Neel Dervin and the Dark Angel

by Neeraj Chand

  “But I was determined to make it the last time. After his near fatal mission, he was of course not allowed to continue with the assignment. In time, I found a way to blame the serum for Neel"s collapse. The General and Mr. Rai accepted my diagnosis as an expert. The project was finished. The only problem left was Neel. I needed to ensure his absolutefailure.”

  “Oh god…” Divya whispered, her voice filled with horror. It could not be true. Surely he could not have sunk even lower…

  The doctor looked at her sadly. “I see you have understood.” he said in a low voice.

  “All those sessions Neelhad with you trying to get over his fears.” Divya said, sounding close to tears. “You weren"t helping him. You were making it worse.”

  The doctor buried his head in his hands. He seemed to be going through an internal struggle too deep to put into words. “After we found out about his condition.” DoctorFahim said, his voice muffled. “There was only one thing left to do. But the magnitude of the measures I would have to take was so great that I could not bring myself to do it. I genuinely tried to help him the first few times. But in trying to spare Neel, I was denying my other responsibility. And finally, I knew I had no choice. I used hypnotherapy to plant suggestions of his own failure in his mind. I started to bring his mind back to the moment when he felt the car crash into him. I made him dwell on it repeatedly, in rapid floods of memory that his mind could not tolerate in such high doses, so that by the end of the month, his fear had grown and become more savage and stronger than ever before. I was repulsed by what I had done, but I had achieved my aim. It was clear that Neel"s will had been broken beyond repair… or so I thought.”

  “But then it happened. I got a phone call from Neel. It seemed as though he was saying goodbye. I did not understand the true meaning of the message until I watched the news about the bank robbery.” Doctor Fahim fell silent, remembering the wonder and awe he had felt upon seeing Neel on the news.“I can"t even imagine how he did it.” he said. “The fear must have been multiplied a hundred times when he stood in front of the car for the third time. And yet, he managed to win through the fear. It was… one of the most amazing things I have ever seen.” Divya remembered the expression on DoctorFahim"s face when they had seen Neel stop the car on the news.

  “I almost broke down then.” DoctorFahim continued. “It seemed fate had ordained that my plan would never work. I did not know what to do. But then I decided. If I could not win one way, I would try another. If, by accident, I had chosen the perfect person for the job, I would use him to achieve my goal. And so I helped prepare Neel for his trip to the Phlicer lab. I watched him find the casket,and finally got the container away from Mehta"s control.”

  There was a long silence. Divya"s mind was in a whirl. She could not believe how easily they had all been fooled, how much danger Neel had been in, betrayed by someone he trusted so much.

  “Why did you do it?” Divya asked, her voice filled with anger. “Betraying your friends, using us all as bait. Dear god, you almost broke Neel’s will to live. How could you do that?”

  “I had no choice Divya.” Doctor Fahim said, misery etched deep across his face.

  “Why do you say that?” Divya demanded. “Why is Mehta’s project so important to you?” Doctor Fahim took a deep, shuddering breadth. He seemed to be having trouble breathing. “I hear the pain in your voice.” he whispered finally.“The pain is deeper because I was like a father to you, yet I betrayed you. What value would you place then, on actual ties of blood that connect us to our family? What would you say then, if I tell you that the person inside that container is my real son.”

  Divya stared at the tortured face of the doctor, struck dumb with shock.

  Doctor Fahim nodded slowly. “Yes, Divya. This is my son Asif Fahim. And I am responsible for the state he is in today.I… and the serum.”

  Divya could not speak. She had gotten more shocks in one day than she had in years. Her mind was in a whirl, unable to process all the information.

  “How…?” she whispered finally. “What do you mean?” Doctor Fahim was silent for a long time, remembering once again those first few days, which seemed centuries ago now. How excited he had been when he had found out about DoctorThompson"s research. How eagerly he had helped his mentor uncover the secret of those apes. He had had so many hopes for the serum. And now he wished he had never heard of it.

  “Thirty years ago,” he said thickly. “I was a professor of bio chemistry in Delhi. I was extremely interested in practical research, and had published many papers on the properties of biocatalysts. These papers were acknowledged the world over. I had become quite famous among the members of my profession. But my personal life was in ruins. My wife, whom I loved more than anyone else in the world, had died while giving birth to our son. Asif was the living image of his mother. But he was born with severe birth defects. He was paralyzed from the waist down and at that time, since no therapy for paralysis was known, the disease was allowed to spread over his entire body. Most of the money I made went towards keeping him alive. But even then, he did not have a lot of hope for recovery.”

  “ And then one day I received a call from Doctor Warren Thompson. He had taught me at one time and was very impressed by my aptitude for biochemistry. During one of his expeditions, he had found a natural phenomenon unlike anything the world had ever known, and he invited me to help him with his researches on it.”

  “I decided to accept his offer. My son was permanently installed in the hospital. I had been left enough money from my parents to keep us both going for a few years. And in my heart, I hoped DoctorThompson"s researches would find a cure for my son. So I packed my few belongings, arranged for the hospital to get regular payments for my son"s care, and went to join DoctorThompson.”

  “When I arrived at the camp, the doctor explained to me the nature of his discovery. I was amazed and delighted. My interest had always been in research and here was an opportunity to study something extraordinary. I confess, for a time I was so consumed by my work that I even forgot my son. I worked night and day with Doctor Thompson to understand the chimpanzee"s unique neurology.”

  Doctor Fahim gazed at Divya . “You already know mostof this story.” he said. “However, there was one detail that I had always left out before. At that time, another young student had joined our research. His arrival was not planned, but he helped tremendously in our research.”

  Divya stared at him. Finally, she was starting to understand. “Alok Mehta.” she whispered. Doctor Fahim nodded. “When you were briefing Neelon Mehta"s past, you mentioned that for some years he disappeared from India and was suspected to be involved with terrorist groups. One day the tribe"s men brought a young man to Doctor Thompson. He was half dead with starvation and close to death. The tribesmen nursed him back to health. When he had recovered, he thanked us for our help but refused to tell us where he had come from. I do not know where he had traveled, or if he really was involved with terrorist groups, but I realize now he joined our group to hide himself. At first he merely helped with the manual labor, doing it far better than the tribesmen, but soon, he showed an outstanding aptitude for research. I and Doctor Thompson were too delighted with him to worry about his mysterious past. He was always polite and helpful, although he kept a certain distance between himself and everyone else. Together, we fell into our work with tremendous energy.”

  Doctor Fahim sighed, looking at Divya. “Those were good days. Our goals were simple and purely academic. Much like your and my days together at the beginning. There were no thoughts about personal gain. Simply the pursuit of knowledge for its own sake. Or so I thought…”

  “Finally, after almost three years, we had succeeded in separating most of the elements present in the ape"s bloodstream, identifying them and studying that one, fascinating new compound we had found. It only remained to apply thehormone"s use to humanity.”

  “And then I remembered my son. I received a letter from the hospital stating that it
could not keep in a patient who showed no sign of improvement, since they needed the room for other patients who had chances of recovery. No other hospital was willing to take him either. I had no choice; I brought my son to our research site.”

  Doctor Fahim sat in his chair, and for a while he seemed to be in a coma. He was staring at the container as though hoping it might speak to him. “I was horrified at the change in Asif. He could not speak nor move. He was fourteen years old at the time, but for all intents and purposes, he was dead. I could not imagine the hopelessness he felt every day, and I, his father, could do nothing to help him. I felt miserable. Ashamed and helpless. I had neglected him for so many years. Doctor Thompson sympathized, but there was nothing he could do either. What was the use of all my knowledge if I could not save the person who meant the most to me? Every time I looked at him, I saw the face of Noor, who had been everything to me. Ihad failed them both.”

  Doctor Fahim buried his head in his hands again, his shoulders shaking. Divya did not know what to say. She could guess only too well what the story was leading up to. “Those were difficult days for me.” Doctor Fahim said, trying to control his shaking voice. “I lost control and began drinking heavily. In my depressed state, I had difficulty thinking clearly. Even my mind was losing control… and then, one day it happened.”

  “I came to my room very late that night. I had had too much to drink, but sleep would still not come. I sat staring at my son lying on his bed. Suddenly, I had an idea. The serum had proven to be quite effective on bonobos, who are the closest relatives to the human species. Why would it not work on my son? If I had been thinking clearly, I would never have done it. The serum was still very much in the experimental stage, and we had no idea how it would affect humans. But in my intoxicated condition, I convinced myself that it wouldwork. I injected my son with the serum and… and…” Doctor Fahim looked as though he was wrestling with an internal seizure. “Asif"s body started trembling… his body was rejecting the serum…. He went into convulsions, and fell out of the bed because of the shaking…” Tears were streaming down DoctorFahim"s eyes. The soul crushing torment in his eyes brought tears to Divya"s as well. “And then… my son died.”

  “I could not believe what I had done. I sat on the floor with my son"s dead body in my hands. I don"t know how long I sat there. I was too shocked at what had happened to cry. Suddenly, I heard someone come into the room. It was Mehta. He had been sent by Doctor Thompson to check on me. He saw the empty serum bottle, the broken injection, and my son on the floor, and realized what had happened. He checked my son"s wrist but there was no pulse to read. He helped me to my bed. He kept telling me not to worry, that he would handle everything. He told me to sleep and gave me some sleeping pills.”

  “I slept for eleven hours. When I woke up, I found the bed in my room was empty. Then I remembered what had happened. I was… well, it would be useless for me to try to explain how I felt. For a long time, it seemed I would simply go insane. The only thing which saved me from insanity was guilt. I was afraid people would say I had deliberately murdered my own son. That he had been a burden on me. More than the awful guilt, it hurt me to think what people would say about my family. I prayed Mehta had taken care of everything like he had said he would, and it seemed I was right. Dr Thompson informed me that Mehta had disappeared, taking samples of the serum with him. But at that moment I did not care at all about the serum. I was only relieved that Mehta had taken the awful burden of guilt off my shoulders.”

  “ I fought back against depression I was feeling those days, and threw myself back into the project. My work became my life. I told Doctor Thompson my son had suffered a fatal heart attack and I had sent his body home to be cremated. I felt I owed it to my son to perfect the serum which had been unable to cure him.”

  “You know what happened after that. Doctor Thompson died, and I carried on the research alone. I became famous for my talents and achievements. You became my aide, and together, we finally managed to perfect the serum.”

  “But then I got Mehta"s call, and he told me the truth about that night. My son had not died. His body had temporarily gone into a state of coma, but had later recovered. His body had become stronger, but he was still paralyzed. Mehta had taken away my son along with the serum samples, and over the years, conducted his own experiments to create a super soldier.”

  Doctor Fahim stared at Divya. He looked like a man who had seen hell itself . “Can you imagine what he did to my son?” he said in a low voice, his eyes brimming with tears, “Mehta wasn"t interested in refining the serum. He only wanted to increase the strength of the subject. His research took a completely different path from ours. He pumped my son full of every conceivable steroid, and you can see the result in this container. Can you imagine what my son had to go through for all thoseyears?”

  Doctor Fahim fell silent, looking at the container, trying to still his shaking hands.

  “Doctor, please.” Divya whispered, her eyes filled with tears. “Let us help you. What you are doing is illegal. Please“ “No one can help me.” Doctor Fahim said quietly. „If the government finds out, they will either kill Asif or use him as a guinea pig again. I cannot allow that. Asif is powerful now, but not invincible. If they had sent an army of Alpha soldiers after him, as they certainly would have once they found out about his existence, he would have been ripped to pieces. That is why I had to stop the project. And that is why I chose Neel. The life of my fourteen year old son for the life of another fourteen year old. The bomb I planted in my office should have exploded by now. People will think I am dead. Now I will take my son away from the world and no matter what it takes, I will find a way to cure him.”

  “And what will you do with me?” Divya asked. The doctor turned away without saying anything, and Divya knew why. In spite of his betrayal, he was still essentially a peaceful man, and he was avoiding doing anything drastic about her.

  She opened her mouth to plead with him again, but stopped as she heard a banging sound. She searched the room for the source of the noise and her blood froze.

  The container had begun to tremble.

  CHAPTER 19: Fall of an angel Arjun stared at Mehta, stunned. He could hardly believe what he had been told, and yet, it made sense. All the acts of betrayal, finding out the secrets of the topmost level, getting inside the most private locations.

  It was Doctor Fahim all the time…

  “So he"s responsible for everything that has happened today.” Arjun muttered. “Everything that has happened yet.” Mehta said, watching the disbelief on Arjun"s face. Arjun stared at Mehta, focusing on what Mehta had said before. “What did mean when you said you would not let us get away without getting revenge?” he demanded.

  Mehta shrugged. “Well, if I can"t use project Kumbhkaran, I don"t think anyone else should either.” he said calmly.

  Arjun brought his face close to Mehta"s. “What have you done?” “Did you notice the vapor nature of the gas inside the container of my subject?” Mehta asked conversationally. “It"s a form of depressant developed specially for my modern Kumbhkaran.” He paused, as comprehension dawned on Arjun"s face. “I arranged for him to get a lower dose when I found out about DoctorFahim"s intention to get the container. Soon the vapors of the drug will evaporate, and Kumbhkaran"s footsteps will shake the earth again.”

  Arjun stared at him, for once not knowing how to handle a crisis. Someone stronger then even Neel... “How much time is left?” he asked, fighting to keep his voice calm. “Well, let"s see.” Mehta mused. “Today would be the second day. And the time is…” he tilted his head and looked at Arjun"s wristwatch. Then he smiled fully, a disturbingly humorless contortion of his face muscles as he glanced up at Arjun.

  “Time"s up.”

  * * * Neel listened to the conversation on the other end, his heart pounding. Then he heard the sound of metal bending and breaking in the background. He switched off the mobile and took a deep breath, trying to calm himself. But it was no use. />
  Rage boiling in his veins, he leapt off the building in the direction of the forest.

  * * *

  Divya watched in horror as the container shook and trembled. The monster inside was coming to life. Disjointed thoughts ran through her mind.

  Mehta concentrated on simply increasing the strength… Kumbhkaran… stronger than Neel… the container made of the same alloy used to make tanks…

  Doctor Fahim stood rooted in front of the container, mesmerized. Slowly, as if by accident, a hand broke through one side of the container. The shaking stopped, as though the monster was unconscious again. But suddenly, the hand convulsed, and the container was ripped apart, sending shards of metal everywhere. And like a modern day Frankenstein"s monster, it emerged

  More than eight feet tall. Arms and chest the size of a car. Legs as thick as tree trunks. Gigantic hands flexing slowly, it stood on top of the wreckage. Little remained other than its general body shape to show it had ever been human. The features were twisted and scarred as though they had been melted. The skin was rough and blackened, and pinpricks covered his entire body, where innumerable injections had entered his skin. Tiny eyes almost invisible beneath jutting eyebrows peered out, and the mouth opened to reveal a gaping hole with most of the teeth missing.

  The creature seemed to be confused, as though it was still recovering from the effects of the depressant. It lurched slightly as it swung around, examining its surroundings.

  Doctor Fahim stepped closer to the monster. Tears were flowing down his cheeks in a thick stream. His heart was breaking inside him.

  “What have they done to you, Asif?” he whispered, watching the countless scars covering his son"s body. The monster stiffened at the sound of the voice, and swung around towards Doctor Fahim. They looked at each other for a long, long time. But there was no recognition in the small eyes embedded deep inside the twisted face. There was no trace of Asif Fahim left.