The Unventured Passions

Favours and Friendship

"Now? What next Satya Da?" Batuk widened his eyes as he finished dressing Girish's wound. He was groaning in pain, half conscious, as the infection in his thigh inflicted his body and soul equally.

"We would need some more morphine, and antiseptic." Satya sighed, examining the periphery of the wound carefully.
"His fever isn't going down, and two days without treatment did make it worse."

Batuk looked down.
"I wish I could get more medicines from the RayBahadur palace, but..."

"But, you have battled the princess and infuriated the king. Hence..." Satya shrugged.

"They have the medical supply for the entire Eastern Cantonment stored in their basement... I so wish..."

Satya continued to smile at Batuk's laments.

"And the ammunition too... The entire palace is a freaking time bomb!"

Satya's face contorted at once.
"What did you say? Ammunition?"

"Yes." Batuk remarked. "All the ammunition for the British army is stored in their basement too... And, Raimoti Mukherjee wears the key as a pendant." A careless chuckle escaped his lips.

"Hm." Satya hummed, his face suddenly thoughtful and eyes gleaming with possibilities.
"So... how is this Raimoti Mukherjee?"

Batuk looked up at his words.
"Self-centred, arrogant, snob... I really don't have any better words."

"And, you are absolutely sure that you don't have anything for her? no feelings whatsoever?"

"Feelings? For her? Hell no Satya Da. Raimoti repulses me... It took me sometime to realise that, but now I'm absolutely sure."
Batuk nodded his head sideways, washing his hands, as he pulled a small stool and sat beside Girish's small bed.
"By the way, what about Girish's Da's absence in university?"

"I have taken care of it." Satya pulled out a small medicine box and counted the small glass viles kept inside.
"I've written a leave of absence note to the university, asking for a month's recovery period for him and that he will be with his family in his village." Satya paused.
"But, one thing is bothering me Batuk... Bothering me very much."

"What's that Satya Da?" Batuk furrowed his eyebrows.

"It's the pistol. I had hid it in the university, with other props in the drama club. I have news that the police is going to raid the campus today."

"Then?"

"Then, I believe I'll have to go to the campus and fix it." He sighed.
"That pistol is evidence Batuk, I can't let it be found."

"Dada would be in University too." Batuk remarked plainly as he saw Satya pull out a grey wig from the drawer.

"Really?"

"Ahaan." Batuk nodded.
"He's invited to lecture on woman rights I believe."

Satya smiled at his words as he kept the wig back inside the drawer. He pulled out a bottle of tar and a fat framed spectacle instead.

"What's with this new look?" Batuk rolled his eyes at him. "Don't tell me you're going to attend his lecture too?"

Satya didn't reply. Instead he winked at him and poured some tar in hand and started to rub in his arms.
"A lecture from Anirudh Roy Chowdhury on Woman Rights!" He remarked.
"These are finer pleasures of life, Batuk. Given a chance, one should never miss it."

.................................................

The library was quieter than usual, thanks to the huge hullabaloo raised by Anirudh's inspiring lecture.
Although a bit risky, but Satya was convinced that he had taken the right decision to sneek into the classroom at the last moment. He had sat in a corner, maintained a low profile, and drank up the knowledge that Anirudh squandered. But, his mission had kept him away from indulging more! He had retrieved the pistol from the prop room, and it was until after, that he had finally decided to meet Bondita to ask for her assistance.
The new appearance had almost made him unrecognisable, his bright white skin was burnished with tar, his hair was ruffled and the black round framed glasses gave him an appearance of a perfect nerdy student.