Chapter 16: The Calculator
The sun beat down on the central courtyard of Cherlapally Jail. It was recreation hour.
Arjun sat on his usual concrete bench, watching the ecosystem of the prison. To his left, the gambling ring was in full swing. To his right, Mallesh's recruits were trading cigarettes for soap. The economy was running, but it was messy.
Cash was being stuffed into mattresses. Accounts were being kept on scraps of newspaper. It was amateur.
"We are leaking money, Shiva," Arjun said, his eyes scanning the crowd. "Without a ledger, we don't know who owes us what. We need a system."
"I can count," Shiva grunted, cracking his knuckles.
"You can count bodies, Shiva. I need someone who can count compounding interest."
Arjun pointed to a corner of the yard near the latrines.
A small, balding man in his forties was sitting on the dirt, hugging his knees. His uniform was torn at the shoulder, and his glasses were taped together at the bridge. He looked like a frightened rabbit in a cage of wolves.
"That's him?" Arjun asked.
"Nanda," Shiva nodded. "Barrack 9. In for a 500-crore banking fraud. He cooked the books for a tech company. The inmates call him 'Zero' because that's what he has left."
As they watched, three thugs from the D-Block gang approached Nanda. The leader, a wiry man with yellow teeth, kicked dust onto Nanda's plate of food.
Nanda flinched, pulling his legs tighter.
"Hey, Zero," the thug laughed. "Do my taxes. I made ten cigarettes today."
Nanda didn't answer. He just looked down.
The thug grabbed Nanda's collar and slapped him. Thwack. It wasn't a hard hit, just humiliating.
"Speak when I talk to you, fraud. Or give me your lunch."
Nanda silently handed over his plate. He was broken. The man who had once manipulated stock markets and fooled the Reserve Bank of India was now paying extortion with a dry roti.
Arjun stood up.
"Let's go shopping," Arjun said.
Arjun walked across the yard. The air changed as he moved. Prisoners stopped talking and stepped aside. The takeover of the Bakery had solidified his reputation. He wasn't just the kid who stabbed an MLA anymore; he was the guy who controlled the food.
Arjun stopped three feet from the bullies.
The leader turned, holding Nanda's roti. He saw Arjun and Shiva. The smirk dropped from his face.
"Arjun Bhai," the thug stammered. "We... we were just having fun."
Arjun didn't look at the thug. He looked at Nanda.
"Stand up," Arjun ordered.
Nanda looked up, terrified. He scrambled to his feet, shaking.
"You are Nanda Gopal?" Arjun asked. "The Chartered Accountant?"
"Yes... Yes, Sir," Nanda whispered.
"You embezzled five hundred crores from the public sector banks," Arjun stated. "You created forty shell companies in Mauritius. You hid assets so well that the CBI is still looking for half the money."
Nanda looked down, ashamed. "That was... before."
Arjun stepped closer, invading his personal space.
"You are a genius, Nanda. You stole a fortune with a pen. And now? You are letting this street dog steal your lunch?"
Arjun pointed at the thug.
"He can't even count to ten without using his fingers. And you are bowing to him? Why?"
"He... he is strong," Nanda mumbled.
"No," Arjun said sharply. "You are weak. The world punishes crimes, Nanda. But nature punishes weakness."
Arjun turned to the thug.
"Give him back the food."
The thug hesitated. "Bhai, this is D-Block business..."
Shiva stepped forward. He didn't say a word. he just stared.
The thug dropped the plate instantly. "Take it. Take it."
"Get lost," Arjun said.
The three bullies scurried away like rats.
Arjun looked back at Nanda. The small man was clutching his plate, looking at Arjun with a mix of gratitude and fear.
"Thank you, Bhai. Thank you."
"Don't thank me," Arjun said cold. "I didn't save you. I acquired you."
"Acquired?"
"Come with me."
They walked to the Bakery.
The heat inside was intense, but Nanda didn't complain. He was just happy to be away from the yard.
Arjun led him to the small office in the corner—Pandi's old territory. It had a desk, a fan, and a stack of dirty ledgers.
"Sit," Arjun commanded.
Nanda sat.
Arjun threw a bundle of crumpled papers onto the desk. They were the rough notes of the gambling debts, the bakery inventory, and the cash flow from the bread trucks.
"This is a mess," Arjun said. "Money is coming in, money is going out. I don't know my profit margins. I don't know who is stealing from the bottom line."
Nanda adjusted his taped glasses. He looked at the papers. His demeanor changed instantly. He wasn't the scared victim anymore. He was a professional looking at data.
He picked up a sheet.
"This column..." Nanda pointed a shaking finger. "You are calculating the gambling odds wrong. You are paying out 60% on the cricket bets. The house margin should be at least 20%. You are losing money on every third bet."
He flipped another page.
"And here... the flour inventory. You are ordering 500 kilos, but the output is only matching 450 kilos. Someone is siphoning 10% of your raw material before it even hits the oven."
Arjun smiled. It was the first time Nanda had seen him smile. It was sharp and predatory.
"You saw all that in ten seconds?" Arjun asked.
"Numbers talk to me," Nanda said quietly. "People lie. Numbers don't."
"Good," Arjun leaned on the desk. "From today, you work here. You are my Auditor."
Nanda looked around the grim bakery. "But... I am a prisoner. I have ten years left."
"In here, you are a victim," Arjun said. "Out there, you are a fraud. But with me? You are the CFO of the biggest company in this city."
Arjun leaned in close.
"I am going to build an empire, Nanda. I am going to take money from the politicians, the builders, the mafia. And I need someone to wash it. I need someone to hide it where the government can never find it. Can you do that?"
Nanda looked at Arjun. He saw the ambition. He saw the fire. For the first time in years, Nanda felt a spark of his old self—the genius who had outsmarted the banks.
"I can," Nanda whispered. "But... I need a calculator. A real one. And a fresh ledger."
Arjun nodded at Shiva.
"Get him what he needs. And tell the boys in Barrack 9 that Nanda is under my protection. If anyone touches him, they lose a hand."
Arjun turned to leave the office.
"Get to work, Nanda. We have a lot of black money to turn white."
Nanda sat up straighter. He pulled the messy papers toward him. He took a pen from his pocket.
The fear was gone from his eyes. He was back in his element.
Arjun walked out to the ovens. Shiva followed him.
"He's a tiny man," Shiva muttered. "A strong wind would blow him away."
"He's a weapon, Shiva," Arjun said, watching the flames. "A gun kills one man. A balance sheet can kill a whole company. Satya Kumar won't be defeated by bullets. He will be defeated by math."
The Board of Directors was growing.
The Muscle: Shiva.
The Brain: Nanda.
The CEO: Arjun.
The Central Jail wasn't a prison anymore. It was an incubator. And the monster inside was getting smarter every day.