THE MAHABHARATA QUEST:THE ALEXANDER SECRET by CHRISTOPHER C. DOYLE Page A
Authors: CHRISTOPHER C. DOYLE
Ads: Link
place to stay there.
‘Are you sure about this?’ Wallace finally asked, after hearing her out and learning about her desired destination.
‘Absolutely.’ Alice had no doubts in her mind that this was what she wanted. ‘And I have a request, if that’s possible.’ She told him what she needed him to do for her.
‘Fine, then. It will be organised. Expect a call around 10 am. Have a safe flight and do let me know if there’s anything else you need.’
‘I will.’
As she disconnected, a pang of doubt suddenly surfaced in her mind. Was she doing the right thing?
Alice firmly pushed the thought away. She had to confront her demons. She had run from them for too long.
10
Aryan Laboratories, New Delhi
Imran stood with the firemen and the commandos, his shoulders hunched, weighed down with grief.
They had arrived three hours ago at the medical centre, only to find the firemen battling a fierce blaze that had consumed most of the top three floors of the facility, a four storeyed building.
Fifteen fire tenders had battled the fire for four hours before it was brought under control. Imran, the IB team and the commandos had stood by helplessly, watching, unable to contribute to the operation, as the firemen went about their job.
As soon as he received permission to enter the building, Imran had rushed in, shouting instructions to the commandos, the firemen and his team. While the upper storeys were ravaged, the ground floor seemed to be intact.
‘What’s this place supposed to be?’ Imran asked his deputy, Arjun, as they entered the building.
‘It’s a clinical laboratory. They conduct research into pathological diseases for Titan Pharmaceuticals Inc., based in Seattle, Washington.’
Imran frowned. ‘A US multinational pharma company?’
‘Yes. We’re contacting them as we speak to get further information. But it seems that this was a centre where they conducted clinical trials for their research programs. Apparently, they are working on developing a few molecules which are touted to be the next big thing in medicine.’
Imran’s walkie talkie came to life. ‘Sir, you need to come up here. Fourth floor.’ It was one of his agents.
A cold dread took hold of Imran as he sprinted up the stairs. Though he was in his mid-forties, he was still very fit, working out regularly, and he took the stairs two at a time.
As he entered the fourth floor from the stairwell, he recoiled in shock. The entire floor was charred. What was not destroyed by the fire had been devastated by the water from the fire tenders.
He sloshed through the puddles on the floor and entered what looked like it had been an IT lab, now lit up by torches and the head lamps of the firemen. Charred furniture and blackened computer terminals greeted his eyes.
And his worst fears seemed to come true. On one of the chairs, seated before a computer terminal, was a charred body.
‘Anwar?’ Imran could barely get the name out of his mouth.
‘I’m sorry, sir. No positive identification is possible right now. The body is charred beyond recognition.’
Imran was silent for a moment. Then he pulled himself together. ‘Arjun,’ he addressed an agent. ‘I want a complete investigation. Who owns this place? What were they doing here? What caused the fire?’ He looked at the charred body. ‘And I want this body identified.’
His walkie talkie crackled again. ‘Sir, you’d better come to the ground floor. We’ve found something.’
Imran rushed downstairs, followed by Arjun. One of his men had been checking out the elevator shaft and discovered that it didn’t end at the ground level. It seemed to extend downwards for quite a distance, as if accessing the basement levels of the building.
Sensing something odd, Varun Jha, the agent had forced the elevator open. The panel for choosing floors was an electronic touch panel rather than the more commonplace buttons. Nothing seemed to be out of place except for the fact that there were no
‘Are you sure about this?’ Wallace finally asked, after hearing her out and learning about her desired destination.
‘Absolutely.’ Alice had no doubts in her mind that this was what she wanted. ‘And I have a request, if that’s possible.’ She told him what she needed him to do for her.
‘Fine, then. It will be organised. Expect a call around 10 am. Have a safe flight and do let me know if there’s anything else you need.’
‘I will.’
As she disconnected, a pang of doubt suddenly surfaced in her mind. Was she doing the right thing?
Alice firmly pushed the thought away. She had to confront her demons. She had run from them for too long.
10
Aryan Laboratories, New Delhi
Imran stood with the firemen and the commandos, his shoulders hunched, weighed down with grief.
They had arrived three hours ago at the medical centre, only to find the firemen battling a fierce blaze that had consumed most of the top three floors of the facility, a four storeyed building.
Fifteen fire tenders had battled the fire for four hours before it was brought under control. Imran, the IB team and the commandos had stood by helplessly, watching, unable to contribute to the operation, as the firemen went about their job.
As soon as he received permission to enter the building, Imran had rushed in, shouting instructions to the commandos, the firemen and his team. While the upper storeys were ravaged, the ground floor seemed to be intact.
‘What’s this place supposed to be?’ Imran asked his deputy, Arjun, as they entered the building.
‘It’s a clinical laboratory. They conduct research into pathological diseases for Titan Pharmaceuticals Inc., based in Seattle, Washington.’
Imran frowned. ‘A US multinational pharma company?’
‘Yes. We’re contacting them as we speak to get further information. But it seems that this was a centre where they conducted clinical trials for their research programs. Apparently, they are working on developing a few molecules which are touted to be the next big thing in medicine.’
Imran’s walkie talkie came to life. ‘Sir, you need to come up here. Fourth floor.’ It was one of his agents.
A cold dread took hold of Imran as he sprinted up the stairs. Though he was in his mid-forties, he was still very fit, working out regularly, and he took the stairs two at a time.
As he entered the fourth floor from the stairwell, he recoiled in shock. The entire floor was charred. What was not destroyed by the fire had been devastated by the water from the fire tenders.
He sloshed through the puddles on the floor and entered what looked like it had been an IT lab, now lit up by torches and the head lamps of the firemen. Charred furniture and blackened computer terminals greeted his eyes.
And his worst fears seemed to come true. On one of the chairs, seated before a computer terminal, was a charred body.
‘Anwar?’ Imran could barely get the name out of his mouth.
‘I’m sorry, sir. No positive identification is possible right now. The body is charred beyond recognition.’
Imran was silent for a moment. Then he pulled himself together. ‘Arjun,’ he addressed an agent. ‘I want a complete investigation. Who owns this place? What were they doing here? What caused the fire?’ He looked at the charred body. ‘And I want this body identified.’
His walkie talkie crackled again. ‘Sir, you’d better come to the ground floor. We’ve found something.’
Imran rushed downstairs, followed by Arjun. One of his men had been checking out the elevator shaft and discovered that it didn’t end at the ground level. It seemed to extend downwards for quite a distance, as if accessing the basement levels of the building.
Sensing something odd, Varun Jha, the agent had forced the elevator open. The panel for choosing floors was an electronic touch panel rather than the more commonplace buttons. Nothing seemed to be out of place except for the fact that there were no
Similar Books
