The Teacher sat on the plush arm chair near the fireplace. His manager, Bakshi, was furiously working on the computer on his lap. There was no sound in the room except for fingers hitting the keys and the crackling fire.
"I wonder." The teacher said abruptly.
"What?" Bakshi lifted his head from the screen and asked.
"I wonder why he hasn’t come to us yet." The teacher said, thoughtfully.
"Who are you talking about?" Bakshi asked again. Somehow he knew why the dramatics was for.
"Sunil Pichai." The teacher said carelessly.
"Pichai…" Bakshi said, fumbling his brain for any remembrance of the name.
"Curator Pichai." The teacher provided.
"You mean The Pichai, curator and owner of the richest private museum in India?"
"The very same one."
"What will he require your services for?" Bakshi asked. He could sense that something was going on.
"Rich people always need me for one thing or another. Besides have you heard about the death of that king in Gujarat?" The teacher said.
Bakshi could see the sudden deviation in the subject. "King? I thought we were a democracy." He asked.
"He didn’t rule people. He was descendant of a king who used to rule people. Just nobility in the blood."
"What about him?"
"Well, he is dead and his son is 21."
"Do we need to worry about his crowning ceremony?"
"No. Leave it. You will know when the curator comes." The teacher said again with the same dramatics.
"I don’t suppose I will. I need to leave tonight. Dalhousie, remember? You promised me a break after we were done with that stinking old lady. I am almost done with my reports and flight tickets are already booked."
"Hers was indeed a tiring case. Alright. When will you be back?"
"A month."
"No problem"
There was a sudden noise, a bell. Both, the teacher and the manager knew this announced a customer on their door.
"Bring him in." The teacher asked Bakshi.
"I have to leave." Bakshi asked. There was pleading in his eyes.
"Would you like me to remind you of your working hours?" The teacher said curtly.
Manager left and soon returned with an aging man. He was tall and had a lean figure. His soiled but expensive clothes suggested that he had just come back from a rough day. He wiped his bald head with a silk handkerchief and sat down on the chair opposite to the teacher.
"I have come with a request." Pichai said.
"I know what you wish for."
"Well then, if you can get it for me, I will pay whatever you ask for."
"Come back tomorrow morning. You look exhausted now. We will need some information." The teacher said and Pichai left.
"What was all this about?" Manager asked.
"Nothing, that might interest you. Just a ruby." The teacher said without slightest interest, "What time your flight is?"
"9:30. You did this on purpose, didn’t you?"
"What do you mean?" The teacher asked surprised.
"You called him to keep me here. You did this on purpose."
"He is a genuine customer and not someone I have planted to keep you here."
"Sure enough, I recognize him from the T.V. He is the curator and you knew he was going to come. How?"
"I just had an intuition."
"Screw your intuition. You did this."
"I cannot control who comes to see me for my services."
"Well, I doubt that."
"Come now, even if I did it, your tickets are already booked and you definitely deserve a break. Go ahead, I'll manage this one."
"Alright. I will do that. I will see you after a month then." Bakshi said getting up.
"Goodbye my friend. I will most certainly miss you." The teacher said getting up as well.
They hugged and the manager left. The teacher sat down again, checked his watch and smiled.
The teacher finished his own reports and sat again on the chair with a book. He had hardly read one page when he heard the door opening again. The Manager walked in. His steps were quick and his face was red in anger.
"What is the case?" He asked.
The teacher checked his watch and turned to the manager. "Why are you here? It is 10:00. Flight cancelled?" He asked showing genuine curiousness.
"I missed the flight." The manager said.
"Missed it? Interesting…" The teacher left the last word trailing for a little while.
"Oh well! I didn’t go. I came back to know about the interesting case of yours and how you knew about Pichai. Happy?"
"This is a simple case. You had no need to waste your vacation for such trivial things."
"Stop being dramatic and start speaking."
"Alright. The king who died had inherited a ruby from his ancestors, a brilliant red ruby that can amount to 50 to 80 thousand dollars a carat. This ruby has a bloody history. It was brought to India from Sri Lanka around five hundred years ago after huge bloodshed. The kings from India slaughtered many soldiers to obtain various treasures. It travelled all the way to Gujarat to our target's ancestors around 350 years ago. Last year, his father, King Divyraj, had several visits from our Pichai regarding the ruby. Pichai tried everything. He offered him five million dollars to be precise but the king won't sell the ruby. You know how it can be with ancestral artifacts. Prince Mahendra has inherited it now upon the death of his father, giving us a great chance of obtaining it. "
"How did you know he would come to you for help?"
"Earlier today, I had information that Pichai had left for Gujarat to pay respects to the king. I knew his true intentions and I knew that the Prince won't part with it either so I asked one of my clients to book a ticket in the same flight for a casual stroll to Gujarat."
"Convenient. How do you plan to obtain it?" The manager asked. He looked engrossed, completely interested in the business.
"You will be leaving for Gujarat tomorrow to pose as the head of a museum."
"And do what? Buy the ruby? I thought he won't sell it." The Manager asked.
"You will buy from him but not the ruby. I did my research before I took the case. The Prince wants to sell a sword. He had contacted a museum in the US a year back. I have heard that they denied and other three museums did the same."
"And I will buy that sword?" The Manager asked again.
"Yes. You will buy the sword and tell him a tale."
"A tale?"
"We will use the information we already have on the ruby. I think that the Prince might not know how his family got hold of the ruby so we twist the facts and present it to the immature Prince. You are going as Mr. Rajapaksa, a heir of Sri Lankan nobility also the head of the largest private museum in Sri Lanka. You will tell him the history of the ruby. I am sure he knows that the ruby comes from Sri Lanka." The teacher said.
"You have planned everything already?" Bakshi asked.
"I had this planned a year ago." The teacher said and smiled again.
A few weeks later, the teacher and Bakshi were sitting in his Gujarat office waiting eagerly for the reports. Bakshi had fantastically finished his part three days ago. He had gone to the Prince disguised as Sri Lankan museum curator and bought the worthless sword for half a crore of Indian rupees. He had told him, as instructed by the teacher, the bloody tale of the cursed ruby.
The ruby, as he had said to the prince, was extracted from a very backward area in Sri Lanka from a mine that was considered to be sacred by the locals. They had advised the miners against taking the ruby out of the village. The villagers were afraid that if the ruby was disturbed, there would be catastrophe. Sure enough, the team of excavators died all of a sudden while leaving the village. The ruby was then acquired by a king who got rid of it when six of his queens died upon wearing the ruby. It was later said to be in acquisition of another Sri Lankan king, who kept it locked up until it was forcibly taken by the Rajput rulers of India resulting into more bloodshed. The ruby was then gifted to a king in Gujarat and was passed down from generation to generation until the prince inherited it.
The story was complete nonsense, made up by the teacher to acquire the ruby for Pichai. The Prince hadn’t bought this story but then the teacher hadn’t expected him to. His string of actions was already in motion. He had an experienced young lady appointed to the rest of the job.
Soon enough, an attractive young lady entered the office. She was dressed in a brilliant black gown, as if returning from a party.
"Good evening Sirs." She said in a polished voice. Bakshi tilted her head to see her more clearly.
"Sit." The teacher said and the lady sat down.
"As planned?"
"Absolutely. I was introduced by your contact as his cousin. The prince was very much interested in knowing me. He offered me to visit again for lunch."
"Conservative. He is slow. You will have to speed him up."
"I am meeting him for dinner. I told him, I had an engagement tomorrow afternoon to attend to and he looked sad."
"So you pitied him and offered to go for a dinner instead?"
"I have learnt things. It's been seven years since I started working for you."
"You were 15 when you came. I am lucky to have people like you Priya."
"Ananya sir. I am Ananya for this case."
"Alright. You have two months. Come whenever you feel the need. Be careful when the prince is around and when the time is right, we will have the ruby." The teacher said.
"We will most certainly have it but not in two months, it'll take just one." Priya said and left.
"She came back after a long time." The manager asked.
"Yes." The teacher said.
"What is it that you have told her to do?"
"She will play with his emotions, get him to let her wear the ruby and have a heart attack. A real and a well publicized heart attack. You will step in then, making a public announcement of having warned the prince. Nobody will be ready to buy it and Pichai will have his way."
"Anyone could have done it. Nidhi, Neha, Shewta are all brilliant with this kind of stuff and they are nearly the same age as the prince."
"I needed to see her. I wanted to see Priya."
"Teacher, she is a grown up now. She is not a kid anymore. She can take care of herself."
"I know but you will want to see your daughter, won't you? She is like a daughter to me."
"I know she is. And, just to remind you, I don’t even have an adopted daughter."
"I told you to get married twenty years back."
"As if…" The manager said rolling his eyes.
"Alright. I want you to contact Sundar tonight at 10:30."
"Another ancient agent. Where is he?"
"Already on his place. He has been working as a treasurer with our beloved prince since his father was alive."
"You mean, you had this planned more than a year back."
"I definitely had everything planned more than a year back. Sundar was a loyal servant to the late King for a year and even the prince respects him. The previous treasurer detested the prince. He would never have allowed the prince to touch the ruby after king's death."
"Great job. What do I tell him?"
"Tell him that the time has come and a red rose will mark the commencement."
"Alright. Anything else?"
"Yes. Ask Priya… sorry Ananya to take red roses with her when she goes for the dinner."
"Consider it done." Bakshi said, "Well, two more things." He added.
"Yes?"
"If I go public and make a statement, won't the Prince do the same? What if he discloses who I am? I mean what if he tells the media who I told him I was…"
"That is taken care of. He has already googled you one time. Our staff is into his systems, every system to be precise. He will see what we want him to see and as far as authenticity is concerned, the museum of which you are acting the head of is real and they will say what I want them to say."
"Alright." Bakshi said and started to leave.
"You said two things?" The teacher called him from behind.
"Oh yes! Priya."
"What about her?"
"Did you notice she has been speaking like you? She is most certainly like you. You did a good job raising her." Bakshi said and the teacher smiled.
The next day, Ananya walked into the castle, led by the guards, in brilliant clothes, a single solitaire hanging around her neck and a bunch of red roses. Sundar noticed the red roses and understood that Ananya was teacher's doing.
The prince was very happy to see both Ananya and the red roses. The dinner went quite well and prince was charmed with Ananya's magic.
"Why do you wear such small diamond?" The prince asked while they were taking a stroll in the palace gardens.
"I like antiquities. This one dates back to the 18th century, belonged to a queen." Ananya said.
"Wow. You will definitely like my collection."
"I hope so."
"So tell me Ananya, did you ever have a boyfriend?" The prince asked. He was rather red in the face. Being a gujarati and a prince didn’t allow him to flirt.
"Prince, I never really had a serious relationship and now my mother wants me to get married. That is why my cousin brought me to your ceremony. He hoped I would find someone."
"Did you?"
"What?"
"Did you find someone?"
"Well, hard to say. I definitely liked one person but I couldn’t do anything. The person has royal blood in his veins while I am just another girl."
"You are not just another girl." The prince said. He had come to an abrupt halt. Ananya waited for the prince.
"What happens if I ask you to marry me?" The prince asked after a moment.
"I will have to say no." Ananya said.
"Why? You don’t like me?" The prince said, aghast.
"I like you but I want to know you more. It has been just a week."
"Ananya, I think I love you."
"I think I do too. Let's meet more, know each other."
"I am going for some adventure sports tomorrow. You can come if you like." The Prince said and Ananya agreed.
It was only a matter of time before the Prince and Ananya had come close enough for the Prince to show her his collections of precious jewels. As instructed, Ananya was mesmerized by the ruby and the Prince agreed to let her wear it. Prince's conditions for letting her wear it were a bit too much for Ananya while the teacher was simply delighted. Prince had demanded to get engaged. Ananya, first asked for some time and then after discussing the matter with the teacher, had agreed. The engagement was a week away.
"It will automatically be a well-publicized death. Your statement will make it worse for the Prince." The teacher explained. Bakshi and Ananya agreed that the circumstances were brilliant.
Three days before the engagement, the teacher called Sundar. Sundar managed his escape from the palace only by chance.
"It was difficult for me." Sundar said, sitting down in front of the teacher.
"That's interesting. I thought you had patience."
"Patience was not the problem this time. They are hiding more secrets than we can imagine. I was lured so many times."
"That's more interesting." The teacher said narrowing his brows.
"Alright, what am I here for?" Sundar said and the teacher was brought back from his trance.
He opened the drawer beside him and extracted two vials and syringes.
"Here, this one marked blue. This will cause a litlle heart failure. You are supposed to administer it exactly before she wears the ruby. This one marked red will bring her back but you have to make sure you administer it within ten minutes of the first syringe. I have arranged for an ambulance. They will reach you within three minutes. Make sure the prince stays at the castle and you accompany her. The nearest hospital has our men. You will have no trouble changing the body. A dead body, similar to that of Ananya will be arranged when you reach the hospital." He said.
"Uderstood." Sundar said.
"Sundar. Make sure you administer the red one within ten minutes." The teacher said.
"Does she mean anything to you?"
"No. I don’t want an agent dying; particularly one of her stature is an important asset to me."
"I will make sure." Sundar said and left.
The engagement day arrived. Many people, including other royal families and media, attended the party. The action had begun. Sundar had no trouble administering the drug right before the Prince helped Ananya to wear the necklace with the ruby at its center piece. Every eye, every lens in the room were turned towards the duo when it happened. Ananya clutched her heart, writhing in pain. She fell down and was soon motionless.
"Somebody call an ambulance." Someone shouted and soon enough sirens were heard.
Sundar worked his way towards the prince.
"Mahendra, the media is here. Stay here. I will take care of her. Do not tell them anything until I tell you to. Do not answer the media." Sundar said to an unresponsive Prince.
In the ambulance, Sundar administered the other medicine and within minutes Ananya was back to normal. The body was changed at the hospital. The dead girl looked strikingly similar.
The Prince, as suggested by Sundar, spoke nothing of the incidence but within a week the public had started speculating the causes of death. It was covered live afterall. Everyone had a right to speculate. Public had started guessing the reason even before Bakshi made the statement. His statement, as expected, made everything worse. Soon the public was demanding justice. They blamed the prince as according to Bakshi's statement, he was aware of the ruby's dangers.
It was finally Sundar's suggestion to get rid of the ruby. Pichai was more than happy to buy it but was careful enough not to show it to the prince. He paid him one-fifth of the price he had offered to the king. The remaining amount was paid to the teacher.
A month after the incident, Bakshi and the teacher sat in the cozy office discussing over the reports when the teacher suddenly brought the topic.
"What made it so obvious?" He asked.
"What?" Bakshi asked confused.
"What made you believe that I did this to prevent you from going to a vacation?"
"The hug. Since when did you start embracing me? You have never actually bid me a proper farewell. You knew I would come back." Bakshi said.
The teacher said nothing but smiled. He and his team had helped yet another one of his clients fulfill his desire.