Girl Undercover

Chapter 2: The Gift

AALIA'S POV(excerpts from her diary)  

I think it was time I open my gift, my dad left me unaware about it but now that people were knocking on the door asking about it(note the sarcasm, I might as well see what it contained.)

I walked down the dark road, there was a broken down park at the end of the lane. My brother used to take me there when we were young. Raghav, my brother didn't deserve to die. He was such a good man and a good liar. He dint let us even get a hint about his real work. We were told he worked in an MNC after all he had a degree in BBA. But he worked as a secret agent for RAW. We came to know this after his death. Aayesha, my sister in law, told us she worked in the same MNC. They were in the same school, same college as well. But the truth was that they both were agents of RAW, while my brother was an on ground agent. She handled the high profile paper works, and other off field work like maintaining secret identities of people, helping with tracking people down and damage control. He had to assassinate, spy and do other on field work.

RAW has several departments under it. RAW doesn't handle everything. Right now there are about 10 departments or secret teams, about which the public is unaware of. These "Teams" handle various stages of crimes and terrorism. One team does damage control another works only as analysts of the evidences of major terrorism like 26/11. Another team has spies settled all over the world, 2 teams are sleeping agents who come into the picture only when there is a threat to India. I can't tell you about the rest five, it's very confidential, and I am doing this for your safety. Then there is the Phantom Team (that is what the team is called) the reason behind this name is that NO ONE, Not a single soul even from the RAW knows any details about the team. They know about the existence of this Team but no one knows who comprises of it or who the leader is or where they operate. They just know that if India is safe, that is because the team is yet alive. My brother and my sister in law worked in that team. Their death is still a mystery to me but I know that it was a murder. Now all that remained of them with me was my Nephew Aarth and this gift.

They died 2 years after he was born and my parents died 3 years after they passed away. Aarth and I had gone to school when there had been a gas line blast at my house and they were killed. My dad's close friend the DCP of police at that time, Mr Bhatia, knew it was a murder and worried that the people who killed My family will come after me. He very cunningly arranged for 2 more skeletons aged 15 and 5 and declared us dead too in that accident. He shifted my granddad from Gujarat to another part of Mumbai and gave us 3 a new identity and kept us under strict protection and surveillance. Only two of my dad's very close friends knew about us, Mr. Bhatia and Mr. Qureshi. And after we had settled down from the grief Mr. Qureshi Came to meet me asked me if I wanted revenge. I said yes. He then told me about my brothers past as an agent and offered me a place in the PHANTOM TEAM.

I jumped over the fence and went and sat on the bench my brother and I used to sit on and gossip. It was a simple wooden box with a combination lock. It was a four number lock. The first number that came to my mind was 3197, That was my birth date and since it was my birthday gift I figured it would work. And to my satisfaction it did. I opened it, there was a small chain and a small pendant, there was a heart and a small diamond suspended inside the heart as well as diamonds on one side of the heart. It was a beautiful gift. There was a letter too.

"Dear Baby Sister,

                                     Happy 18th! I bought this gift when you were 12.It has real diamonds on it and I don't trust you with it now hence I am going to wait 5 years to see you wear it, CHEER UP you are finally getting it! I and Aayesha, we are proud of you. You are a brave girl. You are beautiful, smart and stronger than you think. DO NOT change for others, you are my perfect baby sister and the best thing to have happened to me.

                                   I hope you like it. There is someone I would like you to meet. This pendant is just the half of what I got made. The other half is with the person I want you to meet. Ill introduce you soon to him.

                                I loved you, Love you and always will. Aayesha says she loves you too!

Love(*BE AFRAID OF) Your Bhai and (You can Love her)Bhabhi. ;)"

Why? Why did it still hurt to remember him after all these years,8 years. I got lost in my thoughts for a while about how my life had suddenly took such a drastic turn, it was all merry and good till he was alive. He must have bought this a few days before his death.

I glanced at my watch, it was almost 8, I had to leave the competition was about to start.

I got out and started walking towards my bike. Secrets could destroy families and relationships like it destroyed mine. But the truth eventually comes out, Only with a cost and in my family's case it was death which left me broken.

After my parents death life went on and much Later did I come to know that my father too worked for RAW and so was Mr. Bhatia who right now was the leader of the Phantom team. My Team