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“No.” Agastya needed his father to understand. “I just came from the youth activist’s meeting. The tide is turning and this –“
“These buggers will come and go. They will not stay. You know who stays?” Nanna met his gaze. “We do.”
“We stay if the people let us stay,” Agastya corrected him. “If we don’t listen to them, then we stand to lose. Everything. The youth are the future.”
“And the veterans are the foundation of that future. You can do nothing without a foundation.”
“You can’t grow without looking forward.” Agastya got to his feet and started to pace his frustration evident in his jerky movements.
“You’re not listening to me,” Nanna rumbled.
“Neither are you listening to me,” Agastya fired right back.
Both men stared at each other, neither willing to back down. Ganesh knocked on the door.
“Sir, your next appointment is here.” His voice was muffled by the thick wood. Neither Agastya nor his father paid any attention to him.
“There are papers missing from the pandemic file.”
The words dropped like stones into the hushed quiet of the room. His father sat back in his Chief Minister’s chair and steepled his fingers under his chin, his face turning a faint shade of red.
“It must be backed up on the computer.” He waggled his fingers like he always did when he said the word computer. Agastya assumed it was supposed to mime typing on a keyboard or something.
“It’s missing from there as well,” Agastya said quietly. He waited but his father didn’t say anything.
Agastya forced the next words out. “Do you know anything about this Nanna?”
Silence. A thunderous, rage filled silence greeted his words.
“How dare you?” his father queried softly, a bare second later. “HOW DARE YOU?”
The shout shook the rafters but Agastya held his ground, meeting his father’s gaze squarely. His father’s reaction brought relief. His father’s outrage at the implied accusation rang true and validated everything Agastya believed.
“Any idea who it could be?” he asked now, not apologising for his implied accusation. “Because it is somebody.”
But his father was too angry to think now. He waved a dismissive hand in the air. “Get out,” he said.
“Maybe we should discuss this at home.” Agastya backed away from his father’s desk. “But we will discuss it. This isn’t going away just because we ignore it. Promise me you’ll listen with an open mind.”
“Will you do the same?” Nanna arched a brow at him.
A glimmer of a smile slipped through Agastya’s foul mood. “I will if you will,” he returned, leaving the room on his father’s irritated and unwilling laugh.
“Sir, about tonight…” Ganesh began the moment he caught sight of Agastya.
“I already told you to set up the bloody meeting. Why are you still bleating on about it?”
“Sir, he has an agenda. I think you should go through it.”
Agastya stopped walking and stared at Ganesh. “What’s on this bloody agenda?”
How could a day that had started so well have turned into a shitshow of these epic proportions? Naresh silently held out a protein shake which Agastya took but didn’t open to drink. He was still staring at Ganesh.
His PA held out a tablet with an open email. As Agastya scanned the contents, his stomach sank. This already interminable day had just gotten longer.
Twenty-Six
VEDA
