Trixy and The Crescent Of Rana

CHAPTER 11 : STRANGE STORIES

It turned out Dan was much a nicer guy than anyone gave him credit for. He was just as florid and affable as his sister, just a tad bit crude. She felt as if she had been friends with the siblings for years. She talked with them, and she did it oblivious of all her pasts and identities. She hadn't forgotten them; it might have been even the very topic they were talking about. But somehow, she was assured none of it mattered at all.

After they had unwrapped and rewrapped atleast twenty chewing gums from the dashboard and Ezhil felt her tongue turning sore, Maahir returned, still towing the man-corpse. The only difference was that the ropes had disappeared and instead his wrists were fastened with metal cuffs now. Maahir opened the backdoor and shoved him in, making some seat for himself.

"What happened?" asked Ezhil, as he slammed the door shut.

"We found Maran. He was hidden inside the house."

"What?!" cried both of them in unison from the front seats.

"There is a secret basement cellar in the kitchen, right beneath the gas cylinder and Maran was stashed inside it. I doubt if we would've even got his corpse if the blast had occurred."

Dan stared at Saahil, who was still half asleep. "I honestly can't believe this guy swooning beside you tried to murder his brother a few hours ago."

"For the first time in my life, I agree with you, Dan," said Maahir, "Neither does he seem to carry enough hate nor does he have enough guts. And he's telling some strange stories too."

"Yeah, strange stories indeed," popped up a new firm voice suddenly and then Aravind was seen sitting on the other side of Saahil.

Ezhil gawked at him for a few seconds before asking, "Are you a teleporter?"

"No, obviously not. I'm a Flamer. Didn't Maahir tell you?"

"Get used to it," said Maahir, leaning back and resting his head on his palms, "He loves pulling such stealthy stunts often. He isn't nicknamed the Ninja of our squad for nothing. He's exceptionally skilled at hiding his presence."

"And Maahir is exceptionally skilled at flattering. Forget that Ninja bit though," said Aravind, "Anyway, we've got fresh news now. A house in Tyroor got blasted a few hours ago. Squad 2 is in charge, investigation still on. Cause yet to be identified."

"You think this attempted blast here is related to that blast somehow?"

"I don't know. The chances of two houses in the same city to get bombed on the same day around the same time, just by coincidence, is highly unlikely. Moreover, just as Maahir told, he is telling some strange stories indeed."

"What exactly are these strange stories?" asked Ezhil, half hesitant.

"The most puzzling part of this case was, and is, the Sabeena. Getting your hands on Sabeena is as hard as getting them on drugs and according to Saahil, some mysterious man apparated out of no where, a few days back, to give him the flowers."

"You mean somebody else is pulling the strings from behind?" asked Dan, his lips curving skeptically.

"Maybe or may not be. There are no signs of brainwashing. He admits the plan was originally his and no one forced him to do it. He himself doesn't know why this mysterious man helped him out. He probably just encouraged him to do it or something like that."

"Any identifications for this mysterious man?"

"He says the man was hooded, wearing a crow mask and had a scarred red hand. And spoke a few, but strange words. I personally feel like he is simply adding some spooky elements into the story to scare us. He probably just came across a dealer accidentally. "

"What are we going to do with him now?"

"If you ask me, I'd advise to hand him over to the police. Squad 2 will definitely want to interrogate him, once the news gets out."

Ezhil looked baffled. "Wait. Aren't WE the police?"

Dan chortled. "No, we aren't."

"I said we are a police-like organization, not police itself," said Maahir, "The actual police do exist and it's better to let them arrest him. We too can take custody of him, if we want to, but I go with Aravind. It's needless."

"Yeah, it's needless," rejoined Dan, "What we need really now is food. I bet none of you had lunch this afternoon. Shall I get the wheels to Jo's, Aravind?"

☆☆☆☆☆☆

Just like everything else with Trixy, the Jo's too was nothing like what she expected. She wasn't so greedy to hope for a 5-star hotel but at the least she thought it would be a decent restaurant. Yet, the best description she could have come up for the Jo's was a fast food counter that had somehow mystically evolved a few tables and chairs within it.

The chart paper, which the owner called 'Menu', had just two dishes mainly for the evening – rolls and samosas, in different languages with different subtitles. It was not like she was hoping for a typical lunch either. It was twilight already and she wasn't feeling a trace of hunger, which she should perhaps, after the long day of work. She felt unusually sleepy though.

Maahir got down to buy every piece of every kind of food they had hot while Dan parked the car along the edge of the road. They had chosen to eat inside the car itself.

"Drop me at the next signal. I'm getting down," said Ezhil, taking a bite off her schezwan roll. Aravind had already consented for Dan and Ezhil to take a break and go home, saying he and Maahir would hand over the prisoner and take care of other formalities.

"You live there?" asked Dan.

"My lodge is down there," she said.

"Lodge?" asked he, surprised, "You should at least rent a decent house if you are to work in Trixy."

She kept silent, not really knowing what she should say. "I can....I guess but being new to Vinpur and all, I don't know-"

"I can fetch you a house in our quarters, if you want to," said he, without blinking an eye.

The last piece of roll rolled down from the grip of her tongue onto the paper plate, as she stared dumbfounded. She didn't expect that. How could she? Living in the same locality as Nancy and Dan? It sounded too nice to be true. "I think I heard you wrong."

"You heard me right. Some people are vacating shortly in my neighborhood. You might get a frugal one bedroom house if you are lucky, although it would be like a trial period until you become a permanent member in Trixy."

"I have Quiroshi too with me, you know."

"Of course. You can talk about that to the manager. Pets aren't always unwelcome."

She wavered diffidently for a few moments, "Shall I-I think and tell, tomorrow maybe?"

"Sure, no problem. Take your time," said he, opening the dashboard and throwing all the paper plates in, like it was his own car.

Ezhil got out promptly at the signal. She tried her best to yank Quiroshi out, but he didn't budge an inch out of the comfy leather seats of the Shanto. She succeeded, finally, only after Maahir came for her aid.

"Thanks," said she, as they slammed the back door.

"No probs," said he, "Oh, I forgot to give you this."

He took his wallet and handed her three, thousand oda notes. She got them and counted, gaping at him.

"That's the amount Naga promised us," said he, grinning, "Five thousand odas. Maran will probably pay more later."

"There is three thousand? You didn't have change?"

"The extra five hundred is yours. Perks, you could say. For putting extra hardwork."

"Extra five hundred?!" she asked dubiously, "I am no math graduate but I've learnt enough numbers to know that two third of five thousand is three thousand three hundred and thirty three. Don't forget to bring the remaining three hundred thirty tomorrow. It's Quiroshi's share. If not I ain't guarding you when he jumps tomorrow to chew off your bottom."