Chasing a Familiar Shadow

by Aman Gupta

  “They came in an SUV,” said Sandy.

  “What did they want?” asked Vik.

  “Nothing. They ordered coffee and asked a couple of questions about the town. Then they got up to leave when one of them started firing at us behind the counter. The other one took out a machete and began slashing the waitresses. Thankfully, there were no customers at that moment. Otherwise, who knows how many would’ve died,” said Sandy.

  “What kind of questions?” asked Vik.

  “I was busy in the kitchen, so I didn’t hear much. But just normal stuff. About the people, the cops, Anthony Arnold,” said Sandy. “They sounded like tourists, to be honest.”

  “Hmm... Interesting. Did you get a good look at their faces?” asked Vik.

  “No, they were wearing caps and had pulled up the collars of their jackets. Now that I think about it, the whole thing was messed up from the beginning,” said Sandy, exhaling as the emotions rushed to her.

  Vik gave her a side hug, while Sandy wiped her tears.

  “Anything weird thing that you noticed?” asked Vik.

  “Sorry, no. Charlotte was the one who was talking to them. I can’t believe she’s dead,” cried Sandy.

  Vik consoled her. They walked back to the restaurant.

  Joey had taken pictures of the crime scene.

  Vik asked the ambulance driver to take him along after they put the body in the back, and told him to take it to the precinct. Eric asked Emma and Kate to grab whatever DNA evidence they could find pertaining to the killers.

  After a couple of hours, they left after gathering whatever prints and traces of DNA they could find. Vik had spent those hours examining the wounds on Charlotte’s body in his lab. He had also found a partial thumbprint on the bullet found inside her body.

  There was a knock on the door, while Vik was looking at dead skin cells under the microscope.

  “Come in,” said Vik.

  Emma, Eric, and Joey entered, followed by Kate.

  “What happened to you?” he asked, looking at Kate. “What’s with the bandage on the forehead? Joey asked to try something new?”

  Joey smiled.

  “I got attacked. I don’t remember much,” said Kate.

  “We found her knocked out near TS – 19,” said Joey.

  “Why? What were you doing there?” asked Vik.

  Emma was smiling, looking at Vik. He did his best to keep his demeanor professional, in the presence of Charlotte.

  “She doesn’t remember,” said Emma.

  “Where were you?” asked Eric.

  “West Gate,” said Vik.

  “Did you find what you were looking for?” asked Eric.

  “Yes, I found her. She was alive and safe with Olivia. I dropped her off at West Gate,” said Vik.

  “Wait. You already found her?” asked Kate.

  “Yes, why?” asked Vik.

  “And you knew she was alive?” asked Joey.

  “Yes. It was rather obvious,” said Vik.

  “Why was she with Olivia?” asked Emma.

  “Olivia kept her close to keep an eye on her probably,” said Vik.

  “I’m so happy for you,” said Emma and hugged Vik.

  Vik looked confused, which Joey noticed.

  “What’s wrong?” asked Joey.

  “How did you know about her?” asked Vik.

  “We found a picture of her in Old River where she was staying,” said Emma.

  “Old River? She was at Atlantis the whole time as far as I know,” said Vik.

  “Who cares! She’s alive,” said Kate, ecstatic.

  “I know. I’m just surprised you all care about her so much. Her grandparents would be so happy,” said Vik.

  Everyone looked shocked, which confused Vik. They stood still, petrified.

  “Wait, her grandparents are alive?” asked Joey.

  “Yes. You’ve met them before if I recall correctly. Back at New Bay,” said Vik.

  “No, we’ve never met Victor Daulton,” said Emma.

  “What does Victor Daulton got to do with Vincent Drew?” asked Vik.

  “I don’t understand what’s happening,” said Joey.

  “Who are you talking about?” asked Kate.

  “Ally Drew,” said Vik.

  “I thought she was at West Gate,” said Kate.

  “Now she is! It’s a long story. I’ll tell you all later about it. I just came by to pick up some stuff before leaving. Thought of meeting Emily when I learnt what happened to Charlotte,” said Vik.

  “Leave where?” asked Emma.

  “Bottom of the ocean sounds nice,” smiled Vik.

  He was dreaming of seeing Katie again in his lifetime. The list of places where he should start looking wasn’t long.

  “We weren’t talking about Ally Drew,” said Joey.

  Vik noticed Eric sipping water from the water bottle in the mini-fridge.

  “Who then?” asked Vik. “And since when do you drink water instead of whiskey and scotch?”

  “I’ve decided to cut back on alcohol,” said Eric. “So, you knew Ally Drew was alive?”

  “Yes. One of the reasons that I went to Atlantis. Unfortunately, I had seen something like that before,” said Vik.

  “I’m not following this conversation at all,” said Emma.

  “Okay,” said Vik, rolling his eyes. He grabbed a scalpel and turned around to give another look at the wound on Charlotte’s left arm.

  “We were talking about Katie,” yelled Kate.

  Vik stopped moving. A glimmer of hope ran through his veins, as he gasped for some air, dropping the scalpel.

  “Where’s she? How do you know?” asked Vik as he looked at them.

  Emma explained everything to him about the clues that led them to Old River. Vik listened with a stunned face.

  “She was the one they planned to create,” murmured Vik. “They need her to find Josh.”

  “I thought you’d be more exultant,” said Kate when she couldn’t gather what Vik was saying.

  “I am. I just..It’s just..” said Vik.

  “Too good to be true? But it is, Jay. She’s alive,” said Kate hugging Vik.

  Tears filled their eyes, while Emma, Eric, and Joey smiled.

  “I need to go to Old River,” said Vik. “This would have to wait.”

  He started taking off the blood-stained gloves.

  “There’s nothing there. We checked the house and the entire area,” said Emma.

  She gave him Katie’s photograph.

  His hands were shaking as he took the photograph out of her fingers. He touched the photograph with his left hand, caressing Katie’s face. He couldn’t help but notice the pain in her eyes that she must’ve felt while posing for that picture. But he was happy about one thing. She didn’t look scared.

  He placed the photograph on his chest. He felt a warmth that he hadn’t felt for over three years. He felt like his heart had become whole again.

  “We’ll do everything we can to find her, Vik,” said Emma.

  “Yeah, we need to start looking at the files that you got from Olivia. There’s so much on there. Perhaps, you might be able to make a better sense of it than any of us ever will,” said Joey.

  “Thanks for telling me. Did you find anything at Emily’s?” asked Vik.

  Emma and Kate were confused as to why Vik suddenly changed the topic. But they let that go.

  “Yeah,” said Eric.

  He gave an evidence bag to Vik, which had some cutlery and napkins. Joey handed over an envelope that had crime scene photos.

  “Here’s your copy. We have ours. As per the witnesses, they didn’t touch anything else,” said Joey.

  “How did they pay for the meal?” asked Vik.

  “They didn’t,” said Emma.

  She continued, “One of the waitress told me that the two guys were looking around the restaurant a lot. They weren’t talking much with each other. They asked for Emily, but she had gone running some errands. Soon after, the
y started firing and swinging.”

  “That’s the thing that doesn’t make any sense,” said Vik.

  “What?” asked Eric.

  “You either swing a knife or use a gun. How often do you hear that assailants using both knife and gun in a room with 4-5 people? At least, I haven’t,” said Vik. “And why Emily’s when it was empty? If you want to cause a mass casualty, all you have to do is wait for more people to show up. You have a gun. The chances are that the people showing up for lunch and dinner don’t.”

  “You think it was planned?” asked Kate.

  “Their actions suggest that way, based on what they did and what they were wearing,” said Vik.

  “Why?” asked Eric.

  “That’s where you come in, sheriff,” said Vik.

  “Right,” said Eric.

  Vik was staring at the opposite wall, almost trying to paint a picture on its blank canvas.

  “I’ll be back,” said Vik, a minute later and left.

  Emma followed him outside. She caught up with him as he was getting into his car.

  “Where are you going?” asked Emma.

  “First, I need to get rid of this car. The people at Atlantis can probably track it since it’s one of their own,” said Vik.

  “Didn’t you burn everything down?” asked Emma.

  “Apparently not. Katie is still out there with them,” said Vik. He didn’t pretend to be surprised that Emma knew about Atlantis’ fate.

  “Let’s go. I’ll follow you,” said Emma.

  “That’s not necessary,” said Vik.

  “Consider it the first of many things I need to do for you for betraying you,” said Emma.

  “We’re already even,” said Vik.

  “My sister used to say that a good friend is the one who doesn’t let go when they know you need them,” said Emma.

  “Sounds like something she would say,” said Vik.

  “What?” asked Emma.

  “Nothing. I was just thinking of someone else,” said Vik.

  “Okay. So this is me not letting go,” said Emma.

  “Okay. Thank you,” said Vik.

  Emma felt awkward when he said that.

  “We’re back on Chapter 1, aren’t we?” said Emma, a little upset.

  “Yes. Just different books now,” said Vik.

  Emma lost her smile. She blamed herself for their current incongruity.

  Vik drove to the bridge. Emma followed closely behind in her car. She didn’t want him to disappear again. He would accelerate and decelerate every few hundred meters on the empty, narrow roads. She would smile whenever he did that until she almost crashed into his car once when he decelerated his car to a standstill. She maintained her distance after that.

  Vik parked the car near the bridge. When Emma arrived, he was leaning against the car, looking at the fence on the other side of the bridge. She stopped her car behind his and approached him.

  “What are you thinking about?” she asked.

  “I don’t know, but my gut says I’m on the wrong side of the fence,” he replied.

  “You don’t know what’s out there,” she said.

  “Unfortunately, that’s not true. But you’re right. I would just be going in blind,” he said.

  She kept looking at him. She saw he wasn’t entirely convinced about his decision. He looked confused and confident at the same time.

  “What’s the plan?” she asked.

  “I’ll get her back,” he replied.

  “How?” she asked.

  “Any means necessary,” he said.

  She held his hand and leaned forward. He turned his head away, but she turned it back and kissed him passionately. He didn’t respond with the same enthusiasm.

  “Sorry, I don’t know why I did that,” said Emma.

  “I do,” said Vik.

  “Tell me,” said Emma.

  “You’re scared that this is the last time we’ll ever be together,” said Vik.

  “Maybe. Am I wrong?” asked Emma.

  “I didn’t say that,” said Vik.

  He threw the car keys in the river. He took out a piece of paper from his jacket and wrote something on it. He kept it on the dashboard, which Emma noticed.

  “What did you write?” asked Emma.

  “Let’s just say I have dropped a stone in the water. Let’s see how far the ripples travel,” said Vik.

  He got into Emma’s car, and they drove back to Morrow Town. He asked Emma to drop back to his home as he needed to take care of a few things.

  “I never asked. What happened to Olivia?” asked Emma.

  “She died,” said Vik.

  “I’m sorry,” said Emma. “Are you okay? I’m here if you want to talk about it.”

  “Don’t know how many graves I have left in me,” lamented Vik.

  “Hopefully, none more,” said Emma.

  “Hopefully, only one more,” said Vik, looking outside the window.

  She stopped the car in front of his house.

  “Do you have the keys?” asked Emma.

  “It’s a biometric lock,” said Vik.

  “Speaking of biometrics, the hidden room under the precinct somehow had my biometrics and DNA. I was able to access it. Why?” asked Emma. “How did you even get my DNA?”

  “It doesn’t check for biometrics. That’s only for show. Only DNA,” said Vik. “It looked safer at the time.”

  “Why mine?” asked Emma.

  “Why not yours?” asked Vik.

  “How did you get it?” asked Emma.

  “Trust me, you don’t want to go down that road,” said Vik. “The important thing is that you were able to seize the opportunity and prevent a tremendous travail..”

  She interrupted, “I want to know.”

  “I told you the first time we had dinner together. Some answers are hidden in our own backyard. We haven’t found them because we aren’t ready for them,” said Vik.

  He opened the car door and got out. She saw him enter his house. She stayed for a minute and then drove away.

  Vik looked through the window blinds as Emma drove away. He looked for a flashlight in the storage drawer in the drawing room. After finding one, he accessed the tunnel under his home through a secret trapdoor underneath the staircase. He headed for the hub under the square to get his stuff.

  He took out a digital safe that he had kept in the hub, identical to the one that Anthony had at Nucleus. He pressed his thumb to open the safe, and took out the blue microchip for his pocket. He kept it inside the safe and locked it.

  ‘As long as I have one, it’s impossible to complete the puzzle. This one is just a bonus,’ he thought. ‘If push comes to shove, I’ll use this to save Katie.’

  After grabbing a new laptop and a handgun, he returned to his house and went to his bedroom. He took out the picture of Katie that Emma had given him and pasted it on the mirror on the cupboard.

  He laid on his bed and spent the entire night, staring at the ceiling. He was anxious to find Katie but wanted to remain focused on finding Charlotte’s killers. He owed it to Emily, he thought.

  Chapter 5: Serendipity

  Sam had completed her first year at Daulton University. She had outperformed everyone in Cyber Networks and Security, Ethical Hacking and Artificial Intelligence. She had received ‘Medal of Excellence’ from Victor Daulton, and found a special mention in his speech at the convocation. Though Sam had two more years left at Daulton University, she was well on her way to complete her degree requirements in the coming year. She and Brianca had become great friends.

  Jay had kept a low profile after his research paper had brought unwanted attention to his personal life. He was often targeted by hackers and criminals and had pretty much erased his online presence to thwart off the attacks. Academically, he had done great for himself and was now the co-founder of the ‘Student AI Association’ along with Sam. He was also put on the student council of the University after Brianca had pleaded for his case, much to his anno
yance. He was a natural when it came to communication with new students and their parents, though he loved his anti-social aura much more. He had sought an extension of a couple of years from the university to allow him to spend more time on his research projects. The University had obliged, as they hoped that his research would allow it to further their visibility in the right circles.

  Sam and Jay had spent the entire summer break traveling together after Sam had broken up with two more boyfriends in a span of 3 months. They had thought about dating each other, but both of them somehow knew they were better as friends.

  On the first day of the new semester, the Student Council was summoned by Principal James Burtlove for instructions and guidelines for the new batch that was joining the next day. There were 20 students in the Student Council, but somehow he only saw two.

  “Jay, you’d be in charge of talking with the parents who’d be accompanying the students, for the orientation. Brianca would be your point of contact for all information and activities. She would also be coordinating with the faculty as well as dorm managers for arranging everything for the students. Last year, we had a minor hiccup. Let’s make sure it doesn’t happen this year,” said James.

  Jay nodded with annoyance.

  Jay caught up with Brianca while she was assigning tasks for the students in the council.

  “Hey,” said Jay.

  “Are you mad that you’re still in the council?” joked Brianca.

  “Of course not. There’s nothing that I love more than meeting new people,” said Jay, not hiding the sarcasm in his voice.

  “Come on, it’s fun. You get to listen to their dreams and aspirations, their lives and love for their children, and their struggles. There’s so much to learn,” said Brianca.

  “Great, then you do it,” said Jay.

  “I’m already doing literally everything else,” said Brianca.

  “Then get someone else to do it. You’re the President, aren’t you?” said Jay.

  “Yes, President of the council. Not the whole damn country. If I were the President, you would be happy to do it to impress me,” said Brianca.

  “You don’t know me at all,” smiled Jay.

  “Get Sam to help you,” said Brianca.