The Dust Will Never Settle (17 page)

‘You didn’t think of getting a job?’

‘Nope, I was too used to the royal thing back then.’ They both laughed. ‘Yes, those were mad, mad days. But I would go through it all over again…’ He broke off, and it was a while before he resumed. ‘Rehana looked so gorgeous that day, bedecked in bridal finery. I tell you, Ruby, it felt as though we were living in a fairytale.’

‘Dad!’ A sharp cry intruded on them. ‘
Dad
!’

Ruby looked up to see a young woman come rushing up to them. She was about five-feet-four, slim, and wore black pants and a white shirt, the typical attire of law students in many Indian colleges. Her clear skin was unblemished by make-up.
She doesn’t need it
, Ruby thought enviously.

Ravinder spotted apprehension writ large on the girl’s face. He understood that Simran would have briefed Jasmine on the phone. He felt a chasm opening up between them and instinctively moved forward to close it. ‘Jasmine, how are you, kid?’

She did not reply, but sailed into his arms and buried her face in his chest. Ravinder held her close, willing her turmoil to seep into him.

‘Mom called me,’ Jasmine whispered. ‘I want you to know that it’s okay with me… I understand.’

Ravinder felt a gush of love flow through him. He held her shoulders and pulled her away, wanting to look at her, wanting her to look at him,
needing
her to know that nothing had changed between them. That he was proud of her for understanding. He became aware that Ruby was watching them closely, and suddenly felt awkward.

‘Jasmine, I would like you to meet Ruby. Your half… your elder sister.’

Momentarily Jasmine stayed close, clutching his hand. Then she turned to Ruby and smiled. A tentative smile, yet friendly and welcoming.

Suddenly Ruby realized, for some reason she could not yet fathom, that it was important for Jasmine to accept… no, to like her. Ruby gave her warmest and most reassuring smile and extended her right hand.

‘Hi, Jasmine, I hope we can be friends.’ She heard a nervous plea in her voice.

Jasmine’s smile broadened. Brushing aside Ruby’s extended hand, she reached out with open arms. Ruby felt a lump in her throat as she hugged her.

‘Of course we can,’ Jasmine said. ‘We share our father, the same family name… nothing can take that away from either of us.’

Ruby could not trust herself to speak. She felt overwhelmed.

Watching them, Ravinder too was shaken. He was about to speak when his mobile trilled to life. Reluctantly, he reached for it.

‘Sir,’ Mohite sounded excited. ‘I think you’d better come to office right away. I think we have just had a major breakthrough.’

‘Tell me what happened, Govind.’

‘I just got a call from Thakur sahib. Apparently the Israeli team managed to get hold of Saeed Anwar.’

‘That’s fantastic. Where is he now?’ Ravinder masked his annoyance over Thakur once again bypassing him. He stepped away, moving out of earshot.

‘Dead as far as I know, but the important thing is that Anwar confirmed that it was Pasha who financed the strike on Jerusalem. He also confirmed that Pasha has hired a British mercenary, a woman, to carry out a strike in Delhi.’

‘How do we know that?’

‘Easy, because Pasha had asked Anwar to alert one of their money men here to be ready to hand over cash to the mercenary when she contacted him.’

‘What is the target?’

‘Anwar did not know that. I assume it’s the Summit.’ Mohite’s voice now lost some of its shine. ‘Could be the Games too, though,’ he added.

‘I see. Excellent. Put a surveillance team on this financier immediately.’

‘I am doing that right away. I messaged Peled and he has e-mailed the name and details of this guy to both of us.’

‘Fantastic. Good work, Govind. I am still to check my mail.’

‘Well, I have and I’ve also activated a team to watch the guy. We may be able to catch them both red-handed.’

‘We don’t have an option, Govind. We
have
to. We have to catch the mercenary when she meets him.’

‘Yes, sir. That was why I was asking if you wanted to come down and brief the team. Though I am going to personally supervise this operation.’

Ravinder figured that Mohite wanted him involved so that he could pass on the blame if things fell apart.
Well, so be it
. ‘Hang on. I am leaving right now.’

‘Good. I also wanted to know if we should preemptively start rounding up single British women in the capital.’

‘Are you nuts, Govind? Do you know how many there would be with the Games around the corner? The Brits will blow a bloody gasket if we pull stunts like that.’

‘Well…’

‘Hang on, Govind. I will be right over. Brief the surveillance team, but don’t start on anything else.’

He ended the call and threw a quick look at the girls. ‘I have to go to the office… something important has come up.’ He hesitated, wondering how Ruby would feel about being left alone.

‘Don’t worry about Ruby, dad,’ Jasmine sensed his worry and jumped right in. ‘I will take good care of her.’

Ravinder blew her a kiss and rushed towards his car.

There was silence between the two girls for a while after Ravinder left. Ruby felt puzzled by this new situation that she found herself in.

‘Would you like to go out for dinner with me?’ Jasmine was giving her an expectant smile.

‘Sure. That would be wonderful.’ She smiled back. ‘It is very sweet of you to…’

‘Nonsense.’ Jasmine cut her off. ‘I have never had a sister to go out with… till now.’ She broke off, suddenly embarrassed. Ruby reached out and gave her hand a squeeze. ‘Would you like to settle in first? Come, let me show you your room.’ Jasmine took Ruby’s hand and led her inside.

Neither noticed Simran watching from the kitchen as they crossed the living room and went up the stairs. She was still holding the kitchen knife she had been using to slice sausages when she heard the girls come in. Her fingers were wrapped so tightly around the hilt that they had begun to hurt.

Ruby was still getting ready when Jasmine walked into the guest bedroom. She was wearing a mauve silk sari with a black border and a black blouse. The sari was slung low, displaying a slim, fetching waist. Her tiny sleeveless blouse made the best of her breasts. She also wore a diamond pendant held close to her long neck by an almost invisible golden chain. Matching diamond earrings sparkled in her ears.

‘My! You are certainly dressed to kill.’ Ruby gave an approving smile. Her own black and red dress looked dowdy in comparison.

‘I don’t usually wear saris… in fact, I just learnt how to wear one,’ Jasmine giggled, ‘but I thought tonight should be special. After all, how often does one meet a sister one has never met before?’

‘Very true. Not often.’

‘Say! Why don’t you wear a sari too?’ Jasmine cocked her head to one side and studied Ruby. ‘That dress is lovely, but won’t it be fun for both of us to wear saris?’

Ruby laughed, shaking her head. ‘I wouldn’t be able to put one on or hold it up for…’

‘Don’t worry. I will drape it for you,’ Jasmine replied excitedly. ‘What fun! Come!’ Grabbing Ruby’s hand, she led the way to her bedroom down the corridor. Suddenly they were just two young girls, two sisters, out to have fun.

Half an hour later, Jasmine stood back and surveyed the results of her effort.

‘You look gorgeous.’

The deep blue Kanjivaram sari with a black border set off her Mediterranean features. With straight black hair framing her face, Ruby looked stunning. Looking in the full-length mirror, she could not believe it was her. She looked so different.

I even feel different, Ruby thought with surprise. ‘I am nervous.’ Ruby swivelled around slowly, clutching the folds of the silk sari. ‘What if it falls off ?’

‘The men will be in for a treat then!’ Jasmine chuckled. ‘You don’t do that,’ she said, removing Ruby’s hands from the folds of the sari. ‘Just let it be. Don’t worry. It won’t fall off. Now try to walk.’

Ruby took a few tentative steps. Then realizing it was not flimsily tied, she walked more confidently.

‘Better? Think you can manage?’

‘Much better,’ Ruby nodded.

‘Then shall we, Ms Gill?’ Jasmine gestured at the door with a big smile. Ruby nodded and picking up her clutch, got ready to follow.

‘Wait. Something’s missing…’ Jasmine frowned. ‘I know! You need something to set it off.’ She walked over to the dressing table and pulled out a pearl necklace and earrings from her jewellery box.

‘There is no need for that, Jasmine.’

‘Nonsense. We are going to paint the town red! Let Delhi know that the Gill sisters are out tonight!’

Ruby tossed her hair back coquettishly. ‘Okay! Let’s go get them, girl!’

Ruby was turning away from the dressing table when she spotted a pistol in the open jewellery box.

‘You keep a gun?’ she asked, surprised. ‘Why?’

‘Oh, no, I hate guns.’ Jasmine gave a shudder. ‘That’s not mine. Daddy put it there. He even made me learn how to fire it.’

‘What on earth for?’

‘Ever since we moved here and he was put in charge of the ATTF, there have been threats. He says it is not a problem, but just in case… He even makes me carry pepper spray when I go out.’

Ruby was silent. ‘Well, it’s not so bad. You should have seen mom’s face when he made her go for firing practise. She was fuming!’

Her giggle broke the sombre mood. Jasmine held Ruby’s hand as they descended the stairs. Ruby found the gesture strangely natural. It made her feel sad. She realized that this was what life would have been like if her parents had still been together. She suddenly stopped and gave Jasmine a big hug.

‘Thank you, Jasmine. Thank you very much.’

Jasmine’s eyes were moist. Then she forced a laugh as they headed out. They were at the door when Jasmine remembered. ‘Oh! I need to tell mom when we will be back.’ She went to the base of the stairs and called out, but there was no response. Jasmine headed up.

When she returned, her smile had vanished.

‘She is upset?’ Ruby murmured, lightly touching her arm. Jasmine looked away. ‘I can understand. Anyone would be.’

They did not exchange another word as they got into Jasmine’s car, a silver Tata Vista hatchback, and drove out. The silence was awkward. Suddenly a car alongside swerved and cut them off, diving in front of them.

‘Screw you! Moron!’ Jasmine flipped her middle finger at the errant driver. She saw Ruby watching her with a smile and giggled. ‘That’s your first lesson in driving in Delhi.’

They both laughed and the awkwardness vanished.

‘What kind of food do you like?’ Jasmine asked as they hit the roundabout near India Gate.

‘All kinds. Tonight, you decide.’

‘Fine. Chinese it is then!’ Jasmine giggled. ‘I can never get enough of it.’

‘I like Chinese a lot, too.’

‘Strange, isn’t it?’ Jasmine said. ‘How similar people can be? Despite being so different. Look at us. I’m an Indian, born and bred. You are half Indian-half Palestinian, brought up in London. And yet, we both love Chinese food!’

Yes. We both laugh when we are happy. We cry when we are hurt, or sad. We bleed when we are cut. Then why so many differences?

Jasmine turned the car into the Oberoi hotel and handed it in for valet parking and walked towards Taipan, the Chinese restaurant.

They entered a large, well-lit room, with tables placed comfortably apart, and sparkling with crystal ware. Snow-white linen lent a pristine touch to the ambience. Soft oriental music was playing in the background, audible but not intrusive. Despite it being a weekday, the restaurant was almost full.

‘I love Chinese food, but am not very good at ordering,’ Jasmine said as they sat at a table in the corner. ‘Would you like to do the honours?’

‘Just go ahead and order what you like,’ Ruby smiled. ‘I am sure it will be perfect.’

‘At least help me pick the wine, please. I rarely get to drink. Mom doesn’t like me drinking alcohol.’

‘Let’s not have wine then… no point upsetting your mother…’

‘Nonsense! Of course we will have wine today.’ She consulted the waiter and ordered a Mao Tai, a fiery 55 proof concoction.

Ruby watched the young girl as she ordered the food. She seemed child-like, innocent, secure.