Atul grabbed Meghna's hand. Ram followed them as they retraced their steps back into the crowd.

"Why are we going back in there?"

"This is not our stop. We are going to Dharavi. I have a warehouse there. Safe and hidden in plain sight. No cops."

The automated voiced announced the arrival of the next train. Ram's cheeks were squashed against each other, turning a light shade of pink as he made his way through the crowd. With his eyes focused on Atul's back cladded with the green kurti he followed them into a train.With barely any space to stand, he hung from the exit. The trees whisked past him a blur of green and brown but all he could focus was his hand that tightly clenched on to that bar as his veins pushed through the skin of his wrist. A bead of water made it's way from his forehead and on to his floor. The journey had ended.

Gasping, Ram stepped out of the train. Before his eyes could take in his surroundings, he could see Atul's back moving past the crowd. As Ram made his way away from the platform, he too failed to notice the men the women that were now reduced to mere shadows as the city of dreams shined brighter than ever. He too failed to notice the numerous hunched backs and dark circles as his feet moved along with them towards their homes. Towards Dharavi.

Ram stretched his neck trying to get another glimpse of his friends. His eyes moving from side to side as his body moves with the sea of people around him. Drawing his arms closer to his body, he pushes through the crowd finally reaching a clearance. His feet move quicker as he spots Meghna and makes his way to the group.

The trio followed Atul into narrow lanes. From walls patched with mud to those that had creepers beautifully twisted around them, these closely packed walls had created complex mazes. One could see squatters closely packed together as the stench irritated one's nose. The children wore clothes with colourful patches and flattened plastic bottles strapped onto their feet served as slippers. The women once again had matkas in hand as they chatted away. The one tap in the middle of an opening had long queues. But there were smiles on the children's faces as they chased that torn tyre around. The women's eyes would twinkle as their lips parted, their brown skins glowing in the sun.

And Ram saw it all. Even as his eyes frequently reverted back to his group keeping track of where they were going, he couldn't help but let his lips tuck up ever so lightly. Perhaps this could be his new home, a place that did not require money to provide happiness.

The women and children could no longer be seen. Ram had to walk sideways to fit his thin frame into that lane. Atul stopped and then somehow bending down opened up a shutter and moved in. The others followed. Ram's eyes squint as they tried to adjust to the artificial light flooding the room.

"This cupboard has all my disguises. We have wigs and body suits and corsets. I have made these platforms that can increase your height and of course makeup!"

The trio huddled towards the cupboard their eyes constantly moving from one item to another all carefully placed in that cramped space.

"Stand back kiddos. Let me show you how a pro does it. Piyush describe someone man or woman."

"Woman, five feet tall, long black hair, brown eyes, a bit overweight with a pointy nose."

"And done."

Piyush's eyes widened as he saw the exact woman he had described standing in front of him. She looked straight into his eyes and smiled. Piyush had closed his eyes only for a second as he pictured the said woman and here she was in flesh. He blinked rapidly as his jaw unknowingly dropped.

"Let me break this down for you. Watch closely."

Atul unzipped the dress and then a body suit. The dress being long hid most of the imperfections of the suit. The pulled a mould like structure from the bridge of his nose and cheeks. His eyes were naturally brown it seemed but Ram was not so sure about that back then. He then proceeded to pull off the wig and then stood up straight. With his 5'2 stature all he needs was a hunch. And lo Atul was back.

"See you made that way too easy. These are the basics. When we describe someone these are the details that come to our minds first. These are the details the police will be looking for. So here's rule one: Always hide these features even when you are going out to buy groceries. Now this is what I would say is the easy part something anyone can do at a perhaps slower speed. My specialty though is makeup."

The boys squired their eyes together as they stared at Atul in confusion. Meghna had used makeup to make herself look older or prettier but as she saw it it was just an enhancement tool.

"What do you mean? Makeup just adds an 'er' to things. You can seem smarter, older, prettier, taller. You can't change the whole look. Wait, that smile are you telling us you can change into someone else? You can't, can you?"

Atul smiled again. "Of course I can. The cameras are my friends which is why I can earn big bucks with this. Now, do you a picture of the man you would like to frame for the murder?"

The trio looked at each other. Ram searched Meghna's eyes before looking into Atul's. Standing up straight he said, "Amir. About twenty five years of age. Burly, bright blue eyes and a crooked nose. Has a big belly and wears only kurta. Unfortunately, we don't have a picture of him."

"Search the web. If you find features identical to this man, save them. Come to me in ten minutes. I am going to become Amir."

Ram stared at Atul's back as the sound of his laughter echoed in the tiny room. The trio picked up phones from the cupboard and got to work. Before long, they had what they wanted.

Atul had the two phones in his hand as he swiftly swiped past the images. The man had a well kept stubble. His eyes it turned out were the colour of the sky. His jawline gave away no signs of his pot belly. The guy was tall about 6 ft in height. His wheatish skin glowed in the sun. His nose was short and this pulp lips stood out. This was the man Atul had to become, a man as different from him as possible.

Atul got to work. Within a few minutes he faced the trio again.

"The nose is not flat enough. He has a saggy neck."

"Yes and the eyes are a shade lighter. The hair a shade darker."

Ram and Meghna scrutinised the almost perfect transformation the man standing before them had undergone. Piyush on the other hand just kept staring, he could not believe how realistic the changes looked.

"On that" said Atul as he walked back to his vanity table. After the fifth try Atul had it down. Every feature down to the curves of Amir's face, it was a masterpiece that took hours to make. Atul removed the entire thing before reapplying it a few more times. The faster he got the less accurate were some tiny details.

"I have got the hang of it now. Let the cameras roll. Let us plan a kill." He said as his laughter once again filled the room. Ram shifted uneasily as he forced his lips to part. His bottom lip however betrayed him as it trembled. He gulped.

**My dear reader, I love writing stories because they have the power to bring out emotions from people I miles and miles away from me. These words are my happiness and to know that it brought out the slightest emotion out of you would mean the world to me. Maybe it just lifted you lip a tiny bit or made lines appear on your forehead, please let me know for that is the sole purpose of these words. Leave a comment, your thoughts, anything. A vote would mean that you enjoyed reading it. It takes seconds and yet means the world to me, the teenager behind the keyboard