by Kumar L
Tej acknowledged the truth in his words and turned to go. She could not help them develop their strategy, and she needed to get back to the control room.
T minus 30 hours - NIA station
A nara felt trapped in the control room. Wherever she turned to go, Abhiram's eyes seem to pursue her relentlessly. It was extremely disconcerting. As a senior officer of the ISC, she was not used to such scrutiny.
She and Ryan sat in the conference room over a screen, reviewing what they'd learned so far. The major had moved off. He seemed to be in constant touch with Keisham, passing on tactical information and instructions. Anara wondered what the DG would think if she discovered Rawat's rogue strategy.
Tej walked in just then and went straight to Abhiram, barely glancing at them.
“What've you got?”
“Counter Intelligence reported a short while ago. They've uncovered something during their search of the mission records on Antariksh. It seems there was some communication device brought on board. They found traces of two signal bursts while the ship was on HuZryss. The frequency was the same as the ones we discovered earlier.”
“Why did we not know about it?”
Abhiram shrugged. “Could be one of two reasons - either the captain was not made aware of this anomaly, and it could have been missed. Or she has deliberately held back this information. Which would mean–”
“–that she is part of the conspiracy.”
“It may be farfetched, Ma’am but it's a distinct possibility. There's one more thing – it’s about the major over there. He's been in constant touch with someone. I can't figure out what exactly he's doing, but he's very cagey about it. Shall I tap his ComNet?”
Tej thought for a moment, and then nodded. “Get CI on it. But only his communications for now. Let's not turn this into a fishing expedition till we have more info.”
Abhiram passed on the instructions and then joined the DG in her cabin. CI had promised to get him the details of the conversation being carried out by Rawat within a few minutes. As the door closed behind him, Abhiram activated the view screen. The rear wall transformed and the NIA logo appeared on it. They waited while the links were accepted and then transcribed text started flowing across the screen. Counter-intelligence had managed to tap into Rawat’s communications and the conversation was being relayed in real time to the room.
“What the…? Is he deploying his own men near the naval hospital? Why? Would he be foolish enough to try that or is this something else entirely? Unless he's setting a support base,” said Tej. “This may turn out to be lead. Keep a close eye on him, Abhiram.”
********
It was late in the afternoon when Anara finally gave in to the need for a nap and a wash. She decided to go to the NIA safe house to take a quick shower and grab a bite. Ryan went along while the major just shook his head and refused to move from the action centre. He still had a lot to do. Having one person on the ground was not going to be enough.
As she allowed the warm water wash out the grime and sweat of the last many hours, Anara allowed her mind to wander. Her situation was awkward in the extreme. She was aware of the intense antipathy Tej felt towards her and her team. She was vacillating between the success of her space mission and the helplessness she was feeling today. It was difficult to watch the action from the sidelines.
She switched on the sonic dryer and ran her fingers through her wet hair. Random thoughts kept running through her mind – Lucy and her baby, Antariksh and RyHiza. Once this was over she would convince her government to send them back to Alpha Centauri with a diplomat. Maybe they could help broker peace between the warring factions. If she managed to escape the NIA of course.
She saw her own image in the mirror and examined the dark circles under her eyes. The last few years were taking their toll on her. She couldn’t remember the last time she had taken a proper vacation. I’ll go to Kasauli for a few weeks. It will be good to unwind in the silence of the forests away from all this stress. For now, a few hours of nap time sounded good.
********
Two hours later, feeling slightly refreshed, Anara entered the NIA office through the double doors into the lobby and made for the bank of elevators on the left. She was surprised to see the receptionist tense up and one of the guards raising his hand and speaking urgently to someone. She dismissed the thought and pressed her ID to the panel to call an elevator. The panel did not respond, and a small red dot appeared on the top right corner. Frowning, she scanned her patch again, only to find that the panel stayed resolutely silent. Ryan extended his own ID and scanned it. Nothing. They looked at each other in confusion and turned around to find Abhiram standing right behind them.
“I'm sorry Captain, but your access rights have been rescinded.”
Anara felt her anger rising at this treatment. “You could've had the courtesy to inform me instead of resorting to this farce,” she finally managed through gritted teeth. “On whose authority?”
“That would be mine, Captain,” stated Tej, stepping of another elevator that had just arrived. Rawat came out behind her flanked by two security guards.
“The PM specifically asked us to help you out with this investigation. I'm sure he will not be happy to hear about what you are trying to do here.”
‘The Prime Minister is very well aware of the situation, Anara,” retorted Tej dropping the more formal ‘Captain'. “And it so happens that he agrees with my decision. The three of you are to be restricted from access to the ongoing investigation and to be taken into preventive custody.”
“Preventive custody?” exclaimed Ryan. “On what charge?”
“High treason and sedition, for starters. Conspiring to help the enemy for seconds and let’s not forget threatening the safety of thirty million people.”
Anara came face to face with Tej, their noses almost touching. “What the hell do you mean by treason? What are you accusing me of? Helping the aliens?”
Tej did not even bat an eyelid. “That's exactly what I mean, Anara. I have sufficient evidence to tie you to them. A signaling device had been detected aboard Antariksh before you left HuZryss and it's the same signal we detected here on Earth. You seem to have conveniently forgotten to mention that to me. Also, we just found the major setting up his own private covert operation. Right under my nose. Of course, he's refused to make a statement. I can't allow that to happen and you must agree that all of this is very, very suspicious.”
Anara gave an exasperated look at the major who stared back defiantly.
“That's your evidence? One device and one covert operation? That's purely circumstantial. You'll be laughed out of court.”
“But don't you see, Anara? At this moment I don't need to take you to court. Under the law, the NIA can keep you under preventive security for thirty days, and no court can help you.”
Blood drained from Anara's face as she realised what the DG was up to.
“You're making a big mistake, Tej. I know you don't like me and I know you never wanted us to be in this operation. I don't know what your deputy has been telling you or what else you've turned up against me, but you're making a HUGE mistake!” She punctuated this with a jab to Tej's chest.
“Careful, Anara,” warned Tej, still keeping her voice level. “You don't want to be hauled in for assault on a public servant.” It pleased her to see Anara now turn red in her face. It served her right. She was a traitor.
“Come on, Captain, control yourself.” Ryan intervened. “There is nothing more we can do here.”
“Wait, Ryan. I'm not done yet. I've nothing to be afraid of. I've handled the TrueKifs on a different planet. This is my home. Nothing she can do will frighten me. We'll see how you react when people find out that you have arrested the crew of Antariksh on a … on a … false charge.”
“False charge, Anara? We'll just have to wait and see on that, won't we? And I'd seriously suggest not going public with this, Anara. They'd demand to know the whole story, wouldn't they? What wi
ll you tell them? About the threat facing India right now or how thirty million lives are at risk?” Tej replied. “I think not. You might as well go off with your troops and leave this job to professionals. And Captain, if I find so much as a whiff of further interference from you, I'll personally expose your duplicity in the media. I strongly suggest that you stay away from your alien friends. However, I'll give you guys a break. Stay away from this station and the investigation, and I will leave you alone till this is all over. Send them away, Abhiram.”
Abhiram and two guards stepped forward, and the trio from Antariksh was escorted out of the building.
********
The three of them were left standing perplexed on the sidewalk as their three escorts walked back inside.
“Well, I guess that's that. What do we do now?” Ryan asked as his clothes transformed to become water resistant and protected him from the light rain.
Rawat shrugged as he looked towards Anara. She just stood there shaking with fury and anger at having allowed Tej to get the better of her. “Let's get out of here. Let’s find a hotel or something and figure out what to do. No place connected to NIA or ISC, please.” She raised her hand to summon a pod while Ryan looked up some options for accommodation.
********
A short while later they entered their assigned suite on the 75th floor of the floating hotel, the only thing Ryan had been able to organize. It was right on Marine Drive, overlooking the Arabian sea. The spacious lodgings were luxuriously appointed, and the three room suite offered privacy for each individual.
“Amazing view. I could get used to living like this,” remarked Rawat as he scouted the place. “Augmented reality, personal robot chef, climate controlled balconies, heated indoor pool and our very own artificial intelligence valet. Are you going to put this on our expense account?”
Ryan smiled but did not reply. He settled himself on the sizeable three-seater sofa and crossed his legs, waiting for the captain to calm down. She was pacing the living room, fuming. Rawat went to see if he could get some tea. He came back shortly with three steaming cups of green tea, which he placed on the table in the middle of the room.
Rawat was as wound up as the captain but decided this was not the time for him to speak. He went and stood by the window. With a press of a button the window lost its streaming view and turned transparent. It allowed a grand perspective of the sea and dark skies outside. Rawat found that it had started raining harder. This would add flavour to the visarjan or idol immersion planned in a day or two, he thought.
“How could she do this to us? That piece of bullshit she told us, wouldn't fool a nursery student. This is personal.” Anara finally broke the silence.
The other two were silent for a few moments before Ryan spoke up. “I'm also surprised at the leap of faith these guys have taken though you'd had stated the obvious a few hours back, Captain. But then, I have been expecting this.”
“Oh really, Ryan? You've been expecting that we'd be thrown out of the investigation by the NIA chief?”
“Oh, no. No. Not that exactly. But I was expecting something to happen once they worked out the obvious,” he replied calmly, sipping from his cup. “However mistaken they may be,” he added as an afterthought.
Anara snorted at this and continued her pacing, ignoring her own cup of tea. She could see no way out of this mess. She raised her palm to activate her ComNet but was met with silence. “What now? Are your ComNets working?” she asked, frowning.
Ryan and Rawat tried their communication systems patches in turn and shook their heads in the negative.
“I seem to be connected to the nodes but no response on any channels. I can't connect to the ‘net’ either,” Rawat said, looking at Ryan quizzically.
“Great. She's managed to cut us off from outside contact as well,” Anara remarked with vehemence. “What about the hotel systems?”
Rawat asked the suite AI to place an outside call.
“I am sorry, sir but outgoing calls are temporarily not available,” answered the AI.
“Why?” Rawat asked.
“I am sorry, but I do not have that information.”
“Leave it alone, Major. It looks like the NIA has us well and truly corralled.”
“We could always wave a sign for help from the window,” observed Ryan with a straight face.
Anara looked at him and burst out laughing. She finally relaxed. Her antipathy for Tej had affected her emotional balance over the last few hours. Deciding to sit down, she chose the chair opposite Ryan and picked up her tea. The warmth of the cup and something about Ryan's demeanor seemed to have a calming effect on her. Rawat pulled himself from admiring the view from the window to join Ryan on the sofa. For a few moments, the three comrades sat in silence, ruminating over their thoughts.
“What do we do now?” Rawat broke the silence. Damn that NIA woman. He would never to able to get his hands on the TrueKif.
Anara came out of her reverie, and this time there was a spark in her eyes.
“We go alien hunting, Rawat. But this time on our own.”
T minus 28 hours - Marketplace
H e'd decided not to stray too far from his base. If he was correct, he should be able to get everything he needed in Panvel city itself. The only danger lay in exposing himself again, but the crowd around him reassured him. It would not be too tricky to remain undetected. He was on a quest once more but this time for a different set of items. The transport would have to be arranged first. He needed an open-bodied truck. What he proposed to do was insane in the extreme, but the circumstances required desperate measures.
The truck market was predictably empty of transport vehicles. He was thankful that the government had allowed old style electrical trucks to be retained for use by traders. These were used mostly for local transport, especially when carrying consignments by air was too expensive or the distance was too short. He walked over to a middle-aged man sitting in the shade in the middle of the truck yard, next to a dark blue truck with a half covered back, emblazoned with ‘Saikrupa Carriers' on the side. Must be used for carrying vegetables or such, he decided. It would suit him perfectly.
“Namaste,” he called out. “Is this truck available for hire?”
“Namaste,” the man acknowledged, taking off his cap and fanning himself slowly with it. “Maybe. Depends on what you need it for. Market band aahe. The market is closed today.”
“Nahi Nahi. I know the market is shut,” he sat down next to the man. “I have a problem. You see, I need to take the idol for immersion tomorrow, but the bloody guy I had hired did not turn up. I'm screwed if I can't find another truck today. So if you can help me…”
“You're not from here,” the shrewd eyes appraised him. “Where is the idol?”
“Not far from here. Near old Panvel. I need to go to Mumbai.”
“Why Mumbai? The artificial immersion pond is right here,” he pointed vaguely to the west.
“I know, but we've always gone to Chowpatty beach. It'll be bad luck to break the tradition,” he replied keeping his fingers crossed.
“Aah. Chaan Chaan. Good. Can you drive this or do you need a driver as well?”
He looked into the cabin to see the standard old-fashioned pedals and steering wheel. “I think I can manage for today. But I'll need a driver for tomorrow. What do you say, I take it out for a spin now, and you can bring it over tomorrow? How much for two days?” The man would never see the truck again, but that was not his concern.
A price was quoted, and he bargained with fervour to establish his bonafides. The deal done, he climbed into the truck and started the engine. A bit noisy but that was expected. He drove out of the yard carefully, waving to the man who had gone back to fanning himself.
He drove around the streets looking for his next requirement. After spending an hour, he'd still not found a single shop selling idols. He knew that it was too late in the festival to buy figurines - especially on the very last day, but there had to be someone l
ooking to dispose of their excess inventory.
Just as he was getting desperate, he spotted a few clay idols by the roadside. They were probably ones that did not get sold this year. He found the person in charge and bought the largest one. He got a couple of street urchins to help him load it onto the back of the truck. As he handed over a few notes as a tip, another idea struck him.
“How would you guys like to earn a bit of extra money tomorrow?” he asked the boys.
“Doing what?” asked the tallest one suspiciously.
“Dancing, of course!” he replied and smiled. “I need a crowd for the visarjan. My friends ditched me, and I want to show them that I have more than enough people in my group. If you can bring along some more friends, I'll pay you extra.” He pulled out a handful of notes, literally his last bit of money and held out his hand.
The boys grabbed at the money, and he gave them directions to meet him just off the old highway later the next morning.
I'm getting good at this cloak and dagger stuff. The next few things would be easy. He needed flowers and today he would get plenty of the stuff for the pooja, the actual prayer ceremony.
His purchases completed, he set off back to the truck market, driving carefully to avoid attention. He saw increased police presence on the streets, but that was predictable. He reached his destination unmolested and heaved a sigh of relief. Just a few more hours to go. He set about decorating the truck singing a song to Lord Ganesh, while the truck owner watched him from the shadow of the tree, still unhurriedly fanning himself. The extra cash would be most welcome.
T minus 24 hours - NIA station
N othing! Not one goddamn lead! Twenty four had gone by, and she had nothing to report back to the PMO or the Crisis Management Group. It was like the alien ship and everyone on board had vanished into thin air!