X: The Hunt Begins

by Unknown

  “He didn't tell me that.” Shahid said, his voice was suddenly dangerously raised.

  There was an almost imperceptible pause. “I convinced him not to.” Aditya said quietly. “I needed to make some private inquiries about the van without alarming any of the suspects with a police inquiry.”

  “You told one of the officers under me to lie to my face.” Shahid's voice was rising.

  “I had no choice.” Aditya said.

  “Did telling me the truth ever occur as a choice to you?” Shahid said bitterly. “Did you ever think that was a viable option?”

  “It has now.” Aditya said. “That's why I'm telling you and Payal the truth. I can't complete this mission on my own. I'll need your help, and your trust, and I'm willing to put all my cards on the table to get it.”

  There was a long silence. Payal was staring at Aditya as though seeing him for the first time. Virat was watching Shahid, who was staring at Aditya, his frown not relaxing in the slightest.

  Finally, he leaned back in his seat. “What did you find out today?”

  “I've spent the day tracking down the van.” Aditya spoke rapdily now. “It wasn't easy. The license number was fake, obviously. But it had been used before. I finally managed to track down the owner of the vehicle, and found out he worked for a man called Mr. Diwan, the owner of a three star hotel in Vasant Kunj called Dinank. Now this is the third time that Mr. Diwan's name has popped up in connection with my investigation. Either Mr. Diwan had a hand in disposing of the body, or someone in his employee. We need to ask him questions without alarming him.”

  “Either me or Shahid can call him in for questioning.” Virat said. “Although it will tip him off that he's a suspect.”

  “No, none of us can go.” Aditya said. “You and Shahid are connected to the investigation, and I can't risk being identified. If it becomes known that Mr. Diwan is a police suspect, we'll have a repeat of what happened to Satbir Singh.”

  “One of the other officers will have to go undercover, then.” Shahid said, but again Aditya shook his head.

  “None of them can be trusted with the information we have.” He said flatly. “The police force is compromised.” He paused for a moment. “There is someone else, however. Someone who's been connected to this investigation from the start. Someone who has an iron clad reason for meeting Mr. Diwan.” His gaze settled slowly on Payal. There was another pause as she met his gaze, and comprehension dawned in her eyes.

  “No.” Virat was suddenly on his feet. “Absolutely not. You're not sending Payal after X!”

  “There will be absolutely no danger.” Aditya said, speaking partly to Virat and partly to Payal, who sat frozen in surprise. “The man doesn't know he's a suspect. You'll be surrounded by regular customers in an open environment. You'll say you're there for his interview with your channel. He has no reason to doubt your story.”

  “She's not going.” Virat glared at Aditya. “She's an untrained civilian. She could get kidnapped. She could get drugged and murdered. There are a thousand ways this can go wrong!”

  “We'll be right there with her, just twenty feet away. The moment things get out of hand we'll pull her out. And we'll have evidence of criminal conspiracy against Diwan. Then you can bring him in and question him about Satbir.”

  “Will you please talk to him!” Virat turned to Shahid. “Tell him how stupid this idea is. Maybe he'll listen to you.” But Shahid was looking thoughtful.

  “It's not entirely outside the realm of possibilty.” He said slowly. “Civilians have assisted with sting operations in the past. If Payal isn't comfortable, we can talk to some of the other reporters, and see if-”

  “I'll do it.” Payal spoke up suddenly. The three men rounded on her, their expressions showing a mixture of disbelief, hope and doubt.

  “Payal, you don't understand.” Virat's voice was strained as he attempted to speak calmly. “This is an unbelievably dangerous mission. There is no telling how badly it can end for you.”

  “Aditya said you'll all be close by.” Payal said. She looked at Aditya, who nodded quickly.

  “There's a hotel less than ten feet away where I've booked a room for tomorrow.” He said. “It'll take us less than thirty seconds to get to you in case anything goes wrong.”

  “Then I'll do it.” Payal repeated. She looked at Virat, who looked ready to argue again. “I'm the one Mr. Diwan will be expecting tomorrow. He might be suspicous if some other reporter shows up.” She looked at Shahid. “I want to help catch this X person.”

  Shahid nodded slowly. “We're grateful for your help.” Aditya smiled at her in relief. But there was only wory and anger in Virat's eyes as he stared at her.

  * * *

  The next moring was spent in preparation in the rented room in the hotel next to restaurant Dinank. A group of plainclothes constablees loitered outside the restaurant, waiting for instructions from Shahid. Aditya had spent the intervening time in coaching Payal for the operation. She was wearing a wire that would record her conversation at the hotel, as well as a tiny camera that provided a live feed of the view directly in front of her. Her long ponytail had been styled carefully into two plaits at her sides covering her ears. Beneath the left plait was a tiny speaker positioned directly inside her ear canal. The team in the hotel room would be able to communicate with her through the speaker.

  “Watch your body language.” Aditya told her. “Almost eighty percent of human communication is non verbal. Don't act guilty, or like you're hiding something. We'll be on hand to advise you if anything unexpected happens. When Diwan arrives I'll tell you what to say to him.”

  “So it'll be my voice but you'll be the one talking?” Payal asked with an attempt at a lighthearted tone.

  Aditya smiled back. “Something like that.”

  Payal looked at Virat. She gave him a small smile. “I'll be fine. Don't worry.”

  Virat tried to smile back, but couldn't quite manage it. He nodded. “Be careful.” He wanted to say something more, but could not think of anything.

  “We're all right here in case anything goes wrong.” Aditya told Payal for the fourth time. She nodded. Taking a deep breath, she walked towards the door, opened it and left.

  “Are the camera and speaker working?” Aditya asked Shahid. He was avoiding looking at Virat.

  “Yes.” Shahid was staring at the screen, seemingly oblivious to the tension in the room. But a muscle was working in his jaw as he checked the audio, and he was avoiding Virat's gaze as well.

  Payal walked towards hotel Dinank with brisk steps, trying to drown her nervousness in the solidly familiar patter of her heels hitting the pavement. As she neared the door of the restaurant, she felt a sudden urge to turn back. She fought down the feeling and opened the door. Her mouth was dry as she entered the restaurant. The glass door swung shut noiselessly behind, and she had a fleeting sense of being an animal caught in a trap.

  “I'm here to see Mr. Diwan.” She said to the manager standing behind a podium near the door. The steadiness in her voice surprised even herself. “Payal Rastogi. I'm here for his interview.”

  “Of course, ma'am.” The manager bowed with a courteous smile. “This way.” She was shown to a small table in an intimate corner of the restaurant. Payal's eyes swept the surroundings as she sat herself down. The large room was tastefully decorated and without the excess clutter of knick knacks usually found in restaraunts aspiring for a classic touch. An unknown melody played softly in the background, not loud enough to interrupt any conversations. It wasn't a very busy time at the restaurant, but there were around half a dozen other customers at various tables. The scene looked absolutely normal, and suddenly Payal felt a different sort of misgiving. What if the whole operation turned out to be a wild goose chase? It did not seem possible that she was sitting in a building that housed criminals. What if Mr. Diwan turned out to be a perfectly ordinary businessman?

  Suddenly Payal heard footsteps directly behind her, and her heartbeat quickened.
She forced herself to remain calm as she looked slowly up at the newcomer. And then her eyes widened in surprise. The man who had walked up to her table and was now lowering himself into the chair opposite her was definitely not Mr. Diwan.

  He was a large, bulky man with small watery eyes and a bushy moustache. His clothes were stained and obviously several days old. There was an air of uncouthness around him, from the straggly growth of his beard and moustache to the yellowing teeth. He wore a large blue scarf wrapped in intricate folds around his head and neck. His movements appeared strangely stiff as he took a seat in front of Payal and stared at her with eyes that were slightly out of focus, his arms hanging awkwardly at his side.

  “I hope I'm not late.” He said in a deep, raspy voice that spoke of a lifetime of nicotine addiction. “So glad we found the time for this little Tete-e-Tete.”

  “I'm sorry, there's been a mistake.” Payal said, recovering from her surprise. “I have an appointment with Mr. Diwan. I'm here to interview him for my-”

  “I think the purpose of your assignment will be better served by talking to me.” The man rasped as a a smile spread across his face. “You will find my knowledge of matters close to your heart far supersedes Mr. Diwan's.”

  Payal stared at him, at a loss for words. What was she supposed to do now? Should she continue to insist on meeting Mr. Diwan? Should she leave?

  Just then a voice spoke in her ear. “Keep him talking.” Aditya's voice was low but distinct. “Ask him who he is.”

  “I'm sorry, I don't think I got your name.” Payal spoke up, forcing a smile on her face.

  “That is because I have not provided it.” The man said smoothly. “Suffice to say my name is irrelevent to this convesation.”

  “And what's the conversation about?” Aditya's voice was in her ear again.

  “What exactly is the purpose of this conversation?” Payal asked, leaning back in her chair to convey a sense of ease that she did not feel.

  The man studied her for a moment, again with a curiously unfocused quality in his stare. “You have been most assiduous in your investigations so far.” There was a strange incongruity between his appearance and his manner of speech. Like a thuggee reciting Ghalib. “Snooping around Raipam. Visiting Bhandipur. Talking to inmates of Jharas.”

  “You've never visited those places.” Aditya's voice was in her hear again, a hint of tension now aparent in it.

  “I've never been to any of those places.” She said, trying not to let the tension echo in her own voice. “I'm a reporter. I'm here on behalf of my newspaper.”

  “And this was quite a risk you took for the sake of your newspaper.” The man said. “Coming here for this interview, I mean.”

  Less than twenty feet away, Aditya, Virat and Shahid watched with bated breath as Payal spoke to the man. “Who the hell is he?” Shahid muttered, leaning towards the screen. “Either of you recognise him?”

  The other two mutely shook their heads. Virat had his arms folded across his chest. His entire body resembled a tightly coiled spring ready to burst into action.

  “Decoy.” Aditya muttered. He picked up the speaker and spoke to Payal. “Keep him talking. He can't do anything when there are people present.”

  “She's walked into a trap. I'm going in.” Virat was on his feet. He had taken two steps towards the door when suddenly Aditya was blocking his path, a hand raised to block his way.

  “We need answers.” Aditya's voice was low but urgent as he stared at Virat. “He may know something about Payal, but he's still talking. We need to give her time to draw information out of him.”

  “Her cover's been blown.” Virat growled. “Your little ruse didn't work.” He started fowards again. This time, Aditya placed his hand on his chest and pushed him back.

  “I need you to think about this logically.”

  Virat's brow furrowed dangerously. He swatted Aditya's arm away and pushed him roughly aside. “I'm bringing her back. End of discussion.”

  But suddenly his leg was hooked under him. His shoulder was shoved sideways, and Virat was sent sprawling to the ground. “I'm sorry, but I can't let you blow the mission.”

  “What the hell is wrong with you?” Virat roared as he got to his feet. “You're going to let Payal get killed for your case?”

  “She's not going to die!” Aditya was suddenly shouting as well, the tension finally surfacing on his face. “She's my friend too. But she went in there willingly to do a job. You have to give her time to do it.”

  “Both of you get back to your seat now!” Shahid's stern voice was suddenly raised. “I am in charge of this operation. I'll decide what the next step is. This isn't about you two. Payal need's our help and we can't give her that if I have to babysit you both here.”

  The two stood staring at each other, breathing heavily. Neither appeared prepared to back down. The expression on Virat's face at the moment looked very nearly like hatred, even as Aditya glared back at him. In that moment something had broken between the two. Then they both turned and went to stand on opposite sides of Shahid. They stared fixedly at the video screen as Shahid picked up the speaker.

  “Payal, listen to me.” Shahid's voice lowered as he spoke into the reciever. “If you feel threatened in any way, get up and walk away from the table right now. If not, ask him what he knows about Satbir Singh?”

  Payal took a deep breath, and looked squarely at her companion. “Do you know anything about Satbir Singh?”

  The man smiled. “Finally you ask the relevant question.” He rasped. “That business at Mannat was a tipping point of sorts, you see. And Satbir knew too much to be allowed to be questioned by the police.”

  “So you murdered one of your own men?” Aditya spoke into the reciever.

  “So you murdered one of your own men?” Payal echoed.

  “There is no place for a sentiment like loyalty in my line of work.” The man rasped. “I assure you Satibr would have gladly given me over to the police in return for a reduced jail sentence.”

  There was a long pause in which Payal and the man stared at each other while she waited for further instructions. Aditya's mind was racing. The interview had taken a turn he had not been prepared for. Should they move in to apprehend the man? Should they wait till he gave out more information?

  Finally he made up his mind and picked up the reciever. “Why was Satbir killed after being hidded away for months?”

  Payal gazed at her companion. “If you planned to kill Satbir all along, why did you keep him hidden for so long?”

  “Satbir had some information that I needed.” The man said. “You see, for the past few months I have been consicous of a tail on my back that I just can't seem to shake off. Satbir was my most important lead, and I'm happy to say the informatin he provided was very enlightening. A lamb that has been marked for slaughter can still be useful before his death. Wouldn't you agree, Officer Matthews?”

  “My name is Payal Ghosh.” Payal said, not letting the shock show on her face.

  The man smiled, leaning back in his chair. “And a very fine name it is. But your name just doesn't carry the raw weight that the other one does.”

  “I don't understand.” Payal's mouth had gone dry. She was barely conscious of the words coming out of her. “I think you're mistaking me for someone else.”

  “A mistake was made, certainly, but not at my end. Incidentally, I hope you were properly grateful to Shivam Raghunath for all the help he provided you yesterday.”

  Payal was silent. She was listening desperately for Aditya to tell her what to say next. But there was only silence on the reciever in her ear, as Aditya sat watching the live feed in stunned silence.