everyone looked like would be reassuring to all parties concerned. There was a pause, no doubt prompted by security concerns at the other end, and then the communicator's small screen cleared to show the face of a heavyset middle-aged man of European extraction. Innate dignity showed through the effects of his extensive and expensive cosmetic surgery.
'Mr. Ghosh?' The tone was mannered, the English polished, but with a distinctive accent Sanjay could not identify. He did not let it concern him. The man's origins were no more his business than was the identity of the people the respondent represented. Chhote Pandit had vouched for him, and that was all Sanjay needed.
'I am here. What shall I call you, sir?'
The man did not smile. As it developed, he was not to smile throughout the entire course of their conversation. Neither was he con descending or discourteous. Sanjay had dealt with virtuals that were more human.
'Mr. Karlovy will do. As your Mr. Pandit has told you, the members of the consortium I speak for have agreed to your terms. We are ready, indeed anxious, to conclude the transaction.'
Responding to a nod from Taneer, Sanjay obediently passed him the communicator. At the sight of the scientist, Mr. Karlovy's expression changed. It was still not quite a smile, but he was clearly pleased.
'Mr. Buthlahee. It is both a great honor and a considerable relief to see that you continue to exist in the flesh, and not as mere rumor. Do you know that you have made yourself, in certain knowledgeable circles, the most wanted man on the planet who has not committed mass murder?'
'It's always nice to be popular,' Taneer shot back, unwilling to be flattered. 'I'm looking to change that status as soon as possible.'
'A yearning in which my group fervently wishes to assist you. How, where, and when might we best expedite our mutual business?'
Though Sanjay did his part by continuing to scan the laid-back crowd while his client chatted on the communicator, he could not keep from eavesdropping. In this he was not ashamed. His future revolved around a successful conclusion to this business as much as did Taneer's.
'Do you know the Parganas District, in the southeastern part of the city, that borders on the Sundarbans?' Taneer was saying into the communicator's pickup.
Mr. Karlovy was noncommittal. 'Being only a visitor here myself, I know very little of your gargantuan conurbation. Without wishing to appear rude, there is very little of it that I wish to know. Only where we are to meet. Rest assured I have access to people who know it intimately, and can find their way to any meeting place of your choosing.'
'Good.' Taneer proceeded to provide the other man with appropriate instructions.
When 'Gosaba Inurb' was mentioned, Sanjay's eyes widened. He knew the place, too. Many people who followed the news knew of it. When Taneer became even more specific, Sanjay was hard-pressed to keep his apprehension from showing.
His concerns were confirmed when, after Taneer finished, the man who called himself Mr. Karlovy turned to his left to whisper to someone out of range of his audio pickup. Peeking past the scientist's arm, Sanjay gave the man at the other end of the communication link credit for not losing his composure. At least, not visibly. But it was possible his words, when he spoke again, reflected just the slightest diminishment of self-assurance.
'I am informed that, of all things in this day and age, there is in the area you specify a wild tiger that has come out of the jungle and on two separate occasions has attacked and quite possibly consumed a young child and a grown man.'
Taneer clearly relished the effect his directive had produced. So did Depahli, who squeezed his arm while remaining out of range of the communicator's pickup lens. 'That's right. A tiger. In this day and age. The Department of Wildlife and Game has assured the populace that it has the situation under control, though the people who are resident in the area remain somewhat skeptical.'
'I cannot say that I would blame them,' Mr. Karlovy replied feelingly. 'Is this your idea of a joke, Mr. Buthlahee? Some form of local humor to which I, as a foreign visitor, am not privy?'
Taneer took pains not to smile. 'It's no joke, sir. With the stakes what they are, there can be no joking around. I want a secure place for our meeting. I am sure that you wish nothing less. What more private location at which to consummate our business than the one place in all Sagramanda where at the present time no one except a handful of animal specialists dares to set foot?'
'Perhaps,' the European replied, 'sound reason underlies their reticence.'
'Sir…' Sanjay started to say, trying to draw his client's attention. But Taneer had worked it all out beforehand, and would not be swayed.
'No one will bother us there. No one will interrupt us,' the scientist assured his reluctant customer. 'This isn't the sixteenth century, Mr.
Karlovy. I've researched a place where we can meet that's just inside the border of the preserve. No one will intrude on us, no one will stumble across our business, and we will be in, out, and done with it all in a few minutes with the aid of cars, not elephants. The odds of us encountering anything more threatening than a deer are quite small. Surely you know how the media seizes on such a story and immediately blows it all out of proportion, sensationalizing and exaggerating every detail?'
'Well…' Karlovy hesitated, murmured again to someone off-pickup, then returned his attention to the waiting researcher. 'You are correct in saying that our business will not take long to conclude, and I must admit I do like the idea of conducting it well away from any prying eyes, be they organic or electronic. Isolation has its good points. Very well: your choice of time and venue is accepted.'
Next to Taneer, Depahli hugged him in a way that caused Sanjay to blush. Her elation proved premature.
'Now that I have let you choose the time and place of our meeting,' the European was saying, 'I am afraid that I must make a stipulation of my own.' Both Sanjay and Taneer were immediately on guard.
'What is it?' the scientist asked warily.
Karlovy's tone turned even more serious than previously. 'The down payment on the amount you have requested and that has been mutually agreed upon is considerable. I know that your preference is for a simple one-on-one, face-to-face exchange. While I was willing to agree to this, certain other members of the consortium I represent were not. You will please excuse their unseemly suspicion, but where a cash sum of this amount is involved, their demands were inflexible.' His expression was somber. 'They insist that for the duration of the exchange I be accompanied by an armed bodyguard.'
Taneer's first reaction was to break off the communication and instruct Sanjay to go back to Chhote Pandit and begin the negotiations all over again. But of course he couldn't do that. Not with trackers closing in on both him and the shopkeeper. Keeping his
face out of range of the communicator's pickup, he licked his lips and exchanged an anxious glance with Depahli.
Though he could not, for the moment, see the scientist, the European plainly sensed his unease. 'I know this is counter to what you wished, Mr. Buthlahee. But I assure you that the point is not negotiable. I tried my best, but several important individuals were unshakable in their demand.' He paused, then added with an almost-smile, 'Think of it, despite your admirable assurance that all the odds are against such a thing happening, as real protection in the event the wandering animal should after all choose to put in an appearance at an inopportune moment.'
Taneer wasn't worried about some nomadic cat. The only thing he feared during the forthcoming transaction was the possible interpolation of a predator of the two-legged kind. Caught off guard for the first time since the exchange had commenced, he wavered and worried over what to do.
Yet again, it was Depahli who provided a potential solution. She put her lips close to his left ear, whispering to him so her words would not be picked up.
'If this funny Mr. Karlovy insists on bringing along a bodyguard, then you should have the right to bring one, too.'
'That's fine,' he murmured tightly back to her as he pressed the audiovisual Mute button on the communicator, temporarily shutting them off from the expectant European, 'except that I don't happen to know any professional killers, or bodyguards. I don't suppose that you happen to, either?'
'No,' she told him. 'Besides, it has to be someone you can trust completely. Even if you had the time and the necessary sources, you couldn't just go out and hire somebody. Not for this. Fortunately, you already have someone
