It was at the herald of dawn when Anirudh had left Bondita sleeping in her bedroom before entering his study.
He had already changed into a pair of formal suit, the kind that he usually wears during an official business.
There was not a single moment to waste.
He pulled the drawer and took out some blank sheets, few legal papers and a plain white writing pad.
It took him an hour to finish scribbling on those papers as he carefully enveloped them one by one, segregating and marking them cautiously.
"Five", he murmured as he took a glance at his newly acquired gold Rolex wristwatch.

He quickly strode out of the door and headed towards the main hall.

"Koeli.."he called out softly.
Koeli was sitting lazily at the porch of the Banglow, guiding Lachman to water the freshly potted decorative plants.
She had just woken up from her sleep.

"Koeli, please give this to Bondita once she wakes up." He handed her a folded piece of paper as he headed out of the door.
"Babu.... Breakfast!!" Koeli shouted as she saw Anirudh storming out of the Banglow entrance with a file and a moderate rectangular box, wrapped decoratively. However, instead of driving his usual car, he drove Bondita's imported scarlet Bentley at it's full capacity leaving behind a trail of aristocratic cloud of smoke.

It took him thirty minutes to reach the town market. Although, generally it takes about forty to forty-five minutes, but that morning Anirudh drove as if his life depends on it!
He took a deep breath before entering the post office. The post master Shambhunath was a man in his fifties. He had known the Roychowdhury's for a few decades now and had learnt to respect them in a hard way.
There was still thirty minutes for the office to open, but the moment he saw the young Barrister Roy Chowdhury walking inside the office, he quickly stood up and folded his hands in a native courtesy.
"Namaskar Barrister babu, what a pleasure to see you this morning. Please tell me how can I serve you today."

Anirudh smirked mysteriously as he handed the roll of letters and documents to him.

" Namaskar Shambhunath. Three trunk calls, two telephone calls and four telegrams. All urgent!" He replied.

It took him about four hours to finish his business at the post office.

There was an anxiety mixed with a strange satisfaction written all over his body as he walked out of the office, holding a file of documents.
He got into the car and checked his watch before starting the ignition.

"Nine forty", he murmured.

His next stop was at the Magistrates office.
He took a deep breath and hushed to himself.
"Show time Anirudh Roy Chowdhury... it's showtime!"

He tossed the car keys to the valet with an air of classy authority as he entered the office flaunting his charismatic aura.

"Annirud..!!" Heinrich looked up in surprise. He stood up to greet his old friend cordially.
"So, tell me friend, what do I owe the pleasure of your presence."

Anirudh smirked as he kept the file and the box on his table.

"Nice watch!!" Heinrich gaped as his eyes fell on Anirudh's Rolex clad wrist.

Anirudh smiled warmly.

It was almost two hours as the two men sat inside the office lost in intense discussion.

"I understood Annirud. But we'll have to be careful. The Sinha's are influential here in Dehradun." Heinrich nodded his head slowly as he finally spoke the words, lost in deep thoughts.
"But anything for you, my friend. I owe you my life after all." He paused looking as Anirudh gratefully.
"How can I forget how you had saved me from imminent death nine years ago!"

Anirudh held his hands.
"You owe me nothing Heinrich. You are my friend and if ever required, I'll repeat my actions in a heartbeat!" Anirudh spoke firmly.
"Plus, these documents are legit. We'll not be doing anything illegal or unethical." He added.

"Hmm... Davidson might be the right person to help us with this." Heinrich said thoughtfully.

"Davidson? You mean our Paul Davidson! The lover boy?" Anirudh chuckled as old memories flashed back in his mind.

"Yes, it's him. Got posted in India for the next five years. Now serving as the Chief Superintendent in Dehradun." Heinrich smiled back.

"Small world pal.." Anirudh smiled as the two friends started reminiscing about their college days.

The Magistrate had already sent an urgent note to the superintendent and it was after an hour that the chief superintendent of Dehradun entered the magistrate's office in a haste.

"Bud.. whose Bentley is that!! What a beauty.. I'm falling in love all over again!" Davidson blurted out the words happily while entering Heinrich's cabin. His eyes fell on the gentleman sitting infront as he cleared his throat to restrain himself.

"Davidson, meet Barrister Roychowdhury." Heinrich pointed towards Anirudh as a mischievous smile played on his lips.

Anirudh stood up and held his hand towards Superintendent Davidson with a cordial smile on his face.

"Holy Mother Mary and Joseph" Davidson jumped up as he hugged his old friend lovingly.

"Barrister Anirudh Roy Chowdhury... Christ!! Now I see, that scarlet beauty belongs to whom!!"

The three friends settled down after their initial excitement had subsided.

"So how is Danielle?" Anirudh asked Davidson.

"She's married..." Davidson replied. "To someone else."

Anirudh furrowed his eyebrows.
"But you two were..."
He couldn't complete his sentence. Davidson shrugged.
"My posting to India didn't agree with her family Anirudh."

"That's exactly the reason I choose to marry before coming here." Heinrich laughed trying to lighten the budding melancholy of the atmosphere.

"So, What about you?" Davidson looked up as he asked Anirudh the question.

"Well, that's exactly why you were called bud." Heinrich replied instead.
"We need you help for his girl."

Davidson's eyes widened in an unknown excitement.
"Abduction???"

The two men laughed out loud as Anirudh nodded his head slowly.

"No, my friend... Justice!" He remarked.

It was after another two hours that Anirudh had finally stood up to leave. He hugged the two men heartily as he extended the rectangular box to them.

"For you guys... Open it!" He said.

The two men gawked in astonishment as a hundred year old vintage 'Moet and Chandon' Champagne bottle came out from the box.

"Holy Christ!!" Davidson exclaimed.

"Perks of having a super rich friend I believe." Heinrich smiled as he fondled the expensive bottle in his hand.

"See you in the evening then." Heinrich patted Anirudh's shoulder as he set out to leave the room.

" Yea sure! I too, was hoping you would not uncork the bottle without me." Anirudh smirked at his friends.

"Why can't all Indians be like you Anirudh!" Davidson exclaimed rhetorically.

"Because, they don't have friends like you." Anirudh winked as he walked out from the room with a sense of majestic air around him.

The Magistrate and the superintendent stared at his trail before they sat down with the file Anirudh had left.

"A lot to work Heinrich...a lot.. " Davidson remarked as they both started to skim the documents inside.

................

Anirudh sat inside his car and drove out of the Magistrate's office elegantly. The valet and the guards saluted him on his way out.
He drove straight for a few kilometres until a turn. He stopped his car and stretched his neck backward.
He flipped open his Oxford Blazer and tossed it at the backseat He loosened the knot of his carefully pleated silk tie and pulled it out of his head.

"Now... The game begins!" He smiled as he pulled out a few chocolates from the dashboard and unwrapped them.
His stomach growled as he gobbled up three chocolates together.

'Damn... I'm hungry!' His face flinched as he tried to suppress the feeling inside.

'But first there was something else that needs to be taken care of.' Anirudh thought as he took the next turn and drove towards the medical camp.

A sudden thought reflected upon his mind as he quickly opened the dashboard again and roughly counted the number of chocolates inside.

"Twelve" he murmured as his face lit up with a innocent smile.

..........................................
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