Signs of Trouble

Kasab had a rhythm, but sometimes, it skipped a beat.

The next morning at the mechanic's shop, Jaggu was quieter than usual. He smoked more, spoke less. Raju noticed it too.

"What happened yesterday?" Raju asked, nudging Malik.

Malik didn't answer. He had seen the man come in, seen the tension, but it wasn't his business. In Kasab, knowing too much was dangerous.

By noon, two men came looking for Jaggu. Broad shoulders, sharp eyes, the kind of men who weren't here for car repairs. They didn't say much, only that Jaggu needed to "clear something" by the end of the week.

Jaggu nodded, wiped his face, and went back to work.

Malik kept his head down, but he wasn't blind. These weren't the usual street thugs. They carried themselves differently—calm, quiet, like men who didn't need to make threats twice.

That night, as Malik walked back from the football field, he passed by the lodge's front desk. The old man who ran it, Dilip, was reading a newspaper.

The headline caught Malik's eye:

"Gang War in Kasab: Rizwan Bhai's Men Found Dead Near Docks"

Malik didn't react, but he knew what it meant. The city was shifting. Pieces were moving, alliances changing.

But he was still on the outside.