The Mahabharata Secret (29 page)

‘Time to get back to work.’ Colin turned around and, for the first time since Vijay and Radha had been kidnapped, the shadows and worry lines had disappeared from his face.

36

Day 10

The Ashoka Palace Hotel, Patna

Shukla, White and Colin were gathered in Colin’s room. Vijay’s laptop occupied the desk in the room and papers were strewn all over the bed.

On returning to the hotel, Colin had disappeared into his room, and they hadn’t heard from him until a few minutes ago, when he called the other two men to join him in his room.

‘We have a hope,’ Colin beamed, ‘to save Vijay and Radha.’

A look of anticipation flitted across Shukla’s face and White nodded.

Colin held up the pamphlet they had earlier picked up from the travel agent. ‘The travel agent talked to us about Sitagarha Hill.’ Colin opened up the brochure and began reading from it. ‘According to this, Sitagarha Hill is the site of an ancient Buddhist settlement. Located in the Hazaribagh plateau, a stone-carved stupa and iron relics have been excavated along with stone pillars and heavily engraved stone blocks. Artefacts from the site have been dated to 300
BC
.’

He paused. ‘I did some research on stupas. They are hemispherical shrines, usually built over a relic of the Buddha. And listen to this.’ His face shone with excitement. ‘The sacred hill of
Marang Buru
, also called
Juljul
, forms the recumbent landscape figure of a reclining Mother Goddess. On the south face is a 65-foot-long stone face, called Mahadeva by the Birhor tribals. Mahadeva is a term alternately used for Lord Shiva and Buddha. The Birhor tribals still worship this hill as their Mother Goddess.’

Shukla’s face radiated hope as he guessed the direction in which Colin was heading.

‘So you think this hill, in the shape of a reclining Mother Goddess, is the “Mother” that the verse refers to?’ White had also understood the connection Colin was trying to make.

Colin nodded. ‘What else?’ He pulled out the map of India with the locations of Asoka’s edicts. ‘Look at this.’ He drew a straight line from the Barabar caves to Dhauli, where the carving of the elephant stood.

They gazed at the red line on the map. The line passed through the states of Bihar, Jharkhand and Orissa.

‘Don’t you see it?’ Colin drew a rough circle on the map, which the line passed through. ‘I’ve checked around twenty different maps of eastern India just to be sure. The line passes over the Hazaribagh plateau. Remember what the riddle said.’

They recalled the last cryptic verse on the ball of rock they had found at Barabar.

From the chambers that echo,
As we lift our eyes to the south
To the harbinger of the Lord’s birth
In a dream
Passing over the Mother
Who lies amidst the forests green, reposing,

Holding within her bosom,
Hidden for Millennia,
The Secret of the Nine.

‘According to the brochure and the Internet,’ Colin continued, ‘the Hazaribagh plateau is home to dense tropical forests. I think these are the
forests green
. And the hill of the reclining Mother Goddess is the Mother, reposing within the forests. I believe that is where we will find the location where the secret of the Nine is hidden.’

They looked at each other. It had to be more than mere concidence.

‘You could be right.’ Shukla’s eyes shone with the prospect of saving his daughter and discovering a secret hidden for thousands of years. ‘The text in Beger’s diary, the one written by Surasen describing his discovery, also talked about the secret being hidden within a hill for centuries.’

‘All this time we’ve been thinking that the secret, whatever it is, had been removed from its original location and hidden away somewhere else by the Nine.’ White shook his head, smiling. ‘It’s been in the same place all along. Exactly where it was found. In a cavern within this hill.’

The air tingled with electric anticipation. Suddenly, the secret of the Nine seemed to be more than a myth; more than a fantasy. Finally, it appeared to be within their reach.

Colin’s face grew sober as he realised that this discovery would now belong to Farooq. They had to pass on this information to him they if wanted their friends back safe.

He looked at his watch. 6.00 p.m. Half an hour to go before Farooq called. They had just about made it.

There was a knock on the door. All three men turned to look at it.

‘Intelligence Bureau. Please open up.’ The voice was authoritative.

Colin looked puzzled. ‘Who’s that?’

‘The Indian equivalent of Homeland Security in the US,’ Shukla explained. ‘You better open up fast. It’s probably a case of mistaken identity.’

Colin looked at White, who looked uneasy. ‘You alright?’

‘Yeah,’ White muttered. ‘Just nervous about Indian cops. Heard a lot of stories about them. None of them good.’

‘Don’t worry, it’s probably nothing.’ Colin opened the door.

Three men stood there. Colin instantly recognised the man who led the group. It was the same policeman who had come to Jaungarh Fort to get a sketch made of Farooq and Imtiaz.

‘Can I come in, please?’ Imran nodded to Colin, as he produced an identity card from the Intelligence Bureau.

‘Sure,’ Colin looked confused as he stepped aside to allow Imran to enter. ‘Didn’t you say you were with the Gurgaon police when you visited us at Jaungarh?’

Imran allowed the shadow of a smile to play on his lips. ‘Actually, I didn’t say who I was with. I was working undercover. If your definition of undercover includes an IB officer playing a local policeman!’

Colin introduced Shukla and White. ‘Is this regarding the case?’ he asked. ‘We really don’t have much more to tell you.’

‘Oh, yes you do.’ Imran’s face was grim. ‘I know about Vijay and Radha. Trouble is, you don’t know about Farooq Siddiqui. He is a very dangerous man. He is linked to Al Qaeda and Lashkar-e-Taiba. We have been on his trail for a while, but we didn’t want to move in on him until we knew exactly what he was after. Now we know.’ He told them about the threat issued by LeT to bomb the G20 summit.

Greg White’s face was ashen and Shukla too was white with terror. His daughter was being held captive by one of the most dreaded terrorist groups in the world.

‘And I know that you were engaged by Bheem Singh to come to India,’ Imran addressed White, ‘So I’m sorry to inform you that he, too, was mixed up with Farooq in this web of intrigue. What’s worse, Bheem Singh was one of the ringleaders. But we don’t have to worry about him now.’

‘You’ve arrested him?’ White’s face had turned a darker shade of grey. He wasn’t taking the news very well.

Imran shook his head. ‘Unfortunately, no. There is much he could have told us. But he’s dead.’

He decided to come to the point. ‘I know that Farooq has been in touch with you and wants you to decipher some sort of verse for him,’ Imran continued. ‘We tapped Vijay’s phone and we’ve been listening in on the conversations he’s been having with you. Now, here’s what I want you to do.’

He looked around at the group. ‘Have you deciphered the verse?’

Colin nodded.

‘Good.’ Imran smiled grimly. ‘Now, when Farooq calls in around 30 minutes from now, I want you to tell him the answer to the verse but only after a very long negotiation.’

‘How will that help?’ Colin enquired.

‘We’ve located his hideout,’ Imran explained. ‘It will take us 45 minutes to reach. I need you to keep him engaged in conversation. So negotiate for Vijay and Radha’s release. Put forward terms and conditions. Give him a detailed explanation of how you solved the mystery. Anything. Just keep him talking. Please. It will give us time to reach there.’ He held Colin’s gaze. ‘This is our only chance of getting Vijay and Radha out of there alive. Believe me, Farooq has no plans to free them. Once he gets the information he needs, your friends will die.’

Colin pondered this for a few moments, exchanging glances with Shukla and White. Both men nodded. This seemed to be the only way out.

‘Fine.’ Colin exhaled sharply. ‘We’ll do as you’ve asked. Please get them back.’

Imran nodded grimly. ‘I’ll do my best.’ Inwardly, he wasn’t so confident. He had a plan, but it depended on so many other factors, there was no way to be sure what would happen.

As Imran left the room, White said, ‘I’m sorry but I need to go lie down for a while. I hope you don’t mind.’

‘Sure, no problem,’ Colin said, half distracted, as White left the room. Shukla stayed, still looking pale and petrified.

A thought briefly crossed Colin’s mind but he pushed it away. There was no doubt the news about Bheem Singh had come as a shock to the archaeologist. But it seemed to him that White looked more
angry
than unwell! But that didn’t make sense. Colin shook his head. He was imagining things. He had more important things to worry about right now.

A Moment of Happiness

Vijay sat on the floor of the room in which he was being held captive. For some reason, his captivity didn’t bother him. But his mind was still in turmoil. He struggled to come to terms with his hopelessness. He questioned the use of trying to understand his emotions when they were confronted with death. Farooq intended killing Radha and him. There was no hope for them.

Something went off in his brain. He realised what had happened. He had fallen in love with Radha. For a few moments, he allowed the thought to wash over him and luxuriated in the warm, ecstatic feeling that accompanied it. Then he pushed the thought away. What a time to discover love! When they were doomed to be killed. But then, if they lived, would she reciprocate his feelings? She had shown no signs of any special feelings for him.

He sighed. Life was a bitch.

As if to reinforce his conclusion, two of the LeT fighters entered the room. An AK 47 was pointed at him and one of the men gestured for him to rise and follow them.

A Daring Attempt to Escape

The room where Radha had been dumped had no furniture apart from a hard, lumpy cotton mattress that had served as her bed in one corner of the room. The floor was dirty but thankfully there didn’t seem to be cockroaches or rats around; at least, she hadn’t seen any.

The power situation in Patna wasn’t very good. The lights would go off every few hours or so and the blackout could last for anywhere between half an hour and several hours. It seemed that the building didn’t have a backup generator or inverter, at least not one connected to this room. During these blackouts the room would be in complete darkness with each sound amplified a thousand times. She had heard lizards scraping along the wall as they scurried from one shelter to another but no other sounds had disturbed those hours of solitude, silence and darkness.

She really hadn’t any cause to complain about the way she was being treated. She was given three meals a day; simple food, but she never went hungry.

Farooq hadn’t made an appearance since the first day when he had spoken to both of them. Neither had she seen Vijay since then. She, too, had been left alone though Farooq had kept her mobile phone with him. She wondered how Vijay was faring, and hoped he was safe.

Her solitude over the last two days had been difficult for her, though she fought to keep her hopes alive. Often, when the lights went off, the darkness and silence weighed down on her mind, enveloping it, numbing it and distorting her emotions and thoughts. It was in those moments that she felt most disheartened.

She longed to be able to get away and tell the others. The Indian government needed to know. Other governments needed to be informed. If what Farooq had shared with her was true, the world was running out of time.

There was a sound at the door and she looked up. One of Farooq’s men entered. He looked at her and wordlessly indicated that she was to follow him.

Wearily, she got to her feet. The gunman strode away, not bothering to look back at her, confident that she had nowhere to run.

The guard led her down the corridor, until they came to a large room with rattan furniture strewn around in a haphazard fashion. Farooq occupied a large sofa , directly facing the door. A bottle of whisky and bottles of soda stood on a table in front of him. He held a half-empty glass of whisky and soda. Some of the other men held glasses of whisky as well.

Vijay stood before Farooq, his hands bound behind his back. She realised that Farooq wasn’t taking any chances after Vijay had escaped from his clutches on an earlier occasion. She also realised that the men believed that she was easy prey, which was why she was allowed more freedom than Vijay. After the initial feeling of resentment at being considered weak just because she was a woman, it dawned on her that this gave her the slimmest of chances of getting away. She decided to stay alert and look out for the slightest opportunity for their escape. No matter what the odds, she wasn’t going down without a fight. And she knew that neither would Vijay.

Despite her strong resolve, she shuddered at the lascivious grins that appeared on the faces of the men as she entered the room.

Vijay looked relieved to see her. He didn’t look very well, though there was no evidence that he had been physically mistreated in any way.