‘I’d be honoured to escort you to the party, Karla,’ I said, staring straight ahead.
‘I’d be honoured to accompany you, Shantaram. Let’s get moving. I wanna see if you dance like you ride, or ride like you dance.’
Chapter Thirty-One
I parked the bike under the shelter at the entrance to the hotel, and when I turned to look at her all sixteen queens stared back at me. I froze.
‘Are you okay?’
‘Sure, why?’
‘You look like somebody stood on your foot,’ she said.
‘No, I’m fine.’
‘Sure?’
‘Yeah,’ I said, glancing away from checkmate. ‘I’m good.’
‘Okay, let’s go to the party. There’ll be plenty of people to stand on our feet there.’
We crossed the lobby, found a lucky elevator, and pressed for the penthouse.
‘Every time an elevator door closes on me,’ she said, as the elevator doors closed, ‘I want a drink.’
The doors opened on a drinking party, already bumpy happy. Guests had spilled from crowded suites into the corridor, where they sat in groups or stumbled back and forth, laughing and shouting.
We made our way inside and found Gemini George, dancing with Didier to music just loud enough to ruin a shout. Didier had a table cover over his head and was holding the edge in his teeth, as a woman might with her shawl.
‘Lin! Karla! Rescue me! I am watching an Englishman dance. I am in pain.’
‘French git,’ Gemini called back, laughing happily.
He was having, quite literally, the time of his life.
‘Come, Lin! Karla! Dance with me!’ Didier shouted.
‘I’m looking for Lisa!’ I called back. ‘Have you seen her?’
‘Not . . . recently,’ Didier replied, frowning questions of his own at me, then at Karla, then at me again. ‘That is to say . . . not . . . recently.’
Karla leaned in close to kiss him on the cheek. I kissed him on the other cheek.
‘Hey! I’m havin’ some of that!’ Gemini shouted, offering his cheek to Karla, who obliged with a kiss.
‘I’m so glad to see you both!’ Didier shouted.
‘Likewise! Got a minute, Didier?’
‘Certainly.’
I left Karla with Gemini, and followed Didier back into the hallway. We crossed the corridor stream on patches of bare carpet, stepping over flowing groups of people smoking, drinking, and laughing out their other selves.
Didier opened the door to one of the adjoining suites with a key and led me inside.
‘Some of these party people know no boundaries,’ he said, locking the door behind him.
The main room was well appointed, but untouched. There was a tray on the writing desk: brandy and two glasses. Didier gestured with the brandy bottle.
‘No, thanks. But I’ll smoke a joint with you, if you’ve got one.’
‘Lin!’ he gasped. ‘When have you ever known Didier not to have one?’
He poured himself a thumb of brandy, selected a slender joint from a polished brass cigarette case, lit it, and passed it to me. As I smoked, he raised his glass in a toast.
‘To battles lived,’ he said, drinking a sip.
‘How’s Lisa?’
‘She is very well. She is happy, I think.’
‘Where is she now?’
‘She stayed with me, until just a few hours ago,’ he replied, drinking the measure of brandy. ‘She said she was returning to your apartment.’
‘How bad was it, after Abdullah and I left?’
‘Well, I wouldn’t go back to Leopold’s for a while, even with my influence.’
My thoughts went back to the fight at Leopold’s, Concannon cracking the lead sap into the fallen Sikh head waiter.
‘Dhirendra took a beating. He’s a good man. How is he?’
‘He recuperates. Leopold’s is not the same without him, but we must go on.’
‘Anyone else get hurt?’
‘A few,’ he sighed.
‘What about the cops?’
‘Lightning Dilip rounded up all the witnesses who had any money, myself included, and fined us all.’
‘What about the street?’
‘From what I know, nobody’s talking about this. It died, in the newspapers, after the first day. I think . . . Karla used her influence with Ranjit to kill the story, as they say. And those who are not scared of the Sanjay Company are scared of the Scorpions. It is quiet now, but it cost Sanjay a lot of money, I am sure. A lot of people had to piss on this fire.’
‘I’m sorry you got dragged into this, Didier. And in Leopold’s, of all places. It’s sacred ground.’
‘Didier is never dragged,’ he sniffed, ‘even when he is unconscious. He freely marches, or he is transported.’
‘Still . . . ’
‘An American friend of mine has a saying, for occasions like this. It’s a mess, but we didn’t make it. Yes, it’s a mess, but Concannon made it happen. The question is, what are we going to do about it?’
‘Got any ideas?’
‘My first impulse is that we should kill him.’
‘I love you, Didier.’
‘I love you, too, Lin. So we will kill him, yes?’
‘No, that was a no. I’m travelling tomorrow. I’ll be away for a week, maybe a day or two more, and we’ll work this out somehow, when I get back. We’ll have to find a way without killing anybody, Didier.’
‘As solutions go,’ he mused, ‘killing is a winning hand. Anything less, at this point, is only bluff.’
‘Concannon’s a man. There must be a way to reach him.’
‘Through his chest,’ Didier observed. ‘With an axe. But I suppose you’re right. We should be aiming higher. The head, perhaps?’
‘I’ve spoken to him, I’ve listened to him. I met a dozen Concannons with a dozen different faces in prison. I’m not saying I like him. I’m saying that if he was born into a different life, Concannon could be an amazing man. In his own way, he already is an amazing man. There must be a way to reach him, and stop all of this.’
‘Men like Concannon don’t change, Lin,’ he said, letting out a gust of sighs. ‘And the proof is very simple. Did you change, when you went to prison? Did you change, when you joined the Company? In your true self, deep inside yourself, did you change? Are you not the man you always were?’
‘Didier –’
‘You are. You did not change. You could not change, and neither do the Concannons of this world. They are born to harm and destroy, Lin, until time or temper stops them. And now that this one wants to harm and destroy us, the kindest thing we can do is to kill him, take the karmic burden on ourselves, and hope that the good we cause, by saving the world all the future harm this man will do, if he lives, is enough to save our souls for a better incarnation. Although I cannot think of a better incarnation than the one you see before you, so I would only ask that Didier may come back as Didier is, and do it all again.’
‘Just don’t do anything until I get back, okay? We’ll talk first, then we’ll do whatever else we have to do, okay? In the meantime, watch Lisa for me, while I’m away. When I see her, I’ll try to talk her into going to Goa for a while, but we both know Lisa.’
‘Not a chance,’ he shrugged.
‘I know –’
‘She’s a clever fox, my friend,’ he said. ‘And she knows what she wants, and how to get it.’
‘Look after her for me, until I get back. Ask Naveen to give you whatever time he can spare from Divya, if you need extra eyes. I’ll speak to him, if I can find him.’
‘I need no help, of course, but I have come to like Naveen,’ Didier said thoughtfully.
‘I like him, too. You make a good team, the two of you. Speaking of teams, I’d like to join you, D
idier, when I get back, if you still want me.’
‘Lin . . . you mean . . . to work together?’
‘We’ll talk about it when I get back.’
‘But, you’re leaving the Sanjay Company?’
‘I am. I did.’
‘You did? Sanjay let you go?’
‘After this job, I have Sanjay’s blessing. Actually, I think he’s glad to see me leave.’
‘You are not afraid to disagree with him. There are only two kinds of leaders, those who welcome the truth, and those who despise it. Sanjay is a despiser, I am afraid.’
‘That he is,’ I smiled.
‘I am very happy to hear you are leaving him. Are you happy?’
‘I am. Just keep an eye on Lisa.’
‘I will, I will, and with pleasure.’
‘Shall we head back to the others?’
‘Yes! This is wonderful news, Lin, and it calls for celebration. But . . . ’
‘But what?’
‘You and Karla.’
‘What, me and Karla? There’s no me and Karla.’
‘Lin, this is Didier. No fleeting suspicion of love is hidden from Didier. I saw you together. I know everything.’
‘Forget Karla.’
‘I can, if you can,’ he said, a half-worried smile confusing his face. ‘Whatever you do, I am with you.’
‘Thanks, brother,’ I said, sharing a hug that pressed his curly hair into my face.
We made our way back to Karla and Gemini. Karla looked from Didier to me, and then back again, smiling just enough condescension to put a bite in her affection.
Two young foreign girls, carrying drinks in each hand, danced their way up to Didier and Gemini, who took the drinks, still dancing.
‘Are you with someone?’ one of the girls asked Gemini.
‘I’m with myself,’ Gemini replied. ‘I don’t know if that qualifies. I’m Gemini. What’s your name then?’
‘Hey!’ the girl shouted back. ‘I’m a Gemini, too.’
‘That’s great, you’ll get this – what did one Gemini say to the other?’
‘What?’
‘Nothing. The other Gemini already left.’
They laughed, spilling wine and bumping together.
Karla and I made our way through party-sway to shout at friends as we were shouted unto, until we found the deserted bar.
‘Nice bar,’ Karla said, greeting the bartender. ‘Free, well-stocked and empty.’
‘Welcome,’ the barman said.
‘I’d shoot three men for a glass of champagne,’ Karla said, waving an elegant wrist.
‘Certainly, ma’am,’ the bartender replied. ‘And for sir?’
‘Plain soda, no ice,’ I said. ‘How’s it been, tonight?’
‘At the end of the road, there are only two questions,’ the bartender said, inscrutably, preparing the drinks. ‘What did I do? and What did I miss?’
‘Unless,’ I offered, ‘the last question is, Who the hell turned off my life support?’
‘Life is short,’ the tall young bartender said, easing the cork from the bottle with a fist. ‘But made of long nights.’
‘That’s why it’s so lonely at the top,’ Karla put in.
‘It’s lonely at the top,’ he replied quickly, filling Karla’s glass, ‘because it’s so crowded at the bottom.’
‘What’s your name?’ Karla asked, laughing.
‘Randall, ma’am.’
‘Randall,’ she said, accepting the glass, ‘This is Lin, I’m Karla, and I couldn’t agree with you more. Where’s your family place?’
‘My parents are from Goa,’ he said, handing me the soda. ‘But I’m from here.’
‘We’re from here too, for as long as here lasts,’ I said. ‘What’s with the one-liners, Randall?’
‘It’s not that interesting a story,’ he replied.
‘Why don’t you let us judge that, Randall?’ Karla suggested.
‘Well, at first, I used to talk,’ he said, washing a glass. ‘I used to ask questions. Are you here on a business trip? Do you have any kids? Why do you think your wife doesn’t understand you? But, after a while, I started breaking my part of the conversation down into little pieces of the truth. Barmen never get more than a line or two. It’s a narrative rule, I’m afraid. Am I boring you folks?’
‘No,’ we said together.
‘So, I don’t converse any more. I’m making this exception, tonight, because my shift has ended, and because I like you. I liked both of you, from the moment you walked in. And when I like something, I’m never wrong about it.’
‘Nice talent to have up your sleeve,’ Karla smiled. ‘Go on, about the one-liners.’
‘Most of the time, I prune the conversation tree. It’s all bonsai. It’s all punchlines now. And it’s better that way, in little pieces of the truth. It’s like a code, the truth. When people hear it, the doors unlock.’
‘Randall,’ Karla said, her eyes gleaming coloured glass, ‘if you stop conversing, I’ll never darken this joint again. A refill, if you please.’
He poured two fresh glasses of champagne, and another long soda.
‘My replacement hasn’t arrived, but my shift was officially over half an hour ago, so I’d like to join you folks in a toast,’ he said, offering Karla the champagne and the soda to me. ‘May words never fail you.’
‘Can’t drink to that, because words never fail,’ she said quickly. ‘This is the first toast that Shantaram and I have shared in two years, Randall, and I think this is a fated meeting. Let’s make this toast to the three of us.’
I moved to clink glasses with them, but she swerved away from me.
‘No! It’s bad luck to toast with water,’ she said.
‘Oh, come on.’
‘I’m serious.’
‘You’re kidding, right?’
‘Just because you don’t believe it, that’s no reason to mess with it, Lin. Do you need any more bad luck?’
‘You’ve got me there.’
‘I always get you there.’
A newcomer to the bar bumped Karla into me, and our glasses clashed together anyway.
‘Looks like we’ve done that toast after all,’ I said.
She stared at me from a hard frown for a moment, but then she smiled again.
‘Okay,’ she said. ‘Make another toast, without drinking water yourself. That should keep us safe.’
‘To green eyes – may they always be protected.’
‘I’ll certainly drink to that,’ Randall said, sipping champagne.
‘To green queens,’ she said, smiling light at me.
She raised her glass, took a small sip, and stared back at me. It was the moment to break through, and we both knew it. It was perfect.
‘Lin!’ Vinson said, bouncing against me and slapping his long, strong fingers onto my back, Rannveig at his side. ‘Good to see you, man!’
I was still looking at Karla. She was looking at me.
‘Vinson,’ I said, the voice in my ears sounding like something hard, breaking. ‘I don’t think you’ve met. This is Karla. Karla, this is Stuart Vinson. And this is Rannveig, like the thing at the airport.’
‘Say, Karla!’ Vinson shouted. ‘I’m damn glad to finally meet you.’
‘It won’t do any good,’ Karla replied, playing it straight.
‘It . . . it won’t?’ Vinson smiled, already confused.
‘No. Anything you heard is out of date.’
‘Out of . . . what?’
‘I reinvented myself.’
Vinson laughed.
‘Oh. Wow. Like, when did this happen?’
‘It’s happening now,’ Karla said, holding his gaze. ‘Try to keep up.’
My heart stumbled like a drunk dancing. God, I loved
her. There was no-one like her.
Then she turned to the girl, Rannveig, and asked her if she was okay. I looked at the girl. She wasn’t okay.
‘She’s fine!’ Vinson said, clapping an arm around her.
Rannveig’s face was drawn and pale.
‘I told her,’ Vinson continued, ‘I said, hey, you’ve been through a lot. Time to get out and see people, have a few laughs, you know? The best medicine, they say.’
He hugged her to him, shaking her. Her arms flapped at her sides.
‘How you doing, kid?’ I asked.
She looked up quickly, ice-chips glittering in her blue eyes.
‘I’m not a kid!’ she snapped.
‘O . . . kay.’
‘Don’t take it personally,’ Karla said. ‘He’s a writer. He thinks he’s older than his grandfather.’
‘That’s pretty funny,’ Vinson laughed.
‘And as for you,’ Karla said. ‘Let that girl out of your armpit, right now.’
Surprised, Vinson allowed Karla to peel Rannveig away from him.
‘Randall,’ Karla said, ‘I know you’re off duty, but this in an emergency. I want your cleanest glasses and your dirtiest jokes, and make it snappy.’
‘Your command is my wish, ma’am,’ Randall said, glasses like eels swimming in his hands.
‘How ’bout that?’ Vinson mumbled. ‘She stole my girl.’
‘She’s your girl now?’
‘Oh, man,’ he said, turning a big, open-mouthed smile on me. ‘I told you, didn’t I, back there at the station house? I told you she was the one. I’m crazy about her. She’s really something, isn’t she? My heart beats faster every time I look at her.’
‘She’s been in a plane crash,’ I said.