The Enemy Within

Chapter 13

The DC fixes him in a stare as he continues; "As per the reports I have read, a team was tracking Alan for a long time now. They have unearthed some disturbing evidence that points to the fact that he was a mole for the Pakistani Intelligence, the ISI."

Rohan practically jumps out of his chair, "No way... Sir, that's impossible. He was such a dedicated man... and he knew more about India that most people I know!"

The DC nods sympathetically, "Yes Rohan, most moles are good at what they do. That's why they are so hard to trace. As per the data we are uncovering, Alan was one of the lead agents for the ISI. And when we tracked him down in Rajasthan, the report was that he had copied some important information before he fled. What he was doing in Rajasthan, that too, in a border area with sensitive intelligence, we have no idea. Unfortunately we got him, but not the data he copied."

He gets up from his desk and starts pacing around the spacious office, "Rohan, we have pieced together the information we received from the commandos who killed him. This is the situation as we see it now - we think when he was killed; a tourist vehicle spotted him and reached him before our men. We also think that one of the people in that car must have taken the data Alan had on him. That seems to be the only logical explanation."

"Who were these people, sir?"

"Well, the problem is we don't know anything more. That's where you come in. We need you to go to Jaisalmer, find the vehicle and everybody who was in it. And find out if Alan told them anything or gave them anything."

"That should be easy. Give me the car number and I will take it up immediately."

The DC stops in mid-stride, "This is not easy – for starters we have no more information, we don't know the car number, we don't know the vehicle, we don't know anything. At that hour, there must have been dozens of vehicles out on a sunset safari on the dunes. We have to start from scratch. This needs out-of-the-box thinking, it's going to be a tough hunt."

Rohan looks at him in disbelief, "No number, no vehicle ID, and dozens of vehicles out there, how do I even start? Do I have a team with me on this?

The DC nods, "This is not a one man job, so you can chose a small team to help you because we need this information as of yesterday! So choose your team wisely – not more than 2 to 3 agents – we have to keep this small. And remember 2 things Rohan..."

The DC holds out a finger – "One. Nobody can know you guys are from the NIA. We are trying to keep the press far away from this else it will be an intelligence and political disaster. So you have to be undercover."

He holds out a second finger – "Two. All reports have to come directly to me and me only. I will be running this mission personally... this has to be treated as top secret and a matter of national security."

Rohan looks surprised and nods quickly, "Understood, Sir. I will need Jack and Sunny with me on this one."

The DC looks at him with a smirk, "I expected nothing less – I will see to it that Mr. Jaganath and Mr. Sundeep are allowed to join you. The 3 of you do have a habit of sniffing out trouble together. Anyone else required?"

Rohan thinks for a moment and shrugs his shoulders; "I would have asked for Alan as tech support. But give me an hour to get back to you on that, Sir. Let me discuss this with Jack and Sunny on who we can take along for tech."

The DC nods, "Ok Rohan, make sure you live up to your reputation. Get me what I want, get it quickly, get it quietly."

Rohan stands to attention, "Yes sir, you can count on me and the team to deliver."

The DC dismisses him saying, "You can requisition whatever you need for the trip from my assistant – I will brief Mr. Chopra meanwhile."