You Do Not Talk About It!

Alex was a happy man. It was a Friday and the approaching weekend would serve him the best as he prepared to relax for at least a week. Working in tandem with the city police and thus having solved a triple-murder case had given him the contentment which he always longed for. “Alex & Robin’s” – the name board read as he entered.

Even in that pitch darkness, his smile meant only one thing. Pride. He loved doing it. He was impressed with himself many a time that he even spoke to mirrors very often! The chillness of Bangalore was slowly getting on to his shoulders as he removed his jacket and settled on the couch. Robin had left a message at the table for him. On Fridays like these, Alex missed him very much, thanks to his affinity for night shifts.

“Congrats! :) Heard of your success. Way to go! Now relax and chill out. Hope you didn’t get to use her! Did you? :p ”

Alex took out the 6.35 mm Pistol from his jacket and gazed at it. It was so dear to both of them that they often referred it as feminine. It had been loaded and ready for quite a long time. But there never came an occasion when he had to unleash the bullets out of it. He wondered when that is going to happen. Today, it was the seventh time straight, since he had taken up this job when he used it only to threaten people. May be his voice and command had often taken the spine out of his enemies that they always surrendered without much protest.

He poured himself a cup of coffee and opened his laptop. It was his habit to check e-mails before sleep. Robin had always insisted him to do that. There were a number of requests for background checks. He hated doing them. When they were beginners once and while learning the job, it seemed interesting. Not anymore.  He moved almost all of those to trash, not having to get distracted again. But, one particular name was striking. He had seen it somewhere. No! He had heard someone say that name. But he was too tired to check on it that he dismissed for sleep.

Next morning, the first thing he did was to check his trash for that particular email, which had bothered him a few seconds the night before. Well, detectives always found interesting stuff out of dustbins. It was another request for a background check. But, the names of the entities being familiar made it intriguing. It was about Varsha’s marriage with Ashwin. And, Varsha’s uncle had requested to check on Ashwin. Varsha was his classmate in college. He knew her so well. If it had been the other way round, the case would have been a clean, open and shut one. Because, Varsha had once been in a relationship with Kailash. They had broken up a few months just after leaving college. He had even spoken to Kailash after that. At times, he even felt sorry for him, but he couldn’t help.

Now, he decided to take this up. Target : Ashwin.

Ashwin was one gem of a guy. Everything seemed perfect about him. From a middle class Tam-Brahm family in Mylapore, he had earned things on merit – both college and job and naturally worked his way up the corporate ladder over the last three and half years. People at office spoke high of him and it was clear to see a tinge of jealousy sprouting from their ears as they did. 

He had a sophisticated home near Marathahalli, which was at a walkable distance from Alex & Robin’s. No love stories, no hang-in relationships and not even gossips during and after college! And what surprise, he was also a teetotaler though being a regular in the night clubs during weekends. His white Volkswagen Vento had even been bugged. Still, Alex couldn’t brand any of his actions to be suspicious. He was an ideal matrimonial partner for Varsha.

Alex was unsatisfied with the result. He had been working on this man for about a week now and he had found nothing wrong!

Robin called. “100 years”, exclaimed Alex. It was 2 AM.

“Expected! So, what’s up this time? Any lead on your bunny ‘Ash’? ”

“Nothing. This guy, he seems good. But...”

“Hmm... So, you want me to do what you say I am best at? ”

“Of course, yes. But, Faster... this time.”

“Oh! I can understand the urgency! And did you speak to…”

Alex had cut the call before Robin finished saying that. Robin smiled at the other end seeing his mobile screen.

Kailash wasn’t shocked on seeing it. He knew that it was about to come any time and it was just that day. Varsha’s marriage invitation. He felt bad and tears whelmed in his eyes on saying her name to himself. He wanted to call her and speak for a while. He decided otherwise and settled for texts. He wished her the best in life and asked her to remain happy always and most importantly to keep in touch. They were good friends even after all the painful moments in their lives. His passion and the love for his job had led them into parting ways, away from one another.

“Will you be there? ”, her text read.”

“Now and Always.”, he wanted to say. But, instead…

“Haven’t got much work here. So, I will try my best to come.”, was his reply.

“ :):) Looking forward to see you. Please come.”

“Sure.”

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3 months later…

“I am sorry. I don’t think we have much time. Got some very important thing about Ashwin. Check your mail.” Robin said in phone.

“What the f**k? Late as s**t. This is why I warned you to be faster this time.”, Alex was at the breakpoint of his level of tension.

“Sorry sorry. And, I have booked you a ticket to Chennai, tomorrow morning.”, Robin tried his best to bring him down.

“Okay. At least you did that. And I never had to tell you. Thanks.”

“Don’t forget to get your ID proof…”, Robin was aware of the fact that it was time Alex would be cutting him off!

Alex hung up. It was pretty nasty to even think of the mistake he had done. He had given a clean chit for Ashwin to Varsha’s uncle. And, they had made all arrangements for the marriage which was about to happen in 2 days. He opened his inbox. Robin had worked wonders. There was a lot of evidence to defame Ashwin. He was shocked.

One of those was a list of medical purchases that Ashwin had made during the last 6 months. He had bought half a dozen condoms every fortnight. And his e-bay account records also reflected the same, making him the tech savvy guy that he was. Alex just came to know that one can even purchase condoms at e-bay!

It was always great to be a private detective because you can get to access anything you wanted, provided you made it only for good use.

“Why should our bunny ‘Ash’ buy these so frequently? I was so curious that I found out something more…”, Robin’s message read.

Up next was another mail with four video footages of Ashwin…

“My God! ”, Alex was taken back on seeing that. 

He wondered how come he missed all these but Robin just brought them out in light.

“Robin always does the dirty work well”, he thought.

Alex boarded the train to Chennai. He checked for his name in the passengers’ list stuck outside his compartment. Old habits never die.

“M 25”, he read as he touched his name.

Apart from client confidentiality, Alex & Robin’s never revealed even their own identities to clients. It was a master decision from Alex so that it never allowed any of his clients to trace him back. And journeys like these made it difficult. The ticket checker pondered over his ID for quite some time.

“Beard makes a huge difference. Isn’t it? ”, Alex asked.

“It does. But I was wondering, what’s with the cross around your neck?”, he replied.

Before Alex could answer him back, he moved on to the next passenger with a smile.

“Never mind. I just asked.”

The 6 hours’ time to reach Chennai would be enough for Alex to prepare himself. He must be able to meet and convince Varsha’s uncle at any cost. His job was simple, thanks to Robin’s vivid works underground. Evidence, like in any case they had dealt with in the past, was unassailable.

Kailash was engulfed in thoughts about Varsha over the last few hours. It was only last night when he had decided to attend her marriage. Deep inside his heart, he still loved her. And acting like he was only a friend was the most difficult thing he had to endure. He kept reading their old conversations and started to miss her even more. He was hearing audio recordings of their phone calls which had almost everything. Their late-night conversations, fights, birthday wishes, out-of-the-world topic discussions, gossips, etc. The last few of those were the fights that ended their relationship.

“I am asking you for one last time. Will you take up a job like everyone else? Please Kailash. ”, Varsha was in tears, when she asked him.

“Do you love me? ”

“Of course, I do.”

“It’s not just me. That love should be inclusive of my family, my passion and the actions that I take every day.”, Kailash said.

“I love you, Kailash. It’s just that I am not able to tolerate everything.”

“Hmm…”

“Why don’t you understand?”

That was it. He got tensed by that line and within minutes they were at a war of words with each other. Fights between the two happened once in a while. But this one was different, making it the end of all.

 Alex had got down at Chennai Central. The city had fully recovered after the recent floods and he felt proud of his people – Tamilians, who were the best ones at heart. It took almost an hour to reach the venue of marriage and he could find everyone busy at that place.

“Typical Tam-Brahm fervour”, he thought.

Alex began searching for the person he most wanted to meet. In less than 2 minutes, he found.

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Kailash and Varsha had been in conversation for a while. They talked about future and it went good. The mehandi ceremony had taken place the day before and the excitement was visible on her face, when she proudly displayed her hands to him. He smiled like he didn’t feel sad about anything. It was time for her to get ready since the woman who had been contracted for bridal make-up had finally arrived, after being an hour late.

“Varsha. I won’t be here for long. I am about to leave. I came here just to see you and talk for a while. Hope you understand.”

“Thank you, idiot!”, Varsha was smiling with tears.

Kailash walked away from her to the restroom.

Alex met him accidentally. He knew and could possibly understand the sadness in Kailash. Alex smiled at him. Kailash returned the same smile back.

Alex met Varsha’s uncle and delivered everything. He apologized for being so late, and said that he felt it too important that he came up all the way from Bangalore with the truth about Ashwin, at least by now. The old man started to sweat and was deeply disturbed. The wrinkles were evident of the inner anxiety in him that the marriage has to be stopped at once.

“Thank you so much, Mr.Alex. I cannot forget this help.”

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3 days later…

Robin had been waiting for this call from Alex. There was an interesting ‘Missing Person’ case up at their table. He badly wanted to discuss it with him.

“It’s me, Kailash.”

“What surprise! You just said ‘Kailash’. It’s time for me to scold you now. Idiot, how many times have I told you not to use real names in phone calls. Someone may tap our conversations. You will never learn!”

“Hahaha! Okay relax. இனிமே எல்லாம் அப்படித்  தான்! I have some good news and bad news for you. Hope, the name won’t be needed any more, after I tell you.”, Kailash said.

“The bad one first, please.”, Robin asked.

“I am going to take up a new Consulting job, here in Chennai. So, I quit from Alex & Robin’s.”

“Someone has probably fallen in love with a person for the second time, I believe. This time, more strongly!”, Robin was clearly enjoying this.

“And the good news is…”

“6.35 mm is mine from now on. And I should get it from your jacket in our living room. Right?”

“Sharp! No wonder you WERE my partner, Robin”, Kailash smiled naughtily as he said that.

“Ahem! Ahem!”

“You know something? I am meeting Varsha…”, Kailash didn’t finish.

Kannan cut the call this time.
Because, Payback in any form, is always ultimate.
Kannan was Robin’s real name.