ArHi FF! We, the people [Completed] - Page 51

Originally posted by: citi

Arnav and Khushi are the puppeteers? All the moves are being made now, readying for the final push. Will anarchy lead to better things? Not always or very rarely as world history suggests.

Chapter 28:

Note - Unedited chapter. Ignore errors.

"Care to explain?" Malvika asked her voice controlled of the range of emotions she was feeling.

"I have no idea either Malvika. Khushi wanted you to be here before they began explaining what's going on," Shukla said ushering her in. Malvika sat on a rickety chair opposite to Khushi and next to Arnav, her fingers playing with cellphone she was holding.

"Why?" Malvika asked flatly maintaining an eye contact with Khushi.

Khushi smiled wistfully and gave a non-committal shrug. "I liked working with you before." She said. A short pause later she added, "And besides, Shukla trusts you."

"Is that it?" Malvika asked narrowing her eyes. Khushi nodded.

"Explain," Malvika demanded.

Arnav cleared his throat and nodded at Shukla. "Khushi will weave a story and handle the press while the three of us start our work." He said and turned fully to look at Malvika. "If you wish to, of course," he said blandly.

Malvika peered at him. She was seeing Arnav for the first time this up close and personal and he was as good looking as the newspapers claimed him to be. But that didn't hinge her in anyway. "I need little more than that to accept whatever you are proposing," she said.

Arnav and Khushi looked at each other. "It's not something trite or even simple Malvika. I will trust you to tell you everything that has happened in the past decade and how things are going to drastically change in coming few weeks." Arnav said sincerely. Malvika looked unperturbed. "If you don't wish to help us, you are welcome to walk out. What you wish to do with the things I am going to tell you are fully left to you," he added for good measure and complete the honorary contract. If Shukla trusted Malvika to the point that he discussed security details of Rathore property, Arnav knew that he could trust her too.

But the question here was not about the trust but about the capacity to handle the truth and morph it if necessary. It didn't take guts; it took moral impalement.

Malvika nodded. A moment later she said, "I can't guarantee my participation but I will promise my silence," she said tightly. Arnav smiled softly and nodded.

"Akash Sampat held us in his farmhouse for these days. He abducted us for reasons am still unable to fathom but I believe it was because he knew calculated the probability of elections and wanted us to be out of picture for a while," Khushi said.

"Is he…?" Shukla asked raising an eyebrow.

"He is my boss's son, yes Shukla. We didn't know it either." Khushi said knitting her eyebrows. Shukla could see that she was annoyed but he couldn't understand why. "We should probably start from beginning," Khushi said and took a sip of coffee and nodded at Arnav.

"But before that tell me if you know why Akash let you out." Malvika asked.

"Akash is a good and honorable man. His problem is that he trusts people far too easily and doesn't realize what a person like me is capable of. His major flaw is in not underestimating the cunningness of the opposition. It didn't take us long to figure out who he really was. Though his farmhouse has been stripped off existence of his parents, there are tiny indicators of who his father maybe. His living room is full of photos and we spent a lot of time talking and debating in that room. Khushi found an old photo of him where his name was written at the corner of photo. The name wouldn't be visible unless one looked for it. Khushi looked at and studied each and every photo and charted a basic profile of Akash. After that we just cottoned on and weaved the story of knowing his game from the start," Arnav said mechanically. Malvika couldn't read that expression; there was a tinge of melancholy and guilt in them but Khushi's face cleared immediately.

"You lied to him and he actually bought it?" Shukla asked, shocked at the turn of events.

"It took us four days to figure out who he was Shukla and we had two months to plan and improvise. His undoing came from his own conclusions of what Khushi and I spoke about and I guess we really manipulated him to believe that everything he had till date was actually our plan. I guess after that the news of Rathore being shot shook him up and he let us go to Rathore's funeral." Arnav shrugged nonchalantly. Malvika noted that both Khushi and Arnav looked uncomfortable.

"But Rathore isn't dead." Shukla said, not understanding the reason.

"That's how some people view it Shukla – a stupid word misunderstood. News reached Akash saying that Rathore was shot and Akash simply presumed that he was dead." Khushi iterated the same thing.

"What you did….was pretty disgusting," Malvika finally said. Only now she could see what a man like Arnav was capable of and a woman like Khushi possessed. "But tell about the other thing – the beginnings of it all." She asked not allowing Arnav or Khushi to answer.

Arnav took a deep breath and spoke. "About twelve years ago Khushi and I started a project. To put it simply, it was something that could help us to change the way things are governed here."

"You mean like having your own people as high ranking government officials?" Malvika asked.

"Yes, something like that but not for our benefit; they would be the best in country, as non-corrupt as possible and most importantly – deserving. With this we could, to an extent, achieve a bit of normalcy and progress with respect to economy in this country. As a starting point, we recruited Meera Nanda, the lobbyist to start some groundwork – get me into inner circle of Rathore – one of the country's most powerful regional parties in terms of its presence. "

"But that would involve lot of contacts, lot of bribing, lot of trading and heck lot of money. How did you manage that?"

"If you give enough time and execute this as a manufacturing project – like you are manufacturing a car then it's not all that hard. You do it step by step without keeping any open ends and build a network of people, material and real estate till you have a running plant ready that could manufacture a car. Meera knew what she was asked to do and money simply exchanged hands…true definition of economy." Khushi replied candidly.

Malvika didn't know if she was impressed or scared that a bunch of people could push and pull a country around this way.

"I guess Shukla has already told you about his observation regarding someone orchestrating removing prominent people from their position in past year. And not to mention the appearances of several identities within a specific control group organizing specific types of crime. There are two fringe groups – trying to 'fix' this country." Khushi said. Shukla and Malvika exchanged a weary glance.

"I know how ridiculous it sounds but it is in fact very serious. These two groups are influenced by a manifesto written three decades ago by Shyam Manohar Jha who also happens to be my biological father. The manifesto has two sections – a passive one and a more aggressive one. Each group has picked up one part and is executing the much needed goal of true empowered nation in its own flawed methodology," Arnav said.

"And you don't approve of this? What's wrong with making this country better?" Malvika said. Shukla nodded seemingly agreeing with her.

"I don't need a pseudo dictator or an anarchist telling me what's right for the country. If the people, the democracy, isn't capable of holding it on its own, then its best we disintegrate into nothingness. Let democracy fail on its own, but you know what Malvika? A democracy is really too big to fail on its own simply because of the laws surrounding it and protecting it. It always hangs by a thin thread, dangling and almost breaking but it survives. It always does. And if it doesn't, then let it be fault of the people and not decision of few," Khushi said.

"When we fought war of independence, few men took the lead and the country followed them. Now, it's just bunch of few people who think they are better than the entire population and are making decision on behalf of the electorate. The problem is, people are unaware of this and are simply being used." Arnav added to the same point.

"Are you stopping this then?" Malvika asked incredulously. "There are two different groups trying to achieve the same thing and you want to stop them?" She asked not understand what was going on.

"Malvika, the knowledge of existence of these groups came to us only recently. If Sampat is one of the driving factors, then everything we know and have done till now is assumed to be compromised. And if there is a lunatic group out there who believes that change can be brought about only through destruction, then we have to tread every step very, very carefully." Arnav's voice was strained.

"But Arnav, why can't we simply stand aside and watch how all this plays out. If the groups are indeed powerful as you assume them to be, then the cabinet formation would be much complex and elaborate process and it will start much sooner than elections. There is nothing you can do to fix this mess." Shukla said.

"When these two groups go on a territorial war using country's parliament as their turf, every possible governance will be on its knees. This instability will be the worst nightmare for law enforcement given how national and domestic security will be compromised on epic proportions." Arnav said.

"So what do you want to do Arnav? During the time of instability you swoop in and take over military and organize coup?" Malvika said pouring herself a cup of coffee.

When neither Khushi nor Arnav answered, the cup in her hand shook.

"You've got to be kidding me." Her voice shook.

Originally posted by: serialwatcher16

India becoming a military dictatorship, my worst nightmare, god forbid.