Diya

That old lady. I don’t think I’ll ever meet anyone like her again. Standing there all calm, as if what she’s doing is nothing special. ‘My duty is done,’ she says. The security guard is unmoving at her feet. He has finally slipped into death.

‘It’s not your turn,’ says Salim. ‘Sit down.’

‘Oh yes, it is,’ says Sharmila. ‘I’ve been waiting to die for a while now. I think a bullet is better than a hospital bed.’

‘Not you,’ says Salim, turning to Kabir. ‘You, boy! Get on your feet.’

Kabir stands up.

‘Are you getting picky now about who you kill?’ says Sharmila. ‘I thought anyone would do. I’m anyone.’

‘You’re starting to irritate me, old woman,’ says Salim.

‘Good,’ she says. ‘Only one sure way to stop me.’

‘Shut up!’ shouts Salim.

‘Go on, make your mother proud,’ says Sharmila. ‘Let her see you kill defenceless old women live on TV. Is she proud of all the widows you have made? Does she keep a count of the children?’

Salim loses it. ‘Fine! Get out there, buddhi,’ he says. ‘I’ll be glad when your mouth is shut.’

‘No,’ says Kabir, speaking suddenly. ‘You can’t do this.’

‘Sit down, boy,’ says Sharmila.

‘No—,’ says Kabir, starting forward. Two of the terrorists grab him. He tries to struggle out of their grip.

Sharmila looks at him. ‘Look after my dogs,’ she says. ‘42 Uppal Street. Matunga.’

‘You can’t do this! No!’

The terrorists are struggling to hold on to Kabir. One of them elbows him in the gut. He folds, but he won’t stop trying to get away from them.

Sharmila walks to the door. She pauses there and smiles at us. ‘Goodbye. I wish we had met under different circumstances. You seem like an interesting lot of people. I hope you survive this. If you do, live good lives.’

And with that, she walks out of the doors, her head held high.

‘NO!’ shouts Kabir. ‘You can’t do that!’ He is almost weeping. A terrorist clubs him on the side of the head with his weapon. He falls into a stunned silence.

‘Shut up and sit down,’ says the terrorist, shoving Kabir with the butt of his gun.

Harish jumps up and grabs Kabir, forcing him to sit. Everybody turns to the bank of screens.