by Amar Bhushan
‘I took a three-wheeler, sir.’
‘Let me drop you home,’ Jeev offered.
‘Sir, please don’t worry. The storm has already subsided and it is unlikely to rain. It’s just a fifteen-minute walk to my house.’
‘It’s not safe to walk alone this late at night,’ Jeev insisted as he picked up the car keys from the sideboard.
He drove Kabir to his residence, followed throughout by two watchers on a motorbike.
By the time Jeev returned home, it was 12.30 a.m. Manini reminded him that he had to go to the airport to receive his eldest daughter Maitri at 7.30 in the morning.
Kabir desperately hoped that Rehman would show up and not let him down. To make sure that there were no last-minute changes in the venue or the date of the meeting, he left his house at 5.00 a.m. to check drop box 7. In it he found an envelope containing three cables. Then, soon after Kabir returned home, Rehman called him to confirm that ‘the event was on’. At noon, Kabir drove Jeev to Haji Biryani, parked his diplomatic car some distance away and walked with Jeev to the restaurant. Inside, the aroma of food was irresistible. Once seated, Jeev began glancing through the menu, wondering whether Rehman would bother to show up this time. He didn’t have long to wait to find out. Barely five minutes later, Rehman approached, greeted them and sat down.
‘I have some urgent matters to discuss with you,’ he began in a low voice. ‘But I can’t talk here in such raucous surroundings. Why don’t both of you come to my home for dinner tonight? My wife would be happy to prepare an excellent meal for you.’
Jeev looked at him speculatively before responding. ‘Thanks, but I take only fruit and soup at night.’
Rehman merely nodded. Kabir passed him an envelope containing his salary, which the source quickly pocketed. He then extracted an envelope from a leather pouch, handed it to Kabir and left. He stopped briefly at the sales desk, picked up his takeaway order and exited.
Jeev took the envelope from Kabir and opened it. It contained five messages and a note giving directions to Rehman’s residence as well as a sketch of the layout of his house. Jeev and his deputy stayed on and had biryani and kebab, essentially to ensure that anyone watching them would not take it amiss if they left the restaurant without have a meal.
‘Sir, this man is definitely up to some mischief. He can come here with reports and wait to collect his food, but insists on discussing important matters only in his home. He is probably laying a trap for us,’ Kabir said as the waiter left after clearing the table.
‘You may be right. He’s also stretching his luck a bit too far. But I’m willing to give him the benefit of the doubt this time. Besides, Haji Biryani is actually not the ideal place to discuss issues of payments and the quality of his reports,’ Jeev said as he looked around the small and crowded eatery.
Back in the office, Jeev continued to ponder over the advisability of going to Rehman’s house, especially when the source himself suspected that he was under surveillance. Kabir tried his best to persuade Jeev to abandon the visit, but the latter finally decided that he would take the chance. There were many matters weighing on his mind that he wanted to tell the source at the earliest.
‘I have to meet him and do some tough talking,’ he explained. ‘He has so far been collecting cables indiscriminately without assessing their usability. Aroop is not totally wrong when he says that most of his cables are not worth a dime. Rehman needs to be clearly told that any increase in his salary will depend on the quality and not the volume of his information.’
‘Sir, you can do the same thing at a safer and quieter restaurant,’ Kabir countered politely.
But Jeev viewed the situation differently. ‘It’s taken nearly four months for Rehman to finally find the time to meet me face to face. I cannot let this opportunity go. And he needs to course correct his modus operandi before his next quarterly review. For that, I have to clearly brief him on our short, middle and long-term priorities. I cannot postpone meeting him any further.’
‘Sir, maybe I can go and meet him and bring up these points on your behalf?’
‘No, let me play the tough cop. I am also thinking of going alone to meet him,’ Jeev said.
Kabir was aghast. ‘Sir, that is out of the question. You never know, he may be laying a trap and it would be suicidal for you, the head of the Agency’s unit, to walk into it knowingly,’ he warned. ‘It will be impossible for me to retrieve the situation if you get caught.’
‘I don’t think that will happen. But if you insist, I can take you along,’ Jeev said. ‘You can cover the house while we talk. If you notice anything unusual, call on Rehman’s number to say that the tiger is on the prowl. If you look at the layout of the house provided by the source, you will notice that there is a courtyard at the back, which has a door that opens out to a lane. As a precaution, park your car in this lane; it merges with a street that runs parallel to the main road, so we can use it to escape.’
‘But, sir, if I sit in the car, I will not be able to cover the front door and you may not have time to come out,’ Kabir argued.
‘Don’t worry. One knock by the surveillance team on the front door and I will be out from the rear door in a flash. I will also ask Rehman to post someone outside the front door to monitor any suspicious activity. If we agree on this plan, we move separately at 7.30 p.m. and reach his house around 8.00 p.m.,’ Jeev said.
Kabir agreed reluctantly, convinced that his boss was taking an undue risk.
A taxi dropped Jeevnathan off on the service road near Rehman’s home. From there, he walked towards the source’s house, which was located at the far end of an alley. The area was dimly lit and bustling with children and their yelling parents. On reaching the house, Jeev rang the bell. Rehman himself opened the door. He greeted him and led him inside to the living room. Jeev sat down on a sofa, which was covered neatly with an imported printed bed sheet. He looked around. Most of the furniture was imported, although it wasn’t of the expensive kind. Three coloured glass lamps hung from the ceiling and a photograph of a lady, probably Rehman’s mother, against the backdrop of Mecca adorned one of the walls. Rehman told him that his father had bought the house many years ago, but it was his wife who had changed it completely and made it into a home.
Within a few minutes, the room was filled with all of Rehman’s family members. One by one, the source introduced Jeev to his wife Rubeiya, his five-year-old son Jamal, his younger brother Qasim and his father. Jeev found everyone to be curious but respectful. He had no idea what Rehman had told his family about the nature of their relationship and whether he had kept them in confidence about his new name. He decided to play it safe and avoided addressing him as ‘Rehman’ during the entire conversation. Qasim brought in refreshments, which Jeev politely declined, saying that he had an upset stomach. Jamal and Qasim, huddled together near the doorway, kept gazing at him. Rubeiya enquired about his wife and talked nostalgically about her stay in New Zealand. Unlike her husband, she was comfortable speaking in English. She also appeared to be well aware of local political developments. After a few minutes, Rehman told his family members that he needed to speak to Jeev privately and they all left after politely bidding him farewell. The last to leave was his father who lingered a little longer, recalling his past association with Indian leaders during the freedom movement.
‘Why do you think you are being tailed?’ Jeev enquired as soon as they were alone.
‘I have no evidence, but I get the feeling that I am being watched. Whenever I call home from the office, I hear a screeching noise in the beginning, followed by a jumble of voices. I think my calls are being monitored,’ Rehman said.
‘If that is your worry, I will send you a device. Connect it to your phone. It will block any unwanted listeners and help you identify suspect callers.’
‘So far, no one has questioned me. Maybe I’m reading too much into the increased presence of security officers near my office. But sometimes I do notice the same faces around me.’
‘What if the NSI goons barge into the room right now and catch us together?’ Jeev asked.
‘Qasim is outside, keeping an eye out for any suspicious activity.’
‘Good. I was going to tell you to have someone keep watch.’
‘But why are you worried? You are a diplomat and nothing will happen to you. Where is Mr Kabir? I thought you would bring him along as well.’
‘He had to go to Calcutta to take care of some urgent personal business. He should be back in two days. You told us that you had some important matters to discuss. What is it?’ Jeev asked, coming straight to the point.
Rehman nodded and left the room, returning shortly with an envelope.
‘This contains seven cables. I had them lifted from the foreign minister’s office. They relate to your country and Pakistan,’ he said.
‘Are these the originals?’ Jeev enquired.
‘Yes.’
‘Why didn’t you photocopy them? The dealing hands may ask for an investigation if the originals are found to be missing.’
‘Photocopying was not possible. The copier room is always busy. But you can photocopy them and return the originals to me. I will have them restored to the concerned files,’ Rehman said.
‘Okay, but how did you manage to access these documents? Someone must have helped you to lift them.’
‘Yes. I will introduce him to you shortly.’
‘Does he know the end user of these reports?’
‘No. His interest is only in money. He can produce anything that you need, but for a price.’
‘Let him submit a few more reports. We can decide in due course how much to pay to keep him happy. Meanwhile, please try to win over your colleagues who handle the traffic relating to Pakistan and China.’
‘I can try, but don’t give up on the foreign office contact. You will realize his value when you meet him. You don’t know how much money and effort I had to put in to make him steal those papers. If you find them useful, let me know. I have a general idea of your area of interest, but if you can be a little more specific, it will be easier for him to access them on a regular basis,’ Rehman said.
‘It is better that you handle him till I have some feedback from headquarters on the authenticity and worth of his information.’
‘Are you satisfied with my work?’ Rehman asked. ‘I haven’t heard a word of appreciation from you for my reports nor I have been rewarded for all the information I have provided on exchanges between Dhaka and Delhi on a number of important issues.’
‘I know that the feedback on your work is long overdue. Actually, I recently received a detailed assessment of your output from headquarters. I deliberately did not pass it on to you because it rates your performance as average,’ Jeev lied. ‘I suggest you revert to the earlier practice of sending all cables that you can lay your hands on. Headquarters is of the view that what you pick and choose is not always what we are looking for. I know you are doing it on our advice, but from now onwards, please hand over as many cables as possible.’
‘You have no idea of the risk that I am taking to submit these cables. I can’t do more under the circumstances. If you are not happy with my work, tell me. I will stop meeting Mr Kabir.’
‘There is no need to get upset,’ Jeev responded calmly to prevent the situation from spinning out of control. ‘It is natural that our expectations will rise sky-high when we come across a source of your calibre. We do not want to lose you, and we are very concerned about your security. You must be extra careful, particularly when you visit the drop boxes and collect papers and copy them.’
‘This is not the first time that I am taking such risks,’ Rehman said.
‘I don’t dispute that. But I feel it is my duty to caution you against being too sure of yourself.’
‘What is it that you find so objectionable about the way I operate? If you think I am a nut and will expose you, why don’t you just drop me? I think that all this concern about my safety is just an excuse to pay me less and force me to drop out.’ Rehman looked genuinely aggrieved.
‘Try to be reasonable. We are here to work together and not to find fault with each other. I came simply to suggest that you need to cut down on your personal meetings with Kabir … maybe restrict them to once a month. I am told that you call Kabir from your personal phone whenever there is something to share on an urgent basis. You should never do that because the NSI may be tapping both yours and Kabir’s phones. I have also noticed that of late you prefer meeting in four- or five-star restaurants. This needs to stop, because such places usually attract the attention of surveillance units. It is always safer to meet in teashops or kiosks in crowded areas to pass on your papers and receive payments. But if you feel that I have no business advising you on your modus operandi, don’t blame me if you run into trouble.’
‘All this is fine, but what you are paying me for my efforts is negligible. I have shared so much, but you seem reluctant to loosen your purse strings. I had to pay five hundred dollars to my contact in the foreign office. I don’t know whether you will reimburse it. You probably think that you have to pay only enough to keep me alive. It can’t go on like this forever,’ he warned.
‘I have already recommended a substantial hike in your salary,’ Jeev lied and handed him a packet containing eight hundred dollars and a Gadwal silk sari for his wife.
Rehman accepted the packet without saying anything.
‘Would you not like to open it and see what is inside?’
The source took out the dollars, counted them and grinned.
‘I must leave now,’ Jeev said and stood up.
Rehman requested him to wait for just a moment, quickly left the room and returned with Rubeiya.
‘Thank you for the sari, it’s beautiful,’ she said, smiling.
‘My wife selected it; she’ll be pleased to know that you liked it.’
‘I have just made some hilish pulav. You must take some home with you.’
‘Thank you, but I must decline. We are strict vegetarians,’ Jeev responded, smiling apologetically. ‘And now I really must leave.’
Rehman escorted him out.
Jeev circled around to the lane that ran behind Rehman’s house, where Kabir had parked his car. He found him waiting anxiously. Visibly relieved to see his boss return safely, he wasted no time in starting the car and driving off.
‘Sir, I didn’t notice any suspicious movement around Rehman’s house. In fact, I’m fairly certain that Rehman faces no threat of arrest nor is he under any kind of watch,’ Kabir reported.
Jeev merely nodded.
‘Sir, how did the meeting go?’
‘It wasn’t easy. Rehman’s problem is that he is wily and clever by half,’ Jeev remarked.
Kabir couldn’t agree more. The rest of the drive passed in silence. Kabir dropped Jeev off on the main road near his house.
As Jeev walked towards his residence, two watchers followed him clumsily.
After a quiet dinner, he retired to his bedroom and went through the documents handed over by Rehman. The material was explosive. Manini joined him after some time.
‘Did your friend’s wife like the sari?’ she enquired as Jeev put the cables in the drawer of the side table and switched off his bedside lamp.
‘She liked it immensely and thanked you for sending it.’
‘I’m sure she will look stunning in it,’ she said mischievously.
Jeev wisely avoided falling into her trap. ‘She wanted to send hilish pulav for you, but I said you are vegetarian,’ he said instead.
‘Why did you lie? You know that I love fish.’
‘I didn’t want to encourage her to be social,’ Jeev said and rolled on to his side, pulling the sheet up over himself.
The originals that Rehman’s friend in the foreign office had submitted were a gold mine. They were top-secret exchanges between Dhaka, Islamabad and Beijing on critical strategic, military and commercial issues. One of the cables listed talking poin
ts for the heads of missions to counter the allegations by India that the Bangladesh Army was actively involved in sheltering insurgents and terrorists.
Jeev sent Aroop the gist of the cables and the highlights of his meeting with the source and followed this up by dispatching all seven reports. As expected, Aroop did not reply. But Barua called. He said that he had been instructed by his boss to inform Jeev that the salary of two hundred and fifty dollars would not be enhanced.
‘I am not surprised, but I did not know he was so crazy. Is he totally blind that he cannot see the huge potential of this source? Has he shown my cable and the latest set of top-secret reports provided by the source to Rajamohan?’ Jeev asked.
‘I don’t think he has. But he has used the information in reports to the government,’ Barua confided.
‘Does he take Rajamohan’s consent before turning down proposals to hike the salary of sources?’
‘No, sir.’
‘I guess I will have to bypass him and write to Rajamohan to handle this operation directly,’ Jeev remarked.
‘Sir, he may not agree,’ Barua opined. ‘He depends heavily on Aroop. In any case, he has been poisoned against you and may not look at your proposal objectively.’
‘Do you think so?’ Jeev asked.
‘Yes, sir. Last week Aroop submitted a note to Rajamohan, complaining about your habit of unilaterally rewarding your sources and hiking their salary without approval from headquarters. He stated that you did not care about procedures and always forced headquarters’ hand in sanctioning all such payments retrospectively. He further wrote that you were following the same strategy in Rehman’s case even though it was evident that the source was merely biding his time before exposing you,’ Barua informed him.
‘And what did Rajamohan say?’
‘He signed the note and returned it,’ Barua replied.
‘Irrespective of what Aroop and his boss feel, I will continue paying whatever the source asks for. I can’t let national security interests suffer because of one petty and stubborn officer. I know I sound like the ultimate conscience keeper, but I don’t give a damn,’ Jeev declared before hanging up.