Lying For A Living

20

Vansh blinked. He opened his eyes to see Markande stamding over him. As he saw Vansh waking up, he sighed and said, "Well its about damn time."

Vansh touched his forehead, which felt like it would burst like a bomb with nanobots on it. "Minor concussion. Could've been worse, but good you guys figured the bomb out. Kabir told me," Markande said.

"Anything left after the explosion?" Vansh asked hopefully.

"Nah. Was a damn powerful thing... but we did get a small pen drive. Our tech guys are working on it as we speak. Let's hope it has something useful. It was extremely fortunate we found you both in one piece," Markande said. He sighed and continued, "I actually have something to confess."

Vansh nodded and said, "I was wondering when you would decide when to tell me. Good timing, once we got blown up. Since how long have we been suspecting a mole?"

"We always suspect something like that," Markande said. "And we take measures. But we had allowed the woman whose house you visited, Vaishnavi, in the rings so deep that we were facing problems getting rid of her even when the evidence was clearly against her. We were actually hoping that she would make a mistake and lead us to some of her employers."

Vansh nodded and said, "So you gave just enough rope for her to hang on. And then when she was killed, you decided that her employer had stepped in, tying up loose ends."

"That at least appears to be the case," Markande agreed.

The door opened and Kabir entered. On a wheelchair. Vansh looked at it and said "What the b****y hell?"

Kabir laughed and said, "Just some stupid hospital norm for patients who have recently been blown up. I'm all good, except a splitting headache."

"I can relate," Vansh said. He turned towards Markande and said, "We have to get outa here. And get the info on that drive,"

Markande nodded and said, "I also have a request from the director of the IB to meet you in person. As it seems, you two go way back, and in a good way, which is rare."

Vansh nodded. It was about time he contacted Pathak. He had to find who knew him so well that they knew all his missions, especially all those that he regretted. And the crossword should be a very major lead.

He smiled and thought, Just like old times.