The steel door at the end of the hall clanged. Kolabati stepped back as her cabin door swung open. Kusum stood there with a flat box and a large brown paper sack cradled in his arm. His eyes held genuine compassion as he looked at her.
"What have you done to Jack?" she blurted as she saw the look on his face.
"Is that your first concern?" Kusum asked, his face darkening. "Does it matter that he was ready to kill me?"
"I want you both alive!" she said, meaning it.
Kusum seemed somewhat mollified. "We are that—both of us. And Jack will stay that way as long as he does not interfere with me."
Kolabati felt weak with relief. And in light of the knowledge that Jack had not been harmed, she felt free to concentrate on her own plight. She took a step toward her brother.
"Please let me out of here, Kusum," she said. She hated to beg but dreaded the thought of spending another night locked in this cabin.
"I know you had an uncomfortable night," he said, "and I'm sorry for that. But it won't be long now. Tonight your door shall be unlocked."
"Tonight? Why not now?"
He smiled. "Because we have not yet sailed."
Her heart sank. "We're sailing tonight?"
"The tide turns after midnight. I've made arrangements for apprehending the last Westphalen. As soon as she is in my hands, we will sail."
"Another old woman?"
Kolabati saw a queasy look flicker across her brother's face.
"Age has no bearing. She is the last of the Westphalen line. That is all that matters."
Kusum set the bag on the fold-out table and began unpacking it. He pulled out two small jars of fruit juice, a square Tupperware container filled with some sort of salad, eating utensils, and paper cups. At the bottom of the bag was a small selection of newspapers and magazines, all in Hindi. He opened the container and released the scent of curried vegetables and rice into the room.
"I've brought you something to eat."
Despite the cloud of depression and futility that enveloped her, Kolabati felt her mouth filling with saliva. But she willed her hunger and thirst to be still and glanced toward the open cabin door. If she got a few steps lead on Kusum she could perhaps lock him in here and escape.
"I'm famished," she said, approaching the table on an angle that would put her between Kusum and the door. "It smells delicious. Who made it?"
"I bought it for you at a little Indian restaurant on Fifth Avenue in the Twenties. A Bengali couple run it. Good people."
"I'm sure they are."
Her heart began to pound as she edged closer to the door. What if she failed to get away? Would he hurt her? She glanced to her left. The door was only two steps away. She could make it but she was afraid to try.
It had to be now!
She leaped for the doorway, a tiny cry of terror escaping her as she grabbed the handle and pulled the door closed behind her. Kusum was at the door the instant it slammed shut. Kolabati fumbled with the catch and shouted with joy when it clicked into the locked position.
"Bati, I command you to open this door immediately!" Kusum shouted from the other side, his voice heavy with anger.
She ran for the outer door. She knew she wouldn't feel truly free until there was a layer of steel between herself and her brother.
A crash behind her made Kolabati glance over her shoulder. The wooden door was exploding outward. She saw Kusum's foot flash through as the door dissolved into a shower of splintered wood. Kusum stepped into the hall and started after her.
Terror spurred her on. Sunlight, fresh air, and freedom beckoned to her from beyond the steel hatch. Kolabati darted through and pushed it shut, but before she could lock it, Kusum threw all his weight against the other side, sending her flying onto her back.
Without a word, he stepped out onto the deck and pulled her to her feet. With a vise-like grip that bruised her wrist, he dragged her back to her cabin. Once there, he spun her around and gripped the front of her blouse.
"Don't ever try that again!" he said, his eyes nearly bulging with rage. "It was idiotic! Even if you had managed to lock me up, you would have had no way to reach the dock—unless you know how to slide down a rope."
She felt herself jerked forward, heard the fabric of her blouse rip as buttons flew in all directions.
"Kusum!"
He was like a mad beast, his breathing harsh, his eyes wild.
"And take— "
He reached into the open front of her blouse, grabbed her bra between the cups, and tore the center piece, exposing her breasts…
"—off—"
... then pushed her down on the bed and yanked brutally at the waistband of her skirt, bursting the seams and pulling it from her…
—these— "
… then tore her panties off…
"—obscene— "
… then tore away the remnants of her blouse and bra.
"— rags!"
He threw down the ruined clothes and ground them into the floor with his heel.
Kolabati lay frozen in panic until he finally calmed himself. As his breathing and complexion returned to normal, he stared at her as she huddled naked before him, an arm across her breasts, a hand over the pubic area between her tightly clenched thighs.
Kusum had seen her unclothed countless times before; she had often paraded nude before him to see his reaction, but at this moment she felt exposed and degraded, and tried to hide herself.
His sudden smile was sardonic. "Modesty doesn't become you, dear sister." He reached for the flat box he had brought with him and tossed it to her. "Cover yourself."
Afraid to move, yet more afraid of disobeying him, Kolabati drew the box across her lap and awkwardly pulled it open. It contained a light blue sari with gold stitching. Fighting back tears of humiliation and impotent rage, she slipped the tight upper blouse over her head, then wrapped the silk fabric around herself in the traditional manner. She fought the hopelessness that threatened to engulf her. There had to be a way out.
"Let me go!" she said when she felt she could trust her voice. "You have no right to keep me here!"
"There will be no further discussion as to what I have a right to do. I am doing what I must do. Just as I must see my vow through to its fulfillment. Then I can go home and stand before those who believe in me, who are willing to lay down their lives to follow me in bringing Mother India back to the True Path. I will not deserve their trust, nor be worthy of leading them to Hindutvu, until I can stand before them with a purified karma. "
"But that's your life!" she screamed. "Your karma!"
Kusum shook his head slowly, sadly. "Our karmas are entwined, Bati. Inextricably. And what I must do, you must do." He stepped through the ruined door and looked back at her. "Meanwhile, I am due at an emergency session of the Security Council. I shall return with your dinner this evening."
He turned, stepped through the remains of the shattered door, and was gone. Kolabati didn't bother calling his name or looking after him. The outer door to the deck closed with a loud clang.
More than fear, more than misery at being incarcerated on this ship, she felt a great sadness for her brother and the mad obsession that drove him. She went to the table and tried to eat but could not even bring herself to taste the food.
Finally the tears came. She buried her face in her hands and wept.
3
For the first time since Gia had known him, Jack looked his age. There were dark rings under his eyes and a haunted look hovering within them. His dark brown hair needed combing and he had been careless shaving.