Neel Dervin and the Dark Angel (41 page)

Suddenly she saw someone moving in the darkness towards her, and knew who it was
before she saw his face.

 

The tall figure of Doctor Fahim stepped out of the shadows.
* * *

Neel jumped onto the roof of a building, watching the city laid out in front of him like a
giant map. He was on the outskirts of Delhi now, and could see the beginnings of the forest
area in front of him about four kilometers away. It would take him time to find the factory. It
would be easier if Divya could tell him exactly where she was. He took out Divya‟s mobile,
once again dialing his own mobile number, hoping they had been right about her having
taken his mobile. He had already called the number twice, but no one had picked up. He
waited, deciding to let it ring five times before hanging up and concentrating on finding the
factory as fast as possible.

One ring… no response

 

Two rings… no response

 

Three rings… no response

 

Four rings… no response

Five rings…
Neel was about to hang up when someone finally picked up. The voices
coming from the other side were very low and muffled, as though the receiver on the mobile
was covered with something. But Neel heard the words easily. He stood motionless on top of
the building, listening to the conversation on the other end, surprise turning to stunned
disbelief.

CHAPTER 18: A Face from the Past

Doctor Fahim watched the play of
emotions on Divya‟s face: shock mingled with horror,
confusion and anguish. He wished desperately that he could lessen the pain she was feeling.
But there was nothing he could do. Divya was never meant to become a victim to this whole
disaster. He had tried everything in his power to protect his protégé throughout this business,
and now... now all he could do was try to explain. There was so much that she did not
understand
.

“I am sorry it has come to this
,Divya.” Doctor Fahim said, coming to stand in front of
her and gazing at her sadlythrough the barred window. “You were never meant to become
involved to this extent.”

Divya said nothing, her mind still numb from shock. The one person she had trusted
more than any other…

“I can‟t
-I want you to understand… I had no choice …” For once the doctor was at a
loss for words. He searched in his mind for a way to make her understand, but still no words
came.

“It was
you…”
Divya whispered, her mind finally emerging fromits state of shock. “All
this time… wrecking the project… helping Mehta…
trying to kill Neel
.” The doctor winced
at every indictment, as though each accusation was physically hurting him. He did not seem
like the Doctor Fahim she remembered, the man who had guided her for so many years,
whose strength of character and honor were legendary. He simply looked like a feeble old
man, whom a strong gust of wind might blow away.

“How did find out about me?” h
e asked finally in a soft voice. “My door was locked, yet
you tried to force your way in. I barely had time to get the chloroform tablets. Obviously, you
wanted to investigate my study. Why?”

Divya stared at him, breathing hard.
“I remembered, when Neel was looking for the
project Mehta was working on in the lab, you told him to look for an area where something
human sized could be stored. Even though at that time we thought Mehta was involved in
nuclear weapons research, and we had no idea he was conducting experiments on human
subjects.”

DoctorFahim nodded slowly. “That was careless of me.” he said. “But I was in an
extremely disturbed state at that time. For aninstant, I forgot caution.”

“Then I searched through the files on project Kumbhkaran.” Divya said. “I found a
reference to Africa, and some of the basic elements used in the creation of the monster inside
that container. It was the same compound used to create the serum in project Alpha.” Divya
stared at Doctor Fahim as though she wasseeing him clearly for the first time. “You were
helping Mehta all the time. You had betrayed us from the start.”

But Doctor Fahim shook his head soberly. “Not in quitethe way you believe.”

 

* * *

Arjun followed the police sergeant down the line of cells to the second last one on the
left. He nodded to the guard, who hesitated, looking at him uncertainly for a second. But the
General‟s orders were clear: Do exactly as the man says as quickly as possible. The guard
unlocked the cell where prisoner no. 39 was kept and gave the key to Arjun. Then he swung
around wordlessly and went out of the corridor.

Arjun stared at the cell number, weighing his next move. He did not really hope for a
great deal from this visit. But information was what they needed at the moment. He unlocked
the door of the tiny cell, which contained only one prisoner.

Even in his striped prison clothes, Alok Mehta managed to look distinguished. The walls
of the room were so dirty it was hard to tell what their original color was supposed to be. The
room contained only a single cot with a paper thin blanket, which could hardly be of any help
in cold weather. The entire hall stank with the smell of dozens of criminals, many of them
squeezed into one room, few of whom felt inclined to take baths, and there was an air of
repressed violence and despair in the atmosphere. But Mehta did not seem to notice these
things. He was sitting comfortably on the cot, his back against the wall, making no attempt to
avoid the dirt around him. Yet there was something in his manner which clearly signaled that
he did not belong there.

On Arjun‟s arrival Mehta lifted his head and stared at him. Physically, the two men were
complete opposites, Arjun‟s tanned features and broad shouldered build presenting a striking
contrast to Mehta‟s thin frame and pale, almost white skin. Yet there was something similar
about them which they both sensed in each other. Each had an impression of the force of the
others personality, and knew neither could be frightened easily.

They stared at each other for a long moment, both there gazes steady. Mehta was
watching him with the disturbingly impersonal gaze of a scientist inspecting a specimen.
Arjun would have expected more of an emotion from a man whose empire had come
crumbling down around him. Finally, he broke the silence.

“Why are you still doing this?” he asked, his voice tight with anger. “It‟s over, you‟ve
lost. What can you gain from these killings now?”

Mehta look
ed at him thoughtfully. “It will not be over till I say it is.” he said. Then he
smiled, a mere tightening of the corners of his mouth, as though he only did it to keep up the
pretense of a normal conversation. “And yet, you must have realized I would not let you ruin
my life and get away with it without getting some small revenge. Rules were broken, and
now someone must pay.”

“Who is your partner?” Arjun asked abruptly. “Who is the spy you placed in our midst?”

“I did not plant anyone
anywhere.” Mehta replied calmly, still watching him with the
curiously intent gaze. “I have always had an inside source on project Alpha. I knew about that
project before you were ever called in to it, before it was even givenits name.”

Arj
un stared at him, trying to hide the shock he felt. “How?” he demanded finally. “How
could you know? What have you done with Divya? And how did you get a bomb inside our
headquarters?”

Mehta leaned forward, and for the first time, something like interest showed in his
expression. “A bomb?” he repeated. “When did this happen?”

Arjun grabbed Mehta by the collar and threw him against the wall. “Don‟t
push me.” he
growled. “You sent someone to plant a bomb in DoctorFahim‟s study to kill him, and I want
to know how you did it.”

Mehta sat up straight, nodding thoughtfully.
“So that‟s how he managed it.” he
muttered, almost to himself. “I was wondering how he would do it.” He looked at Arjun, and
for the first time seemed truly amused.“So you think Doctor Fahim is dead, and that I had
him killed?”

Arjun stared at him, feeling strangely troubled by those expressionless eyes.

 

“I am afraid,” Mehta said quietly, “there is a lot that you do not know about Doctor
Fahim.”

 

* * *

Doctor Fahim walked over to the center of the hall, to where the pile of equipment was
kept. Suddenly, something vibrated in Divya‟s pocket. For a moment she was confused. Then
she remembered the mobile she had taken earlier. Someone was calling her. She prayed it
was Neel or Arjun or the General. Doctor Fahim was trying to compose himself. When he
turned to face Divya again, he looked more like his old self.

“You deserve to know the truth, Divya. You need to know whyI did all this.” Doctor
Fahim said. “Perhaps then you will understand the situation, and try to forgive me.”

“How can you possibly explain this?” Divya asked, her pain turning to anger. Slowly,
showing as little movement as possible, she put her hand in her pocket and pressed the speak
button on the mobile. “You betrayed us all. Your mentor, your colleagues, your country. How
could you do this?
You were like a father to me. I trusted you.”

Doctor Fahim flinched, as though the words had opened an old wound.

 

“Then perhaps it will beeasier for you to understand.” he whispered.

 

He glanced briefly at the container, then turned back to Divya.

“Almost a year ago, we were on the brink
of perfecting the serum.” Doctor Fahim said.
“We were being funded by the Indian government, and after more than three decades of hard
work, it seemed that I had at last succeeded. I dreamt of an army of super soldiers, deadly but
loyal, powerful but humble, protecting our nation from the threats which usually cost us so
much bloodshed and money. I felt that the debt I owed was finally paid.”

“What debt?” Divya demanded.

“You will understand soon.”
DoctorFahim said. “But first you need to know the truth
about what has been happening at Swan Labs. The serum was almost finished, and the army
officials were coming to see me in less than a month to confirm my discovery.” Doctor
Fahim paused, his eyes far away as he recalledthat fateful night. “Alok Mehta had been
following my career for many years. Even though the security around the project was
extremely tight, Mehta knew all too well what I was working on. When the delegates from
the government started to visit me often, he knew I had completed the project. One night he
called me at my house.” DoctorFahim paused again, struggling to control his feelings. “He
told me that he was fully aware of what I had been working on. He congratulated me on
completing the project. He informed me that he had been working on something similar
himself, which the Indian government was trying to find out about. He had repulsed all their
attempts to uncover his secret, and he knew they were going to send a super soldier after him.
He then told me about his own project. The work he had done to create his own army of
enhancedhumans. He left it up to me to decide what I should do about the matter.”

Doctor Fahim looked extremely old as he sat slumped in his chair, his face drawn, his
shoulders sagging. “Sleep was impossible that night. I had not felt such a tremendous mix of
emotions since I first found out about the serum from Doctor Thompson, all those years ago.
I was simultaneously exhilarated and horrified. I was paying the price for a mistake I had
committed years ago. And yet, it was also the one chance fate had given me to redeem
myself.”

Divya wanted to know what the mistake was, but she also wanted to know what Doctor
Fahim had done after getting the phone call. She said nothing, deciding to let Doctor Fahim
tell it his own way.

“There was only one thought that was absolutely clear. I could not let the project
continue. The work which would have been my salvation had suddenly become the bane of
my existence. One way or another, I had to stop the work that I myself had started.” Doctor
Fahim sat for a moment, contemplating his long, thin fingers.

“But of course, it
was not goingto be so easy.” he said finally, looking up at Divya
again. “Too many people knew about the project. The Prime Minister was personally
involved in the matter, and once the serum was passed to the army, the matter would pass out
of my hands forever. I debated for days on which course to pursue. Then an idea occurred to
me. What if the test subject exhibited some undesirable qualities after taking the serum?
Some qualities that would prove the serum is bad for the health of the soldiers? I realized
there was only one option left. If somehow, the serum could be made to look defective, the
project would be scrapped. I only had to think of a way of making it seem so.”

“And then I remembered a piece of information we had discovered during our studies.
We had found that the serum worked even more powerfully on youngsters then adults. At the
time, it had merely been more data to be filed away with the rest of the information about the
serum, but now it gave me the beginning of a possible plan.”

“What do you mean?”
Divya demanded.“How could you plan Neel‟s involv-” She
stopped abruptly, her eyes growing wide with horror as she understood what the doctor
meant.

Doctor
Fahim averted his face from Divya‟s accusing gaze. “It seemed like the only
way. The project was going to go forward no matter what I said. But if an inexperienced
youth was given the power, his blunders might shut down the project.”

Doctor
Fahim sighed, kneading his brow with his knuckles. “And so I made my plan.
The plan was based on the soundest grounds based on the psychology of a fourteen year old.
But that is the problem with scientific conjectures. A single fact overlooked, just one
oversight in opinion, and the entire theory falls apart. The image I had in my mind of
teenagers, the image most people of my age have about the very young, turned out to be
erroneous.”

“But how?” Divya demanded. “How could you carry out such a plan? What happened
with Neelwas just an accident.” She was praying the doctor had not sunk as low as she
feared.