Ishq-e-Watan

Chapter 111- Three Weeks Later

CHAPTER 111

THREE WEEKS LATER

'The dead members are rumored to have links with the terrorist organizations of SIR. This is said to be a retaliation of the attack to EFR, the Eastern Front of Rebels, to-'

Karan pushed down the button, muting the sound of the news. "That seems to have played out well", he said, looking at his brother. It had only taken a little whisper to get the two organizations to turn against each other- easily achieved by the spies they had planted all those months ago. Once EFR had accused the other, they had been offended and insulted, and easily killed who was apparently a big operative- Abbas, marking the beginning of a so-far two-week gang war.

He hummed, his concentration mostly on the gun he was cleaning. "Next move kya sochi hai tune?" He asked.

"Let them kill each other", he said, sitting down on his desk and palming the pen nervously. There hasn't been any civilian death, but there have been some close calls. The police and the commandos stationed in Mumbai were competent and vigilant, and while they didn't interfere in the gang wars, as ordered, they were quick to get the civilians out of the way. "Thoda sa aur shaant hone lagega, toh we will attack. They are already destroying a lot of each other's operators and warehouses." He looked at his brother. "This is too soon to intervene, right?"

Param shrugged, nodding. "I guess", he said. "I am just a little nervous about civilian casualities."

Karan hummed in agreement. "Sanju was talking about Imam", he mentioned. "She still hadn't gotten a clear picture of him."

He frowned, looking up. "Database mein thi nahi picture Imam ki?" He asked.

"It was just a glimpse. Softwares cannot recognize, and agents ke liye bhi mushkil hi hai."

Param kept his gun down, sliding over to the desk, and opening his laptop. A few passwords later, he had logged in to the database, searching for the name.

Name: Imam
Age: Unknown (Mid-40's, by unreliable sources)
Terrorist Organization: EFR

Param scrolled through, skimming through the information. The attacks he was involved in, known associates, identity marks. He paused at the picture. Just a CCTV still. Clearly not a good camera, and the image being cleaned up multiple times. The face was mostly hidden, only his left side visible. He stared at the photo. Yeah, they definitely needed a better picture.

---x---x---x---x---x---x---x---x---x---

Sanju knew three things for certain.

One, the house across 'theirs' housed Imam. Two, the boy that delivered the 'paper' in the morning came with telegrams from the informants all across. Three, Imam did not come and see who delivered the 'paper.'

These three things combined resulted in a very obvious plan of action. Eliminate the boy who deliver the papers and plant their own. But as Ashish had followed the boy, they had quickly realized it was far easier said than done. The boy was smart, quick and stealthy. Sanju had suddenly found herself being reminded of Bala. The boy had too much hatred in his eyes for the youthful cheerfulness Bala's hosted. God, it was horrible how she missed even him.

Ashish, across the room, heaved a loud sigh, and she glanced over, making an irritated noise, seeing him propping his feet up on the table, still wearing his muddy shoes. "Pair neeche", she snapped.

He glanced over, making a face, and keeping it down. If there was ever a crush, these few weeks had sure diminished that. She was pretty sure it was only her rank over his that had kept them from fighting. It had only made her miss Siddharth more. He so effortlessly handled her demands, her violent demeanour, that she had almost forgotten it wasn't easy to live with. Even the cadets, scared of her, but never distant.