Echoes in the PMO
The polished mahogany table in the Prime Minister's Office gleamed under the harsh fluorescent lights, reflecting the tense faces gathered around it. On a large screen embedded in the wall, the grim visages of senior officials who couldn't be physically present stared back, their expressions mirroring the gravity of the situation. This was a high-stakes council, a convergence of India's top brass – representatives from the Army, Air Force, Home Ministry, Intelligence Bureau (IB), Research and Analysis Wing (RAW), and every border security agency. The air crackled with unspoken anxieties and the weight of unanswered questions.
On the central screen, a live feed showed a team of fifteen Special Forces commandos, clad in thick, cold-weather gear, moving in a disciplined line across a snow-dusted landscape. Their faces were grim, their movements precise, as they approached the site of the previous night's devastating attack. Leading the briefing in the PMO was an Army officer, Brigadier Veer Pratap Singh, his uniform crisp, his demeanor professional but with a visible undercurrent of concern.
"Prime Minister, esteemed colleagues," Brigadier Singh began, his voice steady, "our initial assessment confirms a significant hostile action against the identified camp. We have gathered preliminary intelligence indicating unusual movements in the days leading up to the incident, though nothing that definitively signaled an attack of this scale."
He paused, a flicker of frustration crossing his face. "However," he continued, "our reports lack any indication of… unconventional elements. The damage appears consistent with high-explosives and advanced weaponry. As some earlier, unverified reports had suggested. This appears to be a conventional, albeit highly effective, attack utilizing sophisticated technology."
A murmur rippled through the room. The earlier, vague whispers of something inexplicable had clearly reached even these high echelons of power. The absence of such details in the official report seemed to both reassure and subtly unsettle.
After a brief exchange of questions and cautious speculation among the assembled officials, the focus shifted back to the central screen. The live feed now showed a lone figure approaching the camera – Captain Aryan Pratap Singh, the leader of the Special Forces team on the ground. Despite the biting cold that visibly swirled around him, his posture was ramrod straight, his gaze resolute. He was Brigadier Veer Pratap Singh's younger brother, though their professional paths had diverged, leading them to serve in different spheres of national security.
"Sir," Captain Singh began, his breath misting in the frigid air, "we have reached the primary impact zone."
The camera angle shifted, and the screen was filled with a scene of utter devastation. A once-standing structure was now a mangled heap of concrete and twisted metal. Walls were reduced to rubble, ripped apart by the force of powerful explosions. The ground was scarred and blackened, coated with a fine layer of sooty residue. Amidst the debris lay the remnants of human bodies, some grotesquely dismembered, others bearing chillingly clean cuts across their necks, wrists, and ankles, as if severed by an impossibly sharp blade without any sign of struggle. Veins were cleanly bisected, devoid of the ragged tearing associated with conventional weapons.
The destruction was absolute. Nothing remained intact. The very air seemed heavy with the scent of burnt explosives and something else, something metallic and faintly acrid. Brigadier Singh, watching the feed from the PMO, visibly tightened his jaw.
"As you can see, sir," Captain Singh continued, his voice grim, "the level of destruction is immense. It appears multiple high-yield explosives were detonated. Additionally, we have found evidence of advanced weaponry. The clean cuts on some of the remains are… unusual, suggesting the use of highly specialized blades or perhaps even directed energy weapons, though we have yet to recover any such devices."
He paused, surveying the desolate scene. "Any attempt to salvage anything of intelligence value from this site is virtually impossible. The blast radius was extensive, and subsequent snowslides have further buried sections of the area. However, based on our initial sweep, there is nothing left. No intact equipment, no discernible documents, nothing that could provide us with concrete information about the occupants or the attackers."
Back in the PMO, Prime Minister Narendra Sharma watched the grim report unfold, his face growing increasingly stern. The initial reports of a terrorist camp being neutralized should have been a cause for some satisfaction, but the sheer scale of the destruction and the lingering questions cast a dark shadow over the proceedings.
"Brigadier Singh," the Prime Minister's voice resonated with barely suppressed anger, "what in God's name is happening? We have two hostile terrorist groups operating within our borders, building bases and then attacking each other? How did this happen? How did they infiltrate our territory without our intelligence agencies having a clear picture of either of them?"
The room fell silent, the weight of the Prime Minister's displeasure palpable.
"Sir," Brigadier Singh began, choosing his words carefully, "our intelligence agencies, both IB and RAW, are actively working to ascertain how these groups managed to establish themselves within India. Initial assessments suggest a failure in our border surveillance and intelligence gathering networks in that remote region. We are launching a full-scale inquiry to identify the lapses and hold those responsible accountable."
"Lapses?" the Prime Minister interjected, his voice sharp. "Lapses that allow enemy elements to set up training camps and wage war on our soil? This is unacceptable! Who are these groups? What are their affiliations? And why are they fighting each other here?"
The Director of RAW, a seasoned operative with a network spanning continents, spoke up, his voice low and grave. "Sir, based on preliminary analysis of the attack and the limited information we had on the destroyed camp, we believe the occupants were likely affiliated with a separatist group with ties to elements hostile to India. As for the attackers, the methodology employed – the speed, the ruthlessness, the near-total annihilation – suggests a rival organization, possibly one with international connections and a history of operating in other volatile regions."
"Rivals?" the Prime Minister repeated, his brow furrowed. "So, two enemy terrorist factions decided to bring their conflict to Indian territory? And we were merely spectators until one of them obliterated the other?
A heavy silence descended upon the room once more. The question hung in the air, unanswered and deeply troubling. The information presented in the meeting painted a starkly different picture than the anticipated outcome of Amit's operation. The swift and brutal destruction of the camp, the complete absence of any survivors or salvageable intelligence, the very nature of the attack .
[ it all pointed to a scenario far removed from a planned capture.]
Brigadier Singh exchanged a worried glance with the Director of Military Intelligence. The carefully laid plans, the meticulous preparations for Amit's team, seemed to have been rendered utterly irrelevant by this unforeseen and devastating event.
"
The Prime Minister's gaze hardened, his anger now mixed with a palpable anxiety. "Deeply concerning is an understatement, Brigadier. A terrorist camp is wiped off the map by another unknown entity within our borders. This reflects a catastrophic failure on multiple fronts. I want answers, and I want them now. the real story behind this devastating attack?"
a dark and unsettling question mark hanging over the already grim proceedings. Their planned capture had somehow intersected with a far more violent and decisive event, leaving their fate and the true nature of the Himalayan destruction shrouded in a perplexing and dangerous uncertainty. The meeting in the PMO continued, the air thick with tension, the search for answers intensifying.