章 24: Fifteen years [2]

"Why are you so restless?" Gopan asked Lonappan, who was looking around for the alien drug dealer.

"Huh? No, it's nothing." Lonappan quickly got into his calm and composed act. Although, he did look out for the drug dealer here and there.

"Well, what are we waiting for? Let's get closer so that we get to hear Vijay Das!" Gopan exclaimed, grabbing Lonappan's hand.

However, Lonappan placed a hold on Gopan's momentum. "You really like Vijay Das, huh?" He asked.

"Well, he's a role model of mine and many others. He stood the tides of time and stayed relevant through all the times, since his emergence. So, how can I not like such a guy?" Gopan explained with such passion that Lonappan got swept up in it.

Gopan took this chance and tried dragging Lonappan with him to the perfect viewpoint, right before the podium. However, Lonappan quickly got on defensive.

"What are you doing?" Lonappan asked.

"I thought since you said you were interested in WPP and Vijay Das, it would be great if you got a first hand experience by listening to his speech." Gopan explained.

"Don't you remember the ruckus we caused earlier?" Lonappan asked, desperately trying to slip away from this scenario, so that he can get back on track with the drug dealer.

However, Gopan was a tough customer; he didn't think things out rationally. "Does that even matter? Looks like things subsided quite a bit." Gopan replied, never minding to check the actual situation.

"At least check the surroundings before you make bold claims like that!" Lonappan thought as he sensed apparent hostility from the trio from before. He sighed. "You know what? I can hear plenty from here."

Gopan was a bit disappointed by this. However, he couldn't afford to be careless, because Lonappan was supposed to be a potential WPP member in his eyes. Therefore, he decided to stop, before getting to what he considers the ideal viewpoint.

"Are you sure you can hear clearly from here?" Gopan asked, hoping for a positive answer.

However, Lonappan had no intentions of giving Gopan the reins of this situation. "Yup, hundred percent positive about that." He smirked.

"Well, I guess that's fine by me too then." Gopan couldn't help but be disappointed yet again.

"By the way, do you want something to eat or drink?" Lonappan asked, trying out one of the moves from the famous book 'How to get away from conversations: for dummies and introverts'.

"No, thank you." Gopan quickly shut out this advance. Therefore, Lonappan ended back in the same situation.

However, he didn't give up. He tried to change the perspective this time. "Well, then. I want something to eat or drink. So, I'm heading out." He told as he tried getting away.

Gopan sniffed out this plan. He couldn't afford Lonappan to escape; he had to make him a loyal servant--follower of WPP. "Wait, how about I buy it then?" Gopan suggested.

Again, Lonappan couldn't afford this. He knew what Gopan was planning; he'll make it as quick as possible. Therefore, he pulled out the trump card. "Do you even know when Vijay Das comes? Look, if you went to buy it for my sake, you might miss his arrival! Can you afford to do that?" Lonappan used Gopan's sentiments against him.

Finally, Gopan admitted his defeat. "Fine! Go. Make sure to come back quickly!" He ordered.

"Depends on what I'm buying though!" Lonappan replied as he ran.

Away from Gopan now, Lonappan had his freedom now. He searched the entire Maidan for any clue. However, he ended up empty handed and hungry . So, he decided to head towards a stall in Thekkinkadu.

Much to his surprise, he actually saw his suspect drinking tea in the stall. "Of course. Crowded yet not that crowded. Perfect place to do all sorts of shady deals. However, what kind of idiot still wears his MIB certified skinsuit? Bruh, you gotta change that shit if you're dealing with drugs and stuff. You're easily identifiable! Now, I have to be careful though. The report did say that it can sense direct hostility. So, calm down dude!" Lonappan mentally prepared as he walked towards the stall and ordered a tea as well.

For the next few minutes, nothing much happened other than the two occasionally sipping their teas. Lonappan was contemplating about the right moment to act. However, he didn't expect his nerves to get the better of him and he accidentally let out hostility towards the dealer. This mistake cost him since the alien started running into the crowd.

Even though the moment of lapse allowed the alien to escape from his clutches, Lonappan quickly caught up with him. But the terrain was unfavorable for him. The alien tried to blend in with the crowded. Therefore, before it completely blended in with the crowd, Lonappan managed to tear off a piece of its skin suit, revealing his shiny interior.

This made the chase considerably easier for Lonappan, who caught up with the alien with relative ease. Lonappan continued to drag it out of the crowd and to a relatively isolated field and ensued in a fist fight with it.

There wasn't much of a conversation between them. They silently attacked and countered each other. However, it was pretty apparent that Lonappan would end up being the victor when Lonappan caught it by its face. Although, in an absurd turn of events, the alien shed its skinsuit, revealing its true face, which was blinding.

The alien tried to take advantage of this and escape. But, it did not expect Lonappan to close his eyes to capture it, which turned out to be the decisive moment.

"Fucking caught you finally! You can't wriggle out now. Let's go to the detention center, bitch!" Lonappan spoke as he handcuffed the shining alien.

"Wait, what's happening here?" A voice came from his back. It was Gopan.

"Fuck!" Lonappan muttered before slyly turning towards Gopan. "Hey!"

"What is this? Why are you putting him in handcuffs? And why is he shining like crazy?" Gopan asked, confused about the sequence unfolding before him.

"Shit, I have to lie now." With no choice before him, Lonappan resorted to lying. "He robbed a store!"

"Liar!" Gopan retorted.

"What do you mean?" Lonappan did not expect such a sudden whiplash response.

"We are in the middle of nowhere. Hell, you're holding him down in a paddy field. And I'm supposed to believe that he committed a robbery here? Well, it would've made sense if you said you caught him while he was pickpocketing." Gopan shook his head in dismay.

"Crap. I shot on my own foot with that. Should've kept it abstract. What should I do now?" He suddenly panicked. The only thought that came into his mind was to use a neuralyzer. However, for a newly promoted senior like him, it was difficult to get hold of that, since it'd take a hellish amount of procedures. Riddled with this inescapable scenario, he decided to speak the truth. "He's a drug dealer. I saw him try to sell his drug under the shade of this convention." This time, he didn't elaborate.

"Well, you sound genuine this time, for some odd reason. So, what's up with the handcuff?" He asked.

"I did a citizen's arrest once I saw it." He quickly answered back.

"Wait, do you carry the handcuff all around hoping for a citizen's arrest?" Gopan couldn't believe it.

"Well, everyone has their own weird quirks, am I right?" He chuckled.

"Hmm, and why is he shining?" Gopan asked.

"That's his mask." He responded without any delay. However, Gopan did not reply or ask any further questions. "Did he believe it?" Lonappan crossed his fingers expecting any sort of reply from Gopan.

Finally Gopan replied. "Damn, that's so realistic! It got facial features! But dude, isn't this a poor choice of a face mask?" He asked the alien as he pulled its glowing face, believing that it was fake.

"Wait. He actually believed it?" Lonappan couldn't believe it himself. The person who sniffed out his earlier lie which was far better than this one, somehow believed this poor attempt of a lie. He couldn't understand what went through the guy's head that made him the most sharp person to the world's dumbest person within a split second.

"So, what are you gonna do with him?" Gopan asked.

"I'm gonna hand him to the police. Wait, why are you even here? Weren't you supposed to hear Vijay Das?" Lonappan asked.

"Well, he's late. They said it'd take him one or two hours. So, I came searching for you." Gopan replied.

"Right around now, huh?" Lonappan calculated.

"Shoot." Gopan looked at his watch and was about to rush back when he stopped. "Are you gonna be fine by yourself?" He asked.

"I'll be fine. Don't worry. Go watch your leader's speech. And don't worry. I quite like WPP now. Their member's seem quite kind. Who knows? I might even join it someday!" Lonappan assured Gopan with a smile.

Gopan smiled back. "Will I ever see you again?" He asked.

"If fate wants me to meet you, then yeah." Lonappan replied.

"Placing faith on fate, huh? Very well. See you someday, Lonappan!" Gopan bowed.

"Likewise, Gopan!" Lonappan bowed as well, ruling out the possibility of them ever meeting.