The Bandit Queens (102)

“Oi!” Bada-Bhai set down the liquor bags and thumped his free hand against the wall. The women flinched. He shook his gun for emphasis. “This isn’t a four-star hotel, you halkat randis. This is revenge. You stole from me, Geeta. You screwed me. You wanna save all the dogs in India? Well, you can go blind instead.”

“Is that really want you want, Chintu?” Ramesh asked, eyeing the moonshine. His desire was unconcealed. A true addict, unable to forgo even tainted alcohol. “A don’s revenge should be quick and terrible, na?”

Bada-Bhai frowned. “So what, then?”

“Just cut off a finger or a toe to send a message—isn’t that what dons do?”

“Bery nice,” Saloni mumbled. Her spit had sogged the gag, further distorting her words. “Vat a hero. Some vay to treat your vife.”

Ramesh told Bada-Bhai, “She needs to be reminded of her place. Look at her. In ten years, she wasn’t able to give me a single fucking child.” He moved from disgusted to defensive. “And you said you’d get those dons in Baroda and Surat and Rajkot off my back if I got you Geeta, plus give me booze. And none of that cheap tharra shit, got it? Imported stuff only.”

Bada-Bhai squinted at him. “Listen, I generally try to avoid saying this to my customers, bad for repeat business and all, but I think you might have a problem.”

Saloni snorted. “Might?”

“Shut up, you over-smart bitch,” Ramesh hissed. “That one we can kill, BB. But I need Geeta alive. Her stupid little hobby is actually profitable, and since what’s hers is mine…”

Geeta balked. Her priority since walking into her home had only been survival; she’d assumed if she and Saloni managed to emerge alive, Ramesh would take off again, find another city to start another tab. But surviving this only to live under Ramesh was no victory.

Bada-Bhai considered the two women. “I don’t have a problem with the fat one. It’s Geeta who screwed me. I vaccinated those dogs, trained them, neutered them. None of that’s free, you know. And then she just let them all go. Would you believe, not even one came back?”

Geeta said, “Shocking.”

Bada-Bhai loomed over her. “You button your lip, woman. Look around, you don’t exactly have the upper hand here.”

“Speaking of,” Saloni asked, “vat’s the plan here, Chintu? May I call you Chintu?”

“I prefer Bada-Bhai or BB.”

Saloni’s brows knitted. “As in…lady?”

From Bada-Bhai’s erumpent irritation, it was clear he’d suffered identical misunderstandings on prior occasions. “No, not bibi. The letters: ‘B-B.’ For Bada-Bhai? Ramesh said it wasn’t confus— Whatever, look, it’s not carved in stone, okay? It’s a work in progress.”

“Understood, er—do you mind?”

“Huh? Oh yes.” He unknotted the makeshift gag, which fell around her neck.

“Do you think I could go su-su? I drank, like, three…” At his glower, she coughed. “Never mind, then. Okay, what’s got you so upset?”

BB pointed the revolver at Geeta, whose eyes closed instinctively. “This halkat randi stole from me, she took my dogs. She scr—”

Saloni nodded impatiently. “Yes, yes, Chintu, she’s a ruthless whore who screwed you. So you said. But what’re you gonna do with her—us—now?”

Bada-Bhai hesitated. “Well, the plan was to make her drink the tharra, but now…I dunno. Some other revenge-type stuff, I guess.”

“Sure, naturally, but what kind of revenge? You want money? New dogs?”

Bada-Bhai tapped his gun to his chin as he reflected. “No,” he said. “I don’t think so.”

“I see. Then you just want her to suffer, is it?”

“Saloni!”

“Quiet, Geeta, this doesn’t concern you.”

“Yes,” BB mused. “Yes, suffering would be nice.”

“Done.” Ramesh grinned. A cold sheet of fear enveloped Geeta. “Let’s take a toe. Her hands make me money, so a finger won’t do. Unless it’s a pinky.”

“Hmm,” Saloni said, revealing none of the terror Geeta felt. She spoke solely to BB: “So, here’s what you don’t know. I’m kind of a celebrity around here. I’m on the village panchayat and I throw a big New Year’s party every year. My husband and guests are probably looking for me right now. Something he should’ve warned you about.” She jerked her chin toward Ramesh, who scoffed.

Uncertainty troubled BB’s brow. “You were never supposed to be here. Ramesh promised me Geeta would come home alone.” He cocked his hip and head. “Why are you here?”

“To poison me,” Ramesh said, grinning. “She thought I was blind, so she put rat poison in my liquor while I was outside calling you.” He turned his smirk toward Saloni. “You were ridiculous, tiptoeing around.”

Saloni ignored him. “The point is: a search party will show up any second.”

“She’s lying.”

“I dunno. She’s dressed up for a party. Come to think of it, you all are. Saal Mubarak everyone!”

“Happy New Year,” the other three echoed mechanically.

“If you let me go right now,” Saloni said, “I won’t tell anyone anything. Ramesh gets a toe, you get revenge, I get to su-su. Everyone wins.”