‘Yes, sir,’ Atharv said.

Later, Atharv received an email from Al-Wali: ‘Go to Brilliant PCO, opposite the gate of the out-patient department of District General Hospital in Rajouri. Ask the owner, “Where is Atif? I hope he is well.”’

Shekhar’s cell phone buzzed. It was 1.50 p.m. Seated in his cabin at the CTC headquarters in Delhi, he was reading the interrogation report of a terror accused, looking for a chink in his narrative to breach his defence. The accused had not revealed anything of value so far to his CTC interrogators. It made Shekhar wonder whether he was genuinely cooperating or hiding as much as he could without getting hurt.

Shekhar looked at the screen of his phone. ‘We are in play.’ The text message was from Somaiya, CTC’s designated handler for Atharv, Anant and Nirav.

Shekhar smiled and lit up a cigarette. He then called his boss on the encrypted phone line.

‘Operation Trojan Horse enters the critical phase. Our response must be quick,’ Shekhar told him.

Next, Shekhar called Somaiya and asked him to take a flight to Delhi from Mumbai that evening. Somaiya spent half a month in Mumbai to coordinate the operation with Atharv, and the other half in Delhi.

‘Meet me at the safehouse in Chanakyapuri to discuss a possible plan of action for whatever is happening. You can then return to Mumbai via the 12.50 a.m. flight since Atharv will need you there,’ Shekhar instructed Somaiya.

That evening, Somaiya was on a plane to Delhi, while Atharv was on the Rajdhani Express train to Delhi. The train reached Delhi around 11 a.m. the next day. After eating lunch at a cheap hotel at Paharganj, near the railway station, Atharv went to Old Delhi to loiter around its streets and alleys, which he loved. He bought a bus ticket for Jammu from Janata Tours and Travels, located near the iconic Red Fort. The bus left at 6.30 p.m. and, by 5 a.m., Atharv was in Jammu. He then bought a bus ticket for Sopore, which was around ten hours by road. After a light breakfast at a nearby restaurant, he boarded the bus for Sopore at 7.30 a.m. At 4 p.m., he got off at the Sopore bus terminal. Half an hour later, Atharv was at Brilliant PCO.

41. LOOKING FOR ATIF

41

LOOKING FOR ATIF

‘Where is Atif? I hope he is well,’ Atharv told the man seated inside Brilliant PCO. The owner, who seemed to be in his mid-thirties, had sad, weary eyes that tried to focus on Atharv. ‘Wait,’ was all he said. He then shuttered the shop and, telling Atharv to wait outside, left. Ten minutes later, he was back in a white Maruti van and asked Atharv to get in.