Hello, Mr. Major General (1)

Chapter 103 - Only One Outcome

Deepak’s lips trembled. Try as he might, he could not think of a rebuttal.

What Mr. Shukla had said was entirely reasonable, under the circumstances.

But Deepak had a careful and analytical mind. He was a computer hacker who had prowled the depths of the internet for years; his brain was wired to probe for bugs and
loopholes.

“Mr. Shukla, what if – this is completely hypothetical – what if
something happens to Sana?” Deepak returned to his computer and sat down. “If that happens, we’ll never find out where she came from, and the last six years will have been all for nothing…”

Sidharth propped his head in his hand, his elbow resting on the sofa’s armrest. He smoked in silence, and did not reply.

Deepak knew better than to ask again.

Everyone knew that Sidharth never answered hypothetical questions.

For Sidharth, once a decision had been made, he made absolutely sure that it would be carried through. He was prepared for every potential problem and difficulty, and would not have his hands and feet bound by hypothetical
outcomes.

He was a soldier, and there was only one acceptable outcome for him: victory.

…

Shehnaaz awoke the next day, and remembered what she had asked Rohit the previous evening. She was still lying in bed with her eyes closed when she called him.

Rohit had already been up and about for some time.

He had returned from his morning exercise, and was now breakfasting merrily with his fellow soldiers in the cafeteria.

When he saw the incoming call from Shehnaaz, he knew it was about the internship at the US Congress.

“Sana, you’re up early.” Rohit put on his Bluetooth headset. He walked out of the cafeteria and made for his
office.

Shehnaaz responded to this with a lazy “Yeah.” She rubbed her eyes, sat up in her bed, and asked, “Brother Rohit, did you ask Uncle Shukla about my passport?”

“Yeah, about that…” Rohit coughed. “Mr. Shukla is currently busy with a mission, so he didn’t really have time
to talk. But he did say that he’ll get a passport and visa for you if you want to go. When the time comes, I’ll go with you to America, as your temporary guardian.”

“Really?” Shehnaaz was beside herself with joy. She could barely keep herself from jumping up and cheering. “Uncle
Shukla agreed? It’s all settled then, I’ll tell Professor Sen about it, like right this instant.” She promptly hung up on Rohit and dialed Kartik’s number.

But no one picked up.

Shehnaaz was forced to send him a message instead: “Professor Sen, my guardian says I can go for the internship. What’s my next step?”

She had to wait three days before Kartik finally responded to her message.

[Professor Sen]: “Sana, if you’re interested in the internship, you can look up the registration procedure for it on the B University Law School website. Today is the last day for you to register.”

The message was followed by an email: Kartik had corrected her graduation thesis for her.

Shehnaaz looked at the message. She gave a small sigh.

She knew she had angered Professor Sen by not taking up his offer as soon as it was presented to her.

It was patently obvious that his attitude towards her had cooled considerably. The goose had been in the bag, and she had let it fly away…