Chapter 70

CHAPTER 70

SCAVENGING FOR CLUES

The crunch of the leaves broke the quietness of the forest underneath their feet. Karan walked slowly, with careless steps, glancing around. This was the location Siddharth had pinpointed. A little inaccuracies were all that was expected, so the warehouse must be somewhere close. That meant... they were in EFR's area now.

A noise made him glance up, finding Sanju gesture to the ground. He glanced around. A bear trap. Hidden perfectly by some leaves. That would leave to some serious injuries. He nodded in acknowledgement, walking deeper into the forest.

He paused, a faint hint peeking out from behind some leaves. He took a step closer. The warehouse.

He pressed the button on his ear comm. "Agents, come in", he said, hearing the confirmation. "Target in sight. Surround the area." He gestured to Sanju, who nodded, jogging a little away from him.

"In position, Sir", he heard several agents reporting.

He took a step closer, leaning down and inspecting the warehouse. Faizi's informer wasn't kidding. It was expertly hidden, almost camouflaged with the trees. The warehouse itself was a weird gradient shade of green which merged with the greenery around, but not enough that directly looking, it was unnoticeable.

"Agents, close in."

He ducked down the branches that extended from the thick trees, carefully walking closer. A shout made him look up and he drew his gun, cocking the safety off when he saw terrorists run out. His own agents duck for cover, and he watched for a moment as the terrorists opened fire, making his agents open fire in response.

"Sanju", he said, inspecting the scene. "Najjad par dhyaan rakhna. Woh bhaagna nahi chahiye, chaahe kuchh ho jaaye."

"Ji, Sir ji."

His eyes narrowed as a man ran up to one of his agents, his gun out. He raised his gun, pulling the trigger. The man fell down, a bullet in his neck. He made a face. That was a little lower than he had aimed for. But it got the job done. He ducked down when some men looked up, quietly jogging up sideways to another spot. Good thing about easily camouflagable locations, their side could camouflage too.

He watched quietly, raising his gun only when someone sneaked up on his agents before quickly switching to another spot, a tad bit closer but still perfectly hidden. There was silence after a moment, the stream of men coming finally halting.

"Go", he said into the ear comm. "But aaram se. Be careful."

There was a hustle from all around the warehouse and agents quietly walked out. He himself stepped out, his gun raised. Sanju, beside him, walked out too, her own gun drawn.

"Andar chalo", he said, walking closer to the door.

Sanju paused at one side of the front door and Karan paused at the other one. He nodded to the door and she stepped forward, slamming her foot into it.

It was quiet. Where was Najjad? Was he not here?

Karan stepped in, looking around. It was dark. Despite the fairly early morning, the warehouse was shrouded in almost pit darkness, thanks to the minimal windows and no lights.

"Spread out, agents. Search the warehouse. Ek bhi kona nahi chhootna chahiye."

It was still a base. And hence, must have important information. Were they wrong? Was Najjad not here? He stepped into a room, switching the light on. It was a bedroom. He walked around, his gun drawn as he inspected it.

A hand was lying on the ground. He paused. He took a step forward and then another. Was that... a body?

He took another step forward. Yes. A body. Another step. He could see the face now. He halted. Well... shit.

Najjad.

---x---x---x---x---x---x---x---x---x---

"Kal Abhi ka antim sanskaar hoga", Faizi said softly, leaning back in the chair. Colonel Batra heaved a sigh, rubbing his forehead. This was raising too many questions he didn't quite have the answer to, at the moment.

Param stared at him quietly for a few seconds. "Tu aur Karan jaana, Faizi. Sanju yahin rahegi", he said quietly. "It will look strange agar tum dono nahi gaye. And tu waise bhi jaana chaahega. Par... we can't leave the academy defenseless. Agar spy jo bhi hai, woh nahi jaata, toh kal would be a fairly good time to make a move."

Faizi hummed. "Haan", he muttered. "Okay."

"Whoever killed Abhi... ek toh usne hastily kill kara. That's why he killed him in the room. Warna it would have been better agar woh academy ke bahar lekar jaata and got him killed by EFR. Uska secret safe hota. Par... this also means ki ab woh aur cautious ho gaya hai. He would know we would make the connection, aaj nahi toh kal. That means he might try to run. But also... Abhi couldn't have been stabbed zyaada pehle before Karan and Sanju found him. That means the spy didn't have a lot of time to erase evidence. Toh... bahut kuchh aisa bach gaya hoga jo shayad hume woh lead de which we were looking for."

"All the cadets are at work", Faizi said. "Humne unki classes postpone kar di hain under the official reason ki hum trainers busy hain."

Colonel Batra leaned forward. "Agents", he said, a calm undertone in his voice. "I want this spy, by hook or by crook ab. Jo karna padhe, do it. Take any step necessary, even if it's extreme but get this spy out of my academy."

They straightened up. "Yes Sir."

---x---x---x---x---x---x---x---x---x---

Sanju pulled open the drawer, grabbing the papers and ruffling through them. She paused, holding up a blank paper. That... was strange. Those marks... Where had she seen them before?

Her ear comm buzzed and she tapped it. "Najjad is dead", she heard Karan said. "Uski body hai yahan."

Her eyes widened and she quickly walked through the rooms, finding the older agent kneeling down. A couple other agents were there, kneeling down and inspecting the body. She walked closer, studying his face. That... did look like Najjad. Or Hamza. Whatever. That was confusing.

"Looks like poison, Sir", one of the agents said, pushing back the color and showing the discoloration in his throat. "Probably self inflicted jab use realize hua hoga there is no way to escape."

"That seems to be their favorite thing. Suicide", Karan muttered. "Aisi jagah bhaag jao jahan hume follow nahi kar sakte. Nark."

"Sir ji", she said, handing him the blank sheet. "Yeh nishaan..."

"Heat ke hain", he said, inspecting it. "Shayad invisible ink use kari hui hai. Lighter hai kisi ke paas?"

An agent pulled one out, handing it to him. Sanju glanced at the lighter, before back at the man. It was the type that was used to light a cigarette. She shook her head slightly. Karan held the flame below the paper, a safe distance away, slowly heating it.

The marks darkened slowly and the words appeared, and he flicked the flame off, handing it back to the man. He glanced it over, tilting it so everyone could see.

It was some strange lines. A whole different code. Karan stared at it for a few seconds before holding it out to Sanju. "Photo kheench le", he said. "Aur decrypters ko bhej de. Tell them it's urgent toh jitna jaldi ho sake, utna jaldi kare."

"Ji, Sir ji."

Sanju did as she was told, staring at the weird lines afterwards. Nothing was simple with EFR, their codes having codes and each task a mission after the another.

---x---x---x---x---x---x---x---x---x---

"Kuchh pata chala?" Karan asked, looking at the four cadets- Monami, Suman ji, Bala and Koel. Their ears in the academy. The four agents stared at them expectantly, all in various positions in the room. All four nodded. "Koel?"

"Abhi Sir kaafi sweet hain... the", she said. "Apparently, he used to help the workers around with things jab unke paas time hota tha. But lately... he had been very snappy and bahut distant. Koi unse baat karta tha toh woh dhyaan se nahi sun rahe hote the. Ya phone par busy hote the. Ya jaldi se kuchh kaam bolkar nikal jaate the."

Karan looked at Bala. "Sir ji, unka sabse khaas dost koi Mridul Sir ji the. Training ke time se saath the. Ek saath rehte the aur kahin se sunne ko aaya hai ki Abhi Sir ji hamesha Mridul Sir ji ko bahut kuchh bataate the. Sab kuchh hi, laga lo." He hesitated, glancing at Monami. "Aur... woh Monami Madam ko bahut zyaada pasand karte the. Aur yeh baat... Mridul Sir ji ko bahut zyaada pasand nahi thi waise. Unhe... jalan hoti thi. Itna hi pata chala."

"Suman ji ko yeh pata chala ki unki aas paas waalon se bahut bol chaal thi toh unko bahut kuchh pata hota tha ki academy mein kya chal raha hai."

Monami hesitated, looking around. "Kisi ne k-kaha tha m-mujhe ki unhe p-pakka nahi hai p-par... Abhi S-Sir kuchh l-lekar gh-ghoomte the a-apni p-pocket mein. Aur koi p-puchhe, toh h-hamesha baat t-taal de d-dete the. Par... koi h-hard dr-drive jaisi ch-cheez lag r-rahi thi."

Karan looked at Sanju who nodded, getting her phone out and walking out of the room. Hard drive. Maybe that had the trail they were looking for.

"Tum log jaa sakte ho", Faizi said. "Monami, tum ruko."

She bounced on her feet nervously as the rest left, closing the door behind them. "K-Kya hua?" She asked, fiddling with her hands.

Faizi offered her a comforting smile. "Abhi... really liked you. Woh tumse baat karta tha. Did he... mention anything to you? Jo kuchh bhi bola ho, however insignificant."

She shrugged. "He... He was s-stressed. B-Bahut z-zyaada. He used to a-ask me if I c-could sp-spend t-time with h-him just so he c-can c-calm down. K-Kabhi kabhi I d-didn't h-have time par... a-agar main unke s-saath rehti bhi thi, toh bhi k-kuchh z-zyaada bolte nahi the. Just... i-idhar udhar ki b-baatein."

"Stress kis baat ka?" Param asked.

"Pata n-nahi. Wh-Whenever I a-asked, he used to s-say... kaam ka. I t-told him to t-talk to somebody and he a-agreed but kehte a-abhi nahi." She looked at Karan. "He was... v-very concerned about K-Karan Sir j-jab... jab un-unhe poison k-kara tha. Kaafi z-zyaada worried the."

'Puchh raha tha humaare kamre ke paas koi aaya tha kya.'

So... Abhi had at the very least, an inkling about the poisoning. Communications. Did he somehow intercept those? Online signals, some mails maybe. Karan looked at the other two before nodding to the door. "You can go, Monami." She walked out and Karan leaned against the desk.

Mridul and Sanket. Perhaps they would know something about Abhi's perdicament. But... if they hadn't spoken till now, they wouldn't speak. Those two needed to be kept an eye on, maybe.

---x---x---x---x---x---x---x---x---x---

Karan closed his eyes, resting his head on the wall of the mess. His body was aching. Perhaps he should have taken a moment. "L-Long day, huh?" He cracked his eyes open. Monami. He merely sighed in response, watching her as she sat down in front of him.

"It's... It's always tough", he muttered quietly. He rubbed his face. "I should have seen this coming. Thoda sa pehle and..."

"D-Divyadrishti hai aa-aapki?" She countered. "S-Sab dikhna ch-chahiye? Sab p-pata hona ch-chahiye? This is n-not on you. None of it is. Yeh s-sirf unn logon par h-hai who killed him."

He straightened up. "But the signs were there", he insisted. "I could have seen this coming."

She stared at him. "Agar aa-aap ise apni r-responsibility m-maante hain then you were l-lessening the responsibility on th-those people who a-actually killed him. Aapke g-guilt ka m-matlab hai ki that it's not all on them, that they are not as guilty. Don't do that. Unki galtiyan, unke gunah... that's on th-them, not you", she said firmly.

He stared at her for a few moments. "Meri academy ko, mere agents ko, protect karna meri responsibility hai."

"Nahi. Aapki r-responsibility hai ki aa-aap woh sab karo to pr-protect them. Apna k-kaam honesty se k-karo. Hindsight's 20/20. P-Peechhe dekhkar b-bahut ch-cheezen cl-clear ho jaati hain. That d-doesn't mean ki aapne apna k-kaam dhang se n-nahi kara. Aa-Aapne apni d-duty kari and... d-despite that a-agar kuchh h-hota hai, then th-that's not on you." She stood up, walking over and sitting down next to him. "Abhi S-Sir was s-still alive jab main aayi. Do you b-blame me for n-not... not being a-able to s-save him?"

His face scrunched up in disbelief. "Nahi! Bilkul nahi. That's not your fault", he said.

She shrugged. "Same thing."

He sighed, rubbing his face. "I... I guess", he conceded quietly. He shook his head, sighing again. He had to let it go. He did what he could. There was no point of 'what if's and 'could have been's. He looked at her. "Achha, suno", he said. "Kal... Abhi ka antimsanksaar hai."

She tilted her head. "Itna l-late k-kyun?"

"We need to do the autopsy kyunki murder tha. A full blown investigation hogi", he said. "Do you want to come?"

"I c-can?" She asked. She paused. "Meri... Meri th-therapy bhi hai k-kal se."

"Shaam tak waapas aa jaayenge. You can still go to therapy", he assured. "If you want to come, then tum aa sakti ho. Par... no pressure if you don't. Main aur Faizi toh jaayenge hi."

She nodded. "I... I think I s-should go", she said quietly. "He... He w-would have wanted it too."

Maybe. Abhi hated seeing her sad, though. Tears, even a frown. He wanted to lift her mood, keep her happy, smiling. But Karan didn't object, merely nodding. She wanted to go.

---x---x---x---x---x---x---x---x---x---

Parikshit walked around, Prem ji a step behind, both wandering around in the academy. Where were the trainers? His eyes lit up when he saw Param. He'll know.

"Sir", he said, jogging up to him. "Karan Sir aur Faizi Sir kahan hai?"

"Abhi ka antim sanskaar hai aaj", he said quietly. "Uske liye gaye hain. Shaam tak aayenge. Kuchh urgent hai?"

The cadet glanced around before leaning in, his tone lowering. "I found something. Cameras mein." Param studied him in interest, his eyes lighting up a little.

"Yeh woh waali hall ki footage hai jo Abhi Sir ke room se just mudkar hai. It's after ", Parikshit explained, once they were settled in Param's room, satisfied there would be no listeners. "It has been manipulated par... watch this." He slowed down the footage, pausing and then showing it frame by frame. He paused. "Yeh dekho."

Param's breath caught. A glimpse of the spy. He had missed a frame when he was manipulating the cameras.

"Blurry hai", Parikshit said. "Face nahi dikh raha par this frame's something, right? Hum kuchh toh nikaal sakte honge isse?"

"Yes", he muttered, staring at it. That gave a basic structure of his build. He would need to study the agents again but this... this was their first physical glimpse of the spy. He gently patted the two's backs. "Good job, you guys. Ek aur kaam karo. Jo list mein agents hain... try to find out ki woh iss exact time par kahan the. Whoever you can find, write their names and give it to me. And I mean, find them on the camera. Sab nahi mil paayenge because kuchh aisi jagah par honge jahan cameras nahi hai- maybe washroom ya apne apne rooms ya wherever. But you get my point?"

"Yes Sir", the two men said.

"Great job, cadets."

---x---x---x---x---x---x---x---x---x---

Monami pushed herself closer to the wall, staring at the door as the lock jiggled. It was pushed open. He walked in, looking at the food. Untouched. Just like the past few days. She hadn't had the heart to eat. He sighed, kneeling down in front of her. 'Kya, baby girl', he cooed. 'Khaana khaaya nahi phirse?'

She swallowed, shaking her head. He hated not being answered. 'M-Mann nahi', she whimpered. 'Please.'

'Mar jaogi aise.' He grabbed the plate. 'Abhi nahi marne dunga tumhe.' He scooped up a spoonful of rice, holding it to her mouth. 'Mujhe majboor mat karo ki tumhe khaana khilaane mein bhi aapko dard dena padhe. Eat!' She opened her mouth and he shoved the spoon in her mouth. 'Do you like it?'

It was the most disgusting food she had eaten. Ever. She shook her head.

He smirked. 'Good. Yeh koi hotel nahi hai. I have some news for you waise.' She opened her mouth again when he held the spoonful up. 'Aaj pata hai kya hai? Bahut special day hai aaj.'

'Are you going to let me go?' She whispered hopefully.

He let out a laugh. 'Let you go? Kyun?' He sat down in front of her, crossing his legs underneath her. He gently touched her greasy hair, stroking them. She flinched when his grip tightened and he yanked her closer. 'Aaj, baby girl, aapki Mumma ka antim sanskaar hai.'

Her eyes welled up with tears. She... She wouldn't get to say her last goodbyes to her? 'Mumma', she crooned, bursting into sobs.

'Aww, mera baby girl, don't cry', he cooed. 'Aapko news pasand nahi aayi?' He let out a mocking laugh, watching her with a smirk.

Her eyes snapped open. Her heart pounded in her ears and she blinked a couple of times, looking around. The jeep. She was in the backseat of the jeep. She turned her head, groaning slightly as pain shot up in her neck. They were going back to the academy. Abhi's antim sanskaar must have triggered that particular memory.

"Monami", Faizi said. She licked her dry lips, looking at him groggily. "Tum theek ho?"

"Haan", she said. "P-Paani hai?" She gulped down a big mouthful when she was passed the bottle, sighing happily as it cooled down her dry throat.

She hadn't been to a lot of funerals but this was the first time she had been to a shaheed's funeral. It was different. There were gun salutes, army ceremonies, so many people. Karan and Faizi both were in their ceremonial uniform, much like all army personnel. It was the first time she had seen them in this attire. If only it wasn't such bad timing. Was this what her mother's funeral was like?

She pushed herself forward in the seat, poking her head between the two men. Karan glanced at her, away from the road ahead for a bare second before back at the road. "C-Can I ask s-something?"

"Of course", Karan said. "Kabhi mana kara hai?"

"Sh-Shaheedon ki f-funeral aisi hi h-hoti hai k-kya?" She asked softly. "H-Hamesha?"

"Majority of the times, haan." He sighed, clutching the steering wheel tightly. "Usually, hum log kehte hain ki... faujiyon ki shahadat par roya nahi jaata hai. Unki zindagi ka jashan manaaya jaata hai. Hum unki zindagi ki, unke sacrifices ki, unke family ki sacrifices ke, honor karne ka try karte hain."

She gripped the seat tightly, the question on the tip of her tongue. "Meri Mumma ka antim sanskaar bhi aise hi hua hoga?" She blurted out finally, the words almost mixing together with how fast she spewed them out.

Faizi looked at her, eyebrows furrowing. "Tumne... attend nahi kara kya?"

She sank back into the backseat. "I w-was... un-unavailable."

"Haan", Karan interjected, steering the conversation away. "Tumhaari Mumma ka bhi aise hi hua hoga."

She hummed slightly, tilting her head back. What was her father's reaction to this? Did he break down like Abhi's mother? Or did he merely cross his arms, staring at the pyre and forcing his tears back like Abhi's sister? A mix of both like his father? If she was there, would he have let her come to it? Or would he have wanted to keep her away, shielded her? But those question didn't matter, did they?

Her mother was dead, and she had never gotten to say her goodbyes to her.