Page 5 of Twisted Alliance

“No, I’m fine here,” Shivay replied.

The man looked uncertain, but he nodded and continued to drive. There was a brief silence while the jeep took the highway exit that led them out of the city. Soon, the surrounding terrain began to change dramatically.

Shivay noticed that the roads were paved but narrow. On both sides of the road was a vast, seemingly endless sandy stretch.

“You are lucky you’re going to the Thakvar mansion, sir. Other places in Singoor do not have paved roads. It’s only because of Mihir Thakvar that there are roads. At least those that aren’t destroyed.”

There was a bumpy stretch despite the narrow roads where parts of it were covered by sand. Shivay wondered if it was due to sandstorms.

“But I’m surprised you want to do business with Mihir Thakvar,” the man said hesitantly.

Shivay frowned. “Why? Isn’t he fair or trustworthy?”

“Oh, Mihir Thakvar is the most trustworthy and kindhearted man. He is the only one who cares about these lands and tries to bring in development. It’s because of him that my daughters were able to go to school, and my aged parents have a hospital nearby rather than far away in the city.”

Shivay had researched enough in the last two months to know whatever the jeep driver was saying was true.

“Then why are you surprised I’m here to do business with Mr. Thakvar?”

There was an uncomfortable silence from the man.

“Have you lived here long?” Shivay asked.

“Not too long, sir. Like most young people, I left the Singoor area twenty years ago. But I returned to my home five years ago to take care of my aging parents. My wife and daughters say they like it here, but I worry about them due to the…”

Once again, the man left something unspoken.

Shivay didn’t press the man to say more. Although he found out as much as he could in the last two months, it wasn’t nearly as much as he wanted. He still needed to know much more before he could keep his self-made promise.

The jeep waded through the endless stretch of sand. On the way, a brief sandstorm reduced visibility, but the man drove through it carefully.

A few minutes later, the visibility improved considerably, and there was a gasp from the man.

“My God. It must be the Kabalis. They are such savages!” the man said with a shaken voice.

The jeep slowed, and Shivay could see an open-top jeep in the distance. At first, he thought it was abandoned, but a moment later, he saw two people slumped on the seats. As the jeep got closer, he could see the people were dead or had been dead for a while with their eyes wide open. Their throats had three horizontal slit marks.

The jeep driver didn’t stop and accelerated the vehicle.

“It’s too dangerous to stop, and we are too late anyway,” he said. “All I can do is inform the city police.”

Based on the man’s reaction, Shivay knew it wasn’t an uncommon occurrence in the area.

“They didn’t look like locals,” Shivay remarked. The dead men wore formal shirts with ties and trousers.

The jeep driver shook his head. “They must be… businessmen. The ones sent by oil mining companies.”

“Do all the businessmen meet such fate here?” Shivay asked.

A look of guilt passed on the jeep driver’s face. “Yes. Most of them are attacked, but we shouldn’t be since they would know I’m a local. I’ll tell them you are a tourist.”

Shivay didn’t say anything.

They continued to travel through the endless stretch of sand. The jeep driver kept checking the mirrors to ensure no one was following them.

Soon, a few houses were visible in the distance. The closer they got led to a small town, but the jeep didn’t stop and continued passing through. The houses were small yet neatly maintained outside. The mode of transport seemed to be two-wheelers and bullock carts. A few even had camels carrying goods. Several curious onlookers looked at him as he sat in the front seat. Shivay noticed that everyone, including the children, wore multi-colored turbans and had the distinct white horizontal lines on their foreheads, similar to the assassin who had attacked him in Africa.

A few minutes into the town, a massive, sprawling structure that looked like an old-world palace came into view. The pale reddish hue and high column structures at the four corners of the building made it appear like a fort.

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