"What else? Let's look around. There's no way that no one knows about his whereabouts." Kunjan ordered.
The other two agreed and the trio went around searching for Taro. During this search, Thankappan suddenly got a phone call.
"Hello?" He asked.
"Thankappan, you there?" Lonappan asked from the other side of the call.
"Yeah?"
"You need to help me, like right now! I'm at a pinch and I would definitely like someone's help. So please, can you come?" Lonappan literally begged him.
"It's that important?" Thankappan asked. This was the first time he heard Lonappan in such desperation. So, he kinda understood the gravity of the situation.
"Of course! Why would I even call you if it wasn't?" Lonappan asked.
Thankappan contemplated for a moment. Although the Taro case was present, Lonappan's desperation seemed more important. Therefore, he made a decision.
"Sure, I'm coming." Thankappan hung up the call and looked at them in dismay.
"Okay, look. It was Lonappan. Seems like the job was so important that he needs more hands now. So, I gotta go. Kunjan, I guess you're in charge now." Thankappan told.
#
Outside Lonappan's house. Lonappan was grabbing Thankappan by his hand who seemed like he was trying to escape from there.
"Thankappan, don't leave man! You gotta help a brother!" Lonappan said as he continued tugging on his junior's arm.
"Dude, you made it sound like it was important. In the end, it was some shit happening in your house?" Thankappan asked with a disgusted look on his face.
"You have to understand the gravity of the situation!" Lonappan was trying to convey his distress, however, Thankappan stopped him.
"And you have to understand what others are going through too! Taro's missing, you know? We were searching for him when you called me. When I listened to you, I thought it was something important and I abandoned those guys there. Therefore now, I feel like a fucking asshole for that." Thankappan sighed as he felt bad for the other two.
Lonappan took a long breath in. "Are you done?" He asked.
This irked Thankappan. "What do you mean am I done? Didn't you hear what I just-" Thankappan was about to go on a rant when Lonappan hit him in the gut which instantly brought him to his knees.
"If you're done, shut your trap and listen carefully. In there, are two of MIB's leading men, one past and one present. Unfortunately, these two people happened to be my father-in-law and my friend. Due to some unforeseen events, they both ended up in my house simultaneously. Now, let me ask you, do you know the relationship between them two?" He asked as Thankappan writhed on the ground with pain.
"Ow, fuck! No, I don't." Thankappan cried.
"Oh, you naive younglin. They fucking hate each other. Hence, if you don't want a war to erupt here, you better help me." Lonappan ordered.
After a bit of huffing and puffing, Thankappan got up. "So, what do you want me to do?" He asked.
#
"Now, who the hell is this?" Chinnappan asked Lonappan, who brought in Thankappan.
"Thankappan, why the hell are you here?" Ponnappan asked.
"You know that guy?" Chinnappan looked at Ponnappan.
"He's from the dungeon." Ponnappan replied proudly.
"Fuck, he's a sprout of that wretched place? It shouldn't have existed to begin with." Chinnappan sighed. For a moment, pure terror took over and was clearly visible in Thankappan's eyes.
"What do you mean?" Lonappan asked. Amongst the four, he was the least informant of the MIB dungeon project. He was curious as to what Thankappan's upbringing was.
Although Lonappan didn't notice it, Chinnappan's perceptive eyes clearly noticed the terror in Thankappan's eyes. He sighed. "Wanna take a seat, kid?" He offered a seat to Thankappan.
Thankappan smiled pleasantly as if the past few seconds didn't happen. "Yes, please. Thank you." He silently took a seat.
"You know what? I'll get food for us!" Lonappan quickly headed back to the kitchen, leaving the three by themselves.
"..."
"..."
Thankappan was feeling nervous. None of them talked and this caused some heavy atmosphere that made him feel as if he was being choked. Therefore, even though he was terrified to make a move in such a situation, he felt like he had to.
"Hey, it seems that four generations worth of MIB's senior-rookie tandem's present here! That has to be a unique event for sure!" Thankappan spoke, trying to break the ice.
"Fuck." Ponnappan muttered under his breath.
"What?" Thankappan looked at him, confused about why he muttered it.
Ponnappan sighed. "Look, kid. I don't care whatever the shit you want to say, however I would prefer if you say three generations worth. I don't acknowledge that old fart as my mentor in any way, shape or form." He spoke.
"Aww, looks like you care though! Liar." Chinnappan chuckled, his artificial teeth set nearly falling off his mouth.
"Fuck off!" Ponnappan looked extremely irritated by the mere presence. Chinnappan flipped the bird as well. Meanwhile, Thankappan smiled. He had never seen this side of the commanding officer.
"What the hell are you smiling about?" Ponnappan asked Thankappan.
"Nothing." He shrugged.
"Then fucking stop smiling or I'll sew your mouth shut." Ponnappan threatened, which made Thankappan chuckle. "This fucker!" Ponnappan was this close in pouncing over Thankappan, when Lonappan came in with the food.
"Look what I got!" Lonappan exclaimed as he brought forth all his masterpieces.
"Damn, it smells good." Chinnappan took a whiff of it and spoke.
"I can't disagree with that either." Ponnappan chimed in and for the first time in ten years or so, they finally agreed on something, even though it wasn't something substantial.
"Let's dig in then!" Thankappan placed away the fork and knife that Lonappan placed beside him and started feasting on it with his bare hands. Upon seeing this, the others followed suit as well. Gradually, it turned from a luncheon to a normal afternoon in every Keralites household.
"So, how's work these days?" Chinnappan asked.
Ponnappan sighed. "There it is!"
"What the hell do you mean?" Chinnappan asked. Thankappan wondered as well. However, Ponnappan didn't reply.
Instead, it was Lonappan who replied. "We were having a moment right there. And you had to ruin it by asking about work." He said, shaking his head in disappointment.
"Hey, it's not like I asked you if you were still that bloody Glomeran's bootlickers!" Chinnappan scorned.
"This! This is what I hate about you, old man! Why do you and that fucking alien badmouth Glomera and our beneficial relationship so much?" Ponnappan roared.
"I merely spoke the truth. By the way, I'm really glad someone else shares my view." Chinnappan smiled.
"You fucking-" He got up. However, Lonappan stopped him from further actions.
"I see. He's the main reason why the boss got pissed off when Taro talked about Glomera." Thankappan thought as he listened to the war of words between the two.
"You and everyone else within the MIB can't see the big picture. Even if someone were to fucking hand you all the evidence pointing out the fact that you were being swindled, you'd just act oblivious about it." Chinnappan shrugged.
"That's literally what happened though!" Thankappan thought as he continued munching on his food. Suddenly, he felt an intense glare at him.
It was Lonappan. "Please do something about this!" His eyes begged. Lonappan could literally handle anyone else in this world except those two. Maybe,, it was the trauma that they caused his younger self, but he can't seem to raise a voice when those two act up.
Thankfully, Thankappan got his SOS and jumped in to change the subject. "Hey, so this -appan part of our names, is this just for our line or does any other agent have that name?" He asked.
Ponnappan laid back as he heard the question. "Nah, it's confined to us. Well, the old man began it though. See, MIB has this tradition where if one becomes a senior agent, he/she has to face their mentor. It's not just that you get to prove your superiority over your mentor, you also get to pick your name and the right to name your successors a variation of the name. If you lose, you just have deal with whatever stupid name your mentor gives you." He explained.
"So, Chinappan began the -appan naming?" Thankappan asked.
"Yea, who the hell names themselves Chinappan and passes that shitty naming sense down to his juniors?" Ponnappan looked disgustingly at Chinnappan.
"You could've changed it though! Too bad your ass lost to me!" Chinappan laughed out loud.
"Old man, are you picking a fight with me?" Ponnappan asked as he rolled up his sleeves.
"I can still beat your punk ass, you know!" Chinnappan took off his teeth as well.
"Wow, I never knew there was such a history around just a name. Wait, that means I'll have to fight Lonappan? I wonder how strong he is. Well, not as strong as Ponnappan it seems!" He thought as the two men beside him riled up for a fight.
Amidst all the commotion, Thankappan suddenly got a message on his phone. He had been expecting an update from the plankton. However, it wasn't him.instead, it was from Lonappan beside him. "CALL ME! RIGHT NOW!"
#