Continuing from the previous chapter
Vikram has been secretly submitting his daily report to Dheena and Harish every night using a fictional gadget called “WhisperBug” which is a covert IR-based Morse Code transmitter disguised as a cleaning brush handle.
The WhisperBug looks like a simple cleaning brush with a hollow plastic handle housing:
- A tiny circuit (salvaged microcontroller)
- A small IR LED (invisible to the eye)
- A hidden button under the thumb grip
- A coin cell battery hidden in the base
- Optional vibration motor to confirm button presses to Vikram without any sound
This is what Vikram has been using to clean the windows of the Blizzard bases so that he could spy on the activities of the enforcers and report them to the top authority of the Flower Storm i.e., Dheena and Harish.
A month later
Vikram is still at the headquarters of the Blizzard, posing as a housekeeper named “Praveen”. On one night, he sends a long message in a Morse Code to the Flower Storm headquarters.
At the Flower Storm headquarters, Dheena, Harish, Roy, Nivi, and Lux are gathered to read the message sent by Vikram. With the help of Lux, who decodes the message from Morse Code to English, the Flower Storm reads the following words:
“Dear highest authority of the Flower Storm,”
“Day by day, the Blizzard is getting crueler than before. The Blizzard laws are getting stricter. A woman is being cruelly punished even for her accidental navel exposure. And a child is being severely rebuked for touching his mom’s stomach and also being whipped. This just makes me sick. I can control my emotions but not forever. And I can’t even exit the Blizzard headquarters. I may not live for long. Just come over there and destroy the Blizzard bases. I’ll join you for sure. In case I die, Roy will replace me for sure. Don’t worry. I’m always with you. I’m never with the Blizzard. I prefer to die supporting the Flower Storm rather than to live supporting the Blizzard. Flower Storm forever.”
The rest of the Flower Storm is worried about Vikram’s safety.
Dheena exhales hard and his voice trembles—not from fear, but from frustration.
DHEENA: He walked into that hellhole alone. And didn’t take the one man I told him to—Jaidev.
Jaidev, another member of the Flower Storm with espionage skills, steps up quickly.
JAIDEV: Don’t blame just him, Dheena. Blame me too.
Jaidev’s voice cracks slightly.
JAIDEV: I should’ve insisted and forced my way in. But I let him go alone, thinking he knew best.
Now look where we are.
HARISH: This isn’t on you alone, Jaidev. Vikram’s always been stubborn when it comes to protecting us. Even if it means sacrificing himself. He believed you’d cover him from the outside if things went south. He trusted you, man. Now it’s time to return that trust.
ROY: Let’s go there and get him safe. We can’t let him die.
Lux then gets an idea of going to the Blizzard headquarters by trucks.
LUX: Let’s get our trucks ready and equip ourselves well.
Nivi picks up a sniper rifle and arranges a team of snipers.
NIVI: We need a team of snipers and snipe those monstrous enforcers down.
Then come Ajay and Varsha who have arranged a medical team.
AJAY: We also need a medical team as Vikram could get injured.
VARSHA: Not just Vikram. We are also going to save anyone else who is being held by the Blizzard as a hostage, in case they are injured.
DHEENA: Alright. Let’s waste no more time. Let’s wear our Flower Storm uniforms and get our trucks ready.
The rest of the Flower Storm agrees and then they change from their civilian clothes to the Flower Storm uniform and equip themselves with guns, knives, swords, grenades, and medical equipments. Then they get in trucks to embark their journey towards the Blizzard headquarters.
An hour later
The Flower Storm squad reaches the Blizzard headquarters. The sniper team of the Flower Storm slowly gets out of the trucks, stand in a particular position while maintaining a safe distance, and shoot a few members of the Blizzard dead.
After sniping down a few members of the Blizzard, the Flower Storm moves forward and destroys some of its bases using grenades which results in the death of another set of the Blizzard members.
After killing a good number of the Blizzard enforcers, the Flower Storm finally enters the main base.
Operation Tempest continues in the next chapter.
Hat’s off to Vikram!