Chapter Twenty Six
Abhimanyu knows that he can't approach Dr Mishra's room as soon as she and Naveen have left. His friend has planned to take their spy to dinner and a movie, and that should give him a clear three to four hours to search. He'll bug her quarters in that time as well, in case they can pick up something incriminating from that.
He knows what role each of them will take. Aalekh and Sherry will be looking out in the corridor in case anybody approaches, while Naina guards Naveen's room and his trigger access card. A great deal depends on Abhimanyu searching thoroughly and he know he can't fail. There has to be something in her room; communications equipment or files or weapons. If he can find and document them it will give them an edge in her prosecution.
They haven't briefed any of their superiors yet, as much as Abhimanyu trusts Colonel Shakti he knows it's best to wait until they have something concrete. Knowing that Lala Gehlot is involved has made him unwilling to share anything with headquarters until they can prove their suspicions, otherwise there's too much risk of the information being shared with the wrong people.
So now Abhimanyu sits in his room, waiting for the lights out bell to ring before he begins. As if on queue he hears the sound and checking his watch waits five minutes until all of the cadets will have presumedly gone to their hostels, Suriji having threatened them earlier if they didn't obey his directives.
He passes Aalekh on the way, seated between two of the pillars and stationed near Naveen's room. He holds a bottle of alcohol but tonight Abhimanyu knows that it's just a cover for the true reason he's there. Approaching Dr Mishra's room, he sees Sherry slightly up the corridor, exchanging a glance with her before he bends to start picking the lock, a small flashlight aiding the process.
It doesn't take long and he quickly slides back the bolt, letting himself inside and closing the door behind him. It's too much risk to turn the lights on so he uses the torch. The first thing that he does is put the bugs in place, one in each room. It is only then that Abhimanyu begins to search.
/
Everything is going well until Aalekh's friends come looking for him.
"Oy Qaidi, there you are!" Huda's booming voice cuts down the corridor and Aalekh winces. "What are you doing here all alone? We would've given you some company."
"Being alone was sort of the point." Aalekh tells him, "What are you all doing here?"
Yudi shrugs. "No Suriji to stop us and you were missing, Chief. We figured we should see where you'd gone."
Aalekh suddenly curses Captain Naveen's planning in taking Dr Mishra out on the one day Suriji had gone out too.
"Yeah well, you found me, now go back."
"Seriously, Guru, let's head back now. I don't want to get caught if Suriji arrives back suddenly." Ali remarks worriedly.
Aalekh is about to reply when Pooja suddenly wanders into sight too.
"What are you doing here, Punjaben? Looking for your Rohit somewhere?" Huda asks.
Ali frowns but Pooja just waves a hand dismissively. "That out of range caller? I wouldn't accept his calls anymore even if he did come back into network. I'm looking for Naina and Sherry."
Ali smiles, before hurriedly fixing his expression into something more neutral.
"Are they missing too?" Yudi exclaims.
"I wasn't missing in the first place." Aalekh remarks, deadpan.
"Naina told me she might be a little late coming up, but then I went next door to see Sherry and she wasn't there either!"
"It's their lives, Punjaben, let them be." Aalekh tells them. "Now can you all leave me in peace?"
"I think I'd better continue in my roaming until I find them, what if they get in trouble with Lolitaji?"
With an exasperated sigh, Sherry pulls herself away from the shadows she had hidden in and stalks up the hall. "There, you found me, now would you please get back to your rooms before you ruin everything?"
Huda rubs his chin thoughtfully. "So you're both up to something here, and without asking us if we'd like to be involved?"
"Where's Naina though?" Pooja pipes up.
"She's up to something somewhere else." Aalekh replies, rolling his eyes. "Now can you go back?"
"Guys, I really think we should. I for one do not want to be in trouble if Major Nair or Brigadier Chandook..."
Huda holds up a hand, cutting off Yudi mid sentence. "Hold on, that doesn't explain what you're doing in the hallway of the staff quarters. Why should we leave when you're the ones acting suspiciously?"
Sherry steps forward, voice kept purposefully low as she whispers her response urgently. "Do you want to be involved?"
"I don't..." Yudi starts.
"Are you prepared to die to do the right thing, Huda? Will you put your life at risk for justice? If you give us away right now then it's more than just our lives at stake. So decide right now what the answer is because you can either help us or get in our way."
"Are you breaking the academy's rules?" Ali asks seriously.
"Some, no doubt. It's for justice though, Ali, it's to do what's right. It's to keep our country safe."
"Safe from what?" Huda asks.
Involving more people is dangerous but Sherry still remembers how they'd stood up for her when Major Bhargav tried to have her thrown out of the academy, that they'd chosen justice over the rules.
They're her friends. They're her friends in the same way as Naina and Aalekh are and while she can't tell them everything she can tell them enough and trust them to keep it secret.
"From a spy." She finally says, "The same spy that framed my brother and had him convicted. We're close, we're so close to getting the evidence we need. So please, if you think of me as your friend, go back to your hostels and don't give us away."
Ali gives a decisive nod, while Yudi looks only too eager to get back. Huda though, is thoughtful. "Would it help if we spread out to give you advanced warning if anyone is coming?"
Sherry smiles. "Now that would help."
/
An hour and a half later and Abhimanyu has had some success. He's found weapons and communications equipment as well as files on both him and Naveen. It's all circumstantial at best, although the communications equipment is more damning. Having planted his bugs and taken pictures of the equipment and files, Abhimanyu begins to tidy everything. He had memorised it beforehand and he ensures everything is in position now, not a single item out of place.
Now they will just have to wait and keep an eye on Dr Mishra until she slips up.
Abhimanyu had heard voices in the corridor earlier but all is quiet now as he slips the door open a crack, looking for Sherry in the darkness who nods and gestures to him that it's safe to emerge.
He does so and quickly shuts the door behind him, locking it and checking that it's in the same position it was in when he entered before he makes his way over to her.
"What were the voices I heard earlier?" He whispers to her.
"Our friends." Sherry whispers back. "We'll need to tell them a version of the truth, they might be able to help in keeping an eye on Dr Mishra."
Abhimanyu tosses the idea over in his mind, thoughtful. It's a miracle that it's managed to be kept to Sherry, Naina and Aalekh for so long, and if the others are going to be involved they'll have to be sworn to secrecy. The most important part is that none of them should jeopardise the investigation by revealing anything to Dr Mishra.
"Speak to them all." He tells her. "Naina will know how much to reveal. Just let them know that for now it's important we keep an eye on where Dr Mishra goes and who she talks to."
"I'll do that," Sherry promises, reaching out briefly to squeeze his hand before she lets it go. "You head back to your room before anyone realises you're involved, we'll keep an eye on Captain Naveen's room until he's back."
/
Naveen almost doesn't see Aalekh when he passes him in the corridor, he's so well hidden in the shadows. He gives the cadet an approving smile and dismisses him quietly.
"I'll collect the others and we'll wait for Naina, Sir." Aalekh responds instead and Naveen is struck by the deep friendships that Naina has already formed.
He was wrong to discourage her when she first arrived. She's proven over and over again that she's perfect for the role she's chosen, that she'll not only be an excellent officer but one that upholds the principles of truth and justice.
It strikes Naveen with a pang that in many ways she reminds him of Raj, the same fire and determination. He wonders if they would have liked each other if he'd ever introduced them, though it's a good thing he didn't. He wouldn't want Naina to share the pain he's felt over what happened to Raj.
"Naina." Naveen whispers with one knock on the door and she opens it immediately.
She's kept the lights off in the main room so that they can't be seen from the hallway and has been sitting in her bedroom with a light on. She's been reading he can see, one of the books that he's assigned to them for their Signals and Communication class.
"How did it go?" She asks him.
Naveen pats the pocket of his jacket. There had been a moment when Ritu had leaned into him that he had thought she must have taken the fake access card but it's still there.
"Nothing major, she might be trying to reel me in more before she traps me. Which means I'm also going to have to play along until the time is right." Naveen grimaces, he doesn't like pretence, especially when it involves flirting with the woman who ruined his best friend's life.
"It won't be long, Bhaiyya. Captain Abhimanyu might have found something useful during his search."
Naina hands over the card she's been keeping safe and Naveen tucks it securely away immediately.
"You'd better get to bed, Naina. Your friends are waiting for you outside." Naveen smiles at her, as Naina moves to gather up her books."
"Goodnight, Bhaiyya."
"Naina!" He calls out before she's able to get to the door, turning around with a curious look on her face. "I hope you know how proud I am of you."
"I do, Bhaiyya, and I hope you know how proud I am of you too."
She leaves him then as Naveen steps forward to lock the door behind her.
In the morning he'll find out from Abhimanyu what they've managed to achieve.
/
"So we're going to tell everyone?"
Aalekh shrugs in response to Naina's question. "We didn't really have a choice, they showed up and wouldn't leave so we said we'd explain."
"It might be for the best," Naina says cautiously. "If they remain behind during Diwali there's too much risk of them figuring out what we're up to. They could help to keep an eye on Dr Mishra too."
"So how much are we telling them?" Sherry asks. "Everything or..."
"Just the essentials I think, the more they know the more dangerous it will be for them. They don't need to know yet about the red box or what we plan to do at Diwali. I don't think they need to know about me and Raj either."
"You're just worried someone will let something slip to your brother." Sherry jokes.
"Don't give me nightmares." Naina shakes her head. "We're so close, I can feel it. Just a couple more weeks and we..."
"And you'll what, Phoolan?" Huda asks, flopping down on the ground beside her, a teasing grin on his face.
"You'll find out soon," Naina responds, her voice quiet, "Huda, we're taking a big risk involving you. I need to know that you'll take this seriously. It's a matter of life and death, of our country's security."
"Just because Huda flirts and laughs, it doesn't mean he's not willing to die for his country or his friends." Huda places his hand over his heart. "Trust me, Phoolan, I'm with you all."
Ali, Pooja and Yudi arrive then, taking their own seats around the circle.
"I knew you were all on limited talktime for a reason, are you finally going to include us in your plan now?"
Naina reaches out to place her hand on Pooja's. "It was to protect you, what we're doing is dangerous."
"Yet the three of you are involved, whether there's danger or not." Ali comments. "I don't want to break any rules but if it's to correct an injustice then it's the right decision."
"And you, Yudi?" Sherry asks him. "You don't have to be involved if you don't want to just because everyone else is."
"I..." Yudi take a deep breath in. "I thought about it a lot last night. I came here to prove myself, to be a man, and to do that I have to be brave."
Aalekh claps Yudi hard on the back. "Sahi Bola, Yudi. Time to be a man."
"That's right! Now what are we doing exactly?"
"We're gathering evidence against Dr Mishra."
Everyone stares at Sherry.
"Are you joking?" Huda asks her.
Pooja shushes him. "Let her have her talktime."
"No, I'm not joking." Sherry continues. It had been decided that she would be the one to tell the story to hide Naina's true involvement in it. "She's a spy and she's also the one that trapped and framed my brother."
Huda whistles, low and disbelieving, but doesn't question Sherry's statement.
"How are you so sure?" Ali asks her. "We can't accuse her without evidence."
"I know because my brother told me and we have evidence, a photo of them together on alumni night, the night she sprung her trap."
"So your brother really is innocent?" Yudi asks.
"Of course he is! Why did you sign the petition to let me stay if you didn't think so then?"
Yudi shrugs. "I did it because you were my friend, I figured it didn't really matter what I thought about it."
"Of course it matters." Naina breaks in, her voice quiet but with an edge like steel. "He is innocent. He was Naveen Bhaiyya and Captain Abhimanyu's best friend. You know both of them, could they be best friends with someone who was a traitor? He was framed and we'll help to prove that."
The others all nod, gathering closer.
"How do we cut off her connection?" Pooja asks.
"We need to gather evidence to help support the case. Bhaiyya and Abhimanyu Sir are working on this but the more eyes we have on her the better. Yudi, you've always had a good memory for faces and names, keep an eye out for if there's any staff members with her more often than others, or if you see someone you don't recognise." Yudi turns in disbelief before a smile comes to his face, he hadn't expected to be the first one to be called on. "For now, everyone else just needs to keep an eye on her movements. See who she talks to and where she goes. If anything suspicious happens then please get one of the Captains immediately."
"And is that it? That's all of your secret planning? Isn't there anything else we can do?"
Naina looks at Huda seriously. "There may well be before the end. This isn't going to be easy, people like Dr Mishra don't give up without a fight and neither do the people she works for. That's why we didn't involve you before now, because of how dangerous it is. Please be careful and don't let anyone know what we're doing."
"I have a question." Huda leans forward. "Why is Naina in charge?"
Aalekh very quickly covers up a laugh with a cough. "Leadership skills."
"We're with you in this fight, Sherry." Ali responds seriously. "From now on we'll ensure that Dr Mishra's every move is tracked."
"Good," Sherry tells him. "Now let's get to class before someone else figures out what's going on."
/
"She's swapped your card with a copy."
"What?" Naveen pulls out the fake access card he's taken to carrying with him to examine it but it seems to be a perfect match.
"She called her bosses after the date last night to tell them what a success it was. She said you didn't even notice when she completed the swap."
Naveen rolls his eyes. "I did notice, but when I got back and saw it was still there I thought she must have failed to take it. What else did she say?"
"That it wasn't the right time yet to make an attempt and she'll update them when it is. She wants to reel you in more."
"Just what I needed." Naveen mutters. "I just hope Raj forgives me for what I've had to do when he returns."
"I don't think Raj has any lingering feelings for the woman who betrayed him." Abhimanyu quips. "If we manage to get him home then I don't think he can have any possible complaints with either of us."
It's what Abhimanyu is counting on at least.
"You're right, I'll do what I have to for now even if it does sicken me. Did she mention any names on the call?"
"None unfortunately, we'll just have to hope that she slips up and says something revealing."
They're walking towards the mess and as they turn into the entry hall, Abhimanyu spots Naina waiting near the phones. She gives him a rather desperate look and with a hand on Naveen's arm, Abhimanyu steers his friend quickly past the area so that he can't spot her.
"What's the hurry exactly? Do you a date waiting for you at dinner?" Naveen jokes as Abhimanyu almost drags him along towards the mess.
"If only. Do I need to remind you though that there is someone you should be sitting with at dinner."
Naveen sighs.
/
"I'm here."
On the other end of the line, Raj's voice sounds tired, slightly strained. "I was worried that I wouldn't catch you again."
"Bhaiyya came to speak with me exactly when you called yesterday, luckily Aalekh was there to manage it."
"I'm glad I finally got to speak to him, one day I'll thank him properly for all he's done."
Naina smiles. "I think he likes you already. I got all of the details."
"Is everything going to plan at the moment?"
"It is. I really think that I'll accomplish every goal I had when I joined the academy. I might even become best cadet."
"I'm certain that you will be Naina, I just hope that I'll be there to see it."
"You will be, you..." Naina freezes as she spots Dr Mishra, standing nearby and looking straight at her. There's a calculating look on her face and Naina wracks her brains, thinking of whether she's said anything that could reveal them if overheard. She hasn't, she's sure, she's always so careful. "I've got to go, I'll speak with you soon."
"Stay safe, Naina, and be careful. I love you."
"You too." She hangs up the phone and turns to face Dr Mishra. "Do you usually stop to listen to cadets' phone calls?"
Naina watches as Dr Mishra's expression turns into a mask of concern. "Oh I'm sorry, Naina, did I disturb you? I was waiting because I wanted to speak to you."
"What about?" Naina's arms are crossed agains her body, she breathes in and tells herself to relax, adopting a more neutral stance.
"We didn't get off to the best start, did we Naina? I don't know how it happened but it seems like you didn't like me from the moment we met."
Naina raises her eyebrows. "That's ridiculous, what reason would I have to dislike you when we met? I decided I didn't like you later, after you humiliated everyone in class and then tried to have my friend thrown out."
"Come now, Naina, if you're going to be an army officer then you need to learn the difference between someone's personal and professional decisions. I've only ever done what my duty demanded of me."
"I've always thought that conscience should dictate duty." Naina bites out. "There's always a choice."
For a moment Dr Mishra looks stunned at the level of malice in her tone, and Naina reminds herself that she has to be careful and rein her feelings in.
"Don't worry, Dr Mishra, I am capable of keeping my personal feelings and my duty separate. It doesn't matter whether I like you or not, you're a member of faculty and I will always treat you as one."
"Isn't it possible to start again, Naina?" Dr Mishra continues sweetly, almost hesitantly. "You see..." she pauses, and Naina suddenly sees where this is going. "Your brother and I get on well together and I would hope on that basis that you and I could make an effort with each other too."
"My brother is capable of making his own decisions, I'm not going to stand in his way. He has a good sense of judgement which is why I don't need to worry about him." Naina says with a shrug, she can tell through the sweet smile that Dr Mishra is fuming.
"I'm so relieved to hear that Naina, you see, I really do like him. You know I can understand your need to be defensive, given your history. My offer stands if you ever do wish to speak to me."
"I've got nothing to talk to you about." Naina tries not to clench her jaw, counting backwards from ten.
"I just think it shows an amazing bravery and resilience to have been able to escape from terrorists and then to spend three weeks hiding as they searched for you. How was it possible to do it all alone when you had nothing with you except the clothes on your back?"
"I had myself and I had my courage. That was enough for me to endure. Now, if you'll excuse me Dr Mishra, I'm hungry and dinner will be over soon."
Naina brushes past her, hurrying away. She gets it now. Raj was right, her kidnapping had something to do with the conspiracy against him. Had they planned to force Naveen to get them the triggers by holding her hostage or did they have another aim? One thing is for certain, she will need to be even more careful from now on when it appears the group is not yet done with her.
/
In his room, Abhimanyu starts the recorder as he hears Dr Mishra begin to speak. "No, she won't give me anything easily. Do you still suspect she had someone helping her? You're right, what else could be possible with three of our men dead. I'll find the truth out from her one way or another."
A/N: I'm really sorry about the delay this time, I had a project to submit for work that had a strict deadline and there's been a few other things going on as well (cyclones! Dental work!). I really do appreciate everyone who takes the time to leave a review including the guests who I can't reply to directly – it makes my day to read what you enjoyed about the comments and your thoughts. In times like these that happiness means a lot