Read part one here.
"Chennai Central first, and then Marina Beach. Once that's done, you can proceed to AnnaNagar Tower Park. After that, your men can catch the NH-45 to Kanyakumari." The microphone feed speaks in Large Rabbit's voice. His tone is devoid of emotion, and I wonder how someone can speak of such terrible things without remorse.
"My men will pick them up from the Kanyakumari shore. It's a twenty-day journey from there to Tokyo by ship," Fity tells the Japanese man.
The line is silent now. I'm guessing the henchmen have been sent away for a few private words.
As Maria and I wait for the talking to resume, a plan starts to form. We work out the details, just in time for Fity to call his men in and give them the orders to start the mission.
"We have to hurry," Maria says, "or it'll be too late."
We watch as some men get into a beat-down Maruti 800, and others head into a bus. The three leaders get into a waiting Rolls Royce. Very subtle.
I start our truck and follow the Maruti. It will be these men who will commit the crime, while their leaders sit inside the safe comfort of a luxury car and watch.
The Maruti seems to be taking a longer route to the station. Maybe they want to make sure they aren't being followed, so I slow down and let them gain a lead.
At the next traffic light, I spot the nearest policeman and beckon him closer. I show him my badge and ask him to hand me his walkie-talkie. He complies immediately.
I speak into it, asking local policemen to stop the car carrying the goons. "Check each passenger, and you'll find them carrying arms," I instruct, "but be careful not to agitate them."
"And don't escalate this until I tell you to," I add as an afterthought.
Having set this in motion, Maria gets to work on her part. She dials a number on the screen, and the man on the other side picks up.
"Yes?" He says.
"Mr. Governor. I've got some unfortunate news for you, sir. Please check your phone, I've sent you some images." Maria's tone is businesslike. There's a pause as the Large Rabbit checks his phone.
"Who are you? How did you find my daughter?" He screams into the phone.
"You've got your methods, sir, and we've got ours. Now don't try to contact anyone else, or we'll pull the trigger instantly." Maria's used all her technical prowess to retrieve a picture of the Large Rabbit's daughter—and photoshopped a gun next to her head.
"Don't try to contact your daughter, either, sir. Her phone is with us, and as I said before, we'll pull the trigger instantly."
"What do you want?" He sounds desperate now. And, Maria observes, too scared to think straight—or follow protocol by informing the authorities.
"Sir, instruct your driver to stop the car immediately. Get out of the car and get into the blue Swift behind you. You alone and no one else," Maria emphasizes.
There's a silence, and we hear car doors open and close.
Maria receives a text from a friend. "He got in," the text reads. "Drive," she texts back.
As soon as the blue Swift drives away, the Rolls Royce's ignition starts. Maria has hacked into the city's traffic CCTV feed, so we've got a full visual of everything that's happening.
"Not so soon," I mutter.
I give Mani a call. "Mani, we finally got Fity. There's enough evidence to put him in for the rest of his life. Trust me on this."
"Great. Need my help?" Mani responds.
I tell him the whereabouts of the Rolls Royce. Within twenty minutes, the car is surrounded by policemen. Meanwhile, the goons arrested from the Maruti have been taken handcuffed and taken to the local station.
"Mani, there's one more thing," I hesitate.
"Go on," he orders.
I tell him about the Large Rabbit's involvement, and he assures me that he'll take care of it.
It's been a month since we stopped the attack. The billionaire and Fity are facing trial now, and we've supplied the police with enough audio and video evidence to incarcerate them—and all their men.
The Governor, however, is another matter entirely. Although we provided concrete evidence of his deeds, he managed to bribe his way out of the investigation (and, subsequently, prison). But it's not all bad news—he was stripped of his position, power, and reputation.
Over time, the Large Rabbit realized that he had been duped about his daughter's safety. This, coupled with all the humiliation he faced, and all the money he lost over the bribe, got him furious.
He employed some spies to track down the people who orchestrated his downfall—meaning Maria and me.
We've been on the run ever since, living under fake identities and working odd jobs for sustenance.
We were forced to quit SPINU when Large Rabbit got word that a particular Maria and Yusuf were responsible for it all. Mani could only watch on helplessly as we passed on our mission to another team and said our goodbyes.
"I hate letting two of my best agents go," Mani had told us, "but when there's someone so powerful searching for your heads, it's best to disappear."
"Forget all this and start new lives somewhere," he had added. "I'll make sure the trail goes cold for his spies."
"And remember this," he said after a pause, "if Large Rabbit ever sniffs you out again, I'll send word to you. Something indirect, yet jarring—like a dead snake on your mirror." At that time, it had sounded like a joke. Only when we saw it for our own eyes did we realize that Mani had meant every word.
"How long will we keep running?" Maria muses out loud. The stars are out, but we can't see them from inside our house.
"I never thought I'd miss the things I once hated," I say. "Like a Bru coffee. Or a Britannia biscuit. I used to hate them, but now I can't seem to stop missing these things."
Maria is annoyed that I haven't answered her question.
"Mani will find us some day soon," I remind her, "and he'll help us escape into another country."
"Some day," she says, melancholic.
"Some day," I respond, not knowing when—or if—it'll ever happen.
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