The Enemy Within

Chapter 9

N.I.A. Headquarters, Delhi – 1st March 2020 – 9 p.m.

The hi-tech conference room at the N.I.A. headquarters was buzzing with activity as they readied themselves for an emergency meeting called by the Director of the agency.

The massive TV wall was showing maps and satellite pictures of the desert. People were putting folders on the tables, as the main attendees trickled in and took their seats.

Chief Khan, the 60-year-old head of the N.I.A. hurries in along with Deputy Chief Rathore – his 55-year-old second in command. Both men are looking worried as they sit down and sift through some files. The Home Minister walks into the room behind them and settles at the head of the table. There is deathly silence in the room for a few seconds as everyone looks at each other.

Chief Khan points towards the TV screens and then at the folders that are lying in front of everyone, "Thank you for coming everyone! Sorry to call you all for a meeting so late. But we have had a breakthrough in an important case and this couldn't wait till morning." He sighs deeply and continues "As you all know, we suspected that there is a mole in our agency for a few months now. The on-going investigation led a special operations team to Jaisalmer, where our operative Alan Fernandes was found at a desert camp."

The Home Minister cuts in, "What was he doing in Jaisalmer, was it an official operation?"

Chief Khan shakes his head, "We don't know that yet Sir, he was on a case, but we don't know what he was doing there today. As per this report, we got a red flag from our tech team that someone was trying to hack into one of our classified databases. We tracked the signal to Jaislamer and Alan's location. Since we already had a special ops team in the area, one of the team leaders ordered them to move in immediately."

The Home Minister interjects again; "Hope you finally got him with the proper evidence to support this?"

Chief Khan shaking his head sadly, "Sir, Alan Fernandes was one of our finest tech analysts and a brilliant mind. He had accomplished so much in such a short time. He was one of our rising stars. This entire episode is a bit hard for us to digest."

He glances at the DC and taps the file, "It was difficult to believe at first, but all the evidence here points to him. And today when the team went in to secure him, he fled. They had no choice but to eliminate him."

The Home Minister sits up in shock, "You eliminated one of your own men? Chief Khan, are you certain it was the right call?"

DC Rathore jumps in, "Sir, the orders were to secure him only. But as per the report from the special ops team, he didn't surrender and took off across the desert. They had no option. Warning shots were fired, but he didn't stop. They tried to wound him, but unfortunately he was killed. We are all in shock right now."

Chief Khan sits back and rubs his face with his palms, "This is an incredibly messy situation... we are trying to clean it up quickly before the media get a hold of the story. What we know for sure is he tried to delete all data from his laptop and he copied one specific file before he tried to escape."

Everyone sits up and this news – questions start coming rapidly –

"What was on that file?"

"Was anything found on his person?"

"Oh God, sensitive data in the wrong hands will be catastrophic!"

"Sir, this could be a national security threat!"