The Enemy Within

Chapter 34

Rohan sinks back into the seat of the cab and sighs. He feels Tanya trembling next to him. He puts a comforting arm around her.

"Hey, everything is going to be fine."

She sniffles, "This is my first and last field job. I really not cut out for this."

Rohan smiles reassuringly, "It's all in a days work. Relax. It's nearly over now."

"I just want to get back to New Delhi and back to my quiet life. I can't handle all this excitement."

Rohan looks at Tanya. She still has tears in her eyes.

"Come on, Tanya. Pull yourself together. This is no time to lose your focus. We need to get these guys. We need to outmanoeuvre them. We need to do this for all the people who have died. We can't let their deaths be for nothing."

"This is the first time I've seen a dead body.... bodies. I'm scared."

Rohan squeezes her hand and Tanya responds with a smile. They look into each other's eyes for a moment.

"Oh I almost forgot, speaking of dead bodies, have a look at this!"

He pulls out the newspaper from his jacket pocket and shows Tanya the headlines. Written in bold are the words – 'Renowned archeologist Raymond Leno found dead near Khajuraho.'

Tanya gasps in shock and points out with a trembling hand, "Our last witness. We didn't even get to talk to him."

Just then the phone rings and Major Kumar gives him rapid instructions, "Go to the Kochi Military Airbase. Use the last gate there. It is an unused airstrip. The guard will let you in. There will be a plane waiting in the hangar closest to the gate. That is your passage out of there. The pilot has instructions to fly you without any questions."

Rohan smiles, "Thank you Sir. I can always rely on you to get me out of a tight spot." He disconnects.

Rohan suddenly clears his throat and says in a businesslike tone, "Our extraction is a go, so let's use this time to review what we know."

Tanya nods and puts on a game face.

Rohan starts counting on his fingers, "All our witnesses have been killed including Raymond who we had not even met. This means someone knew our whereabouts all the time. We know this means there is a mole in the N.I.A. Jack is injured and Sunny is missing. But I've worked with him for over 3 years now; my gut tells me it can't be him. Just as I was right that Alan was not a double agent."

Tanya looks at him for a minute but doesn't comment.

"We also don't know how we were spotted at the mall but I'm sure I have seen the man before - in Hyderabad and in Goa."

Tanya looks surprised, "So they were the people following us?"

"Sure looks like it." He turns around in his seat looking out of the rear window, "So far no one has been following us now, so I guess we are safe."

Tanya looks unsure, "But if they were in Hyderabad and Goa, why didn't they kill us there? Why are they trying to kill us now? And why kill all the witnesses?"

"Yeah, they have eliminated everyone. As for Leno, they didn't even wait for us to find him."

She holds her head, "You know, nothing is making sense anymore. The closer we seem to the end, the more questions keep popping up."

Rohan nods, "Yes, like how do they know every move we are making?"

Tanya looks at him hesitantly, "To me there seems to be only one answer that keeps popping up every time... Sunny!"

Rohan looks unsure for a while, "I don't know. There is something I'm missing here... the last piece of the puzzle."