Lesotho Promise: Houdini

Part III of the Trilogy (Scroll down for Part I and II)

Gradski: Tell me what you have on Springer.
Sergei: There is a van, parked all the time, at about 400 meters from the entrance gate. It belongs to the ‘Feds’. All his phones are tapped, even his cellphone. Not a single word goes un-intercepted. With a robbery this big, I am sure the NSA has him on a satellite, whenever he is out in the open. He gets out of his house at 8:30 am. The van doesn’t follow him, there is another SUV that follows him to office. The van stays put at his residence. He reaches office at around 9:00 am. His workstation at the office is under surveillance and he knows it. The security at Chrome Securities has been doubled after the incident. The place still has FBI officials going through their records. Besides, every single inch of the office is monitored through video cameras….

Gradski [interrupting]: Just tell me if you can reach him?
Sergei: That would be very difficult, without getting noticed. And even if we did get through to him, there is nothing much we can do about threatening him. No known family, no relatives.
Gradski: I know that. What about the time he is alone outside his house? Jogging, golfing, bars, any public place where we could get to him without getting noticed.
Sergei: Since the robbery, he doesn’t get out of that house, other than for work. He knows that his life is in danger. I don’t think he would be getting back to those leisurely activities any time soon.
Gradski: Damn it!!!......... Get me Jack.

They call Jack to their hide-out.

Jack: What is it?
Gradski: I want you to make an arrangement for me. I want you to set-up a meeting for me with someone who is under constant surveillance of the FBI and I want this to be done
off-the-radar.
Jack: Who is it?
Gradski: Eric Springer, chief engineer of Chrome Securities and a possible suspect for the FBI.
Jack: Did he really steal the diamond? Did he betray you?
Gradski: Just do as I told you to.
Jack: You must be already aware that he is a suspect, which means he is under constant surveillance. So getting him off-the-radar of the FBI and setting up a meeting is rather impossible. But, I could easily deliver your message to him and get back to you with his reply. But I need to know what happened. By the way, I hope our deal still stands.
Gradski: Fine. Sadusky will brief you with the details. As far as the deal is concerned. You will have the remaining money, when we have the diamond.

Sadusky tells Jack everything that happened; how they stole the diamond and how Springer betrayed them. Sadusky then tells Jack to threaten Springer on behalf of the Gradski and get that diamond from him by any means possible.

Jack goes to meet Springer, under the pretext of asking some questions about the robbery.

Jack: Hello Mr. Springer. I am detective Jack Carter, with the FBI.
Springer: Look, I have already told you guys everything I knew. I have nothing more to say. I even passed all the polygraphs and other tests they asked me to.
Jack: Mr. Springer, both you and I know how easy it is to fool those tests........... Especially for someone like you.
Springer: What is that supposed to mean?
Jack: Does the name Gradski strike something?
Springer: Never heard that name before.
Jack: That’s a shame, since I am supposed to kill you, for him. Too bad, you won’t even know who you died for.
Springer: You can’t do that. I am under constant FBI surveillance.
Jack: You have no idea how deep this runs Mr. Springer. What makes you so sure that the guys in that van outside are not involved in this?
People dying, evidence getting tampered, forging lies, these are things that don’t just happen. We make them happen Mr. Springer. And trust me when I say, we are exceedingly good at it.
Springer: I had no idea Gradski had moles inside the FBI.
Jack: Now you do. So let’s talk business, shall we?
Springer: I can’t give up the diamond so easily. I want my ‘cut’, what I was promised before by Gradski.
Jack: Good, now that remember everything about the diamond, lets forget about Gradski.
Springer: What do you mean?
Jack: You are an intelligent man, Mr. Springer. You know exactly what I mean. Do you think Gradski would forgive you once he gets the diamond? You know how these Russians are.
They will hunt you down at the first chance they get. And from the rate at which the case is turning cold, that chance might be a little too sooner than you suspect, right when the FBI surveillance stops.
Springer: What do you want me to do?
Jack: I was working for Gradski for money. Now that he is not in possession of the Diamond, I don’t expect him to pay me. So here is the deal; I take out Gradski for you, you give me the location of the diamond. I set-up the sale of the diamond and we split the money 50-50.
Springer: It’s a very dangerous game you are playing Mr. Carter.
Jack: I have been playing these games since ages, Mr. Springer.
Springer: Okay, but, I will give the location of the diamond to the buyers directly and personally, once the money is wired into my account. I wouldn’t risk giving the diamond to you.
Jack: Fair enough. I will get back to you after I take Gradski out of the equation.

In the following couple of weeks, through a series of tactical field operations, a number of hide-outs of the Russian Mob were demolished. Jack wasn’t officially involved in any of this, but he was the one who tipped off the DEA and FBI about the Russian hide-out he knew about. One hide-out let to the exposure of a number of others. Stash worth millions was impounded. Gradski was forced to leave the country withour his Diamond.

A week after Gradski leaves the country, Jack gets in touch with Springer…

Jack: I have a buyer for the stone.
Springer: How much is he willing to pay?
Jack: 4 million. His name is Jung Won, the famous North Korean warlord. I have scheduled the deal next Friday, 9:00 pm. Take down the address, the second exit on K Street, right after the Whitehurst junction. There is an abandoned warehouse around 2 miles along the road.
Springer: Ya, I know that warehouse. But what about the ‘Feds’ following me?
Jack: They are taking off surveillance on Monday. So don’t worry about them.
Springer: Okay, see you on Friday.
Jack: And don’t act smart this time. No fake stones. These guys know what they are dealing with. You screw-up and we die. Understood?
Springer: Don’t worry. I just want my 2 million and no trouble.


6 months later… [David Mills is in his office at FBI Headquarters, Washington].

David: Martha, could you call up Sandra Carter, wife of Jack Carter……… widow of Jack Carter and connect her to my phone. I want to invite her to the Memorial Day Ceremony.
If it wasn’t for Jack, we wouldn’t be receiving awards from the Secretary of State for recovering that Diamond.
Martha: Sure Sir.

After about an hour or so.

Martha: The Department of Justice just called for that conference and yes, I tried calling Martha Carter, but the given number has been disconnected for almost a month now.
David: You sure about that?
Martha: Yes Sir.
David: Okay, send Durham to her home and tell him to get back to me with the details.

After about a month, Sandra Carter is still untraceable. None of her friends or relatives has a clue.

David: How can she disappear all of a sudden, she is suffering from Leukemia for Christ sakes!
Durham: What do you want me to do, Sir?

David seems lost in thoughts for a while… Suddenly his jaw drops with astonishment.

David: Durham, dig up Jack Carter’s grave. Get his dental records, DNA records, everything and anything you can, to identify whether it’s actually Jack Carter’s body that was buried in that grave.

So, what exactly happened on the day of the deal with the North Koreans?

Friday, 9:00 pm. At the warehouse, Jung Won and his two men meet Springer. Jack is already present.

Jung Won: Hello, Mr. Springer. Have you brought what we need?
Springer: No. I don’t have it with me. You wire the money to my account. I confirm the transfer. Then I give you the location of the stone. Once your men retrive the stone, we can all go home rich.
Jung Won: Sounds good.

Springer and Jack give their account numbers to one of Jung Won’s men and the money is transferred. Springer and Jack verify the money in their accounts.

Springer: Locker 24, Union Station. Combination: 314. You will get what you want.

Jung Won’s man leaves to collect the stone and after 20 minutes calls him back, confirming he found the diamond.

Springer: Well, now that everyone has what they wanted, I think we are done here.
Jack: One last thing…

Jack shoots Springer. Springer falls on the ground, bleeding profusely.

Springer: What was that for?
Jack: Sshhh….. Don’t stress yourself. The blood's almost black, that means the bullet's in your liver. You have about 20 minutes to live. If the pain gets to be too much, you can take your hand away. Then you'll be dead in 5 minutes. But I suggest you try to live as long as you can. Maybe I will tell what this is all about.

Jack: This is not the North Korean warlord Jung Won. I am sure you must have done your research before coming here, but I bet you couldn’t find of picture of Jung Won. This is Officer Nick Chen with the D.C. Police. Japanese by origin and speaks Korean fluently, but he is a US citizen. Same is the case with other two officials who posed as his associates; both are US government officials, but right now they are off-duty, working for me. The money transfer you just saw wasn’t real, thanks to agent Danny Gang here, who is a computer analyst with the NSA. He can make numbers disappear from any account with a twitch of his finger. The money transfer you saw was a classic decoy, Springer. The money did make it to your account but just for a couple of minutes. That’s all you need to know. Now let’s get you back home, shall we? We have a lot of work to do.

After they reach Springer’s home…

Springer is already dead. They setup the house so that it looks as if a shoot-out occurred there; they fire bullets on the walls with Jack’s gun and the revolver that Springer owned.

Then Jack calls 911, using Springer’s cellphone, posing as Springer and tells them about a break-in at his house and attempt on his life.

He then calls his fellow agent, Det. David Mills who was still working on the Diamond trail and tells him to come to Springer’s house, saying he got a possible lead on the diamond trail, since Springer called 911 regarding an attempt on his life.

In Springer’s living room….

Jack: Nick, where is Doc.?
Doc: Right here, Jack.
Jack: Okay, you ready?
Doc: I can never be ready for something like this.
Jack: Relax Doc. We have been over this. Don’t worry. It will be fine. Just be prepared in the ambulance. Make sure the pulse stops and remains so, till they carry me into the ambulance.

Doc. injects Jack with a syringe filled with high dosage of a banned negative inotrope.
Negative inotropic agents weaken the force of muscular contractions. In this case, the target muscle was Jack's heart.

Doc: You will become unconscious after 7-8 minutes from now. This drug would start functioning approximately after 10-12 minutes and within 15 minutes your heart would stop beating. Now listen carefully , this is very important; right after Det. Mills checks your pulse and confirms that you are indeed dead, officer Chen will obscurely inject you with Digoxin. That should help us revive you once you are in the ambulance. But I am telling you Jack, this is very risky. There is a very high probability that you might not make it.

Jack: Relax Doc. We will make it through. I trust you. Nick, you ready?

Nick then stabs Jack with a special type of pointed tool that is sterlized, on the left side of his stomach and removes it. Jack starts bleeding. They fabricate the wound, so that it looks exactly like a bullet wound. After a few minutes he is unconscious. The crime scene is ready as they wanted.

In a few minutes, the Police reach, followed shortly by Det. David Mills.

David: Detective David Mills, FBI. Where is Detective Carter?
D.C. Police Officer (Nick Chen): Please come with me Sir.

Nick tells David that possibly Springer and Jack got into a fight and that is how they shot each other. David tells Nick to get back to get the forensics report ASAP to him.

After David leaves, Nick hurries Jack into the ambulance. Doc is waiting inside with all the equipments required for CPR and a syringe full of Atropine. After much struggle with the CPR and electric shocks and a couple of syringes filled with drugs, Jack's heartbeat returns to normal. Jack, Doc. and Nick are in the ambulance.

Jack: Thank you Doc.
Doc: Thank the Atropine, not me.
Jack: Nick did you tell David, what I told you to?
Nick: Yes. I did. But who is this Sarah Tops?
Jack: Forget about it now. You will know in a few days. Is my new passport ready?
Nick: Yes it is. You ticket for tomorrow is confirmed for day after tomorrow. But you sure you want to fly so early. You should take some rest.
Jack: I would have got out of the country today itself. But I got to do something before I leave. I got to visit the ‘National Museum of Natural History’ tomorrow.

David and Jack worked pretty closely on the Lesotho Promise robbery case. And David had told Jack how his son Nathan was constantly pressing him to visit the ‘National Museum of Natural History’. Jack never wanted to steal diamond. The Heist wasn’t about the money for Jack, it was about getting away clean, from his past. He had all the money he needed from Gomez, Klansky and many more crooks he snitched.

The Officials and Doc (Doctor Reid, he was with the forensics department in the FBI) who assisted him in ripping off Springer were very good friends with Jack and at one point or the other in their life, Jack had helped them in some big way and they owed him for his help. Jack trusted them with his life, literally.

As for the dead body of Jack, it was Doctor Reid who performed autopsy on an unclaimed dead-body, and that same body was buried at the cemetery, under Jack Carter’s tomb-stone.
With Det. David Mills personally being a witness to Jack’s death, no one would probe into his death further.

About a month later, David found the Diamond in the skeleton of a dinosaur called ‘Tri-Cera-Tops’, at the National Museum of Natural History, where Jack had hidden it, before he disappeared......... pulling off a Houdini. He somehow managed to get his suffering wife out of the country to take care of her. Her disappearance led Det. David Mills to suspect that Jack is still alive, because his death enquiry was completely over-shadowed with the Lesotho Promise trail.

Lesotho Promise: The Heist

Part II of the Trilogy (Scroll down for Part I)

Sadusky: Well, we have the usual; guards and video monitors. Then, there’s an inch of bulletproof glass, beyond which is an army of sensors and heat monitors that will go off if someone gets too close even with a high fever.
Gradski: We have Sergei for those. Electronics is not a problem.
Sadusky: I never said it was a problem. But wait till you hear the whole thing. The room has two-feet-thick concrete, steel-plated walls, same goes for the ceiling and the floor. The door is solid steel, a foot thick and happens to be locked with a 128-bit encryption code that changes every minute, coupled with biometric access-denial systems. Every guard has a trigger to the emergency alarm with him and once it’s triggered, the response time of the secondary unit is approximately 10 minutes.

Sadusky: We can hack into the surveillance feed from the cameras and corrupt it, but it’s useless if we can’t get into that room. I need you to understand the gravity of the situation. Breaking into something like this requires very comprehensive planning, with like a dozen contingency plans.
Gradski: We did the job in Naples. It was more secured than this.
Sadusky: Naples was different and we planned for 4 months before the job. Right now, we don’t have time for that. Face it Gradski, we need more people on the inside.
Gradski [takes a deep breath]: Who do you suggest?

Meanwhile, somewhere in the dark alleys of Georgetown, Washington, D.C....

Jack: Gomez, listen to me. I will get you the money. You don’t need to do this. Give me 48 hours.
Gomez: What’s gonna happen in 48 hours, amigo? You have been pulling this off for almost 2 months now. I need my money now!
Jack: I don’t have it now! But I swear I can get you the money in 48 hours.
Gomez: How?
Jack: The DEA(Drug Enforcement Adminstration) just got hold of a consignment that belonged to Russian mob. Stash worth a couple of million at least.
Gomez: What about it?
Jack: You know my buddy Ian in the DEA, right? He is handling the transfer of the stash. You know how these transfers work. The real worth of the stash is calculated after the transfer of the stash to the DEA office. A few thousand worth of stash gets misplaced. No one notices. Easy money!
Gomez: I am done taking crap from you.
Jack: Gomez stop! Think! What worth am I to you dead? Give me 48 hours and I will get you your money. You know you can always track me down later and kill me if I don’t get your money.
Gomez: You screw up this time, and I will paint this wall with your brain.

Gomez lets Jack go with a time frame of 2 days. Before Jack can call Ian, he gets a call from Ian…

Jack: I was just about to call you. It’s urgent.
Ian: I have something for you that’s far more important than whatever you have for me. Back entrance of the RFK stadium, in 20 minutes. Don’t be late.

Jack meets Ian….

Jack: What is it Ian?
Ian: They got to me.
Jack: Who?
Ian: The Russians.
Jack: What? You can’t let them take the stash man! I am counting on it for my life!
Ian: It’s not the stash. It’s something much bigger and they want you.
Jack: What? Why would they want me? What did you tell them Ian?
Ian: Nothing man. They knew I am good friends with you. They just want to talk to you.
Jack: I am not going to talk to those sons of…. You listen to me, get back in your car and go home.
Ian: Too late for that Jack. They are already here.
Jack: Ian, you son of a gun!! God darn it!!

Jack turns around and finds Sadusky and a couple of his goons standing behind him…

Sadusky: We just want to talk Mr. Carter. It might just save your life. Will you be kind enough to accompany me?

Jack is left with no other choice. Sadusky and Jack leave for the Russian hide-out in a van.

Jack: What do you want from me?
Sadusky: We need a small help from you. We need you to provide us information about an investigation that your agency will undertake in a few days.
Jack: You want me to be a mole. Do you realize what that means….. A mole inside the FBI. I would never do that.
Sadusky: Relax Mr. Carter! You will get your reward for this. Calm down and think about it. You can make them all go away….. Gomez, Klansky and all the other crooks who want to slit your throat, because you owe them money. We will even pay-off Gomez for you.
Jack: Seems like you have done your homework. But even if I agree, I cannot just interfere with any investigation that is not under my jurisdiction.
Sadusky: It will be under your jurisdiction, believe me.
Jack: What exactly do I have to do?
Sadusky: You have to inform us about every single detail, every single lead that the FBI has about a certain robbery.
Jack: Robbery? What are you guys planning to steal?

Sadusky throws a photo in front of Jack…

Jack: A Diamond?
Sadusky: The Lesotho Promise.

Jack: That’s a big stone. But why would I be assigned to this case. I am a detective in the FBI. I don’t work on jewellery thefts.

Sadusky: The stone is owned by a South African Corporation. It is being brought to Washington for an exhibition-cum-sale event, as a part of the new US - South African trade agreement. It is on display at the 'National Museum of African Art' at the National Mall. It’s not just a 20 million dollar stone; it’s a sign of South African trust. And when it disappears, it would be your country’s honor that would be at stake. So believe me when I say, your department would be the one handling this investigation.

Jack: Even if you do steal this stone, don’t forget, you are in Washington. The FBI headquarters at Pennsylvania Avenue is at stone’s throw from here. Within minutes the whole city would be swamped with officials. You can’t get away with this.

Sadusky: That is exactly why we need you Mr. Carter. Oh! Before we carry on with the details of your new assignment, how is your wife, Mr. Carter? I hear blood transfusions cost a fortune.

A week later, Gradski and his team go through the final plan…

Gradski: Sergei, do you have all the equipments you need to get into the surveillance feed from the cameras and hack into their systems?
Sergei: Yes, but the fail-safe mechanism would allow me to control the cameras and sensors for just over 20 seconds.
Gradski: That’s more than enough. Isn’t it Mr. Springer?

Springer: I… I don’t know. I will try my best.
Gradski: Mr. Springer, no one cares about your 'best'. I want you to replace that stone within those 20 seconds. Let me explain you how this works. You need to move around the glass windoa for around 20 seconds, examining the sensors, in such a way that we can create a loop-back recording for that duration. This loop-back would be played on the monitoring screens of the museum guards during the time when you swap the diamonds. So while you are swapping the stones, it would appear on the cameras that you are still checking the sensors. The motion sensors would also be down during this time. We would be in complete 2-way, audio-visual contact with you all the time during the operation. So, you need not worry. We will guide you through, just in case you try to do something ‘stupid’.

Springer: What about the guard at the door? What do I tell him?
Gradski: Tomorrow, during visiting hours, my men would purposely trigger the heat sensors a couple of times. This would result in a complain to be filed in Chrome Securities to check the sensors. I hope you have been working closely with your lead technician lately, as was instructed to you. As you are already aware, your lead technician and his crew would be in New York City tomorrow. Testing the sensors comes under your domain so you would be the obvious choice to check them.

Gradski: The Corporation you work for; Chrome Securities is responsible for the Security of all the museums and galleries in the National Mall. Is that correct, Mr Springer?
Springer: Yes.
Gradski: Good. So, when you get the real stone, I want you to go to the National Museum of Natural History, which is close to the National Museum of African Art. You will then go to the 1st floor water-cooler. There is a small niche, at the back, on the left bottom corner of the water cooler. You will keep the stone there. Here is a picture of the water-cooler. It’s needless to say that we will be watching and hearing you all along Mr. Springer. Don’t grow a brain.

Springer: I would have a special clearance for the African Art museum, where the diamond is, but how do I get inside the Natural History museum at 8 o’clock in the night?
Gradski: You are a Chief Engineer of the company that designed the Security of this museum. I am sure you can think of a reason. And do not worry, Sergei here would erase all records of your visit to the Natural History Museum, where you will temporarily hide the diamond, until we pick it up tomorrow. All you have to do is get inside, do your job and get out without raising any eyebrows of the guards present.

Springer: But, why wouldn’t I be the prime suspect after the robbery.
Gradski: Relax Mr. Springer. There would be not a single trail of your involvement in any of this, I assure you that. We have taken every step to protect you from the suspicion and expect you to do the same for us. Once we get the stone, the transfer would be made into the new anonymous account created at the bank in Cayman Islands. Sergei would provide you the User ID and password for the same. Remember, no suspicious activities till we get out of this country safely.
Gradski: Sadusky, give Mr. Springer the fake stone. In less than 48 hours you are going to be filthy rich. Goodluck and Godspeed Mr. Springer.

Next day, at 11:00 pm in the night, it’s all over the News. The Lesotho Promise has been stolen. But there is no mention anywhere about a fake stone being found in its place. Reports said that it just vanished. One moment it was there in the video cameras and next moment it disappears into thin air…….. literally, it disappeared into thin air. That’s because that fake stone was no stone. It was a special compound prepared using camphor. Camphor has unique properties, it looks crystalline; add the correct ingredients and you can make it shiny and reflective, almost like a diamond. It's sublime; a little heat and it evaporates into thin air. There was a small battery powered heater inside the crystal. Sadusky switched ON the heater through a remote transmitter at 10:30 pm. and that’s exactly when the diamond disappeared. It was a very good plan and exceptionally well executed. But it wasn’t over. They were going to be chased by the elite in the field of investigation. Springer was grilled for 24 straight hours by the FBI. But the Russians were really good at covering tracks. Springer was released, but was prohibited from leaving the country and was under 24x7 surveillance.

But the plan didn’t turn out as perfect as Gradski thought it would. Everything went as per the plan, except for one small hiccup; the stone that Gradski’s men recovered from the back of the water-cooler at the Natural History Museum turned out to be fake! As it appears, Gradski wasn’t the only one with a fake stone. Springer had a fake diamond too; a dummy piece he got from Chrome Securities. Chrome Securities had many dummies to test the motion sensors and other aspects of security. So, when Gradski and his team are watching Springer hide the diamond behind the water cooler, little did they suspect that Springer had managed to foil his master plan with a much simpler one. Gradski realized his mistake; for someone to be a chief engineer in a multinational corporation, Springer lacked confidence and was nervous all the time. Springer pulled off the nervous-engineer-lacking-confidence with much finesse and managed to fool everyone till they realized how confident and clever he was.

Now Springer was constantly under the surveillance of the FBI, that meant two things; he had hidden the diamond some place other than his home and the secondly, there was no way Gradski could extract the location of the diamond from him, without catching the attention of the FBI. Springer had pulled off a rabbit out of the hat and Gradski could just look at it with disgust. But Gradski was always prepared for failure. That's why he had got hold of Jack; his contingency plan.

To be continued..........

Lesotho Promise

Tracy: Hey! you are early today.
David[smiles]: Save the sarcasm, Wifey! Is Nathan asleep?
Tracy: Yes. He waited for you till 11:30.
David: Ohh! I am so sorry. I completely forgot. I was about to leave early for home, to take him to the museum and then something urgent came up and I completely forgot.
Tracy: It's alright. He knows your inability to remember stuff. So Detective Mills, what mystery did you solve today?
David: Well.... other than discovering my inability to remember stuff and how sarcastic you have become, nothing special.
Tracy: Oh, so this isn't special....

Tracy switches on the TV.

News reporter: The 'Lesotho Promise' is a 603 carat diamond stone. The South African Diamond Corporation, expected to sell the diamond for more than 20 million dollars at an exhibition held at the 'National Museum of African Art' here in Washington, before it was stolen.

David: Since when do you follow the News?
Tracy: Since the day I married a detective from the FBI.
David: They assigned me to this case few hours ago. Now I am one of the lead detectives on the biggest robbery of the decade.
Tracy: Which means you are the dad who wont be seeing his son until the case is solved.
David: Tracy, come on!! Its just a matter of days. And I promise we will take that museum tour together.

David: But why would he want to go that stupid museum anyways? Why not the Star Wars Premier or the NBA playoffs? It's like he has got all your genes and none of mine.
Tracy: Ok Ok. Lets argue at the dinner table, shall we? I am starving.

Next Day, FBI headquarters, Washington, D.C.

David: Durham, did NSA send over those satellite recordings of the crime scene?
Durham: Yes Sir, they are on the shared drive, where you had asked.
David: Good. Inform everyone, Conference Room B in 5 minutes.


David[talking to his team]: As everyone is aware, last night at around 2230 a mammoth diamond, the Lesotho Promise was stolen from the National Museum of African Art. I am ashamed enough to say that no suspects have been identified so far. Our best guess is, there was someone on the inside, because this place housed a security system that could rival most missile silos. And breaching it ain't no one-man-job. Now, it is needless to say that how crucial it is to obtain this stone back. Not just because it's worth more than the Statue of Liberty, but because it's a question of National Pride. The stone belonged to the South African Diamond Corp. It's obvious that the political repercussions are going to be immense. The Director has already been breathing down my neck. So, lets stop wasting time here and get that damn stone back!

Det. David Mills and Det. Jack Carter discussing the case in Jack's office...

Jack: These satellite recordings are totally inconclusive. There is no recording of the Art Museum for like 25 minutes during which the robbery occured.
David: Oh Come on now!! What are the chances of a satellite hovering over D.C. at that exact moment!
Jack: What about Chatter? Anything there?
David: Nope. We cant expect robberies to be monitored through Chatter. And this doesn't look like a terrorist activity anyways.

David: Relax. I am pretty sure something would come up from the huge interrogation being carried out. Phew! 212 possible suspects. Largest one I have ever seen.
Jack: How are we doing there?
David: Nothing conclusive so far. The security guards at the time of the robbery are being grilled pretty severely though.
Jack: When are you leaving for the crime scene? I will accompany you.
David: Let's go.

About a month later....

Tracy: Hey, You okay, honey?
David: Yeah!
Tracy: What's wrong?
David: Nothing................. Well, it's that darn diamond theft. All leads have exhausted. I am just unable to figure out where it disappeared. Its been like a month now and still not a single suspect or clue. How can a stone so precious disappear in thin air? Every major agency across the globe is on alert. But still.....

David gets a call from Jack ....

David: Hi Jack!
Jack: David I got a lead. You remember Springer?
David: Yeah! He is the chief engineer of Chrome Securities. The Company that setup the security for the Lesotho exhibition.
Jack: Yes. He just called 911 and reported a break-in into his house and an attempt on his life. I am on my way to his place.
David: Give me the address. I will be there in a few minutes.

David arrives at the address...

David: Det. David Mills, FBI. Where is Det. Carter?
D.C. Police Officer: Please come with me Sir.

David is shocked to see Carter's body lying on the floor. He is already dead. Springer's body is lying at some distance.
Most of the furniture is broken, suggesting a brawl and quite a few gunshots on the wall. Both Jack and Springer have guns lying beside their bodies.

D.C. Police Officer: It seems the gunshots were from their respective guns, suggesting they killed each other. Det. Carter reached here before we could. He was tipped of by an insider inside the D.C. Police Department. I think he was suspicious of Mr. Springer and was monitoring him. Det. Carter was still alive when we reached.
David: I want a full forensics report tomorrow morning, on my desk.
D.C. Police Officer: Yes Sir. One more thing Sir, Det. Carter was saying something about a Sarah Tops in his final moments.
David: What? What exactly did he say?
D.C. Police Officer: His voice was very low and I could not make out the sentence. But his last words were 'Try Sarah Tops'.
David: Try Sarah Tops? Are you sure Officer?
D.C. Police Officer: Yes Sir. I am sure he said that.
David: Is there anything else that you could make out from what he was trying to say.
D.C. Police Officer: No Sir, that's all I could make out.
David: Thank you Officer.

Whoever this Sarah Tops is or was, quite possible could lead to the diamond or maybe even had the diamond. Jack would not kill a key suspect unless he had no other choice and unless he had got the information he needed. David runs the name across all databases of all known agencies, but nothing comes up. No reference to any Sarah Tops. Springer's profile and accounts were already verified during the investigation. A re-check does not provide anything conclusive. He had covered his tracks well. The case runs cold again.

About a month later.....

David: Hey kiddo! you ready?
Nathan: Yess!
David: Excited?
Nathan: Hmm.. not really, given that we are 2 months late for it.
David: Oh come on now!! You know I was busy? Dont you?
Nathan: Yes Dad.
David: Ok, now lets go before they dont allow us in.

They leave to visit the 'National Museum of Natural History'. As David parks his car, he gets a little pensive. The National Museum of Natural History is right in front of the National Museum of African Art, from where the Lesotho Promise was stolen. These two museums, along with several others are a part of the 'National Mall' in Washington D.C.
The museum's collections total over 125 million specimens of plants, animals, fossils, minerals, rocks, meteorites, and human cultural artifacts. It's main attraction being the remains of dinosaurs.

As David and Nathan are taking the tour. David suddenly notices something. He stops and stands still, staring at a 10-meter long dinosaur skeleton. There is a bright reflection falling straight into David's eye. The tag of the dinosaur says 'Triceratops'.

A tribute to my favorite story since like the fifth grade. Hope the modifications in the storyline weren't a letdown.

Today is the day I die - Part I

George: So how is it gonna happen?
Doc: Uh... There's a latent period where you'll be mostly asymptomatic, even in the most extreme cases. It can last a while.
George[sarcastically]: Whats "a while"?
Doc: Uh... well, upto 8 to 10 hours. Maybe..maybe longer. But....your radiation level is about 40 to 45 Sv. Theoretically, you should...... you should be dead any minute. But.. But there was this Canadian guy who survived 9 days after acute exposure in 1940s. So, I mean....
George: Lets cut to the chase Doc. [brief silence] HOW IS IT GONNA HAPPEN?
Doc: Well.......... the symptoms would get more acute with time. In the later stages your hair will start to fall out.
George: I am used to that.
Doc: You'll start to manifest gastrointestinal hemorrhaging, skin lesions, bleeding from the mouth and the nose. Your mental functioning will begin to deteriorate and uh.. you'll lapse into a coma…
George[interrupting]: Ok Doc. Gotcha![winks and starts walking away]
Doc: Sir......... Sir, please get back here I need to run few more tests on you.
George: Get back to the others Doc. They need you.

I am special agent George Mason and today is the day I die.

Almost 18 hours earlier we got a lead from The Mossad about a possible terrorist threat in Manhattan. Statiscally speaking, the FBI receives around 12 thousand tips on possible terrorist activities per week, almost all of which are false. But this was different, it was re-affirmed by Langley and Ft. Meade. A nuclear bomb was going to be detonated on US soil and Manhattan was the target. 20 square miles that extended vertically to an inconceivable extent with its skyscrapers, sprawling with a population of more than 1.5 million, Manhattan was absolutely clueless about what was about to hit it. Sept-11 seemed like a mere trailer, the blockbuster was here. It was confirmed by intelligence that it was a Dirty Bomb. Dirty bombs are much easier to prepare by laying hands on waste from a nuclear reactor or from a good cancer treatment hospital. Laying hands on a tactical nuclear warhead of US origin or sneaking one into a metropolitan city from outside was practically impossible. The US of A is renowned for spying, monitoring and eavesdropping. Today was the day to prove to the world how good we really are at it. We were depending majorly on NSA (read ECHELON) to take us safely through the day.

The information of the bomb scare was kept from the media and the public for reasons pretty obvious. As they say, A person is intelligent but the crowd isnt. It was a normal Wednesday for the locals; traffic on the Eight Avenue, tourists clicking photgraphs at Times square. As my vehicle passed 1 Times Square, the frigging Jumbotron was playing a video that said 'Viva NYC'. Too much of an irony I would say.
Within a few hours, there was a major development. Suspicious activities and vehicles were reported from the Midtown. Suspicious enough to send 2 NEST teams and all the FBI and SWAT teams in a 10-block radius. Midtown was the perfect spot to strike. Its the busiest single commercial district in the United States. On any given weekday, more than 700,000 people work in the hundreds of offices there. Empire State, UN Headquarters, Madison Square Garden, Times Square are just a few of the dozens of landmarks in Midtown.

A terrorist dirty bomb is unlikely to cause many deaths. I mean its just normal explosive mixed with radioactive material, but given our present scenario, the head-count was very close to a million. We didn't know much about the composition of the bomb, so playing with numbers was a little too pre-mature. But certain things were for sure; people who come directly in contact with the radiation would suffer damages, including death for severe exposure. Long term effects include a variety of things from cancer to genetic disorders. The wind would spread the Nuclear Fallout, contaminating the surroudings, depending on the direction and speed of the wind. The decontamination of the affected area requires considerable time and expense, rendering affected areas partly or fully unusable for months. The terrorists had done their homework.

The NSA confirmed that bomb was in the UN headquarters. Worst possible place to look for it. The site of the UN headquarters has extraterritoriality status, typical of embassies. This affects some law enforcement where UN rules override the laws of New York City. This would lead to many incidence of the FBI colliding with UN officials over matters of jurisdiction. The more they argue over formalities, the slimmer the chances get of finding the bomb and diffusing it before it goes off. In a matter of minutes the building was swamped with NEST officials. By this time the media had sniffed that something big was cooking. The President declared DEFCON 2. The whole of Manhattan was in chaos. People trying to get out of the city led to traffic jams everywhere. The nightmare had just begun.

Today is the day I die - Part II

Riggs: Sir, the threat has been eliminated. Unit 6 just radio'ed from UN headquarters that the bomb has been diffused.
George: What the...... So soon? How? I mean just 5 minutes ago I went to take a piss, fearing it would be the last one I take and here you are, telling me they diffused the frigging bomb.
Riggs: Sir, you have been in the rest room for the almost 30 mins.
George: Ahem..... Give me that radio!
George: Unit 6, this is Special Agent Mason from Unit 2. How do we proceed from here?
Unit 6: Hold your position Agent Mason, until you get further instructions.

George[putting a cigarette in his mouth]: Got a light, Riggs?
Riggs: Sir, this is no-smoking zone.
George: What do you think I am? Illiterate? ............. I can read the frigging sign!

Lights his cigarette...

George: No-smoking zone, huh? Tell that to the terrorists who were about to smoke whole of Manhattan.

I was at 8 Broad Street, the New York Stock Exchange(NYSE) building. The FBI had appointed special agents at every major building in Lower Manhattan. It was all over the TV; how our brave(read lucky) boys had averted the deadliest threat that the country had ever faced. The UN building was the crime scene and forensics and NEST teams were trying to figure out the source of this bomb. The President addressed the nation and the chaos calmed down to some extent. The man-hunt was still on for the culprits.

Meanwhile the trading at NYSE had not stopped. The market experienced a major setback after the threat was declared. But now that the city had overcome the ordeal, it was expected to bounce back. The trading floor is located at 11 Wall Street. Five mammoth rooms overflowing with traders and stock enthusiasts dealing in hundreds of billions. They say the NYSE has a global capitalization that surpasses even the GDP of USA. As the market was about to close, the increase in flow of people in and out of the building was making the entrance crowded. I noticed a crowd gather right in front of the building. I asked Riggs to enquire what was going on. As the crowd dispersed I saw Riggs carrying a beautiful blonde in his arms and a guard pushing a baby pram, walking towards me. She was unconscious and the baby wont stop crying. We called 911 but with all the traffic around they wouldn't be reaching soon. After sprinkling water on her, she came to her senses. Riggs interrogated her. She claimed to be the babysitter. Her ID and SSN confirmed her claim. She was asked to wait in the lobby till the paramedics arrived. Everything was smooth again, except the fact that the darn baby wouldn't let go of my hand. I switched on my cellphone to find 9 missed calls from Sherry. I called her back.

George: Hey, whats the matter?
Sherry: The nuclear bomb, thats the matter. Where were you? I couldn't reach you on your cell.
George: Yeah, it was switched off.
Sherry[shouting]: Switched off!!! Do you realize how worried I was.
George: Sherry, Calm Down!
Sherry: You didn't have the courtesy to call me and say that you were alright.
George: Whats the matter with you? I am a Federal agent. I have a job to do. An important job, other than help you make babies! You know what, I dont need to give you an
explanation, because in less than a week we would be officially divorced. [Hangs Up]

George: Riggs, wheres the babysitter?
Riggs: She went to the restroom Sir.
George: Okay. Call up 911 and find out when the paramedics would be here. I got better work to do than help babysit.

10 mins. later...

George: Riggs, where is the darn babysitter?
Riggs: I will go check sir.
George: Yeah, you do that.

I stood there staring at the baby in the pram, it just hit me and I realised what had happened.....

Riggs: Sir.......
George[completes his sentence]: the babysitter is gone.

The width of the pram was more than the width of the metal detector gateway. The pram was not passed through the metal detectors.
There were no NEST teams in Lower Manhattan, given the vastness of the UN headquarters all the NEST teams were deployed to scan the UN building.
Why would the security guards check a baby when the babysitter is that beautiful and unconscious.
This was the plan all along. They knew that the bomb would be found and diffused in time. But they also knew that once the bomb is found, no matter how strict the surveillance is, it is bound to get complacent and develop a slack. The news of the bomb was spread by the same terrorist group. But everyone was told that there is only one bomb.

I lifted the baby, uncovered the pram and there it was. The second bomb. We were briefed by NEST personnel early morning where they displayed photographs and designs of nuclear devices and dirty bombs. This was definitely a dirty bomb.

George: Call NEST team now!

Riggs gets on the radio and informs NEST team.

George: They would never make it on time. Roads are blocked. There isn't a helipad nearby to land a chopper. I gotta get this thing out of here.
George: Riggs, which one is closer? North River or East River?
Riggs: I.. I am not sure sir.
George: Damn it Riggs!!................... Anyways, I am going for North River. I want you to call Harbor Patrol and tell them to intercept me along 23rd Street ASAP. Tell them what I am carrying, they will know what to do.
George: Dont think! Just pick up the frigging phone and DO IT!

I carried the bomb in a car and made sure that no one accompanied me. As I was honking my car continuously to clear the way, it hit me that I could die any moment. I almost hit the brakes and felt like running away. In spite of knowing the fact that since it was a nuclear device, I would die anyway. Never before in my life was I this scared. And I wasn't even a big fan of my life. The bomb didn't even have a timer, all I could hear was a beep, which got louder and faster with time. It was right there, on the adjacent seat, staring at me, as if it was about consume me. After the longest 15 minutes of my life, I reached the river where Harbor Patrol got me rid of the deadly parcel. They had everything ready to drown the bomb and fortunately it didn't go off until it was deep in the river.

As it is with most dirty bombs, this one too was leaking radiation. The NEST team reached the North river, so did Riggs and my team at the NYSE. I was the stupid one to carry the bomb and hence had maximum exposure. Somehow, I couldn't help but think about the baby.

A Doctor started examining me for the radiation levels, as he went through the readings on his device for my exposure level, his face went pale. I knew the whole story right away.

George: Hey Doc, there was a baby at the scene. Send someone and find that baby and make sure its ok.
Doc: The baby is right here, your team got the baby here for check-up as well. And.........its a 'she' by the way.
George: How is she?
Doc[reluctant to answer]: She was exposed for a considerable amount of time and was in close proximity as well. She won't make it.

I never liked babies, to the extent that I didn't even want one with the woman I love. I was about to divorce my wife because she wanted a baby and I didn't.
And here I was, tears flowing down my eyes for a baby who I barely knew for few minutes. It was all so clear to me. I was this whole new, transformed person....... who was about to die in few hours.

After the Doc was done with all the tests....

George: So how is it gonna happen?
Doc: Uh... There's a latent period where you'll be mostly asymptomatic, even in the most extreme cases. It can last a while.
.
.
.
.

Here I am waiting for my death. I am not scared to die. Who wouldn't want to get rid of a life like mine. But there was this one thing that I had to do. I had to apologize to the
single good thing in my life, Sherry.

The Date

Someone: Ok people, lets start the brainstorming on how to keep the mosquitoes at bay from our Library. As funny as it may sound, its a cumbersome problem. And yes, its for real!

Liz: Taylor!.......Taylorr!! Would it sound rude if I said, I think its a total waste of time that I am here. I would rather try and convince my roommate to accompany me for pedicures tomorrow, than be here.

Someone: [long pause..... followed by a fake smile] No. Not at all.

Liz: Awesome! [Gets up from the chair. Elegantly tucks those lovely curls behind her ears. Puts her handbag on her shoulders and takes 18 graceful steps before vanishing behind a slamming door!]

Me: [thinking] Have I ever noticed anything that intricately before? Focus on the blood sucking mosquitoes, John!

Oh! by the way, that Someone is 'Taylor'. Now I remember! I sat through the entire Freedom-from-Mosquitoes brainstorming session. But those aforementioned lines are the only things I remember from the session. Apparently, my brain just responds to just one keyword lately, Liz! And before you think of the 4-letter word, stop right there! Instead its a 5-letter word....... PHASE. Atleast thats what Enrique says in one of his songs.

I like girls. We all do, right since we were monkeys we do. All the more reason to believe this is a Phase. But what should I do about the subtle signs that go against my whole 'Phase theory'.
I always hate it inside the elevator. Feels like you are on an inter-galactical journey on foot. But when she is standing next to me, the darn thing flies faster than a rocket. Talk about Theory or Relativity!
All of a sudden I am hovering over the 'Love and Romance' section at the video rentals.
Couples sucking on straws from the same glass of Fruit-Punch doesnt seem like a cheesy way to save money anymore.
Archies and Hallmarks, not so meaningless afterall.

That reminds me, lets talk something meaningful here. Something that might actually help me get out of this 'situation' I have at hand. But seriously, do I stand a chance? I mean its Liz for Christ sakes. 'Elizabeth Skarbek' aka Liz aka Beth aka Lizzie aka Eliza. I cant even give her a nickname once we are going out. Everythings already taken. Focus dumbo! Lets postpone the day-dreaming. Shakespeare - Whats there in a name, remember? Well, she is the most famous person in college, also the Student-body president and cheerleader team captain. All in all, the most unachievable girl around. There you go, I said it. Unachievable. End of discussion. 'Moving on' Phase has officially begun.

But what if I do actually have a shot. I mean, we do talk at times and there is always the occasional nanosecond eye-contact that ends with a smile from her. Some famous scientist-slash-philosopher had said some 200 years ago, 'Its better to know than wonder'. I think it applies here. Okie then, I am gonna do it. I am gonna ask her out.

I dont know how I am gonna do it but I gotta find my helmet first and get some arm and shin guards. I could always outrun her, incase theres a chase sequence. So thats covered. Ok John, enough with the contingency plan. Be spontaneous. Evolve. Let the chips fall where they may. I should practise a bit in front of the mirror. Always helps.

2 years later.

Around 10:00 pm. Tom and John talking over a couple of beer at John's apartment.

Tom: Yeah? I was a dork back then, huh? Remember the time when you asked Liz out?

John: Dude! that was like a million and a half years ago.

Tom: Yeah Right! You were so stupid. I mean you ask her out on a date for the Halloween Dance Party. She says YES. Liz says YES to you!! And just when we think there is no possible way that you could screw this up, you dress up as 'Nazi soldier' for the dance party and arrive at her doorstep! How could you do that man? How could you not know she is Jewish.

John: I have no idea how it just didn't occur to me man. I was so overwhelmed that I just didnt figure it out. I mean 'Skarbek' did sound Jewish. Man! what are the odds of getting ditched on your first date like that. I was stupid, so very frigging stupid!

Liz: [entering the apartment] 'Was'........ what you mean 'was stupid'. You are stupid. And forgetful and weird and your life is a mess just like this house of yours.

John: 'Yours'....... what you mean 'house of yours'. Its ours!

Liz: [kisses John] Hi Tom. Long time, how have you been?
[to John] Oh! before I forget, did you call up the plumber?

John: I was just about to do that after this beer.

Liz: And the gas bills............ Let me guess, you were going to pay those too, after this beer.

John: Ooo! How well you know me!

Fade Away....................

Moments.

Life is not the amount of breaths you take, it's the moments that take your breath away.

Wait a second, does drowning count? Cos' that’s the only moment I lost my breath, and that too for a very short time. The swimming instructor pulled me out.

Josh was never good with humor. Much like the one above, his anecdotes were untimely and unnecessary. Always trying to win friends and blend into groups. But he never really succeeded. Most of the time ended up making a fool of himself in front of others. But Marie wasn't like the others. She was different. Josh never had to make an effort to strike a conversation with her. They just happened. Well, most of the time they ended up arguing and quarrelling. But you know kids.

Marie was eight. She was in the same class as Josh. They had been neighbors and classmates right since kindergarten. Marie was the quintessential tomboy. All she was good at was climbing walls and trees, beating Josh everyday in the race back home from school, and swearing. In fact, it was Marie who taught Josh his first swearword. So all in all, Marie was better in everything that Josh liked to do. And boy! did Josh hate that.

But there was this one thing that Josh was particularly jealous about. Marie rode the bicycle since 2nd grade and Josh was yet to set his foot on the paddle. Not that any of his other friends could ride the bicycle. But the fact that Marie could, was all that mattered to him.

Every evening Marie used to breeze past Josh on her green bike (She even had a name for it 'Green Queen'. Why do girls do that?). Josh pretended that he didn't give a dime. But then, he was never good at pretending. It was a routine, after getting back from the playground every evening Josh would sit on his porch and watch Marie ride. Of course he would pretend he was admiring the sunset!

One day it happened. The threshold was breached. Josh couldn't take it anymore. Much against his willingness, he approached Marie and popped the question, "Will you...... Never mind!". Marie was like "Huh!". Josh continued, "Ok....Ok...I want to ride your cycle. I mean first I want to learn to ride it, and then I would be able to ride it. It’s not like I can't ride a bike, its just that I can't ride it that well. And don’t think I cant get....". Before Josh could utter any more nonsensical gibberish, Marie intervened, "Josh STOP!". With her jolly smile she continued, "I will teach you." Our hesitant champ made a quick survey of the neighborhood and confirmed that not a soul below 15 was in sight. With a little push from Marie and some awkward efforts, Josh was on the seat, with Marie holding to keep the balance.

"Step on it, you fool!" shouted Marie. Josh was spellbound by the sheer feeling of sitting on a bicycle. After a few shaky starts, couple of falls, small bruises, lots of heated arguments, Josh finally rode a couple of yards before calling it a day. There was however no 'Thank You' in store for Marie. Josh had this obscure smile all night accompanied by the unusual humming. A few bandages and he was ready for bed. Sleep did elude him for quite some time. He was too mesmerized after riding the bicycle for the first time.


New day, new challenges; asking Marie for the bike again. And that was not the end of it. The fear of Marie letting out 'the secret' made things worse. All through the day he was restless, but there was this sense of delight that if everything goes well, he would be riding his dream machine again. Evening on the playground was Josh's favorite time of the day, but not today. After returning home, he was sitting on the porch waiting for Marie to show-up. But she was nowhere to be seen. Every passing second was taking its toll on Josh. He was cursing himself for not asking Marie about the evening ride, in school. Finally she showed up. Somehow Josh controlled his anger and put up the biggest fake smile on is face, which was scary in a way coming from 'The Bully' himself. Josh was never good with the pleasantries or the casual chit-chat. But he had rehearsed a mock-conversation so that Marie wouldn't refuse for the bike. But before he could say a word, Marie offered him the bicycle. Maybe it was the fake smile that he put up before, that did the trick.

Josh was picking up fast. But it was mostly because of the fact that he knew Marie was holding the cycle at the back. But how could she keep up with his growing pace. His first look behind, and Marie wasn’t there. 'O My Goshhhhhhh....' and down he went. Marie came running, laughing her gut out. There was no consoling Josh. Shouting was accompanied with few abuses and some tears too. How could she break his trust and leave him to ride all alone, Marie is mean, I am never going to talk to her again; some of the thoughts that were going through his mind that night. But the fact that he rode the bicycle all by himself was a very good soothing factor. That too just on the second day. He felt like Superman.

Next day in school, Marie came to apologize. Our pretentious Superman did forgive the poor girl, but after much persuasion and a promise that she wouldn't let go of the bike when Josh is riding it. That evening Josh seemed to have an innate confidence. He started paddling slowly and picked up speed. Marie was shouting for Josh to slow down but he was just too engrossed to listen. In spite of Marie's best attempts she couldn't keep up with the bike's pace and eventually had to let go. Josh realized that he was riding all alone, but he wasn't scared this time. He reached the end of the road and stopped. He couldn't believe that he had just ridden the bike this far, all by himself. Marie came running and Josh was like "Did you see that? Did you? I rode all by myself". Marie had never seen such a big smile on his face before, and it wasn't a fake one this time. She too felt as if she had accomplished something, having helped Josh learn to ride. This was a very awkward moment for both of them. For the first time they were not fighting, but were smiling at each other.

Next day was a cakewalk for Josh. But he did need Marie's help for sitting on the bike and a little push to get him started. Josh went from fast to faster, shouting 'Yuhooooo....' at the top of his voice, which made the whole neighborhood realize his achievement. He turned at the end of the road and sped towards Marie. As he approached her, he applied the brakes. But unfortunately he was too fast and headed straight for crashing into Marie. Marie tried to move aside but the cycle went over her left foot and the handle slammed into her jaw. Josh lost balance and crashed into the nearby wall. But he got right up and ran towards Marie. She was moaning in pain. There was blood coming out of her mouth, she had broken a tooth. Not to mention the broken foot. Josh was terrified, couldn't utter a single word. He helped Marie stand up, but she couldn't walk with the pain in her foot. Josh put her left arm around his shoulder and they both started walking towards her home. Josh was still speechless and surprisingly so was Marie. Suddenly Josh realized that he is supposed to apologize.

Josh: "Marie, I am so sorry, I was so stupid to ride so fast. But I did press the brakes. I swear I did. But the stupid thing just wouldn't stop. I would never ride that fast ever again. I promise!"
He was a compulsive talker when he was nervous.

Marie smiled and replied, "Did you notice that your knee is bleeding".

Josh: "What! Oh My God! I am bleeding. C'mon, walk faster. We need to apply something on my knee. Its gonna burn like hell wouldn't it. When did this happen though. How did I start bleeding?"

Marie: "Duh! When you crashed into the wall."

Josh: "Oh yeah! I crashed into the wall, didn't I? It was pretty kool wasn't it. I mean I have never crashed into a wall with that kinda speed before. Did you see when I crashed. It was kool rite?"

Marie: "Kool.... It was stupid! You made the stupidest face when you were about to crash."

Josh: "Oh really! I should have taken a snap of your stupid face when you were lying on the ground....moaning."

Marie: "Hey! You have no idea how much pain I was in. You broke my jaw."

Josh: "Oh C'mon! The handle just brushed your jaw. Stop making a fuss over it"

Marie: "Brushed???"
She showed him the tooth that came out.
Josh was taken aback seeing the blood covered tooth. But he soon got a grip of himself.

Josh: "It’s the molar tooth. It was time that it came off. Don’t worry."

Marie: "Stupid fool! The molar falls at 18, not 8."

Josh: "Stupid...... Do you want me to drop you right here and leave. I swear I will."

Marie: "You threatening me? Just leave me and go. I don’t need your help. And yeah, don’t come begging for my cycle".

They both paused and thought for a moment and in chorus they yelled, "THE CYCLE!"

Marie: "Josh run, go get the cycle".

Josh: "But I can’t leave you like this".

Marie: "Just a moment ago you said you were ready to drop me".

Josh: "I was kidding, stupid. I'll take you home and then come back and get the cycle."

Marie: "What if someone robs it by then".

Josh: "Don’t worry, no one is going to steal that piece of junk".

Marie: "That’s it! You are never again to touch my cycle".

Josh: "You know, your home is still too far for you to crawl from here".

The war of words continued, and so did their friendship. But during this whole cycling experience, there were moments which neither of them would forget easily. Moments that neither of them talked about, but cherished for a long time. Moments that forged their friendship.

Learning it the Hard Way

Josh had never seen apples hanging on a tree before. He loved apples, relished them almost everyday, but they were never so tempting as they were now, hanging in bunches, waiting to be plucked and eaten. But he couldn't quite reach them. And the stick lying on the ground wasn't of much help to his 3 feet something stature. Ofcourse, he could always resort to stones, but this being his first day in the neighbourhood, the fear of some fat, bald orchid-owner can be pretty discouraging.

So, much like the fox craving for grapes in his storybook, he too gave up, muttering 'They aren't that ripe anyways'. But fate as it seems, had fresh apples in store for Josh. As Josh was about to leave the orchid, he happened to meet his accomplice. Enter Ben. Ben was a couple of years elder than Josh, and hence litte taller. So, now the stick could be put to use for fetching those bright red apples. There is something about the apples that you sneak out from the neighbourhood, they taste ten times better than the ones Mom gets from the market. Soon, Josh and Ben became fast friends.

Ben had no siblings of his own. But, not anymore. Our little Josh too was the lone kid at home. So now we had our very own version of 'Brothers in Arms' shaping up. Their houses were a couple of blocks apart. They went to the same school. Ate lunches together. Spent the evening catching butter-flies for Marie together. Josh being little younger, faced some hinderances joining the local gang of adolescents in the neighbourhood. But with Ben's persuasion, he soon got assimilated in the group. If Josh was in trouble ever, Ben had his back covered.

Ben was someone Josh always looked up to as a mentor, but never admitted or exhibited. There was this certain 'take-for-granted' feeling which Josh had about Ben. Josh thought that no matter what he did, Ben would always be there for him. There was also this subtle difference between them, Ben was the jovial, happy-go-lucky one and Josh was the tempermental one. Everytime they had their differences, Ben used to be in the receiving end of Josh's anger. But it wouldn't take much time for them to get over it. Thanks to Ben's soft-spoken apologies. But inspite of these differences, they were best friends. Josh was becoming exceedingly dependent on Ben, right from his completing homework to saving him from the school bullies.

Sometimes, in Ben's absence Josh would get into trouble and he would blame Ben for not being there for him. It was during one such occasion that Josh stopped talking to Ben. He wouldn't even meet him, inspite of Josh's repeated attempts to reconcile. Almost a week passed and they had not seen each other. Eventually Josh grew restless and went to visit Ben. To his very surprise the door was locked. After enquiring from the neighbours, Josh learnt the bitter truth. Ben's family had shifted to some other town. He couldn't believe his ears. He ran home and told the whole thing to his Mom. His Mom didn't take the matter that seriously, because she didn't know what Ben meant to Josh. She took it lightly and casually told Josh that it was because of his harsh behaviour that Ben had left. That was the last thing Josh had to hear.

Josh got upset but the worse was yet to come. That night he had a terrible fever. He wouldn't talk, just stared at the ceiling, lost in oblivion. The doctor had no clue. Finally after a couple of days of medication his condition improved. He started talking and crying profusely. He told his Mom how he felt about Ben leaving him. It was then his Mom realised the reason of his illness. She consoled him and told him the truth that Ben had left because his Dad's job demanded so. But that didn't make Josh feel any better. He had lost his dearest friend and the worst part being he didn't even let Ben say 'goodbye'.

Josh couldn't make contact with Ben since that day, inspite of his sincerest efforts. Days became months, months became years. Josh repented his mistake every single day. He realised the fact that how often we ignore people when they are with us and realize their importance when they depart. There was one big difference in Josh now. He wasn't the same arrogant, tempermental Josh. He was completely transformed. He learnt the value of friendship, the importance of it. He realised how he had taken one of the most important person in his life for granted. The new Josh had many friends now, and each one regarded him as his best friend. But Josh had lost his best friend forever. In return he learnt one of the most important lessons in life; the people around you are the most important part of your life. Money, fame, honour, self-esteem, pride etc. dont even come close.

I am not quite the story-teller. But this ain't just a story anyways. Charlie Chaplin once entered a 'Charlie Chaplin Look-alike' contest in Monte Carlo and came in 3rd. Thats a story.
This...This is a lesson, which many of us learn the hard way.

Partners in Pursuit

How often do you meet someone, with whom you share an inherent resemblance of thoughts. I am not talking about 'Bush is an idiot', 'Angelina Jolie is sexy', 'Ronaldinho is the best footballer'.....I am talking about the innate interests and thoughts that geeks like me have, which are a "taboo" in the social circle. I mean, I could discuss Black-holes, superstring theory, origin of the universe, particle accelerators and many more topics like those for ages with someone. But finding that 'someone' is the hard part, not those topics. Maybe if I had done my majors in Astrophysics that wouldn't have been a problem.

My friends say I think a lot and spend a lot of grey matter pondering over petty things. Something a "cool" person wouldn't do. And when something I say, goes over their heads, they say I have left my brains at home. I so wish I could do that.There are only a handful of people I have come across with whom I could talk about anything and everything, you know, right from 'Versace' to 'Event Horizon'. Very few people would be familiar with both those terms. (Chances are, you don't know either of them. No worries, google them or go to en.wikipedia.org for a more precise answer). Ok, back to 'finding that someone'. Until few days back I used to think that I am the lone soul on the face of this planet, with a vivid range of thoughts. Thoughts about the very existence of mankind and the universe and about having such a limited knowledge about the 'bigger picture'. But I finally found that 'someone'. Someone, who spends time pondering about bigger picture like me. Name is 'Oihane'.....pronounced as 'O-e-ann'. She is from Bilbao, Spain. Thats like 5000 miles to the north-west from where I stay.

I've known her for more than a year now. But it wasn't until few days back, that we really came to know each other. Oh! did I mention that the only communication we have is through Instant Messenger. So, the conversation began with Spain beating Ukraine 4-0 in the Football World Cup encounter. Followed by some casual leg-pulling, the quintessential element of our chat.
Then things started to unravel. I think the question I asked was, 'From where did the universe come'? I was so scared that like all the others, this would drive her away too. I was so wrong. Apparently Oihane, like me, was pretty obsessed with the whole 'understanding the universe and the purpose of our existence' thing.

I am guessing that you too, like other 'normal' people I know, have become bored. But you might wanna hang on a little more. It gets less boring from here. Let me give you some background on Oihane. She is a Computer Engineer from the University of Deusto at Bilbao. Wanted to study Robotics, and become an astronaut. Carry machines into space. Is that cool or what? How many girls you know, dream of that! If that aint enough, currently she is pursuing History for her post-graduation at the university. Reason: She is fascinated with 'Time'. Back to our Apocalyptic conversation, next on the cards was Time-travel. Theories like, what would happen if I travel through time and kill my grand-father, the Butterfly effect that would ensue. That was followed by 'wormholes' and 'singularity'. I was on cloud 9. For the first time I was actually talking with someone about the 'dark matter' inside my head (pun intended!). I so wanna talk more about the technicalities we discussed; Antimatter, gravitons, 11-dimensions. But I wont! Lets just say, I have an outlet to my thoughts now and that gives me an immense sense of satisfaction. Am so looking forward to tons of more geeky, spooky, out of the world conversations.

Somehow, the inner voice inside me tells me that I might never find answers to my question in this lifetime. But the problem is, I just cant 'let go'. I believe the pursuit is far more significant and interesting than the goal itself. Because once we know the answer to the 'Theory of Everything' there wouldn't be anything to pursue. Just imagine how boring that would be. How boring it would be when we know Everything!

SEARCH n DESTROY!

This one is not related to 'George Bush-Iraq'. Instead, it scrutinizes the Next Big Thing in the dotcom rivalry: Google Vs. Microsoft.

Google is a rival unlike any Gates has faced in a long time. In previous battles, Microsoft always had a powerful trump card: Control over the Windows operating system. That meant that when consumers bought a PC, Microsoft had a powerful say in which products and services they saw first. It had pricing power and distribution power over competitors. Because of that, its applications didn't have to be superior to those of the competitors-just roughly equal. Windows wasn't better than the Macintosh; Word didn't improve on WordPerfect, or Excel on Lotus. Even Explorer was only as good as Netscape. Microsoft genius was integrating them seamlessly to make them easy for customers to default to, and then using its marketing,distribution, and pricing clout. It won by attacking competitor's business models, not their technology.

Microsoft's array of weapons has so far proved next to useless against Google. For one thing, any attempt to bundle search with its products will probably be scrutinized by antitrust regulators. Meanwhile, you no longer need a PC to use Google. It works fine from a Treo, a BlackBerry, a cellphone, a television, an Apple, or a Linux computer, any device with some kind of keyboard and Internet access. Nor can Microsoft undercut the price of Google software as it did with Netscape, Google is already free. There's no quick and easy way to lure away Google's online advertisers either. They pay based on the price of a keyword in a search and on how many times users click on the ad, but Google doesn't control that, it's set by auction. Says a former Microsoft executive: "Microsoft can play its old game to compete with Linux and Apple. It has to play Google's game to compete with Google."

Now lets look at what Gates has got in his arsenal. Google may be hugely profitable and a Wall Street darling, but it is also a young company, largely controlled by its founders and dealing with the unavoidable pains of torrid growth. Oddsmakers would say the likelihood of its stumbling is high. and no one is better at outlasting the competition than Gates. Certainly the search game is still in its infancy. Only a fraction of the content available online is actually searchable. For instance, even subscribers can't search current and archived issues of the Wall Street Journal or most other publications with a search engine; you have to go to the publication's site. This suggests that the search engine that can get the world to list premium content or its platform will have a leg up on the competition. Microsoft has plenty of money to buy the rights to such content; it also owns powerful digital-rights-management software, which helps copyright holders control who uses their products and how often. Those should be advantages in negotiations with companies worried about losing control of copyrighted text, music, and video on the Net.

Another advantage for Gates & Co. is that search engines are still technologically primitive. They can't understand context. For example; if you type "chip", they can't tell whether you are looking for a snack food or high-tech equipment. As a result all the big search engines are scrambling to find ways to make search more personalized. The thinking is that the more a search engine knows about who is searching, the more accurate the results will be. Both Google and Microsoft have the foundations of such a product in its desktop-search software, which can tell what you have on your hard drive. Perhaps Microsoft, because it understands Windows better than any other company, will be able to offer faster, more accurate searches.

It would be far to early to arrive at a concensus, as to who would emerge as a winner in this War.
Rest assured, its gonna get very fierce in due course and ya, there shall be fireworks.

The Unbearable Lightness of Being

People do it everyday, they talk to themselves... they see themselves as they'd like to be, but they lack the courage, to just go for it. Sarah was 11. She wanted to become a dentist. What kinda 11 year old wants to become a dentist. But atleast she had dream and maybe someday she'll be a dentist. What about you? Did you always want to become a computer professional. I didn't. I still can't remember that unfortunate moment or day, I decided that I would be wasting 8-18 hours a day sitting in front of something that can only interpret 0 and 1, for the rest of my life.

I dont believe in destiny, yet somehow I have evolved into this pitiful creature, that wants to leave everything at the whim of destiny. When did I become so obnoxious. Again, I dont recall. And its all hitting me now, on a friday afternoon, when I am sitting at my desk, waiting for the small hand of the clock to hit 6. Speaking of which, its Friday today, I hope I'll convince my friends to have Pizza.

A wise man once said, Everything has a purpose. But I guess I am an exception. I mean, tomorrow if I go berserk and somehow manage to escape from this mundane life, would that hinder any purpose? Ok, my family and friends would grieve for a while, 1 month max. Yes, 1 month, believe me, no one is mourned more than that. Its like an universal, unwritten law. After that everything would be normal, except for the occasional tear in my mom's eye or the awkward silence during conversations that are related to me. But beyond that, I dont think anyone would be even remotely affected. See, I dont serve any substantial purpose. Its high time that I start preparing for the MBA entrance test and get into a premier MBA institute. Then I can be the manager in some multinational corp. There, I have my purpose now. Do I? Nope. I am one of those 2 million managers that are churned out every year. Anyone could take that job and maybe do a better job. D@mn! how hard is it to get a purpose for my existence. It cant be that tough to get a worthwhile purpose. May be I need a liberator, a liberator who can realign my perception. Enter, girlfriend. Who am I kidding, girlfriends are anything but liberators.

Ok, enough with purpose, lets look at something different. Advertising, it has us chasing cars and clothes, working jobs we hate, so we can buy sh!t we don't need. We are the middle children of history. No purpose or place. We have no Great War. No Great Depression. Our Great War's a spiritual war... our Great Depression is our lives. We've all been raised on television to believe that one day we'd all be millionaires, and movie gods, and rock stars. But we won't. And we're slowly learning that fact. And we're very, very pissed off.

When will you learn, you are not your job. You are not how much money you have in the bank. You are not the car you drive. You are not the contents of your wallet. You are not the khakis you wear. The way I see it, you are nothing, nada, zilch! The sooner you accept it, the closer you get to Nirvana.

Perpetual Deja Vu

Beep. Beep. Beep. That was the alarm of my cellfone. Unfortunately, it never serves the purpose. Its the stupid sunlight that does it. Whats more disturbing than having sunlight all over your face at 7:30 am? This is how my remarkable day starts.

I am a newborn in the ever expanding IT industry. Its the usual 9 to 6 routine for me. The moolah is good and lets face it, I kinda enjoy the work too. But hey! its not like I meet Beyonce everyday at work, hence the gloomy face every morning.
Office is a warehouse, refurbished into a corporate workplace. Surrounded by a Soap Factory, the feeling of being besieged by chemicals takes over as soon as you step out of the front door. Not to forget the flyers saying 'Caution', 'Danger', etc. which further heighten the thrill. I ain't complaining. In fact, I somehow feel the surrounding is contributing to the increased productivity of our Delivery Unit(DU).

Inside the facility, it’s a closely knit beehive. We are a big family of 100+ striving towards a single goal, keep the project going. And we are getting exceedingly efficient at it. The project is with us till eternity now. The workload is quite bearable, we get a decent bonus, parties and outings have ultrasonic frequency. All in all, its pretty overwhelming. Life's Good.

Its like an unwritten law, the first place to go after you reach office is the Cafeteria. By the time you are done with breakfast and discussing the match last night, the small hand of the watch reaches 10. The next big hurdle is getting into the Client VPN. Believe me, it might be easier to log into a CIA database than to enter our Client's network. If you have an average memory, you might actually have to maintain a file that contains the list of innumerable pass codes, required to log onto various networks and databases. So once you are done sweating over the Login process you are required to take a much needed break. And whats better than listening to some music for a break.

One of the most important tasks of an IT professional is checking e-mails. E-mails are the single-point source for News, entertainment, scores, eye-candy and ya, sometimes Project related matter too. But office hours are not just a bed of roses. There is a very high probability that you might have to actually work on some issue. You are assigned to an issue and finally when you are done cursing the villain who raised the issue, its already time for lunch. The chances that you meet the villain at lunch are also very high, since the cafeteria is smaller than a box.

Post-lunch is the time when you have to work on the issue, but you have the two most soporific hinderances; the food in your tummy and the workload of the issue at hand. Somehow you manage to decipher the issue and the sense of accomplishment makes you ecstatic. Time to enjoy the accomplishment with your friends over a cup of coffee....or 3 cups maybe. The coffee gets rid of the sleep but what about the desire to work. Its almost 5:00, how can any normal person work after 5:00? But the issue is still not resolved! Where there is a will, there is a way. Here, the way out is called 'Transition Document'. Just send a mail to the onsite team, transitioning the residue work. Even though you are absolutely sure that it would be transitioned back to you tomorrow (without any further development), still, the optimistic voice inside you ignores this fact. Unless you have meeting with the onsite team, you are done for the day. There you go, wasn't that difficult, was it?

That was my normal weekday schedule. In a nutshell, my daily activities are not as dull as the US Marines serving in Iraq and not as colorful as Richard Branson's life.

A Season of Faith's Perfection

Think of something great you had achieved by the time you were 17. Like, watched Die Hard 47 times, gulped 15 boiled eggs in 20 minutes, co-founded the 'I love Steffi Graff' fan-club. No? Not even one of the above? How pathetic are you? Hold on, dont quit on me. I was just kiddin'.

Lets begin with the article now. This article, is dedicated the teenage sensation, the blonde bombshell from Russia, the cutie who begins every other interview answer of hers with "you know" - the one and only Maria Sharapova.
This eye-candy caught my eye back in 2003. It was the first round of Australian open and altough she had lost, she had the crowd drooling and shouting for more. And did I mention those legs. The famous 'Nicole Kidman - legs' were completely wiped out from my memory after the match.

In no time it was July, time for Wimbledon and I had a new favorite this time. I had been looking for one since Hingis had the whole ankle thing going on. Even though Maria was an underdog, doubtful even to clear 2nd round, I still rooted for her. She did clear the 2nd round, in fact she reached the 4th round, where she was defeated by a fellow Russian. She had shown enough character to keep me rooting for her for the years to come. C'mon! who am I kidding, all I was impressed with, were her looks. She was this Hottie, who I felt was the perfect successor of Anna Kournikova. And like Anna, I was expecting Maria to be seen alongside some Latino amigo in two years.

Lets fast forward to tournament that proved me wrong. It was Wimbledon, 2004 and Maria was getting better by the hour. The stage was set for this teenager to make her point. I was always more interested in the women's matches for two reasons. The first is pretty obvious and the second being, Federer. That guy made Men's tennis so predictable. Although he wasnt at his peak, the scarcity of formidable opponents made his job easier. Not that I wanna take anything away from the current God of Tennis.

One match that I distinctly remember is the one against Daniela Hantuchova. Though it was a piece of cake for Maria, but watching these two angels play was sheer bliss. Maria sailed through to the semis with no real scare. But I wasn't expecting her to win against Davenport. I mean all credits to Maria for making it to the semis, but her opponents so far were 'Nobodys'. As expected, Maria lost the first set, that too 6-2. I wasn't expecting a comeback either. I mean, c'mon shes playing against the top seed, WTF do you expect?
To my surprise, the second set reached tie-breaker and Maria conquered the second set. Then there was no stopping her.......or me. Then and there I knew she could do it. And believe it, she took the third set 6-1. She was like 'Neo' from The Matrix, unaware of her real potential. Given the time, I knew she would come into her own.

It was D-Day. The enemy was the monstrous Serena Williams. Just one glance at her on the other side of the nets is enough to send jitters down the spine of novices. Was I asking too much of the Russian beauty. For the first time in the tournament, I thought, she looked fragile. And this was even before the match started. Even though Serena was not at her physical best, still she was threating enough. But all my demons were put to rest when Maria took the first set 6-1. It was like David ripping Goliath's heart out. It was awesome, ecstatic, euphoric....I am out of superlatives here. In the second round, Serena tried to make a comeback, but in vain. Maria had not only survived the Serena scare, she had walked all over her. There was a new kid on the block and she wasn't going to be the underdog no more.

Maria, In a Nutshell

'Namaste'. Being an Indian, I am supposed to hear that word too often. But in Mumbai hardly anyone uses it as a greeting. 'Hi' and 'Hello' had taken over long back. But, Maria makes it sure that I am greeted with a 'Namaste' atleast once everyday. Maria is a latina from Spain, thats like 5000 miles west of where I stay. Boy! is she loud.

I know her for more than a year now. We hardly talk. Maybe thats the secret of our friendship! Instant Messenger, the new age communication joyride, thats where we meet.

Maria works in the same organization as mine. Its a monster of an organization. But enough about that. We are hear to talk about Maria, the QTpie. She is the most adventurous and fun-loving girl I know. There is not a single weekend that she wastes on her couch, sipping coffee and watching TV. A complete travel freak, she has been roaming around entire western Europe since she got her passport. That should explain the graduation in Tourism. She knows all the islands in the Mediterranean and the Aegean by heart. She loves India, has travelled most of North and Eastern India. Too bad she missed Goa. Recently Mexico had to bear the brunt of her invasion. And, she didn't get me anything from there. I hate Mexico!!

We chat almost everyday, you may call it occupational hazard. Mostly the chatting sessions are related to work.......ok, I am a bad liar. Its hardly related to work. We discuss her travel stories, her grudge against our organization, future plans and what not, among other things. That doesn't mean she enjoys a light workload in office. Believe me, what Maria does is way beyond tiring and boring. That should explain the grudge against the company. And its not like she is making big bucks. Poor thing! I wonder how she manages her trips across Europe.

Another striking feature is her sense of humour. Chat with her for a while and you will know. She aint like other girls, you know, the ones who go bantering along and all you do is 'Hmmmm...'. You dont get bored while chatting with her, but theres a high possiblity that she might get bored of you.

It doesnt take much to put a smile across her face. The best example to support that - all she wanted for her birthday was a piece text describing her. I doubt if I have done justice to that. Also, its almost a month late. But hey! better late than never :-)