Brutal (17 page)

S
eema looked
at the unending succession of farmhouses and villas on either sides of the road as her car moved through Chattarpur. Her pangs of hunger and thirst were getting worse in the relentless sun of the afternoon. She couldn’t recall what her captors had given her to eat.

Trying to ignore her uneasiness, she looked out the window. Her car had slowed down and was nosing into a three-storied building. It was a hotel.
Acacia Inn.

“This hotel is your safe house?” Seema enquired.

“It’s one of our meeting points,” Divakar said, as the car pulled over in a parking space.

“I thought it would be some secluded building in a narrow bylane of the city.”

“We have a few of them spread throughout Delhi. The problem with such areas is that you can’t move in or out quickly when cornered. You can’t have a clear view of people, vehicles and buildings nearby. That’s why this hotel is my favourite.”

The man on the reception looked at both of them and immediately pulled out a register kept underneath his desk. Divakar signed on it with a name ‘Kailash’. The receptionist then handed them two keys for two rooms on the third floor. He didn’t escort them to the lift.

“Does this man know about your activities?” Seema said, once they were inside the lift.

“No. His bosses have told him to keep his eyes and ears shut.”

The third floor of the hotel, which was the topmost floor, consisted of a small corridor lined by ten rooms. At the moment, the entire hotel seemed to be unoccupied. Seema noticed that the receptionist had given them quite distant rooms. Her room number was 309, at the corner most end of the corridor. On the other hand, Divakar’s room, numbered 302, was situated at the very beginning, near the staircase.

“I’d told the receptionist to keep some clothes for you in the cupboard. Not sure whether they’ll fit you,” Divakar said when she was just about to enter her room.

“At least they’ll be better than the ones I’m wearing now,” she said, attempting a smile.

“OK then, how about meeting in the next fifteen minutes at your room? I’ll order some lunch.”

Seema nodded. Fifteen minutes was too quick, but then she was not here for a holiday.

T
he trio rushed
out of the platform, making their way through the crowd and luggage heaps. As soon as they were outside the station, a barrage of auto and taxi drivers blocked their way. Prakash didn’t want to waste any time. He booked the first taxi that came his way, even without fixing a fare.

“Take us to Paharganj,” Prakash said. The driver started his car right away.

No one in their car noticed a figure dashing out of the station behind them and hailing a taxi. Nor did they notice that the man’s taxi was trailing right behind their car.

Prakash’s phone started ringing within ten minutes of their drive. It was Dilip.

“You found the little girl?” he asked.

“No. I didn’t. Diya Shah has taken her away.”

“Diya! The chief of Century News?”

“Yeah. Don’t you think the girl will be safe with her?”

“Hmmm… I guess so. Just do me one favour. Call up Diya and tell her to get some security. Who knows, she may actually need it.”

“I’m doing it right away.”

B
eing a reporter
, Seema was accustomed to getting ready in a jiffy. She cleaned herself up in flat ten minutes and then got into the ladies tracksuit she found in the cupboard.
Fits me perfectly!

To comb her hair, she stood in front of the mirror, but immediately wished she hadn’t. Her eyes were sunken, cheek and collarbones protruding. She thought she looked like a drug addict in rehabilitation. She grimaced and let out a sigh.
What have they done to me?

There was a ring on her door. Relieved at being distracted from her ugly reflection, she walked towards the door and opened it. A waiter in white overalls and black waistcoat stood outside, holding a few plates in his hand. Divakar, dressed in a blue T-shirt and khakis, stood behind him.

“I’m sorry to have ordered veg. noodles without asking for your preference,” he said, getting into her room after the waiter. “There weren’t too many options available anyways.”

“I can devour anything at this moment,” Seema said with a smile. “Anything.”

After the waiter left, both of them picked a plate each.

“It feels as if I’m having good food after years,” she said, stuffing noodles in her mouth.

“And surprisingly, it has only been a few days.”

She said nothing. She didn’t want to remember those terrible days.

Changing the topic, she said, “Thanks for the dress. Felt relieved dumping those blood-stained clothes.”

Divakar grinned. “Believe me; I’m more relieved than you are.”

When they were finished with their noodles, his face began assuming a grim look. He cleared his throat and said, “Let’s talk business now. We know about this conspiracy only in parts. You know from your experiences and I know from mine. We need to come to the same page. I’ve told you, my story begins with the IB sniffing some serious crime and sending me into this organization. But, how did you come this far?”

“It all began with Nitin Tomar’s murder…” She told him in brief about how her investigation took her from Allahabad to New Delhi to Bandhavgarh.

After listening to her story, Divakar made a brooding face and said, “So, the only credible source you had was Dr Kalyan Ghosh and he’s dead now?”

Seema nodded.

“Dead people aren’t going to help us,” Divakar sneered. “Do you have a source who is alive and kicking?”

“There is only one man I can think of. His name is Prakash Sinha, a reporter in Globe News. He might have a few sources of his own. But, don’t expect me to bring my friend here and put him in danger.”

“If your friend is chasing the same enemies as us, we needn’t put him in danger. He’s pretty much there already.”

“Still, I can’t…”

“Look Seema, the clock is ticking. Even though we’ve managed to survive till now, I don’t think we can play this hide-and-seek game for long. Sooner or later, our enemies will find us and neutralize us. Our only hope lies in the story we’re going to tell the world. And what do we’ve with us presently? A half-baked conspiracy theory! Do you think that’s enough to get these guys behind bars?” He took a deep breath. “One chance – that’s all we are going to get against these bastards. If we fail, we better leave this goddamned country, find a rat-hole and hide there for the rest of our lives. Because these sons-of-bitches aren’t going to let us go unpunished. So, if there’s anything that ensures that these guys are going to jail, we must do it. We need to have every fucking source, every fucking proof under this roof, tonight!”

Seema looked away, thinking. She finally made a decision. “See, I’m going to ask Prakash if he’s willing to come here. But, if he doesn’t want to, it’s his choice. I won’t force him.”

“Fair enough.”

Seema went over to the phone kept beside the bed. She wanted to talk to Prakash badly and ask him about Vidisha. “Can I have some privacy please?”

Divakar hesitated for a moment, but then stood up and went out of the room.

Seema dialled Prakash’s number. Her ears were filled with jarring noises of honking horns as he picked up the phone. She asked, “Where are you Prakash?”

“I am… sort of travelling.”

“Did you manage to get to my daughter?”

“Your daughter is with Diya Shah. With you missing, I guess she took Vidisha to her home.”

Seema felt relieved and thankful to her boss. Diya lived in a well-guarded mansion, which meant Vidisha would be safe.

“Thank you Prakash. I didn’t know who else to approach for this.”

“Come on, Seema. You know you need not thank me. Now, tell me when can we meet?”

“How about… now?”

“Now? Where are you exactly?”

“I am in a hotel in Chattarpur. And I have an Intelligence Bureau contractor with me who had infiltrated the ranks of this organization.”

“Do you feel safe there? I can help you get to a safer location if you want.”

“I won’t feel safe anywhere till we’re done with these bastards. We really need to figure out a way to nail them. From what they’ve done to me, I know these people are capable of every ghastly act possible.”

“What have they done to you?” Prakash asked horrified.

“I’ll tell you everything when we meet.”

“I’m coming right now. What’s the place?”

“Acacia Inn at Chattarpur. Room no. 309… Bring Kunal too.”

P
rakash told
Mrinal and Kunal about Seema and her Bandhavgarh misadventure.

Kunal looked shaken. “They are still operating in Bandhavgarh?” he said, with fear in his eyes.

“They are pretty much everywhere, it seems,” Prakash said.

“Let’s go meet Seema, then. Tell the driver to change course,” Kunal said. “We are going.”

Prakash looked at Mrinal with uncertain eyes, waiting for his reaction. “I’ll not force you to come with me, Mrinal. You’ve already helped me a lot.”

A mocking smile formed on Mrinal’s lips. “You know what I think about you?” he burst out. “You consider yourself a really big smartass reporter who just clicks his fingers… and ‘poof’… things get done. Who are you – ‘Clark Kent’? What was this Clark Kent doing when he was being chased by thugs yesterday night? You need my help. You know it. So your big-ass Clark Kent ego shouldn’t feel hurt before asking for my help. We’re in this shit together. So, we’re going together.”

“And by the way, I won’t charge overtime for this,” he added.

Prakash grinned. So did Mrinal.

“You’re a psycho, you know?” Prakash said.

“You’re the second person to call me that,” Mrinal replied with a straight face. “The first was my boss. I punched him before I left my job.”

Prakash laughed. Even Kunal had a smile on his lips.

“Driver
bhai
! We have a change of plan. Can you please take us to Chattarpur?”

R
aman’s phone started ringing
. It was Patil, the leader of his support team.

“We are near Subzi Mandi station, Raman. Where are you?” Patil asked.

“You’re late,” Raman growled. “Move fast! I’m near Sadar Bazaar train yard.”

“We’re trying. But, there’s a lot of traffic here,” Patil said, before hanging up.

Raman was unhappy and restless. He never liked chasing his targets and reporting about their whereabouts. He was a killer, not a goddamn spy.
I hope this is my last assignment.

“
P
rakash is coming
. Possibly, with a major witness for this case,” Seema said.

Divakar had returned to her room after her call ended. She sat on the bed, while he had eased into a wooden chair.

“Major witness? Who?” he asked.

“Kunal Chaubey. He was one of the first subjects of the Doctor’s trials.”

Divakar was surprised. “Where did your friend find that guy?”

“I don’t know. We’ll soon find out in our war room.”

She felt amused with her choice of words. She had seen many war rooms in her life as a reporter. The toughest one till now had involved the release of a sting operation video against a powerful politician. The old man led one of the major parties forming the coalition government at the centre. In the sting video, he was caught boasting about arm-twisting the central government to award a mega expressway contract to one of his relatives. He was really furious when he found out about this operation and used all his power to stop Century News from airing that video. They were threatened with lawsuits. There were smear campaigns against their reporters. A couple of attacks involved physical harm to them too.

So before airing the video, her team decided to brainstorm and strategize in a war room for a last ditch fight. They relooked at every piece of evidence, prepared their defence plan against all possible lawsuits and a probable backlash from the government. It was one hell of a fight they put up.

But looking back, she realized that what they were going to do now was way more dangerous. Their present opponents seemed to have an army of professional killers. They were omnipresent.
One can’t become such a powerful entity without direct help from the politicians, bureaucrats and businessmen. Who is behind all this?

“Many questions have been nagging me since my capture,” Seema said, with a frown. “How can a group of people run a drug manufacturing facility and a clinical trials program without the permission of the government?... Somehow, I feel that there has to be a legitimate face of this organization, under whose shadow they’re carrying out their evil exercises. What do you think?”

Divakar nodded on listening to her question. He said, “You missed one part. Do you know how much it costs to bring a blockbuster drug out into the market? More than a billion dollars. Almost half of that goes into clinical trials. That makes it about five hundred million dollars. Moreover, it takes a decade for the research and development process. Even if we assume that they bought this molecule from some other company, the price will still run into millions. So, whoever we are after seems to have deep pockets.”

“Hmmm. That’s true. But you’ve been tracking these people for long. You must’ve heard something about the people at the top of this organization. Any names, any aliases which you’ve come across?”

“Frankly speaking Seema, I was only a security guy in their facility. I might’ve seen the bad guys get in and get out of that factory, but I don’t know what exactly they did inside. Most of the inner rooms of the facility were off-limits for people like me. I think they took in only the most loyal people in their inner sanctum. Maybe if you hadn’t come, I’d have got that chance soon. And I…” His phone started ringing. He made an apologetic face and walked out of the room.

Seema remained seated on her bed. She looked at the wall clock mounted over the TV. Prakash should be here any moment.