The Acquaintance Read online

  Nargis smiled, “Do you really think I would come here without any back-up.”

  “What back-up, you have no one at the CTU, you’re all alone, just like you were after your wedding day.”

  “I didn’t say anything about the CTU

  “We framed Jogi, so that our investment in another e-commerce site would net us a tidy profit. It was a simple sabotage, but what we did after that was the true kicker, we turned him against an entirely new enemy. We turned him against you. We told him that you needed his services and that’s why you sabotaged him, and he was so blinded and wounded by rage that he believed us without question. John asked you to recruit him at my behest. And when you came ailing, his suspicions were justified. And just like that I had my mole inside CTU.

  Rizwan was a prized asset until you came along. You distracted him from his purpose, but after you got married on a whim, I feared that Rizwan had been compromised, that’s why we pulled him back. See you had always been a thorn in my side, unknowingly perhaps but still a thorn. And I have always been adept at turning obstacles into assets. And that’s what I did with you. When I recruited you, I knew you were exceptional, but I was wrong. It was a rare misfire for me, but I was determined to rectify it by any means necessary. I must admit, it wounded my pride more than it broke my heart when you left.”

  “You were a lunatic who wanted to commit an ethnic cleansing of Hindu pandits”, said Nargis. He was on her in a flash, his fingers clenching her jaw in a vice. “You are so remissive. I have nothing against Hindu pandits, they were a means to an end. Why won’t you understand, Peace is a business that requires a lot of sacrifice. It takes a strength of character you cannot comprehend and perhaps never will, god knows I tried to teach you.” He let go of her, Nargis had been shocked by his move, she had frozen in place, she rubbed her jaw and fingered her Beretta. If he touched her again, she would drop him. It wasn’t a wise move, he was a very powerful man, consequences of killing him would be dire to say the least. She didn’t want to think about that. “Oh, my”, he said looking alarmed and ashamed at the same time. He pulled out a handkerchief and handed it to her. He gestured towards her nose. She was bleeding again. Dammit. “My apologies, I didn’t mean to lose my temper.”

  And we persuaded him enough that when we returned him to the country, he stayed as far away from you as possible.

  A tall elegant man in a neatly trimmed goatee walked in. He was dressed impeccably in a black suit and rocked a vintage Patek Philippe on his wrist. He had all the trimmings of coming from a world of luxury, but the shoulder holster and the ankle holster that probably hid his service weapons gave him away. He was a bodyguard, a well paid bodyguard, but a bodyguard nonetheless. And Nargis knew exactly who he was. The men stared at each other without saying a word. A full minute passed in silence before Nargis spoke up. “What is going on?”

  “Mr. Amir is Sheikh Yusuf’s Chief of Security. He is here to escort Ms. Amina and her mother Ms. Azhar back to Oman. All the adventures in the past few days have exhausted them. A little R and R with family is exactly what the doctor ordered”, said the acquaintance smugly. “Ms. Azhar is in custody for an attempted bombing, she isn’t going anywhere”, said Nargis defiantly. “Ah, but that was just a misunderstanding. Nothing I couldn’t handle and besides we couldn’t break up a family. Ms. Azhar and Ms. Amina are a package deal, it was a sign of good faith and a gesture of good will. She will be waiting for you at the Chhatrapati Shivaji airport. My apologies, I couldn’t do more. Your flight has been cleared. No one will stop it.” John turned to Nargis in triumph. Nargis looked at him in alarm, he had bypassed her order. He was clearing their way for a clean getaway. The mercenaries would leave too. Amir nodded in appreciation. She looked at Amir. He was ignoring her. He had no idea who she was, or maybe he did and just didn’t care. This was all going exactly as the acquaintance had planned it.

  It didn’t matter, she had done her part, things were in motion. The principal entered the office again with Amina in tow, she looked scared and confused. She clung to the Principal like a life vest. All these strange men were unnerving her. When she saw Nargis, she gave her a tiny smile. “I hope that this gesture of goodwill will be taken into consideration by the Sheikh when he considers our deal”, said the acquaintance. The gesture was so self-serving that the Sheikh would never suspect anything. They were not asking for a promise from the Sheikh, merely a favourable response. A few barrels of crude oil to fund HOMA operations for the foreseeable future. A mere drop in the bucket. He would have no idea of the sheer ambition of the acquaintance’s plan. If Nargis hadn’t told him. Three, two, one. The door to the office burst open as a troop of police officers walked in led by commissioner Ram Khanna. The principal screamed and Amina started crying. Amir held the girl but she was struggling against him, she was scared out of her mind. Ram approached her, she stopped struggling in an instant.

  “The girl was not kidnapped, her mother recanted. She was clearly a disturbed individual commissioner”, said John. Ram stepped forward, “I’m not here for the girl Mr. Abraham. I’m here for you.” Ram pulled out a piece of paper and handed it to John. “This is a warrant for you to arrest Mr. Abraham.” John laughed. “This is ridiculous, on what charges? Do you have any idea who I am?”

  “You are John Abraham, director of Military Intelligence and you are charged with espionage against domestic targets, conspiracy against the nation and treason.”

  “This is preposterous. I have done no such thing.”

  “Actually you have John”, said Nargis. “All your correspondence with the acquaintance has been recovered.” John looked at her in disbelief, “There is no way you could have known about the meetings and the correspondence.”

  “I had you under surveillance John, in fact just be sure, I had me under surveillance too. You see the mercenaries that attacked the dead drop worked for me. That’s how I knew that kit was Jogi who had given them access to the dead drop. All your brush passes were intercepted with the envelopes filled with incriminating evidence about the kickbacks you received over the years from HOMA and the enormous windfall you are about to receive if this pipeline deal were to be destroyed. Now that kickback will be going to Ranveer and Alex’s retirement fund. I needed to know who the mole was in my team, hence the double kidnapping.

  And also because without knowing what Amina had been injected with, it would be nearly impossible to isolate what she had which was a waste of precious time, so I had the mercenaries drop her here and since you so eloquently told me what you injected the girl with and its incubation period, I think the doctors will have an easier job of treating her.

  The acquaintance asks her, why the double kidnapping? Why the redundant kidnapping? Nargis explains that she needed to know who the mole was and when she realised it was Jogi and that he was spying on her, she needed Amina removed from his purview so that she could convince the Sheikh to let her quarantine and cure Amina before he left the country and also that the barrels of crude would be sent to CTU upkeep. Cancer treatment is expensive. I’m impressed, says the acquaintance. And once I realised it was Jogi, I needed Amina away from his purview to be able to negotiate a side-deal.

  Ram comes over and arrests John, the acquaintance escapes. Amir co-operates with Nargis in diagnosing and quarantining Amina. The deal with Azhar is reneged because the sheikh doesn’t like her and doesn’t want anything to do with her.

  But he merely shrugged. Nargis wouldn’t have traded anything in the world to be here to watch the acquaintance’s smile slide off his face in disappointment. “He’s not coming John”, said Nargis, in spite of the situation she was in, she was grinning from ear to ear. God this was so satisfying. “What are you talking about?”, spat John. “I’m assuming you’re waiting for Sheikh

  “I don’t understand, I thought we had an agreement.” John looked at the acquaintance who merely shrugged. “You bastard”, screamed John as he was led away in handcuffs by the police.

  EPILOGUE
/>   Nargis lay on her chair, feeling nauseous and exhausted, but also rejuvenated. She had finally gone back to her chemotherapy sessions. The room was bathed in honey-coloured light that made her feel like she was in a holistic spa. Incense burned in a jade holder intricately carved to look like a watering brook. She was a long way from the sea, but she could have sworn she smelled the tangy richness of the salty air. She longed to be at the beach, away from all of the madness of her everyday life. Away from traitorous colleagues and ticking time bombs, away from judgmental stares and hollow pats on the back. She needed a vacation. But duty always called, especially as Interim Director of DIA and CTU, she had her work cut out for her. In light of the recent scandal involving corruption in Indian Intelligence, a very bright spotlight would be pointed at her interim reign in the big chair at the CTU. Nargis knew that this interim chief job was merely a placeholder. They wanted to save face so they named a woman as interim director. But if she played her cards right, she could turn this interim job into a permanent one.

  She had finally gotten around to adopting a hijab as part of her outfit and she had to admit, it was quite a comforting bit of clothing. It hid her bare scalp and also gave her an aura of mystique which she quite enjoyed.

  And right on cue, her monitor started beeping. She sighed in exasperation. If she lived long enough that is. Doctor Varma walked in with her lab results, the way her brow was furrowed and told Nargis all she needed to know. It wasn’t good news. Well interim chief would be literal after all. “So, what’s the news doctor, how am I looking?”

  Doctor Varma looked at her, “I’m not going to sugarcoat it Ms. Hussein, your cancer has metastasised. It is affecting your brain now. The mastectomy is useless now. We won’t be doing it.”

  “Well at least I get to keep these beauties”, she said looking at her breasts. “What do we do now”, she added with a wry smile. “We have to get aggressive with the chemo and put you on dialysis. Ms. Hussein…..”, she paused and took Nargis’ hand in hers. The stern and snappy, curt and confident Doctor Varma was gone. Before her stood a woman bent by years of death and loss. Her eyes had softened. She looked far too kind for Nargis’ liking. This version of Doctor Varma scared her. “Nargis, the road ahead will be extremely painful and difficult, but we’ll get through it. We will beat this together, you and me, do you understand?”, her grip on Nargis’ arm wavered for a moment before it gripped her tight with reassurance. Nargis nodded. “In the meantime, it’s always good to have family and friends around, a good support system works wonders. Do you have anyone that fits this description?” The doctor knew Nargis was married to her work, so the question sounded like a double edged sword, if you don’t have friends, get some to help you through this. Or if you don’t have anyone special in your life, now is the time to get one before it is too late.

  Ram was the first person that came to mind. But their relationship, if she could call it that was still tenuous to say the least. He was still pissed at her that she hadn’t confided in him about her true intentions with Amina and the whole host of lies she had told him over the course of Easter weekend. The thought made her sad. She imagined what it would be like if Ram was by her side. She stared at the doctor wistfully. The doctor seemed to understand. “There are a bunch of support groups I can recommend. Truly great people. They will help you get through this and if they don’t, you always have me”, she said with a smile and a final squeeze of Nargis’ hand. “And that’s all I need”, said Nargis. “Get some rest now. I’ll come by later to check on you.” Nargis nodded and lay back on her chair, the exhaustion of the past month and the weight of the radiation lulling her into a deep sleep where she dreamt of a simpler life with Ram laughing by her side and not scowling at her like he always did.

  Doctor Varma made her way to her office. She pulled open the door and entered the luxurious space that had become her home for the last five years. She had sacrificed everything to become the best oncologist in the country, quite possibly the world and now thanks to a stupid youthful mistake, she had lost it all. She dropped the test results on the couch. “So how is she?”, said the woman sitting on the couch. She was a majestic figure. Clad in red. “She is in remission”, said the doctor. “I have done what you asked.”

  “This stops now.”

  The woman stood up, “This stops when Nargis Hussein is begging me for mercy. When she is begging me for her life and not a moment before.”