Chapter 25
“It’s Aamir Haider’s voice…”
Samar walked out of the hotel under the night sky of Leh, mobile pressed to his ear.
“Send it.”
“It is not audible when we record it. Very noisy. Adil has made a video call, I think to Atharva. What should we do?”
Samar hesitated, thinking.
“Should we raid and take it?”
“Yes.” He found the word leaving his mouth.
Faris cut the call.
Samar stared up at the hotel building, at Atharva’s window. The light was off. He strode into the hotel foyer and stopped at the Reception.
“Good evening, sir.”
“Is Atharva Kaul in his room?”
“The cards have been collected for the room, sir. I cannot confirm if he is or is not in his room.”
“Hmm… Iram H.?”
She checked her computer and looked up — “The cards for Iram H.’s room have not been collected, sir.”
“Hmm.”
Samar turned away and strode out again, unlocking his mobile.
“Hello?”
“Where are you?
“Outside Iram’s house in French Colony. Atharva and Iram drove here.”
“Are they both there?”
“Atharva left an hour ago.”
Samar turned and stared up at the window. Still dark.
“Not Iram?”
“No, she is still here.”
A second incoming call made him check the screen.
“Keep watch all night,” he ordered and switched calls — “Faris.”
“We got the equipment but there is a problem.”
“What?”
“The boys also picked up Adil.”
“Are you…” Samar grit his teeth. “Leave him.”
“He saw me.”
Fuck. He held his forehead. Fuck.
“I will send you the recording once we reach the base. Then we will leave him.”
“Ok. Don’t do anything more. Is he ok?”
“Yes. Knocked out.”
“Get a doctor to check him out.”
“Ok.”
“And do not go in front of him again, tell the new boys to handle him. And don’t touch him again. Leave him tomorrow, nothing should happen to him in the interim…”
He saw Atharva in his peripheral vision and startled. Samar cut the call and turned. Atharva was striding down the stairs and into the atrium.
“Atharva!” Samar met him midway.
He looked panicked. But in an instant, his face changed. It relaxed. “I am flying to Srinagar tonight itself. You and Qureshi handle everything.”
“Why?”
Tell me, trust me, share with me for once.
“There’s an emergency that needs my attention.”
“What emergency.”
“Don’t worry about it.”
“More than tomorrow’s karyakarta meetings?”
“Yes.”
“Iram is also going with you?”
“No.”
“Why?”
“Because I said so.”
“Why are you hiding it from me?”
“Because it does not concern you. You and Qureshi handle tomorrow.” He stepped away and strode towards the Business Centre. Samar stared after him, bit his tongue, and did what he had not considered even as an option. He picked up his mobile and dialled the number.
“Murtuza.”
“Did you hear what has happened?”
“Which one?”
“Mohsin Sheikh is dead.”
“Connect me to his son.”
————————————————————
Flights were grounded. All roads south of Likir were blocked.
Snow was everywhere. And the next day, even at 12 noon, Atharva was sitting on the Leh Airport in front of him.
Samar stared at him, three of their members and Fahad loitering around.
The two security guards stood alert but merged into the small, stranded crowd.
“Spit it out.” Samar tried one last time.
Atharva kept stewing, eyes on his mobile as he messed with it.
“Atharva.”
Atharva shot to his feet — “We are taking the afternoon train.”
“But, Bhai, the bags are already checked in,” Fahad pointed.
“Then one of you stay and reach home with the bags. Or all of you do.”
They all looked towards him, as if Atharva had gone crazy.
Samar nodded at the lot. One of them stayed back while the rest gathered around.
Samar kept his eyes on Atharva as he booked the tickets, attention on his mobile.
Adil was ok, sleeping soundly at their base.
Atharva thought he was kidnapped, in mortal danger.
And yet he did not confide in him. Was that how little he trusted him?
“Let’s go.” Atharva grabbed his backpack and slung it over his shoulder.
Samar got to his feet as they all began to file around the gate and towards the exit. His mobile buzzed. Unknown number.
“Hello.”
“Are you finally ready, Dr. Dang?” Sufiyaan’s voice slithered into his ear. He hung back.
“Your father is dead, you have time to play these games?”
“My father is dead, you got this time to agree?”
“I connected for condolences.”
“Lie.”
Samar stared at Atharva’s back. If it was not now then it was never.
“She is in Leh, Atharva is travelling back to Srinagar. You have a gap of two days before the convoy returns.”
“Thank you.” Sufiyaan’s voice became solemn. “I will keep my word.”
“Hmm.”
“Please send me her address.”
Samar ended the call and started to type her address. Then stopped. If she moved parties, Atharva would go mental. And when he went mental, he went to the tiniest root of a problem.
Samar followed the group out of the Terminal and down the Departure, sneaking away to the washroom. On his way back, he bought a burner phone and a tourist SIM card from a kiosk.
————————————————————
The steady vibration of the train had lulled Fahad and their two other members into half-sleep.
Their security was in the adjoining coupe.
Samar kept his eyes on the glossy glass of the window, staring at nothing outside because everything was dark.
He was instead fixated on Atharva’s reflection.
Sitting erect, eyes straight ahead, lines at attention. Captain Kaul.
He had a sudden flash of their pre-mission transport moments.
Silence. The pin-drop kind. Only static from their base.
And the vehicle’s background hiss. Lined up in the back of a van.
Sitting side by side in a Hercules or Chaturvedi’s Diana.
His throat tightened. And the trace of remorse he had lingering in the back of his head about Adil disappeared.
There was a chance to get to Aamir Haider, twelve years after his death.
There was a chance to tear down his name that was still taken like a messiah.
There was a chance to avenge Chaturvedi.
Atharva and Adil would not take it. He would.
Today, and all of tomorrows, he would.
He saw Atharva’s reflection push to his feet. Samar turned his head.
“Bathroom.”
He nodded. Atharva pulled the sliding door and stepped out into the lobby before closing it again. The rattle of train tracks continued to lull the other occupants. Samar stared at the space Atharva had vacated.
If only Atharva could see how easily Iram would turn, if only he would come out of this need to constantly protect her and her father.
He would. Today onwards, he would.
Samar unpinned his mobile from the charger and swiped it up.
SAMAR
Situation?
FARIS
He woke up, refused food
SAMAR
He won’t feel like eating for the next 12 hours
Hand him an ORS
Ten minutes passed in silence. His mobile pinged again.
FARIS
He drank
Of course he would. He wasn’t a fool.
SAMAR
Keep giving him water
FARIS
Bathroom is a problem
SAMAR
Manage it
Are you there?
FARIS
I am outside
SAMAR
Recordings?
FARIS
We called that engineer from Abdul’s contacts
He is looking
A stomping of shoes and banging of shutters, and then their coupe door was torn open. A young man was panting, blood covering his clothes.
“Samar Dixit! Samar Dixit!”
“I am Samar Dixit.” He got to his feet as everybody woke up. The man was crying — “Atharva is calling you… they took her!”
“Took who? Where is Atharva? Who are you?” Samar pushed out of the coupe, realising that the train had stopped.
“They…” the man panted. “They… took Iram. Atharva went after them.”
“Iram?”
He nodded. Samar held his shoulder, eyeing his chest soaked with blood — “What’s wrong with you?”
“Nothing.” He shook his head. “They kidnapped Iram. Atharva ran after them.”
“When?”
“Just now… he ran in the dark.” He pointed to the dark windows. Samar broke into a sprint down the alley, breaking out into the compartment connecting their bogie to the next one. People, officers, the entire train out.
“Who were they?!” He yelled at the man on his heel, Fahad and others behind him.
“I don’t know.”
“Who are you?” Samar turned to him. “How do you know Atharva and Iram?”
“I am Iram’s neighbour, Mirza. We were going to Srinagar when these people attacked our bogie and dragged her away. They killed two people…” he shuddered.
Samar gestured to their security men — “Find out what happened.”
“Samar Bhai…” Fahad’s eyes were wide.
“Call Atharva.”
He pulled out his mobile.
Samar crossed the bogie and jumped down onto the stormy, freezing ground. A team of Railway Police was huddled close to a pole, emergency lights in hand.
“Where did they go?” He asked one of them, swiping up his phone. “Who were they?”
“Get back inside.”
“I am ex-SFF Captain Dr. Samar Dixit. My friend Atharva Kaul ran after them. Now tell me.”
“That way. He chased a car on foot,” one of them pointed. Samar stared at the darkness leading into the thickets as he shared their location with the militia he had brought along. He hit call.
“How far are you from this location?”
“30-40 minutes.”
“Make it 20 minutes and be here.”
“Ok…”
“Get all backup.” Samar ended the call, then scrolled to Murtuza’s number and hit dial. No answer. He paced back and forth, checking for Atharva’s GPS. Nothing. He tried to dial Atharva. Nothing. He refreshed his own network, then his messages. Nothing from Atharva.
Samar pulled out his burner phone and dialled the number he had not thought he would dial ever again.
“Yes, Dr. Dang?”
“Is this you?”
“Yes, it’s me, Sufiyaan.”
Samar clicked his jaw. “These men who kidnapped Iram. Are they yours?”
“How do you know? Are you still tailing her?”
“Leave her. We did not agree to this.”
“You gave me an opening. Now your work is done. Step back and let me do this my way.”
“If something happens to h…”