03 – The danger

Ahmed yells in Hindi with hate in his eyes like a lunatic into the microphone on his desk. "It’s unbelievable, you are supposed to be my best men and look now! How the hell did you achieve that? This is now such a mess I don’t know where to start! Oh no, wait, I know. Who of you were responsible for the assault on our professor Johan? His daughter told Ronald everything about it!” Aryan and Mohammed worriedly look at each other before Aryan answers carefully in Hindi in his smart phone’s microphone between them on the table. "Arnav and Mohammed just wanted to teach him a lesson so that he did not try something else, sir; he deliberately tried to mislead us to hide the book in the park. Luckily Mohammed saw it just in time.” "Ronald told me that one of you even pulled a knife on him, to do what I ask you, don’t you realize the importance of this man! He is our key! He is our last step and you kick him! Let me spell it out! You kicked the skull that protects the brain that might guarantee our success. That’s the only brain that achieved what even our brilliant Ronald and his team couldn’t achieve. No one in the whole wide world knows how to do it, Aryan; I can’t believe you let this happen! Off course you know that you will have to come up with results to make good on your failure because I don’t tolerate such behaviour and will punish you.” Aryan is white in the face and his head sweats when he answers cautiously. "We know, sir, but the professor is well looked after and all his senses are working perfectly. He is injured slightly and for his daughter, it must have looked much worse than it really was. We understand that we made a grave mistake and assure you that we will take good care of the professor and his daughter in every way.” "Okay. Just leave the old man so that he can recuperate completely. I discussed with Ronald our strategy about how to orientate him until he fully cooperates. We must simply make sure that he is under surveillance all the time and that there is no chance for him to harm himself in any way. His daughter is our trump card and he doesn’t have a choice, he’s only playing for time but his excuses are running out. Just leave him alone and let Ronald and his team handle him, understood?” "We understand, sir, we ...” Ahmed interrupts. "You must hunt that little shit that ran away with the booklet that our dear professor tried to hide. We must discover what is in that book. Why did he try to hide it there? Do you know how dangerous it is that that boy runs around with a potential time bomb! It is now time to redeem yourselves, what’s your plan? "We are taking turns in watching the nearest police station to see if he shows, but thus far to no avail. Arnav is watching now, sir.” With a sharp hiss of discontent, Ahmed says sarcastically: "And is that now your little plan?” They are looking at each other in the hope that one will come up with a sound plan but Ahmed doesn’t give them a chance. He suddenly hits the desk with his fist that causes the utensils on it to hop in the air. "Is that your damn plan? Let me tell you what is going on in that simple little heads of yours. You dodged into the next hiding place that we had arranged beforehand and now you think everything is honkey dory. You think that if the professor divulges your position in that book it doesn’t matter because you have moved everything. You think that when he sends his message throughout the world about our plans, it also doesn’t matter, because no one will believe him. Idiots! That man is brilliant, he is a genie and we must expect anything.” "He even knows Sanskrit. Only 100 000 people in this world know classic Sanskrit and he is one of them although he isn’t originally from India. Even our Hinal Sanskrit speakers will have problems with classic Sanskrit but he outshines all of us by far. Why and how he knows this old form of Sanskrit is beyond me because he is a virologist. We found many original Vedas in his home; maybe he studied them for philosophical reasons. The man’s moral values are our greatest barrier. We must find out what his plans are and the only way to do it is to find the booklet that he didn’t want you to see. I want that booklet, as in now, and you let a little shit run away with it! Is Port Elizabeth a big city? How are you going to get this boy? I’m anxiously waiting ...” "It’s a coastal city, sir, but in comparison with cities in India, it is only a small town. We thought the first logical place to look was the Humewood police station where he might report the incident. It’s the best place to find him. He probably walked through the park from home or to home and we are patrolling the upper and lower streets regularly. It’s just a matter of time, sir, and we will catch him.” Ahmed again violently hits the table several times so that some of the utensils fall down. "Time!” he yells,” we don’t have, don’t you understand! How old do you think is this snot?” "More or less 15 or 16 or maybe 17, 18, sir.” "Black, white, mixed or what ...? "White, for sure, sir.” "You said this boy yelled at you when Mohammed pulled the knife, not so? What were his words?” "We couldn’t quite make it out, sir, it was too sudden. But it sounded like English. We think he wanted to stop us. He maybe thought Mohammed was going to stab the old man. Mohammed, sir, just wanted to frighten him.” "Did he look like a street kid or was he well dressed?” "He looked well-kept, sir, and educated; definitely not a street kid.” "Then it is a young school boy. And then he goes to school in the morning and returns in the afternoon. The language he uses narrows the possible schools he might attend. Which schools are near his home? Does he walk or cycle to the school? He walked through the park so he could be walking to his school as well if it is nearby. If the school is far away from his home, how does he reach? What is the mode of transport for pupils in general? Do you follow my deductions, pig heads? Must I feed you with a teaspoon! If you haven’t caught him by tomorrow afternoon, at least I want to know how you have progressed, is that clear?” "That’s in order, sir ...” Frustrated Ahmed shakes his head and looks up at Vipracitti that is standing in front of his desk listening intently, and calmness engulfs him and self-confidence fills him from somewhere. "Our Guru will be with you shortly. His passport is almost ready. I lost my faith in all of you there in the south point of Africa. Ronald and his team take far too long with the orientation of our professor. Our Guru is of the opinion that you are all hopelessly incompetent and that his speedy intervention is highly desirable. His unique talents will surely guarantee our success as usual. When he arrives, you must follow his instructions to the letter, do we understand each other?” A cold breeze as if from the south pole sweeps over them when they hear of Vipracitti and dispirited they look at each other before Aryan meekly responds: "We understand, sir, we only have the greatest respect for our guru and are always at his service.” Aryan sees how Mohammed’s hands begin to tremble slightly. The guru had earlier taken over his senses. Aryan feels how peril push up in his guts as he thinks of facing Vipracitti soon. He always tries to avoid the Aghori, but when he needs to be in his presence, he makes sure that he avoids his gaze. He doesn’t want to land in his power and be a marionette like Mohammed who is manipulated by fear. And now they must accompany the guru until that boy and the booklet are found! He hopes they find the boy soon so that the trip of the guru will be cancelled.