Chapter 5: The Card: Seven of Diamonds
The hall erupted with amusement. All the guests were delighted for such a fascinating performance, performed by the mysterious magician, Ms. Seven. They all appreciated her talent and the preparation made by the event management.
But… except for one…
Karan… who was still, trying to proceed the things in front of him. He was still, standing on the stage, clinching the card in his hand. He glanced up, staring at the exit of the hall.
"Mr. Malhotra… the first victim? Is this some kind of joke? He's just out to attend a call. Anyways, what's with this card? And who's this Cardmaster?"
He got down from the stage. The card was still in his hand. As he was about to take another step a thought came to his mind.
"What if it's not a joke and a real threat?"
He paused. His eyes widened.
"The management would never plan such a thing. I need to hurry up and inform Mr. Malhotra before it's too late!"
Suddenly a voice broke through.
"Hey! Mr. Host!"
It was Rishi's voice. Karan glanced at him. He then quickly composed himself.
"Yes, young Gentleman?"
Rishi stared at him for a moment.
"What did you pick up on the stage, Mr. Host?" He asked Karan in a teasing tone.
"Oh shit! He saw me while I was picking up the card! But wait… isn't it obvious that he would have seen me… I was on the stage. And he was sitting in the front row. I was literally! Literally standing in front of him!" Karan thought to himself.
"Oh! That? It was nothing!" He replied while slipping the card inside his pocket.
Rishi kept staring at him for a while.
"You know what, Mr. Host? You can't hide anything from my eyes,"
He paused briefly, took a deep breath and quickly started yelling at Karan, while pointing finger at him.
"You are lying! You picked a card and now you are hiding it from me!" He yelled.
"Okay, okay! I will show you! But! Only if you stop yelling at me!" Karan replied.
He leaned slightly forward to Rishi and slipped his hand into his pocket. He paused briefly.
"Is it okay to show this card to Rishi? Hmm… Wait a minute! I have an idea!"
He slipped his hand in the pocket and took out the card but, cleverly, he showed only one side of the card on which the Seven of Diamonds was engraved.
"See! It's only a card with Seven of Diamonds engraved on it." Karan replied with a smile.
He then quickly slipped the card in his pocket.
Rishi sighed.
Sigh...
"Okay, okay fine but… but why were you hiding that card from me? Is there anything special about it?"
"Well, young Gentleman, it's nothing special but, just a card so you don't need to worry about it. Anyway I have some business to take care of so please, excuse me, young Gentleman." He replied to Rishi and headed towards the exit.
Karan stood near the exit gate. His eyes scanned through the lobby but Mr. Malhotra was nowhere to be found. He then slipped his hand in his pocket and took his phone out. He tried to contact Mr. Malhotra. But…
[The number you have dialed is currently busy, Please try later.]
… His phone was said to be busy. Karan tried multiple times but failed to contact him.
"Please pick up the call!"
Karan kept staring at the phone when suddenly, he felt a weight on his right shoulder. A hand landed on his right shoulder. It was a firm grip. A cheerful yet familiar voice broke through the storm within Karan's mind.
"Arre, Karan! Long time no see yaar!"
Karan turned to look behind to find that it was Vivek. Karna's best friend who was his best friend from his college.
"Vivek! It's really been a long time since we have met after we graduated from college."
Both of them hugged each other. Vivek patted on Karan's back.
"How are you Karan? How's everything going?" Vivek asked.
"I am fine, what about you? How's everything going? Oh! By the way, what brings you here?"
"Arre, everything's nice and I am also fine. I was here to attend Mr. Malhotra's Wedding Anniversary. I saw you so, I thought we could meet and have a small chit chat. But anyways the preparation made by the management was superb! Oh! And not to forget that mysterious magician Ms. Seven? Her performance was super cool, yaar! I really, really enjoyed the party!"
Vivek paused briefly.
"Hey… Karan… Is everything fine? You look in tension?"
Karan smiled nervously.
"No, no. Everything's fine."
"Karan… tell me what's happening."
"Actually, I do have a little problem… but you don't have to worry about it. Anyways, right now I am in a hurry so maybe next time we could go out and hangover."
Karan paused briefly.
"Hey! Wait! I have an idea! We can meet here in this hotel next Sunday evening?"
Vivek sighed.
Sigh…
"All right Karan, deal with your problem first and then we will meet here on Sunday evening. Okay, bye bye–"
As Vivek was about to leave, Karan stopped him.
"Wait Vivek I need your help!"
"Okay, okay calm down. Now tell me, what can I do for you?"
"Have you seen Mr. Malhotra anywhere?
"Hmm… Mr. Malhotra… Yes! I have seen him but hey, weren't you busy hosting the Anniversary?" Vivek asked.
"Actually there's something important I want to tell Mr. Malhotra, so, please can you tell me where he is now?"
"Well, he just now went to room number 007 on the first floor, actually he was attending a phone call when I saw him." Vivek replied.
"Okay, thank you for telling me, Vivek! Bye!"
Karan left the lobby in a hurry. He thanked him and quickly ran in the direction of the lift.
"Bye!"
Vivek waved a bye to Karan with a warm smile.
After a while Vivek was left alone in the lobby. He then lowered his hand and put it inside his pocket. The warm, gentle smile on his face disappeared and a cold expression appeared on his face.
Vivek took his phone out and called someone. A smirk curled up on his face.
"I have fulfilled my task, now it's your turn to fulfill your promise. Bring me the money as you have promised me."
"Sometimes trusting your close friends might lead you to betrayal, Karan. The world can be cruel sometimes... Be careful! Here the real chase begins!"