Vaibhav leaned on the jeep door while Biraj quietly drove it through the familiar potholes on the mountainside highway. The mountain-cut roads could only provide the sight of grass despite the fame of Kurseong as the land of white orchids. There wasn't much cold at 4500 ft being early summer, the weather was pleasant, no direct sunlight.

"Why are there so many schools?" Vaibhav said suddenly.

"That's Kurseong," Biraj made no effort to hide his irritation either, "it's called the school town for a reason."

"Isn't this the home of Lepcha people?" Vaibhav went into his happy place of inquisition to avoid a quarrel.

This did not amuse Biraj, he took a sharp turn downhill, "yeah they don't keep themselves in a museum, they usually work shifts in the numerous vacation houses here. Excellent CI network for us."

Avoidance was not working, it was time for specifics. Vaibhav cleared his throat and said, "I found the signature, that's all."

Biraj almost rooted out the steering wheel, "how can a viable lead come from a forgotten era? How could you, how could Bimal," Biraj sighed, "How could I think that?"

Biraj was about to hit the wheel again when one of the constables from the backseat warned him to carefully drive on the road ahead. Biraj and Vaibhav looked outside, it was foggy all around.

Biraj turned on the wipe axes and tightened his grip on the steering. Vaibhav put his hand out the window to feel the air. After a few moments, he drew his hand in and made a fist. His hand was wet, not moist, wet.

"Has it rained at Naxalbari yet?" Vaibhav asked Biraj in a baritone voice.

"This early at the Baishakh month, no, there is still a week left." Biraj answered with a similar irritation.

"Then, why is damp air this high up the leeward side before it rained in the valley?" Vaibhav tried to be merry but suddenly felt like he should take his observation seriously.

"What?" asked Biraj.

Vaibhav looked down at the valley through the jeep window. Small drops of rain started to fall around soon. An eerie silence fell on the four people inside the jeep. No one knew what Vaibhav just said but they gradually understood that something was happening that was not supposed to happen.

"Sir!" one of the constables shouted holding Biraj's right shoulder, "look out!" he pointed at the road ahead.

There was a flash of light as Biraj turned to see straight ahead. Vaibhav held down the dashboard and sat straight on his seat, embracing for impact. Biraj looked, amidst the follow-up crackling sound, at a rough silhouette of a woman standing in the middle of the road. She stood with such firm uprightness as if the rain did not bother her. The exact distance was unknown and Biraj swerved to a sharp left to avoid roadkill. Then his eyes fell upon the sheer cliff, he realised his mistake and steered right again. A second late on Biraj's part, three things happened. The sharp left turn threw the constable in the back seat out into the road, the left rear wheel slipped off the ledge and Vaibhav not thinking rolled out of the car as it moved back. The massive weight put the whole jeep in a delicate balance across the ledge with an unconscious constable inside and Biraj pressing down hard on the accelerator to move into the road until he heard a familiar sound from the engine.

"The engine has died because of impact shock, you need to jump-start it," Biraj shouted to Vaibhav.

Vaibhav was frustrated, sure he needs to jump-start the engine with jumper cables, in the back of the jeep currently hanging off the ledge. He thought to give their potential roadkill a piece of his mind. Then he heard the gunshot.

Vaibhav turned around to see the woman was walking towards the constable. She was dressed in black from head to toe with a hood over her head and a veil covering her mouth. The constable fired his rifle twice, as is protocol, to warn a suspect.

The woman did not heed the warning and walked up to the constable directly holding his collar by her right hand. The constable raised his hands to maneuver her coming fist but she twisted her right hand gripping the man by his throat. However, she needed time to tighten it, when the constable elbowed her shin hard. She threw him away massaging her injury. The constable gripped his rifle tighter preparing to attack.

The woman stood straight and breathed deeply. She walked forward with a very distinct and perfect feminine arch, she was angry. The constable fired and she swerved the barrel to right with full force. The bullet went a few inches apart from her head, the muzzle flash did not seem to affect her, she held the rifle tightly. The constable on the other hand left the grip because of the misaligned recoil shock. The woman smiled through her veil. She swung the rifle and hit the constable on his head with full force.

Vaibhav stood there, frozen, still with the expression of argument. The woman turned to look straight at him and said coldly,

"Asti kaschit Vaagvishesha?"

Is there something particularly intelligent you'd like to say?