Snatch - Part 1

Jenny stirred the coffee absent mindedly. It was late evening and there was a steady flow of people in the CCD in which she was now sitting with Suraj. They were sitting in their usual corner which shielded them from the banter of the groups of college students who would frequent the place most of the time. It gave them a bit of privacy, though there was no need of it today since there wasn't much crowd anyway.

"Say something." said Suraj.

"I don't know what to say Suraj. I don't think I am ready for anything more than friendship." Jenny replied, still stirring her coffee.

"I don't believe that is the reason."

"You will get somebody way better than me. I'm no good at relationships and you too know that. You are smart, good-looking and have a great job. You can have any girl you want."

"The classic friend-zone argument. I am ready to accept rejection, but I would like a good reason. The 'you deserve better than me' has long gone out of fashion. Out with the truth."

"You think it is easy for me to say no to you? You are one guy I can trust my life with and I really like you. But be practical. After some time you too will get bored of me. And even if you don't, how do you expect our parents to agree to this match?"

Suraj placed his hand on hers across the table.

"I'm not one of those people who would give up on you. I really love you for what you are. And what do you mean about convincing our parents? An inter religious marriage is pretty commonplace now. We will talk to them and convince them. I'm sure about myself that this is what I want. If you too want to spend your life with me, then I can't understand what is stopping you from doing it."

"Suraj you are really sweet and I appreciate you putting your heart out in the open. Do try to understand that mine has been broken too many times. I don't have it in me to love anybody selflessly now. Your love is too much for me to take, and I don't deserve any of it. Its best that we stay friends as we have always been and keep it that way. Nothing would change."

"Try as much as I would, I don't think things will remain the same. Its always one person who cares too much and the other hesitant to take the next step. Not that I am convinced with your reasoning for refusing me, but I respect your decision. It would take me some time to accept your decision, but I will come around to doing it. In the meantime, think about reconsidering."

"I don't think there is anything to reconsider. It is for the best. Please try to understand".

A few minutes later, Jenny was driving back home. The conversation played over in her mind. She tried playing some music from her phone to get her mind off it, but the battery had already discharged and she had forgotten the charger home. She was feeling rotten. She had just refused a proposal from one of her best friends whom she knew for around 3 years. The reason? She couldn't point out anything in particular. Yes, they belonged to different faiths, but that was not really a concern to her personally and if required she could convince her parents. Maybe it was the utter failure of her past relationships that had rendered her unable to love any other person now. The normally soothing breeze blowing from the car window was not so pleasant today. She closed the window and switched on the air conditioner.

As she parked in the garage, she noticed that her father's scooter was not present at its usual spot. She knocked on the door of her apartment and her mother opened it. Martha let out a scream and hugged her daughter sobbing loudly.

"Thank God you are alright. We were so scared." Martha cried.

"What happened Mama? Why are you crying? And where is Dad?" Jenny asked, confused with her mother's reactions.

"We got a call a couple of hours back from a man saying that he had kidnapped you. I don't know the details, your father spoke to him. There was some talk of a ransom and your father rushed out with a suitcase. Why didn't you pick up your phone? We were trying for so long!"

"The battery was dead and I didn't have a charger. And who was the man who called? Did he give any name? How can you just believe anybody saying that he has kidnapped me?"

"Your father was very upset. I don't know where he has gone. He just rushed out. I am really worried Jenny."

"I am going to try and call Dad. I can't believe he fell for such a prank."

Jenny picked up the landline phone and dialled her father's number. But he did not pick it up. His phone was ringing right in front of her next to the landline.

To be continued ....

Snatch: Part 2

A few beads of sweat trickled down Robert's brow, and the heat was the least of the reasons for it. It was late evening and the man on the phone had told him to meet in the parking lot of the Panaji city bus stand where he was currently standing. He had ordered strictly not to tell anyone about this or else Robert's daughter, Jenny would suffer the consequences. How long he would have to wait until the man arrived, Robert had no idea. His instructions were clear, get the money and be at the designated spot within an hour.

It had happened all of a sudden. Just a couple of hours back, Robert had returned home from his job in the bank and had sat down to relax when the phone rang. His daughter had been kidnapped and the kidnapper had threatened dire consequences for her if he did not receive 1 crore rupees within one hour. Apparently the kidnapper knew everything about Robert and his family. When Robert argued that he could not arrange so much money so fast, the kidnapper had chuckled.

"You take me for a fool, Mr. Costa?" he had said. "Among the various keys you carry around with you, there is a key to the cash vault of the bank. You are also in charge of closing it, which means you can open it too. Problem solved?"

Robert gripped the suitcase containing the money tightly. How was he going to explain the missing money to his bosses? If somehow his daughter was saved and both of them got out of the situation unscathed, he would most likely be booked for theft. Worry about it later, he told himself. His duty as a father came first. He prayed continuously that Jenny be unharmed.

Somebody tapped his shoulder from behind. It was a lady wearing a burqa. She motioned him to follow her through the crowd.

"Where is my daughter?" he demanded. "I want to see her first."

She put a finger on her lips.

"You are not getting the money before I see Jenny."

"If you want to see her you'd better come with me quietly." It was a man's voice behind the burqa.

Robert followed him quietly. After a five minute walk through the crowd, they stopped in front of a Maruti Omni van.

"Get in the car." said the burqa-clad man.

"Where are we going?"

"You ask too many questions. Keep your mouth shut and get in. Don't make me force you inside."

Robert got on to the back seat and the man in burqa sat next to him.

"Now, we are taking you to your daughter, but as per our rules, you are not supposed to see where. So... "

There was a loud thud as something hard hit Robert's head and he blacked out.

***

"So you are saying that the person who called supposedly kidnapped you, but you were out?" 

"Yes, Officer. He demanded a ransom from my father and threatened to kill me if it was not given to him fast. My father then rushed out and we don't know where he is. He forgot his cell phone home so we are unable to contact him."

"But if you weren't kidnapped, why would he demand a ransom?"

"We have no idea why. As I told you earlier, my phone battery had discharged so my parents weren't able to call me."

"Why were you out all by yourself so late in the evening? Don't you know that the city is not safe for ladies, especially late? You people act irresponsibly and then we, the police get blamed when something happens."

"For your information, I was not alone and was with a friend. But what has that got to do with my father going missing?"

"Just see how this situation looks. A random stranger calls your home and demands a ransom for your so-called release. Without telling anybody anything, your father just leaves the house and leaves his phone behind. It has been just about an hour since this happened and you are here to file a missing complaint. For all you know he may be back home right now waiting for you."

"Officer, don't you feel that the call is fishy? I mean somebody is demanding a ransom for a kidnapping that never happened. Are you just too lazy to look into this matter or are you plain stupid not to understand the gravity of the situation?"

"You can say whatever you want to me, madam. But if we start putting our meager resources to every silly complaint that we get, there won't be any police force left to protect the people where it is actually required. You can file a report here and we'll see what we can do."

Jenny entered her house totally distraught. How could the police be so indifferent? 

She saw her mother on the phone. Martha saw her daughter enter and burst out crying.

"What is it Mama?" Jenny asked. 

Martha was unable to speak. She handed the phone over to Jenny.

"Hello?"

"Hi Jenny. I realize that you are very worried about your missing father."

"Who the fuck are you? What do you want?"

"No time for decency eh? He is safe with us so don't worry about him. I understand that you also met the police regarding the matter. Now decide what is more important for you. The life of your father, or us getting caught by the police. I will call again later explaining what we want. Till then stay put in your house and don't bother telling anybody else about the matter. I hope I am clear enough."

The line disconnected. Jenny banged the phone down and collapsed on the couch unable to control her tears.