by Gagan Saini
Ana moved the drone to another bomb. “Yes Sid, what does it mean?”
“It means there will be a receiver somewhere in the building which received the signal and initiated the countdown. Find out where that is.”
Ana moved her fingers quickly on the keyboard. Both drones started flying in the building and scanned every corner.
“I found it Sid, what to do?” Ana asked restlessly.
“Ana, you need to relax first. Take a deep breath; it needs a little concentration,” Sid said.
“I am relaxed Sid, hurry up… seven minutes left.”
“Okay, you are going to hack that device. Once you get control of that receiver, you will be able to stop the countdown. Place the closest drone over it. Then the signals from the drone will help you to do this. I think it should not be a problem for you to hack a simple device.”
“Of course, Sid, I got more marks than you in graduation.”
Ana pressed the keys very fast. Soon she got upset.
“Guys, I have a problem.”
“What is that Ana?” Sid asked.
“The drone can’t get attached to the receiver. There is some gap. I think the device is under something or it is in some kind of a closet.” Ana said, and she continued to use her hands on the keyboard.
“It means it has to be done manually. Someone has to go and place the drone on the receiver.”
“I got this; just tell me the location of the device,” Zahid said.
“This is in the storeroom at the southwest end of the building,” Ana replied instantaneously.
Zahid signaled one commando engaged in firing to give him cover. The commando started firing in such a way that Zahid could run towards the building. He ran to a window and fired at the glass. As all the rebel members were busy in the front, nobody noticed him. He jumped into the building and started running. As the building was big, confusing and smoky, Zahid lost his way.
“I can’t find the room, tell me where to go.”
Ana replied, “Wait there, my drone in coming to guide you.” The drone came soon to Zahid and started to fly in a direction. Zahid ran after it with his gun in his hands. He saw two men running towards him with guns. He killed them with two quick shots and continued running. The drone led him to the room.
The fight between Tatiana and Simar continued. Tatiana dominated the fight as her aggression was unmatched. Simar managed to block some attacks, punched and kicked her a few times but Tatiana did it many times.
“Simar are you alright?” Sid asked.
“I don’t know, the main culprits have escaped, and I can’t follow them,” Simar screamed as Tatiana punched her in the face.
“You better finish whatever you are doing,” Sid said. He figured out that Simar was in some difficult situation and she would not use any extra help and will try to manage on her own.
“I am here Ana, what to do?” Zahid said.
“Do you see another drone?”
“Yes, it’s hovering in front of the switchboard.”
“Go and open that switchboard.”
Zahid opened the switchboard and saw an unusual device to be in a switchboard. It had some wires on it and a little display showed a countdown of less than three minutes.
“I found it, now what?”
“Put the drone over it and continue to hold until I ask you to remove. Be careful, don’t press any button.”
The drone came to the eye level of Zahid. He caught it and placed over the receiver with caution. Ana moved her fingers and hands even faster.
More Armed forces’ helicopters had arrived, and more troops jumped out of them and joined the attack. One helicopter arrived for the aid of the Prime Minister, Sinha, and the others. They offered help to Sid, but he refused. He continued to be in conversation with Ana.
“Ana, what is happening?”
“I am working on it.”
“Work harder, less than two minutes left.”
“Please keep quite Sid, let me concentrate.”
“This should work,” Ana talked to herself as she pressed the enter key.
“Zahid, has the countdown stopped?”
“Yes Ana, it stopped at one point four nine seconds.”
“Good job, Ana,” Sid said.
“Hang on a minute. Ana, it started again!” Zahid said as he still held the drone over the receiver.
“I will try something else.” Ana’s smile disappeared instantaneously. She looked at the two screens simultaneously and her one hand worked on one keyboard and the second on the other.
Simar got exhausted and fell to the floor.
“I told you, bitch, you cannot cross me.” Tatiana cleaned the blood from the corner of her lips.
“Boss, come here fast,” Simar said in Hindi assuming Tatiana wouldn’t understand.
The thought of explosion made Zahid tensed. He cleared the sweat from his forehead and said in a very feeble voice, “Ana, 20 seconds.”
Ana did not answer. The countdown continued to decrease; from 20 it went to 15 and then 10.
All of a sudden Ana stopped her fingers and placed on the enter key on both keyboards. Then she pressed both the keys at the same time. The countdown stopped on 6 seconds. Zahid swallowed his saliva; his whole face was full of sweat. The countdown did not start again.
“You can move Zahid, it has stopped. Only remove the batteries from this device so that it won’t receive the signal again.”
Simar felt relaxed with that news, but Tatiana wasn’t stopping. She came to Simar and held her from the foot, lifted her and threw her away with full power. Simar’s back hit the trunk of a tree.
Simar’s eyes got closed. As soon as her eyes closed, a memory flashed to her. It was a boxing match and Simar was losing. She won the first round but lost the second. In the third round, she got badly injured and found it hard to get herself together. The opposite player did some mistake and the referee gave a timeout.
Jaspal was there in the corner, he gave water to Simar and said, “You only get defeated once you give up. My sister is the bravest person in this world, she never gives up. No one can defeat Simar Kaur.” The bell rang, and the fight started again and with only two punches, Simar knocked down the opponent.
As soon as the opponent fell in the memory, Simar opened her eyes. She saw Tatiana coming to her. Simar had a massive influx of energy. She lifted her legs and with a jerk from her upper body, stood up. She removed her glasses and stood in an attacking stance. She moved the fingers of her front hand and invited Tatiana to attack.
Tatiana came with aggression and tried to punch and kick Simar several times. Simar blocked all her attacks with lots of confidence. After a few, Simar blocked one more punch and said, “It’s my turn now.”
She delivered spontaneous punches to her face, chest, and abdomen. The punch on abdomen slowed Tatiana considerably and she stumbled a few steps backward. Simar ran to her and jumped. She rotated in the air and kicked Tatiana in the face. Tatiana went unconscious and fell to the ground.
Simar’s bike came to her and showed itself. Simar picked up her glasses and hopped on her bike. “Boss, I want her to stay like that until the police come.”
“I have got something, I hope that will work,” the bike replied.
Simar smiled and said, “I trust you, Boss. Let’s catch those culprits.”
The bike started in the direction of the broken wall through which four friends had left. From the rare end of the bike, a cover retracted and a thick disk flew towards the unconscious Tatiana. The disk unfolded itself and converted into a net.
It trapped Tatiana and the corners attached to each other magnetically. The bike of Simar gained speed and made a long jump over the fragments of the broken wall.
“Can someone tell me, where that van has gone which left this premises.”
“Ana, can help you? She is in the basement,” Sid said as he drove back to the basement with Sheru.
“There is no tracker on the van, how can I find out?”
“Come on Ana, you got more marks than me, figure something out,” Sid said in sarcasm.
“Can you husband and wife solve your matter later, I need help now,” Simar said.
“Don’t worry Simar, I don’t need Sid’s help. I cloned the receiver of the bombs already, from that I can find out where the signal for detonation originated. It will be on your display in a few seconds.”
Zahid left the drone flying and ran to the main hall. Special Forces men overpowered the rebels in front. Most of them got shot and others got arrested. Zahid went in the main hall and placed his gun on the head of the man closest to him.
“Special forces have surrounded you. Your bosses have run away, and your colleagues have been killed. What do you want, death or you want to surrender?” Zahid said so loudly that everyone in the hall heard. One man dropped his gun and kneeled on the floor. Soon the commandos entered the hall from all entrances. The gunmen offered no resistance and threw their guns on floor one by one. All ministers clapped. One minister came to Zahid and asked, “Is the Prime Minister alive?”
Zahid told him that the Prime Minister was safe.
Simar’s students along with residents of the city and the army got rid of the rebels in the streets. But the masterminds behind this were still on the move.
“Come on Rohit, drive faster, our private plane is waiting,” Junaid said.
“Guys, all the money is in our accounts. Our plan was successful. We can retire now,” Sam said with his eyes on the laptop and everyone laughed.
“Simar, I have sent you a location. This was the location of the signal. But this location is on the road. I assume it was from a moving vehicle,” Ana said
Simar saw the location and applied breaks very strongly. The bike slid for some distance then Simar turned it right and drove the bike even faster. Once she reached that location there was nothing.
“You were right Ana, there is nothing here. They should probably be going out of the city, but this is more towards the city.”
“They are trying to go underground or fly out,” Ana said, and she typed on the keyboard.
“There is an old domestic airport near to that location. It is no longer functional,” Ana continued
“Give me the location,” Simar said immediately.
A small plane had its engine running. The van stopped near to it and the four friends and their two bodyguards ran to the plane.
The door closed, and all passengers fastened their seat belts. The plane started to move on the runway. It slowly gained momentum.
Simar rammed into the airport jumping over the fence with the bike. The bike stopped, and she saw a plane running on the runway and finally taking off.
Simar touched her sunglasses on the side. The markings of the aim appeared. She locked the plane as a target and pressed a button on the bike near the accelerator. From the side of the bike a covering retracted, and a small missile came out. Simar pressed the same button again and that missile got fired. The missile was very fast.
Junaid saw the city from above and checked his remote for bombs. “There should have been fireworks by now.” He heard a bang. The missile hit the plane and the plane exploded. Simar saw the debris falling on the ground. “Good job boss, let’s go home now.”
The politicians were safe, and all returned home to their families. After an initial assessment by the bomb squad, the building was cleared for renovation and cleaning. All the residents came on the streets and celebrated. The President’s rule was in place until the installation of a new government and regaining of law and order. Other states and armed forces helped the capital to recover. Telecommunication and transportation restored soon.
All the rebel members who did not die were arrested. The rebels had already given the record of all politicians to the Supreme Court. All of them were taken out of their roles in the cabinet. Elections were announced, and young people were encouraged to participate and contest in the elections. The body of Mr. Sharma was handed over to his family.
After a few days, the Prime Minister gave his speech on the national television. “I personally thank the countrymen who stood by us in this difficult time. Special gratitude goes to those who did not care for their lives to rescue the capital. The residents of the city showed exceptional courage. During this whole scenario, some people have shown that they agreed to the rebels. We are going to start a referendum in the next couple of days to get the opinion of common people of this country. The results will be reviewed by experts and we will not hesitate to make any changes. All citizens of the country will be given an equal chance of development so that nobody will feel discriminated and nobody has to become a rebel again.”
He paused and continued, “We are going to make graduation a minimum requirement to qualify as a leader. The corruption cases will be dealt with, strictly. We are going to create a system in which people can lodge complaints and concerns regarding the ongoing government. However, one thing I want to declare to this world, that this city and country were strong and will always stay strong. May God bless this country.”
Sid, Ana, and Simar watched this from their basement.
“If these changes happen, no one will become a rebel again,” Sid said sitting relaxed on a chair with a cup of tea in his hand.
“I don’t know about that. The only thing I know is, my students have lots of syllabi to cover and I have to do overtime for a couple of weeks,” Ana said
“What are your plans, Simar? You should take a break as well,” she continued.
“I am going home to see my family,” Simar said as she watched her home on one screen.
Zahid came with flowers to see Sinha who was on the hospital bed with a bandage on his left arm and one bandage across the neck to give support to the wounded arm.
“How are you, Sir?”
“Getting better, but I am getting bored.” He switched off the television with a remote.
“That’s alright sir, it is good to be bored for a while. We have had a hell lot of excitement.”
They both laughed.
“Zahid, how are Simar and her team? Everyone is talking about Jugni; on TV, social media, newspapers, magazines everywhere. I don’t know what does this girl think, people need to know what she has done for this country.”
“I think people know it. As far as Jugni is concerned, even I don’t know what Simar thinks.”
A nurse came to the room with flowers.
“Sir, it is for you, someone just dropped by.”
“Thanks,” Sinha said and read the note with flowers.
“Get well soon Sir, Jugni.”
“It is Simar. I really want her to get her previous life back.”
Before Zahid could say anything, his phone rang.
“Zahid, I am going to Amritsar. I don’t know when I will come back. I just wanted to say bye,” Simar said.
Zahid excused himself from Sinha and came out of the room.
“Even I wanted you to see your family. But can’t we meet before you go?”
Zahid looked here and there in the hospital. Everywhere there were the hospital staff and patients. He walked in one direction.
“I am in a rush need to catch the bus. Thanks for your help and thanks for being there.”
Zahid followed a lady doctor who wore a white gown over a brown Punjabi suit and a stethoscope hung around her neck. She talked to someone over the phone through her face mask. Zahid walked faster, held her by the arm and pushed in an empty room nearby.
“Do you think if you wear a mask I won’t recognize you?”
She removed the mask. It was Simar.
“I can feel you around, don’t know how and you don’t want to
see me before you go?”
“I just did not want to make it complicated.”
“What complications are you talking about?”
“I don’t know.”
“I’ll tell you. You know I love you and you are afraid that you will get feelings for me.”
Simar did not say anything and looked away.
“Simar, look at me and tell me once that you don’t love me.”
“I can’t say that Zahid because I love you.”
“What is the problem then? What holds you back from expressing your feeling?”
“I don’t want you or anyone close to get in trouble because of me. People already kidnapped you, knowing that this way they could reach me. That is why I did not tell my family that I am alive. The path I have chosen, I don’t know what will happen to me next moment. I don’t want anyone else to suffer with me.” Simar’s eyes filled with tears.
“Yes, I was kidnapped and something similar might happen again. I don’t care about this and you should not either. I am not a weak person that anybody can harm me. I know how to look after myself. And I have started to learn to fight as well.”
Simar smiled a little. Zahid held her hands.
“But…”
“No buts, I love you and that’s it.” He placed a finger on her lips. After a passionate moment of eye contact, they kissed.
“I still remember when you said, ‘I love you’ the first time.”
“When…?”
“I was in the metro, and the bomb was about to explode.”
“Yes, my heart exploded as well.”
Someone came to that room and they came back to reality.
“Well, I won’t hold you back. Your family needs to see you as well. You go now and give them a surprise. But promise me, after spending some time, you will come back, and we will spend some time as a normal girlfriend and boyfriend.”
“Ha ha, for sure but bye for now.”
Zahid dropped her at the bus station. Simar had her dupatta tied around her face as other girls do to protect themselves from the dust and sun.
It was a nice evening of spring in Amritsar. The sun had almost set, the birds were going back to their nests. Simar’s mother was cooking dinner when the doorbell rang.