The Dust Will Never Settle

by Deva, Mukul

  The words seemed prophetic now.

  A clap of thunder boomed out. Lightning lacerated the sky, intermittently lighting up the road outside.

  Just do it! The Nike advertisement tugged at her. And just like that, it all became clear to Ruby.

  I will show you… all of you… The transition from confused woman to committed freedom-fighter was swift.

  Large drops of rain began to hammer on the windowpanes. The drumming sound eventually dulled her into a deep sleep.

  ‘Why didn’t you tell me, sir?’ Mohite asked, peeved.

  ‘About what, Mohite?’ Though it was past midnight, Ravinder spoke patiently.

  ‘About the Israeli commando team that has reached Delhi and is now on its way to Amritsar.’

  ‘Who told you?’ Ravinder asked, even though he already knew.

  ‘I had gone to meet Thakur sahib and he mentioned it.’

  ‘You didn’t need to know, Govind.’ Ravinder hardened his tone, just enough to let Mohite know who was in charge.

  ‘Foreign agents are running around all over our country with guns and I don’t need to know? Thakur sahib thought it fit to let me know.’

  ‘Then from now on, I suggest you ask him to keep you informed!’ Ravinder slammed down the phone.

  Day Five

  Dawn was lighting up the horizon when Ruby woke up. The rain had stopped but the sky was overcast. A stubborn sun struggled to make its presence felt.

  Her eyes strayed to her wristwatch.

  Five days left for the Summit.

  Suddenly she was bursting with energy, as though the night’s rain had washed away her confusions. She thrust herself out of bed. She knew what she needed to do.

  The foul aftertaste of last night’s conversation with Mohite was still in his mouth when Ravinder heard his mobile ring. He was in no mood to talk with that arsehole again… not first thing in the morning, at least. He checked the calling number. It was an unknown.

  ‘Good morning, Mr Gill.’ It was Ido Peled. ‘We have heard from one of our sources in Pakistan that Saeed Anwar is going to be at a safehouse near Lahore. Our director asked me to let you know that we would like to send our team in now.’

  ‘Be my guest, Ido. I’ll put out the word.’ Ravinder suddenly felt lighter. ‘And all the best.’

  ‘Thank you, sir.’ Peled rang off.

  I hope they get the bastard… dead or alive… one less problem for us to deal with. The phone rang again. This time he picked it up eagerly.

  The conversation with Sanjeev Nanda was brief. Ravinder knew that if Nanda said they needed to meet, it was important.

  ‘Delhi Gymkhana,’ he told the driver as he settled into the official Scorpio SUV. The red light whirled as the car inched through traffic. Ravinder was not too fond of it. He winced as the driver blew the horn long and loud. Despite this, the drive took about thirty minutes.

  ‘Whatever he has to offer, it better be good,’ Ravinder muttered as he entered the club.

  Nanda was at the corner table in the Gymkhana bar where they usually met. Ravinder had to smile as he took in Nanda’s snazzy Armani suit, the gold Rolex and his diamond embedded tie clip. He has definitely changed, Ravinder reflected. Who says crime doesn’t pay?

  He remembered the first time they had met.

  Ravinder was in Narcotics. All of five weeks in the department, totally green behind the ears, but full of energy. Nanda was the first croak he had ever turned.

  They nabbed a Nigerian drug peddler with two kilos of cocaine but Ravinder decided to take a gamble and let him go. In the subsequent weeks, the Nigerian led them to ten others selling the stuff. Eager to take down the kingpins, Ravinder had them all put under surveillance. They led him to Sanjeev Nanda, who was caught with enough coke to lock him up for a very, very long time. Ravinder then took another risk. His intuition told him that Nanda was not the big man and that he was weasel enough to shop the main guy to save his own hide.

  ‘You will not peddle again,’ Ravinder warned as they cut the deal. ‘If I ever come to know that you are, all bets are off.’

  ‘Never, sir.’ Nanda had crossed his heart theatrically. ‘I swear on my mother’s soul.’

  Nanda’s patently false sincerity made Ravinder sorry for his mother’s soul.

  ‘What else do you have to offer?’

  ‘You tell me, sir,’ Nanda said smugly, assuming the cop was expecting a bribe.

  ‘I want you to keep your eyes open and an ear to the ground,’ Ravinder said, surprising him. A clean cop was a rarity. And honesty was certainly not a career enhancing attribute, not in this profession. ‘Whenever you come across something big, I want to know.’

  Nanda felt uncertain. If the others ever found out that he was a snitch, he would have a short life and a most unpleasant end.

  Ravinder sensed his fear. ‘This will remain strictly between you and me. No one else needs to know… ever.’ Nanda looked a little calmer. ‘And you will be paid. I will ensure that.’

  That had sealed the deal. And so, every now and then, Nanda called Ravinder. Every meeting had proved to be worthwhile for both. Nanda enhanced his riches and Ravinder acquired the reputation of a ferocious crime-buster.

  ‘You are looking well, sir.’ Nanda stood up and offered his hand.

  ‘Not as well as you, my friend. Certainly not as well as you.’ Throwing a quick look around, Ravinder sat down opposite him. ‘So, what do you have for me today?’

  ‘Straight to business as usual, sir. You haven’t changed a bit. A cup of tea or coffee first?’

  ‘Not today, Sanjeev. Tell me… what’s up?’ Ravinder’s face was sombre as he listened to Nanda’s narrative. And his excitement escalated. Could this be the big attack that Jennifer had mentioned?

  ‘There are two of them?’ he said finally.

  ‘Yes, sir. Mark, the Irish guy who got in touch with me, and then the second one he went and met with right after that – a woman, I think, but I cannot be sure. The car windows had dark film on them.’

  ‘Anything else you can tell me? Which car she was in, the registration number?’

  ‘Sorry, sir.’ Nanda gave a sheepish smile. ‘I was too far away, but it was a cream-coloured Toyota Innova.’

  Ravinder couldn’t mask his disappointment. There were thousands of those in Delhi.

  ‘This guy, Mark? What’s his full name? Where is he staying?’

  ‘I don’t know, sir.’ Another sheepish smile. ‘I’ve dealt with him just once before… a while ago… it was a small, cash-and-carry deal… so…’ He shrugged.

  ‘But you’re sure that’s his real name?’

  ‘Well…’ Nanda pulled a dubious moue. ‘Not really. But that’s what he called himself when we met.’

  ‘When are you handing over the guns?’

  ‘Day after. Wednesday.’

  ‘Where?’

  ‘He said he’d call me.’

  ‘You have the number he calls you from?’

  ‘I did check on that. He used a public phone both times.’

  ‘The same one?’

  ‘No. Different both times – from different parts of the city.’

  Ravinder nodded, disappointed but not surprised. It had been a long shot. ‘Fine. Call me as soon as he gets in touch with you.’

  Nanda hesitated. ‘Sir, I am going to make the delivery personally… I hope your people will be careful when they…’ He trailed off.

  ‘Don’t worry. I will oversee the assignment myself.’

  Ravinder was feeling elated, yet a trifle anxious as he headed back to his office. This could be the break he had been hoping for. He only wished he could be sure what their target was – the Games or the Summit?

  Oh, well. Ravinder shrugged. Even this was heaven sent. He knew that Thakur, keen to show the PM he was doing well at his new assignment, would be thrilled when they caught the terrorists. He called Mohite and brought him up to speed.

  ‘Could this be what that CIA woman Jennifer was talking abou
t? She said the Lashkar had hired British mercs to strike Delhi.’

  ‘They may well be the same… though she said British and this Mark guy is Irish.’

  ‘Yeah, yeah. British, Irish, what’s the difference? These firangis are all the same.’

  ‘Never mind, Govind.’ Ravinder sighed.

  ‘This is fantastic!’ Mohite was excited. ‘Thakur sahib will be very pleased.’

  ‘Yes, but keep this under your hat for now. Let’s only talk to him about it once we nab them.’

  ‘I agree. Like a surprise gift.’

  ‘Yeah, like a surprise gift.’ Ravinder tried to contain his sarcasm. ‘Have a team on standby from tomorrow night. They should be ready to move at short notice. I will go with them. And you will accompany me.’

  He got out of the car as it halted outside his office. The sun had vanished again. The sky was the colour of concrete. Growls of thunder were making their presence felt.

  ‘There is someone here to meet you, sir,’ Gyan said sheepishly as he waited for Ravinder at his office door. ‘I tried to tell her that she could not meet you without an appointment, but she insisted. She said she is…’

  ‘Who is it?’ Ravinder frowned as he pushed open the door. Then he came to a dead stop.

  ‘Oh my God! Ruby.’ The stunned whisper was a half-question. ‘You look just like your mother.’

  ‘Yes, father, that is what everyone says.’

  There was a tense silence as the two strangers stood looking at each other.

  ‘You used to call me daddy… always.’ Ravinder’s voice was a strangled whisper.

  ‘I know. And you called me princess. But then you left us.’ Ruby couldn’t conceal her bitterness.

  Her words stabbed him like a hot knife.

  He took a step towards Ruby; he was aching to embrace her. ‘No! I didn’t.’ He halted, uncertain.

  ‘All these years…’ Her voice shook. ‘I waited for you to come looking.’ She could feel tears begin to build. The crafty, focused fighter who had planned this visit was furious for displaying the slightest hint of emotion.

  Reining in her tears, she began again. ‘Every morning I would wake up and hope you would come back. Every day, I would come out from school and hope to see you there. Every night I used to pray…’ She started to cry.

  ‘Ruby, I did look for you, but…’ Ravinder could not go on, nor could he stem the tears that had begun to trickle down. He realized that Gyan was still standing behind him and wanted him gone. Without turning, he said, ‘Gyan, get us some tea.’

  He walked up to Ruby, but instead of embracing her as he was aching to do, he took her by the arm and said, ‘Come… please sit down.’

  Ruby felt a rush of emotion. Despite all her planning, the warrior and the woman, both had been blown off their feet.

  Her eyes fell on two mahogany photo frames placed on Ravinder’s desk. One photo had Ravinder posing next to a regal looking woman, a pretty teenage girl between them. The one on the right caught Ruby’s attention.

  A little girl in a pink frock was standing on a chair, smiling, a huge three-tier cake with a princess on top placed in front of her. The princess too was in a pink frock.

  It was the same photo she had forced her mother to have enlarged. And the only one Ruby had ever hung on her bedroom wall.

  Ravinder followed her glance. ‘That was on your third birthday,’ he said softly.

  ‘I know. I remember. That was the last one all three of us spent together.’ She looked away. ‘Then you left. Just two weeks before my fourth…’ Her voice broke.

  ‘No, princess, I did not leave.’ Ravinder’s voice choked. ‘I don’t know what your mother told you, but it was not I who left.’

  ‘No one told me anything. And today you can say anything you want, there is no one left to tell the other side of the story.’

  ‘Ruby, you must believe…’ Ravinder broke off when he realized what Ruby had said. ‘What? What did you say?’ He paused, suddenly afraid. ‘Where is Rehana?’

  ‘She is not with us any more.’

  ‘W-what happened?’ He could barely speak. ‘Does it matter?’

  ‘Yes, it does!’ Ravinder was shocked, but he could see how terribly she was hurting. He wanted to hold her tight… the way he had done when she was small. ‘Ruby, I really, really loved her.’

  His words struck Ruby like hammer blows. That wasn’t what Rehana had told her.

  ‘Rehana meant the world to me,’ he repeated.

  Just then Gyan entered with a tray. They sat in silence as he poured the tea and placed a plate of biscuits between them. The aroma of freshly brewed tea filled the room. Ravinder waited for him to leave.

  ‘I hunted everywhere for both of you when Rehana left, but…’ The phone rang. Ravinder felt a surge of irritation, and then remembered they were in his office. He gave Ruby an apologetic look and took the call.

  ‘We cannot talk here,’ he said to Ruby when he had finished. ‘There will always be something or the other interrupting us.’ He thought for a moment. ‘Tell me, where are you staying?’

  ‘At the Hyatt Regency.’

  ‘Not any longer.’ Ravinder had made up his mind. ‘You’re coming home to stay with me – with us.’

  ‘Are you sure?’ Ruby asked, looking at the family photograph on his table.

  He nodded. ‘That is my wife Simran and my daughter Jasmine.’ He paused. ‘I remarried a few years after Rehana sent me the divorce documents and… that was the last I heard from your mother.’ The pause this time was longer and more awkward. ‘It will be okay with them.’

  ‘Okay.’ Ruby felt a flash of triumph run through her – she was in.

  ‘Okay, then.’ Ravinder scribbled his address and handed it to her. ‘When should I expect you?’

  Ruby looked at her watch. ‘Would it be okay if I get there by about five?’

  ‘That will be perfect.’

  He followed Ruby to the door. She was almost out when his voice stopped her.

  ‘Ruby, there is a lot unsaid between us,’ he began hesitantly. ‘I do not know what Rehana told you about what happened between us. No matter what you believe, I want you to know this – I loved you then, Ruby, more than you can imagine, and I love you now. I am grateful God has given us this chance to be together again. And I will do my best to make things right. I do not want this opportunity to pass… not without giving it my best shot.’ He broke eye contact, feeling wetness creep into his eyes. ‘But I don’t know where to start, Ruby… will you help me? Please?’

  Ruby could not speak, her throat was choked with emotion. A part of her knew that this man standing before her, the father she had once loved and doted on, meant every word he was saying. ‘I don’t know either, father… I am not sure if I am big enough to forget… or forgive.’ She drew a deep breath. ‘But I will try.’ The double agent had no idea when the girl within slipped those words past her.

  Then Ruby was gone, leaving Ravinder in a whirlpool of emotions – happy, but also uncertain. He took a couple of minutes to gather himself before heading for his car.

  He was opening the door to get in when Gyan came running out. ‘Sir, there’s an urgent call for you. Minister sahib wants to talk to you immediately.’

  ‘What is this I am hearing, Gill?’ Thakur sounded in a foul mood. ‘The American and British agents are complaining that they are not getting enough cooperation from your people.’

  ‘I am afraid I have heard nothing about this, sir, but I will look into it right away.’

  ‘How come you don’t know what’s going on in your department? Mohite knows. He was just telling me about it.’

  Damn that son of a bitch. ‘Don’t worry, sir. I will take care of the problem.’

  ‘How can I not worry? You don’t seem to understand how important this Peace Summit is for me… for India. The whole world will be watching. This is our chance to…’ Ravinder tuned out as Thakur took off. He was waiting patiently for the call to end when something Thak
ur was saying caught his attention.

  ‘… it is very important that we capture these terrorists alive. Mohite was telling me they could be the key to a much larger operation. Have we found out anything else about them?’

  Realizing that Mohite had blabbed about the tip Nanda had given him, despite having been told to keep it under wraps, Ravinder decided it was time to put Mohite on the firing line. He’d keep him so busy that the idiot would have no time for squealing to the minister behind his back. ‘Not yet, sir, but we are working on it. In fact, since we all know how critical it is, I am putting Mohite in charge of this operation.’

  ‘Good idea, Gill. We should allow Govind to live up to his potential.’ Thakur sounded pleased. ‘That man has promise. He will go places.’

  Yeah, sure! Ravinder grimaced. Especially with you watching out for him.

  Ravinder headed back to his car. He needed to talk to Simran before Ruby reached home. It was not a conversation he was looking forward to, but it had to be done. He wished all this was not happening right now. Not when he needed to focus on the Summit and the Games. But… he shrugged fatalistically… things happen when they are meant to.

  There was a loud thunderclap and it began to rain. Soon a thick curtain of rain enveloped the car, making it even harder to see things clearly.

  When Ravinder walked in, the house was in an uproar. The maids, the gardener and the driver were running around with buckets and mops. Standing in the centre of the living room, Simran was busy supervising.

  ‘What happened?’

  ‘What else?’ Simran replied with an exasperated cluck. ‘These damn government houses! Some new problem every day.’ She paused to instruct a maid before turning to him. ‘Now the upstairs bathroom drain has choked. We have water seeping into the kitchen from every corner.’

  Ravinder opened his mouth to suggest something when he realized he was out of his depth with this one. ‘Should I have someone from my office look into it?’ he finally asked.