Mainak Dhar - Heroes R Us

'Look, my friend, in my business, there is no such thing as trust. If I do that, you need to demonstrate your goodwill by doing a small favour for me tomorrow itself.'

***

The mission Balwant had given Arnab was one of petty personal vendetta, and Arnab suspected that he had done so not just to ensure he could trust him, but also to demonstrate that Arnab now had to do his bidding if he wanted Balwant Singh to clear his name. The mission was to intercept a consignment of illicit drugs that one of Balwant's political rivals was bringing in from Nepal. Balwant never explained why he was not asking the police to do this, but Arnab suspected that Balwant may well have been involved in the smuggling, and this was a case of a business partnership gone sour. As Arnab intercepted the truck on the highway and beat the driver and three guards to a pulp, he felt deeply ashamed at having been reduced to nothing more than Balwant's hired muscle, but he rationalized that the shame was worth being able to save the lives of thousands of innocent people. As agreed, he called Sharma, who said he would be at the scene in a few minutes. When Arnab saw Sharma's car approach, he raced away from the scene, hoping Balwant would keep his word.

He did not have to wait very long. That very evening, he received a call from Sharma asking him to turn on his TV. When he did so, he saw Balwant Singh addressing a press conference. He had missed the first few statements, but what he heard was clear enough.

'So, you see the video incriminating our own superhero was a vicious ploy by the Opposition, who had begun to realize that his efforts at fighting crime were coming in the way of their plan to destabilize the law and order situation before the elections. When we found this out, we decided to expose this.'

As he signalled to someone off the stage, a man came onto the screen. Arnab recognized him as the man with the suitcase full of money who had met him with Sharma. The man spoke haltingly, and without looking at the camera.

'I was paid by leading members of the Opposition to do this. I regret what I have done, but the Guardian Angel is absolutely innocent. He refused all offers of money but we doctored the video to malign him.'

Arnab had no idea if Balwant had threatened the man or paid him for his collusion, but he seemed to be convincing enough. Within minutes, the media was all over it, and forums and communities all over the Internet were flooded with apologetic messages, seeking forgiveness from the nation's newly rediscovered favourite superhero, and beseeching him to return. Arnab was sickened by the cynicism and artificiality of it all, but he kept reminding himself that it was for a good cause.

He didn't have to call Aggarwal; it was the tycoon who called him the very next morning.

'You know, you have turned around your reputation far faster than I could have expected. I am impressed.'

'So Mr. Aggarwal, do you think you're ready to make a deal?'

Aggarwal seemed to chuckle at how Arnab got straight to the point.

'You seem to have become something of a businessman yourself. Oh well, that suits me just fine. It's good to do business with someone who doesn't waste time. What do you want?'

Arnab thought back to Arif's demand and responded with only a short pause.

'Ten million Rupees in cash. And I need the money within the next two days.'

Aggarwal sighed as if he had expected Arnab to demand more.

'The amount is no issue, but giving you the money before you've done anything for me doesn't sound like good business.'

Arnab was beginning to panic, wondering if his plan was not going to work after all, when Aggarwal made a counter proposal.

'I could get you the money if you started working for me. Full-scale endorsements and advertising will follow, but that takes time. But perhaps you could start on some, err, tactical promotions earlier.'

'What did you have in mind?'

After Aggarwal had finished briefing him, Arnab spent several minutes sitting by himself, thinking about what he was doing. He had in effect been reduced to being little more than a prostitute, selling himself for favours or money to Balwant, and now, Aggarwal. It saddened him to realize just how naïve he had been. He did not live in a society where change could be brought about through good intentions, or even superhuman capabilities alone. Little could be accomplished without becoming a part of the same dirty system that was the root of most of the problems. Arnab had little choice, as he desperately needed the money to get more information from Arif, but even as he set out to do Aggarwal's bidding, he couldn't help but feel as if he had been physically violated in some way.

The next day, Arnab exploded back into the media spotlight with a series of high-profile operations. First was a foiled robbery at a jewellery store that left four armed robbers in hospital and more than a hundred witnesses gaping at the return of the nation's new favourite son. Next in his sights was a gang of hired goons sent by a builder to evict some slum dwellers. There were six of them, and a bit out of practice after his long break, Arnab suffered a bruising blow to his left shoulder when one of them connected with an iron rod, but after that, he knocked them out them in minutes. He capped it off with a sensational fight against seemingly impossible odds. A traffic accident outside Khan Market after nine at night had left a lone woman driver facing an angry mob of construction workers. They had begun throwing rocks at her car and some of them had begun to surge ahead, driven by anger at the injury to one of their fellow workers and perhaps lust at seeing an attractive young woman all alone. Just then, Arnab zoomed into the scene, standing between the mob and the car. The woman was by now frantically dialling the police for help, but there was no chance they would get there in time. For now, all that stood between her and serious injury, or even death, was the mysterious hooded superhero that stood before her car. Arnab took in the mob as he tried to calm his breathing and prepare for the melee that was about to erupt. There must have been at least a dozen of them. Two or three of them lost their appetite for a fight on seeing Arnab and melted away, but the others stood their ground, goaded on by a tall, muscular man who seemed to be their leader.

'He's one man. We can get him if we attack together.'

The men seemed to take courage at his words and began approaching Arnab at a slow, menacing trot. Small knives appeared in a few hands, but the rest of the mob seemed unarmed. As Arnab scanned the group, he realized his window for action was narrow. If they came close enough, despite his strength and speed, there was a chance one of them could get in a knife thrust and then with sheer weight of numbers, they could overpower him. He locked gazes with the big man who seemed to be their leader, and as they made eye contact, Arnab could see him start to hesitate. The man had been counting on superiority of numbers, but facing a personal challenge from Arnab was not something he had counted on. Before the men could come any closer, Arnab acted, striking with the speed and ferocity of a cobra.

Everyone around saw only a blur of movement and the big man fell in a heap to the ground. The other men stood still, too stunned to react or hit back. Arnab glowered at them, challenging them to attack. One of the men, perhaps incensed by his fallen friend, lunged at Arnab with a knife in his right hand. It was a pathetic and futile attack, as Arnab saw him coming, moved out of the way and then stood behind the man. Arnab had had a lot of time to execute the move, but everyone else saw him seemingly move behind the man as if by magic, as his attacker fell to the ground, unbalanced by his attack that had met only thin air. Arnab bodily lifted the man over his head and threw him a few feet away, as if he were tossing away the garbage. The rest of the mob fled in fear, as onlookers clapped, cheered and snapped photo after photo.