RIP Read online

  Moving sedately the Chevvy joined the traffic a few cars ahead of him.

  *

  Krishna’s phone, which had also gotten disconnected in the elevator, vibrated to life. Assuming it was Karan or Kulwant confirming they had gotten clear of the target area, he answered the call.

  The unknown voice caught him by surprise. ‘May I speak to Colonel Athawale please?’

  ‘Yes, this is he.’

  ‘I am Sunita, calling from the MI (Medical Inspection) Room of Army Public School, Dhaula Kuan. Could you please come to the school immediately?’ Though phrased like a question, it was more of a firm request.

  ‘What happened, Sunita?’ Krishna felt a pang of alarm; a call from the school MI room couldn’t be anything but bad news.

  ‘There’s been a little accident during the football match your son was playing. He and another boy have . . .’

  ‘What?’ His alarm skyrocketed. ‘Is Sachin hurt? How badly?’

  ‘Please don’t worry, sir, its not serious at all. These two boys ran into each other and hurt their heads. We’ve already had the X-rays done and they both seem fine, but the doctor thought it is best they go home and rest today.’

  ‘Are you sure it’s not serious?’

  ‘Positive, sir. Please don’t worry.’

  ‘I see.’ Krishna thought it over fast. He really needed to get back to Kulwant’s house for the team de-briefing. And to figure out who this mystery sniper was. But, there was no way he could . . . Damn! Worry for Sachin overrode everything for the moment. ‘I will be there as soon as I can.’

  ‘What happened?’ Kashif asked, taking note of his concern.

  ‘Sachin got hurt in a football game. They want me to pick him up.’

  ‘Then why don’t you go ahead, sir? I will get Karan to pick me up.’

  ‘No. I cannot leave you like this.’ Krishna was firm. ‘We need to get that wound of yours treated.’

  ‘It’s a scratch, boss.’ Kashif blew him off gamely and reaching for his mobile got Karan on the line, telling him to pick him up en route.

  Guilty at leaving Kashif like this, yet relieved that he could go to Sachin, Krishna pulled over a few minutes later and waited for Karan to catch up with them. ‘We re-group at Kulwant’s house. I will be there as soon as I can,’ he called out as he drove away.

  Several Police Control Room vehicles crossed him, heading in the opposite direction, sirens wailing.

  Then an ambulance swept by, its siren struggling to cleave out a path on the crowded road. It reminded Krishna of Sachin in the school MI Room. His anxiety spiralled.

  Muddled with conflicting thoughts, Krishna floored the accelerator. Luckily the traffic was flowing smoothly, but Krishna knew the Army Public School at Dhaula Kuan was a fair distance across town. Despite the nurse’s assurances, his anxiety escalated with every passing mile.

  *

  ‘We got one of them, sir.’ Vinod could not keep the triumph out of his voice.

  And he had every reason to feel satisfied. Despite the huge number of possible targets, spread out all over the country and the insanely short notice at which they had hit the mattresses, they had gotten lucky and his boys had been able to pull it off.

  ‘The sniper who killed the judge.’ Vinod referred to the report in front of him. ‘He’s an ex-NSG man called Mahinder Singh Mann. Now it is only a matter of time before we identify his collaborators and wrap up the RIP. Everyone known to him will be put under scrutiny. Everyone suitable, that is. We had already established that the RIP is a group of highly trained people and this Mann character fits the profile. So that’s what we will be focusing on. I am deploying several teams for this.’

  ‘I see.’ Karunakaran sounded distracted and disinterested.

  Strange! Thought Vinod. I’d have expected him to be jumping for joy. Unaware that Raghav had already informed the home minister about the death of one of his men, Vinod was puzzled at his boss’ lacklustre response. Is it because we did not manage to save the judge?

  Giving up trying to second-guess the erratic minister Vinod went back to work. He now had a solid lead in his hand. He was hopeful it would enable him to wrap up RIP real soon.

  *

  ‘Damn!’ Raghav pounded the dining table around which his men were sitting. ‘The cops are going to take Mahinder’s life apart.’ He wagged a compelling finger at his men; they all looked distinctly uneasy. ‘Make sure all you buggers stay away from common friends . . . and get your cover stories in place. Sooner or later the cops will be knocking on your doors, asking questions.’

  This latest complication upset Raghav more than the loss of Mahinder’s life.

  ‘Shouldn’t we be doing something for his wife?’ Partha screwed up his courage and asked. Partha was one of the bolder ones. He had also served with Mahinder in the NSG and been pretty thick with him. Watching Mahinder die had left him in a belligerent mood.

  ‘Of course we will.’ Raghav immediately noticed the others watching him. He knew he could not let the wrong message go out. They were guns for hire, but if they began to feel he considered them expendable, they would dump him, faster than rats jumping a sinking ship. ‘We must never forget that Mahinder took one for the team.’ To show respect for the dead man, Raghav pulled a grave expression on his face. ‘We will take care of his widow. But later. Once this shit is over and the cops have cooled off.’

  Somewhat mollified, Partha nodded. The others followed suit. But Raghav knew his command was troubled. To divert their attention he began to discuss the possibilities ahead. There were still two more targets in the RIP gun sights.

  SIX

  ‘COME ON DUDE, I told you to break a leg, not your head.’ Krishna patted Sachin’s shoulder gently, as he tossed his schoolbag into the car and held the door for him.

  ‘Come on dad,’ Sachin protested. ‘You should have seen what happened. I was trying to save a goal and my friend Azaan, who is the other team’s striker, was trying to get past me when we collided and . . .’

  ‘I know, I know, son.’ Krishna gave him another fond smile as he engaged gears and began to reverse out of the parking lot. ‘Mathur sir, the sports teacher told me the whole story. He said you played a fantastic game today.’ Krishna tried to cheer him up.

  Bang!

  They both jolted forward as their car collided to a stop. Jumping out Krishna saw he had banged into the rear of another car that had also been reversing out of the school parking lot. He saw a woman jump out from the other car. She seemed strangely familiar. Right now she was looking positively harried.

  Contrite that he had not been paying attention while reversing Krishna went forward.

  ‘I am so sorry, my son had gotten hurt and I was not paying attention . . .’ both started to say at the same time.

  Both broke off midway. Realized what had happened. Tentative, sheepish smiles.

  ‘Oh well, not much damage done luckily.’ Krishna shrugged surveying the cars. Both had a dent on the fender. Some damage to the paintwork. Nothing major.

  The woman took a look too. ‘I guess we can live with that.’ She smiled.

  That’s when Krishna realized why she looked so familiar. She’s really much prettier than she looks on TV. ‘Aren’t you that news anchor? Reena . . . um . . .’ Realizing he had forgotten her full name he reddened.

  ‘That’s right. I’m Reena Bhagat.’ They shook hands. A polite handshake. ‘I’d better get going. My son met with an accident during football. I need to get him home.’

  ‘Mine too.’ Krishna gestured towards Sachin peeping out of the car; he was waving at the boy in the other car, who now came out and stood beside his mother. ‘I think it must have been the same accident. Your son’s name is Azaan?’

  ‘Yes, it is.’ She replied as Sachin also joined them. Both boys gave each other a high-five.

  ‘Well, I am glad we met, though I wish it had not been like this.’ He waved sheepishly at the car fenders. ‘My son speaks about Azaan all the time.’
<
br />   ‘Yes, it seems to be the day for accidents.’ Then. ‘You’re Sachin’s father?’

  ‘Guilty.’ Krishna smiled.

  ‘Well, Azaan also goes on about him.’

  ‘I hope he is better now.’

  Reena could not help noticing his warm smile. She could sense it was not just a polite enquiry, but he was genuinely concerned. ‘Yes he is, thank you.’

  Then they ran out of words. Seized by a sudden, compelling urge, Krishna was trying hard to think of something to keep the conversation going. There was something about her that . . . before he could think of anything to say, Reena did.

  ‘Well I’d better get going. Have to get back to work. Sorry again.’ Waving she returned to her car.

  Krishna watched her reverse and drive away.

  ‘Are you going to keep standing there, dad?’ Lost in thought he started when Sachin tugged at his arm.

  ‘No.’ Krishna was surprised at the impression Reena had made on him. ‘Of course not. Let’s go, champ.’

  The dashboard clock tugged him back to reality.

  Damn! He was really late. The others must be waiting for him. There was a lot to be done before they left for Lucknow. Slipping on his Bluetooth headset Krishna speed-dialled a number.

  ‘Payal. Hi. Me,’ he said when his sister answered. He had already made arrangements for Sachin to stay with her while he was away at Lucknow, but she was supposed to pick him up later that evening. ‘There’s been a slight change of plans.’ Krishna explained to her what had happened. ‘Is it okay if I drop Sachin off at your place now? I don’t feel like leaving him with Rohini right now.’

  ‘Sure you can.’ Payal never said no to him for anything. Not since they had been kids. Though just two years older than him she had always mothered him. ‘Just bring him to my office. We have a very nice staff rest room here. I will be able to keep an eye on him.’

  ‘That’s great. Right now I’d rather he was with you. Not that there’s anything to worry about, but just in case.’

  ‘I am waiting.’

  Krishna accelerated, heading towards the Doordarshan studio when he remembered that Payal had switched jobs and was now with NDTV.

  Isn’t that where that lady, Reena Bhagat, also works? Yes. That’s right.

  Marvelling at the coincidence Krishna changed direction and headed for the NDTV office at Greater Kailash. Still not sure why, but he was now quite eager to reach there.

  It’s only because it’s much closer to Kulwant’s house in Soami Nagar, he told himself. Though not quite believing it. That’s where K-Team would be waiting. Of course, that’s it. What else could it be?

  Sachin had told him more than once that Azaan lived alone with his mother. That he had never even seen Azaan’s father.

  Wonder why? Where is her husband?

  Then a fire tender rushed past. Its loudly clanging bell reminded Krishna that the team would be waiting. Calling Karan to let him know he was on the way, Krishna concentrated on the traffic. For the moment Reena was swept out of his mind. Almost.

  *

  ‘Are you sure?’ Vinod asked Nandakumar.

  ‘No doubt about it, sir. The shot that killed the judge was not fired from the rifle found with the dead sniper. The fatal shot was a 7.62 x 54 mm round, which most probably came from a Russian SVD (Snayperskaya Vintovka Dragunova) sniper rifle. I have told forensics to double-check.’

  Nandakumar put down some papers in front of Vinod; the forensics report.

  ‘But the weapon found with Mahinder, the dead sniper, was an American-manufactured Barrett Model 98 Bravo, a bolt-action weapon chambered in .338 Lapua Magnum. Very different.’ He went through his notes and added. ‘Also, we must note that the SVD rifle is a favourite with the Indian Army and far more easily available in this part of the world. Whereas the American Barrett is a pretty recent design. It hasn’t been on sale too long and should be pretty hard to come by . . . certainly in this part of the world . . . and would cost helluva lot too.’

  ‘So whoever they are, this lot has plenty of money at their disposal and access to a smart weapons supplier,’ Vinod summarized.

  ‘That’s what it looks like, sir.’

  ‘Hmm.’ Vinod mulled that. ‘I wonder . . . what are we missing here?’

  ‘There was a second shooter obviously. No other possible explanation. Maybe the guy who got away.’

  ‘Yes, there was obviously a second shooter, but two snipers on the same roof? Doesn’t sound very logical or professional.’ Vinod knew something was not right, but was unable to put a finger on it. ‘And whoever or whatever these guys are, they’re certainly professional. Even if they’d deployed two shooters, they would have been on different rooftops.’

  ‘That’s true. These guys are definitely pros,’ Nandakumar concurred. ‘The poison they used for the first three murders and that shot, which took out the judge today . . . it was fired from one hell of a range . . . almost seven or eight hundred metres . . . give or take a bit.’ That’s how far Raghav’s sniper had been. ‘Not many people can drop a target at that range.’

  ‘True. That’s why I’m pretty sure they’re rogue Special Forces guys, or intelligence types . . . or perhaps very well-trained mercenaries.’ He paused and thought over that last part again. ‘But why would anyone hire mercenaries for this kind of thing?’ Vinod realized they were not going anywhere with this conversation. ‘Anyway, instead of trying to second-guess anything, let’s focus on the investigation. I want you to take this dead guy . . . this Mahinder’s life apart. Go back right till the time he was in the NSG. Put together a list of everyone he was ever close to. Especially those from his unit who left service at around the same time as him. Let us work on them and see where that takes us.’

  They worked out some more details before Nandakumar left.

  Vinod then briefed the CBI director—following protocol as he had made up his mind to do—and then got on to doing what the home minister had told him to do, briefing him. Had he known that Nandakumar had already done so, Vinod would have saved his breath.

  Once again, Karunakaran’s lack of enthusiasm surprised him.

  ‘This is just not done, Bedi.’ Karunakaran sounded seriously peeved. ‘We have people dying like flies and we’re unable to do anything about it.’

  ‘We will, sir.’ Vinod did not feel as confident as he tried to sound. ‘Now that we have a solid lead, it’s just a matter of time before we wrap up the sniper’s associates.’

  ‘But that is just what we don’t have, Bedi. Time.’ Karunakaran reminded him ominously. ‘Within the next twenty-four hours another man will die.’

  Man? Woman was also possible. Vinod wanted to remind him. There were more than enough corrupt ones around, especially in politics. Running through the list of politicians and arms dealers on his list of protectees Vinod went back to working the wires.

  Arsehole though the minister was, Vinod knew he had gotten this one right. Time was running out. For someone on his list.

  Or is the next one going to be a surprise? Someone we haven’t thought of at all.

  Vinod sat down and began to think about what he would have done . . . if I were the RIP.

  *

  Reena saw Krishna and Sachin standing with Payal when she walked into the NDTV office with Azaan in tow. She had been headed home to drop off Azaan, but he had made a big fuss about being left alone so she had brought him here instead.

  ‘Hi.’ Krishna could not help grinning when she walked up to them. ‘We meet again.’

  Once again she could not help noticing how warm his smile was. ‘Well, seeing that I’m the one who works here I should be saying that.’ Reena returned his smile.

  ‘You two know each other?’ Payal looked puzzled. She had no idea that Reena knew her brother.

  Reena, unaware of his relationship with Payal, was equally perplexed.

  ‘We ran into each other just a while ago,’ Krishna replied.

  ‘Literally.’ Reena explained what had h
appened at school.

  ‘That’s wonderful.’ Payal laughed. ‘It doesn’t matter how you met, at least now my brother and my best friend know each other.’

  ‘I’m Krishna.’ He held out his hand. They shook hands for the second time that day.

  Just then Azaan pulled Reena away to the coke vending machine in the far corner of the lobby. Sachin followed suit when Azaan waved out to him.

  ‘You’ve known each other for long?’ Krishna tried to keep the question casual. He did not do a very good job of it, since Payal noticed his interest immediately.

  ‘Reena is the one who pulled me into NDTV. Earlier, we were together at Doordarshan for a couple of years. That’s the time . . . you know . . . when . . .’ she broke away, unwilling even now to talk about her husband’s death in that horrific air crash when a poor quality spare part supplied by an arms contractor malfunctioned causing his fighter-interceptor to spiral out of control. Knowing how hard it was for Payal, Krishna reached out and gave her a warm hug. She blinked back the tears that were threatening to break free. ‘Back then she had really supported me and helped me out a lot.’ Payal looked wistful. ‘I don’t know how I would have managed if it hadn’t been for her. And that is why I’m glad I can be there for Reena now.’

  ‘Why? What’s happened to . . .’

  Anticipating the question Payal interrupted, ‘She is going through a terrible divorce. A couple of years ago she walked out on her marriage when she caught that horrid husband of hers in bed with another woman. And now the rascal is contesting Azaan’s custody. That monster!’ An angry scowl darkened her face. ‘First inflicting all that pain on her and now trying to take away Azaan.’

  She looked ferociously angry. Krishna could sense from Payal’s expression that she was very fond of Reena. And that the two women resonated well.

  ‘Reena is going through a helluva lot. Azaan means the world to her.’

  They both fell silent as they saw Reena returning towards them.

  ‘Do either of them look as though they were in sick bay just a little while ago?’ Reena nodded towards the boys. Both were happily guzzling coke and chips.