by M J Anand
It took some time for Amjad to feel Arup’s hand on his shoulder. He looked at the paper Arup held. ‘Last time my men caught a frequency, it was a few kilometers from the Bagyidaw’s bungalow.’ Amjad signaled a teary-eyed Sonia to zoom out the area on the big screen. ‘Blow it up.’ Anything would have been better than the scenes from Bagyidaw’s bungalow. ‘They must still be in the area,’ Amjad said, his voice still low.
‘This is the closest we’ve been to them.’
All was still not lost. Most importantly, the focus had to be on guiding another MARCOS team to the nuke now. Arup tried to pull back the spirits.
Amjad was beginning to think again. He wondered about the terrorists’ real motives behind capturing Sasha. This couldn’t have been a part of the original plan. It would have been pointless. But now, it suited them, because Abhimanyu was leading a mission and had been successful to stop the first team. They had to neutralize him, so they had to divert from their original plan. The terrorists had been pushed from their holes and their comfort zones. Abhimanyu was their boogeyman now.
Abhimanyu had been there earlier and had done it in Chennai. He was also the best shot Indians had in this moment. Amjad’s paternal protective instincts clashed against his professional judgement. The terrorists needed Abhimanyu to be off the case immediately and decided to open a personal front for him. So, Amjad decided to do exactly the opposite of what was anticipated of him.
‘They wanted to distract us by attacking Bagyidaw’s, but in doing so, they revealed their location. It’s a foolish bargain,’ Arup said.
‘They knew the risks, but they still did it. They are desperate. Just in case Sasha is still alive, they’ll have her. Who better than Abhimanyu to save her?’
Sonia couldn’t believe her ears, but Amjad had firmed up in his mind. She knew Amjad’s coldhearted reasons.
‘You want Abhimanyu to do this. Aare you sure?’
‘Yes.’
‘Amjad, we may risk the success of our entire mission on the emotional stability of one person.’ Arup made no pretentions of his apprehensions. After all, everyone had a breaking point.
‘Think rationally, Arup. Abhimanyu is our best bet, for he is the only one amongst all of us who was there in Chennai, there at the Teesta bridge, and knows them the best. Abhimanyu has been in this situation, and besides, he’s also the one nearest to the location. And time is precious.’
‘Amjad, any man’s fortitude can break on hearing this kind of news.’
‘His shouldn’t.’
‘Why?’
‘It’s a test of his training. The division spends a fortune to train them for moments like these. Now we need to trust his instincts.’
‘Which division?’
‘Special Activities Division, RAW,’ Amjad said very slowly.
Arup was quiet for a moment; he had a sudden realization. ‘So, it’s true. That’s what they call it.’
Amjad nodded.
Arup had nothing more to ask. He had heard stories of an unknown entity managing psywar and psyops within RAW—commandos going berserk and killing their own ministers, corporate honchos taking decisions to hemorrhage their own companies but eventually helping the country, villages losing memories overnight; the stories were many and most of them very unrealistic, relegated to myth. But people on the frontline knew something such as this existed. They just didn’t know where. No wonder the same division had trained the MARCOS to control their emotions under extremely torturous conditions.
Amjad dialed in Abhimanyu. ‘Alpha India, come in?’
‘Alpha India online.’
‘Get Akram on the same line.’ Despite the training, Amjad needed insurance against Abhimanyu’s reactions. This was a different ballgame, and they couldn’t afford anything foolish.
‘Akram, patched in.’
‘We have something to share with you, Abhimanyu. Before that, we need you to be calm. We can’t afford an unconstrained reaction from you.’
Abhimanyu was surprised then scared, for he quickly imagined it had to do something with Sasha.
‘Sasha has been kidnapped, and our intelligence suggests she is with the terrorists who are also carrying the nuke.’ Akram immediately grasped his role and reached for Abhimanyu.
Abhimanyu was numb, but he had the sense to switch to autopilot immediately. He felt Akram’s hand on his shoulder.
‘They want to use it as a leverage against you, against us. I don’t want to give it to them, so you need to finish the mission for us and save Sasha as well. Nobody can do it better than you. But for that, you’ll need to keep yourself together. Can you do that?’ Amjad had offloaded all he could. He had created an emotional surge with a rational proposition for Abhimanyu.
Abhimanyu, dazed at what he had heard, just inhaled to digest everything and keep his perspective.
‘Abhimanyu, do you copy? Can you do this?’
The pressure was debilitating, and Abhimanyu wasn’t ready for it.
Akram realized Abhimanyu was tuning out. He had to make a choice now. Akram switched off the coms. ‘Alpha India, come in. Alpha India, come in.’
‘He has cut the line.’
Arup was aghast.
‘Hey, hey, you need to tell them you can still do it.’
Abhimanyu was hit emotionally. The commandos were here for this mission, so he needed to understand they were here for him and Sasha as well.
‘We are with you,’ Akram emphasized.
Even Abhimanyu was unsure if he was fit enough for the mission now. ‘But—’
‘There is no other choice, Abhimanyu.’ Akram gripped his hand, shook him a bit and interrupted before Abhimanyu could say anything.
Akram’s persuasion finally moved the needle. Abhimanyu regained his composure and the realization they had no choice. The road to save Sasha and the road to neutralize the terrorists was the same. There was just more at stake now for him personally. Fate had been kind enough to give him a second chance with Sasha, and he wouldn’t lose it without a fight. They had to bite the bullet and chew the steel away. No second option existed, no second life. He switched on the coms. ‘We’ll do it.’
Amjad closed his fist. ‘I knew you wouldn’t disappoint.’
Of course, Abhimanyu had a choice—a choice to walk away from all of it, or even to just refocus on Sasha only. A true soldier or a spy was made in such pressure moments when they had everything on the line. Abhimanyu had proven his worth just by making this choice. Amjad couldn’t express his contentment.
‘So, let us revise the basics. We need to ensure all bases are covered. We locate them in the area, move in silently on them, shoot or sedate them, vacuum wrap the bomb, find Sasha and get out.’
‘You have their latest location?’
‘On your screen,’ Sonia said. ‘Their location hasn’t changed in the last two rounds, but we are still to get an accurate fix on it. Its accuracy is to a mile right now.’
‘We should move in then,’ Abhimanyu said, realizing the terrorists were moving toward them.
‘You’re the closest airborne team, but don’t engage till the backup arrives. Once all of you are in place, have everyone in sight, and everything as per the plan, only then can you move in.’
‘How much time for the backup to arrive?’
‘The closest MARCOS backup is sixty minutes behind you.’
‘We can’t wait sixty minutes, Amjad. The backups can join us when they arrive.’
‘You’re missing the point, Abhimanyu. These are professionals. They’ve beaten the communication systems at the Bagyidaw’s, managed to deceive Thapa’s local intelligence network, even kill two MARCOS teams and many army commandos. They have the brains and numbers too—could easily be ten to fifteen. You need a comprehensive plan with more men and more ammunition.’
‘With due respect, sir, we have the surprise element right now. If you trust Rupesh, the timer will be out soon. Right now, they’re on the move, and once they’re settled in, they’ll only be
more careful in guarding the spot. It’ll get tougher to penetrate their security. Even if we do penetrate, they’ll definitely set a trap on the bombs. We’ll be cutting it too close. We can’t risk this wait.’ Abhimanyu was relentless and willing to risk it all now. Perhaps he had too much on the line, and that, by itself, made Abhimanyu cold to all risk; akin to gambling, he was on the tilt. ‘Abhimanyu, we’ll stick to the plan. Consider it an order.’ But before Amjad could finish, the line disconnected.
‘Are you with me?’
Akram and Siddhartha agreed with Abhimanyu. They believed they could do it. In the forces, hierarchy was clear, but on the field, the commander’s word was the final gospel. Everything else was noise. Akram agreed the advantages of the surprise element and extra time would work in their favor. After all, these elements had also helped them at the Teesta bridge. He was the most experienced MARCO on the team and decided to stand by his commander.
‘We’ll get her, and the nuke.’
The others nodded to Akram.
Abhimanyu felt more confident now.
‘I told you not to trust him. He has too much baggage to handle.’ Arup was in despair.
Amjad couldn’t help but wonder if the advantage he had thought he had in Abhimanyu would soon turn into a handicap. ‘Keep trying to connect,’ he told Sonia.
Chapter 20 - The Turn
Ghatakpunji, Assam
It was two hours past midnight. Abhimanyu maintained low altitude to have higher ground visibility. They reached the tagged location only to find no one there anymore. After scouting the ground from different angles, he soft landed his MI-35M on a small piece of flat rocky land just outside the town of Ghatakpunji. Abhimanyu, Akram, and two army commandoes—Lieutenant Abhishek and Lieutenant Shikhar—walked into the village in single file. Siddhartha and the third army commando stayed back to guard the Mi-35M along with the backup pilot.
They entered the village in two groups and rendezvoused in the center of town under a gigantic fig tree the village men held sacred— popularly known as the peepal in India—located on raised ground. It was half past two, and the entire village was in a deep slumber. With no one there, the MARCOS could use it as a good vantage point.
Abhimanyu opened the map on his wrist tab. ‘We’re within fifty meters from the source point. Signal seems to be weak, and it’s hard to get the exact direction right.’
‘We came in from south, so that’s ruled out,’ Shikhar said.
‘Most residences are in the west. I doubt they’d setup the base in the main village,’ Akram added.
‘That leaves us with the east and north directions.’ Abhimanyu handed him the gear and climbed the peepal tree. He reached the top and could even see the chopper now. ‘I can see some lights.’ Abhimanyu pointed eastward. Darkness had covered the valley, but two lights flickered oddly at this hour, accentuated against the dark canvass of a peaceful night.
‘Around sixty meters from us,’ Akram said. ‘They could just be villagers.’
‘Let’s check it out. See who they are. If they are villagers, why are they still awake?’
The roads were deserted, and the eastern part of the village was largely uninhabited. containing the school, the post office, and a pond. With hardly any manmade cover, they used the cover of trees to move from block to block in a column. A watchman manned the school, but he was asleep. The post office was locked. The MARCOS kept moving through the night fog till Akram raised his palm, pointing back at shoulder height. They stopped. He had heard a sound. Akram signaled toward its source. Gradually, others could hear a very faint but consistent chatter. They had to rely on hand gestures now.
One by one, they moved into the dark spot behind the hut and finally stopped at the sight of a young kid few meters ahead on top of a small rock. He could not be more than twenty years old, but he looked serious. His right hand was hidden on his backside and not moving. The kid surely had something in his hand on the far side, which was hard to spot even with the night vision.
Shikhar had spotted him. With his palms down at shoulder height, Shikhar signaled at the kid.
The killed raised his right hand.
Shikhar saw him holding a semi-automatic rifle. He raised his left hand, forefinger and thumb extended.
Abhimanyu signaled everyone to lay low, and everyone went on one knee. They quietly checked their gun locks and accessories.
There was more movement. The kid was still alert. Most movement was closer to another hut which was farther away.
Akram leaned toward the right to have a better view through his night binoculars. They were at the right place. He signaled with an open fist, which meant he could see around ten men inside. Akram readjusted the binoculars’ lens, and, for a moment, he couldn’t believe his eyes. He pointed toward it and signaled a mushroom cloud with fingers.
That was it; no one could confuse it. They had spotted the miniaturized nuke and out of its armory—a naked nuke. Beside it was a computerized circuit to trigger the nuke. They had seen it earlier in their careers and were witnessing it again—only bigger and deadlier this time.
Abhimanyu followed in and tried to locate any markings with his binoculars. It was marked two hundred KVT—much higher than the last one in Chennai, which was only a forty KVT. It was perplexing to imagine how the terrorists managed to procure such a high-grade weapon. This was not just a Pakistani conspiracy. They didn’t have such high-grade nukes.
The men moving around it seemed to be in rush to do something. Abhimanyu wasn’t an expert, but it only took common sense to guess the terrorists were preparing for detonation.
Akram slowly removed his compact bandoleer—designed by DRDO and carried five hundred bullets in one load—from the bag and readied himself for the showdown.
Abhishek and Shikhar checked their grenades, smoke bombs, and magazines.
It was time to bring in the cavalry, so Abhimanyu activated his communications on the wrist pad. Delta, come in. Delta, come in.
Alpha India, copy that. Explain your location.
On the hot seat.
Amjad couldn’t believe his eyes. His boys had it in sight and were ready to attack.
Reconfirm the sighting.
Alpha India on hot seat. Repeat, Alpha India on hot seat. Abhimanyu clicked a photo with his binoculars and relayed it back.
Sonia ran the check on the device—a positive match. It was a naked nuke close to detonation. ‘They are ready to detonate,’ she said in shock, looking at Amjad. The satellites had been refocused and were tracking the inbound and outbound routes now. The hut appeared on the big screen.
‘Sasha?’ Amjad asked.
‘No trace yet,’ Akram replied.
‘Extraction team is on its way to check the inbound and outbound routes.’
Abhimanyu had to take his mind off it. If the terrorists had to use her, they would show their hand sooner than later. It was a risky and farfetched bet, but, in that moment, it was a logical thought to Abhimanyu, and even to Amjad who could half-guess Abhimanyu’s game plan. He had to just keep his eyes open for her and press the trigger at the right target.
The terrorists were busy in the motions of the final setup. Abhimanyu realized this was the perfect moment to catch them by surprise. Abhimanyu did not want to wait for the reinforcements. ‘Permission to initiate the hot pursuit.’
Amjad was not surprised at hearing it, unlike Arup. The Indians didn’t know the time of detonation, but everything looked set, so it was at the terrorists’ discretion. Besides, Amjad also realized the terrorists would notice the arrival of a larger contingent in such narrow passages around the hut. The backup would only alert the terrorists. The drone footage on the screen called for immediate action.
Amjad checked his watch to see it was three thirty in the morning. The sun rose early in this part of the world, and darkness wouldn’t be their ally for long. The village had slept, the nearest reinforcements were at least thirty minutes away, and time was quickly running out. The surpr
ise factor would only work if they moved in now. He would be risking their lives, but the odds would deteriorate quickly with time. Amjad decided to take the plunge. ‘Permission granted. Make it quick. I want to have my breakfast with you on time.’
Abhimanyu smiled. The team split into two. Akram moved in with Shikhar to the right while Abhimanyu moved in with Abhishek to the left. Abhimanyu signaled Akram to take the first shot at the man handling the nuke and kill the rest thereafter. They were moving toward the front, and Shikhar got ready to provide sniper cover. He signaled Abhishek to move behind the nearby tanker with him and provide cover when he moved toward the nuke. Abhimanyu aimed to vacuum wrap the nuke in a sheet of alloy DRDO had designed block signals and cut off the circuitry. That would avoid detonation. He signaled with round fingers through his eyes to Abhishek, telling him to provide sniper cover. With a V sign to his nose, he asked if anyone had any doubt.
Everyone answered with a thumbs up, except Abhishek. He rotated up his magazine and pointed it skyward. Abhishek was asking if the terrorists had any heavy fire, in which case, just the four of them wouldn’t be enough to take on the terrorists.
Abhimanyu pointed to the naked nuke and then to the sentry carrying only a semi-automatic. It didn’t make sense for them to carry heavy fire. It added too much load and couldn’t be used around a live nuke either. This would be a close combat. Abhimanyu signaled at the pistol and the knives.
Abhishek gave him a thumbs up and got ready.
Abhimanyu then signaled again at Shikhar and Abhishek with the sniper sign. The two of them had to take out as many terrorists as possible in the first hit itself. One didn’t want too many hands to fight later. Finally, Abhimanyu raised his left hand with closed fist and moved it back and forward—the call sign to start.
