by Rahul Badami
“That’s not the answer to my question. Let’s try again. You will answer my questions now or die a slow death. Which do you prefer?”
“N-now.” Zontai panted.
“Who told you to hack the Aadhaar database? Was it the Chinese government?”
Zontai shook his head.
“Who then?”
Zontai’s eyes widened in panic. “Please they will kill me.”
Anger surged through Armaan. This guy was giving him the run around. He was so close to completing the mission and yet this man was deflecting his questions. He grabbed Zontai by his hair and dragged him to the open window. Zontai tried to resist but he was no match for Armaan’s raw power. Armaan pushed Zontai beyond the window sill still holding him by his hair. With his hands bound, Zontai could barely balance himself with the upper half of his body leaning forward staring at the concrete driveway two stories below. Death was no longer a threat. It was a given. “You’ll die now if you don’t tell me.”
Zontai screamed out a name
“What?” Armaan gasped. It was not the name of a person, but that of a place. He immediately understood the implications. Zontai was merely a conduit, a mercenary; paid to obfuscate the real mastermind behind the shadows. Their enemies were relentless, always engaged in hurting them by any means possible. This man would know the gory details. He had to get all the information. The who, why, when and how. Zontai swayed his bound hands in a lame attempt to punch Armaan in the stomach but missed.
“Who? I need names.” He insisted, pushing Zontai further through the window.
“Kabir Majid.” Zontai yelled.
Armaan’s eyes widened. The swine! Of course he had heard of the man. A rabid hawk with extremist views. It was no wonder that the man was now the top dog of his organization. And then he realized why Mastaan’s face had felt familiar. The two of them were cohorts. Armaan filed away the information in his memory. He had priorities and the foremost among them was to undo the cyber attack.
“What’s the decryption code for the Aadhaar database?”
“I don’t know. They set up the code.” Zontai twisted and writhed trying to free himself from Armaan’s grasp. Armaan was the only thing holding him back from a free fall death. This guy has got a death wish. So be it. But not before I’m done with him.
He remembered Mastaan’s words in Turkey. His gloating about Baldev walking into a trap. Mastaan had somehow known about their every move. “Who’s the traitor that is giving away all our secrets? Tell me!”
Zontai thrashed his legs wildly in an effort to unshackle himself. His knee connected hard with Armaan’s elbow. The impact of the kick jarred up from his elbow to his wounded shoulder and a spike of intense pain rippled through Armaan’s arm.
“Aargh!” Armaan roared and instinctively his grasp over Zontai slackened. It was enough for gravity to do the rest. Zontai already halfway out of the window lost his balance and flipped forward. Armaan reached out with his other hand, but his fingers could only graze the falling man’s shoes. He watched Zontai tumble down two stories screaming at the top of his lungs. The scream was abruptly cut off as Zontai slammed onto the concrete driveway with a sickening thud.
It was a noise that echoed deep within Armaan’s conscience. He had lost their only lead.
CHAPTER 26
“Nooo!” Baldev yelled as he saw Zontai disappear from the window. A moment later he heard the finality of the body hitting the ground. He raced to the window and peered beyond. One look at the crumpled body and there was no doubt Zontai hadn’t survive the fall.
“Armaan…” He struggled to compose himself. “Zontai was our one lead at unravelling this. And you botched this.”
Baldev watched Armaan’s face turn red. “He himself wanted to die. Zontai was sure that his contact would kill him. So he killed himself. You yourself saw what happened. He kicked me and I lost my hold on him.”
Baldev stared down at the body. Armaan was right. Zontai was intent on committing suicide once he had been forced to give away the name of his sponsor. They still had one lead that Zontai had divulged but it would be their last option. Arguing with Armaan wouldn’t undo what had happened. The clock was still ticking on their mission. They had yet to get the decryption codes. “What do we do now?”
“Let’s go. We are done here.”
Baldev’s first memory of the place was waking up in the cell. “Where exactly are we?”
“We are in Zontai’s mansion. It’s on the outskirts of Urumqi city.”
“How do we get out of here? Did you bring a vehicle?”
A crooked smile breached Armaan’s face. “That reminds me. I have to free Yan Shen.”
“Who?”
“A poor soul who I impersonated to get inside. Follow me.”
They ran down the stairs and walked stealthily to the main doors of the mansion. But there was no need for stealth. The entire place was deserted. All the guards were dead and the employees had bolted. They exited the main doors and sprinted to the parking lot.
*
Armaan was pleased he had joined up with his team. He didn’t want to reveal to them that it was a unilateral decision on his part. It reminded him that he was supposed to have a debrief with Manohar as per General Singh’s orders hours ago. Manohar must have gone crazy waiting for Armaan to show up. He could talk with him later. But first, they had to get out of here.
Armaan stopped in front of the PLS truck. A muffled shout could be heard from within. Apparently, the PLS employee had come to his senses and found himself trapped in his own vehicle. Armaan opened the rear door and the PLS employee started to express his thanks only to see the muzzle of a gun staring back at him. His smiling demeanour disappeared.
Armaan said, “Now Yan Shen, you will do as I say…”
A few minutes later, the truck started. Armaan sat in the front while the others had squeezed themselves in the rear. Shen drove it past the main gate and continued down the road. Beads of perspiration formed on his forehead and he wiped them absentmindedly. Armaan continued to train his gun at him, but he knew the man was harmless and scared out of his wits.
“Please don’t kill me. I have a family.” Shen begged.
“I will, if you tell anyone what happened today.”
“You have my word. I won’t tell anyone. I will act as if nothing happened. I am just a delivery guy.”
“Good.” Armaan pointed to his car parked on the side of the highway. “Stop there.”
The truck stopped and Armaan disembarked followed by his team from the rear.
Armaan picked up his backpack and walked over to the driver’s side of the truck.
“Can I leave?” Shen said in a quavering voice.
“Have a good day, Shen. And don’t forget my words.” Armaan watched the man.
Shen didn’t respond. He just pushed the pedal to the floor. The truck jerked with the sudden acceleration and zoomed away at full speed.
Armaan watched the truck till it disappeared in the distance. He then pointed at his car. “Let’s get out of here. Roshan, you will drive.” Roshan took the wheel. Armaan sat next to him and gave him the address to his hotel. Baldev and Hitesh got into the rear. They rode away from the place.
Armaan closed his eyes and rested his head against the soft cushion seat of the car. Finally, he was able to rescue his team. He had been worried about them since Istanbul. The immediate threat had been eliminated. The tiredness engulfed him. His shoulder wound was throbbing madly. It hadn’t been apparent in the heat of battle, but now he could feel every nerve pinching like needles. He wanted to rest but the exhaustion and pain were too much to bear.
But he couldn’t rest. The mission was not over yet. He would take a long rest only after the mission was accomplished. He sat up straight and glanced at his watch. The countdown was ticking relentlessly.
0:16:21:55
Armaan felt a gentle hand on his arm. It was Baldev.
“Thank you, Armaan.” Baldev said. “You sav
ed our lives.”
Armaan shook his head. “It was nothing. You too would have done the same.”
“But how did you know we were here?”
Armaan’s mind went over the events of the past twenty-four hours. “When you boys were given the Urumqi op, I was assigned to Iran. Once the mission there was completed, I was told a cyber-hacker was to be trailed and questioned in Turkey. I went to Turkey and found that you guys were possibly walking into a trap. And here I am.”
“Yeah, we met up with a local asset who was supposed to help us out. But she turned us in.”
“She?” Armaan raised his eyebrows.
“Yeah, this woman sprayed our faces with –”
“Hold on,” Armaan interrupted as the wheels in his head started spinning. “What was her name?”
“We didn’t exchange names. But why are you interested?”
Armaan turned to Hitesh, “Can I borrow your tablet?”
Hitesh gave his tablet and Armaan tapped his fingers on the screen. A few minutes later, he held out the screen to Baldev. It displayed a photo of Venera Hoshur. “Was this the woman?”
“Yes, but how did you know?” Baldev asked.
“When I was in Turkey, Manohar and I followed a suspect Chinese hacker. He met up with a guy I had seen somewhere before. I followed that guy and found this girl’s number on his mobile. The Chinese hacker and this Venera Hoshur woman were acting on behalf of this guy.”
“Where’s that man now?”
“He died while trying to escape. The woman is in my custody.” Armaan’s eyes narrowed. “We have a leak in the DIA. Both of them separately corroborated the existence of a mole.”
“That’s impossible. Not within the DIA.”
“Better believe it. The dead man knew about your op in Urumqi. There were less than ten people who were in the know on this. All of them with top-level clearance.” Armaan paused as a thought struck him. “Who told you to contact Venera?”
“We got our orders directly from the General. We were told that the local asset would meet us in a park.”
“Maybe she replaced the actual asset you were going to meet.”
Baldev shook his head. “She gave us the means to get in the Plaza Tower. I don’t understand. Why help us if she wanted to hand us over to Zontai?”
“It may be to gain your confidence.”
“But why? In the end she betrayed us.”
“There’s only one way to find out. We ask her. There is a traitor on the loose and I’m sure the traitor contacted her and ordered her to waylay you boys. Once we know the traitor’s identity, we should get the encryption codes.”
Roshan drove them to Armaan’s hotel. The four of them got out of the car and swiftly went up the stairs. Armaan brought out the key to his room and unlocked it. He entered the room to see an unexpected sight. The chair was in the middle of the room as he had left it. But its occupant was missing. Strands of torn ropes were the only evidence left of a once bound captive.
Venera Hoshur had escaped.
CHAPTER 27
“I don’t believe it!” The blood drained from Armaan’s face. His eyes darted around the room. The place was quite small, just a single room with a bed and a bathroom. It took him less than ten seconds to scout the entire place. There was no doubt.
Venera Hoshur was gone.
Anger bubbled within Armaan and threatened to boil over. He had hoped to give Manohar the good news that Venera had been caught. It would have been a reprieve for Zontai’s death. But now with Venera gone, his plans had been dashed. “She must have gone home. I know her address. We need to go there.”
“Wait.” Baldev said.
“What?”
“We still have the Chinese guy, right? Contact Manohar and check if the hacker has given him any info. Our primary job is to get the decryption codes and avert a disaster. We can take a decision on the woman later.”
“Okay.” Armaan picked up his mobile. He noted there were three missed calls. All from Manohar. He was about to call Manohar when his phone started buzzing. Unsurprisingly, it was Manohar.
Sweet timing, Armaan mused and picked up the call.
“Where were you?” Manohar’s breathless voice yelled down the line.
Armaan could discern both relief and anger in his tone. He was sad that he had to keep his mentor in the dark.
Manohar kept talking. “I tried calling you so many times. You were supposed to report back to me. But you didn’t come back and you didn’t answer the phone. I was worried about you. Even the General called asking about your debrief. I had no answers to his questions.”
Armaan’s chest tightened at having his mentor face the music. He couldn’t tell him he was in China. At least, not yet. It was best he got his answers first.
“I got a little stuck up. But now everything is fine. Did our Chinese friend say anything?”
“He died.”
“What?” Armaan’s eyes flew open.
“He died within an hour of us apprehending him.”
“Did you guys torture him?”
“No. And his sudden death made us suspect foul play. We sent his body for post-mortem and it appears he was poisoned. I have my suspicions that the handler he met today slipped poison in his drink.”
Armaan frowned. The handler Mastaan wanted to tie up all loose ends so that he couldn’t be traced. Their leads were dwindling by the moment. “Did he talk before he died?”
“We had him for less than an hour. It seems a woman by the name of Venera Hoshur and Jin were employed by someone called Zi Zontai. Zontai was paid a handsome sum for the cyber-attack by the man you caught. And killed.”
“I didn’t kill him.” Armaan protested. “It was an accident.”
“That’s all right.” Manohar replied, clearly not convinced. “I’m not holding it against you. But you have to understand he was a crucial link in this case. I sent a cleaning crew to that hotel room you said. Mastaan Rehman, that was his name. Jin Wang worked for Mastaan on the cyber-attack. Mastaan gave him a big sum for this job. Beyond this, he claimed to know nothing. Seems Mastaan kept the project details on a need-to-know basis. With Mastaan dead, we’ll have to pick up the rest of the leads. Armaan, I have found that Venera Hoshur and Zi Zontai live in Urumqi. I want you to follow the trail and get the information. Go to Urumqi asap.”
Armaan wanted to tell Manohar that he was already in Urumqi. But he stopped short. He remembered what Mastaan had said about the mole. At this point he could no longer trust anyone. Moreover, Manohar would be angry if he came to know he was already in Urumqi. And Manohar would turn livid when he would learn that Zontai died and Venera escaped from Armaan’s room. No, it was best if he let sleeping dogs lie.
“Sure, I will go to Urumqi and find whatever I can.”
He saw Baldev at his side give him a strange look, but he ignored him.
“Report back and tell me what you find.” Manohar hung up.
Armaan stared at the phone and evaluated his options. It seemed he had been bestowed with the Midas touch in reverse. Everyone he touched either died or disappeared. First Mastaan, then Zontai and now Venera. The clock was counting down on the database wipe out and he was no closer to obtaining the decryption codes. If he failed to get the codes… he shuddered at the thought. No, he couldn’t fail. Too much was riding on his shoulders. He would get the decryption codes come what may.
Before the timer ran out.
Armaan walked to the empty chair and picked up the torn strands of rope. “Time to find her.”
*
“Her house is up this street.” Armaan pointed at the avenue with its lines of swanky villas set amidst manicured lawns.
“Looks amazing.” Baldev gazed at the passing houses.
“Nice place to retire.” Hitesh chipped in.
“Yes.” Armaan said. “No doubt she bought this place through her ill-gotten money.”
Armaan raced his car through the streets. After her escape, he assumed that she
would first go home, take her parents and escape. He remembered the threat he had made to her. There was no question they would then leave for an unknown destination.
Armaan wouldn’t let that happen. She had mentioned that a person by the codename of Warlord had ordered her to meet Baldev and the team. This Warlord would no doubt be the mole hiding in the shadows.
Within a few minutes, Armaan and the team arrived at Venera’s house. They parked a couple of houses away and then quietly strolled to the gate that enclosed Venera’s two-storied villa. Her car was parked in the driveway. The front door was open. Even from the gate Armaan could hear the loud voices inside. One of the voices was full of panic. He quickly bounded to the open door and stepped inside to see Venera and her parents in the midst of an argument.
“Tell me what the sudden reason to leave is.” Her mother was asking.
“I’ll tell you later. I –” Her voice caught in her throat as she saw Armaan in the doorway.
Armaan nodded to her parents, “We’re colleagues from work. Just came in to discuss something urgent.” He looked at Venera to see what she would say.
Venera composed her stunned face into a forced smile. “Y-yes, please excuse me. This won’t take more than a moment.” She walked towards the front door, her eyes on the scowling faces of Baldev, Roshan and Hitesh whom she had tricked not long ago. She closed the front door on the curious looks of her parents and then turned towards them.
“Please.” She whimpered in an undertone. Tears rimmed the sides of her eyes. It was obvious she remembered Armaan’s threats.
Armaan motioned towards the driveway. “Let’s talk outside.” He didn’t want her parents to overhear their conversation.
Venera complied, her shoulders sagged. “Please don’t hurt my parents. They know nothing.”
Armaan bored his eyes into hers. “I want to know everything about Warlord?”