“Really?” Aditi replied, “Isn’t the concept of ‘breaking news’ dead there?”
“Yeah, you won’t be cracking stupid jokes like that once you hear what I have got. It is rare for this place; I have to agree with you on that. I will tell you about it in due time.”
“Wow! You really are meaning it. Is it good, shall I pack my bags?”
“No, no, no, no, I can’t let you steal this from me,” Suresh said in alarm.
“Okay, okay, now don’t keep me in suspense,” she couldn’t wait to hear it.
“I will tell you everything soon; once I have got some bearings in what I have dug. Alright, I have got to go now. Goodbye!”
Manoj said, frowning, “That guy, he gets on everybody’s nerves including mine. I am telling you, ma’am, he might be as successful as you are if he was in your capital. He has a knack of breaking into places and nosing into a lot of peoples’ business. Seriously, I have wondered sometimes, how is he even alive at this poin-”
He stopped himself when he saw Aditi sobbing quietly. Ali looked sternly at him, and Manoj looked down dejectedly, “I am sorry, ma’am. I didn’t mean to say something to hurt you.”
Ali continued hesitantly, “Aditi, did something happen to him?”
Aditi tried to make words between the sobs, “He- he- called me again two days ago. It was a very short conversation then, a bit garbled too which I assumed was due to network issues.”
Two days ago...
“Hey, Suresh! What’s up? Let me guess, you are finally ready to tell me all about it, and you need my help,” she laughed.
“Adi- Adi- ti- Listen to me, ver ca- fully,” his voice was distorted.
“You are having a crappy network, I can barely hear your voice properly,” she said, “Shall I call you back?”
“No, don’t hang up,” he said in a panicked voice.
“Oh! Now I can hear you perfectly. Are you okay? You do not sound good. Are you in any trouble?”
“I d- no- have time to e- plai-,” he continued, his network going bad again, “I am in –ome deep –hit, alchemist industries,” he shouted the name so that it could be heard correctly.
He continued, “People are go- missing since the plant- -here. Some- -ing ter- -le is going on.”
There was some static, and after that, the next sentence came clearly, “I have forwarded you some research. I have got to hide; they are after me. I will break in tonight, will know mo-”
The call got disconnected, and Aditi said after wiping her eyes, “He has not made contact since. I was worried.”
Both the officers were looking her gravely, then Ali asked her, “Have you brought all his research with you?”
Aditi nodded. Ali turned to Manoj, “Prep the briefing room, I need all the missing person files.”
UNREST
They were inside the briefing room.
“Wow! Pretty intense in here,” Aditi remarked, looking around at the strength of the documents in that room. Numerous files surrounded them. The only thing letting the room keep its briefing room glory was the large oval table covering the center with chairs around it.
“Yes, we have been quite busy dealing with the local gang here,” Ali replied, while Manoj went to gather some files. Looking at all the mess himself, he said, “Last two months were like a rush for us. There were some hot leads from our sources reporting deals and meetings going on which kept us on edge.”
“We even nabbed a few key gang members when we used to kick doors and bust meetings,” Manoj added, now handing over six files to Ali.
Ali kept the files on the table and said, “It all fell silent this month though, and we suspect that the bad guys are more vigilant now, not planning something big right now.”
Aditi nodded lightly and sat down. She took out her laptop and turned it on. Ali and Manoj started showing her the missing person case files one by one.
“Here they are,” said Manoj, “The six people who vanished off the face of the earth.”
Aditi accessed her mail and Suresh’s research and said, “Suresh started investigating these cases when they increased alarmingly. Somehow, he believes that these crimes are all linked to the new plant of the Alchemist Industries which was sanctioned by the government and got set up at the end of February.”
“But this makes no sense,” Ali replied, confused. “The plant is here for government based research and development. How can they be linked to people going missing?”
“Okay, let us go case by case and see what he has on them,” Aditi said, and the men agreed.
Ali began with the specifics, “The first one disappeared on 5th March, Manish Kumar Pandey, a resident of Ganesh Ganj. He was last seen inside Vindhyachal local market, Mukeri Bazaar. He was reported missing that evening.”
Aditi accessed her mail and Suresh’s research, and he had that case in his files too, she said, “Yes, look, he is in Suresh’s files. Scanned copy of a newspaper cutting about Manish Kumar Pandey missing on date March 5, 2016, also asking people to report if he is seen anywhere. He couldn’t find anything different on him, just what the police have.”
“The next guy to disappear was Deepak Lalwani who came from Rasulpur to Vindhyachal and was expected to return on 7th of March. His wife reported him missing the next day.”
“Deepak Lalwani,” Aditi checked and confirmed, “Got him, Suresh even went to Rasulpur and talked to his wife. There is a whole audio recording about that conversation.”
They listened to the recording which had nothing different than the usual questions about his whereabouts in the past few days. She had protested earlier that she had already answered the same questions when the police asked them. He had persuaded her though, and she had answered everything for him as well, though maintaining the idea that there had been nothing unusual. She even said that he had taken this trip numerous times before for his business.
“Nothing extra on him as well,” Aditi closed that folder and looked at Ali, who reached to pick up the next file.
“The next case is a peculiar one,” Ali opened the file, “A tourist couple who were taken but not on the same day. Here, you hold that one,” he said, handing over the wife’s file to Manoj.
Ali continued, “They were staying at hotel Vindhya Residency, and on 12th March the husband was out scouring the local market or what was told to the hotel staff the next day by his worried partner.”
“She vanished that night herself, though, right from her room. Housekeeping swore to us that they had seen her in her room at 10 PM.”
“Hmmm, so far as per Suresh’s logs, I see that he talked to hotel staff as well. They told him the same story, so a dead-end for him there. He knew about every bit of investigation that the police had done,” Aditi raised her eyebrows, “I mean, I knew about his methods, but this is too thorough. How did he get so much of the inside information?”
“Experience,” said Manoj, scoffing lightly, “He has been snooping in people’s business for a long time. The network doesn’t get too dense and complicated here. If you know the right people and ask the right questions to them, there aren’t many variables. Suresh was good at it. To be honest, he would have made a great cop.”
Ali’s eyes darted at Manoj, who didn’t say anything further.
Aditi continued, “Okay, now going beyond the usual data, let’s see here. Who are Laxman and Mangal Prasad?”
Ali and Manoj both looked at each other then looked back at her. Ali cleared his throat and started, “What about them?”
“As per Suresh’s Intel,” Aditi replied, “They both were at the hotel for some deal on the day the husband disappeared.”
“What?” Manoj ran his hands behind his head. There was silence for about a whole minute.
“Do anyone of you want to share something on this one?” Aditi asked, looking curiously at the duo.
They ignored her and Ali said to Manoj, “How is this possible? How does Suresh know about any meeting? These meetings are super-secret
that is why we sent our guy to give us weekly updates.”
“I have no clue, sir,” Manoj said, shaking his head, “Maybe he knew our guy.”
Ali scoffed and stood up. He started pacing up and down the room. Aditi had had enough.
She said, “Hello! You have other people here, who do not understand the riddles that you are running.”
Ali stopped and faced her, then said, “The local gang that we are fighting here is run by brothers Laxman and Mangal Prasad. Well, Mangal is just his enforcer because Laxman doesn’t get his hands dirty. He is more about the business side of things, and Mangal handles the killing and dumping side of the business. As I said earlier, it has gone quiet this month, but we still have our CI inside their gang in the inner circle.”
Manoj took over, “Some of their deals and meetings are really kept on the down low, and even the managers of any hotel or venue might not know that something might be going down. A room could be booked anonymously with false names, and they couldn’t even be spotted entering the premises. Someone chosen from the staff could be working with them, but there would be no way of knowing and they are trained not to open their mouths. They would swoop in like thieves and get out when they are done. Our CI used to report to us about those, some at the moment if it was big enough for a bust, others at the end of the week when he shared his report.”
Ali continued, “We were a bit worried that our CI has gotten into something deep because he hasn’t reported to us in two weeks. Now you tell me that Suresh was aware about a secret meeting that happened at the Vindhya hotel. The hotel staff didn’t know shit about the brothers being there. It could mean that Suresh knew our CI, maybe they were friends. Oh! This is a disaster,” he turned back to Manoj, “Do you realize? We should have known about this meeting, rather than getting the information from a damn journalist.”
Aditi frowned which Ali saw and said, “I am sorry.”
Aditi decided to break the silence next and said, “Okay, now that we know that there was a meeting, which makes the brothers potential suspects in the couple case, right? I mean, this could be kidnapping, some agenda that they had with the couple?”
“Except that they wouldn’t have known that they were a couple and it still doesn’t add up because the husband was picked up outside the hotel. Also, why would the brothers involve themselves with petty kidnapping? And how does it link to the plant now?”
“There is more on this case in his files. As per his probes of the plant, he photographed the husband roaming inside the plant with two of their guards. He clicked this photo a few days ago through the netted gate.”
She showed them the photo. They both looked curiously.
“It is not much clear,” Ali shared his observations, “I think he has zoomed in from quite afar, the gate has made the face hazy, we can’t be sure he is the husband.”
“We can’t be sure he isn’t,” Aditi said.
Before Ali could open his mouth to say further, the briefing room doors flung open, and two constables hurried inside.
Ali asked them, “What is it?”
They replied in a panicked voice, “Sir, Jannat housing complex is under attack, there have been blasts in four buildings, heavy amount of casualties.”
~*~
“Ah! This is what I needed all day,” a man said to his wife, after sipping from the cup of hot ginger tea which she had brought for him.
She smiled and then sat down beside him. She said, “Are you feeling okay?”
“I am now!” he exclaimed, “You wouldn’t believe the pressure I was under today. I told you about the Blacklight deal, right?” she nodded, and he continued, “Well, surprisingly, they dropped in for a visit today, and we had to go in a huddle without breaks. We were asked to propose our scope of the work today if you can believe the management.”
He scoffed, “Unbelievable. I mean, if this is such a crucial deal, do you want to do things on the fly?”
He took a few more sips and closed his eyes as he laid his head back on the couch.
The wife remembered something and said, “Oh, you have a package. The courier brought it a few hours ago; I signed for it. I have put it in our bedroom.”
“Really?” he looked puzzled, “Okay, I will check it in a bit.”
A boy rushed towards the main door in some fancy party wear and began wearing his shoes. He seemed like in his twenties.
The man’s eyes jerked open from the boy’s commotion and asked, “Hey, where are you off to now, son?”
“Abbu! You forgot? Rahim’s birthday party, I have to get there now,” the son was checking his pockets in case he forgot something.
“Oh, right! Sorry, son, it has been a very hectic day. You enjoy yourself,” the man said, smiling.
“Ammi! I am leaving.”
“Okay dear, don’t be too late,” said his mother from the kitchen. The boy made his exit from the main door and rushed down the stairs.
The man got up and made his way into the bedroom where he found his teenage daughter playing her favorite car racing game.
“Hey, Abbu! How was work?”
“Hello, my angel! It was too tiring,” he sighed, picking up the package.
“Nothing Ammi couldn’t cure in a flash,” she laughed.
“True words, that is why I came rushing home when I could,” he replied, starting to cut the package open.
The cool breeze outside boiled up as a huge blast shattered the foundation of one of the floors of that building, followed by more blasts in the vicinity.
~*~
Ali skidded his jeep to a halt inside the compound of the Jannat complex and got out. The surreal look of it was unbelievable. The compound was filled with emergency vehicles. Firefighting and rescue authorities were trying to control the fire and evacuating the people. Ambulances were tending to the wounded which he found difficult to count. Aditi and Manoj were also accompanying him. He rushed towards Inspector Ahmed who was first on the scene.
“Sir,” he broke into a salute as Ali stopped in front of him.
“At ease,” Ali panted, “What happened here, Ahmed?”
“The exact cause of the blasts is yet unknown,” Ahmed informed, “Everything was peaceful until those four buildings lit up, that one took the most hit; four blasts in different floors. It is a miracle that it is still standing. We are trying to evacuate people from the different floors cautiously, but we are facing problems due to the raging fires. We are yet to get a body count of casualties as they are still tackling the fire and people could be stuck in the rubble.”
“Anything suspicious reported before the blasts?” Ali asked.
“A few people said that there were an unusual number of courier deliveries here in the evening, they saw them on their bikes and bicycles,” Ahmed stroke his beard and continued, “They could be delivering packaged bombs setup somehow to blow at this hour.”
Ali exclaimed, “Damn! We had nothing from any intelligence about it.”
“Anyone provide any expert view on the foundation of the buildings? Anything we need to worry about?” Ali asked after a pause.
“Already ahead of you, the emergency authorities are worried about that building which suffered the most, they suspect that it can fall any minute,” Ahmed replied, “The others’ beams are still intact, and they have killed the fires there, so their structural integrity should be fine with repairs. Those buildings are being evacuated smoothly.”
Seeing the look on Ali’s face, Ahmed continued gravely, “They are saying that they are not sure if this one’s fall could cause an impact on the other buildings or not. They say that there is a possibility as the building has tilted a bit, a vertical cave-in shouldn’t have raised any concerns.”
Aditi bit her lip and said, “Will any shelter be arranged for them till then?”
Ali thought for a second, then said, “I will have to talk to SP sir to get an update on the relief work and to know if government is setting up shelters,” he turned to Ahmed and Manoj and
added, “Contact the builder of this complex and set up a meeting with us. I know for a fact that there are two new buildings which are ready but possession has not started yet. We should discuss setting them up for all the people to live in for a few nights, get them some basic supplies too.”
They both nodded. Aditi asked, “How can I help?”
Before Ali could answer, there was a loud rumble which shook their hearts as they immediately turned their attention towards the tilted building.
“No! Ya Allah!” Ali gasped. He couldn’t say anything else as the top side of the tilt rumbled and cracked from the rest of the foundation, toppling over it to reach the same part of the ground where they had created the escape route for the people getting out. It smashed to a huge cloud of concrete dust on the ground with a thunderous crash. The ground beneath them shook, and to their horror, they saw the rest of the tower cave-in on itself causing the fires to erupt angrily and sending dense dust clouds their way.
His tears of shock drying, Ali ran as fast as he could and judging by rushed footsteps all around him, more people accompanied him. His feet stopped though as he was just a couple hundred meters from the rubble on the ground. Emergency services also rushed to the scene, and there was an air of unrest all around.
Ali took in sight slowly, unable to move. He couldn’t believe that they witnessed the horrific sight of the building falling. He was unable to bear it as he could see so many bodies trapped and stuck in the debris, their severed limbs; innocent souls taken in a flash. He gasped, more tears dropping down from his eyes. He could hear heart-wrenching screams of the ones who were still alive, children crying for their parents whom they might never find. There was a man who had lost his arms, screaming in pain for help; a young toddler’s shrieking cries filling the air.
He hadn’t seen so much of death and destruction in a single moment. He went down on his knees; eyes sore with tears and started shaking lightly. Aditi also dropped to her knees and put her hand on his shoulder. He looked at her.
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