“According to me, the plan that Ishtiyaq has is two-fold. First, he will execute a terrorist strike in Mumbai. But that will just be a diversion. ” I look at Ulhas. This time we are alone & Ulhas can let off his steam.
“Chya maila…” He starts dragging the mothers of the perpetrators into this but stops as Achhu continues.
“The real plan is even more sinister. And unfortunately I have contributed to that part. He plans to inject a backdoor into the UIDAI servers at SEEPZ. I was roped in to device this backdoor. And I took it up as it was very challenging. We hackers take pride in putting the government down. But then I started looking up about UIDAI. Once he has a backdoor, he can do things that I just don’t want to happen. He can access personal data about anybody, he can insert false records & worse, he can sell it to buyers for a price.” His face grows serious & I get goose pimples even in the humid air.
“So I did the only thing that could slow him down. You see, he would have killed me much earlier if the software that I designed had not worked. I made it necessary for the injection program to have access to Wi-Fi to inject the backdoor into the system. Which means that he has to upload five separate parts of my program at five separate locations in Mumbai with their individual Wi-Fi networks. Only when the first four programs are in the system for at least 48 hours, the fifth one has to be uploaded at the SEEPZ server to make the backdoor effective. And I think it will be uploaded at the server housed at Bharat Infotech. We tested their almost identical service at Byculla. If you are still seeing this, drop everything & have the authorities lock down Bharat Infotech.” I look up at the chaos around me, the rescued women are being led into cars & police vehicles.
Most of the Mumbai cops would be here for some time. I can’t see Khan or Hormaz. Ulhas is looking for them too. Given the time that we have or may have lost, I decide to start for SEEPZ. I look at Ulhas who understands it without me having to say it. As I go about closing the tablet & restoring it to the backpack, Ulhas catches a cop by his shoulder. I try Khan’s mobile number but get a busy tone. I keep dialing. I don’t know what Ulhas says to him but the cop hands out his bike keys to Ulhas in under a minute. We find the bike soon enough & start for SEEPZ with Ulhas driving & me in pillion. It is less than 10 kilometers from here. We cover the first five in less than five minutes owing to the Ulhas’s expert driving. He breaks all the traffic rules today. Signal’s are jumped, wrong side driving is opted for & even few pedestrians are whizzed past. But no one follows us up or stops us as every single cop is at Bandra. The streets are free to be ruled. But then we arrive at the Atre junction. This one is notorious for rush hour traffic jams. It is just about time for offices & sure enough, there is a line of vehicles that stretches a few kilometers on either side of the road. There is no way that even Ulhas can find a way through this.
The morning air gives me an idea that is a part of my routine.
“Ulhas, dhavnaar kai?” Are you up for a run? Ulhas grimaces at the mention of having to run. But promptly parks the bike at the nearest available opening. I get down from the bike. After sending a short text message to Khan about bringing the cavalry to SEEPZ, we break into a jog first & then start running at full speed towards SEEPZ.
***
Knowledge is such a sweet thing. Kumar thought about the advantage that fate had granted him. He had played his part perfectly. Having the decoded videos all for himself, forging a contract through Signal Sindhi & setting up this place for closing in on Ishtiyaq were all his decisions. He had arrived at Bharat Infotech half an hour ago. The building was close to the SEEPZ boundary. The concrete fencing around SEEPZ was just behind the wall of the company premises. So keeping neutralizing of Ishtiyaq limited to minimum eyeballs was possible. Getting regular updates from the NIA team near the bridge was easy. He had maintained a story of being stuck in traffic. After setting up the updates, he had gone about the preparations that were required here. The facility had two cops from the Maharashtra police stationed round the clock. All it took was a simple question.
“Why are you still here?” He had asked with an unmistakable authority. The poor cops had called their superiors & were asked to rush to Bandra immediately. It was a Saturday morning. So the attendance in the company & SEEPZ overall was minimal. He had got rid of everybody by calling his client. The entire building had been vacated barring the private security guard. As the last man left the building, Kumar had entered the guard’s cabin right by the entrance of the company. It was a small lobby flanked by the cabin on the left. A door at the other end of the lobby lead to the main floor of the company. There were no windows to the lobby & the lighting was dim. It may serve as a good ambush.
“Kanak is it? Are you sure everybody has left? ” Kumar read the guard’s nameplate. He was in his late twenties with a slight build. Clean shaven & of a medium height, he was dressed in the private security agency’s uniform. He saw Kumar curiously as if trying to ascertain who he was. He nodded but didn’t look convinced. Kumar flashed his NIA id card.
“Do you have a background in combat? Have you trained for it?” Kumar queried.
“I can fire the gun Sir. I was with the Home Guard for some time.” Kanak answered promptly as he showed his gun to Kumar.
“That’s good. But would you like to help me catch a terrorist?” Kumar whispered. Kanak smiled from ear to ear. Then they had gone about setting the trap up. It was a basic one. Kanak was to remain seated in his cabin by the door. As soon as the terrorists arrived, Kanak was to take out the younger one with his gun. It was a long, double barrel rifle. Kumar was not certain that it would even fire, but all he wanted was a distraction. If Kanak failed to account for either Ijaz or Ishtiyaq, Kumar would make up for that. Initial distraction was the key here. Kumar showed him the photographs of Ishtiyaq & Ijaz. He also described their physical builds to him. But he didn’t find it pertinent enough to share with Kanak that they may come in disguise & the photos may not help much. He would have to make that call from his vantage point.
“Shouldn’t we warn them?” Kanak had asked.
“If you miss, that will be warning enough. And trust me, they won’t warn us. You have to take the safe approach here. We shoot first & ask questions later. ” Kumar explained. Kanak had nodded again in approval. His desk had a CRT monitor on top of it. They quickly taped his gun under it. The broad top hid it completely out of sight. Kanak returned to his seating position in the cabin. The trigger was just under his right hand. With his gun drawn, Kumar occupied the back of the pillar on the side facing Kanak’s cabin. The pillar had a CCTV camera mounted on it that targeted Kanak’s seat. He had made sure that he would not be visible to anyone entering into the lobby. Now all they could do was to wait.
***
The timing was right after all. Ishtiyaq had lost confidence in Mushtaq yesterday itself. While Ijaz had slept well in the night, Mushtaq had been restless. To prod him one last time, Ishtiyaq had tried to lecture Mushtaq once more. But that didn’t help. When they reached Mumbai Central after switching two trains from Bhiwandi, Ishtiyaq had gone for the basic trigger. Fear. When a man feels that he is lost to the world, the only thing that can make him stick to the task is fear for his family. If he loses that then he loses himself too. So Ishtiyaq had threatened killing Mushtaq’s mother if he failed. Ijaz had been a witness to that & had not complained.
After leaving Mushtaq, they had taken another train to Andheri. Then they had walked over to the eastern entrance of the railway station. They had picked a bag from the cloak room at the station before exiting. After the last police vehicle had rushed towards Bandra, they had taken up a taxi to SEEPZ. They reached the turn to Bharat Infotech in half an hour. Ishtiyaq paid the taxi off. Ijaz had been dressed in the uniform of a courier company. He reached inside the bag to check on his gun. He released the safety after locking the magazine. Ijaz had practiced well with a silencer fitted gun at Ratnapur but the real test was now. Ishtiyaq didn’t have a weapon. He never used one. Instead, he extracted a
Nexus7 from the same bag. He turned the WiFi on & logged into Bharat Infotech’s first network. It had two WiFi networks. The outer one was the one that he had logged into. The servers however were on the interior network that was still not in range. He then touched a camera icon on the UI. After choosing an auto-filled password screen, the tablet’s screen showed the CCTV feed from the company. It looked empty. All the cubicles on the inside were vacant. The lobby was deserted too. A lone security guard was manning the entrance. The idea was to subdue or distract him just enough to upload the program to the servers. He pressed another button marked “Deactivate” to kill all the cameras.
“This is the final step Ijaz.” Ishtiyaq placed his hand on Ijaz’s shoulder & pressed gently.
“I know.” Ijaz said confidently. He put his hand in the bag again. But didn’t release the gun.
“I will be right behind you.” Ishtiyaq said. Ijaz started walking towards the entry to Bharat Infotech.
The lobby was empty. Ishtiyaq was almost five meters behind Ijaz. He waited at the steps of the office so as to stay out of sight of the security guard without going out of striking distance.
“Bhau, I have a courier for you.” Ijaz said to the security guard. There was a long pause as the security guard didn’t answer. Then there were some hasty clicks that seemed to come from under his table. As he yanked out what looked like a rifle, Ijaz reacted. He shot the security guard twice through the bag. The guard fell back on his chair with a thud. Ijaz took out the gun from the bag, as the guard writhed for a while.
“How did he know?” Ishtiyaq rushed forward with the tablet at the ready. As soon as he went past the guard’s desk, there were two muffled shots. He looked back at Ijaz in surprise. But he saw two red blots blooming rapidly on Ijaz’s shirt. He rushed forward to support Ijaz but he fell too quickly for him. Then there was another muzzled shot that he could barely hear. As Ishtiyaq fell, he realized that this time the red had blossomed on his chest.
***
I am the first one to burst into the lobby of Bharat Infotech. And surprise, surprise; I see the security guard lying sprawled on his chair with gunshot wounds. There is another body lying just near his desk with oozing blood that looks a lot like Ijaz. And to top it, I see Kumar bent over another bleeding man who can only be Ishtiyaq. A shattered tablet lies besides Ishtiyaq. Kumar points a gun at me.
“What are you doing here Jagtap?” He asks as if it is another day of brushing me off. I take the moment to relax by putting both my hands on my knees & breathing rapidly. I am watching around keenly to find something to counter Kumar. But he is too close. I am sure he shot these guys & would rather enjoy doing the same thing to me. But Ulhas is on his way. Kumar does not know that yet.
“I was after this guy.” I manage to say between breaths.
“Really? Who is he according to you?” Kumar asks. Now this is a trick question. If I tell him that Ishtiyaq is a terrorist, Kumar may send me along with him. I draw few more breaths to simulate exhaustion.
“He killed Achhu.” I say. Ulhas where are you?
“I know. But this is an NIA investigation. You can leave now.” Kumar does not point the gun away as he commands.
“Sure. NIA. But how are you here, Sir? How did you know about him?” I bite the proverbial bullet which can lead to me biting the physical one too. Kumar smirks & pauses.
“So you have seen the videos. Too bad for you Jagtap.” He thinks quickly. And does not want to waste time. That means he has planned all of this.
“But I can’t say that I am sorry about having to do this.” He raises the gun to fire. I do the only thing that seems logical. Feigning to rise from my bent position, I throw myself at him. My left shoulder seems positioned to strike him in the midsection with good impact when there is a click. I don’t understand what it is immediately, but then a wave of pain rises in me. It feels like five men have punched me in the chest at the same time. I collide with Kumar, taking him off his legs. I crash to the ground. I feel sudden warmth over my body. I look at my chest to see blood. But I also see Kumar about to get to his feet on my right. I shout in pain, grit my teeth & use all force that I can muster to punch him in the gut. His legs buckle again as he falls to his knees. I pull myself to a kneeling position to face him. Then I punch him in the face repeatedly. He falls back with a thud. Ulhas rushes in from the lobby. He holds me just in time to avoid my crashing onto the floor. My head is in spins. Life seems to be draining out of me as I see Ulhas’s shirt getting a hue of deep red from my wound. As I lose consciousness, I realize that Ishtiyaq is no longer where he was.
***
Ishtiyaq walked away carefully. As his assailant had engaged the other man, he had slowly rolled away towards the entrance of the company. And when he saw the man, Jagtap, lunge at his assailant; he had risen to get away as soon as possible. His wound was bad, but there was hope as he could move. There was hope as long as he could get away. The boundary wall of SEEPZ was close by & didn’t look taller than 5 feet. If he could somehow get over it, he could be in the game. He knew where to find a doctor & where he could rest up till his wound healed. Yes, this mission had failed, but at least a fear had been struck. And the mission was always business for him. One failed attempt would not stop him from passing up such a huge business opportunity.
He limped to the back of Bharat Infotech. He was just in time as he heard Jagtap shouting & another set of footsteps approaching. If he was right, this was the same Jagtap that had set off Sumit. Things had started going wrong from there. It would have been a pleasure to watch this man die, but there were pressing things to be done. The man who had shot him was expecting him. So he must be from the intelligence community. He had killed Ijaz & shot Ishtiyaq without warning. But Jagtap had saved him. Ishtiyaq was going to repay both of them if he managed a way out of this.
When he had discussed compromising India’s UIDAI program with Tabrezmamu, initial response had been cold. He tried to explain to Tabrezmamu that if they could get into the UIDAI, they could plant their men, identify potential men easily & get all sorts of data for personalized terrorism. And there was also the prospect of renting this facility for a price. That would be big money as not only terrorists but corporations would pay top buck for such a database. But Tabrezmamu had not been convinced. So Ishtiyaq had agreed to execute a big terrorist strike along with it. That had convinced Tabrezmamu. Then things had moved with help from Tabrezmamu’s invisible friends who would communicate with him discreetly. They were helpful but most of the work had been done by Ishtiyaq. So the failure would be personal. For him & for Tabrezmamu .
“I will set this right mamu. Just let me get out of here.” Ishtiyaq grimaced in pain as he rolled over the concrete wall. His feet landed on the other side that he knew well. Well enough to hide himself away.
***
Anees got a call from Sunil. He was still seated in his cabin at the Wheely. The day had started early for him.
“Bhai, Kawwa andar hi hai. Uske saath apne bagule bhi hai. Par ek ghayal chidiya kat rahi hai.” Kumar is inside with our storks. Jagtap & Gosavi. But an injured sparrow is escaping.
Anees had been informed by Sunil about Ishtiyaq & Ijaz’s arrival a few minutes back. Sunil had a photograph of Ishtiyaq in his cellphone & seemed confident that it was really Ishtiyaq.
“Badi chidiya ya chhoti chidiya?” Big sparrow or the small sparrow? Anees asked.
“Badiwali.” The big one.
“Mai uske peeche jaoon?” Should I follow him? Sunil asked.
“Haan. Phone chalu rakh main aa raha hoon.” Yes, keep your phone ready, I am coming over.
Anees walked out of his cabin. The appearance of Jagtap at the scene where Ishtiyaq & Kumar were together meant only one thing. As per Hormaz, Jagtap had been reassigned to find the murderer of Achhu. If Jagtap had located Ishtiyaq, it meant that Ishtiyaq had killed Achhu. Given Ishtiyaq’s history, Anees was not surprised. He decided immediately. He knew that reprisals are most effective when they are immedi
ate. Since leaving the old business, Anees had gone out of his way to ensure that the transition was safe for his men. He had struck deals, even borne losses of monetary & personal nature to see that his men were not harmed because of his past. The fact that none of his men had been killed since 1993 was a badge of honour. But Ishtiyaq had killed Achhu. And the plan had been to punish Anees. He could not let this slide. There had to be repercussions, in the old way.
Dhanaji was reading a newspaper near Wheely’s entrance. Anees gazed at him & remembered how he had found Dhanaji. He was an exceptionally strong & headfirst boy in a chawl. He was one of Anees’s best enforcers. The office work & the corporate makeover never suited him. So Anees asked him a question that he had not asked him for twenty years.
“Dhanaji, shikaar pe chalega?” Care to join a hunt?
Dhanaji took a long moment to let that seep in. But when he saw the smile on Anees’s lips, he was transformed. He shouted for his men. They took four of them & left in the Fortuner. This was just like old times for Dhanaji. Adrenaline rush, a chase & a satisfying kill.
Epilogue
Waking up in a hospital is a terrifying experience. When you realize that somebody has changed your clothes without you knowing, the feeling is not always good. And when the new clothes smell like fresh antiseptic, it gets bad. I don’t feel any pain which seems good. I check to see if I can feel my legs, my hands & other vital organs. Everything seems ok apart from a sharp pain whenever I move my left hand. Well, it could have been worse. Given that my sarcasm is kicking in perfectly, I would like to believe there was no head injury either. I am alone in what looks like a well kept room. My bed is in the center of it. There is an IV line running from my hand. That seems to be the only piece of equipment attached to my body. I pull myself up to rest against the back of the bed. Another bolt of vicious pain rushes through my left side. I grunt involuntarily as it subsides slowly.
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