When Babar finally fell asleep, it was Rifaat’s tear-stained face, her large brown eyes peering into his, which refused to fade away from his mind’s eye.

The bus stopped four times but the four men did not get off even once. At 6.30 a.m. the bus reached Birgunj, bordering Raxaul in Bihar. The four men took an autorickshaw across the border. From Raxaul, they took a bus to Patna and went straight to the railway station. Babar bought four tickets.

‘For Pune, sir. We are four of us. Any type of tickets will do. Our uncle is hospitalized there and reaching there in time is the only concern right now,’ Babar pleaded with the booking clerk.

‘Everyone has the same story. You should book the tickets in time so that you get the reservation and can travel well,’ the booking clerk said, clearly unimpressed.

‘Rs 3,200, ordinary tickets, for the general compartment,’ the clerk said.

‘Badi meherbaani, duaon mein yaad rakhna, sir,’ Sohail said, jumping into the testy exchange that Babar was having with the clerk.

The Danapur–Pune Express left at 8.50 p.m. and would take thirty-one hours to reach Pune.

51. TERROR AT BVP HEADQUARTERS

51

TERROR AT BVP HEADQUARTERS

‘We were probably trained by the same set of ustaads at Bayt al-Mujahideen. Sahil, who taught you firing and marksmanship during the Daura-e-Khaas?’ Babar asked.

‘Ustaad Zakir. He knew so much. What a shooter, as if guns were an extension of his hands. He was probably on deputation from the ISI; he had the bearing of a typical fauji,’ Sahil said.

‘Ustaad Zakir. What a teacher! But very stern! I did so many extra rounds of the training-cum-football ground during a particular combat course in LeT conducted by him that I was more familiar with its features than even the designated maali,’ Babar laughed.

‘True,’ Sahil agreed.

Babar was sitting with Sahil and Rohit in their room in the Aamantran Lodge in Pune’s Budhwar Peth. ‘What did you find during your survey of Himalaya Bhavan? What are the gaps we can exploit?’ he asked, getting down to business.

‘None on the surface. The complex is really big and has good perimeter security. There is a three-tier security system. If we can barge into the campus, break through the layers of guards and commandos, it would be a gold mine for us as the top leadership of BVP can be found there,’ Rohit replied.

‘How soon can we rent a big car? We will also need to rent two flats and arrange for police uniforms,’ Babar said.

‘I can get the uniforms,’ Rohit volunteered.

‘And I will get the car,’ Sahil said. ‘A friend of mine runs a garage here at Budhwar Peth. I will get a car from one of his mechanics who deals in stolen vehicles. But I may need Rs 1 lakh for that.’

‘Fine. Please get a red beacon as well,’ Babar said.