Chapter 25

Maanav stood still for a moment trying to quickly analyse the situation. Shadow was leading the mission but Maanav and Anandi had the liberty to make decisions for Nitya and Naman’s sake. Just then Aanadi gestured that she was going inside through a window at the far corner. He wondered how she could make that out in the darkness that had enveloped them.

Amidst the acrid sea breeze blowing the loose tendrils of her unruly curls besides the obvious contours, nothing gave away that she was a woman. Maanav was in awe of her skills and all three of them hugely respected her for that. He nodded and gave her a thumbs-up. She disappeared into the dark cavern and Maanav tried to figure out if he could make out anything from the din of noises coming in. The intensity of the song had reduced but it still played and Capt. Rawat signalled that Naman was close to indicating the location of the torpedoes. He had to continue playing the song, which meant he had to unscramble the codes, which meant he had to keep typing on that instrument. Did the people inside know what he was doing?

They probably had to know because Kamble uncle was there, wasn’t he? He knew what that song meant.

He had to get inside… without making a noise because by now everyone would have been alerted. Suddenly there was a commotion and the glass in front of him creaked. He bent down in time to dodge a bullet. He slithered into the dark crevices. The bastards were shooting at his silhouette and Nitya or Naman could get hurt. He moved towards the back side of the ship. He knew there had to be an entry as per the blueprint Capt. Rawat had obtained. It wasn’t perfect, but gave them some idea about the ship’s layout. Usually those sides were heavily guarded but now that there was confrontation there was a possibility that the guards would be less since everyone had to take control over the deck, which now lay in darkness, thanks to Shadow’s handiwork.

Maanav slipped on his dark goggles and moved towards his target, silently and quickly, true to his name… He was right. Not just fewer guards, there was no guard at the back end. How could these people be so careless? Did they underestimate the Indian Navy? They probably also knew about the SPS courtesy Kamble uncle. So, this didn’t make sense, unless there was a …. Trap.

Right then Capt. Rawat’s voice made its staccato entry into his earpiece. “Avoid the tail… grenade trap…. Naman… conveyed… AVOID THE TAIL…”

But it was a tad too late… His leg hit a wire or something like that. It was too dark and despite the night vision goggles, he didn’t see the booby trap. But he reacted quickly and sprang to safety as 3 grenades exploded one after the other.

The explosion shattered the prevailing lull before the storm on board as chaos ensured. Flames licked the skies and debris rained down… charred wood, paper, cloth and stones too… Maanav barely escaped with a few scratches due to his quick reflexes but he worried about Nitya and Naman. Had Anandi made her way inside? Did he compromise her as well? Thick smoke filled the air around him and he had covered his face earlier in anticipation. The breeze helped for a change but there was a danger of the entire ship going up in flames a few containers that lay on the deck…. Did they contain inflammable articles? It would be catastrophic.

“Location determined…” Capt. Rawat declared. His voice drained in the ongoing commotion. “… Navy on the way to neutralize…”

Thank goodness the Navy had taken over that aspect. Their work was now cut out… They had to free Naman and Nitya and get out of there.

But that was easier said than done. They still didn’t have intel on the number of men on board from the enemy camp. And then he heard footsteps… of course, the explosion had given him away. He saw a huge anchor with its rope coiled up together for later use and made a quick move to hide behind. He had to remain uncaught.

“Bullet… come in…” Shadow buzzed into his earpiece. “…I have a visual on you. 3 men at 11 o’clock…” he now knew the positions of those coming in. “… they had AK 47s and grenades strapped to their bodies…”

Oh hell… he could take them out of their AKs in an instant but the morons were suicidal… indoctrinated. They would just explode themselves and kill all of them in the process.

“Bullet… just stay low. I shall join in…” Shadow spoke. He heard some clicks and thuds amidst a commotion on the deck. There was firing going on for sure… just how many were there?

“20 + men on the deck… a lot more inside ready with explosives… hold back boys… we need to be strategic…” Captain Rawat screeched into his ears.

Maanav hated to just wait, but he had been on dangerous missions and knew how crucial it was to wait along with presence of mind. Capt Rawat now had better visuals and all he wanted was to get into that room.

Right then he heard thuds and looked a bit outside his hiding place and saw the 3 men lying lifeless on the dusty deck floor… guns and grenades in tow. Laser stood behind them and nodded before disappearing from where he had emerged.

Wasting no more time, he rushed towards the room where the door stood on its hinges, hanging fragile in the wake of the blast. The sharp smell of burning metal was clogging his throat. It brought back the nightmares from his innumerable missions where he had conducted rescue operations, but nowhere before had his heart thudded the way it did now. He had known to remain neutral during missions, but this was proving difficult… with Nitya in there.

He stealthily moved close to the door and tried to peep inside, hoping to get some visuals. There was noise and music, along with some murmur. He was in a small part right outside the main room… he moved closer to a shaft-like structure that stood like a wall between him and the occupants of the room. He made an effort to hear what was going on…

They were talking… what?

Yes, talking… in loud voices. There was an argument of sorts going on, and Nitya was arguing with someone with a deep baritone.

Either Nitya was walking straight into the lion’s den or he was hallucinating. Where was Anandi. As if hearing him, he heard a tiny whistle. That was a call between the 4 friends… when they wanted to call each other without others in the Gurukul knowing about it. He looked up and Anandi was perched on a platform. If he didn’t know her, he would have thought it was a part of the wood. That was how good she was at camouflage. She gestured that she had heard everything there and that he had to wait for her to blast the shaft. Else their hostages would be hurt.

He nodded… this was getting on his nerves. He was used to missions where he just walked in all prepared, completed the job and left with the hostages or the packages that they referred to as their targets. This was getting way too difficult because his heart was involved… the explosion outside was a throwback to those jungles years ago in the camp where Nitya and he were separated. But this time he vowed… come what may, he wasn’t leaving without her.

There was noise coming in from outside… he wondered what was happening… did they neutralise the threat on the deck?

He struggled to hear the rising voices coming in from the other side.

“You are stubborn… very stubborn… like father like daughter…” the deep voice roared.

“Don’t you dare talk about my father… you don’t deserve to take his name after what you did to him” Nitya spoke back.

“We give him money… lot of money. And he…? he betray us. Because of him we couldn’t finish our mission. But now… Inshallah… we will.”

The music continued and so did the typing. Naman was holding himself well despite the chaos.

“Now tell the boy to explain this or you explain this nonsense music…” he roared again.

Maanav wanted nothing more than to kick the shaft and kill the man with his bare hands, but now he would endanger everyone. It was a faint scratch… he realised that faint noise was coming in for a while now. He squinted up to see Anandi had chipped of a tiny piece of wood and was now peeping through it. She gestured that there were 8 armed men inside and a few people tied up too besides Nitya, Naman and Kamble uncle. Nitya’s hands were cuffed. Maanav’s anger rose but Anandi gestured to him to keep calm. This wasn’t the time.

Their earpieces cracked again. “Deck neutralised completely. 3 arrested. We are all safe. Navy closing in 10 nautical miles…” Shadow informed them.

Anandi conveyed the inside situation to Shadow through her tiny tab.

“I just got a visual. I can see shadows and silhouettes inside. We aren’t opening fire now…” Shadow assured him.

They continued to hear the conversation.

“I don’t understand what he is doing… my brother just loves that instrument for its music…” Nitya reasoned.

“I am not idiot, girl. I know this means something. Your father… genius… He made something for those… activation keys. Tell me or I will kill you.” There was click and Maanav’s blood boiled.

He was about to kick the shaft when Kamble uncle spoke.

“Wait Janab… wait.. if you kill her the boy will be useless… he only listens to her and she is the only one who can understand the boy… otherwise this would not have taken so many years…”

“BAS KARO… I had enough nonsense… you old man… you are useless… what is the use of all my money…? You promise results… what is this? Why are… armed people on my ship? Who told them? Is something going on that I don’t know? My boys are dying…” the man was angry.

The music became louder.

“Naman’s messages have stopped. He is upto something. The Navy is a little over 5 Nautical miles away… from the torpedoes. It won’t take long…” Capt Rawat spoke up.

“We are spread across here… just get them out on the deck…” Shadow spoke immediately.

There was tiny vibration and Maanav knew it was the pick-up helicopter they had arranged just in case any of them were injured. It was on standby now. The music continued, and the ripples kept playing loudly.

“STOP THAT…” the man screamed. “…OR I WILL SHOOT YOUR SISTER… YOU RETARD….”

“Janab… please… let me try once…” Someone else spoke, and Anandi indicated it was Ashfaq.

“YOU…? YOU…? YOU ARE THE ROOT CAUSE OF ALL THIS… YOU AND YOUR FAMILY… IF YOUR GRANDFATHER HAD NOT DELIVERED THIS PACKAGE OR HELPED HER FATHER… THIS WOULDN’T HAVE HAPPENED… our mission would have taken place long ago and we would have received funding for a lot more missions… instead for 15 years I have been stuck with this because we spent so much on those torpedoes… they can’t be activated… Tomorrow is that Mumbai festival… lots of people gathering… best time to take them all… government will come to its senses…” The man chuckled.

Was he insane…? Mumbai festival…? Oh goodness, it was Ganpati Visarjan tomorrow. Maanav decided it was about time.

He gestured to Anandi to tell him where each person was.

“Nitya… please talk to Naman and get the activation codes. Our men have tried here but its scrambled… Naman knows it. I am sure…” Ashfaq spoke again.

“No Sajid… I mean, Ashfaq. My father gave up his life for the country… I would do the same but you know how much I love Naman… Unfortunately, he is uncommunicando… can’t you see he is distressed?”

“Its always him over everything… isn’t he?” Ashfaq sounded frustrated. “…He was the bone of contention between us as well… if not for him we would have had a future…”

Right then there was a gunshot and a thud. Maanav’s heart was in his throat but he heard Nitya scream. “ASHFAAAAQ… OH MY GOD… are you insane? Why did you shoot him?”

“I will not hesitate to shoot anyone else now. Enough is enough… tell that mad boy to deliver the codes…” the man spoke coldly.

Maanav looked up at Anandi who nodded. She typed into her tab, probably alerting Shadow. Maanav gestured the count of three and kicked the Shaft… he had to do it twice immediately when it gave away and he immediately took cover beneath the thick plank. There was firing around him and he heard a few clicks. No one would have anticipated Anandi to be there. She took out a few men before hurling a smoke bomb inside.

“Maaaanav…?” Nitya called out to him and he heard her scream. Just then, the music stopped.

The firing also had stopped for a moment.

“Naman genius… papa genius… Naman genius… didi… torpedo gone… torpedo dead….” Naman scampered around.

Just then, the huge man with a limp caught hold of Naman and held a gun to his temple.

“You made big mistake and now this brat will die…”

“NO… PLEASE NO… NAMAN… He will give the codes. I promise…” Nitya was frantic.

Maanav and Anandi had trained their rifles on the huge man and 4 of his men who now got their bearings together and held up their pistols.

“you fooled me enough… you and that old man… Kamble. No more. You can’t catch us.” The man limped behind backwards, while one of his men opened the door. Maanav instructed everyone that they were not to fire.

“NAMAN …. no please…” Nitya was crying and right then Kamble kaka rushed towards the limping man. He held the man’s hand holding the gun and tried to pull. One of the men kicked him and he fell.

“Shoot him…” The limping man commanded and one of his men shot Kamble kaka. The man moved away, but not quickly enough. He was shot on the thigh and instantly there was a pool of blood beneath him.

“Oh God … NO…. no… Kaka…” Nitya rushed towards him even as the limping man shuffled outside with an awkwardly struggling Naman in tow. As they began their exit one of the men pointed his pistol towards Nitya who was trying to stop Kaka’s bleeding.

In a swift motion, Maanav dragged Nitya, and they rolled towards a corner of the room and she missed being hit. Anandi made quick work of the man as he fell lifeless on the floor. Maanav shot at her handcuff’s and released them.

Nitya grabbed Maanav’s hand. “Maa… Maanav… Naman… please…” she whispered amidst tears.  “…Kaka was innocent… he…”

“I know Nitya… calm down. Nothing’s going to happen to Naman…” Maanav held her shoulders as he continued. “… that’s a promise. We are leaving together this time…” An unspoken understanding passed between them.

Nitya furiously nodded even as Anandi spoke to someone about Kaka as she tied a tourniquet around his bullet wound to stop the bleeding. They had to take kaka to the helicopter as soon as possible else he would bleed to death.

“Stay with him, Nitya…” Maanav instructed her and nodded towards Anandi and kaka.

He saw Nitya help Anandi as they tried to control the heavy bleeding, and kaka was losing consciousness. He glanced a bit outside to check. The deck lights were on …

Right then, Shadow’s voice came in. “Visuals on the target… Naman is in danger still. The man limping is the brother of the actual mastermind behind the 26/11 terror attack… the mission was named ‘BUTT mission’ in the bastard’s honour. He is wanted by Interpol for the blasts in London and the tourist bus attack in France. The Navy warriors are detaching the torpedos. Its 3 Nautical miles away from here. The bastards have rigged this ship, so we have to escape carefully… the trigger must be somewhere with the limping man.”

“Alert everyone…” Capt Rawat spoke up. “… Our brave and intelligent Naman had overheard the perps talking about the layout of the bombs and the detonator details are with me. It’s wired to a mobile with that man in the centre. Name’s Jameel Sayeed. My man has hacked into the software. Keep him occupied for a tad longer…”

Jameel limped cautiously forward. Right then, a smoke bomb landed close by, plunging the deck into a smoke zone. Everyone around began to cough and two of the men were taken down instantly. The two others sat limp on the deck, dropping their rifles. However, Jameel dragged Naman toward the ship’s edge, hoping to use him as leverage in a final standoff.

From the tail end, a couple of paramedics precariously trapezed down a rope from the helicopter and got into the room. Maanav heaved a sigh of relief now that kaka would be safe. Nitya rushed towards him. Before he could react, she screamed.

“NAMAN…  You, please LET MY BROTHER GO…”  Her voice had become hoarse by then. And Maanav’s heart broke watching her weep.

Jameel laughed hysterically. “You guys ruined it all. The sponsors are going to have my hide… No… I won’t go down alone. This kid… he is the root cause of trouble… everything would have gone as planned if he wasn’t in the picture… He will go down with me…”

“DROP THE GUN, JAMEEL. IT’S GAME OVER…” Shadow’s voice boomed over the ship’s loudspeaker.

“NO… NOT OVER… NOT AT ALL… MY MAN WILL BE HERE ANY MOMENT… I will leave here with this boy. You all will become ashes… just wait.” He smirked. Maanav saw the flustered look on his face.

“The explosives are disarmed. Jameel can’t do anything…. go ahead, my boys, finish the mission.” Capt. Rawat’s voice came into their earpieces.

Within a moment, shots were fired at Jameel’s shoulder and he wobbled a bit. Maanav rushed and in an instant pulled Naman away. Jameel raised his arm with the gun, pointing it towards Naman but a shot soon made its way to his forehead and the curtains finally fell.

Within a few moments, MARCOS on standby rushed and took control of the entire ship and the helicopter made a breezy landing to take the SPS team with Nitya and Naman along with the injured kaka… As told earlier, this mission was a secret and the details were not to be revealed.

Nitya rushed towards Naman who, in turn, smiled awkwardly.

“Naman Genius… Naman brave… Shadow…?” Naman looked around even as Nitya hugged the boy.

Shadow came towards Naman and hoisted him up. “You are the true hero of this mission, Naman… do you know you just saved our country?”

Everyone clapped for Naman.

“Naman genius… Naman saved country…” The young boy erupted in joy. As Shadow placed him down, supporting him on he wobbly ship, he looked up in reverence at the gentle giant. “… Sh…Sh… Shadow…?”

“Yes Naman…?”

“…Naman Brave…? Naman good…?”

“Yes…” Shadow reiterated. “…Naman is a brave genius… Naman is the best…”

©priyanayakgole

(Disclaimer: This is a piece of fiction using the backdrop of the attack that happened and any resemblance to any person living or dead is purely coincidental. This doesn’t attempt to change history or facts.)

Chapter 23

Nitya walked through the maze of tunnels. It was lit up with tiny halogen bulbs at regular intervals so it wasn’t difficult for her. The weight of the instrument however was impeding her speed. Her fitness levels these days weren’t all that great given the breaks she had with her workouts. She wondered how Naman lifted this stuff…

Thinking of her brother brought in the tears and she had to struggle to keep them away. Naman dear… please hang on. Didi will be there soon and will get you out safely….

She halted but right then the text she had received some time ago came to the fore. It was from a private number and she had to visit a location from where they would pick her up. It came with a stern one liner: ‘Come alone. We have eyes on you the moment you step out of your cavern’

She shuddered at being exposed without knowing where the eyes were. She had wondered how they knew so much, but then it had to be the Judas… Kamble kaka. As she walked through the cul-de-sac of the route, she began to think about the past. The good times. Kamble kaka featured in all of them. As far as she remembered, he had never spoken about his family. He was a regular when Appa was alive and was the only one who had supported them through their crises after hell had broken loose years ago.

Even after a gap when she had met him again, he had helped her. Right from finding a house with low rent to at times accompanying her when she had to take amma or Naman to the hospital or when she needed someone to wait with Naman at home. She relied upon and trusted kaka more than anyone else. There were times when she got late from work and she found him waiting for her at the entrance of the housing society with worry. She would be touched by the gesture. No one waited for her where they cared for her. No one worried about her.

She wondered why he did all that if it was just to betray them or if it was just to convey information about them to the enemy. He had gone the extra mile, so it was difficult for her to fathom his betrayal. Somehow, she couldn’t believe he was the wolf in sheep’s clothing. Maanav knew him too… how could he, with all the backing he had not known about kaka? Kaka wasn’t good with technology. She knew how many times she had to help him with net banking because he couldn’t figure out simple elements like the ‘CAPTCHA’

Who was kaka exactly? Would Captain Rawat have found out by now?

Her thoughts went back to Maanav. He had been the pillar she always wanted to lean on. She knew he wanted to be with her at this moment but he had a mission to take care of. She was in awe of the team and the bonding between the friends, Shiv, Maanav, Avinash and Anandi, whom she was yet to meet. She was glad that despite the rough life Maanav had amazing friends he could rely on and now they were her friends too. She wanted to meet Padma, Shiv’s wife. She had seen her pictures when Shadow had shown them to her once and Padma was a stunner. She was the softness to Shadow’s rough edges. She had seen the reverence in Shadow’s otherwise stern eyes. He was madly in love with his wife. But still he was all set to go with Maanav on this mission. They had a team to get this done but they were doing it themselves because of her… she knew that in her gut. She felt guilty as well…

Within a minute she saw the light and at the final bend of the tunnel, she saw a rough graveled path. In a minute, she was out of a wooden grove. For anyone looking from out, it would look like a grove filled with a variety of trees. The camouflage was astounding. She came to a location and waited near the mark she was told about. She nervously gripped her phone, hoping to receive a call or a text, but nothing happened. With every second, her anxiety increased, and all she wanted to do was to call Maanav.

But she waited.

After about half an hour as fatigue began to act its way on her mind, a vehicle came close. She had seen the vehicle; an unregistered Omni pass the way a few times but now it came to a halt. The passenger door slid open, and she saw a couple of armed men in black overalls with their faces covered. One of them jumped out even before the door opened completely and moved close to her. Dragging her by the hand, he pushed her on the seat. She held the instrument closely… Her and Naman’s lives depended on taking it safely to the perps. Didn’t these morons know?

There was no time to ponder and her leg that was hurt from years ago hit the seat and she winced in pain. The man steadied her as she sat on the seat. some kindness that was! The other man removed a black detector and ran it over her to check for any kind of tracking device. He then put a blindfold over her… “This is only so for the secrecy of our location. Stay still and you won’t get hurt…” the gruff voice told her. He smelled of nicotine and she wanted to gag. But she wished to see this through… Mainly for her brother. Naman was fighting his battles… all alone. This was the least she could do.

As the vehicle cruised along a rough terrain, she winced at the jerks and hits she got. But strangely, she realized her strength had increased by aeons this time. She knew it was because of the two most important people in her life. Naman and Maanav. Each of them had a permanent spot in her heart. Naman, for his struggle with his condition all his life and Maanav who had been a permanent fixture in her life even though he wasn’t present physically for a long time.

Her back ached along with her glutes and her leg throbbed. Her feet were dead to the world, and she wondered how long it was since they were travelling. It was a long time and she had lost count of the time being lost in her thoughts. She only hoped what she had planned would be successful and all of them would be safe… she hoped whatever her Appa had started would finally get the closure and his name be officially cleared. Of course, Shadow had promised her that, but she knew better… without concrete evidence, it would be a Herculean task to achieve.

Suddenly, the vehicle came to a halt. They removed her blindfold, and she had to blink a few times to adjust to her surroundings. The fresh soothing sounds of waves greeted her and for a moment as the breeze patted her cheeks, she forgot where she was. But immediately, reality struck.

The door opened, and she was jarred back to the present. “You may come out quickly…” The man who had blindfolded her spoke. She was surprised at his tone. He was faking the voice that she was sure of, and now that she saw him standing before her just before the vehicle headlights for illumination, she felt something familiar about him. He was tall and those eyes… The way he touched his right hand to the back of his head… Good gracious.

“Sajid… is that you?” She exclaimed.

The man froze and his eyes were filled with what she fathomed as fear. Did she speak too much? She knew Sajid alias Ashfaq was forced to do what he did, but that didn’t absolve him of the crime. However, at that moment, he seemed scared as well, so she kept quiet. There was a roar coming from a distance that only increased with every passing moment.

She looked around her, but except for the vast expanse of the night seashore, she couldn’t see anything. She was in Mumbai, she thought… where else could they reach in that time? Also, she could smell the acrid air that the night sea often unravelled in Mumbai. But did Mumbai have such a clean and empty beach place? She doubted. Then where was she? Could she get to talk to Sajid alone? There was a lot he had to answer, and she knew he would. He didn’t seem like a thug… But then she didn’t know who she could trust now. She had to keep her nerves intact.

The roar increased, and she saw a helicopter descend sending strong waves of dusty wind around her before she could think of protecting herself with the cramped hands that still held the instrument, Sajid came close and stood before her, trying to take the maximum impact. Soon she was escorted to the heli and strapped to the seat. While Sajid sat in front of her. The other guy sat with the pilot and the two others in the vehicle drove away.

The helicopter ascended in its glory and she couldn’t help but be fascinated by the night landscape before her. It was Mumbai for sure and suddenly from the high altitude the city that never slept felt so miniscule. The twinkling lights felt like sequins on a black cloth that beckoned her despite the hardships. She blinked back tears and wondered if there was any imminent danger to her beloved city…

She looked inside and felt Sajid staring at her. They were alone for the first time. He had removed his mask. Probably because she had recognized him.

“Want to say something…?” She prodded.

He looked away outside, and she could see the distress on his face. The mark on his forehead where he had been hit was still healing.

“Sajid…? Or should I say, Ashfaq…?” She continued softly. Now that got him to stare right back again.

“So, you were there that evening…I knew it. I thought I saw you. And was sure when Janaab described you… What were you thinking, Nitya? Coming there all the way…? How did you even know about it? You almost got me killed.”

“I got you killed? Is that supposed to be a joke? After what you tried to pull through?” Her annoyance was palpable.

“Whatever I did, I never intended to harm you or Naman. I have tried my best to protect you, Nitya. Or else you would have been long dead. Why do you think you escaped that place unharmed? Did you think we didn’t see you escape? No… It was I who took the responsibility for your secrecy. I convinced Janaab that you were more important alive than dead… you are so selfish, Nitya.”

“JUST CUT THE CRAP, Saji… I mean Ashfaq. All that you have done is only cause me distress, especially to Naman.” She looked away, trying to let nature calm down her senses.

“You don’t know anything, Nitya. I wish you did. I have only wanted to save you. I really liked you…” He spoke with conviction.

“…Just Stop it…” She cut his talk. “… everything sounds so hollow… so superfluous. I fell for your tricks, I agree…”

“…But Nitya, you were never in love with me. You agreed to date me just for the sake of your family… so you were not in the right either.” He stared at her and continued. “… But Nitya, believe it or not, I always liked you. I knew we didn’t have a future together, especially after this was done. But I… I liked you. I would have done anything to get you if you had reciprocated. But I knew from the go, you weren’t in this relationship at all…” He looked away.

They were both silent for a while.

“So now, what’s next, Ashfaq?”

“We will be ending this all… your father, who decided not to betray his country, started this. And my moronic grandfather helped him and started this curse on our family… I am still paying for their actions….” He rubbed his face and continued. “…we will be descending soon and if all goes as per plan, then you and Naman will be free by tomorrow evening.”

“You mean, you will be killing us, won’t you?”

He gave her a look she had never seen before. He was angry… very angry.

“You still think I am a monster, don’t you, Nitya?”

“Honestly, Ashfaq, you haven’t given me a reason to think otherwise…. You should have left Naman alone.”

“You were there that evening… you saw what happened to me. If my father hadn’t begged Janaab then I would be dead… all because of your stubborn brother. Anyways, I have arranged for our safe passage to Dubai. You don’t have to do anything for me… your father has left you a fortune… My father took care of it. It’s all Dr. Manohar’s severance pay and the moolah for making this…” He pointed to the instrument in her hand. “… You can start afresh and live there with Naman and that boyfriend of yours…He isn’t employed anyway.” Ashfaq smirked.

So he knew everything about her… of course he did.

“Wait, what fortune are you talking about?” She didn’t need dirty money.

“I know what you are thinking, but it’s legitimate money. Your father didn’t spend a dime of his salary in two years. And he saved my grandfather’s and father’s life a day before he succumbed. My grandfather always spoke good about your father saying how such a great scientist helped him a mere sweeper, in financial crises for medicines for my ailing grandmother… He even funded my school education because my father was all set to make me drop out… I could study and become an accountant…” She saw moisture in his eyes.

She realized she was crying too… Oh Appa, you were too humane for your own good.

“Then why… why all this, Ashfaq…?” She couldn’t help but ask.

“Janaab found us out one day. After all hell broke loose 15 years ago, we lived in obscurity in a corner of Islamabad when Janaab got to us… he threatened to kill us all for my grandfather’s betrayal and so my father agreed to join them in their cause. They let me complete my education and 5 years ago I had to join them in India. My father planned this façade…, of meeting you and having an affair with you so I could reach the package…but I realized it was not you but Naman who held the strings for the ‘package’… my father also mentioned a secret account where your father had kept away his savings and entrusted my father to give it to your mother someday after everything died down. But the events turned out in such a way, he couldn’t.”

Nitya wiped her tears away…

The helicopter began its descent, and she saw the shimmering lights on what looked like a cargo ship. Was Naman somewhere there? She hoped he was.

“Nitya…?” Ashfaq called out.

She looked up at his moisture-laden eyes. He never looked more vulnerable.

“I am sorry… for what it’s worth. I never intended to harm you… just keep that in mind and, if possible, please forgive me.”

She didn’t say anything, still reeling from the information overload as they touched base.

Meanwhile in Pune in Shadow’s office…

Maanav continued to pace like a caged animal, his eyes constantly on the monitor that showed a green dot move.

“Bullet, you should calm down now…” Shadow spoke. “… You need to keep your spirits intact.”

Captain Rawat called in right at that moment.

“So we have the intel coming in. There was a request for a private landing for a heli belonging to an industrialist. It was meant for airlifting his pregnant daughter to England. However, the heli disappeared out of the radar within a few minutes of ascent. Any guesses? However, the industrialist is being questioned by the authorities and he claims ignorance, saying some staff must have done it… All that apart, Maanav, your serum is working well. We now have the exact coordinates of where the brother-sister duo are…. Shadow and Maanav, I have the required clearances from the Indian Navy. It’s show time, boys….”

The next few moments were spent in mobilizing their small team and receiving faxes from Captain Rawat about all the necessary paperwork and permissions to breach the foreign seas. They were to go secretly, but if caught, they could be helped.

Maanav hoped they wouldn’t get caught… after all, two precious lives depended on them. Along with crores of people residing in Mumbai… if the missiles were to be activated.

But then, he trusted young Naman. He did! He knew Naman well by now… the guy was a genius and his gut feeling told him Naman would pull this off… whatever this was.

©priyanayakgole

(Disclaimer: This is a piece of fiction using the backdrop of the attack that happened and any resemblance to any person living or dead is purely coincidental. This doesn’t attempt to change history or facts.)

Chapter 22

“Nitya…? Can you hear me? Are you alright…?” Maanav’s voice hammered into her skull. She struggled to open her eyelids which seemed to weigh their own. Somewhere in the recess of her fudged mind she could hear a wave of voices sweeping over her… was she dead already or was she in transition to the other realm?

Suddenly she felt water on her face as her eyes opened on their own volition. She looked up at a worried Maanav who looked like he would burst out crying any moment.

“Oh, Thank God… Nitya…” His voice was hoarse, and he tried to smile in vain as he pushed a lock of hair behind her ear. He helped her sit up and she felt like an alien as she looked around her.

Shadow who was hovering around gave her a nod and a smile that brightened up his rugged face as he went back to his workstation. He typed in something and the screen came up again. Captain Rawat was the only one present on the other side.

“Nitya, I hope you are better, girl. You have been such a strong girl so far… you can’t give up now. Got it? There is a lot at stake here… and Naman is our priority and everything else can wait, National security or not. Now buck up and get into the groove. We have work to do. …”

She heard the man type something and immediately his voice boomed over the speakers as all of them came close to the Screen.

Captain Rawat put up a slide. It showed some kind of signals like tiny meteorites in the clear dark skies. After a regular shower, it suddenly stopped. “This is the signal we were receiving from Naman’s video game. The smart boy gave us complete coordinates of the travel and those morons must have not known till now…”

“…Oh God Naman…” Nitya placed a hand on her chest hoping to pacify her thudding heart. “…Does this mean his signal stopped… does that mean… they caught him?” she looked at Maanav in alarm. He hugged her shoulder and got her closer to him. But she wasn’t able to calm down. It was her brother, for crying out loud. He was all alone out there. For once she was glad about his condition, he probably trusted Kamble Kaka and he wouldn’t do anything stupid. She felt proud of him for having stood the test of time irrespective of his condition or the limitations the condition put on him.

“Don’t worry, Nitya. I am getting extremely fleeting signals but it’s not consistent….” Captain Rawat explained. “…That means he isn’t caught. However, that means he is beyond the signal range… way beyond.”

Nitya gripped Maanav’s hand. “What do you mean? Where can he go so soon It has been barely a few hours since he left… and that signal was meant to be in the cyber range, so  why…?”

Maanav turned her towards him and held her shoulder. “There is only one place where such a signal can go bleak…” he tried to reason.

“Where Maanav…? Where on earth is Naman…?” She wailed as tears made their way down her cheeks. “…isn’t cyber level signal boundaryless? It shouldn’t matter even if he leaves the country, right…?”

“You are correct, Nitya…” Maanav placed a warm palm on her cheek. “…but the signal will go weak in a place with very low cyber range… I mean where we can’t have wifi or related signals…”

Nitya’s shoulders slumped. She was tired of being strong… she didn’t think she had it in her. Her brain seemed to have frozen… what was she missing here? All she wanted was for her baby brother safe and back home. She promised herself she would never let him out of sight. “Maanav, Captain Rawat, Shadow….” She looked at each of them, unmindful of the tears that kept streaming. “…I don’t have much knowledge compared to you all… all I know is that my brother is out there somewhere… but even aeroplanes have internet, don’t they? Then where on earth is my brother…?” She placed her other hand on her head.

“Naman is safe, Nitya… I promise nothing will happen to him. He is our strongest warrior…” Maanav assured her.

“Then… then Maanav, where is he?” Her voice sounded strangulated with all the emotions churning though her body.

Maanav took her closer to the screen where the map of the area explained earlier was displayed. But this wasn’t just a map. As if reading her thoughts, Maanav explained. “this isn’t just a map… it’s a real-time image of that place where we believe Naman is…”

Nitya stared wide-eyed at what looked like a large expanse of water… in either corner, she saw the Yemen Coastline and the Indian coastline. Where was Naman…?

“So where is Naman…?” She looked around at everyone present and her eyes rested back on Maanav.

He held her shoulders and she instantly knew it was going to be something not for her ears.

“Nitya… he is in the sea… literally…” Maanav spoke softly and she gasped.

“WHAT…?” She found herself screaming.

The picture available on the screen was enlarged and it pixeled out. Its then that she saw a few black dots in the pristine sea. “That…?” She looked back at Maanav.

“Yes Nitya… from our intelligence sources, we feel Naman has been taken there.”

“But why…? Why in the sea?” She couldn’t make out anything… nothing made sense.

“Because they plan to execute their mission directly… from the sea.” Shadow piqued in.

Oh God…

“Maanav… do something… please… Naman is in danger…” She pleaded frantically.

Before he could speak, Captain Rawat’s voice came in through the speakers.

“Listen carefully, Nitya. Irrespective of what they have they can’t do anything because Naman can only use this instrument assembled by your father. The key to it all lies here with us. They have Naman and will now use him as a bargaining chip for the instrument… They must have their experts but will hold on to Naman nonetheless… so till the time this instrument is with us, Naman is safe.”

“But they can have another instrument made… why are they after this one and why are they after Naman?” Nitya was perplexed.

“That’s because…” Shadow stood before her, towering further over her tall frame. “… your genius father customized the instrument in a way that the software used in it is the only one compatible to activate the torpedoes. They are from 15 years ago… so nothing else will work on them. I am sure those people must have tried everything under the sun and failed. Besides the costs for making those devices would have been astronomical not to mention, to maintain them for so many years…”

Maanav held her cold shivering hand, enveloping her in his warmth. “Nitya, Naman was the only one who activated it and he is the only one who can do it all over again… But he is a warrior and a very brave guy.”

She was in tears seeing the adoration for her brother in Maanav’s eyes. “So… what do we do now…? Just wait for them to connect with us?” She asked.

“Come with me, Nitya…” he pulled at her hand and she looked around.

“Why… where are we going…? To Naman…?”

“Just come… trust me, Nitya… come with me.” Maanav pulled again and this time she didn’t resist.

She didn’t bother asking or checking with anyone around and just followed her heart… that now lay with him. Maanav took her to his bedroom and pulled her inside as he shut it. Pushing her backwards till her back hit the door he placed his hands on either of her sides. She felt his warm breath on her face and knew he was struggling with the onslaught of emotions, too.

She raised her hands and cupped his face. “Maanav, you know I trust you, right? I know they are all very good… Shadow, Captain Rawat and all of them there, but for me… its you. Its always you, Maanav that I trust my life with. I trust… Naman with.”

He bowed his head and she knew he was trying to control his emotions and not to breakdown before her. She pulled him closer till he rested his head on her shoulder and she could feel a shudder run through his body. She caressed his back and whispered into his ears. “We will get through this Maanav, we will… I love you, Maanav, I always have…”

Suddenly he jerked his head up and stared into her eyes with a bloodshot intensity she had never seen before. “What… did… you… just… say?” he was breathing hard.

She cupped his cheeks yet again. “This probably isn’t the right time, Maanav. But I… I am in love with you… no pressure at all to reciprocate. I just wanted to be clear about my feelings … I mean…” Nitya didn’t know what got over her to confess it to him, but she looked away. Talk of timing… she would win an award for it.

She let her hands move away from his face. Right then, he gripped them and held them before his face and kissed her hands. “God knows Nitya… I have been longing to hear those words… I love you more than life itself. I love you for the woman you are and I also love the little brother you bring in… Naman. He is a rockstar…”

He pulled her close and hugged her. “Don’t worry, Nitya. Naman will be home soon.”

“Maanav…?”

“…Yeah…?”

“Why didn’t they call yet?”

“That’s probably because they are still getting their bearings… Meanwhile Nitya, our team is working on this too… the Indian Navy and the Air Force are secretly helping us. We are waiting for more intelligence. We don’t want to go unprepared… it will be risky for both Naman and us.” He kissed her forehead. She rested her head on his chest and wished for it all to end soon…

Maanav’s walkie-talkie buzzed and they separated. It was Shadow on the other end.

“Bullet, come in with Nitya. Theres some intel”

“Will be there in a moment…” Maanav signed off and held her hand before striding off to the office.

Nitya could feel confidence steeping in and she knew it was because of this man who stood with her through this all.

As soon as they entered the office Nitya saw the huge screen lit up again and the Ripples song playing again. Shadow had used Naman’s codes, apparently. She saw some more scrolling happening on the screen.

“As you see here there was some more information in the song… more Morse codes but there are numbers too this time. Your father had timed them, Nitya. In case these fell into the wrong hands… I could crack this only because Naman completed most of it…” Shadow didn’t take his eyes off the screen as he typed and spoke. “… these numbers are in some sequence that we can’t figure yet… we don’t know if its some kind of a passcode or information…”

Oh Appa… Nitya made a mental prayer. Please appa… this should be enough… I can’t take this anymore. Naman is in danger…

Maanav walked towards the screen in slow motion and stared unblinkingly at the screen.

“Shadow… halt this one moment…” He spoke aloud.

There was a pin-drop silence as everyone gathered around Maanav. Nitya couldn’t make out anything there were random numbers that came up as the morse codes for numbers got decoded. What was Appa thinking…?

“THAT’S IT…” Maanav thumped the desk sending the paperclips flying. “… I got it…”

He turned around with a triumphant grin on his face as he looked at Nitya.

“Maanav here is a maths wiz…” Shadow spoke and he connected them to Captain Rawat who was immediately on screen.

Maanav nodded at the Captain and spoke. “Look at the numbers here in this order… each four-digit number here is a sum of the preceding two numbers… that means it’s the…”

“… The Fibonacci series” Captain Rawat completed his statement.

“…That’s right Captain and now look at the arrangement of the series… it’s blended with an alphabet… so here we go…” Maanav took up a pen and scribbled something on a paper.

“…Nitya I wonder how long it must have taken your father to do this and then scramble it all… this is a combination of numbers and if we place a decimal after the digits strategically coinciding with the ocean where these people are…. So we now have four such combinations…representing Latitudes and longitudes…” Maanav continued scribbling. And then held up the paper.

“Oh MY GOD…” Shadow exclaimed as he watched spell bound and this was the first time Nitya saw him flustered. “… These are coordinates…”

“Positive…” Captain Rawat spoke up this time his voice filled with excitement. “… These are the locations of the torpedoes under water… meant for firing. Dr. Mohandas had designed them to be placed there without knowing for what they were to be used… he must have got the idea of it all later and did the damage control to the best of his abilities… Mind blowing…” there was silence again as everyone tried to digest the information just received. Captain Rawat made some calls and typed furiously, sending his office at his end into a flurry of activity. “…I am getting in the Navy officials on board who will help us without the red tape involvement… we will confirm the location without them getting an inkling of the same. Meanwhile Shadow and Bullet, you must be prepared… I have called in Razor as well.” Captain Rawat signed off.

Within an hour Shadow and Maanav were ready in their combat suits while Nitya didn’t like the wait. She was however grateful to these men especially Shadow who was going the extra mile and risking his life for Naman. There was a buzz and soon they welcomed a tall good-looking guy with a flirtatious smile. He gave her a two-finger salute as he joined them in the office. She didn’t need any introduction to know he was Avinash ‘Razor’ Thakur. But as the meeting progressed and he was brought up to date, he was serious and soon was dressed up in his combat suit. The trio looked dangerous, but still Nitya was scared for them. They waited for Captain Rawat’s go-ahead.

However, the silence in the office room was jarred by an incessant shrill ringing of an incoming call. It was a private number.

Shadow gestured to Nitya to answer the call.

“Hel… hel… hello…?” She stuttered.

“So, you must be the daughter…” a rough voice, which was probably camouflaged with a software spoke. “…by now you must be knowing your dear brother is in our custody. And you also know what we want…”

“…How is Naman…?”

“Look lady, you have no right to ask any questions. Naman is safe as of now. We want you to bring that instrument to the location I text you in 10 minutes. I want the instrument in the next 8 hours…. But you must come alone to this spot in one hour and my men will pick you up. Bring help and you won’t see your brother… got it…?” The warning was firm

“Don’t you hurt Naman. He is innocent… I will get whatever you want…”

The call went dead and Shadow shook his head, which meant they couldn’t trace it.

“Nitya… here’s the plan. We will…” Maanav began.

“…No Maanav… please no… They have warned me… I can’t get any help. I will go alone. Let me hand over the instrument and get Naman. Then you can take over… please let me do this my way…” Nitya frantically pleaded and walked towards the instrument, trying to detach it.

“Wait Nitya. If you do this, it will destroy the codes in it… it’s fragile from years of wear and tear…” Shadow warned.

Nothing they spoke made sense to her.

Maanav walked towards her. “…Ok Nitya. We will do it as you say. Just have some water. And remember… not to use the washroom anywhere. Don’t drink anything else… not even more water… got it?” he handed a bottle to her. It just had about 50 ml of water and it tasted strange, but she gulped it, nonetheless.

Soon she stood at the threshold of the secret pathway holding the instrument. Maanav stood next to her and spoke. “Just focus on your task at hand, and I will focus on mine. Remember, I am always with you…”

She nodded and blinked back tears as she made her way out… to get back her brother safe and sound.

©priyanayakgole

(Disclaimer: This is a piece of fiction using the backdrop of the attack that happened and any resemblance to any person living or dead is purely coincidental. This doesn’t attempt to change history or facts.)

Chapter 21

The office room was now a flurry of activities with Shadow at the helm of things. Captain Rawat too was a constant feature as he barked orders to his office back in wherever he was. Nitya could only stand and anticipate as the gravity of the situation began to sink in. What did her father unearth that cost him his life? This was huge and concerning National security. What was her father upto? He had passed on such vital information…

How she wished this was revealed years ago… before her father was called a traitor and their family shunned. Would her mother be sane? Would Naman have received better treatment and support options? Maybe she would have got a proper education and overall… stability and a carefree life where she didn’t have to look over her shoulders all her life.

Blinking back tears, Nitya watched Maanav and Shadow draw all possible information about torpedoes and their use.

“So boys…” Captain Rawat roared and startled Nitya. “,.. we have on a conference call the defence secretariat… and the home Minister himself. We have to update him so he can take care of the bureaucratic matters. I strongly feel we will need that.”

Nitya sat in a dark corner of the office watching the scene unfold. The huge screen now had the who’s who from high offices and their screens were shadowed. She wondered why because they were all in public lives anyways.

“That’s because they are in this mission on a classified basis… they can’t reveal themselves. It’s a façade you see… to cut the bureaucratic red tape….” Maanav whispered as if hearing her thoughts. He seemed to know her more than herself. She was so glad he was with her… else she couldn’t have coped with this mayhem.

“Here’s the status…” captain Rawat’s voice boomed through the speakers and all the others in the office were looking with rapt attention. Shadow and his team were all prepped up to fire the keyboard while Maanav sat next to Nitya holding her hand. “…This terror conspiracy was launched way back in early 2000s or probably even before that but received a shot in the arm after the 9/11 US attacks. The funding had to be diverted somewhere else so Yemen became a hotbed. The proximity to large number of ports was critical part of the reason to consider attack by the sea route. And the reason for the attack was the age old… Babri Masjid demolition….” Captain Rawat sighed and Nitya saw him rub his face. she was sure the man was fatigued but he didn’t let it show through his voice as he continued.

“… so gentlemen as you see here…” he put up a slide showing the sea route from Yemen to Mumbai. “…Its not an impossible task. 26/11 was done so from our neighbouring land but the planning and the needed technological advancement were provided from Yemen so given our good relations with the country, no one would suspect them. In fact, I have on good record the authorities there have been clueless about what was happening clandestinely right under their noses.”

Nitya realised she had gripped Maanav’s palm. He placed a warm palm over their clasped hands. “don’t worry, Nitya… this is the beginning of the end. I promise…” He whispered and she nodded. She realised she had become an emotional mess ever since Maanav had returned to her life. She loved him more than anything… always loved him but it also scared her. She had lost a lot in life. What if she lost him as well? What if something happened to Naman? A flood of negative thoughts sent a shiver down her spine. She felt Maanav’s grip tighten as they continued to hear what Captain Rawat had to say.

“… The 26/11 attack on Mumbai as we already know happened via the sea route and they had planned a follow-up attack immediately in December. The November attack was called the ‘BUTT mission because of the chief perp involved in the same. He was tried in a court in the neighbouring country. The second attack was to have taken place in a more severe form. However, because of the vigilance by Dr. Mohandas, that attack was prevented but the physical preps were all done…”

“What do you mean by the preps?” A member of the defence secretariat questioned.

“Dr. Mohandas sent the details to us cryptically. He was sure those people would target his family if he directly sent it… it also could have fallen into the wrong hands instead of coming to us… Dr. Mohandas would have probably aimed for one of the two outcomes… either destroy it all… so it would never work. The perps had spent too much and they would suffer losses that would render them useless. The second would be getting it all decoded by someone trusted and someone highly intelligent. This is difficult to find amongst the enemy. That worked and here we are. But at that time the attack was a few days apart after 26/11. So, all their other preparations would have had to be in place.” Captain Rawat explained.

Shadow stood and nodded at everyone as he took over the explanation. He put up another slide. “As you see here, Yemen has a 1200-mile coastline. Of which 4 of these ports are heavily guarded. 3 of them are major ports. It over all lies in the South Western corner of the Arabian Peninsula so quite a bit of it is secluded from us and our western coastline. If there has to be an attack, they have to use a port for the activation and technology… that means they will require a port that’s not in function. In the last 15 years, there have been a couple of ports that have been rendered dysfunctional and are used to repair and build ships….”

Captain Rawat took over. “…I have sent a word across through our informer network to check for anything untoward happening in one of these two ports… meanwhile here is my research…” he put up another slide. “… Ul-Ad-Fitoor has been dysfunctional from early 2008 and even to date because of the difficult underwater terrain for ships it has not been in use….” He put up another slide. “… If you see, the projection of this port area to the Arabian Sea to Mumbai coastline is a straight line despite the distance. Also, the waters midway are politically in a no man’s territory, unclaimed by any country. So anyone is free to use them. However, the vigilance these days is strong so whatever has to be done has to be done underwater. “

Maanav walked towards the monitor. “Hence the use of ‘Torpedoes’. They had planned this earlier which means the torpedoes are already present… underwater. Undetected so far.”

“Yes, Bullet.” Captain Rawat agreed. “…Today’s torpedoes are highly advanced, incorporating guidance systems, propulsion technology, and various sensors… even way back in 2008 the technology was pretty good. However, since it was a top-secret mission, it had to be taken care of without the watchdogs of the world… Hence…”

“…Hence my father came into the picture…” Nitya found herself talking. Everyone fell silent and no one attempted to stop her as she walked towards the monitor that showed the Yemen coastal strip. “…he deactivated and scrambled the codes to destroy the attack plans…” She looked at Captain Rawat. “… didn’t he?”

She felt him nod slightly and slumped to the floor even as Maanav rushed to her. he helped her stand and she felt all her energy drain away as she clung to him for support.

“My Appa was never the traitor… he gave up his life to safeguard the national interest and even after his death today his son continues the legacy… my brother decoded it all… unscrambled it all… we aren’t children of a traitor… we aren’t.. at fault … we … are … not … responsible…my appa…” She felt breathless even as her chest constricted. The anxiety attack which she thought was a thing of the past came back with a vengeance she didn’t know existed.

Right then there was a loud beep on the monitor. Shadow rushed towards his instrument panel and looked at Captain Rawat wide-eyed. Captain Rawat nodded and signalled something to his back office… what must have happened? Nitya found the world around her begin to spin. There was a cacophony of keyboard clicks and all those present virtually simultaneously talking. In all that she could only make out two words that penetrated her fudged brain… ‘connection lost’. Oh God … NAMAN!

She saw a blurred Maanav frown and speak something as he held her close… was he shouting? She couldn’t make out her ears were ringing and her chest was… goodness she couldn’t breathe anymore… was she whimpering? She couldn’t tell… was she dying? She didn’t know… what would happen to Naman then? Would Naman be alive or join her in the other realm?

Before she could think more, darkness claimed her…

©priyanayakgole

(Disclaimer: This is a piece of fiction using the backdrop of the attack that happened and any resemblance to any person living or dead is purely coincidental. This doesn’t attempt to change history or facts.)