Chapter Five
"We should be there in two hours if we don't run into any problems." Captain Rajveer tells them as they walk. "Dr Mishra doesn't know the final drop point, she'll be relying on finding us beforehand to stop us."
"And what happens when we reach there, Sir?" Ali asks, from where he is currently taking his turn to support Naina. "Will there be people waiting for us?"
Raj nods. "It's all been arranged. We'll do the handover and be able to get medical attention for Naina too." He glances back then, and Naina meets his gaze steadily, nodding to show she's fine.
"Sir, why did you bring us on a real mission?" Yudi asks him. "We're only cadets, you could've had trained army officers to assist you."
"Because I trust you, Cadet Yudi." Captain Rajveer answers simply. "There was a spy at the academy, and it's possible that she wasn't the only one. There could be further infiltration in the armed forces. I know in my heart though that the six of you won't let me down. You will defend this country with your full ability."
He stops then, gathering them around so that he can speak softly. "I know that I've placed you all in danger by involving you, but if we can complete this mission successfully then it may well be one of the most important things you can ever do for your country. I would not have asked any cadet to go on this mission that did not have the potential to become a great officer."
Naina watches as Yudi's expression changes, as he seems to realise for the first time just how important it is that he's here now with them rather than on a plane to the US. Naina understands that it had been Captain Rajveer's belief in Yudi that made him the man he become, it's just that it had taken a little longer the last time.
Naina can't help the smile that comes to her face, this time she really will make everything better.
/
Their luck runs out when they're just half an hour's walk from their goal.
Captain Rajveer is the first to notice the pursuers, gesturing to them all to get down the minute he does. They do so, as he counts the attackers below them, growing ever closer.
"We can take them, Sir." Huda whispers. "One each."
Raj shakes his head. "I can't see Dr Mishra among them, there might be others who have circled around. The minute we start shooting, we give away our position."
"Do we have a choice?" Alekh whispers urgently. "They're getting closer, at least this way we can get rid of some of them."
Raj thinks for a moment, torn as to a course of action and then he nods. Gesturing with his fingers, he shows them all who each of their targets should be. "Shoot for the head if you're sure, the chest if you're not."
Naina nods, readying her own rifle. She has to blink past the pain as the wound in her shoulder strains, gritting her teeth, but she won't let them down.
Raj waits until they're all ready, their rifles trained on the targets, and then he gives the signal.
There's no time to hesitate, Naina shoots immediately, hitting her target square in the head. She notices that Pooja has only managed to wound hers in the arm and Naina reloads, finishing him off quickly. Across from her, Raj is doing the same for another attacker that's only injured.
"There's more!" Alekh calls out, and sure enough she spots them running up the slope, low to the ground as if to the avoid the bullets.
Naina wasn't the best cadet pass out for nothing though, she wasn't one of the best Captains of her generation without reason.
They fire again and again, taking their shots and ducking as the enemy take theirs. The firefight only lasts a few minutes but Naina knows it must seem like an age for her friends who have never experienced it before.
Finally there is quiet, and Captain Rajveer pushes himself forward to the edge of their height to look down, counting bodies and searching for Dr Mishra's form among them.
"She's not there," he mutters, "Then where..."
His question is answered as Naina feels herself pulled backwards by a strong arm around her neck, jerking her upwards. She tries her best to struggle, crying out when the hands of her attacker dig into her wound purposefully, the pain enough to make Naina see bright spots before her eyes.
"Naina!" Captain Rajveer cries out in alarm, his gun trained on Dr Mishra immediately, but it's too late, she already has hers to Naina's temple.
"I knew all it would take to get what I wanted was a little distraction." Dr. Mishra laughs. "I grabbed the wrong cadet before, but with your precious protege in danger and already badly injured, I'm sure you can't refuse to hand the triggers over now."
"Put the gun down, Dr Mishra." Raj still hasn't moved, his gun trained on her, his eyes narrowing as he tries to see if he could get a clear shot around Naina. "Do you really think you can evade all of us? There's no backup left for you, you can't get out of this. If you surrender now then we can take you in alive."
Ritu laughs. "And do you think I'd stay that way for long? You can't kill me though can you, after all I'm the only one who can reveal the truth about what happened to your poor dead friend, gallant Captain Naveen Singh Ahluwalia."
"Don't listen to her, Sir!" Naina calls out. "Whatever happens, she can't get the triggers. That's what Naveen Bhaiyya would really want, that the country remains safe and Dr Mishra is punished."
"Shut up, Naina." Dr Mishra bites out. "Are you that desperate to join your brother? Do you really want to die today?"
"I'm ready if I have to." Naina states with utter conviction. "I know what needs to happen." She looks to Alekh then, and hopes he understands. If Rajveer Sir can't do what needs to be done then Alekh will have to.
Naina isn't scared of death, not now after everything that has happened to her. If she dies now then she'll have no regrets, not after having managed to change what she's desperately wished she'd never done.
She meets Rajveer's eyes then and clearly sees his desperation to save her. Perhaps it's not entirely truthful to say that if she dies today it will be with no further regrets.
"This is getting boring, Captain, and your cadet is growing weaker by the moment. What's it going to be?"
But she isn't Cadet Naina Singh Ahluwalia anymore, not really. She's Captain Naina Singh Ahluwalia and she's gotten out of a hundred situations more dangerous than this one.
In a sudden flash of inspiration, Naina slowly and quietly flips open the clip that holds her knife in its sheath.
Any moment now, any moment and she has to be ready.
"I can't let you go, Dr Mishra." Raj tells her, the desperation in his voice clearly apparent, "You know I can't let you go."
"And are you prepared to lose your cadet for that? Do you want to see her die in front of you like her brother did?"
The gun moves slightly away from Naina's head as Dr Mishra gestures, and Naina takes her chance.
Pulling out her knife, in one swift motion she stabs it backwards into the flesh of Dr Mishra's leg. It's enough to make the spy let go of her and Naina tucks herself down, rolling forward as she screams "Now!".
Seeing Dr Mishra raise her gun towards Naina, never one to give up with grace, it is an easy decision for Raj.
Two shots and Dr Misha drops to the ground, her body twitching.
"I really thought you wouldn't..." Is the last thing she says as the life leaves her body.
Naina takes only a moment to assure herself that Dr Mishra really is dead, and loses consciousness.
/
There is chaos for a moment as the cadets panic, each calling out for Naina.
"Quiet!" Raj yells from where he kneels on the ground next to her body, his fingers against her throat to feel a pulse. "Give me some space."
Locating a weak beat, he sighs in relief. From the moment that Dr Mishra had grabbed Naina he had been terrified, knowing that he couldn't give up the triggers but unable to sacrifice the life of the girl he loves in return for them.
Was it really only this morning that he was confessing his truth to her, expecting her to hate him?
"We need to carry her somehow, Sir." Alekh says quietly. "We should try and make a stretcher."
"Of course, a stretcher." Raj struggles to organise his thoughts, to lead them in a time when they desperately need it, but he cannot tear his attention away from the soft beat of her pulse underneath his fingertips. "There will be a blanket in each of your backpacks, we need to find tree branches sturdy and long enough to support her weight, we'll then attach the blanket to make a stretcher. Can you find two branches that can work, Cadet Alekh?"
Alekh nods and a moment later is pulling Ali along with him, into the nearby forest.
"Cadet Pooja, bring the blanket from your pack. We'll need to keep Naina warm for now so that she doesn't go into shock, drape it over her."
He lifts the top half of Naina's body then, draping it across his knees so that she'll be more comfortable. Pooja brings the blanket quickly, draping it over her friend tenderly, tucking the sides in beneath her.
Yudi is already pulling tape out of the bag, intending to use it to strengthen the stretcher once it has been made and Raj nods in approval. "Bring me the first aid kit, Dr Mishra might have opened up Naina's wound again."
It is awkward to check this time with Naina's jacket still on her, but Raj undoes the first few buttons, pulling it away and wincing when he sees the new patch of blood. "Pass me a new pressure bandage!" He tells them and sees Yudi pull it out quickly, handing it to Pooja who runs it over to him. Removing the old bandage, he replaces it with the new one quickly, hoping it can stem her blood loss for long enough for them to make it to the hospital.
"Naina is A+ blood type, who else shares it? I can donate to her but we might need more than one donor if they don't have supplies."
Raj looks up at each of them in turn as they shake their heads, his gaze finally landing on Huda. The cadet hasn't moved since Raj told them to back off and he stares down at Naina now. "I'm AB+, I can't even do that for her."
"Well you can help carry her stretcher, Cadet Huda, and that is something important you can do for her." Raj tells him, relieved when Alekh and Ali arrive back with two branches each in hand. "Here, Pooja, support Naina while I help them make the stretcher."
He doesn't want to let go of her but Raj knows the sooner they're out of there the better, and he's the one with the most experience in this area. He starts the process, giving instructions to the others and relieved when it's clear that Alekh at least knows what he's doing.
"I'm A+, Sir!" Ali calls out and that is another relief. They will make it, she will be fine.
"I'll need to guide us, Huda and Alekh you take first turn carrying the stretcher, when it becomes too heavy then Ali and Yudi will take over."
The stretcher prepared, Raj returns to where Naina lies in Pooja's lap, trying not to jostle her as he lifts her up, transferring her to the material. They tape the spare blanket down over her, both to keep her warm and stop her from falling out.
"We need to go carefully but we need to go as quickly as possible!" Raj tells them, "Every minute counts now, so let's go!"
Torches out now that they have no reason to fear detection, they head forward into the dark. Raj doesn't know why she jumped in front of him that morning but he will save her.
He has to.