The rest of the villagers stood at their doors, watching the police team. Nothing else had been found in any of the other houses. In absolute silence, the police team started out from Deogan.

Patnaik’s driver, a Gond, drove back. The Maoist leader was silent. Patnaik was feeling happy.

‘Where are you from, Mishra? I mean, I know you people live in forests, but where are you from originally? Uttar Pradesh?’

‘Bihar.’

‘I see. And those three? Your … what, junior commanders?’

‘Two are from Andhra Pradesh. The third is from Telangana. They are my junior officers.’

‘Officers, is it? Ha! And I knew they were from the south.’

Patnaik kept on smiling.

‘A long road, isn’t it?’ he asked.

Mishra looked at him.

‘I mean, for you. How many years have you spent away from home? Must be many,’ said the police officer.

Mishra was quiet.

‘And you must travel so much.’

‘Not much. I would like to travel, but I don’t get to,’ said Mishra.

‘So you just sit in the forest, giving orders, is it? While your men fight the government? How many people do you have?’

‘We have many people.’

‘But tell me something, Mishra. I am really curious,’ said Patnaik, twisting in his seat till he was more comfortable. This car wasn’t very big. Now that he was sure to get a promotion, he would get to travel in better cars.

‘Tell me something. I know you heard about these Gonds and thought this was a good chance to spread your war against the government to Odisha. But have you seen these people? If you beat them up once, they don’t stand up again. They tried to block the bridge once, and I ordered a lathi charge. They went back and sat inside their village and never dared to block the road again. That’s the kind of people they are. Did you see the looks on the villagers’ faces? You know why they were so quiet?’

‘I wondered about that,’ said Mishra.

‘You did, did you?’ Patnaik could just not stop smiling. ‘They were quiet because of me. They know me. They see a police uniform, they know what it means. Me, the Collector, the other officials. We rule this district. The government’s hand controls everything. Yes, companies come and go; they do their work. But we stay. And we know these Gonds better than your fighters and you do. These Gonds, they are not good for anything. They have their small farms, and they can barely grow enough to feed themselves. They are not interested in the big world. You can’t get them to do anything. And you certainly can’t get them to fight. You see?’

‘I see.’