CHAPTER 42
CLUB ECSTASY
Karan glanced at the laptop where the locations that traced to his cell phones were pulled on, marking another spot on the map. Laxman had really been travelling a lot these past few weeks. He paused, glancing at the map again. That neighborhood... it seemed familiar.
He grabbed his notes, flipping through them. He glanced back at the map. That was once an old warehouse of EFR. 'Laxman yahan kyun gaya tha?'
He grabbed his phone. That seemed like a good place to start. "Sanju?" He said. "Kahan hai tu?"
"Sir ji, hum bas club ke laane Faizi Sir ji ke saath nikal raho the."
He disconnected the call, moving to the front of the academy. "Kya baat hai?" Faizi asked.
"Mujhe ek location mili hai", he said quietly to the other two. "I think shayad wahan par kuchh mil sakta hai. Sanju, tu yahin academy mein reh aur security dekh. Faizi, tu Ecstasy jaa."
They nodded. "Tum kahan jaa rahe ho?" Faizi asked.
"Pune mein ek jagah hai. Pehle wahan par EFR ka ek safe house tha but ab use state property declare kar diya hai. Laxman wahan par kaafi baar gaya tha. Seems like a good place to start."
"Sir ji, aap akele jaa rahe ho?" Sanju asked.
He nodded. "I am just checking the place out. Sanju, academy ki security ke saath koi compromise nahi hona chahiye. Prepare a plan. Aur dhyaan rahe, you can't trust anyone."
"Ji, Sir ji", she said.
"Ustaad ji ko keh dena classes dekh le. Faizi, dhyaan rakhna." He patted his back, before moving out of the academy.
Faizi looked at his team. Club Ecstasy. He hoped it didn't turn out to be a dead lead.
---x---x---x---x---x---x---x---x---x---
Sanju spread the floor plans of the academy on her bed, her laptop opened aside. "Two defense plans", she muttered to herself. "Do attack ke plan laane." She began to type.
'Plan 1
Intention- Information
Security Concentration- First and Second Floor
Plan 2
Intention- Destruction
Security Concentration- Entrances'
She glanced at the floor plans again. She kept her laptop aside, studying the halls and marking a few things with a pencil. She picked up her laptop again, beginning to write details.
'Security codes', she thought about half an hour later. 'Kis kis ke paas access hogo? Heads ke alaawa bhi kisi ke paas hoto hogo kaa?' She pulled up the file.
'The security files can only be accessed by the officially appointed head of academy; the heads of internal affairs who are appointed by the official head; the heads and deputy heads of departments who are appointed by the official and unofficial heads.
If the HODs wish to share the codes with their direct subordinates for the betterment of a mission, they shall appeal to the official head of the academy via a written application. If the official head deems the reason and situation valid, the access shall be granted. The access shall be temporary and every code shall be changed immediately after the access is revoked- regardless of whether the time validation of the code is over or not.
Revelation of access to any third party- including but not limited to spouses, children, parents, siblings- will result in serious consequences.'
'HODs', she thought. 'Kisi ko access mila hogo kaa?' She kept the laptop aside, closing all the files and stowing her notes under her bed. She went up the stairs to the cabin of the Colonel, knocking on the door.
"Come in", he called.
She opened the door. She saluted him. "Sir ji", she said. "Ek chhota sa sawaal hogo tha, Sir ji."
"Of course. Go ahead, Sanjana."
"Security codes ke access ke baare mein hum rules dobara padh raho the. Us mein likho tha ki Deputies aur HODs apne subordinates ko code ka access grant kar sakto hain, aapki ijaazat ke saath." He nodded. "Aapne kisi ko ijaazat diyo hai kaa? Kabhi bhi?"
He shook his head. "Nahi", he said.
She nodded. "Shukriya, Sir ji", she said. She saluted him again, moving back to the room. She grabbed her laptop again, scrolling to the top where she had written the details of Plan 1. She added a note.
'[Kam chance hogo information ke laane attack ka]'
She let the first one go for now, instead concentrating on completing the second possibility of attack- attack with the intent for destruction.
Her watch beeped with an alarm alerting her for class. She sighed a little. With Karan and Faizi's absence, she can't push off the day's classes to the other trainers. She saved the file, protecting it with a password and then, closing the laptop.
Time for the class, it was then.
---x---x---x---x---x---x---x---x---x---
Karan took off his helmet, getting off the bike. It was a tiny street, much in accordance with what terrorists preferred to keep their bases and safe houses in.
He walked deeper into the streets, closer to what was once a terrorist safe house. It was transformed into storage now, but it was paroled regularly, checked for suspicious activities.
He pushed open the unlocked door, walking in. It was slightly dark- almost gloomy- and the only light that lit up the warehouse was that from the windows. He walked deeper in, looking around the place.
He opened a room- a small, dusty one. He walked in, glancing around the room. It was entirely empty. He moved along the walls, tapping them. Were they empty? They didn't sound so.
He walked out, entering another. Empty, just like the first one. He paused when he stepped out in the corridor, hearing a creak.
His hand drifted to his gun. He took it out, glancing around for a few seconds. Nothing moved. He turned to another room, keeping the gun out for the time being as he began to tap around.
He paused when something cool poked his spine. His chin lifted. He had enough experience to know what it was. A gun.
---x---x---x---x---x---x---x---x---x---
Faizi stared at the club, inspecting the exterior quietly. He glanced at his phone, glancing over the blueprints again before back up at it.
A knock on the window of the jeep made him glance away. "Sir", Mridul said. "Andar chalein?"
Faizi glanced back at the club. "Tum sab andar chalo. Aankhein khuli rakhna for any suspicious activities. Hum abhi aate hain."
Mridul nodded. "Yes, Sir."
He waited for several seconds, letting them disappear inside. He opened the door of the jeep, moving around the block to the back of it. Much like Pandemonium, Ecstasy had an extensive system of security as well but unlike there, it wouldn't do to take just the knives. His team may have gone in unarmed, but he doubted they would gather much without force.
He unzipped his bag, pulling out a rope and an arrow. He quickly looped the rope at the back of the arrow, checking to make sure it was sturdy enough. He glanced around before pulling out the bow.
He halted enough to take aim, before letting the arrow fly. It embedded itself in the wall. Faizi quickly put the bow back down again before grabbing the rope and starting to pull himself up. He jumped down into the balcony, grunting slightly in effort as he pulled the arrow out of the wall. He shoved it back in the bag, coiling the rope up and putting it in. He walked deeper into the club, the floor vibrating slightly with the music that played downstairs.
"Aye", a voice said.
He halted. He turned around, facing the person. He was a young boy, perhaps in early 20s, but his face was devoid of any innocence. Faizi eyed him. "Haan?" He said.
"Kaun ho tum? Yahan kya kar rahe ho?"
"Hum-"
"Yahan aana mana hai. Humaare sarkar ke paas chalo, warna hum upar pahuncha denge."
He paused slightly in thought. "Okay", he agreed. "Chalo." He followed him, recognizing the places from the blueprints. His gun laid heavily in the holster that was tucked in the waistband of his pants.
The boy stalked forward confidently, guiding him through a tunnel of corridors before finally pausing at a door. He pushed it open and Faizi narrowed his eyes slightly, seeing Gurmeet- the manager of the branch of Mumbai.
"Yeh aise hi ghoom raha tha", the boy said, closing the door behind him. "Iss floor par tha."
Faizi glanced around the room. 3 people. Armed but the weapons weren't drawn. His gaze turned back to Gurmeet.
"Special Agent", he greeted.
---x---x---x---x---x---x---x---x---x---x---
"Gun neeche", a voice said. Karan barely twitched. The gun poked harshly in his spine, and he suppressed a wince. "Gun neeche!"
He glanced down. His eyes narrowed slightly. His shoe was slightly out. His leg would be out. Karan hooked his leg against his, sweeping his leg from underneath him. The man hit the ground behind him with a loud thud and Karan turned around, swatting his gun away and holding his own to his forehead.
He paused. A police officer?
The man stared at him with angry eyes. Karan removed his gun from his forehead and the anger turned to confusion. "Police?" He asked.
"Nahi, fancy dress competition ka winner", he snapped sarcastically.
Karan stared at him with an unimpressed gaze. "Special Agent Major Karan Shergill", he introduced. He held out a hand. The police officer pushed himself up to his feet. Karan let his hand fall back.
"ID?" He asked suspiciously. He sighed. He pulled out his wallet, holding up his academy ID. The police officer inspected it carefully, before handing him back. He saluted him. "Sorry, Sir. Yeh terrorist ka adda tha, na? Thoda sakt hona padta hai."
Karan nodded slightly. "Yeh jagah tum patrol karte ho?" He asked. The man nodded. "Naam kya hai?"
"Varun", he said. "Dhawan nahi. Sharma."
"Tum hi yahan patrol karte ho sirf, ya shifts mein hai kaam?" Karan asked. Varun gestured to himself. He pulled out his phone, showing him a picture of Laxman. "Isko yahan dekha?"
"Haan", he said immediately. "Sunne mein toh zyaada bura nahi laga. Kya baat hai? Kaand kar diya kya isne? Mere paas pata wagera sab kuchh hai iska."
"Mera khabri tha. Murder ho gaya iska."
His eyes widened. "Chaila. Movie jaise?"
Karan sighed a little. Why was he always stuck with the sample cases? He vaguely wished he had landed a punch before he had realized he was a police officer. "Kya baat hui? Kya chahiye tha use?"
"Keh raha tha peechhe waala ek kamra dekhna tha", he said. "Main saath mein gaya tha par zyaada samajh nahi aaya ki usne kara kya. Zameen mein kuchh kara. Main lekar chalta hoon aapko." Karan nodded, following him to the back room. "Badha achha baccha lag raha tha woh. Dukh hua sunkar."
'Sir ji, ruko. Khabar ke saath ek aur cheez deni hai aapko', Laxman said. Karan nodded, looking at him expectantly. He produced a small figurine. Karan turned it over in his hands. It resembled the symbol of Parakaram SAF. 'Academy aapke dil ke badhi kareeb hai, na, Sir ji? Isliye aapke liye.'
Karan smiled slightly. 'Thank you. Par yeh kyun?'
'Aise hi, Sir ji. Paas mein ek mele mein dikha tha, isliye le liya. Aap mera dhyaan rakhte ho, jaise main aapka bhai hoon. Ab chhota bhai kya badhe bhai ko koi taufa nahi de sakta?'
"Haan", Karan said quietly. "Achha baccha tha."
"Yeh hai kamra", Varun said. Karan stepped in, looking around. He paused when his eyes caught an uneven patch on the floor. He knelt down, tapping the ground. It sounded hollow. He pulled off the tile, a small bag inside it. He opened it. It had a map.
---x---x---x---x---x---x---x---x---x---
Faizi stared at him. "Gurmeet", he said in return.
His mouth twisted up in a smirk. "Baithiye, Sir. We were expecting you. Apni team ko saath nahi laaye aap? Karan Shergill? Aur ek ladki bhi hai, na? Kya naam hai? Sanjana? Sanjana Dubey?"
A man pushed him forward slightly, urging him to sit silently. Faizi glanced behind him and then back at Gurmeet. "Expect kar rahe the, toh yeh bhi pata hoga ki kyun aaye hain hum yahan?"
"Aap faujiyon ko ek cheez chahiye hoti hai- information." Gurmeet leaned back. "Ek cheez zaroor acknowledge karni padegi. Aap logon ko information ki asli keemat pata hai. Jiske haath mein information, woh jeeta. Toh puchhiye, kya chahiye aapko?"
"Hum puchhenge aur tum bata doge?" He asked.
He laughed slightly. "I like you." He stood up. Faizi's eyes swept the room again, noticing the guards inch in. He crossed his arms, reaching into the sleeve subtly and wounding his fingers around the hilt of a sheathed dagger. "But not enough ki aapko main yahan se jaane doon."
One of them raised his gun, cocking it. Faizi drew the dagger, reeling his hand back and letting the blade sail through the air. The guard gurgled in his own blood as the dagger embedded itself in his throat, falling to the ground. The other guards advanced, drawing their guns. Faizi took out the gun from his holster, cocking it and pulling the trigger. They were close enough that his aim didn't need much concentration and they dropped with bullets in their heads.
Faizi looked back at the man. Gurmeet had backed away, the back of his legs pressing against the front of the table. "Ab, sirf hum dono hain", he said, inspecting the barrel of his gun. "And hum tumhe itna pasand nahi karte ki bina incentive ke tumhe yahan se jaane dein. Information in exchange of your life."
Gurmeet stared at him with wide eyes. "Life nahi, meri freedom loge mujhse. Jail nahi jaana mujhe."
Faizi paused in thought. "Hum tumhe arrest nahi karenge. Agar hume woh information kaam ki lagi toh hum tumhe jaane denge", he said finally.
He took a shaky breath, nodding. "Okay. Okay... I'll- I'll give you something big then. Aapki academy mein ek spy hai", he said.
"Naam?" Faizi said.
"Sayed."
Sayed? Faizi eyed him. "Aur kya detail pata hai tumhe uske baare mein?"
"Kuchh bhi nahi. But humne yeh suna hai, ki aapki academy mein spy hai. Isse zyaada mujhe kuchh nahi pata. Maine apni side rakhi, ab aap rakho. Mujhe jaane do."
Faizi flicked on his ear comm. "Second floor, we have a terrorist. The head."
Gurmeet stared at him with betrayal. "Dhokha", he hissed.
"Nahi. Hum tumhe jaane de rahe hain. Jao, door wahin hai", he said, lowering his gun. "Hum tumhe arrest nahi kar rahe. Par humne yeh baat kahin bhi nahi kahi ki hum logon ko yeh nahi batayenge ki tum ek terrorist ho aur tum kahan ho. Woh jo kar rahe hain, woh apni marzi par kar rahe hain. Humne tumne kahan arrest karne ka order diya?" He gestured around. "Bhaagna hai toh bhaago."
He ran out of the room. Faizi turned to the office, trusting the rest of them to hold him back.
"Sayed", he muttered to himself. "Yeh kaun hai? Security codes matlab high enough access par... Sayed naam ke toh kisi agent ko nahi jaante hum." He pulled on his gloves before he opened drawers, looking around the papers. Most were related to the club, some personal.
He opened the man's laptop- unlocked as he was working on it. He sent the files to himself. The door opened, Mridul and Raghav stepping in.
"Sir", Raghav said.
He glanced up at them. "Search", he ordered. "Evidence mein le lo."
"Yes, Sir", they echoed, walking in.
---x---x---x---x---x---x---x---x---x---
Karan looked at the map carefully. It was of Maharashtra, but the edges were clearly torn off. It seemed to be an ordinary map. He glanced back at the building, before down at the map that was settled on his bike.
'Laxman yahan se kuchh lekar gaya tha kya? Ya yeh chhupakar gaya?' He thought. 'Smart move agar chhupaaya hai. Koi nahi sochega ki EFR ki information yeh ek former EFR ke safe house mein chhupayega.' He looked down at it. 'Ya... sirf dekhkar gaya? Just a clue to a bigger thing.'
He studied the map closely. It had to mean something. There had to be something that was connected to the murder of Laxman. No one would go to the length to hide something worthless, not unless it was a trap.
'Academy jaakar dekhna padega', he thought. 'Kuchh toh chhupa hai iss mein.' He took out his phone. He paused, seeing a message by Faizi that he had missed.
Gurmeet caught. Team fine. Information- our target: Sayed. Baaki report academy.
Karan's eyebrows rose. Sayed? That was the name of the spy? He racked his mind? Sayed. Did he know anyone in the academy by that name? He didn't remember any off the top of his head.
---x---x---x---x---x---x---x---x---x---
Sanju bit into a piece of apple, chewing slowly as she sketched out the details.
'HOD. Batra Sir ji academy ke head ho gayo. Karan Sir ji aur Faizi Sir ji internal heads ho gayo. Bache HODs. Ho, naa ho, jasoos inn HODs mein se hi koi hono chahiyo.'
She pulled out her phone, logging in to the site and searching for the HODs. Her eyebrows rose.
Special Agent Captain Abhishek Sawant, Deputy Head of Information Technology Department.
'Yeh deputy head hai?' She thought. 'Yeh? Yeh jo kehne ko insaan hogo par janwar se kabhi vikasat hi naa hua hogo. Yeh deputy head hogo? Aisa kaa jaadu kar leto hai yeh IT mein?'
She scrolled through. Special Agent Lieutenant Raghav Singh, Deputy Head of Security Department. Special Agent Captain Mridul Tagore, Head of Security Department. Special Agent Captain Sanket Waahi, Head of Information Technology Department.
'Bichaara Sanket. Kis khaali praani ke saath rehna padto hai?' She shook her head. 'Sach mein itna khaali hogo kaa yeh? Kaise naa pata chal sakto hai aisa karego ki kisi din chaped naa, seedha joote khaane ko milenge?' She turned her attention back. 'Agar humaari soch sahi hai toh in mein se hi koi jasoos hono chahiyo. Par kaun?'
---x---x---x---x---x---x---x---x---x---
"Kya baat hai, Sid Bhai ji?" Bala asked. "Aap badhe dukhi lag rahe ho."
He heaved a sigh. "Bala G bro", he complained. "Sanju ma'am ko kaam tha. Aaj personal training par nahi aayi."
Bala looked at him. "Toh kya ho gaya, Bhai ji? Aaj nahi, kal ho jaayega."
Sid heaved another sigh. "Bro..."
He smiled slightly. "Bhai ji, aap woh Hindi filmon ke aashiq ki tarah baat kar rahe ho."
He turned over in his bed, facing him. "Kya matlab, bro?"
"Arey, woh hota nahi." Bala ran a hand through his hair dramatically. "'Aaj main apne chaand ko nahi dekh paaye. Haaye, mera dukh. Haaye, mera dard. Meri zindagi mein kuchh naa bacha ab. Gaana likh dete hain.'" Bala looked at him. "Bhai ji, aap bas Sanju madam ke liye gaana mat likh dena."
Sid shook his head. "Tu kahan ki baat kahan lekar jaa raha hai? Main toh bas itna keh raha tha ki aaj mila nahi isliye achha nahi laga."
"Haan, haan, Bhai ji, shuruaat filmon mein isi se hoti hai." Bala looked at him. "Bhai ji... aapko kya lagta hai, agar kisi ladke ne Sanju madam ke liye gaana gaya toh woh kya karengi?"
"Ragda parade", he answered.
Bala nodded. "Correct. Aur kisi ladki ne Karan Sir ji ke liye gaa diya toh?"
Sid paused in thought. "Probably Sir usse puchhenge ki use academy mein itna shor machaane ki kisne permission di." Bala laughed. "Bhaav toh zero hi milna hai. Hashtag ko hi dekh lo. Bhaav negative mein milta hai."
"Arey, Monami Madam ko milta hai, na, bhaav?" Bala said.
Sid clicked his tongue. "Bro, they are friends. Friends ki baat thodi naa kar raha hoon."
"Bhai ji, main bhi woh hi keh raha hoon jo aap keh rahe ho."
"Bro, kuchh bhi mat bol." He shook his head. "Karan Sir and Monu? Please. Mujhe Karan Sir bhi relationship ke liye interested nahi lagte, and I know Monu toh hai hi nahi."
Bala shrugged. "Ho sakta hai." He yawned. "Bhai ji, mujhe toh neend aa rahi hai. Good night."
"Night, bro." Sid closed his eyes, pulling up the covers.
'Haan, haan, Bhai ji, shuruaat filmon mein isi se hoti hai?'
His eyes opened. He paused in thought before shaking his head. 'Nahi, nahi. Bala kuchh bhi bolta hai. Plus, woh toh filmon ki baat kar raha tha. Real life mein... Kya soch raha hoon? Sanju ma'am ko pata chala main yeh soch raha hoon toh haddiyan todh dengi. Kal subah uthna hai. Training par late nahi ho sakte. Kal waise bhi last day hai before break.'
His eyes closed again, falling into a deep sleep after the day's tired training.
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Jhanak
