Cold Love (21 page)

Arjun looks at Krish and then at Riya.
After a small pause, he nods his head to say yes. Riya picks up the gun and
places it on her head again. Arjun is looking intently, sitting right next to
her. Just as Riya’s finger moves close to the trigger, Arjun reaches out in a
flash as the gun fires, but the bullet hits the ceiling. Riya drops the gun on
the table and breaks down sobbing, her face in her palms. Arjun and Krish wait
for her to recover as the bullet went about 20 centimeters above her head.
Arjun slides a glass of water towards her. Riya eventually gets her face out of
her palms. 

“I’m sorry Riya, I had to do this. I had
to be absolutely sure.” Riya drinks the water slowly and takes a moment to
regain her composure. “As you rightly said, we both love our country more. Go
on then…continue your story.” Riya looks back dazed, and does not respond.

 “So it all started from Afghanistan,
right?” Arjun prompts her.

“Yes, Arjun, it started from
Afghanistan… when I saw those monsters there, I made up my mind that any
organization that supports terrorism must be uprooted and destroyed… and I
didn’t care if I lost my life pursuing this objective …And why not Arjun? When
these guys do not care about right or wrong, why do we think so much before
punishing them? That little baby dying in my arms took a part of my soul away.
What harm had he done? You know very well Arjun, how bloody their hands are!
Then why are we discussing about right and wrong? They are murderers… why
shouldn’t we punish them Arjun?”

Krish speaks up to support Riya, “Arjun,
let me ask you. Isn’t it true that for a war to end someone has to win and
another person has to lose? We want this cold war between the two countries to
end… once and forever! And for that, righteousness should win! I know you
believe in karma. Lord Krishna himself favors the one who is right…!”

“And you know that truth and
righteousness is with us Arjun!” Riya chips in.

“Agent Vinod? Why did you kill him?”
Arjun decides to ignore the moral debate about righteousness. 

“Agent Vinod was double-crossing us and
selling nuclear secrets to Pakistan.” Krish explains, “We had him in our sights
for a long time. This was kept classified in honor of his late father, who was
a freedom fighter. We could have nabbed agent Vinod anytime, but when I came to
know about his meeting with the ISI lieutenant general, I decided to kill two
birds with one stone. I was given the task to eliminate him anyway. At that
meeting, he was going to pass our encrypted nuclear locations to ISI. But we
had replaced the memory stick he’d stolen… and my special agent, who works as a
mole in the ISI, helped me get a bullet from the lieutenant general’s gun.”

“Oh! Really?”

“Yes, Arjun! It wasn’t difficult,
considering the fact that the ISI lieutenant general had a big weakness for
liquor and sleazy girls. So I used his bullet and a similar gun to shoot agent
Vinod when he got out of the car that the ISI lieutenant general was in.”

“Hmm! Two birds with a single bullet!
Cool!”

Krish smiles and continues, “The ISI
lieutenant general had fired a few shots during the operation. So it wasn’t
difficult to prove that he fired the bullet that hit agent Vinod. The DNA tests
proved Vinod’s presence in the car. So it was easy for the court to arrive at
the conclusion that it reached eventually.”

“Checkmate! Hmm! Impressive!” Arjun
ponders gravely. “Krish, is that it? What about the neutron missiles?
Everything eventually was about the missiles, right?”

“Yes Arjun.”

“So the ISI lieutenant general was just
a means to create a political environment that can justify its use? And that’s
where Riya came in to gain my trust to get the codes for these neutron
missiles?” Krish nods yes slowly to Arjun.

Not many in the department knew that
Arjun, in his role as Executive Head of the Strategic Wing for RAW, was one
amongst three people in the country, who were recently granted the launch codes
to remotely trigger the neutron missiles. The other two people, who could do
this, were the Head of RAW and the Air Force Chief.

The neutron missiles were invented by
the Israelis to safeguard themselves against nuclear threat. The Israelis have
always lived in fear of the consequences of a terrorist group capturing a
nuclear weapon. Eighteen months ago, India acquired this technology from Israel
through a strategic alliance to jointly combat terrorism. Arjun received one of
the three codes because the Strategic intelligence wing in RAW is most likely
to be the first body to receive such intelligence information, and so is best
suited to react immediately. The technology used in these missiles was very
advanced; however, the principle was quite simple. These neutron missiles were
specifically designed to take out nuclear arsenals by neutralizing the
radioactive plutonium or uranium. If you neutralize the radioactive component
of a nuclear weapon, then all that remains of the missile is just a big piece
of rock. These missiles were harmless to any living being, because they only diffused
the nuclear weapon by neutralizing the radioactive component. The US and
Israel, and now India, possessed these neutron missiles. Very intelligence
agencies in the world even knew about these missiles.

“Arjun, we can diffuse all Pakistan’s
nuclear arsenals without harming a single human being. And they won’t even know
how it happened.” Riya reasons with Arjun, “Tell me, isn’t nuclear deterrence
the reason our hands are tied … the reason our Government cannot take any
action against the terrorists? Just imagine Arjun, without those nuclear
weapons, will they ever have the courage to fight this cold war against us?”

“Krish, this must have had backing from
senior RAW officials?” Arjun decides not to get into a debate again. “Who else
is with you from the RAW right wing?”

 “I cannot give any names, Arjun.
Everything is off the books. RAW received very clear instructions from the PM’s
office last year… do whatever it takes… whatever… to tackle cross-border
terrorism. The PMO assured the director of RAW that it won’t ask any questions,
as long as the results were delivered.”

“Why me, Krish? What if things went
wrong?” Arjun asks.

Krish doesn’t respond and sighs deeply.

“Oh! Stupid question,” Arjun laughs
mockingly, “Let me answer that myself. Since I am the lowest-rung executive
amongst the ones who hold the code, if everything works… well and good… but if
things went horribly wrong… RAW would alienate itself from me, maybe classify
me as a ‘rouge agent’.”

“Or deletes all records about you… that
you even worked for RAW,” Krish adds grimly, “You know how it works, Arjun.”

“Krish!” Riya exclaims, visibly annoyed
at this scenario.

“Unfortunately, yes. Riya, I do not
condone it either, but that’s how it has always been. Agents in covert
operations take grave risks for tasks all around the globe. And sometimes when
things go wrong, agents are alienated by the department in the country’s
strategic interest. I have seen so many of my colleagues sacrificed in
operations. Some of them are relocated and given a new name, a new life… others
just vanish into thin air.”

Riya stares at Krish with a distressed
rebellious look, obviously not impressed by this scenario, and also as if to
say, “You never told me that before.”

 “Arjun, we are all trying to achieve
the same result,” Krish continues, “The end justifies the means. ISI openly
smuggle drugs, arms, narcotics… carry out every rotten business in India.
Shouldn’t defeating them be our core strategy? Our government and politicians
just stand as spectators doing nothing. Isn’t it our responsibility to take
action? There’s no turning back now, Arjun. What we wanted to achieve through
this case has already taken place. The international environment is very
conducive. We are very close to our goal. Arjun; we won’t get a better chance
than this. One last move and the enemy will be on its knees. You have the codes
for the neutron missiles; I have the exact geo-location of all nuclear targets
in Pakistan. My agents have been tracking their nuclear sites over the last
year. Together we can wipe out their entire arsenal right now from this room in
just thirty seconds!” Krish snaps his fingers, “And the best thing is, not a
single civilian will be killed.  Arjun, you need to make that call. Take out
nuclear weapons from the equation and decades of cold war can be won right now.
And because of the current political environment, the US, UK, France…everyone
will applaud us for safeguarding and securing a safer world.”

Arjun taps his fingers on the desk, “And
what if even a single nuclear weapon gets left out Krish? Have you thought what
will happen if their Army… or even a terrorist group got hold of a missing
missile … or just consider the prospect that China smuggles a nuclear weapon
overnight across to Islamabad. What happens then? The entire city of Delhi or
Mumbai will be wiped out in a moment…” He makes a sign with his hands to
visualize the holocaust, “But why am I talking this anyway? Krish, you know the
protocol… these neutron missiles can only be used in a war situation and operated
upon direct order.”

Krish smiles, “Hmmm… Arjun, if we are
not in a war why don’t you go to the border and ask them to stop the shelling
that happens every day? They send terrorists across the border to kill our
innocent people. Ask those mothers whose sons have died in Kargil, or those
dying every day at the Line of Control…in their hearts, there’s a real war
raging on right now, Arjun! You know, we are in a worse cold war situation than
the US and USSR! At least the US and USSR had sensible strong governments to
control their arsenals… Just imagine what our next war or even a standoff
situation will be like?”

Arjun isn’t convinced but listens
patiently.

“Let me tell you Arjun… our next
standoff will be like the Cuban crisis … our next Kargil war will have nuclear
weapons locked in against each other. A worse scenario could be that the person
targeting that weapon at us could be a terrorist instead of a Pakistani
general!”

Suddenly Arjun’s phone rings. He ends
the call without picking it up, but it starts ringing immediately again. It’s
Puja and Arjun excuses himself and goes to a corner to listen to her.

“Bhaiyya, the doctors are not saying
anything. Papa is still on the ventilator. And mama is still not speaking, even
after yesterday’s therapy. Bhaiyya, please come here! I am very scared, bhaiyya!” 

“Puja, don’t worry; everything will be
fine.” He turns around to see Riya standing behind him.

“Arjun, is it Puja’s call? Please let me
talk to her once. I beg you, Arjun, please.” Tears roll down her cheeks, “Just
once Arjun… I know I have wronged you but I will do anything you say…anything!”
she gets down on her knees. “Arjun please, I promise.”

There’s an awkward pause and suddenly
Arjun puts the phone on speaker. “Puja, Riya wants to speak to you.”

“Puja, how are you? How are uncle and
aunty?” Riya asks immediately, grabbing the phone in her hands.

“Nothing is right, Riya. Papa is still
on the ventilator. I don’t know what will happen. I want to meet you, uncle and
aunty but I can’t!” Puja’s sobbing can be heard distinctly on the phone, “And
do you know Riya, Rakesh has broken up with me. He broke up with me Riya.” She
starts sobbing loudly on the phone. 

“What?” Riya is stunned and stares at
Arjun.

Puja continues on the phone, “Riya,
there’s no one for us now, isn’t it? Friends, family, love … everything is
ruined, Riya. Everything! Riya, you will leave Arjun as well, isn’t it? And we
will never meet again Riya…Never!”

“No Puja, please don’t say that. You are
my only friend! You are a sister to me. I will never leave you… never!” She
breaks down on the floor by the wall, crying, holding her head in her hands. At
that point, Arjun picks up the phone, and turns off the speaker.

 “Puja! We have talked about this
before!”

 “Bhaiyya I am sorry. Bhaiyya when will
you come? I am very scared for Papa. Please bhaiyya, come back to me.”

Arjun walks to the side, “Don’t worry
Puja, everything will be fine. You need to be strong. You have to take care of
Ma. I’ll call you. Ok…”

“Ok Bhaiyya. I am sorry.” Arjun finally
disconnects the phone.

Riya is still on the floor, crying in
pain.

 “Arjun, why are you doing this? Why?
Why did Rakesh break up with Puja…she loves him! Goddammit!” she shouts in
anguish, “Krish please tell Arjun I want to meet Puja. Please Arjun! Please!”

Krish had been listening to everything
as a spectator, “Huh… what can I say!?”

“You have been through this before as
well Krish, isn’t that so?” Arjun asks him calmly, “You did the same thing,
right?”

Riya lifts her face from her hands to
listen. Krish doesn’t respond.

“Krish?” Riya asks curiously, “Tell me
Krish!”

“Yes. I tried the same as you did,
Arjun. It’s easier in hindsight, but I’ll say this; life and death is beyond
our control… perhaps the one above scripts everything for us. In hindsight, for
me, even a few of moments of love are worth more than an entire lifetime!”

There’s a marked pause. Krish walks over
and offers his hand to lift Riya up from the floor. He then walks over to
Arjun.