[ D day - 3 ] [ 3 H : 48 M : 53 S ] [ State capital H ]
Payal and their mother were speaking in the living room, while Nell sat with them entertaining bablu, and occasionally participating in the discussion between the women.
Virat has long been engrossed in the game. He stuck himself to the computer, afraid his brothers would take it back any time.
Vinod and Vikram were having a meeting in their home base, a.k.a. Vikram's room.
"Okay, now is the time to talk about the serious issues. " Vikram began.
" Really ?! Are you the man in the video ? Did you vanquish the portal ? How did you do it ? Did you take pictures ? Did you take a video ? Why did you come back late ? Why do you have so much money in your account ? I am helping you divert comments on the video ! Did you know that ? Can I learn your super martial arts ? How did the materials in the room vanish ? How did you know what's going to happen ? .. " Vinod would have continued talking, if not for Vikram raising his hand.
" In time, I will answer all these questions. " He told Vinod, who pouted in answer.
" Fine. I did vanquish the portal. I did not take any photos or videos. Rest of the questions, you make a list, I will answer them in time. For now, we have more important topics to discuss. " Vikram told his brother, settling on his bed.
" More important ? Like what ? " Vinod asked in surprise.
" The people who were paing ten crores for the early information, and a souvenir from the portal. We asked uncle to talk about it. " Vikram reminded Vinod.
Indeed, they have.
" Ah! I have the addresses of all the people here. I informed them beforehand they need to have the payment ready in either crypto currency, or gold. Immediately transferable, in full amount. " Vinod offered.
Surprisingly, even with such weird rules, and such a great amount of money involved, there are buyers for Vikram.
"Give me the list. Let's verify addresses." Vikram said, while vinod opened the chat software.
" Oh! There's one that is in our apartment. " Vinod said in surprise.
" Really ?! " Vikram looked at his phone in surprise.
Indeed, there was one address at their apartments.
Has he been found out ?
Will they catch him as soon as he arrives?
However, if nothing else, his night vision is ten times that of people, on top of that, he has animal instincts about danger. There's none around the apartment.
Thus, it's probably someone from other city, just moved to their apartment to get the genes.
…
..
.
Wait ! isn't that Payal and Nell ?
What in the world is their family's background ?
Looking at the way she interacted with their mother, Payal definitely does not fall into the super rich category who have ten crores just lying around.
It's not a small amount, even when you consider the uber super rich 1%.
There is no super rich man who spends the money that could buy a gigantic villa mansion on a case of what-if.
Why is she spending this money ?
Or ..
Is the person behind her sinister ?
Is there a criminal boss behind her or something ? Looking back, Nell does not exactly look Indian. She looks like a mix of Russian and persian. Even her name doesn't exactly fit in with any of the Indian standards, including the seven sister states.
" Vinod, did you ask all of the people for a criminal history free document, correct ? " Vikram asked.
Vinod looked a bit surprised.
He did ask, but did not insist on it.
" this … " he mumbled.
" You did not ? .. hmm.. It's alright. "
Vikram verified the details of the people who were buying the souvenir.
" Then, tell them now. Either they present a no criminal record certificate, or they send a video, taking an oath, where they will vow that they are not a criminal in any form. Provided they are, they give us the right to pursue and retrieve the genetic modification, without the refund of the money, at a mortal loss to themselves. Tell them I am not kidding on this matter. They must be criminal history free, including the politicians. " Vikram told Vinod.
Vinod looked shocked at how insistent Vikram was being.
" I am not scamming these people. They are getting something worth their money. However, no matter how much I don't have scruples, I am not arming bad people in these times of chaos. So, they better be ready to die very publically if they deceive me." Vikram added.
Vinod was still staring at his brother in shock.
" Will you really kill people ? " he asked in shock.
" Yes, I will really kill people. So, tell them we really really want the option they choose to be former. They only need to take the second option if they have no way or form to do the first option. " Vikram answered confidently.
Sure, he may be caught.
However, starting tomorrow, the world is going to be a hot mess.
He could more than kill a single person if need be.
Vinod nodded and got on work.
Vikram could hear from the side.
The second or third man was being very vocal about the sudden change.
Vikram retrieved a notebook.
" They could go back any time. We are not forcing them to buy. Ultimately, this is their choice. They could always choose to withdraw." Vikram wrote on the book.
The man on the other side grunted and swore with all the expletives. Vinod hung up on them.
Vikram smiled from the side, and transferred ten thousand to Vinod's account.
Vinod looked at the transfer in shock, then smiled up like a flower at Vikram.
He started calling with renewed vigor, soon, almost all the parties involved were informed.
Six of them choose the oath.
Among the six who chose the oath, two explained they are foreigners, thus, could not provide such a crime document.
The other four explained they have various civil cases pending on them, but they assured they are not bad people. Thus, they have the guts to take this oath.
Vikram did not believe these four.
However, money doesn't grow on trees. It's impossible to avoid being involved in disputes when you have this sort of money.
What he was trying to rule out are the likes of mafia bosses.
The other four provided proof, ranging from politician recommendations to court proceedings, which proved they are not bad people.
Looking at the oaths, Vikram could feel the futility of the move.
If it were a true organized crime boss, it's not hard for him to get a fake ID and relevant clean of crimes certificates.
Now, he could only decide to use his head.
" We will start with the person from our apartment. I am going to the balcony. " Vikram answered.
Vinod agreed and called the relevant person.
Vikram put his laptop in a bag, left for the balcony.
He closed the door into the house, making sure that everyone in the hall was distracted. Payal is talking on the phone.
Vikram removed his shirt and slippers, making sure he is only wearing pants. Then, he activated his beast armor. After the beast armor grew out in the shape of wings, he willed his genetic modifiers affect his wings, making sure he is camouflaged properly.
Then, without any notice, he jumped out of the window.
He caught the wind right away, buffeting his weight to push him up into the sky.
As soon as he got into the sky, he flew up, ascending till he reached the tallest building in the area.
Payal came up the stairs as expected.
There is no one around her anywhere, not even a person watching out for her.
She truly came out alone.
Vikram's appearance took the shape of the camouflage night sky.
He flew down.
" Payal Sinha ? " Vikram asked in a deep baritone.
" Yes. " Payal whirled to look at him, then stepped back in shock, aiming a revolver at him.
Vikram was so surprised, he stood still, but did not put up his hands.
" The person who is selling souvenirs from the portals ? " Payal asked doubtfully, as she held the gun at the ready, and removed the safety latch.
" Yes. "
Vikram thought she would fire, but instead she took one more step back, and put the safety on the gun.
Then, she stuffed it somewhere unknown covered by her voluminous gown.
Damn ! I should be very aware of females, Vikram thought as he saw her series of operations.
" I have the money here. I want to check the goods. " Payal asked.
Vikram extended his hand, palm facing up.
A light lit up in his hand.
" What I hold in my hand is the silver skin gene fragment. It makes your skin as tough as an alligator. Sure, you may not be impermeable to armor piercing sniper bullets, but a normal fruit knife, nor a fist in your face will cause you any harm. " Vikram explained.
Payal nodded her head in acceptance.
" I want to verify it first." She said, extending her hand towards the light.
Vikram took back the gene modifier very fast.
" Verify the money first. " he told her.
Payal brought her money as gold.
It's a proper Potli type of bag, which is worn usually with traditional outfits. Like the old times, gold jingled as she opened the bag.