The Night Raiders

Sonu and Nishant waited with bated breath, crouching behind the thick clump of bushes, wishing fervently that the clouds wrap the moon and give them the cover of darkness. Ahead of them was a mound, on top of which ran railway trdacks which shone in the moonlight. The two of them shifted uneasily as they waited with increasing impatience for the Guwahati express to pass by.

Wearing full sleeved banians - it was winter - Sonu and Nishant heaved a collective sigh of relief when the clouds did cover the moon and give them the dark blanket that they so desperately needed for their operation. Sonu looked at Nishant and smiled, revealing his single gold tooth.

Behind them is a small pond and behind it is a clump of trees. The Guwahati express made a stop at this point everyday and invariably a passenger or two gets down to answer nature's call. What better place to relieve oneself than in an open field in the middle of the night, and under the watchful eyes of the moon! This temptation overcomes the restrictions that the cops in the train impose on the passengers - barring them from opening the train doors or, worse still, getting down from the train.

Sonu and Nishant are from the nearby village and have been planning this loot for over a month now. After tedious and careful research, they have decided upon this night to go for the kill.

"Let us go over the plan again," whispered Sonu, the elder of the two.

"Yeah, let us do that. First we advance slowly.." Nishant was only too eager to say the right things and impress his brother.

"Shhhh... The ground rules first," growled Sonu clenching his teeth.

"Ok sorry. Do not go if more than two passengers alight.
Do not shout or create unnecessary noise and most importantly, don't charge at the passengers."

"Good. And then?"

"And then advance nonchalantly towards the passenger and catch him off guard." Nishant beamed, confident that he hadn't missed a single point.

"Right," said Sonu, confirming Nishants belief, "And now the actual plan of action?"

Nishant took in a deep breath like how a runner does just before his sprint, in a it-is-now-or-never manner. "Once the passenger gets down and loiters about, we go to him innocuously. I raise my weapon and thrust it against him threateningly and when he stands frozen, you relieve him of all his valuables , and then we make a run for it. And just to be safe, we also jump into the pond and swim across. That will leave the passenger left with no other choice, but to get back onto the train, as he will never want to get into those dark clump of trees," he finished with a flourish, licking his lips satisfactorily.

"You are a gem. But now tell me what we would do if someone rushes at us threatening to attack us?" queried Sonu as if he were a teacher asking a student seemingly innocent questions and waiting to pounce on him the minute he makes a mistake.

"Then we point our weapons against them all and shout that we shoot if they move, just like in the movies". Sonu is thoroughly impressed and gives Nishant an audible thump of appreciation on his back.

The distant whistle of the train pierces the frigid air softly, and Sonu shudders as he crosses his arms around his shoulders. The whistling stops, the clacking sound of the wheels on the tracks grow louder, and the train rolls into view. The robbers slowly turn back and see the waters of the pond shimmering due to the vibration. Turning their gazes forward, they catch sight of the headlight tearing its way through the night and brightening the way ahead. The monster groans to a stop slowly in front of them, and they smile at each other, albeit with a lot of nervousness. The first robbery of their lives and how well they have it all sorted out.

The couple sit on their haunches with bated breath, unmindful of how tightly they are gripping their weapons. After a minute or two, an errant passenger opens the door, glances to his left and right, and then decides to get down.

"Bhai Saab, don't go out in the night. Dacoits will be waiting for a kill," calls out a passenger. "Arrey, who believes in all that in this age. The police is everywhere, and even if there comes along a dacoit, he is bound to get caught and I can claim to have contributed to that, " says the fat man throwing his head back in laughter.

As he gets down the train, the robbers clutch their pendants, chant a silent prayer, get up, and start walking coolly towards the fat man. Their calm exterior does not betray their turbulent heart beats. Fighting the urge to run to wards their prey, they stiffen their bodies against a chill draft and advance towards the man with their hands behind their backs. The passenger is by this time, letting out a fountain of piss, which wavers from its natural trajectory due to the strong wind.

Just a few more paces and they would be all over the man, their only worries being that their loud heart beats would bring the man to attention. They bring their hands forward, another 3 steps and they can go in for the kill...

"Sonu...Nishant...Is that you? What are you guys doing here? Rascals, come back here" comes a raspy voice. In the still of the night, this is the last voice that the robbers wanted to hear. They freeze, the fat man looks ahead, catches sight of them, zips his pants in a hurry, and runs towards the train. A look of horror crosses the faces of the robbers, as they realise what has happened. They slowly hide their hands behind their backs again and turn around. The clouds part ways and the moonlight shines brilliantly from above, illuminating the grandma's face. She has shaded her hand on her forehead and her eyes are straining to catch sight of the culprits.

"You both are a spoilt lot. I have told your father so many times not to take you to gangster movies. But he himself is a rotten apple. What is that you have behind your backs?"

The robbers look at each other and bring out their hands.

"Bamboo sticks! How foolish you are. You would have been caught, thrashed soundly, and jailed," she chides them, grabs them by their ears and drags them away.

The fat man watches from the train as it pulls away. Though old, he has a sharp ear and can hear the voice still shouting.

"Hardly fourteen years old and you want to commit dacoity? Wait till your old man hears of this..." the granny's voice drifts into the distance as the whistle of the train takes over. With a slight shudder, the fat man slams the train door shut and retires to his seat.