Aim At The Sky

The next hour went in a bit of a rush. Ishar somehow got plane tickets to where the military facility was stationed, and Naren was on the next train back to Kashmir. Tanik agreed to stay and search for dimanium, and spy on Rathore, whose 'scientific research lab' was getting more suspicious by the minute.

Seeing as there were only 30 days to the destruction of India, each minute was more precious than ever.

Some 30 minutes later, when Ishar got on the airplane, accidentally knocked an old woman's bags down in his haste, tripped over his own shoelaces, and got off the airplane, he realized that he should be able to call Pratap.

All the communication devices seemed to be working fairly well at that moment, and Ishar didn't want to wait until they broke down again.

He dialed his number and waited for Pratap to pick up the call. And to Ishar's utmost surprise, the biggest (or third biggest) shock of his life, Pratap did not pick up immediately. He was just about to hang up and call Karan or Aniket, when a voice spoke.

"Hey, Ishar! Sorry, I was just caught up. Anyways, I just wanted to deliver you great news! Remember that measly time of 5-7 hours you had given us to devise a plan? Well…guess what?"

"What?" Ishar asked.

"Come on, guess!" Pratap urged.

"Your plan blueprints got abducted by aliens?" Ishar suggested.

"What-no! We created a small device that is capable of penetrating the small crack on the side of the spaceship. If you come here right away, we can have a chance of actually visiting Pralaya-1! And, it'd be best if you bring Venku-I mean, Venkatesh along with you. He knows some really useful stuff about those aliens."

Ishar let out a deep sigh. "But I just reached the headquarters to find out what's going on here. I need to know how many people are exactly compromised, and the real deal hidden beneath the lies. And Venkatesh is with Tanik, searching for the dimanium. He's really handy, that guy."

"Tsk. Well, Naren called me, he's on the way here. We need him for some work, as he knows a lot about aerodynamics and all that stuff. Karan and Aniket are doing a reading on Pralaya-1. The real problem is, how are we going to get the device up into space?" Pratap asked.

Ishar smirked, unable to contain his glee. "I know a friend with some…extensive contacts. He can help us. You keep everything ready."

He heard Pratap breathe a sigh of relief. "Well, that's great to hear. You wrap those things up quickly and come here as soon as possible."

The call ended. Ishar looked up at the towering military facility, the Indian flag waving proudly over it. 

"What secrets are you hiding?" he muttered, unsure if he really wanted to know the answer.