The Devil's Harem

“Hey, Simon. Do you know where my father is?” Alex was on the phone. He was trying to reach out to his father, but all he got was, ‘The number you are calling is not reachable.’

With all that happened yesterday, Alex got no chance to call his father to let him know about his whereabouts and that he was okay and having fun without talking about the incident.

After Alex left the bed, washing up, he thought to check on Jessica. Not because of what happened the night before but in general to know how she was doing and if she noticed anything or anyone suspicious around her.

But as he left his room and checked his phone, he noticed there were a couple of missed calls from Martha, but none from his father. Thinking about his father, he realised that he had not talked to him for nearly a day. He called him around the same time yesterday before he left for snorkelling, which he couldn’t do either. With that thought in mind, Alex tried to call George while strolling in the corridor in front of his room. But it was all in vain, and there he was, in this predicament. On top of that, George didn’t even tell him which other hotel he checked into. With no other option in sight, Alex decided to check with other employees of AR that had come with them, and in that series, Simon was the last one on his call list.

“I hadn’t seen him since the day before yesterday when we parted with him in front of the hotel reception,” Simon told Alex.

“Is that so?” Alex was discouraged hearing that. Simon was the last one, and like everyone else, he had not come across George all this while.

.....

“Is there something wrong, sir?” And like everyone else, Simon asked the question Alex was expecting.

“It’s nothing. I just couldn’t reach my father on his phone. So I thought maybe someone among you was with him,” Alex said. And before Simon could continue the conversation, he said, “Well then, I won’t hold you any longer. Enjoy, it’s our last day here.” With that, Alex ended the call.

Alex then looked at his call list. He had already talked to everyone he could think of, and tried calling George and Matthew more than a dozen times. Now all he could do was wait for them to see his calls and messages and reply.

Now it was time to check on Jessica. Putting aside the thought about his father, stretching his arms to remove the stiffness in his body, Alex took the elevator and decided to head to the reception.

“Excuse me,” Alex called out at the reception.

“Yes, sir... YOU!” The man attending the guests cried out in surprise. He was the same man who helped Jessica carry Alex to his room. He was already under a lot of stress because of Alex. With all the blood the man saw on his own clothes yesterday, the man did not know if Alex would make it to see the sun. But there was Alex, in front of the man looking all fine as if nothing happened to him.

“Now, that was rude, man,” Alex rested his elbow on the reception and looked at the man, acting hurt.

“I am sorry, sir. I mistook you for someone else.” The man said, getting his act together after the initial shock. The man thought that Alex was here to express his gratefulness, but he should let Alex take the lead if that was not the case.

“Chill,” Alex chuckled, “I was just messing with you,” Alex said, easing the awkwardness.

“To be honest, I had a small favour to ask,” seeing the man smile, Alex got business, “I was hoping that if you could tell me the room number of one of your guests. She... She is a friend of mine.” Alex asked.

But this got the smile on the man’s face to fade away, and it was replaced by a peculiar look on his face. He was sure that the she Alex was talking about was Jessica, but what was it with the two of them? They call each other friends but don’t even know the room the other is staying in? It was all fishy to him.

When Alex saw the man looking at him with that strange look, he got conscious of himself. He surely didn’t have anything on his face, he checked that before leaving the room. So what was it with those piercing eyes?

“Is there something wrong?” When the man did not respond, Alex asked once again. He didn’t ask for anything extreme, so why was the guy so out of it?

“Ahh... Yes... Give me a moment,” the man said and began smashing his fingers on the keyboard. It took him some seconds before he looked toward Alex in regret and said, “I am sorry, sir, but Miss Jessica has checked out this morning.”

“Checked out?” Alex was confused, “You haven’t asked me who I wanted to look for. And you are saying she checked out... Are you sure you are in the right line of business, mister?”

The man smiled, “I know you are looking for Miss Jessica... And Indeed, she had checked out,” the man told Alex.

“Haawww...?” Now it was Alex’s turn to be confused, “How do you know that?”

But the man just smiled, maintaining his silence.

When Alex saw that the man was not going to reply, he didn’t push him further, “Then can you check if Veronica and Abir are still here or they have left as well?” Alex asked.

The man nodded and turned towards the screen in front of him. He took about a minute before turning back towards Alex, “They have checked out as well... Around the same time as Miss Jessica.” The man politely informed Alex.

“Is that so?” Alex felt dispirited hearing him. But there was nothing he could do.

“Can I help you with something else, sir?” The man asked.

“No, it’s fine,” Alex waved his hand and walked away from there, back to his room.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

“What do you mean you lost him?” A man pushed open the doors and walked into a dark room as he roared.

Everyone else already present in the room looked in his direction and had their heads hung. They didn’t even try to explain themselves.

“Don’t just stand there like buffoons, dammit. Say something.” The man got even more agitated seeing them stand like a statue.

“Sir, we had him tied up in this room until you came, but he broke free of the handcuffs,” one of the men stepped forward and said.

“I can see that,” The man said, rubbing his forehead, “At least tell me you got something out of him. Something we can use.” the man asked. But again, the room went silent hearing him.

“Sir,” someone among the men walked forward. He looked lean and tall, but his face could not be made in the dark room, “Just like the few others we got our hands on, his fingerprints were also burned off.”

“Matthew, oh, Mathew... Do you know the pressure I have on my head because of this incident?” the man sighed, pulling out a cigarette. He put the cigarette in his mouth, and the guy named Matthew lit the cigarette. Under the dim light of the fire, the faces became clear. He was the same lean and friendly Matthew who was always with George. And in front of him, scolding everyone, was the man himself, George.

“Every time we get our hands on these guys, the only thing we can find out is that they don’t have fingerprints. They kill themselves before that. One jumped in front of the truck, while the other already had a cyanide capsule in his mouth. But this one, this one, was different. He was not willing to die. The cowards like him... If we can get a hold of him... With the right pressure and enticement, he would spill the beans without a seconds delay,”

“Sir,” Matthew tried to say something, but George showed his hand.

“I want you to use every diplomatic tie possible, and if diplomacy does not work, stuff their mouths with money... I don’t care how you do it. But if the man is still in Ullu, I want to see him in front of me before the sun sets. And if he is gone, I want to know where,” George said as he threw the cigarette and walked out of the room. He didn’t wish to hear any more excuses.

Just as he walked out, his phone buzzed again, and a frown appeared on his forehead. It was the umpteenth time Alex was calling him. He was already ignoring him and had asked Matthew to do the same.

‘Can’t he take the hint?’ George thought, but when he looked at the name, his frown deepened.

“Hello,” George answered.

“How could you? How could you lose him?” An agitated, deep and tired voice rang in George’s ears, “Do you know how much I have put in this small mission of yours? And I am not talking about the money... I even put the life of my granddaughter on the line,” the old man said, blaming George.

“I know, sir. Just give me some time to clean up this mess,” George asked. He was not very polite, but not aggressive either.

“Heck with your cleanup,” but the old man was not ready to listen, “Listen, I am warning you...” the old man went on to threaten George in his shaky tone.

“Warning me? Who do you think you are, old man?” But before the old man could even utter ‘T’ of threaten, George lost his cool. It was not like that of George to lose control, but when nothing is going your way, you can’t just have a silly smile on your face and act happy.

“Do you think I don’t know about all your under the table dealings?” George decided to counter-attack, “Do you think we are just fat dudes warming the chair? Do you want the public to know all about them?”

“What?” the old man was surprised by the aggressive retaliation from George.

“Just because I was being polite to a greedy old bastard like you, did you think you could dance on my head,” George asked, frowning, “Stick to being a useful asset. The moment you are a liability, you are finished. Do you understand?” George showed the old man his place.

“Hmmm...” was all the old man could manage to let out of his choaked throat.

“Better,” George nodded, “And one more thing. If you pry into my affairs again, it won’t be just a warning you would be getting.”

* * * * *