Two days earlier at DJ's home:

DJ sat next to Loki and Zoya at the dining table as Suman served them all the special dishes she made to celebrate his homecoming.

"Aunty, please!! No more. If I eat so much, I wont fit into any of my clothes after a week." Zoya protested as Suman tried to serve her seconds.

"But these are just snacks, you still have to eat Biryani and..."

"Maa, Zoya is not used to eating big serves, like we do, and she is very conscious of her figure."Loki mocked.

"Shut the fuck up Loki!" Zoya hissed at him and DJ chuckled, enjoying their colourful banter but Suman looked sharply at Zoya.

Suraj Chacha and Tanvir who were sitting opposite to DJ, were shocked to hear a girl use such language and Loki whistled slowly.

Zoya sensed her slip up by the changed mood around the table. "I am sorry Aunty, I wont use such words around here, but please understand that it is just the way we speak back home, its not meant to be rude or anything, just casual... you know." Zoya tried her best to explain.

Suraj Chacha was quick to intervene.

"Of course we understand, we see too many American movies that we know how common it is. But, yeah, try not to do it in front of Suman Bhabhi, okay?"

Zoya nodded her head vigorously as she saw Suman go back to kitchen to bring desserts.

"Beti, is your father still working for that law firm, I forgot the name... or is he practising on his own now?"

"Oh.... Chacha you know everything about us. I get it, you are the guy who keeps an eye on us back in Jersey...." Zoya stopped as he saw the warning look on Loki and then continued in a small tone, "Yes Paps, I mean... my father practices on his own now. He gets very interesting cases but some clients are pure nuts!" She chuckled.

"Nuts?" Tanvir asked in confusion.

"She means that the client was a crazy guy!"Loki explained and realization dawned on Tanvir's face.

"Yeah, one such crazy guy came to Paps and claimed he knew a FBI mole but that guy double crossed him and so on... as if!!" Zoya rolled her eyes.

"Arre why not? We have our men in police who are loyal to DJ bhai more than their department. And I am sure it is the same with CBI or Intelligence bureau whatever it is called, is it not Bhai?" Tanvir asked.

But before DJ could reply, Zoya began to laugh aloud and only stopped when she saw Suman return with Desserts.

"Tanvir, it is not easy to have moles in FBI in US or IB in India here, like the way we can with local police, by compelling them with bribes or threats. Those guys go through so much vetting and clearance process before they become agents and remember this, they are intelligent and highly skilled agents, and are constantly monitored too." Loki explained and Zoya added, "Correct, and when it comes to foreign intelligence agents and spies, US CIA agents constantly spy on Indian RAW agents and I am sure RAW agents here spy on other country agents, and so on. It's a deep web."

"You too seem to be quite experts in this topic." Suman said as she passed on bowls filled with Gulab Jamuns to Zoya and Loki. Zoya ate just one and passed on the leftover gulab jamun to Loki who swallowed it whole in a second.

Watching him enjoy his food like that made Suman smile.

"No, not experts Maa, what we said is common knowledge. Isn't it Bhai" Loki looked to DJ for support.

DJ sighed deeply and stretched his large frame in the chair.

"Yes Loki. How I wish I had a mole in Intelligence Bureau or RAW! Most of our work would be so much easier then. Now a days I hardly deal with local police, they are already in my pocket anyway. But getting hold of an agent, that's a tough job!Most of my business nowadays is with high end suppliers and partners and they are too high up to be afraid of local police. But IB and RAW, they are different league altogether !"

Suman looked in exasperation at everyone.

"DJ is this what you meant when you said you will not discuss business when Loki is at home?"

And that shut everyone up on that topic, and they began to talk about making a trip to Agra and show Zoya Taj Mahal first.

Suraj's phone began to ring and he excused himself to take the call. As he finished the call, his face had become grim. But the moment he saw DJ approach him, he made sure he looked calm.

"Any news on our New Jersey guy?" DJ asked straight away as if he suspected where the call was from.

"The call was from them but there is no confirmed news yet. Just give me few more days time DJ, and I will give you all the information." Suraj assured DJ as the latter gave him a piercing gaze.

"Hmm... okay. One more thing. Tomorrow or day after, go and speak to Sharath personally, but in a public place. Make sure you go there with few of our men. And give this photo to him." DJ took out an envelope and began to explain to Suraj Chacha.

****

Loki took Zoya to Agra next day in a SUV and Zoya was ecstatic with joy as she watched the magnificent monument. And just like every tourist, she too realized how any photograph that she had ever seen of Taj Mahal couldn't do justice to the real thing. It was an experience she had to have. She hugged Loki tightly as they sat glued to each other and watched the beautiful structure in awe, for a long time. And while they were there, it started raining and it was another rare sight to behold, as Taj shined like a pearl against the darkened and thundering clouds.

As they drove back to Delhi, Zoya kept kissing and hugging Loki sideways so many times that he had trouble concentrating on the drive. This was the first time they had been alone in almost 48 hours and for a couple who were so into each other all the time back in Jersey, it felt blissful. Loki insisted that he doesn't need body guards to go to Agra and went alone with Zoya, but he was sure that DJ would have sent some cronies in a separate van behind them. But he didn't care. They had the whole day to themselves, and Zoya was smiling freely for the first time since they landed in Delhi, and for Loki, that was enough. 

It was quite late in the night by the time they returned home and went straight to bed, after assuring DJ and Suman that they had dinner on the way. Zoya hated the fact that they have been allocated separate rooms but knew that this was to be expected as per norms in India.

But that night she couldn't contain herself and called Loki as soon as she showered.
"Baby, I know what you are thinking and trust me, I want to jump into your room right now and devour you. But, take some rest tonight. We travelled a lot and you must be tired. I have got a master plan in place that we can use every night. Trust me." Loki assured her.

"What master plan?" Zoya whispered excitedly.

"I will get an inflatable dummy tomorrow, I know just the place which sells such things. And you can tuck it in your bed, lock the door and visit me. People will get suspicious if I am not in the room but no one will disturb you in your room, understand?"

"Muaaah. Did I say I love you Loki?" Zoya pouted.
"Not since this evening baby when you were kissing me in the car..." Loki drawled.

"I love you.... Muaah!" Zoya kissed her phone loudly and Loki chuckled softly, "Good night sexy! One more day, can't wait!" He stretched out on his bed in his room, but his mind and body were clearly with his minx in the other bedroom.

***

Ashwin was on a high!! He felt proud of himself, for the first time in many months. This was his first success and of course his team's, after months of meticulous surveillance, research as they worked closely with different national and local agencies.

Around 9 PM, on the Mumbai Goa highway, they have caught few trucks owned by Joseph, one of the partners of Sharath Nair, who runs the Arms and  Drug Cartel in Mumbai. The trucks were loaded with a large stash of Heroin and Semi Automatic Rifles inside cement bags and the market value of just the drugs was estimated to be nearly two hundred crore Indian rupees. It was a joint operation of Anti terrorism Squad, Mumbai Police, Narcotics Control Bureau and his team, where they provided all the intelligence gathered.

His team has traced an illegal guns shipment on a small vessel off the west coast of Gujarat, in India's west, but then lost it again due to mishandling of the coastal guard. But later they picked up the trace again after it landed in a remote village off Maharashtra coast, few hundred kilometres from Mumbai and realized that it had illegal drugs too. But by the time local police reached there, the shipment disappeared and the vessel had sailed off. Ashwin knew that what they caught on these trucks tonight was only a portion of the entire shipment that had landed, as most of such illegal shipment is released slowly, in small amounts into the market. The rest of the shipment was lying somewhere safe but they will find out where it is too, once they start interrogating Joseph.

Ashwin was keen to get involved in this mission and became quite close to the NCB zonal officer for Mumbai and learnt for the first time who Sharath Nair was, his discreet and ruthless methods of running his Drugs and Arms Cartel, and how NCB had been itching to find a direct link between him and the smaller operators. In his enthusiasm to see his effort turn fruitful, he even went along with NCB team which raided Joseph's Den as they caught him and  his men, much against IB protocol, where agents were always told to remain behind the scenes. Some of Joseph's gang men escaped, but Ashwin was sure the that the Mumbai police will be able to catch them soon.

And he was glad that Victor didn't join him and his team in this new operation as JP Nanda wished. Victor would have taken the glory on this case too, just like he did in the IS operation sting.

He had another tip from his team about similar stash near the border of Indian states of Gujarat Maharashtra too, and things couldn't have been better in his career or personal life right now. He shook hands with NCB Zonal officer and made his way back to the agency car, where the driver was ready to drive him back to the hotel. But he was first eager to catch up with his wife who was all alone back in Delhi. And saw ten missed calls from Victor on his phone!!

Why the hell is Victor trying to call him? Was it because of the Drug and Arms Heist? Impossible! Nobody knew about this except a select few in IB and his team.

Should he call him back? Ashwin certainly wasn't in the mood. Especially to talk an egomaniac like Victor, who he was sure, would burst the happy bubble he was in right now. He checked the watch and realized the time. He didn't want to call and disturb his wife either who might be sleeping at that late hour.

But he was curious...  Ten calls at regular intervals for almost half an hour. What made the ever mighty Victor to call him?

****

Around the same time, Victor was scanning every person he could, around Sharath Nair's house. Some huge upset has happened which rattled everyone because half the gang was missing and the rest were talking in hushed tones and watching everyone entering and leaving the house with double the usual scrutiny.

He was almost tempted to plant the recording microchip again near someone and listen but knew it was too risky.

As he was debating what to do, his phone buzzed.
Victor's brow cleared the moment he saw that it was from Ashwin. He started his bike as he answered the call via blue tooth and parked it in a corner where there were street vendors selling snacks and tea.

"Hello Victor! What is the matter? Why did you call me so many times? Changed your mind about working on my operation team, have you? Sorry to break this to you, but we are doing absolutely fine and don't need geniuses like you." Ashwin's words made Victor's bad mood worse.

"Keep dreaming Ashwin, and hope that they come true in your old age, if you survive till then." Victor snarled back.

"What the... Why did I even bother calling you in the first place! Good bye" Ashwin was about to hang up when he heard the strangest words ever to come from Victor's mouth. "Sorry Ashwin, please... listen."

"I had no intention to get into any argument with you today but you started off with your rubbish as usual... Okay okay, I will come straight to the point. And listen to me carefully because I am not going to repeat this. Your life might be in danger, there are some guys who are after you. So, please take my advice and seek protection from Nanda Sir. These guys are highly dangerous. And I came to know about this few hours ago, and I have been trying to call you since then. That's all."

Ashwin felt very uneasy. It was unusual for Victor to caution anyone like this but why is he sounding so vague and cryptic?

Ashwin cleared his throat and asked,"What do you mean, who is after me?"

Victor hesitated for a moment whether or not to reveal the whole thing. He knew that Ashwin wont be happy with his answers, and would want to know more and more about his role in this. But there was no way he would tell him about that.

"DJ and his gang. I saw his men showing your photograph to Sharath Nair and asking him to talk to you or get you, something like that."

What was Victor talking about? No one gives Sharath Nair the Don of Mumbai, instructions. And that too to catch a small agent like him. There's something more to this and Victor as usual was avoiding to tell him the truth. The panic and anger was unmistakable in Ashwin's voice now.

"Who is DJ and what has he got to do with Sharath Nair, the don of Mumbai? And why would they want to catch me in the first place? And Sharath wouldn't even know me because of what happened today. That was all in the background. Victor, are you hiding something from me? Tell me the truth first. What is this about?"

"I told you everything I know. And what happened today? Why would Sharath Nair know about you? What did you do? The way this Sharath Nair guy went to Afghanistan to find out about Sadiq, I thought this was about..." Victor paused trying to process his thoughts and continued.

"But how strange! It was just about you then. Anyway, it doesn't matter. Please take care of yourself and talk to Nanda Sir about it. Whatever it is, hide yourself because I am not coming to save your neck this time." Victor sounded more nonchalant than he intended.

Just the mention of Sadiq and Afghanistan made Ashwin shudder and to hear Victor's snide remarks about his rescue made it even worse..

"This is all very funny to you is it, Victor? Even in this grave situation all you and your stupid ego can think of is, why isn't it about me?"

Victor cursed himself inwardly. This conversation was going exactly the opposite way he meant it should. But how can you explain things to a dumbhead like Ashwin? Why for god's sake Ashwin can't get it that all he was tying to do was, save him from danger?

"Look Ashwin, it may be too much information for you to process, but please get this into your head as quickly and clearly as possible. YOUR LIFE MIGHT BE IN DANGER. Please seek help or hide somewhere safe." He spelt out every word slowly and clearly as if talking to a 5 year old.

Ashwin felt more incensed at Victor's words but controlled himself with difficulty. And then something struck him, the very thing he was avoiding to think about because of his PTSD.

Sadiq and Afghanistan.

"What were you saying before? Did Sharath go to meet Sadiq in Afghanistan? When was this and how come you are telling me about it now? Victor, what is going on? Are these guys after you and now you have pushed them on to me for your own escape? Is that it?" Ashwin's brow cleared as things began to make sense and he could feel his chest clam up, with fear and despair.

"What? Where the hell do you get this hyperbolic ideas from, seriously? And tell me this once and for all, am I the sort of person who would do that to you or any other agent? Don't forget that I saved your neck twice so far, risking my life...." Victor hissed.

But Ashwin cut him short, " Stop your chant about rescuing me, for god's sake. If you are being truthful, then tell me this, where did you hear these people talking about me? When? And why were you there in the first place? Where are you now? Huh? Why don't you tell me the truth for fuck sake." Ashwin yelled into the phone.

Victor took some deep breaths to control himself. This was not the time to lose temper or give away details on something that he had been working so hard. If Nanda Sir comes to know what he was doing, he will throw a fit or even suspend him from job. He couldn't afford that.

"Ashwin, I can't tell you where I am or where I heard this conversation. If you have any trust in me or my judgement, please follow my advice. And contrary to what you think, I have nothing but your welfare in my mind when I called you to share this. Rest is up to you." He cut the call and swore loudly. A stray dog on the street which was eating some leftover food from the garbage howled at him.

Perfect!! Victor shook his head as he kick started his bike to ride on. He had wasted enough time trying to put some sense into Ashwin, but it was useless. Time to get on with his job and find out what Sharath Nair was up to. May be should call and ask Amit if he knew something. But his stomach growled and he hadn't slept for almost 48 hours. Time to eat and get some sleep so that he can think over a new strategy with clear head tomorrow.

Victor rode towards his hotel.

Ashwin stared at his phone with disbelief once Victor hung up on him. What was wrong with this guy? Why would he conceal so many things unless he was guilty? Something happened. Something to do with Afghanistan. May be Victor's cover got blown up and he was trying to divert the attention from him and was using him as scapegoat!! He could see no other explanation for Victor's behaviour.

All the anger and frustration slowly led to PANIC, something he had been trying to suppress all along. If his life was indeed in danger, then first thing he had to make sure was that his wife Mini was safe.

He began to call her mobile but there was no answer. His panic became higher. He kept trying her mobile as he requested the driver to take him to the airport. On reaching the airport his frustration only grew as there were no flights to Delhi at that late hour as it was a weekend.

The next flight was at 4am. He booked his ticket and settled down in the in the waiting lounge. All the euphoria he felt just a few hours ago had died, just as he suspected, after talking to Victor. His mind filled up with renewed bitterness towards a man he could never understand and would never trust.

***

Sharath Nair sat with Suraj Chacha and most of his men as they assessed the damage caused by the joint ATS and NCB Raid. Joseph was one of his main movers, and he was always discreet and got the job done without a hitch. And now he was caught and so did some of his men. Luckily few of those who escaped were quick to run back to safety, and Sharath's men were able to contact them and bring them to his den find out exact details of the raid.

This was a serious blow to his business not in terms of money but the after effects of what this raid means... suppliers would panic and stop sending him stock, if they fear being intercepted. That major shipment from Afghanistan that came on the vessel, he almost had a nervous breakdown when he heard that coast guard intercepted it, but thanks to the quick thinking of the captain, they moved back into international waters and re routed to reach the coast after few weeks. Once the shipment landed safely, Joseph took care of it by quickly moving it away before the police arrived, and he was finally able to take a sigh of relief. Now they wouldn't able to touch it till the heat of the raid had died, because both NCB and ATS would be combing that whole area thoroughly now. But Sharath Nair was dreading the other obvious thing. What if the police managed to break Joseph and make him reveal their details. He trusted Joseph enough to know he would never do that, but some of the methods used by interrogators are beyond endurance by any human.

And half of that hidden shipment was to be sent to DJ as part of their deal. Now what was he going to say to him? He was thankful that Suraj was with him, because he was in no mood to talk or face DJ at the moment.

"So, Chetan, tell me again exactly what happened! I know you said the NCB team was there, but there were other teams too, is it?" Sharath asked one of Joseph's Men who managed to escape and reach him.

"Yes Sir, we know most of the NCB guys by now. That Zonal officer Bhandarkar, I think he was there, but there was another young guy with him... he looked like a South Indian. And there were ATS commandos with guns, and they surrounded us in just few minutes. It was too well planned. Joseph Sir had no time to run away. I just got lucky as I was up in the terrace fixing some lights and jumped to the next building and made my way out." Chetan gulped nervously as he recalled the terrifying moments.

"Young South Indian guy, huh? Was he in any uniform?" Sharath asked.

"No Sir, but he too had a gun with him, although he didn't shoot at anyone, I remember his face because he somehow looked different from the rest of the officers and was a stranger to us." Chetan explained.

Who could that be? Sharath kicked the table in front of him in frustration, and the envelope Suraj had given him with that Agent's photo fell down and his temper rose again.

"Suraj Ji, Can you at least understand now, how I was drowning in one crisis after another? And all DJ cares about is to catch some stupid agent!" Sharath hissed, as he threw the photo of Ashwin on the table.

Chetan who was standing right next to the table, looked at the photograph and Sharath as his face paled.

"Sir... what is this? I mean, Do you know this guy? this is same guy who was with NCB officer Savlekar during the raid. How come you have his photograph? " Chetan asked nervously.

"WHAT?" Sharath reached Chetan in two strides and pushed his head down towards the table where the photograph was lying.

"Take a close look at him and confirm to me once and for all, are you sure it is the same guy?" Chetan felt as if a ton of weight was pushing him down, such was the pressure from Sharath's arm.

"Yes Sir, I swear. I cant forget his face, and I saw him just few hours ago." He choked.

Sharath slowly released his grip on Chetan's neck and made him stand up to face him. The cruelty and anger in Sharath's face at that moment made Chetan realize why the whole underworld feared Sharath Nair.

"Are you absolutely sure? Can I trust you on this?" Sharath almost whispered and Chetan just managed to nod his head as he felt paralysed with fear.

"Okay, thank you Chetan." Sharath smiled, which made his face somehow look uglier.

"Now I understand DJ and his intentions. I must apologise. I want to dump all the bullets in my gun into this Ashwin's head. Where is he? Let's go and find him." He called his men but Suraj intervened and tried to put some sense into him.

"Sharath, this is not something that you do in a spur of anger. That guy was a RAW agent and now working with Intelligence Bureau. These guys cant be touched so easily. First, let us tell DJ what happened. You cant take decisions on these things without consulting him."

Sharath nodded his head reluctantly. True, this needed meticulous planning and DJ is more cunning in these things than he ever was. He asked Suraj to accompany him to his private room.

***

Loki's forehead was beaded with sweat as he came down from his climax. As he buried his face in the crook of Zoya's neck, Zoya left tender kisses  all along  his jaw and temple. She felt content and spent and closed her eyes, as a soft smile played on her swollen lips. 

A loud shrill noise of an old telephone ringing in the hallway, next to their bedroom broke that beautiful moment, and she swore in a low voice, making Loki chuckle.

"Welcome to my brother DJ's world. He never uses a mobile and this is an old phone from the sixties or seventies which is still used in this house." He whispered into Zoya's ears, while nibbling on her earlobe.

After few minutes, they could hear the slow and heavy tread of DJ as he went to pick up the phone. From the agitated responses of DJ, Loki realized that something was wrong.

"Zo babe, you better get dressed up and sneak back to your room. Because it looks like the house going to be flooded with the whole gang soon." Zoya pouted and Loki kissed her hard on the lips.

"Loki, we still haven't spoken to your Mom." She whispered as she began to put on her clothes. Loki too dressed quickly.

"I know, but we need to plan that very carefully. Remember what I said. Leave everything to me. First I will go outside and make sure the coast clear, and then you can go, okay?" Loki smiled brightly at Zoya before he turned around and opened the bedroom door slowly. He couldn't see DJ in the hallway, but the phone was still off the hook,. He quickly beckoned Zoya to come out and she ran back to her room, just in time as DJ returned to the phone, now with a photo in his hand.

DJ didn't notice that Loki was standing at the door, his concentration solely on the photo in his hand.

"Hmm. Send a copy of this photo to all your men, Sharath. We must find him wherever he is. And I will do the same here. Nobody sleeps till we find him, do you understand?  If he is in Mumbai and you could trace him, just don't do anything till I tell you what to do. And If he has come to Delhi, leave it to me. I know what to do. He has no idea who he is playing with here. I will break him and make him sing to my tune in such a way that he would regret coming across my path. Ask Suraj chacha to send me reports every 2 hours. He knows how to contact me." DJ hung up the phone and turned around to see a puzzled Loki staring at him.

^=================^

Glad to be back with a quick update. But please bear with me for any typos or mistakes.

And a very interesting update, as you can see.

Tell me what you make of it.

Love,  Sesi