165 The Sergeant Takes Charge (2/2)
”Can you tell me how exactly you came into possession of all this? It's much more than I expected. A goat! A calf! Three donkeys!”
”All of the animals were found wandering unattended in the street, breaking traffic regulations,” Varma said, slightly stiffly. ”They have been impounded. And we also destroyed a major gang of smugglers.”
”Smugglers?”
”They were trading or were about to trade without the proper papers. They tried to run away the moment they saw us. I think you'll agree this was very suspicious behavior. We found they were in possession of New World goods. None of them had a colonial license.”
”They could have received those goods from someone else. What were they? Food?”
”Yes. I could tell right away they were New World imports. The had smoked fish that were exactly like the fish I saw in Kulaba. There are no fish like that here.”
”You've confiscated them?”
”Yes, of course.”
”Can I see?”
”Of course.”
A single look was enough to convince Samir that Varma had been right. The mangoes looked exactly like the mangoes from Kulaba. The salted fish - why, he could have sworn he'd salted a couple of these personally.
He congratulated Varma on his quick thinking, and then told him what had happened to Rani and Amrita when they went to the market. He stopped halfway through his story, staring at the mangoes.
”Wait,” he told Varma and went away to fetch Rani.
Varma was outraged when he saw her cuts and bruises.
”I will hunt down those savages,” he declared. ”I'll find them, and confiscate all of their possessions.”
”You've already found them,” said Rani.
Varma stared at her. He said:
”What do you mean?”
”These are the mangoes I took to the market today. I recognize them, and I recognize the fish too.”
”The bastards,” Varma said through clenched teeth. ”The bastards! And I let them keep their bicycles.”
”One of these was probably mine,” Rani said. ”It was stolen.”
”I am going to go back there at once. I'll get it back for you. I'll hunt them down no matter where they hide.”
”I'm sorry, Arjun, you cannot go yet,” said Samir. ”You have to lie down for a few minutes first. And I need to implant a couple of your soldiers right away.”
He described the situation in Kulaba to Rani and Varma.
”I've dealt with refugees before,” Varma said, with contempt creeping into his voice. ”I'll get rid of them.”
”We must help those poor people,” Rani said.
”We'll do both,” Samir said. He told them about his plan to start a mining village.
”It has to be done right away,” he said. ”I want them on their way to the valley at next sunrise.”
”I'll need more than two soldiers with me,” Varma said. ”How many of those refugees do you have right now?”
”They're not exactly refugees. They are -”
”I know who they are,” Varma cut in. ”How many?”
”Madan said at least ten.”
”I need four soldiers with me,” Varma said. ”And a guide.”
”I'll guide you there myself, and we'll return together. We'll leave the soldiers there to keep an eye on things. Do you agree?”
”I do,” sergeant Varma said after a short but heavy pause. ”And I think that I need to recruit more men.”
”More men? How many?” Samir asked.
”At least half a dozen. Maybe more. It would be better to get more. I can find them easily if you give them the same terms you gave me.”
”I'm short of implant kits,” Samir said.
”If you give me the money, I can go and get colonist's licenses and implant kits for all of them. And I should be able to find and confiscate a few illegal kits if I keep looking.”
”If I give you the money,” Samir said. Varma winked at him.
”Don't worry,” he said. ”The money will come.”
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