Remi is jerked back to reality by the shouts and commotion near the window. Within seconds he assesses the situation and realizes that there has been a counter-coup. He looks around at the milieu of insects and wonders who will live out the massacre that is about to follow once Monty sees this situation in the morning. Being a wily and shrewd politician, Remi knows that the situation calls for a hasty exit out of GK, for the time being, to return once the situation has normalized. Casting a backward glance at the place which gave him so much fame and recognition, I will come back soon, he vows to himself as he makes his escape.
…………………………………………………………………………………
‘What are you doing? They’ll all be killed in there’, Mak is furious with Bruno for closing the exit route for the ants. The old veteran smiles sagely and says nothing for a while as the young hot-headed fly buzzes angrily around him, reminding him of himself during his early days.
‘Simmer down young man,’ Bruno tries to placate Mak ‘tell me, more insects inside the ghussal khana in the morning means..?’ he leaves the unfinished question hanging in the air for Mak to digest.
‘…a more violent reaction by Monty, which means more Krone attacks,’ Mak is still not able to fully grasp the implications.
‘Which means less political rivals for you and me,’ Bruno feeds him another morsel of wisdom.
‘…which means more power for us!’ Mak finally gets it; he looks at Bruno with new found respect and adulation.
‘To us’
‘To us’
The two shake hands.
………………………………………………………………………………………
Two days later
The tiled floor of the ghussal khana glistens in the bright light, everything is shiny clean. There is still a lingering smell of Mortein spray in the air from two days ago.
At precisely quarter to midnight Monty brushes his teeth, changes into his night suit and leaves. There is no hustle bustle of a few days ago, only a solitary bug crawls out from under the sink after a few minutes. As he makes his way along the wall, he meets an ant.
‘Hello there brother, where you headed?’ asks the bug.
‘Why the local elections, of course, to elect our new leader’, replies the youngster enthusiastically. This time, the elections are being held under the flush due to heightened security as well as low voter turnout after the massacre.
‘Aren’t you going to vote?’ asks the ant nervously, ‘I hear the new KKK-Revolutionary group led by Bruno and Mak is going to sweep the elections this time, they really seem genuine and honest people who care for the betterment of GK.’
The old bug chuckles to himself and says something about the same garbage, new wrapping under his breath.
‘What?’, the ant is agitated at the bugs lackadaisical attitude, ‘We need fresh and new revolutionaries right now to shake up the system and bring prosperity to our great state’ he quotes verbatim from the political rallies he has attended recently.
‘So tell me young one,’ the bug pats the youngster on the back, ‘what do you think revolution means?’
Gradually their voices fade as the two walk off into the distance.
The End
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