Prologue:

Inside the small, dimly lit air conditioned

chamber, a large square table was

surrounded by five chairs. Seated upon the

chairs were five people. All their attires

were black with long hoods pulled over

the heads. They concealed the five

faces perfectly, apart from the persons'

lips and chins nothing was visible to the

naked eyes. Long arms save the wrists

covered with black fabric rested upon

the smooth surface of the mahogany

table.

       Leaning forward a little, they were

animatedly engaged in their conversation.

Their soft voices sounded a bit loud in the

calm atmosphere. Occassionally one or

two of them would tap the table,

approving a word or sometimes an entire

sentence spoken by the guy seated

in the centre. He was the leader of this

little group. Always alert to the slightest

change in the surroundings, his gang took

him very seriously. His very presence

inside the chamber was nothing less than

an assurance, a belief that their work

would not be spoiled. They came together

for discussing their further strategies

regarding progress of the stone stockist.

  

   Suddenly the air in the room shifted and

everything became still. Underneath his

hood, the leader's hawk like eyes began

darting to and fro. Quickly getting up from

his chair the man lunged at the window,

drawing the blinds away. Squinting to get

a clear look, he banged his first on the

hard stone wall, cursing under his breath.

The rest of the group were utterly baffled.

They could not understand their chief's

behavior or his restlessness. But the frown

over his forehead and the lines of worry

covering his face were enough to clarify

their doubt. Something was bothering

their leader. He had certainly sensed some

terrible problem which was likely to prove

very destructive for them in the near

future.

          Mustering a bit of courage, the man

at the front took slow and careful steps

towards his chief. Clearing his throat

softly, he asked the man in a small,

hesitant voice,

                      
                        " Sir, what is bothering you?

If any of us has offended you in any way,

please let me know. I apologize for my

friends' mistake and we all will ensure it

never happens again. Please chief! Kindly

tell us as to who or what is the reason

behind your worried silence!"

            The man finished doubtfully in the

same small and hesitant tone. But what

happened next was beyond his wildest

imagination. Because as soon as he was

done speaking, the leader quickly swung

around and before the gang members

could contemplate anything, landed a

hard slap upon the man's cheek. Everyone

was taken aback. This was the first time in

years when their chief actually lost his

temper on someone, specially one of their

gang members.

      "All of you! Yes, all of you are dumb

idiots. No wonder you can't see anything.

Am I the only person who is supposed to

possess both eyes and a brain? I expected

you to atleast suspect something was up

when the corridor suddenly fell silent. We

were too wrapped up in our talks to notice

the presence of an outsider. Fools! Why

couldn't you understand?

WE WERE BEING WATCHED ALL THE

WHILE! SOMEONE WAS SPYING ON

US!"

Their leader finished angrily. All the men

stood shell shocked, too scared and disgus

-ted with themselves to say anything. Who

was the intruder? Where did he go? What

was the motive behind his eavesdropping?

How much had he heard? And if he was

around them all the time, how come no

one noticed him? Where did he hide? Most

importantly, how did chief know they were

being watched? How did he get to know

some outsider had gained access to their

secret meeting place? How could he sense

the man's presence?

    There were too many questions and the

men were unable to guess the answers to

any of them just then. As of now, there

were 2 important issues which demanded

their urgent attention:




1) Reaching their work area and ensuring

the task was finished within time sans any

hindrance.


2) Dispatching their best spies for tracing

the outsider who visited their secret meet

-ing place uninvited. His entry was a sign

their privacy was breached.

 
     Right from their tasks to fulfilment of

their desired goals from time to time,

these men worked like machines. Little

food and least rest were what kept them

up and about. But tonight was a different

case.
     

       For the very first time in their slavish

lives, these men were actually worrying

about something. Until now they did the

bidding of their leader and apart from a

handsome amount of money every month,

all they wished for was to be in his good

books. The faith and trust received from

their master was the greatest reward for

them. Merely an indication, a single hint

was enough for these men to lay 

themselves in the path of any calamity

they feared might befall their chief. And

presently, this master, this very chief of

theirs was extremely displeased with them

due to their casual and irresponsible

behavior.

       

           Sighing deeply the gang members

passed each other serious looks. It was

daylight now as the morning sunrays were

slowly falling upon the earth, illuminating

the surroundings brightly. Slowly nodding

their heads at each other, they stretched

their arms. Resting their palms over one

another, the middle guy placed his other

palm over his outstretched first one. Then

giving his friends' hands a warm squeeze,

he silently assured them about success in

searching the previous night's trespasser.

     

           Resolving to redouble their efforts at

safeguarding the identity and secrecy of

their group, all gang members exited the

building. Walking out of the tall glass

doors, they went in different directions,

each one treading their chosen paths.







Chapter One!




Early morning 7'o' clock:

People were moving around, arranging

things and cleaning up the bedrooms. The

housekeeping staff were going about their

usual chores, sanitizing the dining room,

big and small washrooms on every floor

and arranging the well dusted furniture in

the main conference room located in the

right side corner of the 1st floor.









Situated within the plush bylanes of

Bandra East is the state government

guest house. A beautiful and well kept

structure, it houses and caters to the

needs of Parliament Members, bureau-

crats and Ministers belonging to various

Union and State Departments. Bedrooms,

housekeeping and room services along

with clean, well maintained washrooms

are the regular amenities provided for

the visitors, occupants and their staffers.

This guest house also comprises of a large

canteen. A big kitchen right behind the

L shaped billing counter was run by 3 cooks

who prepared various delicacies. Food

served in this canteen consisted of every

item ranging from mutton chops to eggs,

chicken and varieties of locally known fish.

Almost every visitor paying a visit to this

place would have at least one meal in this

canteen. The aroma wafting from the

ever busy kitchen along with the clattering

of vessels whetted the visitors' appetites

teasing their taste buds.




Today was an ordinary day like any

other, save this morning aroused the deep

or shallow, real or fake, even eternal or

momentary political interests of every single

attendee be it even the humblest waiter in

the canteen or the usual housekeepers. As

the large pendulum clock on the outer wall

of the meeting room struck the hours with

a resounding 'Dong', faltering steps could

be clearly herd as people hurried for giving

final touches to their chores. Minutes went

by and about half an hour later, a thin man

with an average height and medium built

sprinted inside the building, skidding to a

halt right outside the meeting room's closed

door.



















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