Somaiya hated himself from the bottom of his heart for every word he had to utter at the meeting. He hated himself for being there, especially with the likes of Ahuja and Chaudhary, who had already become friends and were tucking into their plates.

Somaiya hated himself for becoming old, too old for CTC, where he had spent thirty-six years of his life in investigative and intelligence-gathering roles. Six of those years with the CTC had been spent in Pakistan and Iran on covert assignments.

‘Welcome to the civilian world as a retiree,’ he mumbled to himself. Suddenly he stood up and told Ahuja he was going home as he was unwell and would be in the office the next morning at 10 sharp. Ahuja was busy enjoying his lunch and merely waved at him.

As Somaiya walked quickly out of the coffee shop, his cell phone rang.

It was Suman. ‘Why are you not taking any calls? Your old CTC boss, Shekhar, has been trying to get in touch with you!’

‘What does Shekhar sir want from me?’ he wondered.

‘I was in a meeting with Ahuja, a business meeting. I will call you back,’ he told Suman and hung up. He quickly dialled Shekhar’s number.

‘Good afternoon, Somaiya ji, how are you?’ Shekhar asked him warmly.

‘I’m fine, sir, thank you.’

‘Hope you are not enjoying your retired life too much? I want you back on an assignment, on short-term contract basis,’ Shekhar said.

‘Yes, sir, it’s … it’s a very quiet life.’

‘Sounds like you may be getting bored at home already. Good!’ Shekhar chuckled. ‘Listen, CTC needs you again. You would be joining us as a consultant for six years, with a 10 per cent increase in compensation. You don’t need to come into the office daily; you can be your own boss,’ Shekhar laid out his offer.

Somaiya was stunned. After a few moments of silence, Somaiya thanked Shekhar. ‘Thank you, sir, really. When do I begin?’

Operation Trojan Horse was now under way.

16. THE YOUNG DRONE-MAKER

16

THE YOUNG DRONE-MAKER

The fifteen-year-old was spoken of well by his teachers at Tuticorin’s St Xavier’s high school but was seldom seen browsing textbooks at home by his family. No one knew how he found the time to study as his post-school hours, till he called it a night, were crammed with a series of activities barely connected to academics. A port city in southern Tamil Nadu, Tuticorin (known as Thoothukudi since 2018) is on the tip of the Gulf of Mannar in the Indian Ocean. It began as a small fishing village, then developed into a booming Portuguese colony in the sixteenth century and further expanded during British and Dutch occupations.