‘I and my brothers, Tahir and Sadiq, today take an oath in the name of our father, and in the name of the soil that accepted the blood oozing from his body, that henceforth our lives will be the property of the community. We will do whatever we need to do to restore the respect of the ummat,’ he declared. ‘So tell us who you are. And what do we brothers do next?’

‘We are committed to the community, for it we are ready to sacrifice ourselves,’ the Doctor replied. ‘As to who we are, we belong to the pure and believe in the majesty of the religion. We believe that there is no truth other than the apparent in matters of faith.’

The Doctor turned to the door and called out, ‘Mukhtar!’

Mukhtar, a tall man with a bulky frame and hawk-like gaze, appeared at the door carrying an AK-47.

‘Get the maps and the forms,’ the Doctor instructed him.

Mukhtar returned with what was asked of him in no time. Taking the papers from him, the Doctor turned to the three boys.

‘What was the stream of your engineering courses, Tahir and Sadiq? And Imran, what was your specialization?’ he probed.

Nirav and Anant told him that they had specialized in metallurgical and chemical engineering, respectively. Atharv said that he had specialized in criminal law.

‘Criminal laws. Framed by the British, then the Indians post Independence?’ the Doctor scoffed. ‘The only laws we believe in are those that are approved by our community.’

The Doctor then spread out the maps of Kishanganj and Thrissur on a table and told Atharv and his brothers to point out the locations of their offices and homes. The three of them also had to fill up forms in which they listed the names of their close relatives as well as their residential and business addresses. They had to write down their educational particulars as well.

As the Doctor read through the forms and inspected the maps, Atharv silently thanked the CTC officers, especially Shekhar, for having anticipated what would happen and providing them with strong and detailed cover profiles.

Half an hour later, the Doctor gathered up the forms and the maps and left the room. Mukhtar stood motionless in the room, his eyes on the three brothers.

Atharv could hear the Doctor’s muffled voice. He sounded like he was on the phone having a conversation with somebody important.

He was back in twenty minutes. ‘Come with me, you three,’ he ordered the boys, who trooped out of the room, following him.

They were led out of the mosque to the lane behind it, where a Land Rover was parked. Mukhtar slid into the driver’s seat while the Doctor sat next to him. The brothers sat in the back seat. Roshan sat behind the brothers, holding Mukhtar’s gun as if he were used to it.