Simoundou Chronicles - 5

(Continued from Simoundou Chronicles - 4)

Basil felt like his head was going to explode. He has always been a practical man. He always likes to think about problems in advance and plan ahead. But he was never prepared for anything like this. Things were getting so confusing and scary that he started wondering if he was dreaming. This just can’t be real. It doesn’t make any sense.


Things happened very fast in the next few seconds. The young man pulled out a mobile phone from his trouser pocket so fast that it looked like he had creating a phone out of thin air just by waving his hand. The fast movement of his hand shocked Gota. Gota thought he man was pulling out a gun. Feeling he was running out of time, he wanted to lift his gun up as fast as he could. But by then the young man was already pointing the mobile phone towards Gota and pressing a button – as if Gota was a TV set and the man was simply changing the channel with a remote.


Gota felt very strange. He wasn’t sure what it was. It felt like he was struck by some kind of lightening. He didn’t feel any pain but his body was just collapsing like a pack of cards. The gun slipped from his hand and hit the carpet with a faint thud. He felt so weak he couldn’t even keep his head up. His upper body came down crashing towards his desk. The man leapt towards Gota and stopped Gota’s head from hitting the Desk hard. He then gently lowered Gota’s head down.


“I told you we should only use it as the very last resort! “ The old man sounded cross.

“I am sorry sir” said the young man. Looking like an obedient schoolboy facing an angry teacher. “ He was too fast sir, He would have fired if I hadn’t acted”. He then turned towards Basil who was still frozen with shock. He then pulled out a little cylinder that looks like a body spray and sprayed something on Basils face. Basil looked terrified and opened his mouth wide as if he was going to let out a loud scream. But then all of a sudden he seemed to calm down. He looked sleepy. His eyes closed slowly and he almost fell off the chair before the man pulled him off the chair and let him lie down on the floor.

A few minutes later, when Gota opened his eys he realized he was tied up to his chair. The younger man was standing across the table. “How are you feeling now Sir” he asked. Gota didn’t reply. “Sir, can you hear me?” Gota nodded. He then noticed that his shirt was gone. A black rectangular box was attached to his bare chest using some sticky stuff. A few wires extended from the box to a silver grey laptop that was placed on the left edge of the table. The older man was peering into the screen. Gota could only see the back of the laptop.

“Right!” said the old man. “Let’s start”. He turned towards Gota “Are you comfortable?” He asked. “Oh sorry! I didn’t mean to be sarcastic. I know getting zapped and being tied up to a chair are very uncomfortable. But do you feel any pain anyway?” And then his eyes were on the laptop screen again.

“Who... Who are you? And What .. is this...?” Gota struggled to get the words out.

“We will explain it all in a minute. But now listen very carefully. If you listen to us and co oporate then there is a good chance that we will not……. er ….. kill you.” The old man was still peering into the screen as he spoke.

“OK” said the older man. “Let’s start”

The younger man was still standing in front of the table. He held a 9mm pistol in his right hand and a coin in the other.

The old man spoke as he continued to peer into the laptop screen. “Here is the deal Sir, he will throw that coin 3 times. If we get heads all the time then we will kill you. If not we will just walk away. Is that clear? ”

Gota didn’t speak. The man continued “ you still have a 7 out of 8 chance of survival which is pretty good”

“Wha… What is all this shit about?” Asked Gota. “Who are you and how did.. did you get here? ”

“Sorry Sir, we can’t answer questions until it is over” But we will explain everything when it is over. If you are still alive that is”

The younger man threw the coin and then caught that in his hand. “Head” he said.

“Easy” shouted the old man. The younger man lowered than gun and walked away. “We lied! We are not going to kill you.” said the old man in a calm voice.

Gota looked thoroughly confused. His heart was pumping like crazy now. sweat was pouing down his trembling face. “Take a deep breath now and relax.” Said the old man. “It is over! We will be gone in no time! ”. Gota obeyed faithfully as if the old man was his doctor. He actually took a deep breath.

The old man spent a few minutes looking at the laptop. “OK!” he said. And he began to remove the black gadget from Gota’s chest.

“Who ... Who is... ” Gota stammered. The older man didn’t reply. The younger man was packing the briefcase without a word. “Who are you?” Gota asked. This time the words came out more easily.

“I will explain everything!” A new voice thundered . The door had just been opened. It was none other than President Mahinda Rajapakse standing at the door.

(to be continued)