Editor: Read Chapter XXXII here.

 

Indradeep seemed to be staring out of the window as he held his phone to his ear, but he did not notice the young men and women skating on the frozen surface of Chisty Prud.

‘He’s got some nerve, this Dmitri of yours to tell us that what he gave us earlier may have been doctored and to ask us if we want to buy some more from him.’

‘Sir, to be honest, I think he is telling the truth. The FSB and GRU know that Dmitri’s company, NAMC, is talking to us and trying to cajole us into buying the Cossack 88s. So, they use NAMC as a conduit to approach us. Dmitri is just the messenger, Sir.’ As he finished speaking, Indradeep wondered if he had spoken too much.

‘So, what’s your recommendation Commodore?’ Indradeep had anticipated the question, but he still wasn’t sure how he should answer. Damned if he did and damned if he didn’t.

‘Sir, we should agree to buy it for one point five million dollars, but should pay the money only if find the photos and GPS Tracker to be useful.’

‘Ha!Ha! And why would they agree to it?’

‘To that I would argue that a sovereign government’s word should be more reliable than that of a private contractor’s. Also, they have let us down once before.’

‘Go on, try it, but call me back as soon as you get a response, okay. Out here, we are going berserk trying to figure this one out. We are under enormous pressure to do something. Mumbai is once again under siege, property prices have started crashing again and nobody knows how this will end.’

Indradeep didn’t know what he was expected to say. ‘Sir, I will call you back as soon as I get a response’ he said and disconnected his mobile phone.

 

Featured Image (Cover): Nisha Joseph


© Delhi Defence Review. Reproducing this content in full without permission is prohibited.