find an address where you place the bag. I will be standing with a sniper
rifle so if you try anything funny, then you will have to find out the rest of
information from Billa, in hell.” The phone slammed shut.
Jaggi cursed the caller, Amar, Billa, Vikraant and the
world in general. He didn’t have the one crore rupees to pay the caller, and if
he didn’t pay him, he would never find out about Amar. Just then, the phone
rang again. It was Vikraant. Cursing aloud, he picked the phone.
“Jaggi, you will be my son-in-law.”
“W..what?” Jaggi was unused to good news, particularly
from Vikraant.
“I said, you will become my son-in-law. You have a
problem with that?”
“Sir, how can I have a problem? You are like a lion, and
I am just a rat…”
“Shut your zoology shit up and listen. This is an offer.
Find Amar, get my money back and you have my daughter in your hand.”
“Sir, I have found the source to reach Amar. But my
source is asking for one khokha. If I
had that kind of money, wouldn’t I have given it to His Highness? Can you
please lend me the money?”
“Am I running a bloody charity? Should I finance you to
get my money back to me? Listen you idiot! Get me my money and be my
son-in-law. I am not marrying you to my
daughter because you are dashing or handsome. Its only because you will stay at
my home, and manage my business. Under me. So if you want your share of luck,
then get the fuck out of here and search for your man!” The phone was cut on
Jaggi’s face for the second time in ten minutes.
Now he was angry, and desperate. And such a man is
dangerous. Very dangerous.
At Amar’s place
Amar smiled. Things were working perfectly. He had swindled one crore from Jaggi and was about to swindle another crore,
from right under his dirty nose. He intended to finish off the scour of Jaggi
once and for all. He had given the address of his house to Jaggi and was sure
he would try to reach him. Amar had his back up ready. His entire house was
rigged. With one push of the button, Jaggi would depart with a boom, and Amar
would elope with the bucks.
At Asmi’s place
It was a simple plan. Call the unsuspecting Amar, ensnare
him, wriggle out the truth. Simple as that. The first phase went as per plan.
Asmi called Amar and coyly asked whether she could come at his place. When
asked the purpose by an already excited Amar, she replied in a conspirational
tone, “Let it be a secret buried between the bed sheets.” Amar needed no
further words. He promptly called her to his hideout. Asmi went, accompanied by
Vineeta and two revolvers. It was time for some action. Before going however,
she made a discreet call.
The meteors collide!
“Amar, can I enter?”
“Do you have to ask for it baby? Come in! I am hungry!”
Asmi entered. And Vineeta followed. And Amar’s eyes
looked like bulging out of their sockets. He was too shocked to react. And
Vineeta slapped him on his right cheek. Asmi followed it up on its left
counterpart. Amar nervously walked backwards until he collapsed on a sofa.
Vineeta took out a revolver and pointed it on Amar’s temple.
“Why?”
“I wanted money, Vineeta,” he replied plainly.
“Money? From someone who has already lost it all? You are
bloody leech! And people like you don’t deserve to live!” Saying this, she put
her finger on the trigger. Before the bullet could escape the nozzle, a shot
was heard at the door.
“Welcome Jaggi, my friend!” Asmi said. Amar could not
believe his ears, “You and Jaggi? Disgusting!”
“And what you did to us was even more disgusting! I
called him here. I knew dad was repeatedly asking him about you. Now, tell me
how you want to end you life- our bullet or his?”
Asmi barely completed her sentence when Amar kicked her
hand that was holding the gun. She dropped the gun on the floor and Amar picked
it up.
“Haha! How about now? I am leaving now and nobody stops
me. Get out of the way!” he shouted. Just then, he felt a nozzle at the back of
his head. It was Vineeta, “Move and you will move no more.” That was when they
were joined by Jaggi.
“So, my friend, you were the one who passed on the
information about Billa? And you got your partner killed to get a bigger share
of money? Now, you won’t get a penny!”
BOOM! The sound of a bullet firing rang through the room
and one man fell to the ground, clutching his heart, and shock in his eyes.
Amar turned around and faced Vineeta, “Pretty neat, I must say. You are a
bitch, but a damn clever one. So now, we’ll split the loot between us.”
“Not so soon, you bastard, not so soon. You have spited
me and Asmi. You will not spend, but pay. Pay for your deeds. Go to hell,”
there was venom in her voice. Intentions , though, do not necessarily translate
into right actions. And that was shown when the faster, more professional Amar
fired first. It was a pointblank shot, with the nozzle of the gun pointed
straight at Vineeta’s head.
First there was shock. Then dismay. The pain came only
later. And the blood, much later. There was a spurt of blood when it came. The
floor was painted red. Amar’s body lay on the floor, dead. Asmi marveled at the
gun held in Amar’s hands. It was a masterpiece designed by herself. Having been
brought up in the arms of the country’s biggest arms dealer, she knew her way
with the weapons. The backward-firing revolver was her design. She had carried
it only to gift it to Amar, who accepted it and invited death upon himself.
Killing Jaggi was her idea too. She never wanted to marry him and there was no
way she could have persuaded her father to do otherwise. And she loved him too
much to kill him.
“So Vinee, what shall we do with the money?”
“Well, split into half?”
“Old idea. Lets ring in the new!”
“Meaning?”
“I need money to escape my father. You take money and get
your father treated. And the rest of money, we’ll use it to escape the country
and settle somewhere safe. Some place where life isn’t surrounded by gun-toting
goons.”
“Is it really possible Asmi?”
“Honestly, I don’t know. But, trying doesn’t hurt,
right?”
“By the way, whats this remote for?” Vineeta asked,
picking up a remote with a red button.
“I would advise that we should try it after we are quite
far from this place,” Asmi replied with a malicious glint.
Vineeta laughed as she hi-fived her best friend and
walked out of the house and pushed the button. BOOM!
