After a slight rest, they opened the discussion further.
“We followed where we are, now we should seek to find out why we are here. Why have they seized us?” Charmi initiated the communication.
“That is the one painful to solve.”
“yes, laborious but we must.” Charmi insisted.
“Does it matter who has kidnapped us and why? Once we will succeed to escape from here, we should approach the police.” Shyam stated.
“We must have answers for who and why in advance. We are uncertain whether we could reach the police, in addition, even we can reach the police, we are not confirmed the police helps us, maybe the police associated with them.”
“I never like to be here again.” Shyam thought about double cross by police and felt goose bump through his body, “You think why they captured us. You are a spy, aren’t you?” Shyam requested Charmi innocently as if he were a kid.
“You were captured in the night while they picked me in the day. They kidnapped you making unconscious while they dared to kidnap me without making me unconscious. I am unable to guess anything but I am sure they must be professionals. I came to Chandigarh from Pathankot was only known to me, the head and only two staff members.” Charmi was trying to weave the strings.
“perhaps, they had no plan to abduct you, but they saw you and picked you.” Shyam tried to draw her out of thinking.
“Don’t talk nonsense and silly! They saw me and grabbed me!” Charmi spoke angrily but soon cooled her self down and smiled at Shyam, “Sorry, but we must think, you came from Delhi on the day of your kidnapping. You had a woman with you. What is her name you told?”
“Yes, Delhi to Chandigarh, in fact, Ahmedabad to Chandigarh. Archana was with me.”
“May I know about Archana? What is the linkage between you and her?”
“What should I say? She is...” Shyam confused.
“Girlfriend?”
“No, not a girlfriend. I love her more than my life.”
“Okay, who else had known you both returned Chandigarh?”
“one of my friend from Ahmedabad but he is the simple and sober guy. It is useless to doubt on him.”
“I can not find any clue. You would work at safety supplier. One minute, what about Archana?
“She was serving at Haryana secretariats.”
“was working?”
“She was a stenographer there, but she was expelled.”
“Why?”
“Government found some discrepancy in her documents. According to Archana, all her documents are genuine but they proved her documents fake and fired her from the job.”
“Archana... Archana... Archana... I can understand nothing.” Charmi spoke through her teeth putting her palms over her forehead.
“You should never doubt on Archana even in dreams. I have known her for five years.”
“Anyone can be the betrayer. It doesn’t matter you have known her for five years or twenty years.” She raised her eyes chin, her voice had firmness.
“But Archana can never betray. There will be no connection between her and the kidnappers.” Shyam was as determined as Charmi.
“You are blind in love. You can never realise the fact.”
“Charmi..” Shyam raised his voice as he could never bear any word against Archana, “it does not matter of love or fucking blindness of love. If you have seen her even for a moment, you must have said Archana can never involve with the kidnappers.”
“Oh! May I know what is the special thing is there in your Archana?” Charmi stared at him.
“She is a disabled girl. She is suffering from polio in a leg. She can only walk using a stick. How can she be involved in such a conspiracy?”
“I am sorry. Really sorry.”
“It’s okay.” Shyam cooled himself down thinking about the tendency of the time as Charmi was also his well-wisher.
“handicap... stick.....” Charmi murmured trying to remember something, “ Haryana Secretariate... Home minister’s office...”
“Be clear and audible.” Shyam annoyed again.
“I think I have seen Archana. Once I went to the home minister’s office with my head and found a lady with long black hair walking with aid of a stick. She must be Archana.”
“Of course! She is Archana. Hom minister tears her like her own daughter.”
“You mean the relation between the minister and Archana are like father and daughter. It must mean the minister trusts her blindly.”
“I have said we should never doubt on Archana. I can never think Archana could make me kidnapped.” Shyam crossed his arms defensively.
“I never mean Archana did these all but someone played the game. Poor Archana doesn’t know anything.”
“I couldn’t get you.”
“Shyam, someone hacked the laptop of the home minister.”
“Charmi, Archana knows only typing. She is basic to the internet. She is clever enough to use whats app and Facebook only.” Shyam was ragged with Charmi’s indirect accuse against Archana, “She can even not change the Facebook password. I am only the bloke who clears temporary files from her laptop whenever it gets slowed. How can such a girl hack any laptop?”
“so only... Archana was primary on the internet. Archana hadn’t hacked the laptop but someone else hacked the minister’s laptop misusing her basic knowledge of internet and the minister’s bloody trust on Archana. I think the minister expelled her from the job only for this reason as the minister knows Archana is innocent and he had no wish Archana to be harassed. The minister didn’t want Archana to be cornered in a terrible scheme.”
“But how?” Shyam’s eyes widened. He became serious hearing Charmi.
“The minister had some sensitive data in his laptop. So sensitive that he never allows the hard copy of that data. He never connects that laptop to the internet to prevent the hacking of data.”
“perhaps the data might be deleted by mistake,” Shyam argued.
“The IT experts had examined the laptop. The data must be in the recycle bin if deleted by mistake. Suppose the recycle bin emptied by mistake then also the data must be in the root of the hard disc. We have experts who can recover the deleted data even after the hard disc formatted thrice. But the hard disc was formatted over three times. It means it was not a mistake but done with intention.” Charmi explained Shyam.
“The matter is very serious but still I believe Archana couldn’t do this.”
“Archana hadn’t done anything. Someone took advantage of her primary knowledge of the internet and her relation with the home minister. Archana might be unaware of what happened.” Charmi repeated to explain Shyam.
“I have no idea about hacking but how can anyone be able to do this without letting Archana or home minister know anything.” Shyam couldn’t believe yet.
“I am not IT expert but my gut says our kidnapping and laptop hacking have any correlation.”
“Let accept the interconnection. But why did they not ask me anything about the laptop or home minister when they tortured and interrogated me?”
“What did they ask you?” Charmi inquired.
“I feel they believe me an agent, agent Shyam. They also asked me about the agent Malik and where he is. I could answer none. They asked me about Rozy and Christy but I heard these names the first time. At last, they decided to kill me and called their boss. Fortunately, they got instructions from their boss over the call to keep me alive till the poll.”
“Did they ask anything else? Try to remember.”
“Hamm. They asked me one more question.”
“What it was?” Charmi was impatient, “Tell me all without losing anything.”
“Where is the main source?” Shyam spoke, “and where is the agent who came to Gujarat from Goa?”
“Anything else?”
“Nothing. They asked me these questions again and again for a week.”
“The matter is not limited within Chandigarh. It is spread to Goa and Gujarat as well.”
“What did they ask you?” Shyam asked Charmi.
“The same and about you. Who is agent Malik? Who is agent Shyam?”
“Hamm. What did you say then?”
“I said I know nothing.”
“And they believed you?” Shyam wondered.
“Yes, because I gave them a satisfactory reason to believe me.”
“How?”
“They felt I am connected to C.B.I. anyhow. So they captured me. I explained to them I am a safety engineer. I came to C.B.I. office to sign a contract on behalf of our company. Our office at Pathankot is an engineering firm in the eyes of people. Especially we sign some government engineering contract. Only some political leaders and army officials know about us that ours is a secret investigating institute. Our department exclusively indulges in army investigation but the Home Minister of Haryana and my head are friends since childhood hence my head accepted the case unofficially.”
“Did you go to the C.B.I. office in relation to this Case?” Shyam asked.
“No, I was there for something else. The head himself is handling this case individually.”
“We can’t know why we have been caught.” Shyam sighed.
“I am not sure but I can figure out some clues.”
“What? Tell me please.”
“Goa and Gujarat. Malik, Rozy, and Christy. Data-stealing from the laptop of the home minister. My head took the case of a home minister, Archana, and home minister and the relation like father and daughter, you are from Gujarat, You are connected with Archana... " Charmi tried to chain the loose ends of each thing.
“What do you want to say? Honestly saying I can’t understand anything.” Shyam puzzled.
“The first reason for your kidnapping may be of your being Gujarati. They are indulging in Goa and Gujarat and you are from Gujarat hence they mistaken you as an agent.”
“And the second reason?” Shyam tried to know.
“The second you are connected with Archana. Maybe both reasons responsible for your capture.”
“I can’t understand anything yet. why have they captured me? Many people from Gujarat are in Chandigarh. If the reason is my connection with Archana, then why should they not kidnap me when I was with Archana? They could kidnap us both together.”
“There must be a reason not to kidnap you both. They might not get the chance or they didn’t want to be noticed by the home minister kidnapping Archana. We can be certain once we can talk to Archana or Home minister.” Charmi murmured.
“And we must escape from here to talk to either, and it is impossible.” Shyam disappointed.
“Nothing is impossible in the world.” Charmi tried to fill zest in Shyam.
“Yes, I know this phrase. I have repeated this slogan to my students many times but in the present case is it possible to follow the slogan?”
“I need a plan to escape from here. Let me please think about a plan.”
“Yes, Why not? An army agent can set up a better strategy than a tutor.”
“You are right. I can think of a better plan. But you should help to provide information about this place in detail as you have been here for a long time, shouldn’t you?”
“It’s my pleasure. But we must die if we caught during the attempt of escaping.” Shyam warned Charmi.
“They will kill us someday even we remain duff. We must take a chance. We must take a little risk.”
“It must be a little for you. But to me, it is the greatest risk I have taken yet.” Shyam emphasised the word little.
“You will remain safe. I promise you, a promise from army personnel to a civilian.” Charmi was a different one now. Shyam noticed the impression of army personnel on her face.
Suddenly they found the sound of footsteps. Shyam immediately rose and went to his commonplace.
***
To be continue...
