Chapter 15 The Plan
2203words
"Let's go and sit in my cabin and then you tell me everything, Kadin."
She follows him and he switches on the light and pulls out the chair at the desk for her and he takes place on the bed near her: "Now tell me: what has happened?"
Kadin relates to Michael everything that has happened and then she seeks advice: "Michael, I must go alone tomorrow. I don't want to do anything that puts Billy in danger, but I must exchange the booklet for him. I'll have to handle this thing all by myself. Promise me you won't phone the police or everyone else that might wreck the whole thing."
"Don't worry, Kadin, we are planning this together."
"Could you decipher the script?"
"I haven't had the chance, Kadin. Unluckily we were occupied till late every day with free meals we supply for the homeless people. I came back very late and exhausted every evening and just had to sleep because we start very early in the morning."
"The original booklet is still in my room, Michael, and I'm not sure what is best. What do you think that warning on the first page means to the one that finds the booklet? The warning that it must be replaced where it was found before the world ends? The old man tried everything to keep the booklet out of those men's hands and then Billy ran away with it. They now want to get hold of it at all costs. The wizard believed me when I told him the truth, so he knows about the inexplicable script and wants to get hold of it. What if it will help him to cause the end of the world as we know it in one way or another? Would it not be irresponsible for me to let him have access to the secret code?
"The wizard warned me that he would entrap our souls if I try to mislead him. What did he mean by that? I don't know what to do; except that I know that I must save Billy and give them what they want. Do you really think his warning to poison Billy, is real? I don't want to gamble with Billy's life."
Michael frowns. "Let's break this thing up in its parts and get perspective: firstly, he threatened to entrap your souls if you double cross him and the solution is easy: don't look into his eyes. Do you agree?"
Kadin nods in agreement: "Yes, he can't force us in public to look in his eyes and how else will he be able to bewitch us?"
"Secondly, why would the old man want to withhold the code from them? You think there might be a key to that code that he wants to use to destroy the earth. I doubt that strongly because our swami's knowledge of Sanskrit is sound and he would have acknowledged it as a tantra script but he couldn't decipher it and could not see any sense in it. Do you follow?"
"This sounds logical to me too; but what is it then?"
"It is a secret code concealed in Sanskrit symbols between real Sanskrit in the text. I recognize the pattern of an ordinary language but it is not real Sanskrit. I'm sure it is Afrikaans because I suppose the girl is the old man's grandchild according to Billy's description. She yelled words in Afrikaans when he was assaulted. I think the old man knows Sanskrit very well and he hid the code between real Sanskrit parts. Do you agree?"
"How do you know it is a language?"
"The regular repetition of groups of characters with spaces between them is precisely in line with a language. Most probably it is quite a simple code."
"But why did the old man write it and why did he try to hide it from them?"
"The old man and his grandchild are captives and were being spied upon. The old man has a secret contact outside for which he wanted to leave a message at the prearranged place. His contact will check the place regularly to see if he succeeded but they unluckily caught him just when he wanted to leave it there."
It is as if a light is switched on in Kadin's brain: "Michael, you are brilliant! That's all that makes sense! But what about the warning that the booklet must be replaced immediately before the world ends?"
"I think the old man is very intelligent and thought about the possibility that something may go wrong. If someone gets hold of the booklet and keeps it out of curiosity and takes it to someone who knows Sanskrit, as you did, then the person who will read the Sanskrit will think like our swami did and urge that person to replace it before evil comes over him/her."
Again Kadin is impressed: "Good heavens! They told us you are genius and know I understand. Do you think the idea that the world will end is only to frighten someone?"
"I think these people have dangerous and evil plans and they need the old man's cooperation, but he refuses. I think they keep his granddaughter captured apart from him and he must relent before he sees her again. I think he bargained with them to cooperate with them on the condition that he sees her for the last time at the place where they usually have a picnic. It was only to find an opportunity to hide the booklet there. The code is probably meant for the secret contact to get them out of the claws of those men. Unluckily for him, they saw him and his plan failed."
"Once again everything you say makes total sense. I can't think of a sounder explanation. How do you do it, Michael? I'm still wondering: one of them drew a knife as if he wanted to kill the old man when Billy ran away."
"No, they only wanted to frighten him and suspected that he had something up his sleeve, because why did he toss the book away from them? They wanted to frighten him and to teach him a lesson. I think he is extremely important to them."
"Why do they want the booklet so eagerly? Do you think they know about the code?"
"I think they have no idea why the old man wanted to hang onto the booklet. They probably have no clue about the secret contact outside and that is why he wanted to keep the book from them. His outside contact is probably his last hope. We must now keep his secret when we doctor the book and we must put the original back where it was found in the park for the contact to find it. I think the booklet is so important to them only because they want to know what his plans are so that they can get the upper hand."
"How are we going to bluff them without their knowing it?"
"You told the wizard about the part you couldn't decipher. He guessed there might be a code but he wants to see it himself. We are going to write something backwards in Sanskrit in the place of the code. It will make sense to him that you were unable to solve it because it was written backwards and they probably will decipher it very easily and will be on the wrong track."
"That's clever. But what shall we write?"
"It must make sense to them that the old man wanted to hide it from them and on the other hand, it must be something quite simple: ‘I will rather take my own life before I will do what they expect of me if it wasn't for her.'"
Kadin thinks about it. "It can work, Michael. It sounds like something that he wrote to himself before he wanted to throw the booklet away but they caught him. They will think that he wanted to keep his personal thoughts and vulnerability away from them, but then they caught him and his contact is hopefully still secret. That is now if the two of them are still alive and he succeeded in hiding his secret from them."
Then she wonders: "What about the warning against the wizard?"
"I think the old man is very clever and he thought about all possibilities. He wanted to warn all possible players against the hypnotic powers of the wizard. Thus far it worked well with you, hasn't it?"
"Yes, maybe he also wanted to warn his contact against this man's hypnotic powers."
"I think we must now go to Vyasa and tell him everything. He will be able to make a fake version and write the code. I don't think they will realize it's a fake. But don't let the wizard entice you to look into his eyes … our plan must work!"
"I don't want you to be in trouble with Vyasa and also wants you to decipher the code. He must not know about your copy; thus I'll have to fetch the original from home."
"Okay. Let's tell him about our plan and if he concedes, I'll take you with the car. I don't want you to walk in the dark streets. Someone can see you and follow you. Are you sure you have not been followed here?"
"I'm quite sure. I looked everywhere before I opened the front gate and saw no one."
Kadin's eyes widen suddenly: "Oh gosh! I completely forgot about my mother! She must be worried sick because it is late and my phone's battery is depleted. Let's hurry and talk to Vyasa so that I can go and assure her there's nothing wrong. Wait, what will I tell her? Let's go and see Vyasa first. I'll think of something along the way. I hope he agrees with our plan."
~*~*~
They deliberated with Vyasa and they agreed upon the plan that Vyasa will make a fake booklet. Michael drove her to her home and after she had inspected the street of some sign of the devils, she entered her home.
Rene is sitting on a wooden chair in the sitting room at the small table on which the landline telephone stands and anxiously looks up when Kadin enters. Her eyes are red and her cheeks wet. She jumps up and embraces Kadin and cuddles her for a long time tightly without saying a word.
Kadin gets a lump in her throat and the tears flow again: "I'm so sorry, mamma. It was only the unlucky co-occurrence of everything that could go wrong. I hope mother haven't phoned dad."
"I was on the point of doing it when you entered. I was out of my mind with worry. What happened, lovey?"
"Do you remember the booklet I picked up in the park, mom?"
"I love you so much, my dear Kadin, what shall I do if something happens to you?"
Rene tries to wipe away most of her tears before she asks: "Yes I remember. What about the booklet?"
"Michael, a boy in our school, lost it in the park and he is in terrible trouble because it is the main part of a project that accounts for the biggest part of his term marks. He worked hard towards getting good marks but now his project is hopelessly too late. It should have been handed in already. At school he heard that I had picked up the booklet in the park and he phoned me while I was in Rink Street Spar. We decided to meet there and come and fetch the booklet. I would then go with him to Park Drive and hand it over to his teacher. I would help him explain to the teacher what happened for the teacher wouldn't believe his story.
"Michael drives his own car and picked me up to fetch the booklet. And then his car broke down in Rink Street and I realized that my phone's battery is depleted and he forgot his phone at home in his anxiety to get the booklet. I should have walked back home then but a man came up and said he could fix the car in no time. Well, it took longer than he anticipated and only when it became dark, I realized that I slipped up, but he fixed the fault and we are here now."
"Unbelievable, Kadin! This boy really has bad luck. Why are your eyes red from crying?"
"I was so worried over mother and when it became dark I resented myself that I have not rather walked back home. Mom, his car is okay, and I'm going to grab the booklet. His teacher resides just nearby in Park Drive and he will drop me off in front of the house in a little while."
Rene smiles and takes her smartphone from the table and hands it over to Kadin. "Only if you take my smartphone and promise me you will phone our land line the moment something goes wrong, okay?"
