The 151 Days

"Hey! You and your damn dog—" Prakhar gave him a sharp look, and he stammered, "I mean, do Diamond and Gold have minor attacks or something… One moment a 'masha,' the next a 'tola'!"

"It's actually 'tola' first, then 'masha,'" Pranay corrected from behind.

"Oh please! What difference does it make—'tola' or 'masha,' the point is the same, isn't it?"

"If you had your way, you'd rewrite the entire Hindi dictionary!" Pranay said, shaking his head.

"You tell me—what happened? We were playing, then why did you pick him up?"

"Because it was his bedtime... and you weren't playing with him; you were making him chase you," Prakhar replied. Diamond wagged his tail in agreement.

"Arrogant owner, arrogant dog," Shrey muttered under his breath and started heading to his room, but Pranay called out, "Oi! Clean up the mess you made before going!"

"Not doing it!" Shrey yelled and ran to his room. Prakhar and Pranay exchanged a look, and Prakhar went out to tidy everything up.

"Hey, leave it. I'll do it…"

"Diamond helped in this mess too," Prakhar said and began cleaning. After a while, he returned to his room. Diamond had already fallen asleep. He picked up his phone, and his eyes narrowed as he saw a message. He opened his wardrobe, took out a black shirt and pants, put on a mask, and silently jumped off the balcony.

At that time, Pranay was on the balcony, talking to Ajit. Seeing Prakhar sneak out like that, his eyes narrowed. "Where is he sneaking off to this late? I need to find out, man!" he said, glanced at sleeping Shrey, quickly threw on a jacket, and followed in the direction Prakhar had gone.

He followed him all the way to the bakery where he and Shrey usually bought pastries.

"What's he doing here…? Does he work part-time?" Pranay tried to peek inside, but aside from the dim yellow light, he couldn't see anything.

"Hope he's not into anything shady… Is he in the mafia? God, my poor brother!" Pranay mumbled as he tried to see more clearly.

Prakhar exited from the back alley, and a car pulled up in front of him. Several guards got out and bowed to him. One of them handed him a key. Prakhar got into the car and drove to an abandoned building. Many guards stood around, all bowing as he passed.

Ignoring them, Prakhar entered a room where a man was tied to a chair. His head lolled to one side, and he was bruised all over.

Prakhar dragged a chair in front of him and said, "I only ask questions once. I expect an answer."

The man didn't respond.

"Who ordered the attack on Raja Saheb?" Prakhar asked, locking eyes with him.

"I don't know—" he began, but screamed as Prakhar drove a nail into his foot.

"I forgot to mention—I hate lies."

"I really don't—" he started again, but Prakhar struck another blow with the hammer, making him scream in pain.

Prakhar wiped the blood from his hands and picked up another nail.

"No, please... please no…" the man cried.

Prakhar didn't respond and began driving a nail into his other foot.

"A man came to me…" the man said, and Prakhar's hand paused.

"Didn't know his name… his face was covered… he gave me the order."

"And you just went along with it?"

"He gave me ten crores upfront… and promised ten more after the job."

"Did you plan the hit?"

"No, I just followed instructions. The plan wasn't mine."

"Did you notice anything specific?"

"No…"

"If you weren't blinded by the money, maybe you would've," said the bakery owner from behind, now in a black bodyguard uniform with a sun-shaped emblem on his chest—just like the other guards.

"Kill him," Prakhar said, standing up.

"You said if I told the truth, you'd let me go!" the man cried.

"I said that? I don't recall… As far as I remember, I only said: 'I ask questions once. I expect an answer,'" Prakhar said calmly.

"Be grateful this monster is letting you die quickly… or you'd have lived with his torture forever," the bakery man said, nodding to a nearby cell where others were tied up.

"Please, I have a wife and kids—what will they do without me?"

"You should've thought of that before becoming a stuntman, buddy," the bakery man cooed mockingly and then fired six bullets into the man's chest.

Prakhar stood a few steps away. Some blood splattered on him, but he didn't flinch.

They both returned to the bakery.

Meanwhile, Pranay was still pressed against the bakery's glass wall when someone tapped his shoulder from behind. Pranay jumped and got into an attack stance.

But seeing Prakhar, he asked, "You? What are you doing here so late?"

"Same question to you," Prakhar replied.

"But I asked first," Pranay insisted.

"I came to get some pastries," Prakhar said flatly.

"In the middle of the night, sneakily… jumping off the balcony?" Pranay shot back.

"You were watching me?" Prakhar looked straight into his eyes.

"No! I mean… I just noticed, that's all…" Pranay stammered.

"And followed me all the way here?"

"Well, you're my brother's friend… what if you turn out to be mafia? What about my poor brother then?" Pranay quipped.

"I have no future with your brother," Prakhar said bluntly, his face unreadable.

"We'll see about that later. Where are the pastries you came for?" Pranay looked at Prakhar's hands.

Prakhar handed him a pastry. Pranay inspected it carefully. It looked freshly made. There were also some still-warm cookies.

Pranay ate one and handed the rest back. "Come on, let's go home."

"Of course, it's not like I enjoy midnight vigils," Prakhar said sarcastically.

Pranay didn't respond and just walked beside him. After a while, he asked, "By the way, do you have a brother?"

Prakhar's eyes hardened.

"No, I mean—I was always into girls, but you're making me curious about guys too. So if you have a brother…" Pranay teased.

"I don't have a brother," Prakhar said firmly and began walking faster.

"Slow down, man! Are you trying to kill me?" Pranay chased after him.

Later, Prakhar unlocked the door. Pranay was on his back. He had tripped and fallen, so Prakhar had to carry him home.

"What a pain I've picked up…" Prakhar muttered, tossing him onto the sofa.

"Hey! Take me to my room! I can't sleep here," Pranay whined.

"You didn't think of that while tailing me like a ghost?" Prakhar taunted and brought him a glass of water.

"Thanks, man… I really needed that," Pranay gulped it down in one go.

Prakhar helped him lie down next to Shrey and tucked him in. Shrey, dead to the world, didn't even flinch.

Afterward, Pranay called Ajit and told him everything. Ajit said nothing and just hung up. Pranay stared at his phone for a moment, then went to sleep.

The next morning, Prakhar was making breakfast in the kitchen. Shrey was splashing water on Diamond. Pranay was still asleep.

It was Sunday, so there was no college stress.

"Enough, or he'll catch a cold…" Prakhar said after a while. Shrey nodded and took Diamond to the bathroom. Diamond whimpered, but the human torture continued.

Prakhar shook his head and went to his room to work on his laptop.

Later, Shrey returned with a freshly bathed Diamond and began drying his fur while humming. Diamond seemed more comfortable with him now, but he still bit at every little thing.

"I'm heading out… Diamond," Prakhar said.

"He'll stay with me," Shrey replied without even looking.

Prakhar looked at him for a moment. He was only wearing sky-colored lowers, his upper body shirtless. Water from his wet hair ran down his back. Prakhar stared for a few seconds.

Feeling someone's gaze, Shrey looked up. Prakhar was staring at him.

Covering himself with a towel, Shrey said, "Hey! I know I'm cute, handsome, bold… but you can't stare like that—it's mannerless!"

Prakhar seemed to snap out of it. He looked away. "I was asking if you needed anything."

"Nope. Just get lost," Shrey replied coldly.

"I'm leaving," Prakhar said and walked out.

Pranay's laughter echoed from behind. Shrey glared at him.

"What happened, Juliet? Blushing from just one glance from Romeo?" Pranay teased.

"Dog!" Shrey lunged at him, but Pranay had already dodged. Shrey crashed onto the bed.

Pranay ran out laughing, "Your Romeo is hot though…"

"You're dead, Pranay!" Shrey yelled.

"Mind your tone, I'm two months older than you!" Pranay shouted back.

"Come here, I'll show you your elder brother status!" Shrey chased after him.

Pranay ran into Prakhar's room and locked the door.

"Come out, I dare you!" Shrey shouted.

"And Diamond… you better stay on my side! If I see you on the enemy team, you're done for!" he said, and Diamond followed him.

Shrey got dressed, gave Diamond breakfast, and started eating himself.

A while later, Pranay came out wearing Prakhar's blue t-shirt and black cargo pants.

Shrey raised an eyebrow. "Aren't those Prakhar's?"

"Yeah, so? He's my friend," Pranay sat beside him and eyed the parathas. "Didn't you say you weren't going to eat parathas yesterday? So these are mine…"

"Hold it! That was yesterday. Today I want them. And first—go change!" Shrey barked.

"Why? Only you can wear your Romeo's clothes?" Pranay teased.

"Pranay… go change!" Shrey warned.

"Fine, fine, you over-possessive maniac! As if I stole Prakhar or something…" Pranay grumbled and left.

Just then, Ajit entered the house, and Pranay walked up to him.

Ajit glanced around. The house looked spotless even without him around—which meant Prakhar was truly a cleanliness freak.

To be continued...