Storytelling for Week 3: Of Mobs and Mercenaries

Mercenary for hire.

That’s what everyone called him, except for maybe the man himself.

Checking the address before he entered the building, Sugreeva smoothed out his pinstriped suit to make himself look more presentable.

When he entered, a large man sitting behind a counter looked up to meet his gaze from beneath a fine black fedora. He was intimidating.

“I am looking for a man named Rama.” Sugreeva explained as he approached the man behind the desk.

The man stood and Sugreeva wanted to cringe back at seeing just how large and built this man was. “Who’s asking?”

“I am, my name is Sugreeva and I am of Kiskinda Trading. I have been severely wronged, and I need Rama’s help.” Everyone who spoke of this Rama only spoke highly of him as if he were some god reincarnate. They also said that he believed in justice and doing what was right above all else. Sugreeva was prepared to pay any amount to have this man help him.

Watching him wearily, the man behind the desk simply pointed his chin in a direction as if telling him to follow, before he walked away. Sugreeva did just that and was led through the back of what was set up as a normal bookstore. He knew that there were probably distilleries hidden in here as well. The prohibition was in full swing, and anyone who conducted any sort of shady business was in the business of hooch as well.

The man knocked on a heavy door, and a voice answered behind it. “Yes, Lakshmana?”

The large man, known as Lakshmana opened the door, “You have a guest.” And with that he ushered Sugreeva in before closing the door and leaving.

The infamous Rama stood to greet him, dressed in a simple black waistcoat with a golden pocket watch chain hanging out.  He was not what Sugreeva had imagined, not as tall and broad as images of a dangerous man may represent. But something within him was frightening all in itself. “Yes, yes. Come in and tell me your problems.”

Rama seemed very to the point, and Sugreeva was glad for that. “I am here because I need your help. I am Sugreeva of Kiskinda Trading and I need help in taking my brother Vali out of the head position.”

One of Rama’s eyebrows rose, “Oh, and why is that? I am not in the business of putting myself into the family affairs. In what way have you been so wrong to want me to help you take care of your brother?”

Sugreeva was afraid of rejection, but he figured that since he was here he had nothing to lose. “I have been wronged in many ways. Two years ago, my brother Vali was caught up in an external deal that went wrong and was sent to the slammer. It was my job to have been there on lookout that day, but the members of our board made me stay because they didn’t feel right about the situation. As a result, my brother thought that I was the one who set him up in order to take over the company. So when he was released, he came after me. Vali told me that if he ever saw my face again that he would kill me on the spot. But while he has been in power and I have been away, our company had begun to crumble. He is getting bolder and bolder in his under the table deals, and I am afraid that he will get caught again and our business will go up in flames.” 

Listening patiently, Rama sat back in his chair. “And how can I help you? It sounds to me like it is nothing but a family spat and you are the only one who has been wronged.”

This was it; this was Rama about to reject him. “He took my wife,” Sugreeva muttered sadly. “I believe he is keeping her against her will. And I don’t believe that she is the only one in such a situation. His deals are very underhanded and he could be taking more hostages than just her.”

Rama is very softhearted when it comes to women. Someone had told Sugreeva when he had asked around for advice. He had been told that if he mentioned that helpless women were involved in the ordeal, then Rama would cave and pledge his loyalty to your side. And from the look on Rama’s face, the information seemed to be correct.

“I cannot believe that such a scumbag would take advantage of women like that. Women should be cherished and remain pure from such evil. I will help your cause in order to make sure that he does not taint any women, that beast.” Rama stood from the chair and grabbed a pencil and notepad. “Please, write down all of the details and I will join your fight against this Vali.”

Sugreeva remembered what someone else had told him. This mercenary can be played like a fiddle. He relies too much on what he believes is right and wrong, and will always seek justice. If you can make him purr, then he will be yours. And Sugreeva had definitely made him purr.

Image Information: Bugsy Siegel Mugshot; Web Source: Wikimedia Commons

Author's Note:

In The Ramayana, Rama and his crew travel to Kishkinda in their journey to find Sita. One of the monkeys, Hanuman, sees him and knows that he is a supreme individual and after talking to them, tells his king Sugreeva. Rama is told the story of Sugreeva and his fight with his brother Vali, with Sugreeva relating to Rama in the fact that his wife was stolen from him. He and his brother had been fighting because Vali believed that Sugreeva had turned against him and locked him in a cave, so he gets angry and beats him. Sugreeva requests Rama and Lakshmana’s aid in his fight against Vali so that he can have his life back to normal.

I wanted to tell the story of Rama taking Sugreeva's side against Vali in a new fashion. I saw the deal between the two of them to be the kind you would make with a mercenary, and for some reason I also got a mob-like feeling from the deal.

I made a few changes, such as the fact that Sugreeva is the one who tells his story and seeks out Rama. And of course I changed the setting of the story to be set in 1920s America. The Sugreeva in my story appealed to Rama’s soft spots in an attempt to receive help more so than he did in the story.

Bibliography:

The image is what I imagine as a standard mobster mugshot, it was found at Wikimedia Commons. 

Story retold from pages 90-95: 

Narayan, R. K. (1972) The Ramayana: A Shortened Modern Prose Version of the Indian Epic.