ACT I
“Alpha 2 this is Alpha 1, What’s your position, Over”,
“ Alpha 1 this is Alpha 2, we are near the alley, Over”
“Hold position until further order Alpha 2, I repeat Hold position and gather all the intel you can ….. Over and Out”……
As he ended the transmission with his forward observers the only thing going in the mind of Major Raghvendra was …. Will we be able to pull this one like other missions??? Will I be able to pull it off ??? …..this was no ordinary mission…..it was not that he was not confident of his boys. As the Commanding Officer of the 1st Special Operations Group, popularly known as Delta Force , Raghvendra, code named ‘Ace’ , was the only man on the force who had the mind and skills to pull it off, irrespective of the conditions. But then this mission was no ordinary one…..and this was not due to the opposition he was against…..but the Hostage he had to free…just one hostage bothered him, just one of the 25 hostages.
She had still looked the same when he was shown the photos of the hostages. The mysterious smile on her face was the same…the same that he could remember. Time had stopped for him, his mind raced back to those days when she was something more to him than just one name. He had met her at the college he had joined after his Dad was posted to Shimla. He was a late admission to the college, and as usual was lost on the premises. Out of nowhere appeared this girl who just asked him ,“Hi I am Sneha, Can I be of any help”……..
Puzzled Raghu asked her “ Can you give me directions to the B.Sc 2nd Yr. Class “ . It turned out that she too was studying in the same class. Sneha and Raghu hit off instantly. She helped him at class, in studies at home and above all was a great listener. Her patience was what astonished Raghu. You could call her even at 2 A.M in the morning and she would patiently listen to all crap you had boiling inside your mind, without ever mentioning the late hour or how idiotic you seemed.
Restraining his mind, Major Raghvendra, tried to concentrate on the task at hand. He was to brief Col. Mohan about the latest on the Crisis in the next 5 mins. Time was critical and could not be wasted on things that were no more, no more the way he had wanted them to be………
On entering Col. Mohan’s Makeshift HQ, the Major gave him a crisp salute. The Col. Was one of the pioneers of Delta Force, the man who got Delta from the drawing board to what it was today. He was now the special adviser to the GOC-in-C ,Special Forces Command.
“ So Raghu , what are the chances ? ”
“ Sir , they are not too good as we can’t play psychological ops.(warfare of the mind and wits), as we want this to be done a quietly as possible, without creating anymore scenes here. As it is the National & International Media is almost up our ass, but I have full faith in my chaps, the’ll make those assholes pay for this .”
“ That’s my boy, let’s see your plan”.
The Col. had liked the plan. He called it the most brilliant plan that he had heard in years and was very confident that it will not only work, but it will also show these mercenaries that we are not weak. The only thing he failed to notice was the anxiety level in the Major’s voice. Raghu thought that he had betrayed himself more than once in front of his boss. Was the Col. just playing plain dumb or did he not see that how much the mission meant to him????
Now came the tough part, he had to speak to his boys. He was known as a fearless leader to his chaps. What if they could see that the mission was not about the hostages, and he was taking it personally, what impression will his men make of it???
Everything should go off well with the boys. The plan was simple. Akash and Mani had to take out the guards at the top of the roof With the two guards on the top gone, entry into the complex would be undetected. Then came the most difficult part, according to their forward observers there were 3 militants at the entrance of the hotel lobby. They had no intel on the total number of militants from the lobby entrance to the Conference Hall, where all the hostages were kept. Capt. Roshan and Havaldar Roopchand would then take the 3 visible militants out as soon as the lights went out and stand guard for any others that maybe lurking around. Then came the part that would settle this , Raghu and his team of 3 crack commandos would storm the conference room from all sides and take the remaining hostages by surprise. That should do it………..
The boys were all quiet ,too quiet for a special forces, all knew that after they start this mission of their’s the whole world’s intelligence & secret services’ eyes are going to be on them and the kind of outcome this team will get. This was from the start going to be no easy conference. The world’s Top Microbiologist meeting for a secret conference in the backdrop of the beautiful valleys of Kashmir, and protected just by a handful of lightly armed police personnel. It was ridiculous !!!!!!
Major Raghuvendra Singh, started off like a true commander, pumping his boys with enthu….
“ Gentlemen, the mission we have here will go down in history as the most accurately executed mission……….the world will again acknowledge that the Indian Special forces are the bravest, the sharpest, the most experienced hands on this planet. Now for the parts you chaps are gonna play tonight….”
“Akash, you and Naik Mani here are going to be the first ones to take them out at the roof top and your code name is ‘GOD’ , got it ?”
“Yes , sir”, was what Capt. Akash Singh replied back excitedly , fully aware that he was to start a chain of events which will make life hell for those bastards who thought that they could fool around with them and put India to shame in front of the whole world.
“And you 2 jokers clear out the entrance lobby for us …haa….what say Roshan…..excited about erasing those 3 militants stationed at the entrance lobby”
“ Gee Boss… we are raring to go……, we won’t let you down sir, we won’t….by the way sir whats are code???? ”
“ Lets say, you chaps are ‘TWISTER’….hope you jackasses like it ……”, Raghu asked smilingly.
“ Then me , Chopra, Panging and Batra will storm the Conference hall from all the sides and eliminate the remaining SOBs. They will also be HOT like us, with Night Vision and all the works, so be careful”
“ So ready to Go……..”
And the room was filled with all the enthu he had wanted…..a loud and unanimous roar from all his boys, the elite DELTA FORCE…………the best in the business …….
“ Let me remind you one more thing boys , we are in it together, even if one team fails…we all fail…and so does our country, and I know you guys won’t let that happen….Good Luck Gentlemen…..May God be with all of you”
Phew…that was easy, but by this time Raghu had forgotten about that one special hostage of his…..he had his full thoughts on the job at hand…..he had been trained to shut his mind off from the outside world……but what happened earlier in the morning when he saw her photograph was a mistake……a small mistake in his illustrious career as a special forces officer. He, Major Raghuvendra Singh was one on the most highly decorated officers in the Army. He was the recipient of Ashok Chakra, the highest peace time gallantry award, a Kirti Chakra was also in his kitty for bravely fighting insurgents in the east. And he had numerous commendations from the Chief and other senior officers of the Army…..one hella a kid, a 3rd Generation Army officer in his family….His father was still serving as a Major General in the army. His Grandfather joined the army of independent India in 1948, during the First war of Kashmir.
ACT II
As he and his team started to come out from their makeshift tent he heard his name being called out from behind…….
“ Raghu, beta Raghu…..” For once he thought it was his mother’s voice…but mom in Kashmir…..that too without informing him……naa…not possible……He slowly turned around and saw a woman who he swore he would never like to see again in his whole lifetime….the two women who was responsible for the shoddy state of his heart …his poor little crushed heart.
“ Raghu it’s me , Sneha’s mom…….please come here for a moment” the woman said sobbingly .
“ O Hello Mrs. Dixit , Hello Ms. Hema….. how are you ma’am?? Guess this is the wrong question……sorry”
“ Raghu I heard from Col. Mohan that you are going to attempt a rescue. Please beta we beg of you to save Sneha , she’s in there my poor Sneha…….help her beta , help her……”
What was going on in Raghu’s mind was driving him crazy….he had once promised himself that if ever he met up with these 2 bitches he would really give them a piece of his mind…..and now here he was, feeling pitty for them, rather than fulfilling his promise to his hurt heart. Perhaps this is what we call life…………always expect the unexpected……
It took him almost a minute to even speak after her mom sobbingly feel to the ground…..he wanted to hold her and say ……don’t worry aunty, I will save Sneha…..my Sneha……. But he didn’t know how to say that…..as now she no longer belonged to him…..and all thanks to these ladies standing in front of him. He started out to speak again, but felt that he too may betray himself and join her in crying for the only girl he ever loved in his life, the only girl he will ever love in his life, the girl he still loved. It pained somewhere , but he didn’t wanna give himself away, show that he Major Raghvendra Singh, ‘The Tiger of Kashmir’ was a weak little kid…..a 27 years old weeping kid…..
With much courage he spoke , and the only words he managed were “ We’ll get her back for you”…..and fearing that he may also join them and sob inconsolably , he ran back and joined his team.
Sealing his thoughts Raghu, went over one last pre-mission weapon & waypoints check. It was already dark, time to go and kick some asses.
“ Gentlemen check your watches…..on my count for 2330 Hrs…. 10…9….8….7….6…5….4……3…..2……1……TIME….. O.K now let’s begin the Party”
“ Alpha 2 this is Alpha 1, it’s SHOWTIME…….were comin’ in boys…..over”
“ Alpha 1 this is Alpha 2 , you have a GREEN LIGHT……”
The crossing from there hiding place near the alley to the boundary wall of the hotel took less than 30 seconds, 30 seconds of exposure…but it was too dark for anyone to see these shadows of Death.
There had been no demands so far from inside, no money , no release of other militants…no demands whatsoever…..that is what had troubled the negotiators….this left with only one possibility….they required the eminent Microbiologist for production of weapons of Mass Destruction…..thats it….this is what was Hot these days…..WMDs. That was the reason DELTA had to be called in. They feared that these militants may try to abduct a few scientists and forcefully try to have them produce some biological or chemical weapons of mass destruction. This made the rescue mission even more important.
They reached the designated spot, behind the police check post near the entrance of the Hotel.
“ GOD this is Alpha 1 , let’s roll, over”
“ Alpha 1 , this is ‘GOD’ , we are striking now……over”
No one on the premises heard the sound of two special long range sniper rifles hit their targets. All what one could hear in the chilly night breeze were two soft thuds on the roof top, like some thing had just hit the roof. No noises , no yells of pain….just plain n simple kills.
“ Alpha 1 , this is ‘GOD’ , you have our blessings, over n out”
This is how it was planned , and this is how the Major intended it to go, as per his plan. Now the time had come to arise the twister….
“ ‘TWISTER’ this is Alpha 1 , it’s time to start your show, are you ready? Over”
“ Alpha 1 this is ‘TWISTER’, we are a GO now , see you inside, over n out”
Within no time , a smoke bomb came inside the hotel lobby from nowhere & silently in came the Lords of Death. The 3 men in the lobby were history before you could say ‘ surprise’. It was simple and very clean. No alarms , no exchange of fire, no resistance. That was good news for the mission.
“ ‘TWISTER’ maintain ground supremacy , you 3 chaps follow me…”
With these words , Major Raghuvendra and his men , rushed towards the Conference Hall. They made ground in less than a minute. After checking all the sides for more militants, they stormed into the Hall……
There was commotion on all sides. The militant leader didn’t know what hit him in the head and he was a dead man even before he hit the floor. As for the rest of his militants , they panicked and surrendered to these fast moving death machines the instant they saw their leaders dead body……
“ Clear……Clear……Clear……”…..
These were the only sounds being heard over the static in the makeshift HQ , where Col. Mohan was sitting close to the radio.
General Grewal was indeed pleased with Col. Mohan’s selection of the man for the job.
“ Mohan , Good Show. Jolly good , I am impressed with your team……we did it”
“ Thank you sir…thank you indeed” , was all Mohan could get out of his mouth. He was excited to hell…..I love the boys …I just love them….thats what he was thinking..
With all the hostages secure, now again Raghu’s mind started playing games with him…where was she?? Would she recognize him??
And then out of nowhere he saw , and he stopped , he stopped dead in his tracks…….on the floor , next to the leader lay the body of girl ,no more than him…….SHIT…….it was her , in a pool of blood….SHIT….
“ Akash, Get the Doctor , fast……….” And before completing his words his hand went down to check her pulse……and he felt nothing…just nothing at all……
He fell down to his knees and started crying like a small child who had dropped his favourite ice-cream on the floor……..
The doctor arrived and felt for the pulse….in a few seconds he called for a stretcher……..she was alive but her condition was changing rapidly……..She had been hit just below the temple, near her right ear……The bullets end could be still seen locked in the head. It was enough for Raghu to see….
Meanwhile Capt. Akash had got his CO on his feet and hugged him. He had never seen his CO cry like that before, not since they had lost a Jawan to enemy fire around 2 years ago. It was the same way he had hugged him then, but somehow he felt that it was different this time….he felt that he was hugging a dead mass….
