Not Again

Chapter 7

The flight from Singapore touched down the Coimbatore airport. The squad containing Vaidya, Ranjith, Suresh Babu, Shivraj and Jai were waiting in front of the immigration room. Among them, Vaidya was the one who was sweating a bit more than the others. He drenched his throat with a small quantity of mineral water every couple of minutes. He walked over to Ranjith.

"Sir"

"Hmm?"

"Passengers have started walking into the lounge"

"Will Robinson fall in our net?"

"Definitely sir"

In few minutes, the length of the immigration queue started to grow. Vaidya, the only immigration officer created a fake smile on his face and started to verify the passenger's passports one by one and sealed it with a stamp.

Exactly after 20 minutes, Robinson stood in front of Vaidya with the passport. Robinson was well dressed in his formals and a blazer, aged below 30 years and was wearing a black Ray-Ban glass. He smiled at Vaidya. He verified the passport and stamped a seal.

"You may go"

"Thank you sir"

"Welcome"

Once Robinson picked his passport and turned back, Vaidya turned to Ranjith and signaled him with a nod. Robinson started walking towards the Exit gate with a briefcase. Ranjith walked behind him and slowly put his right hand on his shoulder.

"Excuse me sir"

"Yes?"

"Mr. Robinson, I am from customs. Can you please walkover to our room for few minutes?"

"For what?"

"We will have to check your belongings"

His smiled vanished and started to become serious. He hesitated a bit and was looking for words to answer.

"Do you think I would have smuggled something?"

"It is a small verification.. That is all"

"Do you have any idea on who I am?"

"No"

"My dad is Mr. David, a retired chief secretary of the Chief Minister. Last year, our CM has been to my marriage with his family. Do you know that?"

Vaidya interrupted their conversation.

"That is interesting to know Mr. Robinson. You are coming from a respectable family. But we will have to do our duty and you will have to cooperate with us. Can you please come to the enquiry room?"

"Sorry"

"What for?"

"You are insulting me. I strictly condemn the act of screening my belongings"

"Listen Mr. Robinson. We don't care even if you are the son of the Prime Minister. If we doubt someone, we will have to do our duty. And you have to obey the customs rules. If you don't, we will have to do that forcefully. Shall we?"

"Are you threatening me?"

"It is a request sir"

Robinson started at Vaidya.

"What are you looking at Mr. Robinson? Come on.... Let us move to the Customs cell"

"Can I do a phone call?"

"You are not allowed to do any phone calls until our search is over. And if you get any incoming calls, we will be attending that. Can you handover your mobile phone to us?"

"Noooo"

While Robinson screamed, Deputy Commissioner Suresh Babu and ADC Shivraj moved near Robinson. They showed their Id's to Robinson.

"Sir... You will have to cooperate with Customs officers. If not, we don't have any option other than arresting you and remand for 15 days. The option is yours"

"You are going to pay in the future for treating me this way"

"Not a problem... Can you handover your mobile now?"

An Irritated Robinson handed over his mobile from the mobile pouch.

"That's good...Let us go"

They started walking.

"Your luggage?"

"This brief case is the only luggage"

"What is your purpose of visit to Singapore?"

"Business"

"What kind of business?"

"Granite and Marbles"

"When did you leave to Singapore?"

"Last Friday"

"Where did you stay there?"

"Sang-Li-Meridian Hotel. Do you need any proof for the stay?"

"We will ask for it when required"

After a brief walk, they reached the customs cell. Robinson was made to sit on a chair and he was surrounded by Ranjith, Vaidya, Shivraj and Suresh babu. The door was shut.

"Can you guys let me know why you are probing me?"

"Do you like to tell us the truth or shall we find that ourselves?"

"Truth about what?"

"Can you tell us where have you hidden the diamonds worth 2 crores?"

"What? Diamonds?"

"Yes"

Robinson laughed out loud and really loud. He took his briefcase in his hands and kept it on the table.

"If you would have told that you need the diamonds, I would have given that myself. The diamonds are inside this briefcase and you can take it out"

Vaidya starred at him as he couldn't believe what was happening. Robinson smiled at him.

"Sir? What are you looking at? What else can you expect me to do when I am caught? You can take those diamonds"

Vaidya released the locks of the briefcase and it opened. He scanned through it and started picking up the items one by one.

An Ipad, couple of files, a deodorant and a perfume, a pen torch, couple of sketch pens, couple of books 'Wise investors' and 'Learn to Say No' and finally a diary.

"Where are the diamonds?"

"Oops... Can't you find it? Please don't give up. Why don't you do an exhaustive search? I hope you guys have advanced scanners with lens. You can try that"

"Are you kidding?"

"Why should I sir? I am sure that the diamonds should be inside the brief case. If it is missing, then I think it would have fallen into the sea while flying in the plane"

Vaidya understood as what Robinson is try to do to them. He purposefully wanted to irritate them. Vaidya got into a bit of anger mode.

"Mr. Robinson, you cannot cheat us by diverting or mocking us. We very well know how to find out the diamonds. Ranjith?"

"Sir?"

"Take him to the Airport's medical cell do a complete scan of his body. No hurries and take as much time as you like to. Every cell of his body need to be scanned"

"Sure sir"