A New India
Chapter 157 - 157: Going After Arif

Next afternoon in the room Rao sat silently looking at this new Intel which occupied his mind with various strategies.

Ajay Singh, sitting across from him, was already scanning the next set of documents.

Rao said, breaking the silence. "We have Farooq, but the other six... They'll know we're coming."

Ajay nodded, his face lined with exhaustion. They had been on this mission for days without rest.

He rubbed his eyes

"We can't let them scatter, sir. We've hit them hard, but the others will be on high alert now. They'll move fast."

"Which is why we need to move faster," Rao replied, sliding a file toward Ajay. "We've got a lead on the second one, Arif Chaudhry. One of our ground sources has spotted him heading toward Quetta."

Ajay glanced at the file, already knowing the name.

Arif was a mastermind, responsible for orchestrating attacks along the Indian border for years.

Taking him down would cripple ISI's operations in Balochistan.

But Quetta was deep inside enemy territory, getting to him wouldn't be easy.

Rao sensed Ajay's hesitation. "We've come this far, Ajay. We can't afford to slow down now. If we miss this chance, it could be months, maybe years before we get another opportunity."

Ajay exhaled, pushing the fatigue to the back of his mind. "I'll need to put together a team. This won't be clean."

Rao nodded, his gaze steady. "Do what you have to. But remember, we're not just after Arif. We're sending a message. ISI needs to know that no matter where they hide, we'll find them."

Days later, under the cover of darkness, Captain Vikram and his handpicked team of six men crossed the rugged terrain outside Quetta.

The journey had been hard. No radios, no advanced tracking devices, just a few maps, their instincts, and a local guide who knew the region like the back of his hand.

The wind challenged them as they approached the compound where Arif Chaudhry was said to be hiding.

The walls of the old, weather-beaten structure loomed in the distance, guarded by ISI agents who were well-armed and well-trained.

Vikram's eyes narrowed as he scanned the area from their vantage point on a hilltop.

"Looks quiet," whispered Ravi, one of Vikram's trusted men, crouching next to him. "Too quiet."

Vikram grunted. "They know we're coming."

He turned to the rest of his team, their faces illuminated by the faint moonlight.

These men had followed him through hell before, but this time even they knew sacrifice is inevitable.

"We move in pairs," Vikram said in a low voice. "Stay silent. Take out the guards quietly. We can't afford to alert the whole compound."

The men nodded, gripping their weapons tightly. There was no turning back now.

Vikram and Ravi were the first to approach the compound, moving like shadows in the night.

The guards stationed outside seemed relaxed, unaware of the danger creeping toward them.

Vikram gestured to Ravi, and with swift precision, they pounced on the two closest guards, silencing them with their knives before dragging the bodies into the bushes.

The others followed suit, taking down the remaining guards without a sound.

But as Vikram neared the compound's entrance, his instincts screamed at him. Something wasn't right.

He paused, glancing back at Ravi.

"Watch the windows," Vikram muttered. "Something feels off."

Ravi nodded, keeping his eyes on the dimly lit windows above.

They moved forward cautiously, each step deliberate.

The compound was old and crumbling in places, with walls thick enough to muffle the sounds of life within.

But as they reached the entrance, the quiet of the night was shattered.

A gunshot rang out.

One of the guards must have seen movement, maybe a glint of metal, or perhaps it was just luck.

But before Vikram could react, the bullets started flying.

"Take cover!" Vikram shouted, diving behind a low stone wall as the night erupted into chaos.

The compound suddenly came alive with the sound of gunfire.

Vikram's men scrambled for cover, returning fire as best they could, but the ISI agents inside had the advantage.

They knew the terrain, and they had the numbers.

"We're pinned down!" Ravi yelled, his voice barely audible over the deafening shots. "They've got us from both sides!"

Vikram gritted his teeth. This wasn't how it was supposed to go.

They had planned for a quiet infiltration, but now they were caught in a deadly firefight, far from any backup.

His mind raced as he tried to assess the situation.

They couldn't retreatz not now. Arif was in there, and this was their only chance to take him down.

"Push forward!" Vikram yelled, motioning for his men to advance. "We can't let them trap us here!"

One of his men, Suresh, moved quickly from cover to cover, laying down suppressing fire as the others advanced.

But as he dashed toward a doorway, a spray of bullets caught him in the side.

"Suresh!" Vikram's heart sank as he watched his comrade fall, blood pooling beneath him.

There was no time to grieve.

He grabbed Ravi by the arm, pulling him toward the entrance.

"We've got to get inside," Vikram said, his voice thick with urgency. "If we stay out here, we're dead."

With a final push, Vikram and his remaining men burst through the entrance, charging into the compound's main hall.

Inside the compound, they moved cautiously, their footsteps echoing in the narrow corridors.

The gunfire outside had slowed, but the threat was far from over.

Arif Chaudhry was still somewhere in the building, and Vikram wasn't leaving without him.

They made their way through the dimly lit hallways, kicking down doors and clearing rooms.

Finally, they reached a large, reinforced door at the end of the hall.

"He's in there," Ravi whispered, his voice barely above a breath.

Vikram nodded, motioning for his men to take position.

They prepared to breach the door, knowing that whatever lay behind it could mean the difference between success and failure.

With a swift kick, the door burst open, and there he wasz Arif Chaudhry, standing in the center of the room, his gun raised.

His eyes were wild, darting between the men who had just stormed in.

"Drop it!" Vikram shouted, leveling his weapon at Arif's chest.

For a moment, time seemed to stand still. Arif's grip on the gun tightened, his face twisted with desperation.

He had nowhere to run, no way out.

"Drop the gun!" Vikram yelled again, his voice hard with authority.

But Arif didn't move. Instead, he raised the gun, his finger twitching toward the trigger.

Before he could fire, Vikram's men shot first, sending Arif crumpling to the ground, blood spreading across his chest.

Vikram stood over him, breathing heavily. He had wanted to take Arif alive, but the man had given them no choice.

They had lost too much already to let him take one more life.

As the battle ended, Vikram's men gathered their wounded and counted the dead.

Suresh was gone, along with another young operative, Mahesh, who had been shot in the chaos.

Vikram crouched next to Arif's lifeless body, his hands still shaking from the adrenaline.

The mission was over, but the grief of losing his men killed him more.

Ravi placed a hand on Vikram's shoulder, his voice soft. "We got him, sir. We did what we came here to do."

Vikram nodded, but his mind was elsewhere. The cost had been too high.

-----

When the team returned to New Delhi, the mood in R&AW headquarters was somber.

Rao stood in silence as Vikram debriefed him, his face hardened as he listened to the details of the mission.

"We lost two men," Vikram said, his voice heavy with grief. "But we got Arif."

Rao nodded slowly, his eyes still saying nothing. "Good work, Captain. You did what needed to be done."

But even as Rao spoke, the feeling of loss cannot be changed but they knew only 2 of the 7 are down and as the number increase so will the casualties and they are not even sure if they can kill all 7.