Chapter 17
The tape played.
''Hello everyone!'' The sound seemed jovial, almost like a person about to burst into laughter. ''I expect that your Honourable President is hearing this. If not, stop the tape and please play it for him when he returns...'' The voice varied over a range of pitches and moods. The serious tone at the beginning of the sentence jumped to a mild comic in the middle and then again to an admonitory whisper at the end of the sentence. ''... because I want him to know this; his people are going to face the consequences of his wrongdoings tonight and all that blood is on his hands.''
There was an absurd insanity in the voice; and yet a mysterious calm. A moment of silence followed.
''You probably must have already seen how I infiltrated one of your most secure buildings and, believe me that was just the beginning. Uhh...Oh! I apologise for not having introduced myself,'' an erratic giggling followed. ''For now- just consider me as a lunatic. Whatever I am going to say next may sound very illogical to you. But then, no one tries to find logic in a lunatic's words. So don't be surprised when this lunatic says that he is going to perform an experiment. A chaotic experiment where all of you are my subjects. I know one blast isn't enough to persuade you to play my game, of course, so I have made some extra arrangements. Speaking about the experiment, it's pretty simple. My experiment. My rules. Thousands of lives of your people at stake...,'' the voice cracked a horrendous laugh.
''This experiment is a hunt for a lost object. I will extend all the help I can, give all the clues I have and you only need to follow them. I need that object, that artefact before tomorrow morning. How quickly you can find it will decide how many lives you can save. Get your best men, do anything your powers permit you to do, but I want my prize tomorrow. And now comes the part where I tell you what would happen if you fail to do as I say. I just... um... let's say 'hijacked' the most advanced missile from your arsenal at the Wheeler Island.'' The voice let the news sink in. A second passed by. Then another. The voice which then took over would have left anyone confused if it was the same person speaking. It floated the conviction of a man meaning business. ''I can target it anywhere in the country. Imagine the destruction if I direct it towards the metropolitans,'' the voice increasing its icy grip over the helpless listeners. ''You break one rule and the missile goes airborne. So here are the rules of the experiment: Rule No. 1- Do not break any rules and follow my orders precisely. It's actually for your own safety. Rule No. 2- Any attempt to attack the Wheeler island facility will only invite trouble. Rule No. 3- You don't get any time extension. You have only 12.00 hrs.''
The tone suddenly turned into an eerie whisper.
''Considering the fact that you have no other option, let's begin the experiment. I am going to tell you exactly where the first clue is hidden, but it's not going to be easy finding it. The first clue is written on a metal at 28° 31′ 27.68″ N, 77° 11′ 6.89″ E. Do not forget to have a look at the paper beside this cassette player. But it would only be helpful if you would know how to read those numbers on the paper. I suspect that you won't take me seriously, so do not hesitate to ask Mr. Kapoor- the head of the BRAHMOS project if you have any doubts about the level of mass destruction that missile is capable of. And the last thing- I will appreciate it if you do not try to deceive me with your usual tricks; the consequences, my friends, will be disastrous for all of you. I am not alone - I have my army - The Nine Unknown. I have my eyes on you every second of every passing minute. I know it will take more than just some threats to make you understand that you should be taking me seriously. So, I have decided to give you another demonstration of my capabilities, should there be any doubts left regarding my intentions and the extent to which I can go. There is a reason why I chose this room to keep this tape. There is a reason I placed the rigged cassette player right next to the cassette. The chandelier hanging over you will collapse in 20 seconds after this tape ends. Welcome to Operation Chaos.''
For one second, maybe two, all movement in the room ceased: the silence was abrupt, so absolute that even the farthest standing commando could listen to the tape coming to a hasty end in the cassette player. No one spoke, no one even breathed: the shock, the utter unexpectedness of what had happened held them in thrall. But then, they had clearly heard the words- will collapse in 20 seconds after this tape ends. Recovering from the daze, the commandos quickly formed a circle around the President, huddled around him and made a dash for the corner of the hall. David and Raghav moved everyone out from underneath the glowing chandelier just as a series of 4 small blasts weakened the support points of the chandelier. The hanging chandelier, accelerated by gravity, fell to the ground with a resounding shatter of glass and metal. The room suddenly went dark and a momentary blindness hit each and every commando in the room. Nobody had any idea what was going on in that chaotic darkness of the Durbaar Hall. As he was adjusting his eyes to the sudden darkness, that's when it hit Raghav- The president was completely exposed.
Chapter 18
Four minutes later...
The emergency lights in the corridor beamed to life and the commandos were on their way with a bomb squad to check for any other explosives.
Raghav was the first one to gather his wits and speak up. ''I think we should check with the DRDO chief Mr. Kapoor. Whoever this was, he was right about one thing. He is one hell of a lunatic. Carry out an experiment? For which he blows a car, a bloody chandelier inside the Rashtrapati Bhawan to draw our attention and threatens us with our own missile! How he managed to rig that chandelier with explosives still baffles me!''
President Ajaysingh was utterly lost. Caught between two equally bewildering choices of taking the matter into his hands or leaving the situation to be completely handled by the Black Cats, his breaths became increasingly heavy. Another thing that kept pecking at him was that voice. It had sounded like he had heard it before. Somewhere. What did having to settle a score imply? Countless questions flocked his mind and he had to find answers. Fast.
David had caught a glimpse of recognition on the President's face when he had played the tape. It was a momentary lapse. Could have been his imagination. But he now had some doubts of his own. ''Does he know anything about the mysterious caller? Why target the President when there are many other politically powerful people? Is Dr. Ajaysingh not telling us something?''
His thoughts were interrupted by Raghav's request for further orders. David shook his head dispiritedly, screwed his eyes shut, blocking the mental stream of questions flooding his mind and thought of a plan of action.
''Raghav, check out the story on Mr. Kapoor and then follow the lead on the cassette player and the phone call. I will see what I can get from those co-ordinates the psycho mentioned. If he really has what he claims to have, I am afraid we have no option but to comply. I don't think this is a mere game. This is a well-planned operation and I need to find out their primary objective.''
''Sir, I think the President needs more security and should be moved to a safer location immediately. It would be better if I stayed with him. I will send my most efficient men to follow the leads,'' Raghav suggested.
But Ajaysingh had made a different decision. ''I am coming with your team,'' he stated firmly. ''Whatever this guy plans to do has something to do with me. He wants to settle a score, which means he is probably someone in my know or an acquaintance. I may be of some help in finding this guy.''
''Or it may be a clever trick to draw you out! Sir, we don't know what awaits us at this location he has given. It may be a trap. We have absolutely no information on this lunatic yet. We need to initiate the protocol to shift you to the Panic room. I would also suggest calling an emergency meeting right now. I need a new set of orders to investigate this scenario. It would be helpful if we involve someone from the cabinet and RAW. We are going to need a lot of support on this,'' David tried to persuade Ajaysingh.
Ajaysingh Chauhan knew David was right- the reach of this lunatic was unpredictable. He was not a coward
, but he realised that this situation needed to be handled delicately. It was for the best that he stayed at a classified location. I would only be increasing the danger upon these soldiers.
''I will stay in the bunker,'' he agreed, but hesitantly. ''Let us call the emergency meeting at the bunker itself.''
David sent two of his men to make the necessary arrangements while he stayed with the President to discuss an interim plan of action. The technicians from Raghav's team had finished inspecting the cylindrical device they had found earlier. ''I would call it a call compiler. A device with a built-in jammer which is programmed to call a particular number and play a recorded message. It controls the outgoing frequency in such a way that the mechanism tracing that call can get only that amount of information about the location of the call as much as the programmer wants to give away. That is why the IB could not pinpoint the exact location of the call inside the Bhawan until the programmer wanted them to.''
The technician looked at the blank faces around him and explained it the other way around. ''It means that the IB was tricked to locate the call here so that someone could slip in a bomb on their way when the IB Officers came here to investigate. Prakash Mehta himself carried the bomb inside the premises for the terrorists unknowingly.''
Bombing in the Rashtrapati Bhawan premises. Tape sneaked into the Durbaar hall. National security threatened by our own missile. A top intelligence officer tricked into transporting explosives for the terrorists! David was experiencing a complete detachment from his surroundings. He was just staring right at the idol of Lord Buddha trying to find enlightenment. But he knew he would receive no help from the stone idol. A deep breath and David started sorting things out.
''Ask the Bureau to find out how the hell these things got here in the first place. Pull all the security tapes and entry records. I need to know who this lunatic is. Ask them to run a search through all our records and cross-check that voice with any international criminal databases we would be having access to.'' Raghav immediately got on the radio with the concerned IB officers.
David then dealt with Dr Ajaysingh's security. ''Mr. President, you are going to come with us to the bunker. I don't want any of your personal security to accompany us. You are now under the protection of my squad. I am going to check with Mr. Kapoor. If the situation is as bad as I think, we better give that lunatic whatever he wants. He has given us twelve hours, which means we have time until 9.00 am tomorrow morning.''
Twenty minutes later, President Ajaysingh Chauhan accompanied David and his team along with Raghav to a location only a select handful in the country knew about.
Chapter 19
Basement Level 3,
Classified Location,
Outskirts of New Delhi
Co-ordinates- ****** N, ******* E
Time - 21:15 hrs
Codenamed 'Panic Room', the third level basement was one of the four VIP safe houses built for emergencies. Many in the inner circle of the intelligence had heard of these safe houses, but their locations were known to only a select few. The Bureau had started using these locations to hold its confidential meetings once in a while just to ensure the taxpayers' money was not going down the drain.
This modern day fortress now had three important personnel discussing the action plan along with Black Cats commander David D'costa. Each of them had been updated about the events that had occurred at the Rashtrapati Bhawan. The bunker had walls with a metal plating six inches thick to sustain any hostile attacks. The walls sloped downward to a floor of stone, where an army of halogen lamps stood like sentinels around the perimeter, casting bleak light skyward and giving the whole chamber an ephemeral luminosity.
''Sir, Mr. Kapoor was admitted to the Apex hospital earlier this evening. He had a massive heart stroke, just after receiving a phone call about the missile facility being attacked. I checked with our security head and it seems that whatever the bastard said on the tape was true. We currently don't know what exactly they have done with the scientists and the security task force on the island. Wheeler Island is a level 5 security zone and it's almost impossible to infiltrate it without drawing attention. The security systems are designed in such a way that all intrusions can be detected. If they have taken control of the main server, they would be controlling all the cameras and alarm systems now. It's too risky to go in for an assault. I have asked a NSG team to remain outside the detection radius and stay on guard. IB is tracing the source of the tape in the cassette player and cross-checking the voice sample with the Interpol,'' David reported to the President.
''I think we should also announce a Red Alert. Send in NSG troops to important cities and the metropolitans, just in case! The terrorist did warn us of a missile attack,'' the Home Minister suggested.
''That might not be the right move presently. The blast at the Bhawan has already been exaggerated by the media and is in the prime focus of the public. If we announce a red alert and move in the NSG troops, the only response we will get from the media and from the public is panic. We have declared a High alert in Delhi owing to the blast at the Rashtrapati Bhawan, but we can't risk anything more,'' said David, expressing his worries.
''Can't we just cut off the power to Wheeler Island or bring their communications systems down?'' asked David's commanding officer Col B.S Pathak. Pathak was the handler for RAW and IB undercover operations. He was the one who had come up with the idea for an emergency bunker a few years ago. David had a deeply rooted respect for his commanding officer.
''The place, fitted with solar panels, is designed to be energy sufficient. I think they are using satellite phones and the internet as a mode of communication. We can't simply shut down all the internal servers. We are going to need outside help from a hacker- A professional one. We need Ranjeet-''
''Wait... did you just say that we are going to depend on an outside source to get us into their system and stop that missile from launching? Why? Don't we have efficient hackers?'' Ajaysingh cried out in alarm; consternation writ large on his face.
''Trust me, Sir. He is better than them. He is the guy we need at the moment,'' replied David, his voice calm and composed.
Spellbound as they were, the President and the Home Minister took half a minute to recover.
''I have seen this kid work. David knows what he is doing,'' Col Pathak added. ''But David I need to know what exactly you are planning to do.''
''A team at IB has been assigned to track the caller. We still have almost zero information about the mysterious caller. This seems to be a very carefully planned operation. I am quite sure that he has his ways to keep an eye on us. For now, we have to put up an act and show him that we are working as per his instructions. This will buy us some time to prepare to recapture the missile. Another team works on breaching the Wheeler Island facility undetected and disarming the missile. As soon as we get any lead on the true location of our lunatic caller, we send in our assault team to check it out,'' David tried to explain the plan without giving out many details. He wanted nothing to leak out. Absolutely nothing.
''If you want me to handle it, I would like to do it my way. I want only the Black Cats to handle this scenario. No interference. No red tape on my team. No cross questions from any authorities. Can you arrange for that?'' asked David with a look of determination.
''Some situations are exceptions. This is definitely one of those. I think I can handle that, David. Your team will handle the situation outside. I will arrange for another NSG team to look after President Ajaysingh's security here. We need to keep changing his bunker every three hours,'' Col Pathak responded.
As soon as the meeting concluded, Ajaysingh Chauhan came up to David and whispered in his ears. ''I will maintain a contact with you throughout. We are not just going to act like puppets following someone's irrational orders.'' He paused.
''Find the bastard who started a fire in my house and bring him to me.''
Chapter 20
David and his team set out in the direction of 28°
31′ 27.68″ N, 77° 11′ 6.89″ E - a place which their navigation system described as the 'Qutub Minar Complex'. David had made sure the President was totally secure and being monitored every second by his colleagues at the headquarters. Although, a strange thing had struck him when he was leaving the president's bunker.
''You have any idea why we are heading towards the Qutub Minar?'' Raghav asked, shifting to make himself comfortable in his seat.
''I am as confused as you are. I don't understand what kind of game is this lunatic playing. As soon as we have that hacker, we are going for alternate plans to take over the Wheeler Island facility. Until then, we have no option but to stick to what he has asked us to do. He might be monitoring us,'' replied David doing a quick check of his ammunition. He made a mental note to ask for additional ammunition and medical supplies from the HQ after reaching the location given by their mysterious caller.
''Do we have enough backup in case of any emergency, David?'' Raghav was not stressed, but this was the first time he was working with David.
''Yeah! That truck following us is carrying 20 NSG commandos with sophisticated weapons. I have also asked the local police near the Qutub Complex to seal off a 1 km perimeter. Besides, you can always count on my team riding in that vehicle ahead of us,'' David reassured with a playful punch on Raghav's arm.
It was almost 10.00 pm as they cruised through the quiet and serene streets of Southern Delhi. As they neared the oldest stone tower in the history of the capital, the magnificent Minar came into view, shining in the moonlight. Most of the tourists missed the beauty of this monument during the night time. Involuntarily neglecting the passing scenery, David's mind wandered back to the thing that had caught his eye when he was leaving the bunker. He had seen Ajaysingh slip a hand inside his pocket and quickly slide his mobile out. Typing a text hurriedly, the President had put the cell phone back in his pocket.
Operation Chaos: A Gripping Action Thriller Page 5
