'One room for the both of you, sir?'
The question seemed an innocuous one, but the tone in which the receptionist asked it was pointed enough.
'Yes, please,' Narada replied nonchalantly.
As the receptionist got around to processing the paperwork, Aaditya pulled Narada aside. 'Is it really necessary for the two of us to share a room? I mean, she thinks we're a couple.'
Narada kept looking in the distance, scanning for any sign of trouble.
'Aadi, I don't care if she thinks we're going to have a bloody orgy in there. I cannot let you out of my sight before the Asuras make contact.'
Aaditya sighed as Narada fished out his credit card to complete the formalities. That was one of the elements of the plan Narada had hatched. He was sure that the Asuras monitored calls and financial transactions just as the Devas did, and Aaditya was most certainly on their watch list after his role in the battles. A hotel reservation made in his name was sure to attract the attention of the Asuras.
Aaditya and Narada took the elevator up to their suite in the ITC Maratha Hotel in Mumbai.
'I like the buffet breakfast here,' had been Narada's reply when Aaditya had asked him why he had chosen this particular hotel.
As they entered the room, Aaditya took stock of the accommodations and then told Narada that he was going to take the couch in the living area.
'No offence, but I really don't fancy us cuddling together at night.'
'I am heartbroken,' Narada replied in mock despair.
The rest of the morning was spent rehearsing their plan, and by lunch, they were ready to give it a go. Narada left first, booking a hotel car to take him for a supposed business meeting. Aaditya left ten minutes later, taking a car to the In Orbit Mall, which he'd read was the largest mall in Southeast Asia. Narada could not be sure, but he had bet on the fact that if the Asuras had been alerted, they would prefer to tail Aaditya, thinking him a softer target. He was the first human the Devas had let so deep in their ranks, and for him to be out and about so openly would mean that he had the Devas' full confidence.
The driver must have thought Aaditya was a tourist who had come to Mumbai for the first time in his life, the way he gawked at the crowds and traffic around him. Being around so many people after almost a year made him feel like an alien. He was sure things could not have changed so much in a year for them to seem so strange to him-or had he himself changed so much?
Fifteen minutes into the ride, Aaditya's earpiece buzzed with Narada's voice. 'They are right behind you. Two ugly daityas in black suits and sunglasses riding a silver Honda City.'
Aaditya looked behind cautiously, and sure enough, they were there.
'Narada, where the hell are you?'
Aaditya could hear the Deva chuckle.
'In a taxi right behind them.'
As Aaditya's car came to a stop at the entrance to the mall, he felt his first real stab of fear. What had he got himself into? Now it was too late to back out. He would just have to carry through with the plan. The Honda was standing nearby, its engine idling. A security guard came over to tell the driver that he could not park there, but a glare from the giants inside the car sent the guard scurrying back. Aaditya just stood there, watching the daityas inside the car. It was a farce-they knew he was on to them, and obviously he knew who they were.
'Narada, what now?'
'If you go into the mall, they won't follow you in. In broad daylight, those freaks would attract way too much attention. So make your move here, and don't worry, we have your back.'
Narada was nowhere to be seen, but Aaditya didn't doubt that he was close. For that matter, for all his requests to go alone, he did not doubt that Shiva and the others were also near, ready to step in if things got ugly. Reassured by that thought, he walked over to the Honda. The two daityas looked at each other, and Aaditya thought he could hear them talking frantically. He smiled to himself. They would never have expected him to make the first move. He casually walked up to the driver's side and tapped on the window.
The daitya rolled down the window as Aaditya leaned against the door.
'I assume you are not following me because you want my autograph. Look, I don't have time to play games. Narada is expecting to meet me for lunch, and he'll be here in an hour or so. If that snake-eyed bastard is nearby, call him. I need to talk to him.'
The slightly stunned daitya whispered something into an earpiece and then asked Aaditya to get into the back seat.
'What kind of an idiot do you think I am? Get him to come here. We do this my way.'
The daitya took off his sunglasses, his red eyes blazing in anger, but he soon composed himself and asked Aaditya to wait.
'Someone is pushing their luck today. For a slave of the Devas, you seem to have a big mouth.'
Now it was Aaditya's turn to be surprised. He turned around to see Maya standing just a couple of feet behind him. Dark sunglasses covered his eyes and he wore a black suit like the daityas.
'Come with me. Let's take a little walk together.'
Aaditya and Maya walked inside the mall and sat at a coffee shop. As the two sat facing each other, going through the motions of sipping the lattes in front of them, Aaditya was torn by conflicting emotions. Here he was with the creature who had killed Kartik in front of his eyes, and who was responsible for the abduction, if not the death, of his father. Every bone in his body told him to lash out now and kill Maya, but he held himself back. Even if he did manage to kill Maya, it would mean that both the larger purposes of his mission would amount to nothing-stopping Kalki for the Devas and finding out the truth about his father.
'So, my crippled friend, what assistance may I provide you?'
Aaditya bristled at Maya's insult, but reminded himself why he was here.
'I have a business proposal for your master.'
'Tell me what you want and why I should not kill you here and now. You've caused enough trouble for us.'
Aaditya leaned forward, murder in his eyes. 'Because, you ugly son of a bitch, if you insult me once more, I'll vaporize you where you sit.'
He nudged Maya under the table on his thigh with the handheld vajra he was carrying. He felt Maya tense up, as if he had never expected Aaditya to be such a hard nut. That glimpse of vulnerability made Aaditya push his luck even more.
'And I will only talk to Kalki. I don't discuss business with servants.'
Maya took off his sunglasses to glare at Aaditya with his snake eyes, as if warning him, and then put them back on.
'Very well, here he is.'
Aaditya inserted the earpiece that Maya had handed him, and found himself talking to the one person who he both loathed and desperately wanted to meet.
Kalki.
***
Aaditya was now standing outside a bookshop. Kalki had proved to be as suspicious as all the Devas had predicted he would be. His very first question was why he should trust Aaditya.
'Because you don't have a choice.'
Aaditya heard a deep, throaty chuckle at the other end.
'That's priceless. Here is a puny mortal telling me I have no choice but to listen to his whims and commands. So, tell me, Aaditya, what makes you so invaluable to me that I should even waste a moment entertaining your proposals?'
Aaditya held his breath, with what he said next, the dice would well and truly be rolled.
'Because you may be plotting something, causing earthquakes by the dozen, but as long as you cannot wipe out the Devas, you cannot really achieve anything.'
'I can smash the Devas to bits.'
'Oh yes, I heard how your previous plans for attacking their base went.'
Aaditya could feel the anger in Kalki's voice as he spat out his reply. 'Enough! I had made contact hoping you could be of use to me like your father before you, but if all you want to do is to mock me, then don't waste my time.'
In one instant, Aaditya was reminded that it was not just he who held all the cards. Kalki must have sensed his hesitation and mercilessly pressed his advantage home.
'Oh yes, for all your bluster, I know who you really are. A lost boy, in search of answers, in search of the life and dreams he once had. I can give you all the answers you seek.'
'And I can tell you the secrets of how to defeat the Devas.'
Kalki laughed softly.
'After all they have done for you, you will betray them so easily?'
'The Devas have their agenda, and I have mine. I want the truth about what happened to my father, but that is not all. Soon you and the Devas will end your war one way or the other, but I will need to get on with my life.'
'Ah, yes. I had forgotten how much you humans covet the good things in life. What do you want? Money? A house?'
'Five million US dollars. I'll give the account details to Maya. I want the cash there tomorrow, then we can talk.'
'You do put a high price on your information. The money is nothing, but what guarantee do I have that you won't bolt?'
'I'll meet Maya here at the same time tomorrow. Narada will be coming soon, and I can't be seen with Maya. If I do go back with the Devas to their base, the money is of no use to me, and you know as well as I do that I cannot live long in the human world if I betray both you and the Devas. If anything, after all this over, I will depend on you honouring your side of the commitment more than you will need me.'
When he met Narada a few minutes later, and they sat down at a bar, Aaditya noticed that his hands were shaking. He tried to lay them flat on the table to still them, but they seemed to be moving of their own volition.
'Relax. You did great, from what you told me. Now just try and relax and unwind.'
Over the next few minutes, after Narada had made sure that there were no Asuras or daityas around, and got confirmation from Ganesha that their communications were secure, Aaditya was in a conference call with the Devas back at base. The first voice he heard back from the Deva base was Tanya's.
'Aadi, are you okay? God, I couldn't sleep all night wondering what you were getting yourself into.'
Aaditya reassured her that he was fine and then debriefed the Devas on what had happened. It was agreed that he would meet Maya the next day and see if indeed Kalki had taken the bait. He heard Shiva murmur, 'Aadi, either he'll take the bait or he'll decide the risk is not worth taking, in which case he'll probably just kill you out of spite. I will be there in my vimana like this morning, just overhead, watching for trouble and also will come by any time you need me.'
That night, alone in his hotel room, Aaditya found it impossible to sleep. More than anything else, there was the sheer nervous energy and anticipation about what was likely to happen the next day. The best case was that he would be taken to Kalki's base as a virtual prisoner. The worst case, well, didn't need much thinking about. Hearing Tanya's voice had also given him much to think about. Whatever the endgame was in the struggle between the Devas and Kalki, Aaditya now knew that he could no longer just think about himself. In all the uncertainty and chaos that lay ahead, Tanya was the only bright ray of clarity. He was in love with Tanya. That clarity was the only thing that gave him hope. No matter what lay ahead, he would do his best to get back to her.
The next morning, Aaditya got up early and ate sparingly at the breakfast buffet. Narada seemed cheerful to the point that it began to get on Aaditya's nerves.
'What's got you in such a great mood?'
Narada looked at Aaditya between bites of his croissant.
'At times like this, I always trust Shiva's advice. Believe me, he's been through more battles than most of the other Devas put together.'
'And what does he say?'
Narada wolfed down another bite and responded. 'He says that when you go into battle, go smiling thinking of all the people and things you love, and go with a full stomach having eaten all the things you love most and indulged in all the things you like.'
'Why's that?'
'So you go into battle reminding yourself of all those you are fighting for and want to return to, and in case you don't make it back, at least you won't regret not having indulged in the things you love one last time.'
Aaditya smiled as he understood the simplicity and wisdom behind the idea, and his mood lightened considerably. 'I know who I'll be thinking of, and as for any last minute indulgences, I think I know what I would like.'
So at ten in the morning, Aaditya logged in for one last sortie by IndianBader. He realized that even though he had logged in hundreds of hours of real flying and combat, he was very rusty when it came to the virtual version. Also, with his mind elsewhere, he really couldn't bring himself to concentrate. He returned to Narada and asked him if he could contact Tanya. Narada looked hesitant.
'Normally, before we establish any connections, we get Ganesha to sweep the area to ensure nobody's listening in.'
He looked at Aaditya again and then waved his hand.
'Go on.'
Aaditya had to wait no more than a second before he heard Tanya's voice over his earpiece.
'Hi, Aadi.'
She was trying to sound cheerful, but he knew what kind of strain she would be under. Part of him felt guilty for having put her through this.
'Tanya, just wanted to say that I love you and we will be together when this is all over.'
They talked for a few more seconds before he said goodbye. He turned to see that Narada had a serious look on his face.
'What's wrong?'
'Ganesha just sent a message. The satellites picked up twenty Asura vimanas taking off this morning and they are all hovering off the Mumbai coast. Kalki probably suspects a set-up and doesn't want to take any chances.'
Aaditya wasn't sure what that meant for their plan, so Narada spelt it out.
'That means Shiva or any of the other Devas cannot be seen flying near Mumbai, and I can't risk following you either, if we want to ensure that the plan is successful. Still want to go through with it?'
'Of course,' Aaditya said with much more conviction that he felt inside.
Back in their room, Narada asked Aaditya to hand over the earpiece and the handheld vajra.
'No point in them suspecting anything. Plus, they'll confiscate them anyway.'
Then, when Aaditya had turned for a second, Narada chopped him in the back of his neck, sending Aaditya slumping unconscious to the ground. He was awakened by Narada splashing a bottle of cold water on his face. He sprang up, his head throbbing with pain.
'What the hell was that all about?'
Narada held a cold towel to Aaditya's head.
'Sorry, I had to do that. I've implanted a beacon in your body. Listen to this carefully-you can use it only once, and we will know where you are and try to get you. But you can use it only once, so you must get out of Kalki's base somehow if we are to rescue you.'
Aaditya rubbed his head.
'You could have just told me.'
Narada grinned.
'You can't reveal to them what you don't know. It's voice controlled, and it's programmed with a very specific code.'
'What do I need to say to activate it?'
'You need to sing the opening lines of "Leaving on a Jet Plane" at the top of your voice.'
'You've got to be kidding me.'
Narada shrugged.
'Hey, I'm the messenger. Ganesha thought it up. Take it up with him when you get back. Now get going, and good luck.'
And so, at about eleven in the morning, Aaditya set out for the mall in a hotel car, leaving behind any remaining shred of security and certainty that had remained in his life.
***
'Check if the money's there. It should be in the overseas account you had specified.'
Aaditya had no need to check. Just before he had left, Ganesha had given him confirmation that the money had indeed been transferred to the account.
'So, Maya, what now? It would seem that I am now at your disposal.'
Maya grinned, revealing sharp-edged teeth. 'If you were truly at my disposal, I would have made an interesting spectacle of you. But my master desires that I get you to him in one piece. Follow me.'
Maya and Aaditya sat in the back seat of the Honda City that the two daityas had been driving, and soon they set off on what seemed to be a meandering drive through the city.
'Where are we going? Or are you just lost?'
Maya snapped in reply, 'Shut up and sit back. We can't be flying you out in broad daylight, so we'll wait till it gets darker and then get to the takeoff point.'
For the next three hours, Aaditya did little but fret, with Maya obviously enjoying his discomfiture. Finally, at 5 p.m., the car took the highway, and picked up speed. They drove for another hour before they came to a stop on the side of the road. Both daityas got out, holding handheld devices.
'No vehicles within two kilometres.'
'Now,' barked Maya.
Suddenly, it seemed as if the clouds had parted and the sun arisen again in the fading light. A bright light shone down over the highway. Aaditya saw a familiar shape descend and land next to the car. It was Maya's vimana.
'Get out quickly and follow me,' Maya barked at Aaditya.
Aaditya got into the cockpit, which had side by side seating like the vimana he had flown. However, as Maya took off, he quickly realized just why the Asuras seemed to have fared so badly in their aerial engagements with the Devas. While the Deva vimanas had seemed like something out of science fiction novels, with their thought controls and holographic displays, the cockpit of this vimana was not entirely unlike those of modern jet fighters. There was a glass heads up display and digital readings and screens of the sort that Aaditya had seen in magazine articles about the next generation of fighters. There was also a more conventional looking control stick. However, Maya seemed to be controlling the vimana with his voice commands, speaking in hushed tones into an earpiece. A voice controlled craft meant that at least his vimana would have an important reaction and speed advantage versus the other conventionally controlled vimanas the Asuras were supposed to have.
'I thought you only had kritika vimanas. Clearly you seem to have a mantric one. Still, if this is the best you have, no wonder you get wiped out every time you fight the Devas.'
Maya had taken off his sunglasses. He glared at Aaditya with his snake eyes, but said nothing. The vimana climbed to more than 20,000 feet and accelerated. The radar display was full of contacts, and Aaditya guessed that whatever their other shortcomings, the Asura vimanas were as stealthy as those of the Devas for Maya to be able to fly around with such impunity and no apparent fear of detection.
As the trip progressed, Aaditya found his curiousity and excitement gradually replaced by a growing sense of dread. Maya had said absolutely nothing to him since they had got inside the vimana, and it appeared that he had chosen to ignore Aaditya's initial insults simply because it was apparent who held the cards now. For all his planning, Aaditya was now at the mercy of the Asuras, and as he looked at the wide expanse of the ocean below him, he began to wonder if his plan had been doomed from the start.
Maya must have sensed what was on his mind, and whispered to Aaditya with a gentleness that he would have put beyond the Asura. 'You need not worry. Kalki has said that you are to be treated very well.'
But any relief Aaditya felt dissipated as Maya followed through, bellowing in laughter. 'Of course, when he's through with you, he may decide to feed you to the daityas.'
Maya kept cackling as the vimana continued on its path. Aaditya saw on the display that they were now quite close to the area known as the Bermuda Triangle, and the vimana entered a gradual descent. He began to breathe deeply, trying to still his mind and not panic. The vimana descended below five hundred feet and then continued in level flight, seemingly barely skimming the waves below. Just when Aaditya began to wonder what Maya was planning to do, the vimana came to an abrupt halt, hovering in position. Then Aaditya gasped as a giant black sphere began to rise out of the water in front of him. Even though only its tip was out of the water, it totally dwarfed the vimana, and its surface was polished smooth and gleaming.
A panel slid open on the side of the sphere, and Maya guided the vimana into the dark tunnel it revealed. As they entered the tunnel, the panel closed behind them. The light from outside gradually disappeared, and the vimana continued down the tunnel in complete darkness. Aaditya had entered Kalki's lair.