Bombay Romance ♡ COMPLETED

[ 48 ] Blood Moon on Ganesh Chaturthi ■

'Is it those five?' Amarnath asks, standing behind one of the huge blue cargo boxes.

Murali inspects through the binoculars again, leaning forward. 'Dharma, Kabir, Santu, Pawar ... and Arun. Yes, target confirm. Is that ... '

'Cocaine. Haramsaale ... sab ke sab,' He aims the gun.

It is the twenty-fifth AK47 that had gone missing during the raid, one of his very firsts as soon as he had taken charge in Bombay. The one that no one had noticed or questioned, except Gauri. The gun has been lying unused in his cupboard all these days. Now, it's time to widen the rift between the two mafia gangs in the city.

Rajashekaran's right hand Arun and four others killed by Suraj's men on Ganesh Chaturthi with AK47 guns; that's the newspaper headline Amarnath wants. It's many birds in one stone.

Today is the night of Bombay's famed Ganesh Chaturthi. Hundreds of pandals are installed on the streets. People dance and sing to loud music and drums as processions make their way through major streets, crowded to the brim. Firecrackers are burst and chants praising lord Ganesh are cried out. Amarnath and Murali can hear a few such chants at a distance.

The stretch of the Jawaharlal Nehru port, however, is secluded. There are barely a few lights to aid visibility; large cargo boxes, almost two floors high, are lined up along the stretch. Everyone is on holiday. 

Amarnath watches the movement. About fifteen metres away, Rajashekaran's men, five of them including his right hand Arun, are loading smaller wooden boxes onto a sinister truck.

'Can't we arrest them instead of all this?' Murali asks.

'Arrest kiya na Arun ko, Dharavi mein? See, he's out already. We'll arrest him and he'll come out again. Madarchod politicians support. And lawyers are there na, to make us look like jokers ... '

'Sir, if someone gets to know about this ... '

Amarnath looks slightly irritated at this newfound respect he's being offered by Murali. He ignores it and checks the gun again.

'No one will know. Ganesh Chaturthi hain. If someone hears, they'll think it's the firecrackers. Tomorrow, everyone will think Suraj's men did this.'

Amarnath's plan of involving Parthiban and disrupting the friendship between Suraj and Rajashekaran is slowly having an effect. Suraj's and Rajashekaran's men are breaking into fights. Beginning as nothing but petty issues, huge brawls erupt in various parts of Bombay, making it easier for the police to make arrests and reopen dusty old cases against them. Many are getting out on bail, but many others are getting entangled in serious criminal cases.

'You know what to do,' Amarnath says shortly.

'Yes Sir.'

Amarnath frowns again. He vows to address this stupid behaviour once this job is done.

'Position,' he says without looking at Murali. 

Murali nods cursorily and walks away to the other side of the port stretch. Amarnath cocks the AK47, bends away from the box and aims, waiting for a cracker to burst. It is time to strike.

●●●

'Something is happening ... ' Arun says seriously, leaning against a large box and the four others load smaller ones into the truck. 'Somebody has put this fire between Suraj's bhai and Raju Bhai. They were so close ... '