Anwar and Arif were both deeply disappointed that Colonel had prevented them from going to the station. They had never had the chance to meet Colonel Dixon or his daughter before. Sophia, too, wanted to go to the station... she was equally frustrated.
"You didn't go with Colonel, did you?" Arif asked Imran.
"No," Imran replied indifferently, chewing his gum.
"I heard the Colonel is quite pleased with you."
"Yes... I was telling him jokes all night."
"But why were we kept away?"
"The jokes weren't suitable for children."
"What do you mean, children?" Arif exclaimed in annoyance.
"Yes, children," Imran smiled. "The Colonel was telling me about his youthful romances."
"What nonsense."
"Yes, it was nonsense!" Imran said seriously. "Back in his youth, it wasn't fashionable for girls to fall for soldiers. They only fell in love with lovers!"
"I can't understand what kind of person you are."
"Now you think it's my fault," Imran said in surprise. "The Colonel was the one telling the stories."
Arif started laughing. After a moment, he asked, "How was the monkey?"
"It was fine."
"God help me!" Arif snapped and walked away.
Imran then strolled into the room where Anwar and Sophia were playing chess. He stood silently, watching... Suddenly, Anwar put Sophia in check! She moved her king to another square! On the other side, Anwar moved his bishop and checked her again! Sophia was just about to escape when Imran spoke up.
"Hmm...huh! Put it here!"
"What..." Sophia snapped. "Do you even know how to play chess, or are you just pretending? The king can only move one square at a time."
"Then is he a king or a worm? A king is supposed to be the master of his own will! This game is all wrong! The knight jumps two and a half squares... the bishop moves diagonally as far as it wants!... the rook runs straight from one end to the other, and the queen can go wherever she pleases without any restrictions! It seems the king is worse off than a horse... why not call him a donkey, crawling around like this in one square."
"Man, you really are a philosopher," Anwar laughed.
"Come on... make your move!" Sophia said impatiently to Anwar.
Sophia didn't play thoughtfully, so she soon lost.
Anwar started laughing to tease her!... Ignoring his antics, Sophia turned to Imran.
"Why did you let Daddy go alone?"
"I don't want to go anywhere unarmed," Imran replied.
"What do you mean?"
"I told him I wanted to take my air gun along, but he wouldn't agree!"
"Do you really shoot flies with an air gun?" Anwar asked with a mischievous smile.
"Gentlemen!" Imran placed his hand on his chest, bowed slightly, then stood up straight. "During the last war, I was this close to receiving the Victoria Cross! I was tasked with killing flies in hospitals! By chance, one day, while aiming at a fly sitting on a doctor's nose, I missed slightly... it wasn't my fault, the fly flew from his nose to his eye!... Anyway, after that incident, all my previous services were washed away with soda water."
"Soda water!" Anwar burst out laughing!... Sophia also started giggling.
"Yes! At that time, pure water wasn't available! Otherwise, I would have said my previous achievements were washed away with water!"
"Great! You are a very interesting person!" Sophia said.
"I claim my aim is very precise."
"Then show us," Anwar said.
"Here you go!"
Imran fetched his air gun from his room. Loading it with a pellet, he said, "Pick any fly you want!"
Several flies were visible on the opposite wall. Anwar pointed to one.
"From any distance you say!" Imran continued.
"Go to the far end," Anwar challenged.
"Very well." Imran walked to the far end of the room, a distance of about eighteen feet.
He took aim and pulled the trigger. The fly stuck to the wall. Sophia rushed over to see and then turned to Anwar, exclaiming in amazement, "It's incredible! Daddy has great aim, but perhaps even he..."
"Oh, it's no big deal!" Anwar boasted. "I can do it myself."
He took the gun from Imran. Soon, Sophia joined in the fun. The plaster on the walls was getting ruined, as they all became obsessed with killing flies. Arif eventually joined in too. They played for quite a while, but none of them succeeded. Suddenly, Sophia muttered, "This is nonsense... the walls are ruined."
They all burst into embarrassed laughter, except for Imran, whose foolish seriousness remained unchanged.
"The walls really are ruined!" Arif remarked. "Colonel will bury us alive."
"It's all your fault!" Anwar said, pointing at Imran.
"Why my fault? I only aimed at one fly."
Anwar started laughing, then placed his hand on Imran's shoulder. "Be honest, are you really a fool?"
Imran nodded sadly.
"But last night, you were talking about illegal drug trafficking!"
"I don't remember!" Imran said in surprise.
"Then why did the Colonel send us away?"
"You'll have to ask him!" Imran pointed at Arif, who started laughing.
"What was it?" Anwar asked Arif.
"Oh, nothing... nonsense!" Arif laughed.
"What exactly happened?"
"I'll tell you later."
Sophia glared at Imran.
"What about the monkey?" Anwar asked Imran.
"It was fine!... A splendid piece of art."
"Have you lost your mind?" Anwar snapped.
"Maybe we'll have grass for lunch," Imran said, making a forlorn face. "I had chickpea husks for breakfast."
The three of them laughed uncontrollably, but Sophia quickly turned serious and said angrily, "You were trying to make fun of Daddy. I don't know why he stayed quiet."
"Maybe he remembered that I also have an air gun," Imran said seriously. "And the truth is, I wasn't trying to make fun of him! I value vitamins too! When I see vitamins in danger, it feels like the whole nation is at risk."
"What happened?" Anwar asked Sophia.
"Nothing," Sophia tried to dismiss it, but Anwar persisted. When Sophia realized she couldn't avoid it, she recounted the whole incident, which made them all laugh.
"Man, you're something else," Anwar said, laughing.
"First time I've heard that from anyone. Usually, my daddy thinks I'm a complete fool."
"Then your daddy must..."
"Stop!" Imran raised his hand. "Don't say that! He's a great man... the Director General of the Intelligence Bureau!"
"What?" Anwar exclaimed, his eyes wide with surprise. "You mean Mr. Rehman!"
"Yes," Imran replied nonchalantly.
"So, you're the same Imran... the one who dismantled McLarens' gang of American thugs in London!"
"I don't know what you're talking about," Imran said, feigning ignorance.
"No, no! It's you." Anwar's face went pale as he turned to Sophia with an embarrassed tone, "We've been making fun of a very dangerous man."
Sophia stared at Imran with wide eyes, while Imran let out a foolish laugh. "You people are talking nonsense."
"No, Sophia!" Anwar insisted, "I'm right. My friend Rashid was with him at Oxford! He told me about the McLarens incident. The McLarens that the local police couldn't handle was destroyed along with his gang after clashing with Mr. Imran!"
"That's quite a tale someone's spun," Imran said with a smile.
"McLarens' head was split in two," Anwar added.
"Oh my goodness," Imran exclaimed, hitting his forehead. "If I killed him, let a cutter burrow into my grave... no, soak... soak... no, that's wrong... what's that small animal called that digs into graves?"
"A badger," Arif answered.
"May God keep you safe... a badger, a badger!"
"Mr. Imran, I apologize!" Anwar said.
"You've been misled."
"No, sir, I'm sure of it."
Sophia hadn't said a word during this exchange. She kept staring at Imran. Finally, she swallowed and said, "I vaguely remember Captain Fayyaz mentioning you once."
"So what... I dislike that man! Last year, he borrowed five and a half rupees from me and still hasn't paid it back!"