Free THE HUNT FOR KOHINOOR BOOK 2 OF THE THRILLER SERIES FEATURING MEHRUNISA by Manreet Sodhi Someshwar Page A

knowledge of the Kohinoor. Then call me. Mishra will provide you with a secure phone – use it to stay in touch. It’ll be your lifeline, don’t lose it,’ he urged her with his eyes, his mouth set in a grim line before he dipped his head again.
    The sight of her father’s downcast head propelled Mehrunisa forward. She extended her hand and looked at him. He made no attempt to clasp it. Surprised, she moved around the table to stand next to him. As she looked down at his lap she understood why he had not lifted his arm. His wrists were shackled to the chair and his ankles were manacled to the chair’s legs.
    A cold dread filled Mehrunisa. Jag Mishra could not have headlined with more clarity the stark danger inherent in the situation she and her father were in.
    As Mehrunisa set her jaw and looked up, her father nodded for her to step closer. She lowered her head until she was close enough to hear him whisper. ‘When you meet Begum Ameena, tell her Zamzama. Zam-zama,’ he repeated with urgency. ‘Don’t forget.’
    As Mehrunisa nodded, he hissed, ‘Intelligence is built on deception. Trust nothing . Not even the mirror.’
     
     

 
    US Base in Bagram, Afghanistan
    Monday noon
    In a twist of irony not uncommon in the region, Bagram – built by the Soviet military during its decade-long occupation of Afghanistan – was the main base for the US-led coalition force engaged in the current war. The mujahidin accomplices of the 1980s were the invaders of present – Tolstoy would have nodded at the flip-flop: nothing is constant but change.
    The coalition forces had occupied the base since the fall of the Taliban in December 2001. Located forty kilometres north of Kabul, on the Shomali plain, it was officially named the Bagram airfield by the US military. However, it was also the headquarters for US Special Operations forces and the site of a secret agency prison. Additionally, it had the largest concentration of CIA personnel in Afghanistan.
    General McCormick stood in his office gazing outward from the open window. A 1-star general, he was responsible for coordinating intel, gathered by CIA and other sources, and feeding it into the Crisis Operations Liaison Teams – small paramilitary units attached to regional military commands. McCormick had the ruddy complexion of his Irish ancestors – the cold of Afghanistan’s winter had nothing to do with the colour of his cheeks. In front of his eyes lay the sprawl of Bagram Base. However, the General’s mind was not dwelling on the concrete labyrinth or the patrolling soldiers or even the unrest reported from the prison that morning. He was ruminating on the information that had come in an hour back.
    Allegedly, Indian intelligence was convinced of an attack on a strategic Indian target on the coming Thursday. However, the target and time of attack were unknown. In order to determine those, RAW was dispatching into the field two operatives: one was a known male agent, the other an unknown female civilian. The civilian was apparently the daughter of one of RAW’s best-known agents, Snow Leopard. She was in the field to continue the mission her wounded father had been forced to abandon. The civilian female troubled McCormick.
    He stroked the corner of his mouth as he watched a bearded eagle take off from a nearby tree. McCormick was aware of the circumstances in which the Pakistan President had died and of the potentially historic agreement that had thereafter been jettisoned. His source said the President had left behind a document detailing the impending attack and the Indian agents were hoping to recover it.
    Why would RAW assign such a high-priority mission to a civilian, albeit one connected to their principal Pakistan agent? Something was not quite right there, yet the General could not put a finger on it. How serious was the threat really? And how committed was RAW to solving it? It was critical for the General to ascertain that in order to commit resources to