Operation Chaos: A Gripping Action Thriller (25 page)

Colonel Rana and his team had no idea that Muhammed's cameras were watching them from every corner of the road. Muhammed had observed the formation and noted that he had to strike the vehicle in the centre. He was waiting inside a small alley adjoining Tughlaq road which was just wide enough for his truck. It was the rear end of the truck which Muhammed wanted to bang into the convoy to break their formation. The container attached to the truck was heavy. His camera feed showed him the exact position of the police vehicles and the military armadas as the convoy crossed the Aurangzeb road intersection and continued on Tughlaq road. Muhammed started the truck and put it in reverse gear.

President Ajaysingh looked out through the window pane watching the warm sunrise. He was quite tired from the travel. The ride was smooth, but the run through the night and his earlier trip had drained him of energy
. 
I will probably fall sleep during the press conference. Why do I even need to be here?
 

He knew it was a complete waste of time.
The crooked politicians backing the conference just want to show the world that their country's security is well handled- And they needed to wriggle out those words from my mouth!
Ajaysingh sat helplessly in his seat and watched as the vehicles reached midway of Tughlaq road.

David, sitting next to President Ajaysingh, had other thoughts racing through his mind. With every passing second, he tried to step into the shoes of a terrorist and imagine ways to harm the President.
Assignment 6.00- There must be something to it! He won't open fire on the vehicles. The vehicles are bulletproof. Maybe he would mingle with the crowd and the press at the hall and assassinate the President there.
At some point David thought that he had got it all wrong.
Maybe there wasn't anything like Assignment 6.00. Maybe it was just a piece of scrap in the dustbin. Or maybe they are planning to strike somewhere else at this time while I am sitting here waiting for something to happen. Did I interpret it all wrong?

David's question was answered seconds later when a truck came out of nowhere and slammed right into the armoured vehicle on the left breaking the entire convoy formation . The driver of the rear vehicle quickly applied brakes, but couldn't avoid crashing into the vehicle in the centre. It took a couple of seconds for the soldiers and the Black Cat commandos to realise what was happening. The vehicle on the left was totally crushed between the truck and the central vehicle. Although taken aback by the ambush, the commandos responded quickly with their reflexes- aimed their weapons on the truck and started firing. They had no clue that this was exactly what Muhammed wanted.

As soon as the firing began, Muhammed pressed a button on the dashboard of the truck allowing the door of the container mounted on the truck to slide open. Sixteen barrels filled with kerosene and explosives, rolled down the container right near the door of the vehicle in the centre. Before David or Colonel Rana could order the soldiers to hold their fire, a few bullets had already done the job. The bullets penetrated into the kerosene containers leading to a colossal blast and setting off a chain of blasts. Muhammed closed his eyes as fire gulped him in along with everyone else near the vehicles.

There were no survivors.

Chapter 63

''The National Emblem?'' Shonali initially was as perplexed as Raghav who could make no sense of what Sameer was trying to say. But slowly, Shonali started to figure it out. It all made complete sense.

''Of course! The Lion Capital of Ashoka would be a perfect match to the location mentioned in the text,'' Shonali cried out.

Shonali's mind began to fit every piece of the puzzle in its place-
'destiny resting on a flower'. The National Emblem adopted by the country was only a part of the Lion Capital of Ashoka. The complete structure consisted of four lions and the Ashoka Chakra resting on an inverted lotus. Guarded day and night by the faithful guards of the King of Magadha- That represented the four lions standing there for centuries!

''So what would be our next step? Should we go and investigate the Lion Capital of Ashoka by ourselves?'' Sameer asked Raghav.

''Are you sure about your... prediction? It could just be any other pillar,'' Raghav said with a doubtful look on his face.

''I think this is our best shot and it completely fits the description. There's no harm in checking it,'' Sameer responded.

''Right. Where do we have to go?'' Raghav asked.

''The Lion Capital was originally placed atop the Ashoka pillar at Sarnath. Now, the pillar which is generally referred to as the Ashoka column is still at its original location, but the Lion Capital has been moved to the Sarnath Archaeological Museum. So that's where we should be heading,'' said Shonali.

''Give me some time to arrange for transport and to get my men ready. Both of you should have something to eat until then. We would be leaving in five minutes,'' said Raghav with a new enthusiasm in his voice. The hunt was on.

He went to the remaining Black Cat commandos and explained the further plan of action to them. The soldiers had a quick snack and geared up for the upcoming journey.

Shonali and Sameer sipped at their tea as they watched the sun come up and lighten up the caves. All the darkness in the cave was slowly washed away as they stepped into the morning sunlight.
Beyond the darkness lies the light of wisdom. Continue your journey and you may find the answers you seek.

Sarnath was where their journey was going to end and they were about to find out some truths. The only problem was- They had very little time left!

Chapter 64

Things were moving a lot quicker than Ranjeet had expected. He was on a raft along with ten NSG commandos which Capt. Pratap had handpicked to breach into the Wheeler Island facility. As soon as Ranjeet was transported to Dhamara base from Biju Pattnaik airport at Bhubaneswar, Capt. Pratap had not wasted a single minute to plan out their infiltration strategy. He had asked Ranjeet about the point of their entry.

''As far as I know- The red zone where the enemy has sensors is the 2 kilometre radius around the island. Upto that point, we are safe and sound. As soon as we get close to the red zone, I can hack and disable the nearby sensors for a period of time. We need to get to the island's command centre
after that. The missiles can  be taken back in our control from the command cent
re,'' Ranjeet had answered.

''So you disable the sensors in the radius and then we are done? Then the only job is to get control of the command centre?'' Capt. Pratap had asked.

''Not exactly. Disabling the sensors would only get you till the shores of the island. From there, it's a whole new story. As per the data I got from your HQ, there are several monitoring cameras on the outer compound as well as inside the facility, various locked exit points to buildings and password protected doors inside the facility. We would have to be very careful once we get in there''

Ranjeet assured Capt. Pratap that he had gathered all the information- the codes, the maps, decryption keys from his new friend, Vishal, at the Intelligence Bureau HQ while he was on the flight to Bhubaneswar.

Capt. Pratap had been appointed by David to take care of the activities going around the Dhamara base and to plan an all out assault in case Ranjeet would have failed to breach into the systems. Although Pratap was a newcomer in David's squad, his swift moves, intellect and decision making abilities had managed to impress David and gain his trust.
 

''We will approach the island from the northwest side. We then move along the coast of Kanika Island and cover most of the route so that we would be shielded against any snipers they may have out there. A coast guard launch would take us to our infiltration point 2 kilometres away from the island. After you disable the sensors, we proceed in two rafts with ten of my best men. The last one mile we may have to go underwater. They might spot our raft and I can't risk that. We'll spread out and swim- try to remain below the water as much as you can. Our intelligence reports suggest that there may be around 10-15 terrorists out there. We move in with ten men, but I will ensure that we have more troops on the coast guard launch as our backup. The coast guard will keep cruising around the 2 kilometre radius and the troops would move in as soon as we take over the command centre,'' Pratap had explained to Ranjeet on a map of the Wheeler Island and the nearby territory.

And there he was - working on his laptop beside Capt. Pratap with his team of ten NSG commandos on a military raft. His body felt numb wearing a full body diving gear with a special waterproof backpack for his laptop and apparatus. Never in his life had he been so tense. It was not the gear which was making him uncomfortable - it was the realization of the responsibility which burdened his shoulders. He did not feel like he was up for the job- he was terrified. The only reassurance he got was a tap on his shoulder from Capt. Pratap. Pratap knew what it was like to go on a mission for the first time and he had seen Ranjeet's fingers trembling on the keyboard.

''I know things would be a little tough for you. The firing and killing might get to your nerves. But I need you to stay focused. I need you to be swift and alert even if we are under fire. We will deal with all the messy part, but you need to get us to that damn command centre. Understood?'' said Pratap, giving Ranjeet an assuring look.

Ranjeet was still shivering. He had no choice but to trust Capt. Pratap's words.

''But what about the diving?'' Ranjeet asked. He had never dived underwater before.

''Don't worry about that. It's much like swimming. My team will help you out there. You just need to take long breaths from the oxygen mask and make your way ahead.''

They were now approaching the red zone. Ranjeet was done with hacking into the router of the nearby sensors and disabling the output signals. On his go, the commandos rowed the raft into the red zone. Ranjeet crossed his fingers and prayed that everything had gone right. So far things looked good. There was no sudden activity detected on the island, no alarms went off and they were not fired upon. As they moved towards the island, they could see the sun coming up the ocean and rays of early sunlight hit them. They had lost the advantage of the darkness and now were easy targets to spot. They still had one mile to go, but going any further in the raft was risky. The NSGs got all their gear and weapons along with Ranjeet's equipment in a waterproof sacks. Ten seconds later- twelve men dived underwater to cover the last mile to their destination.

Chapter 65

Tughlaq Road, Delhi

Time-  6:
18 hrs

The two helicopters providing air support had a tough time getting immediate help for the burning vehicles below them. The pilot of the chopper on the left radioed his partner.

''Hawk one to Hawk two. Do you copy?''

''Affirmative Hawk one!'' the pilot of the second chopper replied. He could still feel the heat from the dying fire on the ground.

''I think help will be arriving soon. I leave you in-charge of the situation. Check for any survivors and provide immediate medical assistance. Copy?'' commanded the pilot of Hawk one.

''Roger that. But where are you going? We both need to stay on the site until we get our further set of instructions.''

''That's a negative, Hawk two! I have orders to take the precious cargo to a secure location. Out.'' Saying so, the pilot of Hawk one set the course of the chopper to an undisclosed location.

The other pilot needed no further explanation. Codename 'precious cargo' was used by the air force for a VIP aboard the chopper and today their 'precious cargo' was Dr. Ajaysingh Chauhan.

**********

15 mins ago...

David knew something was not okay. Assignment 6.00 kept turning up in his mind. The driver turned on the ignition and Colonel Rana gave orders for the convoy to proceed. The vehicle slowly began to make its way towards the main gate. But then, David decided to make his move.

''I still feel we should be more careful this time, Colonel. I mean no disrespect, but I am going to ask HQ the permission to make some alterations to your security arrangements- If you don't mind Dr. Ajaysingh?'' asked David as he reached for the radio.

Ajaysingh gave his consent and soon enough, David was in a conversation with the HQ. Colonel Rana could not fight David in front of the President. He only maintained his jolly smile.

After a minute of conversation with the HQ, David asked Ajaysingh to get off the vehicle and make a dash for the chopper, which was supposedly tasked to provide a watch from above.

''Travelling by air would be much safer, I think,'' said David as he gave Colonel Rana a reassuring glance and ran along with the President towards the chopper codenamed Hawk one.

Six minutes later, through a camera he had positioned on the Tughlaq road, Muhammed could see two police vehicles and five armoured military vehicles racing towards him. A couple of choppers provided watch from the above.

**********

''Those men down there... They didn't deserve to die like that.'' Ajaysingh was losing his nerve. His hands were trembling; his mind kept repeating the flashes of fire and smoke rising high up in the air as he watched from the chopper window the massacre that had happened. At his age, he couldn't bear the burden of being responsible for so many deaths.