He whispered in a stern voice, “Don’t you forget that it is me who has made you and brought you up to this position today. The reputation that you have got as a reporter has been because of me. You do remember that you used to kiss my ass every day for something new after I had hand-picked you to cover my campaign. So, you will do exactly what I tell you to, and cover everything that I want you to. Just remember, you are easily expendable.”
They came out to the second-floor lobby and Devraj said to Pratap, “Have someone drop her home, and have a good doctor check her up. She should be up and about for tonight. I wish to visit my nephew right now, so have some officers take me there. You stay here and bring in the cavalry. I want you to start setting up the security as we had planned. I have trusted you with the event’s security rather than other officers having your designation as I have seen your capability. You are assigned to catch Arjun which means I understand that you already have measures in place ensuring there will be no threat. Do not let me down, understood?”
Pratap nodded and ordered his officers to their various tasks.
~*~
Ajeet opened his front door to find Devraj standing there.
“Oh! Uncle!” he stood aside to let Devraj in, “Sorry, I wasn’t expecting your sudden visit. If you had informed me, I could have brought some refreshments.”
“There is no need, Ajeet. I just wanted to talk in person. I haven’t exactly got a chance to see you since you got back. You know, with the election and everything.”
Ajeet nodded lightly, and replied, “I totally understand. You sure you won’t have some tea, at least.”
“I am fine, son. You can just sit here so we can talk.”
He continued when Ajeet sat down, “As I said, I have realized that I haven’t even got a chance to ask you how you were? Today’s visit is just about that, and then some more.”
“I- I am fine, uncle. Feeling really better since I have arrived,” Ajeet replied with an awkward smile. Devraj noticed that and cleared his throat.
He said, “Look, Ajeet, I know you were angry at me before for keeping you in hiding and sending you away, but you do realize that it was a real mess that you were in, and Arjun was after you. He could have done some real damage. I needed to protect you, and we needed to slow Arjun down, and catch him which demanded time.”
Ajeet frowned and said, “I could have taken care of him if you hadn’t sent me out of Delhi.”
Devraj replied, “But he did find you at one of your hideouts, that is why I had to carry out those extreme measures of getting you away from the capital.”
Ajeet slumped back into the couch cushion and folded his arms as he said, “Unfortunately, we still haven’t caught him.”
“Which is why I am now glad that you are back so that you can finish what you had intended in the first place,” Devraj smiled, “Put an end to it once and for all. I am sure you had some plan to work out in your time away.”
“I might have something which might be already in place,” Ajeet smirked back.
Devraj laughed and said, “Good, and trust me that if you come out successful in eliminating the threat, I might have something good in store for you. If everything turns out well, I can assure you that some higher position might get vacant. I am not saying it couldn’t be the ACP since its power is being wasted right now.”
He gave an expression of doubt and then winked. Ajeet’s eyes were showing clear signs of surprise.
He said, “You have got nothing to worry about, uncle. Focus on the event tonight as it is very important for us, and as for Arjun, I will give you some good news real soon.”
Devraj let out a sigh of content, and said, “You know the next few days are very important for me. If the event goes well tonight, and you ensure that Arjun is out of the picture by tomorrow morning when I take the oath, this would be a remarkable achievement. There might seldom be a case when a CM-elect could achieve two revolutionary feats even before they have taken an oath to office. I would have set an example which could seal my stay in office for a very long time, and maybe I go on to bigger things from here.”
“Ab aapko koi nahi rok sakta, uncle!” Ajeet encouraged.
Their laughs faded away as police sirens rang into the night a few kilometers away from their location. There was a fleet of cop cars rushing through the busy traffic, honking all the way to push through.
They were five of them with more following in a second convoy, making their way to the Shangri-La. They had cordoned off a section in front of the hotel outside the VIP parking entrance which they had set up. Pratap had also set up mobile units in another secured area inside the parking lot where they were monitoring CCTV cameras for any suspicious activity.
Two out of the first set of cars parked outside the parking entrance itself. Those officers were ordered by Pratap to stay at the entrance to monitor the armadas of guests and VIPs coming in for the event along with the hotel guards positioned there.
The rest of the fleet drove inside, and within an hour, Pratap was standing with forty or so armed officers in front of him, more than half were in civil dress.
Pratap’s expressions were serious when he faced his men.
He began, “Gentlemen! I don’t think we need to go over the fact of the importance of tonight’s security. Our CM-elect counts on us, and we will serve as we always do for our national security. We have gone over the plan enough times to know that it’s a part of our conscious now. The ones in the civil attire will assign themselves to all floors as designated. Some of the handful in uniforms will stay guard here and at the elevator. The rest of the uniforms will be stationed with me on the second floor at their designated positions as per the blueprint. Any questions?”
“No, sir,” they said in unison.
“Very well, keep in touch through your earpiece devices and any suspicious activity should be reported first before engaging. Is that clear?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Good, now go! Man your positions!”
They all nodded and scattered off.
It was five in the evening when Ajeet’s voice sounded in Pratap’s earpiece, “We are here, entering the premises with the CM-elect.”
“Everyone, stay on alert,” Pratap announced at their Control Centre. A minute later, the convoy entered their line of sight, formation of three vehicles just as they had arrived at the daytime. Ajeet got out of the first vehicle, also in civil clothing. He was dressed in a black and silver colored tux. The officers formed a line on both sides as one of them opened the door of the ambassador car and Devraj got out. He was wearing a gleaming white kurta-pajama and a golden brown blazer.
Pratap and Ajeet accompanied him as he went up to take a look and feel of the setup at the party hall. He finally looked at the manager after half an hour of observations and said with a smile, “It is perfect.”
The manager excused them after he felt content of his hospitality, and Devraj turned to face Pratap and Ajeet.
“Everything is smooth, I take it?” he asked Pratap.
“Yes sir, everything is airtight. We will know about any threat before it even arrives.”
“What about Arjun? Any intel or updates on his whereabouts?”
“Not yet, sir. But I have got my best field and intelligence operators scouring the capital, and it is just a matter of time.” Pratap replied firmly.
“Don’t worry about Arjun; I am taking care of it,” Ajeet interjected.
Pratap looked angry, but didn’t express it and asked, “What did you do? You didn’t inform me anything.”
Ajeet shook his head, “Don’t worry yaar, you just take care of this event. I am making sure that Arjun won’t be a threat anymore.”
Pratap frowned, but couldn’t say anything as he received communication in his earpiece. He said, “Sir, people from Delta Solutions are here.”
“Great! Ajeet, come with me. We need to welcome them. Pratap, stay here and remain alert,” Devraj said and left with Ajeet.
~*~
Devraj gulped down a glass of water. Tonight was the biggest night of his life. The thing that he was about to unveil could be the turning point in his life. He waited in one of the rooms, practicing his speech. He had memorized it by heart, but he couldn’t afford a screw-up tonight. Many of the top-notch investors and richest businessmen were waiting for the grand announcement. There was a tap on the door. One of the hotel staff opened the door just a little bit.
“Sir, it is time.”
Devraj nodded and kept the piece of paper inside his blazer. He followed the staff member to the hall stage where he was supposed to present his speech. He was closely followed by a couple of black cat commandoes. They had SMGs in their hands and looked menacing. As soon as Devraj stepped inside the hall, all of the attendees stood up. There were around fifty to sixty guests. He started shaking hands with some of them sitting at the front. The lavish hall shone brightly with the huge chandelier hanging at the top alongside the two small ones. The look and feel of the place was more that of a royal palace than a banquet hall. Devraj took calculated steps and quickly stood up behind the podium on the stage to start the proceedings.
“Friends, I know that the March heat is unbearable, but I thank you all for attending the biggest event this city has ever seen. All of us present here will be a part of something so revolutionary that this will be written in the history books. I also thank the people of Delhi, who voted for me and made it possible that I could help our city.”
He was greeted with a thunderous applause, and all the guests looked at him with curious eyes.
“We have been bugged by terrorists, murderers and other savage criminals from the beginning. We have been overcoming them, but with the crime rate increasing at a staggering rate, we need to change something within the system as well. I love my city, but the crime rate here is amongst the highest in the whole world. Something had to be done to stop this. I don’t believe in accusing the Government over everything. What I actually believe is to stop moaning and start doing. I had this idea from sometime back and even proposed a bill in the Parliament regarding the same, but Satyendra shot it down, and the bill was never passed. I will be taking the oath and become the CM officially tomorrow morning, but I couldn’t wait when it comes to securing my city. I am not like any other politician who cares for himself alone. My city, my nation is my first priority and will always be the same. I fought with the Govt at the Centre for today. They didn’t allow it earlier but I persuaded them, and they finally agreed for a test run. Once it becomes functional and helps our capital in eradicating the crime, this will be adopted nationwide and maybe internationally too. This will put us on the map worldwide, and India will be counted in the developed nations as well.”
The audience sat there with bated breath to see the grand unveil. Rita was also present at the front watching Devraj with anxiety. She had a bruise on her left cheek, and she had tried her best to cover it up with multiple layers of make-up.
“One fine day, I met Aurobindo Ghosh and Raghav Mishra – two of the most intelligent minds in the country. They had some great innovative ideas working with the Delta Solutions Research division, and they believed that this could change the landscape of our country. As soon as I heard their idea, I was on board. We need such measures to stop or catch monsters like Arjun Rathore who are a disgrace to our country. Friends, I won’t bore you more with my words, here is a short clip first to increase the anticipation ten folds.”
He ordered one of the guys to start the video feed. Within a couple of minutes, the clip started with a loud bang.
“What if superheroes are real? What if Iron-Man is real? Doesn’t our city need a better security system?”
The clip was nothing but some cheap graphics showing various superheroes and loads of criminals.
“No more what if! It is time for extreme measures! Jai Hind!”
The clip ended, and the crowd erupted with applause and appreciations. Devraj had a smile on his face. The night was going the same way he had intended it to. He went back to his position at the stage and cleared his throat.
“Ladies and gentlemen, together we and Delta Solutions have taken the next leap in the security system and have created a state of the art technology that would be immensely helpful for one and all. Please put your hands together as I bring to you – Project Shield.”
The two scientists from Delta Solutions – Aurobindo and Raghav joined him on the stage. They had everyone’s attention now. Aurobindo brought a silver briefcase with him, which he handed over to Devraj.
“This is the key to success,” Devraj announced.
Raghav asked his men to bring a table on the stage. They obeyed the order immediately and set it up in front of them. It was hidden with a black cloth which had caught everyone’s attention. Nobody amongst the crowd was on his seat. Everyone had gathered in the open space at the center of the hall, and all eyes were fixed on the stage. Meanwhile, Devraj retrieved a syringe out of the briefcase. It was transparent and had some silver liquid filled inside it.
“This serum has been created by the best minds of our country, and the results are astonishing. I would ask Aurobindo to explain it in a more detailed way.”
He stepped back and allowed Aurobindo to take the center stage. “Thanks sir, without your support, none of this would have ever seen the light of the day.”
He was a short, balding guy with a sweet tone. He wore a check shirt with suspenders paired with brown trousers. He had huge spectacles perched up on his nose. “After decades of research, we have finally prepared this serum, and we believe that it can help in more ways than one. If it is injected to a person, he will have an adrenaline pump in his body for an hour. He will feel invincibility, super strength, increased agility and sharpness of the mind amongst many other qualities for an hour.”
The crowd had their mouths open in awe. “Whoa…” they chorused their opinion in unison.
“Now, I call upon Raghav to explain the other aspects of the Project Shield,” added Devraj and called the other scientist from Delta Solutions.
Raghav was bulky, and he looked like a bouncer. He had side parted hair which was slicked back with a great amount of oil. He was in a brown safari suit and looked tense. Occupying the center stage, he removed the cloth from the table to uncover the contents.
“Here we have a Shield eye-glass, arm and knee-pads and a state of the art body armor made from titanium and a unique polymer, which has been derived by the hard work and research analysis done by Delta Solutions. The armor is the strongest armor known to the mankind. You can track anybody using the eye-glass. It will run a facial scan in real time and provide you the last known location of your searched person, tracking them in real time as well. However, this tech cannot be used by anybody. It gets linked with the DNA of the person who is injected with the same serum Aurobindo was talking about.”
Devraj placed a hand on his shoulder. “I think they will believe it after watching a demonstration. Do we have a volunteer here?”
Pratap looked around him. He knew that a senior officer Prateek Sharma was the designated subject. He had trained for a few months now at a remote classified location. These dialogs were just for the investors and the audience present in the hall. Soon, a hand shot up in the air.
“I will volunteer Sir, anything for my country!”
Devraj smiled. “What is your name, officer?”
“Prateek Sharma sir!”
“Nice to see such enthusiasm. Come on the stage so that we can proceed ahead.”
Prateek was well above six feet in height, and he had a chiseled body which made him the perfect specimen to demonstrate anything. He shook hands with Devraj and stood in front of the guests. Raghav started suiting him up with all the gadgets and accessories. He looked like a Robocop with all the armors and the eyeglass.
“As you can see, currently neither the eyeglass nor the armor is working. It will be functional once the subject is given the serum.”
Aurobindo nodded and picked up the injection. “This may sting a little. Just remain calm and take deep breaths.”
Prateek nodded and closed his eyes till the serum was injected. The veins in his hand turned silver, and he started grunting.
“Ahhhhh!”
After a minute of struggle, he finally opened his eyes and his veins turned back to normal. There was no visible difference, but he looked more focused than before. He moved his eyes all around the hall. Devraj had a spark in his eyes. This was his ticket to the Centre office. He definitely wanted to be the next Prime Minister of India.
“Bring the concrete slabs at the stage,” he ordered, and within seconds they were brought in front of everyone.
“Now Prateek, I want you to hit the first slab with almost no force.”
Prateek nodded and just flicked the slab with almost zero strength. When he removed his hand, there was a visible dent in the slab.
“Wow!!!!” chorused the audience.
“Very well done, let’s try half the complete force now on the second slab.”
Prateek grunted. Somehow, he was not enjoying this at all. However, he complied and hit with half of his force. The slab broke down into two pieces, and everyone present in the hall looked in utter disbelief.
“This is what I am telling you all. Project Shield will be our guardian angel from now on and will shield us from all harms. Let’s end the super strength display with a full force attack on the last slab,” said Devraj excitedly.
“What am I? A showpiece?” Prateek shouted in anger.
Everyone was scared seeing this behavior except Devraj. He looked unperturbed. “This is expected as all the adrenaline is kicking inside the body and nothing fruitful will look like wastage of time for the subject.”
Death and Dishonor Page 27