THE AIR HOSTESS WHO WASN'T
Sitting first class on an Emirates flight
to Los Angeles, Pingo pondered over what he had read in that mysterious email e
had got from a guy named Asonji XX. It didn't say much, just said “Dhokla
scandal was just the beginning. The ending shall be something much bigger. But
unfortunately you won't live to see it.” Every time he thought about it, he got
even more terrified. What does that mean? You won't live to see it?
Grandfather had mostly been silently all
through the trip to the airport and till now in the flight, he hadn't spoken a
word. Pingo could contain it no more. Just after the Air Hostess went away
after delivering their lunch of roast chicken (A poor substitute of Tandoori
Chicken, according to Pingo) and vegetables, he quietly asked his grandfather
what had been bothering him.
“Grandpa, what's all this about?”
Grandfather though for a long while and
replied cautiously.
“The people you busted that day, the ones
involved in the Dhokla scandal, I do not think they were acting alone. They
were a part of something bigger, a gang. A huge group of criminals trying to
pull off some kind of scandal. I don't know what yet.” After that, he spoke no
more, leaving Pingo to his plate of poor substitutes. Various questions popped
into Pingo's mind. What kind of gang is this? And most importantly, why
don't they make roast chicken spicier?
Seeing that he couldn’t get answers to any
of the questions, he pulled out a tandoori flavoured toffee and started chewing
it. It wasn't available everywhere, and Pingo had had a hard time finding them.
As he was lost in his thoughts about chicken, an exceptionally beautiful Air
Hostess walked up to his seat. Seeing her name tag, she was Gujarati.
“Are you Mr. Pingo? Bg fan, sir.” She said
with a big smile. “It is such an honour meeting you. Sir, are you interested in
planes? I could give you a full tour of the cockpit. Moreover, even our pilot
is a big fan of you. He'd like to see you.”
No, Pingo didn't mind at all. He gladly
followed the Air Hostess into the cockpit. He always wanted to see how a plane
worked. After a short journey, he entered the door of the cockpit. Near it was
a small door marked “Emergency Exit”. This area was particularly secluded and
this scared Pingo a bit. Suddenly without warning, the Air Hostess closed in on
him. She drew near him and held him firmly by the shoulders. She wasn't smiling
anymore. Her hand fished out a card from her skirt pocket. It said “Deadly Hitmen
and Other Killer's Last Association”. In short it abbreviated to D.H.O.K.L.A.
More disturbingly, below it, in small letters was written “Asonji XX”.
Now there was a look of anger in her eyes.
Wearing a backpack she started speaking in a spiteful tone. “The Dhokla scandal
you busted? It was organized by our group. You meddle with our affairs, this is
what comes of it.” Saying this, she held on tightly to a bar attached to a wall
near the door with one hand, the other hand tightly holding my arms. . Then she
yanked the doors handles hard and the door opened, sucking them out into the
atmosphere. The woman held on tightly as she left her grip on Pingo's arms and
after a minute or two jumped after him. Only difference was, a parachute popped
out of her backpack while Pingo was freefalling from thousands of metres in the
air.
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