Lying For A Living

8

The shot rang out about half an hour later.

Vansh and Kabir were seated outside Vikram Markande's office, waiting for the man to come back. The men had very similar opinions about the bombing and the shot. Recently after the London Convention Against Terrorism where India had been one of the major countries which had donated a huge amount of assets for the purpose. After the meeting, the hindu-muslim riots had increased at an unprecedented rate. The extremists hiding between the mountains of Afghanistan and Pakistan, were very nervous after the initial air strikes Markande had ordered.

On the other hand, their counterparts near the borders of India had increased the cross-firing and the bombings. There had been two separate bombings, one in Bangalore and another in Ayodhya. Tension was at an all time high between the Indian, Chinese and Pakistani governments. Increased trade duties, hoarding of supplies and high rates had triggered a trade war between India at one side and Pakistan and China at the other.

The jihadi groups near Kashmir had been somehow given a variety of high quality arms and ammunition. The amount of illegal weaponisation had also increased in mainland India. It was a clever ploy: give weapons to the people in the country and influence them to use it. India was slowly crumbling from the inside, because it could not blame any parties outside, but it's potential assets were turning into liabilities.

The EU had been the biggest supporter of the country. But now the bombing of the German PM to would inevitably resulted in the withdrawal of this very quintessential support. Once this was withdrawn, Vansh believed, India would finally be out of the equation in domination in South Asia.

Kabir nodded thoughtfully when Vansh was through with his observations. "I'm impressed, old man."

Vansh smiled.

Thuk.

It was a common sound, but to Vansh's trained ear, it was unmistakably that of a marksman rifle discharging. He bolted to his left, where the sound had come from. Kabir sat there, stumped. Not again! He thought, as he followed the man in a fast pace.

Vansh was running. No no no, he thought. If the bullet was meant for the person he thought it was, they would lose the only link they had to this case. He fastened his pace. He stopped in front of the building where people had gathered around the body. He pushed through the people and stopped as he saw the body. The woman who he had been following lay dead in front of him. He looked around in elevated directions the place where the body had fell was surrounded by three buildings. Exactly at the centre of the triangle. It was a very clever trick. From the place, there were scores of vantage points from where the rifle could have been fired. It would take a long time to figure out where the shot had come from and by then, the shooter would be long gone. Kabir stopped next to him and said, "You really need to stop running like that."

He looked at the body. "That is the woman?"

Vansh nodded slowly. The only link they had to this case was now dead. But something more severe nagged Vansh. You don't start cutting lose ends until your plans are already in action.