TBC ...... ?

The sky grumbled overhead as rain poured.

The back door of the house opened, and out came two girls, looking around and unbothered by the downpour. The first one went ahead, chin up and full of courage, as the other trailed behind, looking over her shoulder something on the floor. There was a flash of thunder and it could be seen a dog lying there, pool of blood spreading underneath. 

Three men waited for the girls with a car not too far behind. The footprints left mud as they went, and the car left just as they entered. The work was done here.

The sky grumbled again.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Everything was dark, and so silent that she could hear her own breathing. It was also unbearably hot, sweat making her clothes stick to her body. And there was pain, so much pain. Her wrists and legs were tightly bound, her head bleeding and eyes going back into her skull. Throat so dry that not even scream can come out. 

A pair of footsteps could be heard, only stopping in front of her. Then, the bag was pulled.

Sia opened her eyes at the exact moment, breath knocked out her lungs before habit forcing it down again. She shot up, once again falling asleep on her couch, rubbing eyes to get rid of the recurring nightmare. The TV was mutely playing in the background, but the news made her pause.

She cleaned and she cooked and kept observing the news all the while- Sheena Thakur, DIG Amit Thakur’s daughter was missing, right inside from the DIG bunglow, along with her school friend who came to visit for the summer holiday. The two girls photo was splashed all over the screen, along with live footage of DIG bunglow surrounded by police and various law enforcement officer. By the time she took a shower and packed her lunch, the news channel had set up 5 member pannel and was loudly debating over the security lapse.

She switched off the news and ate her breakfast, a sandwich as usual, the apartment suddenly too quiet. Once she was done, she took off with bag and tiffin box with, not forgetting to grab the umbrella on her way out.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Sia reached her office, the prestigious Crime Branch, and was immediately summoned to a meeting on the 4th floor along with the entire floor of research desk. Nobody from her office has ever been here, and main area from where the core team functions. The common area was swimming with hundreds of employees and buzzing as she stood in a corner, observing everything. The Director took the centre and the room went quiet.

If Sia had an inkling of this meeting, it was confirmed now- The Crime Branch was following an All hands on desk situation and wants every single employee contributing for the Sheena Thakur missing case. Already state police and other important agencies are onto this, and as the meeting died, Sia could hear other murmurs also. The DIG and the Director, Aisha Kapoor, was close since the latter was in Police Academy and he is a Mentor to her. It was obvious she was taking this hard, the usually rigid lady with sharp eyes and stern eyes seemed to be even more serious today, ordering to a circle of men and women who was obviously her core team and lips pressed thin as she listened to their inputs. 

Her Boss barked and Sia turned to left the premises.

By half an hour everyone was assigned tasks- going over each CCTV, each mobile number that was dialed, each website that was visited, each case the DIG worked personally and each abduction case which matched the profile of this one. It was overwhelming and impossible to even go through them all, but she started on it nonetheless, picking apart files one by one slowly and diving right into it. By the time someone tapped on her desk, she noticed hours had gone by. Looking up, there was a new face of a young man.

She was summoned to the Director’s cabin.

Deep down, she knew this was coming- her past is hiding in files but should resurface during crisis, and this is one. They won’t leave any stone unturned, but Sia wondered what she can do what Crime Branch and other law enforcement cant and how much co-operation she can manage. 

Standing inside the cabin of the Director as the other lady went through the situation and from a corner, her trusted confidante ACP Samrat Rathore looked at her unblinking, albeit with questions in his eyes, Sia made up her mind to push away old memories and experiences. Two teenagers lives were hanging in here, and it’s almost 24 hours. There was no ransom calls yet and the data was too much to go through, they need to work fast.

“Sia,” Director Kapoor sighed, “I want your co-operation. Anything that you can add.” Her words and the intense stare she gave was enough to let the former one know what was expected. Already determined, she gave a quick nod, gave a pressed smile to the other man inside the room and left the cabin.

Her hand shook as she made the call but to her relief, it did not take much questioning. The voice on the other side warned her though- there would be a price to pay for this. Hanging up on the call, her eyes went over the teenagers face splashed over the news.

For this, maybe she can afford the payback.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

It was the same evening when Sia along with Sam Rathore rode towards the DIG bunglow, in his words to show her the crime scene and to get an extra pair of eyes. From his expressions it was evident even Rathore himself did not know why a Research desk associate was told tojoined this investigation, but he was not a man who was upfront, Rathore he observed more. He gave encouragement and was helpful, but his alert eyes also kept track of her each movement as she walked into the bungalow.

The first thing Sia noticed was that they entered through the backdoor, and the blood on the carpet and old, albeit ruined footprints in the mud due to rain told her why. Inside the house there were still policemen, interrogating and going over everything in the house, and a set of IT officers from Crime Branch who she remembered seeing in the premises who were setting up channels. Even though several law enforcements were involved, it seemed to be an unspoken agreement that Crime Branch will handle it. 

“To track ransom calls.” Rathore explained. 

“No calls as of yet.” Sia posed it as a question, and he shook his head sadly, then asked, “Is that a good thing or bad thing?”

She looked at him but answered nothing. 24 hours window is crucial, if there is no call, that means there was no demand. Which means it was an act of revenge, the blackmailer wanted nothing. When someone who wants nothing, or wants revenge, they have ways to hurt the other people- they may make them look all over, start up a chaos, send body parts, or brutally kill the girls. Sia had to phsycially stop herself to go there, digging fingernails in her palms as she closed her eyes.

Or worse, don’t kill them at all. Send them away. They might never get answers.

Her eyes found the bloodstained carpet again and Rathore sighed beside her, “They killed the dog. Labrador.” Sia’s eyes widen and he nodded in disgust, “What kind of monster are they?”

The duo walked out, the lady quiet as she listened to the ACP.

“It was raining yesterday, DIG sir was not home as unusual. The guards were around, patrolling. Nobody seen anything, the footage was clean. There was a power outage, generator was blasted off hence the house was dark. The Maid found the dead dog at the dawn, she always comes through the backdoor, had a key. She screamed and guards came, they looked inside, the girls were gone.” Sam paused, “There were two sets of footprints, maybe more? Rain has done a real job in the crime scene. No signs of struggle inside. The kidnappers chose the back door, they knew about the CCTV blind spot. Had to be inside job, someone had to know. We have grilled almost everyone, nobody budged, and mind you, these are guards which are here for years, decades even. It is almost a perfect crime.” 

Sia’s eyes went towards the back door, contemplating her thoughts. Sam fidgeted beside her and she looked at him.

“What do you think?”

“Nothing specific.” She shook her head, “It’s all very jumbled.”

“Same boat as us then.” He gave a small smile, then turned serious, “At this moment, seems that the only thing that should go our way is to get a ransom call. We will at least know who we are dealing with.”

She nodded at he walked away, greeting to meet a bunch of officers from different departments. She looked around, deep in thoughts, a thousand scenarios running in her head, walking around the premises. She was quite far from the house when she saw a strange man lurking around, also observing the house.

The first thing that came to her mind was she did not have any weapon with her. 

Shaking away those thoughts, she hesitantly walked towards him, thinking he might be a media person looking for fresh news. There were already many at the entrance, this one must have sneaked in. She can check with him, then she will hand him over to the guards who will take care of him.

She had reached near him and have barely said anything or touched him when the man wheeled on his feet and thrust a gun on her forehead. The cool metal against her temple made her close her eyes immediately as her hands went up in the air, but after a few beats she was able to calm herself down. As she opened her eyes, a pair of kohl black eyes was staring at her coldly.

She raised her hands slowly as to not spook him and started speaking softly, “I am not going to hurt you.” 

His eyes widened at her words and involuntary stepped near her. Gulping, she steadied her voice and continued.

“My name is Sia. I am from Crime Branch, you can check my ID.” He looked down at the ID card dangling from her neck, barely touched her as he pulled it, running his eyes on the information. The grip on his gun faltered but it did not move from her head.

“I saw you loitering. There are officers not too far from here so I suggest don’t do anything you might regret later.” 

At her words, the man let out a small smirk. Confused, Sia observed as he removed the gun and tucked it somewhere behind, and then slowly back away. Her arms fell as if on a cue.

“Take me there.” He commanded, and she frowned.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Turned out, the strange Man was known by everyone but her, and with curiosity Sia observed Sam was not a fan of the man. It was obvious he was from department, State Police of National, agency or otherwise was the question. The Director herself called to Sam who in turn handed over the phone to him, who said nothing and cut the call abruptly. The man with a stiff spine towered over everyone and everything, everyone cowering under his eyes which always seemed to burn and the stern, almost cruel expression making everyone nervous. He also observed everything, and when their eyes met, Sia looked away immediately, suddenly very self conscious. 

Thakur Sir arrived with lines of SUVs and forced behind him, aging almost a decade in these hours and that was only time anyone could see the former one softening even little.

The only time Sia has seen the DIG was when she got the job in Crime branch. They did not speak at all as someone else was doing on her behalf, and she only saw him handful of times in the corridors of Crime Branch in all these years. The tall man who looked younger than his age and always had a smiling face was nowhere to be found, and her heart filled with sympathy. The strange man crouched down as the DIG sat on couch and narrated the ordeal, and one time DIG’s eyes found hers, widened slightly, paused for a moment then he carried on, probably remembering her.

This was the moment Sia thought she should look inside the house.

It was a British era house, renovated and remodelled as per modern times. It had various twists and corners, brick wall design and chandeliers. Stepping into the daughter’s room was a different experience- pink walls, white curtains, books spread everywhere, closet semi opened, one wall full of maps, photo collages, sticky notes of quotes.

Wish and it will be.

Despite the CSI being here, the room still was largely undisturbed. Standing inside, Sia had a bad feeling about this situation, but she also knew this was a theory she can’t share with anyone and if she had to, she need to gather enough evidences to prove so. A new energy filled her as she made up her mind, plucked the pink sticky note from the wall, and walked out of the room.

The Crime Branch will do their work. She will do her own work side by side.

The intense stare of the strange man was the last thing she saw before she went inside the SUV, leaving the bunglow.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Late in the night, Sia joined the meeting of the core team on the 4th floor, giving a nod towards the Director. The discussion had already started- a curly haired woman in glasses was showing a presentation, and Sia flinched seeing the dead Dog’s picture on the screen.

“The Dog, though.” The lady shook her head sadly, “One clean strike across his throat. Very sharp object, most probably a knife.” She added after a pause, “What kind of moster . . . “ But trailed away as the Director shook her head, pursuing her lips and took a seat, silently glaring at the laptop in front of her.

“Doctor Liza Johnson.” Sam introduced and the ladies nodded at each other, but he did not introduce her. Probably even he did not know what to introduce her as. The Doctor looked quizzically but did not press, the grave issue at hand awaiting. Sia noticed the strange man was inside the room too, looking at her with the same burning intensity as his hands held a red file. 

He threw the file on the table and stood up, circling around, “Couple of things that don’t match- the room was clean, how and why. Nobody saw anything, why? The power cut, is it co-incidence or planned? Why use the backdoor?”

“This is obvious, is not it?” Sam answered, “It had an security loophole, CCTV blind spot. It was easy to grab the girls from there.”

“Then why kill the Dog?” The other man shooted.

“To make a statement? To show how ruthless they can be?” Sam replied, but it was obvious the other man was not convinced as he shook his head.

“Something is amiss, Rathore.” He kept both of elbows on chair’s back as he hunched, “There was no sound inside the house. If this was a new person the Dog had to bark, but he did not. Husky would always bark.” His eyes found the Director’s and she nodded in affirmation. “Assuming there were only the girls and house staffs around, the dog had to know the killer.”

“We went over everyone, Ma’am.” Another man, hair tied tightly in a pony and dressed in half sleeve t-shirt which stretched tightly across his bulky form replied in deep voice, “Nobody did anything. They are old people.”

“Their background verification?” The Director asked and the man looked chastised.

“It’s a work in progress.”

The strange man let out a loud sigh at it and rolled eyes. Madam Director fixated her eyes on the officer, ignoring the former and sternly ordered him to finish it soon, to which he gave a quick nod.

Sia looked at the crime scenes photos taped over the white board near the rectangular table and asked, “What about the other girl?”

A young man replied to her, typing furiously on his computer since the beginning of this meeting, “Suchitra. She won a scholarship two years back from a National wide scholarship test from Xavier’s school of Pune and joined. Her orphanage is in Satara.” He paused, looking up from his device at her, “As per Sheena’s schoolmates, they were very close since the moment she joined school.” 

An uncomfortable silence followed this piece of information. The shrill vibration of Director’s mobile jolted them, she picked it up and sat up straight as the other person spoke.

“Sagar, the DIG residence landline. Fast!” The other man again dived into his device, and the voice of DIG’s boomed into the room.

 “What do you want?”

“What can you give, DIG saab?” A new voice, clearly masked by something replied, unhurried. “A lot of things, I assume. The only child, that too motherless, must be hard on you.”

Thakur Sir exhaled a harsh breath before speaking again, “Tell me, what do you want?”

 The other man chuckled, “No nonsense man, just like I have heard. Ok, then, Saab. I have a list of things. First, get rid of the people who are helping you. The departments and Ministers. You co-operate, you will not need them. Mostly likely someone is recording this right now, tell them to back off.”

“It’s not easy.”

“Of course not, but doable. You also have a motivation,” Thakur Sir interrupted but the voice made a tut sound, “I won’t threaten your daughter, she is precious. But her friend? She is disposable. You won’t need a kid’s death on your hands, do you?” At the silence the voice concluded, “I hope I made myself clear. I will call you soon for the next demand.” 

The line went dead and people inside the meeting room looked each other.

Sia had a sinking feeling that they will find a body soon.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

It was around 2.30am when Sia looked up, stretching her neck as fingers rubbed her aching muscles. The giant digital clock in the common area counted the time since they received the news about the abduction- it was 27hours, 19mins and 34secs. Outside the area of her make shift desk, agents ran around, discussed among themselves, some drank coffee, some just gazed at others. 

Nobody was allowed to leave until this was over.

Splashing cold water over her face and fixing her ponytail and shirt, she came back to her desk, rubbing her face with tissue and sighing at the bulk of sticky notes, files and papers stacked one over another. She cross checked suspect lists which she received from her agency and filtered out potential ones, mentioned their motives and how they operate, and was ready to send them to Sam. Now her other work awaits.

She opened the laptop once again, logged into the virtual server of Crime Branch and went over footages, audio tapes and crime scene photos. She was so engrossed in her work that she forgot her surroundings, and only startled when a sound of chair being dragged near her desk reached her ears.

It was that strange Man, with his intense stare and stiff spine as he took a seat and started to watch her intently. Sia closed the lid of her laptop and sat straight, mimicking his posture.

“Who are you?”  He inquired, his voice gravelly with a hint of curiosity.

“I am from Research desk,” She paused and added, “Sir.”, unsure of his stature. 

“Post?” 

“Associate, Sir.” She replied hesitantly and his eyebrows rose, but he said nothing. She let him see what it was he wanted to. Once he was satisfied with whatever he observed, his gaze softened.

“ACP Aryan Mathur.” He offered his hand and she shook, his grip firm, “Our previous encounter was . . .”

“I startled you.” She brushed it aside as his jaw clenched, his hand abruptly leaving hers. He looked around the stack of files, then at the sticky notes, finally picking up the pink sticky note she had taken from Sheena’s room which stood out from the yellow ones.

Biting her lip, she informed, “It’s from Sheena’s room.”

“I know.” His eyes seemed to burn brighter and his jaw clenched, his fingers gently ran over the writing before he put the note down. Clearing his throat, he inquired “What is it you have been doing?”

She gave him a run- down of the suspect list and he asked the data to be handed over to him so that he can put Sagar, the IT expert, onto this. Silence descended over them once the conversation died down, and Sia felt as if the Man still had some questions.

“What else?”

“Pardon?”

“If you were done with the data, there was something else you were working at.” He leaned forward, eyes toward the laptop, “I want to know what it is.”

“Why do you think I am working on something?” She asked, intrigued how he figured out and why he bothered.

“You are here for something.” He replied vaguely, “Also, you did not deny. “ He waited for her to speak, and she did, albeit hesitant.

“I think, along with the traditional method, we need to look for something else.” His lips twitched at her words as he leaned back, crossing arms over chest.

“And what are the ways, you propose Miss Associate?” 

She did not reply immediately, silently wondering how he will take if she opens her mouth. But he seemed to be persistent and she had nothing to lose. The worst thing will be she might be off the case- it will always poke her conscious if she couldn’t pursue what she felt, but her duty was done here. Director asked her for her previous employee’s help and she has already done that.

Taking a deep breath, she started, “There were two sets of footprints at the crime scene. Of the girls, as already confirmed. So they walked towards the gate before someone, a car maybe, picked them up. Why will they willingly go out, that too amidst the dark and rain?”

“Assuming, someone from the inside was with the kidnappers,” The ACP started, “He, or she, might have lured them out.”

“Do you think the same person killed the dog?”

“Possible.”

“There were no third person’s footprints.” She pointed out.

“Might have washed out in the rain.” She was not satisfied with the answer but pressed her lips and chose the keep quiet. “It will also explain the blind spot in CCTV Rathore was talking about, the person will know how to get out of the house.”

“But that Officer . . . “

“Patil.” He filled in the name and she nodded.

“He said the Men were loyal and they did not get anything.”

“Never underestimate the power of Money. Also, fear.” He replied instantly, “We probably did not find the right person or his weakness. We will, don’t worry.’

“It seems that a lot of things are depended upon the insider.” She answered quietly. His eyes narrowed an arrogant smirk on his lips.

“So what are you proposing, the girls just got up and left on their own? How do you explain the ransom call?” When she had no answers for his questions, he got up, triumphed at her silence, “Maybe the alternate theory of yours need some work.” 

He dragged the chair to its original space, gave her a last look and went away.

She knew what her theory was, but the ACP was right- it needed some more work. Determined, she opened the laptop again and dived in.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

The next afternoon, Sia saw the DIG who looked even more aged and hunched over than the list time she saw him. This time he waved a hand at her and she walked up.

“Your ex-boss sent condolences.” Gulping, he asked, “Anything?”

“I received a list of people who . . . “

“Want to hurt me.” He finished for her and exhaled, “Thank you.”

She gave a tight lipped smile as her head lowered, “Doesn’t seem much.”

“Once we don’t get her back, nothing will feel like enough.” His eyes glazed over, before hardening, “But know this, you did what you could. Regret don’t let you live.”

She nodded at that- Regret is something she has lived in for a long time, it’s an old friend. “It’s the girls.” The DIG stared at her quizzically, “Girls. We need to bring them back.”

He looked stunned, and did not quite recover once Sam came to fetch him off. Sia kept staring until he vanished from her eyes, wondering if anyone cared about the second girl who was forgotten under the pressure of DIG’s daughter’s disappearance news. If she will be the collateral damage in this war.

Also, why she was taken?

This is something that bothered her since the moment she went over footages and crime scene reports. If the kidnappers can kill a dog to make a statement, they could have hurt the girl too. It makes no sense why they would also take her, she was an orphan. She had nothing to offer.

Sia hated to think in this manner but that’s what it was. 

Or maybe the girl, Suchitra, followed the kidnapper and Sheena. The girls slept in the same room, was practically inseparable since they arrived. Maybe the kidnappers had no choice. But that would also mean somehow they would have gotten rid of the girl. The kidnappers are either constantly moving or they are stuck to a safe place, and handling two girls is surely difficult. There is a good chance they are inside the city till now, it will be a wild goose chase if they have moved outside.

Inside the meeting room, Thakur sir received the second call as he sat with the Director and her core team.

“Must be hard living in the same house. Did your men clean up the dog’s blood?” The DIG clenched his fist but chose to say nothing. Like the last time, Sagar was onto tracking the call, but from his face it was evident like last time it will also fail.

“What’s you next demand?”

“Nothing.” Everyone looked at each other in shock. DIG opened and closed his mouth several times before attempting to speak.

“Excuse me?”

“Nothing.” The voice repeated monotonously. “We have no demands from you. Forget your daughter, DIG Thakur. Goodbye.”

Amidst the tensed silence, the call ended and Sagar let out a quiet curse, again failing to trace the number’s location. Everyone looked at another as the DIG stared ahead, dumbfounded.

“What the hell was that?” He whispered, “He called previously and said to clear the media, and now he wants nothing?” With shaky feet he got up as Director Kapoor almost reached out to steady him, “What does this mean?”

ACP Aryan started pacing up and down like a caged animal, clenching and unclenching a red pen in his hand, “He wasted our time. 48hrs, that’s crucial, and he made us hope there will be some demand to go through. There is nothing.” Stopping for a moment, he looked at the Director, “Did you notice how he said ‘your daughter’? Most probably the other girl is not alive.”

“Mathur.” She warned, just as DIG slumped on his chair, head in his hands. “There is no need to be pessimistic”

“That’s cold truth and we all know it.” He looked at everyone in the room, “She was a collateral damage, and they have taken the prize.” With that, he walked out of the room, banging the door behind him. The Director looked torn between going after the rebel ACP and staying for the grieving DIG, but Sam took over and her decision was made. Just as the man offered him a glass of water, she went after the ACP.

The employees of Crime Branch saw the Director and the new ACP having showdown right in the middle of the common area, both raising voice and after a while the man stormed off. Sia watched the scene unfold and glanced at the room the core team had moved previously, a sickening feeling in her stomach.

The Director rubbed her temple as crowd around her dispersing, a terrible headache oncoming. Mathur has gone off in fury with a promise to find the girl in his own way, and while she would be glad to let him go this is not the time to make the DIG even more upset. She signalled at the Research Desk girl with her hand, and she arrived, timid yet observant as always.

“I really can’t spare any men after him right now so babysitting duty falls on you.” She said, “Please go get him.”

“May I ask what happened?”

“The kidnappers said they want nothing.” The other woman’s face go pale as she lowered her voice sympathetically, “I will tear apart this city until I find something, but I need the whole resources here.” With the word of dismissal, the other woman gave a quick nod and walked away in hurry.

Sia found the furious ACP in the parking lot just as he was about to drive off, sighing to herself in relief. She prepared herself mentally as to how to proceed with the man as he banged the SUV door close as he noticed her.

“Director sent you? Forget it.” He looked away in dismissal, “Staying here and arguing with anyone is a waste of time. I will handle it in my way, you can tell her that.” He proceeded to open the SUV door, and banged it closed when she asked about what happened.

“I heard the kidnappers said they want nothing.”

“Yes, so that they could waste our time.” He leaned on the door, seemingly exhausted as he looked down, his fist clenching and unclenching. For some moments nobody said anything and Sia waited until the ACP could calm down.

“Failure,” He started, “is not an option in this case. And this feels like it. I can feel it in my guts that they are here. She is here, in this city. We need to find her. If the kidnappers said they want nothing that most likely means she is . . . “ He closed his eyes, unable to comprehend, “or that they are taking her away. If it’s the second thing, then we have time. We can track them. We need to find something else. Something is amiss here.”

Seeing him, a wave of sympathy coursed through her. She opened her mouth to say something but remained silent, dwelling her mind and soul within. Now that she has heard about the call, she was more than determined about her suspicion, but the issue was there was anyone unlikely to back her up on the same. She wanted to help, but she was not sure how.

Unless, she looked at him, she can convince him. The worst thing that can happen is he might yell at her, and she is back in research desk. But she can try, at least.

“Sir, if I may.” She started as he kept staring down, responding nothing, “I think we should look at the situation in another way.”

“I know what you mean.” He looked at her coldly, “You insinuated previously the same thing. You mean to say the girls walked out on their own.”

“Or maybe,” She added to his words, voice gentle, “someone might have lured them out. There are, Organizations, who does that. Specific people, who are into these kinds of crimes.”

“Sheena is not dumb.”

“Of course, she is not.” She replied immediately, “It might be the other girl, she just went along. We can’t tell clearly. Maybe Sheena’s computer will have something?”

“It’s clean.” He dismissed the idea, “She was home for, what, 4 days? And she did not even touch the thing. As far as I knew she loved Online gaming.” He stood straight, and Sia could see wheels turning in his head, “And for a girl who is in boarding school, her home computer will probably have nothing.”  

“Then?”

He looked determined, “Come with me.”

Telling the DIG about the idea was probably the hardest part.

“So, you mean to say she just walked out on her own?” He spoke through clenched teeth and behind him, the Director looked thoughtful.

“Someone might have lured her out.” For the first time, Sagar the IT person spoke, and just as everyone’s eyes fell on him he stammered to finish what he meant, “Dark web. There are people, wait they are more like monster- they lure others. Human Trafficking. Horrible stuff. I can’t believe I have not considered that before.” 

“This is worse than what I thought if it’s true.” The senior officer sounded defeated, “If it was someone after me, there might have been some chance. But if this was random, or completely unrelated to me . . . “ He looked at a loss of words.

“Assuming what you think is right,” The Director asked to the ACP as he turned to look at her, “what do you propose we do?”

“You tear apart the city. They have to be here, it’s too unsafe for them to leave.” Aryan replied, “Me, on the other hand, will go to Pune. Sheena’s boarding school. I think I will get some clues from there.”

“I can’t spare anyone for you in this moment.” She said.

“That’s ok.” He stalked at Sia as he spoke, his eyes having that intense gaze again, “What do you think about a quick road trip, Miss?”

+++++++++++++++++++++++=

It was dawn when ACP Mathur along with Sia reached the prestigious Xavier’s school of Pune after driving non -stop for hours. Sia offered to drive a couple of times but the other man denied every time, focussed at the road and driving at the top speed one can on a national highway. Phone calls were already made to meet with the Principles and then the students in Boarding school- tomorrow was supposed to be the end of holiday and students were expected to be present one day prior. It was a perfect opportunity to observe and question everyone associated with the two girls. 

The cloud over them grumbled, dark clouds making everything gloomier.

The school was situated on a hill top, with acres of empty land filled with greenery surrounding the structure spread across multiple compounds. The duo met the Principal first who gave her condolences, and Sia noticed the ACP has taken a mute vow, listening to everything but chosing to say nothing. It was on her to keep the conversation going. But the Man came alive when it was time to speak to the students- Sheena’s batchmates. 

For a Man who seemed stoic and had little patience for anything, he was remarkably well with kids. Made sense why he cared for Sheena and Mathur Sir asked him for the case, she thought mentally. From the kids and other staffs in school they came to know about the girls- Suchitra and Sheena became very good friends in this semester, always arriving and leaving together, having lunch together, sitting in classes together, talking in corridors in hushed whisper. From Sheena’s friends, it seemed like she had minimal contact from all of her friends since she became close to Suchitra, who had no prior friends, the resentment clear in their voice. Suchitra was a quiet girl, nobody knew much about her except that she came from an orphanage after winning a prestigious scholarship the school offers to financially backward students. She kept her head down, did not speak to anyone much, was in top 5 of the class. 

“They became such good friends in short time.” Sia was murmuring to herself, and was startled when ACP heard her and replied.

“She was friendly. She would talk your ears out and make you smile.” His throat tightened as the words flew, then coughed, “No surprise here. But that she ostracized her old friends for Suchitra, she had to be very special.” He frowned, not really convinced at his own thoughts.  

The duo along with a teacher who taught Sheena’s class Computer science walked towards the lab, her chattering filled the air as they moved. She took the credit of starting the friendship between the girls as one day Sheena sat beside Suchitra and since then they were inseparable, sitting in a corner of the class in the same system.

Aryan and Sia looked at each other at the sentence. 

“Same desktop?” He inquired, to which the teacher nodded vigorously.

“Same system. Every single class.” 

They took permission to be alone inside the lab and switched on the machine quickly. There was nothing much in the social networking sites, no password saved or bookmarked page, no clue. The ACP seemingly gave up after a few minutes, then called Sagar, putting him in speaker.

“Put the pendrive in which I gave to you.” He said and Sia inserted a drive, within the next few minutes he gave a triumphant reply, signalling he was inside the network. He was mumbling over the call as he went through the system, then declared it will take at least half an hour for him to go through the data. The ACP cut the call with a rough ‘Faster, Sagar.”, fingers running through his already messy hair, then marched out, vanishing from her sight.

Sia leaned against a pillar outside the computer lab and kept thinking about the last couple of days, scenes flashing as if she was back in the crime scene. The opened backdoor gate, muddy footprints, the dried blood on the carpet, the perfectly made bed of the girls, blurry CCTV footage of a SUV rushing out from the DIG residence, then she thought about her theory –someone luring out the girls, completely unrelated to the DIG. The Director saying the kidnappers want nothing. Her previous agency colleague agreeing and confirming with her worst fears.

“You do know what it looks like, right? Young girls, absent parents, normal one day and vanishing the next? It has all the prints.” At Sia’s silence the other voice sighed, “It’s Daesh. Just tell them. Make them prepare for the worst.”

Coming out from the past conversation, she looked around before finding a small temple of Ganapati in the corridor. Even from far, she can see lamps alight and smoke coming out of incense stick. Touching the ever present chain around her neck, she closed her eyes and prayed with all her faith- for the girls to be safe, for their collective efforts having a positive result, for a Father who have everything to lose now. When the mental commotion calmed down after a while, she inhaled deeply and opened her eyes.

The ACP was standing right in front of her.

“You believe in him?” He asked, the tone giving away his lack of faith. She gave a smile in response, releasing her chain.

“We all need to believe in something.”

He looked behind at the idol, speaking after a long time, “Do you think he can fix this?”

“We will do our part, he will do his.” 

The ACP’s phone rang at the next moment- Sagar had finally finished his work.

The duo stood in stunned silence once the long phone call was done- first it was Sagar, then the Director. Sia’s worst suspicion was now confirmed. Someone befriended Sheena, groomed her, and finally lured her out of her house. Most likely Suchitra followed her or Sheena, or the person sitting on the other side of Internet groomed her as well. There was Tor browser installed in the school desktop, a fake Facebook profile details saved in it. There were thousands of messages about leaving the world she knew, having a better life, a life worth something. Sheena’s main FB account had a deleted message which Sagar thinks was the original message from the kidnapper, but he can’t confirm as Messenger is not easy to access and official details from FB will take a lot of time to arrive. 

“If this was the plan all along,” Aryan spoke after a long time, jolting Sia back to present, “why call Mathur sir? Why create that much uproar? Why make us chase them all over the place?” He ran fingers through his hair again, then he abruptly turned and banged fist on the SUV bonnet, “Nothing matters! No question matters! They took her, she is gone! We might never know what happened to her, where is she, who was the kidnapper!”

“Don’t say that.” Sia stood straight, hoping her words will be enough to go through his haze of despair, “You are here. Others are back in Mumbai, working. Everyone is trying so hard.”

“Trying is doing nothing.” He towered over her, eyes blazing fire. She looked down for a moment, before meeting his gaze again.

“Mathur sir called you for a reason. Use it.” She spoke slowly, “If you think they are still in the City, there has to be a reason for it. What is it? Where can they be? What are the ways we can track them down? Think, think and tell us. There has to be something amiss.” This was something he told to Sam, Sia remembered. Listening his words from her mouth seemed to go through him as his haze cleared; posture slowly readying itself as if a hunter going for the kill.

His phone rang then, and Sia saw it was the Director. His expression changed rapidly as the call finished, putting it quickly in his pocket and fumbling for his SUV keys.

“Suchitra has been found. We need to be back as soon as possible.”

Her heart hammered in the chase. It felt like the chase had already started.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Suchitra was dropped from a running Maruti Omni right in front of DIG house in the early morning. The guards rushed to help her, and when she didn’t get consciousness, they sent her to hospital post informing the DIG regarding the same. The doctors informed the girl was heavily chloroformed and it will take time for her to get conscious, but did not inform anything else as legally, her guardian was the Orphanage she lived in and someone from there didn’t arrive yet.

Mathur sir looked as if he has completely given up.

“They sent her back. The girl is in such condition that . . . “ He stopped, not wanting to utter the words, “Absolute monsters. Monsters.” His eyes shone with rage and deep, dark fear. The teammates looked at each other, having nothing to say to the Man.

If the City was in red alert before, now the State was in high alert. The Chief used all her resources, favours and manpower onto this, not letting anyone think for a second this was over. And the people worked, like soldiers possessed to save one of them. In a War people fight and save each other and this was the same. 

Amidst the chaos, there was something strangely comforting about following orders, Sia has always felt that.

They followed a breakthrough dead of the night on one Saturday, Sagar finally able to find the SUV on the outskirts of the city. A quick brainstorming session where Aryan suggested the kidnappers might be staying in a place from where they could leave the city, they started digging, before finally settling on the nearby Firka port.

It was going to be a massive search and rescue.

For over 6 days the government had stopped ships from leaving the port and everyone was monitored, signed and tracked whoever entered the port. As Sagar along with his IT team sat in Crime branch and looked for the CCTV footage and other details, the team along with rescue forces from other departments started searching each corner of the port which seemed to stretch on forever. There were thousands of containers, hundreds of ships, innumerable small ships which belonged to foreign nationals and fishermen living nearby. 

The hunt started at the dead of the night and till next evening there was nothing, until an officer from the Port security informed them urgently that a small fisher boat had taken off, despite the complete shutdown and heavy guarding all around. Sia was with other people, near the container section when they heard Aryan along with some other members had taken off after the boat, chasing after them. She could hear every word the teams shared through the Bluetooth, various voices communicating. When the boat went nearby they all heard the gunshots, flinching from it. Her heart hammered when they heard someone yelling that a man on the runaway boat, most likely a kidnapper himself, pushed a barrel in sea. All looked at each other in stunned silence, fearing and praying at the same time it’s Sheena.

Aryan jumped in the sea and then there was no communication from his side. There were curses and orders shouting at each other as the team dragged the barrel along with the ACP on the boat, and then they all heard the voice they were hoping to.

“Bhai.” Sheena sobbed in a broken whisper and Sia collapsed with relief against a trailer, agents around her letting out cry of triumphant. In her ear Aryan was whispering in comfort to the poor girl who kept crying, other voices in background catching the kidnappers, shouting the provide blanket for her and making plans to come back.

“She killed Husky, Bhai.” Sheena whispered, breaking out into sob again and Sia stood up straight, mind suddenly clicking the last piece of puzzle.

She dashed out of the Port.

Suchitra was in the Crime Branch office, giving her statement to an Officer when Sia reached the office, a man who was most probably from Orphanage sitting beside her. An Officer stood outside of the room who let her know the summary- She and Sheena were befriended by an Internet stranger who convinced them leave home to visit a new country, to have a purpose which meant something. He told them they could do something for the mankind. They were taken from the DIG house and kept in a place which she did not know, and post a day the girls were separated. She grew scared of the men and realized it was a mistake, and then she was dumped outside DIG residence one morning. 

The session seemed to go on for excruciating long hours before they all stood up. The Man from the orphanage walked out with the officer, papers in hand as Suchitra dragged behind, walking slowly, her face pale. Sia stood straight, gave her a small smile and talked a bit, informing her about Sheena’s search but not revealing about the victory. The Officer came back to inform the girl can leave, and she gave a smile to Sia.

“Da khoday pa amaan.” She bid farewell, and internally felt a satisfaction when the girl replied immediately, without thinking.

“Dera manana.” As she saw the other’s glinting eyes and her own words echoing, Suchitra froze, her face ashen. A pin drop silence followed as she sized her up, and expectedly, the girl lunged at her.

On an instinct Sia closed her eyes, ears filling with sounds of commotion around her. She expected a familiar feel of someone fighting her but it never came, and when she opened her eyes Aryan was standing there, capturing the girl in his arms who went strangely silent. Patil and others came rushing and he calmly handed her over to him, then turned to Sia, eyes full of question.

“Good one.” Suchitra muttered to Sia before others took her away, the man from Orphanage looking at the scene in bewilderment.

Sia stood near the stairs of Crime branch building, umbrella in hand as the rain looked like it will wipe away the city. Her heart was strangely quiet, peaceful even after almost a week of unease- Sheena was back home, safe, but she knew from experience that it will take a long time for her to be sound. To make friends and speak properly to strangers, sleep without nightmares and zoning out to old memories. But DIG sir had decided to keep her nearby, even contemplating an early retirement or shifting to new responsibilities to make time for her. It will work out in the end, Sia was sure of it. When someone had a support system, they pull through. It’s the person like her who has none must struggle the hardest, almost giving up a few times.

The rain reduced a bit and she opened her umbrella, adjusted her bag before walking into the waterfall. The wind was blowing wildly, drops of water wetting her shirt and pants but she carried on. She had taken a few steps when she heard her name and turned around.

ACP Aryan was standing near the stairs, then walked towards her, uncaring of the rain. She offered her umbrella but he signalled with his hand to stop, which she did, looking at him expectantly.

They did not really have a chance to talk amidst the chaos and shocking turn of events, but Aryan was intrigued at how she figured out it was Suchitra or what she asked her for the teenage to lunge like that. He also had a feeling she might not reveal it, and strangely, he was okay with secrets like that. 

“How did you know it was her?” He inquired, voice audible even over rain and wind. 

“Sheena told you ‘She killed the Husky’. I had a hunch.” She answered sincerely, smiling a little. She wondered if he was going to ask why Suchitra jumped on her or he had heard her foreign words to the other girl, but he asked nothing else, just looked at her in a different manner. As if trying to figure out her soul. The thought made her uneasy, and she looked down.

“I, uh, should leave.” She stuttered a bit, giving a look up in the sky before looking at him again, hoping for him to excuse her. He gave a slow nod after a long time, the look never going away. He extended his hand for a shake and she gave her own, giving a small, genuine smile.

“Goodbye.” She said.

“Until we meet again.” He countered, the rainwater making its way to her hand. And I have a feeling we will, Aryan thought to himself but remained silent. Sia frowned, as if hearing his unsaid words, her smile turning confused, but then he abruptly let go of her hand. She blinked, looking down, pressed her lips and gave him a last nod, turning on her heels and walking away slowly.

Aryan kept staring at her until she vanished from his side, and decided he wanted more of her.