Neel Dervin and the Dark Angel Read Online Free Page B

but you can never be completely sure. We will
simply have to wait and see.”
* * *
    Nurse Arti sat nervously in the private ward. She was only a few months into this job,
and it was the first time she had been assigned to this particular ward. The room was small
but comfortably furnished, with more amenities than the usual private hospital room
provided. It was kept separate from the other rooms, and was used for patients who required
peace and quiet to recover, or when someone well known or important was in the hospital
and wished to keep a low profile. On the single bed in front of her slept a young boy. It was
the same boy who had been admitted to the hospital two days ago. He had been heavily
sedated following the surgery, and had slept for an uninterrupted twelve hours. He had woken
up briefly in a half delirious state yesterday and fallen asleep again immediately. After the
surgery the doctors had not been very hopeful that he would survive such a serious accident,
although they admitted that his vital signs were very strong for someone who had suffered
such grave injuries. The boy‟s mother had arrived in a haze of panic the day before. She had
been calmed down and assured that her son was in the best possible care. The mother had
since been visiting the hospital regularly, if only to check on her still sleeping son.
    The nurse wondered who the boy was. He had to be related to someone very
important, judging by the number of important people who seemed to be concerned about his
welfare. It was remarkable how quickly the usual red tape had been dealt with, and the boy
transferred to the most privileged room in the hospital. There were rumors among the hospital
staff that someone very high up in the government was interested in the boy‟s well being, and
it was speculated whether he was a Minister‟s son. But the security around the boy‟s identity
was air tight, and it was said that even the doctors who were treating him knew almost
nothing about his civilian identity. Even the rumor grapevine of the hospital had been unable
to extract any details.
    The boy suddenly stirred. Arti was startled out of her musings. She looked at the young
patient. He was waking up, and much earlier than the doctors had hoped for. At these times it
was usual to bring in the doctor in charge of the patient and the patient‟s relatives. This time,
however, nurse Arti had different orders.
She went out of the door and hurried down the corridor. Turning around a corner, she
knocked on the door to her left. A voice called,“Come in.”
    Arti opened the door and stepped halfway through. Inside the room sat a white haired
old man with a neat beard and moustache, and a girl who seemed to be in her early twenties.
They were both poring over some biometric data sheets spread out in front of them. They
looked up as the nurse‟s head appeared.
“Yes?” the old man said.
     
“Please, sir.” Nurse Arti said, her voiceslightly breathless. “The boy is waking up.”
    Both the occupants of the room immediately became alert. The old man stood up and
nodded. “Thank you, nurse. Kindly go and inform a man named Mr. Bakshi about this. You
will find himin the head doctor‟s office downstairs. He will thentell you what to do.” The
nurse nodded and disappeared.
    “The r
ecovery was even faster than we had anticipated.” Doctor Fahim said softly,
putting the sheets which the two had been studying back in their folder. He reached inside the
small drawer in the desk and extracted a special mobile phone General Bakshi had given him.
Turning it on, he placed it carefully in his shirt pocket. “Do you have the recorder, Divya?”
“Yes, sir.” Divya said. She reached inside her handbag lying on the table and pulled out a
tiny tape recorder, placing it in her pocket.
     
“Good.” Doctor Fahim said. He gazed at Divya for a moment, both aware of the
magnitude of thatmoment. “Are you ready?” Divya nodded mutely.
    “Let‟s go.”