Chapter 10

Chapter 10:

"Alright, guys," Yudi said, waiting until Ali's sister had left the room. "It happened like this…"


24 hours previously….

Quite frankly, Yudi was confused. When he had both a mobile and a phone in his home, he had no idea why anybody would want to call him at the PCO down the road. Apparently the man from the PCO didn't either, as he had looked at Yudi suspiciously when he came to take his call, as if to say that he looked far too rich to be receiving calls at PCO's.

"Hello?" Yudi said into the phone curiously.

"Listen, Nautanki." Alekh's voice on the other end of the line was unmistakeable, "Make sure that nobody is listening to what we're saying and don't say anything that would reveal what we're talking about."

Glancing around to make sure the owner was busy with another customer, Yudi whispered into the phone "Alekh, where the hell are you??? And where's Neelu? She left a note saying that she was with you, but then Huda said…"

"Chup, Nautanki!" Alekh told him harshly, "We don't have much time and I'm not going to answer your questions now. We need your help, now tell me, are you in or are you out."

Yudi guessed that the 'we', meant Alekh and Naina, but he had no idea what the needed help with, or why they'd called him of all people.

"Help with what?" he asked quietly.

"I can't tell you that over the phone, either you agree or you don't." Alekh's tone changed, becoming more serious. "Yudi, today is the day that you fulfill all your promises of friendship. Today is the day that you pay back all your debts to your Guru. Yudi we need you."

Suddenly Yudi began to understand what Alekh was talking about. All of these years he had been waiting for a chance to prove himself. Would this be the day? Would he finally be able to say that he was a man?

"I'm in." he told Alekh, "Now what do I have to do."

"Go home and tell you family that you're leaving to go to Huda's house." Alekh said.

Yudi interrupted him, "Huda has gone to Ali's house, does that effect this?"

There was a moment of silence as Alekh thought about it, "Okay, tell them that you're going to Ali's house. Give any excuse. Then take your car and drive towards Kanpur, once you're out of town, take a different road and head to Jullander. When you're about to reach Jullander there should be a signpost saying that you're 5km away. Stop the car and wait there. Oh, and make sure you're there by 5pm today and that nobody follows you."

"Alright," Yudi said, "But then what…" But Alekh had already hung up the phone. Yudi took a deep breath, half afraid of what lay ahead but knowing that he couldn't let down his friends.

Yudi followed Alekh's instructions perfectly, knowing that whatever else he might be, Alekh was extremely clever. He let his parents know that he'd be going to his friend Ali's house for a couple of days, they didn't even ask him for a reason. Then Yudi got into his car, which had been a graduation present from his parents, and drove.

He arrived at the signpost two hours early and pulled off the road, preparing himself for a long wait. But he needn't have worried, as almost as soon as he had pulled up, he saw Alekh step out of the trees, motioning him forward. Yudi drove up to the edge of the forest and then a little way into it up a small path, so that the car was partially hidden.

Stepping out of the car, he hugged Alekh. "Chief!" he said happily, "I was worried when you disappeared like that!"

Then Naina stepped out from among the trees and Yudi realised his suspicions had been correct, Alekh really had gone to help Naina with something.

"Naina, man is it good to see you! It feels like it's been ages!" Naina stepped forward with a smile and gave Yudi a warm hug.

"It's good to see you too, Yudi." She told him, "I'm glad you decided to come and help us."

"How can I refuse to help my friends in need?" Yudi asked, sounding far more brave than he actually felt. "But uh, what are we actually here to do?"

"We're here to rescue Captain Rajveer." Naina said, and started to walk off.

Yudi was left standing there with a look of surprise on his face.

"Chal, Nautanki." Alekh told him, "We've got a long way to go."

**

"Are you guys kidding me????? What sort of a plan is this????" Yudi was shocked and wondering what he had gotten himself into. "We can't just go around blowing things up!"

"Yudi, I asked whether you were in or out, and you said you were in."

"But you didn't tell me we'd be breaking the law!"

"You didn't ask. And I thought it was pretty obvious when I called you."

"Look Yudi," Naina interrupted them. "There's still time, you can change your mind and go home, or even better, go to Ali's house. But we need your help, this plan is going to work much better with three people. And I promise you that nobody will ever find out what you've done if we all follow the plan correctly."

It was a little after 8pm and they were sitting in the forest a little way outside of a town called Pathankot which was on the road to Jammu. They had arrived there in another car, which Alekh said he had 'borrowed' from somebody. Yudi didn't want to know what the truth was.

After hearing their plan, Yudi was wavering. He hadn't expected it to be this dangerous.

"Yudi," Naina said, her tone practically pleading with him "It's for Rajveer Sir. After everything that he's done for all of us, can't we do this much for him?"

"Yes Naina, but…"

"If we don't do this, then he's going to be executed." Naina told him the truth plainly, it was enough to shake Yudi free of his fear. Rajveer Sir… who had always been there for them, supported them, encouraged them. Rajveer Sir, who had stopped him from committing suicide and taught him to be a true soldier.

Yudi made up his mind, today would be the day that he paid Rajveer Sir back for everything he'd done, today would be the day that he finally did something worthwhile. Today would be the day that he became a man.

**

They took turns to sleep, in KMA they had learnt how to fall asleep and wake up easily, as in war time you had to take whatever sleep you could get. According to the information that Bunty Chaubey had managed to get to them, the truck would be passing by at about 3am. They already had all the gear they needed with them, Alekh and Naina had been prepared. Yudi wasn't sure where they could've managed to get a hold of some of the items until Naina explained that they had some contacts who had been helping.

By 1am, everybody was awake and ready to go. There only worry was that the van would be late and arrive at a time when there were likely to be more cars on the road. At 3am, they weren't expecting anybody else to be driving by. By 2am they split up, leaving with their respective equipment to sit in their assigned places. They were to communicate through walkie talkies, Alekh was further down the road, in the direction of Delhi so that he could give them advance warning of when the truck would be coming. Yudi was further up, in place with the explosives. Naina was somewhere in between the two of them, ready for her part in the plan.

They had made the plan carefully, so that there would be as little chance of somebody being injured as possible. After all, they didn't want to kill the soldiers transporting Captain Rajveer, they were just men doing their job who probably didn't know what was really going on.

Finally at 2:55am, Yudi heard Alekh's voice on the walkie talkie. "They're on their way, everybody get ready. I'm moving into my second position."

This was followed by Naina's voice, sounding almost unnaturally calm. "Yudi, get ready. But remember, only press the button when I tell you to."

Yudi crouched there in the dark, sweating despite the cold weather. The trigger to the explosives was in his hand, and a gun slung over his shoulder. He was ready, but would everything go according to plan.

In the distance he could hear the rumble of the trucks engine as it grew closer.

"Ready Yudi," Naina voice came through the walkie talkie again, "On my signal, one…" The truck rounded the corner, it's headlights bright in the dark night, "Two…" The truck continued to come closer and closer, "Three! Now, Yudi!"

Yudi pressed the button, and barely fifteen metres in front of the transport van, the road blew up.

**

Raj had been dozing inside the van, almost tired enough to sleep despite the chains binding his hands and feet and the movement of the van. There was only one guard in the back with him, while there were two in the cabin of the van. He was exhausted by everything, exhausted by life. Under the circumstances, he was almost glad that he was heading towards his execution. He had accomplished his mission, within a matter of weeks Naina would be able to compete her task. It was another matter that he wouldn't actually be around to witness it.

His eyes were just closing for the tenth time when suddenly he heard a large noise that sounded like an explosion and the truck screeched to a stop. The soldier with him in the back immediately grabbed his gun, and looked at Raj accusingly, but Raj just stared back at him, equally confused about what was going on. It couldn't be… No… Had somebody really come to get him just when he'd given up all hope of living?

**

As soon as the van screeched to a stop, Naina and Alekh sprang into action, shooting out the tires as Yudi ran towards his next position. Now the van was effectively trapped, not able to move. Naina could see the soldiers reaching for their guns, and knew it was time to enter the next phase of the plan.

"Guys, now!" she called into her walkie talkie, and automatic gunfire rang out from two different directions, spraying the road around the truck. Immediately the soldiers in the front cabin crouched on the floor.

Coming to the side of the road but still hidden by the trees, Naina waited for the gun fire to finish, then she called out in a clear, loud voice.

"We have you surrounded! Now throw your weapons out of the truck and come out with your hands on your heads, all of you!"

Obviously thinking that there were far more people ambushing them than there actually were, and seeing no other option, the two soldiers in the front held a quick discussion and then threw their weapons out, before climbing out and standing on the road with their hands on their hands.

"And any of your friends in the back!" Naina called out, relieved when the door to the back of the van opened and a firearm was thrown out, before that guard had climbed out too. All of the soldiers stood there for a minute, not quite sure what to expect. Naina took fire and aimed. It was over so quickly that they never even realised they'd been hit with tranquiliser darts when they passed out on the road. Naina didn't bother to pull her balaclava down, she had nothing to lose now even if they did spot her. She knew that she would immediately come under suspicion for this attack, the most important thing to ensure was that there was no evidence that Alekh or Yudi had been involved.

"Guys, come down now." She told them over the walkie talkie, "Make sure your faces are covered just in case."

Then she walked towards the guard who had come from the back of the truck, and searching him, found a keyring. With agility she climbed up into the back of the van to find an astonished Captain Rajveer sitting there with his chains still on.

In a matter of seconds she took it all in. The weight that he had lost, the bruises visible on his face and neck, the air of defeat that surrounded him. And the look on his face was one of pure shock, as if this was the last thing he'd ever expected.

"What did you think, Sir?" she asked him, as she bent down to unlock him from his chains, "That after everything you've done for us, your cadets would abandon you?"

The look in his eyes changed from shock to one of grateful amazement as she undid the last chain and he tried to get to his feet, but he was so weak and shaky that he had problems standing by himself. Naina placed his right arm over her shoulders and put her left arm around his waist to lend him support, helping him out of the truck slowly. As they stepped onto the road, she noticed that Alekh and Yudi had already done their job, moving the soldiers to the side of the road away from the truck. They still had their balaclavas down, so Raj could not immediately tell who they were, but he guessed by looking at the way they moved and the shape of their bodies.

"Let's go," Naina said "We need to get as far away as possible before anybody realises something is wrong."

They made their way into the forest, where Yudi and Alekh pulled the balaclavas off their faces.

"Alekh Sharma and Yaduvansh Sahni reporting for duty, Sir!" Alekh told him, and they both saluted it. If it had been a bit lighter then they might have seen the tears in Raj's eyes, but he was too weak and tired to be able to say anything to them. Instead he reached out and patted them both on the shoulders.

Seeing that Naina was tiring under Captain Rajveer's weight, Alekh and Yudi both moved to take his arms over their shoulders, and they all stumbled off together into the night.

Their progress was relatively slow, but eventually they made it to the rendevous point around five kilometres from the site of the ambush. Ten minutes passed, and then a truck pulled up and an older Sikh man climbed out. Nodding at them in recognition, he opened the back doors of the truck.

"This is our transport, Sir." Naina told him quietly, and Alekh along with the older man helped Rajveer to climb into the truck. Turning to Yudi, Naina handed him a note. "Please give this to Huda for me, it will explain some things to him." Naina told him, and then she hugged him. "Thank you for everything you've done, Yudi." She told him, "We couldn't have done it without you."

Alekh climbed out of the back of the truck. "Look after yourself, Naina." He told her, "Be careful. And remember that whenever you need me you just have to make a call."

Naina had nodded, feeling truly emotional to be parting with her friends once again. This time not knowing how long it might be before they saw each other again. "I'll miss you, Alekh." She told him, "Go and get Neelu quickly and then go back. We don't want anybody suspecting you." She gave him a long hug, and then with one last look at the two boys, she climbed into the back of the truck. The driver shut the door behind them, climbed back into the truck's cabin and drove off.

Alekh and Yudi turned to each other. They couldn't quite believe what they'd just accomplished.

"Let's get out of here as soon as possible." Alekh told Yudi, "I'll see you soon, Yudi."

Together they got onto Alekh's bike where it had been hidden behind some trees, then Alekh had dropped Yudi back to his car and Yudi had driven to Kanpur as fast as he possibly could.

**

When Yudi had finished telling his story, he looked around to see his friends staring at him with open mouths, similar looks of amazement on their faces.

Ali was the first one to speak. "Yudibhai, today I can say it with confidence. You really are a man."

They were the words that Yudi had been waiting two years to hear, but somehow they didn't matter as much as they once had. The mission that he had helped to accomplish was more worthwhile than any praise.

He thought about Captain Rajveer and Naina, wondering where they were now. All he knew for certain was that they had a long road ahead.