Aditya put a lollipop in his mouth as he drove his car to his destination mentioned by Faizal, memories of the insightful conversation he had with his Uncle Ramu surfaced in his mind. He got an update on 'that' organization from his uncle.
"Adi, are you sure about what you are doing now? Otherwise, why don't you complete your 12th grade before deciding on your future course of action?" Uncle Ramu spoke softly, almost in a pleading tone as he tried to dissuade Aditya from mingling in the underworld.
He was a police officer who practically hated and rejected these unlawful elements his whole life but, when he found out from his daughter that Aditya was mixing with mafia gangs, he did not feel the same about Aditya. He felt that he did not have any right to stop him as he knew exactly why Aditya took this path. He knew that the government was not equipped adequately to deal with this organization. Let alone Indian government, the other top countries are facing even more difficulties as those are the countries who stand to lose the most with the entry of a new formidable player in world politics.
Aditya looked at his uncle who seemed to have become thinner. Looks like this ordeal took quite a bit of toll on his health. Uncle Ramu's wife had died when Saira elder sister was still a kid and his friend Satya (Aditya's father) had not married yet. He did not remarry despite many people advising him as Uncle Ramu was afraid that Saira might be mistreated or left uncared if he married again.
So, he preferred to remain unmarried and looked after his only daughter all by himself. When Aditya was born, uncle Ramu came to like him a lot. So, Aditya had spent a huge chunk of his childhood in Uncle Ramu's house playing along with elder sister Saira until Maahi came. When Aditya and Kumari got caught kissing in the school, it was Uncle Ramu who came to get scolded by the discipline counsel. When Aditya and Sameera got caught kissing, it was he who came to get scolded by the chairman.
When Aditya was about to be debarred from writing exams, it was uncle Satya, who never took a penny of bribe or misused his power, who came to his rescue. He warned the chairman that if Aditya was stopped from taking exams he might have to search the whole school for 'drugs'. Aditya always remembered and admired his uncle to be a dynamic person radiating with vitality and aggressiveness. But when he saw his uncle now, Aditya's expression became complicated as silently sat beside him and hugged him with one hand around the shoulders.
"Uncle, you know me since I was born, if there is one quality which can aptly describe me, what would it be?" Aditya smiled as he looked at his uncle.
Uncle Ramu closed his eyes in resignation as he muttered, "Stubbornness". Whether it was deciding to become a racer, to start working in a garage, leaving his school or joining the mafia despite every one of his close ones speaking against it, this was the quality that expressed itself in Aditya. He might appear casual and easy to bend when he quarrelled with his friends on small issues but when the issue that really mattered came up, no one could dissuade him period. Uncle Ramu knew too well and he sometimes wondered whose stubbornness did Aditya inherit as he did not think either Satya or Nirmala came close to this level.
Aditya laughed a little as he continued, "Now tell me the real reason, you called me, I know you should have some news about 'those' people."
Uncle Ramu wanted to speak about Aditya's maternal family but decided against it as he said, "Last week, a Zumwalt stealth class destroyer was found wrecked on the coast of a seaport in the Democratic Republic of Congo. All I know is that some US mercenaries had a clash with 'that' organization. Saira was not able to get much information on what exactly happened but she said that the US government is currently trying it's utmost to get all the top countries to sit on this issue."
Aditya nodded as he memorized these details though he was not sure if any piece of this information would be practically applicable for him on an individual level. Uncle Ramu continued, "The US has currently closed down twenty out of thirty-eight 'named' military bases it has in external countries as it ceased all hostilities. From all these actions, Saira said that the situation must be very bad."
"Also it is not only your parents that are missing, but many more cases are also emerging one after the other. The common background these people share is that they all have an academic, scholarly background covering a wide range of studies. Some dictators have been killed or had their governments toppled, it is as if the whole world has started dancing on the tips of 'this' organization's fingers."
"Anything else," Aditya nodded as he looked at his uncle. He assumed as much based on his 'calculations' of this organization's capabilities from the talk he had with his uncle for the first time. This information was pretty much useless to the present him. But this information had proven his theory that he should not 'expose' his abilities to the outer world by doing some outstanding deeds which might get him in the radar of this organization.
"Saira said something about this organization having many branches which had a specific duty. A branch deals with recruiting talent, a branch deals with earning money and running the business, a branch deals with extracting a substantial amount of natural resources among others. She said that there was a branch specifically for mercenaries and assassins also. She said that recently many rich and eminent people were discovered hiring people with 'special' capabilities for their security."
Aditya was shocked when he heard these words, "They are providing security services?"
Uncle Ramu nodded in affirmation as he said, "Not only security services but also assassination services. So if someone was rich enough to hire those 'special' people to assassinate you, you don't have another option but to hire the same 'special' people for security. The real winner is 'that' organization in the end."
"If these people are so capable, why can't they start an all-out war and get it done and over," Aditya asked as he thought this organization was too powerful.
"That was the same thing I asked Saira but her reply was to not underestimate the power brought forth by the top countries when they were pushed to the edge. So according to 'that' organization's present hunger for money and resources, it seems that they are not ready for an all-out war yet." Uncle Ramu concluded as he looked at Aditya, who took a deep breath and frowned as he closed his eyes with a grim expression.
…
Aditya stopped the car outside an abandoned warehouse as he spat the lollipop stick and looked at the grinning muscular figure of Faizal as he sat on his new sports bike.
"Are you sure of this information?"
"Elder brother Adi, believe me, it's going to be super fun. Did you bring your gun? You do know that this is not a normal street fight, right?"
"Lead the way."
"..."