Arith : The Undiscovered Planet

Far away from the I. S. E. A, the C. S. R was holding a stakeholder’s meeting. The head of the C. S. R , Mr Declan excused himself when his phone rang . They had been in the meeting for about five hours. The ‘new discovery' had been the topic of the day. Recently, the satellites for C. S. R , discovered a ‘strange planet' , that had human beings in it. This was a very important finding and it was kept a secret, so that no other agency or institute would take their glory. The C. S. R wanted this to be awarded to them only.

Declan was so bored and tired, and felt very lucky when the call came. So he used the opportunity to leave the meeting ground , in order to answer his call. The number calling him was a U.S number. He had very few friends in the U. S, so wasn’t really expecting any call from there . He wasn’t the type to ignore strange numbers. Moving from the meeting ground to an inner room (he felt this call was confidential), he picked up.

“Yeah”?

“Hello, am I on to Mr Declan”? The caller asked.

“Yes, who is this”?

“Well, let’s just say that I have information you would love”.

Declan who was already tired, wasn’t ready for any suspenseful game. He loosened his tie impatiently . What a hectic day!

“Get on with it I haven’t the time”. He barked.

There was a deep breath intake on the other end. It seemed the caller was about retorting but decided against it on the last minute and said instead:

“Its about Mr Kennedy of the I .S .E. A. The information I have about him would help you bring him down”.

There was a pause.

“Do you want it or not”? The caller asked.

This time , the pause intensified.

Declan smiled slowly, anyone looking at him this moment, would deduce that this smile was an evil one. He had always wanted this day to come. The day he would send Kennedy behind bars for life ; the day he would get back at the man who killed his sister. This happened years back.

Declan and Kennedy had been best of friends , they trained together as astronaunts in the U. S . Declan and Kennedy were then referred to as the 'twins'. This closeness grew to the extent Kennedy started dating Declan's only sister , Laura . Declan was so happy that his best friend and sister we’re seeing each other. They continued as one family, always doing things together.

Then, Kennedy’s behavior changed. He started going to clubs and doing drugs. Declan seeing this , tried to change his friend but it was futile . Infact Kennedy had already forgotten about Declan and started hanging out with people like him. This really annoyed Declan and stopped Kennedy from seeing his sister. He practically had to lock up Laura to stop her from seeing him. He even had series of fights with Kennedy in his bid to stop the ‘unhealthy’ relationship. But Laura was so deeply in love with Kennedy and therefore had none of it.

Their parents had to send her to London to start college. So they felt everything would be okay . Well , it won’t have been , if not that Laura died before she could go to London.

It happened that particular Friday, Declan thought, still with the phone in his clenched fingers. Laura had sneeked of the house. Hence, he and his parents couldn’t find her. They called Kennedy’s home and were told she wasn’t there. Kennedy’s mum also said he wasn’t home. It occurred to Declan that Kennedy and Laura were out together, but where?

He could no longer understand Kennedy’s movements. Well… she would come back definitely and would have you take drastic actions . So … he waited , his parents too. Why would Laura change ? She was always cool and respectful . What had happened to their innocent Laura? It then became obvious to them that this Kennedy of a boy, had already influenced her. Well this was the dead end. So they waited for her return.

But that was the last time they saw her. Laura and Kennedy were involved in a car accident on their way back home. Kennedy survived while Laura was unlucky. When Kennedy was found , he was very drunk. Why would he do that, after the whole warnings from Declan and his parents . He knew he was very drunk and still drove?

Declan and his parents mourned their Laura and decided to do justice on Kennedy. But Kennedy’s parents were very wealthy , they used their influence and wealth to die down the matter. Thus the case was closed.

Declan was still holding the phone in his clenched fingers and the caller on the other end was breathing softly , waiting patiently for him to come back. He closed his eyes and said softly :

“This is my time”.

“What was that” the caller asked.

“Send me the information you have about him” Declan said instead.

“Okay”.

“It’s good you made this known to me , but how do you know that I would be interested”?

“Well… let’s say it was a hunch, but does it really matter how I knew? As long as you’re interested , it’s okay right”?

“Damn right. Now another question for you. What is your benefit in bringing down Kennedy”?

“That’s my greatest wish right now . He did something unforgivable and you are the only one who can bring him to face justice. So we have a common enemy , meaning we are friends , right”?

“I wouldn’t call you a friend , as I don’t know if you actually exist or not . But be it as it may , the enemy of my enemy is my friend”.

“All good” the caller said.

And they fixed a day they would see. Declan smiled victoriously . That snake! He thought, he was going to get the snake definitely. Well… that would be after the C. S. R's space exploration. He didn’t want to be distracted when dealing with his enemy.