I'm a Master in India

"Freida, don't worry, speak slowly."

"Ron! Ron! You have to save him!"

Anand's wife was sobbing uncontrollably, her hair disheveled and face haggard. She had spent the past few days in constant fear.

She knew clearly what it meant for someone of their low caste to disappear in Mumbai, but she refused to believe it.

"He's a good man, he never hurt anyone. Shiva should protect him."

"Yes, he's a good man, nothing will happen to him," Ron comforted her.

He had just gotten off the plane and rushed to Sur Electrical Appliances without a moment's delay.

Anand's home was in the legal Slum behind, and many familiar neighbors were gathered at the entrance, also comforting the heartbroken and despairing Freida.

Several children watched eagerly, the eldest, Jamal, held his mother's arm, while the younger ones giggled and crawled around the room.

When Freida saw Ron arrive, it was as if she had seen a savior.

She knew that only Ron could save Anand. She had reported it to the police, but the Mumbai police didn't care about the lives of Dalits at all.

"When did he disappear, and where was the last place he was seen?" Ron asked.

"The night a week ago, he said he was going to see a patient, that patient wasn't doing very well. But he went and never came back. Rajiv searched all the patients' homes, but he wasn't there."

Rajiv was the boy from the leper Slum. He worked under Anand, usually responsible for running errands to Merck.

"Sur Bai, I wanted to go with him that day, but Anand Baba told me to go back," Rajiv lowered his head, feeling very guilty.

He also had a small hut in the Slum, and several children from the leper Slum lived with him.

Anand didn't let him come back late because Rajiv needed to take care of those children.

Ron sighed lightly. His intuition told him that this matter was not that simple.

Anand wouldn't usually be alone, but that day was an exception, and then something happened.

This looked like a premeditated action no matter how you looked at it. Maybe the person behind it had been watching him for days.

But who would watch Anand? He had no power or influence, and he wasn't rich. At best, he was just a Dalit who lived a decent life.

Since it wasn't aimed at him personally, who was it aimed at?

The answer was self-evident.

Ron frowned in thought. Anand was only responsible for the drug trial business now, and they had stopped smuggling drugs a long time ago.

This business shouldn't have any competitors, right? Why would they target Anand?

"Has anything special happened recently? I mean, did Anand say anything? Or act unusually?"

"He has a good temper and is happy every day," Freida replied.

Alright, Ron's mind also conjured up that round, smiling face.

He looked around and finally looked at Rajiv, "What did Luca say?"

"I've searched all over South Mumbai, he's not there!" Just then, Luca squeezed in from outside.

He rushed here as soon as he heard the news of Ron's return to Mumbai.

"He's not at The Palace either!" he added.

Ron glared at him. What time was it, and he still had time to talk about those things.

"Brother, Anand is my brother too. In the past few days, I've been asking around the black market for news."

"Any results?"

"No, it's like he disappeared into thin air," Luca shrugged.

Disappearing so cleanly, Ron was even more certain that someone was plotting all of this behind the scenes.

"Keep an eye on the places he usually goes to. I'll go inquire about some information."

Ron immediately got up. He was going to the police station to find Ajay.

The Slum and Luca and the others couldn't provide any valuable information. This was not something they could handle.

He was just curious, who was the mastermind behind it, and why did they target Anand?

Ron's business shouldn't have that kind of life-or-death competition.

First of all, the travel company can be ruled out. A profit of hundreds of thousands of rupees a month is not even worth mentioning.

Not to mention the travel agency. With Hader Khan's endorsement, the gangs in Mumbai avoid it like the plague.

Sur Electrical Appliances? Not likely.

The only Baniya they had a conflict with had long since disappeared, and even the other party's factory was taken over.

Other appliance brands also don't make sense. India's current market demand is greater than supply, and it will be a growth market for a long time to come.

The cake is getting bigger and bigger, and it is still far from the stage of fierce competition.

The only business Ron has that conflicts with others is mining, but that is far away in Uttar Pradesh.

He thought all the way and couldn't figure out who the mastermind was.

The most urgent task was to find Anand first. Among the people Ron knew, the shorty could be considered a true friend.

His intuition told him that Anand was just locked up and not in mortal danger.

Otherwise, why would the other party spend so much effort dealing with a Dalit?

Ajay's office had moved back to Bandra District, far less impressive than the previous one in South Mumbai.

When Ron entered the door, he happened to see a police superintendent and his informant reporting a recent gunfight to Ajay.

"Are the people on the field from the Dawood Gang?" Ajay asked.

"Not clear yet, boss, but sporadic gunfights in the outfield have been going on for four days," the superintendent shook his head.

Field, outfield, these are terms from cricket.

They were talking about something that sounded like a cricket match, not a gang fight.

In fact, for many hooligans, the excitement of belonging to a gang and the pride of playing for a cricket team are essentially the same.

The gang leader is like the team captain, he must be the smartest one. He has to arrange the outfielders, carefully set the batting order, and he has to change the players on the field from time to time, also taking the opportunity to test the abilities of the newcomers.

The Mumbai gangs have their own operating system and are not all as violent and chaotic as the outside world thinks.

"Find out as soon as possible who is on the field," Ajay waved his hand.

"Boss, don't worry, we'll figure out the main lineup within a week," the superintendent guaranteed.

"Yes, yes, officer," the thin informant also nodded and bowed at the side.

"Girish, you'd better hurry up. If you handle this well, I can withdraw the case against you," Ajay promised him.

"No problem, officer!" The informant was overjoyed.

He immediately came to Ajay's desk, bent down, and spoke to him quickly and in a low voice. Ajay nodded frequently and wrote and drew in his notebook.

Ron's arrival didn't seem to attract his attention. He issued various orders, occasionally roared, kept asking questions, threatened prisoners that he would cripple or even kill them, or harm the people they cared about most.

For a full half hour, Ajay was dealing with various emergencies in this restless city, and this was even with his jurisdiction greatly reduced.

"When did you get here?" Ajay didn't notice there was an extra person in the office until the informant left.

"For a while," Ron shrugged, "I thought police informants were all undercover colleagues. Do you also recruit gangs?"

"I have leverage over them," Ajay chuckled.

These informants will do everything possible to help the police gather information to avoid conviction.

Of course, it wasn't that easy when they first recruited informants.

It was a psychological battle: you hold a little information in your hand, but you must make the other party believe that you actually know more.

The suspect will also weigh the truthfulness of Ajay's words, only revealing a little each time until he is sure he can get away safely or has to surrender.

Ajay was like a street vendor selling sugarcane and lemon juice every time, he had to squeeze out the information he wanted from the suspect's mouth.

At first, it was sugarcane juice that came out, and then the essential lemon juice.

This is not just simple intimidation. Beating the suspect until they are black and blue doesn't mean you know everything.

Understanding their psychology is key. Ajay would hint at the beginning of the interrogation that he already knew everything and was just waiting for the other party to confess voluntarily.

Sometimes this is enough, and sometimes the suspect also needs to test: How much do you really know?

Therefore, the interrogation is a competition. Both sides must be highly alert and constantly guess the other's intentions.

And personnel participating in the interrogation who only hold batons or wires are not of much help.

"Alright, tell me, what's the matter you suddenly came for?" he asked.

"A friend of mine is missing." Ron told him about Anand.

After listening to the story, Ajay frowned slightly, "This is a bit troublesome."

"How so?" Ron asked concernedly.

"It's been too long. That's enough time for them to do anything."

The "they" Ajay referred to were of course the people who took Anand. Whether it was moving him or something more brutal, a week was more than enough time.

"My intuition tells me he's still in Mumbai. There's no reason for those people to trouble him."

"You mean they're after you?" Ajay asked.

"I just suspect it. My friend usually doesn't have conflicts with anyone, and he's a low-caste."

"I'll make a few calls for you and ask around," Ajay picked up the desk phone.

He made several calls in a row, but they all returned empty-handed.

"South Mumbai hasn't received any similar reports recently, and no bodies matching the description have been found."

Ron was a little speechless. Freida and the others had clearly reported it.

Forget it, India's police system is rotten to the core.

"Help me keep an eye out for news here at the police station. He's a very important friend of mine."

"Have his family come see me."

"What?" Ron, who was about to get up, was stunned.

"Missing person cases, other police stations don't take them, I do," Ajay said calmly.

Ron smiled. See, he had more than one friend, a true friend.

"If you need anything, contact me." He prepared to leave.

"You'd better be careful yourself?" Ajay reminded him.

"Huh?" Ron turned back.

"If they really are after you, then they've already achieved their goal."

"You mean..."

"You're already back in Mumbai, aren't you?"

Ron paused slightly, then nodded and left.

He returned empty-handed. Ajay also didn't find any useful information.

Anand really disappeared as if into thin air, leaving no trace.

Neither Ron nor Ajay knew that the people who actually took Anand were not some gang kidnappers, nor were they enemies, but the police themselves.

Only the police could make a person completely disappear without revealing the slightest hint.

The Indian police arrest people as they please, without even having to report it.

Sometimes they don't even know who is locked up in the cell or what crime they committed.

Anand was thrown into a dark detention room, like an isolated island outside the world, where no wind could blow in or out.

Ron didn't give up. He was still trying to find a way.