Cold Love (16 page)

Information
and Intelligence

The clock on Arjun’s desk shows 2:55am.
The party ended an hour ago and Arjun continued to work on his computer, while
others were still chatting downstairs. Suddenly, his mobile starts ringing and
he picks it up immediately.

“Ok. I will login right away.”

He shuts the door first, logs into the
secure RAW system and turns on his video conference unit.

The director of RAW has called upon his
trusted aides for an emergency conference. “Hello gentlemen. Do we have
everyone onboard? Ok, I will keep it brief. Firstly, thanks to everyone for
dialing in at short notice. This update has come from the army chief. As you
know tensions at the LOC have escalated. It’s nothing new; the army is dealing
with it and we do not expect our department to be engaged directly at the
front. However, we have been advised to be on high alert and ready for the call
of duty at any time. What does that mean on the ground? Technically you don’t
do anything different. We always know where our agents are located, even if you
are working in covert operations. I just wanted this conference to tell
everyone that if the department needs you, we will reach out to you and you
should be ready for any mission.”

Another senior officer on the conference
responds, “That goes without saying, sir! All of us are always ready for our
country anytime, anywhere!”

“Good. That’s the response I was
expecting. Any questions?” He pauses for a moment, “Excellent! Krish and Arjun,
can you stay on for a few minutes? I want to talk to you a little longer. For
the rest, Jai Hind!”

The video conference shows multiple
contacts signing off as Krish and Arjun stay back. “Krish. Please brief all
your leads in special operations. We are looking for any clue whatsoever that
will give us information about their next move. We are getting hints that they
may act rashly and respond very soon. If it is an increased firing across the
border, the army will handle it, but if it’s any covert action we need to be
ready for it.”

“Yes, sir!”

 “Arjun, I want you to lie low; as you
have been critical to this case, you need to be on high security alert... 
watch out for any suspicious activities around you.”

“Yes sir! You don’t have to worry about
me!”

 “Good. Thank you gentlemen. That’s all
for now! Good night and over and out!”

Arjun closes the video conference
program but doesn’t shut the laptop yet. He continues to check out the secure
RAW system, trying to reconcile all the thoughts of the day. It’s sure been one
heck of an eventful day… from the dud bomb at the dam to the fruitful event of
his little sister’s engagement. He relaxes back a bit, closing his eyes.
Immediately he can see the beautiful images of Riya from earlier in the day, in
his arms at the dam and then on top of him when they locked lips after their
mini tussle. He sighs deeply. He couldn’t help relish the moments of their
dance together during the party, and the incident at the tennis game. Phew!
Things have moved fast between them over the last few days. And all the
emotions bubbling between them for several months culminated in that dramatic
smooch.

When Arjun opened his eyes, he was
staring at the map on the RAW website. This was a detailed map of India and its
neighboring countries, and was titled - “Personnel Geo-Intelligence Network
Map”. Arjun types in “Riya Saxena” into the search box and hits the search
button. The screen comes up with several records on the right side of the
panel, Arjun chooses one, reading the description. Immediately, several green
dots appear on the map section, showing locations. As the screen scrolls one
red box pops up, coinciding with a red pin on the map location. And a second
red icon pops up immediately after. 

Arjun leans forward on the chair,
intrigued. The RAW system provides geo-intelligence about agents and
individuals involved in notable operational activities. Arjun clicks the first
red pop up box in the panel on the right. The screen zooms to the map of
Afghanistan, with one female and two male figures on the Bamyan region in
central Afghanistan. Arjun clicks for further details, curious as to how or
when Riya went to Afghanistan. The screen from the RAW system reads:

“
Personnel
: Riya Saxena, 26 F,
Civilian, co-location with Azhar Mahmud, 32 M, Head of Al Khayad group, and
Undercover RAW agent.

Location
: Bamyan and Band-e-Amir National Park.

Nature of Operations
: Hostage rescue.” 

“Hostage rescue!? Hmmm…” Arjun clicks
and reviews further data about Riya to assure himself he is looking at the
right Riya. He then goes on to click the second red pop up in Mumbai. It shows
four male and one female icons. Arjun hovers over for details-

“
Personnel
: Riya Saxena, 26 F,
Civilian, co-location with Arjun Sinha, 28 M, RAW Head of Strategic
Intelligence Wing, Mohammad Khan, 42 M, ISI Lieutenant, Undercover RAW Agent 1,
Undercover RAW Agent 2.”

Arjun clicks on icons for both the RAW
agents but a system message pops up- “Access denied. You do not have the
clearance for this information”. He clicks on the icon for the undercover RAW
agent on the Afghanistan map, but receives the same message.

The first undercover agent in the Mumbai
operation was obviously Vinod Shukla, who was killed, but who was the second
agent, whose details Arjun could not access? And how did Riya meet Azhar Mahmud
in Afghanistan? Arjun, perplexed, clicked on the female figure again to verify
the information. The message read:

“
Name:
Riya Saxena, 26 F

 
Service/Civilian:
Civilian

 
Combat skills:
None.

 
Specialized Arms Training
: None.

 
Additional skills
: Gymnastics.

Strategic Risk rating:
Low”

Suddenly there’s a knock on his bedroom
door as Arjun hears Kamla’s voice, “Arjun beta. Are you still awake?”

Arjun shuts his laptop immediately and
checks his watch; it’s already past 3:30am. He opens the door.

“What are you doing beta? You didn’t go
to sleep yet?”

“I was about to mum. How about Puja…is
she asleep?”

“Yes, Puja and Riya kept talking after
the party. I had to force them to go to sleep. They’ve both gone to sleep just
now in Puja’s room. It has been a long day, beta... I am so happy. Our little
doll has grown up and is going to get married soon!” She hugs Arjun smiling,
content with motherly affection. Arjun smiles back, immensely happy with the
ceremony as well.

However, his mind is filled with doubts
that he needs to clarify first. He wants to speak to Riya immediately. On
second thoughts, tonight was not the right time, nor the occasion. Perhaps he
will carry out some investigations in headquarters the first thing in the
morning before speaking to Riya.

Arjun knew the significance of information
in his field of work. The right piece of information at the right time was the
most crucial weapon for intelligence agencies. He needed to gather that
intelligence as quickly as possible to clear the unknowns before determining
his next move.  

Exploring
and Resolving Unknowns

The next morning, Arjun left for the
department by 6am. After the events of last night, Riya had decided that the
time was ripe to talk to Arjun. The sexual chemistry between them was too
overwhelming for her to endure any longer. She would have preferred to hear it
from Arjun first, but in today’s day and age, girls should not be embarrassed
to talk of their feelings first.

Had the circumstances been normal, she
would have gone ahead today to proclaim her love. However, Riya knew that love
has to wait.

“There are more important things in life
than love,” Riya tries to convince herself, as she debates her dilemma. She
wanted to talk to Arjun about the neutron missiles. Just as she was lost in her
thoughts, she receives a call on her mobile that she picks up hurriedly.

“Hello… Yes, I was thinking of calling
you. … Yes, yesterday turned out quite well. I think Arjun is ready… Ok… I will
find some excuse to raise the topic and discuss about the missiles… Yes, I will
try to reason with him today when he is alone. Ok bye.”

It wasn’t until 11am when Riya saw
Arjun’s convertible drive through the compound gates. He parked awkwardly right
in the middle in front of the garage doors. Riya rushed out of her room to
catch up with him, although she was still nervous about choosing the right
words to convey what she wanted to say. As Riya entered the house, her plans
were thrown awry by what she saw happening. She heard loud voices from the
living room and saw Puja rushing down the stairs to find out what the commotion
was about. Both move together and look into the room unnoticed, as it seems a
big argument was going on, with Mr. Sinha shouting at the top of his voice at
Arjun and Kamla.

“Have you heard about the behavior of
your darling son?! Will you ask him why he beat Banerjee on the streets?
Shameful! His behavior is that of a roadside ruffian. And that lawyer; he has
filed a Rs. 5 lakh suit for compensation! And your prince didn’t bother telling
us about it? Disgusting!”

Kamla is completely confused, “Beta,
what is all this?”

“Arjun, will you bother telling us why
you hit Banerjee so badly on the streets?”

“I am sorry Papa; I can’t tell you!”
Arjun responds in a calm composed tone, with his head bowed down.

“What do you mean you can’t tell me?”
Mr. Sinha, shouts louder this time, finally losing his patience upon Arjun’s
repeated denial to share any information.

Kamla tries to pacify him, “Please calm
down jee!”

 “What calm down! You can’t imagine what
it felt like when I heard it from five different people this morning! And I
used to be so proud of my son! Look at your son Kamla; looks like power and
achievement has gone to his head! Disgusting!”

 “Papa please trust your son. I have not
done anything wrong!”

 “What should I trust, son? Arjun, just
tell me what it was all about?”

“Sorry Papa”, Arjun shakes his head. “I
can’t tell you of this instance!” At that moment Arjun notices Puja and Riya
peeping from behind the door.

Arjun’s continued denial of information
has infuriated Mr. Sinha further; suddenly, he raises his hand in fury to hit
him, “Tell me Arjun!”

“Uncle!” Riya shouts at that very
instant, as Puja simultaneously screams as well from the door, “Papa!” Kamla
intervenes immediately to hold her husband’s hand.

“What are you doing jee? Raising a hand
on your young son!”

Both Riya and Puja walk inside as Riya
speaks up, realizing that Arjun is trying to conceal the fact that Banerjee had
humiliated Riya in court, which led to the fight with Banerjee outside the
school.

“Uncle, it’s not Arjun’s fault.”

“Riya, you stay out of it!” Arjun
immediately tries to shush Riya. 

 “Riya, you were at the school when this
happened, isn’t it? What was it about?” Kamla enquires, obviously extremely
concerned about the incident that was kept a secret from everyone else.

Arjun desperately tries to keep Riya out
of it, “Riya you won’t say anything. This is between me and dad. You don’t need
to get into this!”

“Arjun! Riya is our daughter too… she is
family!” Kamla scolds Arjun for using such a harsh tone with Riya. Everyone
looks at Riya, expecting a response from her.

“Uncle, it’s not Arjun’s fault. It was
all because of me and all the horrible things that lawyer Banerjee said about
me in the court.”

She is about to continue further when
Arjun starts walking out of the room.

Mr. Sinha is infuriated, and shouts at
him, “Arjun! Arjun!”

“Arjun beta!” Kamla rushes after him but
Arjun doesn’t stop for his mum.

“Did you see that Kamla! Undisciplined
brat!”, he shouts out in anger at Arjun, “Get out from my house and don’t
return back!”

“Uncle, please don’t be angry with him.
I’ll bring him back and I’ll tell you everything. It’s not his fault Uncle.
I’ll come right back.” Riya runs after Arjun, finds him in the garage, punching
a boxing bag hanging from the ceiling. While walking towards him she improvises
her strategy on the fly; no longer can she talk to Arjun about the neutron
missiles today. He is too smart and will sense an out-of-context conversation
immediately, when the flavor of the day has completely changed now.

“Arjun! What is this? Please come
back!”, Riya approaches Arjun with a determined look. Arjun continues to punch
the bag; one of the shots just misses Riya as she dodges it by a couple of
inches. “Look, let me tell uncle everything. He is needlessly getting angry at
you.”

Arjun stops the bag, “You will not say
anything to him about the incident or the court hearing.”

“How can I not say anything? Please try
to understand. Come with me and we will tell him everything”. She pulls Arjun’s
hand but he shrugs her off. “Uff! Why don’t you understand Arjun, he is your
dad! Look how angry he is and it’s all without a cause!”

“Go on tell him! What do you want to
share with him?” Arjun shouts back, “Tell him all the lovely details! He will
be really happy, isn’t it?!” He claps his hands in a gesture of mockery in his
rage. “He will compliment me. Well done, son! Waah! The girl who did so much
for you and for the department… what did I give back to her? Sure! … Go on,
tell him everything.”

“Arjun please! Don’t say that! I don’t
care what he said in the court… What does that lawyer mean to us… but I care
about you… and about uncle!”

  Arjun isn’t convinced. He takes his
boxing gloves off and walks off to sit on his motorbike at the other end of the
garage and starts it with a swift kick. Riya shouts inaudibly as Arjun revs up
the engine loudly.

“Arjun please! Will you listen to me?”

Riya continues shouting at him. Arjun
revs the bike further as Riya’s words disappear in the noise. Eventually he
takes off the stand, puts the bike in first gear and drives away with a loud
screeching noise, leaving behind a cloud of exhaust smoke. Riya coughs trying
to clear the smoke with her hand, and gradually walks back disappointed at
Arjun’s indifference.

Over the next hour she painstakingly
describes to everyone all that had happened at the court on that eventful day
and thereafter the saga over the coming few days that followed. Kamla hugs
Riya, wiping away her tears reassuringly.

Mr. Sinha picks up the phone immediately
to call Arjun. A continuous ringing eventually lands into voicemail as Arjun
does not pick up the phone.

“Beta, can you please message him?” he
instructs Puja, “Tell him, we are not angry with him and trust him in
everything.”

Puja picks up the phone and texts Arjun.
She tries calling him again, but without any response.

The day speeds past; a lovely sunny day
morphing into an orange late afternoon sky. Arjun, somewhere far away, was
sitting on a hill looking at the distant sun on the horizon, contemplating his
next move. He had a lot on his mind that he had not told anyone about, most
significantly the new information he had gathered today in the department.

Back home everyone was at the lunch
table, sipping their afternoon tea.

“Still no response from Arjun?! He is
angry. Your son after all!” Kamla stares at Mr. Sinha, complaining, “Why did
you have to scold my son this way?”

Puja had already checked all his known
whereabouts. After leaving the department, he didn’t go to any of his friends,
or any place that Puja could think of.

“I don’t know where my son is! I don’t
even know if he had lunch or not!” Kamla continues in her concerned tone. “Are
you happy now?”

“Kamla, how would I know about it?” Mr.
Sinha reacts in his defense, “I am his father too; I am also concerned about
him.”

Suddenly Riya thinks about the place
where Arjun had taken her after the party the day before yesterday.

“Aunty. Maybe I know where he could have
gone.”

“Where Riya?” everyone echoed back.

“There is a place. Near Cumbala hills.”

“Beta, will you bring him back?” Riya
nods in acquiescence to Kamla’s request. She starts walking towards the door
when Kamla calls to her, “Riya beta. Listen, take Ramu kaka with you; let him
drive the car.” 

Riya nods, and leaves immediately. Just
as she gets to the car, she receives a call on her phone. She was hoping it
might be from Arjun but it’s from someone important.

“Riya, are you alone?” The mysterious
man speaks out.

“No” Riya responds tersely.

“Ok, just listen to me. Arjun knows
about your Afghanistan incident. When you meet him and if he asks about it,
tell him only about Afghanistan. Do not discuss anything else today. Abort all
plans we had for today. I will speak to you later tonight. Ok?”

“Yes.” Riya responds briefly again, as
the phone is hung up immediately. She gets extremely concerned now as she did
not expect things to turn out like they had today. She looks out of the window
of her car, as it races past the curves of the hill reaching towards the summit.
Perhaps she knew right from the start when she took this mission that this
journey was never going to be easy.

She has made tremendous sacrifices and
the important thing for her now is to make sure that she makes the final leap
to the summit that she has been long striving for.