Page 57 of A Royal Deception

“In a hurry, are you?” he asked dryly.

“Wouldn’t you like to get back to a peaceful life?”

“Yeah, but not as much as you, clearly,” said the bastard.

“Kirori Ji was right. You really are a war-mongering asshole,” I grumbled.

The car pulled up outside a small dhaba, and we checked our weapons before we got out.

Kirori Ji was waiting for us in the empty dhaba. He pointed to a pile of clothes on the table in front of him after we exchanged greetings.

“Put those clothes on, Hukums,” he ordered.

Veer and I stared at him in horror.

“Those aren’t clothes. They are rags. Unwashed ones, at that,” complained Veer, wrinkling his nose at the body odour that emanated from the clothes.

“Do you think you’re going to swagger into that village dressed the way you are?” asked Kirori Ji sarcastically. “They’ll gun you down before you take two steps across the chowk. These clothes belong to the local camel riders. You can’t take your fancy car either. You have to blend in with a group of camel riders taking their animals to the desert. Hop off when you reach the road that goes to Harmu’s village and walk the rest of the way. He’ll meet you at the ganna juice stall just outside the village.”

“I could have been home with my new wife right now, but no! I had to play hero,” I grumbled as I changed into the smelly clothes. “Who wore this before me? The rider or the camel? It smells like camel fart.”

“Lord save me from you fancy princelings. Stop yapping and get moving, Hukum,” scolded Kirori Ji.

While we were changing, Dheer arrived in an armoured Thar with two of his best men. We couldn’t take any more men into the village without attracting attention, but it wasn’t likely that Ayush would have a big security team either. Not if he was trying to stay under the radar.

Ten minutes later, the five of us were standing by the side of the dusty road, waiting for the camel riders to pass by. Our cars were safely out of sight of any of Ayush’s scouts who might be roaming these parts. Our faces were covered with a rough scarf, and I was sure we were all unrecognisable in these filthy clothes.

“Got your guns, boys?” whispered Dheer.

“Yes,” I replied, patting my side, and Veer echoed my answer.

I also had a couple of blades strapped to my boots.

A thunder of hooves and a cloud of dust heralded the approach of the camels and their noisy riders. I put a hand out to halt them, and the leader pulled up in front of us.

“We need a ride to the next village,” I said in the local dialect. “Our tempo van broke down, and the next bus won’t arrive for a couple of hours.”

“Hop on,” said the leader kindly, and lowered his camel to allow me to hop on behind him.

The men next to him did the same for my friends, and we set off for Harmu’s village. There was a small road that branched off from the highway about twenty kilometres away. I kept my eyes peeled for the sign that pointed to the exit, and when I spotted it, I tapped my rider on the shoulder.

“That’s our exit, my friend. Thank you for the ride.”

I tried to pay him for the ride, but he refused payment, saying it was the least he could do.

He and his friends lowered their camels for us to hop off, and soon, we were trudging down the dirt road that led to the village. It was getting dark when we got to the rendezvous point.I spotted a man sitting on a stool at a ganna juice stall, looking around nervously.

Dheer hailed him, and he looked relieved to see us.

“I’m glad you brought some friends, Hukum. I was worried it was going to be just the two of us,” he said with a quick grin.

“How many men does he have with him?” asked Veer.

“Only three, but they are big and mean. And they have big machine guns,” replied Harmu.

“We can take them,” said Dheer.

“All right, then. Follow me, and keep to the shadow of the buildings,” whispered Harmu.

---