The Blackmail and Retribution Ch. 01

"Why do you want to know?"

Shanti looked down and flushed. When she looked like that, Barun was almost willing to feel sorry for her.

Almost. All he had to do to push back any feelings of affection was remember the bitchy way in she had rejected him last year and then gotten him beaten up. He knew what she was like.

"I want a copy of that exam," she admitted finally, "I need it for this weekend."

Barun pretended to be shocked. "Shanti, you mean you want a copy of a stolen exam paper so you can cheat on next Monday's English test?"

Shanti swallowed back an angry retort. Couldn't he be a little more subtle? Idiot! Still, there wasn't much she could do about it. "Yes," she admitted, "I need it to pass the exam."

Barun just stared at her, not saying anything.

"I'll pay money," she added, "How about Rs.1000?"

Still nothing. She was almost frantic.

"Please?"

"Alright," Barun relented, as if making up his mind, "I'll sell you the stolen exam paper for Rs.1000." Shanti almost collapsed with relief. Everything was going to work out! "Will that be all, Shanti, or do you want any more exams? I can probably get whatever you want."

Shanti looked up, excited. This would solve all of her problems with the schoolwork. "That sounds great," she told him enthusiastically, "I'll buy whatever you can get for the classes I'm in. Rs.1000 a paper."

"It's a deal." Barun could barely repress a grin of triumph. They had her! Now, only one more thing... "Meet me tomorrow after school in the woodworking shop. It should be deserted on Friday afternoon."

"Fine," Shanti agreed, "I'll be there." She turned to go.

"Don't forget the money," he reminded her, but by then she was gone.

"Remember," Girish repeated for what seemed like the hundredth time, "keep your back to the wall and face slightly away from the closet. Make sure that Shanti is always facing you so that we get a good angle from where Reshma will be filming."

Girish and Reshma had cleared out one of the storage closets in the workshop, and Reshma was set up inside with her video camera filming through a knot-hole.

Girish was set up with a still camera in the upper storage area across the room. In order to cover the noise of the camera, he had turned on the rotation fans which were fastened from the ceiling; the resulting hum was more than sufficient to mask any noise he might make.

Satisfied at last that everything was in order and Barun knew what to do, Girish climbed the short ladder to the storage area and concealed himself behind a stack of wood. Barun watched him disappear from view.

After a quick glance to make certain the closet door was properly closed, he sat back in a chair and waited for Shanti.

Shanti arrived ten minutes late, looking a little uncertain, but determined to carry through. She crossed the room as Barun watched in appreciation.

She was wearing tight jeans and a white blouse which left her tanned arms bear past the shoulder.

Adyar was having an unusually long Indian Summer, and her clothing reflected the fact of this unseasonable warmth. Barun got hard imagining what lay beneath the blouse. Soon, he told himself as Shanti approached him, soon he wouldn't have to imagine. He stood up as she approached.

"Well," she asked as she got to where he was standing, "Do you have it?" She was more her usual bitchy self today, now that she was getting what she wanted.

Perfect, Barun noted silently. She's standing exactly where Girish wanted her to stand. "I've got it," he told her in the same gruff voice he had used the day before, "One stolen English exam paper for Shanti Rangaswamy." He held up the computer printout. "And my money?"

Shanti reached into her pocket and pulled out the cash.

Silently, she handed it over to him. Just to make her angry, he slowly and noisily counted the money, making a production of it. "It's all there," she said angrily, "You don't have to worry about that; now or in the future."

"Fine," he answered, handing over the exam questions, "It's all yours."

In a hurry to leave, Shanti snatched the paper and quickly scanned the contents. As promised, the paper contained the four questions which would form the basis of next Monday's English class examination.

"Thanks," she said shortly, all business, and turned to walk away.

"Good luck with the test," he called after her, but she ignored him and left the room.

The room fell silent for a few second, and then Girish popped up from behind the wood. "Looked good from here," he announced, "I think I got some good shots." He began climbing down the ladder as Barun walked over to the cupboard where Reshma was hiding. He opened the door and helped her out from behind the camera tripod.

"That was great," she chortled, "I got everything."

Barun reached into his jacket and pulled out the small radio-microphone.

He handed it over to Reshma who clipped it back onto the video camera.

"Well guys," Girish stated, "A little bit of editing, and I think we have her."

Barun began to get hard again, just thinking about what that meant...

They waited almost two weeks before lowering the boom.

By that time, the English exam had come and gone, and Miss Massey had read out the marks in class. Shanti had received the highest mark ever given out in Miss Massey's English class, a fact commented upon several times by the impressed teacher.

Barun, on the other hand, had barely passed. When his mark was announced, Shanti gave him a startled glance, but then quickly looked away.

If he was so stupid that he could barely pass with advance notice of the questions, that was his problem.

By that time, Girish and Reshma had suitably edited the video and audio evidence, and Girish had developed a large number of prints from his still pictures of the event.

Girish still hoped that the audio tape would be enough on its own (he didn't want Shanti to realise the extent of the plot against her), but if not, the additional evidence was very convincing. Everything had turned out perfect:

Shanti's actions and words were crystal clear, while Barun was unrecognizable. Between his disguised voice and positioning during the filming, there was no way to prove the identity of the person from whom Shanti bought the stolen exam paper.

Girish thought that this, along with the fact that Shanti had done so well and Barun so poorly on the test, should serve to protect Barun from expulsion if they were forced to use the evidence.

As well, Girish and Reshma were willing to give Barun an alibi. At best, it would be Shanti's word against their's, and, if it came to that, Shanti's word would not be worth much by then.

So, it seemed that everything was in order. All that remained was to determine the method of delivery...

The small package arrived in the mail at the Rangaswamy household on the Friday almost two weeks after the English exam.

It was addressed to Shanti. When it was opened, a cassette tape fell out along with a small piece of note paper. She picked it up and read it: 'SAT. MORNING: 10:00 AM Krishna Perambur Park Vaddapalni. It was written in clumsy block letters.

Puzzled, she took the tape up to her room, slipped it into her walkman, put on the head-phones and hit the play button. Almost at once, her head was filled with the sound of her own voice: "I heard you have a copy of next week's English exam. Is that true?"

"Why do you want to know?" That was Barun! What was going on here? There was a brief hissing, then the tape continued, relentlessly. Shanti listened in panicked disbelief.

"I want a copy of that exam. I need it for this weekend."

"Shanti, you mean you want a copy of a stolen exam paper so you can cheat on next Monday's English test."

"Yes. I need it to pass the exam... I'll pay money. How about Rs.1000? Please?"

"Alright, I'll sell you the stolen exam paper for Rs. 1000. Will that be all, Shanti, or do you want any more exams? I can probably get whatever you want."

"That sounds great. I'll buy whatever you can get for the classes I'm in. Rs.10000 a paper."

"It's a deal. Meet me tomorrow after school in the woodworking shop. It should be deserted on Friday afternoon... Don't forget the money."

The hissing stopped for a second as the tape fell silent, but before Shanti hit the stop button, it started up again, this time with a small humming sound in the background.

The fans, Shanti realized, fighting down panic, the fans in the woodworking shop.

Trembling, she listened as the voices began once again: "Well," her voice again, "Do you have it?"

"I've got it. One stolen English exam paper for Shanti Rangaswamy. And my money?"

There was a brief moment of silence, and they the sound of paper being crinkled.

"It's all there; you don't have to worry about that... now or in the future."

"Fine, It's all yours."

"Thanks."

The voices fell silent, and she heard a door slam: the shop door slamming when she left the room. The hiss slowly faded as the recording came to halt.

Hands trembling, she pulled the ear-phones off her head and sat still in stunned disbelief. This couldn't be happening to her!

Her eyes brimmed over with tears as she picked up the note and re-read it.

The writing blurred through the tears as she realized that she had no choice: she would have to go to the meeting tomorrow and see what he wanted.