Scene 20 - Distraught in Germany

Biergarten was not very full today. He sat in a corner, far from the crowded parts, preferring the solace that privacy provided. Ever since the semi-final loss a pall of gloom had descended over the country. He gulped another jagermeister and looked at Gisela at the bar counter. His nod of the head was understood by her. Another drink. He was a regular customer here. But Gisela had never seen him have so many drinks. She wondered and thought he was drowning the sorrows of the lost game. A bunch of interested fans were at the huge TV screen watching the over-time play of the finals. Italians!!!! They had messed up everything – those last few minutes were the worst he had to endure in life till date.

The loss to Italy had been so very painful for him. It was an unexpectedly brilliant run leading up to the semifinals. And he had done very well in his large apartment at Munich. The professionals of the oldest profession in the world had descended from all over the country, to make a killing. They sought economical accommodation. He had rented his apartment to six girls from Lubeck. He suspected two of them were actually from Denmark, but then he didn’t care. The only issue he had was when they wanted to entertain their clients at his apartment. He had not bargained for that. The matter was settled and he opted to let them conduct business for some more euros. And then he had wagered every Euro he had on Germany winning the semi-finals and the finals!!! The loss to Italy now left him in ruins. Total financial disarray. He looked out of the window. The weather was good. In the upper 60s. He grimaced as he downed the drink that Gisela had brought him. Gisela stood at the table and looked at him. He looked back at her and a wry smile escaped his lips. Gisela touched his forehead. A gentle touch. An expression of sympathy, and then she went back to work.

He moved and stepped out on the patio hear his table, and lit a Haus Brinkmann and took a deep drag. As he exhaled, his cell phone rang. He looked at the number that was displayed. Didn’t make sense at all. Was an overseas call, and he couldn’t place the location. He answered. A very unfamiliar voice.

From the counter Gisela watched him speak. She could see some change in expression. Not good changes. Some bad news perhaps. She saw his face scowl. Curious, she made her way to the patio. There were a few empty tables which she could clear. She went past him and heard him speak. Some strange foreign language. Not German. She made her way back and watched him speak for the next 10 minutes.

And then she saw him make his way back to the table, and look up at her. He signaled again. He had one too many to drink today. She walked over to his table.

She looked at him, hands folded across her chest. “Ist alles in Ordnung? Sie haben mehr als Sie normalerweise machen Sohn getrunken [Is everything alright? You have drank more than you normally do son]”

He looked up and smiled. “Ohh, bin fein. Nur fein. Ein letztes Getränk. Wir haben das verdammte Spiel verloren!!!” [ohh, am fine. Just fine. One last drink. We lost the damned game!!!]

She patted his shoulder and smiled at him. “Stimmen Sie, ein letztes Getrank zu. Sie mussen Ihre Grenzen kennen” [Ok, one last drink. You need to know your limits.]

He looked up and smiled. A sad smile. “Ja nach nur noch einem Getränk gemacht. Dank!” [Yes, am done after just one more drink. Thanks!] He tapped her hand, gesturing his thanks.

As she went to get his last drink, his mind went back to the call. It was a shocker. He was being tracked. Someone had all the details about him. And he was left with no options, but to take up the new assignment they were ordering him to undertake. They had however offered him good money. And a trip to the Caribbean. Maybe, he could pull it off and recoup all his losses. He was on the verge of bankruptcy. As he counted the coins to pay for his drinks, he thought over the call and the instructions.

It was a very very confidential and high-stake assignment. He had heard of The Wood. For him to be personally calling him meant this was big! Very big. There was a contact from Dubai who will join him. They had to tread carefully as well. Apparently the Indian intelligence had formed a special CAT cell to probe into this matter. Apparently they were clueless and depending on junkies from some Ayah Park for leads. He recalled the other Indian contact name. Sarkar. Easy to remember. He was himself a Big B fan. He felt he could pull it off. It was shrouded in mystery and had deep risks, but then big money was never without big risks. And he needed the money. All the money he could get in a short frame of time. Prabhu Ram smiled for the first time since the semi-final loss to Italy.

As Prabhu walked towards the counter to pay, there was a big groan from the crowd at the giant TV screen. Italy had won the game on penalty kicks. The nemesis had gone all the way. Prabhu smiled again. Life had different issues to deal with now.