Mama went close to Ish. He pulled Ish's hair hard. 'Tell me you bastard,' Mama
said. 'He is not here,' Ish said.
'I will...,' Mama said as a phone ring interrupted him.
The phone didn't belong to me or Omi. The ring didn't come from Mama and
his men either.
Mama followed the sound. The sound came from the manager's table. Mama
went to the wall behind the manager's table. It had the vault. The sound came
from within the vault.
'Open this,' Mama said as he pointed to the wheel shaped lock of the vault.
We kept quiet. Ish's phone rang again. I guessed Vidya had called to explain
things to her brother.
'I said open this,' Mama said.
'This is the bank's vault. We don't have the keys,' I said. I wanted to do my part
to help Ish. I wanted to do anything to make me less of a creep.
'Oh yes. The smart boy has spoken. No keys,' Mama said.
My head turned to Ish. Ish looked away from me.
Mama grabbed my chin and turned my face to him.
'So we are idiots isn't it? You don't have the keys, but how did the fucking
phone end up inside? Search them.'
Mama's minions began the most violent search possible. The man searching me
ripped open my shirt pocket. He slapped me once and asked me to turn around.
His nails poked me as he frisked me from top to bottom. I told him I didn't have
the keys more than ten times, but he wouldn't listen. He searched my pant
pockets and grabbed my groin twice to check. Whenever I tried to squirm, he
jabbed me with his fist.
The other men did the same to Omi and Ish. The man searching him ripped off
Ish's shirt. He took a trishul and poked him in his rib cage.
'This bastard doesn't have it,' my man said and gave up his grip. He pinned me
to the wall again.
'This one neither,' the man with Omi said.
'This one needs to be tamed,' the man with Ish said as he tried to take off Ish's
pants. Ish kicked hard in the man's shins. I noticed the blood on Ish's chest.
'Should I help,' Mama said from the branch manager's desk.
'Don't worry I'll tackle him,' the man said even as Ish bit his arm.
Mama came to Ish. He jabbed the blunt end of the trishul again at his chest
wound.
Ish screamed in pain and fell. The man searching Ish slapped him a few times.
Ish clenched his teeth and continued to kick. Mama reached into Ish's pockets.
He felt something. Ish had worn practice shorts underneath his pants. Mama
took his hands out of the pants and slid it again into Ish's shorts. He pulled out a
bangle sized keyring. It had two six inch long keys.
Ish lay on the floor taking heavy breaths from his mouth. His eyes looked
defiant even as his body refused to cooperate.
Mama twirled the key ring in his hand.
'Never looted a bank before,' Mama said, 'and what a prize today. Father and
son, I'll root out the clan.'
Mama took a minute to figure out the vault keys.
'Don't Mama, he is a child. For my sake,' Omi said.
Mama paused and turned to look at us.
avery
(avery)
#1