from Robert McLean.
"Any lead on his father, Imran Shah Malik?"
"He's disappeared."
"How could he?"The Director appeared upset with the recent setbacks. "We asked R&AW to provide us with his complete profile. Have we managed to get hold of his computer ip addresses? Didn't their agent in Lahore gather information regarding all his recent activity? What of the bugs planted in his house? I have instructed our agents at Lahore to shadow him all the time. Still he escaped? Quite surprising!"
He instructed Siddhartha Rana, "Get in touch with Sundaram Iyer and ask him if he can throw some light on all this. I know the Director of the CBI had assigned a related case to him two years back. However, the CBI closed the matter. Try to find out the reason."
"I'm sorry sir, but I think the IB should examine the case on its own without attracting the attention of others."
"Why?"
"Luckily, we got a small opening when Mr. Malik talked with his son on his car phone."Siddhartha put in plain words everything he knew and then continued, "However, we still don't know what's in his computer. And, for the time being, I don't want to share the contents of the computer with any other agency."
The Director sighed. He raised his eyebrow and directed, "Then, Mr. Rana, I want you to take up the entire case, bunch everything up and try to get something out of it."
"Sir!"
"I'll have to talk to the Foreign Secretary regarding Juhi and also to Ambassador Shergill. Otherwise, it might escalate into a diplomatic disaster."
"Indeed, sir. I have a nagging feeling that there is more to the Mumbai attack than meets the eye. We need to act, or else we will never know what's brewing in Pakistan."
"What do you suggest?"
"I'll have to go to the US"
"Not now. There is one more puzzle."The Director gave an account of every detail to Siddhartha: about the bumping off of the AIG of the CISF, the indecipherable name of a person's name starting with 'Sun… ' and some bizarre phrase ' To Pak To' .
Siddhartha came out of the Director's office and went to his room. The truth, it appeared was hidden behind several manifestations of falsehood.
Wandering
Imran Shah Malik wandered all over Pakistan and travelled to India a few times. He deliberately steered clear of everyone except his enigmatic brother, who, one day showed up in front of Imran, unannounced.
Imran's brother assured him that the Government of Pakistan or ISI had no role in the shootout. Surprisingly, both LeT and al Qaeda had expressed complete ignorance of any happening of this sort too. So, Imran's enemy still remained a mystery.
His brother also suggested that Imran remain in hiding for a few weeks until the matter settled down. Although Imran's brother was aware of Aban's arrest, he did not disclose it, thinking Imran might end up doing something that would endanger his own life as well as Aban's. He wanted to work out a solution on his own.
Imran Shah Malik was himself preoccupied, as he had to tie up a crucial loose end. He had not instructed Aban to securely erase the file from his computer when he had told him to make a backup of his computer.
Imran wrote a letter to Nausheen, mentioning that it would take a few days more before he could visit home. He mentioned a date and a time late at night, when Nausheen was to power on the computer and connect it to the Internet through Apple Airport Extreme Base Station, which was highly secured by a WPA2 Enterprise wireless security.
Imran's brother, disguised himself as the regular milkman, and visited Nausheen's home in Lahore. He handed over the letter. Both talked briefly and the 'milkman' left.
On the date mentioned in the letter, Nausheen powered on the computer and switched on the Base Station. The computer booted and demanded a password. As soon as she keyed-in the alphanumeric code, the computer screen came alive. She turned on the Wi-Fi connection.
Far away, in the Business Centre of Karachi Sheraton Hotel, Imran Shah Malik remotely
"Any lead on his father, Imran Shah Malik?"
"He's disappeared."
"How could he?"The Director appeared upset with the recent setbacks. "We asked R&AW to provide us with his complete profile. Have we managed to get hold of his computer ip addresses? Didn't their agent in Lahore gather information regarding all his recent activity? What of the bugs planted in his house? I have instructed our agents at Lahore to shadow him all the time. Still he escaped? Quite surprising!"
He instructed Siddhartha Rana, "Get in touch with Sundaram Iyer and ask him if he can throw some light on all this. I know the Director of the CBI had assigned a related case to him two years back. However, the CBI closed the matter. Try to find out the reason."
"I'm sorry sir, but I think the IB should examine the case on its own without attracting the attention of others."
"Why?"
"Luckily, we got a small opening when Mr. Malik talked with his son on his car phone."Siddhartha put in plain words everything he knew and then continued, "However, we still don't know what's in his computer. And, for the time being, I don't want to share the contents of the computer with any other agency."
The Director sighed. He raised his eyebrow and directed, "Then, Mr. Rana, I want you to take up the entire case, bunch everything up and try to get something out of it."
"Sir!"
"I'll have to talk to the Foreign Secretary regarding Juhi and also to Ambassador Shergill. Otherwise, it might escalate into a diplomatic disaster."
"Indeed, sir. I have a nagging feeling that there is more to the Mumbai attack than meets the eye. We need to act, or else we will never know what's brewing in Pakistan."
"What do you suggest?"
"I'll have to go to the US"
"Not now. There is one more puzzle."The Director gave an account of every detail to Siddhartha: about the bumping off of the AIG of the CISF, the indecipherable name of a person's name starting with 'Sun… ' and some bizarre phrase ' To Pak To' .
Siddhartha came out of the Director's office and went to his room. The truth, it appeared was hidden behind several manifestations of falsehood.
Wandering
Imran Shah Malik wandered all over Pakistan and travelled to India a few times. He deliberately steered clear of everyone except his enigmatic brother, who, one day showed up in front of Imran, unannounced.
Imran's brother assured him that the Government of Pakistan or ISI had no role in the shootout. Surprisingly, both LeT and al Qaeda had expressed complete ignorance of any happening of this sort too. So, Imran's enemy still remained a mystery.
His brother also suggested that Imran remain in hiding for a few weeks until the matter settled down. Although Imran's brother was aware of Aban's arrest, he did not disclose it, thinking Imran might end up doing something that would endanger his own life as well as Aban's. He wanted to work out a solution on his own.
Imran Shah Malik was himself preoccupied, as he had to tie up a crucial loose end. He had not instructed Aban to securely erase the file from his computer when he had told him to make a backup of his computer.
Imran wrote a letter to Nausheen, mentioning that it would take a few days more before he could visit home. He mentioned a date and a time late at night, when Nausheen was to power on the computer and connect it to the Internet through Apple Airport Extreme Base Station, which was highly secured by a WPA2 Enterprise wireless security.
Imran's brother, disguised himself as the regular milkman, and visited Nausheen's home in Lahore. He handed over the letter. Both talked briefly and the 'milkman' left.
On the date mentioned in the letter, Nausheen powered on the computer and switched on the Base Station. The computer booted and demanded a password. As soon as she keyed-in the alphanumeric code, the computer screen came alive. She turned on the Wi-Fi connection.
Far away, in the Business Centre of Karachi Sheraton Hotel, Imran Shah Malik remotely
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