Operation Camouflage Read online

  Chapter 3

  AT THE HEADQUARTER

  8th May’ 2015, 12:30 pm

  In his semi-conscious state Mr Bakshi, could see that the chopper landed not at a hospital but a mountain top with a single building. The robot carried him out of the chopper with ease and following Aadi, took him into the building. They took a lift to one of the floors and getting out of the lift Mr Bakshi felt some relief. It finally looked like a hospital… but the staff was missing. A sliding door opened and a person appeared. From his get up Mr Bakshi inferred that he would be the Doctor.

  The person started speaking with the robot ‘What are the latest stats?’

  The robot answered, ‘BP 105/70, Pulse 63, 380 ml of blood lost.’

  Turning towards Aadi, the person said ‘Chief, you have a long day ahead. You may continue with your work. I will take care of him.’

  ‘Sir, your family will join you in few minutes. I need to leave now, will see you after the operation. Don’t worry. You will be fine soon. You are with one of the finest vets in the world.’ Aadi said looking towards Mr Bakshi and left the operation theatre.

  Mr. Bakshi was perplexed. Though semi-conscious, he was thinking ‘Did he hear vet?’ Before he could think any further, the surgeon had given him anaesthesia and Mr. Bakshi was sound asleep.

  Taking the lift Aadi reached another floor and entered the conference room. Some of his colleagues had reached by then. ‘Where are your families?’ asked Aadi.

  There was a unanimous answer ‘They are in the apartments.’

  One of them said ‘Chief, please inform your family. Jivika should be reaching them any moment’

  ‘Hmmm…’ said Aadi and removing his phone made a call to his wife ‘Ritu, Jivika a friend of mine is coming to pick you up. I am sending you her photo, for identification. Go with her immediately to school and pick up Dhara. Jivika will then bring the two of you to me…I know this sounds strange and will explain you everything. But right now, just do as I say. Your lives could be in danger. Don’t worry about me. I am perfectly fine’ Aadi disconnected the call and sent Ritu a pic of Jivika.

  At the same moment Samir walked in. It was Samir’s task to investigate the incident and interrogate the fourth attacker, the one whose hand Aadi had chopped off with his gun. Aadi asked him ‘What does the interrogation say?’

  ‘As expected, these four guys were just the tip of the chain who felt they were receiving a cool amount to kill a corporate executive. The chain has multiple links before reaching its sources,’ replied Samir.

  ‘Sources?’ asked Aadi.

  ‘Yes, sources’ replied Samir. Using call analytics I have found that the roots can be traced to two of our business partners who shockingly are also arch rivals of each other in the market. We do not have the true identity of some of the links in the chain as they have been using SIM cards registered under fake names, activated only for this particular mission and plan for which had started twelve weeks ago. Links are spread across at least six locations with care being taken to ensure that any link does not have visibility beyond one layer above and one layer below them. Not just that, but each link has used a different number to communicate to the link below them and a different number to communicate to the link above them. But with the help of geo tracking and call pattern analysis, the origin can be traced to at least these two sources for sure.’

  ‘Hmmm…so the secret is not just out but spread out wide.’ said Aadi looking towards the room.

  One of them asked, ‘What’s our plan now, Chief?’

  From the time of the attack in the board room Aadi had been thinking over this question. With a moment’s pause, he said ‘Operation Reveal’

  ‘Operation Reveal?’ everybody asked in surprise.

  ‘This is happening earlier than we would have wanted it to happen, but under the current circumstances; this is the only way forward. Things will not be as smooth as we had desired. For a couple of years we are going to have an uphill task and spend our energies in fighting battles on multiple new fronts instead of focusing completely on our purpose. But our cover is exposed now. No matter how much ever we try to camouflage it, the secret is out. Before other partners turn hostile, it is important to take them into confidence,’ was Aadi’s immediate response.

  ‘Think again, Chief. There should be a way to silence our enemy without coming out in the open. We are at less than 70% of our target state before we could go for Operation Reveal. While that would have been a good number in a normal challenge, anything less than 90% in this case could be threatening. Our mission could be jeopardized, taking us back by at least fifteen years even in a best-case scenario,’ opined a person in the room.

  ‘To effectively deal with the enemy we either need to be a superpower so that the enemy thinks ten times before attacking or we need to use guerrilla warfare so that the enemy is not even aware that we exist around, forget attacking us. We were nothing when we started and hence had taken the later approach, intending to continue the same way till we became a superpower. We kept denying ourselves that we will ever have to come out and fight in the open but in our minds that fear was always there… which unfortunately has turned true today.’

  ‘Working under cover, when nobody was looking out for us was a cool thing to do. It gave us the freedom to do whatever we wanted without raising any suspicions. But trying to hide now, knowing that somebody knows our secret, knowing there are eyes constantly searching for us is by no means a wise decision. We might at best be able to hide but not do anything more than that as our energies would be concentrated 24*7 on protecting our identity. The situation now demands we throw away our covers, come out in the open and fight the traditional way. Surely our enemy would have thought that we will still try to cover ourselves and he would have planned his next moves accordingly. We’ve got to surprise him by doing exactly the opposite, show him all our might, in fact more than what we are, so that he pisses in his pants. We know we are at 70% of our target strength but he doesn’t.’

  Everybody knew this wasn’t the best solution but as the words sank in, everybody started realizing that this was the only practical solution. They could try to defer it and stall the mission completely or go out, fight and clear the path for progress.

  ‘Our families are already here or on the way. Let’s have our other partners, the media and all other important stakeholders and launch OPERATION REVEAL in two hours. Let everyone take the spiritual sanitising bath, so that they can join us for the Puja* immediately after the session.’

  * Puja –worship

  Chapter 4

  THE SPIRITUAL SANITISING BATH

  8th May’ 2015, 1:00 pm

  The choppers flew over the mountains. The guests saw a lot of windmills just before landing. The pilots had to fly at an altitude much above the range of the windmills to avoid an impact and instead of descending diagonally; they had to do a vertical descent, in the open space between the windmills. The pilots manoeuvred with such finesse that the task appeared extremely simple. But even a person without knowledge of flying could imagine the challenges of flying a chopper in a windy terrain and over an area occupied with windmills.

  Everybody deplaned and moved along with Aakash, another colleague of Aadi. Aakash escorted them near a pathway few metres away from the spot where they had landed. A floating platform sprang up and that’s when everyone realized that it was not a pathway but a track. Once everyone had boarded, the platform started moving and took them to an only building on the mountain top. The building was an office of ‘Pawan Wind Corporation.’ It was big but not very big, 70 feet tall, 500 feet in length and 400 feet wide. All of them entered a room which would have been 100 feet by 100 feet. Except for chairs, the room was completely empty. Using his thumb print, Aakash activated a couple of wrist bands, and gave each one of them to wear it on their wrists.

  ‘These wrist bands are an interactive guide cum access card to help you navigate through the block, which is our headquarter. The band is to be w
orn on the other hand, i.e a right handed person should wear it on the left hand and vice versa. Once worn, the band can only be removed with my thumb print when you will be checking out from here,’ briefed Aakash.

  The wrist bands started interacting with their respective wearers. ‘Please select your language preference.’

  Once selected, it asked ‘Please tell me your name by which you would like me to address you.’

  On capturing the name, the band said ‘I have a projector which will project on the surface of your arm, whenever required. Please share your thumb impression in the designated box on your arm’s surface.’

  The guests next expected their photograph to be captured by the band but it never asked for the same. Having captured the required identity information of the wearer, the wrist band spoke further ‘Welcome to GALAXY headquarters. I am your interactive guide. I will show you directions to move across the headquarters, provide you access to different floors and sections and answer any doubts that you may have about the place. Now, you can start moving straight towards the doors in front of you to enter the restricted access area.’

  On reaching the doors indicated by the wristband, the wearers realized that they were lifts. Four huge lifts facing in four directions. They entered one of the lifts. They did not have to punch in any floor. The wrist band communicated with the lift and the lift started moving. Contradictory to their expectation of going on one of the floors above, everyone was astonished on hearing what the wristband said next, ‘We are now entering the mountain.’

  R Kapil, Founder and Managing Partner of the Hotel chain Royales, one of the person in the group started thinking, ‘So the huge building above is just the tip of the iceberg; the real structure lays beneath. An artificial hideout could have been visible. A natural cavity could be traceable. But who could have imagined someone creating an artificial hideout inside a naturally occurring mountain, without disturbing the surface and hence managing to stay away from the sight of humans as well as satellites. A perfect hideout. Sheer brilliance!’

  But this was only one of the many more surprises that awaited the guests.

  The lift came to a stop and the doors opened. Everybody got out and followed Aakash. After navigating their way through a few turns, they reached a spot where there were a hundred doors adjacent to each other. Everybody thought they were shower cubicles and this time their guess was right.

  Aakash spoke ‘Before we proceed further, we need to cleanse. You might take a little longer as you would be experiencing this for the first time in your life. But just keep following instructions. Once you finish your bath, the wrist band will guide you to your destination and I will meet you there.’

  This gave a confused look on many faces. They all stared at each other and each had the same question in their mind ‘Why was a shower being called as something that they would be experiencing for the first time in their life?’

  Kapil and each one of the guests entered into a cubicle, only to find that it was not a shower. At 5 feet by 6 feet, the room was slightly smaller than a normal toilet cum bathroom. It had a wash basin, a dispenser filled with a green coloured liquid, a chair and few plants. A soft soul soothing music played in the background and a diffuser, diffused fragrance of aromatic oil in the cubicle.

  The wrist band spoke, ‘Please pick up a glass from the shelf, Kapil. Fill it, rinse the mouth once and then drink the remaining juice.’

  ‘What is it?’ asked Kapil.

  ‘Its liquid chlorophyll, the green pigment present in plants that absorbs and converts solar energy into plant food through the process of photosynthesis. Due to the abundance of oxygen, it helps get rid of harmful impurities and toxins. It binds with the impurities and flushes them out of the body. While it also stimulates the bowel movements and facilitates colon cleansing, another natural laxative has been added to fasten the process. Mint leaves provide the refreshing taste. While mint has in-numerous health benefits, its primary role here is oral cleansing. You may now relax on the chair and once you feel the pressure building up, you can move to the next cubicle for emptying bowels.’

  With a slight hesitation, Kapil took a sip. It had a cool minty taste like a mouth freshener. After rinsing his mouth once, he drank a small sip which gave him an extremely refreshing and energetic feeling. He immediately gulped the entire glass.

  He sat on the chair and asked the wrist band, ‘What are these plants?’

  And he got an answer, ‘These are indoor plants. Along with providing natural greenery to the eyes these also help in increasing the oxygen concentration in the air. Across the cubicles you will see Aloevera, Gerbera, Pot Mum, Peace Lily, Basil, Areca Palm, Ficula, Ivy plant, Spider plant and Snake plant. The lighting here is natural sunlight brought in through a series of reflectors.’

  Kapil had actually felt the freshness associated with clean and pure air at a hill station. The higher than normal oxygen concentration was the reason behind it. The laxative started showing its effect within five minutes and he moved in the next cubicle, same sized but with a toilet bowl and a wash basin. After emptying his bowels, he was instructed to move to the next cubicle. This was an empty room with few drawers on one side.

  ‘Please remove all foreign material on your body – shoes, clothes, jewellery, cell phone, wallet, pen, keys and keep them in separate drawers. Only foreign material allowed are your spectacles, which you can keep in the case provided and wear it around your neck during the bath. And needless to say, I the wristband go with you. Do not worry about me. I am completely waterproof and do not have any camera.’

  Kapil thought, ‘Ohh, so this is the reason the wristband does not have a camera and hence did not ask for a photo during the registration process.’

  The wristband spoke further, ‘There aren’t any cameras, in any of the bathing cubicles but there are sensors to sense the presence of any foreign object from the next cubicle.’

  Once Kapil had deposited all his belongings in the respective drawers, the band spoke ‘You may now move on to the next cubicle.’

  ‘What about my belongings?’ asked Kapil.

  The band replied, ‘You will get them before leaving GALAXY.’ At the end of your bath, you will receive a new set of clothes which is a uniform for visitors here. Mobile networks for visitors are jammed, so you won’t be able to use your phone and you will not require any of the other things during your stay here.’

  He did as he was told and moved to the next cubicle to finally see a shower. The wristband spoke, ‘This is a cold shower, the water here is pure unprocessed mountain water at normal room temperature, better than any of the bottled water in the market. You may even drink it if you wish too. This shower will clean all the sweat and grime. You can use the disposable scrubber kept in the cabinet.’

  So this is not the end, he thought wondering how many more such stages to go. Not that he was not enthralled by what he had seen so far, the thought had come just out of curiosity. Making a cup of his hands, he drank little bit of the water and found it to be extremely sweet. He could immediately feel the difference between the processed bottled water that he had had before and the pure mountain water picked up from the source.

  He took the cold shower and after disposing of the scrubber in the bin moved towards the next cubicle. The wristband spoke, ‘This is the drying chamber where the body would be dried with the help of warm blowers.’

  After drying his body he moved to the next cubicle to see another shower and a dispenser filled with translucent green gel. The wristband spoke ‘This is the aloe-vera gel. Please apply it to your entire body including hair and wash it off, just like you would take a normal shower.’

  After applying the gel he started the shower. This had the same mountain water but slightly lukewarm. After having washed the gel of his body he moved on to the next cubicle.

  The wristband spoke, ‘You are now going to take the green bath, which is lukewarm water with Neem and Epsom salt. Please sit on the special chair.’


  The chair was very unique. He had never seen something like this before. The base was a cube with the silhouette of a person up to the neck dissected along the coronal plane. In simple terms it appeared as an oversized mannequin being dissected into a front and back portion and the back portion being made to sit on the cube. Sitting on the chair was like sitting in the cavity of the back portion of the mannequin. Once seated the front portion of the mannequin body which was transparent came down from top and fixed over the back portion, encapsulating Kapil’s entire body below the neck. The cavity then started getting filled with a lukewarm green coloured water with Neem and Epsom salt. Simultaneously, a robotic arm kept spraying small quantities of the same liquid on his face excluding his eyes, mouth, ears and nostrils. An innovative way to have a tub bath with 90% lesser water, thought Kapil.

  The diffusers diffused the same fragrance and the continuity of the soul soothing music was perfectly maintained across all cubicles. Difference was in the landscaping. Different indoor plants and stones adorned the various cubicles in a single line. The refreshing mint taste lingered on his tongue even now.

  Sitting for five minutes he started feeling a relaxation in his muscles and loosening of stiff joints. After another ten minutes the water was drained and Kapil came out of the mannequin cavity. Completing the green bath, he moved to the next cubicle which was a steam chamber.

  The steam helped in absorption of Epsom through the skin, easing the muscles and nerves.

  Next in line was another lukewarm shower to wash out the excess Neem and Epsom.

  This was followed by another chamber of warm blowers to dry the body. He felt extremely relaxed and light, a feeling that he had never experienced before in his life. None of the massages or spa treatments came even closer to the relaxing feeling that he had just experienced.

  He moved on to supposedly the final chamber. This he felt as it had racks with clothing and he remembered the wristband mentioning new set of clothes at the end of the bath.