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Inside, a group of India's top leaders sat around a long, polished table. The dim lighting obscured their faces, deepening the shadows in the room and adding to the serious atmosphere.

The tension was palpable, as if the walls themselves understood the gravity of the decisions being made.

Prime Minister Rohan sat at the head of the table, his posture stiff, his hands tightly clasped together.

His eyes, normally warm and expressive, had grown cold and hard, reflecting the immense pressure he was under. It was as though he believed he could hold the entire situation in place through sheer will alone.

But beneath his calm exterior, he felt a storm brewing inside, an unspoken anxiety gnawing at him as the seconds ticked by.

"We're running out of time," Rohan said, breaking the silence. His voice was low but sharp, cutting through the tension in the room. "King Tribhuvan will be in Delhi within the hour. We need to make sure everything goes smoothly. General Singh, what's our current military status?"

General Singh, the Chief of Army Staff, was a man who had seen more than his fair share of battlefields, but tonight, he looked every bit his age.

His response was deliberate, weighed down by the implications of his words. "Prime Minister, our troops are positioned along the Indo-Nepal border, ostensibly for routine exercises. We've reinforced our presence without drawing undue attention. Aerial reconnaissance is ongoing, and we've got an eye on any potential movements from China or Pakistan."

Rohan nodded slowly, his mind processing the information with clinical efficiency. Yet, even as he did, a sliver of doubt crept into his thoughts. Was this enough? Could it ever be enough?

"And Beijing?" he asked, turning his gaze to Atma Jayaram, the Intelligence Bureau Chief.

Jayaram leaned back slightly, his eyes narrowing as if trying to see beyond the immediate horizon. "Beijing is playing catch-up," he began, his voice tinged with a cautious optimism that Rohan found unnerving. "They're stretched thin in Tibet, financially and militarily. We've picked up chatter indicating that they didn't expect us to move so quickly.

Their main response has been to pressure Pakistan into causing trouble on our western front, hoping to split our focus."

Rohan's fingers drummed lightly on the table, a nervous tic he rarely allowed himself to show. "Chatter," he repeated, almost to himself.

It was a word that had brought him both good and bad news in the past one that was often too vague for comfort. "What about their attempts to rally regional support?"

K.P. Singh, the Foreign Minister, cut in, his voice carrying a note of resignation. "Limited success. China's trying to drum up opposition to the merger, but our diplomatic efforts have neutralized most of their moves. The West is maintaining a cautious distance, urging restraint on all sides. They're waiting to see how this plays out before committing to any stance.

For now, they're content to let us and China slug it out in the diplomatic arena."

Rohan leaned back in his chair, exhaling slowly as he tried to piece together the broader picture.

The West's neutrality was both a blessing and a curse less opposition, but also less support. It meant they were alone, for better or worse.

"So," he said after a moment, his voice taking on a harder edge, "we're on our own until this is over. We can't afford any missteps. Once the King lands, everything must proceed with absolute precision. No delays, no room for error. If Beijing or Islamabad makes a move, we need to be ahead of them, not just reacting."

Mohan Shamsher, acting as Nepal's chief liaison, spoke up, his voice carrying the weight of a man who had navigated more treacherous waters than most. "Prime Minister, the King is fully committed. He's managed to secure the loyalty of key military and political figures in Nepal, though it wasn't easy. There's been some pushback, but nothing that we haven't been able to handle yet.

The public announcement is ready to go as soon as we touch down in Delhi. But," he added, his tone growing more somber, "we can't afford to let our guard down. There's still time for things to go wrong."

Rohan looked at him, really looked at him, and saw the exhaustion etched into every line of his face.

This was a man who had played his part in a dangerous game and knew that the final act was the most perilous of all.

"We're walking a tightrope, Mohan," Rohan said quietly. "And the wind is picking up."

The room fell silent again, the weight of unspoken fears hanging heavy in the air. They all knew what was at stake more than just borders and treaties, but the very future of their nations.

The decisions made in this room would echo far beyond its walls, shaping the fate of millions.

---

Across the Himalayas, in the heart of Beijing, Mao Zedong sat alone in his office, the map of Asia laid out before him like a puzzle that refused to fit together.

The walls of the room, once filled with the sounds of advisors and military men strategizing, now echoed with the emptiness of defeat.

The clock on his desk ticked away the seconds, each one a reminder of the opportunities slipping through his fingers.

Mao's eyes traced the borders on the map, his mind replaying the events that had led to this moment.

The King of Nepal was on his way to Delhi, and with him went the last vestiges of Chinese influence in that small but strategically vital region. He had been outmaneuvered, an admission that tasted bitter in his mouth.

When his advisors finally entered the room, there was no formal call to order, no preamble. They knew why they were here.

"The King is in the air, and we've missed our chance," Mao said, his voice as flat and unyielding as the table he sat at. "What went wrong?"

General Zhang, the man responsible for covert operations in Nepal, looked as if he hadn't slept in days.

His eyes were bloodshot, his shoulders slumped under the weight of failure. "Chairman, we were unprepared for the speed of India's moves. We tried to incite unrest, but the King acted faster than we anticipated, consolidating power with India's backing. Our agents on the ground didn't have enough time or resources to create any significant resistance."

Mao's gaze was icy, his disappointment palpable. "Unprepared," he repeated, the word dripping with contempt. "We're never unprepared, General. We adapt. We anticipate. But we failed to do either."

Zhou Enlai, the Premier, stepped in, his voice calm, though there was an undercurrent of urgency. "Chairman, we've been stretched thin for months. Our commitments in Tibet have drained our resources, and the suddenness of this merger caught us off guard. We lacked the financial and military flexibility to respond effectively. This is a setback, yes, but not an insurmountable one."

Mao's expression remained unreadable as he listened, his mind already moving past the immediate crisis. "A setback," he said, as if testing the word. "Perhaps. But setbacks can be fatal if we don't learn from them."

Zhou's eyes flickered with a mix of resolve and apprehension. "We need to shift our strategy. India may have secured Nepal, but in doing so, they've spread themselves thin. The integration process will strain their resources and their focus. We should exploit this. Encourage Pakistan to maintain pressure in Kashmir, create a distraction that forces India to divide its attention.

Meanwhile, we can quietly build our influence with Nepal's neighboring states, planting the seeds of resistance over time."

General Zhang found his voice again, this time steadier. "We could also intensify our intelligence efforts, ensuring that India's grip on Nepal remains tenuous. If we can keep them on edge, constantly reacting to internal threats, they'll find it harder to solidify their control."

Mao finally looked up, his eyes gleaming with a cold, calculated resolve. "Yes. Let them celebrate their victory today, but make sure that victory comes at a cost. We must focus on the long game. Zhou, reach out to our neighbors. Frame this merger as a destabilizing force that threatens the regional balance.

We can still turn this situation to our advantage."

Zhou nodded, already formulating his next steps. "And I'll make sure the West sees this in the same light. We can emphasize the need for stability, hint at the risks of India's overreach, and keep them from throwing their full support behind New Delhi."

Mao waved a hand, dismissing the group. "Prepare our next moves. This battle may be lost, but the war is far from over."

As his advisors left the room, Mao remained at his desk, his gaze fixed on the map before him.

The King of Nepal was heading toward India, but Mao was already planning how to turn this defeat into a strategic advantage.

He knew that true power wasn't about winning every battle it was about ensuring that even in defeat, the seeds of future victories were sown.