by Sweth Water
“I—”
“Do you feel sorry for the time that you spent with your wife? She seems a traitor to the people of this country.”
“She was—”
“What information is there in the files, Officer?”
“You—”
“Will you be charged with treason if the police get any proof from here?”
“SHUT UP!” Coal yelled. “Get off my property.”
“You can’t shut us up, Officer. On the brink of war we will be if your wife gave the classified documents to the enemies before dying.”
“Please let us do the work. Coal, with me.”
Behind them, flashes were not stopping. They had started giving the statements to the people sitting in the cosy rooms. Chase could hear their murmuring and see the expressions on the faces. Some of them had the cameras towards the house.
“I am sorry for this, Coal. We have a warrant to search the house. Wind was released. Fog said to have your house checked. Rose might have hidden—”
“You can’t ... you can’t accuse my sister of anything! They are just lies.” the man said.
“Holl, please.” Coal said. “Go to the room.”
“I—”
“Now!”
He left them there.
“Do you need anything from me? Any help?” Coal said.
“Just cooperation.”
“You will have that.”
Chase was wandering from one room to another. Each corner of the house should be searched. This woman Rose was adroit enough to fool her husband. There were not many chances of her leaving the documents here. But she had to do that. There was no another lead on the classified documents. Taking had ordered her to work at the Headquarters last week and take orders directly from Fog.
The first thing that Fog asked her was to give perspective on the case. She had said to search Coal’s house. He nodded to that and she was here now.
She searched the bedrooms and wardrobes and bathrooms. Under the couches, linens and clothes. On the walls, photos of babies were fixed. She shook her head. How stupid Rose should be to do something like that behind Coal’s back. She didn’t waste her time on the thoughts and moved to the next room.
Other officers came to her and said they found nothing useful here. She agreed with them.
She seized two laptops and three mobiles. They might get something from them. Rose was a genius to handle the technology. Without a laptop, she wouldn’t be able to do anything. Some link Chase could find to connect the dots.
They were in the house till evening and searched everything.
“Thank you, Coal.” Chase said.
He was sitting on the couch with Holl. A frame in his hand.
“You have anything?”
“We are taking the laptops and mobiles.”
He nodded and placed the frame on the table.
“Your wife?” Chase asked.
“Yes.” He had tears in his eyes.
“She’s beautiful.”
He feigned a smile.
“I am sorry, Coal, but you have to come with us at the Headquarters. Taking told me to get you there for the questions. The procedures as usual.”
“You mean ... you mean interrogation?” Holl said.
She said nothing.
“So Coal is a suspect now? This is how you people are going to pay for what he did for the country?”
“I can understand, Chase. I will do whatever I can to help you people.” Coal said. “Wait for me here, Holl. It won’t take much time.”
Chapter
27
“Thank you, Fog.” Taking said.
Taking was sitting in the cabin given to him on the second floor at the Headquarters. He had asked Summer to stay in Venhoa and look into the bugging of the system. Top One was out, the army knew it and so did Taking. It was not only in Venhoa where they couldn’t work. No. Madam President had told him clearly. But Fog had no words on that. It was not officially announced. Soon Fog would know that. Until then, he had the time to find Gin.
Fog had said that Chase was sent to Coal’s house to get anything related to the classified files. He hoped she would have what she was looking for. He called Tom a few minutes back; he was at home with his family, still trapped in the city. He wouldn’t be able to do anything from there.
From the screen, he looked outside and then changed to the news.
They were showing Coal with Chase. The reporters seemed demented, especially the way they were asking the questions to Coal. Taking knew this game very well. Ratings and ratings and ratings. If you don’t have news, create it. This is how many of the news channels work.
Taking was sure there was nothing against Coal. Formal questions would be asked from him. He himself had questions for Coal.
He spent a couple of minutes going through the conversations he and Tom had with different people. Venhoa was going to be a battleground soon. Whatever happened there was a mystery. Gin, I will find you soon.
Taking had been hoping that he would get a call from Base. The guy was a strange person. He had said that they would meet soon. Maybe he changed his mind. Or he disappeared like Gin. There was a plan that he didn’t know. Gin, Rose and Base are connected. Was the stealing their plan? He sighed. Nothing he had that would convince him otherwise.
His phone rang.
“Taking.”
“It’s Chase.”
“You are bringing Coal to the Headquarters?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“How many people are there with you?” Her tone was serious.
“I am alone here.”
“We need to talk, Taking.”
“I am listening.”
“I can’t tell you everything over the call. I will come and discuss.”
“Is it related to Gin?”
“No. Coal.”
“You have proof against him?”
“No.”
“Then what?”
“I will be there in few minutes. We left thirty minutes ago. Just wait for me.”
“Okay.”
Taking was anxious now. What possibly Chase had that she talked so worriedly. Didn’t make any sense to him. He calmed himself and removed the blazer. It was hot here. He was going to stand up when his phone beeped.
It was from Chase.
He opened it.
Was she talking about this? This was absurd. Coal was part of it? He wondered. His hand still had the cell phone. He walked for minutes in the cabin. Outside his cabin no-one was there, and Fog’s cabin was to the right side. Taking this to him would be a wrong step. He would try to protect Coal. Even Taking was doubtful about it. Maybe Chase had some other plans that’s why she was bringing Coal here. Maybe he was wrong.
He would have to hear the whole story first. What if Coal had no role in that and everything was done by ... He swallowed and leaned to the table and went through some files on his desk.
It was not what they were expecting. It was going to be a shock that might shake the nation if words got out. What would the international media say about Homeland and its agencies? He shrugged the thought. Fog wouldn’t believe either. Conversations were in his head and the truth behind the words. It was more of a deceit. Was it the first time happening in his life? He was fooled. Everyone was fooled!
He rubbed his eyes and blinked and then looked at the screen again. He wished it was a dream. He understood some part of it. He was sure that Chase didn’t have the whole truth. And the one who had would be out of their reach now.
“No! This can’t be possible!” he yelled.
One last time he gazed at the screen and said, “Summer is Rose!”
Chapter
28
Rose stood there, water bottle in her hand.
“Summer!? Seriously?” Base was on the couch, laughing. He put the gun on the table. “Don’t worry about the gun; it is as fake as you are. How did you choose that name by the way? You don’t like summer for sure. Let m
e guess.” He had a finger over his chin.
“How did you find me?”
“I knew you faked your death.”
“How did you find me?” she asked again.
“You are the person who created chaos in the city. You can’t just fucking die and let people worry about you!” He laughed. “I was at my house when I heard the news on TV. I went to your house and found nothing there. No document. Nothing. You can’t give them to someone outside of this country. Doesn’t matter what people think. You don’t do that. So, then I realized you wouldn’t be dead.”
Rose put her purse on the table and sat opposite to him, drinking water from the bottle. “What do you want?”
“Nothing.”
“Why you came here then?”
“Just checking the apartments a few days back. I set my eyes on this building, going to rent an apartment. I saw you yesterday morning and thought of waiting for you in here; I didn’t think I was going to run into you.” He smiled.
She said nothing.
“They are going to find you. You are going for years.”
“What about you? You were also there with me.” She grinned.
“But they don’t know how I look. In your case, it will not be time-consuming for them to check the photograph of a brunette against blonde.”
“Agent Gin knows about you.”
He opened his mouth. “Thank you for reminding me that. Where is Agent Gin? She talked to me a few days back and then disappeared. Her phone was not reachable and her car was gone too. Did you have something to do with her disappearance?”
“No.”
“So you know where she is?”
“No.” She was not sure, but she somehow believed that Agent Gin’s whereabouts Holl had.
He shook his head. “Rose, I am just trying to help you. You are not even participating in the conversation.”
“I am a little tired, Base. So many things are going on in my head. Agent Gin disappeared after I bugged the server. She doesn’t have any idea about me being alive.”
“Who else knows?”
“Everybody will know if you haven’t told already. It is just a matter of time when they start searching Coal’s house and get my photo.”
“They have not done it so far?”
“I would have been taken into custody had they done that.”
“Can’t you check on the satellite about Gin?”
“I did that. It was not over the place when she disappeared. I stayed longer than needed to find Agent Gin. I have to move out of the city.”
“What are you planning? Leaving the country?”
“Something like that.”
“Where are the documents?”
“They are at a safe place. Now, it’s a little early for me to answer all your questions. You need to leave so that I can have some rest.”
“One last question.”
Base was very stubborn.
“Last, and then you will be out of my apartment.” she glowered at him.
“Yes. Who wanted you dead?”
Rose didn’t say anything. Only she knew about it. Telling Base about it was a wrong step. It was not because she didn’t trust Base. Their trust was everything in the world. This was how Anons worked. Maybe the time was not right.
“I will wait for your answer.”
He left after that.
Rose locked the door.
Her back was badly aching. She changed her clothes and slept as soon as she was in the bed.
The day was falling when her eyes opened. She yawned and stretched her body. It was evening. She slept for more than seven hours. She yawned. Her eyes were swollen and all the charm on the face was gone. She washed her face and sat in front of the laptop.
Taking was so near to get the person who bugged the server. Base was right; she would be caught soon. The only leverage that she had was the data from the Department. If they got to it first, she would go behind the bars. This whole game of exposing the people who wanted to have money out of innocent lives would be over. Her life was at stake. Those businessmen in good-looking suits and big cars would come after her.
She should leave the country as soon as possible.
Venhoa. The city where she spent her childhood. She met Coal in this city when she was a yoga teacher. Those were the happiest days of her life to get to know Coal. He was funny and smart and handsome, things which couldn’t be there in many people. She was blessed to have him in her life.
More than her desires, she had the work assigned to her. It took days to plan everything to get into the server room in the Department. She hacked the code and changed to her ID in Anons. It was a mark that they would leave to tell people how good they were. Higher the number, greater the respect. She remembered starting it with number three, and now she had come very far.
She blinked and checked Taking’s cabin; he was not there. Might have gone to his house. She sighed and thought of dialling Holl’s number. He had almost killed her. She knew he would make a move to kill her. On that day, she got a call from the driver who was going to kill her. She had found out the plan that Holl had. But when she didn’t get the call from the driver, she had thought that Holl changed his mind. He didn’t. The obsession of the country was very deep in his head. She had told the truth too, but he was too bovine to understand it.
From the morgue, she had taken a dead body by paying money to the guard; their parents had left them a large amount of fortune. Much of it Holl kept, she insisted, she didn’t need anything but Coal. Base helped her to get the body and then they put it on the ice. On that day, she had the body in her car and made her mind to dump it outside the city; she was lucky that Coal couldn’t find it out, Base had washed the body with some chemicals so that it wouldn’t reek. But the call changed everything.
Just before her car was hit, she was out of the car. She had seen Coal’s expressions; he was in a shock. The truck pushed the car for few meters and then stopped. The dead body might have toppled out of the car. It was really a mess. Blood was everywhere. Coal had gone into such a shock that he didn’t even see the face; it was so badly crushed that it was impossible to recognize.
And her connection to the hospital made the reports in her favour. She had many people in her life without whose help she couldn’t have reached where she was now.
She attended her own funeral from a long distance. Wind, March, Coal, and many others were there. Her brother too.
She wanted to inform Coal about her brother, so she had called him. The words were stuck in her throat and she couldn’t say anything. After Taking told her about the attack on Coal, she was sure that Holl would kill him too. He was so fucking idiot. Might have thought he had the documents. It was good that he was not with Coal.
She closed the lid of the laptop and made some herbal tea. She caressed her belly and smiled. She would be going to the doctor after two weeks to make sure everything was fine. It was her first child, and there was no-one to tell how it would be. March could have been a great help had she told her that she was still alive. Agent Gin didn’t know about her pregnancy.
She sat in the balcony and sipped her tea. It was serene outside. People were still inside their houses, and army personnel were patrolling the roads.
Children were playing in a balcony in front of hers. She would sit there for hours and look at them. She didn’t know who lived there; she didn’t go out often and check the people. It was a wrong step. This was the city she was born in. It was a risk to stay in this city. Many of them would be able to see through the disguisable things she did over her hair and face.
Though Base remembered!
Working with him was always fun. They were childhood friends, studied in the same high school and then took different paths. During the college days, she came across the name of Anonymous. It sounded funny when she read people doing something in the world without the tech giants knowing about it. That day she was on different websites just to get the operations they did in different c
ountries.
After that it was an obsession.
Nights she’d spent working on the programs and chips to know how they worked. Knowledge is a powerful tool for both genius and fool, if used carefully. The fun part was to hack into the systems by sitting in a room. You will never be safe if you are connected to a network. Here it was not about social sites but the ingenious thinking of stealing the information kept away from public. They – Anonymous – had many documents related to the conspiracies in the world. Of course, you wouldn’t know other Anons until you come across them.
She met Base in her college days again. Rose didn’t have many real friends in her life. She was happy to connect with him. They were reluctant to talk about the activities they were doing then. It was Base who said about Anonymous. He was working alone then. Soon she changed her mind and confided in him about the first digital theft she did.
They were hackers.
And the world was going to bow to them.
Base knocked on the door around five o’clock.
“What you want?” Rose snapped.
“Get dressed.”
She was still in her satin nightgown.
“Talk to me.” She closed the door behind.
“They had Coal.”
“Who? Cops?” she was concerned now.
“Yes. This Chase officer raided the house. I am not sure if he was arrested or taken to talk about you. Any idea?”
“She saw the picture.” Rose sounded certain.
“You met her?”
“No. I heard about her sniffing around the streets to get Anons few months back.”
She walked into the room and changed her clothes. So many things she had to leave here; she couldn’t pack everything. Her laptops and clothes she packed in a suitcase and took the keys. She looked around and found a picture of Coal and her. She smiled and packed that too.
Base was sitting in the chair, watching TV.
“Let’s go.”
“Where?”
“Will tell you. Let’s drive.”
Chapter
29
“That can’t be true, Chase. I buried her in the grave.” Coal was saying.