A New Ally

Mahendra finished, looking at Naren and Ishar for any reactions. However, they both were simply stunned to utter a single word. 

After breaking out from his string of deep thoughts, Ishar asked, "Then why don't you and Venkatesh work together? You know Venkatesh right? The son of Adinath…whose ancestors were Adiratha?"

Mahendra looked at him curiously, surprise seeping into his voice. "Adiratha had a son? The last time I saw him was when…his wife had died. After that, the Aramal warriors and the Moriyas just sort of, drifted off. And to tell the truth, I thought that they had left their duties. I could find no trace of them."

Well, that was because they couldn't risk exposing the astras. But Ishar didn't say that. He was still suspicious of Mahendra.

"Then why were Dev Rathore's boxes in the secret room behind the storage facility?" Naren asked.

For the first time, Mahendra's face contorted into a suspicious look. However, the suspicion didn't seem to be directed towards Ishar or Naren.

"I forgot to tell you about one thing. Dev Rathore was working very closely with the military, supplying the corrupt soldiers with missiles and other weapons. I played his part to work closely with one such corrupt person, in order to use their resources to try and stop the alien invasion. 

I was the perfect friend. I gained his trust. I swear, I was going to expose every single one of them after I was done using them. However, as the days went by, he started acting suspiciously. He would talk of a 'new world', of 'salvation for humans'. 

So, obviously, I became skeptical of his intentions. Just yesterday, I followed him to the storage room secretly, and took a peek at what he was doing. And to my surprise, I found that he had a complete blueprint of the spaceship ready. Now, what would you say about that?"

"I would say that you are lying." Naren retorted.

Mahendra sighed, "Now what should I do, to prove my innocence? Well, apart from knocking Rathore out?" 

"Oh, don't worry about what you did to Rathore." Ishar said, "We were going to do that to him anyways. Focus on proving yourself first." 

Mahendra clicked his tongue, and stood there, thinking for a moment. Then, his eyes light with an idea. He raised his sleeves, all the way to his shoulders, and revealed a tattoo underneath- the same sign Ishar had seen carved in the cave. The emblem of the most trusted protectors of the forgotten secret. 

Ishar and Naren slowly lowered their guns. More questions began entering their minds. If not Rathore, or Khurana and Gujar, or Mahendra, then who was the mastermind behind all of these 'destructive plans'?

Ishar narrowed his eyes, feeling as if someone punched his gut. Corrupt people at the highest level. Inside the military facility. Of course, Mahendra was talking about none other than Aarush Verma. The same general that Ishar had looked up to as a companion, a teacher, a father-figure.

In a low voice, as if almost afraid to hear the answer, Ishar asked, "And who was the man you befriended? The person who talked about a 'new world'?"

Naren looked at him expectantly, a hint of sadness I'm his eyes.

Mahendra sighed and said, "I think you must have known him…he is actually a reputable scientist, well, only from the looks. He really knows how to twist his words, to appear innocent to the world-"

"-just stop stalling and tell us already." Naren said, looking at Ishar hesitantly.

Mahendra rolled his eyes. "Fine. Do you guys know Dr.Tanvir Jaiswal?"