THE BOSS

As Abhay entered his cabin, his eyes fell on Yuvaan who was lying limp in the corner. All the thrashing Abhay and his juniors meted to him was showing now. His face was swollen and each limb was aching to the core. Abhay casually asked the constable if Yuvaan’s father had come to the police station enquiring about Yuvaan when he was away. He was told that Yuvaan’s father as yet did not know that his son was in the lock-up for he had gone to visit his ailing mother in the village and could not be reached on the phone. Yuvaan’s father was expected to return that night. Abhay grinned – that meant he had another day to “treat” Yuvaan and satisfy himself. The picture of Yuvaan and Charu kept flashing before his eyes and he desperately longed to beat Yuvaan up to pulp.

Charu, in the meanwhile tried to find out a lawyer through whom she could get Yuvaan out on bail. She knew she would have to face tremendous hurdles in her way if Abhay got wind of her plans. So she planned to move in this direction with the utmost discretion. She started browsing through the telephone directory hoping that she would come across some familiar name. The Yellow pages were filled with names of several advocates but she could not distinguish between lawyers who took up criminal cases and those who pleaded civil suits. She stretched herself on the sofa and was contemplating whether she should seek her father’s assistance. After all, she could look up to him for help. She was about to pick up the phone to dial his number when the doorbell rang. When she opened the door, she was in for a great surprise!

“Uncle, you are truly God sent”, she said, hugging him. “How could I have not thought of you earlier?” Ravi, the younger brother of Mani Oomen, her father walked in. After the exchange of pleasantries he asked her what the matter was. He had just come from Dubai and had come to know about Charu’s arrival and had come to be with her. Charu was extremely relieved and lost no time in recounting the events since her arrival in Cochin and sought his advice for getting Yuvaan released on bail.

Ravi seemed to ponder a moment and then looking Charu in the eye asked her what she thought of her father. Charu had least expected this question from him and said so. “I have a reason to ask you this”, Ravi said.

As a dutiful daughter, Charu had nothing at all against her father and in fact, revered him no end. After listening to her admiration for her father, Ravi seated her beside him and said, “I am sorry, Charu, you must be prepared for a rude shock”.

Charu looked bewildered, not knowing what to say. What makes him say so, was what was going on in her mind. “Anyway, first things first – let us focus on having Yuvaan out of the jail”, he said. “You need not come with me, rather if you stay away from this issue, it will be easier for me to get him out”, he said and left in a hurry saying that he would be back in an hour’s time with Yuvaan.

It was such a great relief for Charu. How did she forget Ravi when she was looking for advocates? Out of sight, out of mind – probably Ravi’s absence for a long time and her having lost touch with him must be the reason, she pondered. Now, she had nothing else to do but wait for Ravi to come back. She hoped that he would bring Yuvaan also with him as he had said.

A coffee lover that she was, she made herself a cup of coffee and entered their library room. It had accumulated a lot of dust and she thought to herself to get it cleaned the first thing in the morning. She had thought of picking up a book and browse through it till Ravi’s return, but looking at the state of the room, the dust and cobwebs, she first took back her coffee mug, laid it on the dining table and came back to close the door of the library. Just as she was about to do so, her eyes caught sight of an open diary. Though diaries are supposed to be personal, there is hardly anyone, whose curiosity is not roused by someone else’s diary. Charu was no exception and she stealthily made her way through the web nets and picked it up.

She brushed the diary with a cloth and setting herself at the dining table, picking up the coffee, opened the diary. No details were filled in the blanks provided – “This diary belongs to….”, but the letters “MO” were neatly written on the first page. The first few pages had nothing interesting written on them save some motivational quotes and some occasional accounts. As she flipped the pages over, she was surprised to read what was written! She rubbed her eyes twice to see if she was reading right : “Spent the whole day thinking about the villa. Charu is the spitting image of Sheryl Verghese. Surely I should be able to use her. If all goes as per plan, I will be a multi millionaire!....” Then in the next page, “Searched high and low for the Polaroid photograph of the villa. Wonder where I left it? I am sure I must have left it in the book I was reading, but where did I leave the book? Anyway, nothing much is lost as I have taken down the code number, but it should not fall into wrong hands. Of course, there is nothing that I cannot manage, but still….”

Charu was shocked! What a coincidence that the book in which MO had kept the photograph come to her! “MO” – Mani Oomen?

The sound of the gate opening and excited voices reached her and she was shaken out of her stupor. Yes, Ravi had kept his word, he had brought Yuvaan with him. Why is it that I always have mixed feelings and cannot enjoy happiness without a twinge of sadness or tension, Charu asked herself. Anyway let me savour this moment now and comfort Yuvaan.

She went to open the door and happily welcomed both of them. Quickly she brought in some tea, biscuits and some snacks knowing that Yuvaan must be famished. She offered to make some quick dish, but Yuvaan would not hear of it. He wanted her to sit beside him as he thanked her uncle profusely for having so easily got him out on bail. Ravi did not allow him to continue further. “Yuvaan, I think it is best if you first go home and relax. I may suggest that you may not narrate all the incidents to your dad when he comes home tonight as he would already be stressed due to your grandma. Wait till tomorrow and then inform him. Now, go and get some rest”. Charu agreed that he should go home as she was happy to see him free from the clutches of Abhay. She was also eager to know from Ravi about the shocking surprise, though she had guessed a part of it by now.

Once Yuvaan left, she turned to Ravi. “It is about Daddy, isn’t it?”, she asked hesitantly. Ravi admired her agility to comprehend things and replied in the affirmative. He then went on to say that it was very recently that he too had come to know of Mani’s nefarious dealings and in fact had come to Cochin, to discuss it with Mani and try to dissuade him from getting more and more involved in crime. “First, we have to get the sword from Abhay and thwart the deal. I have an idea as to how to go about it. Since we know all the details of the issue and you have updated me with the latest events, I can easily take on Abhay and get the sword from him. Just wait and watch”, Ravi chuckled.

He went inside the house, got hold of a hat and wore it tiltingly. He was already dressed in a suit and picked up a cigar, lit it and dialled Abhay’s number, not before placing himself in front of a blank wall which revealed no idea of the location whatsoever. Charu first laughed at him but then as Ravi had asked her to wait and watch, she kept quiet.

Abhay did not pick up the phone first. Ravi sent a message from the same mobile saying that Boss wished to talk to him. Immediately Abhay called back. Ravi (Boss) told him that he needed the Khopesh right away and was ready to pay for it. Abhay trying to be smart said that he wished to see who he was talking to before he decided anything. Ravi then asked him to make a video call to the same number, which Abhay readily did. He saw the “BOSS” with his hat drawn down and though he harboured some doubts, did not have the guts to ask for anything more. In an authoritative tone, Ravi asked him to text details of his account number to the mobile and said that Rs. 5 lacs would be first credited to this account after which he should hand over the Khopesh at a mutually agreed place.

In a few moments, the details of the account arrived. Ravi first drafted a message to read as if it was sent by a Bank: “Your NEFT of Rs. 5,00,000.00 with UTR SNIN 381815634825 dtd 03/08/2021 credited to beneficiary AC No.XX05050at CVBL00892 on 03/08/2021 at 06.48 pm. SNI”. He then called up Abhay once again to confirm account number etc. He then asked Abhay to wrap the Khopesh in a brown paper and leave the parcel outside his gate after he received the credit message on his mobile from the Bank. Ravi then took out his bike and went to Abhay’s home but parked himself a few feet from the gate. From there, he sent the drafted message to Abhay saying that he was forwarding his bank’s message to him and asked him to leave the Khopesh outside.

Abhay read the message which looked so authentic and not daring to displease the BOSS, immediately came out of his house and left the Khopesh outside the gate. Ravi waited for him to go inside and looked around to see if there was any camera nearby. Not spotting anything, he started his bike and with great agility picked up the Khopesh and came to Charu’s house.

Ever since leaving New York, Charu had been facing unique situations one after another. Today, however she was in great pain. She had broken down and was sobbing when Ravi entered. Flashing the Khopesh, he told her – “Steel yourself like this sword and be ready to face Mani Oomen, aka the BOSS”.

The fond uncle that he was, he comforted her and for once, Charu knew she was in safe hands. She knew that she could trust him and that he would also unite her with Yuvaan at the right juncture.