Secret of the Himalayan Treasure

by Divyansh Mundra

  ​ “What happened?” Aarav barked again over the call.

  ​ “They all just… fainted”, Rehann spoke growing more concerned.

  ​ “They did?” Aarav tried sounding surprised.

  ​ “You did it. Didn’t you?”

  ​ “Injected a drug in the water cooler before I left for Taj. I perhaps increased the dosage. Didn’t expect it to work this quickly. But this just bought us more time. It’s what we needed. Now put me on the speaker phone.”

  ​ “Alright”, Rehann said doing what he was asked.

  ​ “Can you hear me?” Aarav’s voice blasted through the speaker phone.

  ​ “Very clearly”, Rehann replied as he opened the hotel’s website on one of the laptops.

  ​ “Good. Now do as I say. Quickly. Hack into their servers. Tell me where the Prime Minister is staying?”

  ​ “Alright. But what happened there?”

  ​ “It’s not the right time. Do as I say, first.”

  ​ “Fine!”

  ​ “Aanya, can you hear me?” Aarav continued.

  ​ “Yes”, she said, walking closer to the phone.

  ​ “Great. Go to Shayna Maheshwari’s room. You’ll find a trunk suitcase probably beneath her bed. Pull it out.”

  ​ Aanya looked at Rehann before exiting towards the room.

  ​ “I’m in”, Rehann announced. “The guest list says that the Prime Minister is staying in the sea facing executive suite on the fifth floor.”

  ​ “I’m on the third”, Aarav spoke as he hurried out of the room. “I have to get inside somehow.”

  ​ “There will be guards guarding his suite. He is the Prime Minister, they’ll not just let you walk into the room.”

  ​ “I know. And that’s where my fame would be put to good use.” Aarav replied as he arrived on the fifth floor and headed towards the executive suite. There were three guards protecting it, and one of them walked out promptly to stop Aarav in his tracks.

  ​ “Where do you think you are going sir? The wedding is the other way.”

  ​ “The Prime Minister has sent me to retrieve something for him. I’d rather say that you watch yourself”, Aarav spoke with authority.

  ​ “Who are you?”

  ​ “Aarav Kohrrathi. Call your head of security? Ask him if he just saw me leave after speaking with the Prime Minister in the card room.”

  ​ “I’d say that you turn back and leave sir. Civilians aren’t allowed in this area.”

  ​ “And I’ll tell the Prime Minister that I wasn’t able to bring him his favorite bottle of wine because an imprudent guard like you was too afraid to call his superior.”

  ​ The man looked at him for a moment before reaching out to his boss, the Head of Security of the Prime Minister of India.

  ​ “Sir! There is a man here who says that he has been sent by the Prime Minister to retrieve a package from the suite. Yes. Yes. What’s your name?”

  ​ “Aarav Kohrrathi”, he uttered magnanimously.

  ​ “The name is Aarav Kohrrathi. He says that he was with the Prime Minister in the card room and then came up on his orders. Yes. He spoke with you? Absolutely. I understand that the Prime Minister is busy with his game and you cannot disturb him twice. Yes. Yes.”

  ​ “Tell him that I have to join the game. I just defeated the Prime Minister in poker. Won’t let him get away with the seventy thousand bucks that he owes me.”

  ​ “Yes. Yes. Yes sir. I understand. Sure. Two men will accompany him inside”, the guard disconnected with his superior and pointed towards two more guards who led Aarav inside the suite of the Prime Minister of India.

  ​ Aarav was focused on his task and thus barely paid any heed to one of finest hotel rooms of the country. He slowly walked ahead, analyzing the corner of the room and seeing where the Prime Minister’s luggage had been placed. He moved past the king sized bed and gave a brief glance to the view of the Arabian Sea before moving ahead towards the wardrobe and opening it.

  ​ “His wine collection is on the other side”, one of the guards spoke.

  ​ “He doesn’t want the usual ones. He is looking for something special”, Aarav uttered under his breath and almost smiled as he moved his hands towards a petite silver trunk placed carefully at the bottom of the wardrobe. He looked at the face of it, a five-digit lock-code protecting the trunk met his gaze and he was assured of the contents that the case carried.

  ​ He pulled it out and looked at the puzzled faces of both the guards.

  ​ “Sir, are you sure that the Prime Minister asked you to bring that case?” the same guard asked him again putting his finger on the gun tucked at his belt.

  ​ “Do you think that I came all the way up here to bring the Prime Minister a bottle of wine?” Aarav spoke with authority as he went near the guard. “If that was the case then he would have ordered any of you to do the task. This is the case that the Prime Minister carries with himself wherever he goes. It is protected by a lock-code. I think that even your feeble mind can comprehend that whatever the contents of this case are, are paramount to the PM himself”, he bluffed with utmost confidence.

  ​ Both the guards looked at each other nervously before looking back at him.

  ​ “Do you know who I am?” Aarav finally asked as he thought of a way to avoid their questioning.

  ​ “You… you are that treasure hunter, aren’t you?” one of the guards spoke.

  ​ Aarav smiled assertively. “Then you know that whatever the matter is between me and the Prime Minister, doesn’t concern you at all. Heard about The Ring of the Seven? Now, let me leave or answer the Prime Minister and his secret council as to why I delayed to bring him his case.” He could see the terror in both their eyes. They moved aside and let Aarav walk out with the case.

  ​ He took a deep breath as he turned down the hallway and waited for the elevator. As soon as he got in, he called up Rehann again.

  ​ “Can you control the cameras?” he said.

  ​ “Of course. I hacked in just as you have asked. What do you want me to do?”

  ​ “I have left the Prime Minister’s suite and am arriving in the room allotted to Shayna. Tune into the hallway on the third floor.”

  ​ “Yes. I can see you”, Rehann said.

  ​ Aarav waved at a camera before getting inside his room. “Now, I need to escape this place like a ghost. Can you ensure that I am not caught on any camera?”

  ​ “I can. It’ll take some time though.”

  ​ “How long?”

  ​ “Five minutes. I have started recording the footage. I’ll put it on loop later. How long do you need?”

  ​ “Five minutes is good”, Aarav said as he pulled an unconscious Shayna and placed her head over the pillows. He carefully shrouded her with a blanket and picked up another one before he started tying towels towards one end. “Aanya? Did she bring out the trunk?”

  ​ “Yes. Does it contain all the books?”

  ​ “Obviously.”

  ​ “And do you have the seventh one?”

  ​ “Obviously.”

  ​ “And all of this was your plan from the start?”

  ​ “Obviously”, Aarav’s smile grew bigger as he opened a window and threw out a rope which he made from the blankets and towels.

  ​ “And involving my sister in this was part of the plan?” Rehann asked with a stern voice.

  ​ “Obviously”, he started irritating Rehann. “Now look at the case of Shayna. Does it have a code or her finger scans?”

  ​ “There is a fingerprint scanner”, Aanya spoke, joining the conversation.

  ​ “Just what I had expected”, Aarav uttered as he took out a pad which he had slipped into Shayna’s purse and took her fingerprints as she lied there, unconscious.

  ​ “What is happening Aarav?” Rehann asked him again.

  ​ “Oh the mission is almost complete my friend”, Aarav replied and sat on the bed next to Shayna. “Once you
put the camera feed on a loop, take Aanya and head for her mansion. We’ll take her helicopter. Reaching the airport will consume lot of time, so we can’t take her jet.”

  ​ “What about you?”

  ​ “I am heading out of Taj right now”, he said while heading for the door. “Play the loop.”

  ​ “Done”, Rehann affirmed.

  ​ Aarav came out of the room and took the fire exit rather than going for the elevator. He had opened the top button of his shirt and lost the bow as he went on his way to leave the hotel, flaunting his perfect tuxedo carelessly. “Leave with Aanya now. Take the trunk with you. I’ll meet you there.”

  ​ “What about my sister?”

  ​ “She’ll sleep for a few more hours I am afraid. And it is just what we need right now. Because once they all wake up. The Prime Minister and all his men will be chasing us for real this time.”

  ​ “What did you do?”

  ​ “Stole something that the Prime Minister swore to protect with his life. Leave your phones there only. I am afraid we cannot carry any more gadgets with us on this quest.”

  ​ He himself closed his eyes and stopped for a moment as he cut the call, before moving ahead and dumping his phone in the nearest dustbin and walking out of the hotel.

  Chapter 9: Wanderlust

  ​

  “So?” Rehann spoke. “Can you tell us now?”

  ​ Aarav turned to his side and looked at the scenic beauty of the river Ganges, flowing with its might and surrounded by scenic mountains on both the sides. They had flown from Mumbai in Aanya’s helicopter and landed at Delhi a few hours later. Then they carefully ditched their plans, bought new mobile devices and hired a rental SUV without submitting their ID’s and paying a hefty amount to the owners to keep their mouths shut. They had progressed from Delhi and six hours later found themselves crossing the city of Rishikesh on the foothills of Himalayas.

  ​ Aanya was driving the car while Rehann sat next to her, who himself had been driving for almost five hours through the night and only switched seats with Aanya as she completed her sleep. Aarav hadn’t slept the entire night, neither had he replied to the volley of questions being thrown at him by Rehann and Aanya. He kept on guessing the code of the Prime Minister’s case but gave up after a while when the sun came up the horizon and Aarav found himself lost in the beauty of the place he was in.

  ​ Rishikesh, had an air of calmness around it, a welcome change for the trio as they left the bustle of Mumbai. Surrounded by green mountains, while the river Ganges danced in between, the city was a major attraction for tourists as well as pilgrims. It held an aesthetic value to the Hindus and also bore adventure to the water sports aficionados; river rafting being the prominent lure. Aarav had his friends drive them up from Delhi, and he was sure that they had lost the track and wouldn’t be found easily by the Prime Minister’s men. They pulled up outside a lodge, which stood on the outskirts of the city and Aarav got out excitedly, only to be followed by a drained Rehann and lively Aanya.

  ​ A man of short stature came out soon and greeted them, but Aarav went ahead and hugged him heartily. “Ah! It has been so long”, he spoke before turning towards Rehann. “Rehann, you remember him.”

  ​ “Sen Pa”, Rehann’s face lit up as he rushed ahead and hugged the man heartily. “What are you doing here? I thought you would still be in Lakshadweep.”

  ​ “Mr. Kohrrathi helped me out. After we found the sunken ships, he gave me enough money to help me get back to my city and set up this lodge”, Sen Pa praised Aarav.

  ​ “Oh! After what you did for me. It is the least that I can do”, Aarav spoke jovially. “Sen Pa, here was our guide in Lakshadweep. Circumstances led him to be involved with us on our hunt for the sunken Portuguese fleet. There came a time when someone shot at my back and this great man whom you see before us, threw himself in between; taking a hit on his stomach and definitely saving my life”, Aarav explained to Aanya. “If it wasn’t for the courage of this great man, I would have been long dead.”

  ​ Aanya grinned and went ahead to shake his hands.

  ​ “I’m blessed Mr. Kohrrathi that I can be of help to you”, he said.

  ​ “Oh! Just treat us with the amazing Paneer Tikka that you make. I’m dying for it”, Aarav spoke as they all entered the lodge.

  ​ After having been served breakfast they all managed to grab a good four-hour sleep before collecting in Aarav’s room and brainstorming about what needed to be done.

  ​ “It’s a five letter code”, Aarav spoke while glancing at the Prime Minister’s case. “It could be anything.”

  ​ “Five letters? Hmm? That means that there are eleven million eight eighty-one thousand three hundred aaaaand… seventy-six possibilities for the code”, Rehann spoke.

  ​ Aarav looked at him angrily and Aanya astonishingly.

  ​ “What? He is good with facts, I’m good with numbers.”

  ​ “What could the code possibly be?” Aarav grunted.

  ​ “How about seven?” Rehann suggested. “Ring of the Seven. So seven?”

  ​ “I tried that last night. It didn’t work.”

  ​ “How about Broods?”

  ​ “That society never even existed, Rehann.”

  ​ “How about Ajmer? The Prime Minister belongs to that city”, Rehann suggested further.

  ​ Aarav rolled the dials on the case excitedly, only to be disappointed. “I cannot believe this”, Aarav spoke as he left the case and fell back on his bed. “We have the seven books in this very room and yet we can’t find the map because of this stupid code.”

  ​ “How did you open Shayna’s trunk without her fingerprints?” Aanya asked him.

  ​ “Oh I took her prints before I left the hotel.”

  ​ “And she gave it you? Just like that?”

  ​ “She wasn’t exactly in a position to not give it to me.”

  ​ Rehann lifted both his eyebrows devilishly and widened his eyes. “What did you do to her in the hotel room?”

  ​ “Oh shut up Rehann. The hell with your dirty brain.”

  ​ Aanya looked at him annoyingly.

  ​ “What? I didn’t say anything”, he defended himself.

  ​ “What exactly happened Aarav? What did you do?” she asked him.

  ​ Aarav took in a deep breath before he started explaining to them. “When I laid my hands on Shayna’s graduation photograph, I almost had an outburst. I wasn’t able to believe the thought that she was behind all the schemes and all the attacks this entire time. I wasn’t convinced of the fact that a mutiny of this scale was the brainchild of a wonderful woman like hers. And that was the moment that I realized that I was a fool who was being played by her all this while. My emotions for her had got the better of me, my instincts on which I relied had abandoned me. The anger and betrayal which I felt at the moment was enough to open my eyes and get my head back in the game. So far she had progressed and succeeded on her quest for the treasure based on the sheer factor of surprise. None of the masters could see her coming and then she sent her assassins, her Bulls to do her tasks for her. But I knew that now she was stuck. There is no way on Earth that her killers could hunt down the Prime Minister of this nation. So it became obvious that she would come to me for help. That is all I needed. All this while she had been a step ahead of us. But now, she was at par. And I only had to make a phone call to turn the tables.”

  ​ “Rehya”, Rehann uttered as he rolled his eyes.

  ​ “Yes. Rehya. Your sister. I know that you have had your differences with her, but she was just the person I needed. She has been in the Prime Minister’s office for over four years now and is an important consultant to the National Security Advisor. I contacted her and told her everything and she communicated it all to the Prime Minister, who was very eager to end the evil once and for all.”

  ​ “Wait! End the evil? Did they kill Shayna?” Aanya asked, a bit terrified.

  ​ “No. I never got
the time to tell them who the evil master was. I just spoke about their organization, about the Broods of the Bulls and that was that.”

  ​ “You never got time to tell them? Or were you trying to save your girlfriend?” Rehann asked, dissatisfied.

  ​ “I never got time to tell them.”

  ​ “Goddammit Aarav”, Rehann yelled.

  ​ “What?”

  ​ “She is responsible for the deaths of five masters. She is responsible for the death of her father. She is responsible for all the attacks on us. She is… pure evil Aarav. Don’t let her charm blind you.”

  ​ “I’m not letting anything blind me.”

  ​ “Oh really! Then stop saving her.”

  ​ “I’m not saving her. If I’d have mentioned that she is the evil master, they would have assassinated her by now.”

  ​ “And made our lives easier.”

  ​ “Perhaps. But we wouldn’t have ever gotten a chance to find the treasure. The Prime Minister conveyed it to your sister that he would never share his book. His intention was to find the rest of the books, stop the Bulls and keep the secret alive. Don’t you see? The only reason why we have the seven books with us is because the Prime Minister feared that an unknown organization is infiltrating their society.”

  ​ “So what exactly did you tell them?”

  ​ “Rehya informed me that the Prime Minister would be in Mumbai for the wedding. I planned to go there and meet him alone. But in the morning, when you hacked Shayna’s phone, I knew that Shayna herself was in Mumbai. That meant only one thing. She was here to make a move. Since Rehya was tracking the three of us, she informed me that morning that the Bulls had kidnapped Aanya and were keeping her holed up in a building in the Fort area. They would have entered and rescued you in the morning itself, Aanya, but I suspected that Shayna would be there too and if she was caught or killed, we would have never possessed any of the books. Rehya would have simply taken them all away for the Prime Minister. So I told them to wait till the night. I knew that we will be taken there by the Bulls, because if Shayna had revealed her true self to Aanya, it was only a matter of time before she would crave to see me. And that is what I wanted. I identified that eventually when the operation would be over, we would need to do something to stop your sister and her men from taking away all the six secret books in possession of Shayna. So we came to the Bullpen. Whatever drama had to happen, happened. Rehann got beaten up, again. And I injected a drug in the water cooler when I got time. You of course, were brilliant Aanya and you obeyed the instructions which I gave to you splendidly.”