The Mahabharata Secret by Christopher C Doyle Read Free Book Online

addressed Vijay as he sat down on a vacant chair. ‘Give me some more details.’
    Vijay repeated the account of their kidnapping. ‘Farooq and Imtiaz,’ Raunaq Singh said, rubbing his chin thoughtfully, repeating the names that Vijay had given him. ‘And you were imprisoned in a house in Gurgaon?’
    Vijay nodded.
    ‘Well, then, it is beyond my jurisdiction. This case belongs to the Gurgaon police.’ He rose to leave.
    ‘Aren’t you going to register an FIR?’ Bheem Singh enquired.
    Raunaq Singh paused to choose his words carefully. ‘They were kidnapped and held captive in Gurgaon. It is a matter for the Gurgaon police to investigate and check out the building they have described. And even if I was to register an FIR, how are we going to look for two men with only their first names as a basis for a search? Do you know how many Farooqs and Imtiazs there are in India?’
    Bheem Singh considered this. ‘I think you should still help out. Register an FIR so that the Gurgaon police take this case seriously. For God’s sake, they could have been killed. I will make sure that the Gurgaon police follow up.’ He nodded at Vijay. ‘Leave that bit to me.’
    The inspector finally nodded. ‘Very well, sir. I will do as you say. But please don’t expect anything more from me.’
    Bheem Singh waited until the policeman had left and then turned to Vijay. ‘You know, he’s right. I don’t think they have any chance of finding the two men purely on the basis of their first names. But it wouldn’t have done to agree with him. They’d never take the matter seriously then.’
    ‘That’s why I didn’t tell him what Farooq wanted,’ Vijay said sourly. Ever since White had walked in, he had been torn between disclosing what Farooq had said about the key, and keeping that information to himself. He had concluded that, if his uncle had wanted him to speak to White, he should tell the archaeologist about the key. Perhaps White might be able to give him some insight that would help him understand his uncle’s emails.
    Bheem Singh raised an enquiring eyebrow.
    ‘Yes. He was going on about a key and a a disk with a verse. He said that uncle had given the key to me.’
    Bheem Singh gave a visible start and exchanged a glance with White. ‘I think we should tell them,’ he said to the archaeologist.
    White nodded. ‘I was thinking the same thing, but I wasn’t sure if you’d agree.’
    Vijay looked at them quizzically, and was totally unprepared for White’s question.
    ‘Have you heard of the Nine Unknown Men?’
    An Ambiguous Agenda of Terror
    Imran Kidwai, Additional Director, Intelligence Bureau, strode down the corridor that led to the office of the Director. He had been urgently summoned by his boss. Imran was in his early 40s with a thick black moustache and piercing black eyes. He had kept himself fit despite the sedentary nature of his job at the Bureau.
    He wondered what the urgency was about as he knocked on the door to the Director’s office and then peered inside. Arjun Vaid, the Director, impatiently gestured to him to enter. Seated opposite Vaid was a foreigner with a mop of red hair, a laptop in front of him.
    Imran took the chair next to the stranger and studied him curiously. ‘This is Michael Blake,’ Vaid said, introducing the foreigner. ‘CIA. I think it’s best he briefs you.’
    Blake fixed Imran with a serious gaze. ‘We’ve been alerted to a possible terror threat. We had a tap on the phone of a man who’s a prime suspect in a recent high-level assassination in the Middle East. His name is Terence Murphy. We don’t know who he works for and we hoped he’d lead us to them if we kept him under electronic surveillance. And this is what we got.’
    He clicked on an audio file on his laptop. The playback of a recording began.
    ‘ Murphy,’ a sharp voice instructed. ‘I have a job for you. It’s urgent.’ The voice paused.
    ‘We have a situation in India. Our partners operating there need