‘But how?’ said Nagaraju.
‘Once the committee turns blind to the blank spaces, and signs on the dotted lines,’ said Sathyam, assuming a measured tone, ‘I would place each of your tenders at the bottom of the respective piles. Then, for a given project, as I read out the bid figures of all the tenders from top to bottom, at every stage, I would make a mental note the prevailing L-1. Thus, in the end, as I pick up your empty tender lying at the bottom, I can utter the bid amount, lower than the lowest. Well, Nagarajugaru should be alert to note the figures I blurt out for all the three jobs. Once we’re done with the crowd, won’t we have all the time in the world to insert the lowest bids in those empty circles on our tenders? Now tell me, what do you think of the coup in the making?’
‘Brilliant,’ exclaimed Nagaraju.
‘Workable,’ said Rami Reddy.
‘There would be a few loose ends to tie up though,’ said Sathyam, with a top-of-the-world feeling. ‘For matching the typeface on the tenders on the whole, we need to use the same typewriter all through. We should buy a machine for our office, but before we take it in, we’ll use it for typing the bid-less tenders at my place. Thus, after the tender opening, as we fill in the blanks on that machine in our office, the typeface would come clean, even under the microscope. As a way of extreme precaution, on both the occasions, we might use the same typewriter ribbon. That would ensure that even God wouldn’t get a wind of our manipulation.’
‘This to say the least,’ said Nagaraju missing the point in his excitement, ‘it’s a Sherlock Holmes’ stuff really.’
‘You can take care of the typewriter and all,’ said Rami Reddy enthusiastically to Sathyam. ‘Put up a note tomorrow itself for my approval.’
‘Oh, unbelievable!’ exclaimed Nagaraju confidently, ‘Now the three biggest ever civil works would come our way. Isn’t it as good as that? All we’ve got to do now is to put in place a pliable committee to do our bidding. But that’s a child’s play for the FM. Well, you will get your million each by tomorrow evening, sealed and delivered at home.’
‘It’s time we left,’ suggested Rami Reddy.
As he headed home in ecstasy, Sathyam was jubilant in his exuberance.
‘Rupees two million for my billion dollar idea,’ he thought excitedly, ‘wasn’t that brilliant? Oh, it’s nothing short of genius, really. Why, it’s almost a revelation! A couple of blank bids to follow, and won’t I show the Prasads of the world their rightful place? If only I could tell all this to Roopa, she would have an idea about her husband’s grey matter. How sad it is that neither I can share my triumph with her nor present the booty to her, to show her that I care. Besides, I can’t better our lifestyle either to make life lavish for her. How am I to explain my spending spree to her? Oh, why does she have such an aversion towards cutting corners? Well, after touching five or more, I should resign and venture into some business or the other. Won’t I be able to pass off all this as business profit then, even from the beginning? And that would be the time to flaunt my wealth and make her move in a limousine of her own. Meanwhile, I’ve to lay low, tucking the money tight in the attic.’