Story of their Assassins continues ………….

I felt satisfied that I had conveyed all the necessary information to the concerned officers. I could now return to the aircraft in peace for the onward journey to Delhi. The stage was set for the smooth apprehension of one of the most dreaded criminals of our time. Or so I thought.

As I emerged from the Ranchi airport terminal building after making the call, I saw the aircraft waiting for me with the boarding stairs still in place. Boarding had been completed and there was not a soul around. An eerie silence prevailed as I ran up the steps and entered the aircraft, panting. I could feel the glares of the passengers already seated whose flight had been delayed because of me. The airhostess, however, greeted me with a smile and whispered to me to proceed to the cockpit.

The captain welcomed me back, saying, ‘Sir, you look very anxious. Why don’t you calm down and sit with us in the cockpit?’

No better offer could have come to me at that point. My frayed nerves relaxed as I sat on the seat right behind the captain. The airhostess served me a glass of juice. I noticed that the co-pilot was a lady.
The aircraft soon took off and was on its way to Delhi. After the seat belt sign was turned off, the pilots got chatting with me.

The captain asked, ‘Sir, can you tell me why you are so exercised?’
There was no reason for me to be secretive after what the captain had done for me. ‘Captain, there is a wanted criminal on board.’
‘Is he the gentleman sitting in 1F?’
My reply was in the affirmative, but I inquired how he knew.
‘I fly this circuit often and know the frequent fliers, particularly the VIPs,’ he said with a smile.

The irony of a wanted criminal being a VIP frequent flier was not lost on me.

To be continued …..….