He's All I Have Now... (AMITA ROUTE)

II

Previously...

And with that, both Taro and Ajay were put into darkness. All the while Raki's mind was racing.
There's no way he made it out of the jungle alive... I can't let Pagan hurt him.

The next time Ajay opened his eyes, all he saw was darkness. However, through small holes from whatever was on his head, light seeped in. He heard muffled voices.
"And do congratulate Ashley on your next visit home," he heard the familiar sound of the man in pink, "I must say, Paul, your little corner of Kyrat is rather beautiful," as he continued to speak, Ajay darted his eyes around to see if he could manage to make out anyone else at the table. More specifically, Taro and Dharpan. He heard a laugh, "that wry smile betrays you again, De Pleur!" What are they even talking about? Ajay wondered.
"Well, go on, take the bloody bags off their heads!"
And with that, Ajay squinted when the light of the sun hurt his eyes. When he opened them, he saw the pink man directly across from him. He then looked to is right, seeing Dharpan, and to the left, another male, maybe late 30's in red and grey, and beside him, a terrified Taro.
"Again, terribly sorry for the inconvenience, this is more what I had in mind," he noticed Ajay looking at Taro, who was tied to his chair with duct tape covering his mouth. "And apologies for the tape over his mouth," the man in pink sighed, "he just wouldn't stop screaming. So!" He clasped his hands together. "Fresh start! Introductions," he points to Ajay, "Ajay Ghale, our first Guest of Honor," he then points to the man in red and grey, "Paul, our gracious host," then to the scared male with tape over his mouth, "Taro Tanaka, second Guest of Honor," he waves to behind him, where the masked male was standing, more or less looking out the open windows, "Raki, my wonderful right-hand as well as my son," he motions to Dharpan, "the little monkey... who's name I still don't know," and then he introduced himself, "and I, of course, Pagan Min."
Ajay and Taro stared at him, then towards each other. Pagan's face began to falter. "You two really don't remember me, do you?" He hummed, looking at Ajay, "your mother, she never spoke of me? Never mentioned me?" Ajay, with an odd look, shakes his head. Pagan glances to Taro. "Your father didn't talk about me to you either? You really don't know who I am?" Taro fearfully shook his head. Pagan sighed, "Well, we'll change that," he holds a hand towards the man in red and grey, "Paul, I need cash."
Paul clears his throat, "how much do you need?"
"All of it," as he was handed the money, Pagan held it up to his face, as if to do a side-by-side. "No?" He held up another one, "what about this with the.. smile." He smiled, but when he didn't get an answer, he rolled his eyes, cleared his throat, and held up the Rupee with his face on it, looking rather displeased. Ajay, not knowing what to say, just mumbled, "that's you."
"That's. Me." He looked back at it. "Although I'm not so sure anymore," he tossed it on the table, reaching for Ishwari's urn, "now your mother—"
"Hey!" Ajay was quick to stand, but Paul grabbed his arm, motioning for him to sit back down. Looking to Taro and seeing the fear in his face, Ajay sat back down, though rather anxious now.
"—she understood me, she knew me in a way no one ever did." Taro flinches as Pagan tastes the ashes. He hums again. "That takes me back..." he looks at the urn he held in his hands. "The last time I saw Ishwari was... years ago. When she told me she loved me." Ajay didn't react... outwardly. "Women, they can do that, they can tell you they love you in the moment and mean it. Men, on the other hand... no, men only really love you in hindsight. Too much distance has built up."

Taro blinked when Pagan turned his attention to him. "Your father was her absolute best friend. I was surprised when she agreed to marry his father instead of fleeing the country with yours. They were so attached at the hip that there was no way to break them apart." He laughed. Then he sighed. "Bennett was a good man like that. When Ishwari had a problem or needed a shoulder to cry on, Bennett was there to be her rock. You and Ajay remind me of them so much." He shook his head. "I was... disappointed to say the least about how unmanly he was—"
"MMPH!" Taro shouted through the tape, wiggling in his seat when he heard that sentence. He was offended.
Pagan continued, "calm down, my boy, you didn't let me finish. He was kind at heart and that is something I can respect about him." He rolled his eyes. "Well," he then turned his attention back to Ajay. "after your father's death, when your mother decided to flee with you on her hip," he stood, polished a fork, and handed it to the masked one. I forgot he was even here, Taro thought. "I started to blame myself." He made his way to Dharpan, placing his hands on the male's shoulders. "But then I realized," he leaned down, "it wasn't me, no... it was the fucking Golden Path!" Then Raki pushed Dharpan's head down onto the table, stabbing the fork in his shoulder. Taro squeaked and thrashed in his ties. Why he was tied and Ajay wasn't, he didn't know, but he wanted to tell them to stop hurting Dharpan. "Those fucking terrorists, they ruin everything. Like dinner!" He loomed over Dharpan. "Didn't anyone ever teach you that it's rude to text at the table." He smacked Dharpan's hand. "Give me the phone." He snatched it, and Raki looked at the two soldiers behind Ajay. "You weren't looking for these anymore? Really." Pagan began to read aloud. "Ah, 'I'm with Ajay Ghale.'" He then looked at Paul, "you'll love this one," he showed he and Taro the phone, "help." He then laughed as he showed it to Ajay. Looking back at Dharpan, he became serious again. "A text. For help. You don't text for help, you cry for help. So come on, you're gonna cry for help," he stood back up straight. "If you're gonna do something, you're gonna do it right," he drew a finger towards him as Raki followed, pulling Dharpan up by the fork, "here we go!" He then shoved Dharpan towards the open windows. "Go on, cry for help." At the silence, Raki hissed at him, "cry for help."
"Help..." Dharpan's pained voice escaped, only in a mumble.
"Oh, pathetic," Pagan drew out the word, "come on, you can be louder than that."
"Help.."
"You mean it boy."
"Help."
"Help! Form your diaphragm, HELP!" He screamed.
Dharpan did as instructed, screaming. Ajay, looking back at Taro, saw he was in tears. He was absolutely horrified.
Raki shushed the older male. "Shh. Now we listen." They listened to the silence of the area. "Nothing. I'm afraid they're not coming for you, buddy."
Pagan let out a deep giggle, motioning for Raki to pull the fork out. The masked one then looked at Paul. "Find out what he knows." He then walked back over to the small covered balcony to bask in the sun once again. Pagan scoffed as Paul dragged Dharpan away, tossing the fork onto the table. "Terrorists, right?" He tapped Raki's shoulder, and the boy followed. "Now, stay right here, enjoy the crab Rangoon. Don't move, I'll be, right back." He handed the cell phone to Raki. The muffled voice grumbled, "Yuma, we need to talk."

As soon as the two of them turned the corner and their voices became nothing but a mere whisper to the two's ears, Ajay stood up again, placing the lid back on the urn and taking it. He then looked to Taro. "Let's get out of here," he helped untie the young male, then took the tape off of his mouth carefully. Taro was shaking in visible fear. "W-What the hell is wrong with these people," he mumbled, tears still streaming down his face. "Dharpan..."
"Don't worry," Ajay mumbled back, "we'll find him." And with that, the two stood, beginning to look for a way out. Taro felt around his neck for the locket, sighing in relief as it was still there. You never told me about him, Dad... who is he? He brushed it off, following Ajay as they began searching.