"I have heard about your exploits and they are impressive. Join my group and work under me. I can guarantee power, money and fame, everything you always wanted would be just a call away."
Shani still didn't look surprised as if everything Mr Shark said was expected. Shani's calmness in the current situation impressed and surprised Mr Shark.
"How do I join your group? You must want something from me to test my loyalty."
"Lose the upcoming duel on purpose and 'The Nikambes' can become part of 'Killers'."
There was a slight pause, the calm before the storm. Shani showed no change of expression, " You think your cheap sense of luxury is enough to buy me? Money and fame are just superficial commodities that could be lost in mere moments. The power you can give, I doubt it can amount to anything. After all, you are just the slave of a money-grubbing woman."
Mr Shark grinded his gold-filled teeth making a screeching noise, "Think again before giving me a reply. You will become a rich man. You must have wanted to stay at the most premium hotel in Mumba 'The Taj'. What if 'The Taj' became your home? You will have so much money and wouldn't know where to spend it."
"It seems your connections are quite deep and powerful, so why bother making a deal with high school kids?"
"In my business, the most important requirement is talent. Talent to harness violence as a weapon and make others fall in line, not many have what it takes. However, you have it and a reliable group to support. If 'The Nikambes' were to work for me, I can rest assured and my burden would lighten."
"Then, there is something you should know about 'The NIkambes', we are a group who protects not attacks. This purpose of fighting is our strength. We would never collude ourselves with people who are the nemesis of our belief."
"How dare you, I am willing to offer such a generous but you are still declining offers. By not accepting the deal, 'The Nikambes' become my enemies. Only death awaits those who oppose me."
"Guess, we will make an exception and kill you this time."
Mr Shark glared menacingly, his face livid with anger.
Shani still showed no change of expression, " So are you going to kill me now or going to be killed by me later? It's your choice. "
Mr Shark thundered angrily, "Get out."
Shani got out of HVR-101, and a murderous look overcame his chiselled face for a brief second which was again replaced by his usual calm look. It was too fleeting for anyone to notice as he walked back to 'The Nikambes' as Mr Shark and his butler left in hurry.
Jhansi and the others looked at him with worry, "What is this about?"
"Nothing we need to worry about, com'on I am going to treat all of you."
At the mention of the treat, 'The Nikambes' became excited however Jhansi's worries increased. 10 Km from school on the pathway,many food stalls were set up every day. They sold delicious street food which was their favourite as was true for all the children from Indai.
They ran to the location, running 10 km was nothing for them who spent most of their time in fitness training. To have the ability to protect meant to be stronger than their opponents and the ability to overpower. Protecting differed from attacking, the main objective of the fight was the people needing protection not them. There was no chance of error because the protected person can't dodge even if you can.
The food street was empty and a few shops were setting up their shops for the busy evening. The thought of a tasty treat made the 'Nikambes ' hungry. They were extremely famished.
Shani's face stiffened, he didn't like others to be disappointed in him. He had to do something about it.
"Bhaiya, dukan kyu nahi khula hai?"(Brother, why isn't the shop open?)
"Aap bahut jaldi agye, sade chae baje dukan kulenge."(You have come too early, the shops open at 6:30)
Shani looked at his friend's dejected expression and felt bad when an idea struck him, yes they could kill time and come back at 6:30.
"Guys, you know the saying, 'Food tastes better after doing hard work'. Let's exercise a little before having satisfying street food."
No one objected. A simple term to describe 'The Nikambes' were exercising freaks. They would never miss a chance to train their body and always trained till their bodies would break, because only by breaking it can a better version be made. It was the philosophy they lived by.
Shani spoke with his watch close to his mouth, "Navigate to the nearest outdoor gym."
An AI responded in his head, the Nikambes couldn't hear, " The nearest outdoor gym .. searching .. Lokandwala Outdoor gym … 3 Km from here .. take the second left, first right, head straight …"
"The Nikambes" navigated the map, a sharp right turn led to a large ground.
Jhansi exclaimed in surprise, " This gym .."
"Lokandwala Outdoor Gym."
"This is paradise, just look at the types of equipment available here. How come we never came across it?"
"We never explored this part of the city."
Ananya also exclaimed, " This is awesome."
Indeed it was, Shani hadn't seen anything like it, the outdoor gym was perfect with a variety types of equipment to keep 'The Nikambes' busy for hours. As Jhansi said, It was paradise.
After 10 minutes of warm-up which was hell for all of them. They had to keep curbing their desire to run for their favoured equipment.
Hanuman was the first to pounce into the gym heading straight for the monkey bars which were the big network of rods spanning about 100m.
Shanti occupied the sit-up station exercising her abdomen, she was a tall girl with a deep love for packs. The things she made her body go through could only be described as crazy. The girl had six-pack abs but wasn't satisfied, now aiming for 8 packs.
Harsh continued running even after the others had stopped, this lunatic loved speed, and even now he kept increasing his speed after each round instead of decreasing. His inspiration was ' The Flash'. His dream was to run like Flash. Shani wasn't sure that could ever be possible but with the development in gene manipulation and human evolution, perhaps it might become possible.
Swami sat on a bench in meditation sensing his surroundings and communicating with them. He was always in tune with the environment and made the most use of it. If he was suddenly teleported to Antarctica, probably he would calmly communicate with the Penguins to get him out.
Anu was a shy girl but extremely flexible, she used the Arm Circle, Stair Stripper and other stretching equipment to stretch her hands and legs.
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