Outside Chhedi’s office, Priya held Radhika at gunpoint, with Taarak protecting her from behind. They edged out of the office, walked down the walnut-veneered passage and reached the elevator bank. As soon as one arrived, the three of them got in and descended to the lobby. Rathore took the stairs of the fire escape, clattering down in the vain hope of getting to the lobby before them. While running down, he continued to bark orders over his mobile phone. ‘Keep the men on standby, but no one is to take a shot. I cannot afford to have these lunatics panic and kill our chief. Is that clear?’ he shouted.
Once they reached the lobby, Priya pressed the gun harder into Radhika’s ribs and nudged her towards the glass doors that overlooked the entrance foyer and car park. Within a few minutes, a military-green Jeep driven by a dark and unshaven thug rolled in. ‘Pranam, Mataji!’ he shouted out. Priya nodded. Sir Khan had sent his man dot on time for her.
‘Get in the vehicle!’ she barked at Radhika.
Radhika resisted and said, ‘You’ve got a foolproof strategy for escaping. Why do you need me?’
She was rewarded with a swift knock on the head with the butt of the gun in Priya’s hand. ‘Do as I say and you stay alive! Argue, and you die,’ hissed Priya as Radhika passed out from the blow. Priya, along with Taarak, lifted Radhika into the Jeep and gave instructions to the driver to step on the gas.
‘Sir Khan has asked me to take you to Panchkula. A helicopter is waiting for you at Chandimandir Helipad,’ shouted the driver over the sound of his screeching tyres. Rathore came running out and took a couple of shots at the Jeep’s tyres but was unable to hit them, both bullets only ricocheting off the metal. Rathore swore under his breath. He knew that he had to keep the CBI Special Director Sunil Garg informed. He quickly dialled the number in Delhi and spoke into the phone.
‘Yes, sir… I’m outside Chhedi’s laboratory… Radhika Singh has been taken hostage by Priya Ratnani,’ he explained.
‘I’m sorry to hear that, Rathore. I’ll put out a nationwide alert immediately. Don’t try to follow her… instead, focus on getting all possible details from Saini so that we can figure out where they are headed,’ said Sunil Garg, the Special Director of the CBI who happened to be,’ replied Sir Khanhe’ between i having tea with a friend.
After the conversation ended, the CBI Special Director turned to Sir Khan and smiled. ‘Everything is going as per plan. Now, what more do you want me to do?’
Kichaka was a lecherous fool, but he convinced his sister, Queen Sudeshna, to send Draupadi with some wine to his bedchamber. Worried about her own safety, Draupadi informed Bhima who quietly caught hold of Kichaka and beat him up. Kichaka died in the process, and Sudeshna suspected that Draupadi had played a role in his death. Sudeshna’s other brothers decided that Draupadi would be placed on Kichaka’s funeral pyre to be burnt alive. My strong cousin Bhima appeared like the wind, caught hold of Sudeshna’s brothers and killed them all. No one saw Bhima, though. This allowed Draupadi to maintain the story that she was a Gandharva and that her kin could appear out of thin air to protect her. Worried about the implications of annoying the Gandharvas, King Virata allowed Draupadi to stay on inside the palace even though his wife wanted her to leave.
Saini was in shock. He sat stupefied inside Chhedi’s office wondering how his kind and helpful doctoral student—Priya—had morphed into a raging inferno, spitting fire and venom. Mataji! He thought back and tried to make sense of what had just happened.
He recalled their halt for coffee and sandwiches at the restaurant on their drive from Jodhpur. The waiter had brought three cups of coffee. Priya had stretched out her arm and accepted the coffee that was on offer, passing on a cup each to Kurkude and Saini. Kurkude took a few sips of his coffee before getting out of the car to go to the restroom. He passed out in the bathroom due to chloral hydrate-poisoning. Taarak was the one who helped carry him to the car. The seal from Kurkude’s pocket went missing subsequently. Priya and Taarak had colluded to steal Kurkude’s seal.
His thoughts went back to Porbandar and their escape from the police van. The van had swerved sharply to the right in order to avoid the crude IED that had been placed in their route. The van doors swung open and a black-masked commando carrying a small semi-automatic said ‘Quick! Get out of the van! We have very little time—police reinforcements will be here soon!’ He helped Priya off the van by extending his arm out to her for support and when she came down he quickly pressed an envelope containing cash into her hand. ‘Take it,’ he urged. Saini cursed himself for not reading the signs of respect, concern and chivalry. The commando had been none other than Taarak helping his boss, Priya!
He struggled to remember their escape from Bhojaraj’s boat into the sea. ‘Is your mobile phone still in the pocket of your jeans?’ Saini had asked Priya. ‘Yes,’ she had replied. ‘If it’s working, I want you to gift it to our host,’ Saini had said. ‘But it’s our only means of communication...’ Priya had protested. ‘Buy another basic
phone with a prepaid SIM card when we reach the city,’ insisted Saini. Priya had nodded in agreement to what Saini was saying. She had quickly punched in a sequence of letters, numbers and characters into her phone. ‘What are you doing?’ asked Saini. ‘Punching in the code for a factory reset. I don’t want any of my messages to be accessible to others…’ Priya had been deleting all traces of her communication with Taarak! a hundred and eighty-six thousand miles per secondadb scriptures
His brain flashed back to his conversation with Priya in the Porbandar hotel room. ‘I had no idea that you knew so much about chakras,’ Saini said in amazement. Priya smiled. ‘I spent several years learning meditation in school. It’s a part of my life that I usually do not discuss,’ she said dismissively. There was an uncomfortable silence for a few seconds. Priya had been talking about her initiation into a religious order! Why hadn’t he been smart enough to detect that?
He racked the deepest recesses of his memory to recall the day he had been arrested in his classroom by Rathore and Radhika. Turning to Saini, Priya had said, ‘Don’t worry, Prof! As you know, my father—Sanjay Ratnani—is a leading criminal lawyer. I’ll ask him to represent you. I’m sure he’ll be able to clear up this mess. For the moment, though, I don’t think you have any alternative but to go with them.’ She hadn’t been helping him but setting him up so that he would take the fall for the murders!
Saini’s head was spinning. He recalled fragments of the scene in the hospital infirmary. ‘You spoke of four seals,’ said Priya. ‘One was given to you—and was discovered by the police at your house. What did Varshney do with the other three?’ How had Priya known that there were four seals? He had never shared that information with her.
The conversation with Ratnani at the hospital bed came flooding back into his brain. ‘My daughter respects you immensely, Professor,’ explained Ratnani. ‘She’s brought me into the picture to ensure that you don’t spend the rest of your life in a lockup. Now, will you let me get on with the job of saving your ass?’ Saini looked at Ratnani and then at Priya. He saw her eyes pleading with him to accept her father’s instructions. He sighed. ‘Very well, I’ll go along with whatever you say.’ Father and daughter had been ensuring that he moved on to Dwarka—where the next murder of Bhojaraj was scheduled to happen. setting him up!
Saini saw Priya stirring from her nap as they neared Jodhpur. As she opened her eyes, she saw him smiling at her. ‘Good morning,’ he said to her, ‘we’re almost there. You want to get a bite to eat before we try meeting Kurkude?’ She nodded. ‘I’m starving. I also need to make a phone call.’ ‘To whom?’ asked Saini. ‘Dad. He must be worried sick about me by now,’ she replied. Saini recalled the number of times that Priya would slink away to make private phone calls, particularly when they reached new destinations—it was to keep either Taarak or her father informed so that they could plan events in advance.
His mind wandered to the murder scene of Bhojaraj aboard the research vessel Radha. ‘Do you know how to che
ck a pulse?’ asked Saini. Priya nodded. ‘I don’t know how to do it on the neck. You will need to cut the duct tape so that I can check his wrist,’ she said. Noticing a pair of specimen scissors on one of the lab counters, Saini grabbed it and quickly cut through the duct tape layers, leaving yet more fingerprints on vital evidence for the police. Priya had been making sure that his fingerprints were left on the scissors and duct tape. She had falsely claimed that she did not know how to take a pulse reading from the neck. Yet, she had done so in the case of Kurkude, when he was poisoned. Saini had grabbed Kurkude’s ,’ replied Sir Khanka saihead by his hair and looked into his eyes. They looked like the lifeless eyes of a corpse. He rushed outside and called Priya in. She ran inside ignoring the sign that read ‘Gentlemen’. ‘Check his pulse!’ yelled Saini. Priya bent down and placed two fingers under the angle of Kurkude’s jaw to check the carotid pulse. ‘He’s alive,’ she said.
He cursed himself for leaving Kurkude in the car with Taarak. ‘It’s better that we split ourselves into two teams,’ said Saini. ‘Good thought,’ said Priya. ‘I’m pretty certain that Radhika Singh believes that you’ve kidnapped Professor Kurkude. Why not let the professor stay in the car while the two of us go in first? If we do not emerge within an hour, Professor Kurkude can come looking for us. Is that acceptable, Professor?’ She had been ensuring that Taarak could eliminate Kurkude when they were alone.
Saini’s thoughts zeroed in on the immediate events of the past inside Chhedi’s office. Having placed the seal in her pocket, Priya turned to Saini again. ‘Now I have all four seals. Thank you for your location analysis, it shall be most helpful, Professor,’ she smirked. ‘But I’m relieved that I don’t have to listen to your boring lectures anymore.’ Saini realised that it was very possible that Sanjay Ratnani may already have organised for the seal in police evidence to be handed over to his daughter!
News of the death of Kichaka and his siblings reached the ears of Duryodhana. The killing had all the markings of Bhima. Duryodhana now knew that my cousins—the Pandavas—were hiding in Matsya. He also knew that if he succeeded in catching them before the thirteenth year was out, the Pandavas would have to go back to the forest for another twelve years. It was a delicious thought. He attacked Matsya when King Virata was out on an expedition. The only one available to defend the city was Uttara, Virata’s son, and Brihanalla—Arjuna in female disguise. Uttara was terrified of battle but Arjuna was easily able to overcome the Kaurava formations. Duryodhana was ecstatic. ‘That is none other than Arjuna,’ he rejoiced. ‘We have discovered them before the thirteenth year,’ he exulted. His uncle Bhishma cautioned him, ‘A year is calculated differently between solar and lunar calendars. In my opinion, Yudhistira could have revealed himself five months ago without losing the wager!’ Duryodhana vehemently disagreed with Bhishma’s view.
While Saini was attempting to get his thoughts in order, the Jeep carrying Radhika Singh and her captors was screeching through the streets of Chandigarh, hurtling towards Chandimandir Helipad in Panchkula. ‘Where are we going by chopper, Mataji?’ asked Taarak, almost shouting to be heard over the din of the engine.
‘Lucknow,’ yelled Priya. ‘From there we take a private charter to Nepalgunj on the Indo-Nepal border!’
‘Why, Mataji?’ asked Taarak.
‘Because that is the place from which we can travel to Simikot along the Nepal-Tibet border. Simikot is the starting point for our trek to Mount Kailash!’
Both Priya and Taarak carried on their conversation inside the Jeep while Radhika’s unconscious body lay stretched on the vehicle’s floor between them. Priya should have reckoned that it was folly to be talk,’ replied Sir Khan like on the Kaliyugaing freely on the assumption that Radhika Singh was unconscious. Radhika Singh was always conscious of everything.
The Robinson R44 chopper stood silently at the helipad with a pilot and another man, awaiting Priya and Taarak. The R44 was a single-engine, four-seater light helicopter. The enclosed cabin had two rows of side-by-side seating for a pilot and three passengers.
They got out of the Jeep and Taarak lifted Radhika Singh’s unconscious body to carry it into the helicopter, but the pilot stopped him. Turning to Priya he said, ‘Mataji, this helicopter can take only four people. I am your pilot and this person here with me is your guide, who will assist you in getting to your destination at Mount Kailash. You and Mr Taarak Vakil can be the third and fourth passengers, but we don’t have the engine capacity to carry a fifth.’
Taarak looked at Priya, waiting for her response. Instead, she turned to the Jeep driver. ‘Since we can’t take Radhika Singh with us, there’s no point in trying to keep her hostage. Just dump her into Sukhna Lake. The place will soon be swarming with cops when Kurkude’s body is discovered. Discovery of her body will be an added bonus for the police.’
King Virata thanked the Pandavas profusely for having protected his kingdom and gave his daughter Uttari’s hand in marriage to Arjuna’s son, Abhimanyu. A Brahmin was then sent by the Pandavas to meet Duryodhana in order to ask for their share of the kingdom. Duryodhana sent his father’s charioteer Sanjay to inform my cousins that nothing was due to them because they had been discovered prior to completion of thirteen years as per the solar calendar, even though the required time period had elapsed as per the lunar calendar. Several sages and other learned men went to meet Dhritarashtra to warn him of the consequences of Duryodhana’s refusal, but Dhritarashtra remained unmoved. It was then that I decided to intercede.
Rathore, Saini and Chhedi were sitting in the Immuno conference room. It was situated on the same floor as Chhedi’s office and was fitted out with the very latest audio and video equipment. The notable absence was that of Radhika Singh.
Chhedi had asked his secretary to arrange for coffee and sandwiches but Rathore ignored the refreshments on offer. Rathore’s mind kept wandering. He was worried about his boss who was missing in action.
‘Priya consciously chose to wait until all four seals had been discovered before revealing her own identity,’ said Saini. ‘She then waited for me to figure out the fact that they represented the swastika—and consequently Mount Kailash. She now thinks that Krishna’s secret lies there, but she does not have one important clue that I do.’
Rathore listened to Saini carefully. It had become evident that they had wasted a great deal of time by focusing police attention on Saini as the prime suspect. It was time to take advantage of his expertise in history instead.
‘What clue do you have that Priya doesn’t?’ asked Chhedi.
Saini turned to Rathore. ‘When your team searched my house, you found the seal that Varshney gave me, but on the day that you arrested me, I was carrying in my pocket a handwritten note from Varshney. The duty sergeant kept it with my personal effects when I was booked into prison. Do you have it with you?’
Rathore nodded. He pulled out the note from his file and passed explorationig Balaramai it on to Saini.
Saini began reading the note that Varshney had handed over to him during their visit to Kalibangan. ‘Varshney was a linguist and loved playing word games,’ he explained as he read the note. ‘I tried reading and rereading this note several times but was unable to make any sense of what my friend was trying to say. It’s typical gobbledygook that Varshney adored.’
Saini passed on the note to Chhedi and said, ‘Could you project an image of this note on the screen via the overhead projector? It will help if all of us jointly try to crack this.’ With the note duly magnified on the white screen in front of them, everyone was soon absorbed in reading the strange paragraph penned by Varshney.
D’etale r’aknahs! Edise-Breta-Weulb DNA. Rats anispiter. Axis Red Nerrus ajar! Sitih saliak roh salak. XNI dialer, dial, devil. Pitta pott Felnox. Strap lamina on stats. Peek slipup desserts. Tub trams. A kit saw slarem. Un warder!
Could it be a code? Rathore tried examining every alternate letter, then every third letter, but was unable to discern a pattern. His mind kept wandering back to
Radhika Singh. Every few minutes he would look at his phone expecting some information about Radhika but the phone remained silent.
Chhedi wondered whether the phrase was an anagram of some sort but even after using an online anagram resource he had come up empty-handed. Saini played with his pen as he attempted to coax meaning from the madness. His reverie was shattered by a booming voice.
‘So, have we cracked this case yet?’ asked Radhika Singh, walking into the conference room purposefully, oblivious of her dishevelled appearance. Rathore heaved a sigh of relief. It was good to see the chief alive!
‘I have an entire contingent of men searching for you all over Chandigarh,’ said Rathore to Radhika. ‘Sorry we were unable to prevent your abduction.’
‘Relax Rathore. The fact that it was a four-seater helicopter became my deliverance,’ joked Radhika.
‘But I sent a team to the helipad. You were not to be found anywhere,’ said Rathore.
‘The Jeep’s driver had been given instructions by Mataji to drive towards Sukhna Lake and to dump me into the lake so that I would drown,’ explained Radhika. ‘Upon reaching there, he lifted me off the floor of the vehicle and placed me on the ground thinking that I was unconscious. He then returned to the Jeep to get rope with which to tie my hands and feet before dropping me into the lake.’
‘But another team is already at Sukhna Lake. Why didn’t those fools find you?’ interrupted Rathore.
‘They did but a little later. It wasn’t their fault that it was a secluded area,’ said Radhika. ‘As it turns out, just as the driver picked up the rope to tie me down I scared the living daylights out of him. I crept up behind him and cursed into his ears at full volume. He spun around to find my face inches away from his own, snarling. Before he could react, my sledgehammer fist had smashed into his jaw and he went crashing to the ground.’