Empty Hand Revolution

Conflicts of Interest

Kachui sounded anxious and rushed as he spoke.

Cosmo pressed his ear tightly to the telephone receiver in their shared dorm room. He didn’t need to ask. He already knew the answer. Out of habit, he asked anyway. “Which is it this time?”

“Don’t be smart, cousin. I’m sure you’ve heard rumors that party representatives are coming to campus.”

“Rumors, yes.”

“I promise you, they’re true, and the Naga aren’t the only ones who’ve heard.”

“So you’re saying the purpose of your invite is a fight, not a social?”

Kachui swore under his breath. “I’m saying unless you want two of our brightest leaders to be arrested—”

“Or killed,” Cosmo interrupted.

“Then get to the cafe on Ring Road before the authorities do.”

“I’m coming.” Cosmo hung up. It took all his impulse control not to swear out loud. This was exactly the type of outside favor his employers had cautioned him against. Continuing his matches in the fight club provided no conflict of interest. The bosses gained added enjoyment from pitting their best men against each other for increased stakes.

Publicly intervening in a violent showdown between the Naga Student Union and student loyalists could land him in real trouble with both the government and his bosses. But Kachui and the others were his people, not self-aggrandizing Indian thugs. His employers paid him to perform a service. That was that. Cosmo knew where his loyalties laid.

Wearing sneakers, slacks and a long-sleeved shirt, he took the stairs a landing at a time. In less than twenty seconds he’d exited the student dorm complex and bolted toward Ring Road, north of campus. The Naga students frequented a cafe there. It had been stupid of them to choose such an obvious meeting spot.

Two minutes later, Cosmo sprinted into the cramped alley immediately behind the cafe. His sudden presence caught a clump of student loyalists off guard and in the process of lighting each other’s cigarettes.

Leaning heavily on the element of surprise, Cosmo smashed the only camera he saw with a quick kick. He followed with a palm strike to the shocked student’s nose. The blood spatter created further panic.

Snagging another student by the arm, Cosmo flung him into a third. Both of them crashed into a pallet stacked high with garbage. The rest of the group scattered.

Cosmo broke off the fight and kicked open the service door to the cafe. In the kitchen, he found a grateful Kachui.

“Thank God.” Kachui gestured for three others to follow him and Cosmo out the back. “Did anyone recognize you?”

“I doubt it.”

Kachui crammed into the service hall behind Cosmo. “If they’re able to take pictures, or even gather names—”

“I smashed the only camera I saw. We’re wasting time. I’ll clear a hole. You lead the others.” Cosmo burst back into the alley. None of the student spies loyal to the government had returned, but he could hear a gathering ruckus in front of the cafe. “Go.”

Cosmo shielded his cousin and the others from any potential camera shots as they fled toward campus. He had instantly recognized those gathered under his cousin’s care but avoided eye contact for the anonymity of everyone involved. This was not his business. He was a student, not a revolutionary.

Before the student loyalists had a chance to identify him, Cosmo followed Kachui’s retreat. He’d ensure the visitors cleared campus and avoided arrest or worse. But that was it.

Anyone associated with the revolutionaries was regarded as an enemy combatant or terrorist. While the local police were a joke, certain government authorities were not to be taken lightly. There had been rumors of a ceasefire and peace talks between the government of India and the Naga. But they were merely rumors. Even if they became reality, Cosmo doubted the Indians were capable of honoring any such process.

Cosmo shook political thoughts out of his mind as he checked over his shoulder for pursuers. He saw no one. Ahead, he caught a glimpse of Kachui and the others ducking into a fenced off maintenance area. He slowed to a walk and relaxed his breathing.

Kachui and the two revolutionary party delegates had been accompanied by another Naga student. Cosmo knew him. He worked as a groundskeeper on campus. Sure enough, a minute later a maintenance truck pulled out of the garage and headed calmly off campus. Two students sat in the front—Kachui in the passenger seat. A canvas tarp covered the truck bed.

Whistling, Cosmo strolled casually toward his dorm as if on a study break. And why not? He had been studying for his second year exams before Kachui had imposed his cause into Cosmo’s life yet again.

Between his secrets and his cousin’s—Cosmo shook his head. They’d gotten lucky this time. With a little expert juggling, none of the balls had been dropped. A year left in his studies, Cosmo feared the luck wouldn’t hold.