I was having lunch with Nandlal and Yusuf at a teastall. "Apne biwi se mil paaye?" The former asked, and Yusuf scoffed at this, "Milkar raat bhi bita liya."

(Were you able to meet your wife?)

(He spent the night with her as well.)

I ignored him and continued eating, "Do din baad Baldev kisi shaadi mei jaa raha hai... Tab jaakar Komal se mil sakte ho."

(Baldev is leaving for a wedding in two days... You can meet Komal at that time.)

Nandlal gulped, "Bhairav... Mujhe yeh sab utna sahi nahi lag raha... Tum keh rahe ho ki woh meri intezar kar rahi hai. Par uska parivar hai, pati hai... Kya woh sach mei milne keliye maanegi?"

(Bhairav... I don't feel so sure about this... You're saying that she's still waiting for me. But she has a family, a husband... Would she really agree to meet me?)

I glared at him, "Phir zindagi bhar akele marne ka irada hai? Baldev uski aur dekhta bhi nahi hai. Aur tumne uski wajah se aaj tak shaadi bhi nahi ki... Yeh tumhara aakhri mauka hai zindagi shuru karne ke liye. Kya tum umr bhar is pachtave ke saath jeena chahte ho?"

(Then do you want to die alone? Baldev doesn't even look at her, and you haven't married until now because of her... This is your last chance to restart your life. Do you want to regret your choice for the rest of your life?)

He sighed in frustration, "Theek hai. Uska pata batao, mai jaakar mil lunga."

(Alright. Give me her address, I'll meet her.)

"Kuch bhi kar lo..." Yusuf poured himself a glass of water. "Sab kuch khatam hone ke baad mujhe apne paise chahiye."

(Do whatever you like... At the end of everything, I need my money.)

I smiled, "Das lakh. Bhula nahi hu. Tumhe milenge apne paise, aur tumhe bhi." I turned to Nandlal, who shook his head, "Jaan se khel rahe ho tum, Bhairav."

(Ten lakhs. I haven't forgotten. You both will have your money.)

(You're playing with fire, Bhairav.)

"Bhairav ab bhi mara hua hai," I resumed eating, "Ab sirf Abdul Majid zinda hai." They glanced at each other, but didn't say anything.

(Bhairav is still dead. Only Abdul Majid is alive right now.)

***

"Angrezo ne bheja hai," I opened the suitcase of counterfeit money and presented it before Gulzar Sultan and his men. His eyes bulged greedily, and he took a stack of cash and sniffed it. I smiled.

(The Americans have sent it.)

"Ginne ki zaroorat nahi hai," he grinned as one of his men reached for the suitcase, "Hume Abdul Saheb par vishwas hai. Bataiye, aap kitne din aur yaha rukna chahte hai? Waha ke log aapke chinta nahi karenge?"

(There's no need to count these. We trust in Abdul Saheb. How many more days would you like to stay here? Won't your family abroad worry about you?)

I laughed, "Humare bina hi mere ladke sab kuch sambhal lenge waha. Soch raha tha ki sheher ki hawa aaj kal bahut maila hua hai... Gaon ki taazi hawa sunghna chahta hu."

(My boys will handle everything without me. But I'm quite bothered by the city air being so polluted... I wanted to breathe in some fresh village air.)

"Bilkul. Inhe hamare gaon tak lekar jao. Agar aapko waha aaram karni hai toh mera ek ghar hai, waha reh sakte ho." I lowered my head, smiling kindly at him, "Khuda Hafiz, Sultan Ji."

(Of course. Take him to our village. And if you wish to rest there, you can always stay at my bungalow.)

(May God protect you, Sultan Ji.)

One of his drivers led me to a car, and we were already on our way to my village. Even though I yearned to see Sanjana, I reminded myself that I was going there strictly for business.

It took a few hours to reach the village, and in the meantime, I asked the driver about how long he had been working for Gulzar and what jobs he had done so far. None of them got paid, as far as I knew, but the very name of Gulzar Sultan gave him immunity from a lot of things.

He took me to the stores under Gulzar's name, and in the distance, I even saw my granary that had been burnt down by him. The walls were still black with ash, and the threat was written in red paint, even though it dulled with time. My jaw tightened. This had all started because of one man's ego. It was never Sanjana's fault to begin with.

"Sultan Ji ke khaas dost hai yeh..." The driver announced as we entered a textile shop. The owner, Hemchand, stood up immediately. I knew him to be a God-fearing, kind man who did everything to feed his family of four. Even if it meant working for Gulzar.

(This is Sultan Ji's close friend...)

"Saheb, hum bahar intezar karenge... Aap jo chahe le sakte hai. Sultan Ji ka dukan hai!" The driver grinned at me before stepping outside for something.

(Saheb, I'll be right out... You can get whatever you like. This is Sultan Ji's store!)

"Sadiya hai? Rang birange," I grinned at Hemchand, who nodded quietly and pulled out different saris for me.

(Do you have saris? Colorful ones.)

"Aap kiske liye khareedna chahte hai saheb?"

(Who are you buying it for, sir?)

"Kya farak padta hai?" I chuckled, "Dukaan kya aapke naam mein hai? Mai agar aapko paise du bhi, toh usme se aapko kitna pratishat milega? Panch?"

(What does it matter? Is the store under your name? If I pay you, then what percentage of the money really goes to you?)

Hemchand became tense as he looked away, "B-bees milega... Aap boliye aapko kaun si tarah ki sari chahiye."

(About t-twenty... Please tell me what kind of saris you'd like.)

"Aisi sari jo ek rakhail ko ache se jache..." I mumbled, imagining my sexy wife in clothes like that. Oh, how I'd love to ravish her. Hemchand nodded without a word and went through the shelves before pulling out sparkly and netted saris.

(One that would suit a mistress really well...)

"Sirf bees pratishat? Phir aap yaha kaam kyu kar rahe ho? Utne paiso se kabhi aap apne liye kuch khareed paye hai? Ya parivar ke liye."

(Just 20 percent? Then why are you still working here? Have you ever been able to buy something for your family with that kind of money? Or for your family.)

He swallowed, "Saheb... Aap... Sarpanch Ji ke khaas aadmi lagte ho... Unhone hume naukri di hai, wahi badi baat hai. Parivar ka pet bhar paata hu, har roz. Humare liye woh kaafi hai."

(Saheb... You... You seem like you're important for the Sarpanch Ji... I got this job because of him, and I can't take it for granted. I'm able to feed my family every day. It's more than enough for me.)

I clicked my tongue and leaned over his counter, "Aise dar kyu rahe ho? Sarpanch Ji se mai thodi bataunga. Mai aapki duvitha jaanna chahte hu, Kaka. Aap dusri naukri kyu nahi dhoondhte?"

(Why are you frightened? It's not like I'll complain to the Sarpanch Ji. I understand your troubles really well, Kaka. Why don't you look for a job somewhere else?)

He didn't say anything, and I realised it would take more probing to get him to talk.

"Acha yeh bataiye... Aapne parivar ke liye aakhri baar kuch khareed kar kab dilaga tha? Khaane ke alawa."

(Alright, tell me this... When was the last time you bought something for your family? Something other than food.)

He opened his mouth to say something, but no words came out. Hemchand looked disappointed in himself as he stared down, tears in his eyes.

"Kyu gareebo ko aise tang kar rahe ho, Saheb? Aapko sari nahi chahiye toh bata dijiye."

(Why are you mocking us beggars, sir? If you don't want a sari, please tell me.)

I shook my head and leaned forward to squeeze his shoulder, "Mujh par bharosa rakho, dost. Dusri naukri kyu nahi dhoondhte?"

(Trust me, friend. Why don't you look for a job somewhere else?)

"Koi bhi hume ab naukri mei nahi lega... Aur humare paas sheher jaake rehne ke liye paise nahi hai..." His voice cracked.

(Nobody is going to hire us now... And we don't have the means to live in the city either...)

"Naukri nahi dega matlab?" I frowned, "Maine suna tha ki yaha ek bahut nek dil ka Thakur rehte the. Unke paas-"

(What do you mean nobody is going to hire you? I've heard that there's a very kind-hearted Thakur here-)

"Thakur Ji do saal pehle guzar gaye..." His voice trembled, "Sabka kehna hai ki unhe unki aadmi ne khun kiya hai. Par ab Thakur Ji ke bhai bhi hume kaam mei nahi lenge... Sultan Ji unke dushman hai. Aur gaon mei koi aur bhi hume nahi lenge kyunki agar koi Sultan Ji keliye kaam karna shuru kare toh unko zindagi bhar unke liye kaam karna padega."

(Thakur Ji died two years ago... I heard that he was murdered by his own men. But now even his brothers won't hire us... Sultan Ji is their foe. And now nobody in the village will hire us because if someone starts working for Sultan Ji, then they have to dedicate their whole lives to him.)

That was quite a brutal rule that Gulzar had created. And I didn't blame Keshav or Bhargav for not allowing any of Gulzar's former men to work for us.

But now my plan was taking better shape. All I needed was to somehow trap Gulzar into accepting a bribe, and with the proof, I could imprison him.

"Yeh wali kaafi achi hai," I ran my hand over an orange fabric that looked absolutely divine.

(This one is quite pretty.)

"Aap le sakte hai, Saheb. Paiso ki koi zaroorat nahi hai," he said as soon as I was about to pay him some real money. I smiled at Hemchand before pressing it in his hand, "Yeh aapko de raha hu. Dil kholne ke liye. Shukriya."

(You can take it, Saheb. There's no need to pay me.)

(I'm paying you for trusting me. Thank you.)

I got the sari packed. Sanjana would look beautiful in it.