DJ turned. A guy in a tailored three-piece suit lay on the ground, a loose strand of hair stuck to his sweaty forehead. DJ stared at him for half a second… then ignored him and grabbed the bags.
"Hey! You're gonna regret that!" the man yelled, sounding like he wanted to stand but couldn't lift his shoulder.
DJ didn't bother responding. He walked off with both heavy bags and the cylinder.
He drove, turning away from his own neighborhood and heading toward the opposite side of the city. He removed his helmet mid-way and pressed a button on his bike. Extra panels popped off and the number plate slid into a disguised mode. The bags were secured behind him.
Wherever he rode, CCTV cameras stayed blank. His upgraded EMP field worked better than expected.
He entered the slum district—tight lanes, peeling paint, kids running everywhere. He parked near an old seven-floor apartment block, ancient and overstuffed with families. He stared at the staircase with dread.
"Why can't they live somewhere with… elevators?" he murmured. And just as he said that, he heard someone arguing with someone, a very familiar voice.
" Ahh, think of the Gujarati, and he will appear." He said and walked toward him. And he sees him arguing with an auto driver.
" Touche." When he saw what he was doing, and then when he heard why they were arguing.
" cliche." He said. And handed the driver a five hundred bill. Keep the change. And driver immediately took it,
"What the?" He said and tried to stop his friend, when the driver immediately took it.
" Someone smart, he was arguing with me for an hour." And he immediately drove away.
" What the hell you, he was about to agree that in 350 you gave him an extra 150 you idiot."
" Well, I'm not the one who got called an idiot by an auto driver." And then he looked at the several water jugs he was carrying. And a dread came to his face.
" Please don't -" he said in a low voice, and then he continued predicting his words.
" Well, if you now hear, help me carry those water jugs." And he sighs and looks at the heavens.
They carried the jugs to the stairs.
"Please tell me, why the hell am I carrying water jugs?"
" Because you were there. And you are carrying just one."
" Yeah, if you forgot that we are carrying a bag and a huge jug to the sixth floor."
" You better have a drink with us there."
He knocked the door, then gripped the old fashioned lock door, and pushed it deeper instead of pulling out, then pushed the door a little, and then looked at the border of the wall, saw a sequence of numbers, and pressed the code 80087355 . And then the door opens itself. And inside the room was nothing like the outside. It was marvelous. Not literally marvelous. There were several superhero merch and posters, like a fanboy and some posters of films that never got released and never will be. Like one with the name of ironman vs Batman. Spiderman four. Nagraj. And an animated imaginary female loki and much more.
And as soon as he enters the wracked and really, really cheap apartment, , if you remove the heavy working gaming computer and several monitors, and then a table which looks like it came from a movie, filled with unique things. And after giving them a glance, he dropped the heavy bags and water jugs on the bed.
" What's in those bags?"
" Money." He said and emptied one bag after another. And make a huge pile of cash. And seeing that, Rony gave him a look.
" Where that money came from." He asked, looking at him.
" I ran into some back alley deals."
" Really?" He asked, grabbing one bundle of cash.
" The back alley deal didn't use Swiss currency." And then his mood changed.
" Take that money away." He said in little anger. And DJ ignored it, and focused on his bag.
"We have talked about it, I'll help you, but I'll never be involved in this stuff and I'm not gonna help you in this.."
" I know." DJ said.
And then he found what he was looking for, and then Rony heard a clunk on his table. And when he saw what it was, he saw that Landmine device. And it was glowing. Is that enough? And he immediately grabs that and starts tinkering it.
" Did you check it for any bugs, and how did you know the place?"
" Yes I checked it, and a friend gave me advice about it."
" Nice." He said and plugged the device in his second computer. And the code starts to appear on his computer.
" I can't figure out the power source."
" Nice, then it'll help." He said and he put the cylinder is filled with that same blue liquid
as the mines. And seeing it, his eyes shine.
" That's the thing they were smuggling, and I guess, this is the power source, and I need you to figure out what it's worth, 'cause they were selling it to terrorists."
" Terrorist? Wait, no. What I've said about big fries."
" Hard to chew."
" Right, and bad for health."
" Then I'll return it."
" No!" Rony said and grabbed it. I'll do it. He said looking at the cylinder.
" Heavy head base with bullet proof glasses two inches thick. Titanium alloy with a mechanical opening feature, an over dryer, temperature controller, and a heat dial. The case itself is worth a fortune. It's custom made, the closest thing to its design is one used by nasa for highly radioactive substances or this world popular radioactive mark. Is anything to go by." He looked at his friend by turning back, and he had a serious face on.
" Sencers didn't see any radiation." Devesh said while he was opening the leftover cash bags, and after opening them, he flipped the bag, and let the money fall into the floor. And they were all Swiss Francs. And they were several colors.
They look like movie tickets.
" In today's market, a franc bill is worth 110 rupee." and then he emptied the other bag as well.
" I'll need a money counting machine." And he falls on the note bill, and makes a snow angel on it. And then laid there, closing his eyes.
" You know, sleeping on top of money. It is really relaxing."
And seeing this, Rony also stands, and lies beside him. And grabbed a bundle, and then sniffed it.
"Smells like normal money." And they both stayed there for a bit.
And next day, they both were in the places they should have.
Devesh Joshi was counting his money on a money counting machine. And Rony was in his college lab wearing a hazard suit, staring at the cylindrical container. He was checking it carefully, muttering to himself while taking notes.
"It has gen twelve components… silver and gold wiring… ICs with the capacity of a power motor… g2 chips here and there… all normal stuff," he said, tapping the tube with a gloved finger. "But the power source makes no sense. I can't find what it is. The reading isn't even showing on the scale. And I can see a heavy amount of liquid Therum in it, which—"
He stopped mid-sentence. Something clicked in his brain, and his whole expression froze.
His eyes widened like someone's pet had just whispered his full name.
He leaned closer to the microscope. Checked again. And again. Third time.
His breathing got heavy, shoulders rising and falling fast.
Then he tore off his face mask and stumbled into the bathroom. He vomited.
"This isn't true… this isn't true… it's a dream… there can't be a material like this… impossible…"
He splashed water on his face, stared at himself, then rushed back to the microscope.
He stared at the liquid through the tube again.
"Okay! I have the key to everything in this world," he whispered. Then raised both hands. Then danced. Full stupid dance. Every move he remembered.
He even jumped.
He packed the liquid back into the container, stuffed it in his bag, and stepped out of the lab… where he almost bumped into Sakshi. They stopped inches apart, both startled.
"Hey! Sakshi," he said, giving a small smile.
"Hey, Ronit." She smiled back.
" Where's your friend Devesh?" His smile faded instantly.
"Yeah, he's at the house, counting money…" he mumbled the last part.
"Do you know where he lives?"
"Not in my home," he mumbled again.
"What?"
"Nah, he lives in Paradise Venue."
"Really? The Paradise? You mean the Paradise Venue? Where a person can't even enter without shoes?"
"He's rich," he said simply.
"Do you need something from him?"
"Oh, nothing. I just wanna know about him. You're his best friend, right?"
"I'm his only friend," he replied. She raised her eyebrows.
"So what's with him? Why does he want to be with me?"
"You're beautiful," he replied.
"Well… thank you? But why is he behind me? He didn't look too bad. And I'm not that beautiful."
"Are you blind or don't have a mirror?" he said, pulling out his phone and snapping a picture of her.
"See this? This is the beauty of our college. Have you ever seen someone more beautiful? He had the guts to talk to you. Everyone else just looks at you like you're out of their league. Just dress a bit simpler, do less makeup, and people will talk to you."
"I don't do much makeup."
He touched her cheek. His finger came back with powder.
"See? That's the reason."
She quickly pushed his hand down.
"Okay, okay, I get it. Now tell me—how is he? Really?"
"Why ask me? Didn't you get answers in the test yesterday?"
"That's why I'm asking. He's smart, knows how to represent himself, treats a girl well. But how is he in real life? You're his friend. Tell me about his private life."
"You know talking to you is making me sweat… please tell your brother and father that you came to me first, okay?"
She nodded.
They sat in the 5-star cafeteria. She ordered food. He didn't.
"Why didn't you order?" she asked.
"I'm on a diet."
"Really?"
"You wanted to know about Devesh, right?"
"Yeah, he kinda got my interest…"
"Your shopping test?"
"How do you know?"
"I work in the store. Whatever. He's a nice guy, just has an unhealthy obsession with money."
"Like you with science."
"That's passion. But he? He's in love with money. Expensive watches, expensive bike, expensive food, expensive bathrooms, expensive room… and his second love of life: bikes. He loves them more than his life. Everything he owns is above my pay grade. His only goal is to become rich and buy a home near a beach. If you gave him ten dollars and told him to jump off a roof, he'd do it. That guy is crazy for money."
"Then why did he spend that much on me?"
"Are you crazy? If I had that money, I'd do it too. He has thousands to spare."
"What about his social life?"
"Me. Samir. Banchord. Carry. Ashish. Smiran," he replied.
"And probably you now."
"Who's Simran?"
"Ashish's friend. They don't talk much. Samir, Banchord, and Carry—he talks to them regularly. Others only on occasions. His parents died in an accident long ago. He lived in the orphanage with Carry. After getting out, he built a small online business of goods with him. They earned good money. That's why he doesn't come to college often."
"He knows many people would kill to be in college?"
"Not him. He believes if you give your time to something, give it like your life depends on it. Don't do anything just for the sake of it. Do it because you want to be the best. He added more lines—something about studying like you wanna be the president. He's focused. And now… his focus is probably you."
She didn't reply for a moment.
"Anything I should worry about?" she finally asked.
"He isn't a one-time thing. If he showed interest, he'll fall hard for you. I've never seen him spend money on someone else before, so that's a good sign for me. But I have a question—why him? What's wrong with me?"
He made a fake teary face.
"We've known each other three years, and I've wanted to talk about it ever since…" he whimpered dramatically. She laughed.
"You're like a second brother to me, Ron. If it wasn't for you, I wouldn't have passed midterms."
"Worse than friendzone… the brother zone…" he mumbled, staring at his fingers. "Brother zone…"
She patted his head.
"Poor child. Got brother-zoned."
They both laughed, and then she asked him for a favor.