No one had any high expectations from Mangoville’s sellout media and thugs like Rickshaw Rowdy who have quickly jumped ship and joined forces with the invading aliens. Our poor Supreme Leader is caged in a dungeon by the beer swigging alien lord who seems to be getting increasingly comfortable here. With their superior technology and traitors on our own side, it is clear that overt ways of regaining power will not help. I need to use my snooping skills and team up with the omnipresent Kakoli to figure out a way to rescue Supreme Leader. We may have issues with him, but the country needs to support him in this difficult time.
Hmm. Dirty Carlos will sell anyone for money and it’s quite likely that he is involved in Supreme Leader’s disappearance. Let me add Mojo Mahalingam and Superpower Swamy to the list.
Kakoli, there is too much ground to cover, so I suggest we divide and rule. The swamp is a dangerous place for cats. I will go there, and you go to Superpower Swamy’s ashram. Note all suspicious movements. Use your cuteness to maximum to infiltrate restricted areas.
Ok chief. But too many dogs outside ashram. Gimme bones and I distract them. Plastic bones ok. They are too dumb. Meow.
I have never been to the swamp before and I am somewhat thrilled about going there. Carlos says he does not eat humans because of the pact signed with Mangoville State under which he was given exclusive rights to the swamp in exchange.
The swamp is located some 45 kms away from Baiganpally and the only way to reach there is using Rickshaw Rowdy’s rickshaw, through a muddy road which disappears during the monsoons. Trucks keep carrying mysterious cargo in both the directions. If Carlos won’t kill you, the trucks will. I was surprised that Rowdy is still driving his rickshaw despite being appointed as a deputy by the alien lord.
It was a relief to know that Rowdy anna is not a traitor. He is only killing time till he gets the opportunity to dump the alien lord. According to Rowdy anna, the alien lord hates Mangoville and only likes the beer. He is appointing his cronies and will go to raid another planet after this. He has no home and keeps raiding planet after planet. Wherever he detects that local people are too stupid, he colonises it.
We explained to the security guard that we wanted to meet his boss Carlos to discuss some shady business. He called up Carlos to check with him, and to our surprise he let us in without fuss. It all seemed very fishy. Why would Carlos let us in so easily? In any case, my intention was not to meet Carlos, but simply get inside the swamp. Once inside I would jump into my disguise and disappear into nooks and corners. Rowdy anna said he will keep Carlos busy in small talk.
In the cloak of darkness I crept past the guards who were too drunk and engrossed in the stupid board game. Up ahead was the house of Carlos, where I hoped Rowdy anna was doing a good job of keeping him busy. Sooner or later Carlos would realise that I hadn’t turned up and would send someone to look for me. I had very little time to snoop around the property.
But just as I was about to reach Carlos’ mud castle, a slimy looking croc spotted me. He was about to alert Carlos about an intruder and I had to take quick action. This was the time to use my taekwondo skills. The croc turned out to be a poor opponent. I guess they are not as tough as they pretend to be.
I was sure that there was a secret chamber in the mud castle where Supreme Leader was being kept hostage. Before entering I decided to check with Rowdy anna if it was safe to enter. Messaging him was the best way to do it. I hoped that he would respond quickly. At the rickshaw stand he is always looking at his phone. Now was the time when all that attention was really needed.
It was a trap! Carlos had taken Rowdy anna captive and was using his phone to send me messages. On the bright side this was a confirmation of his guilt. If he had nothing to hide then why was he doing this? What an ungrateful wretch, this Carlos! After all that Supreme Leader had done for him – giving him a place of his own in Mangoville, this is how he had repaid.
Carlos explained that he was not keeping Supreme Leader captive. He had taken Rowdy hostage because he had not paid him the instalments for the loans he had taken to buy rickshaws for his cronies. It was payback time. I requested him to release Rowdy anna because this was a time of crisis and all of us needed to stand together against invading aliens.
After a lot of cajoling Carlos freed Rowdy anna but kept his rickshaw as security. We would be dropped back to Baiganpally in his own car. He also promised to suspend all beer supplies to the alien lord, hoping he would get fed up and leave. After this experience I decided not to judge a book by its cover. When the day started I had suspected both Rowdy anna and Carlos to be crooks and useless people, but they turned out to be good guys at heart. Now the quest for Supreme Leader continues. I hope Kakoli has made some headway in Superpower Swamy’s ashram. Despite the lesson I learnt today, I find it difficult to believe that Swamy is not a sellout. Only time will tell.
