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poor. I know you can do this."
He forced himself to still the shaking that threatened to overcome him. "Then
you know more than I do, Depahli memsahib."
Nodding at them both, Taneer unblocked the communicator. On the small screen,
the European was visibly concerned. He relaxed when Taneer's visage appeared
once more at his end of the link.
"Ah, Mr. Buthlahee. For a moment there I was fearful that my small request
might have caused you to act precipitously."
Taneer recovered quickly. "On the contrary, Mr. Karlovy, upon reflection, not
only do I not see a problem with your request, and understand the reasoning
behind it, but I find it of sufficient merit to warrant imitation." He
summoned up as ferocious a grin as he could manage. "In addition to a lady
friend, who will be unarmed, I'll be bringing along a bodyguard of my own."
Rather than unsettling the European, the older man reacted as if Taneer's
announcement was nothing less than what he expected. "Of course you will. That
is only natural. I personally will be glad of the additional security." He
raised a hand. "Until tomorrow, then, at the agreed-upon place and time."
"Tomorrow," Taneer concurred.
The communicator went dark and silent as the link was mutually cut. Children
dashed past the trio while fretful parents warned them not to run lest they
trip and ruin their clothing. Autovendors continued to hawk foods whose
primary ingredient was cane sugar, fructose, and assorted other artificial
sweeteners. Music filled the air. The fireworks and laser show that featured
three-dimensional virtuals enacting the climactic battle in the sky between
Rama and Varan was about to begin.
Events had been set in motion that could not be stopped.
Of the three, Sanjay was breathing the hardest while showing the least
enthusiasm. When Depahli moved to reassure him, he almost jumped back from
her. "Please do not come any closer, Ms. Depahli! Out of my shop I have sold
narcotics from Afghanistan and Nepal and Tibet that have less effect on men
than you do."
She smiled amiably. "What a flattering thing to say, Mr. Ghosh. I would blush,
if I remembered how."
"This cannot work," he muttered tersely. "How can this possibly work? I am no
mercenary, no gunman." He looked back at them imploringly. "What do you expect
me to do?"
"Fake it," Depahli told him bluntly. Even Taneer looked at her doubtfully.
Seeing both their uncertainty, she elaborated. "Sanjay, are you a fan of the
cinema?"
He was taken aback. "Every Indian is a fan of the cinema. It is in our blood,
I believe."
"Good. Think back to some of your favorite films. Which ones had the worst
villains? The most vile, wicked bad guys? Bandits and robbers, murderers and
revolutionaries? Every child plays at such things. When they grow up, those
who are good at it become actors. We are all of us who go to the cinema
actors, in our heads if not in our lives."
Page 96
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"I see what you are proposing," he replied thoughtfully, "but if I go through
with this I will not be acting in my head. What of this businessman's
bodyguard? He will be a professional. He will see through this puppet-play in
an instant."
She laughed lightly. "Don't be so certain, Sanjay. And don't be in such a rush
to sell yourself short. Every good shopkeeper knows how to act: poor,
desperate, overworked, in desperate need of just one sale to keep food on the
table and creditors from his door. I'm sure you do it every day, with your
customers. Remember: we will be in a strange, dark place that will be
unfamiliar to both these persons. In such circumstances everyone will be a
little nervous, a little on edge. And both sides will be in a hurry to
complete the business. If all goes as planned, the exchange will be over and
done with before anyone has time to ponder individual suspicions about anyone
else."
Encouraged, Taneer stepped forward. "Depahli's right, Sanjay. You only have to
be convincing for a couple of minutes. I bet you can do that."
"A couple of minutes." Sanjay considered. Years ago, he and Chakra had
splurged, had taken what few spare rupees they had managed to accumulate and
gone into the nearest sizable town to have dinner out and to see a film. Its
title he didn't remember the title. But the villain of the piece, a serpentine
monster with a vast mustache and glittering eyes, had lied and cheated and
slaughtered women and children with scene-chewing relish. He would never
forget that face, that devil's expression, those unblinking eyes.
He could do nothing about the mustache, but standing there, he widened his own
much smaller one deliberately, flared his nostrils, swelled his chest, brought
his arms slightly forward at the shoulders, and glared at each of his business
partners in turn. Depahli almost broke out laughing, but fortunately managed
to restrain herself.
"That's very good, Sanjay. Very good! But remember that you are not on screen
or in a vit, and that your audience will be both smaller and nearer. Don't
breathe so hard you're pretending to be a bodyguard, not a dragon."
"You might consider keeping one hand close to your heart, as if it's ready to
slide at any moment into your vest toward the gun you have holstered there," [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
