"I spy you!" - 23

“Your mission is simple. Try to put some sense into him. If he is turning hostile, just come back. No compulsion to continue” Padmanabha had told her while she went to say bye to him.

The plane journey was uneventful. She took a neat nap during the flight. But the mind was seriously contemplating what to do when she meets him.

What’s his name? She thought. His name was Gupta. She did not get his first name. Not that it mattered.

She had collected enough details of his family who were in the Nation’s capital.

She landed into a very hot evening. Must be 50 deg C she thought. She hailed a cab and checked into the hotel where Gupta is supposed to have checked in.

While entering her details in the form given by the hotel, she casually asked the receptionist “I am here to meet Mr. Gupta. Is he in this hotel?” and gave him a dazzling smile.

The receptionist was happy to tell. “Yes madam, actually he is in the room now” he said.

She got the number of his room and proceeded to her room. She was not sure whether to meet with him in his room or at the restaurant.

Finally she decided to see whether she could actually get him in the restaurant. If not, then there is no choice but to meet with him in his room. Is it safe? She wondered for a moment.

But she had no luck to meet with him in the evening at the restaurant. He was there but with two people talking in serious tones. Vasupradha was keen to know whether exchange of some document happens. Nothing of that sort happened. After dinner the other two left and Gupta left for his room.

She followed him and joined him in the lift. Encouraged by her friendly smile, he asked whether she can join him in his room. “Eager to have company of a fellow country person, just for talk” He told.

She went into his room. It was a replica of her room. She chose to sit in the chair opposite the bed. He sat on the edge of the bed facing her.

She thought she will have the bold approach as her strategy.

She started talking about his life. His eyes lighted up when he spoke about his family.

“I would do anything to make my family happy. I want to give them the best things in the world” he said with stars in his eyes.

This guy is a misunderstood person. I have to be careful in my approach she thought.

When he asked about her, she was cool saying she is an orphan without anyone to say hello at home when she returned in the evening after she finishes her work.

She told she is a teacher in so and so school. He was flabbergasted. “Oh my God! You are in the same school where my kids are studying. How come I have never seen you?” he said looking at her admiringly.

"I spy you!" - 22

It was the first time she was out of country. She had to get a passport and a visa for her travel.

She was given a new name Muktaa.

“What do you say if they ask you what’s your second name?” asked Durjaya.

“Who are they?” asked Vasupradha... no, Mukta.

She wanted to get used to the new name given under the new identity. She made Durjaya call her Vasupradha many a times and did not turn. She made him call her Mukta and she immediately responded.

After the exercise went on for an hour, Durjaya said, “Oh, Mukta, you are not a very familiar figure in our office itself, then how do you think someone will recognize you outside the country? That too in a Middle East country?”

She thought for a moment and accepted that he is right.

Her boss Bhanu had summoned her. When she went to meet with her, Padmanabha was also there.

“Young lady! Let me tell you straight. This is not a usual mission. The person who was to go is still in the previous mission. I chose you because you have been highly recommended by him” Bhanu nodded her head towards Padmanabha.

“He says that you have spark in your eyes and innocence on your face that no one will ever suspect you as a spy” she said as if she was reciting a poem from a primary school book. Vasupradha was wondering what Bhanu would think about her. Bhanu replied her unasked question saying, “I agree with him to a maximum extent” and smiled.

Maximum extent? Does that mean there is still some doubt?

She was still thinking how to go about it when she was being dropped to the airport by Durjaya.

“Miss chatterbox, where is your tongue? Did the cat take it?” Durjaya teased by moving his left hand in front of her face.

“Hello, please keep both the hands on the steering. I want to go in one piece to Middle East.  I may not come back in one piece while coming though!”

“Hey, please don’t talk like that. I know I only told you that this is a dangerous mission and matter of life and death. That doesn’t give you the right to talk like as if it. I want my elder sister back. Ok?” Durjaya said seriously and parked the car in front of the Airport.

She got down and went to the boarding pass queue.

She found that her plane was on time and left after saying bye to Durjaya.

She could feel that Durjaya was not at all happy that she has been chosen to go to the Middle East to stop a deserter who could be turning a traitor.

"I spy you!" - 21

He showed the whole demonstration. Vasupradha was keenly observing how the small microchip was inserted inside the skin of the person just near the arm pit on the torso.

Vasupradha was amazed to see how good he was in showing the demo. Once the demo was over, there was a coffee break. She went to the instructor who was sitting alone and sipping his tea.

“Sir, I am Vasupradha. Can I sit here?” She asked him. He was of about 30 years. Tall, lean with a moustache and a French beard. The spectacles gave a very high intellectual look for him.

“Sure Miss. My name is Swayambhu. You may call me by my name. I feel old if someone calls me Sir. Especially young girls like you!” his smile was infectious and she had to smile.

They developed a rapport. She learnt a lot of secret tricks from him. He was amazed by her speed of learning and her questions were out of the world.

He said so when they were alone in the coffee shop after the last day of the training.

“You are amazing. You showed super skills of learning. You know what?” he asked sipping his tea. Vasupradha who was more a coffee lover asked what.

“When you ask more questions, you get more answers and thus more knowledge. You are a genius” he praised unabashedly. She did not blush. She just smiled and acknowledged his observation.

She met Bhanu. She was very happy to see her progress.

“Wow, you are a fast learner young woman! You go places” she said in a matter of fact tone. She looked at Vasupradha and smiled. “I can read the question. I am fully trained. Now what? Is your question. Right?”

Vasupradha could just nod. “Just wait!” said Bhanu mysteriously.

Vasupradha did not have to wait for long. Durjaya came running to her and said, “You are having a real test. You are going to be in a dangerous mission. Take care of your life! Good luck!!”  He said solemnly.

Vasupradha felt a chill run up her spine. 

"I spy you!" - 20

The instructor who was quite an old person said smilingly, “Young lady, this dot and dash language is very useful during distress. When you are in trouble or you find someone in trouble, even with torchlight you may send signal. If you are lucky enough to find someone who could read the Morse code you have a chance of getting rescued”

Vasupradha became very attentive to learn all the letters in dot and dash language.

“Read the book on Noor, a British trained Spy in Germany occupied France, a signal operator’s story of courage” said the instructor.

Vasupradha read the book and was thrilled and also felt sad. She imagined herself in the character’s place.

She was taught the hardware parts of the computer. At the end of the session, she came to know how to dismantle a PC and a laptop. How to copy files, how to retrieve the lost files, how to delete incriminating data etc.

She was also shown how to transfer files to a PDA (Personal Digital Assistant), how to put a tracker in a mobile.

“Today your training is at the medical center” Durjaya said.

He had told her that the 5 persons who were apprehended belonged to a neighboring country and they were on the verge of making a bomb as they could not carry a bomb across the border. They were rounded and taken into custody.

“Their leader escaped. The net is getting tightened to capture him” informed Durjaya.

She felt very disappointed. In the movies everyone is apprehended. Even if they escape, it is only a matter of time before they are captured.

‘I do hope I shall be instrumental in catching him’ she thought.

May be someone was saying ‘Tathaastu’ from somewhere.

The medical training was interesting. They taught her how to give an injection to a person to make him/her survive and how and where to give an injection to make someone numb for a few hours and how to kill a person (may be an attacker or a terrorist) using an injection.

Vasupradha wondered whether she would be able to master all these things. But as she was a person to catch everything fast, she did pick up all the tricks of the spy trade.

The other interesting thing she learnt was the transmitter being injected to a person. How to escape the checking from the tracking device. She asked many questions.

One of her questions was appreciated very much. She had asked, “Here you injected a transmitter which helps in tracking the person who is being sent as a spy to the opposition. But is there a chance of hiding a device bigger that the size of the transmitter? How do they do it?”

The instructor clapped his hands. “A very good question! Suppose the secret of the country is to be taken to the enemy country. The equipment if bigger than the width of a grown man’s thumb, could be inserted inside the body of a person by a small surgery”

"I spy you!" -19

She could not open her mouth to scream since his hand was on her mouth. She struggled a little and bit his hand as much as she could. The man removed his hand for a moment. She said, “Hey, leave me! Why are you holding me?”

The man gave a gasp and said, “Oh God, Older sister! Why did you not tell me it was you?”

Vasupradha recognized the voice and said, “Durjaya! It’s you! How could I tell you that it was me when you had shut my mouth?” she struck a pose putting her left hand on her left side of the hip and showing the right hand thumb finger up.

“Wow, what a pose! If some producer makes a movie on a lady spy, you are the right choice!” he mocked.

“Let us come to the work part please, if you have finished your bantering” she said in a serious tone.

He said in an equally serious tone, “The next door activities have not started. I am waiting. Since you have come let us wait together”

Both of them settled near the window in the dark.

Vasupradha suddenly remembered and asked, “When will be I going to check about the fake ID woman’s son’s kidnapper? What will happen to the woman with the fake ID?” 

“Oh, the woman would be undergoing some enquiries. As far as the kidnapper’s case, one of our colleagues who is on the field would go” he said.

“Who?” she asked as if she knew everyone. It was just an idle curiosity.

“The best man in the business. Pushpahaasa” said Durjaya.

That was the first time she came across the name of Pushpahaasa!

The name sounded interesting she thought and opened her mouth to ask some more questions, when Durjaya said, “Sh!”

Vasupradha saw a few shadows almost floating into the next house. She felt goose bumps on her arms. It was just like in the movies except for the background music!

“Where is your gun?” asked Vasupradha.

“Hey, wait for a moment! What do you think? Some James Bond movie? My job is to report what is happening after checking for about 2 days. The field team along with the local police would take the necessary action to apprehend them”

“Oh” she said, trifle disappointed.

The next day she did not come to this house. She was asked to learn the Morse code.

“Why should we learn this? What is the advantage?” she asked.

"I spy you! - 18

After dark, 4 to 5 people were seen stealthily going inside the house. The windows will be totally closed even at this height of summer. Not even a small ray of light comes out of the house. Someone had seen just one evening a glimpse of the people going into the house.

So, he had taken the next house for rent. The owner, the old man, wanted to give the house to a married man only. Hence Durjaya had produced Vasupradha as his fiancée.

“So, what do you do next?” asked Vasupradha.

He got up and walked to a side window and beckoned to Vasupradha. The window was open. Vasupradha walked to the window.

“Don’t look very keenly. They may get suspicious. The house may have some people inside” he whispered in her ears.

He then had a doubt whether someone from inside the house is watching them.

But Vasupradha squealed as if it was her natural reaction.  “Look at that dear! Drum sticks tree! I shall make drumsticks sambhar one day and feed you” He smiled at her and closed the window.

They went off. He dropped her near the Intelligence office and left from there. She had casually asked him what time is he planning to come back and stay.

“I will come here by 8 pm” he had said.

Vasupradha had her dinner and collected some food in a carrier. She wore black slacks and a black cotton shirt, pulled all  her hair to a bun and took an auto to the house taken up by Durjaya.

It was beyond 8.30 pm when she reached the building which she and Durjaya visited in the morning.

The lights were off because there was no power. She slowly started going towards the main door of the house. She was about to knock the door when someone grabbed her suddenly, clamped a hand on her mouth and whispered fiercely, “Who are you and what are you doing here? If you don’t reply me properly, your dead body will fall here in the next 30 seconds. Now, I shall count 30” he said and started counting. Though not scared fully, Vasupradha started wondering what to do to escape from this man’s clutches! 

"I spy you!" - 17

Vasupradha collected the phone from the Facilities department and called him. He asked her to meet with him, so she returned to the laboratory to meet Durjaya.

He was leaving for somewhere.

He said enthusiastically, “Come, I am to meet a person regarding his problem. You can join me. Junior Boss, I mean Padmanabha wants you to be introduced to our field operations”

She was thinking, this is better and better. I would know so many things!

She sat behind him on the bike when they came out of the building.

The bike zoomed past many buildings in the Nation’s capital and finally stopped near an old house. It was small group of houses inside a big compound.

He asked her to go with him. Just before knocking the door of a house, he hissed in her ears, “Just nod to whatever I say. Don’t have any surprised look on your face!”

She hardly had time to digest what he said when an old man opened the door.

“Namaste Sahib! I am back” he said smilingly and continued talking to the person after casually putting his right hand on Vasupradha’s shoulder. She cringed inwardly but put on a smiling face on the exterior, “And this is my fiancée”

The old man smiled from ear to ear. “Now, I have no problem to give the house for rent. When is the wedding beti?” he asked Vasupradha.

Vasupradha had understood the situation very fast. Durjaya wants a house in that compound desperately. So he had invented a lie that he is her fiancé. She did some quick thinking and said with a smile, “It is 2 months from now uncle!”

“Uncle!” he repeated and said, “Nice pair you make! God bless you”. He then handed over a set of keys to Durjaya.

Once they were inside the house, Durjaya locked the door from inside and said, “Thank you older sister! You are good in the job. You are very fast!” he admired her.

Vasupradha did not feel bloated with this praise. Her idea was to learn new things.

She said so to Durjaya.

He looked at his watch and sat down on the sofa there.

“All right. I will tell you. In fact, I shall tell you the whole background. Then you will understand my today’s action”

Durjaya could tell a story nicely.

Some six months ago a man of about 30 came from nowhere and started living in an independent house next to the compound of this house. A whistleblower came to know about a suspicious activity being carried out in that house and informed the Intelligence Office. A whistleblower is a person who tells the public or someone in authority about alleged dishonest or illegal activities occurring in a government department or private company or organization.