EVERYTHING'S PERFECT!

5

HOTEL ROOM

CLICK!!!

Aadi winces, expecting his head to have blown apart.

Bharat sneers, shoves the gun back into his pocket, and takes his foot off. He hauls Aadi to his feet, throws him back onto the couch and SLAPS him hard across the face!!!!

Aadi blinks. Something in his ear hums.

Bharat's hands felt like leather paddles... hard and painful.

SLAP!!! Several more across his face in rapid succession. A tinge of red and blue spreads across his cheeks...

SLAP! Blood draws from his mouth.

Aadi BLOCKS his next blow with an arm, tries to defend himself.

Bharat flicks his fingers, grapples Aadi's arm, and twists it hard. His muscles CRUNCH painfully. He BARKS in agony.

AADI: Enough!

WHACK!!! A FATAL SLAP, this time, to Aadi's throat! He goes into a COUGHING FIT!

Bharat pours out a glass of water.

BHARAT: You just don't know when to keep your mouth shut, do you?

Aadi COUGHS, WHEEZES...

Bharat extends the glass before Aadi.

BHARAT: Drink up.

Aadi sits back, breathing rapidly, doesn't take it.

BHARAT: Go on, you'll feel better. I know what I'm talking about.

Hesitating, Aadi takes it, but doesn't drink.

BHARAT: Don't worry, it's just water, not poison. If I'd wanted to kill you, I would have done so just a minute ago.

Bharat pulls out a stool, sits before Aadi.

AADI: (breathless) What do you want?

BHARAT: Nothing. I just stepped in to say hi and of course, to give you some advice on how to respect your superiors.

A moment of comprehensive silence.

AADI: Mehul sent you.

BHARAT: Oh no, he didn't. That's not his style. But he's my buddy, so --- I'm not going to sit back and watch when someone hurts him.

Aadi glares at his assailant. He's large, too large and swift to fight back. A moment ago, Aadi was rendered completely helpless, defenseless... He couldn't even land a single punch. Large and slow he might appear, but he has proved it --- he's adept at taking down his opponent with a few short and fatal strikes, adept at making a serious kill if needed.

BHARAT: You know what, Aadi? You're one lucky guy. You know why? Because if I were there at the party when it happened, then, you'd have been in the hospital now, your house would have gone up in flames and your family would have been stacked up in the morgue.

From the corner of his eyes, Aadi observes Neha on the bed. She's still out cold.

BHARAT: You're still a kid. A newcomer. There's still a lot for you to learn.

Like a big grown-up, Bharat straightens out Aadi's crumpled up shirt and pats off the dirt.

BHARAT: So, stay on the ground and learn before trying to mess around with the big boys.

He straightens out Aadi's twisted collar and messy hair.

BHARAT: I usually don't give warnings, but, you know, Mehul didn't want me to touch you. So... (shrugs) Next time, there will be no warning. Bear that in mind.