[Jack_Spade]

Riker came to a full stop with all the grace of a kitten on a hardwood floor.

"Pratiksha", he gasped, than coughed from the strong smoke surrounding the old man. "Weneedyourhelp,SharmilahasbeenshotandMouseisback,buthe'snothimselfandanywayhetriedtoshootme,buthitSharmilainsteadandyouhavetocomenoworshedies" Riker babbled without taking a breath.

[Volker]

Riker

Baba Rajesh does not so much as look up when Riker reaches him, reporting and urging him at amazing speed. He just raises his right hand to stop Riker, eyes still shut, and let his other hand rest in his lap. Instead of answering, he softly chants some words in Sanskrit, motionless but for his lips. Despite the summer heat, a shudder runs through your body. That very instant, something cold touches your shoulder. Then your forearm. And your neck. The rain has begun.

Suddenly Baba Rajesh opens his eyes and meets your gaze. The first raindrops run through his white beard, as he slowly speaks with this strong and deep voice of his: "Your friend has been helped. Now, son, sit down, release yourself from your tension, and tell me - slowly - what happened."

The others

As you sit over Musaa's cramped little body and start your deliberations on how to solve the mystery, the first raindrops cast spots on the dusty street. Soon the first heralds of monsoon are followed by an army of drops, washing away plastic bags, dust and the growing pool of blood under Sharmila's frail body. The dirty shirt is soaked with blood, and still the bleeding doesn't stop. She's getting cold, and the chill monsoon air would do little to make her last longer. Hari, stubborn as an ox, embraces her to spend her some warmth, repeating her name, knowing she must not lose conciousness before help arrives.
But before too long, help indeed does arrive.

Next to Hari, a deva materializes from thin air. She chose to appear in the form of a blue-skinned woman. A large chain of gold hanging around her neck falls on her bare breasts. Her long, black hair moves like a veil over her slender body. She wears a long, artistically woven skirt, but her feet are bare save for small anklets. Hovering just two inches over the dirty, wet street, she kneels and kisses the girl's wound. You can see the wound shrink the very instant, and the bleeding cease. Still, the wound has not been healed entirely. The deva puts her hand on Sharmila's forehead to bless her, then vanishes the same way she came.
Several instants pass without anyone saying a word. It is Pratiksha who tears the silence. "Sh-she should be stable. Quickly, Hari, carry her under a roof, or the wound will get wet and begin to rot."

[Jack_Spade]

Riker still felt fury and rage mixed with adrenaline and fear coursing through his mind, but the calm authority of the old man overcame his desire to just get up and sprint right back. Still, he couldn't suppress his twitching while he told Baba Rajesh what had happened: "... and then I ran as fast as I could to you to tell you about it. Are you really sure that she is safe?"

[Volker]

Baba Rajesh nods. "She is not beyond danger, but a deva saw fit to stop her bleeding.
"Take me to this young man, son, and let me see whether some vile curse made him do that.
"Please, help an old man up..."

He reaches out for your hand.

[Jack_Spade]

Riker immediately jumped to help the old man up. He wasn't usually that courteous, but... well, magic was scary shit and Riker had no desire to anger Rajesh, especially since he supposedly just helped save a life."
"It's that way..." Riker again suppressed his desire to just run ahead and instead kept pace with the old man.

[gilga]

Lucky just stands there charmed and terrified as the Deva materialize.
He points his taser suspiciously monitoring her every move, ready to fire in the slightest sign of hostility.
When she is gone he approaches the girl, are you okay dear?

[Volker]

Sharmila's breath is shallow and weak, but she manages to tilt her head yes. "Sanchai chha."
She smiles, and cuddles a bit deeper into Hari's embrace.

Soon after that, Riker appears, followed by the old man you know as Baba Rajesh, a spooky yet usually beneficious yogi. A man who knows how to arrange himself with others and, as you have seen, even the gods. A dangerous, powerful old man.

His gaze is stern as he approaches, his brows clenched in a frown. He curtly bows his head namaste (and, as you know, expects you to show him all the reverance a senior, a yogi, and a savior deserves!) and walks over to duck under the shelter we have chosen to endure the heavy monsoon rain.
"This is the boy, isn't he?"

[luckace]

"Namaste Father"', Scipio murmured with a deep bow of the head. He did his best to hide his mixed feelings about the spooky apparition, for which the sadhu was probably responsible. He was glad that he had sent for help, he just didn't like not understanding what Father Rajesh did. "Yes, this is Musaa... Bikki bhai, I mean. We don't know what's wrong with him, he got lost some months ago, came back just right now with a sabotaged slot in his head. And he tried..."
Why, Musaa? What have you become? "He was aggressive. We had to put him to sleep." "

Scipio felt helpless. He didn't know what to do, he just hoped that the old man could do SOMETHING to find out who was responsible for this mess. He still didn't believe that Musaa did this on his own will. He would have never done this. Someone made him!We could question him, but I don't know whether he can or wants to tell us anything "Can you... find out what changed him? Can you look inside his mind or... or... do anything?"

[Volker]

Baba Rajesh slowly shakes his head no. "A person's mind is the diamond inside the mortal shell. It is sacred and belongs only to a person. Even if I could "read" someone's mind, I would never dare to do so."

He runs his almost skeletal hand through his grey-and-white beard, frowning. "Whatever it is that changed your friend, it is neither curse nor demon, unless a vile and gifted sorcerer put some effort in deceiving the third eye that Vishnu has granted me, and did so recently.
I think not that your enemy is to be found in the other world. It was men and machines as twisted this young boy's mind."

He bends down to the boy and opens a beg with cinnabar and puts tika on the boy's head, blessing him. "I can do no further for this young man. His soul is in trouble, and he needs someone to guide him back. If you think, it is my path that would send him back to rightousness, I might consider taking him in as a student. If not, it is the duty of his brothers to take care of him."

[Jack_Spade]

"Well, we could start by getting that nail out his head. I don't know a lot about that stuff, but I'm sure that thing isn't supposed to be in there." Riker gestured at the datajack.

"By the way, has anyone of you looked into his pockets or the labels of his clothes? Maybe we can find out who gave him this stuff and afterwards ask some pointed questions. I very much want to give those people their bullets back..."

[Volker]

As Riker bends down to examine Musaa more closely, he notices two things he didn't see before.
First, there is something inside the datajack. You don't know a lot about technology, but it looks very much like a chip. The nail has been driven into the slot with care so as not to hurt Musaa. It would prove difficult, however, to remove it without doing harm to the boy, if you don't know how to do it properly. But if you're careful and skilled, you might be able to remove it (but still not the chip).

Second, there is something on his forehead you thought was dust or dirt. Maybe you still would be fooled, but since he is clean everywhere else, the grey speck caught your attention. You gently brush your finger over Bikki's forehead and feel the substance. It's not dirt: It's ash.

The clothes themselves, however, proved less interesting. They were normal cheap clothes, most of them Western style. While they're clean, they're definitely not new: his shirt has some small holes, the jeans are threadbare and thin at the behind. Also they don't fit him perfectly, but still better than most of your clothes fit you.

[gilga]

I'll wait to see what happens when he wakes up... without his gun the worst thing is an angry 10 years old.

[luckace]

"I... I'm not sure whether I could do this... To pull something out of his head, I mean. What if we damage the slot? Will it damage his brain?" Scipio felt useless. If he only knew more about datajacks...
He turned to the ascet. His work here is done.  "Thank you for your help, wise father. You saved our sisters life. We..." He wanted to say we owe you, but since he didn't want his whole gang to be in the old man's debt, he changed his sentence to "...shall pray for your health and safety". Some day, there would be a possibility to return the favor, but at first they had to treat Musaa.
But how? "Do you guys know anyone who knows about datastuff? Or do you think, we can do this on our own?"

[Volker]

Baba Rajesh throws a stern look at Lucky [spoiler]and possibly Hari?[/spoiler] who refuses to pay him the respect he expects. His gaze is warning and punishing as only the eyes of a powerful father can be. His pride is touched, and this insult is not likely to be easily forgotten.
He turns around without a further word, ignoring Scipio's diplomatic words, and walks off briskly.

[Volker]

It takes quite some time until Musaa finally awakens. [spoiler]I assume that you put Riker out of sight for at least the first part of your questioning him.[/spoiler] His head seems to be dizzy but as he catches sight of his friends and brothers, he kind of relaxes. There is a perplexed and confused expression on his face.

"What just happened..?" He shakes his head to get it clear, but apparently to no avail.