Once they were done with the breakfast they returned back to their rooms while Bhargav went to the pier to enquire about the arrival of the ship. Arjun rolled around the bed for a while and got bored very very quickly prompting him to fetch Balram from his room and they both together went back to the hotel for a cup of coffee after informing the lobby to redirect Bhargav to them once he arrives.
People were surprised by seeing the familiar faces once again and one of the managers even approached them to say free breakfast time was already over but when Arjun mentioned they were there for the coffee the guy returned back with a huge pamphlet which had all the different coffee beans and coffee types they could make.
Arjun ordered a cold brew for himself as he wanted to have his favorite drink after a long time while suggesting a espresso for Balram who was unsure of what to pick. When Balram saw the black stuff being handed to them though he was absolutely stunned and questioned Arjun whether this was coffee or decoction making Arjun explain how this was made in detail.
Luckily the restaurant guys were hospitable enough to have a look around the coffee machine where one of the servers even explained in detail how they make the coffee step by step. Balram was taken aback by the strict steps and that too so many steps involved in making a simple coffee, all he had to do at home was heat up the milk and mix up the coffee mixture and sugar after all.
Now after the tour he was much more interested in trying out the coffee but once he had a sip of it he wanted to throw up immediately causing Arjun to laugh out loud who pointed to the sugar cup beside it and mentioned it was up to the costumer to add however much sugar they wanted and he helped the guy mix a couple spoons of it and asked him it try it again.
Balram felt the coffee was much more drinkable now but he felt it was still too bitter causing him to add another spoon after which he felt it was too sweet to his liking but he quickly gulped it down once he saw the price on the sheet they had given them during order. Arjun meanwhile enjoyed every sip of it and explained to Balram that they were meant to have it slow.
Frankly most of the stuff went way over Balram's head who felt it was much better to have road side chai which he could have for a month or perhaps even more with the price they were paying here but noticing how much Arjun was enjoying the flavors he could not say it on his face and went ahead to fetch a couple magazines to read and pass time.
After waiting for more that half an hour Bhargav arrived and was already sweating from top to bottom, the summer heat especially in a city could be much more demanding in these parts of the world after all. Even though their village was not so different at least it had plenty of trees and farms to counter the sun while the city had none of them.
He mentioned that the ship would not arrive until two in the noon so they went ahead to have a look around the town in the mean time. It did not take much long to have a round around the city, only an hour or so after which they went ahead to have their lunch and return to the pier and wait for the ship to arrive. Since they were in a car which was quite a rare sight among these times no body questioned about their entry.
As Arjun neared the Ship harbor he could see a foreigner getting down in a captain uniform making him immediately realize this was the guy they were looking for so they went ahead and introduced themselves to Sergei.
Sergei informed them that the unloading would take a couple of hours and suggested them to get the permission from the officers in the due time. Bhargav went ahead after taking the details from the captain while Arjun stayed there with Sergei, he actually wanted to go along with Bhargav too but upon learning how corrupt and money hungry the guy was he decided to stay back since he knew the guy would try to fleece more once he learned the shipment belonged to a kid and also he did not want to make Sergei wait alone without anyone being able to speak with him and since he was the only one who could speak Russian among them he had to stay back.
Arjun handed a briefcase which had around fifty thousand rupees to Bhargav and an extra empty cheque but he warned him that even fifty thousand bribe was already too much.
Once he was done he turned to Sergei and asked him what he wanted to do in the meantime who immediately replied drink!! which made Arjun sigh in regret as he was sure people would look at him weirdly if they started drinking so early but since he had already asked, he alongside Balram went to the nearby bar which was for high class people who visited the port since he couldn't take this guest from afar to some cheap place.
Balram was the one forced to drink a couple pegs alongside the foreigner while Arjun ordered a glass of orange juice for himself. Sergei wanted to force Balram to drink more but upon learning he was Arjun's body guard he did not say anything else and continued gulping down Whiskey like it was wine prompting Arjun to make a joke about Russian's capacity to drink.
As Sergei spoke more and more to Arjun he was impressed by the kid who was praised to no smaller extent by Vladimir when he was starting out. He initially thought this was another second generation heir like Vladimir himself but as they spoke more and more he felt this kid knew more about people managing and world politics than he a ship captain himself. Usually it was him who showed off his knowledge to others but he finally realized how others must have felt after talking for a while with Arjun.
Meanwhile Bhargav entered the import office with a stack of papers and a briefcase in either hands and went directly to the officer's office he was most familiar with and knocked a couple of times and entered after getting the acknowledgment.
The office was quite simple with a simple Table and a couple chairs and a globe on the table and most of the office filled with sheets of papers. Bhargav greeted Prakash Kumar as soon as he entered. It took a couple seconds for the officer to recognize him but he greeted Bhargav and asked him to take a seat while he called for the office boy to get them a couple of colas.
You're Bhargav, Madan's secretary right?
Yes sir.
I don't recall Madan mentioning about any incoming or outgoing shipments, are you here for some other stuff? Prakash questioned doubtfully.
Sir, i am no longer working under Madan right now i have resigned recently and got a new job of a small factory manager.
Ho ho good for you, so what brings you here Bhargav?
Well sir, we have imported some foreign machinery for the factory and need your approval for collecting them, Bhargav replied handing him the sheets of papers which detailed the machinery and Arjun's import permit documents.
Prakash went through them and replied these look good, is the shipment on the way or has it already arrived?
It has already arrived and already being unloaded sir, Bhargav replied understanding the underlying meaning behind these words.
Good good, you know the procedure right?
Yes sir will thirty cartons do?
Hmm, that's friendship price Bhargav and since you've already resigned it no longer applies.
What do you suggest sir?
At least sixty cartons and a cola(whiskey bottle)
Sir the most i can do is forty cartons and the cola. After all i am also a new employee sir, please see what you can do.
No no that's too little, there are others beside me who will get a share too you know.
Okay sir, please suggest another suitable quote sir, we will be doing more business from here anyway if our factory succeeds.
That is if it succeeds Bhargav, we can think about future stuff in the future. Okay fifty cartons and i will do it immediately.
Sir, how about forty five cartons?
No man that's too little, do you know how many out there will be trying to squeeze more out of you? i am being considerate considering our past relations.
Okay sir Fifty it is, the usual procedure?