03:02 (31 page)

When I finally got to the clinic it was nearly three in the afternoon and I found Megha immersed in her work. Several of our people had suffered injuries caused by flying debris in the battle, and at least two had suffered wounds from ricocheting bullets that had grazed them. When I passed by, seeing most of them for the first time since the battle, I could see they were in pain, but the pride in their eyes was unmistakable. They had faced an enemy whom many had taken to be invincible, and they had come out on top.

I smiled at them as they greeted me. ‘You guys are now the combat veterans,’ I said. ‘Pass on to the others what you learned.’

Megha smiled at me as I approached her.

‘I can see how tough life would have been with you had our old jobs existed. I’d have to keep calling you to leave office, since you never seem to take a break.’

I smiled back and hugged her. ‘I’m all yours now. What do you want to do?’

I could see Marie waving Megha on, and we left the clinic hand in hand, and sat in one of the small parks in front of it.

‘How are you doing?’

I stretched my left hand and it was already less painful than it had been the previous night.

‘Much better, actually. I think I just needed some rest. Thanks for taking care of me.’

‘That’s part of my job description. I did nothing I wouldn’t for any patient.’

She smiled as she said that and I pulled her closer.

‘So, you wouldn’t do anything for me that you wouldn’t do for your other patients?’

We kissed and then we sat in comfortable silence, watching people go by. It was tempting to think that things were normal, but we both knew that it was just a matter of time before our enemy attacked again.

‘Megha, I’ve been thinking of something. I mean, you don’t have to reply now and I’m sorry if this comes out of nowhere, but…’

‘What’s on your mind? Just say it.’

‘The reality is that we cannot plan as long term as we used to. To be honest, none of us really knows what lies ahead tomorrow and how long we have. I could have died yesterday and that would have been the end of the road for me.’

She started to shush me but I continued.

‘No, I’m serious. When I lay there thinking I was one bullet away from it all ending, I realized I would regret not doing all the things that perhaps we hope we’ll get around to. Things that may have made sense to wait for in the old world, but don’t seem right to postpone today.’

‘Aadi, what are you talking about?’

‘Megha, will you marry me?’

I could see she was genuinely stunned and just stared at me as I continued.

‘It’s okay if you say no or if you’re not sure or if you think this is moving too fast, but I love you and want nothing more than to be with you. In the way the world used to be, we’d date for a while, and then perhaps think of this. In a world where I don’t know if I’ll live to see the next day, I don’t know if we have the luxury of leaving things unsaid or undone. That’s why—’

She shut me up by kissing me.

‘Aadi, to be honest, when I thought you were dead, the same thing went through my mind. I know it sounds crazy since we’ve known each other less than two weeks, but I don’t want to plan for a future when we should be living in the here and now. So, yes. What next?’

That had me a bit flummoxed. Normally, there were parents and relatives to think of the logistics.

‘Let me talk it over with Mrs Khatri and the others. The bottom line is not the ceremony, but the fact that we’re together and will know that our being a family does not need to wait for some unseen future.’

How I wish we could have just sat there, thinking of life together, pretend as if there wasn’t a black and dangerous world outside, a world that once more intruded into our lives when we heard the sounds of sustained gunfire somewhere nearby. I ran towards Mahadev, who was parked down the street, and we rushed towards the sounds, which seemed to be coming from near the lake.

When we passed Nasir and his team, I saw them hunkered down in the nearby shops, four kids with automatic weapons standing guard. Next came the checkpoint, which to my dismay was unmanned. That could only mean something serious had happened nearer the lake which had led them to abandon their posts and join in the fighting. The gunfire had died down by the time we reached and I saw four of our boys behind cover, armed with AK-47s, and Ronald standing up telling people it was all clear now.

‘What happened?’ I asked, running up to Ronald.

He responded, but his gaze was still fixed on the approach road, as if watching for any signs of danger.

‘They sent a small patrol. Looks like they’re probing our defences. Two jeeps came with three men in each. Your boys did well. The moment the bastards showed up they opened up with AK-47s and I was nearby so I helped. The only downside was the timing.’

‘What do you mean?’

He motioned to the side of the road where I saw several people lying on the ground.

‘They caught us in the middle of a supply run. Many people were hit. I don’t think anyone’s dead, but lots of people will need help and a couple are bleeding very badly.’

Our two auto-rickshaws that served as ambulances came by soon and carried away the injured. Mahadev also ferried a few back in his jeep. All told, we had suffered ten injuries, three of which were serious, and Dr Guenther told us that it was likely they might not survive to see the next day. Kundu had been there at the scene of the fighting and was visibly shaken.

‘They now know our supply route and I’m sure they’ll hit us again,’ he said.

I conferred with Ronald and Shaikh on what we should do next and we decided to increase our presence at all our checkpoints. There was going to be no time off and no shifts. We needed all hands on deck if another attack came. The reality was that we had more weapons than we had people trained in using them, but Pandey and Shaikh were teaming up to teach at least the basics of aiming and pulling the trigger from behind cover. If we did find ourselves under attack, just being able to pour more firepower at the enemy would count for something.

Ronald was talking about how the Humvee was now up and running and we’d have more firepower and mobility, when Mohit came up with a few of his friends. They were holding the radio sets we had captured.

‘Aadi, Manoj here was in Electrical and he’s worked his magic. All the sets except two are now patched together along with the radio in the Humvee. Now we can talk to each other and move people as needed without relying on whistles. The two remaining sets will be with Akif and Ismail so they can continue to snoop on the enemy.’

I laughed and thanked them. It was amazing what brains could do when brawn was not enough. We truly were lucky to have people like Mohit, Manoj, Nasir and Nitish with us. But as I thought of the enemy we faced and how we were preparing, something still bothered me. Ronald must have caught the expression on my face.

‘Something on your mind?’

‘Something the General said. Look, we’re much better off than we were. We have more weapons, we have you and Shaikh to help out, we have better communications, but the bottom line is that if it comes to a straight fight, they will win. They have more people who know how to use weapons, they are better trained and they will have heavier firepower. We don’t even know how many more Humvees and rocket launchers they have.’

‘So, what do you propose?’

‘The General asked us to think like insurgents. That’s what made us do so well in the last battle. We surprised them, we used tactics they would not expect of civilians. We need to keep doing that.’

He nodded and smiled, liking the idea. Nasir was standing with Mohit and I addressed him. ‘Nasir, I want IEDs on all our approaches, with wires leading to our checkpoints so our people can detonate them from behind cover. A minimum of four bombs per approach road. We learned last time that not every one of them will work as planned. Also, let’s get those tennis ball bombs ready. How many do we have?’

‘Six, but the team’s working double time now. We should get at least ten out every hour.’

‘Get more people on the job if necessary. It’ll be easier to teach people to light a fuse and throw a ball than shoot an AK-47 accurately. Get at least five balls per checkpoint before nightfall with at least one person who knows how to use them.’

There was a flurry of activity as everyone got to work but Ronald continued to stand by my side.

‘Something is still bothering you.’

‘Yes. I don’t like sitting here waiting to be attacked.’

‘Well, Shaikh and I were heading out for a recce. The Captain wants us to get a better look at their defences at the airport, especially if we can get a feel for their anti-aircraft systems. We’re heading out in the next half hour.’

‘What if we do more than just have a look? What if we hit them for a change?’

He grinned now.

‘I like how you think.’

By seven in the evening, our society looked like a town that was at war. There were armed people everywhere and Nasir had indeed worked wonders with his bombs. Every approach road was set up with IEDs, and—in addition to the five ball bombs at each checkpoint—we had a roving band of bicycle-borne grenadiers who would go where the trouble was. Other than the three men we had evicted, the newcomers had blended in perfectly; perhaps facing a common threat made people forget differences and worries they might have had otherwise.

We were all gathered for dinner at Central Avenue, and I noticed a subtle but clear change versus even a couple of days ago. Before, many people skipped the communal meals, either complaining about the constant diet of buns or rotis with a mashed up bhaji, or just saying that they preferred to eat in their own homes. Today, the street was packed. It seemed like every single person had come down to share a meal together. Ismail was in a corner, still training some kids on the finer points of using a Kalashnikov. His injury meant that he wasn’t going to be taking part in fighting anytime soon, but he was fast becoming our resident trainer in small arms and rifles.

Pandey was standing near the Humvee. He was the only one of us who had actually ever handled an RPG launcher or a heavy calibre machine gun, and so I had him in charge of the Humvee, being driven by one of our drivers. People all around me were talking in small groups and, as I passed them, I got a feeling that all of them had the same thing on their minds.

When would the attack come tonight?

Word had got out that we were headed out for a recce, and Megha accosted me when she heard about it.

‘You don’t have to put yourself in danger every single time, you know.’

‘Megha, I don’t want us to just wait to be attacked. We need to know what they’re planning and, if possible, give them something to think about so they change their plans of attacking us.’

‘Someone else can do it, Aadi. Ronald and Shaikh are soldiers. Let them do their job, please.’

I could see that she was just concerned about me and as much as I did not want to have a fight with her, that last comment set me off.

‘So, what is our job, Megha? Should we just sit back and wait for someone else to help us? Would we have lived so long if we had done that so far?’

‘Aadi, I know all that. It’s just that I came so close to losing you and I don’t want that feeling again.’

‘Megha, I promise you I want nothing more than to come back to you, but I cannot sit here and let others go into harm’s way on our behalf.’

Megha grabbed my shirt and pulled me closer. ‘That’s why I love you and that’s why you drive me crazy. Now come back in one piece and we’ll get married tomorrow. I’ll set everything up with the others.’

I smiled and kissed her.

When I went out, I saw Ronald and Akif were standing together. Ronald called me over. ‘Man, you have some serious issues with clingy bodyguards. Akif here says he will go with you, and that he can carry one of their radios and get us real-time intel. Can’t argue with that, but Mahadev insists on coming as well.’

Mahadev, standing defiantly in a corner, looked at the much-larger soldier. ‘I go where he does. That’s it.’

I looked at him and then Ronald. ‘He’s been an auto-rickshaw driver here for eight years. He’ll know every bloody shortcut and by-lane around. If we need to get away fast or get there unseen, he’s our man. Plus, maybe you should leave Shaikh behind to keep working on the prisoner.’

Ronald thought it over and then smiled. ‘Look, you’re the man here and your team’s been working pretty well for you so far, so who am I to mess with it? Let’s go.’

We had already planned to take bicycles to make less noise and also enable getaways through alleys where an auto-rickshaw may not fit. As I was mounting mine, Nasir came by.

‘A few gifts for them.’

One was an IED of the sort we had already used, which we tied behind Akif’s cycle. Nasir then handed me two small bombs.

‘You could field test the first tennis ball bombs. Just light the fuse, wait for two seconds, and then throw it.’

‘I hope it doesn’t blow my hands off.’

‘We’ll know soon enough,’ he laughed.

I took it as a sign of just how much we had grown in confidence that people were able to keep their spirits high despite the situation we were in, and having suffered two attacks in less than twenty-four hours. It was also, of course, a sign of how numb people had become to death and violence in such a short time.

Megha came to see us off at the Chandivali checkpoint and when we were about to leave, we saw a group of people approaching. Our guards alerted the others over radio and two auto-rickshaws filled with armed men were there within minutes. By then it was apparent that these were not attackers. We had placed lamps lining the approach roads and I could see that the group consisted almost exclusively of old men and boys, many of them bloodied and obviously injured.

One of the men hobbled up to me. ‘They asked for taxes last afternoon, and we gave them some food and water. Then they came today asking for our girls and women. When we resisted, they killed all our young men and took the girls away.’

His eyes looked haunted and he had suffered a terrible wound to the head that had left a flap of skin almost hanging out. As I looked at the group of close to twenty people, I saw similar expressions of shock and anguish.