ARSHI FF: Covert Affairs CH 1 PG 8 - Page 5

Uff, so much of attitude! Great start, can't wait to see how the story unfolds. Thanks for the pm. :D

RESEARCH AND ANALYSIS WING HQ,

August 25th 2009

"Miss Gupta, I don't have all day."

Khushi, who had been staring at her visitor's pass, started, coming out of her reverie. Nodding she turned to follow him, jogging to make up the distance between them. In the confines of this concrete and glass jungle Khushi Gupta stood out like a sore thumb. Garish jute bags were not strictly regulation. Her jhuti's squeeked loudly against the marble floors, echoing out into the atrium. Khushi noticed him glance down toward her feet in disdain. Looking curiously at her own feet she wondered what his problem was. Rolling his eyes he pressed the button, calling for the elevator. In the meantime, she slumped against the wall, her hand over her chest, trying to catch her breath.

He looked at her in bewilderment.

"You're out of breath?"

Khushi immediately stood up, her stance defensive. "You have long legs Mr. Raizada. It's hard to keep up."

The doors of the elevator pinged open and she huffed, storming her way inside. Arnav, slightly taken aback, took a moment to follow. The doors shut swiftly and the glass container hurtled upwards. Khushi observed the logo inscribed on the floor of the elevator. Research & Analysis Wing. Frowning she tried to recollect any sparse detail in the dusty shelves of her mind. At most she could relate it to the elusive government agency Salman Khan worked for in his recent movie. But surely that was all just Bollywood. This wasn't really a spy agency. At best this building looked as if it housed some well to do corporate figures.

Her internal thought process was momentarily disturbed as the elevator opened its doors to another floor. She began to walk out.

"This isn't our floor." he called out tersely.

Feeling rather foolish, Khushi shuffled back and leaned against the railing. Just as the doors were about to shut again, a man in his mid twenties rushed in. Unruly hair refused to sit straight atop his head, falling over his ray ban shaped reading glasses. The stack of files in his hands, kept slipping out from under him and onto the floor. He appeared to be the precise antidote of her escort.

"Raizada. Thanks for holding the door."

"I didn't" he replied dryly.

The young man caught sight of Khushi. Offering his hand he introduced himself. "I'm Mathur. But you can call me Aman. Don't mind him. Raizada's not that bad when you get to know him."

Khushi shook his hand and smiled for the first time that day. "I'm Khushi."

Arnav kept looking at the number dial of the elevator, ignoring their presence all together.

"So what brings you here?"

Khushi looked at Arnav and hesitated. He answered for her..."We're going to meet the DCS."

Aman smiled and then paused. "DCS? You're being recruited?" Looking her petite frame up and down he barely disguised his surprise.

Shrugging non-comittally, Khushi avoided answering.

"Wow. Getting an escort from Raizada. Wonder boy here won't go near the newbies with a ten foot pole. What's so special about you?" While she realised that this man was teasing her, she was asking herself the exact same question.

What the hell is so special about me?

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OFFICES OF DCS, ANIL GOTWANDE

"This is the office of the Director of Clandestine Services, how may I help you?" The receptionist was currently engaged on the phone.

Khushi drummed her fingers along the countertop and looked around. The phone kept ringing incessantly, the switchboard lights flickering on and off. White wool carpets covered the floors, this environment was just as sterile as the rest of the building. In steel letter head above the receptionists station was written...Director of Clandestine Services. DCS. Now she understood. She would have to keep that in mind.

"Anita we're here to see Gotwande. We should have an appointment for thirteen hundred hours."

Anita, looked like any other middle aged aunty from her neighbourhood. Her hair was tied in a severe bun at the nape of her neck and she wore her starchy saree with an effortless grace. Having just put down the phone she very promptly replied...

"Mr Gotwande's previous appointment is running longer than anticipated. Take a seat in the lounge. Would you like tea or coffee?"

Arnav declined but Khushi immediately took advantage of the opportunity. "I'll have tea thank you. White with two sugars."

Anita smiled at her youthful exuberance faintly. This place would soon quash it out of her.

Khushi sat down in the rather comfortable one seater, fidgeting nervously. Arnav watched as the ends of her kurti were slowly destroyed. Her head swivelled on her slender neck as she eagerly drunk in the surrounds. He eyed the clock. 13.03. A peon arrived with a cup of tea. Khushi took the chai and thanked him. Inhaling the familiar aroma she willed her frazzled nerves to ease up.

The office door opened.

"Ms. Gupta. Sorry to keep you waiting. Do come inside."

Khushi shoulder's sank dejectedly. The chai would have to wait. Slinging her bag over her shoulder she stood up to face a man who she assumed to be in his late forties or early fifties. Like her escort he stood tall and square, his build solid. Jet black hair was cut short and peppered grey along his temples, distinguishing him in her regard. Gesturing her to enter the office, he held open the door.

Smiling tightly, she walked inside.

Anil Gotwande had only recently been appointed the Director of Clandestine Services for RAW. The decision to go overt had not been voluntary but he accepted his new role with as much dignity as he could muster. The change in administration had come as a directive of the prime minister. The belief was that Gotwande would bring with him years of covert expertise that would give the agency the shake up it needed. Far too much had wrong. Stiff collared, pursed lipped bureaucrats with no field experience had cost the life of too many operatives.

So here they were recruiting Ms. Gupta. Gotwande wanted to laugh.

Offering her a seat, he propped himself up on the edge of his table sitting directly in front of her.

"I'm sure this morning hasn't been easy for you."

"In a manner of speaking." Khushi Gupta offered no more. Perhaps there was hope for her.

"Well lets get down to it. I want to offer you a job."

"I surmised." Anil watched her gaze quickly flicker to Raizada and back.

"What do you know about RAW Ms. Gupta?"

"Salman Khan fell in love Katrina Kaif." she answered very frankly.

Gotwande's face fell a fraction as he heard what vaguely sounded like a snort from his senior officer.

Schooling his face, he raised his eyebrow... "I'm not sure what you mean."

"In the movie Ek Tha Tiger, Salman Khan was a RAW agent who fell in love with Katrina Kaif who was an ISI agent. That is all I know about RAW."

"I don't know what you know about foreign policy..."

"Not much." she interrupted.

"But there will be strictly no falling in love with ISI agents. Unless of course you are required to for an assignment."

"Right. That's fine. So what exactly is it that you do?"

"Do you watch the news?"

"Not really."

Gotwande scrutinised the girl in front of him. This was the ordinary Indian civilian that he had spent his life protecting. This type of individual had no place with in their organisation. There was something in her blunt honesty though, that struck a chord with him.

"I'm going to be frank with you. I am not here to waste my time telling you what our organisation is. You have the internet for that. What I will tell you is this. This job can be dangerous. Most junior operatives don't get to see any real action for a while. This will not be the case with you. We want you in the field as soon as possible. Having said that...all our operations are meticulously planned and hence any real threat is minimised to the greatest degree possible."

He paused to think about his next words.

"Your language abilities are an asset that we are keen to exploit. If you accept this job you will be shipped off to the training academy in Dehradun for your initiation. There you will be educated on RAW and all current operations. You will also review the external intelligence agencies of several countries as well as be brought up to speed with current foreign policy. This will all be supplemented by a rigorous physical regimen. After all of this you will be assigned to a handler and dispatched into the field as a covert operative. The rest you will learn with time."

"So I will be an operative for RAW?" Khushi asked hesitantly

"That is the idea...eventually."

"Why me? I know for a fact that there several other individual in my university just as qualified then why me?" Khushi held Anil Gotwande gaze, demanding the truth.

Gotwande turned to Raizada. For the first time in the whole meeting Arnav Singh Raizada spoke. "There are several reasons Ms. Gupta. The first being that you are the best. You display a natural affinity for languages and we hope that you will continue to pick up more in your tenure here. We do a thorough profiling of all individuals before we recruit and you happen to fulfil several criteria. You are an orphan."

Arnav noticed her fist clench and her mouth tighten. "Orphans usually make the best operatives Ms. Gupta. I should know." Arnav paused, unsure of why he had revealed that last piece of information. It wasn't necessary. Still, as her face softened and her posture relaxed he felt a little lighter. Gotwande looked between the two curiously. Anxious to test his theory, Anil took over from Arnav.

"Most importantly however you are a beautiful woman."

Khushi looked up at Anil startled. He leaned forward making her uncomfortable with their proximity. "Now... you can detest this fact or exploit it to both your and our benefit. Your beauty and gender is a resource that RAW finds itself wanting." Anil watched the way Khushi shifted back in her seat trying to increase the distance between them . He also didn't fail to notice the way in which Arnav had shifted himself closer to her just a fraction. These observations were not ideal.

Leaning back he stood up and walked to the door. "Your country asks you to serve Ms. Gupta. The final decision remains with you. I hope to hear from you soon."

Breathless from the whirlwind that was this meeting, Khushi took a second to realise she was being dismissed. "Please wait in the lounge, I need to have a word with Officer Raizada for a moment."

Nodding meekly, she hurried out of the room as fast as her legs allowed. The feeling in this room was foreboding. Anil clicked the door shut and turned to address a smirking Raziada.

"You still use that line? Your country asks you to serve? Cliche isn't it?"

"Well she seemed to be a Bollywood fan. I thought it might work." Anil looked at his right hand man. "At ease soldier. You're not in the army anymore. There is no need for you to stand like that."

Arnav relaxed. "You wanted to talk to me?"

"Are you f*cking her or do you want to f*ck her? Because Raizada I can't have you distracted."

Credit to his training, Arnav didn't flinch. "Neither. I am fully focussed on the task at hand."

"I saw the way you behave around her and don't think I didn't notice that little slip up about your past. You never tell anyone about being an orphan. Forget that...you practically begged me to recruit her. She has the language skills sure but I don't think she's going to make the cut."

"She will. I will make sure of it."

"If you don't have some strange obsession with her, then why the insistence?"

Arnav remained silent. Gotwande rubbed his head tiredly. "Be it on your head then. She's your responsibility."

"Yes sir!"

"Dismissed."

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Phew! Done. I am alive. Sorry for the extended hiatus. I became deathly unwell and had a tonne of study. Sorry shree! Also the words just wouldn't come to me. I have half finished YLME and HAM but they are just sitting there. I can't seem to finish them. Urghghghhh

Anyway I hope this wet your appetite a little. I know people are desperate for YLME but like I have said time and time again. I refuse to compromise.

I love you all so very much.

Sasak