Vimana

'They told me that you would be summoned soon enough, but I just came to say thank you.'

'Thank me for what?'

The man smiled. 'For saving Kartik's life. We all know you could have flown to Delhi if you wanted to.'

'What would you have done if I had decided to escape?'

The man smiled, though his eyes hardened. 'You would never have made it. Indra would have destroyed your vimana. But still, you made a brave choice.'

Aaditya flinched at the sobering thought that he had escaped death by a whisker. His guest now came closer, a genuine smile spreading across his face.

'Forget all that for now, because I come to you as a father who owes you his son's life.'

Aaditya took the outstretched hand and shook it.

'What is your name?'

The man sat down on the sofa. 'My name is Shiva. Now, let's have a celebratory drink.'

Aaditya opened the mini-bar and found it stocked with bottles of Blue Label, Smirnoff and Bacardi Gold. 'Someone has expensive tastes in drink', he said.

Shiva produced a small hip flask from his pocket.

'Help yourself, I have my own drink.'

Aaditya picked up a Coke saying he didn't drink alcohol. Shiva took a sip of his drink and laughed.

`What's so funny?'

'I had gathered you used to steal drinks from your father's cabinet, and now you claim not to drink. Come on, today you can indulge a little. I have a lot to celebrate-join me! Take a sip of my drink. It has no alcohol in it but packs a punch.'

Once again, Aaditya had no idea how these people knew so much about him, but he did need something stiffer than Coke to settle his nerves. He allowed Shiva to pour him a drink. Two drinks down, he had loosened up enough to ask what was on his mind. 'Who the hell are you guys? CIA? Your names sound Indian and you have all this weird technology and this base in the Himalayas.'

Shiva smiled. 'No, we're not the CIA. That much I can assure you.'

'So who are you? And who is that snake-eyed bastard I seem to keep running into?'

Shiva's eyes hardened again with a brief flash of anger, then he smiled again.

'Aadi, do you want to go back home to your life?'

Aaditya was a bit taken aback by the question.

'Of course, why do you ask?'

'Because then the less you know the better it is for you. Now, let's just see if you drink as well as they say you fly.'

As Aaditya rapidly discovered, punching him was not the only way Shiva could knock him out. Several drinks down, Shiva still seemed to be sober while he was feeling distinctly happy. He didn't quite remember when, but he passed out in a dreamless slumber, and was awakened by a light touch on his shoulder.

Still groggy, he opened his eyes and found Tanya leaning over him, a broad smile on her face. 'I should have warned you. Never try and outdrink Shiva. Now get up and come with me.'

Aaditya sat up, his head feeling like it would split. He had no idea what drink Shiva had given him, but it sure was potent.

'Where are we going?'

'To meet the folks who run the show here.'

***

Tanya led Aaditya down a long corridor. When she reached its end, she spoke aloud, 'He is here.'

A wall slid open, and Aaditya was about to enter when he hesitated.

'Tanya, won't you come with me?'

She smiled, seeing the worry on his face.

'There's nothing to worry about. You showed great courage and did the right thing in bringing Kartik back. That counts for a lot with them. Now go in there, you'll be just fine.'

To Aaditya's surprise, she leaned over and hugged him. 'For luck, and in case we don't meet again,' she whispered in his ears. Wondering what she meant, he was about to go in when she stopped him. 'Aadi, when you meet them, just keep an open mind. Some people find it difficult to understand who they may be.'

Aaditya entered the room, which was large and circular, and ringed with chairs, much like a conference or meeting room. There seemed to be no lights on, and with the only light coming from the open door behind him, he could not make out the details of those seated in the room. It seemed to be a conference room, but there was no table or indeed any of the other trappings he had associated with corporate meeting rooms, like projectors, screens or notepads. Instead, in the middle of the room, suspended just a few inches above the ground, there were a number of holographic screens. As soon as the door slid shut behind him, the screens disappeared and lights came on. The first to speak was Narada.

'Aadi, we have met, but let me introduce myself properly. I am Narada Muni and I handle Intelligence here.'

Next to him was the ash-covered man, looking none the worse for wear from his drinking bout.

'And I am Shiva. I lead our Special Forces.'

The woman he had met in the fracas that had started this all was seated next to Shiva. She was wearing a red-bordered white suit, and she smiled as she introduced herself, 'I am Durga, and I never did thank you for trying to help me.'

Some connections were forming in Aaditya's mind, when the last three men there introduced themselves. The tall, muscular man with a beard spoke next. 'We have met in the air, Aadi. I am Indra, the Military commander here.'

Next to him was a man with a dark complexion, who seemed to be playing with a disc-shaped object in his hand. 'And I am Vishnu. I am the administrative head here. Think of me as the Chief Operating Officer, if that analogy works for you.'

What the hell was going on? Their names…they seemed like the names of Hindu gods. Were they trying to mess with his mind, or just hiding their true identities?

The last man, who looked much older than the rest, with long white hair and a white beard, spoke. 'My young friend, I am Brahma. I am in charge here and I wanted to meet you and thank you for what you did before you leave.'

Aaditya wasn't sure he had heard it right.

'So you mean I can still go home?'

Brahma smiled.

'Or course. What did you expect? We never keep anyone against their will, and while you have seen a lot more than you should have, the only request I have is that you try and forget what happened over the last few days. We have already sent out communication to our adversaries that you were caught up purely by accident and know nothing of any value. So please just stick to your life as it was.'

It sounded more like a plea than a threat. Aaditya asked why they were letting him go if they wanted him to keep quiet. This time Vishnu spoke.

'Because sometimes taking a risk to do the right thing is better than doing what's expedient but wrong. You should know that-that is what you did. And if we did not, we would be no different from our enemies.'

Indra got up and approached Aaditya. He held Aaditya's shoulder in a friendly gesture though his strength made Aaditya wince.

'Aadi, our enemies show no such compassion, as you have seen. If you try and share anything of what happened, they will track you down to get to us. That will cause some complications for us, but you will not survive. So for your own sake, listen to what Brahma said.'

Aaditya nodded. Unsure of what to do next he began to walk towards the door. Then he stopped and turned.

'Can I ask a couple of questions?'

Brahma nodded.

'What was that cylinder your enemies were after?'

Durga answered, 'They wanted it so badly because it could give them insights into how our vimanas work. My vimana had broken down and I was waiting for Shiva to come and help when they ambushed me.'

'Okay, if your vimanas fly around so freely without being detected, I'm assuming you have stealth of some kind. But why don't more people see them with their naked eyes?'

Indra shook his head, 'Nice try, but as we said, the less you know the better. Anything else?'

Aaditya paused, but then figuring he had nothing to lose since he was on his way home anyway, he blurted out, 'What's with the names? I imagine you'll never tell me what your organization really is, but why pick code names from Hindu mythology?'