THE MAHABHARATA QUEST:THE ALEXANDER SECRET by CHRISTOPHER C. DOYLE Page B
Authors: CHRISTOPHER C. DOYLE
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basements mentioned on the panel.
Jha noticed that there was a second, smaller panel almost hidden below the main one. It was blank, but he had a suspicion that if someone were to swipe a card with the correct authentication, the panel would show up more floors. Going down.
The resourceful agent had then spoken to the firefighters, on the assumption that, if there were hidden basements below the building, there should also be a staircase to access them as a backup to the lift.
The firefighters had stormed into the stairwell and discovered that the stairs led to a small square room which was bare. A dead end. Jha had instructed the firefighters to demolish sections of the three walls surrounding the stairwell. It had paid off. The wall directly in front of the stairs had an empty space beyond it.
It was then that Jha had called Imran, who now hurried into the chamber at the foot of the stairs and watched the firemen break the wall down. As the wall was being flattened, cables and ducting broke free and flapped around aimlessly. Clearly there was some sort of electronic rigging that probably operated a hidden doorway in the wall.
When they had finished, a landing was revealed which led to stairs going down to the lower levels of the building.
Imran was afraid of what they might find. If someone had gone to such lengths to keep the basement hidden, there must have been something important to conceal. He remembered his brush with a disappearing wall the previous year. It had concealed a secret from the Mahabharata and he had almost lost his life looking for it.
Torches were organised and the IB agents, with the firemen, cautiously made their way down the stairs. It was obvious that the people in charge had fled, but there could be people trapped down there who needed to be rescued.
But the rescuers were not prepared for what they found. The basement had three levels. The two lowest levels seemed to have been some kind of accommodation, with small cubicles lining long, narrow corridors. Only this was no hotel or dormitory. The cells were all locked from the outside, using electronic locks.
And the occupants of the cells were dead. Not from asphyxiation. It didn’t need a forensic expert to reach that conclusion. The bodies were riddled with bullets. While the fire had left these levels untouched, not one soul was alive.
Imran turned to Arjun. ‘An American multinational, huh? Well, let’s find out what they know about over one hundred corpses of people shot dead in their facility. I’ll handle this personally. In the meantime, I want a meeting set up with their CEO as well as their Chief Medical Officer. And get me all the data you can about their operations in India, their history, the trials they are conducting. I want to know everything about them before I meet these guys.’
Arjun nodded. ‘You’ll have a report by tomorrow evening.’
Imran beckoned to Arjun and the two men moved away from the others. ‘Two more things,’ Imran whispered. Arjun waited.
When Imran had finished, Arjun looked surprised. But he didn’t object. ‘I’ll get it organized right away,’ he promised, and left to carry out Imran’s instructions.
Imran gazed around at the bodies and the cells. Hidden basements. Bullet ridden corpses. What was happening here? Someone had gone to great lengths to destroy this building. Were they trying to destroy evidence? In which case, what would that evidence point to? What had happened to Anwar? And what was he doing in a facility that conducted clinical trials?
There were too many questions. An unsettling feeling nagged at him. He knew the feeling well. He had a hunch. Something told him that this was a massive cover-up for a deeper, darker purpose.
He set his jaw as he contemplated his next steps. Whatever it took, he would get to the bottom of this mystery.
Jaungarh Fort
Vijay stroked his chin thoughtfully as he stood at the centre of the room which he had discovered just last week. The
Jha noticed that there was a second, smaller panel almost hidden below the main one. It was blank, but he had a suspicion that if someone were to swipe a card with the correct authentication, the panel would show up more floors. Going down.
The resourceful agent had then spoken to the firefighters, on the assumption that, if there were hidden basements below the building, there should also be a staircase to access them as a backup to the lift.
The firefighters had stormed into the stairwell and discovered that the stairs led to a small square room which was bare. A dead end. Jha had instructed the firefighters to demolish sections of the three walls surrounding the stairwell. It had paid off. The wall directly in front of the stairs had an empty space beyond it.
It was then that Jha had called Imran, who now hurried into the chamber at the foot of the stairs and watched the firemen break the wall down. As the wall was being flattened, cables and ducting broke free and flapped around aimlessly. Clearly there was some sort of electronic rigging that probably operated a hidden doorway in the wall.
When they had finished, a landing was revealed which led to stairs going down to the lower levels of the building.
Imran was afraid of what they might find. If someone had gone to such lengths to keep the basement hidden, there must have been something important to conceal. He remembered his brush with a disappearing wall the previous year. It had concealed a secret from the Mahabharata and he had almost lost his life looking for it.
Torches were organised and the IB agents, with the firemen, cautiously made their way down the stairs. It was obvious that the people in charge had fled, but there could be people trapped down there who needed to be rescued.
But the rescuers were not prepared for what they found. The basement had three levels. The two lowest levels seemed to have been some kind of accommodation, with small cubicles lining long, narrow corridors. Only this was no hotel or dormitory. The cells were all locked from the outside, using electronic locks.
And the occupants of the cells were dead. Not from asphyxiation. It didn’t need a forensic expert to reach that conclusion. The bodies were riddled with bullets. While the fire had left these levels untouched, not one soul was alive.
Imran turned to Arjun. ‘An American multinational, huh? Well, let’s find out what they know about over one hundred corpses of people shot dead in their facility. I’ll handle this personally. In the meantime, I want a meeting set up with their CEO as well as their Chief Medical Officer. And get me all the data you can about their operations in India, their history, the trials they are conducting. I want to know everything about them before I meet these guys.’
Arjun nodded. ‘You’ll have a report by tomorrow evening.’
Imran beckoned to Arjun and the two men moved away from the others. ‘Two more things,’ Imran whispered. Arjun waited.
When Imran had finished, Arjun looked surprised. But he didn’t object. ‘I’ll get it organized right away,’ he promised, and left to carry out Imran’s instructions.
Imran gazed around at the bodies and the cells. Hidden basements. Bullet ridden corpses. What was happening here? Someone had gone to great lengths to destroy this building. Were they trying to destroy evidence? In which case, what would that evidence point to? What had happened to Anwar? And what was he doing in a facility that conducted clinical trials?
There were too many questions. An unsettling feeling nagged at him. He knew the feeling well. He had a hunch. Something told him that this was a massive cover-up for a deeper, darker purpose.
He set his jaw as he contemplated his next steps. Whatever it took, he would get to the bottom of this mystery.
Jaungarh Fort
Vijay stroked his chin thoughtfully as he stood at the centre of the room which he had discovered just last week. The
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