palmtop computer in one hand and a plastic bag in the other. Her dark hair was tied in a ponytail. Under other circumstances, Aaditya may have liked to linger longer on her, since she was certainly easy on the eye. But that was hardly the most pressing matter on his mind now.
He got up as she approached.
'Hello, Aaditya. I'm sorry but we aren't used to having too many unexpected guests, but I hope I can help make your stay a bit more comfortable.'
Her accent didn't sound like she was from India.
'Comfortable? I feel like I'm in Guantanamo Bay or something right now. So if you are the CIA, what comes next? Torture?'
The woman flinched at his harsh words, then regained her composure.
'Nothing like that will happen. I have some fresh clothes for you. Just leave your old clothes in the bag and we'll get them cleaned.'
Realizing how dishevelled his clothes must look, he grudgingly took the bag. As the woman turned to leave, he realized he did have something else on his mind.
'Excuse me, how do I, err, go to the bathroom?'
She smiled, something Aaditya found himself enjoying despite everything.
'Just ask,'she answered. Then, seeing Aaditya's quizzical expression, 'Just say aloud whatever you want. Try it, it's fun.'
As she walked out, Aaditya thought jail cell or not, why not give it a try? Feeling a bit silly, he said aloud, 'I'd like to go to the bathroom please.'
To his shock, a section of the wall slid open, revealing a fully furnished bathroom. When he was done, he changed into the clothes the woman had left. They were a plain white full sleeve top and track pants. But when he slid them on, they tightened around him, fitting him perfectly. Not bad, he thought. Then he said aloud, 'Can I get a Coke and a burger?'
To his delight, a section of the wall swiveled open to reveal a small table and chair. On the table was a tray with a can of Coke and a burger, which didn't taste bad at all. Further investigation revealed that when he asked for it, a bed would slide out for him to sleep on. Feeling cocky, he asked to be let go. Not surprisingly, nothing happened.
Jail or not, he was at least comfortable, well fed and could rest.
And now, he would plot a way to get out.
***
Aaditya had no way of knowing how long he had been there, but just judging from the number of times his body had told him that it needed sleep or eat, he guessed it must have been at least two days. During that time, he received no further visitors.He focused on keeping himself strong, not knowing what lay ahead. So, he ate well and exercised every opportunity he got. Finally, when the door did slide open, he saw Mr Muni, dressed in the same kind of clothes that Aaditya wore. Except that they were saffron in colour.
Mr Muni held up his lucky patch.
'I understand this belonged to your father. I thought it appropriate that you keep it.'
Aaditya took it and put it into the pocket on the side of his trousers, wondering how they knew, but he had a few questions of his own.
'Narada.'
Mr Muni looked at him, and then smiled, realizing that he had given away his name. Aaditya continued. 'So that is your name-that's what that snake-eyed freak called you. Here is what I have figured out-you are obviously some secret force, and you're worried that I will compromise you. All I've seen are the planes and this cell; I don't know anything more. Just let me go. Please.'
Narada called for two chairs, which the wall moved to reveal and he motioned for Aaditya to sit down.
'We have our secrets to protect, for sure, but it's your well being that is also at risk.'
Aaditya snorted dismissively.
'Look Aadi, I hope you're okay with me calling you by your nickname--if you had just told me you had the cylinder we could have avoided a lot of trouble. We would have taken it and made it known that you were nobody, just someone caught up by accident. But now, even if we let you go, they will come for you. They will not believe so easily that you have nothing to do with us.'
'They?'
'The ones who came to your apartment. This time, my superiors will not risk coming to your aid. We risked too much, revealing ourselves during the incident on your roof.'
Aaditya was getting tired of being a pawn. It seemed that all this Narada and his colleagues cared about was their agenda, and he was expendable. He stewed in impotent rage. The next day when the door slid open and the woman who had given him the fresh clothes came in, a plan began to form.
'I just came to see how you're doing. Mr Muni told me you were troubled and I thought if nothing else, you may want to chat.'
The last thing Aaditya wanted to do was to make small talk, but he smiled and summoned two chairs, asking her to sit. Being the polite host to the hilt, if only in his own prison cell, he also called for some juice. The woman seemed genuinely surprised at this change in his mood.
'I never asked you your name.'
'It's Tanya.'
She asked about Aaditya, and he told her about his college and his background, and then asked her what she did.
'I handle Public Relations here. You may be surprised, but you're not the first person to have stumbled on to them. Of course, I don't think anybody has got involved in such dramatic circumstances for many years.'
Something in what she said struck Aaditya as odd, and he tried to put his finger on it. She sensed the change in his mood. 'Is something wrong?'
'You said 'them'.'
Tanya didn't get it at first, so Aaditya repeated himself. 'You referred to this organization as 'them', not 'us'. That sounded weird. So, what is your real story?'
Tanya smiled, realizing her lapse.
'It still takes some getting used to. I am not one of the, let's say, original crew. I am originally from Canada, but have learnt to make this place, and this organization, my home.'
'So you don't fly around in those fancy machines and carry weird weapons, do you?'
Aaditya said it with a smile. Tanya took it at face value and replied with a laugh, 'No, thank heavens. I just do the PR work sitting at a desk in front of a phone and a laptop. They tried teaching me self defence, but I was hopeless, and why would I need it anyway?'
As she got up to leave, Aaditya asked her, 'Look, if you're not too busy, maybe you could stop by sometimes. I could go crazy just sitting here by myself.'
Tanya just smiled, but she did come back. Over her next four visits, Aaditya learnt several things. First, that there still seemed to be no resolution in sight for his situation. Second, he took careful notice of the exact spot where the door would slide open when Tanya came or left, and once she was gone, timed just how fast he could get there. Finally, he realized that he really enjoyed spending time with Tanya. She seemed to be genuinely concerned about him and went out of her way to make his stay less miserable. That made Aaditya feel just a little pang of guilt for what he was about to do.
The next time Tanya came, she had brought a few magazines for Aaditya. When they finished chatting, she got up to leave. Aaditya stopped her with a gentle tap to the shoulder.
'Hey Tanya, I wish we had met somewhere else. Soon I'll be gone and I doubt these spooks will let me come near them or here any time soon.'
Tanya smiled, but it was a smile tinged with sadness.
'Aadi, I really think my work is important, but I do miss having a normal life. Meeting you made me remember what that could be like. When they do let you go, I'll miss you.'
Just as she reached the door, Aaditya sprang into action. He reached her just as the door began to slide
