Operation Chaos: A Gripping Action Thriller (21 page)

What she held in her hands was the most secure safe designed by an ancient guild of the monks.

Chapter 55

His watch displayed 4.20 am. David knew that the President had to depart for Delhi soon. He asked Raghav to assemble his team in a corner.

''Everyone- I know this night has been a tough one. I know we are on the field for almost 12 continuous hours but this is a critical time and we should face the situation together.''

David's voice brought encouragement and energy to his team.

''It's time that we split our tasks. Task 1- We need to extract President Ajaysingh from his bunker, take him safely to Delhi and ensure nothing happens to him. Task 2- We need to continue this trail until we find that artefact. I hope Ranjeet has been successful in hacking into their systems by now. I will have a chat with him in a moment,'' said David as he turned towards Raghav.

''Raghav, I need you to stay and help Sameer and Miss Shonali in the search. I will take half of my troop and head for the bunker.''

''But wouldn't it be better if you were to stay here. I can go to be with the President.''

''No, Raghav. You are injured and it's a risky task to be with the President. I know that the President's security is our top priority and I will handle it. You continue the search. Is it clear?'' David asked.

''Yes, Sir,'' Raghav replied obediently.

David started explaining the situation and his plan to Dr. Ajaysingh over the radio, while Sameer and Shonali kept searching for any missing or overlooked clues on the painting. Shonali was utterly confused with the pattern of events that had happened so far. The stone cube in her hands provided no help.

''We know that this stone cube is not the final object. The script clearly says that what we seek is hidden with the four guards. But is this what our lunatic wants?'' Sameer asked Raghav.

''I don't think so, Mr. Sameer. Of course, we can buy some time by telling the psycho that this cube is the final object we found, but if this is not the thing he expects, then it would be one big dangerous mistake,'' explained Raghav. ''And it doesn't make any sense- We can't just give him a cube with a numeric grid on it,'' he added.

''Let us get some things straight then- Whatever clues we have found tonight have one thing in common- Buddhism. Nalanda university, the stupa, the
dhvaj
, these caves, the painting- all of them have something to do with Gautama Buddha. But what I don't understand is why the first clue was on the iron pillar which, I think, has nothing to do with Buddhism!'' Shonali remarked.

Sameer nodded in agreement. ''Whatever messages we have found until now indicate that those were hidden by a group of people- the extract in the message
'you too have set out to find that source of truth and we will help you to find it
' clearly indicates that. Let us suppose that this group of people belonged to a specific cult or legion. So the question is - what are they leading us to?'' Sameer added.

Shonali looked at the cube in her hand. She had a strong gut feeling that the answers to some of her unanswered questions were inside that stone cube and she needed to get it open somehow. She carefully observed the locking system of the cube. The grid on the front face acted as the lock for the cube. The rest of the faces of the cube were just plain. Each of the nine tiles on the 3 by 3 grid had miniature rotating copper cylinders behind them, which displayed  numbers from 1-9 on their curved faces. Rotating each of the nine cylinders would produce a different pattern of numbers on the grid face every time.

''It's like a magic square!'' Sameer cried out with excitement.

Chapter 56

Ajaysingh realised he would have to leave for the conference as soon as David's team got to the bunker. He asked David to pass the radio to Shonali.

''Take care, Dad!'' Shonali kept her conversation short. She knew her father's life was in danger. But that's how things were between the father and daughter. There always was a silent conversation. ''I am very thankful that you are helping us. Stay safe,'' replied Ajaysingh. David and the handpicked commandos made their way towards the temporary helipad from where their chopper would take them to Aurangabad airport.

As they reached almost half of the distance, David received a call from Ranjeet.

''Sir, I think I have done whatever I can from the outside. I can turn off their warning systems for some period of time until your men can get inside...''

''Good job, Ranjeet. Let us give that bastard in his face. I will send my teams in as soon as you disable the security systems. Tell me, what is your time frame?''

''
Sir, the job is not yet over. I cannot get through the firewall completely unless I access it from the island. I need to be there personally to disable the firewall. Now, I can get your team inside the facility without arousing their attention. But then, I cannot hack into their security camera feed. They might still catch your team members sneaking into the facility on the cameras. Also, the missile launch systems  can only be hacked from the server room which means they could still launch the missiles even on the slightest suspicion.
''

''So what do you suggest Ranjeet?''

''I need to get into the facility to hack the missile launch systems. I can disable the securities for seven minutes without getting caught on their radar. Once we are inside the facility, I will try to loop the camera feeds to buy us some time. Then I need to access the server room, disable the hub and shut down all the ports transferring data from the island to the satellite. This way, they won't be able to launch the missile. In case we are late to stop the transmission and they have already launched the missile, they won't be able to control it. The secondary ports at the Delhi headquarters would take over the control of the missile systems from there.'' Ranjeet poured out all the information he had analysed after his long conversation with Vishal.
 

David took some time digesting the new set of information.

''I am on my way to you, Ranjeet. Just give me a couple of minutes,'' said David as he advanced towards the temporary helipad. David was trying to think of a plan so that his troops on the east coast could retake the Wheeler Island facility and he could protect the President as well. After a lot of thinking, he decided to play his best card- Capt. Pratap Shinde.

When David and the black commandos reached the helicopter waiting to take them to the airport, Ranjeet was standing near the door of the chopper looking at David with curious eyes. Ranjeet needed to know what David had planned next. David took a deep breath before he
quickly explained his chalked out strategy
to Ranjeet.

''Ranjeet, I would have accompanied you to Wheeler Island, but I need to be with President Ajaysingh right now. So here's what we do- You accompany us to Aurangabad airport. I will arrange for your flight to the eastern coast from there. Our military camp is located at Dhamara- the nearest port to the facility. Wheeler Island is approximately ten kilometres inside the waters from the shores of Dhamara. Go and meet Capt. Pratap as soon as you get to Dhamara base. He is my best man and he will lead the infiltration team into the facility...''

The pilot started the engines and the blades began to rotate.

''... Explain everything to him. I would be with Dr. Ajaysingh while Raghav and the rest half of my troop is going to be with Miss Shonali and Sameer until they figure out the clue on the painting. I know following that psychopath's orders is nothing but madness. Yet, until we totally recapture those missiles, I think we should keep all our options open...''

The blades rotated faster and it was becoming difficult for Ranjeet to hear David's voice.

''... Raghav will inform me as soon as Sameer or Shonali hit upon something,'' shouted David, trying to make himself heard. ''You update me as soon as Capt. Pratap is ready to infiltrate the facility. I have given Pratap his set of instructions and will let him know you are coming...''

The chopper rose up slowly. They could see the rock cut caves and the valley below them becoming smaller and smaller.

''There is a special task force for his security. Why is it so important that you should be with the President in Delhi?'' asked Ranjeet.

''I know. There is Colonel Rana to look over the President's transportation. But I am worried about a piece of information that we have recovered. I think this Assignment 6.00 can be something dangerous. Don't worry about your safety, Ranjeet. The NSG commandos under Capt. Pratap are extremely skilled and trained. I am sure they will handle the situation at Wheeler Island without any hiccups,'' David assured Ranjeet.

Ranjeet looked out of the window. All he could see was darkness around him.

It's the darkness before the sunrise
, he told himself. 

Chapter 57

''A magic square?'' Shonali was very curious to know.

''Yes. I mean magic squares aren't just any 3 by 3 or 4 by 4 grid of numbers. They have some special addition properties along the rows or columns. This grid looks almost the same way. If you rotate the copper cylinder in each tile of the grid, you get different combinations-''

''And you think a proper combination of 9 unique numbers- one in every tile would be the code to open this cube?'' said Shonali guessing Sameer's line of thought.

''Absolutely! In cryptography, we come across many such devices designed by great minds to hold the untold secrets. It has been since the time of the Pharaohs of Egypt that man started to keep their prized possessions in boxes which could only be opened by solving a specific puzzle. This is a kind of portable safe, I guess.''

''So now we need to select nine numbers and then we open the lock. That would be just a few million of combinations,'' Shonali frowned.

''No,'' said Sameer, ''the clue for combination must be somewhere in this text. If they have provided the lock, they must also have given the key. There must be some deeper meaning to this text which we are not paying attention to,'' said Sameer as he started reading the transcript from the top once again, this time with diligent care.

There were a few seconds of silence as Sameer went through the script on the painting over and over again. Raghav fished out a pack of cigarettes and passed them around while the commandos sat back and watched Sameer and Shonali rack their brains.

''I think the monks are referring to King Ashoka here,'' Shonali said aloud.

''And why do you think so?''
Sameer immediately shot back at  her.
''There were many kings of Magadha. They could be referring to the semi-mythical king Jarasandha- the king who likely established the very kingdom of Magadha!''

''No. They mentioned a very special name-
Devanampriya
which means loved by the Gods. This was another name of Ashoka- the Great,'' said Shonali showing the screen of her smart phone to Sameer. She had searched for the words 'Devanampriya, Buddhism' and King Ashoka's name popped up in every search result.

''But why didn't they use a more common name like-
Samraat Chakravartin
instead of
Devanampriya?
'' Shonali asked herself.

''Maybe they decided to use a rather uncommon name on the painting,'' Sameer reasoned.

''So even if we say that the name Devanampriya was used for King Ashoka, who were his guards that the painting refers to?'' Shonali still had questions.