Shape of the Sun

Victory

Seventeen minutes ago. Inside the hall.

The slides with Rishi's plans for the project were meant to have been on display, but they weren't because there was a problem. At this moment, the Prime Minister's representative and select members of his entourage were in a room separate from the others, Bhairav and Shakti with them. Both men were trying to calm him down, but their efforts proved futile, even as he yelled once again at the top of his voice, visibly agitated.

"What do you mean that I should calm down? I should calm down? Don't tell me to calm down when you and your group have made a mess of everything! Look at this! Look at the nonsense you have done!" He waved the stack of papers in his hands.

"Reports of workplace harassment, intimidation practices, tax evasion...what the hell are you doing with a public project if you are evading taxes?!" he shouted at Shakti, irate. "You don't pay your taxes and yet, you want this contract? Bhairav, do something about this!" He dropped the papers onto the table so that they fell apart and the other man picked up the topmost page, his expression turning conflicted with each further read.

Bhairav knew that he needed to at least look it, so he didn't end up fumbling the bag. Still, it was difficult to contain his inner excitement with the masterpiece in his hands. Raju had really done well this time. Of course, these were all thoughts, a trained facade on. After reading, he passed it onto Shakti's trembling hands, as if to have him verify if it was the truth or not.

What a joke.

If he had no hand in this, wouldn't the other man know? Still, it was one of those rare moments where anger had to give way to fear. Shakti, for the first time in years, was afraid of what this meant, something bigger than the project to him. With his company's crimes out in the open, would there still be a good future for him in this country? He was afraid not. An uneasy glance at the representative and he immediately lowered his gaze.

If looks could kill, Shakti would have been dead. But they couldn't, and this problem needed to be solved and fast. Anil Sawant thought he had seen enough of everything with all his years of administration, but it turned out that he was wrong. Never had he seen such an unscrupulous tax exader in his entire life.

Your company has never once paid taxes to the state, and yet you want to profit from it? The hell?!

Anil appreciated the staff that had passed this on to his assistant because if this had come out anytime after the event, his career was as good as finished. The Prime Minister's representative was a bit of an overreach for his actual position in the hierarchy, somewhere in the upper middle. There were still quite a few checks and balances, as well as others eyeing his post, like a hawk ready to swoop. So, Anil was really thankful for his competent staff.

But he was thanking the wrong person, though.

Rajkumar had invested so much effort and money to get that staff's assistant to show the document to his boss, in addition to the private investigator's fees. Usually, a few tax hoards here and there would not have been an issue, except that the staggering number of zeroes in this case was enough to blind anyone. Bhatt Constructions made millions every year and had not paid taxes for all thirteen of those. Rajkumar had truly struggled to make sense of it, the audacity terrifying. And Bhairav thought that he would be a terrible father if he didn't match his son's efforts.

He approached Anil, a troubled expression on his face, hands clasped together in a plea.

"I am very sorry for this. These are not the values that our group represents."

"Don't be sorry, Bhairav. Do something!" Anil exclaimed, pacing back and forth across the marble ties. He had assured his superiors that nothing would go wrong, and now everything was wrong! What to do? What to do?