Chapter 144: Convincing a Ruffian
Rohit descended the stairs of the Hyatt Hotel alone. His bandaged left hand rested inside the sling bag while his right hand held the earbud to his ear, eyes scanning the other side of the lane.
A small dhaba stood just outside the hotel. Raju’s jeep was parked nearby. The man himself was casually sitting on the engine hood, waving his hand when he spotted Rohit.
Rohit called out, "Got you. Wait, I’m coming."
He crossed the road and approached Raju, who was eating dosa straight from a steel plate. One of his lackeys stood guard a few feet away.
Rohit gestured toward the hotel. "Why didn’t you co inside? I had a table booked for you."
Raju took a big bite of dosa, chewing slowly before replying, "You took quite a long ti since our last call." He checked his watch. "It’s already 10:40 now."
Rohit ignored the complaint. He gently pushed the lackey aside and sat down on the engine hood beside Raju. "Go get
a tea," he told the lackey. "I’ll pay."
The lackey glanced at Raju, who gave a small nod. The man left to fetch the tea.
Rohit turned back to Raju, who was still focused on his food.
Raju finally sighed and answered the earlier question. "Look, I don’t like going to places where I’m not in control."
The lackey returned with a glass of cutting chai. Rohit took it, blew on it once, and took a sip before speaking.
"I got so new calls and intel that might affect your plan if we blindly storm in."
Raju paused mid-bite. His eyebrows furrowed as he looked up. "What intel?"
Rohit took another sip. "The governnt has gotten involved. They’re preparing to send forces to clear the Mori Gate blockade. That will give Ahd a way out."
Raju looked heavily disappointed. "Everyone is rushing there on Anna’s call. He’s surrounded, locked in, and vulnerable." He thumped the engine hood in frustration. "And you’re suggesting I hide because of governnt forces?"
Rohit didn’t reply imdiately. He took another calm sip of tea before asking a simple question.
"You want Mukhtar confird dead or not?"
Raju sneered, then suddenly broke into loud laughter as if he had heard the funniest joke of his life. "Of course I want him dead." His eyes turned maniacal. He threw the plate aside, pulled out his gun — scaring the nearby passersby — and leaned in close to Rohit. "But I want to kill him with my own hands. I want to look him in the eyes when I do it. So that bastard knows his ticket collector is ... Raju Plumber."
Rohit remained unfazed, calmly sipping his tea. "And what about the throne of Delhi? You do all the real work and hand it over to Anna? Or let so of Ahd’s close lackeys who are still outside interfere and bring reinforcents, risking the entire operation?"
Raju’s eyes narrowed. "There are still so outside?"
Rohit nodded. "Yes. Chota Seth and Amir Chaudhary. Both are currently at their farmhouse on the Delhi-Haryana border. Worst case, if Ahd gets arrested or saved by so miracle, they will back him up and help him return to power."
Raju thought for a mont, then put his gun back inside his waistband. "So you want
to storm there instead? I can do that right now." He checked his phone. "The shootout at Mori Gate will start by 1:30. We can manage both."
Rohit shook his head. "No. You’re missing the core issue. If you go there directly, you’ll get arrested. So here’s what we do instead — we let Anna and Ahd fight. Make sure Ahd wins the fight and gets arrested. Then, when the police are taking him away, you blow his head off. Let the whole world know who did it. After that, you surrender. I’ll get you out in six months. No less."
Raju stared at him. "You can do that?"
Rohit finished his tea and handed the empty glass to the lackey. "I can."
Raju suddenly started clapping, unable to believe what he was hearing. He laughed loudly and patted Rohit’s back hard. "What a brain you have, partner. At such a young age and so sharp. Respect."
The lackey, who had been listening quietly, intervened. "But boss, what if soone else takes credit after you surrender? We’ll be leaderless for six months."
Rohit looked at the sharp-minded man and asked Raju, "What’s his na?"
Raju introduced him with pride. "He is the smartest guy in our gang. His na is Happy."
Rohit nodded at Happy and replied, "People might forget nas, but they won’t forget impressions." He turned back to Raju. "Make an unregistered NGO. That will be your clean, public face. Spread the word that you will give proper houses to everyone who registers on your website. That will give you real influence and control over the slums."
The glass nearly slipped from Happy’s hand. "Second Boss... you can really do that?"
Rohit nodded as he slid down from the jeep. "I can. Leave the technical part to . You just gather the people."
Raju laughed again, clearly impressed. He too slid down from the engine hood and patted Rohit’s back once more. "That’s my partner. Must be my lucky charm that I got you on my side." He took out money from his purse and handed it to Happy to pay the dhaba owner, then turned to Rohit. "So what ti do we attack the farmhouse?"
Rohit noted his habit of patting but chose to stay calm. A faint, satisfied smile touched his lips. "At dusk."
Raju frowned. "But why so late?"
Rohit’s eyes darkened slightly as he replied, "Because I need to make sure nothing goes wrong this ti."
***
Intelligence Bureau Headquarters, New Delhi — 11:45 AM
The operations floor buzzed with its usual controlled tension. Multiple large screens displayed live satellite feeds from Kashmir and the Line of Control. Analysts worked in focused silence while senior officers moved between stations with urgent files.
Director Vikram Sharma stood at the head of the long conference table, arms crossed, listening intently. Joint Director Neerupam Swami stood beside him, occasionally pointing at specific data points on the screen.
"...we have confird movent of at least seventeen suspected ISIS-linked LeT operatives through the Kashmir Valley in the last ten days," the senior analyst continued. "They’re using local smugglers and fresh recruitnt routes near Kupwara. Pakistani handlers are actively coordinating from across the LoC."
Sharma’s expression remained grim. "Status of our assets on the ground?"
"Two have been compromised in the last month, sir. We’re operating partially blind in several sectors." an analyst replied.
Swami pointed to a marked location on the map. "Our operatives tracked them to this guest house in Rajouri. They split into two groups — one moved deeper into the Valley, the other headed south. We fear they may be targeting mainland cities."
A heavy silence settled over the room.
Sharma was about to respond when young Officer Kabir rushed in, holding a tablet.
"Sir! Urgent intercept from an alternate encrypted channel. It’s tagged under ’Raven’. We believe it to be a new ghost."
Swami frowned. "What is it about this ti?"
Kabir quickly replied, "It’s related to the major road blockade at Mori Gate scrapyard. The report claims heavy weapons are involved and a major clash between Ahd Bhai’s network and Anna Venkatesh is imminent."
Swami scoffed. "Local gang war? We don’t have ti for this nonsense when national security is under threat. Forward it to NIA and let them coordinate with local police."
As Kabir turned to leave, Sharma raised his hand. "Wait." He looked at the young officer. "You don’t usually rush in unless it’s critical, Kabir. What’s your take?"
Kabir straightened. "Sir, the anonymous source has uploaded highly detailed files — bases, nas, funding routes, arms suppliers, everything. The Mori Gate situation is directly connected. If we strike now, we could dismantle a major criminal network and gain significant credit with the Center for additional resources."
Sharma’s eyes sharpened. "Put it on the main screen."
Kabir connected the tablet. A secure ssage appeared, along with attached files, coordinates, and photos.
[Raven: Urgent. Major underworld clash developing in South Delhi. Ahd Bhai’s network vs Anna Venkatesh. Mori Gate area completely locked down. Heavy weapons present. Possible explosion imminent. Key players: Mukhtar Ahd, Anna Venkatesh. Detailed maps of their bases and current locations attached. Request imdiate action.]
The room fell silent.
Swami remained skeptical. "This could just be well-written nonsense. We don’t have ti to chase shadows."
Kabir quickly added, "There’s also a video file addressed specifically to you, sir."
A read.txt file was opened.
[Raven: I know so idiot might ask for proof, so Director Sharma — I’ll let you decide whether to believe the video or not. After all, you’re supposed to be the sharpest mind in Indian Intelligence.]
The attached video began playing — a clipped, raw confession from Kasim, clearly in imnse pain, revealing critical details about Ahd’s operations. The background and his state of body was heavily blurred.
Sharma stared at the screen, his jaw tightening. He leaned forward and tapped the table once.
"Redirect two teams from Kashmir support imdiately. I want a full strike package ready for Mori Gate within ninety minutes. Lent them the choppers for their transport. Coordinate with local police and CRPF but we take lead. This Ahd network has been a thorn for far too long."
Swami frowned. "Wait — who is that bandaged guy and ’Raven’? Why are we wasting resources on this?"
Sharma glanced at Kabir. "Show him."
Kabir brought up another file — photos of Kasim with Ahd, their criminal links, money laundering routes, fake currency operations, and suspected connections with ISI and Turkish agents.
Swami’s eyebrows shot up. "They still alive. Weren’t they missing after the 2023 shootout?"
Kabir played a short clip of Rohit single-handedly fighting and overpowering Kasim.
Swami looked genuinely shocked. "This kid handled him alone? Who the hell is he?"
Sharma’s voice cut through coldly. "Swami, we don’t have ti for this. Pull Rohit Singhania’s call records for the last 48 hours. I want tower pings, not just logs. Run a dual SIM and II check. And dig up everything we have on this ’Raven’. Sothing about this source doesn’t sit right with ."
An analyst raised his hand hesitantly. "Sir... should we assign a surveillance team on the boy? We still have a few spare units available."
Sharma stared at the digital map for a long mont, fingers tapping once on the table.
"No," he said finally. "Focus everything on Mori Gate. This is just a hunch for now. With this intel, sothing big is about to break there. We’ll deal with the boy and ’Raven’ later... unless sothing bigger turns up."
He straightened up, eyes cold and focused.
"Gentlen, it looks like Delhi is about to burn. Let’s make sure we control the fire."
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