“You are absolutely right.”

The conversation had worn itself out.

Khader leaned back on his chair and looked out the window. Isakki sat still, staring at the floor.

After a few minutes, Khader asked, “Are you upset with me?”

Isakki looked up at Khader and smiled. “No, no! Not at all. I was thinking about something else.”

“I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings . . .”

“Don’t worry about it! Just let it go. I’ve already forgotten about it. Besides, you’ve got every right to correct me. Every right. You can even twist my ear and say to me, ‘Thambi, you are going down the wrong path. Do the right thing.’ Now, no matter what you think of me, I am going to tell you what I came to tell you . . .” Isakki took out the packet of snuff from his pocket. Turning his face away from Khader, he took a sniff and stared at the opposite wall until his face regained its composure after all its contortions. Then he snapped his head back to Khader and said, “Brother, this is a good chance for you.”

Khader looked at Isakki without asking what he meant.

“Shall I tell you?”

“Sure.”

“I don’t say this lightly. I have given it some thought, and I think this is your chance. I hear he is contesting from the Thirteenth Ward. Do you know how many votes your people have in that ward?”

Khader said nothing.

Isakki pulled out a piece of paper from his shirt pocket.

“Over seven hundred votes, annachi. Out of the total votes of two thousand or so, you Muslims have got seven hundred. At least. If you get somebody from Dhamu’s caste to contest, then we can also split those votes and you can beat him easily. You don’t have to worry about anything. I will speak to our friend Chairman M. C. Joseph and take care of everything. He is filthy rich. This is nothing for him. If he decides not to deposit his estate income in the bank this year, everything will come to a grinding halt. We worry about just one Dhamu. Joseph can throw ten Dhamus into the sea in Kanyakumari! That boy has no idea whom he is messing with . . .”

“Wait . . . What’s Chairman M. C. Joseph got to do with any of this? Why drag him into this?”

“Annachi, don’t you see what’s going on? Didn’t I tell you? Dhamu’s plan is not just to become a mere councilman. He wants to become the municipal chairman! So he is coming for M. C. Joseph’s job! So Joseph is thinking about fronting a promising candidate against Dhamu and putting his weight behind him. He wants to nip this in the bud . . .”

“Oh! I see.”

“That’s the reason I am telling you all this in confidence. The truth is, unless Dhamu is taken down, he will make life difficult for everyone in this town.”