Past & Present
Past & Present
Bela's main task had been identifying the spy network of other kingdoms, if it existed in Chandragarh.
Her big breakthrough had come during that summer when she had just turned twenty-one. She had stumbled upon a group of agents working for Saptsindhu, a neighbouring country who had been weaving the aspirations of conquering Chandragarh for a long time. At that time, Bela had been stationed in the Western Zilla for the past eight months.
The enmity between Chandragarh and Saptsindhu was nearly a century old phenomenon. When the first queen, Rani Damyanti had taken over Chandragarh and established her reign for that time, the then ruler of Saptsindhu had approached her and asked her to marry him to join the two regions. The queen had refused on the grounds of difference in approach of ruling their respective monarchies. The king had gone back humiliated and vowed to conquer Chandragarh.
The next few years had seen recurrent battles between the two neighbors. After multiple failed attempts to capture the queendom, there had been a tentative truce signed between them. They had mutually agreed to adhere to the conditions laid in the peace treaty since there was a financial and human loss in every war.
But ever since then, the covert infiltration had started from Saptsindhu into Chandragarh.
That is when Suraksha Chakra Ministry was born. It was devised in such a way that they operated completely under the radar with minimum hierarchy and had an early retirement policy. The success of staying undetected for all these years was the fact that the ground operatives didn't work for more than five to eight years. They were taken off active field work and fresh talent was introduced. The retired agents had the option of being sent to other ministries of their choice or to go back to civilian life.
Bela thought back to the encounter which had nearly costed her, her life. There had been rumours circulating about infiltrators holed up in a particular village of Western zilla, that summer. Despite her best attempts at gathering concrete information, she hadn't been able to find anything solid. A new agent had been assigned under her during that time. He had just finished his training. His name was Prithvi.
Seventeen years ago
"Charulata didi*, I think these rumours are baseless. If there had been a big group of men infiltrating our borders, wouldn't the border guards have been aware?" Prithvi argued.
"I am not doubting the capability of the Defense forces but there is a reason why our ministry exists. If there is a breach in the first perimeter of security, we need to identify and remove the threat with minimum noise. Keep your eyes open and ears to the ground," she advised.
They spent countless hours scouting market places and boarding houses in search of the intruders. Breakthrough came from a brothel where Prithvi was a regular visitor. One of the boys whom he had spent the night with, there, told him about a man boasting of Saptsindhu's wine quality being better than that of Chandragarh.
Prithvi had dropped the mask of congeniality and immediately asked for the courtesan who had interacted with that foreigner who said so about the wine. The petrified girl had been grilled mercilessly before an accurate sketch of the man had emerged.
"Good job done. If the man has visited the brothel in this area, I am assuming that he and his associates have found accommodation nearby. I will start with my 'housing inspector act' from tomorrow morning and visit all the houses within the two kilometre purview. We haven't been able to find them in any of the public boarding houses, so it is safe to assume that they have had some local help. Meanwhile, you need to make sure that the girl from the brothel is given a new identity and sent away from the zilla as soon as possible. I do not want her to speak with anyone about it nor do I want that man to come back and look for her anytime soon, in case we are unable to trace him till then," Charulata instructed briskly.
"Do you wish to ask me anything else?" Prithvi's young voice held hesitation.
At her raised eyebrows, he clarified, "are you curious about why I was with a guy instead of a girl the previous night?"
Impatience radiated from Charulata's body, "I DO NOT care about your gender, food, sleep or any other preference. What matters to me is your capability as an agent. So, don't waste my time or yours on unimportant stuff."
Prithvi bowed deeply to her and left the room.
Next Morning
Charulata had visited forty houses already with no luck. By now, she was beginning to doubt her assessment of the situation.
"We are law abiding citizens. You won't be able to find a single housing rule being broken here. The man next door is a different story though," the plump woman harrumphed.
She was being questioned by Charulata posing as the district housing inspector. Charulata's ears pricked at the tone of the woman's voice.
"Why, what rules is he breaking?" Charulata asked nonchalantly.
"It isn't my place to say so but I have seen so many strange men going in and out of his house. I am sure he has taken boarders but has not reported it to the zilla council. He must not be willing to pay tax on it," the woman tattled, gleefully.
Adrenaline coursed through Charulata. She thanked the noisy woman and came out of the house. Pretending to consult her notes, she surveyed the probable house, surreptitiously. She debated whether to come back with Prithvi or to charge in right now. The priority was not to let the men slip from their hands.
Writing a coded message, she hired a young kid to deliver it to the place where she and Prithvi were staying. She patrolled the area for the next few hours, hoping that her fellow agent would receive the missive and come soon. It soon became evening and she couldn't wait any longer. Even if one of them slipped out, she would have a tough time keeping track of all of them. Breathing evenly, she went ahead and knocked on the door.
*Didi - Elder sister