Spies & Spice (Completed)

Chaper 12

Ian Fleming, Casino Royale :
"He was a secret agent, and still alive thanks to his exact attention to the detail of his profession"

*****
Suman got out of the car and hurried inside, to see the two brothers happily chatting with each other in the lounge. The moment Loki saw her mother, he rushed towards her and hugged her. Suman held his face in her hands and kept staring at him to her heart's content.

"Maa! I am very angry with you. How come you weren't home when I arrived? Why did you have to go to the temple just then?" Loki scrunched up his face, trying his best to look angry.

"Sorry Loki. But I go to the temple every week at the same time for the Aarti. Why did you have to arrive at that hour? Huh?" She mocked him back.

Loki hugged her again and Suman heard a soft voice behind her "Namaste Aunty!"

Suman was pleased to see a smiling Zoya and hugged her too.
*****

Cafe near Prithvi Theatre,
Mumbai.

"What do you mean you lost him? If you can't handle the single job I gave you, what makes you think I can trust you with another?" Nanda bellowed.

Sharmila Sethi squirmed in her wicker chair slightly but her face remained placid as ever. Her colleague Monty Singh felt slightly reassured as he cast a quick look at her before turning his gaze back to their boss JP Nanda. They were seated at a table in the open air Prithvi Café, part of Prithvi Theatre, one of the landmarks in Mumbai. Monty wasn't sure which play their boss had come to see there, but he seemed to be inspired by the atmosphere around him, and was giving them a monologue for the past five minutes.

"Nanda Sir, it is not Sharmila's fault. I was on duty at that time. Victor was walking fast on the street as he was talking on the phone, so I had to run a bit to catch up with him. But he suddenly stopped at a shop window and turned around. I had no choice but to duck inside a shop and spend quite some time, to make sure that he doesn't suspect he was being followed. By the time I came out, he was gone. We went to check the hotel he was in, but the manager told us that he vacated from there." Monty explained in a rush, and was glad to see his boss's face turn calmer.

"But, I am not sure if the manager was telling us the truth. Considering Victor's form, it might be possible that he asked the manager to say so, if someone asks about him." Sharmila spoke for the first time, in her soft voice, which made Nanda lean forward on the table to catch her words.

"Of course, he would have. That's my Victor for you, he is one of the best, I keep telling you. I trained him personally." Nanda's face beamed and Sharmila fought hard not to roll her eyes. Here we go again, she thought!!

Luckily, they were interrupted by a friend of JP Nanda, who hurried him, as the play was about to start. Sharmila and Monty too rose from their chairs, as JP Nanda put his jacket back on.

"I don't know what you are going to do but I want a detailed report on Victor's whereabouts, and what he is up to in the next few days. I am going to Goa in a couple of days' time. Meet me there if you can't get anything before that. Do you understand?" Nanda glared at Sharmila.

"Yes." Sharmila muttered.

J P Nanda stilled as he adjusted his watch.

"What did you say Ms Sharmila Sethi? I couldn't hear properly." Nanda was smiling but his eyes said otherwise.

Sharmila straightened her back and replied in a calm tone, "Yes, Nanda Sir. We will make sure to find out whatever Victor is up to, and give you a report on him either here or in Goa." She bowed her head and smiled.