The Dust Will Never Settle

by Deva, Mukul

  He got ready and headed out. There were a million things to check, to secure. Whatever was coming at them, it had to be stopped. And Ravinder knew that something… someone was.

  The surveillance team was crawling along in fits and starts to make sure Ruby did not stray from their sight, yet not getting close enough to be spotted.

  Not once did Ruby turn to look over her shoulder. She had heard the car start and knew she was being followed. Slowly, imperceptibly, she began to pick up her pace, but stayed on the road, where it would be easy for them to keep an eye on her. The car speeded up commensurately, as though tied to her with an invisible umbilical cord.

  Barring the occasional vehicle and a handful of other morning walkers and joggers, the four-laned road – a green, waist-high, metallic barrier in the middle – was almost empty. Ruby swerved around an elderly couple, chancing a quick glance over her shoulder. Sure enough, the cop car was there. She stayed the course for another two hundred metres. Now there was no break in the metallic divider for maybe a mile on either side. She slowed down and began to bide her time. A minute later the opportunity presented itself.

  She could see that the auto-rickshaw coming on the other side was empty. She waited till it was almost abreast with her and with a burst of speed, she headed straight for the barrier. By the time she hit it she was sprinting. Her left hand reached out, landed on the top rail and leveraged her body across in a neat vault. Ruby landed almost in front of the rickshaw. Grabbing a five-hundred-rupee note from her pocket, she thrust it in the startled driver’s hand.

  ‘Hyatt Regency. Fast. Very fast.’

  The money did wonders to the rickshaw driver’s driving skills. Like Schumacher hitting home stretch, the vehicle shot away as fast as its rickety engine would allow.

  By the time the surveillance car accelerated and made a U-turn at the next traffic island, her auto was long gone.

  The surveillance team took two swift passes on both sides of the Ring Road, even stopped several auto-rickshaws, but to little avail.

  Ruby had vanished.

  Once in the hotel, Ruby headed for the sky-blue Maruti van left by Mark in the basement parking lot. Three minutes later she drove out. This was a part of Delhi she had familiarized herself with, and knew that to get to the Ashoka hotel she had to take a U-turn, go down the road till the next traffic signal and then turn left. At this time of morning, it would be a tenor fifteen-minute drive at best. Handling the manual gearshift a trifle gingerly, she drove at a sedate pace, ensuring she drew no attention.

  The 84mm Carl Gustaf rocket launcher and ammunition box kept under a tarp in the luggage section made dull, thudding sounds as the van crossed a rough patch just short off the Chanakya Complex.

  Ashoka hotel lay dead ahead.

  ‘What do you mean you lost her? How the hell can you lose a person jogging on the road at this time of the morning?’ Ravinder drew a deep breath, struggling to regain his composure. ‘Do everything you can to find her and call me back.’ Then he dialled Chance’s room. ‘Ruby is on the loose. They lost her.’ He could sense the man’s muttered curses though he couldn’t really hear them.

  ‘I’ll ensure the top floor is secure with Ido.’ Chance was now fully alert. ‘I‘ll tell Jennifer to man the seventh.’

  ‘All right,’ Ravinder replied. ‘I’ll join her in a minute. I want to first go down and check that the lobby and gates are secure.’ He stopped at the control room to order a Code Red alert. ‘It is a drill,’ he replied when the duty officer asked him why. ‘I want to check things before the PM gets here. Move it!’

  Satisfied that nothing could get through the inner cordon, Ravinder raced down. He had an urge to call Ruby and ask her where she was. Not unusual for a father to do.

  At this hour of the morning? Why not?

  Then deciding to give it a little more time, he headed for the security posts at the gates. Both were alert.

  Everything seemed normal – so far.

  The next hour passed slowly. Code Red was on. Guns were at the ready. Fingers hovered close to triggers.

  Across the road, driving slowly past the hotel, Ruby caught a glimpse of Ravinder pacing between the two gates. The security men at both gates looked alert, weapons at the ready. They had adopted an all-round defence, ensuring anything coming in could be covered and, if required, cut down immediately. A couple of handlers with sniffer dogs prowled in front of the porch.

  So they were all alert. She had expected this.

  She watched Ravinder with mixed feelings till her van had moved past. Before any ambivalence could set in, she pushed away all thought and focused.

  Rehana has to be avenged. And Yusuf uncle… and thousands of others. I will not let these bastards sell us down the road.

  Her hardness returned, bringing with it the clarity she needed.

  How long will these buggers stay alert?

  She knew that nothing could be guarded in totality. Especially if the attacker no longer cares for her life.

  The last thought caught her by surprise. She let it turn in her head as the van headed back the way it had come, with Nehru Park on her right. By the time she had taken a U-turn and brought it to a halt in the parking lot near the park gates, the thought had crystallized. She was not afraid to die. If that was the price to be paid for the conference to be ruined, she would pay it.

  I will make my mother proud.

  She locked the van and made her way back on foot towards the hotel, stopping when the main gate came into view. Confirming that none of the security cameras on the hotel’s walls were pointed at her, she settled down under a tree. To wait and to watch.

  Now that her mind was not acting up, she could sit there the whole day.

  Soon she saw things at the hotel gates settle down and return to normal. Body postures became less aggressive. Rifles were slung back on shoulders. Even the dogs stopped patrolling.

  Code Reds cannot last forever.

  Ruby knew this. She had planned on it.

  Ravinder was pacing between the gates when Mohite came out, looking sharp in a new, perfectly fitted and ironed uniform.

  ‘You called a Code Red, sir? What is the problem?’

  ‘That was almost thirty minutes ago, Govind.’

  ‘I know, sir. The control room officer called me, but he said it was only a drill.’ There was no hint of contriteness on his face. ‘I was getting ready to receive the minister, sir.’

  ‘Just a drill, Govind?’ Ravinder gave a soft sigh. Did he need to be reminded that a drill meant everyone responded? Especially at his level? Oh, fuck it! ‘Yeah, just a drill,’ Ravinder repeated.

  ‘Oh!’ Mohite pouted, then shrugged. ‘Would you like me to call it off now?’

  ‘No. The PM is due shortly.’ He checked his watch. It was almost eight.

  ‘Actually, that is a good idea. Thakur sahib is about to arrive… I just spoke to his aide. It is good if he sees everything on high alert.’

  Ravinder was about to unleash a scathing retort when Thakur’s mini-cavalcade drove up – a security vehicle in front and two behind Thakur’s Toyota Camry. Except for the driver, Ravinder did not see any security personnel in the last vehicle, but this did not surprise him. He had learnt early on that the home minister was superstitious. He did not consider the number three auspicious, hence the fourth car.

  People and their eccentricities. Ravinder bit back a smile. Then he remembered his own phobia of the number thirteen. Forcing a smile, he went forward to meet the minister.

  Mohite was already four steps ahead.

  Ravinder’s smile had faded well before the minister entered the elevator to the eighth floor. Ruby’s absence worried him. He pulled out his phone and dialled her mobile.

  Sitting in the park, camouflaged by the tree she was backed up against, Ruby watched the home minister’s convoy zoom down the road and enter the hotel. It was just a few minutes past eight.

  A little later she felt the phone vibrate in her pocket. She gave a
quick glance at the calling number. It was Ravinder. She returned the phone to her pocket. The next time it rang, she ignored it.

  She was observing the patterns of movement at and between the gate security posts and the roadblocks on either side.

  Sirens rent the air again. A longer cavalcade swept in, led by two motorcycle outriders. A dozen-odd cars swept past the gates and came to a sharp stop at the porch. Security men leaped out. Hard, alert eyes raked the area. When it became certain there was no threat, one of the PSOs opened the rear door of the Mercedes 500 SEL at the centre of the convoy and the Indian PM emerged, a bespectacled, slightly built Sikh, clad in white, with a light blue turban. Ruby caught a brief glimpse of him before a ring of Kevlar-clad bodies closed in around him. They vanished into the hotel.

  Both the gate security posts, now reinforced by the PM’s men, looked alert and keyed-up, their stance aggressive and weapons ready. Any move towards them now would be met with a fiery response.

  But she was in no hurry. Rocking back on her heels, she settled down to wait, her yoga-hard body ensuring she was at rest. Her eyes stayed on her target.

  An hour later the PM emerged, once again surrounded by armed men. He stepped into his Mercedes and the cavalcade disappeared. Within minutes she noted a change in the security men at the gates. They did not all sit down, but a softening was apparent. Here and there a cup of tea emerged. Even the occasional cigarette.

  Ruby smiled. It was the same the world over.

  An hour later, she took out her mobile phone, inserted a new SIM card and called the police control room. Her whispered bomb threat provoked an instant response. The change in stance of the security details was instantaneous. A beehive of activity erupted. Teams of security men armed with metal detectors and sniffer dogs began to sweep the hotel.

  Ruby knew it would be a while before the alert was called off. They would have to scan and clear the hotel. She would do all that she could to tire them out. To make the red alerts common so they’d get used to them. That would be when lapses would occur.

  Satisfied, she returned to the van, dropped it off in the parking lot of the Hyatt, walked across to the crowded passport office, and caught a cab back to the house.

  ‘She is back? When?’ Ravinder said on the phone. ‘How did she get back? Did you speak to the cab driver then? Where did he pick her up? I see.’

  With the bomb threat having proved to be a hoax, and the Summit now safely underway, Ravinder was returning to the control room when the surveillance leader called. Having given up trying to find her, the team had fallen back to the house to wait for her to resurface.

  He mulled over this for a minute and decided it was time to change tactics. He again dialled Ruby’s mobile. Where the hell had she gone and what had she been up to?

  A grim smile crossed Ruby’s face as her mobile rang. She had been expecting the call.

  ‘Where did you go, Ruby? I was so worried. I have been trying to call you for some hours now.’

  ‘I went out for a run, father. Sorry, I left my phone behind. I just got back.’

  ‘Why did you ditch the security car? We were so worried about you.’

  ‘I didn’t realize there was one with me.’

  ‘Come on, Ruby. After that night’s fiasco… do I need to spell it out? You can’t take such risks. We never know who else is out there.’

  ‘I am sorry, father. It will not happen again.’

  ‘But where did you run off like that?’

  ‘Well, I got tired of jogging and did not want to return… too much on my mind, I guess. Then I remembered Jasmine mentioning that the Red Fort is worth a visit early in the morning, so I caught an auto-rickshaw and went off to see it.’

  ‘But…’ Ravinder broke off, realizing he could not let her know that the driver of her cab had told them that she had hailed him from near the passport office in Bhikaji Cama Place, nowhere close to the Red Fort. ‘Anyway, I’m glad you’re safe. From now on, whenever you wish to go anywhere, just tell the team and travel with them in their car. That will make it easy for everyone.’

  ‘Not a problem, dad. I will do that. Thanks.’

  The distaste of deceit lay heavy with both when the call ended.

  Ruby wondered how much he knew. He had to know something, else why the surveillance? But if he had been able to confirm whatever Chance may have told him, he would not have allowed her to run free. Would he?

  Is he just concerned about me – like a father would be? Ravinder too wondered what she had been up to. Am I just tarring her with the same brush because of Rehana? Maybe she does not really know the reality of Rehana… and Yusuf.

  With the Summit in progress, Ravinder returned to his room and went to work. The next few hours passed quickly as he coordinated between Ashish and Mohite, ensuring that things at both ends proceeded smoothly.

  The spate of false alarms, sightings, unidentified bags and suspicious people was keeping the cops terribly busy. For several months now, the Delhi Police had been conducting awareness training for waiters, cab drivers, private security guards and shopkeepers. They had all been told to keep their eyes and ears open and report such things, and it seemed a lot of them had taken the briefings seriously.

  Each call had to be investigated. But so far, none had resulted in anything meaningful. Nothing, however, could be ignored.

  Although he tried not to think of it, he could not forget that it was thirteenth October.

  Bad things happen on the thirteenth.

  Ruby spent the rest of the day in her room, waiting.

  ‘The wait is always a bitch.’ Mark’s words came back to her. She grinned and then remembered Mark was dead and gone. The grin evaporated.

  The Summit had made no real progress on day one, but the ice was broken. Both sides had at least acknowledged that the killing would only end if they talked. As the day progressed, a rapport was established and hope brightened.

  Ravinder’s tension escalated as the day wound down. Though he tried hard, he was unable to forget that today was the thirteenth. The hourly calls from the surveillance team which confirmed that Ruby had not moved should have helped, but didn’t.

  Have I been so wrapped up in Ruby that I missed some other, more real, threat?

  With every passing hour new questions cropped up to plague him. As darkness closed in, his anxiety increased.

  In Muridke, Pakistan, his eyes and ears riveted to the news channels, Pasha eagerly awaited word of his assassin’s strike. Anticipation turned to disappointment and then to fury as the curtain came down on the first day of the Summit. He was unable to sit still any longer.

  Day Eleven

  The new dawn brought with it an overcast sky. The first sign of the heavy fog that paralyses most parts of north India during winters appeared.

  Ravinder again awoke early. Some primal cop instinct was gnawing at him. He dialled his home phone, a direct line to his bedroom and study. Simran was the only one who answered it when he was not home. She picked up on the first ring, as though she had been waiting for him to call.

  ‘Are you all right?’ she asked. ‘I am fine, love.’

  ‘I was worried. I wanted to call, but I did not want to disturb you. I know how busy you must be right now.’

  For a moment they shared the comfort of silence. ‘Simran, I wanted to check on Ruby. How is she?’

  ‘I think she is okay, but other than her morning run, she has not left her room. I had to send all her meals to her room. Not that she ate much.’

  ‘I see. Is she still there?’

  ‘I think so. I didn’t hear her go down. You want me to check?’

  ‘Could you, please? But quietly. I don’t want her to know you are checking on her.’

  ‘Hang on.’

  He heard Simran put down the phone and walk to the door. Then silence. He was starting to worry when he heard a crackling sound as she picked up the receiver.

  ‘She is there. I peeped in and she is still sleeping.’

/>   ‘Hmm… okay.’ Something was tugging at his mind but he was not sure what. ‘Right, then. I will call again when I can.’

  ‘And take care of yourself.’

  ‘I will.’

  ‘Have you eaten?’

  ‘I will now.’

  ‘Don’t forget. You get a headache when you skip meals.’

  ‘I won’t forget.’

  ‘Ravinder, if you want I can check on Ruby again.’

  ‘No, don’t fret about it. The surveillance car is at the gate. They’ll let me know if she steps out.’

  He sensed that Simran wanted to say more. He did too, but somehow this did not seem like the right time. It was only later that he remembered there is never a bad time to tell someone you love them.

  Still uneasy, Ravinder put down the phone and went out to run a check on the security set-up. And he did forget to eat. And he did get a headache.

  Ruby counted to thirty after the door had closed before she threw off the bedcover and left her bed.

  She had heard someone walking up to her door, the footsteps muted, as though the person was trying not to be heard.

  Someone up to no good.

  She had pulled the bedcover over her body, right up to her neck, leaving her face uncovered

  She glimpsed the door crack open silently and saw Simran peep in. Ruby pretended to be asleep. Then Simran’s face vanished.

  Ruby ghost-footed to the door and listened. She heard only silence outside. She carefully slid the door open and peered out. An empty corridor met her eyes. Six quick steps and she was at the door of Ravinder’s bedroom. She could hear Simran’s voice and placed her ear against the door to listen carefully.

  ‘Ravinder, if you want I can check on Ruby again,’ she heard Simran say. Moments later she heard the phone being put down. Ruby returned silently to her bedroom, filled with anger.

  So, they are checking on me. They suspect… But maybe daddy is just worried… But then he would have called me, not Simran!