"What you got there, Imran? A body?" She was nervous, her attention skipping between the suitcase and the faintest smell of jalfrezi beginning to burn in the kitchen.

“Much better. I have work with the family for this weekend, and this little beauty will be just the ticket."

Rani’s face fell, knowing exactly what work with the family meant.

"The real thing, you know?” He caressed the sleek steel barrel of the heavy pistol, handling it with as much love as if it were a newborn baby. “The Ares Predator II, perfect smartgun link,” he beamed, holding out the handle to show her the interface. “And a fifteen-clip of armor-piercing! Real UCAS stock, none of that spamming East European imitation.” He flourished the vicious APDS bullets with an air of triumph. “You could knock a rhino over with this." He laughed humorlessly. “Yeah, if you could find a zoo that had a rhino left, you know? I’ll be busy this weekend, so you’re going to have to stay behind the bolts and chains and wait for your brother to bring back serious money!"

Rani did not reply. The moment he glanced up at her from his precious hardware, he saw by her crossed arms and the firm set of her jaw that she was prepared for a showdown. He decided to be reasonable first, insistent later.

"Let’s talk about it over dinner. You should honor your brother for doing his work. Where’s my dinner, woman?” He was trying to be jocular, and Rani acquiesced with the appearance of a real smile, but only for a fleeting moment. Imran knew that Sanjay wouldn’t be any help in his present state, so he scurried to the telecom while she went to the kitchen to dish out his food. He had just finished tapping in Aqib’s telecom code when Rani pressed the cancel button.

“No, brother. This one we will talk about alone.”

He had tried the standard appeals and tactics, praising her cooking beyond remotely plausible limits, telling her that handsome Ravi wanted to call on her this weekend, and then finally serving up his usual trump card of tradition.