The Ugly Face

Ankita took us to her house in Juhu near Versova Beach. Her house was more like a bungalow than a typical hacker's hideout. She stopped her car in front of the gates, then took out a remote and inserted a password in it; which opened the gate. She doesn't give me the eerie aura that most of the hackers have in them, which gave me some confidence and relief. Jaspal was but very reactive to her and was constantly signaling me to stay alert and not believe her words. But, my experience says she cannot be a hacker since she wasn't wearing strange clothes, no nose pins nor any ostentatious rings on her fingers which is (not always) the most typical hacker's version of dressing. She invited me inside and I looked towards Jaspal; he was showing his denial but was making a face that clearly shows his denial. To ease the little fallacy between Ankita and Jaspal, I spoke up, "Why don't we have the talk in the balcony? The weather is quite sunny and we could also enjoy the view of the beach." Jaspal was happy with my presence of mind, but Ankita replied, "No, balcony is unsafe. We need to keep our conversation between the four walls. Your friend can wait outside if he hesitates to come inside." Jaspal gave Ankita an angry look and went the other side. I just sighed at the childishness of these two 'grown up kids'. I went inside with Ankita, making a polite excuse for pee, I slid inside her bathroom and activated my GPS tracker so that Jaspal can have my status assured. Ankita changed her clothes to a gym vest and jeans shorts. Her hair was tied in a loose bun and she was applying body lotion on her thighs. I am not really a pervert but her look just caught my breath and stood froze at my position. She looked at the mirror and then asked, "Hey, boy. What's you looking at?" I got back to my senses at her snapping of her fingers. I just blushed a little in embarrassment and replied, "Nothing. Just got startled with your divine grace." She looked and started laughing, "Quite poetic. I must say. Well, you can enjoy my divine grace later. For now, let's clear your doubts." I already thought of many answers to my questions but still I asked, "Why are you blackmailing me? You want something?" She just got up from her and walked past me, her perfume crashed my nostrils and I was like 'WoW'. I don't know why but lately my life has been quite filled with beautiful girls. From being a nerd of college to being the handsome doctor, this journey never gave me such experience. She opened her drawer and pulled out an old newspaper rolled and tied with rubber bands. She threw it towards me, I caught and unrolled it. The headlines were, "20 girls has been kidnapped." "9 dead bodies of young girls recovered from an old sewer pipe." "Are girls not safe in Mumbai?" and many such articles. She then begin her story.

(My father, Jagdesh Mohan was the Assistant Commissioner of Police of Mumbai. His motto of life was "Fear cuts deeper than swords." He singlehandly removed all the vices of Mumbai: Human Trafficking, Forced Prostitution, Child Labor and Rape. He was suppressed by many but he didn't lose courage and kept on fighting. Sandeep Mishra was a local thug at that time, robbery, forgery and smuggling was his main business. Everyone was afraid of him due to his connections with the Underworld don, Jimmy Law and other prominent members. But, this didn't stopped my father from stopping him; he raided his docks and retrieved drugs, arms and ivory worth crores. Many of his men were arrested, some killed and most of his friends left him. Sources were that he went underground and then gradually Mumbai again turned to its healthy growth. But, alas! Sandeep Mishra came back and this time, he had political support behind him. My father insisted his seniors and the masses that 'Once a thief is always a thief.' But, no one supported him and he resigned from his job in sorrow. But, Sandeep's vengeance never left him alone and a news came that some robbers entered our house, killed my parents and looted all the jewelry. I was studying B.Com at that time in Bangalore and was mostly out of Mumbai so they never really cared about me. But, I am my father's daughter and I had to avenge my father's death. Now, that Sandeep Mishra is dead, my father's soul is relieved. But, our mission isn't over yet, we still need to bring Jimmy Law to justice for his crimes.)

I can see steel hard determination in her eyes and was sure she wasn't joking or making up a story. I said, "Your motive is right and so is your justice. But, still I am a doctor and you a hacker or whatever you are; now Jimmy Law is not some small time gangster that can be killed or captured. He has been in hiding for five years and no one knows his exact location." Ankita was very much determined and also prepared. She took out a small diary from her pocket and placed it on my hands. I opened it and there was some kind of a location coordinates inscribed on the page. It reads: White Eagle's nest is '3.1390° N, 101.6869° E.' She then took the diary and put it back in her pocket. She said with brushing her shoulder, "I have traced the location. It is Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. That unscrupulous murderer is hiding in Malaysia." I just caught her and looked at her eyes, "Hold your horses, girl. I have three things to ask first." She asked annoyingly, "What??" I replied, "First of all, why do you think that you will succeed in catching the most notorious gangster of all time? Second, even if we go to Malaysia, how are we going to recognize him or even get near him? And third, the most important, why the hell are you dragging me into all this shit? I am just an ordinary doctor." She just laughed. She said putting a hand on my shoulder, "Chill out dude. For your first question, someone has to take down Jimmy Law anyway, so why don't we be the someone. Secondly, I have contacts in Malaysia, even if we couldn't catch him, we can interrupt his business and most of the crimes which he performs directly or indirectly. Thirdly, I see courage and kindness in your eyes. You saved Survi, then the children and also didn't feared to kill Ravi Kumar and Inspector Sanjay for their crimes. Only, a truly brave and kind hearted person like you can help me in bringing down that Jimmy Law." "Ok, I understand. But what's the prognosis of the mission? We are only one and two people." She said, "You can call your skeptical friend over here. I heard he is a big name here, he can arrange our tickets to Malaysia and also supply us with weapons.'' I called Jaspal and after three minutes, he arrived. Ankita said in her sweetest voice, "Jaspal Rana, I have heard that you are so powerful personality that even big ministers are afraid of you an.." Jaspal interrupted, "Ok, stop buttering me. What do you want from me?" She said, "Actually I want three tickets for Malaysia ASAP." I asked, "Well, your the boss." After some other arrangements and chitchat, we took our leave. We had booked a cab for us. On the way, Jaspal asked, "Do you really think what she is doing is not sheer MADNESS!" I replied, "I don't think she is joking. Anyway, she got some things about me that shouldn't be leaked." Jaspal sighed, "Yeah, I don't think you have any other options left." I replied, "Whatever. But, apart from us three and some of your goons; we need another person. A grifter." Jaspal smiled, "So, you are thinking about him, too?" I smiled, "No one's better than him." We said it aloud, "CAPTAIN JACK....