Chapter 23: The IPO
The Central Jail had a new heartbeat, and it sounded like the riffling of currency notes.
It was 2010. Two years had passed since Arjun entered the adult prison.
The "Arjun Credit Society" was no longer a secret operation in the corner of a cell. It was the unofficial central bank of Cherlapally.
It was Sunday morning. In the recreation yard, a queue of fifty men stood patiently under the sun. They weren't lined up for food or the telephone. They were lined up in front of a plastic table where Nanda sat with a thick ledger and a Casio calculator.
Arjun sat behind Nanda on a high wooden stool, leaning back against the wall. He wore his white uniform, but the top two buttons were undone, sleeves rolled up to the elbows, revealing forearms that were now thick with corded muscle. He was twenty years old. The boyishness was completely gone. In its place was a sharp, jagged arrogance.
He peeled an orange slowly, tossing the rinds onto the ground.
"Next," Nanda called out.
A nervous inmate stepped forward. "Bhai... my daughter's wedding is next month. I need fifty thousand."
Nanda checked the ledger. "You already owe ten thousand. You work in the gardening unit. Your salary is four hundred a month. You can't service the debt."
The inmate looked desperate. He looked at Arjun. "Arjun Bhai, please. I'll do anything. I'll double my shifts."
Arjun didn't look up from the orange.
"I don't need gardeners," Arjun said, popping a segment into his mouth. "I need loyalty."
He pointed to the C-Block watchtower.
"The guard on the night shift there... Constable Reddy. He's been giving Shiva a hard time during the checks. He confiscated Shiva's beedis yesterday."
The inmate swallowed hard. "You want me to... hit a guard?"
"No," Arjun smiled, a lazy, dangerous smile. "Violence is expensive. I want you to be his friend. Find out what he drinks. Find out where he gambles. Find his weakness. Bring it to me."
Arjun gestured to Nanda.
"Give him the fifty thousand. Interest free for the first month. Consider it a consulting fee."
Nanda counted the cash from a metal box. The inmate took it, bowed low to Arjun, and scurried away.
"You are generous today," Shiva grunted, standing next to Arjun like a monolith.
"It's not generosity, Shiva. It's acquisition," Arjun wiped his hands. "Every man has a price tag. Some are cheap, some are expensive. But everyone is for sale."
Later that afternoon, a commotion erupted near the gym area.
A new gang leader from D-Block, a muscle-bound man named Jagan, was trying to disrupt the market. Jagan was old school. He believed in terror, not commerce.
He flipped over a table where two of Mallesh's recruits were selling cigarettes.
"Stop paying the Bakery Boy!" Jagan shouted to the yard. "This is my territory! Anyone who pays interest to Arjun will get their legs broken!"
The yard went quiet. Everyone looked toward the Bakery corner.
Arjun didn't stand up immediately. He finished his conversation with Nanda about the stock market trends in the newspaper.
"Satyam Computers is crashing," Arjun noted, circling the stock price. "Tell Mallesh to buy. It will bounce back."
"Bhai," Shiva interrupted, nodding toward Jagan. "The dog is barking."
Arjun sighed. He folded the newspaper meticulously.
"Let's go explain the market forces."
Arjun walked across the yard. He didn't rush. He walked with a loose, confident stride, Shiva trailing a step behind.
Jagan saw him coming. He puffed out his chest. He had five guys with him.
"You have a problem, Jagan?" Arjun asked, stopping five feet away. He looked bored.
"I'm ending your bank," Jagan spat. "You think you own this place because you have cash? This is prison. Might is right. From today, D-Block pays me protection money, not you loan money."
Arjun looked at Jagan's men. They looked tough, but their uniforms were old, torn. Their shoes were worn out.
Arjun ignored Jagan and looked at the man on Jagan's right.
"What's your name?" Arjun asked.
The goon blinked. "Ravi."
"Ravi," Arjun said smoothly. "Jagan takes 50% of your earnings, doesn't he? And if you get caught with contraband, he lets you take the fall. Am I right?"
Ravi shifted uncomfortably. He didn't answer, which was answer enough.
"I pay salaries," Arjun announced to the group, his voice carrying over the yard. "My men wear new shoes. My men eat chicken from the kitchen on Sundays. My men have lawyers fighting their appeals."
Arjun looked back at Ravi.
"Drop the pipe, Ravi. Come to the Bakery. I have a job opening in logistics. Starting bonus is five thousand rupees."
Ravi looked at the iron pipe in his hand. Then he looked at Jagan. Then he looked at the confident, calm young man who smelled of fresh bread and money.
Ravi dropped the pipe. Clang.
"Ravi! What are you doing?" Jagan screamed.
"Business," Ravi muttered, walking over to stand behind Arjun.
The other four men saw this. The dominoes fell. One by one, they dropped their weapons and walked over to Arjun's side.
In ten seconds, Jagan stood alone.
Arjun didn't raise a fist. He didn't shed a drop of blood. He just stripped Jagan of his power by buying it.
Arjun stepped closer to the trembling Jagan.
"You see, Jagan?" Arjun whispered, leaning in. "You fight with muscles. I fight with ambition. Muscles get tired. Ambition never sleeps."
Arjun patted Jagan's shoulder.
"Now, get out of my sunlight. You're blocking the view."
Jagan, humiliated and alone, retreated into the crowd.
The yard erupted in murmurs. The legend of Arjun was growing. He was no longer just a gangster. He was the CEO of the underworld.
That night, inside the Bakery office.
Nanda was sweating. The metal box was overflowing with cash.
"Bhai, we have a problem," Nanda said. "Too much liquidity. We have thirty lakhs in cash sitting in here. If the Superintendent raids..."
"Then send it out," Arjun said.
"To Mallesh? His safe house is full."
"No," Arjun stood up and walked to the window. "It's time to incorporate."
"Incorporate?"
"We are registering a company," Arjun said. "Tell Mallesh to meet the lawyer tomorrow. I want a private limited company registered. Name it 'Mahaa Enterprises'."
"Mahaa?" Shiva asked.
"Greatness," Arjun smiled. "It sounds auspicious."
He turned to Nanda.
"Move the money into Mahaa Enterprises. Show it as... 'Consultancy Revenue'. Pay the taxes."
Nanda dropped his pen. "Pay taxes? On extortion money?"
"Exactly," Arjun's eyes gleaned with a dark intelligence. "Al Capone went to jail for tax evasion, not murder. If we pay taxes, the government becomes our partner. They won't ask where the money came from as long as they get their cut."
Arjun walked back to the table.
"Once the money is white, I want you to buy land. Not the Puppalaguda land—Satya still has that, for now. Buy the land around it. The access roads. The water sources."
"Why?"
"Because when I get out," Arjun said, picking up the orange peel and crushing it in his fist. "I'm going to choke Satya. He will have the building, but I will own the road leading to it. He will have to pay a toll to enter his own house."
Nanda looked at Arjun with awe. This wasn't just criminal thinking. This was corporate warfare.
"And Satya?" Shiva asked. "He's still sending threats."
"Let him threaten," Arjun dismissed it with a wave of his hand. "He's fighting a street war. I'm preparing for an IPO."
Arjun sat down and put his feet up on the desk.
"Two years, Shiva. In two years, we walk out. And when we do, I don't want to look for a job. I want to walk into my own office."
He looked at the dark ceiling.
"Project Suryavanshi... Singhania... The Golden Sun..." he whispered the names like a mantra. "They are playing in the billions. To reach them, I need to stand on a mountain of money."
Arjun closed his eyes.
"Nanda, double the interest rates for the guards. And tell the Warden I'm cutting his bribe by 10%."
"He will be angry," Nanda warned.
"Let him be angry," Arjun smirked. "He owes me three lakhs. An angry debtor is just a confused employee. He'll fall in line."
The University of Crime was over. Arjun had graduated. Now, he was building the Alumni Association. And membership was mandatory.