Chapter 7
Since no one could afford a TV or cable, Vijay downloaded all the previous seasons of Friends from torrent websites, and watching the show on Vijay's laptop became a favorite pastime for Vijay and Lucky. Raj usually came home late from the restaurant, and he would always bring food, so Vijay and Lucky would often watch an episode of Friends while waiting on Raj and dinner.
One night, Vijay and Lucky were watching an episode from Season 8, "The One with the Videotape." Lucky had a huge crush on Jennifer Aniston, the actress who played Rachel. When they finished the episode, Vijay turned to Lucky. "What do you like the most about her?"
"Hmm?Everything. She is like the angel from heaven for me," Lucky replied.
"An angel? Really?" Vijay said, raising an eyebrow and smiling at Lucky.
"Yeah! An angel with beautiful boobs, tight ass?" Lucky's voice trailed off as he imagined her materializing in front of him. "Did you notice her shape? She is the perfect 36-24-36. There is not the single fat on her sexy body. I can do anything for her one smile. Her teeth are like small diamonds," Lucky said.
Vijay laughed. "Hmm?I never heard an angel described quite like that."
Lucky crossed his arms and snorted. "Well, that is because your angel will be covered from her head to her toe, and no one can see anything but you. It is like the hidden treasure - you do not know what will you find," Lucky said teasingly.
"Stop it! Don't bring Hina into this conversation," Vijay said, slightly annoyed. He felt that talking about her in this way, even as a joke, was somehow disrespectful.
"Okay, okay. You are very selfish type of guy who does not like to share," Lucky replied, and then began doing a mocking, singsong impression of Vijay. "My candy is my candy, no one else can see it."
Vijay threw his hands in the air. "I'm an idiot. I don't even know why I bothered asking you that question."
"Okay?okay. Wait! Sorry. I will not talk about her. You know I found something yesterday on the Internet," Lucky said, trying to change the subject.
"What?" Vijay asked.
"Jennifer's nude picture. Oh, mannn! She is so hot!"
"No way. Whatever you saw had to be a fake," Vijay replied.
"No, it was real!" Lucky said. "Wait, I can show you. It will be in your history."
"Man, you used my laptop to look for Jennifer Aniston porn?" Vijay asked incredulously.
"Just few times. It is legal. You worry too much. Trust me, if you see it, you will also like it," Lucky said, picking up Vijay's laptop and opening the browser history.
Lucky squinted. "Wait, what is this?" he said softly, bending closer to the screen. The screen's light cast an eerie glow on his face as his eyes scanned the history, his index finger on the down-arrow key. Page after page after page. "Something is wrong."
"What?" Vijay asked. "What do you mean, something's wrong? Did someone take down your illegal Jennifer Aniston porn? I swear, if the police come looking for me?"
"No," Lucky replied. "Not porn."
Vijay was losing his patience, and grabbed the laptop away from Lucky. Lucky didn't protest, but instead let out a slow whistle as he leaned back against the wall.
Vijay looked at the browser's history. It contained hundreds, maybe thousands, of searches, beginning weeks ago, and aside from the occasional entries for "Bernoulli's principle" and "Jennifer Aniston bikini," the searches were all related to the same topic: 9/11. There were addresses for hundreds of websites, links for databases and pictures, timelines, and - most concerning- maps of New York City.
"Who was searching for all this?"
"It is not me," Lucky said, shaking his head slowly. "Look at the dates and times."
"All of these searches and visits are between midnight and early morning," Vijay said while looking carefully at the screen.
"Raj told me once that he occasionally uses the laptop if he cannot sleep," Lucky replied.
"Now that you say that, I remember waking up for a few minutes last night and seeing him on the computer. I didn't think anything of it. But look at yesterday's history," Vijay said, without offering the laptop to Lucky. Lucky didn't need to see it to know what Vijay had found. "But why is he looking at all of this stuff?"
"I do not know, Vijay. But he looked suspicious to me from the first day," Lucky replied.
"What do you mean?" Vijay asked, looking up from the computer for the first time in minutes.
"I never told you. You know, after he got the job in that restaurant, he asked me to take him to World Trade Center site. And then, when we reached there, he just disappeared for some time and when I found him, he lied to me that he was in the restroom. I had checked the restroom several times. He was not there," Lucky explained.
"Maybe you just missed him," Vijay reasoned.
"No, he was lying. I am sure of it. He was looking at that place as if he was planning something."
Vijay hummed. There were so many little things about Raj that didn't add up, but individually they didn't seem to matter. After seeing this, though, Vijay's thoughts grew dark as he tried to put everything together in his head.
"What kind of stupid Indian would come here and spend so much money to do Masters in Fine Arts?" Lucky said, speaking Vijay's thoughts out loud. "And I never see him go to school. I am sure that he visits those collapsed towers more than the school," Lucky continued.
"Did you ever see him talking to his family?" Vijay asked.
"No. He lied to me about that also! He never calls anyone. He never chats with anyone. He always changes the topics whenever we talk about his family. I never see him studying. I am sure he is not here to study!" Lucky's nerves were beginning to fray.
Vijay hummed again. "I just hope he's not a terrorist."
"Dude! He is from Kashmir. What do you think? Look at his muscles. They must have trained him for something big. I think we should contact the police."
"Calm down, Lucky. I'll talk to him," Vijay said, trying to placate his friend.
"Oh, and what do you think? He is going to say, 'Yes, Vijay, matter of fact, I am a terrorist, and thank you very much for asking'?"
Something about Lucky's question struck them both as funny, and it broke the tension in the room. Lucky chuckled. "Dude, it is your laptop, so it is up to you. You should decide. It is you who will be in major trouble if something goes wrong. He will just run away or kill himself for the virgin angels," Lucky said, taking the laptop back from Vijay. "Oh! Talking about angels! Here is the picture I told you about," Lucky said, finding his search from the day before. "Look how hot she is. I feel like she wants me."
"You're disgusting," Vijay replied, getting up and walking to the kitchen for a drink of water. As Lucky enjoyed Jennifer's nude picture, Vijay thought about Raj's actions and contemplated how he was going to confront him. He was still in the kitchen with the glass in his hand when Raj opened the front door. Vijay looked at Lucky, and Lucky closed the laptop. He looked at Vijay expectantly, but Vijay just shook his head slightly, and then put on a smile as he greeted Raj. "Hey, Raj, we're starving! What did you bring us tonight?" Vijay asked. Lucky understood that Vijay had decided this wasn't the time to bring up the topic. He trusted that Vijay would find the right time, and until then, Lucky decided to keep a closer eye on Raj and vowed to try to sleep a little less soundly.
Namaste New York: A Novel Page 19