The last two days were the best days of Qadar’s life in the last

decade. He was in a suite in one of Beijing’s best hotels. He arrived

two days in advance, citing the need to rest due to his old age.

Initially, Pasha thought of escorting him, but eventually decided

against it. Instead, he got the Beijing wing of ISI to put Qadar

under round the clock surveillance. Anyway, Qadar, at this age

has nowhere to go but shall return to Pakistan. Moreover, Qadar

had nothing to gain from running away.

Qadar lay naked in the tub filled with hot water laden with soap

and perfumes. He drank a variety of liquors, but modestly. His

appointment with the assistant director of nuclear research was

scheduled for the next day. He knew nothing was going to happen

in China, as far as Pasha’s scheme was concerned. However, Qadar

was scheming something else, for his own future. He smiled at the

steam rising from the tub and tried to draw imaginary figures.

He drew the face of Pasha in the steam, as it was during their final

meeting.

Qadar enquired bluntly about why Pasha needed Qadar to strike India.

He pestered till Pasha outlined the plan to detonate the device under the

Himalayas, near Kilik Pass.

“Kilik Pass! Where the hell is it?!” exclaimed Qadar.

“Somewhere near Pakistan’s borders with Afghanistan and China,” this

question was promptly answered.

“I thought you were planning to strike India,” Qadar wondered aloud.

“It is a place where we have nothing to lose. That area is uninhabited. But

the effect would be felt by India. The device will be placed deep into earth

towards India. Considering the earth’s rotation and the strength of the

mountains, there will be extreme damage to India due to earthquake. From

Kashmir to Punjab, there will only be devastation,” Pasha explained.

“This earth rotating part; how have you calculated this?” asked the

scientist in a doubtful voice.

“Well, our geographical engineers have calculated this. There are some

loose tectonic plates of earth below the Himalayas. They remained so

for millions of years, ever since the Indian continent collided with Asia,

creating Himalayas. The joint has some weak points. It would be easy to

break the joint. It may also happen that the Indian peninsula may again be

pushed to the south, separated from Asia. Then, we’ll have sea to our east,”

Pasha narrated all this like a fairy tale.

Qadar smiled. He need not study geology to understand the misconception

of Pasha. He still pursued, “Who was the geologist that analysed this

phenomenon? Can I have a talk with him?”

“No, Sir. All the components of the plan are isolated. No one knows the

others duties in the execution team.” To convince the Professor, Pasha

added, “Even I don’t know when and how the device would be exploded,

and by whom. Believe me.”

“Yeah! I believe you,” Qadar closed his eyes signalling the meeting was

over. He stopped believing people from Government long ago, especially

those who wore khakis.

Qadar lifted his legs from water in the tub and kicked at the

imaginary face of Pasha. Then he blew smoke to make Pasha

vaporise. Smiling, he got up from the tub and reached for the towel,

when the phone rang. Naked, the old man strode swiftly into the

hall to attend the phone, wetting the carpet.

“Heel-o,” he tried to sound Chinese in vain. “Yeah, Qadar. Howdy,”

a firm voice replied from the other side that he could recognise

even in the middle of the night. His friend from his younger past,

Dr Ling, notorious for his contribution to nuclear proliferation, was

on the other side.

“Fine, Ling. I was waiting for your call,” Qadar did not hide his

happiness.

“You have not announced your visit,” Ling complained.

“Do I need to?” Qadar retorted.

“Sending my vehicle. Come for lunch,” without waiting for Qadar’s

confirmation, Ling cut the line.

Whistling an old song, Qadar returned to bathroom for the towel.

In ten minutes, he was dressed and ready for the luncheon. He

opened the door and kept it ajar. He waited on the sofa, sipping

some Chinese tea. After all the alcohol he had in the last decade, he

could not tolerate the freshness of the herb. It started churning his

stomach. Still, he blew over the cup and drank it.

The small room in the cellar of Pakistan’s embassy suddenly got

activated after the telephone conversation between Qadar and

Ling. The clerk listening to the chat immediately informed his boss

that Qadar would be leaving his room, which meant that he would

be out of surveillance. They could think of nothing to prevent the

meeting apart from bringing him to the embassy. Immediately one

of the footmen was called and asked to bring Qadar to the embassy,

while the chief called Pasha to apprise him of the situation. For

that new recruit, it was the first time that something important was

happening in Beijing. He immediately adjusted his striped tie and

ran to fetch the professor.

Gliding on the sleek floor of the corridor, he entered the room.

“Professor, You need to call someone at home from the embassy.

Will you please come with me?” he blurted out even without

introducing himself.

Qadar smiled.

“Who are you, son?”

“I am Yasin. From the embassy. I was in the nearby street, when I

got the message. I was told it was urgent, so I rushed,” he paused

and pointing at the table, “May I have some water?”

Qadar waved at him, signalling to have water. The spy from the

next street drank water and asked Qadar to leave.

Qadar asked, “Look here, son. I don’t know you. You suddenly

barge into my room and ask me to come to the embassy. I have

all the reasons to not believe you. Had it been someone else in my

place, by now, you’d have been in police custody.” He smiled and

asked the boy to get out.

However, the newly appointed James Bond was in no mood to

listen. He was given a job and he would do it. He pulled a small

gun and pointed at Qadar. “Please move making no noise. My life

is not so good so nothing bad can happen to me.”

Qadar got up and walked out the door, while the man with gun

locked and pocketed the keys. He escorted Qadar through the lift,

to the waiting car. Qadar noticed that its engine was running and

smiled. Pushing himself into the navigator’s seat, he enquired, “Do

you watch a lot of spy movies?” and smiled. Embarrassed, the

kidnapper kept to himself during the drive.