CHAPTER 1
In front of Shamu, his best friend Rina fainted, and fell on the ground like a lifeless barbie doll. Shamu remembered the desperate endeavours after which he could win Rina's heart. The fact that other boys of class X in the Laxmi Narayan (referred henceforth as LN) school felt jealous of him made him more proud of his feat.
To bring her back to consciousness, extremely worried Shamu wanted to sprinkle some cold water from his water bottle. But as soon as he tried to open the water bottle, the masked man with an AK 47 in hand rushed towards him, and without saying a word, sidekicked him on his ribs. There was such a force in the kick that Shamu flew in air, and fell on the ground like a toy.
"Don't move an inch until I say so. If you do, I will put the entire magazine on your head." The strongly-built man of 5' 8" warned in a ruthless manner. Shamu understood he spoke in Urdu.
Shamu was writhing in pain. He hoped that his ribs were not broken. Approximately, 400 students cornered in the hall were trembling in panic. 4 terrorists had taken control of their school. There were more students present in the school. The fortunate ones managed to flee from the rear entrance before the terrorists discovered and locked it. They had locked the front gate, too. Shamu saw 2 of them. The other 2 were guarding the two entrances of the school.
"Our demand must be met by 5 PM today. Else, we will start killing the students one by one." The leader, around 5' 10" in height, wearing a mask, having muscular physique uttered the dangerous warning to someone on the opposite side of his Xiomi mobile phone in chaste English.
It was around 11 AM in the morning, when Shamu heard a few gun shots and frantic screams from outside. The LN school was located at the centre of the city and was very well connected by roads. There were 2 security guards positioned near the front side of the school gate. But they were just stick-weilding harmless types who didn't have guns. They were sitting ducks for the terrorists, who stormed into the school after getting down from a Maruti Swift Dzire, which they confiscated from an innocent man at gun point. They killed him, too.
The LN school was a square-shaped, 2-storeyed building with 12 class rooms on each floor. The auditorium was situated at the 1st floor. The gate at the rear was generally closed. But as soon as it appeared that there was a terrorist attack on the school, the caretaker of the school, Ramswarup immediately opened the door and asked the school children to flee. Even though, the terrorists killed Ramswarup when they detected him helping the students to flee, a lot of young students could escape unhurt because of Ramswarup's bravery.
The terrorists' first target was the teacher's room. They first entered there and told the teachers to assemble the students in the auditorium. Two terrorists went to the 1st floor, while 2 remained at the ground floor.
Shamu studied in section A. Unfortunately, his section was situated at the front side of the building. Kripa Sir was taking physics class, when the Headmaster Bimal Sir came trembling to the room. His voice choked completely out of fear. His feet were trembling. He asked Kripa to lead all the students of the class to the auditorium. When they were moving towards the auditorium, Shamu saw from the balcony how Ramswarup was brutally killed by a terrorist. He showered 10 to 12 bullets on the poor chap.
¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤
CHAPTER 2
"What the hell were you doing? How could they come undetected?" -- fulminated the dhoti-and-kurta-clad Home Minister.
"Sir, there was no prior warning from the IB." The police commissioner told very politely wringing his hands.
"They seem to be home-grown terrorists, Sir, or they must be living here for quite some time. They appeared from nowhere, hijacked a car and killed the driver." -- opined the IB Chief.
"What do they want?" -- The HM scratched his shiny bald head.
"They want the release and safe passage of 3 dreaded IS terrorists, who are currently lodged in the Tihar jail, to an IS controlled city in Iraq. By 5 PM we must make arrangements for boarding them in a chartered flight to Mosul. Else, they start killing the innocent students."
A few months ago, Abu Musa, Hamza, and Abdullah were arrested from their hideout from Kupwara district in Kashmir. They had come here to aid the Kashmiri insurgents. For a period of more than a year, they had trained and indoctrinated the local youth to jehad in Kashmir. Arrests of these three were seen as a big setback for the IS plan of expansion in India. The security apparatus of the country was apprehensive of some kind of reprisal from the IS, but it was not aware of the level of penetration of the IS network at the local level. Also, they could attack a school was beyond their imagination.
The HM looked at his watch. It was 12-10 PM. That meant little less than 5 hours left before the deadline set by the terrorists. He frowned at the Police Commissioner, and asked, "Can you guys do it? You are the best police force in the country!"
"I am not saying they can't, but they should not! They are not specialized to undertake such risky operation in which even a minor mistake can lead to the deaths of hundreds of students." NSA Chief Mr Pongal said in a very cold voice.
The HM understood what he suggested. He asked, "How long it would take for the NSG commandos to launch an operation. Is the plan ready?"
"The plan is ready. It won't take more than an hour for the commandos to appear. But before that we have to seal the boundaries of that area. Even the television crew can't be present there. There must not be any media coverage. We need complete secrecy."
He wiped a few drops of sweat from his forehead with a flick of his forefinger. Even in cold winter he was sweating. With a slight hesitation he continued, "Besides, we need an extra hour or so. Until the darkness creeps in, we cannot start the operation. The lights in the area have to be cut off during the operation."
"But, they have set 5 PM as the deadline," a very worried police commissioner reminded him.
"Yeah, I know that. We have to negotiate. My back up plan will be ready in case they show some obstinacy."
"Please remember the lives of 400 children will be at risk." The HM cautioned. In his personal capacity, he was thinking of submitting to the demands of the terrorists to minimise the loss of lives. He just couldn't think of young children being killed. But as a policy matter of the Government of India, he had no other choice but to order a rescue operation.
"I know Sir. Have faith in me. Already they have killed a driver, a school employee and two security guards of the school. I will do my best not to increase the toll. However, I must make it clear that we might lose a few commandos in the operation." Pongal said in a sad voice.
¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤
CHAPTER 3
"Today, I will beat ya, you bonehead. " Raunak hissed, clenching his teeth.
"Just do it mate, don't talk." Bagoon winked at Raunak. He seemed to be enjoying Raunak's anger.
Raunak took a great pride for being the best cadet in his cadre. During his tenure in the Punjab Police, he had won quite a few accolades for his exemplary bravery and sharp-shooting skills. Like a film hero, once he prevented an armed robbery, killing 5 out of 10 robbers singlehandedly, and catching the rest.
One day, Mr Pongal had called him in his office, and persuaded him to join the NSG. Mr Pongal, who himself was a supercop, had totally revamped the structure of the NSG. He had been selecting the best officers from various police departments across the country. With the help from the PM Mr Godi, he had made the pay package very attractive for the NSG Commandos. The compensation, in case of death or a grievous injury, had been made better than that of the army. So, Raunak Singh felt honoured to join the NSG cadre. He had to undergo one year of rigorous training along with his other 24 batch members. They had completed the training successfully. Just the formal award-giving ceremony was left, which would be held tomorrow.
As expected, Raunak won the best cadet award. But that was not as easy as was the case during his training as a Sub-Inspector in the Punjab Police. The other 24 candidates were also best cadets among their respective cadres. Raunak defeated his nearest rival Vimal Kumar from Bihar Police by only 5 marks. Bagoon's overall ranking was 20. But, in all the physical tests, he stood first. However, he fared miserably in the written papers. There was only one guy, Vaiju, from his own cadre of WB Police, who fared worse than Bagoon in the written papers. However, like Bagoon, Vaiju also did exemplary performances in the physical tests. On some tests, Vaiju stood second. But, Raunak seemed to have ignored him, and picked Bagoon as his only foe in the entire cadre. He would pick his faults, indulge in body-shaming, and insult him in every possible way.
But, Bagoon seemed to be nonchalant, at least outwardly, to all the insults meted out to him. Vaiju was his room mate, and the best friend in the cadre. One day, Vaiju had asked him, "How do you tolerate this nasty Punjabi ox? If he dares to say things that he says to you, I promise, I will kill him."
Indeed, during the initial days in the camp, a big fight had broken out between Raunak and Vaiju. All the trainers and all the cadets had to rush to the spot to separate those two fighting bulls. Mr Pongal himself visited the camp, and warned both of them of dire consequences, if they were found involved in a fight or even a brawl again. Since then, these two had avoided each other. But, Raunak's animosity to Bagoon had increased day by day. In fact, the nickname Bagoon was given by Raunak to ridicule him. Bagoon's real name was Bhagwan Das. He hailed from Burdwan district in West Bengal. Raunak named him Bagoon because to him Bhagwan looked like a baboon. He could not directly call him that, as it would sound like a racist slur. Hence the name Bagoon! It was true that Bagoon was not good-looking. He was around 5' 6" tall, having a muscular body full of thick hair. With his yellowish beady eyes, flat nose with large nostrils, and raised cheek bones, no wonder, so far he hadn't found any girl friend. On the contrary, Raunak was 6' tall, having very fair complexion, handsome guy. He might not be as muscular as Bagoon, but he held enormous physical strength.
During the couple of days of relaxation period before the award ceremony, Raunak challenged Bagoon for a final showdown. Bagoon had no intention to accept his challenge. As the tests were over, he was in a no mood to take up any unnessary challenge. But Raunak insulted him in front of everyone accusing him of cowardice. Bagoon put one condition that the loser would have to pay the winner Rupees 10000/, with a hope that this would deter Raunak. But, Raunak happily accepted the condition. It will be a 3-pronged competition: 100 meter race, high jump and push ups. Not only the officers, but also the entire batch of junoir Commandos assembled on the ground. Most of them were supporting Raunak, while a few of them were also in favor of Bagoon.
Bagoon won the 100 meter race hands down. While he timed 10.9 seconds, Raunak's time was 11.8 seconds. But during the second competition of number of push ups, Bagoon felt something was going wrong. After 150 push ups, Bagoon began to feel dizzy and fatigued. He fell on the ground after 170. While he was sitting dumbstruck on the ground, Raunak crossed his score and won the 2nd round. Bagoon's health began to deteriorate, as the dizziness increased considerably.
Vaiju shook his body asking, "What happened? Are you okay?"
"Nope, it seems Gaurav had mixed something in the water."
After the 100 meter race, Gaurav Arora, a good friend of Raunak, had voluntarily offered him a bottle of water. It was beyond Bagoon's comprehension that Raunak could stoop to such a low level. Unsuspecting, he drank it, which was mixed with some kind of a sedative. And now, he was feeling the heat.
"Then stop the farce," very angry Vaiju said.
"I have no proof at the moment. If I stop at this stage, Raunak and his gang will make life hell for me. Also, you know I have always beaten him in high jumps. It won't be as tedious as doing push ups. I will do it."
Bagoon ran 20 meter for his first jump to cross 5.8 meter, but what happened after the jump he could not remember, as he lost his sense.
☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆
CHAPTER 4
"Sir, one terrorist is on the line," very exited Police Commissioner told Pongal.
"Why are you getting late? Remember, just 2 hours, and after that we start killing the students one by one", he warned in a ruthless manner.
"Hey, be patient. We have readied the plane. We are willing to free the ISIS terrorists. Only problem is that PM Godi is not prepared to release them. But, I am confident I shall soon get his ascent." -- Pongal tried to pacify him.
"Hell with Godi. We don't care what he decides. After 5 PM if the 3 Muhaheedins are not set free and boarded to Mosul, we shall start killing the students one by one." He cut the line.
Actually, Pongal was expecting this kind of a response. He wanted to buy an hour by hook or crook. He had made his plan B ready. But, he was not fully sure whether it would work or not, as these terrorists were unpredictable creatures.
The students and teachers of the school heard one side of the bone-chilling conversation with bated breath. They had been standing in the hall without food and water for the last 4 hours. They were not even allowed to go to the toilet. A few of them had already collapsed on ground. But that didn't perturb the terrorists. They were treating them as if they were insects.
Shamu was under severe pain. He suspected one or two bones of his ribs might have been broken. But he was not even allowed to groan. Shamu had heard of stories of hell. The current situation seemed to him nothing less than hellish.
When the muscular man, who kicked him and whose code name was Beta, came near to them during patrolling, Shamu shouted at him, "Hey Sir, you have broken my ribs. I cannot withstand the pain and nature's call simultaneously. Please let me go to the toilet"
Even though "No", was the instant answer, Shamu noticed a soft vocal expression appeared on his otherwise emotionless voice for a moment. Shamu again pleaded, "Please Sir, please. Otherwise, I have to relieve myself here."
"Alpha bhai, should I let this boy go to the toilet. He is injured." Shamu was pleased to observe that his trick of calling him Sir had worked.
" Okay, accompany him, and don't give more that 5 minutes."
There was a verandah outside the hall. The toilet was situated at the corner of the verandah.
"No tricks! Just 5 minutes", was the response when Shamu got the permission of closing the door after repeatedly calling him Sir.
After entering the toilet, Shamu closed the door. He knew there was a window at the top. But it was covered with iron grill. However, Shamu had to take a chance. Ignoring the severe pain in his ribs, he stood on the commode and shook the grill vigorously with his both hands. Nothing happened. Shamu tried a few more times in vain. His 5 minutes were coming to end quickly. Just when he climbed down on the floor dejectedly, a piece of paper came from outside of the window. Shamu opened the crumpled paper.
It read, "Don't panic. We are coming to rescue you. Tell your friends just before 15 to 5 PM to lie on the floor when the power goes out. Now, you must eat this piece of paper."
Shamu's eyes glistened in glimmer of hope. He quickly looked upwards, but couldn't see anyone. Beta was now hitting the door threatening him of dire consequences, if he didn't come out immediately. What else Shamu could do, he swallowed the piece of paper with tap water, and came out.
☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆
CHAPTER 5
Bagoon felt like he was on cloud nine. Datta Uncle was making a victory lap around the Salt Lake stadium taking Bagoon on his shoulder. Other boys from his district were also accompanying them while cheering his name. Once again, Bagoon had created a state record in all the 100 m, 200 m, 400 m, long jump and high jump in the Junior level of state athletics meet.
While retuning home, Datta Uncle asked him, "Tell me Bhagu, what should I order for the celebratory dinner? Mutton biriani or Mixed fried rice?"
Bhagu was the short form of Bhagwan. Datta Uncle was the only relative Bagoon had. Whenever, Bagoon asked what relationship they had, Datta Uncle told that he was a distant maternal uncle of her mother. He told Bagoon that both his parents had died in an epidemic in his ancestral village. Somehow, Datta Uncle had managed to take him with him in the city. Since his childhood, when Bagoon began to know the world, he had never seen any relative. He lived with Datta Uncle in his quarter. Datta Uncle had been a military sports trainer. After his early retirement, he took up the job of training aspiring athletes. He trained Bagoon.
"No, I don't want any biriani. I want to see pictures of my parents." Bagoon curtly answered.
"Crazy boy! I told you in villages poor people don't have picture," Datta Uncle affectionately told him caressing his rough hair.
"That's a lie. I don't want to listen to lies. Tell me why do I look so ugly?" Bagoon was in a no mood to listen nonsensical talks that day.
"You are a hero. Why do you ask questions like a fool? Remember you are born to show your heroics. See how good you are at sports."
Bagoon became really puzzled to hear that answer. He was a hero! Really?
He asked, " Then why don't you allow me to show my real talent? You know I can clock much better time than this. Why you always tell me to give my 60% efforts only?"
Smirking Datta Uncle said, "So that your talents remain hidden till you show your heroics."
☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆
"What did you do to him? You idiot!" The DG, Satpal Singh was just short of slapping Raunak.
"Don't worry Sir, we have washed out the fluid from his stomach. Within half an hour he should be okay." The doctor in this camp, ex-captain Vikas Iyer tried to pacify the DG.
"Damn your half-an-hour. The terrorists are threatening to kill young students after 5 PM. We have to chalk our plan immediately. And you are talking about half an hour." Satpal nodded his head in both directions in an expression of anger.
Ex-Col Mayur Bose was in the post of ADG. He said, "Don't worry Sir, you know our plan is ready and we have already done a mock drill."
"But without him, the exercise may not succeed. He has to be included in the mock drill."
Had it been other time, Raunak, surely, would have challenged Satpal's proposition. But considering the mood Satpal was in, Raunak didn’t say anything.
☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆
"Could you detect the identities of the terrorists", PM Godi asked Pongal. He himself had come to the control room.
"Yes Sir, three of them are from Peshwar in Pakistan, and the 4th is from the POK."
Observing the disappointment on the face of Godi, Pongal added, " But the guy from the POK is the leader and he has close relatives in Kupwara."
"How close", Godi asked.
"Paternal uncle, his wife and three children. "
"Hmm!"
¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤
CHAPTER 6
"How are you feeling now, Bhagu?"
Bagoon was pleasantly surprised to see Datta Uncle sitting beside him.
Bagoon got up from the bed. His head tossed slightly and there was a mild headache. But with a smile on his face, he answered, "Absolutely okay!"
"3 terrorists have taken around 400 students in LN School as hostage, and they are threatening to kill them if their demand of releasing 3 ISIS terrorists are not met by 5 PM. This team of NSG Commandos will take up the rescue operation. You will play the most important part of the entire operation. Get ready. Listen the plan and rehearse."
When the select batch of 20 Commandos was going to depart for the operation, Datta Uncle again came towards Bagoon. He put a hand on his shoulder, and said, "This might be your day Bhagu to become the hero."
Bagoon laughed and said, "In that case, you must reveal the truth of my parents."
¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤
"So, you want all of them killed. Listen kids you all will be killed." Alpha laughed hysterically.
"Don't be a fool. They have been released. Very soon they will board the plane."
Alpha clenched his teeth, "Yes, I know they have been released. But why have you put road block to the airport! It's 4-45 PM. If the plane doesn't take off within 15 minutes, we shall start killing."
"We are trying. The police is clearing the roadblock on war-footing. If you don't believe me, ask your sources."
Most of the students have already frozen in fear. These conversations made them trembling. Girls started crying. Shamu hadn't conveyed the message yet, as he was instructed to do it just before 15 minutes to 5 PM. He whispered the message in the ear of his nearby friend and told them to convey it to others.
Since the terrorists were very anxious at the moment, they didn't notice what the students were whispering.
Alpha and Beta were frequently looking at the wall clock in the auditorium. At 5 PM Alpha tried to frantically call someone. He tried and tried. But somehow his phone was not working. He took Beta's phone. But that didn't work either. They had earlier confiscated the phones of the teachers and students and dumped it on the dais. Alpha rushed there and switched on one phone. It was already 15 past 5. It was getting dark outside. Alpha rang the number of his handler in the city.
¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤
Watching the students maintaining calm, Satpal proudly said, "Bagoon has done a wonderful job."
Everyone in the room agreed with him. It was indeed an unbelievable effort from Bagoon to sneak into the school building and then scale the wall and deliver the message to one boy. Not only that, he had placed bugs at the door of the auditorium. Through a spy cam, the inside of the hall could be observed.
"But the real game is yet to begin." Pongal quipped.
The moment Pongal saw Alpha rushing towards the table, he instructed the operator to stop the jammer. He knew if Alpha understood the they had put a jammer, he would definitely start shooting.
•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
Raunak could not believe his eyes. What he saw could not be real. The 3rd terrorist, whom they named Gamma, was patrolling the back gate by constantly moving to and fro. It was not more than 15 meters in each direction from the gate. Deep Singh told a local boy to burst a fire cracker outside the gate to divert Gamma's attention. As soon as Gamma came in front the gate to see what happened, Raunak saw with his binocular that a guy scaled the outside wall with a lightning speed, and he ran to the building even with a higher speed. Before the terrorist returned, Bagoon vanished. Raunak's eyes dropped automatically. He knew it was Bagoon, and he knew he could never do it. Now he concentrated with his job. He was assigned a very important job of sharp shooting Gamma. He had a night vision camera. It will be dark when he would shoot. He was at a distance of 50 m from Gamma hiding in a roof of a 2-storeyed building. After shooting he had to jump and run towards the auditorium.
••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
CHAPTER 7
"Janab, what's the news? Has the flight departed?" Alpha asked anxiously to his handler.
"They have entered the plane. But it's not flying. Ask Pongal and start killing the students. "
Before Alpha rang Pongal, Pongal took him on a video call.
"Alpha, I think the plane has a technical snag. I assure you within 15 minutes, the matter will be resolved, and those 3 guys will head for Mosul."
"You bastard, I gave you 5 PM as the time limit, it's already 5-25 PM, and you want 10 minutes more? Beta start killing. "
"Hold on, hold on Alpha. Be reasonable. I asked for only 15 minutes. Look here."
Pongal shifted the focus of the phone to his right. A military man had put a gun on the head of Alpha's paternal uncle and his family members were crouching beside him. They were trembling in fear.
Watching the scene, Alpha became slightly perturbed. But he tried hard to show his nonchalance.
In an emotionless voice, he said, "So, you recognised me. Then you should know that I have dedicated my life for the creation of Dar al Islam in India. Nothing comes in the way. And these guys are not even my close relatives."
Despite Alpha's hard effort, Pongal's experienced ears noticed a distinct change in his voice, which manifested his disturbed mind. Pongal didn't want to miss that opportunity.
He said, "Listen Hanif, we are not going to harm them. Our engineers are fixing the snag on war-footing. Wait up to 5-40 PM. If the plane doesn't take off by then, do whatever you want to do. "
Alpha aka Hanif looked at his wrist watch, it was 10 minutes to 5-40 PM. Very reluctantly, he agreed.
Pongal told his team, " Guys 5-40, cannot extend any more."
"That will do Sir, it's almost dark already." Satpal opined.
•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
CHAPTER 8
At 5-35 PM, Raunak and Gaurav heard Pongal's voice in their spy micro earpieces, "Fix your target, take as many quick shots as possible from your silencer guns when the light goes out after 2 minutes."
Raunak was assigned to take on Gamma, while Gaurav would take on Delta at the front gate.
"Bagoon and Vaiju, you know what to do when I say go."
"Yes Sir." Both of them replied. Vaiju, too, was able to sneak into the building almost in a similar way as Bagoon did.
"Good. Listen other guys, you must not make any sound. You will have to back up Vaiju and Bagoon. You must take as many shots as possible, as they have to be killed as soon as possible."
Pongal prayed to the God, as not only the terrorists had AK 47 guns, but also they had stockpiled a huge load of explosives in the school. The remote control was with Alpha. One moment he thought can Bagoon and Vaiju do it! Was he risking more than 400 innocent lives?
PM Godi was there, and he could read what Pongal was thinking. He patted the shoulder of Pongal and said, "Everything will be okay. Have faith on God."
Gamma was constantly on the move, and he was patrolling at a brisk pace. Despite being a good sharp-shooter, Raunak found it difficult to fix his target with his night vision glasses. He had to constantly move his gun in the direction of moving Gamma. One miss, and Gamma can alert his friends, who would start mayhem.
10, 9, 8.. Pongal started the countdown. Raunak closed his eyes for a second and murmured, " I Raunak Singh, I am the champion. I don't make mistakes. "
As soon as the countdown ended, Raunak shot moving Gamma targeting his head. Within few seconds, he took 11 more shots. How many hit Gamma, he could not guess, but Gamma fell on ground motionless.
Most of Raunak's shots hit Gamma, that's why they didn't make much noise. But at the front gate, Gaurav's shots made quite a bit of noise, as he struggled to kill Delta. Even though, Delta could not find any time to alert Alpha and Beta, Pongal couldn't take any risk. In the winter, sound travels very well. So, Pongal ordered immediate power cut. Just before that he signalled Bagoon and Vaiju.
¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤
CHAPTER 9
"Hup hup", and a sound of jumping movement came from the verandah. Alpha got his training of jehad in a jungle in POK. He was aware of sounds of various jungle animals. He immediately recognised the sound of a langur. Not a single langur, but it appeared to him a couple of langurs were quarrelling outside. But how come! Could it be a trick of the enemy? But he took position with his gun, and instructed Beta to go outside very carefully. Alpha took position near the students. The remote control to detonate the explosive was in the pocket of his trousers.
Beta, too, got his training inside a jungle. He, too, was sure, it was a case of a couple of langurs intruding inside the school building. He had been residing in this city for the previous 3 months, and he had seen quite a few monkeys here. He had also seen a few langurs used by monkey trainers to stop monkey menace. Monkeys fear langurs. But, as Alpha directed, he could not take a chance. So, very circumspectly he came out with the gun in shooting position. Just as he came at the door, the current went off. It was completely dark there, and he could not see anything.
While Vaiju shot Beta on his head 6 times from a very close range with his silencer gun making sure he was dead, Bagoon quickly entered the room. Alpha was approximately 30 meter away from him. With his night vision glasses, Bagoon could see that Alpha positioned himself between the students, thereby negating any chance of firing from the enemy. He was probably not prepared for the power cut. But he understood something was very wrong, and he tried to take the remote out from his pocket.
Bagoon probably saved his best performance for this moment. Within less than 2 seconds he travelled the distance, and jumped on Alpha's shoulder. Both Alpha and Bagoon fell down on the floor. As directed, all the students laid on the floor. Alpha got up quickly and started firing at the students. However, since it was dark and the students laid on the floor, he could not hit anybody with his shots. Before Alpha could take any more shots, Bagoon by a single jump came in front of Alpha in a crouching position and hit him with all his might in his groin. In the mean time, Vaiju reached there. But before Vaiju could shoot Alpha on his head from the point blank range, Alpha fired indiscriminately at Bagoon as he was in front of him. Vaiju could not guess whether Bagoon was able to move away, but he put 6 bullets on Alpha's head. Alpha died instantly and fell on the ground. Vaiju announced in his microphone which was attached to to the collar of his shirt, " It's over Chief. "
The light and the other commandos came at the same time. Watching the bodies of the two dead terrorists, the students and the teachers cheered loudly in jubilation. While the students and the commandos were congratulating him, Vaiju's focus went to Bagoon. He was lying on the floor unconsciously. Vaiju checked his heart beat. He was alive. But he was bleeding profusely, as a few bullets penetrated his stomach, and one bullet hit his heart. Bagoon always declined to wear any bullet proof jacket as he thought it wouuld hinder his brisk movements. The outburst of joy had suddenly turned into sorrow for the commandos. Watching Bagoon's plight, the students began to cry.
Bagoon was rushed to the best hospital in the city. But, before he could be operated, his condition worsened considerably. Strangely, he got back his sense for a while. He wanted to meet Datta Uncle. When Datta Uncle came, Bagoon was in his last stage. Datta Uncle was crying like a baby. He loved Bagoon more than anybody else in this universe.
Bagoon could barely talk, yet he said in almost inaudible voice, " Uncle I did it. Now will you show me the photos of my parents?"
Unfortunately, Bagoon could not complete the sentence, as death came to embrace him.
THE END
Picture taken from net
