Mirza looked at his assembled unit. In position. Ready for their new mission.
There was neither fear in their eyes, nor anxiety. They had been trained this way. Everything was a job to them. Nothing more, nothing less.
Over a period of one year, he had handpicked these men, together known as the 'Quarantine', the most feared gangster unit in all of India. Their job was simple. They awaited orders from anyone who paid them enough, and executed them to near perfection. Their reputation was undeniable.
Mirza especially loved the etymology behind the word Quarantine. It was, in fact the very reason he had selected that particular name for his team.
In early Italy of the 1660's there was a custom of keeping the ships that docked in its port, in isolation for 40 days. This was done to ensure that there were no epidemic carrying persons aboard the ship who might infect the country if they were let in. Quarantine was derived from the Italian word for 40 days, 'quaranta'.
His 40 men were men who carried epidemics, waiting to infect any region in the country.
But as Mirza opened his mouth to start speaking, the strangest of sounds interrupted his proceedings. Slow and melodious, the tune and lyrics of an old hindi song began to float the room.
The Quarantine looked on. Neither fear, nor apprehension, but now some indulgent smiles.
Mirza had paused mid air. He had closed his eyes and was waltzing in sync with the music. His love for brutal kills and old songs was equally legendary in the business.
"Who's ring tone is this?"
One of the assembled sheepishly drew his phone out.
Mirza smiled and said, "You have ShareIt? Send it to me later."
The man nodded.
"Now, to business. This time it is no big deal. No murders involved."
It was hard to miss the tone of regret in his voice as he said so.
"Anyhow, what we have to do is by no means easy. It is a long process that starts with a fund transfer to an anonymous individual. The person will confirm his identity with a password, and the amount is to be transferred to whatever account is linked with the phone he is using..."
As Mirza outlined the details of the mission to his Quarantine, he had no idea that it was going to go south in no time at all.
