As soon as they approached the small boat, Aarav’s lips curved upwards into a smile as he recognized the writing on the front of the boat. “That’s an Indian ship. The writing is in Tamil” Aarav spoke to them while drawing in deep breaths. “Indian fishermen pass into the Sri Lankan waters every now and then.”
They shouted for help as the two fishermen, a father-son duo, caught their glimpse and started moving the boat in their direction. Rehann was about to faint when they were all pulled up by the two men and they immediately crashed on the deck, drawing in long breaths.
“Naangal Maalumigal. Engal Sutrulaavai Maerkondu Irundhom. Kanniyar tham paechu pola vetkam niraindha kadal, thideerna raatchasa alaigalaai maari uruveduthadhu. Engal uyirai kaapatriyadharku nanri. Engala Indhiyavil saerthu vida udhavi puriya mudiyuma?” Aarav uttered something in fluent Tamil to the fishermen and both Rehann and Aanya failed to understand a word of it.
“You are not a sailor”, the fisherman laughed and replied back in English. “I hope you found a treasure in Lanka.”
Others stared at him, startled.
“I know you are the treasure hunter”, the fisherman replied as he asked his son to steer the boat back to India.
Chapter 7: The Evil Master
They arrived back in Mumbai around six hours later. Aarav had not spoken a word through the entirety of their journey, and appeared to be much more angrier than scared. Rehann brought up the topics again and again; about Shayna’s capture, about the Bulls getting their hands on all the books, about the deaths of the Jayaratne’s and about the Prime Minister of the country being the secret evil master. When Aarav never bothered to respond to his queries, Rehann discussed the issues with Aanya, but their discussions led them towards nothing.
Once at the airport, they decided to take the night off and plan what to do ahead. Aanya was escorted back to her mansion. She further provided a few guards for Rehann and Aarav’s security, who accompanied them back to his bungalow.
“Look, I know that the things look grim right now. But it will get better”, Rehann comforted Aarav as their car exited the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport. “Shayna will be fine.”
“It is not her well-being that concerns me right now”, Aarav replied coldly as he looked at the magnificent ivory colored airport building, its beautiful architecture glowing perfectly in the night lights.
Rehann took in a deep breath before engaging in the conversation with Aarav. “Look I know that you liked her. I know that you…”
“You what?” Aarav asked without shifting his gaze.
“Whatever happened between the two of you that night at her penthouse; I know that you have never… experienced… and I understand your attachment with her.”
“Oh shut up Rehann”, Aarav rolled his eyes as he looked at his friend. “Nothing happened that night. Nothing happened between me and Shayna Maheshwari. She was nothing but a distraction and is the least of my worries right now”, he turned back to look outside the window.
“We have to save her”, Rehann replied after some time. “We have to save her quickly Aarav. We saw what the Bulls did to the Jayaratne’s. As soon as they would get their hands on both the books, nothing would stop that K guy from pulling the trigger.”
“They would have reached Delhi sometime around nine. And even if we take the traffic jams into account, they would have reached her place, opened the safe and got both the books with them by now. So if what you say is true, she might already be dead.”
“How can you say such a thing about a person you love?” Rehann flipped.
Aarav took some time before turning back to Rehann. “The evil master has all the seven books right now. All of them. For all we know, the Bulls are already on their way towards the treasure hidden somewhere in the Himalayas. We started a step ahead of them and we are now almost a mile behind. This devil might be in possession of the greatest treasure in the world tomorrow, the treasure of gods. Can you imagine the kind of power it can give? So yes Shayna is least of my worries right now.”
“It’s always the case with you. You try to humiliate and belittle the ones you care about just so that your mind can avoid the pain of imagining them being hurt.”
Aarav turned towards him and instead of a witty comeback had a little smile on his face.
“What?” Rehann asked, surprised by his reaction.
“Nothing”, Aarav replied.
“What’s that smile about?”
Aarav looked outside of the car again, his eyes doling at the nightlife of Mumbai, admiring the passion of the people of the city that never sleeps. “She is alive and well”, he murmured.
“How could you possibly know that?” Rehann asked, surprised.
“The other day, at Shayna’s office; the Bulls tried to kill us all but we somehow escaped”, Aarav began with his explanation.
“Correct”, Rehann affirmed.
“But then today in Sri Lanka, why didn’t they? You heard K speak it himself. He wasn’t supposed to kill us. He beheaded Mr. Jayaratne. He had Mrs. Jayaratne killed. He would have shot the three of us without batting an eye. But he couldn’t. Why?”
“Because the evil master didn’t want him to?”
“Exactly. The evil master didn’t want him to. That is the only reason we are alive. Now think, why would he do that? Why would the evil master want us dead one day and give explicit orders against it the next?”
“Because he wants us to witness him claim the treasure himself? Then throw our loss in our faces and have us killed?”
“If you believe that, then I’m sorry to say this my friend… but you are a fool.”
“Oh! Is that so? Then you know why we are alive?” Rehann asked him, a little offended.
“Of course. What do you think I have been brainstorming about throughout our flight back to Mumbai? And trust me you won’t believe me when I tell it to you.” Aarav stopped speaking as their car stopped in front of his bungalow. “Crash at my place tonight.”
“Why? Because you are scared that the Bulls might attack you?”
Aarav looked all around. “Actually, yes”, he whispered slowly.
“Aanya has provided her guards, you know. They’ll keep you safe.”
“And what if they attack you instead?”
“Then they’ll have a very hard time. You know I have a black belt in Karate.”
“Come on”, Aarav said while laughing as he went for the door. Rehann followed him soon.
They were sitting in his study the next morning. Aarav had retracted back to his non-speaking, angry, cold and unbothered mode while Rehann was working on his laptop, following Aarav’s instructions.
“Is it done yet?” he asked Rehann impatiently.
“It takes time”, he replied, his fingers sprinting on the keyboard of his laptop.
“I thought you were a skilled hacker?” Aarav remarked coldly.
“Still am buddy. Still am”, he said as he pounded his index finger on the space bar and exclaimed loudly. “Done.”
Aarav dug his eyes into the laptop screen.
“Is it? That’s insane. How can Shayna’s mobile’s last known location be in Mumbai?” Rehann asked him.
“We are about to find out”, Aarav exhaled a deep breath as his mother knocked at the door of his study and entered inside.
“There is a man waiting for you in the living room. He said to tell you that he knows where… someone called Shayna is.”
“Finally”, Aarav said as he moved towards a drawer to his left and started searching for something.
“What are you boys working on this time?” she asked Rehann, concerned.
“It is nothing”, he replied.
“Look at the scars on his face. Did he get in a fight?”
“It’s nothing Mrs. Kohrrathi. We ar
e on a hunt. It will all be over soon.”
She looked at Aarav with worry. “I’m getting him married when this one is over”, she said while leaving.
Rehann had a smile on his face as he turned back towards Aarav. “A man who says that he knows where Shayna is?”
“Clearly”, Aarav responded.
“Is that a gun? I never knew you carried one?” Rehann asked as he saw Aarav taking out a gun from the drawer and putting it towards his back.
“I have a license, don’t worry.”
“What is going on Aarav?” he asked.
“Everything is happening according to the plan. Let us just move with it”, he replied as he grabbed his coat and headed for the door.
They saw a gentleman sitting in the living room, drinking water out of a glass and admiring the historical makeover Aarav had given to the place. He was probably in his late forties, his head was balding with a little growth of gray hair towards the sides. He was lean and tall, had a scruffy beard and a few wrinkles on his face. He was dressed in formals, had to open his shoes outside the house due to a rule initiated by Aarav’s mother long ago and had kept his left hand resting on his leg. He bowed his head a little as he saw the two of them enter and didn’t care to rise up to shake hands.
“You know where Shayna is?” Rehann asked.
“Yes”, the man nodded his head.
“Who are you?”
“It doesn’t matter who I am, what matters is what I can tell.”
“And what can you tell?”
“I know where Shayna Maheshwari is. I know everything about the secret books. I know everything about what happened in Sri Lanka. And I know everything about the secret treasure that is hidden in the Himalayas”, he spoke with a straight face.
Rehann was dumbfounded. “How?” he asked before gazing at Aarav.
“Because he was there in Sri Lanka yesterday”, Aarav completed the sentence for the stranger who had a smile on his face.
“What?” Rehann asked.
“The man has barely moved his left hand ever since we came here. Must be hard since I put a bullet in your shoulder, right?”
Rehann looked back at the stranger and realized who he was.
“Must be hard to remember a face you have never seen. I bet you’ll recognize the mask I brought with me in my car”, K spoke to a staggered Rehann.
“I was counting on somebody to pay me a visit. Didn’t expect it would be you though”, Aarav continued.
“I loved this city back in the nineties. I lived here once. I was feeling a little nostalgic so I thought to get a ride and meet you on the way.”
“Aarav, I’m calling the police”, Rehann said while reaching for his phone.
“And all they’ll find out about me is that I’m a salesman who was here to make a sale.”
Aarav looked at Rehann and shook his head in disapproval.
“Good choice”, K uttered as he again went for the glass of water.
“And what if I do this?” Aarav took out his gun and pointed it at K.
“Then you will spoil the bright walls of your house with my bloody red blood. But then again, you’ll have to do a lot of explaining to the police as to why you killed an innocent salesman.”
“I’ll take my chances.”
“Also you’ll never find out where Shayna is.”
“I already know.”
“You do? Really?” K spoke as he looked hard into Aarav’s eyes with a wide smile. “Oh my god. You figured it all out, didn’t you? I heard that you were quick. But that is commendable.”
Aarav continued pointing the gun towards him.
“Then they’ll be really happy to see you?”
“They?” Aarav asked.
“Oh! Didn’t you receive the message? Aanya Vashishtha left the airport all right, but she never arrived at her father’s mansion.”
“I will kill you right now.”
“And they’ll kill her if I don’t return”, K replied coolly. “But enough with the guns and the fighting and the… I’m sorry for what my guys did to your face. But now that you know the truth, you’ll have to admit that even I didn’t have any clue about it.”
“What truth?” Rehann asked, puzzled.
“When did you come to know?” Aarav asked K. “Was it before or after Sri Lanka?”
“After”, K replied after taking in a deep breath.
“And if you had known it before, would you still have done what you did to the Jayaratne’s?”
“Oh that one was cruel”, K continued. “That was brutal… with the neck and the blood and everything. But it isn’t the first time someone has been beheaded like that you know.”
Aarav lowered his gun and kept it back.
“Hmm. Now. Shall we?” K asked while getting up.
“Where are we going?” Rehann asked Aarav.
“On a little joyride”, K replied for Aarav as he led them away into his car outside.
They drove out to the Fort area of Mumbai and stopped before a building overlooking the Arabian Sea. K led Aarav and Rehann above on the fifth floor of that hoary house. The building was built sometime in the early twentieth century. It was seven story tall and had narrow hallways leading to the stairs above. They soon entered a room that somehow seemed giant in comparison to the architecture of the building. Its walls were painted with a mild ochre color, with the portraits of a few men adorned the damp walls. The floor was laden with a thick brown carpet and they had to turn on the lights in the middle of the day since the narrow windows of the room prevented most of the sunlight from entering inside. Around ten Bulls stood in the room, clothed in the same black and red suits that Aarav and Rehann had witnessed them in twice, but they weren’t wearing their masks. In the middle of the room, they saw a familiar face. Aanya Vashishtha was tied to a chair, her mouth gagged, her makeup ruined due to crying and her bloodshot eyes looking at them, grieving for help.
“Dear god”, Rehann uttered as he rushed ahead towards her, only to stop as two Bulls walked ahead and blocked his way. “Aanya, are you all right?”
She continued crying and looked down at her feet.
“I will kill you”, Rehann yelled at K.
“I have been asked to not hurt you. Please do not tempt me”, K replied coldly.
“Let me guess, exact instructions by your master?” Aarav said.
“Yes”, came a woman’s voice from behind him. Aarav closed his eyes and took in a deep breath while Rehann stood shocked in his tracks as he saw a very amiable Shayna Maheshwari walking into the room.
“Shayna? What? Wha…” Rehann looked at Aarav and understood why he wasn’t worried about Shayna’s well-being the previous day. “Oh! My! God!”, he exclaimed as he held his head.
She came ahead unhurriedly and stood before them with a victorious smirk adorning her face.
Aarav finally opened his eyes and cursed himself to again fall for her beauty. Shayna looked different. Her hair appeared to be darker, the blonde highlights towards the bottom were gone. She had her makeup on, a scarlet lipstick enhanced the exquisiteness of her lips. She wore a mascara, accentuating her deep blue eyes further. Unlike her usual demeanor though, she appeared to be far more powerful, far more dominating and charismatic. For the first time she had abandoned her business formals and was instead draped in a revealing red saree which emphasized her voluptuous figure even further.
“Ms. Maheshwari”, Aarav greeted her coldly, unbothered by her appearance and stared straight into her eyes.
“Mr. Kohrrathi”, she replied with a triumphant smile. “I must say, it’s not the reaction I was expecting”, she continued in her British accent.
“What were you expecting then?”
“That”, she said pointing towards Rehann, who had his mout
h open and creases adorning his forehead.
“It was you? All this time?” Rehann stated as he felt sorry.
Shayna smiled at him before turning back towards Aarav. “How long have you known?”
“I had a lot of time to kill on my way back from Sri Lanka”, he replied while glancing towards Aanya. “Gagging her? Seriously? I thought you were friends?”
Shayna smiled and signaled a Bull to ungag Aanya. “She was screaming a lot and I didn’t want to hurt her.”
“Is that so? I don’t see anyone rushing up this building to save her from your Bulls. Is this it then? Your Bullpen?” he asked her again as he looked all around, subconsciously counting the number of men. “I imagined it to be much better considering the resources you have at your disposal. I must admit, I’m a little disappointed.”
“I’m sorry for that”, she replied, enjoying every bit of it. “I guess I didn’t spend enough time with you to realize your tastes.”
“Oh what can I say? I was sleeping in a billionaire’s penthouse and flying in her private jet yesterday. I think she spoiled me.”
She smiled again. “I never expected you to react like this when I imagined your face once you knew the truth. I mean I changed my appearance. Went to a parlor last night and picked up a new look just to make an impression on you. You spoiled my efforts.”
“How?” Rehann spoke angrily. “How could you do this to us? We trusted you.”
She didn’t reply but just carried a confident smile before turning back towards Aarav. “How did you know? How did you figure it out?”
Secret of the Himalayan Treasure Page 12
