THE MAHABHARATA QUEST:THE ALEXANDER SECRET (9 page)

18

Gurgaon

Peter Cooper sat in an armchair and stared at the flat screen monitors in the Presidential suite at The Westin, Gurgaon. In one corner of the room, a rack stacked with equipment stood with bundles of cables snaking out of them, connecting to a row of servers.

Cooper didn’t understand computers at all. In all of his fifty-two years, he had never felt comfortable with technology. He had joined the Order at twenty-one, a hired gun with an amazing ability to hit a moving target at any distance that was visible through a gun’s telescopic sight. He was also blessed with an eidetic memory. Both abilities had combined to make him a fearsome assassin, which was only enhanced by his ability to kill with no compunctions.

He had never kept count of the number of people he had murdered: men, women and children. For him, they were not statistics. They were not even people. They were simply targets that had to be eliminated. And he did his job with precision. He prided himself on his consistency. He had never missed a target. And never once had he hesitated, his finger hovering over the trigger.

Over the years, he had moved up in status within the Order. Now, his job was less tactical and more strategic. Which meant fewer assassination assignments, even though his eyesight hadn’t weakened with age. And even though technology’s importance as a contributor to his success had increased over the years as his role changed, he had never taken to it. For him, the strategist’s ultimate weapon, the highest level of technology, was within his head. That was all he required. Everything else was superfluous.

‘What’s the status?’ he asked the man sitting at the console, a dark, balding man with a moustache who ran the local technology team. His name was Krishnan and, despite his unassuming appearance, he was a whiz with IT, as Cooper had discovered.

After the police had got involved in Thessaloniki, Cooper had decided to play a more passive role and track Alice rather than pursue her. This was a covert mission and he didn’t want any attention drawn to it. Stavros was taking care of ensuring that news about the events at the excavation site didn’t leak to the media. No one would know the truth about what had happened there. And the mission would remain a secret.

That left Alice. Not only was she a witness to what had happened, she also possessed the one thing that his entire mission revolved around. And he had to retrieve it. Without drawing attention to himself or the mission.

When Alice disappeared in Thessaloniki, he had searched for her but soon realised that she had left the country. But he wasn’t one to give up. Not so soon, especially when he knew that her passport was lying in her room at the site hotel. Using his network, he found a contact in the American consulate in Thessaloniki. A Greek single mother, she had refused to cooperate at first, but Cooper had had her five-year-old daughter picked up. It was amazing, he thought, how fast she was able to feed him with information after that. He learnt that special orders had come from Washington and Alice’s passport had been issued with unusual speed. The mother and daughter duly featured in the newspapers the next morning as photographed corpses, their throats slit. It wasn’t his style, but his new deputy had carried out the hits and he was better with blades than with guns.

His next stop was Greek immigration where he had a network of paid contacts. From them, he learned that Alice had boarded a private jet to New Delhi, India.

Leaving Stavros to mop up in Greece, Cooper had immediately flown to New Delhi in his own private jet, provided by the Order. Once in India, he had contacted the local cell and set up his headquarters in Gurgaon. Now, all he needed to know was where Alice was hiding and whom she was with. It was just a matter of time before he had what he wanted and his mission could continue undisturbed. Alice had been a minor irritant, an ant who had crashed the picnic. It was time for the ant to
be squashed.

Krishnan swivelled around in his chair to face Cooper. ‘She is in a fort at a place called Jaungarh, which is 130 kilometres from New Delhi. We’ve identified the other people with her.’ He paused. ‘Not good news.’

Cooper raised his eyebrows.

‘Two American citizens are with her. One is of Indian origin. Vijay Singh. The other is Colin Baker. There’s also a woman who works with the Indian Department of Atomic Energy – a nuclear physicist called Radha Shukla. And, there’s also a Special Director from the Indian Intelligence Bureau. Imran Kidwai.’

Cooper frowned. This was a bit more than a minor irritant. The Indian intelligence agencies were involved. Krishnan was right. This was bad news.

‘What’s the IB guy doing there?’ he asked. ‘Can we get some intel on their conversation?’

‘Our team is in position. But they’re in a room that’s wired to keep surveillance out. We have no audio contact. And there’s no vantage point that can provide us with visual contact either. We’re blind here.’ He held Cooper’s gaze. ‘We should have got the Stingray. That would have enabled us to track their calls and get a whole lot of data that we could have used to figure out what they’re upto.’

Cooper frowned at him. ‘We’re trying to keep a low profile on this mission. Do you know what is involved in getting a Stingray into a country? It is possible, but it would put us at risk. You’re supposed to be a genius. Work with what you have.’

He considered the options. If the targets were holed up in a fort, it would not be easy to storm the place without heavy firepower. And that would attract attention.

‘Keep all our teams on alert,’ he ordered. ‘I want every person in that fort tracked. I want to know where they are and what they are doing.’

He settled back and closed his eyes. Years of waiting for the right opportunity to pull the trigger had trained him to be patient. He would wait. Until the right moment presented itself.

And he knew it would happen before long. It always worked out that way.
 

19

An interesting discovery

Vijay sat in his study on the first floor of the fort and studied his laptop’s screen. Ever since Imran and Radha had left for their meetings at Titan Pharmaceuticals, he had his nose glued to the pages of the journal Radha had found. From time to time he would make notes on a notepad.

He had spent the last half an hour, after he had read the journal, searching the internet, referring to his notes as he worked. The only break he took was when he left the study to run up to the fifth-floor room which contained the possessions of his parents. He picked up the file which Radha and he had been perusing earlier and dashed back to the study.

There was a knock on the door. ‘Hey, have you taken root there or what?’ Colin opened the door and walked in.

Vijay grinned. He knew that Colin would have been eaten up with curiosity. It was surprising that he had waited so long to find out what Vijay was up to.

Colin scowled at him. ‘Alice is a bit miffed that you didn’t even bother to ask her about Imran’s meeting with her.’ After the briefing, Imran had asked to see Alice and had spent half an hour closeted with her in the study. But Vijay had the journal on his mind and, the moment Imran and Radha departed, he had occupied the study to read the journal.

‘She’s an adult,’ Vijay grinned back. ‘What’s to ask? And Imran’s a nice guy. Even if he is an Intelligence man. I’m sure it went well.’

Colin nodded. ‘He asked her loads of questions about the excavation, Wallace, his Trust and about what happened to her the night before last. He even asked her to Whatsapp him a photograph of Stavros and Peter. Apparently he wants to see if he can dig up any information about them.’

He looked curiously at the journal and Vijay’s notes. ‘Just what have you been up to?’

‘I was going to call you guys. I discovered something really interesting. And Alice is going to freak out when she sees this. We’re going to solve an ancient mystery.’

Colin’s scowl grew deeper. ‘I knew it was a mistake coming up here,’ he grumbled. ‘I should have left you alone.’ Nevertheless, there was a gleam in his eye. ‘Hang on; I’ll get Alice and Dr Shukla up here.’

While he waited for them, Vijay placed the journal and his laptop on the centre table, with the file from the fifth floor room. He had also taken out the container with the ivory cube from the safe in the study, where he had earlier kept it for safekeeping, and placed that on the table as well.

Alice looked enquiringly at him as she walked in with Colin and Shukla.

‘Alice,’ Vijay began. ‘You’re not going to believe this. But you’re going to love it. When you mentioned Olympias earlier this morning, I knew I had heard the name before but I couldn’t remember where. It turns out that I had read it quite recently. In this.’ He picked up the journal. ‘This is the secret journal of Eumenes of Macedonia.’ He looked expectantly at her.

Alice stared back. She wasn’t sure if Vijay was joking or not. ‘A secret journal? Belonging to Eumenes?’ She couldn’t keep the disbelief out of her voice. ‘You can’t be serious.’

Vijay grinned. After reading the journal and referencing the internet, he had learned enough about Greek history to expect exactly this reaction from her.

‘Fine,’ he said, looking at his notes for reference. ‘Here’s something that will show you that I’m serious: this journal talks about a secret journey that Callisthenes made in Bactria, near the Sogdian rock, on behalf of Alexander. It also talks about another secret mission that Alexander and Eumenes undertook during Alexander’s invasion of India.’

Alice gave him a puzzled look. While Vijay was mentioning all the right names, it still seemed highly improbable to her that there could have been a secret journal written by Eumenes. And that it was right in front of her.

‘Can I take a look?’ she asked immediately and Vijay handed over the journal.

‘Wait a minute,’ Colin held up his hand. ‘Who is Eumenes? And who is Callisthenes? Sounds suspiciously like the guy who may have invented callisthenics.’

‘Callisthenes was a Greek historian during the time of Alexander the Great.’ Alice momentarily diverted her attention from the journal to answer Colin’s query. ‘He was the author of an extensive history of Greece and the Phocian war. But he is probably best known for writing
The Deeds of Alexander
, a history of Alexander’s conquests, in which he deified Alexander. It is widely believed that he was the originator of the legend about Alexander’s divine birth, as the son of Zeus. He was also responsible for spreading stories around the Greek world about Alexander’s visit to the Oracle at Siwa, who proclaimed Alexander to be the son of Zeus-Ammon in
332
bc
, and about the sea parting in Pamphylia to let Alexander through. It is ironic that, even as he built up Alexander as a god, it was his rebuke to Alexander’s proclamation of himself as a god that led to his death.’

‘Wow! You mean Alexander actually thought himself a god?’ Colin was genuinely surprised.

‘Yes,’ Alice smiled at his amazement. ‘In 328 bc, after
Alexander’s victory over the people of Central Asia, he camped in the town of Balkh and announced that he wished to be worshipped as a god. His victories in Persia and Central Asia and the proclamation of the Oracle at Siwa, aided by Callisthenes’ eulogistic accounts of his conquests, would have spurred him to believe that he was, indeed, a god.’

‘While Callisthenes refused to accept him as a god,’ Vijay murmured, recalling his own research in the last half hour.

Alice nodded. ‘Correct. And he didn’t just refuse. He is said to have quoted a line from the
Illiad
to Alexander: “A better man than you by far was Patroclus but still death did not spare him.”’

‘That’s some taunt,’ Colin remarked. ‘I mean he could have been a bit more circumspect. There are better ways of telling a guy that he’s not a god. Especially if that guy has a sword.’

‘That’s why Alexander had him executed. By this time, Alexander had become rather intolerant of anyone who did not agree with his views. There had been a page boy conspiracy to assassinate Alexander around that time. Callisthenes was falsely accused of being part of the conspiracy and put to death for treason. Alexander had him crucified.’

Colin shuddered. ‘That’s awful. And pretty ungrateful of Alexander after all that Callisthenes did for him. What about this Eumenes of Macedonia?’

Alice looked at Vijay. ‘Since Vijay has clearly been doing some secret research of his own, maybe he’ll tell us,’ she smiled.
 

20

334
bc

Macedonia, Greece

Olympias, wife of Philip II, King of Macedonia, stared at the man who stood before her. Brown skinned, dark haired and dark eyed, clad in loose white garments the like of which she had never seen before, he seemed the unlikeliest person to harbour the knowledge that she had been told about. If the information had not come from the highest echelons of the Order, she would have dismissed him without a second thought.

‘I hear that you know much about the secrets of the gods,’ she said finally, fixing the man with a piercing gaze.

The man nodded. ‘I do. But these are not your Gods. They are the Gods of the East. The Gods of my people.’ His accent was strange and he spoke slowly, as someone would who was speaking in a language that was alien to him.

Olympias frowned. The man’s nonchalance and his absolute disregard for her royal status were irritating. But she needed his information. Badly. So she suppressed her anger and continued. Once she had what she wanted she would decide his fate.

‘I am aware of that. It does not matter. I care little about whose Gods they are. What matters to me is the truth about the myth. Do you verify that?’

The brown skinned man was unperturbed. ‘The myth is true. I can vouch for it.’

‘How do I know you speak the truth?’ she demanded.

The man returned her gaze. ‘Do you doubt me, O Queen?’ As Olympias hesitated, clearly thrown off balance by his straightforward question, he smiled. ‘So proud. So ambitious. You did not arrange for my travel across the rivers and oceans if you did not believe in my word. Yet, you may be forgiven for being suspicious. The myth is beyond understanding or belief for those who do not know.’

He paused for effect then continued. ‘O Queen, how old do you think I am?’

Olympias frowned again. How did this man’s age matter? What she really wanted was his knowledge about the myth. She shrugged lightly. ‘How would I know?’

‘I have walked this earth for 600 years and more. I have stopped counting the individual years, and mark only
the decades.’

Olympias was now alert and her attention fully focused on this man. This was different. He didn’t look older than forty years. If what he claimed was true…

Olympias considered his words. ‘Tell me where the secret of the gods is hidden.’ She leaned forward, her eyes shining with anticipation.

‘It is far from here, O Queen,’ the man replied. ‘In the land of the Indus, in a secret location. Hidden away where none can find it unless they have the means.’

‘The ends of the earth,’ Olympias whispered, anticipation making her face glow.

‘For a race as advanced as the Greeks are, it is amazing how little you know about the world we live in,’ the
philosopher smirked.

Olympias glared at him. He was really quite insolent. She raised one eyebrow enquiringly.

‘Is that what your philosophers teach you? That the ends of the earth lie beyond the Indus? Then your son will spend the rest of his life marching to the ends of the earth and will find himself none the wiser when he returns to Macedonia.’ The philosopher lowered his voice. ‘Let it be known to you, O Queen, that the earth spreads vastly beyond the Indus, across rivers fierce and broad. The kingdoms that rule there are mighty, with weapons that you know naught of. It is that land where our Gods once held sway. Once your son has what he needs, he must return. Let not your ambition, and his, drive Macedonia to ruin.’

Olympias was speechless at the man’s impudence. But she held her peace. She still did not have what she wanted. ‘And what have you to offer me?’ she asked instead.

He drew out two objects from a pocket hidden within his loose fitting clothes, and handed them to her. ‘This is what my ancestors made for us. But you will not understand what is inscribed on them. For you know nothing of our gods.’ He slipped out a parchment from his robes and gave it to her. ‘I prepared this for you on the journey here. The inscriptions are in Greek. I will explain them to you. You will not understand otherwise. And this,’ he indicated one of the objects, ‘must be returned to our lands. When your son crosses the Indus, he must bury this, deep, where it will never be found.’ He paused before resuming, his face serious now. ‘But be warned. This is a dangerous enterprise. If the instructions are not followed well, only death lies ahead.’

Olympias took the two objects, her hands trembling with excitement. The first was a cube made of what appeared to be bone. It was yellowed with age, quite ancient, going by its appearance. The surfaces of the cube were inscribed in a script that was alien to her. The second object was a black metallic plate with inscriptions upon it. The philosopher began speaking, explaining the inscriptions on the parchment, giving her instructions on what needed to be done.

The philosopher indicated a spot on the vellum. ‘This is where your son must stop. He must go no further. He must return home or not return at all.’

Olympias paid him scant attention. As her eyes skimmed the surface of the vellum, her excitement grew. This was going to be the culmination of her plans for her son, Alexander. Already, she knew that he was chafing at the bit, driven by a hunger to extend his empire beyond the boundaries that had been drawn by Philip, who had been a zealous conqueror himself. With the secret of the gods in her grasp, she was going to ensure that her son would rule the world. But not as a man. As a God.