The Zero-Cost Mission/The Wily Agent

by Amar Bhushan

  Within a few days, Sujal realized that unlike Atul Kulkarni, Dayal would neither question him about his project nor interfere, but he would not be cooperative either. It was apparent that he had been fully briefed by Atul on Sujal’s involvement in a high-level operation and his proximity to Vishwanath Reddy.

  ‘I believe Mr Reddy has assigned you to an operation. Execute it on a priority basis,’ he told Sujal. ‘If you perform well, you can go places. Reddy can easily have you assigned to a lucrative station abroad. I’m sure you know that he is the Chief’s closest confidant at headquarters,’ he paused to sign a paper brought in by his assistant. Sujal waited patiently, observing Dayal’s modus operandi.

  ‘Don’t worry about the unit’s administrative and operational work,’ Dayal continued after his assistant had left. ‘I will take care of it until you have completed the assignment entrusted to you by Mr Reddy. Depending on how much time you can spare from his operation, I will allocate the work between the two of us.’

  Sujal had heard enough about Dayal to know not to take his words at face value. He didn’t doubt that behind the façade of a reasonable boss was someone who wouldn’t hesitate to undercut and sabotage him. Sujal therefore kept quiet, thinking it best to avoid saying anything that might later be used against him.

  ‘I understand you have to make frequent trips to Delhi in connection with Mr Reddy’s project. Keep me informed of your travel plans in advance so that I can make arrangements to ensure that the routine work of the unit does not suffer,’ Dayal instructed him.

  Not wishing to prolong the meeting, Sujal agreed and left.

  The real blow, however, came when Sujal heard that Vijay had been transferred from headquarters. He was to be replaced by Amit Prasad. Amit had been junior to him when they had joined the service. However, Sujal’s career had stalled over the years due to his style of working, which bred jealousy and anger among his colleagues and seniors, while Amit had quietly moved up the ladder, unnoticed. They had remained mere acquaintances through the years. With Vijay gone, Sujal had no one with whom he could discuss matters freely and receive, in turn, measured advice and support. He suspected that his proximity to Reddy would be frowned upon by both Dayal and Amit privately, but he felt he would be able to handle their pettiness. He had worked before in more unfavourable circumstances and had managed to survive, largely because his operations succeeded and he had been lucky to have chiefs who had supported him throughout. This time also, with the Chief and Reddy on his side, he saw no reason why he could not pull off the mission regardless of how many roadblocks Dayal raised. He did think briefly about speaking to Reddy regarding the postings of Amit and Dayal but dropped the idea, believing that it might reflect poorly on his ability to work with different kinds of people. He could not possibly find fault with headquarters just because he disliked Amit and Dayal.

  As if sensing his predicament, Reddy called Sujal a couple of days later.

  ‘I am sure you have concerns regarding working with Amit and Dayal,’ he said. ‘Don’t worry. Vijay handed over all the material related to the mission to me. I have, meanwhile, instructed Amit to deal only with Dayal and to leave you alone. I have also informed Dayal that the Chief has given you a job for which you will be required to visit Delhi frequently.’

  ‘Sir, couldn’t headquarters find more suitable officers to fill these posts?’ Sujal asked after some hesitation.

  ‘I guess they couldn’t. These are routine administrative decisions and I generally do not get involved in them,’ Reddy remarked and then asked if he had any news from his boys.

  ‘Not yet, but they still have a week to meet the deadline. I have no doubt I’ll be hearing from them soon,’ Sujal said.

  ‘Keep me informed,’ Reddy said before hanging up.

  The feedback from the agents was encouraging. Aziz was able to procure valuable information on Jamaat’s launching posts along the Bangladesh side of the border, their training camps in various parts of the country and the locations of safe houses in and around Dhaka where ISI briefed militants and from where Jamaat took them to facilitate their infiltration into India. He and Sujal spent several hours poring over maps, plotting the various locations, working out the distances between them and identifying prominent landmarks so that the assault group did not have any problems in finding and approaching the targets.

  Sujal paid him 75,000 taka for his efforts. When he informed Reddy about the intelligence gained from Aziz, Reddy’s response was lukewarm.

  ‘Much of this data has been provided by Vijay in his proposal. I see no value addition here, and definitely no need to pay so much for such routine information,’ Reddy said with a hint of annoyance.

  ‘Sir, the information in Vijay’s report is outdated; at best it is inexact and in most cases, it is wrong. A mission of this sensitivity cannot be launched on the basis of guesswork,’ Sujal stressed. ‘As for Aziz’s fee, given the quality of the information, it is reasonable, and moreover, it is far below his ask. In fact, I wanted to pay him more but couldn’t as I must keep enough funds for the other assets.’

  ‘Very well, it seems that you do know what you are doing,’ Reddy conceded. ‘I will release the remaining amount shortly.’

  Relieved that Reddy didn’t feel the need to grill him further, Sujal turned his attention to more pressing matters. Mansoor had arrived with a list of nine volunteers who would carry out the assaults on the ground. Well aware of how important it was to know one’s team, Sujal asked Mansoor for detailed information on each volunteer—their family profile, age, financial expectations and more importantly, their motivation. The agent sought five lakh taka for each of his boys and three lakhs for himself in addition to the ten lakhs that he would need to take care of the injured and dead. Even by his generous standards, Sujal found the demand unreasonably high.

  ‘I am aware of the grave risk that your boys will be exposed to, but it will be difficult for me to raise so much money. Have you already promised them this fee?’ he asked.

  ‘No.’

  ‘That’s good. Please check with me before committing any amount.’

  ‘But you have to give me some idea of how much you can pay. They are not going to work out of love for your mission.’

  ‘Give me some time to work out an approximate figure; keep in mind, though, that it will be far less than your expectations. Anyway, what did you tell the boys about what they have to do?’

  ‘I explained that they might be required to destroy a few offices in return for generous payments. They have no interest in knowing more about the job as long as they are paid well.’

  ‘Do they know each other?’

  ‘No. I met them separately.’

  ‘Good. This is what I like about you. You think of everything. I cannot think of anyone better when it comes to executing the most critical aspects of an operation,’ Sujal said appreciatively. He handed him 90,000 taka. ‘I will send more in a few days,’ he added.

  Mansoor then asked Sujal to note down the telephone numbers of two PCOs where he could be reached.

  ‘Will your boys have a problem with my choice of the targets?’ Sujal asked.

  ‘I don’t think so. But what exactly is the target?’

  ‘I will let you know in due course,’ Sujal said.

  ‘When will the material be available to carry out the damage?’

  ‘I will let you know when it has been delivered. When we talk on the phone, we will refer to the explosives as apples,’ Sujal said and then handed him a laminated card with the number 4pYrX4 and a symbol of a half-moon on it. ‘Keep this safely with you. You and the man responsible for the apples will show one another the identical card to establish that both of you are meeting the right person.’

  ‘Who is this man?’

  ‘He is the one who will provide the material,’ Sujal replied. ‘You will be contacted when the time is right. Mansoor, you have done good work. Our business is done for now; be ready to leave after dinner. Saumen will escort yo
u to the border.’

  The next asset to arrive was Shaukat.

  ‘I have identified three sources from whom I will be procuring the material you requested,’ Shaukat informed Sujal.

  ‘Good. It’s better to use multiple sources. How much do they want?’

  ‘A minimum of fifty lakhs, and they are insisting on full payment before the delivery, to be made over six to seven days. They want a detailed list of the items required, as well as quantities. And they need a fortnight’s notice to procure the material.’

  ‘I will give you the list tomorrow,’ Sujal promised. ‘Where will you store the material?’

  ‘Don’t worry, I know of a place where we can keep the material, no questions asked, no problem. All I need from you is the name of the consignee.’

  ‘I will soon be making arrangements for the consignee to meet you in person in Dhaka,’ Sujal said, handing him a card identical to the one that he had given Mansoor earlier. ‘Make sure that he shows you the same card before discussing anything.’

  ‘So, the material is going to be used in my country. What are you actually up to? Are you going to target the Nationalists or your insurgents?’ Shaukat enquired.

  ‘I don’t know about the target as of now. It is quite possible that the material will not be used in your country. The person whom you have to meet is just a courier.’

  Taking the hint, Shaukat refrained from asking any further questions. Instead, he gave Sujal a short list of numbers on which he could be contacted in an emergency.

  The following day, Saumen gave Shaukat the comprehensive list of ‘material’ required, duly vetted by an explosives expert. Armed with the information, Shaukat returned to Bangladesh via a covert route, aided by Saumen.

  Sujal flew to Delhi the following day to update Reddy and to secure the next tranche of service money. He would need at least three crores at his disposal. Familiar with Reddy’s way of operating by now, he had drawn up a detailed break-up of the expenses and a timetable for the mission’s execution.

  Reddy read through Sujal’s notes carefully. He appreciated Sujal’s attention to detail and the manner in which he had clearly defined each asset’s responsibilities and drawn up a schedule of all mission-related activities.

  ‘It is incredible what you have accomplished in five weeks. I’m beginning to believe that you will actually pull this off,’ Reddy said with a smile. ‘However, since the Chief is out of station, the monetary approval may have to wait for a few days.’

  ‘Sir, do you anticipate any problems in sanctioning the requested amount?’ Sujal enquired.

  ‘What you’re asking for is not a small sum. And given the Agency’s track record of being penny wise and pound foolish, it won’t be easy to organize this amount. But the Chief is a sensible man. I am confident he will clear the request, especially given the excellent work you have done so far and all the preparations you have made.’

  However, the days passed with no further news from Reddy. Sujal became increasingly worried by the long silence, and when Reddy finally called after almost a month, asking him to come to Delhi, he hinted that the project might have to be aborted. Fuming, Sujal seriously considered not going to Delhi, feigning sickness, but he realized that if the mission was to be scrapped, he should take this opportunity to remind Reddy of his promise to transfer him from Calcutta. He also wanted to know what had prompted Reddy to take a U-turn. Was it the money that he was asking for, the fear of exposure or their lack of confidence in his capacity to deliver? Arpita counselled him to accept Reddy’s decision gracefully and not to press for his transfer from Calcutta, at least for the sake of the children and her health.

  Sujal landed in Delhi the following day and went straight to the office to meet Reddy.

  ‘I know you will be unhappy to hear this,’ Reddy began on a sombre note, ‘but there is a view that this mission is becoming too expensive. Further, there is talk about making a fresh attempt to pressure Crescent into closing down his staging posts along the border. If he does not agree, vigilance by security forces and the intelligence agencies along our side of the border will be tightened to prevent illegal immigrants and militants from entering India.’

  ‘Sir, it was never on your agenda to drill sense into Crescent or step up surveillance along the border,’ Sujal reminded him. ‘But if you feel that the mission has to be abandoned, please transfer me to another desk in western India. If I stay on in Calcutta, my contacts will no doubt try to seek me out and ask why I am scrapping the project. Sir, they know that I never give up once an operation is set in motion. I obviously cannot tell them that headquarters has had a change of heart or that it has run short of funds.’

  ‘Let’s not get ahead of ourselves; I have not yet decided to pull you out,’ Reddy responded. ‘While Vijay was here, it was easier to follow up with you on the mission. But with Vijay gone and my own busy schedule, I don’t get the time to focus on this mission. I did suggest to the Chief that we leave this operation entirely in your hands, but he wouldn’t agree. He insists that I closely monitor its execution, lest you become too adventurous.’

  Sujal sensed that Reddy was not speaking the whole truth. Neither Vijay nor Reddy had ever contributed to or amended his plan of action or shown any interest in monitoring any mission of his. They simply wanted to know how the operation was shaping up. So, why had this need for monitoring arisen all of a sudden, he wondered.

  ‘Sir, why don’t I write a note on your behalf, arguing that this mission is not feasible and fraught with adverse consequences for our bilateral relations? I can also highlight the flaws in the plan of action and how these could undermine our anonymity. I am sure the Chief would be happy to endorse the arguments to get rid of me and the mission.’ Sujal’s voice dripped with sarcasm.

  ‘No, there’s no need for that.’ Reddy sighed. ‘Back in the day, our approach to critical operations was not so bureaucratic and cautious. But things have changed for the worse.’

  Sujal remained silent.

  After a contemplative pause, Reddy went on. ‘I’m not rethinking the mission,’ Reddy assured him. ‘My problem is the Chief. He continuously shifts his goal posts. One day he is enthusiastic about the mission, but the next day, he worries about its adverse fallout. He believes that if violence is unleashed on this magnitude, various political and religious groups will get sucked into no-holds-barred clashes, causing immense suffering to the League activists and particularly to Hindus.’

  ‘Wasn’t all this discussed with him before you summoned me to take up this assignment?’

  ‘It was, but even at that stage, he was reluctant to accept Vijay’s proposal. His biggest problem lies in providing the required funds without letting anyone know about it. He fears that the withdrawal of such large sums of money without any paperwork might be questioned later and motives could be attributed after all of us exit from the scene. He therefore wants you to reduce the expenditure by 75 per cent and plan payments to your agents over a period of six months.’

  ‘Sir, let’s just call it off,’ Sujal snapped.

  ‘I didn’t peg you as one to give up so easily.’ Reddy sounded surprised.

  ‘Sir, if you remember, I had asked for three assurances before agreeing to the mission. The first was that no one should waver or scrap the operation once it is under way, or curtail its scope. The second was that if there were any difficulties in making available the required resources, I should be informed before the start of the operation.’

  ‘I remember. And we agreed to your terms in good faith. But circumstances are forcing us to rethink things. Besides, you know how difficult it can be to apportion large sums for such unlisted operations.’

  Sujal was quiet for a moment before responding. ‘I can still do it, but not with 25 per cent of the estimated budget. That’s not even enough to take Crescent out for dinner.’

  Reddy laughed. ‘By how much can you cut it down?’

  ‘Sir, in such operations payments are made in advance to
field operatives, for no one knows how things will pan out and who will survive the day to receive their share. In any case, the full amount will have to be paid to the asset before he starts procuring the material.’

  ‘Leaving aside the amount required for the moment, once the money has been transferred, how can you be sure that your assets won’t go back on their word or simply vanish? I don’t think it’s a good idea to pay the full amount in advance to anyone.’ Reddy said.

  ‘Sir, I have always operated on trust and I have not been betrayed so far.’

  ‘Why don’t you send me a revised estimate of the expenditure, at least for my sake?’ Reddy asked. ‘Bring it down to preferably a third of the original cost. If you need more, I will provide it from my resources without keeping the Chief in the picture.’

  ‘Sir, I have never undertaken a mission half-heartedly but since you insist, I will give it a try,’ Sujal said, sounding doubtful.

  Reddy suspected that he would not submit a pruned budget.

  With nothing further to discuss, Sujal took his leave and headed to the airport to catch his flight to Calcutta.

  The flight to Calcutta took off on time. Once the seat belt sign was switched off, Sujal loosened the belt, pushed his seat back and stretched. Feeling mentally exhausted, he closed his eyes and tried to sleep but failed, as he was too wound up after his meeting. Reddy’s volte-face had upset him deeply. He wanted to walk out of the mission rather than curtail its scope and wondered what Jeevnathan would have liked him to do in these circumstances. He would have told him to execute it anyway, Sujal knew, with or without approval or assistance from Aulakh, so long as it secured India’s security interests.

  The odds were indeed stacked against him, but why not give it a try, Sujal reasoned. The worst that could happen was that the mission would fail and he would get a rap on his knuckles from the Chief for undertaking it in defiance of his instructions. But that was no big deal. He was used to taking such reverses in stride and moving on. The important thing to consider was from where the money required to complete the mission could be sourced. The Chief and Reddy were reluctant to provide the funds. So, from where could he get the money? Funds had never been a problem for Jeevnathan. Being head of the unit, he had always had service money at his disposal, which he had juggled to pay for operations that headquarters did not approve of. But Sujal didn’t have such access to service money. A thought struck him. What if he was able to raise the funds through private sources? He knew the idea was far-fetched, as such a thing had never been done before for an Agency operation, but perhaps he could find a way to make it work. However, would the Chief haul him up for approaching outsiders for money to run an intelligence operation, or would he be offended, as the move would reflect poorly on his leadership? Was there really any need to take such a risk and displease everyone? Why did he feel that the burden of preventing eastern India’s demography from being distorted lay squarely on his shoulders? The questions kept running through his head until he eventually dozed off.