Scene 28 - Chapps Plays A Master Stroke

Chapps sat with smug smile on his face. A week earlier, he had woken up to a big shock when he opened the newspaper at Taj Samudra, Colombo. There was a report of him taking over as the next coach of the Aussie team. After the World Cup. The shock had almost paralyzed him. He had wondered who had let out the information. He had been working for weeks to ensure things went according to plan. The boy at Germany was in the bag. There were murmurs of some issues with the Dubai girl. Sarkar had been badgering him with calls which he had ignored. Some not so good news was also emanating from his adopted home town Bangalore. Some stealth operation by an anti-terrorist wing. Nothing was clear though. He didn't let that bother him. He could always check with local Bangalore Police Inspector he knew, on anything. That rogue cop could be easily bought. And he knew everything that was happening in the city. No point worrying about something that you were not sure about. The planning over the last few weeks seemed to have gone exactly as per plan. And then out of the blue came the report of him being tipped to be the coach for the post-World Cup Aussie side. That was indeed bad timing for the news to come into public domain.

His razor sharp mind went to work on overdrive after reading that report. What was required was a diversion. Public memory was always short. Set up the next sensational news item, and divert the attention of the public. It wasn't for anything that Wag The Dog was one of his favorite hollywood films! It didn't take him much time to come up with an absolute blinder of a plan. A few calls, of which one was to his good old friend Hair. He outlined what Hair should dare to do. Hair was a good man at implementation. He followed his directions with clinical efficiency. He set up the ball-tampering issue, had the Paki's hopping mad, and everyones attention and interest was diverted to Old Blighty. Chapps smiled again. Things were very much according to plan. His phone rang, as he sat in his Bangalore suite. The front desk was informing him of a visitor. Sarkar. He grimaced, and asked the front-desk to inform that he was not available. Sarkar's value was over. But he was obstinate, and had relentlessly tried to reach him on the phone. Should something go amiss later, all his calls can be traced back. That was one reason he never took any of his cell phone calls. Now he was right here. And he would probably wait there in the lobby for him. He thought for a minute. He should ask his rogue cop contact to take care of this fellow. For now he had to avoid Sarkar and the best way would be slip away. Chapps moved and jumped out of the window, making his way to the KSCA grounds. He will call his Cop contact from a public phone later.