THE VOLES
As I looked under the door, I noticed that there was a light inside and wondered what the hell I should do now. Maybe I would go back. “No Tam,” I thought, “it is now or never sister. I knocked a few times on the door.
A young woman opened the door, and almost slammed it in my face. “I did not mean to frighten you, Ma'am, but I just want to know who you are,” I asked curiously.
“Well I could ask the same thing,” she said, looking at me. She was dressed in true Bollywood style with the stylish makeup to boot.
The she breathed deeply, and asked me, “Are you with the Silver Triads?”
“Yes Ma'am,” I said honestly.
“Now how on earth did you find us?”
“Well, I happened to bump my head on the bookcase and it opened to this tunnel...so it is purely by accident Ma'am,” I said seriously.
“Oh well then, I am Lune. This is my husband Troy and this is Munga here. We are all members of a group called the Voles.”
“The Voles,” I repeated.
“Yes it stands for voices of liberty, equality and sincerity,” beamed Lune.
“I have never heard of them, Lune,” I said, looking at the members, all with V’s on their forehead and dressed in rustic attire. Part of me right there and then wanted to go back to work computer hacking and indulge in a latte rather than face this unknown scenario.
“I thought you were the Walf, Troy. Gosh you look alike,” I said, gazing at him in disbelief.
“Well that stands to reason, Tam. I am his twin brother,” smiled Troy.
“Oh my goodness,” I said, trying to run outside.
“Hey Tam, don’t panic. We are needing someone to help bring the Walf’s computer system down, but we are having difficulty disabling the system as we have not access to the core files to fully shut down the whole shebang.”
“Blimey, you don’t say,” I asked wondering what the hell these people wanted of me.
“Would you be able to help us bring the whole organization to its very knees,” asked Lune seriously.
“This could be tricky and…”
“So you won’t help us,” Troy asked, looking annoyed with me.
“No, I did not say that ,Troy, but I will need some help as I have to see the Walf regularly,” I said.
“Well we can do that for you, provided you work with us together and for god sake don’t get caught,” said Troy.
“All I want is to go back home and see my kids,” I faltered and burst into tears.
Lune and Munga came up to me and gave me a hug. “Well Tam, we will help you provided you will help us,” said Troy seriously.
“We are hiding out here so we are out of harms way, so to speak,” said Lune.
“Well, in that case, I will help you and the other people here. It must be your lucky day, as I am approaching the elite in computer hacking and money laundering.”
“Great,” said all the Voles in unison and all of a sudden I could hear a young child crying.
“Have you got kids in this place,” I asked Lune.
“Yes, this is our daughter, Khandi, the Walf’s niece. We keep her here and out of harm’s way from the Walf and his henchman as it is not safe in our country,” Lune said seriously.
“By the way Lune what is your country,” I asked.
“It is Bhutan, but I have lived in India at times,” indicated Lune smiling.
“Oh blimey.”
“Yes, it is a good two days walk to the King of Bhutan’s palace or if you happen to take the wrong route you will end up chez the Walf,” said Troy seriously.
“Oh blimey, I had no idea,” I faltered. “How did you build this without him knowing, Troy?”
“Well, I know how my brother thinks most of the time and used my specialized equipment which makes tunnels without making a noise…so that is how I made all these tunnels here,” said Troy, proudly standing there.
“Wow that is just true genius,” I said, in awe of Troy. “
“That is what I keep telling him,” said Lune proudly of her husband.
Troy just smiled and said.” T he Walf is not as smart as he makes out and leaves all his operators to do his dirty work, and he forgets that Troy is his twin brother and he is a damn sight smarter than the Walf will ever be and on top of that much nicer,” said Lune as she hugged her husband.
“Thanks Lune,” said Troy, smiling.
“Now I am forgetting my manners, Tam. Are you interested in having a meal with us Voles and I’ll introduce you to the rest of our tribe,” said Lune.
“Sure,” I said.
“Now Tam, you can sit next to me,” said an elderly man. “I am Munga,” he said giving me a handshake.
“Please to meet you,” I said.
“This is Munga’s cousin, Blinka. I am Troy, this is Lune, Khandi, Mova the cook and his niece. All of a sudden, I heard a bang and a thud.
I jumped up in surprise and said, “What is that?”
“Sorry Tam,” said Troy calling out to somebody in the back… and then five young men came to where I was sitting. “These are Munga’s five nephews who are working in the back on new prototypes. They are Sunda, Suhul, Sagar, Roxol and Dingar and they are trained computer engineers and programmers, as well as experts in other fields.”
“OMG, I had no idea that all this was going on right under the Walf’s nose.”
“Here you are Tam...Mova’s specialty: Lentil Dahl and bread for today,” said Lune as she handed the meal on a plate.
“Mmmmmmm! This is good,” I said, smelling the aroma of natural cooking.
“Now are you getting your proper food, Tam,” asked Troy, looking at me concerned.
“Yes Troy that is one thing that is good. The meals are excellent,” I said.
“That is okay and one less worry for me,” said Troy. “Now when do you have to go back?”
“OOhhhh! I have left my watch at the bookcase,” I said.
“You have been here over two hours,” said Troy.
“Oh Christ,” I said, starting to panic.
“Hey take it easy, Tam,” said Troy, holding me. “I will take you home in two seconds flat with my laser cars at the back of our place,” he grinned.
“What on earth is a laser car,” I asked, looking at the striking blond fellow with those golden curls standing in front of me.
“My invention and one of the prototypes I have worked on,” said Troy seriously.
“OMG,” I said.
“Yes Tam, Troy is the inventor here. Before you go, here are some scuffs to pop on your feet and remember to leave them in the tunnel when Troy drops you off,” said Lune.
“Now, when do you see the Walf next Tam,” asked Troy.
“Soon, as I am being promoted and he wants me to spend time with him,” I said.
“Oh shit, is he keen on you,” asked Troy.
“I think so, unfortunately,” I said.
“Play along with him. Pop this little baby in his drink to get him to sleep and get the core files with this pink USB,” grinned Troy, handing me the device.
“What if I fail?”
“Well, if you do happen to fail it will tell me so and then I will sneak my way inside, now that you are already in the know.”
“Would you know your way around k7? It is pretty big.”
“Yes, Karl, or the Walf, and I had plans of building a society and made the plans together. I still have most of his designs, but that society was going to help the impoverished and poor...and not engage in criminal activity. Unfortunately, Tam, the lure of money changed Karl for the Walf,” said Troy.
“What a sell out!”
“Girlfriend, I like the way you are talking,” beamed Mova.
“Now we better get you home, Tam,” said Troy, taking me to the back of his hideout. I saw a car that looked like something from Star Wars. “Love my car, Tam. It travels the speed of sound without making a noise and runs on air. Hop in, Tam.” I hopped in and in no time was near the edge of the tunnel. “Now will you try and get the files when you see the Walf next?”
“Okay,” I said.
“Now, when you want to see me tomorrow, press this pink button and these devices will help you do your work faster , but for god sake don’t let on or the plan is cactus. See you, Tam,” said Troy, shaking my hand.
“Bye,” I said and Troy left back to the Voles hideout.
I left my scuffs that Lune had given me in the tunnel and went to my room. I had just lain on the bed when I heard the food trolley come past. I was not really hungry after the lentil Dahl I had with Troy and the Voles. That was all for the best as it made it look like I was genuinely sick. I started to drift off while studying advanced computer programming and then woke up when Spike knocked on my door. “How are you, Tam,” he asked, looking concerned.
“Not too bad now,” I said, trying to contain my excitement.
“Do you think you will be alright tomorrow, Tam?”
“Yes, Spike,” and then through nerves I started to laugh at him.
“Are you sure you are okay?”
“Yes, I am happy that is all” …realizing that I was finally on the right path to freedom with the help of the Voles.
“Well in that case, do you mind if I stay here?”
“Sure no worries, Spike,” I said, feeling a sense of achievement. I was not going to die in this place after all.
Spike returned and said, “Now do you need help with the tasks tomorrow, as I have to do some heavy maintenance on the power grid. It would be best if I could just focus on that. It keeps on shutting down all the time and I am at wits end on what to do about it. The Walf is not happy as it has never broken down like that before, Tam.”
“There is always a first time,” I remarked, and then laughed uncontrollably.
“Are you drunk or something, Tam?”
“Just the happiest woman alive,” I smiled.
“How about we celebrate and eat some of the goodies that the Walf has given us,” said Spike.
“Why not?”