Langley to Islamabad, via Amritsar

Two shots fired at d Indian PM in an election rally.An event which could trigger a World War; is it just a political vendetta or a multi-national conspiracy threatening to push India & Asia into abyss

Disclaimer

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

Chapter I

 “Yes, I just reached the venue. The package has not arrived yet”, the man in black spectacles shouted into his phone, as the chanting around him turned deafening.

Well-built, but at 5’7 he was shorter than almost everyone in the crowd. Clean shaven, perfectly cropped short hair, faded jeans and a light colored tee compared to the locals around him, clearly suggested he was not one of them but a tourist visiting the city.

“Modi, Modi, Modi”, the crowd went on without missing a beat, as the tourist made his way to the front row in the VIP section, thanks to his designated handler for this operation, who had arranged it for him. The venue, Bhagat Singh stadium, was teeming with 175,000 people, well over its official capacity of 150,000. Never before in the history of the city of Golden Temple had anyone seen such a huge turnout at successive political rallies. The election fever was at its zenith in the Sikh state of the country, as the Assembly elections had entered into the crucial third of five phases.  Based on the early ground reports, if this phase also went in favor of the ruling Janata Party, which was also the central government of the country, their victory would be all but certain.

This rally, like many others before, was to be addressed by the Janata Party’s most charismatic leader and the current Prime Minister (PM) of the country, Narendar Modi. As a result, the otherwise thriving and busy city streets wore a deserted look. Even the famous Golden Temple saw a lighter turn out of devotees as people rushed to catch a glimpse and hear their PM at the newly created cricket stadium, which was hosting a political rally even before it served its actual purpose of hosting an international cricket match. As much as people in attendance loved the newly created structure, it was a nightmare for the security personnel as it had a lot of vulnerable spots; especially to a threat of a sniper-attack. The local grapevine suggested the venue had remained under an unprecedented security blanket, and was off-limits for anyone other than those in charge of its security for almost a week before the event. The excitement amongst the people at the venue, however was unabated despite the strict security checks, and they were eagerly waiting for the man of the hour.

The PM, unlike his predecessors, was known for his punctuality. He walked into the venue at the exact hour to a thunderous welcome from all around. He was amongst a very rare set of politicians who could garner such a response from the Indian diaspora, who otherwise reserved their support and enthusiasm for cricket matches and movie-stars. Equally famous for his impeccable wardrobe and choice of attire for each occasion, he carried the half-sleeved shirt and a sleeveless jacket with an unmatched charisma. Subtly trimmed white beard topped with designer spectacles ushered in a fashion riot in the otherwise mundane wardrobes of Indian politicians.

As the applause subsided, the PM started his speech with his signature opening " “Mitron…..” which ignited yet another roaring acknowledgement from the crowd. After a brief pause, the PM started his address and went on covering the successes of his party’s government in the state so far and his plans for the future once they win the current elections.

Chapter II

400 kms away in the country’s capital city, beads of sweat formed on her forehead, even though she was dressed in a white cotton sari in her centrally air conditioned office. With a thudding heart, the President of the Indian National Party, continued fidgeting while watching the live coverage of the PM’s rally. Today’s rally, even though that of her biggest political adversary, seemed more important  than even the last Lok Sabha election’s results where her party failed miserably and the current government arrived at the center with a thumping majority.

Mrs. Sonia Singhania was the current epitome of dynastic politics, which found its roots in India’s Independence seven decades ago. As head of the Indian National party, which was the central government of the country for two successive terms from 2004 to 2014, she enjoyed widespread popularity amongst the electorate, atleast until the first year of her party’s second tenure at the helm of the country’s administration. Grossly self-centered, along with her cabinet ministers, she left no stone unturned in sucking out the tax payer money and in promoting crony capitalism for the benefit of her own and her loyalists within the cabinet during this time. The cookie finally crumbled when some of the biggest scams in the history of man-kind were unearthed and widely reported by the Indian and global media houses.

However, this alone would not have been enough to overthrow the government as corruption and scams are unfortunately a way of life in the biggest democracy. It would take a very popular leader as an alternative to Mrs. Singhania at the national level to achieve this. Almost on cue, Narendar Modi came through at the national stage as a prospective PM of the Janata Party and swept the electorate of their feet across the length and breadth of the country. Having won the Lok Sabha elections with a clear mandate, followed by 3 state elections within 18 months, he was single-handedly purging the career of many corrupt politicians, including that of Mrs. Singhania.

Fearing an identity crisis in the country’s political circle if the PM’s juggernaut continued to roll, she had decided to get some external assistance. She was watching the rally expectantly to find out if that decision turned out to be fruitful.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chapter III

20 minutes in to the speech, as the PM went on and everyone listened attentively, three strange things happened. Something in the bullet proof glass enclosure the PM was standing in, caught the tourist’s attention. Even before he could fathom this, an object at a great velocity hit the glass enclosure and it crackled, but did not give away. The distraction in the glass enclosure was a reflection of the muzzle flash, and the object lodged in it currently was a bullet. Based on its size, it seemed from a sniper-rifle. As the tourist processed this and all chaos broke loose at the venue, another muzzle flash in the cracked enclosure and this time the glass gave away. Unaware of the exact source of the firing, everyone in the front row including the tourist, ducked under the chairs immediately. The media houses stopped the live coverage of the event as their crew members started running for taking cover, just as a third bullet was fired. Even though the tourist heard the gun-shot, it seemed it was not fired in the enclosure’s direction, which comforted him somewhat. But it was short-lived as just then the third strange anomaly hit him hard. At least two bullets had been fired at the PM’s enclosure and so far no security personnel had rushed to his aid.

Fearing the worst for the PM as there had been no movement from behind the enclosure since the first bullet, the tourist crawled towards it trying to stay away from the line of fire. Just in case the sniper was still around.

After reaching behind the enclosure, the tourist was yet to notice any sign of life in the PM, who was lying face down on the floor. Only ray of hope was lack of any blood splatter around him.

About 120 seconds passed, since the PM had stopped speaking when the first bullet was fired, and yet no security personnel had arrived by his side. The fact that no security was present during the speech, was not really a surprise as the PM was known for his slightly casual attitude towards his own security. It was time to find out if it had cost him and the country fatally.

Not sure how to proceed, the tourist extended his hand towards the PM’s shoulder and nudged him gently.

No response. His heart sank.

He tried again, still nothing. He tried moving him over to see if he was hurt, but was unable to do so for lack of enough space behind the enclosure.

Having given up any hope of the PM being alive, the tourist thought of slowly peeking over the podium in the enclosure to see on the other side, and figure out how to get away from there while avoiding the sniper’s line of fire. Just then, there was a very slender movement in the upper back of the PM. As if he was breathing.

The tourist’s face lit up, as he noticed this.

He got down on his elbows, carefully avoiding the shattered glass lying around, and was almost lying next to the PM.

“Mr. Prime Minister, are you all right?” the tourist asked.

No response.

“Do you hear me? I am here to help you if you are hurt”, he added.

Still nothing.

An armed person rushed towards the enclosure with his MP5 sub-machine gun aimed at the tourist, just as he looked up. The credentials he was wearing on him comforted the tourist as he realized the armed person was from the PM’s security detail. His name was Moin Abbas.

“I am unarmed and came here only to check on the PM” the tourist told Moin as he raised his hands to signal he meant no harm to the PM.

Moin did not respond but signaled for the tourist to move away from the PM, which he did. On reaching near the PM, Moin got down to check on him while continuing to point his gun at the tourist. He quickly checked for his pulse at the base of his neck and then got down further and muttered something to the PM. The PM moved immediately and got up to be in the sitting position, ensuring he stayed out of line of fire from the sniper.

The brooding tourist went bug-eyed witnessing this. But he was relieved the PM was not hurt.

The Indian PMs security protocol has a clearly defined plan of action in this kind of an attack. The PM is forbidden from responding to anyone other than his security detail. This is to lure the perpetrators of an attack in thinking the PM is dead, so as to prevent them from taking another shot at him or abducting him. The security personnel have a secret code, shared only with the PM, which the armed guard whispered to him after ascertaining he was alive. This was the reason, the PM had not responded to the tourist’s prodding but rose immediately on hearing the security code.

While Moin asked for more support on his communication device as the PM had to be covered while being whisked away from behind the enclosure to a safer place, the PM spoke with the tourist.

“Thank you. I appreciate your concern and gesture of checking on me.”

As the tourist acknowledged PMs statement, Moin turned to him and said, “I need your help. But before that I need to check if you are armed.”

“Go ahead. Like I already said, I am not”. The tourist responded.

Moin frisked the tourist thoroughly and spoke only after he was certain of him being un-armed.

“You and I will have to cover the PM while walking out of here to a safer location outside the venue as my team is not responding. Would you help me with it?” Moin asked the tourist.

After a brief thought, the tourist agreed.

“Thank you. Now, listen to me carefully as we need to move quickly once we get out of the enclosure.”

“We need to take the PM to his car waiting outside the main gate of the venue through that exit”, Moin said pointing at the nearest exit adjacent to the enclosure.

“Once there, we need to continue covering him until he steps inside the car, post which you can step aside and my colleague and I will take it from there”.

“If anything happens during this time, do not stop moving and do not wait for me. Keep covering the PM until you reach his car, an armored black BMW”. Moin instructed.

The tourist seemed terribly nervous, especially after the latter part of the instructions. Seeing this Moin added, “Don’t worry, I have taken out the sniper already. There won’t be any trouble from his end atleast.”

‘That explains the third gun-shot’, the tourist thought to himself.

“Let’s go, we do not have much time” Moin added as the tourist processed all the information.

“As the threat of any attack emanating from behind us is higher, you cover the PM from the front. I will cover him from behind” came the final instructions as all three started moving out of the enclosure.

Chapter IV

‘Two shots fired at the PM in Amritsar rally’, broadcasted all the news channels repeatedly in the biggest font possible to fit on a TV screen, as the presenters matched the decibels of a F-16 fighter jet in reading out the same.

The fidgeting had stopped but Mrs. Singhania continued to sweat profusely while her phone rang un-interrupted. She had witnessed the live coverage of the first shot being fired in the rally, and although the live feed from the venue had been stopped, it was not before the second shot being fired was also broadcasted. She found it hard to move, even as her stomach groaned and the nerves in her body twitched.

When she had went seeking external assistance against the PM, she always knew the final outcome. However, she expected something on the lines of a surgical or a covert operation. After all, this foreign well-wisher had unmatched experience in it. She never imagined, the operation would be conducted in such a brazen manner. The only silver lining was, her ultimate objective was achieved. However, even that could not be confirmed positively just yet, as none of the news channels had confirmed the death of the PM.

Chapter V

As the chaos inside the venue started subsiding as most of the people had rushed out post the gunshots, the bald man in a red shirt neared the exit adjacent to the PM’s enclosure. To avoid being spotted, he ducked behind the chairs around him, but kept observing the enclosure since an armed guard had rushed behind it.

He drew the pistol from his ankle holster as he saw three people getting out of the enclosure in a tight formation one behind the other walking briskly towards the exit. He realized the PM had survived the sniper shots and was now being taken to a safer location. This was his last chance to complete the job his colleague had left unfinished. However, he suppressed his urge to fire immediately as he wanted to trap the trio far enough from the enclosure, so they can’t run back to it for cover.

Just as they were nearing the exit, the bald man aimed at the armed guard as he was the only one visible to him, and fired. His shot found Moin’s upper left back and he recoiled, turning around on his right side in the process. However, he held on to his MP5 sub machine gun with his right hand and started firing in the direction of the gunshot. His firing was partially successful, as it grazed the left temple of the bald man. The ferocity and the accuracy of Moin’s response surprised the bald man, which stopped him from taking another shot at the trio as he had to duck for cover. This was crucial because, contrary to the instructions, the PM and the tourist had stopped walking just as Moin was shot in the back.

“Keep moving. Do not stop. Keep moving till you get to the car”, Moin shouted over the fire of his automatic weapon aimed at the bald man.

Seeing this the bald man rose again, despite Moin’s incessant firing and aimed for a shot at the PM and the tourist as he realized his last chance was slipping away. However, before he could fire his pistol, Moin’s bullet found its mark perfectly this time and ripped through the upper chest of the bald man. Having neutralized the latest threat to the PM, Moin attempted turning around and walking towards the exit. However, he collapsed couple of steps later due to excessive blood loss.

Hearing repeated gun shots behind them as the PM and the tourist exited from the building, they assumed the worst for Moin and felt they would be pursued again. They rushed outside the main building looking for the PM’s car from his convoy, but there was no one.

Chapter VI

“In all, three shots were fired at the venue, sir”, the Punjab Police Commissioner Mr. Sodhi blurted into his phone.

“Ok. Was the PM hit?” enquired the man at the other end.

“I am on my way to the venue sir, as I was busy with the court hearings you had asked me to attend. I had told you I should be overlooking everything at the venue of the PM’s rally, and not be doing some stupid paperwork in the court”, the commissioner sounded agitated.

Ignoring the comment, the man at the other end replied “Fine. Apprise me of the situation at the venue, as soon as possible”, and he hung up.

He kept rocking his chair in his dungeon like office. The wall he was facing, housed a 55 inch television screen, divided into number of sections. Each one of them transmitting the live feed of high profile locations like nuclear facilities across the country, sensitive prison areas holding some of the deadliest terrorists and underworld fugitives and some of the important border areas which the country shared with Pakistan on the North-West and China on the North-East. The bottom right hand corner section was dedicated to the PM, and screened the live proceedings of each of the gatherings he attended, across the globe.

The dungeon was the office of the NSA or the National Security Advisor, Mr.Doval. Even at the age of 60, he was every bit strong and lethal, physically and psychologically, as he had been during his days with the IPS (Indian Police Service). He became the first ever NSA who came from a field other than the Indian Foreign Service. Tall at 6’2, broad and always dressed in a suit, he carried a perpetual no-nonsense expression on him, making him the perfect choice for the coveted position.

“So, our intelligence report about the attack on PM was absolutely accurate”, Mr. Doval said with a smirk, turning to the bespectacled man in the safari suit sitting on the sofa. The man nodded in acknowledgement.

Chapter VII

Looking frantically in all the directions, the tourist and the PM kept walking away from the venue’s exit. The street around the back exit of the venue, was completely deserted.

“Not sure, if it’s the lull before the storm or after it”, the tourist said to the PM looking around him, trying to spot the armored car.

“In case no one turns up for the next few minutes, lets head down the street towards my car. It’s not armored, but will at least help us get away from here”, the tourist said to the PM, who nodded in agreement.

Few minutes passed as they kept looking in every direction for the armored car, while walking towards the tourist’s car. No one turned up.

They were about two hundred yards from the tourist’s car, when there was a loud screeching noise behind them. The PM and the tourist turned around, but they could not see anyone. They started walking faster to the tourist’s blue hatchback down the street.

Another loud screeching noise and this time when they turned around, they saw a red sedan exit the venue and head in their direction. There were at least two people in the car, and the passenger side glass was being rolled down as the PM and the tourist now started running in the direction of his hatchback.

Fetching for his keys in his pockets slowed the tourist down, but he prodded the PM to keep running towards the passenger side door of his car as he dug out his car keys. The tourist started running faster to make up for the partial interruption and got to the driver’s side of his car just as the PM got to the other end. He inserted the key and as he was unlocking the car, the red sedan started spraying bullets in their direction.

“It’s open now, get in and duck under the dashboard. Quick”, the tourist shouted in the PM’s direction, who did as instructed.

The red sedan continued firing and moving in their direction as the tourist fired up his car’s engine. The car’s pillar on the driver’s side took a bullet, which narrowly missed the windscreen and the side glass.

“Hang in there and hold onto something tightly”, the tourist told the PM, as he started backing up his car since the red sedan was heading in their direction from the front. After gaining decent speed in a few seconds, he applied the emergency brakes while using the steering control to make the car swerve in an arc, so as to avoid any more bullets hitting the car and to get the car facing the opposite direction to drive away from the sedan.

“You can get on to the seat now, but stay low to use the seat as a shield. And put on the seat belt.” The tourist instructed the PM as he completed his maneuver and accelerated away from the red sedan. Putting on his own seat belt without dropping the speed, he kept checking his rear-view mirror for the red sedan, just as a bullet took out his left side wing mirror. The tourist sped up even more and passed a lane to his left. Just as he was cursing himself for missing it, he spotted that it was actually an entrance to a building so would have been a dead end. He continued driving and passed a white SUV coming from the opposite direction, which was slowing down and had its indicator on for taking a right into the same lane with the dead end. Just as the tourist noticed the red sedan and the white SUV approaching that lane in his rear-view mirror, he took a sharp left turn to enter another lane. The sedan driver thinking of catching the tourist by taking a parallel lane, followed suit and turned left into the dead end. Just then, the white SUV turned right and entered the lane blocking the red sedan from backing up.

“Looks like we lost them. Well done.” The PM said to the tourist.

“For now.” The tourist responded as his phone rang. It was his handler who had arranged for the front row seating for him in the rally. He answered it.

“Do you have the package?” asked the handler.

“Yes” the tourist responded while continuing to drive.

Chapter VIII

“This was not how we discussed the operation should be carried out” a flustered Mrs. Singhania shouted into her phone.

“You are right. Infact, we never discussed how it will be executed at the ground level.” the man at the other end responded calmly.

“I thought you had the common sense of carrying it out covertly”, Mrs. Singhania shot back.

Ignoring her jibe, the man responded “A covert operation would not have had the desired effect. While trying to frame someone, one needs to bear in mind if the target is even capable of carrying out such an operation to make the world believe they actually did it. Even if your arch-rival neighbor has the technical expertise for a covert operation, it does not have the desired patience. Thus it had to be done slightly brazenly.”

“Slightly!! You used a sniper at an election rally for God’s sake” exclaimed Mrs. Singhania.

“Stay calm. We know how to do our job. It’s time for you to do yours now.”

“Not before we have an official confirmation. Can you atleast find out if the job was completed?” Mrs. Singhania asked.

“We are in the process of finding it. Will keep you posted” came the response from the other end before ending the call.

‘It was good, I did not share the information about today’s events with Rahul’ Mrs. Singhania thought to herself.

Rahul Singhania was the natural heir to the throne of the Indian National Party and the country’s prime ministerial position once his father passed away, and the reins of the political outfit were picked up by his mother. The age factor was supposed to be on his side, as he was the youngest prospective PM candidate in the last Lok Sabha elections. However, it turned out to be the worst ever performance for the oldest political party of the country as the electorate realized, Rahul would not even be able to manage his own party’s presidency, let alone managing the diverse country like India.

Mrs. Singhania had made many attempts at launching and re-launching her son, without much success.

‘Even after doing so much, if Rahul still does not make it then probably he doesn’t deserve the throne’, Mrs. Singhania thought to herself.

Chapter IX

“Great work. But we are only half way there. Now tell the PM this call is from his security detail in Delhi” the tourist’s handler instructed him. He followed suit and explained to the PM they were able to track him down based on his car’s registration plate which they are monitoring using the surveillance cameras on the city streets.

“Good. Now, you need to drive the PM to Delhi. Will share the exact location once you enter the state” the tourist was instructed.

“Delhi! It’s too risky to drive 400 kms while being pursued, especially in a non-armored car without any external protection” the tourist protested.

“I understand. But it’s the only option. It is important the operation we have started is concluded in the country’s capital” the man at the other explained.

“Ok” the tourist said reluctantly.

“Take the south side of National Highway (NH) 1 from Amritsar, and check in if you face any issues”, came the final instructions as the line went dead and the tourist hung up and headed towards the NH1 as instructed.

Chapter X

“They escaped” the driver of the red sedan reported hesitantly to his handler on the other side of the phone.

After finally managing to back out of the lane he was trapped in, he kept driving through the adjoining lanes in the area to intercept the tourist. Finally, he called up his handler to report his failure in doing so.

“Are you certain the Indian PM was in that car?” the handler asked.

“No, but he certainly looked like him. Moreover, we did not find his body in the enclosure at the venue. But we did see that our sniper and his aide had been neutralized before we got there.”

The handler did not respond immediately.

“Let me pull up the satellite feed of the area to locate the blue hatchback. Wait for further instructions”, he finally told the driver as he hung up.

Chapter XI

“Can someone atleast tell us if the PM is ok?” the anxious workers of the Janata Party enquired at the party’s headquarters in the country’s capital.

“There is no word on that yet as the media coverage was stopped immediately, and the Punjab police Commissioner is on his way to the venue currently. We should have an update from him any minute now”, the party’s spokesman attempted pacifying the impatient party workers, based on the instructions received from the NSA few minutes earlier.

“This is a conspiracy of the opposition. They realized they will never return to power in the country’s capital because of Modi Ji’s exemplary performance as the country’s PM, so they have stooped to such low levels” one of the workers alleged while listening to the party’s spokesman.

“I can understand everyone’s concern about the PM, but let us show some restraint and wait for an official word on this before jumping to conclusions”, the spokesman said to the workers who were increasing in number by the minute. Just like in all the Janata party’s offices across the nation.

Chapter XII

“Yes”, the tourist answered his phone, just as he passed a mile marker showing NH1 to be two kilometers away.

“You can expect some company shortly”, the tourist’s handler said from the other end just as the red sedan appeared in the tourist’s rear-view mirror.

“They are here”, the tourist responded.

“What’s the plan, then?”

The tourist took a few seconds before responding.

“We cannot let them know we are headed to Delhi. So, I will take the North side of the NH1 towards Jammu and will try to lose them along the way.”

“As soon as I lose them, I will turn around towards the south side and head back to Delhi. You keep me updated on the traffic conditions on the North side of the highway.”

“Sounds like a plan. And put on your communication device; it would assist you in driving according to my directions, if the need arises.” The tourist’s handler responded.

After disconnecting the line, the tourist grabbed his hands-free communication device from his car’s dashboard and put it on. The red sedan was still some distance away. It seemed they had decided to catch the tourist after getting on the highway. That would also help them in finding and reporting to their handler in which direction the tourist and the PM were headed. The tourist played along by maintaining a steady speed, but slowly started cutting across lanes leading up to NH1 to try and gain some more lead on the sedan.

“Hope there is no traffic on the highway”, the tourist’s handler said on the communication device.

“On the contrary, I am hoping there would be a few vehicles around. Would deter the sedan from firing at us as long as we avoid giving them a direct line of fire” the tourist responded.

“I am banking on my age-old habit of not driving in a straight line. It might just prove to be useful here” the tourist added with a smirk.

By the time the tourist neared the ramp leading to the highway, he had managed to gain some more distance on the sedan.

“Is there any traffic on the ramp?” the tourist blurted into his comm device.

“No. All clear”

Just as the tourist entered the ramp, the PM had to reach out and hold the grab-handle above his seat, as the tourist revved up his car’s engine to build more lead on the sedan. Just as the he was returning to his normal sitting position, he dashed against the door on his side as the tourist swerved right to switch lanes and use a passing truck as a shield. The PM decided to continue holding the grab-handle, for his own safety.

“He has entered the highway and is speeding up. You need to accelerate. Now” the handler instructed the sedan driver, who did as instructed but was unable to spot the blue hatchback.

His heart was thudding in his ears as he continued cutting across lanes at manic speed, with scant regard for the traffic laws, the tourist’s only intention was to lose the sedan before the next U-turn towards the South side of the highway, post which he can resume some sane driving. Although he craved for driving at high speeds, doing so while being pursued by armed assassins did not make the entire drive worth craving for.

However, he did not know two things. Firstly, he was being monitored not just by his own handler but also the handler of the sedan’s driver, so he was never really out of sight. Secondly, the U-turn he was targeting was after a toll collection booth.

“Looks like you have lost him.” The tourist’s handler broke the silence on their open line as the tourist continued gaining lead over the sedan.

“Yes. How far is the next diversion for getting to the south side of the highway?” the tourist asked.

“Three kilometers. But it is after a toll collection booth, wherein I can see a decent buildup of vehicles already.”

“Damn it. We cannot afford a hold up after getting a good lead on them. Are you sure there is no other diversion before the toll booth? Even a small stretch of non-barricaded divider will suffice to turn over to the other side” the tourist asked to which his handler replied in the negative.

“Ok. Guide me to the most crowded lane as I approach the toll booth. The sedan would obviously go for the least crowded one and hopefully keep driving beyond the turnaround point, leaving us free to get to the south side”, the tourist instructed his handler.

“Copy that.”

 

Chapter XIII

“The PM is not here, sir”, Commissioner Sodhi reported to the NSA over the phone after reaching the venue.

“In all, three bullets were fired here sir. The sniper fired two at the PM’s enclosure and the third one was fired to take out the sniper, whose body has been accounted for. Looks like it was fired by Moin Abbas from the PMs security detail, whom we found in a critical condition near the PMs enclosure. He is being attended by the medics here. We found another body of an armed man; looks like even he was taken out by Moin.” Commissioner Sodhi added.

“Ok. Keep me posted about Moin’s condition. What about Mr. PM? Did anyone see him after the sniper fired at his enclosure?”

“No sir. By the time I reached here, the front section of the venue was totally empty. And no one from the other sections of the venue confirmed about seeing the PM after the shots were fired, as the situation obviously got very chaotic.”

“What do you think has happened?” the NSA asked

“The PM is surely alive. And I feel we should let the media report this.”

“Absolutely not. We need to find the PM before we let anyone in on this. Do I make myself clear?” the NSA asked sternly.

“Yes Sir. But, we have to report something, else there could be a riot like situation across the country and especially here in Amritsar.”

“I agree, but then we have no clue yet whether the PM has been abducted or was rescued by a good samaritan. And until we find him, we cannot take a chance of telling the nation anything.”

“And I understand your concerns about the law and order situation. I have already dispatched 5,000 paramilitary forces to Amritsar to assist you.” the NSA added.

“Ok sir. What do we tell the media representatives here?”

“Do not address them yet. Give me some time, I will revert”, the NSA signed off.

Chapter XIV

“The two lanes on the extreme right seem very crowded as it is primarily meant for heavy vehicles, but it is not forbidden for smaller cars.” the tourist was informed as he was half a kilometer away from the toll booth.

“Ok. I will take the extreme right one, and if need be I can cut across into the second one to take cover behind the bigger vehicles. And keep me posted on the sedan’s position” The tourist responded.

“Yes. It is still a kilometer away from your current location.”

“The hatchback has taken the right most lane leading upto the toll booth. You take the one adjacent to it but maintain some distance as we do not want to confront them openly. Not yet at least.” The handler instructed the sedan’s driver as he noticed the tourist lining up behind the trucks in the right most lane, on the satellite feed he had been using to track the hatchback and the sedan.

“What the hell!” exclaimed the tourist’s handler as the tourist had barely moved after taking the heavily crowded lane, but was well covered by a few trucks lined up behind him.

“What happened?” the tourist asked.

“The sedan has taken the lane adjacent to yours but is still away from you as even that lane is crowded. That is strange, because the other lanes have lesser traffic and they could have easily taken any of them to cross the toll”

“So, obviously they know I am in this lane. May be they are using a drone to track us” the tourist responded.

“But that’s impossible. Whenever there is a PM’s rally or any high profile event, the entire city and some radius around it is declared as a no-fly zone, including for drones.”

“Is that applicable even for drones belonging to other countries?” the tourist asked as he was making slow progress in between all the trucks and containers.

“Yes. For everyone.”

“Then you need to find out their source of monitoring our progress. Without neutralizing that, irrespective of where we proceed, it will only be a matter of time before that catch up with us.” The tourist said grimly.

“We can raise an alarm as we get to the toll collection booth and take help from their security personnel.” The tourist suggested to his handler.

“No. We cannot risk exposing the fact that we have the PM. Not yet anyways. Also, the security personnel at the toll are not armed or trained in combat. But now that the PM has obviously heard your logical idea, you need to say something citing a deterrent in executing it.” The handler shot back.

“But, we cannot endanger the lives of common public around here with an open confrontation, as the people in the sedan are surely heavily armed.” The tourist responded as advised.

“Good improvisation” the tourist’s handler responded with a smirk.

Ignoring the comment, the tourist asked “How long will it take you to find and neutralize their source of monitoring us?”

“I am running a diagnostic in my system to check if they have tapped into our system itself.”

“What? Is that even possible?” the tourist enquired.

“Only one way to find out. Will keep you posted.”

“I will be at the toll booth in the next 5 minutes. And once we start from there, I feel the sedan will be on us in a short while once they find an isolated stretch on the highway. And that would not be a very difficult task, because I can see the traffic is thinning as the news of the events back at the venue is spreading. So we need them to be blinded in tracking us before we start driving from the other side of the toll booth.”

“Ok. We should have the source of the leak by then”, the handler responded.

Chapter XV

“Looks like the PM survived the sniper shots”, the sedan’s handler informed the fashionably balding man at the other end of the video conference.

“First you screw up the job. And then you have the audacity to come to me with an unconfirmed report.” The balding man calmly retorted at his deputy.

His office resembled an enlarged version of the Indian NSA’s dungeon. Notable difference were three large television screens placed in an arc facing his chair which was placed behind a table with a similar curvature. One screen was dedicated to live coverage of all the important locations within the United States. Second one was dedicated to important locations in the regions where US military was involved in an operation, officially or covertly. Third one beamed the nuclear sites across the globe, taken from the numerous stealth drones hovering over each such facility irrespective of whether the particular country was friendly to the US or otherwise.

The three screens doubled up as hosting screens in case of a video conference with multiple people from different locations, usually the military chiefs of the US in case of an emergency. The name plate on his table read Mr. Cory Bresnan. Director, CIA.

“But Director, we already have a lead on the PM and are pursuing it as we speak”, the handler responded hesitantly.

“Ok. Don’t let him get away this time.”

The operation had been going exactly the way the Director had planned, including the security clearances for his sniper attack and follow up teams and their positioning at the venue with some help from the venue’s security team, for a meagre bribe ofcourse. However, from the moment the first bullet failed to pierce the glass enclosure, the entire operation had been going the wrong way. And that was very strange, because the director had been aware of the thickness and the strength of the PM’s glass enclosure, and the armor piercing bullets had been chosen precisely for this reason. However, they had failed to work. The fact there was an active lead, was the only silver lining for the Director.

It was on his instructions, the handler had indirectly approached Mrs. Singhania and offered their services, when they heard she was out seeking external assistance against her political adversary. It was the perfect opportunity for him to combine the United States’ age old objective of the Third World War breaking out over the Asian soil, with Mrs. Singhania’s myopic goal of getting back her country’s throne.

It was with the similar objective, the Agency had covertly assisted the Pakistani terrorists in carrying out the dastardly Mumbai attacks in 2008. They were banking on a strong military reaction from India against Pakistan in the back drop of the fidayeen attacks on latter’s financial capital. Once the war would have started, they expected China and Russia to side with Pakistan and India respectively. The US then intended to use this opportunity to either enter the war directly or kill two stones with one bird like they had in World War II. Firstly they would supply arms and ammunition to all the countries involved in the war, thereby providing a new market and fresh opportunities for their arms manufacturing behemoths. Secondly, as the war would be fought over the Asian soil, it would peg all the countries back economically and otherwise by a good 50 years if not more, thereby re-establishing US’ supremacy as the only super-power just like it was after the Second World War ended in 1945. However, since the Indian National Party’s government at the time was busy filling their own coffers, read Swiss bank accounts, they were neither bothered about the bloodiest terrorist attack the country had witnessed, nor with the fact that it was proven beyond doubt that Pakistan was directly involved in it. Even the global and local media terming it as India’s 9/11 did not prompt them to even mobilize their military along the Line of Control with Pakistan, to send out a strong message to their arch-rivals, let alone launching a military offensive. All this effectively meant all the efforts and planning of the Agency and the innocent lives lost in the attacks amounted to nothing, locally or globally.

‘I cannot let the Agency’s efforts go down the drain yet again. After all, it’s a huge diplomatic and political risk which we take in supporting such covert operations and as the Director, it’s my responsibility, to ensure fruition of these efforts’, the Director thought to himself as he picked up his direct hotline to Islamabad.

Chapter XVI

“Someone was tapping into our satellite feed. Have blocked them out, so whoever was guiding the sedan is blind now” the tourist’s handler blurted into the comm device just as the tourist entered the toll booth.

“Good. Keep monitoring to ensure they do not get in again. And keep updating me on the traffic conditions ahead.” the tourist responded as he paid the requisite toll ensuring he does not roll down the tinted glass too much to let any outsider see the PM was in his car.

“Nothing major for the next three kilometers, as of now.”

“Copy that.” As soon as the tourist throttled his engine after exiting the toll booth, his car roared to life and the PM and the tourist were pushed back into their seats. Just then the sedan finally managed to pay and leave the toll booth in the adjacent lane. Noticing this in his rear-view mirror, the tourist continued pushing his car’s engine to the hilt in every gear to gain maximum speed as soon as possible. He kept driving in the passing lane and frantically flashed his head-lights at other cars in the lane. Most of them obliged and made way for him, until he came across two trucks royally lumbering along in his lane. Just as he was about to swerve left to the adjacent lane to overtake them, there was a slow moving truck in that one too. He thought of swerving further left to the third lane, but it was too late to do so without dangerously cutting across other cars around, so he stuck with the second lane. He flashed his lights hysterically and also started honking to grab the truck driver’s attention, who finally noticed the rapidly approaching hatchback in his wing mirror and sped up a bit. However, that was not enough as the tourist had to slow down a bit to wait for the truck to move fast enough to pave way for him to veer right, between its tail and the fender of the leading truck in the passing lane. From the corner of his eye, the tourist noticed the red sedan catching up with him in his rear-view mirror. Realizing he was running out of time to execute his planned maneuver, just as the truck in his lane crossed the rear truck in the passing lane, the tourist swung right and was now driving in between the two lumbering trucks, with the one in the second lane running parallel to him. He repeated flashing his lights and honking incessantly at the truck ahead of him, who finally obliged and sped up a bit, but still refused to move out of the passing lane. Thus, the tourist was forced to repeat his risky maneuver of swerving left now, between the rear of the first truck and the fender of the one in the adjacent lane to enter it and finally overtake the first truck. The PM and the tourist heaved a sigh of relief as they saw a clear way ahead of them, at least for a while. The sedan followed suit and used the same maneuvers to overtake the three trucks.

“That was some crazy driving”, the tourist’s handler finally said when he saw on his screen that he had successfully negotiated the three trucks.

“Yes, but the sedan also made it through. I was hoping to buy some time if he got stuck in there for a bit”, the tourist responded.

“How is the traffic looking ahead? Is there any isolated section?” the tourist enquired.

“Traffic is light, but nothing isolated altogether.”

“Good, as it looks like the sedan does not want to risk shooting at us unless no one is around. But we cannot bank on that for very long. We need a way out.” The tourist informed his handler.

“Yes, I have been looking into it. There is a section ahead, where you can turn around. It’s after a tunnel.”

“Turning around seems unlikely as I am finding it difficult to lose the sedan. But, the tunnel itself might be useful. Tell me more about it.”

The tourist realized the sedan had managed to get a lot closer to him and would be on him in the next few seconds, even though he continued driving in the passing lane and the sedan in the adjacent one to his left.

“Watch out, the sedan is almost on you.” The tourist heard his handler loud and clear.

“They might not risk a shoot-out publically, but would surely take the opportunity to stage an accident.” The tourist responded as he prepped for his next evasive ploy.

“You continue telling me about the tunnel though”, the tourist added just as the sedan drove right up to his car in the adjacent lane. Both of them were driving parallel to each other now.

“Tunnel is on a slight curve actually and since it’s roughly 2.5 kms long, it has a blind spot as one enters into it” the tourist’s handler continued gingerly as he was distracted with both the cars driving head to head at over 100 kms an hour. ‘This one is heading for a photo finish’, he thought to himself as he continued monitoring the proceedings on the satellite feed.

Both the cars continued to drive parallely as the driver in the sedan tried hard to try and peek into the hatchback to ascertain whether the man on the passenger’s seat was the PM. When he failed because of the tinted windows, he tried speeding up more and peeping through the hatchback’s windshield. However, the tourist was quick to follow suit and speed up to remain parallel to the sedan.

When the sedan seemed to have enough of this, it swerved right, with the idea of pushing the hatchback into the road divider. At a speed of over 100kmph, the hatchback would topple with very little odds of either of the passengers surviving the accident.

Even though it was difficult for the tourist to see the sedan’s driver very clearly because of his tinted glasses, he was able to monitor the hand movements and body language of the driver ever since it had drawn up parallel to him. So, just as the sedan swerved right to squeeze the tourist’s car, the PM and the tourist lurched forward with a jerk, as the seat belt arrested their movement when the tourist jumped on the brake pedal, simultaneously applying the emergency brakes. To ensure he does not lose control of the car, he held on to the steering very tightly with his right hand as he was holding the emergency brake lever with the left. The tourist’s move was too quick for the sedan to react and they veered right into the tourist’s lane without even scratching his car. Just as the tourist noticed this, he gently moved the steering to the left as the tyres screeched because of all the brakes and steering being used at the same time. This made the car to gently sway to the left, enough to steer clear of the sedan which was now squarely in the passing lane. The tourist released the emergency brakes, down shifted the gear and accelerated to regain his speed in the second lane to overtake the sedan which was still struggling to arrest its sudden deviation and avoid hitting the road divider.

“Fire. Get them before they get away once again” the sedan driver barked at his armed companion, even as he continued drifting towards the divider. His companion leaned out of the glass, but just as he was taking a shot at the hatchback, the sedan hit the divider and he fell out of the car because of the impact. The driver had managed to salvage the impact somewhat but still ended up losing his companion, and damaging the right side of his car. However, he barely noticed either of the two events and resumed pursuing the hatchback as soon as the impact of the divider subsided.

“Ok, the blind spot in the tunnel sounds good. How far out is it from my current location?” the tourist enquired as he noticed the sedan recovering from his move, but he managed to re-gain some distance from it and also got rid of the armed guy in the process.

“You are about 20kms out currently.”

“Great. Here is what we can do……”

Chapter XVII

“So, what do we do now?” the bespectacled man in the NSA’s office asked him.

“We need to mobilize the paramilitary forces across the country” the NSA responded as he picked up his phone and blurted out the instructions with more troops being dedicated to the states which were a strong hold of the Janata Party.

Chapter XVIII

“You were supposed to get back to me”, Mrs. Singhania bellowed in to her phone just as the handler answered it.

“I was supposed to do that when I had the final confirmation” the handler shot back.

“And I will have it for you in a few minutes” the handler added before the line went dead.

Chapter XIX

“Last few hours have been very interesting. It was about time, I heard from you”, the man at the other end of the hotline blurted as soon as he answered Director Bresnan’s call while lowering the volume of the news coverage about Amritsar he was watching on TV in his office.

Located inside a bunker, which could even withstand a nuclear holocaust, the office was unlike any other as it only housed a table and a few chairs. There was a TV on top of a small cabinet towards the right corner facing the main table. There was a map of Pakistan behind the head chair, in addition to two phones on the table. A regular one, and a dedicated hot line which was currently in use. The man on the hotline with the CIA Director had an almost uncharacteristic calmness in his demeanor for the chief of the Inter-Services Intelligence or Pakistan’s infamous ISI. Director General Rizwan Ali served in the country’s military for 25 years before being asked to head the most controversial intelligence agency in the Asian region.

“Me. Why?” the director enquired.

“Oh, Come on. The entire operation has your name written all over it.”

“I have no clue what you are talking about” the director scowled.

“Anyways, you should be more concerned about what is to follow rather than what has already happened or who has done it”, the director added.

“Not sure, if I follow you”

“Needless to say the events in Amritsar are grave and I am sure you know, unlike before, India does not take any acts of terror lying down. Especially when their PM himself has been attacked.” The Director responded.

“Yes, I know that. What I do not know is, what has that got to do with this conversation?” the ISI Chief frowned.

“Based on the information from my sources, within India, there is a word on the street that Pakistan is responsible for the events in Amritsar since morning” the Director replied.

The Director obviously lied to the ISI Chief because he realized he needs to initiate a backup plan, just in case the Indian PM gets away unscathed. Which would mean no military offensive from India on Pakistan " in a nutshell, yet another failure on CIA’s part to realize US’ objectives. He could not afford another failure, even personally, as it would impact his future as the head of the Agency. Thus, he was banking on instigating Pakistan to attack India in self-defense in the light of an imminent attack from their neighbors for the attempt on their PM’s life. A well thought out strategy.

“But no one knows if the attack was even successful” the ISI chief finally managed to say after processing what the Director had told him.

“Don’t they know, if we wanted to attack, we will take down the whole venue rather than take the trouble of a sniper attack”, the ISI chief added.

‘So we should have been more brazen then’ the Director thought to himself with a grin.

“Don’t think they are patient enough to think so much at this stage” the Director responded to egg the ISI chief further.

“I only called to check if you are prepared for an attack from India, as we are concerned about your well-being and that of the Asian region” the Director added.

Just like they had done in the aftermath of the 26/11 attacks in Mumbai failing to garner any strong response from India.

“We are always prepared for any eventuality. But we will wait till the Indian PM is reported safe or otherwise, before initiating any action”, the Chief responded before disconnecting the line and storming towards the cabinet on which the TV was placed.

He moved it aside and tapped on the section of the wall which was behind the TV set. That section of the wall smoothly slid aside making way for the ISI chief to step on to the creaking circular staircase which led to the basement of the bunker. The basement was twice the size of the main office upstairs and housed a plethora of large television screens which beamed the live feed of every inch of the Line of Control shared with India, along with some of the popular tourist and crowded Indian cities like Mumbai, Delhi and other metros. Only a small section of one of the TV screens beamed the sensitive areas within Pakistan, clearly suggesting unlike other intelligence agencies, ISI was more concerned with keeping an eye on their neighbors rather than their own country. That largely explained the chaos their country was in, especially since the last decade.

A section of the basement housed some spacious cells, more like comfortable and much larger police lock-ups. Each of the cells included all the modern-day appliances like a flat screen television, refrigerators, communication devices and the works. The cells were occupied by some of the most dreaded and wanted fugitives across the world. Two cells of particular interest to India, were that of the LeT chief Lakhvi, who had successfully carried out the 26/11 attacks in Mumbai and was arrested after years of international pressure. Not that he really seemed to be in confinement, even now, with the 5-star facilities he was availing. Second one belonged to the most wanted underworld don, Dawood Ibrahim who has been instrumental in funding a lot of terrorist activities, across the globe. To his right was an empty cell, which was once occupied by the Al-Qaeda chief and the most wanted man globally " Osama Bin Laden. He had reached there a day before the 9/11 attacks were executed in different parts of the United States. He was moved to Abbottabad just two days before he was captured and neutralized by the US Navy Seals in May 2011. In his final moments, he wondered whether he was the real perpetrator of the 9/11, or a mere pawn in a much bigger series of events executed for attaining a lot of economic goals for the global energy behemoths.

The entire basement remained off limits and non-existent for most people in the country, especially to the current administration of Nawaz Sharif, as he is infamous for being friendly towards the arch rivals, India.

“Which screen has the live feed of Indian military installations?” the chief asked Khalid, the head of the surveillance team.

“None. Unfortunately, all our undercover operatives have been caught in the last six months. And their respective agencies have undone all the work they had done during their tenure, including the spying devices like cameras and microphones which they had implanted at important locations”, Khalid responded cautiously.

A lot of undercover operatives were busted in various surprise checks and arrests made by all the sensitive ministries under the current Indian government. Even though these were reported as anti-corruption raids, they were actually done with the sole objective of nabbing the spies and locals who were secretly working for Pakistan and China. A measure which was proving to be very useful now.

“What? How did this happen?” the chief blared at Khalid.

“It happened as part of anti-corruption raids conducted by the Indian administration.”

“But we do have live feeds from high-end secret cameras we implanted on our side of the LOC. Though not very detailed, they can be used to monitor military build-up on Indian side.” Khalid added in an attempt to pacify the chief.

“Ok. Get one of your men to monitor it all the time, and report any movement on the other side. Irrespective of how insignificant it might seem” the chief instructed Khalid after a long pause.

“And you give me a list of possible entry points for us to launch an attack” the chief added.

“An attack? You mean for our military or a proxy attack on their civilians by a sleeper cell?”

“Both, actually” the chief responded.

 

Chapter XX

“You are now 2 kms away from the tunnel”, the tourist’s handler updated him.

“Copy that. Is everything ready?” the tourist enquired.

“Yes. Just as you asked.”

“Great”

The sedan had failed to catch up with the tourist, partially because of the damage to the car and also because of the tourist zigzagging between heavy vehicles all along the way. However, much to the tourist’s disappointment, he had been unable to get sufficiently away from the sedan, to turn around towards Delhi. He hoped to achieve that in the next few minutes.

“Remember, you need to ensure the sedan enters the tunnel in the third lane from its wall on the east” the tourist was told.

“Yes, working on it.”

The tourist had intentionally slowed down just a bit and was driving in the second lane at the entrance of the tunnel. Sensing an opportunity to catch up, the sedan sped up the curvaceous section of the road. Just as it was a few feet away, the tourist flashed his left indicator and swayed left as if to avoid ramming into the stalled truck in the second lane, while continuously monitoring the sedan in his rear-view mirror. As soon as the sedan followed suit, he swung right as the PM tossed around in his seat because the car fish-tailed due to swift movements from one side to the other. The tourist managed to get to the passing lane right next to the tunnel’s wall as he narrowly avoided the stalled truck in the second lane. The sedan noticed this, however, he got blindsided by the stalled truck in the second lane as he continued moving in the third one. Before he could react further, he was thrown out of his seat on to the windshield, as his car rammed into another stalled truck in his lane. The windshield could not withstand the driver’s impact and gave away without arresting his forward movement, because of which he was thrown on to the stalled truck. After the impact, his lifeless body fell on to the bonnet of his car in a heap.

Just a few meters after the tourist entered the passing lane, the wall gave way to a shaft. It was an entry to the passage which connected the north and south sides of the highways. Primarily reserved for emergency situations and VIP convoys, the tourist’s friend had managed to make it accessible for the tourist without divulging the PM was in his car. The tourist continued driving into the narrow winding shaft. Suddenly, he noticed a flash light ahead in the passage. He slammed his brakes immediately as the screeching tyres echoed in the narrow section of the connecting tunnel. Suddenly, a canopy like tarpaulin cover was thrown on his car from above, as the man bearing the flash light ahead of him and the one who had moved aside the barricade at the entry of the shaft, walked up to the car from either ends and began adjusting the cover thrown on the hatchback. It seemed to have been precisely cut out for the size and shape of the tourist’s hatchback, as both the men perfectly aligned the cutout sections in the front and both the sides of the car to enable driving even while it covered the car. The cover was a camouflage, which had been designed by the car’s manufacturer itself. It’s primarily used during the testing phase of a new car to protect its shape and identity until it is officially launched in the market.

The tourist resumed driving the car just as the man with the flashlight confirmed the cover was perfectly aligned. He exited the shaft on the Delhi bound south side of the NH1.

“I am on the south side of NH1 now” the tourist informed his handler, just as the tracker re-appeared on his screen after a brief outage while the tourist was in the connecting tunnel.

“Finally”

“What about the sedan?” the tourist enquired.

“The car has not moved since the collision with the truck in the third lane. Sending a man on the ground to check on its driver, clear the tunnel and resume the flow of traffic which we had stopped for fifteen minutes on the north and the south sides of the tunnels, just as you had asked.”, tourist’s handler responded.

“High time that we got some breathing space from the sedan” the tourist said as the wrinkles on his forehead subsided.

“Now just keep driving and keep me posted along the way”

“Copy that. Besides, you have the live feed anyways” the tourist responded as he signed off from his comm device and sat back in his seat for some sane driving after a long time.

“Now that the PM is on his way here, I guess we should inform the media and other stakeholders, as planned” the tourist’s handler said as he turned to the bespectacled man in the safari suit in his office, after the tourist signed off on the comm device.

“I agree, Mr. Doval” the bespectacled man responded.

Unaware of the fact his handler was the country’s NSA, the tourist had been following the instructions of his reporting officer in the Intelligence Bureau of informing his designated handler after reaching the venue. Thereafter, the NSA had been monitoring him continuously and reached out to him as soon as he got into his car with the PM.

The NSA had instructed one of his trusted aides in the Intelligence Bureau to position an undercover officer at the venue, just in case the PM’s security detail were unable to avert an attack or rescue the PM after it took place. It turned out to be a master stroke and had worked to perfection so far.

The Intelligence Bureau had intercepted phone calls between the CIA Director and his handler as part of a covert but regular operation. This covert surveillance had been initiated ever since the PM surprised the entire world with his sudden stop over in Pakistan on their PM’s birthday. PM Modi and the NSA had discussed the possible reactions of global leaders and super powers after that unplanned visit " ones which are discussed publically and also ones which take place behind the scenes. Because India and Pakistan resolving their differences and working together on the path of development is a school of thought, which does not go down well with most of the super powers for various reasons. One of them being unparalleled growth in the Asian region if the arch-rival neighbors progress economically alongwith China. It would belittle the importance of the Western countries in the global economics. Secondly, it would badly truncate the market for their arms manufacturing behemoths, which is a very strong and deep pocketed lobby in the Western political circles.

Thus, a proxy attack on India in the form of a terrorist act which would be staged to look like it was carried out by Pakistan was always on cards to negatively impact the peace process initiated by PM Modi. Hence, the NSA started snooping in on the CIA Director and other key personnel across the Western countries. The operation hit pay dirt when Director Bresnan was heard asking his deputy to contact Mrs. Singhania, to assist her in winning back the throne in Delhi. Initially, it seemed like the plan was stepping up the already operational malicious media campaign in India against an alleged intolerance towards religious minorities, using the global and Indian media houses which would broadcast anything for a good price tag. However, slowly the NSA learnt the true nature of this particular ‘external assistance’ and its possible implications.

Chapter XXI

“Yes Sir” Commissioner Sodhi responded the NSA’s phone call.

“I am very sad to break this news, but the PM did not make it” the NSA said after a long pause, which seemed intentional to add more weight to what he was saying.

“WHAT!! But how is that possible, we have not found the PM or his body anywhere at the venue. I have personally checked the enclosure and surrounding areas twice” responded the stunned commissioner.

Another long pause on the line.

“The PM was taken away from the venue in a red sedan, seemingly by the perpetrators of the attack at the venue. But the car met with an accident on the North bound side of the NH1 near the Gurdaspur tunnel.”

“Send in your team to maintain law and order in the area. My team is bringing the PM’s body from the accident site to Delhi as we speak”, the NSA added as the commissioner was too shocked to respond.

“Ok. Do I need to provide protection to your convoy then?” Commissioner finally managed to ask.

“No. And it is not a convoy, just a couple of random looking cars as we do not want to attract attention as it might ignite tensions in the region if people realize the PM’s body is enroute. Also, inform this to the media but ask them to show some restrain in reporting the news, if they even know what that means” the NSA instructed before disconnecting the line.

The man in the safari suit in his office also got off his phone at the same time, as both of them nodded at each other.

 

Chapter XXII

“I am unable to contact my man whose car has met with an accident while was pursuing the hatchback. Looks like he did not make it” the handler mustered to report to Director Bresnan.

“WHAT!! Then how is the Indian media reporting the PM succumbed in an accident on the same route your men were in pursuit? I thought your men staged it to finish the job” Director asked as he started pacing around his office.

“PM in an accident!! I had sent another man of mine to the accident site to check. He could not get very close to the site as it was swarming with police officials, but he was positive only red sedan which was being used by my men, had met with an accident. Blue hatchback was nowhere in sight” the handler responded in between his intentional deep breaths.

“Looks like the Indian security agencies are bluffing its people. But that’s fine with us. After all this is exactly what we needed. Unrest internally within the country and a knee jerk reaction by the government, in the form of a military offensive” the Director responded after a long pause.

“Inform Mrs. Singhania immediately, we have held up our side of the deal. It’s her turn now” Director Bresnan added before disconnecting the line.

Chapter XXIII

“What is the point in informing me now, when all the news channels have anyways confirmed the same?” Mrs. Singhania said calmly into her phone, to the handler.

Ignoring the comment, the handler continued, “As discussed earlier, it’s time for you to act now” as the line went dead.

‘With pleasure’ Mrs. Singhania thought to herself with a grin as she dialed her secretary’s number.

“Is everyone logged in to the conference call?” she asked her secretary.

“Yes mam. Like you had asked, all the state and zonal heads of the party are already logged in ever since the news of the firing at the venue broke out.”

“Good. Patch me in now.”

“Mam, you are in. Everyone can hear you.”

“Dear party members, as you all are already aware this is the saddest moment in the history of India. Our beloved PM has met with a fatal accident after being abducted by the perpetrators of the attack on him at the Amritsar rally.”

“Irrespective of our political ideologies, this is a moment to show solidarity throughout the country. First thing to do in such a situation would be to punish the guilty. The shameless act could only have been performed by our arch-rival neighbors. Our beloved PM made a surprise visit there not very long ago, and this is how they repay us” Mrs. Singhania thundered into her office phone as she paced around to get her adrenaline pumping.

“Spread the word in your zones, regions and constituencies, the PM and people of India deserve justice. Since the UN and global super powers will try their best to stop us from launching a military attack, let us urge the Janata Party government to not listen to them, for the UN and other countries have not lost a treasured and promising icon today, but we have. And now it is time to deliver justice.”

Mrs. Singhania stopped pacing around, but paused for a theatrical climax to the call.

“Jai Hind” she finally said to sign off from the conference call, as did the attendees with a newly found determination to garner justice for their motherland. None of them bothered to ask, or even pondered over Mrs. Singhania’s possible source of information on Pakistan’s involvement in all this since no media channel had reported any such leads on identification of the perpetrators.

Chapter XXIV

“Took a leaf out of the PM’s book it seems” the NSA scorned on hearing Mrs. Singhania’s address to her party members, as he disconnected the tapped line in to her conference call.

“If only she and her party used her oratory and other skills for the betterment of the country” the bespectacled man said with disdain as he also disconnected his tapped line.

“Guess it is time for you to reach out to your counterpart across the border” the NSA told the bespectacled man, who nodded in agreement and picked up the hotline.

Chapter XXV

“It is officially confirmed now”, Director Bresnan spoke as soon as the ISI chief answered his hotline.

“Yes. Just heard”

“So how will you handle this from here on?” CIA Director enquired.

“We are monitoring our borders. Will retaliate if we see any build up” ISI Chief responded.

“What if they directly attempt an air-strike?” Director suggested on purpose, just in case Mrs. Singhania fails to incite the Janata Party government enough for a military buildup.

“Then we will be prepared for that too. Keep us posted if you hear anything more” ISI Chief responded after a brief pause.

“Certainly. We are here if you need us” Director responded as the line went dead.

“You heard the man. Keep an eye out on all the radars. And call up Prime Minister’s office and tell them I need to speak to PM Sharif right away” ISI Chief instructed Khalid who had overheard the conversation with the Director on the speaker phone.

“PM Sharif is on line sir” Khalid said to the ISI Chief as he handed over the phone.

“Mr. PM, forgive me for skipping pleasantries, we need to prepare ourselves for an attack from India in light of their PM’s assassination.”

“What makes you think they will attack us in this moment of deep sorrow, not just for them but globally? The world has lost a very able and an honest leader today” the PM responded.

“Sir, I understand PM Modi was a good friend of yours, but I strongly urge you to keep the personal attachment at bay in this crucial time. I have strong inputs from my sources that India feels we are responsible for today’s events.”

“Your sources! Where and who are these ‘sources’?” the PM enquired.

“You know I can’t disclose that sir. I suggest we mobilize our military and air force to be prepared for any attack from across the border.”

“Are you out of your mind? Even though we are not guilty of today’s unfortunate events in Amritsar, we would invariably end up taking responsibility for it if we mobilize our military at this moment. India would feel irrespective of whether we took out their PM or not, we are surely proceeding to launch an attack on them to take advantage of their unfortunate situation” the PM boomed into his phone.

“I understand diplomacy is never a strong point of an ISI Chief, but thinking cleverly surely is. Or at least that’s what I hope” the PM added.

“You don’t need to tell me about my strengths and responsibilities, I am fully aware of them. Wish you did too” the ISI Chief burst out before disconnecting the line.

Chapter XXVI

“The Janata Party workers have gone berserk throughout the country, ever since the word came in on PM’s death” the news agencies reported along with clippings of mobs damaging public property and fighting with the law enforcement agencies. These clippings were actually from some of the past riots in the country, which were only being used now to spread panic and hurt the image of the Janata Party. It was a no brainer, the media houses were doing this at the behest of the Indian National Party as they had been asked to return the favors granted to them during most of the tenure of the erstwhile government.

“Now that you have seen the fictional version of ground events in the news channels, let me apprise you of the actual situation” the NSA turned to the bespectacled man as he lowered the volume of his TV set.

“There have been a few stray incidents of riots in the strong hold of the Janata Party. However, it is interesting to note that more National Party workers were seen damaging public property on streets in these areas rather than Janata Party’s. This is primarily because Janata Party’s offices across the country, even before breaking the news of the PM’s demise to their workers, put up barricades around their offices to ensure none of the aggrieved workers who had gathered around the party offices, got out and indulged in any unlawful activities because of the events in Amritsar. So they have actually been very proactive in keeping their own workers in check.” the NSA said based on the reports he was getting from his operatives at the ground level.

“Since they are unable to incite the Janata Party’s workers, National Party is taking the issue into their own hands. Why haven’t you imposed a curfew in these areas and arrested these people? Also, I hope this can be used as evidence if we get to that stage!” the bespectacled man enquired.

“Yes, it can be. And we have imposed Section 144 in all the sensitive areas and even arrested the National Party workers, and even that of the Janata Party who were involved in such incidents.”

“Good.”

“The law and order situation across the country is largely under control, which is an achievement, considering one of the most popular PM of the country has been reported as killed” the NSA said to the bespectacled man.

“It would not have been possible without the smooth takeover of the PM’s responsibilities by Mr. Singh, in such extra ordinary circumstances” the man responded.

Mr. Singh was the Home Minister of the country, and as per the protocol he automatically assumed the command of the government in case the PM was not in the country or not in a position to exercise authority, for any reason including his death.

“Five hours have passed since the media broke the news of the PM’s demise, and yet we are neither seeing appropriate reaction at the street level nor any aggressive responses from Janata Party government or other leaders. Not even verbally. It does not look like the country has lost a popular PM” Mrs. Singhania thundered into her phone on a conference call with the major leaders in her party. What she really meant was why enough riots haven’t broken out across the country, and why haven’t any senior Janata Party’s leaders reacted to the PM’s assassination.

“No clue Madam. Our party workers are in deep shock on the nation’s loss and were out on the streets expressing sorrow, however, most of them have been arrested by the police across the country. Especially in the states with Janata Party’s government” one of the participants on the call responded.

“Ok. Keep working on it though” came Mrs. Singhania’s final instructions as the line went dead.

She picked up her phone again and dialed her secretary, “Get me an appointment with the NSA, Mr. Doval right away”.

Chapter XXV

“What’s your ETA?” the NSA blurted into his phone as the tourist answered it.

“60 minutes.”

“Great. Any issues along the way?”

“None.”

“Keep me posted in case of any issues” came the final instructions before the NSA disconnected the line. Just then his phone rang again. It was his secretary.

“Mrs. Singhania is here to see you, sir”

“Ok. Send her in after five minutes” the NSA responded as the bespectacled man got up from his chair and headed for the door behind NSA’s chair.

The door opened to a passage which led to behind the television screen which the NSA used to monitor the various live feeds. However, it was actually a one sided glass. It acted and looked like a television screen from the main office. However, it acted as a tinted window from behind it. So anyone sitting in that room, can easily oversee the NSA’s office without letting the guests realize they were being watched. Usually, it was used by body language experts whenever the NSA hosted important dignitaries from other countries, as it was important to cross check whatever they said or promised during the meeting, they actually intended to stick to it.

“Mr. Doval, my deepest condolences for the loss the country has suffered today. I know last few hours would have been difficult for you, as you were close to Mr. Modi even before you took up this office” Mrs. Singhania said while walking into the NSA’s office in her traditional while cotton sari.

“Let me assure you, I will personally see to it Mr. Modi is honored with the coveted Bharat Ratna.”

“Please take a seat. How can I help you?” the NSA said ignoring everything Mrs. Singhania just said.

“What is your take on the events in Amritsar? Who do you think is behind this?” Mrs. Singhania said even before she settled down in her chair.

“Too early to say. I am still waiting for my sources and Punjab police to apprise me of the findings at ground zero.”

“But you and I both know, Pakistan is responsible for these events” Mrs. Singhania said to hide her displeasure over the casual but stern response from the NSA.

“That is an expected knee jerk reaction. We have to wait till we have something concrete”, the NSA responded.

“No. It’s not a knee jerk reaction. Who else could possibly think of such an inhuman act? I think we should respond to the enemy appropriately and send out a strong message to the entire world. India will not take such a disgraceful act lying down.”

“Believe me Mrs. Singhania, the whole world already knows that” the NSA responded unsympathetically.

“Especially since Mr. Modi took over the reins of this country”, the NSA added on purpose to perturb his guest.

“I am not here to play petty politics. I just want the perpetrators to be punished and for the country to feel justice has been served”, Mrs. Singhania shot back.

“We are working towards it. But we shall act only after we identify everyone involved. Including any assistance provided to the terrorists at the local level” the NSA replied.

Mrs. Singhania left the NSA’s office disappointed as she and her party were unable to incite any strong response from the Janata Party government. As a last ditch effort, she met the acting PM, Mr. Singh with the same agenda, wherein a similar conversation ensued and the meeting ended with more dejection for Mrs. Singhania.

The second part of her plan was not going as she had planned. Because for her plan to succeed, it was important that the acting PM or others in the Janata Party government launch a military offensive against Pakistan. Such an act would definitely be unsuccessful because she knew very well that because of utter disregard for maintaining and updating the Indian armed forces during her government’s tenure for 10 years, the Indian military was just not in a position to fight a prolonged war with any country. Even while defending itself, let alone launching an attack upfront. So, any attack on Pakistan would mean India’s first maiden defeat at the hands of its arch rival. Mrs. Singhania intended to use this loss as a foundation for calling early elections in the country. She would tell the public that it was the Janata Party government which firstly ate away the budgetary allocations for the defence sector which weakened the country’s military and then despite knowing this fully well, they launched an attack on Pakistan just to avenge the PM’s death without thinking of the larger implications of such a war. Thus, for her plan to succeed it was imperative India went to war with Pakistan. Just like it was for the US and other Western super powers.

Chapter XXVI

“As discussed, we are now ready for a pre-emptive military strike on India” the three Defence chiefs said to ISI Chief Rizwan Ali.

“However, none of us have an official go ahead from the PM Sharif’s office yet” the defence chiefs added.

“Hmm Ok. How do you suggest we proceed in that case?” ISI Chief enquired, looking in the direction of the TV screens in the basement of his bunker.

“I think we should attempt at least once more to get PM’s nod for launching this attack on India” the army chief responded.

“We can do that, but if he disagrees we will still launch the attack anyways. Later we can dethrone PM Sharif as well”, the Navy and Air force commanders responded as all the participants including the ISI chief nodded in agreement.

“I will call him again. Will keep you all posted” ISI Chief signed off from the conference call.

“Mr. PM, we have credible intelligence Indian army is mobilizing as we speak. They will launch an attack on us in the next 12 hours. We are prepared to launch an attack now itself and nip this in the bud. Just need your authorization” ISI Chief said as soon as PM Sharif’s secretary transferred his call to the PM’s office.

“What!! If you are ready to launch an attack right away, means you have mobilized the military without my authorization. So, why are you seeking it now for launching an attack?” PM Sharif bellowed into his phone.

“You and I both know, it’s just a formality”, ISI Chief sneered.

Ignoring the jibe, PM Sharif calmly responded, “Even I have my sources, and none of them are seeing or hearing about any mobilization on the Indian side.”

“What can I say? My sources are more accurate.”

“Ok. Give me some time, let me reach out to the Indian administration expressing my condolences and try to gauge their response”, PM Sharif finally said, to buy time, as there was no other way out of this.

“Don’t think it will yield anything. But, here is what we can do, you have two hours to try and avert an attack from India. Else, we will launch an attack, irrespective of whether or not I hear from you”, ISI Chief responded calmly before disconnecting the line.

PM Sharif dialed his hotline to New Delhi.

Chapter XXVII

“I will be reaching the basement entrance of the address you provided in the next 5 minutes” the tourist said as his handler answered the phone.

“Great, the security at the gate will guide you. Ensure no one sees the PM” the NSA instructed.

“Doesn’t this building house the office of the NSA?” the tourist enquired.

“Is it! Had no clue”, the NSA lied with a smirk.

The security of the building ushered the tourist’s hatchback and guided him to his designated parking slot right next to the elevator, even though the entire basement was deserted. As soon as he parked his car, 4 armed personnel rushed to guard the PM as he stepped out of the hatchback. PM and the tourist were escorted to the elevator and then to the NSA’s office through a back door entry so they could directly enter the office instead of passing through the lobby and other administrative sections, which were buzzing with activity even at this late evening hour.

The guards stationed themselves outside the NSA’s office, as the PM and the tourist entered it. “Welcome, Mr. PM. Sincere apologies for all that you have been through today” the NSA greeted the PM while the tourist was stunned as he heard the NSA’s voice and realized he was his handler all along.

“Surviving the shots turned out to be the easiest part, actually”, the PM responded with his signature warm handshake with a smirk in the tourist’s direction.

“I apologize again for the uncomfortable drive initially”, the tourist repented to the PM’s playful prodding.

“Jokes apart, your calmness and clarity of thought in such a stressful situation has saved the nation today. Your reporting officer in the IB was absolutely right in choosing you for this mission” the NSA intervened.

“You were my handler!!” the tourist finally managed to say after a long pause.

“He is from IB!! So he knew about the impending attack at the rally” the PM probed the NSA.

“What!! If the attack was imminent, why risk the life of the PM at all?” the tourist queried the NSA.

“I understand, a lot of questions need to be answered, which I will in, a few minutes. Please take a seat.” the NSA responded before heading for the room behind the TV screen from where the bespectacled man in the safari suit continued watching the NSA’s guests silently.

“Just heard, PM Sharif was able to stall the ISI from launching an attack on us for two hours. A little over an hour of that ultimatum is left currently. So, is the tourist has any additional information about the perpetrators at the venue or the sedan, we need it within the next 15 minutes” the bespectacled man told the NSA after he closed the door behind him. Since the room was sound proof, the PM and the tourist sitting outside heard nothing of this conversation.

“Ok, I will get down to business then” the NSA replied as he headed out of the room.

The NSA re-entered his office and settled down in his chair and started speaking looking in the PM’s direction.

“This alleged common man from the crowd who rescued you, is Mr. Kabir Sood. He is part of the IB team working on the Pakistani module of intelligence gathering and analysis. I had asked for an officer from their team to be at the venue as the last option to rescue you, in case your security detail had been compromised. As it turned out, we were right and your entire security detail with the exception of Moin Abbas, were taking instructions from the perpetrators of today’s attack at the rally. And as per their instructions, they disappeared the moment you started addressing the audience. By the time Moin Abbas could process all this and ask for backup, two shots were fired at you. He responded by taking out the sniper, who was taken by surprise as he was not expecting any fight back by anyone since everyone was on his employer’s payroll. Thereafter, as you know Moin was involved in a gun fight while shielding you. Good news is, he is stable now but will take some time to recover.”

“Oh that’s great news” the PM responded happily, probably for the first time in the entire day.

Thereafter, he turned to Kabir and said, “Well done. I agree with what the NSA said earlier, your clarity of thought and communication in such a stressful situation is commendable.”

Kabir acknowledged the PM’s statement before turning to the NSA quizzically.

The NSA briefed Kabir about how they had received intelligence about an imminent attack on the PM few days back, alongwith the information that it would be staged to look like it was done by Pakistan and the supporting logic and objective of the perpetrators in doing so. Mrs. Singhania’s involvement was also discussed. He was also told about the news agencies reporting the PM as dead post the sedan’s accident in Gurdaspur.

“What!! PM has been reported as killed. Then I must add, a good law and order situation at least along the route we drove from Amritsar is surprising.”

“Yes, that is because I had a word with the acting PM, Mr. Singh and other senior leaders of the Janata Party and apprised them of the operation and that PM Modi was alive and on his way to a safe location. Thereafter, they worked proactively to contain the emotional outburst of their party workers.”

“Good. Frankly, I am not really surprised with whatever you said about the intelligence inputs of the CIA’s operation and Mrs. Singhania’s involvement. But I am astonished that you let the PM attend the rally when the threat to his life was so credible!” Kabir said to the NSA.

“Yes, but only after taking three additional measures. Firstly, placing you under cover at the venue. Secondly, why do you think the glass enclosure did not give away when the first bullet was fired? After all it was armor piercing bullet. Should have taken out the bullet proof glass enclosure and the PM easily then!” the NSA probed Kabir.

“Re-enforced bullet proof glass for the enclosure!” Kabir guessed with a shrug.

“Exactly. Made to order specifically on our instructions with special emphasis on keeping this bit private.”

“Ok, so that gave enough time to the PM to react and duck under the podium behind the enclosure. What was the third measure?” Kabir enquired.

Kabir’s question was a cue for the bespectacled man to open the door from the secret room and enter the NSA’s office.

 

Chapter XXVIII

“From where would you be launching your attack?” Director Bresnan enquired on his hotline with the ISI Chief.

“Why do you need to know this? So you can provide this as an intel to India, to continue being in their good books!” the ISI chief shot back.

“You must be joking. I am only asking so I can check at my end if India has mobilized its military in that location.”

“We are fully aware on how to operate all the surveillance equipments you have provided. We don’t need to share every detail of our planned operation with you.”

“Fine. How long before you launch an attack? Obviously this information alone, even if I share with India would be useless considering the huge border area they share with you” the CIA Director sneered.

Ignoring the dig, the ISI Chief responded, “Within the hour”

 

Chapter XXIX

As Kabir looked up in the direction of the door which opened behind the NSA’s chair, he cast a casual glance at the PM’s chair next to him. Expecting it to be vacant, and jogging his mind to recollect when the PM excused himself through that door while he was talking to the NSA, the thought eluded him even more as he saw the PM sitting in his chair. He had not stepped out at any point. He looked back in the direction of the door as his jaw dropped and his pupils widened. It was as if a mirror facing the PM was being pushed into the room through the door. That was the only logical explanation. But then it hit him, the clothes in the reflection were different from the ones the PM was wearing who was still in his chair next to Kabir.

As Kabir struggled for words, the NSA intervened to break the silence.

“Kabir, this is the third measure I was talking about. The PM you rescued from the rally is actually a decoy double of PM Modi.”

“PM Modi has been sitting in my office, since the time his flight took off from Delhi for Amritsar.”

Before NSA could add further, Kabir raised his hand in his direction signaling to give him a few seconds to comprehend everything that he was seeing and hearing. The real PM Modi took a chair to Kabir’s right.

“And, here I thought it was only the Western and some Middle Eastern countries which had decoy doubles of important personnel”, Kabir finally managed to say looking at everyone turn by turn.

“No, in fact the roots of this strategy can be traced back to our freedom struggle against the British. Some of our freedom fighters used extensive makeup and props to create decoys to misguide the English police and administration to stay out of jail to continue fighting for the country’s independence. The technique was then emulated by the Germans to impersonate the British General Bernard Montgomery for covert intelligence gathering during the Second World War in 1944. The practice has only advanced and become easier with the advent of technology, wherein it’s a cakewalk to fine tune the facial expressions, scars and even the vocal chords to make it resemble the original even more” the NSA responded.

“Hi, I am Ajay Shukla.” The PM’s look alike sitting on his left said to Kabir, extending his hand.

“Are you feeling cheated because all the effort you took to rescue the PM turned out to be a decoy?” Ajay enquired as Kabir acknowledged with a handshake while looking at him even more closely.

“Ofcourse not. Any and every human life is invaluable. Besides, had I failed to rescue you, all hell would have broken loose across the country if the perpetrators managed to abduct or even kill you and then broadcast this message through media or internet. Because no one would have realized you were a decoy of the PM”, Kabir responded.

“Exactly. Rescuing you was as important as it would have been with the real PM”, the NSA added looking in Ajay’s direction.

“I appreciate your efforts in saving me”, Ajay replied to Kabir’s statement.

“And I appreciate your efforts in saving the country today”, PM Modi said looking in Kabir’s and Ajay’s direction.

As Kabir and Ajay acknowledged the PM, Ajay excused himself from the room as his role in the day’s events was now over.

“Have we been able to ascertain who the terrorists were at the venue and the ones in the sedan?” Kabir enquired.

“The sniper and his aide killed at the venue are Pakistanis, as expected since the CIA wanted us to believe Pakistan was responsible for the attempt on PM’s life. But the driver of the sedan who was pursuing you is an Indonesian national but seems to be from US originally. My team is working on ascertaining that as we speak.” The NSA responded.

“What about the armed companion of the sedan driver, who fell off the car while taking at a shot at us?”

“My men were unable to find him at or around the location you mentioned immediately after that confrontation. Looks like even he was CIA and was rescued immediately.”

“Ok. So, how do we expose the real culprits and punish them now?” Kabir asked looking at the PM and the NSA.

“We have enough evidence in that regard, but that is secondary. Our priority currently is to avert an attack from Pakistan in the next 45 minutes”, the PM broke his silence on the issue.

“I guess, for that you will have to address the nation and the world through a press conference confirming you survived the attack at the rally. But how do we explain the earlier news of the PM’s demise breaking out?” Kabir asked.

“It was done to see what the National Party, Mrs. Singhania and CIA resorts to once their objective of taking out the PM was achieved. And also to make the case against them, in planning this attack, even stronger. And I can confidently say, it has worked.” The NSA responded.

“Good, but what has CIA resorted to since the news of PM’s death broke out?”

“Who do you think has instigated Pakistan to mobilize their military and prepare for an attack on us? Had it not been for a very good rapport which PM Modi shares with PM Sharif, their military would have attacked us already. He was able to stall the ISI for a couple of hours based on his discussion with PM Modi.” The NSA responded.

“What!! PM Sharif knows PM Modi is alive!!”

“Yes, we had already discussed the possibility of an attempt by the Western super powers to malign our friendly interactions, even before today’s events unfolded.” PM Modi responded to Kabir.

The PM then turned to the NSA and asked him to call for a press conference immediately, and also get him the hotline to PM Sharif. He excused himself and made his way to the secret room again. The NSA joined him soon thereafter.

 

Chapter XXX

“Let us call of the attack. Based on my interactions with the Indian administration, there is no imminent threat of them mobilizing their army for attacking us”, PM Sharif said into this cell phone as the ISI Chief answered the call.

“I already told you, calling it off is impossible. For all we know, they may be bluffing by saying they are not mobilizing their military”

“They are surely not bluffing. Let us at least postpone the attack by an hour.”

“Attack begins in the next 10 minutes, as scheduled” ISI chief responded before hanging up on the PM, just as PM’s hotline from New Delhi started ringing.

“We are going public with the news now”, PM Modi said as soon as PM Sharif answered his hotline.

“It was about time, as I was unable to buy more time from ISI.”

“Not a problem anymore. I really appreciate your help through the day.”

“And I appreciate the significant political risk you have taken, by not taking the falsified evidence and circumstances of our involvement in the condemnable attempt on your life today”, PM Sharif responded before both the leaders hung up.

 

Chapter XXXI

The press conference was hastily arranged in the media section of the NSA’s office and was being broadcasted live across the world. But it did not garner much interest anywhere, as it seemed like an attempt by the acting PM and the NSA to pacify the nation after losing PM Modi earlier in the day.

“Good evening fellow Indians”, the NSA began the address.

“I can fully understand the dejected feeling all of us are experiencing today, in the aftermath of the events in Amritsar and Gurdaspur earlier in the day.”

“However, I have some important news with regards to today’s events.”

Just then, PM Modi walked in as all hell broke loose amongst the reporters who made a dash for the front row on witnessing this. All of them were blurting out questions about what had happened in Gurdaspur, how the PM survived, and much more but barely anyone was comprehensible as the situation got very chaotic. The security guards in the room had to intervene to restore some order to the proceedings.

“It would be an understatement to say, you all have a lot of questions for the PM and myself. But I request you all to hold your questions until PM Modi finishes his address”, the NSA said as he gestured for the PM to take over and silently excused himself out of the room to join Kabir in the lobby who was keenly watching the proceedings.

The PM once again, began his address to the nation in his signature opening, “Mitron….”. Thereafter, he went on to explain what happened in Amritsar, Gurdaspur and why the news of his demise had been broken to the news agencies. The reason he cited was to ascertain the attempt on his life ended with the chase in Gurdaspur, so it was a precautionary measure.

This statement surprised Kabir, as he was expecting the PM to say his death was staged to see the reaction of the perpetrators and to collect more evidence against them. Sensing this, the NSA spoke to him.

“One thing you will learn with experience of dealing with politicians, is not to be surprised at anything.”

Kabir was startled as he realized the NSA knew about PM’s change of stance on punishing the perpetrators.

Realizing Kabir was still confused, the NSA told him about his conversation with the PM in the secret room after the instructions for the press conference were given out.

“PM and the nation had two options in the current situation. One was to name all the perpetrators, namely Mrs. Singhania and the CIA. That would lead to more chaos internally within the country as the National Party and its supporters would term this as a political vendetta by PM Modi on the opposition. The Parliament would be stalled, the law and order situation will worsen, at least in the states ruled by the National Party. There would be more questions raised on the integrity and the intentions of the PM by the ‘secular’ media of the country who was anyways indebted to, and controlled by the National Party. Externally, the relations with the US and its allied super powers would reach a record low point and besides, the US would neither agree nor punish anyone from the CIA for the operation in Amritsar. So from all sides, as a country India stood to lose a lot more if the PM exposed the perpetrators. Therefore, the PM opted for the alternative.”

“He called up Mrs. Singhania, and ignoring her utter surprise and alleged pleasure at knowing the PM was alive and safe, he told her about all the proofs the NSA had on the CIA and herself in relation to the events of the day. He also told her about additional proofs collected since the time he was reported as killed, and also about how her ‘ally’ CIA instigated ISI to attack India. This was enough to charge Mrs. Singhania with sedition, which would be an unparalleled blow to her political aspirations of winning back the throne in New Delhi. She was too stunned to respond to these allegations, so the PM offered her an olive branch”, the NSA paused in his marathon recital of the conversations in the secret room just before the press conference started.

“But why would the PM extend her an olive branch after what she has done?” Kabir derided.

“When I say an olive branch, I do not mean a one sided peace proposal. The PM told Mrs. Singhania, he expected complete support from her and her party in the smooth functioning of the Parliament and in clearing various bills which were pending in the Parliament because of the disruptive tactics of her party. If she failed to do this or ever planned another attack on the PM or anyone else, he would expose her and her allies in this shameful act.”

“Even though the special agent in me disliked this option, I feel the PM has taken a higher road here for the country’s betterment and also for winning himself a second term in the next election. A complete free hand for Mr. Modi to execute his vision for this country is the best possible appeal he can make to voters for re-electing him in the next elections, which obviously needs to be backed up by exemplary performance by his government until the country votes again. Compared to what Mrs. Singhania has resorted to win back the country’s throne, I guess PM’s method is a lot more noble”, the NSA added.

Kabir continued looking in the direction of the media room as the news conference was still on. He finally said, “It’s a pity that we have to take such significant risks and make unethical compromises, just to ensure a free hand to work towards the betterment of the nation.”

“I am sure, ISI would call off their planned attack as they realize India won’t be attacking them as PM Modi is alive and safe. But what if they still go ahead and attack us anyways?” Kabir asked the NSA after another long pause.

“We have our armed stealth drones in their air space even now. Besides, our air force team has been on standby for launching a lethal attack as soon as they began to mobilize their military” the NSA responded smugly.

Epilogue

‘CIA Director Bresnan announces his retirement’ read the headline of the US Press Association, hours after PM Modi went public.

‘ISI Chief Rizwan Ali replaced after extensive lobbying by PM Sharif’ read another headline of a leading Pakistani daily.

‘Entire security detail of PM Modi arrested and charged with sedition. Only savior, Moin Abbas to be awarded Paramvir Chakra’, read a news from the Press Trust of India.

‘Parliament shows record productivity; both the houses clear more than 200 bills during the monsoon session. PM thanks the all the parties for letting the ‘temple of democracy’ return to normalcy after ages’, read another headline from Press Trust of India, a few months after the incidents in Amritsar, Gurdaspur and NSA’s office in New Delhi.

Author's Note

Please comment on everything - plot, dialogue and ofcourse grammar (reviewers will have a field day on it).