"How do you survive in this heat?" Chaim asked as he, Vaishnu, and Ben trudged across Connaught Place in the heart of New Delhi.
"We think of a hotter place; then we thank the God that it is so cool here," Vaishnu joked.
"Soon we will be out of the heat," said Ben.
And soon they were, as they walked up the long drive to the Hotel Oberoi, a newly renovated five-star deluxe hotel in the center of New Delhi. They could have gone there by taxi, or even by auto rickshaw, but they were learning to get by without cash, and Vaishnu insisted that walking would be physically rewarding as well.
The lobby air-conditioning sent a welcome chill through Chaim's body.
Even in his early days he would not have stayed at such a luxurious hotel, nor would he have approved of the energy spent on air-conditioning. But today, he was the guest of Vaishnu and Ben, and he was loving it.
"Says in the Bible we can be abased and we can abound," said Ben.
"When we have a foreigner with us here, we can abound."
Chaim noted with satisfaction that Ben did not think of himself as a foreigner.
The three men basked in the ostentatious luxury of the Oberoi's lobby for the next two hours, as they sat deep in overstuffed armchairs and discussed the work in India. Because Chaim was with them, the hotel staff did not question the two dark-skinned men in humble dress across from him, nor did they doubt that Chaim had a room in the hotel, which he didn't. When staff came to take orders for drinks, they graciously declined, and when the staff had left, Vaishnu pulled, from the folds of his loincloth, a bottle of water and some home-made halva, wrapped in oil-soaked paper.
"There are still a few people joining, but things have slowed down," said Vaishnu. "We came here to meet one of our newest members."
Chaim frowned. "Now? Today? With me here? I really shouldn't..." he began.
"This one is different," Vaishnu said, holding his hand up. "You know him."
Ben grinned widely, exposing his missing teeth. At the last moment, Chaim realised that Ben was not grinning at him, but at someone approaching from behind. He turned in his seat to see Geoffrey Baum creeping up on him.
"Geoffrey! What're you doing here?" Chaim asked.
"I'm part of the team now," Baum replied.
"So you're staying here at the hotel?"
"Oh no, not here," Geoffrey said. "I'm an interloper, same as you. No, I'm staying with a group of believers out in Chankyapuri. The BBC pays me enough to stay at the Oberoi, but it keeps Vaishnu in lungis if I give the money to him instead."
"You'll be pleased to know that he doesn't waste it on autos," Chaim remarked.
Vaishnu chipped in. "We are thinking he will be most help if he stays with the BBC... for now. They give him much freedom."
"They liked the report I sent from Australia," said Baum. So I asked for, and received, permission to spend a whole year living with the Twelve Tribes as a member. Research, you know." And he winked.
"They don't know he really is a member," Ben added.
"Well , what can I say!" exclaimed Chaim. "Welcome, Geoffrey. Welcome to the family."
Vaishnu tendered the water bottle, and Geoffrey tilted his head back, Indian-style, so he could squirt water into his mouth without his lips touching the bottle.
"Thanks for that," he said. And then he turned to Chaim.
"I've been travelling all over the world, Chaim, documenting this movement. It's early days yet, but here in India, things seem to be progressing well ahead of everywhere else. That's why my focus is here. I think it's going to be huge when the media wakes up to it.
"I don't think anyone else grasps the importance or the extent of the movement outside of India."
"That reminds me," Chaim said, addressing his thoughts to Vaishnu, "Could you put together something that summarises what you've learned so far, so we can send it out to the other tribes? Practical stuff, including any mistakes you've made, so they won't be so likely to repeat them?"
"I am not a writer," said Vaishnu; and then he paused. Slowly, he and the others turned their heads toward Baum.
"Me?" he said. "Yeah. Sure, I could do it ... if Vaishnu can instruct me."
Just then Chaim's mobile rang. The call was from Tokyo. It must have been quite late over there.
"Hello?
"Bobbi! What's the problem?
"She has? When?"
"Do you have someone with you there?
"Nancy? You mean, the one you met at the Embassy? Yeah, I remember you telling me about her. Good. Just stay together. You may need to change pincodes, locks, that sort of thing... just to be safe, you know.
"Move? Well, not immediately, but do think about it.
"What are the chances she'll change her mind and come back?
"Yeah, she seemed pretty set when I was there.
"Okay, I'll send you an email tomorrow, and you do the same for me, okay? God bless you, Bobbi! Give Nancy my love."
"Problems in Tokyo," Chaim said to the others when he was finished.
"Seems Sheree has left."
Talk shifted to reports on how things were going in India, but Chaim was distracted with worries about Sheree. His first instinct had been the security of others in the movement. How could he be so hard, when Sheree herself was in danger, and when she meant so much to him? But then he had the welfare of everyone to consider.
"The people do not understand why we leaders are so secret," said Vaishnu. "But the first members here, those who returned after our problems with Krishnamurthy, they can see. They teach the others.
"Even now, they could be watching us," added Vaishnu. "The media has been helping us get the message out; but politicians... they read papers too."
"Don't become paranoid on me," Chaim joked. "They're not as smart as the movies make them out to be. But we do need to plan ahead, develop good habits now, for when the trouble starts."
*
"Shall we duck down to the gym for a workout and a swim before we go?" asked Geoffrey, when they had just about finished their business.
"Let's not push our luck," Chaim said with a smile.
"Only joking," said Baum as they all rose to face the heat out on the street... and a night without air conditioning in a crowded flat.