SECULAR CRUSADE AGAINST ISLAMIC JIHAD

CHAPTER 3. VATICAN HONORS POPE'S SAVIOR

A day in hospital and another in detention had left Hari Nath Rai extremely debilitated and exhausted. Even so, he decided to go to his office first to get he latest about the attack on the Pope. "He's good, sir, but the Papal Nuncio is desperately looking for you about an honor The Vatican has decided to bestow on you," said his secretary, Mary Fernandez, a staunch Goan Catholic.

"What honor?"

"The Order of St. Gregory the Great," she replied; "May I connct him, sir."

"Never mind," he said and went away, thinking hard, charged up with the news about the award, but wondering about that pipe-smoking stranger with a walking stick at the conference center. He headed straight to the place where often ended up when he was feeling low: Ivory Tower Lane.

Hari was in agony right now, nauseated by the acrid odor of gagged civil liberties in the RAW dungeon. He hobbled into a pharmacy in Ivory Tower Heights, a building that was possibly linked to Jihad godfathers, according to the "Verdict Today" Insight Unit. Inside the pharmacy, he saw the pipe-smoking stranger talking to a group of youngsters.

The man greeted him cheerfully and said: "You look like acrushed carrot, Mr. Rai. What can we do for the Pope's distinguished savior?"

The vibes Hari encountered made him strangely uneasy. "How do you know me?" he asked.

"Who doesn't? That heroic act day before. Who else?"

"Please fixmy toe, Mr...?"

"Khalifa Hasham Ali, part-owner of Ivory Tower Holdings. Youmust be in pain, Mr. Rai, that bullet. Infection. Your toe? But the bullet entered through the rib cage, did it not? Let's see."

Ali summoned a young man, who cleaned up the wound on the toe, gave him an injection and dressed the toe neatly. Ali gave him some pills and said: :Take two these. You will be happy in five minutes, Mr. Rai. Now, close your eyes and relax."

"Did you see the hit man?" Ali asked.

Hari shook his head.

"Any ideas?"

"There were so many people around.," Hari chuckled; "The Archbishop of Canterbuty, the Dalai Lama, even you, Mr. Ali, with your walking stick Why were you at the conference?."

"I am President of the Global Caliphate Movement," he said, simply.

Hari opened his eyes, held his breath and looked closely at Ali; unlit hookah-shaped pipe in his mouth, acne-rough cheeks, rust-colored hair, hypnotic eyes, deep voice.

"I have been looking for you for a week, Mr. Ali," he whispered.

"Oh, yeah? I knew you would be interested," Ali said amiably.

Hari's toe started playing up again and he winced. Ali gave a couple of pills: "Swallow these. You will be fine in five minutes. Sit down, close your eyes and relax."

Hari closed his eyes, listening to the throbbing pain ebb out through the bandaged toe. The happy pills dis their job in less than five minutes. He felt a furtive movement nearby and heard a whisper: "The device is placed inside he church, sir."

Startled, he hurriedly opened his eyes and saw a lad rush out of the pharmacy and started limping towards him, but crashed into David John Crawford in the exit. Where did uou disappear from the hospital, Harry?" asked the Reuters bureau chief.

"Picked up by the RAW boss."

"What for, this time?"

"For trying to kill the Pope.. By the way, the name is not Harry. Don't ever try to Anglicize me, Limey! Hari as in hurry."

"Who was the hit man?"

"The Archbishop of Canterbury."

"Seriously, was it your 'Below the Belt' column about Jihad, Sharia, and Rule of Law?"

"Partly perhaps. That fellow Singh pulled the nail out of the dermis with a wrench. It really hurts, man."

"You look terrible, Hari. Let me drop you home. Did you see the assassin?"

"God! I must go to a decent washroom. This bloody city has no cleanliness culture! But wait, the restroom up thre are world class and we can have a drink there," Hari said enthusiastically

"Expensive?"

"Not to worry, thanks to my bourgeoisie expense account. Seventh Heaven, that's the name of the multi-purpose joint. Besides, I've a gut feeling about this structure. The base of my scoop of the century about Jihad. The world is up against a gargantuan breed of terrorists trying to bifurcate the world into the lowly kafirs and the high and mighty Caliph Muslims."