THE MAHABHARATA QUEST:THE ALEXANDER SECRET Read Online Free PDF Page B

She saw it move one hand to its hip and realised it was reaching for a weapon.
    Abandoning all thoughts of trying to find out what was happening, she turned and sprinted back towards the car, opening the driver’s door and sliding into the seat in one motion, as shots rang out, shattering the silence of the night. This gun had no silencer. There was no need for stealth here.
    Bullets smacked into the windows, shattering them, as she struggled to start the car.
    A bullet whizzed past her face and embedded itself in the passenger seat next to her.
    The Land Cruiser’s powerful engine roared to life and the tyres skidded on the gravel as she reversed at top speed. Alice threw the vehicle into forward gear and raced away from the tomb. Another bullet thudded into the stereo system and she bent low over the wheel, hysterical with fear, trying to control her panic, one thought racing through her head.
    She had to get away.
    Behind her, she heard the helicopter start up and she knew that the intruders were going to hunt her down and kill her.
    Who were these people and what did they want?
    Sobbing and shaking with fear, she sped towards the E75, the toll road that led to Thessaloniki. It was the only thing she could think of at the moment.
    The sound of the helicopter pursuing her followed in her wake. She pressed hard on the steering wheel of the Land Cruiser as if that would make the vehicle go faster.
    But she knew that the helicopter would overtake her. It was just a matter of time.
    Searching for Anwar
    ‘Back to the office,’ Imran barked to his driver. ‘Use the beacon!’
    The driver obediently turned back, switching on the beacon, and speeded up. Imran knew he was stretching his official privileges. It was something he never did, but right now he didn’t care. He knew one thing for sure from the message he had received. His friend was in trouble.
    And Imran was going to do everything he could to help.
    As they raced back towards IB headquarters Imran barked orders into his phone. The red beacon ensured that traffic made way for them. It was as if the traffic jams miraculously melted away, like snow under a deluge of salt.
    Back in his office, Imran summoned his team.
    ‘Okay, so what do we have?’ His voice was surprisingly calm. His anger was on a tight leash, his apparent calmness a thin veneer disguising his worry that he might be too late to help his friend. He was sure that Anwar had been interrupted while typing the message which had prevented him from providing more details.
    ‘We have a trace on the IP address,’ one of his men reported. ‘It’s a server in Delhi. We have an approximate location,’ he showed Imran a printout of a map with a dot in red marking the location, ‘but it could be anywhere within 50 kilometres of this spot.’
    Imran looked at him. ‘I want an exact location. I want the physical address.’
    ‘Sir, you know that needs a court order. I can call
the ISP…’
    ‘We can’t wait for a court order,’ Imran interrupted him. Every second was valuable. They didn’t have the luxury of affording discussions. ‘We don’t have time to explain to the ISP. This is an emergency.’
    His agent stared back at him. ‘You want us to hack into the ISP’s database?’
    ‘Do it. I’m authorising it.’ Imran was conscious that this was a gross misuse of his authority. But he was convinced his friend was in dire trouble. Tonight was the night he would break rules if necessary, even though he had never done it in his long career with the IPS.
    The men scurried out, looking at each other in bewilderment. Imran leaned back in his chair and exhaled.He could only hope they figured it out in time. 

5
    Hunted
    The roar of the explosion came to Alice seconds after the blast of the shockwave that rocked the Land Cruiser as it sped towards the asphalt road that would take her off the dirt road and onto the highway. She screamed involuntarily.
    In the rear view mirror, through her tears, she saw