CHAPTER 7

THE FIRST THEORY CLASS

"Dismissed", Karan said. He sighed, rubbing his forehead in an attempt to reduce the headache.

"Sir ji, jawaab naa aata hogo, samajh aato hai hume", Sanju said and he opened his eyes. "Par yeh jhingoor? Kisi ki hasi naa ruk rahi, kisi ki baatein nahi. Koi apne atrangi khayaalon mein khoya hua hogo, aur koi idhar udhar cheezen dekhno mein. Aisa banege commandos?"

The two boys sighed. It was their first day of theory classes. While these classes would be split between all the six trainers, Karan wanted the first day of classes to be taken by him, Faizi and Sanju. Only one subject-strategy- to assess what level they were on. He reached one conclusion.

They were awful.

Even Faizi had lost his temper on several cadets when he was teaching and that was saying something. If he wasn't so annoyed, he would pity the cadets who were in his and Sanju's class.

"Pata nahi kahan phas gaye hain", Karan muttered. "Batra Sir ki izzat dao par naa lagi hoti toh..."

Faizi glanced at his watch. "Khaane ka time ho gaya hai. Hume toh bahut bhook lagi hai."

"Kuchh toh achha mile", Karan muttered. "Chal."

---x---x---x---x---x---x---x---x---

"Agli class se pehla kitna time hai?" Karan muttered, burying his face in his bed. He was exhausted. He had slept late last night, reading the mission file- Mission Mustang for anything that indicated a spy, woke up at 4:45 for morning drills, conducted the physical drills and then spent an hour teaching a set of idiots, and then listened to the report-cum-rant of the other two about the level of their classes. And the day was still not over. There was still one class each left. Teach idiots and then hear the report and then read the files and then, repeat the next day. He buried his face deeper into the pillow.

"Aadha ghanta hai", Faizi said, sighing. "So jao, Karan. Hum utha denge."

"Please", he muttered, relaxing slightly. His phone rang and he groaned. "Abhi hi bajna tha ise bhi." He reached for it, turning the screen to him. Colonel Batra. He sat up. "Jai Hind, Sir."

"Shergill, tumhaari classes khatam ho gayi?"

"Ek bachi hai, Sir. Half an hour mein start hogi."

"1700 hours par I want you and Faizi in my cabin."

He glanced at the clock. 1532 hours. Right after the class. "Yes sir."

"See you then."

"Jai Hind, Sir." He brought the phone down, falling back on the bed. He turned his head slightly towards Faizi, sighing. "Batra Sir ne bulaaya hai. 1700 hours par meeting hai."

Faizi heaved a sigh. "Kaam kam hai jo yeh meetings par meetings karte rehte hain. Jab bhi andar jaate hain, kaam zyaada hi hokar bahar aata hai. Kam toh kabhi nahi hota. Tumhe kuchh mila Mission Mustang ki file mein?"

"Ghanta", he said. "Waste tha."

"Coffee peeni hai?"

He shook his head. "Ab toh wo bhi asar nahi karti, yaar. Farak hi nahi pata chalta."

"Toh tum roz kyun peete ho?"

"Taste achha lagta hai mujhe." He shrugged. He closed his eyes. "Ab sone de mujhe. Class ke time se pehle uthaa dena." The glare of the lights dimmed behind his closed eyelids and he relaxed slightly, easily falling into sleep.

"Karan." A hand shook him awake. He opened his eyes, glancing around. He sighed when his gaze stopped at Faizi. "Time hone waala hai. 1553 hours ho gaye."

He heaved a sigh, sitting up. "Aisa lag raha hai 2 minute pehle soya tha." He rubbed his eyes.

A knock on the door made the boys glance up. Sanju. She walked in, sighing and sitting down on a chair. "Sab nihaayti khaali hogo upar waalo maale mein", she complained. "Humaari toh ek ghante mein hi tai tai phish ho gayo. Ek aur ghanta kaise jhelenge?"

"Itne galat jawaab kaise ho sakte hain ek hi cheez ke?" Faizi asked in exasperation, shaking his head.

"Aur pata nahi gambhir hokar padhai karne mein ka dikkat hogo? Nahi aato, toh kam se kam sunne toh lein dhang se."

The three sighed in exhaustion. "Chalo", Karan said. "Yeh kaam bhi khatam karte hain."

Karan stared at the seven cadets sitting there- Subgroup Foxtrot- eyes flicking over them. Seeing the first three subgroups, he had given up every flicker of hope for them to even sit still in the class.

"Har mission ek jung hota hai", he started. "Aur jung dimaag se jeeti jaati hai. Aap duniya ke best fighter ho sakte hain, duniya mein sabse zyaada fit ho sakte hain, duniya mein sabse achhe shooter ho sakte hain, par agar sahi jagah dimaag nahi laga paaye, toh sab waste." He crossed his arms, leaning against the table. "Physical training ke alaawa, aapki theory classes lagengi. In classes mein aapko strategy se lekar codes decode karne tak sab sikhaaya jaayega. Aapko military history, geography and map reading, communication skills, critical thinking, technical skills bhi sikhaaya jaayega. Har teen mahine mein exams honge. Jo fail ho gaya, wo out. Any questions?"

"No, sir", they echoed.

"Aaj first day hai, cheezen simple rakhte hain", he said. "Kya koi mujhe yeh bata sakta hai ki strategy aur tactics mein kya difference hota hai? Jinka haath tight hai English mein, strategy matlab ranneeti aur tactics matlab yukti. What is the difference?"

He turned around, picking up a chalk and writing in capital letters-'STRATEGY VS TACTICS'.

"Sab se pehle mujhe yeh batao", Karan said when no one said anything."Kis kis ko lagta hai ki strategy aur tactics mein koi farak nahi?" Two cadets raised their hands, and he glanced them over- Bala and Suman ji, if he remembered correctly. "So, baaki ko lagta hai there's a difference?"

"Yes sir", they said.

He pointed to a girl. The hashtag one. "Chitra, right?" He asked.

"Yes sir", she said happily.

"Kya difference hai?" Her smile slid off and she glanced around. Karan raised his eyebrows expectantly. "Kuchh toh socha hoga isliye haan bola hoga?"

"Yeh socha ki aapne puchha hai toh #difference toh hoga hi", she said.

Karan heaved a sigh. 'Karan, tu yeh mission duty ke liye kar raha hai. Apna best dena hai. In namoonon ko kuchh toh banana hai. Patience. Naye hain.'

He took a deep breath. "There is a difference", he said. "Yeh main bata raha hoon. Ab aap apne inn dimaagon ka upyog kijiye aur sochiye ki kya difference ho sakta hai."

Siddharth raised his hand and he nodded. "I am sorry", he said. "But what's upy... whatever you said."

"Upyog karna", he repeated, rolling his eyes. "Matlab use karna."

"Sir, hum try karein?" Prem ji asked.

"Bolne se pehle, haath upar", Karan warned. He nodded. "Boliye."

"Jaise humaare TV serial, Maa ke Poot, mein deshpremi ne-"

"Point par aaiye", he snapped. His gaze fell on Monami, who was scribbling something diligently on her notebook. His eyebrows furrowed slightly. She didn't seem to be bored or disinterested, instead looking more focused than the rest combined. He moved between the tables, pretending he was strolling idly as Prem ji spoke. He barely registered it, understanding enough that what he was saying wasn't even close to what he wanted to hear.

He glanced at Monami's notebook. A rough diagram was drawn, wavy lines which represented a river. A boat was made on the river along with what looked like a bridge. In neat handwriting, three phrases were written. 'Strategy: cross the river.' 'Tactic 1: Use a boat. Tactic 2: Use a bridge.' 'Tactics are steps or ways to execute a strategy.'

He moved past her, holding a hand up. "Prem ji, not the answer. Not even close."

Another hand raised, and he glanced at Koel, nodding to her, as he paced. "Bolo, Koel."

"Strategy matlab a bigger picture. Tactics thode chote scale par hote hain", she answered.

He frowned, tilting his head. "Not exactly. But... elaborate. An example?" She paused, and he waited, looking at her. "No?" She shook her head, and he nodded. "Koi aur try karega?" He glanced at Monami, who glanced up before capping her pen. She leaned back in her chair but didn't raise her hand.

A hand raised, and he nodded to Siddharth. "Main business se relate karke bata sakta hoon?"

"Cadet Siddharth Ganju, mujhe difference chahiye. Phir aap business se relate karein ya phir apne ghar se, doesn't matter."

"I am just making a guess. So, tactics would be how you execute something", he said. "And strategy would be the goal you're trying to achieve."

He tilted his head, contemplating his words. "Can you give an example?"

"Jaise... I want to be successful and my strategy would be making a lot of money and my tactics would be waking up early or jo bhi bolte hain about all this."

He frowned, moving around the room. "Siddharth, statement mein tum zyaada galat nahi ho, par tumne jo example diya tumne us mein strategy aur goal ko confuse kara. Tum successful banna chahte ho. Goal. Tum paise kamaane chahte ho. That's also the goal. That's not a strategy. And as for jaldi uthna and all these things, they're not tactics. They're... efficiency factors. Samajh aa rahi hai?"

"Sir", he said, nodding.

Another hand raised and he nodded to Bala. "Sir ji, aapne kaha effi...kuchh aisa sa. Matlab?"

"Efficiency factors, Bala. Ab soch, tujhe khaana naa mile, sone ko naa mile, drill mein sitti bitti gul hogi, na, teri? Dhang se bhaag paayega? Dhang se drill kar paayega? Nahi, na? Jo cheezen aapke kaam karne ke dhang ko behtar ya kharaab kar de, unhe efficiency factors kehte hain. Efficiency matlab aap kitna achhe se kaam kar sakte ho."

"Strategy aur goal mein kya farak hoga?" He asked, glancing around.

Koel's hand raised and he nodded. He paused next to Monami, peeking in her notebook again. She had made two columns under the drawing she had made, one titled Strategy and one titled Tactics. Monami glanced up at him, and he turned the notebook to be able to read properly.

'Strategy:

Number 1: Intent. What needs to be done and why.

Number 2: Big scale usually; difficult to change but still possible;

Number 3: Broad perspective

Number 4: Example: Strategy includes attacking the head of a terrorist group to destroy them.

Tactics:

Number 1: Putting Intent to Action. How it needs to be done and when.

Number 2: Easy to change; small scale usually.

Number 3: Narrow perspective

Number 4: Example: Tactics include attacking the HQ, so the head can be eliminated or forced out.'

He moved past Monami, realizing Koel had just stopped speaking. He paused, replaying what she had said in his mind. "Correct. Good job." He moved to the front, leaning against the table and crossing his arms. "Strategy versus Tactics", he repeated. "Koi aur try karega?" He looked at Monami. Their eyes met. She turned her head immediately, dropping it and fidgeting with her pen. "Monami."

She looked up, biting her lip. "S-Sir?"

"Difference?"

"S-Strategy m-m-matlab..." She glanced at Siddharth and he followed her gaze, finding the other male gesturing for her to take a deep breath. She took a deep breath, looking up at him again. "E-Example de s-sakti hoon?"

"Go ahead", he said.

"H-Humaara g-goal hai ki P-Point A se P-Point B j-jaana hai", she said. "Aur P-Point B jaane ke ch-chaar raaste hain. Hum k-kis r-raaste ko ch-choose karte hain, wo s-strategy hoti hai. H-Hum k-kaise j-jaate hain uss r-raaste se, t-that is, by c-car, w-walking, b-bus, etc., wo t-tactics hote hain. B-Basically, a-apna goal a-achieve k-karne ke liye, jo p-plan b-banaate hain, use s-strategy kehte hain, aur jo uss s-strategy ko e-execute k-karne ke l-liye, o-operations p-perform karte h-hain, unhe t-tactics kehte hain."

Karan nodded. "Good job, Cadet Monami Mahajan. Correct."

She smiled slightly, her head dropping. Karan tilted his head slightly. Was it just him or did she not seem to like the attention?

"Cadets, take notes. Strategy versus tactics ka difference aur yeh difference kyun zaroori hai. Likhiye."

---x---x---x---x---x---x---x---

Sanju's steps faltered, hands pausing from where they were slipping the boxing gloves on. She wasn't alone in the training room.

Siddharth.

He had his own boxing gloves on, slowly swinging his fists. She tilted her head, inspecting his form.

"Galat kar raho hai tu", she said.

His head snapped up in surprise. He sighed, pausing. "I know, ma'am." He gestured to the punching bag. "Help kar sakte ho please?"

She slid her own gloves on, walking closer. "Aise toh baaki sab batero jaldi kar leto hai. Is mein ke hogo?"

"Baaki sab toh aata tha, na, thoda bahut. Mujhe aur Monu ko hamesha se army mein interest tha. Toh hum log camps wagera attend karte the aur khud ko fit rakhte the. Monu toh military ke baare mein books bhi padhti thi." He grinned. "Wo boring, padhaku types hai, na. Par boxing, shooting, yeh sab nahi seekha kabhi. So, I am blank."

She held up her hands, dropping into a stance. "Idhar aa jaa. Yahan se dekh. Behtar dikhego." He hopped to stand by her side, inspecting her form. He watched carefully as she swung her fist. "Samajh aayo?"

He nodded slowly. "Maybe."

"Aa jaa", she said, stepping away. He took her place, holding his fists up. "Ruk." He looked at her quizzically. She dropped into the stance next to him. He inspected her before making adjustments to his own stance. He looked up for approval and she nodded. "Chal."

He slammed his fist into the punching bag. Sanju clicked her tongue.

"Aise naa", she said. She slowly swung her fist. "Stance theek naa rakhego, toh khud ko zyaada nuksaan karega, aur dushman ko kam. Aaram se kar. Koi jaldi naa hai. Pehle stance theek kar."

He slowly swung his fist, not actually hitting the bag. "Ab theek hai?"

She nodded. He swung it again, slower but the bag moved more. "Pehle se behtar tha. Chal. Dobara kar."

An hour later, the two finally took the boxing gloves off. Sid smiled at her. "Thank you. Main toh yahin atka rehta." She smiled slightly, nodding. "Waise... aap kaafi achhi boxing karti hain. Maine suna hai, aap ko bahut saare types ke martial arts aate hain. Is that true?"

"Bilkul sach hogo. Hume, na, bachpan se logon ko peetne mein batero mazaa aato tha. Humaare gaon mein jab koi bhi ladka kisi bhi ladki ko tang karto tha, wo sab humaare paas aato thi, aur hum achhe se unki chutney bana deto the."

He laughed. "Zyaada surprising nahi hai. Aapne uss idiot guy ko bhi kitna awesome slap maara tha. I am not much for violence, to be honest."

"Galat jagah naa aa gayo hai tu phir? Yahan maar dhaadh hi honi hai."

He shrugged. "Maybe. Par main apni country ko defend karna chahta tha. I want to serve my country. Har cheez pasand par thodi naa hogi." He pointed to the mess. "Fruits? Mujhe bahut bhook lagi hai. Aa jaao."

She smiled, slowly walking after him as he quickly bounced ahead into the mess.

'I want to serve my country. Har cheez pasand par thodi naa hogi.'

'Bura toh katayi naa hai. Desh ki suraksha ke laane aise logon ki hi toh zaroorat hogo. Jo apni pasand aur naapasand ko bhool kar, sirf desh ki suraksha ke laane apna sab kuchh lagane ke laane taiyaar hogo.'

"Ma'am", Siddharth called and she looked up. "Come, naa."

She sat down across him and he slid the plate to the middle, handing her a fork. She accepted it, popping a piece of apple in her mouth and chewing slowly. Her eyes traced him over as he ate happily, his entire concentration on the fruits as he ate them.

'Yeh mission itna bhi bura naa hogo.'

---x---x---x---x---x---x---x---x---

"Trainers", Karan's voice barked, making everyone in the mess jump. "Meeting at 2030 hours in debrief. Koi ek second bhi late nahi chahiye."

"Yes, sir", the trainers said.

Koel stared at Karan and Faizi wide eyed, still reeling a little from the sudden arrival and shout.

"Arey, Karan puttar, Faizi puttar, khaana toh khaa lo", Dilbagh ji said when they both turned around, walking out of the mess.

"Baad mein, Dilbagh ji", Faizi's voice called out.

"Ustaad ji", Karan said, walking briskly to the debrief. "Abhi 2014 hours hue hain. Maine Sanket ko sabhi subgroups ke naye schedules mail kare hain. Sabhi cadets ke naye schedules print karke unhe de dijiye. Aur trainers ke schedules mujhe de dijiye 2030 hours waali meeting se pehle."

"Ji, Sir ji", he said, turning around the corner.

Karan opened the door. Faizi locked it behind himself, rolling the board out. The two stared at the map.

'Shergill, Faizi, I want both of you to make sure ki academy mein kahin bhi jagah security leaks nahi hain. Agar nahi hain, toh hum yeh spy waali theory ko discard kar denge aur assume karenge ki anjaane mein information leak ho gayi aur inn special agents ko koi idea nahi hai until we find more evidence.'

"Tune check kari thi, na, security?" Karan asked.

Faizi hummed. "Kari toh thi. Aur kuchh kami toh nahi lag rahi."

"Personally kari thi?"

"Nahi. Head of Security ko bola tha. Report padhi thi."

Karan nodded. "Ek kaam karte hain-"

A knock on the door made the two look up. Faizi quickly rolled the map up, keeping it back in the locker. Karan threw the door open. Ustaad ji held out the papers.

"Thank you, Ustaad ji", he said, taking them. He glanced at the clock. 2028 hours. "Aaiye. Meeting ka time hone waala hai."

Karan inspected the sheets, making sure the schedules were right, keeping them down when all the trainers piled in.

"Trainers, humaare paas 3 saal hain, in cadets ko trained commandos banaane ke liye. Bahut mehnat lagegi, and I want each one of you to give your very best", he said. He passed down the papers. "Yeh aapke schedules hain. Ab sab trainers dhyaan se suniye, hum logon ko..."

---x---x---x---x---x---x---x---x---x---

"Faizi, iss time par mess band hoga", Karan said, sighing.

"Par hume bahut bhook lagi hai. Kuchh toh hoga", Faizi replied. "Ek toh pata nahi tum insaan ho ya alien ki bhook nahi lagti tumhe."

Karan sighed. "Mujhe bhi lagi hai bhook." He tilted his head. "Ek kaam karte hain. Waapas room mein chalte hain aur so jaate hain."

Faizi facepalmed. "Koi better idea nahi hai tumhaare paas?"

"Abhi Dilbagh ji se khaana maanga toh sirf gaaliyan milengi khaane ke liye. Aur main itna bhi bhooka nahi hoon ki tere aur mere haath ka khaana khaoon. Toh, koi aur idea hai toh bata. Warna chal, khaana nahi, toh sona toh naseeb ho."

A throat cleared behind them, and the men turned around.

Koel.

"Hi", she said. She smiled awkwardly. "Sorry. Wo... maine aap dono ki baatein sun li." Karan raised an eyebrow. "Aap chaahon toh main... aapke liye kuchh banaa sakti hoon."

Faizi grinned. "Aapke haath ka khaana toh hum kabhi bhi khaa lein." Karan rolled his eyes, walking after the two into the mess. At least, he'll get food. He'll take their flirting.

Karan leaned his head back on the wall. While he had been barred from the kitchen on the insistence of Koel, Faizi, of course, was allowed in. He was grateful. He didn't have to listen to their flirting. His phone chimed and he pulled it out. He sighed, seeing a message of his informer.

Sahab, khabar mili hai. Milkar bataate hain. Kab milne ka?

His fingers flew over the keypad. Kal subah. 11 baje?

Ho, Sahab. Apun intezaar karega.

He clicked the phone shut. He heaved a sigh, leaning his head back on the wall.

"Karan", a voice called, and he opened his eyes. Did he fall asleep? He looked at Koel and Faizi and then down at the table, seeing the plate.

"Sorry", he murmured groggily, straightening up.

"Ek chhuti le lo, Karan", Faizi said. "Tum itne thak gaye ho ki baithe baithe so rahe ho."

Karan shook his head, sighing. He took a bite of the parantha, pausing in surprise. "Wow", he said. He looked at Koel. "Bahut achha hai. Thank you." Her jaw dropped open slightly. His eyebrows furrowed, and he glanced at Faizi. "Kya hua? Kuchh galat keh diya kya?"

"Nahi. Nahi, bilkul nahi", Koel assured. "Wo... kuchh nahi. Thank you. Aap... aap khaaiye."

He eyed her, before shrugging and nodding. His phone vibrated in his pocket, and he pulled it out. He frowned a little. Faizi's message? He glanced at the agent, before opening it.

Jao, na, please? Hume thoda time inn mahutarma ke saath de do. Akele. Kyun kabab mein haddi ban rahe ho?

His eyes snapped up to him. Faizi tilted his head slightly, nodding to the door. Karan shook his head slightly. "Koel", he said. "Mujhe kaam hai. I need to rush. Thanks for this." He rolled up the parantha, moving out of the mess.

He paused outside the door, peeking in. He shook his head, seeing the two talk.

"Faizi kabhi nahi sudhar sakta."

---x---x---x---x---x---x---x---x---x---

Monami stared at the photo.

'Monami, rani wo hoti hain jo apne desh ke liye jeeti ho aur desh ke liye hi mar jaati ho, jo apna har hukum apne desh ke baare mein sochkar deti ho.' Her lips touched her forehead.

"I know aap mujhe taunt karte hain Rani Sahiba bulaakar", she whispered. "Par aapko koi idea nahi hai ki mere liye yeh kitna badha compliment hai."

She smiled slightly, closing her eyes as the cool breeze blew. It made her open hair fly gently. Her smile widened. It was a nice feeling; freeing. She was free. She leaned her head back on the wall, her fingers gently caressing the frame, slowly lulled to a sleep.

'Nahi! Door raho mujhse!'

'Please. Chodh do mujhe!'

'Hi there, baby doll. Kaisi ho? Zyaada miss toh nahi kara tumne mujhe?'

'Tumhe kaise jaane doon, baby doll? Tum mujhse door bhaag kar kahin nahi jaa paogi. You'll never be free.'

'Bye, bye, baby doll. Phir milenge.'

Her eyes snapped open. Her vision blurred and she stared at her trembling hands.

She wasn't free.

She would never be free.