Dehradun

The room had the appearance of one that did not have a single speck of dust. The Persian carpets, the velvet curtains, the huge mahogany desk, a big globe of the world, a set of tall mahogany racks holding files and facts that no one would ever know about. A small man was working on something in the computer on the desk. The man was Colonel H. K. Subramanian alias Serpent, the director of the ANNT. The room was the headquarters of ANNT and was located in the premises of IMA Dehradun. No one knew about this secret office apart from the ANNT operatives. The operatives visited the IMA compound as visiting officers with specialized training in various fields who had come to teach the same to the cadets. However after entering the compound they would vanish in thin air as they headed for their headquarters. Only one man present on the IMA compound had the information about this organization……… Major A. Kapoor, the IMA director. He was an operative of the ANNT for several years before being moved from espionage operations due to his declining health. He was currently in charge of handling any situation which may arise leading to a suspicion that something was wrong in IMA. Being the director of the IMA, his immense power in the premises made his job easier.

A knock on the main door forced the Colonel to stop his work and look up at the door. The Serpent knew who had come as he had been intimidated as soon as the person had entered the IMA premises. He pressed one of the several buttons located underneath the desk thereby opening the door. The person who entered the room was the most tried and tested operative of the ANNT……… Major Ajay Saxena. Dressed in his uniform, Major Saxena was himself a cadet of the IMA. He played very important roles in several operations along the LOC before being reallocated from the Indian Army to the DIA. The Serpent himself moved him into the ANNT several years back. Since then Major Saxena has been one of the best operatives of ANNT with operations in Iran, Russia, Turkey and even the heart of United States. His father Prof. V Saxena was a renowned physicist while his mother Alice worked for the UNICEF. She was a Czech girl who fell in love with Prof. Saxena and later married him. Ajay was their only child and he had all the physical traits of his mother. He could be easily mistaken as a European international which always worked in his favor. He was christened as Roy Lucas after joining the ANNT.

Lucas knew the Serpent very well and had worked under his commands during all his operations. The Serpent had become the director of ANNT when his predecessor Colonel Tiwary was killed in an air crash two years back. The Serpent had handled the organization very well since then. He was a wily old cat……………a real mastermind. He did not speak at all for about five minutes and continued to be busy with his work. Lucas on the other hand was not looking too pleased. He did not seem to be in the best of conditions. He had been in Morocco for his last mission just ten hours ago. And just when he was going to complete it, the Colonel ordered him to come back.

The Serpent looked up once and realized that Lucas was not pleased being made to wait for so long. So, he finally decided to talk to him regarding what it was all about.

‘How was your flight back home? Did you get some sleep? Your face looks terrible.’ He chuckled after speaking about the face.

‘Well, the journey was one of the best that I have ever undertaken. You don’t get a chance everyday to travel with a bunch of high priority mails and parcels in a private aircraft of a courier company. The box on which I was sitting thereby spending the seven hours was even better than a recliner. I suppose I shall buy one of those for my drawing room when I return home.’

‘Sleep……………………………hahaha…………………I have been keeping these eyes open for the last forty eight hours……………..and I simply couldn’t afford to doze off in the plane as well and fall on the fragile stuff kept all around thereby damaging those as well myself. I badly need some sleep.’

‘Well then get some sleep within the next twenty four hours because you have several sleepless nights coming up after that.’

‘What? Fly again tomorrow itself? I really need some answers now. I was just about to wrap up everything in Casablanca and you bring me back. What could have been more important than the retrieval of the stolen plutonium? I had everything working according to plan and was about to get them once and for all when the deal would be made in the Casablanca Twin Center itself…………….I was just so close after these two months of hard work……………But you abort the mission and call me up at this crucial junction to do God knows what.’

‘Agent Lucas, always remember that you are here to serve your country and your organization first. There is no place for sentiments and self glory here. I hope I am clear.’

‘As far as the deal in Casablanca……..the deal will be made tonight at the Twin Center. We have informed our agents from RAW. They will be present there to retrieve the consignment and bring it back to our nation with the help of a group of elite commandos specially trained for this mission. Your job there is done.’

‘As for the current mission, you will be travelling to Havana tomorrow. Something is definitely wrong in Castro’s land. Agent Alpha K had been sent there to look into the matter. He was clearly on to something and we need to find out the information. Recently there has been a lot of movement in the Tropicana Casino in Havana. Suleiman Hussein, the notorious Al-Qaeda operative and Yuri Rosmus, the biggest Russian mafia boss were seen meeting each other several times. They were supposed to strike a deal on something and Alpha was on the verge of tracing what it was. But something has gone drastically wrong. We have not received any communication from him for the last three days. Today our informers in Havana found a mutilated body by the beach. They are sure that it belongs to Alpha.’

‘You move out there and take care of the unfinished business. We believe that this may be even bigger than what Alpha was originally thinking. Your tickets and forged Dutch passport have been sent to your hotel. You will find them in the locker. You will also find a brown envelope containing the mission documents and details of what Alpha had initially found out. Lucas, this one’s not going to be easy. This time there is no information, no identified enemies and certainly no particular mission objective. It’s more of a free role. You are renowned for your photographic memory. So, make it count and get back as much as you can find out. If you find something sinister, leave no stones unturned to prevent it.’

As Lucas rose up in order to leave, the Colonel interrupted. The Serpent really delivered a venomous strike through the next news.

‘Well Lucas, I did forget to mention you something. You will not be travelling alone this time. We don’t want an incident like Agent Alpha to be repeated once again. So you will be having a backup with you this time. Let me introduce you to your wife.’

He spoke something after lifting the receiver while Lucas stood there shocked at this news. What followed was a knock on the door and the entrance of his so called wife……………….a young lady dressed in black uniform. She was exactly six feet tall with her boots on. The surprising factor was that she looked more like a European with her red hair, fair skin and blue eyes. No way could she have been an Indian. As Lucas was busy pondering how the lady got into ANNT, the Serpent interrupted.

‘Lucas, I’m pleased to introduce you to Ms. Annie Svensson, one of our elite female operatives. To remove all doubts, here is a brief introduction. Annie is the daughter of Dr. Arundhati Moitra, a top nuclear physicist and Dr. Mattias Husenberg, a leading scientist known for his ground breaking researches in the field of aerodynamics and trajectory. The Indian government had constituted a team in the seventies to work on the first nuclear program. These two had been a part of the program. They later married and settled down in Canada. Annie is their only child. Anita Moitra, which is her original name, had joined the Canadian army and had learned a lot. When her father died, her mother decided to move back to India. Anita left the Canadian army and joined IIT Kanpur. There she did specialization in microelectronic devices and circuits. After she left IIT, she travelled to England for specialization in nanotechnology. In England, during one of the ANNT missions, I personally identified her to work for us. At ANNT she was rechristened as Agent Annie Svensson. Since then she has been involved in many missions in Russia, Greece and England. She is an expert in electronic devices like timers and also in radio communication and radar. She will be of great help to you during this mission. Just watch her back in case of any trouble. In fact I believe, Annie will watch your back in case you fall into trouble which you definitely seem to have an affinity to. From now on Annie will be renamed as Mrs. Annie Lucas. Annie’s passport and tickets are kept along with yours at the hotel. Good luck team………………….. Don’t disappoint me.’

As they left the room, Annie gave Lucas a welcome smile. Lucas avoided it and responded with a blank expression. He liked to work alone. However, this time he had to protect not only his own ass but also some stupid girl who had popped into his mission from nowhere like a misfired smart bomb.