Episode 11
Chapter:
Ghareeb Bhaiya... Ameer Bhaiya
"What happened... Who is outside?" Farhana asked anxiously.
"It's just a madman," Farooq said with a smile.
"Man! You are something else... You scared the living daylights out of us... Don't act unnecessarily! One of these days someone will have a heart attack," Gaami said, laughing.
"What are my orders... Should I open the door?" Hamood asked.
"Open the door... but the madman won't come inside," Farhana said with a smile.
"If the madman isn't coming inside, what's the point of opening the door? Let's just tell him: Brother! We cannot open the door... Go to some other door," Farooq suggested.
"Farooq! You are mad... You never let me finish and start spouting your own nonsense in between... Listen! The madman will not come inside; rather, all of us will step outside. How does that sound?" Farhana said.
"A good thought... In fact, a noble thought... Such a thought could never have crossed anyone's mind, and keep in mind... Such thoughts are rare. Hard to find, so they should be guarded well," Farooq rambled on.
"Oh... Good grief..." Hamood slapped his thigh in annoyance.
"Now, what made you say 'Good grief'?" Farhana asked, making a face.
"Farhana! Sometimes you are very unfair to me," Hamood made an even sourer face.
"How so...?"
"Farooq paid no heed to the word 'thought' and used it recklessly, yet you said nothing to him... and you come after me with a club! This isn't fair."
"Good heavens... What absurd arguments you sit down with... There is an actual madman standing outside, and you are busy chattering about nonsense."
"Oh... So should I open the door then?"
"Yes, open it... Come on, we need to go outside... Now no one will enter our home, lawfully or unlawfully."
Hamood opened the door, and everyone hurried out of the house... As soon as they stepped out, Begum Junaid locked the door from the inside. Standing to one side, the madman outside was watching everyone in utter astonishment.
"Is this Inspector Junaid's house?"
Hearing the madman's words, everyone stared at him in surprise.
"Yes... This is his house," Hamood said.
"Then I have arrived at the right place..." He smiled.
"What do you mean?!" Farhana asked.
"I need to meet Inspector Junaid or his children." He smiled.
"Why do you want to meet them...?"
"I want to tell them something... I want to deliver some news."
"We are his children... Hamood, Farooq, and Farhana..." Hamood said.
"Oh... So it is you three whose fame echoes across the world!" He was stunned.
"Yes! Now what do you want to tell us?"
"One minute, madman..." Farooq suddenly said with a smile.
"One minute, madman... Since when do minutes go mad, Farooq?" Gaami quipped quickly.
Farhana glared at Farooq and spoke with an irritated expression:
"Farooq... I beg of you. Do not say anything foolish. The circumstances are very strange... Father and the others have vanished, and we are helpless at home."
"This gentleman is talking like a perfectly normal person, yet he claims to be a madman," Farooq made a face.
"Oh... You misunderstood... I am not mad... My name is Pagal (Madman)." He smiled.
"Oh... But your appearance is just like a madman's," Farhana pointed out.
"I assumed this disguise out of necessity. Please hear me out," Pagal said.
"Will you tell us right here... or should we sit down somewhere?"
"No need to sit... Just hear me out."
"Fine... Tell us whatever you want to tell."
"I am a beggar..." he suddenly said with a smile.
"Oh... Good heavens... You are a beggar?" Farooq gasped.
"Yes! I am a beggar... and I wander all across the city."
"Brother! Tell us the matter for which you came here."
"Something bad is probably about to happen in our city," he said, looking around warily.
"What do you mean?!" They all jumped in shock.
"Good grief..." Farooq grew frightened.
"Explain yourself, Mr. Pagal. You are terrifying us."
"As I said... I roam around the entire city begging. No neighborhood is hidden from me... I saw a couple of people coming and going from a large house."
"What's unusual about that? People come and go from every house. What's so special about this?"
"But those people are suspicious..."
"Oh... Where is that house...?" Farhana asked, startled.
"In Ghumanabad... Not very far from here..."
"Oh, I see... But how can you claim something bad is about to happen in the city... Did you overhear their conversation?"
"Yes... One man was telling the other: 'It's a matter of just one day, then immense wealth will be in our hands...'" Pagal said.
"Oh..." slipped from Farhana's lips.
"Farhana! This smells like a fraud to me, don't pay attention to his words," Gaami said.
"Yes... Exactly..." Shazi quickly backed Gaami.
"Please leave this place... We are already very worried," Hamood said.
"Why didn't you report this to the police...?"
"N-no, no, no... I cannot tell them... I am terrified of them. Several times when they caught me begging, they beat me severely. I am scared of their very shadow." Pagal shuddered.
"Oh... You could have sent the message to the police through a friend," Gaami remarked.
"I tried, but no one believed my words." He made a face.
"Oh... I think you are lying too..." Farooq said.
"I am not lying... If something bad happens in the city, you people will be held responsible... Keep my mobile number... Perhaps it might be of use to you," Pagal said and stepped aside. Farooq flipped the card over and examined it. In bold letters, it read Pagal Ji... Beneath it was a mobile number.
"He really was mad..." Farooq said, making a face.
"What strange people exist in this world...!!" Hamood muttered.
"What will you do with that card, though?" Farhana smiled.
"I'll keep it with me as a souvenir of Pagal Ji," Farooq grinned.
"I am wondering... What if his words are true?" Farhana trailed off.
"May Allah have mercy. Right now, we should be worried about Father, Uncle Khan Rehman, Professor Uncle, Uncle Ikram, Muhammad Hussain Azad, and the rest," Hamood said.
"Professor Uncle... Oh... oh..." slipped from Farooq's mouth suddenly.
"What happened...?!"
"The gift watches from Professor Uncle might be malfunctioning; there is no signal at all," Farooq said, glancing at his wrist.
"When we meet, we'll complain."
"And get new watches from him," Farhana smiled.
"Where on earth could everyone be?"
"Wherever they are, they must be safe... Insha'Allah."
"I am certain... Uncle IG won't be sitting idle."
"What are your plans now... Will you head back to the underworld, or...?" Hamood asked Gaami.
"Farhana! You are forgetting one thing..."
"Which one...?" She was startled.
"Simply that an attempt was made to kidnap you... and those people will not sit quietly... They will come again," Gaami warned.
"I truly wonder, though... Why do they want to kidnap me?"
"The reason might strike your mind. Just think..." Hamood urged, and Farhana was indeed lost in deep thought. She kept pondering... Then suddenly she leaped up with excitement, an exclamation bursting from her lips:
"Got it...! I understand... Who would want to have me kidnapped..."
"W-what did you say... She would want...?" Farooq stared at her in surprise.
"So far, no woman's name has surfaced in this entire ordeal; in fact, no name has come up at all... We've just been fighting people inside our own home," Hamood said.
"Oh... oh... Surely... That arrogant snob must be behind this. Shall we go to her house?" Farhana said.
"Who are you talking about, Farhana?"
"My classmate Iram Akhtar... The spoiled daughter of a wealthy tycoon... Once she picked a fight with me over something. I gave her a thorough beating... In front of everyone, she threatened me: 'Farhana! One day I will have you kidnapped. On that day, you will beg me for mercy, and I will spit in your face... I will teach you a lesson!'" Farhana explained.
"You are overthinking... Such spats happen between friends all the time."
"And is Iram Akhtar's father some sort of gangster thug? Obviously, Iram herself wouldn't..." Farooq began.
"I understand your point, but we ought to go and confront her..."
"Oh... Then let's head to her house..."
"And ask her: 'Lady! Are you feeling all right? Why are you picking a fight with our sister?'" Farooq smiled.
"Yes! We can at least check on her..."
"No need to check on anyone... since we have already arrived." Suddenly, a young man stepped in front of them. Right from behind him emerged a thin, lanky youth.
They were startled.
"W-who are you...?" Farooq grew frightened.
"This is too much... Man, Farooq... Why are you such a coward? You panic at the drop of a hat," Gaami said, making a face.
"He doesn't panic... He acts," Hamood made a face.
"And there cannot be a bigger actor than him," Hamood laughed.
"Listen, folks... Leave your banter and pay attention to me... I haven't come here to admire your faces," the young man scowled.
"Oh... But we thought just that..." Farooq said playfully.
"Thought what...?"
"That... You came here to admire our faces."
"Me, come to look at your faces?! Have you ever looked at your face in the mirror?" the young man snapped in irritation.
"Alhamdulillah... Almost every day... and I thank my handsome Creator... who made me so incredibly handsome..." Farooq rattled on.
"You, handsome?!" He laughed. His laugh was bizarre.
"I have no doubt about it..." Farooq said in a manner that made everyone burst into laughter.
"All right, listen... I don't have time to waste... All of you get into this vehicle quickly... So that I can take you to your father..."
"What...!!!" they cried out.
"Why are you yelling? Aren't you looking for Inspector Junaid? Come with me... I will take you to him."
"Oh... You are strange," Hamood said.
"Not strange... I am Ghareeb Bhaiya (Poor Brother)..." He made a face.
"Ghareeb Bhaiya... Why aren't you Ameer Bhaiya (Rich Brother)...?" Farooq laughed.
"I am Ghareeb Bhaiya because I am poor... extremely poor. When I acquire lots of money, I will become Ameer Bhaiya..." he stated.
"Oh... Fair enough," Farooq chuckled.
"So all of you are coming with me, right?" said the thin, lanky man standing beside Ghareeb Bhaiya.
"Ameer Bhaiya... They will come... They certainly will. If they refuse, we will kidnap them..." Ghareeb Bhaiya said.
"Wait... What did you say... Ameer Bhaiya... This is Ameer Bhaiya?" Farooq was dumbfounded.
"Yes... I am Ghareeb Bhaiya, and he is Ameer Bhaiya..."
"Oh... Don't tell me you two are brothers?" Farhana asked with a smile.
"Yes... Ameer Bhaiya is my elder brother," the stout one replied.
"Where is our father?" Farhana asked abruptly.
"Wherever he is... We will take you all to him." He smiled.
"Ghareeb Bhaiya! Hand over your mobile phone for a moment... Let me tell Uncle IG everything... He will praise you." As Farhana said this, both brothers jumped in shock:
"Don't you dare! Don't even think about it... And yes! You won't tell anyone... Quietly get into this vehicle." A revolver gleamed in Ghareeb Bhaiya's hand.
"Brothers... We have no objection to coming with you, but will you truly take us to them?" Hamood asked.
"Oh... So you want proof..."
"You're smart... You understood instantly."
"Look at this photograph... These are your companions, right?" Ghareeb Bhaiya brandished a photograph before them.
They looked: Inspector Junaid, Ikram, Muhammad Hussain Azad, and his two subordinates were lying tied up with ropes.
"Oh... It really is them... B-but Uncle Khan Rehman and Professor Uncle aren't among them," Farhana noticed.
"They were captured after them... That is why they aren't in this picture."
"Fine... I am ready to be kidnapped," Farhana said after a moment's thought.
"And so are we..." Hamood and Farooq added quickly. They all wanted to reach Inspector Junaid as soon as possible.
It was a large van-like vehicle. As soon as they all climbed inside, Ghareeb Bhaiya locked the doors. Ameer Bhaiya occupied the front passenger seat, and the vehicle lurched forward with a jerk. The moment they pulled out of the alley and entered the main road... thick black smoke began filling the van.
"What... What is this...?" Hamood asked in alarm.
"You fools! Did you think we would take you to our hideout with your eyes wide open? How did you even imagine that? Now, like good children, get ready to pass out," Ghareeb Bhaiya laughed.
"Oh... But won't you pass out along with us? After all, you are inside the vehicle too."
"We won't pass out... Look here," Ameer Bhaiya said.
In his hands were two gas masks. Before their very eyes, Ameer and Ghareeb Bhaiya strapped the masks over their faces. The smoke grew so thick inside the van that breathing became impossible. Then, one by one, they all drifted into unconsciousness...
OO
