Earlier
He was eating his dinner absent-minded, with his mind occupied with the progress he had made in finding the possible identity of the mystery 'musketeer' as he had come to call him. He had found that in one of the pictures the license plate was caught partially and he had the last four numbers along with the model and make of the car, he felt hopeful of narrowing down the list of suspects. He had already had a word with his friend, Ashraf, in the Registration & Licensing Department, and he had assured that he would definitely give him something to work upon by the next day. Raoul thought that if it had been before the era of computers and networking, Ashraf's reply possibly would have been that he would tell him in a week or two; Raoul was amazed with the progress things had made.
He felt a sudden silence on the dining table and found the kids and Lyana staring at him. He raised his eyebrows quizzically and Lyana repeated her question, 'What are time should I drop the kids? apa yang awak fikirkan (what are you thinking?)' She had a habit of speaking in her native Malay language when she was disturbed or may be to emphasize a point she was making.
Roaul shrugged his shoulders and replied, "Aileen would expect you to be there at 10, try and not be late. You do know, how she starts to hyper-ventilate if anyone is late from the time decided!'.
Lyana chuckled, 'Darling! Could you not drop the kids? I need to be out early.'
Raoul gave her an angry look and told her, 'I've made the arrangements, I am working tomorrow, so you'd better be there'.
Lyana was taken aback; Raoul was usually not this aggressive. She realised it must be the case he was working upon, that had him on the edge and replied, 'Don't worry! I'll be there to drop the kids.'
He was a little upset with himself for being so blunt, but decided to let this one go.
Next day
Raoul had reached Omar's office early in the day, and after making the usual courtesies, he made an excuse about wanting to take down some details about the displays and was standing on the same spot as the previous day in order to stop the probable 'heist' which was being planned. He was not expecting too many footfalls to the museum like the rest of the days, making it easy for him to spot his 'three musketeers'. He was still waiting for the call from Ashraf which should be coming in at any time soon.
He knew today was going to a day requiring patience, attention and concentration. He had had a light breakfast to go along with the day's needs.
After standing at the spot for about an hour, he supposed it would be safe to actually see some of the artifacts displayed, who knows, he might just write an article on Bujang Valley. He made sure that the main entrance of the museum was visible to him from all the angles. He was half-way through his tour when he saw movement through the side of his eyes. He quickly ducked behind a display to avoid being noticed.
He noted that it was indeed his three musketeers, Anees, Hanif and the mystery man, who was dressed in a similar manner as the last time. It was the third man he was more interested; he had to find the identity of the man to get to the root of the problem.
The three moved towards the display of 'Standing Buddha'; taking advantage of the fact that they were preoccupied with the attempt at stealing the statue, Raoul quickly moved towards the display making sure he was not visible. Raoul had the advantage of taking a tour of the place, which made him reach the display earlier and just as Hanif was about to reach out to grab the statue, Raoul sprang on him, snatching the statue from his hand.
For a moment, all four were rooted to their spots; the 'three musketeers' shocked and Raoul trying to get a better look at the mystery man. Regaining their wits, the two of them made a dash for the door, while Hanif was clearly looking scared. He had not expected to be trapped, trying to wrestle himself free from Raoul, both of them fell on the floor. This somehow motivated the assistants at the museum to come out of their state of stupor and they joined the fray, not knowing who was to be detained. Taking advantage of the chaos, Hanif managed to slip out Raoul's grip and made a mad dash to join his cohorts. By the time Raoul made the two assistants understand what was happening, the 'three musketeers' were long gone and Raoul was no richer in his information about them.
He was frustrated with himself. He now had to wait for Ashraf to call and tell him any possible clues about the identity. He knew that with a failed attempt at their back, the next time 'three musketeers' would be more careful.
Omar had come out of the confines of his office and wanted some clarifications from Raoul. Raoul ran his hand through his thinning hair and cursed himself inwardly for not taking Omar in confidence earlier. Spreading his hands, he moved along with Omar to his office, telling him about what had happened.
...to be continued.. Raoul -8
He was eating his dinner absent-minded, with his mind occupied with the progress he had made in finding the possible identity of the mystery 'musketeer' as he had come to call him. He had found that in one of the pictures the license plate was caught partially and he had the last four numbers along with the model and make of the car, he felt hopeful of narrowing down the list of suspects. He had already had a word with his friend, Ashraf, in the Registration & Licensing Department, and he had assured that he would definitely give him something to work upon by the next day. Raoul thought that if it had been before the era of computers and networking, Ashraf's reply possibly would have been that he would tell him in a week or two; Raoul was amazed with the progress things had made.
He felt a sudden silence on the dining table and found the kids and Lyana staring at him. He raised his eyebrows quizzically and Lyana repeated her question, 'What are time should I drop the kids? apa yang awak fikirkan (what are you thinking?)' She had a habit of speaking in her native Malay language when she was disturbed or may be to emphasize a point she was making.
Roaul shrugged his shoulders and replied, "Aileen would expect you to be there at 10, try and not be late. You do know, how she starts to hyper-ventilate if anyone is late from the time decided!'.
Lyana chuckled, 'Darling! Could you not drop the kids? I need to be out early.'
Raoul gave her an angry look and told her, 'I've made the arrangements, I am working tomorrow, so you'd better be there'.
Lyana was taken aback; Raoul was usually not this aggressive. She realised it must be the case he was working upon, that had him on the edge and replied, 'Don't worry! I'll be there to drop the kids.'
He was a little upset with himself for being so blunt, but decided to let this one go.
Next day
Raoul had reached Omar's office early in the day, and after making the usual courtesies, he made an excuse about wanting to take down some details about the displays and was standing on the same spot as the previous day in order to stop the probable 'heist' which was being planned. He was not expecting too many footfalls to the museum like the rest of the days, making it easy for him to spot his 'three musketeers'. He was still waiting for the call from Ashraf which should be coming in at any time soon.
He knew today was going to a day requiring patience, attention and concentration. He had had a light breakfast to go along with the day's needs.
After standing at the spot for about an hour, he supposed it would be safe to actually see some of the artifacts displayed, who knows, he might just write an article on Bujang Valley. He made sure that the main entrance of the museum was visible to him from all the angles. He was half-way through his tour when he saw movement through the side of his eyes. He quickly ducked behind a display to avoid being noticed.
He noted that it was indeed his three musketeers, Anees, Hanif and the mystery man, who was dressed in a similar manner as the last time. It was the third man he was more interested; he had to find the identity of the man to get to the root of the problem.
The three moved towards the display of 'Standing Buddha'; taking advantage of the fact that they were preoccupied with the attempt at stealing the statue, Raoul quickly moved towards the display making sure he was not visible. Raoul had the advantage of taking a tour of the place, which made him reach the display earlier and just as Hanif was about to reach out to grab the statue, Raoul sprang on him, snatching the statue from his hand.
For a moment, all four were rooted to their spots; the 'three musketeers' shocked and Raoul trying to get a better look at the mystery man. Regaining their wits, the two of them made a dash for the door, while Hanif was clearly looking scared. He had not expected to be trapped, trying to wrestle himself free from Raoul, both of them fell on the floor. This somehow motivated the assistants at the museum to come out of their state of stupor and they joined the fray, not knowing who was to be detained. Taking advantage of the chaos, Hanif managed to slip out Raoul's grip and made a mad dash to join his cohorts. By the time Raoul made the two assistants understand what was happening, the 'three musketeers' were long gone and Raoul was no richer in his information about them.
He was frustrated with himself. He now had to wait for Ashraf to call and tell him any possible clues about the identity. He knew that with a failed attempt at their back, the next time 'three musketeers' would be more careful.
Omar had come out of the confines of his office and wanted some clarifications from Raoul. Raoul ran his hand through his thinning hair and cursed himself inwardly for not taking Omar in confidence earlier. Spreading his hands, he moved along with Omar to his office, telling him about what had happened.
...to be continued.. Raoul -8
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