“Nak settle macam mane?” Razak said when he regained a straight face. The solution to this problem cannot come out of his mouth. That would be bad for him.
“Tak tahulah tuan, tapi tak perlu lah panggil JAKIM,” Faiz pleaded. This guy wasn’t stupid, Razak could see that. He wanted to tease it out of him. Whatever the situation, Razak needed to keep his cool and make him provide the offer.
“Tapi masalahnya sekarang, korang buat salah. Salah tetap salah dan memang aku patut pun bawa korang berdua pergi balai, tunggu JAKIM datang je. Memang kalau kes-kes macam ni, memang kene denda tiga ribu punye,” Razak was still very much relieved that this little fib of his was not caught out by the couple. They obviously have never been in this position before.
“Eh tuan, kita settle ajalah cara lain tuan. Tak boleh ka tuan?” Faiz was really trying reluctant to make the first move towards what it had to be.
“Nak settle macam mana lagi? Bawa pergi balai?” Razak needed to keep patient, but he also knew that if they were processed the way these cases were supposed to be processed, no monetary transaction would take place whatsoever. The only thing that would happen was that they’d have to go for counselling, and he couldn’t have that, having gone this far into the plan.
“Eh, tak perlu pergi balai lah tuan. Kita settle sini-sini ajalah tuan. Kita-kita ja,” Faiz dropped the biggest hint. To Razak, that line was good enough.
“Sini-sini je? Nak settle berape? Tige ribu tahu kalau hantar pergi pejabat agame,” that was almost twice his paycheque, and if they could get away with that, then a new smartphone would definitely be in order.
“Aa, tiga ribu tak boleh la tuan. Saya baru start kerja ja tuan.”
“Alah, ni kereta ni mahal ni, takkan perempuan kau tu takde duit?” Razak looked at the girl who has been quiet this whole time, obviously terrified. Azrai was standing right behind her, keeping quiet as well, just like he’s supposed to.
“Dia student lagi tuan. Ni kereta parents dia bagi. Tolonglah tuan,” Faiz was still speaking on behalf of both of them.
“Habis tu nak buat macam mane ni sekarang?” Razak didn’t like where this was heading.
“Saya baru start kerja ja tuan. Dalam bank saya ada lima ratuih ja. Kalau tuan nak, kita pi ATM sekarang, saya withdraw, bagi kat tuan semua.” Faiz pointed towards the nearest ATM outside of the parking area.
“Lime ratus je? Kalau macam tu, baik saye hantar ke pejabat agama je! Daripada tige ribu jadi lime ratus je!” Razak also pointed his finger towards the outside of the parking lot, but had no idea if he was actually pointing towards the department of Islamic department.
“Saya tak mampu tuan, tiga ribu tuan. Saya cuma mampu lima ratus ja tuan, pasai tu ja yang saya ada dalam bank saya. Minta maaf sangat-sangat tuan, tapi itu ja yang saya boleh bagi tuan. Lepas saya bagi duit tu kat tuan, saya dah habeh takdak duit dah dalam bank saya tuan. Tolonglah tuan,” Razak could see the desperation in Faiz’s eyes, but he couldn't accept the fact that he went through all this trouble just for five hundred bucks.
“Ni, Sharifah ni. Takkan dalam bank takde duit langsung?” Razak pointed his finger to the girl, almost touching her nose in the process.
“Er, saye pun takde banyak sangat encik. Saye ade lime nam ratus je.” The girl couldn’t even bring herself to look at Razak in the face.
“Hah, jadi lah. Korang pergi ke ATM, withdraw duit tu sekarang. Kitorang tunggu sini, jage kerete. Datang sini balik cepat-cepat!” Razak shooed them away like stray cats. He was feeling hot under the collar, and he also realised that he was running out of time because ATMs close before midnight, and that hour was fast approaching.
About half an hour passed before they came back. Razak was starting to get worried that they had run away or something, so when he saw them walking back towards their direction, he breathed a sigh of relief.
“Sorry tuan, boleh bawak keluaq lima ratuih ja. Bila Sharifah cuba bawak keluaq, dia asyik failed ja.” Again, it was Faiz doing the talking. Sharifah showed all the receipts they had got from the ATM. There must have been at least five of them.
“Hm,” at this point Razak was no longer in a mood for words. He took the money from Faiz and pocketed the whole wad without counting the banknotes. Azrai was already on the started motorcycle, so Razak just climbed onto the seat behind him.
“Eh tuan!” Faiz almost yelled. Razak reluctantly made eye-contact with him. “Nak IC kami balik tuan?”
THE END
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