'The Chinese Rapture'....
it wasn't the usual extravagant five-star dining restaurant...
it was much more...and today....it was about to decide the course
of action that a few eminent personalities would undertake...
to protect all the endangered resources...
the conference room had been booked way in advance....
and was being guarded by heavily armed personnel....
anyone passing from outside would undoubtedly realise
that something big was happening.....
in reality...it wasn't big...
it was huge...tremendous...larger than life itself!
everyone who was to assemble in the room knew what
the meeting was about hazily...but only two knew the entire story...
in addition...these 'six' people had very limited ideas about
who they were about to meet in the next few minutes...
afterall...they all belonged to absolutely different arenas of work....
yet....the moment of emergency had called them together...
it was in their hands now..to protect the country from falling
into the hands of dangerous elements...and facing the repurcurssions...
but there was a major problem here....
could these six ever stand working with each other....?
could they coordinate their ideologies...their policies..
and respect the other's point of view....?
most importantly...would they all consent to
endanger their lives for this mission....?
the meeting would answer all these questions..
and pose several others....
......................
being punctual...or rather before time...had been his habit
since a longtime...and he was a man who was greatly respected for it...
suave...smart...and intelligent...
the deputy head of the Indian Secret Services (ISS)
was the first to walk into the conference hall...
dressed in a grey suit...this tall man calmly took
the seat reserved for him....and hoped that the other members
of the group would arrive soon...
he was proud that he had been chosen for this task...
and had been given enough authority to select one additional member who
he thought was perfect for the mission....
and so ..
Deputy Head Amardeep Huda had done his job....
He had found the perfect person in yet another intelligence agency
an agent of RAW...
The Research And Analysis Wing of the government of india...
and as far as his source was concerned...he was sure that this member
would prove to be one hell of a spy...
..........................
"Indian-Secret-Services-reactivated-Karma-threatened-Chinese-Rapture."
yudi had read this line time and again...
ISS reactivated????...
par yeh kaise possible hai?
aur mujhe ab tak kuch pata kyon nahi chala?
how the hell are the issues being settled down.....?
the president must have conceded for this re-activation...
but that could only mean there's a new mission......kahin....karma
ka re-launch....?
shaking his head...he walked towards the conference hall.....
............................
the limousine pulled outside the restaurant...
and an exceedingly handsome man got out...
dressed in a designer suit....
this laid-back man had already made his decision...
to hell with the mission...!
i've risked my life hundreds of time for this country...
aur badle mein mujhe kya mila....insults..and nothing more!
you were wrong jaan....
i'm not going to help these people this time...
but aalekh was probably wrong....
and dipika correct....for she was sure that her husband would never
fail to protect their country...
..................................
finally...two more men ...equally gorgeous...sturdy...
and in a rather pensive mood entered the conference hall..
till the room had 5 of its 6 members...
5 men now stood around the round table...studying each other...
there was sheer shock on some of those faces...while
a happiness on some...and confusion on most of them....
two of them stood directly opposite each other....
eyes in strict contact...neither blinking away...
recollecting..reliving old memories....
"goodevening gentlemen...
most of us know why we're here...atleast partly...
and before we go on on detailing...."
he paused....
"there's supposed to be one more member in this group...."
he looked at huda...
"should be here shortly....
i think you should proceed with the introductions please..."
"right....and by the way...
the room's been checked personally by me...it's not bugged...
please be free to make your suggestions..."
he began the intros...going in an anti-clockwise direction...
"yadhuvansh sahani....free-lance journalist...and the only
one in the press who we trust...a master of disguises...
he can get away with anything..."
"deputy head, ISS...Mr. Amardeep Huda...
is already way deep into most of the activities going on these days...
and has also selected the member we all await..."
"mr. aalekh sharma...."
the speaker paused....
and aalekh continued...
"a man who was knocked out of the intelligence team
of the indian space research organistaion...i'm not sure why i'm here....."
"but i am..."
the remaining member spoke...and the eye-contact was re-established...
"knocked out for saving the world...what happened to him wasn't fair in any sense...
he's the hacking expert...a man whose mind works faster than any computer..
we cannot do without him..."
"and this gentlemen..."
the speaker was back with the intros..
"...is Mr Rajveer singh shekhawat...
..has been with NASA.. created supercomputers...and
unimaginable designs of many satellites....
has the experience of working with the UN..
and has also created security systems for protecting billions
of dollars and foreign exchange with the world bank...and.......
well...and a lot more....
"and finally....i'm colonel navin singh ahluwalia...
who's been entrusted with this entire job by the president of india....
GENTLEMEN...WELCOME TO SYNDICATE!"
"colonel..i'm afraid i can't take up this job...
i..i have other priorities...
i came here on your insistence..but i've made my mind..."
aalekh interrupted...
navin looked at raj....who took a deep breath before speaking.,..
"can i have a word with you mr.sharma..in private?"
"sure raj...mr shekhawat.."
and they went into the adjoining room...
"longtime huh...you've achieved quite a lot!"
aalekh faced rajveer...
"you could have too..."
"not with my kind of luck...
let's get to the point Raj!...
why me??"
raj chuckled...they were so similar...
why me...that had been his 1st question as well...
"aalekh..."
and then as if overcome by emotion...
he pulled him straight into his arms...
"kaisa hai yaar??"
aalekh hugged his one-time rival..competitor...
and most importantly his 'one-time' best friend
equally tightly...
"itne saal ho gaye raj...
kahaan chala gaya tha yaar...
na koi khabar..na koi pata...
you were my only support when i...
when i failed...aur phir tu bhi....?"
"you never failed!...main teri jagaah hota to main bhi wahi karta yaar...
aur jahaan tak mere jaane ke baat thi..."
a painful shadow entered his eyes...
"phir kabhi yaar...abhi....i need you on this mission.."
aalekh shook his head....
"aalekh please...tere bina nahi kar sakta yaar..."
"tu kuch bhi kar sakta hai...
you're a mastermind...
aur jab tu hai to meri koi zaroorat nahi hai raj...
i'm leaving..."
he began walking off....
"desh ko dhoka mat de aalekh..."
aalekh froze...turning back...
"agar tujhe lagta hai..ki is desh ne tere liye kuch bhi kara hai...
then don't allow it to go down the drain...
mauka hai tere liye dost..."
and aalekh closed his eyes...
his wife had told him the same thing...
"its an oppurtunity for you to gain all your lost respect...
isse haath se mat jaane dena jaan...
the country needs you..."
and aalekh was left confused...
...........................
half-an hour later....
they went back to the conference hall...
and aalekh exclaimed...
"to...kahaan jaa kar marna hai aap sabke saath?"
and everyone smiled...well...they all knew the line had been
picked up from a movie....but it was perfectly suitable!
and exactly at that time...
the door banged open...and a flustered...wet woman entered the room...
"it's begun to rain!"
and then she stopped dead in her tracks...breathing heavily...
clearly tired from all the running...
"oh..finally you're here!"
huda exclaimed....
"gentleman...meet the sixth member of syndicate...
Ms.Naina singh ahluwalia...an agent with the RAW....
involved with International Intelligence and Mossad..
has worked on several missions....a trusted spy ..."
before he could continue....
naina stepped forward.....
and slapped navin right across his face....
everyone stood stunned....
while raj's mouth dropped open...
yeh ladki hai yaan dhamaakon ki dukaan???
"you have the audacity to stand right here
in front of me navin?..."
and then she hugged him tightly...on the verge of tears....
"you're...where the hell were you all these years?...."
raj rolled his eyes...
navin ko bhi dhoka dene ke liye yahi mili thi?!!
"i've missed you like hell bhaai!!"
"bhaai??"
all others exclaimed together...and naina came back to reality...
mumbling..while looking at the others for the first time..
"oh...i...i'm so sorry...i didn't mean to....just got a bit carried away..."
"a usual habit it seems..."
a sarcastic voice reached her ears...
and she immediately recognized it...
"tum?!!...are you like following me or what?!
i mean...how low can you get?!.."
"look miss...trust me..
i have a way better choice...
and my time's far too precious to be chasing girls in skirts!"
yeh to gaya...raj...yeh tune kya kar diya?!
navin's eyes had widened.....
"how dare you?!!!"
and then he realised that he'd probably overstepped the line...
"i..i'm sorry...i have no right to talk to you like that...
navin...sorry boss!"
"no problem raj!"
"no problem??!...who the hell are you to say that?!
and you Mr....are an absolutely wicked...cheap...disgusting...
narrow-minded freak!...no sense of respect for women...
pata nahi kahaan-kahaan se aa jaate hain!"
"enough!....main kuch bol nahi raha iska matlab yeh nahin ki aap..."
"main kya huh?....kya karloge...?
i'm not one of your usual 'time-pass' girls....
i'm a thorough professional..."
"like hell you are!...
i quit guys!....this woman is absolutely intimadating..
iske saath kaam karna is impossible!....
all the best to you......weird female!!"
and he walked off...leaving everyone stunned...
and wondering exactly what had just happened!!!
but there was just one thing that rajveer was thinking as he
stepped out into the fresh air...
6 years...it had been 6 long years since he had actually fought with someone...
to be more precise...it had been 6 years since he'd actually bothered to reply
in such a fashion to anyone...
6 years since he'd been his normal self...the witty...sharp..
and the great speaker that he was...
and to his amazement....he felt different...and...well...
he smiled!!
RAJVEER SINGH SHEKHAWAT SMILED YET AGAIN!
something was certainly amiss...
there's a certain magic in this country.....
and it had already begun to pour on him....
Anupamaa
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