Vimana

by Mainak Dhar

  It was now two against one, but the man with the snake eyes seemed to be holding his own, staying close so that his opponents could not use their handheld weapon, and countering them blow for blow. The man with the matted hair was however slowly but surely gaining an edge and Aaditya guessed that it was but a matter of time before he struck a killing blow.

  That was of course till further pandemonium was created by the arrival of two saucer-shaped flying vehicles. Six dark giants rappelled out of them, and the tables were neatly turned, with the man in the matted hair and the woman with him now going on the defensive. Seven against two turned out to be odds too heavy for them, and even though one of the attackers was soon lying lifeless on the ground, the others pressed home.

  If Aaditya had thought he had seen it all, one more flying vehicle appeared. This one was blue and seemed to be painted to resemble a peacock. It landed on the roof feet away from Aaditya, and a solitary figure leapt out and joined the melee. The newcomer was smaller than the other men, but moved with the grace and agility of a gymnast. He cartwheeled and rolled through the five men in black, striking so fast with a concealed blade that Aaditya could not even see a single blow land. When he had come up in a half crouch on the far side of the roof, Aaditya saw that three men were down. Now it was four versus three, and as another dark giant fell, Aaditya could see the man with the snake eyes begin to falter. His two remaining men were still engaged in a life or death struggle, but he had begun to move back slowly but surely.

  As the battle raged, Aaditya took his first close look at the blue craft that was near him. It had a tapered nose and a raised transparent canopy like many fighter jets but nothing else about it resembled any aircraft Aaditya had ever seen. There was no tail fin, no signs of any air intakes or jet engines. The fuselage was flat and thin as if it didn't have to be encumbered with things like fuel or engines, and as far as Aaditya could see, the aircraft was shaped like a triangle.

  Aaditya looked behind him to see that one of the saucer-shaped craft had now come within feet of the roof, and Snake Eyes had begun to move towards it. Unfortunately that brought Aaditya straight in his path. He stopped, glaring at Aaditya, murder glowing in his reptilian eyes, his blade at the ready. This is the end, Aaditya thought, when the man with the matted hair called out, 'Maya, you coward! Don't leave your daityas to die while you escape to your hellhole. At least die an honourable death.'

  Maya swerved out of the way as the trident that had been hurled his way missed him by mere inches. Aaditya saw that the cylinder that had been the cause of all this mayhem had fallen out of Maya's grasp and the woman had picked it up. The two remaining giants, who had been referred to as daityas, were still trying to hold back their opponents in order to give their leader a chance to escape. Maya now resumed his retreat, running towards the waiting saucer, and Aaditya. His blade was out, his arm extended, and Aaditya knew it would be seconds before he was cut down.

  In panic, he looked around him and saw the blue flying vehicle standing very close. He ran towards it, and using a small step-ladder embedded on the side, climbed aboard. He was of course curious about what this craft was, but for now, he just wanted to get out of Maya's way. There were two seats arranged side by side, and a small empty space behind them. He crawled into the space, hoping to climb out as soon as Maya was gone.

  He heard the faint buzz of the saucers flying away and raised his head, ready to make a getaway before anyone saw him.

  Someone climbed into the cockpit.

  Shit!

  Aaditya pressed himself against the cold wall behind him, wishing he could make himself invisible. But nobody was looking for him. It was much, much worse. Within seconds, the pilot powered up the craft, and it took off vertically, then flew off at breakneck speed, flattening Aaditya against the wall.

  The craft flew on to its destination, taking Aaditya with it.

  FOUR

  Aaditya had no idea where he was, but from glancing at his mobile phone, he learnt two things. First, the flight had so far lasted eighteen minutes, and second, he was now out of range of his cellular network. The flight had been fairly level and smooth, and as he suddenly felt the craft slow down and descend, he guessed that he was at the end of his journey.

  The cockpit was momentarily enveloped in darkness as the craft descended, then it landed with a soft thump, and Aaditya heard the canopy slide open with a hiss. He waited for several minutes after he heard the pilot exit the craft, then cautiously raised his head to see if the coast was clear. When he saw no obvious signs of activity, he slowly climbed out. What he saw took his breath away.

  The craft he had hitched a ride on was one of several lined up across the length of a long corridor. Most were of a similar size, and each sported animal colours and designs. The craft he had been in was coloured like a peacock, down to eyes on each side of the nose. Next to it was a similar craft coloured like a tiger and then, the white craft with raised horns he had seen during the fight at the Old Fort. At the far end of the line, he saw much larger craft, perhaps as large as commercial airliners.

  Where the hell was he?

  The rational part of his mind was still saying that he had found himself in the middle of some top-secret operation, perhaps carried out by the CIA. He tried hard to explain away the beam weapons that instantly reduced men to ash as advanced weapons he had not seen or heard about and the man with the snake eyes as perhaps a mere figment of his fear and imagination. Nobody had eyes like a snake in real life, did they?

  With no sign of anybody around, Aaditya walked till the far end of the corridor, marvelling at the unusual craft he saw arrayed before him. He was also wondering how he could get away. If this was indeed some secret government installation, surely they would let him go once they realized that he had got mixed up in thus purely by accident. There seemed to be no doors or windows obviously visible as he looked in vain for a way out. Then he heard soft footsteps behind him, and whirled around. Standing in front of him was the man with matted hair he had seen at the Old Fort and then on his rooftop.

  In the bright light, Aaditya saw that the man looked quite fearsome. His muscled body and tiger-striped body-hugging suit were in themselves intimidating, but to add to the effect, his matted hair was piled on top of his head, and his forehead and face seemed to be smeared with ash. Aaditya took a step back, not knowing what to expect. The man was looking at him curiously, and despite his fearsome appearance, his eyes seemed kind, and he spoke softly.

  'How on earth did you get here?'

  Aaditya realized that dressed in his old T-shirt and shorts that he wore to bed, and wearing no footwear, he must be looking like a vagabond. He reached into his pocket to fish out Mr Muni's card, hoping that would establish that he meant no harm. It turned out to be a bad move. The man started at Aaditya's sudden movement and before Aaditya knew what had happened, a massive punch landed on his face.

  Everything went black.

  When Aaditya regained consciousness, he was lying on the floor in a small room. There was no furniture around, and as he sat up, he rubbed his jaw where the man had struck him. It still hurt like hell. He realized that his phone, wallet and lucky patch had all been taken from him. As he sat contemplating the situation, a portion of the wall in front of him slid open. Mr Muni walked in, a bemused expression on his face.

  Aaditya sprang to his feet and began to explain himself.

  'Aaditya, relax. I know you meant no harm, and I know what happened on your rooftop, and I apologize if the one who struck you hurt you.'

  'Mr Muni, I still don't know which organization you work for, and honestly, I don't care. All I want to do is to get back to my home.'

  Mr Muni sighed.

  'Yes, I was afraid you'd want that.'

  A sinking feeling came into Aaditya's stomach at those words.

  'You can't keep me here! I swear I will not tell a soul anything. Just send me back, and you won't ever hear from me again.'

  Mr Muni walked closer to Aadi
tya. He looked almost sad.

  'Aaditya, I wish it were as simple as that, and that I could decide on your fate all by myself. But the stakes here are higher than you can imagine.'

  'So what, I'm your prisoner now?'

  Mr Muni began to walk towards the wall, indicating that their conversation was over. Then he stopped and turned.

  'I do hope you come to see yourself as a guest till we figure out the best course of action.'

  With those words, the wall slid open, and Mr Muni was gone, leaving Aaditya alone in the room. Barely having slept the previous night, fatigue soon got the better of him, and he dozed off on the floor. He was awakened by the sound of the door sliding open. He sat up, still groggy, and unsure of how long he had been asleep. A young woman entered the room, dressed in jeans and a T-shirt. She looked no older than a college student, and was carrying a palmtop computer in one hand and a plastic bag in the other. Her dark hair was tied in a ponytail. Under other circumstances, Aaditya may have liked to linger longer on her, since she was certainly easy on the eye. But that was hardly the most pressing matter on his mind now.

  He got up as she approached.

  'Hello, Aaditya. I'm sorry but we aren't used to having too many unexpected guests, but I hope I can help make your stay a bit more comfortable.'

  Her accent didn't sound like she was from India.

  'Comfortable? I feel like I'm in Guantanamo Bay or something right now. So if you are the CIA, what comes next? Torture?'

  The woman flinched at his harsh words, then regained her composure.

  'Nothing like that will happen. I have some fresh clothes for you. Just leave your old clothes in the bag and we'll get them cleaned.'

  Realizing how dishevelled his clothes must look, he grudgingly took the bag. As the woman turned to leave, he realized he did have something else on his mind.

  'Excuse me, how do I, err, go to the bathroom?'

  She smiled, something Aaditya found himself enjoying despite everything.

  'Just ask,'she answered. Then, seeing Aaditya's quizzical expression, 'Just say aloud whatever you want. Try it, it's fun.'

  As she walked out, Aaditya thought jail cell or not, why not give it a try? Feeling a bit silly, he said aloud, 'I'd like to go to the bathroom please.'

  To his shock, a section of the wall slid open, revealing a fully furnished bathroom. When he was done, he changed into the clothes the woman had left. They were a plain white full sleeve top and track pants. But when he slid them on, they tightened around him, fitting him perfectly. Not bad, he thought. Then he said aloud, 'Can I get a Coke and a burger?'

  To his delight, a section of the wall swiveled open to reveal a small table and chair. On the table was a tray with a can of Coke and a burger, which didn't taste bad at all. Further investigation revealed that when he asked for it, a bed would slide out for him to sleep on. Feeling cocky, he asked to be let go. Not surprisingly, nothing happened.

  Jail or not, he was at least comfortable, well fed and could rest.

  And now, he would plot a way to get out.

  ***

  Aaditya had no way of knowing how long he had been there, but just judging from the number of times his body had told him that it needed sleep or eat, he guessed it must have been at least two days. During that time, he received no further visitors.He focused on keeping himself strong, not knowing what lay ahead. So, he ate well and exercised every opportunity he got. Finally, when the door did slide open, he saw Mr Muni, dressed in the same kind of clothes that Aaditya wore. Except that they were saffron in colour.

  Mr Muni held up his lucky patch.

  'I understand this belonged to your father. I thought it appropriate that you keep it.'

  Aaditya took it and put it into the pocket on the side of his trousers, wondering how they knew, but he had a few questions of his own.

  'Narada.'

  Mr Muni looked at him, and then smiled, realizing that he had given away his name. Aaditya continued. 'So that is your name-that's what that snake-eyed freak called you. Here is what I have figured out-you are obviously some secret force, and you're worried that I will compromise you. All I've seen are the planes and this cell; I don't know anything more. Just let me go. Please.'

  Narada called for two chairs, which the wall moved to reveal and he motioned for Aaditya to sit down.

  'We have our secrets to protect, for sure, but it's your well being that is also at risk.'

  Aaditya snorted dismissively.

  'Look Aadi, I hope you're okay with me calling you by your nickname--if you had just told me you had the cylinder we could have avoided a lot of trouble. We would have taken it and made it known that you were nobody, just someone caught up by accident. But now, even if we let you go, they will come for you. They will not believe so easily that you have nothing to do with us.'

  'They?'

  'The ones who came to your apartment. This time, my superiors will not risk coming to your aid. We risked too much, revealing ourselves during the incident on your roof.'

  Aaditya was getting tired of being a pawn. It seemed that all this Narada and his colleagues cared about was their agenda, and he was expendable. He stewed in impotent rage. The next day when the door slid open and the woman who had given him the fresh clothes came in, a plan began to form.

  'I just came to see how you're doing. Mr Muni told me you were troubled and I thought if nothing else, you may want to chat.'

  The last thing Aaditya wanted to do was to make small talk, but he smiled and summoned two chairs, asking her to sit. Being the polite host to the hilt, if only in his own prison cell, he also called for some juice. The woman seemed genuinely surprised at this change in his mood.

  'I never asked you your name.'

  'It's Tanya.'

  She asked about Aaditya, and he told her about his college and his background, and then asked her what she did.

  'I handle Public Relations here. You may be surprised, but you're not the first person to have stumbled on to them. Of course, I don't think anybody has got involved in such dramatic circumstances for many years.'

  Something in what she said struck Aaditya as odd, and he tried to put his finger on it. She sensed the change in his mood. 'Is something wrong?'

  'You said "them".'

  Tanya didn't get it at first, so Aaditya repeated himself. 'You referred to this organization as "them", not "us". That sounded weird. So, what is your real story?'

  Tanya smiled, realizing her lapse.

  'It still takes some getting used to. I am not one of the, let's say, original crew. I am originally from Canada, but have learnt to make this place, and this organization, my home.'

  'So you don't fly around in those fancy machines and carry weird weapons, do you?'

  Aaditya said it with a smile. Tanya took it at face value and replied with a laugh, 'No, thank heavens. I just do the PR work sitting at a desk in front of a phone and a laptop. They tried teaching me self defence, but I was hopeless, and why would I need it anyway?'

  As she got up to leave, Aaditya asked her, 'Look, if you're not too busy, maybe you could stop by sometimes. I could go crazy just sitting here by myself.'

  Tanya just smiled, but she did come back. Over her next four visits, Aaditya learnt several things. First, that there still seemed to be no resolution in sight for his situation. Second, he took careful notice of the exact spot where the door would slide open when Tanya came or left, and once she was gone, timed just how fast he could get there. Finally, he realized that he really enjoyed spending time with Tanya. She seemed to be genuinely concerned about him and went out of her way to make his stay less miserable. That made Aaditya feel just a little pang of guilt for what he was about to do.

  The next time Tanya came, she had brought a few magazines for Aaditya. When they finished chatting, she got up to leave. Aaditya stopped her with a gentle tap to the shoulder.

  'Hey Tanya, I wish we had met somewhere else. Soon I'll be gone and I doubt these spooks will let me co
me near them or here any time soon.'

  Tanya smiled, but it was a smile tinged with sadness.

  'Aadi, I really think my work is important, but I do miss having a normal life. Meeting you made me remember what that could be like. When they do let you go, I'll miss you.'

  Just as she reached the door, Aaditya sprang into action. He reached her just as the door began to slide open. Aaditya pushed her aside and leapt outside the open door. She was too shocked to even resist.

  He found himself in a long plain corridor, but having learnt how things worked here, he ran along its length, commanding doors to open, hoping that outside of his cell, the doors would open on command as well. He was about to give up when to his relief, a door slid open to his left. He ran through it, barely hearing Tanya's cries for him to stop.

  He didn't know how much time he had or just how far he could go, but he was not going to stay cooped up in a cell any longer. His captors may be the CIA for all he cared, but either they had to tell him what they wanted with him or let him go. He was done with being a prisoner.

  To his relief he soon found himself at the hangar where he had landed. The craft were still there, and while he was tempted, he realized that he would never get the time to figure out how to fly one before he was discovered. However, being in the hangar meant that the exit could not be far away. He looked desperately along the length of the hangar, wondering where he should start looking. He heard muffled footsteps coming from the wall behind him, and ran as fast as he could towards the end of the flight line.

  Two or three figures emerged from the door he had opened. All around him there were nothing but closed walls. He desperately kept asking for doors to open, but either there were no doors here or they had been disabled when Aaditya's escape had become known. He was but a few feet from the far wall and about to give up when it suddenly swung open, revealing the same blue coloured craft on which he had come aboard. Oblivious to his escape, the pilot was coming in for a landing, and Aaditya took advantage of the open door to run outside.