The undercover operative was waiting in the Commanding Officer's office tent when the young Major arrived in response to summons.He saluted and sat down on the camp stool that his boss indicated.
The man had brought news of a terrorist hideout in the jungles of Shumrial about 8 Hours trek from the batallion Headquarters location.The CO told the Major" Speak to Akram,evaluate and thereafter plan.Speak to me for any clarifications,otherwise brief me at 1600 hours on your proposed plan". The Major rose ,saluted and motioned to Akram to follow him as he moved out of the tent.

They walked to the highest point overlooking the valley formed by the swiftly flowing Narwan Nar.The Major offered a smoke to Akram and asked him to spell out in detail what he had seen.As they smoked,Akram narrated that he had been out collecting firewood and was fairly deep in the jungle when he heard the sound of a falling utensil.He froze on the spot,forcing himself to stay motionless,controlling his breathing and praying to God.After a seemingly endless wait he saw two heavily armed men warily emerge from the undergrowth ,stoop down to retrieve the aluminium utensil and then fade back into the thicket.

Akram waited for another 10-15 minutes and then started making his way down a rain washed gully that angled across the hill side.He then heard the gurggling of water as someone pored a drink..very slowly he peered through the thick foliage and saw six heavily armed men conversing in guttural murmur..pujabi..hell these were pakis..gently easing himself down into the wash ,he crawled for another 10 minutes and then ran non stop till he reached the camp.

The Major studied the ridge indicated by Akram.It rose steeply towering over the valley of Narwan Nar ,overlooking the small settlements dotting the bottom.Yes , it stood to logic that these guys had established a hideout in the area..it provided good observation of the villages,the camp and was shielded by the steep mountain side.Plus they could easily access the villages to gain supplies and information without being seen.

Dense pine and Deodhar blanketed the slopes.The leaves were turning yellow,amber and brown due to the approaching winter,and ,though he could'nt see them from here,he knew well the dense undergrowth of Lantana,wild grass and dead pine cones and pine needles that carpeted the face of the earth,creating an impossibly tangled maze of impediments that no human could engineer.

He asked Akram to indicate the general whereabout of the hideout,Akram pointed to a brilliant yellow amber patch approximately 200 metres from the highest point on the ridge and said

"sir uske pass hai.par aap pareshan mat hona.main aapke saath chaloonga"

"Kyon Akram Mian Jaan se dosti tod rahe ho kya?"

"Sahab,watan toh mera bhi hai na!"

The Major casually put his hand on Akrams shoulder and said " sahi baat hai..zarur chalo par mere picche rahna".

Over the next 30 minutes the Major worked over his plan and then called his JCO(junior commissioned Officer),
and proceeded to brief him about the action to take place..he finally wrapped off with a terse "jawanon ko ikkhatta kariye,main 1630 baje aakar final briefing karoonga,abhi mujhe CO sahab ko brief karna hai..aap taiyari karwai ye..aur yaad rakhna kisi ko bhi ilake ke baare mein abhi nahi batana!!"

He moved to the CO's tent and after getting permission to enter briefed him about his plan..the CO nodded his head approvingly, this boy had become a leader of men .."Mike what about the escape routes?" "Sir,I am planning to block of the flanks from within my team,however for the villages.it would have to be from Bravo Team,further they must not launch before 0800 hours tomorrow,because I anticipate that with the route that Iam taking I shall hit the top of the ridge not before 0800 hours,thus any earlier move would lead to loss of surprise"."Fine.we'll roll with this ,when are you kicking off?" "2000Hours! Roger then happy landings..and good hunting!!!"

The Major moved back to his teams briefing tent,looking around he gave a quick reassuring grin to his men.."Han bhai mauka milgaya hai ,ready? His men replied with gusto..ready sahab pur jayenge'

Over the next one hour he painstakingly briefed each and every party of their role in the upcoming event,rechecking each tiny detail from weapons ,ammunitions,communications to life saving medical equipment.Once satisfied he told his JCO to ensure that the men were ready to move at 1900hours to the small training area for rehearsals prior to launch.

At precisely 2000 hours ,the leading scout slowly parted the razor sharp barbed wire and stepped into the surrounding jungle..the major was not leading the patrol through the main gate,instead he had chosen to exit from the opposite side.Slowly the men filed out ,tentatively sniffing the air and trying to focus on the myriad sounds of the jungle ,to the exclusion of the slowly recceding dull thump of the gensets.

Like formless ghosts the patrol melted away,the scouts ever alert for the slightest sound of human presence.SNAP..someone had stepped on to a dry twig..the patrol members merged soundlessly with precision,into the undergrowth..everyone strined their ears to pick up the rustle and dull clod of something moving..then a bell tinkled..Oh damn..a cow !! There was a nervous gigle that was immediately choked of by the authoritative sibiliant hiss from the Major.The move resumed.A cool frigid wind gusted across the river bed,ther was a muttered curse as someone lost his footing on the slippery shale and got a dunking in the icy water.

Soon, they hit the spur which would lead them to the top of the ridge and their dispersal point.By now sweat was pouring heavily as each man was carrying a load in excess of 20 kgs,scrambling over razor sharp stones ,breathing sounded magnified in every man's imagination,the thump thud of the heart beat was loud enough to be heard by anyone nearby ,so it seemed.The straps of the rucksacks pulled at one's shoulders,intermittent grunts,quietly muffled sound as someone paused to adjust the load.

The Major swapped a quick glance at the luminous dial..still time..he turned around to get a bearing ..twinkling lights receeding into the distance indicated the location of the camp.A dog could be heard very faintly howling away mournfully to the Moon perhaps he mused.The sky was full of a glittering kaleidescope of twinkling stars as the moon played hide and seek with the clouds ,casting wierd shadows all around.Beautiful..it was at moments like this ,that one truly and fully appreciated the gift of life.

Shaking himself out of his reverie,he turned and tapped the scouts shoulder to recommence the move.The climb was becoming tougher,the lantana with its numerous tiny thorns snagged the uniform as if asking the traveller to slow down ..rest a while ,but the patrol continued its forward motion like the inexorable approach of a storm seething and rumbling ,eager to unleash its fury on dry earth.

Slowly a change was coming on the landscape..daybreak..the chirupping of birds as they prepared to fly out was growing louder.They were almost about to reach the dispersal point.The Major stopped his patrol and deployed them,calling his troop leaders he rapidly covered the salient points for coordination and then waited as the two sub teams peeled off to his flanks,turning to Akram he raised his eyebrows..time to go!

The assault team slowly with infinite patience commenced crawling downhill.time seemed to slow down .all senses were keyed up,he could hear the slick slush sound pf his scouts body as they inched forward.The crickets seemed to sense their deadly intent and a hush descended around them as they moved forward.It was as if a canopy of silence was hanging over them.Just then he sensed a movement oblique to the direction he was crawling in ..very slowly he turned his head to the right..the silhouette of a man could be seen through the sunshine straining across the jungle canopy..terrorist look out!! He tapped the foot of his scout who had inched forward..as the scout looked back he indicated to him the target.Without a word or a whisper his assault team realinged itself..having overshot the hideout now they proceeded to retrace their route so as to emerge right on top of the hideout.

Suddenly smell of something being cooked drifted in ..they were preparing breakfast. Almost instantaneously his stomach gave a rumble as if reminded that it too was expecting to be filled up soon.Grinning to himself the Major continued to crawl forward.He could see a gentle rise just in front of him..about another 5 feet maybe..when all hell broke loose!!

The scout had encountered a terrorist easing himself on a tree.Instantaneously he had fired and taken position next to the tree.The major galvanised into action chucked a grenade across the gentle slope,waited for the blast and then came out of cover his VZ 58 spewing fire..phat phat two rounds fired by a terrorist blazed pass his ears.He coolly shot back ,took a quick glance..his men were swarming into the small clearing ..pouring fire into the enemy ..and then a deathly quiet descended .

He kneeled next to a tree stump for cover,though sub consciously he knew that at such close range it was like paper for the steel core bullet of the AK 47.The ticking sound of the gun barrel cooling down could be heard ,his eyes scanned the area..two terrorist were lying dead next to him ,their guts ripped out with the grenade blast,the intestine of one of them was frantically coiling and uncoiling as if trying to ressurect itself,the chap who had shot at him was sitting with his back to a tree..his weapon lying near his feet..the Major covered him ..ready to fire,but the bright red froth bubbling from his mouth indicated a serious lung injury....keying his throat mike he called the Seargent to confirm all clear ..the static rumbled in his ears as the man confirmed another dead terrorist.

The Major now covered by his scout strode forward and kicked away the AK ,looking into the eyes of the dying man he asked him "kahan ke ho?" "Pesha..."" and the man slumped forward dead.Getting up the Major crisply ordered the site secured,one of his men had recieved a flesh wound,nothing serious,which was being tended to by the nursing assistant..he asked the leading scout whether he had seen the direction in which the other two had run away..the scout indicated a shoeprint leading downwards..the Major immediately called the supporting party to watch for the fleeing enemy and then got through to his CO and gave a crisp summary of the events.

As his party took stock of the recoveries from the slain terrorists and got a stretcher ready for evacuating the injured man...a burst of fire errupted on to the flanks..followed by a call that the balance two had been engaged and eliminated.So thats that,he spoke to himself..taking out a fag he lit it..curiously his fingers were trembling,,shaking his head he offered it to the injured man..don't worry theek ho jaoge!! Pat came the answer "sahab ,kharab hua hi kahan hoon?"

As his men got ready to move out ,he sat down on the tree stump..his feet touched something metallic,looking down he saw it was a box full of thick parathas..picking it up he realised that they were still warm ..offering one to Akram he distributed the remainder to his men..the last one being shared alonwith his JCO. As they savoured the tasty parathas the JCO..an old and experienced soldier with a wicked sense of humour said" baki sab to theek hai ..par khana achaa banate the!!"The entire group exploded with laughter,releasing the adrenaline pumped state..as the laughter died down..the Major got up and said "good show,chalo wapas ghar chalte hain".

The journey back was mercifully easier as the CO ensured that the recoveries were carted by the other patrols.The batallion Religious Teacher was standing at the main gate with a huge smile on his face"Bahut accha sahab,waise bhi aaj shatra puja thi!"The CO greeted the injured man,before speaking to the Major"well done,get your patrol checked ,there is hot water for everyone,once you have seen to them come over to my tent for a drink".

After checking his patrol the Major sauntered over to his tent,just as he was shrugging of his rucksack ..the mobile started buzzing..Mom's call..
Hi mom whats up?
Beta are you alright?
Of course,why ?
Oh nothing,its just that I had this feeling that something was wrong!
Oh c'mon mom ,life's ok,remember..only the good die young.. rascals like me will take some time..anyway thanks for the call,I have to go and meet the CO..take care.ciao.

Its funny ,how moms always seem to know..


Disclaimer: all characters are fictional as are the geographical locations.