Rohit added, ‘Yes, sir, we are ready to hit the streets. Compared to Delhi, it is far more pleasant here. This is the perfect place for endurance training, I would think.’

Sawant smiled. ‘Wonderful, boys. So, let’s roll.’

The team of six, all in their track pants and sweatshirts, charged out of Wellesley Mansion.

After they had covered about a hundred metres and had just crossed the Albert, Sawant shouted, ‘Slow down, jokers! It’s a six-kilometre run, not a sprint! So, run at a pace you can comfortably maintain till the end. Your last lap will need more than the last ounce of energy you have left. It will require the kind of strength that comes only from your unshakable will to finish the run – as the winner.’

At the end of the jog, Anant emerged as the winner, followed by Atharv. The other three finished the race too but came in over two minutes after Anant and Atharv.

‘Not bad for your first day, boys,’ Sawant greeted them on their return to the mansion. ‘After breakfast, we will climb up Kennedy Hill through its western face, which is steeper. After having a hot delicious lunch at Wellesley, you can enjoy your time, explore the town, and do what interests you. The sun goes down early here. Tell strangers you all are athletes and are undergoing specialized training. There will be an hour of gym work from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m., followed by dinner. Let’s do it and enjoy.’

Three weeks later, during which the recruits underwent rigorous endurance and strength training, two visitors, one from Kerala and the other from Maharashtra, joined the team at Wellesley Mansion and instructed the boys in the art of unarmed combat.

Stanley Xavier, from Kerala, taught the recruits Krav Maga, a synthesis of techniques from a variety of martial arts, which the Israeli armed forces also practice as part of their training regimen.

Rahul Sardesai, from Maharashtra, instructed the boys in the Filipino martial art form of Kali. The deadly forms helped develop the skills needed to come out unscathed from violent street-fight-like situations, using bare hands as well as sharp objects like daggers, swords, curved axes and long, slender wooden sticks.

Atharv, fondly called ‘Sniper’ by his fellow recruits on account of the comparatively better skills he displayed in shooting at bungalow number 105’s range, excelled in these fighting arts again. It turned out he had a black belt in karate too. Rohit too took to the Filipino techniques like a fish to water.

Twelve weeks after the five recruits were brought to Wellesley Mansion, Shekhar finally appeared before them.

‘How is the training coming along, boys?’ he asked them.

‘We are surviving, I suppose. How are you, Mr Shekhar? Lansdowne will do you a world of good; you should stay here for a few days,’ Atharv replied.