ABOUT THE BOOK
Indian Prime Minister Priya Kaul is cornered. The country is in turmoil; the Opposition is closing in; and her own son, the heir apparent, has become an enemy within. Desperate for escape, she turns to her spiritual guru, whose counsel leads her to attempt India’s first-ever nuclear test, hoping to distract the masses and salvage her collapsing popularity. With the American President openly hostile, the CIA station chief in Delhi is instructed to stop her and engineer her downfall. Across the border, Viper, an ISI operative, moves swiftly to unleash chaos in India.
With the odds stacked against her, Priya Kaul has only two men who can still deliver. Atomic scientist Dr Venkat Iyer and his team must race against time to assemble the bomb. Legendary spymaster Sudhir Raina…Rhino…must thwart Pakistan’s disruptive designs and the CIA’s covert manoeuvres. As the intelligence agencies of three nations clash, can Rhino and Iyer achieve their mission? In a landscape of disguises, double-crossings and deception, can they pull Priya Kaul out of the abyss?
Enter this world of subterfuge, betrayal and violence at your own peril because what is at stake is a single event that could alter India’s destiny forever.
EXCERPTS
Priya turned her back to the mountain range and addressed the two men, ‘We are at the edge of the world— on its rooftop, in perhaps one of the most forlorn, desolate and stark places in the world. We can shout out to the heavens from here; they might listen to us. You two— Venkat and Rhino—are the men I trust the most in this world. I say this to both of you, perhaps for the first, and certainly for the last time in my life. I find it hard to trust people. It has always been like this. I stopped believing and trusting people after my father died a defeated and bitter man. I have asked you to accompany me on this trip for a specific reason.’
Suddenly, she stopped speaking and looked pensive. She turned her back to them. Silence. Venkat could have sworn that her eyes had watered, perhaps remembering her late father. Understandably, she did not want them to see her frail and choking with emotion. She took her time in collecting herself. Then, facing them, she resumed, ‘China is next door, and if one travels in a straight line for 250 kilometres from this point, there is Skardu in Pakistan. And, several thousand miles away, there is America. Gentlemen, I asked you to accompany me on this trip because I need your help in sending a message. A message to these three countries; a message to my beloved countrymen. I want it to be a message that will be remembered by the entire world long after I am dead and gone. A message that will never be forgotten.’
The wind had picked up, howling and whistling now; even Rhino, unflappable most of the time, felt chilled to the bone. He could sense what she was getting at. The audacity of her idea and thought! A silver bullet to end all her problems! Brilliant! But, it could not be done. No way! Had Venki figured out what she was driving at?
Priya continued, ‘The irony of this morning does not escape me. As I was walking up the stairs of the monastery, it struck me that this is the abode of the Buddha, and the message of peace nestles deep in the bosom of this monastery. And, what I propose…’ She again stopped speaking to take her time, her face now intense. She shot a piercing look directed at Rhino.
‘You are a chain smoker, Rhino, right? What do you use, a cigarette lighter or matchsticks, to light up your cigarette?’
Rhino looked embarrassed. What had got into her today? She was toying with them.
‘I…I….I…’ Rhino was stammering.
‘Speak up, man!’ she cut in sharply. ‘Stop acting coy like a girl. I know you smoke. How do you light up your cigarettes?’
‘Matchsticks,’ he finally answered.
‘Wonderful,’ she countered. ‘Now give us a demonstration. Light up a matchstick for us. Cup your hands. Show us how to do it. Venkat, come closer. I want you to closely observe the lighting up of a matchstick.’
Venkat thought even she might be feeling light-headed on the rooftop. Her behaviour was bizarre, to say the least. But he did as was told.
They stood closely in a ring, spreading out the flaps of their thick coats to shield Rhino from the strong wind. Rhino fumbled with the matchsticks till he finally got one right. The flame shot up in his cupped hands. Priya looked other-worldly. Her eyes were now fixated on Venkat.
‘What just happened, Venkat? Tell me.’
The top scientist of the country frowned. ‘Rhino lit a matchstick; that is what happened,’ replied the puzzled scientist.
‘Wrong,’ Priya cut in. ‘You tell us, Rhino. From the look on your face, I know you have figured it out. Smart man. Tell us, Rhino.’
Rhino, back to being his unflappable self, replied deadpan. ‘There was a release of kinetic energy when the matchstick was lit. That is what happened.’
Priya distanced herself from the ring, the steel in her voice rising. ‘Correct. Release of energy. That is what happened. Now, both of you listen to me very carefully. Venkat Iyer, you will build a nuclear device for me, and we will carry out India’s first ever nuclear test which will release an unimaginable energy. A world-class device and explosion that will make the world sit up and take notice of us. You have six months to build this device and carry out the test. Rhino, you will supervise the entire operation. You will ensure it succeeds at any cost. That, gentleman, is my brief for both of you this morning.’
Dr Venkat Iyer could not believe what he had just heard. His heart pounded, and he feared an attack coming on. He drew in deep breaths.
Rhino was certain that it was the last day of his career. Surely it had to be. He spoke in his usual deadpan tone, ‘Prime Minister, I have known you all my life. I can no longer keep the truth from you. The thing is, I lied to you sometime back when you asked me about the extent of CIA infiltration in the cabinet. I lied to save you the worry. The fact is, and I have known it for quite some time, the CIA has infiltrated all important institutions in our country. Many bureaucrats and journalists are on its payroll. They most certainly have assets in the cabinet also. I am trying to weed them out, but I have not been entirely successful.’
Rhino’s hand instinctively reached in his coat pocket where his resignation letter should have been. Priya unexpectedly smiled. ‘You think I don’t know that, Rhino? But, thank you for being honest. I might be a paranoid woman, but my paranoia is my defence shield, it helps me survive, maybe not sleep well at night. Yes, I know all about the CIA problem.’
‘No, you don’t, Madam,’ resisted Rhino. ‘US President Fielding is under a lot of pressure on the surveillance tape issue in Washington. He is looking for a distraction. If the US finds out that we are going in for a nuclear test, they will bomb us back to the stone-age. Nothing can save us then, not even the Russians.’
Priya looked at Venkat. ‘Ignore what he says, Venkat. You tell me. Can you pack enough plutonium in your device and give me a bomb in six months’ time? Yes, or no?’
Without thinking it through and purely out of reflex and loyalty, Dr Venkat Iyer answered, ‘We can try…well, yes, we can get you the bomb, Madam. Yes, I think so.’ Priya looked at Rhino triumphantly.
‘There. It is settled, Rhino. The Americans will bomb us only if they know about our plans. And this is where you have no choice. Stop fishing in your coat pocket for a resignation letter. I am not letting you go. You, Rhino, will conduct the ultimate deception operation the world has ever seen. You will conceal our intent from the world at whatever cost. I want my bomb, gentlemen, and I will have it.’
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Juggi Bhasin is one of India’s first professionally trained television journalists. As a senior correspondent with Doordarshan News, he covered historic events such as the Babri Masjid demolition and the peak of militancy in Kashmir, and was the first Indian TV journalist to interview North Korea’s leader, Kim Il Sung, in 1992.
A former Lead Anchor with Lok Sabha TV, he made his literary debut with The Terrorist (2012), followed by four more successful books with Penguin Random House. His latest work, Lies, Spies and Nuclear Rise, is his seventh publication.
Juggi also created Agent Rana, India’s first daily graphic spy series in a newspaper, which ran for two successful seasons in The Times of India before the pandemic.
Beyond journalism and writing, he is a trained behavioural counsellor from Sanjivini, Delhi, and has counselled senior corporate leaders, including as part of the core team conducting training sessions for Aditya Birla Group’s global executives at their Navi Mumbai facility.
A theatre actor and podcaster, he hosts The CAA Show, a popular platform on geopolitics and global affairs.
