Operation Chaos: A Gripping Action Thriller

by Himanshu Rasam

  David was trying to gather what Capt. Ashish had just said when Avinash jumped into the conversation. ''I bet I saw one of these models earlier tonight at those bunkers in Thar desert. Do you think it's the work of the same terrorist organisation?''

  David's brain started putting things together, one piece at a time.

  ''Okay. Here's what we are going to do. Now that we can't trace who operated this gun, there is no point in following that lead. Although, I will ask the Headquarters to send a team to the Rajasthan border to confirm if what Avinash said checks out. If it is the work of the same terrorist organisation, at least we have an idea who we are up against. Until then, the situation pretty much remains the same. They have that goddamn missile and we still need to work on why the hell did that lunatic give us the coordinates to this place. Raghav- check with the NSG team and call an ambulance.''

  President Ajaysingh Chauhan was filled in on the happenings at the Qutub Complex. He had been anxious as Shonali had ended their previous conversation rather abruptly.

  ''David, we NEED to end this,'' Ajaysingh said, with a profound concern. ''I do not want any more of our soldiers to die. Let's get done with whatever this guy wants us to find for him.''

  ''We are working on it, Sir. But I have no idea why we were asked to come here,'' David replied.

  ''Maybe we will have to hear the tape again. Carefully.'' Shonali suggested.

  David took out the tape and played it. '... The first clue is written in metal at 28° 31′ 27.68″ N, 77° 11′ 6.89″ E. Take the paper beside this cassette player along. Would be quite helpful if you would know how to read the numbers on the paper...'

  ''This place is full of inscriptions, ancient symbols and a lot of things made out of metal. How are we ever going to find out? We will have to turn the place upside down,'' David said, with a rising frustration.

  ''Maybe not!'' Shonali hadn't missed hearing what everyone else had. ''I think he meant a very specific inscription when he said- written in the metal. That inscription which was written on iron almost two thousand years ago and still remains intact- surviving almost two centuries without any sign of rust on it.''

  Chapter 26

  Often regarded as a testament to the skill of ancient Indian blacksmiths, the 23 ft iron pillar at the Qutub Complex withstanding corrosion for about 1600 years was always in the limelight of archaeologists and corrosion technologists. Shonali briefly explained about the monument to David as they made their way towards the centre yard of the Quwwat-Ul-Islam mosque where the pillar was located.

  ''Believed to be erected by Chandragupta Vikramaditya of the Gupta dynasty, the pillar had initially been located at Vishnupadagiri or modern day Udayagiri in Madhya Pradesh where it supposedly served as a sundial. Vishnupadagiri is located on the Tropic of Cancer and, therefore, was a centre of astronomical studies during the Gupta period. Although the method used to prevent rusting or corrosion is now known, the pillar itself is the artefact which displays the knowledge and research of Indian metallurgists during the ancient times,'' remarked Shonali.

  The contrast of the night sky and the white moon made the iron pillar shine to its fullest glory. The commandos and Shonali circled around the pillar looking at its metal inscription while David resumed inspecting the random combination of numbers he had copied down from the paper a few moments ago. It read out to be:

  1-5-1, 1-7-5, 1-10-3, 3-7-4, 3-9-4, 3-10-6, 3-10-7, 3-10-8, 4-1-4, 4-2-6, 4-2-7, 4-3-2, 4-7-5, 4-7-6,

  5-1-1, 5-2-4, 5-6-6, 6-7-1, 6-10-4, 7-6-1, 7-6-2, 7-7-1, 7-7-2, 7-7-3, 7-8-1, 7-8-2, 7-8-3, 7-8-4, 7-8-5,

  9-6-1, 9-6-2, 9-6-6, 10-12-7, 10-13-1, 10-13-2, 11-3-2, 11-3-4, 11-6-1, 11-7-2, 11-7-3, 11-8-1,

  11-9-4, 11-9-5, 12-2-3, 12-5-7, 12-8-1, 12-13-2, 12-14-6, 13-1-1, 14-4-3, 14-4-4, 14-4-5, 14-10-3,

  15-8-2, 15-12-1, 16-5-6, 18-3-1, 18-3-2, 18-3-3, 18-3-7, 18-5-1, 18-9-1, 18-9-3, 18-12-2, 18-12-3,

  18-13-1, 18-13-2, 18-13-3, 18-13-4.

  The completely meaningless list of numbers now occupied David's thoughts. He was never good with numbers, but he knew what he had to do. He had the exact man for the job: one of the Intelligence Bureau's best crypto-analysts.

  ''We located the inscription, but I seriously don't know how we are supposed to read it,'' reported Raghav, bringing David back to the present. David went near the pillar and saw an inscription on the centre of the pillar which was almost illegible. ''Why would he send us here to read something which we don't understand? It's written in some ancient script.''

  ''That is a Sanskrit inscription in Brahmi script,'' Shonali said, pointing a finger towards the left side wall. ''Maybe that stone tablet on the adjacent wall will help you understand it. It is a translation of the script for tourists.''

  David thought about the situation for a moment.

  ''I think we are going to need Sameer’s help. Get him on the line for me.''

  David inspected the stone tablets on the wall where the original Sanskrit text and the translation of the text in English were written. The text described the valour and the qualities of a king referred to simply as Chandra.

  ''Sir, we have Mr. Sameer on the line.''

  David took the call.

  ''Hey, Sameer. How's the night going for you?''

  ''Pretty good. How come you are calling me at this hour? Got some code to crack, I suppose.''

  ''Sort of. I need your help right now. Would you please come over?''

  ''Sure. Where are you?''

  ''The Qutub Minar complex.''

  ''What are you doing at... Never mind. I am coming. Give me half an hour.''

  ''Actually, we are running out of time. Can we do it over the phone. I mean you can talk while you are driving, right?''

  ''Well, technically that would be against the law. But go on. Let's see what we have got here.'' Sandwiching the cell phone between his shoulder and his ear, Sameer put on his shoes, took his apartment and car keys, his laptop and set out for the Qutub complex.

  ''Let me explain to you the situation in brief. Earlier this evening, we got a message which led us here to an inscription and we were given random combinations of numbers on a blank paper which I don't know how to use. So it all sums up to this- I have a sheet full of numbers and an ancient Sanskrit inscription here.''

  Sameer got into his car and started the engine. ''Go on. Read out the number list.''

  ''Sure. The list goes like this 1-5-1, 1-7-5, 1-10-3, 3-7-4, 3-9-4, 3-10-6, 3-10-7, 3-10-8, 4-1-4, 4-2-6, 4-2-7, 4-3-2, 4-7-5, 4-7-6, 5-1-1, 5-2-4, 5-6-6, 6-7-1, 6-10-4....''

  ''You said you have some kind of inscription, right? I think I know what those numbers mean,'' replied Sameer, pressing down the accelerator of his automobile instantly.

  Chapter 27

  The agents at the Intelligence Bureau kept working hard to find any relevant information, mails, phone records that could give them a clue about the events that took place earlier that night. Chief Prakash Mehta's immediate junior- Roshan now handled all the affairs. Even after pairing up with the police and a long session of questioning the servants, drivers, officials and cooks, he wasn't able to extract even a single piece of useful information. All the video records of the CCTV cameras in the Rashrapati Bhawan had been erased. It was a perfect crime.

  ''Sir, I think we might have something here,'' an officer working on the desktop waved at Roshan to come over. ''I was studying the circuitry of that cylindrical jammer which the team found near the tape. Although most of its components are untraceable, I traced one of the circuit boards to a standard electrical company. The circuit has a docket number printed on it. If we get access to the shipping company's records, it wouldn't be hard to find out where it was shipped to.''

  Minutes later, Roshan was holding a paper in his hand with the shipping address- 302, Hotel Sundial, 11/23-A Paharganj, New Delhi. He explained his next move to his subordinates.

  ''Listen up. Most of the police force in the city is busy at the Rashtrapati Bhawan, on check posts and watching public places. Nevertheless
, find me at least 4 police officers in the vicinity of the Paharganj area to check out this address. I also need a team of our intelligence agents to follow up this lead along with me. So Alok, Nishant and Lalit- meet me downstairs. And thoroughly check the vehicles you are driving for explosives. I don't want to lose any more of my team.''

  In no time, Roshan was at Hotel Sundial, 11/23-A. Paharganj, the locality where the hotel was located, seemed completely lit up by the glow of the various hoardings and neon lights. The smell of bread pakodas and chilli potatoes floated in the air, like the melodies of a flute in a classical concert. Nesting between the crisscrossed grid of small alleys, there seemed over a hundred hotels and guest-houses around that place. Hotel Sundial was also very much like a guest house in a small alley on the left side of the DB Gupta Road. A police constable walked to Roshan and greeted him with a salute. ''I think our man is inside the building. Two of my colleagues have positioned themselves at the back exit. We have been keeping an eye on all the exits for the last fifteen minutes and no one has left since. The hotel manager in the lobby told that only one man had reserved the room 302. This is an area near the New Delhi railway station and there are a lot of cheap motels around here. The managers are not much concerned about checking the ID proofs. The suspect checked in under the name Kartik yesterday night. The manager described him as a 6'2'' hunk, carried with him just one big backpack and stated the purpose of visit as education.''

  ''Of course. That bastard would be educated about a lot of things tonight. You secure all the exits. No one should be able to get away from here. Me and my team are going inside.''

  Roshan put on his bulletproof vest, loaded his handgun and climbed upstairs to the third floor. The lights in the hallway were dim and he could see only 4 rooms on the third floor. He gestured Alok and Nishant to go ahead and check the corners. Clearing the corners, three of them were in front of room 302 while Lalit covered the staircase. ''On my count of three, kick the door simultaneously. Remember- Shoot if you have to, but we need this man alive. He may be our only source of information.''

  Everyone nodded in agreement.

  ''Alright... Do it!''

  The door went down. The bullets went astray. But they were late. Late by just a couple of seconds.

  Chapter 28

  ''Generally, when you have a set of numbers with a fraction of a text and if there is a code involved, the numbers correspond to some letters in the text. It's known as the Ottendorf cipher. It's the most basic one and easy to crack. What is the last sequence in the series?'' Sameer, still stuck in the traffic, was trying to crack the cipher over the phone.

  David and Shonali both looked down the list.

  ''18-13-4,'' they replied in unison.

  ''And how many lines does the text have?''

  ''Actually, there are two kinds of texts here. One in Sanskrit- which is the original one and the other in English which is the translation,'' said David, explaining the inscriptions on the stone tablets.

  ''Check the one which has more than or equal to 18 lines,'' Sameer replied.

  David quickly did the calculation of the number of lines.

  ''The English one. The Sanskrit inscription has only twelve lines.''

  ''Then this is how the code goes- each of the numbers in the sequence represents a line, a word and a letter. So 12-3-4 will represent the 12th line, 3rd word, 4th letter. Quite a simple code to break, but only when you have the code as well as the key text together. Try out this thing for the entire series of numbers. If it fits, we will have something meaningful out of it. Carry on. I am almost there.''

  Shonali took out her phone and started typing in the letters as per the sequence.

  1-5-1: F

  1-7-5: R

  1-10-3: O

  By the time she completed the sequence, her android screen displayed a text:

  fromtherestingstupaofthegreatbuddhaattheoldestuniversitystartsthehill.

  Shonali gasped in amazement, recognising some words in the text. She rewrote the text with proper spaces:

  FROM THE RESTING STUPA OF THE GREAT BUDDHA AT THE OLDEST UNIVERSITY STARTS THE HILL.

  Chapter 29

  Muhammad had set up his small headquarters at Hotel Sundial; operating and monitoring the goings of the events from there. About five minutes earlier he had gone near the window to get some air when he had noticed two uniformed police officers near the end of the alley. Aroused by the presence of police constables for a few minutes at the same spot, he predicted something had gone wrong. Muhammad sent a message to his boss, packed all the essential things in his backpack, covered his tracks and burned the paperwork in a dustbin.

  He was almost done with his 'cleaning up the trail' when he heard soft footsteps outside his room. His training had taught him to listen to silence, sniff danger from a distance and to always keep an escape route ready. The moment he had checked in the hotel, he had planned his escape route. Knowing that his position was compromised, he climbed out of the window, walked a metre to his right till the edge and then took the leap of faith. Four metres behind him, the door of 302-Hotel Sundial was burst open by two Indian intelligence agents who had missed their target by a couple of seconds. Muhammad landed on the second floor balcony of another motel opposite to the building he had just jumped off. Getting up, he smashed his way through the door of the balcony a split second before the agents started firing in his direction.

  ''Attention all units. We have a high priority suspect in the Paharganj area. Secure both the ends of D.B Gupta road and set up a 1 km radius perimeter ASAP.'' Roshan screamed into his mouthpiece.

  He turned to Alok.

  ''What are the possible areas he may head to?''

  ''The New Delhi railway station. Just a few blocks away.''

  ''Alert the security there. I am going after this guy. Tell the constables to intercept our target in the next alley. Lalit- you stay here and search for any evidence. Nishant, be right behind me.''

  Saying so Roshan climbed out of the window, onto the ledge and jumped to the balcony. He knew the fugitive had a one minute lead on him and in these criss-crossed alleys, even if he had him in sight, it would be difficult to catch the target in the cover of darkness.

  Roshan sprinted down the staircase while Nishant headed for the terrace. Roshan was in contact with the constables who were having a tough time figuring out their way through the confusing passageways. Every alley looked identical and the loudspeakers, the shouts of the roadside vendors made it almost impossible to listen over the radio. When Roshan reached downstairs, he saw the hotel guard on the floor and a fish aquarium near the reception counter shattered to pieces. Roshan flashed his badge at the receptionist who quietly pointed him to an alley on the left.

  ''He's heading towards the New Delhi railway station. I am in his pursuit. I want a unit waiting for him at the station. Seal all the exits. NOW. Nishant can you see him?'' Roshan shouted on the mouthpiece.

  From the terrace, Nishant had a clear view of the grid of alleys beneath him. ''He just turned right a couple of seconds ago. I don't have him in my view now. He's wearing a red jacket for sure. I am asking for more assistance from the RPF.''

  Roshan ran straight and made a right. He just caught a glimpse of his target- a six feet hunk with red jacket running wildly about fifty metres ahead of him. Before Roshan could pull out his gun from the holster, Muhammed was gone- lost in the crowd. The people around Roshan started screaming as soon as they saw a gun out in the open. Roshan didn't waste a second explaining anything. He knew that the only thing which mattered to him was to catch that bastard running ahead of him- dead or alive. Roshan fought his way through the crowded narrow alley full of eateries, small general stores cum cyber-cafes and drunkards. He took a left, crossed the road ahead of him and there he was at the New Delhi railway station.

  ''Nishant, where the hell is your Railway Police Force backup?'' Roshan was furious at his team. ''We can't afford to lose this guy.''

  ''Sir, they are arrivi
ng at the entrance on the other side of the station.''

  Nishant reported after confirming with the police. ''They saw a guy matching our description taking off towards the front entrance. I have radioed the RPF to take positions.''

  ''Good, let him come from the left or right. That bastard is going down now.'' Roshan was on one of the bridges connecting platforms, making his way through a crowd of people from each and every state of the nation. He again caught a glimpse of the red jacket fugitive running towards a dead end. The Railway Police Force was approaching from his either side. But nobody could tackle him down. He didn't take a left. Nor a right. He went down.

  Down and out of sight.

  And then like an oncoming truck it hit Capt. Roshan.

  The bastard's going into the metro station.

  Chapter 30

  ''This monument- the iron pillar is mentioned in the writings of Vibudh Shridhar who gave the first historical reference to the legend of the origin of the name Dhilli for Delhi,'' said Shonali, showing David a shloka on her android.

  हरियाणए देसे असंखगाम, गामियण जणि अणवरथ काम|

  परचक्क विहट्टणु सिरिसंघट्टणु, जो सुरव इणा परिगणियं|

  रिउ रुहिरावट्टणु बिउलु पवट्टणु, ढिल्ली नामेण जि भणियं|