Dans le Murs Part 11

I was silent; I knew this had to come but was nevertheless unprepared for it so directly. To refuse, I suspected, would endanger my future with the cult – if not my very life – and I really did enjoy the privileges it endowed. On the other hand I really had fallen in love with Nahdya, not just infatuation and sex but something more fundamental and I really wanted to share the rest of my life with her.
Ceres looked softly at me and sighed. “Life is never easy Emeritus Master.” his voice was rich and mellow, “Your silence communicates to me a little of your inner turmoil. Love is a powerful emotion but life sometimes forces you to choose between a woman and a future. I regret being so unsophisticated with my words but I too have to make difficult choices.”
I nodded. “Grand Master,” my voice was low, “if I choose the future, which I believe you realise I must, then what of Nahdya? It is true my emotions have been overcome by her personality but I could not bear to simply abandon her without a second thought.”

He shook his head sagely. “It will be painless and serene.” he said as if he were discussing a sick animal, “She will sleep and never awaken.”
“NO!” I shouted, “NO! I understand that she cannot continue as my partner but I cannot simply allow her to be murdered. It is difficult enough to accept that we cannot be together but to allow this would be inhuman. In Thailand we were prepared to die together for the cult; I am prepared to make the same sacrifice now. It must be both or neither of us and I will fight as long as I am able to save her.”
He stroked his chin. “You would rather die than continue without her, is that what you mean?” he asked.
I shook my head. “No, that isn’t what I said.” I spoke with exasperation, “I can continue without her; I must for the sake of the temple, but only if I know that she lives. I have been selfish all my life; for once I have the opportunity to do something for another human being. If she has to die then I have to die also. Is that clear?”
“Nobody in Balthazar is indispensable;” he said, his eyes boring into me, “only some are more dispensable than others. I am not sure where you fit in. I will pass your outburst to Habib Sidouri as it is his decision. In the meantime please accept my assurance that Nahdya will not be harmed.”
“I am most grateful Grand Master.” I smiled, “That gives me comfort. I freely admit that I have been weak to lose control of my emotions to this extent but I am only human after all. My marriage was a façade, a shell and only for the second time in my life I have actually found a woman that triggered genuine love within me. Do I stand condemned for that? Mrs T asked Nahdya if she could consider marrying me if Tessa, my wife, was not around. Nahdya confirmed that she would. That was the trigger for our little spat. I am afraid, Grand Master, that nature has taken a hand in this. I think it was inevitable.”

Ceres stayed deep in thought and was about to reply when the telephone trilled. He spoke for only a few minutes, his face alternating between surprise and anger. As he replaced the handset he looked straight at me.
“It seems Rekha is a plant.” he said unsteadily, “She is not the woman my cousin recommended; I can only assume that poor woman is dead. Although the trail has not been followed, my friend seems to think it leads to Mrs T eventually. This is very bad news; I do not know whom now to trust. You were right to inform me for at this moment Rekha is being sought and she will be brought here, to me. If what we fear is true then I am afraid that we must once more be inhuman to her. She will be ‘persuaded’ that openness is the best approach. That way she will die in relative peace, for die she must. To resist us will not be pleasant for her at all.”
I shuddered as he continued. “I think this reinforces my judgment that we should not support the Amitav plan. We have no idea how much information has been passed and how far the plan is already compromised. We will, of course, discover this in due course. I think we have completed our business for now.”
We stood up and I bowed momentarily to him. “I will consider your proposal to translate the Thailand operation to India.” I said, “It will keep me occupied while Grand Master Habib Sidouri contemplates my future. I will appraise you as necessary my lord.”
He extended his hand, western style, which I took and shook peremptorily. “That is good. I believe we can equal, perhaps even surpass, the Thailand operation. Please ask for anything you wish, If you wish Neesha to remain your acolyte then so it shall be; I believe Ramaprindar to be too inexperienced. You are free to move about the city if you wish; please keep me informed if you propose to leave the temple however. I will notify you when I receive anything from your Grand Master.”

I genuflected in the Hindu manner and returned to my quarters. For the next week I immersed myself in my investigations. I was amazed at both the sophistication of Indian infrastructure and the raw poverty that would fuel the supply of flesh. Neesha was helpful and also satisfied the physical needs that arose periodically. By the end of seven busy days I had produced a fat portfolio, the content of which had astounded me in its complexity and potential. I had contacted personnel on the technical side of the street as well as dubious ‘merchants’ and even brothel keepers regarding the supply of young persons. I had visited two ‘houses’ in Delhi to view – not sample – the goods and was staggered at what they were able to offer. Admittedly most of the on-site ‘ladies’ were mature and well worn but the proprietors were also able to present younger, inexperienced girls and young women of every shape who would be very suitable for our purpose. It soon became apparent to me that the Council, on originally proposing Thailand and the Far East, had totally overlooked the potential of the Indian sub-continent. I was converted and I was sure I could count on the support of Ceres. Two loose ends remained; my desire to punish Mrs T and the fate of Nahdya. On the former I had little chance at the present time and the second was out of my hands. However, should Habib Sidouri be adamant and insist on Nahdya’s execution then I decided that I would protect her or die in the attempt. So, during the that week I produced a dossier of the cult in France, names, places etc., enough to get the authorities interested, especially as it involved young girls, and deposited copies in a number of secure places. I followed this up with a cryptic note to an advocate in Lille that was only to be opened in the event of my demise in ‘unusual’ circumstances. This gave coded directions to the copies of the dossier. Not one hundred percent cover but better than no insurance. I was busy constructing a Power Point presentation for the Council when I was summoned to the Grand Master. On entering and genuflecting I was directed to sit. From his demeanour I could not glean whether it was news or simply social.

“Sethin.” he greeted me warmly, “I understand you have been successfully busy for over a week now. I will be interested in your conclusions, maybe a little later but now I have much information. Rekha was intercepted and brought here to Delhi. I will not bore you with the methodology except to say that she has been most cooperative. I also have her handler in Bangalore who is a definite link to Mrs T. He too was very helpful to us and we have discovered that little of our plan has reached Mrs T. At this moment we are assembling disinformation for her. Nothing is planned but it will confuse the issue and cause her to redeploy her resources wastefully. I think we can weaken her so that Amitav can strike if he so wishes. Thank you for identifying Rekha to us. Please do not feel guilty about her fate Sethin. You were expendable in her eyes, so was she in ours. She is no longer any threat to our organisation along with her handler. I will not labour the details. Now we come to Nahdya.” Here he gave a slight smile. “Habib Sidouri has given deep consideration to your plea and has decided, in his wisdom and against all my advice, not only to withdraw the termination but also to allow you to remain partners. I cannot understand the reasons for this, all he would say was that it was in the interests of Balthazar globally, which I find astounding. Perhaps you would enlighten me if and when you are permitted. Anyway, be that as it may, I am instructed to transport Nahdya to Delhi as soon as practical, to allow her to support you and to render all assistance to your investigations. So, Emeritus Master, your wish has been granted but I am deeply confused; congratulations.”

I bowed deeply and gave a sigh. “I am most grateful for this information Grand Master.” I said gladly, “I am aware of your deep reservations regarding Nahdya and it pleases me greatly that, despite these, you have found it in your heart the will to respect the recommendations of Habib Sidouri. I am humbled to have the friendship of such an honourable man and will be forever in your debt my lord. I hope we can demonstrate that, contrary to your disquiet, together we will be an asset and most certainly no threat to Balthazar. I think we have both matured from our experiences and will be less likely to tempt fate in the future. I look forward to Nahdya’s arrival. As to my value globally, well, I think that must remain confidential between Habib Sidouri and myself.” He threw me a knowing glance but said nothing. “Tell me what your report contains.” he said simply.

I spent the next two hours summarising my information at the end of which he clapped his hands. “I said we could be as good as Thailand.” he chuckled, “Now you prove it. Let me have the report and the presentation so that I can communicate it to Council. Oh Sethin, this is a magnificent day, now I am in your debt.”
“Hold on Grand Master.” I held up my hand, “This is only a feasibility study. I must obtain details, costs, logistics etc. It will take time and may still prove non-viable. It is a little premature to claim total success.”
“Nonsense.” he said triumphantly, “It will succeed, I will make sure of it. Oh, this is such good news. Please have the detailed study with me just as soon as possible. Now, I wish you to relax, eat, drink, do what you will with Mehta or Neesha, or both if you wish; I will arrange for Nahdya to travel here.” He bustled out as if his feet were floating. After returning to my quarters and issuing instructions to destroy the dossiers I relaxed to all three parts of the Lord of the Rings. 

End of Part XI

Watch out for Part 12 – A new direction in which Tessa is removed from the equation, Nahdya returns and the project proceeds beyond anyone’s imagination – on paper at least. Honours are gifted generously as Colin prepares to return to Lille.