forth on my plate. I suddenly didn’t feel very hungry.
Kishan began. “We parachuted into a clearing a few kilometers from the Baiga camp and hiked in. An old pilot who used to work for Mr. Kadam at Flying Tiger Airlines agreed to drop us off. He flew us in on one of those old World War II troop planes that he keeps in good condition.”
Nilima nodded, sipping her nectar.
Kishan rubbed his jaw. “The guy must’ve been at least ninety years old. I was doubtful at first that the old man still had the ability to fly, but he definitely proved his skill. The drop was smooth and effortless despite the fact that Kelsey almost didn’t jump.”
“It wasn’t the same as in training,” I interjected, defending myself.
“You jumped three times during practice and also with me in Shangri-la, and you were always fine.”
“That was different. It was daytime then, and I didn’t have to . . . to drive.”
He explained, “During practice, we’d jumped in tandem.” Frustrated, he raised his voice. “You knew all you had to do was ask. I would’ve jumped with you, but you stubbornly insisted you needed to do it by yourself.”
“Well, if you weren’t so . . . hands on in tandem—”
“And if you weren’t so paranoid about me touching you—”
“It would’ve been fine!” We both spat at the same time.
My voice squeaked in panicked alarm as I glared at Kishan. “Can we please move on?”
Kishan narrowed his eyes in a look that said he’d continue the discussion later. “As I said, Kelsey almost didn’t jump in time. Kadam went first, and then I had to force Kelsey out before we missed our jump window.”
I muttered, “Forcing me is about right. You dragged me behind you.”
He pointedly stared at me. “You gave me no other option.”
He’d offered me another option alright. The option to drop the whole thing, forget about Ren, and run away with him instead. It was either that or leap out of an airplane by myself.
I wasn’t sure if he was serious or just trying to get me to jump. I’d just opened my mouth to lecture him on maintaining an appropriate distance, when he growled angrily, grabbed my hand, and jumped out of the hatch.
He continued, “After we made it to the clearing, we assumed our disguises and went our separate ways. I took the form of Kelsey, wearing a replica of her amulet.”
“I took the form of the Baiga servant,” I added. It was very uncomfortable watching you be me, by the way, Kishan.”
“It was equally uncomfortable being you. My job was to seek Lokesh and keep him busy, so I hid behind a building until I heard the signal: a tiger’s roar.”
Mr. Kadam interrupted, “That would have been me. I disguised myself as a tiger and ran off into the jungle to spring a few traps and draw off some of the soldiers.”
“Right,” Kishan said. “Kelsey began blowing stuff up, which drew off any stragglers, so I met virtually no resistance getting into the camp. Finding Lokesh was another matter. I had to take out his highly trained ring of guards. I disabled several of them with the chakram and took out the lights before they even noticed me. After that, I used my appearance to my advantage.”
Suspiciously, I inquired, “How exactly did you use my appearance to your advantage?”
Kishan smiled widely. “I acted female. I stumbled into the room, feigned shock and fear, and asked all the big, strong men to protect me, saying that there was a crazy guy trying to kill me with a golden disc. You know, I batted my eyes and flirted. Women stuff.”
I crossed my arms and stared Kishan down. “Uh-huh. Please go on.”
Kishan sighed and ran a hand through his hair. “Before you get all huffy, which is your standard reaction to me, just stop, because I know what you’re thinking.”
I folded my arms across my chest. “Oh, really? And what am I thinking?”
“You’re thinking that I’m trying to stereotype women and you in particular.” He threw up his hands in exasperation. “You’re not like that, Kells. I was just playing the hand I was given and trying to use all my assets!”
“That’s fine when you’re using your own assets, but not when you’re using mine!”
“Fine! Next time I’ll go as Nilima!”
Nilima said, “Hey! Nobody’s using my assets either.”
Mr. Kadam interrupted, “Perhaps we should continue the story?”
Kishan glowered and began muttering about women in a military operation and that next time he’d go