by Mukul Deva
Unwilling to talk openly with Mohite around, Ravinder waited till he was alone before speaking with Chance again. “I am going home now. Let me see what Ruby is up to.”
“Do that. Keep her with you as much as possible.”
“Where are you headed?”
“Back to the hotel to check out the deployment again. I am still not happy with how the security guys are responding to the emergency drill.”
He was walking away when a thought struck Ravinder. He felt sure it would work, but it would require more than a single pair of hands. He also knew he could trust Chance to help make it happen.
“Chance, one second.” Calling him back, Ravinder explained what he had in mind. “What do you think?”
“Using decoy delegates in case of an attempted strike on the summit is a brilliant idea.” Chance sounded excited. “It will keep them safe and also, if we use armed decoys, give us a chance to take down the attackers.”
“Great! But we’ll need more people.”
“You can count me in,” Chance assured him. “Who else do you have in mind? Mr. Mohite?”
“No. He already has too much to do.”
Chance had already sensed Ravinder’s disconnect with his second-in-command. “What about Jennifer?”
“She should do, but don’t brief her just yet.” Ravinder saw the query in Chance’s eyes. “The fewer who know, the better.” Pause. “Right now, women from the West are not too high on my list of trusted people.”
They both laughed, happy for that respite.
“Right.” Chance nodded. “How about Ido Peled?”
“Yes, he should be good. I’ll speak to him right away.”
“Cool. Later, when the time is right, I can speak to Jennifer.”
“Yes. Between the four of us, we can ensure both floors are sealed off and all the delegates guarded. I will detail four of my people … people I can rely on totally, to act as escorts.”
“Fair enough,” Chance concurred. “What about the decoys?”
Ravinder ran over his options. “I think our best bet is the National Security Guards. Kaul, the NSG Director General, is my batch mate and a good friend. He will give us the thirteen decoys we need.”
Once again, that bloody number. Ravinder pushed it away.
The two men quickly ran through the plan once more, fleshing it out to ensure nothing had been overlooked. The minute an attack was mounted on the summit, the delegates would be moved to another conference room, secured by Ido Peled. Chance would man the eighth floor and Jennifer the seventh, while Ravinder took charge of the control room. The thirteen decoys would be moved under armed escort to the alternate venue, the Samrat Hotel. The decoys would be used to draw out the attackers, who could then be neutralized.
Satisfied that they’d covered the critical points, they went their separate ways: Chance to Ashoka Hotel and Ravinder to call Kaul. He briefed the three guards at his house not to allow anyone out without clearing it with him. And also tasked a plainclothes team, three men including the driver, to mount surveillance on his house from sunrise to midnight.
“You must not let my daughter Ruby out of your sight even for a minute, and at the same time ensure she does not know you are watching her.” He noted the unspoken query on their faces. “There have been some threats,” he explained, “but she refuses to accept protection, hence…” He left the rest unsaid.
Ravinder’s mind was in turmoil as he started for home.
As the car hit the road, he checked his watch. The delegates would be arriving soon. For the games, athletes had already been landing in droves. There were uniforms and guns everywhere. Delhi, he sensed, was a city under siege. And not just Delhi.
India was leaving nothing to chance. From Kashmir to the borders in Punjab and Rajasthan, the army had swamped every possible infiltration point. The Indian Navy had more ships and boats along every foot of the coastline than there were fish in the waters. The airspace over Delhi was closed, and even scheduled commercial flights were being shepherded by the Indian Air Force. Paramilitary forces had barricaded every road and dirt track into the National Capital Region. The Delhi Police had borrowed every available cop from neighboring states; and had swept the streets clean of criminals. New tenants in every residential colony were visited by a beat constable and their credentials verified.
As Mohite had succinctly put it to Ravinder, “The NCR is locked down tight, boss. Tight as a virgin’s cunt.”
Ravinder had winced. A city the size and shape of Delhi could never be locked down completely. And the fact that the danger may already have penetrated the fort was a possibility he now could not ignore.
Coupled with this were the unprecedented rains that had not only flooded most roads, slowing traffic to an abysmal crawl, but had also brought an outbreak of dengue and conjunctivitis, which had laid low many of his cops. Everything that could had started going wrong.
* * *
Ruby was back home by the time the surveillance team deployed outside the Gills’ gate. Despite the run of bad luck, her day had been productive. She had not only finalized her attack plan, but had also briefed Ontong and Boucher, and mated them up with their vans and rocket launchers.
Both had balked when she told them what she expected them to do. But their objections faded when she pointed out that with Mark and Gerber out of the running, she was doubling their payout.
That settled, Ruby returned home, satisfied that things were back on track. Her new, abbreviated plan was as good as it could get in the altered circumstances.
* * *
When Ravinder arrived, Ruby was sitting with Jasmine on the lawn; the two were chatting merrily. Jasmine, in the thick of her final-semester exams, appeared to be sharing her excitement and stress with her sister. Ravinder could hear Jasmine narrating some incident about the moot court she was in at college.
Ruby broke out in laughter. Everything looked so normal. Looking at her, Ravinder found it hard to believe that she could be the one targeting the summit.
“What are my lovely girls up to?” Concealing his troubled thoughts with a warm smile, he walked up to them.
They both rose and hugged him. If there was anything else on Ruby’s mind, she hid it well. Doubt assailed him.
Am I being paranoid? Just because Rehana and her brother Yusuf were gung ho about Palestine, is it fair to tar her with the same brush? Could I be overlooking some other threat? Some other more real threat?
“I want to take Ruby shopping,” Jasmine’s voice intruded. “She wants to pick up some Indian clothes before she leaves.”
“Leaves?” Ravinder was surprised. “Where are you going, Ruby?”
“Home.” Ruby’s reply was tentative, as though she was not really sure what that word meant anymore. “I can’t stay here forever.” She laughed, a soft, almost embarrassed laugh.
“Oh!” Ravinder sensed she was watching him closely, but he was feeling stunned. Already worried about her possible involvment in the threat to the summit, this latest news added to his turmoil. He missed hers altogether.
“But before that we were planning to catch a movie.” Jasmine’s voice tugged at Ravinder. “Would you please have your office book the movie tickets?”
“Which movie?” Ravinder could still feel Ruby’s gaze on him. She was looking … confused? Expectant? He wasn’t sure. He sensed she was waiting for him to say something to her. What?
“Would you, please?” Jasmine again.
“Sure.” Ravinder nodded, glad to be able to focus on something practical and mundane; this continued emotional turbulence was getting too much for him to handle. He was feeling exhausted.
“Thanks, Daddy … you’re a sweetheart. We were thinking of Sex and the City … the new one. If you could book it at the Select Citywalk mall, then we can shop there after the movie.”
“I will take care of it, princess. You can use my car too.”
“But we’ll be out late. I don’t think we’ll be back before nine or te
n.”
“No problem. I’ll tell my office to send another car if I need it, but I don’t think I’ll be stepping out now. From tomorrow I’ll be staying at the hotel till … for the next few days.”
“You won’t be coming home at all?” Jasmine asked.
“No. Not till this event gets over. I need to ensure things go smoothly.”
“I am also going to be tied up at college for the next three days, moot court in the mornings and then we’re all planning to go to the various cultural events that are being held.”
“And you, Ruby? What are your plans?”
“Nothing special.” She now looked strangely subdued. “Just catch up on some more sightseeing … maybe take in a movie.”
“Why don’t you go with Jasmine for the cultural events? A lot of Bollywood stars are here for the games.”
“Maybe I will. Let’s see.”
“That’ll be fun.” Jasmine smiled. “Come, Ruby, let’s get ready.” She took Ruby’s arm and tugged.
“Okay, girls. Have fun.”
He gave them a hug each and watched them walk away. When out of earshot, he called his office and told them to book two tickets for the girls and two more a couple of rows behind for the surveillance. Then, knowing where they were going and which car they would be going in, he briefed them.
Ravinder ascended the stairs, a little confused, feeling he had missed something back there, but also happy that Ruby would be under close watch till late at night. Abruptly, an insiduous thought angled in. Will Jasmine be okay? If Ruby has indeed turned rogue, she could be dangerous.…
He froze, then continued climbing up; something in his heart refused to believe that Ruby would harm Jasmine. But he could not push away a little niggling doubt.
* * *
Watching Ravinder as they walked away, Ruby was hurting and puzzled. In light of his guarded behavior since that eventful lunch with Chance, she had expected …
Expected what? Ruby considered that. Is it only my guilty conscience at work?
Willing herself to focus on Jasmine, Ruby got engrossed in their conversation again, but deep inside she was far away; hurting but no longer sure if she was on the right path; he was her father, after all.
But he could have asked me to stay? He didn’t even offer it. If he had just offered it once … She felt like crying. Then. Am I being fair?
Doubt continued to breed. But as they drove off, Ruby picked up on the surveillance car.
So, he is having me followed. Her feeling of betrayal came back. Then on second thought, Maybe it’s normal procedure for the ATTF chief’s family. Maybe it’s just a security team. Doubts began to resurface.
Caught up in an annoying thrum, she tuned out Jasmine’s chatter, leaned deeper into her mind, and called on her inner reserves.
He didn’t even ask me to stay. The painful thought nagged her again.
Minutes later, her resolve was firm again. The hate was back. Ruby knew she could not falter.
Her eyes went to her wristwatch. Barely twenty hours left now. Soon the delegates would be in place.
The time to kill was rushing toward her.
Tuning in again to what Jasmine was saying, Ruby threw herself back into the game she was playing … I am being forced to play.
A firm head shake.
He did not even want to me stay.… What kind of father is he?
* * *
When Ravinder entered the bedroom, he could tell that Simran was worried. Several times in the past few days, she had tried to talk to him, but he’d pulled away, not knowing how much to share with her. Now he knew his silence was not helping her or the situation.
After closing the door, he sat beside her and began to talk. Starting from the beginning, he shared his story with her … and his fears.
When he finished, the house was silent. Neither realized the sun had set and darkness had crept in.
“I know how you must be feeling.” The caring in Simran’s voice reached out to him through the darkness. He realized that there were depths to her that he had not yet fathomed, despite all their years of togetherness.
Not fathomed or not wanted to fathom? He could not ignore this thought. Had he really given all to their marriage? Or have I let Rehana’s memories come between us? Guilt seized him.
“This must be so difficult for you.” Simran reached out and cupped his face in her hands. Her hands came away wet. “Don’t worry. I know you well, Ravinder. I know you will always do the right thing. Just trust your instincts.”
Ravinder felt an ache in his heart; he realized how deeply he cared for her, despite her bickering and nagging.
Then something inside him stirred. He reached out and folded her in a tight embrace. Their lips came together. The kiss soon became fierce. His fingers moved as though possessed with a life of their own. One by one her clothes came off. Simran moaned with joy as he entered her.
She moaned again as he came, her body arching up as she joined him. Then they lay together. Content. Surrounded by a shield of love.
Somewhere below, he heard a loud bang. Perhaps a door carelessly closed. Perhaps the wind. Reality returned with a thud.
“Do you think it is safe for Jasmine to have gone out with her?”
Ravinder shivered as Simran voiced the same fear he had felt. He did not know. Worse, he did not know how to tell Simran that he did not know.
They heard the front door open and the sounds of young girls in animated conversation floated up. The clattering of feet followed as Ruby and Jasmine came up the stairs.
“The next time they go out, I will also go with them,” Simran said as they heard the girls go into Ruby’s room and their voices died away.
“I was thinking of asking Jasmine to take Ruby to the opening ceremony of the games,” Ravinder mused out loud. He looked at Simran, as if for her approval. “There is nothing anyone can do to anyone there. It will be safe.”
“Yes. I will also go with them.”
Silence returned. A short while ago, it had been warm and full of love. Now it was cold and forbidding.
Ravinder shivered.
* * *
Ruby was exhausted by the time Jasmine decided to call it a night. Then, no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t sleep. After a while, she stopped trying and parked herself in the bay window overlooking the front lawn.
A full moon rode high, playing hide-and-seek between the fluffs of clouds. Ruby saw it all with unseeing eyes.
Her mind was far away, watching a happy little girl playing hide-and-seek with her parents. She could see Rehana and Ravinder hunt for her, walking slowly through the house.
“Come out, come out, wherever you are.…” Their singsong chants rang out, making her giggle as she hid in the bedroom cupboard.
Then Ravinder was no longer there. Only Rehana, and she did not seem happy. And the girl was no longer happy either. They both were quiet and subdued.
And soon Rehana too had vanished. The little girl was alone. Only not so little now. And she was angry. Really angry. And she felt betrayed.
* * *
Across the corridor, Ravinder also tossed and turned, dead tired by now, but unable to sleep. It was that nagging feeling of having missed something. Perhaps the feeling that he should have gone with the evidence and taken Ruby into custody. Perhaps that he could not reconcile with the fact that his daughter might be the enemy. Perhaps that look in Ruby’s eyes when Jasmine had mentioned she was leaving.
He felt an increasing foreboding that something awful was straining to be unleashed.
His uneasiness reached out to Simran. Lying awake beside him, she was so aware of the unhappy young woman who had disrupted their lives, who also might be in distress.
They lay in silence, almost touching.
Both waited for the endless night to recede.
* * *
Seven miles away as the crow flies, in his room at Ashoka Hotel, Chance was also unable to sleep. Though lying in bed, he was wide awake an
d wired. Finally he gave up. Having pulled out a Coke from the mini-bar, he parked himself near the window, watching the moon outside. The beauty of the calm October night slipped past unnoticed.
Like an erratically choreographed movie, bits of the past flowed through him. And always, hanging like a dark cloud over them, was the morrow slowly approaching. He wondered … hoped … that the days ahead would pass peacefully and it would all end well.
* * *
A few hundred miles to the north, standing on the porch of a LeT safe house near the Pakistani town of Muridke, Pasha also watched the same bright moon. He restlessly patrolled the porch, wondering how his assassin was faring. The shocking assault that had taken out Anwar and the total absence of communication from Ruby sickened him. The agent provocateur knew that even the best-trained and motivated agent could falter. But he also knew that the battle had already slipped out of his hands; as it always did once the mission had been launched.
Nothing to do now but wait. He knew. So he waited.
* * *
The neatly dressed man got out of the car and walked up to the main gate of the Gill home. He had a piece of paper in his hand and was referring to it as he approached, checking house numbers. Barring the occasional streetlamp, the street was dark.
“Excuse me,” he said to the guard standing outside, holding up the paper. “Can you please tell me where Mr. Mahajan stays?”
The sentry shouldered his rifle and held out his hand. “Show me the house number.”
The man drew closer.
The two other guards heard the exchange and came closer, curiosity more than anything else. Now all four men were just a few meters apart.
The sentry was taking the paper, so he failed to see the man’s right hand creep up to his waist. There was a soft click, which registered with none of the guards. And the bomb wrapped around the man’s waist went off with a thunderous roar. Nothing within six to seven meters remained standing.
All three guards and a part of the metal gate blew apart. The bomber himself disintegrated. Only one of the guards was far enough away to survive, but even he was knocked unconscious.
