Karthik stopped outside his gate his hand on the latch. A black Toyota Qualis was parked in front of his house. It looked out of place among the Bajaj scooters and bicycles in the street. The engine was off. You could hear the faint sound of a good stereo coming from the cracked window.
A man got out of the car. He looked like he was in his 30s and was wearing a sharp linen suit. He looked like someone who works in a company.
"K.M. Digital Solutions?" the man asked, checking his Blackberry. "I'm Aditya Varma, Head of Infrastructure for GlobalNexus IT."
Karthik didn't move. He leaned against his gate. Looked at Aditya.
"You're a way from MG Road, Aditya " Karthik said. "I expected an answer to my email, not a visit to my parents house."
Aditya looked at Karthiks school uniform and his dusty bag. "You're the 'Anonymous Consultant'? You're... What fifteen? I thought I was meeting someone who knows what they're doing."
"A person who knows what they're doing would have asked you for a 5% cut and lied about the problems with the land " Karthik replied, stepping closer. "I'm the person who just stopped the MLA from taking over the Siruseri stretch. If you'd arrived an hour later your new campus would have been stuck in government tape for years."
Aditya put his phone away. Looked at Karthik with interest. "The MLA is furious. My sources say a 'legal team' got a High Court stay. Was that you? With a Maruti 800 and a local divorce lawyer?"
"It worked, didn't it?" Karthik smirked. "The 'stay' is just temporary. It gives us forty-eight hours. By Monday those villagers will be a registered Land Trust. You deal with the Trust you get 50 acres at a price and the MLA gets nothing. Clean titles. No bribes. No problems for GlobalNexus."
"Karthik? Who is at the door?" his mother, Lakshmi called out stepping onto the porch. She saw the car and the suit-clad man and froze.
" a client, Amma " Karthik said, turning back with a reassuring smile. "Go back to the stove. We're just finishing some 'project' details."
Aditya watched the exchange. Realized something. "You're doing this to protect them aren't you? This middle-class life?"
"I'm doing this because I know what happens to people like them when people like you move in without a mediator " Karthik said, his eyes turning hard. "Now do you want the land. Should I call your rivals at Infosys? I hear they're looking at the corridor too."
Aditya laughed, a sharp sound of respect. He pulled out a gold-embossed business card.
"My CEO wants to meet the person who planned the 2010 expansion for Chennai better than the governments planners. He doesn't care if you're fifteen or fifty. If you can deliver that Trust by Monday we'll sign a Letter of Intent. Your 'consultancy fee' alone will be enough to buy this street."
"I don't want to buy the street " Karthik said, taking the card. "I want a seat at the table when the campus is built. I want the infrastructure contract for the entire park."
Aditya stared at him. "You're not a middleman. You're building a monopoly."
"I'm building a future " Karthik corrected. "Be at the Siruseri tree on Monday at 9:00 AM. Bring your team and the real paperwork. I'll have the villagers ready."
The Night of the General
After Aditya drove away Karthik went into his room. Locked the door. He sat at his desk the glow of the CRT monitor reflecting in his eyes.
He had 48 hours.
He had to finalize the Trust Deed.
He had to keep Mani from getting feet.
He had to deal with the MLA, who would surely realize by tomorrow morning that the "High Court Stay" was a fake.
He opened a folder on his desktop labeled "PHASE TWO." It wasn't about land anymore. It was, about Power.
"They think I'm a kid playing with fire " Karthik whispered, his fingers flying across the keyboard. "They don't realize I'm the one who invented the matches."
Karthik spent the half of the night under a big banyan tree in Siruseri. There were seventy families sitting in a circle around him. Their faces were lit up by lamps that were blowing in the wind and the glowing tips of hand-rolled cigarettes.
One of the men said "Do you want us to give our ancestors land to a trust that is managed by a young boy like you?" He was very angry. "At least the MLA gave us some money. A piece of paper is nothing."
Karthik stood up. He did not look like a boy. He looked like a man who had seen a lot of things in his life.
Karthik said "In six years your sons will be driving taxis for the people who work in the buildings that will be built on this land. Your daughters will be cleaning the floors of those buildings. Is that what you want? Or do you want to be the ones who own those buildings?"
He pulled out a map. Said "I am not asking for your land. I am asking for your help. If one man sells his land you will all lose.. If you sign this trust GlobalNexus will pay for the land and you will get to keep ten percent of the township. You will not just get some money you will get a check for the rest of your lives."
One by one the old men started signing the papers. By 2:00 AM the Siruseri Integrated Land Trust was real.
Karthik went home in Manis Pulsar. He was very tired.. When he got to his house he saw that the gate was broken. There was a car with dark windows and no license plate waiting in front of his house.
Three men in clothes were dragging his father, Sundaram out of the house. His mother was. Crying.
One of the men a guy with a scar on his neck named Ravi said "Where is the boy?"
Karthik said "I am right here." He got off the bike. Walked towards Ravi.
Ravi grabbed Karthik by the collar. Lifted him up. "The MLA is very angry, kid. He wants to know who told you about the High Court. He wants to know who you are working for."
Karthik did not struggle. He looked Ravi in the eye. Said "I am working for the future.. You? You are working for a man who is going to lose everything."
Ravi raised his fist. "You think you are smart—"
Karthik said "Account Number 882-XJ-991 Credit Suisse, Zurich."
Ravi stopped. His fist was still in the air.
Karthik said "That is the MLAs bank account. The one where he put the four hundred crores from the 2003 scam. In three months someone in Switzerland is going to tell everyone about it.. I know about it now. If I do not call my friend at the Vigilance Department by 6:00 AM to tell them I am safe that account number will be on the Chief Ministers desk by sunrise."
Karthik said "Tell the MLA that I do not want his job. I do not even want his money. I want Siruseri. If he leaves my family alone and lets the GlobalNexus deal go through I will tell him who is going to betray him month."
Ravi let Karthik go. He stepped back. Looked at Karthik like he was a ghost.
Ravi said "Let the father go."
The men let Sundaram go. Ravi turned to Karthik. Said "The MLA will call you. If you are lying..."
Karthik said "I am not lying.. Ravi tell the MLA to sell his shares in Temple Steel by Tuesday. The market is going to crash."
The black car drove away. Sundaram was leaning against the wall of his house trying to catch his breath. He was looking at Karthik with a mixture of fear and pride.
Karthiks mother was. Hugging him. "Karthik what have you become?"
Karthik looked at the sunrise over the Chennai skyline. He felt like he was the one who was going to change the world.
He said "I have become the person who makes sure no one ever touches this family again."
He took out his phone. It was Sunday morning. The Village Trust was signed. The MLA was not a problem for now. The Corporate Scout was coming tomorrow.
He went to his room. Opened his notebook. He crossed out Phase One. He turned the page. Wrote in big letters:
PHASE TWO: THE SILICON VALLEY, OF THE EAST.
Karthik said to himself "Tomorrow I start the real work."