Athena - Liaisons in Kremlin

Chapter 1 Her world

The clattering of keyboard is no help to my pulsating head. I must sleep for 6 hours. I must sleep for 6 hours. I repeat this mantra in my head over and over again. 23 hours of flight and chasing down a Diamond mafia wasn't that bad. The beach would have cured this head ache. I imagine myself walking while twilight illuminates the beaches of Ivory Coast soft pink and unrestrained turquoise waves soothe my aching feet. I could have been on the beach, I should have taken a vacation but here I am sitting in the reception of the office of Prime Minister Roy.

There he is, ugh, Dr. Menon, head of RAW and my boss. A ruthless and shrewd man perfect for business. In his mid-50's, he stands still surveying every corner of the room with imperceptible efficiency. His gray eyes on an archetype façade burnt through years of in situ operations. One of the few men able to captivate my attention and I can take orders from. He stands tall in his hallmark charcoal suit, years of smoking has felt behind a thin purple line often unsettling, and the brush of knife on his jaw ingrained. His presence captivates everyone's attention and PA jolts to Madam Roy's cabin.

It was the second week of training at the academy and I can still feel my boiling blood from that morning brawl. I hated the boys, obnoxious and patronizing but in the ring I was callous. Unfortunately that fine morning Chief Menon decided to step in and I shouldn't have gotten cocky.

I immediately attack with my left knee to his gut and right elbow to his jaw. I managed to imbalance him. He throws off a punch, I slip aside redirecting his force with my hands, and I duck grabbing his arm aiming to control it. Instead I lose my grip and in an instant i find myself choking under his grip; I quiver trying to free my right hand knowing it's futile. I feel dizzy, light headed, and my little finger is at the center of my attention.

His words still ringing in my mind, stinging, and hurting my pride "If you can't be patient, you cannot be a spy. Espionage is about patience, intelligence and strong will. Patience is a rare virtue" and snap went my pinky.

A week later I was his protégé, learning, and fighting with the best spies.

"Prime Minister Roy would like to see you Dr. Menon", says the PA.

She seems like she'll collapse any moment. The clock says 14:45 has she had anything to eat? She could really use a day off; clearly working for the second women Prime minister has its advantages. Prime minister Abhijita Roy a strong and compassionate demagogue and has the majority support of the parliament as well as of the people. No one saw her coming; she has been a breath of fresh air to the political conundrum, headlining every newspaper since her second term in office, critics didn't hold back their remarks on her political endeavours - openly speaking for a uniform civil code, campaigning for women participation in the economy, participating in LGBTQ parades, condemning multi-lateral organisations for their lack of perseverance to look beyond funding, and of course being a single mother.

A bell rings and PA dashes to the cabin with a diary and pen. Either Madam Roy is in a pissed off mood or she is new.

5 minutes later PA comes out flustered. She takes a deep breath "Madam Prime Minister would like to see you" she says.

"Thank you" I mutter pitying her.

I enter the main office. It's spacious. Three walls painted white and the fourth one silver-greyish. A floor to ceiling bookshelf filled with science books and biographies, I scan it trying to locate any fictional book. A dark wood desk sits in the middle of the room and a mahogany colour chair, a teal couch kept at a distance from the main desk and a dark wood coffee table. At first the office looks quite impersonal but up close you can see a couple of photographs on the desk of two girls taken in Paris and London I suppose. There's a flower vase with peonies, couple of trophies on the mantle - one says Swarnjayanti, I guess for her work in chemistry and the other one says best mom, probably from her daughters.