‘Foreign mercenaries, thanks to the ISI, are still coming here to destroy us, just that their profiles have undergone a change. You may have heard about the arrest of Salim Amjad in Hyderabad and of the two trained LeT suicide attackers. Salim was supposedly a Hyderabadi, but the CTC investigated and found that he is actually a Pakistani. The two LeT men are Pakistani terrorists too.

‘Salim is a long-term resident terrorist sent to India to never return. He was to stay among us, as one of us, to help destroy us. We need to pluck out such embedded Pakistani terrorists as each of them is a ticking time bomb.’

An eerie silence descended on the room. Somaiya and Sameer were seemingly exhausted and were assessing the reaction of the recruits. Just then, an orderly entered the hall and passed around glasses of cold water and biscuits. The glasses were emptied at once. But no one touched the biscuits as if the mention of Salim’s treachery had tamed their hunger.

‘We cannot let another tragedy like the 1993 serial blasts happen in India. Trojan Horse will seek to be India’s eyes and ears in Pakistan. The mission believes in the adage that attack is the best defence. The time has come to deal with Pakistan on its own land and under its own skies,’ Somaiya said as he exited the hall.

25. SHOOT TO KILL

25

SHOOT TO KILL

The soundproof shooting range of bungalow number 105 was built two floors beneath its sprawling compound. Now that the initiation of the five trainees was over, it was time for the three instructors, Sameer, Somaiya and Sanjay, to turn them into capable covert operatives.

Sameer was waiting for the boys as they walked into the range at 6 a.m.

‘Welcome to the range, trainees. You will learn all about weapons here, from handguns like the Italian Glock, which is light and accurate, to AK-47 and AR-15 automatics, which are the weapons of choice for commandos seeking accuracy and a higher kill percentage. How many of you have fired a weapon before? An air gun?’

‘I once went to a firing range in my city. I have fired a handgun, but I don’t remember what it was,’ said Atharv.

‘Okay, then let’s start with you, Atharv,’ said Sameer. ‘Pick up that Glock from spot “A”, marked by the placard. That is the spot where a shooter needs to stand and take aim at a target that is between 10 and 60 metres away. Go ahead, shoot.’

Atharv, a tad uncertain about what was expected of him, ambled to spot A and picked up the Glock pistol kept on a rubber mat on the floor. He stood sideways, took aim with his right eye and pulled the trigger with his right hand. Thwack, a heavy metallic sound resonated in the large and empty space of the shooting facility. Atharv had missed the mark, placed 10 metres away, and the pistol’s recoil had injured his palm.