Chapter 150 - Daraks Secret (2/2)
”You sure about that?” asked Arkhan. He couldn't leave anything to chance and wanted to make sure of it. He had already made plans to have a few of his men to observe Moreno's movements too.
”Positive,” said Basuli in a tone which exudes confidence. ”I have been fighting against him for a long time. I understand him quite well.”
”You best go and recuperate yourself. Contact one of my lieutenants if you need anything. It is best if you recover to certain extent before we reach our destination,” said Basuli looking at Arkhan concernedly.
Arkhan bid his farewell and went out of the cabin back to his resting place. There are lot of things to be done to the vessel and it even needs to be thoroughly searched. The cabin would be extremely noisy and wouldn't be the best place for him to rest. So, he went off to the quarters provided to him Basuli. Basuli had already taken care of him and his lieutenants when he offered Arkhan, the chance to be his second-in-command.
A couple of minutes after Arkhan and his men left the cabin, Basuli told one of his lieutenants to take care of the vessel and went out informing that he better convince his crew of the decision they made. He went out and made his way not to the quarters of his crew mates but to the armory of the vessel.
Darak was waiting for him there at a corner in the dark unlit room. ”You are finally here. How was the result?” asked Darak.
”They are behaving as we expected, uncle,” said Basuli. ”Moreno would have most of his focus on you. The same applies to Arkhan. I suspect he might have his men observe Moreno too. He might be trouble.”
”Good. Then, we proceed as planned when we get close to Geraldino's. Kill Arkhan. He is a pest and will never completely be under our command. He looks docile but is just more cautious than the others. He is far more ambitious than Moreno,” said Darak.
”But it would be hard to pin it on Moreno, if Arkhan has his men trailing Moreno,” said Basuli. Their plan wasn't going exactly the way he hoped. He had given Arkhan way less credit that he deserved, but he realized his mistake when Arkhan raised his doubts about Moreno.
”You are far too limited in your view, Basuli. Moreno's men will soon learn of the things that happened in your cabin. I know that there are a couple of lieutenants who would rather serve you than split their loot. After all, they would crave for coins the most after the fight and would probably contact you. Make use of them to distract Arkhan's men and then make your move,” said Darak as he handed him a dagger.
”It belongs to one of Moreno's lieutenants that joined us in the meet. Use it well,” said Darak. ”The others would soon be looking for me.”
”All right. I will take care of every thing. I just have one doubt,” said Basuli.
”Geraldino or Dharma?” asked Darak as he already expected Basuli's thoughts.
”Actually both, but I am most concerned with Dharma,” said Basuli.
”First. Geraldino is an old friend. I have something that he wants and I am the only one who can give it to him. I have already talked it out with him and he is willing to accommodate us in return for my help. This is something personal and it is best that you don't ask much about it,” said Darak.
”You are playing it quite close, but I know you can handle it. It is Dharma who concerns me most. I am not sure that your peers would support you if he ever comes back. I heard they were quite loyal to the Asuraganas in the past,” said Basuli.
”You don't need to worry about them. I know how to keep them in control. Dharma would be escaping in a stealth shuttle in the middle of our journey. It is best that we let him off. We don't know who our pursuers are but I am sure that they wanted the captain for intel against the knights. Dharma could be used as leverage against him and they would only follow us for him,” said Darak.
”That is the reason for my concern, Darak. He is the best way to get to the knights. We can surely use their help at this time,” said Basuli.
”Aah! If it were any one other than my sister's son, I would have killed him for infuriating me. All right, I will tell you this as you are going to be my second in command and successor. But beware. Make sure that no one would think you know of this,” said Darak.
Basuli also wanted to hear the reason why his uncle had adamantly wanted to avoid the knights at any cost. It was very confusing to him why he wouldn't accept the patronage of well known group of terrorists who wanted to help them.
”The captain was never in collaboration with the knights. They have a hostage, Asaragana ShouryaPrasad,” said Darak.
”Huh, but the man was in good health and was quite free to move around. What are you talking about?” asked Basuli with a confused expression on his face.
”When someone joins the ranks of the knights, he is no longer considered the man he was in the past. I don't know what is done to them, but they become puppets of someone else. The only reason the captain was agreeing to that man was because, he was threatened. Threatened by his uncle that his brother would also be made to join them,” said Darak.
”You are kidding,” said Basuli unable to believe his uncle's words. It sounded ridiculous to the extreme that a person could be controlled to that extent.
”He had always kept this a secret from everybody. Of course, I learned a couple of things on the sly,” said Darak. ”He let the Nirbaadh pirates be in the clutches of the knights for the sake of his brother. I couldn't even convince others of this situation and held it in for a long time. If anyone knew that I was aware of it, I would have been beheaded.”
”It cannot be. You are saying that all this time, we have just been pawns for both the captain and the knights?” asked Basuli.
”Yes. The captain had always had a soft spot for his family. He wanted to get his uncle back from their clutches too. He had stopped caring about his crew for a long time. You have no idea how adamantly he tried to keep his brother from executing the mission of killing that Blyth kid,” said Darak.
”To be frank, this attack is a boon to our group of pirates. We can finally be free from the knights. A new chapter finally dawns upon us,” said Darak with a smile as he patted his nephew on the back and left the armory.