Chapter 5
Pratap broke out of his reverie only when the phone rang. One ring, two rings, three rings and then silence. Rushing out of his bedroom, Pratap ran to the phone and waited. The phone rang once again and Pratap picked it up immediately. As his Maa sa ,Chak, and Ven looked on, Pratap listened to something and then disconnected the call. He then pulled out his cell phone and called Ahmed Kaka who had flown back with them, "Ahmed Kaka, Talhetti jaana hai. We have to be there in 20 minutes", and with that Pratap nodded to his Maa sa and his friends. When the group stepped out of the house, Ahmed Kaka was already waiting for them at the door with the car. The moment they were inside, the car rushed out of the ancestral family home towards Talhetti, a farmhouse in a township near the outskirts of Mewar.
Eighteen minutes later, Pratap commanded the security system to open the gates to an ordinary looking home. On the outside, the bungalow was a two-story white bungalow surrounded by lush gardens and a tall tree line just inside the periphery wall. It was difficult for an outside observer to see much of what was happening inside the bungalow. As soon as the doors to the home was opened, however, every idea of being an ordinary home was shattered. After passing through the large wooden doors, through a long marble-floored ornate hallway, the group reached the bullet-proof glass double doors where a small black 2-inch-by- 2 inch inlay could be seen in the wall with a small red light blinking above it. Pratap stood with his right eye aligned in front of the inlay. In a fraction of a second, the inlay beeped and the light turned green. Once every member of the group finished their retina scans, the glass double doors slid open granting them entry into the Talhetti branch of the Rajput Intelligence Agency or RIA for short.
As soon as they entered, they were greeted by a man who looked to be of average build and height, but Pratap and everyone else present knew different. Sardar Rawat was Uday Singh's right-hand man. One of the most trustworthy men in the Rajput Intelligence Agency, Rawat Ji had earned every bit of his reputation by displaying, time and again, complete and utter loyalty to his motherland and Pratap's father. Pratap had always liked and respected Rawat uncle. As a child, he could never say his name right and ended up calling him Raw uncle' much to the elders' amusement. But even then, Rawat uncle had never laughed at Pratap. Instead, he told Pratap that since he had given him a new name, it was Rawat Ji's duty to give Pratap an alternate name as well. Since then, he had begun to call Pratap - Bhaujiraaj'. This name had gotten stuck, so much so that his friends, and his father's other colleagues called him by the new name rather than Pratap and everytime Rawat uncle heard someone address Pratap as Bhaujiraaj, he would look at Pratap with twinkling eyes that Pratap swore conveyed amusement and pride at the same time. This time though, his eyes were serious and had tense lines around them as he looked at Pratap, and said "Bhaujiraaj, they are waiting." He acknowledged Pratap's Maa sa, Chak, and Ven and then immediately ushered them down the hallway, which for all intents and purposes looked like a swanky corporate office with white marble flooring, high open ceiling with the evening sunlight streaming through and few modern style sofas arranged in half-moon shapes that formed a waiting lounge and a large receptionist's desk which was empty.
The group crossed the giant hallway to the elevators. As Rawatji stood in front of another retina scanner, the elevator doors opened and carried them three floors below ground. As they stepped out, Pratap saw three hallways - one going down the centre, one on the left and another going right. Rawatji proceeded down right hallway and into a large meeting room surrounded by glass panelling. As Pratap stepped in, he took a deep breath and looked up to see his father and the Rajput Intelligence Agency Chief, Uday Singh, waiting for his son.
~~FLASHBACK~~ (Six and a half hours ago)
Uday Singh, had just stepped out of the Delhi Airport. He was meeting his trusted friend, ally, and senior agent, Mamrath Punwar, in Delhi. It took him nearly an hour to reach the meeting spot. They were both disguised as businessmen meeting up for a corporate lunch at a five-star restaurant. To an untrained eye, their tailored suits and designer shoes gave them an air of being Very Important People'. Uday Singh (or Mr. Bhatia for this trip) had the slightly bored but resigned expression of a person who spent most of his life either in meetings or on a plane, Mamrath Punwar (Mr. Sharma for this trip) had the expression of a person who was just trying their best to impress this prospective client into signing a deal with his company. They both carried ipads in their hands and a small briefcase sat by the side of each man's chair. Not even the most highly skilled agents could tell that their relaxed postures were a result of thorough training. They could transform into warriors-in-a-battlefield like state in an instant.The extravagance of the attire and location provided the duo with much needed privacy. "So you are saying the recent reports suggest that the market is likely to get very good in Dubai? The recent convention has definitely attracted global attention..?" asked Uday Singh. Mamrath nodded saying, "Yes, Sir, absolutely. We will know the details in some time, but one thing is confirmed. Their recent meeting in Dubai was a success. They will likely sign the deal soon." "Very well. Then we must make our investments, while we still have the chance", said Uday Singh, though his eyes were grave. Minutes later, the two men walked out of the restaurant. While Mamrath made a call to his wife Hansa, Uday Singh called Rawat Ji. "Rawat Ji, we'll be in Mewar in three hours. Please meet me at the Talhetti office", Uday Singh said, with that he cut the call and hailed a cab for the airport.
At Chittor, the main office of the Rajput Intelligence Agency, Rawat Ji disconnected the call from his boss only to find a young technician by the name of Akshay, come running towards him, his rotund belly jiggling, with a slightly alarmed expression on his face. "Sir, we just received a call on the emergency line" he said panting. "Which emergency line?" Rawat Ji asked. "The...personal emergency line for.. --- Bhaujiraaj's emergency line", he finished, looking like he was afraid of even saying those words. RawatJi's posture immediately turned attentive. Bhaujiraaj would never call the personal emergency line unless it really was an emergency. "Did you trace the location of origin of the call?" he asked as he reached the operators' room of the main office lined with nearly 50 cubicles where operators sat receiving and recording calls from active agents on the field around the world. "Ye.. yes Sir", Akshay answered as he settled back on his desk and pulled up the screen. As RawatJi looked at the screen, he saw it was a map with a digital pinpoint of the location of the call and saw what had Akshay worried. Bhaujiraaj was back in Mewar. He was not supposed to be. He was supposed to be on a vacation in Dubai for the another two days. At his signal, Akshay pulled up more information showing that Pratap had left from Dubai with his Maa Sa, his friends, and Ahmed Khan, a few hours ago. He must have just reached home. RawatJi frowned wondering what might have happened that Bhaujiraaj had called on the phone number specifically given to him only if he needed to meet with his father and it was a matter of national security. He sighed thinking,' I'm sorry Bhaujiraaj, but you will have to wait till your father reaches Mewar', while hoping that everyone was safe till then.
~~ Flashback ends~~
RIA, Talhetti branch
Pratap had just finished narrating the events at the Dubai Mall to everyone present in the conference room. He had noticed that Mamrath uncle, Mishra uncle (Chak's father) and Das uncle (Ven's father) were present in the room with Pratap's father, along with Rawat uncle, his Maa sa, Chak, and Ven. For reasons he could not yet pinpoint, he had neglected to mention anything about the fallen locket to everyone, though he had told them about the girl. "I haven't been able to get this out of my head Dad! How is this possible? How did anyone find out about the agency? The Agency and all it's branches are a top-security wing for the government. I only know about this because our family members are directly involved in the operations carried out by the Agency. Who is this Shums Khan and Hukum Singh? How do they know about you?" Pratap asked in a worried tone.
RawatJi could see that the incident had affected Pratap deeply. Everyone knew that Pratap, unlike a lot of other boys his age, was keen, observant, smart, a thorough patriot like his father, and above all understood the severity of any matter involving the agency. It was because of this trait that almost all employees of the RIA not only knew Pratap but also respected him. This time, however, Pratap had no idea what he had gotten himself into, thought Rawat Ji. Minutes before Pratap arrived, his boss had given the group an update on the happenings in Dubai. Mamrath had joined them, for that very reason, because RIA finally had confirmation that Shums Khan and some of his known associates had all gathered in Dubai a day ago.
Before anyone could answer any of Pratap's questions Uday Singh interrupted Pratap saying, "Pratap, calm down. I'm not going to deny that this is serious. Very serious. I'm not even sure where to start...", he paused, looking like he needed to rearrange his thoughts and said "I will tell you all that you need to know. But this is going to take a while. Everybody, please take a seat."
"Shums Khan is an associate of Bairam Khan", Uday Singh began. "Yes, the same Bairam Khan that we captured last year after a 24-month long mission. Bairam Khan was a powerful leader and his capture was a big achievement for the RIA but a bigger drawback for his terrorist organisation. His closest associate, Shums Khan, managed to evade capture when we caught Bairam Khan. Since then, however, Shums Khan has made many attempts at trying to free Bairam Khan. We have, so far, managed to counter every one of them. The recent train wreckage accident was another one of his attempts, but we managed to evacuate the passengers before the train went off-track". Pratap remembered that day. One week before their year ended at the Academy, the news channels had been full of news of an accidental train wreckage near Bundi. The news had praised the army's efforts to rescue all the passengers. While over twenty people had been injured, there had been no casualties. The government had issued a statement saying the wreckage was an accident caused by a technical error and steps were being taken to avoid such incidents in the future.
At his son's worried look, Uday Singh spoke in a reassuring tone, "We managed to get everyone out safely, and in time. We even managed to keep the media away from the truth to avoid public panic. But our sources informed us that the lack of casualties and the cover-up from the Central Government has driven Shums Khan into a frenzy. Until the train wreckage incident, the RIA had managed to remain completely anonymous. But three days ago, the Central Intelligence branch informed us that Shums Khan has found out about the RIA and its role in Bairam Khan's capture through a leak in their own office. The central branch managed to catch the leak but not before Shums Khan also found out the name of the man who advised the government to not reveal the truth of the train accident - me. Our sources tell us, that since then, he has developed a personal vendetta against me and wishes to destroy the credibility and functioning of the RIA."
"MamrathJi just confirmed that Shums Khan had a meeting with some of his known associates in Dubai. The gaming convention provided the group with the cover of the crowds. From what Pratap has just told us, we can be sure that Shums Khan intends to enter into Rajputana soon and execute his plan." Uday Singh deliberately avoided elaborating on what the Agency believed the plan to be, in front of his family. He looked up at Pratap and said, "Your information was extremely important Pratap. Now, we have another clue - Hukum Singh. It may be an alias, but it is a clue nonetheless. It should prove to be helpful in finding out what Shums Khan plans to do next. You haven't spoken to anyone else about this, I'm told. I'm very happy that you remembered the emergency protocol.
Now all of you should return home. We will trace back your route and make sure that you were not followed. For security purposes, there will be a constant, discreet security detail for each of you for the next 36 hours. Pratap, Chakrapani, and Ven, please wait outside. I need to talk to Jaiwanta." As the boys left, Uday Singh turned to his wife, "I want to thank you for taking such swift action and bringing the boys home. But I won't, because that would undermine everything you have always done for me and our family. No matter how difficult a situation, you have faced it with more courage than I can imagine" he said smiling. Jaiwanta smiled back, their eyes having a conversation of their own. Uday Singh's expression turned serious again, "I have a feeling Pratap is not going to sit quietly." "No. He is your son, after all", said Jaiwanta with a slight smile. "How do I make sure that he does not entangle himself in this anymore? This is far too dangerous, Jaiwanta. We do not know everything yet. How do I ensure Pratap and his friends' safety? You are his mother, you must have some idea", Uday Singh said in an almost pleading tone. "Don't worry, I do have an idea. There is only one person that can keep Pratap engaged, so he does not focus on this incident", Jaiwanta said. At her husband's hopeful but confused expression, she smiled and said "Dr. Raghav Indra."
Ten minutes later, when his Maa sa stepped out of the meeting room, she refused to tell Pratap anything and said, "It's time to go back home." Once back home, Pratap sat down on the couch with a sulky expression on his face. He couldn't believe his father was not going to tell him anything more. "Pratap", his mother's voice brought Pratap out of the whirlwind that were his thoughts, "you dropped this". As looked up at his Maa sa, he saw that she was holding the locket in her hand. He hadn't even realised when it had fallen from his hand. Hell, he hadn't even realised that he had been carrying it with him all along. "Do you know what this is, Pratap?", she asked, pointing at the locket. When Pratap shook his head, she continued, "This is an Ek mukhi Rudraksha." "Huh? Rudraksha? Aren't those supposed to be round brown beads? This one looks like a half-moon..." asked Pratap. "Yes, because this one is unique. This Rudraksha bead has a single facet - hence the name 'ek mukhi' rudraksha, also called 'the eye of Shiva'. It is extremely rare to find. The wearer of this Rudraksha is believed to be protected from all forms of negativity and harm" his Maa sa finished, while handing him the locket. Pratap's face showed alarm. Suddenly, all his frustration regarding his father's decision went out the window. He realised his father had not said a word about that girl. 'This rudraksha is supposed to protect someone? Does that mean that the girl is no longer safe? Did his Dad already know something about her? Was she caught? Is that why his father so tactfully avoided mentioning anything about her?' Pratap's thoughts were in a frenzy.
His Maa sa looked at his alarmed expression and said with a conviction that Pratap had only ever seen his mother show, even in impossible situations, "She will be fine. I know she will be. Come now, have your dinner... But before that, for the sake of Eklingji, talk to your dear friends. They have been so worried - first about your silence and now about everything you have just told us", she smiled and walked away leaving Pratap stunned, once again, at his mother's perceptive powers. He was not even going to try and ask his mother how she could have known that the it was that girl's locket or that she was safe. Shaking his head slightly, he looked around at his friends and found them both huddled in a corner, away from him, looking at him with apprehension.
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