‘It’s still better that I have a second string to my seductive bow, to be doubly sure,’ he thought enthusiastically. ‘Why, can’t I try to wean away Sathyam from Roopa’s charms? And with whorish support that is. Didn’t the same master give his ruling that beauty provoketh thieves sooner than gold? Who could seduce Sathyam better than the suave call-girls that abound these days? But Tara, the ace of the pack, is not quite the trump card in this deal. Taken by their seductive ways, won’t Sathyam find Roopa a routine fare, and abstain from her altogether in time? Won’t that make her think in terms of entrusting her fleshy wares to my amorous care? Does she care that’s an illicit fare?’
‘I must ensure that she won’t get wind of my scheming ways,’ he thought consciously as his excitement began to gallop, ‘and, were she to spot the foul, she’s bound to blow the whistle. Well, the idea is to give her my shoulder for her to cry over. In no way should she be able to see me with soiled hands and all. Well, don’t I need a helping hand to carry out my plans? Of course, it shouldn’t be difficult, as money these days would fetch hands for any errand. But then, who would foot the bill for all that?’
When Prasad had visualized the magnitude of the money needed for his grandiose project involving wine and women, his spirit was insensibly dampened.
‘Will I be able to siphon off that kind of money without Rani knowing it?’ he thought dispiritedly. ‘And even if I could, it might turn out to be worse, if she gets wind of my spending spree. She might get it all wrong and curtail my freedom in the bargain. Is my plan then a non-starter, after all? Haven’t I reached the dead end even before I have begun? Isn’t there a way out?’
At that, as Prasad racked his brains for a solution, in time, he got a brainwave, as though to fashion her future, Roopa’s destiny made a common cause with him.
‘Why not enable Sathyam to take care of his needs all by himself?’ he thought joyously, ‘Of course, I can use my contacts to move him into the contracts section on promotion. And thereafter, the contractors would take care of the rest of it any way. At best, Sathyam might need a little bit of prodding from me and some pushing from some contractor. Well, that can be taken care of by me, to set the ball rolling. Haven’t I myself brought many reluctant folks onto the convenient track of compromise? And once they get over their inhibitions, these scoundrels become past-masters at extortion, don’t they? But then, they’re inconveniently called corrupt by the left-outs, sour grapes. How the illicit side of the behavioral pattern seems to be common for both sexes. Women too hesitate to step out of the threshold of fidelity, but once they cross it, they hit the fast track of debauchery, don’t they?’