A Few Clouds Cleared

    

Team Name: MAXIMUS DRAMATICUS

Read the previous part of the story here : Lets Play, Hide and Seek the 'Riddle'

Roohi became aware that the situation was too grim at the moment , so she kept quiet. Shekhar was furious at the involvement of Police ,by Cyrus . A deep sense of fright surged within him..... Tara had found out about the locked rooms , the dead bitches, the toy dog that Roohi had got at their home ......Shekhar began to dread the connections . Now,this girl Jennifer had been kidnapped . Were they all headed back to his wild 90s years? 

As Cyrus' phone rang , he answered in a  choked voice . A vaguely familiar voice responded,  "This call is for Shekhar Dutta . Give him the phone . As for you Cyrus, I know you're intelligent enough to  divert the police , if you have alerted them already ! The pretty lady needs to be safe , doesn't she ? "

Cyrus almost cried into the phone,"NOOOOOOOO,she should be fine , who are you ?? "
The caller was adamant, " just give the phone to Shekhar Dutta and shut up idiot !"
Trembling , Cyrus gave his phone to Shekhar , who responded, " yes , Shekhar Dutta here! "
" Cool, Dutta ......be a good guy now and come over to our old deck at Pahargunj , will you ? And don't tell me you don't know who's this . Keep this conversation a secret from your wife & that idiot Cyrus .....I know you will! " Shekhar clenched his teeth , and disconnected the phone. 

" who was it ? You know him ? What did he want ? " , demanded Tara .
Shekhar stared on ahead, "I need to handle this myself , sorry dear....can't tell anything now . It's for the well being of the girl ! "
" But just a little while ago, you weren't interested at all in the well being of Jenny ? " , Cyrus was suspicious ! 

Shekhar was agitated, " Listen , we don't have much time . If we have to save our backs , I must go now . And Tara, for Roohi's sake, don't leave her alone and come looking for me . You have seen how dangerous it has become ! "
And he left without another word .

Percival Batra !! After so many years !! That he had become powerful yet again wasn't unknown to Shekhar , but he did not have the slightest idea that he would get embroiled in these things yet again!  His head was spinning , as he entered that much trodden alley in the fringe of Pahargunj . This was the hub of his dealings of the past , but he had tried to steer clear of it carefully , but now , he had found out that he needed to get back again . 

As Shekhar pushed open the door to the inn, he got that familiar musty smell , yet again . On a stool was seated a man Shekhar knew well , from his past , an old acquaintance . He had a frown on his face , which made way for a smile on seeing Shekhar! A couple of other men sat alongside .

" What do you want now Percival ? Why are you doing this to me ?? Why have you dragged me here? " , Shekhar demanded.

 The man responded, " Dutta, have a Seat | so again, we do meet | 

          but, pleasantries first| would you like something to eat?"

Shekhar shouted, " I have no time for this rhyming nonsense of yours Percival , you've already caused enough harm to Cyrus ......all those short messages on Mondays , I've just come to know about them! "

Percival looked bemused, " Ah , but my dear | your mind still isn't clear | as to why I called you here!!"

Shekhar had had enough : " PERCIVAL !!!!! Stop this shit and ..........".

" Relax Dutta , there's no Percival!
Ah , to my name , I haven't been loyal !
Nowadays, I'm Prof Paresh Borah to all ! "

Shekhar slumped on his seat on a heap . His mouth remained half open, and he gulped twice , before finally managing to force it shut ! It was his old drug trafficking accomplice , who was now Cyrus' professor! He was not at all prepared for this !!

" surprised , Dutta?? Well , as they say, old habits die hard ....and I have found it extremely difficult to let go of my love for poems & haikus ! Besides, I realised , I had to utilise my education to make a living, so .....you understand , naa?? "

" why am I here ? What do you want from me and Cyrus ? "

" first of all, I'd like to congratulate you for reciprocating the old saying , "great minds think alike ' ....you were clever in sending across Cyrus as a tenant at your house right ? A law student , preoccupied with studies, was exactly what was required by you so that the police never suspected anything, right? I saw it too! I realised Cyrus was the perfect shield ! "

Shekhar shifted uncomfortably in his seat !

" besides, I got a double whammy with Cyrus ! I set him on a case to work with which involved a few murders that happened in and around Delhi a couple of years back . You see, it involved my business , and I was lucky to have wiped out evidences. But I needed to double check whether there were any loose ends, and sure enough , the idiot found them out ! Good for him that he always maintained the files, and after his investigations, I  always got the files removed from him . I thought he would give up on the case, but the guy was so bull-headed that he clung on! Boy, the extents to which interns would go these days to get those foreign scholarships !! That's when I decided to frighten him with those coke-smuggling bitches of ours! I could've removed Cyrus if I wanted, but you see , I didn't want to attract police interest in my beloved Chuna Mandi! "

Shekhar was too perplexed to talk , but he too had his own doubts ! Percival opened up even more.

" Scaring Cyrus was a motive , but I also wanted to let you know about my activities here at Chuna Mandi ! Hence the Dead Doggy Monday shows! But,when nearly two months went by , and you still didn't react, I realised the silly boy must be keeping it all to himself, trying to cope with the ghastly sights himself ! I had confirmed news that Cyrus was troubled every Monday night , but at the same time , I needed to cleanse his room rapidly , so that even if he complained to anybody , nobody would believe him , apart from you ! And , Dutta it was your ingenious brain that hatched this ploy to smuggle coke in dogs' bodies , right? You've indeed saved me a lot of hassles and costs ! Who'd miss some stray bitch on the road , huh? "

Shekhar cursed himself and his dark past. He had made a lot of money indeed, but he also had moved away from this life when he started a family . Money still lured him, and so he wanted a percentage from the proceedings that were going on at his home ! 

Percival went on," I wanted you to contact me on your own , but there was no communication . I was also facing a new problem that needed to be dealt with. So yesterday , I had even gone to Mumbai , to supply that dog to your daughter ! The way she looked at me , I felt she might have seen me somewhere before . I was  sure that this could at least get you alerted . I needed you.
     This gets me to Lallan and this new wretched bitch ....this one is a lady ,by the way, called Madam S ...who's this new trafficking queen ! This lady had an interest in your house too , but since it was already mine, she couldn't get a foothold . Lallan was working for me for some years , but this lady recruited him too. I didn't realise that Lallan was double bluffing me , and also working for her till very lately . And, in my efforts to put some blame  elsewhere and misguide Cyrus, I subtly mentioned 'her' , as a pointer towards some Lady's involvement in the Monday night notes . And you too were clever , weren't you, Dutta? You knew there were these dealings on at your house , but you wanted to avoid the direct contact, and got the commission from Lallan , didn't you ?? "

Shekhar was aghast , " how'd you know that ?? "

" you see , I didnt suspect it at first, but one of my men was intelligent enough to pluck that phone out of your pocket when that girl was taken away this morning ! And it shows a fair amount of call history between you and Lallan ! "

Shekhar suddenly remembered," where's the girl ? "

Percival bluntly replied," I've no clue about that! "

" Percival , why did you say she was here ?"

" would you have come , if I hadn't laid her as the bait ?"

" I'll kill you Percival "

" relax Dutta, sit down . There's another mess that needs to be cleared . And this involves that asshole Lallan who has double faulted . He has kidnapped the girl and possibly taken her to Madam S's . In all probability , there has already been a call from her side to Cyrus by now , asking your house in ransom ! Lallan's got to pay for this breach of terms. "

Shekhar felt he was sinking . He was afraid of the police as he had spent a good amount of time in the past , evading the lawmakers . He was furious with Cyrus just a while ago for contacting the police because he didn't want the police to be involved in the proceedings at all.

" Dutta, I know what you're thinking of. You're fearing the same thing that caused you to leave this line! You dread the police , you dont want to get into trouble. But I want to overpower this Madam S without making too much of an uproar, you have to join forces with me to deal with her . Take it from me,she's quite a slippery customer ! "

***********************
    Cyrus' phone rang , and he clumsily picked it up , " Hello , who's this?"
A harsh female voice barked , " give the phone to Shekhar Dutta "!
A vein appeared to split in Cyrus' temple , " GODDDAMNNN ! Why do all of you keep asking for Shekhar? Where is Jennifer?"
" shut up F**ker, if you don't want her throat slit immediately ! "
Cyrus fell silent," Shekhar is not here ! Please don't harm Jenny! Please !" 

Tara snatched the phone from him , "Hello, hello, this is Shekhar's wife, who's this ?"



Read the next part of the story here: Reconciliation for a New Beginning

sketch by teammate : Arvind Passey
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