by Sweth Water
Taking had no reason not to believe her. He had seen what happened in the motel. The story seemed true to him. But their actions were not legal and they were going to pay for them. And he needed to find this Base guy.
“What are you proposing?” Taking asked.
“You let Rose go and we talk.”
“Like that?”
“Yes.”
“You said she has proof. Why don’t we look at that?”
“Because she needed to have the key to decrypt the data.”
“Decryption key! Yes, I remember. I knew those encrypted files had something to do with Rose. I wondered what there could be that needed to have the encryption. Now I know.” He scratched his chin. “She has the key then. Who told you?”
“She did.”
“And you believed?”
“Yes.”
“Poor Gin. I thought you were adroit enough not to fall into the pits. The first chance she gets, she will move out of the country without giving you the documents.”
“I trust Rose.” She sighed and looked at Rose. “Walk to me.”
“Don’t you dare!” Taking said. “I will fucking blow your head.”
“Slowly.”
“Rose, if you want to live ... stay there.”
“Come to me. He will not do anything.” Gin’s gun was ready to fire the shot. “I have worked with this man. He will follow the lead of his senior even if she is wrong, not because he is a fool but he trusts her. Here though I am right.”
“Stop there.”
Rose didn’t and stood near Gin.
“Go out and do the work.” Gin said.
“I will shoot.”
“Trust me, Rose. I have known this man for years; he won’t shoot.”
Rose went outside the house and ran.
“Damn you, Gin.” He pointed his gun down.
She smiled. “Let’s talk. March, you may want to sit. I have a long story to tell you. And I will start it from the beginning.”
Chapter
35
“So you are not going?” Baldwin asked.
“Taking can wait. I had to lie to March. He might have been listening to her.”
“Coal, it is still an assumption, right?”
“About Holl?”
“Yes.”
“No. I can tell that with certainty that Holl had some role in the plan to kill me, and he paid the money to ram Rose’s car with the truck to kill her. I told you the story, Baldwin.”
“Where are we heading to? You missed that part.”
“Headquarters.”
“Why?”
“We need to know where Holl is. He won’t be in my house or near my house. Somewhere far he will be.”
“You called him. He didn’t tell you?”
“No. If I call him again, he won’t pick this time. I am sure of that.”
“Anything that you heard that can tell us where he is. Going to the Headquarters and then using the proper mechanism would tell Fog what we are up to. And he will not be happy.”
“I am sure on this. Damn it!” Coal cursed. “He should believe me.”
“You didn’t give him many chances to trust you. No offence.”
“None taken.” Coal thought for few moments. “If I am not wrong, then he was at a railway station.”
“Moving out of the city?”
“Think so.”
“We have three of them. Two are directly opposite to each other, at the far ends of the city. Where to go first?”
“Neero.”
“It is not far from here.”
“Yes.”
Baldwin was driving the car very slowly. Coal wished there would be something that he could do to go faster. They still didn’t have the access to the satellite otherwise Holl would be apprehended in few minutes. He tapped on his legs and scanned the surrounding.
“Can I ask something?” Baldwin said.
“Anything.”
“Do you think Rose knew about Holl? Knew the attack on her?”
Coal grimaced. “Yes.”
“She didn’t tell you?”
“No. She might have thought he was just playing around, nothing serious. He was her brother. Not for a second she would have taken the threat seriously.”
“So, Holl knew what Rose was doing then.”
“Of course. There was no other reason for him to kill his sister.”
“He is an insane person, Coal.”
“That’s why we have guns.”
“You are not on duty.”
“But you are.”
They stopped at the railway station and lost in the crowd.
It was Saturday. It seemed like all the people in the city were there. There was no space to stand. People were running into each other. Coal ran into people thrice and got abusive words.
There were seven platforms. They found some space on the bridge platform to stand and look around. Gibberish talk of the people didn’t stop and nothing they could get. Stairs were at the right side.
Children were shouting and throwing the balls in the air. Some balloons were there too. Was there a party or something? A woman was juggling the balls and singing, too, to the left side. She had a cloth on the ground to gather the money. This city was a city of dreams; people started from nothing and today they were ruling the world. His life was no different than those people.
He blinked and glanced around.
Holl would be here somewhere, and Coal would find him.
“How he looks?” Baldwin asked as they stood on the bridge.
“Good height, black hair. Someone who is afraid of getting caught.”
“Gun?”
“He might have that.”
Baldwin pulled his gun, his hand covering it. “You need it then.”
“Put it inside. Damn it!” Coal turned his head. “If people see it, panic will be there. And then Holl will be gone. Let’s find him first, and then think of using it.”
“As you say.”
There were hundreds of people. Checking everyone was impossible. And Coal was not even sure if Holl was in the uniform of a police officer or dressed like a beggar. His sister had done it. He was no different. Coal got perturbed by this thought. It’d be hard to recognize him then. He shrugged.
They stayed there for few minutes. Baldwin fixed his gaze at the platform number three. It was the biggest railway station in Earling. Seven platforms and hundreds of people, Coal cursed himself for not seeing through Holl.
He found CCTVs fixed on the walls. He nudged Baldwin.
“Will try that. Come with me. I know this place.” Baldwin said.
Coal followed him.
They took two turns before they reached the monitoring room. Two guards were there. Baldwin showed his badge and the gate opened.
Five big screens were fixed on the walls, and four people were working there. Coal gave them the description of the man that they were looking for after Baldwin showed the badge. The officer at the table asked if it was a threat and evacuation was needed, Coal shook his head. Holl would not do something stupid to harm the crowd. He was a gutless bastard.
It was easy to scan the people with the new technology that they had. The man punched the keys and the screen showed the people falling in that criteria. It was fast, but Coal fixed his eyes on the pictures. Holl was not there so far. The system was still searching.
The possibility was there that Holl wouldn’t be here at all. There were two more stations where they could check. And Holl had said that he was out of the city, but Coal didn’t believe. As the time was passing, Coal’s assumption that Holl was a suspect was changing into the hard evidence. Or was he blinded by the fact that someone wanted Rose dead? He was losing it again.
Seventy people were there on the screen. None of them was Holl.
“That’s it.” the man said. “We don’t have any more people to scan.”
“Men’s room?” Baldwin asked.
“Nobody is there. We checked the way to
the men’s room too; no-one has gone in that direction since we started the search.”
“Before that?”
“I can send someone to check there.”
“No need.” Coal said. “Can you tell when the last train left the station and its destination?”
“Fifteen minutes ago. FF1290.”
“English.”
“It is the next station, and it will reach there in thirty minutes.”
“Venhoa?”
“No. South Gill.”
“Any train leaving the city?”
“Let me check.” He punched the keys again. “Three trains left the city, sir.”
“Since?”
“Morning.”
“Be specific. When the first train left?”
“Two hours and twenty minutes ago.”
“Can you check the same at the other stations?”
“Sure.”
“You thinking he left?” Baldwin asked.
“Yes. This is what he said. He won’t be lying about it. He was stammering, so it won’t be a lie.”
“Where would he go? Does he have any house?”
“The one that he has is in Venhoa. He paid enough money to the man who tried to kill Rose, and people who were ready to kill me. Yes, he might have another house if he has not wasted all the money on planning to kill Rose and me.”
“There are no other trains that left the city.” the man said.
“That means he is on one of the three trains.” Coal said. “Scan the people in the trains and the criteria will be same.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Baldwin, I want you to call Fog and tell him this.”
“He won’t shift the focus from Rose to Holl.” Baldwin said.
“What can you do then?”
“I can have Jo assemble a team near the station. We can inform the local PD on our own without telling Fog.”
“Good. Do what you can. I want Holl at any cost. Alive.”
“How much time will it take?” Coal asked the man whose fingers were moving very fast on the keys.
“Five minutes, sir.”
Coal waited patiently. A headache started slowly.
He would be able to get Holl by end of the day if he’d not made any arrangements at the station. They could check the people getting down at the station from here. But he should be there to apprehend Holl.
“Three people, sir.” the man said.
“In all the trains?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Good. Show me.”
The pictures popped up. It didn’t even take two seconds to see Holl. The luck was on their side. He smiled and pointed to the picture.
“That man. Which train did he take?”
“The one going to Destiny.”
“When did it leave?”
“Forty minutes ago.”
“When will it reach there?”
“In the next one hour.”
“Any stop?”
“No. Direct from here to Destiny.”
“Thank you, gentlemen. Your help is very much appreciated. We will call you if need any help.”
Coal and Baldwin moved out of the station.
“Going there?” Baldwin asked.
Coal started the car that Baldwin brought. “Yes. We will be late. Did you call Jo?”
“Yes.”
“And?”
“He agreed.”
Coal nodded. “Let’s ground this bastard in Destiny.”
Chapter
36
It wouldn’t be long before they knew about Holl. He took a great risk by telling Coal that he was out of the city. Rose was alive. Coal was alive. Gin was alive. They all would come for him. He scratched his head and closed his eyes.
He would move out of the country. He hoped he would be safe once got away from Homeland. It was not easy for him to live in this country when people were looking for him. He had booked the ticket and the plane would leave before night. He had a fake passport that he had been using for travelling to hide his crimes that he committed to have money. Both Gin and Rose talked about the weapons sold to the neighbour country.
They were right.
He was part of that.
Some people in the government had told him that his sister might have something against them. He didn’t believe that. Rose was a dumb woman who knew nothing about technology. He was sure she couldn’t even tell the difference between a desktop and a laptop. But he was so wrong. She was a smart woman. A woman who tricked him.
He had been spying on her since his masters told him about Rose. Once he saw her working on the laptops. She was a fucking nerd; her fingers moving on the keyboard showed the veracity of his conclusion. And then he’d started calling her to ask her to give the documents back to the Department. So many people were involved in this conspiracy. Enough money was paid to him to leave the feelings that he had for his sister and Coal.
It was few months back.
And then Rose returned from her grave.
Why?
It was so easy to lie on the bed and eat and do nothing for the rest of his life. But it was not in his destiny. He’d got his second task to kill Coal. He’d planned it well. It didn’t work. That day he was there when the firing happened in Venhoa. He wanted to see if Coal would be dead or not. For a moment, he’d believed Coal saw him. Soon his mind changed, and he ran away because there was no chance Coal would die. Behind the building, he had seen some officers coming to his way, he went inside the building and stayed there for the whole day. Once they’d killed the man who he paid to kill Coal and it was evening, he was out of the city.
Now, he was back where he started.
He failed to kill Rose.
Failed to kill Coal.
Failed to keep Gin away from the authorities.
They all were coming for them.
He was at the last seat. Only eleven people were sitting in that passenger car. They were not looking at him. Some were reading newspapers and some listening to songs. Few had their laptops opened. He sighed.
In thirty minutes he would be in Destiny.
The way connecting to another passenger car opened and a woman walked in. He had no gun or any other weapon if she was a cop. Or was it just the feeling of getting caught? He didn’t know.
As she was coming closer to him, he remembered her semblance. She was a brunette, and she was smiling.
Rose.
She sat opposite to him.
“How are you doing, brother?”
He jittered by seeing her here. Over her shoulder he peeked to check if any police officer was there. It was a foolish thinking though. She was a fugitive; she wouldn’t go to the police to get caught.
“You are in a big trouble.” Rose grimaced.
“I didn’t mean to kill you. I told you to listen to me.”
“You knew I was pregnant?”
“What? No.”
“I thought the same. You wouldn’t kill a baby inside me even if I am a terrorist.”
“You are pregnant!”
“Yes. You are going to be an uncle soon.”
“That is great news! I am happy for you.” He looked at his hands, found himself diving in the emotions. “You know it had to be done, Rose. You did something that you shouldn’t have. You didn’t leave me any choice.”
“I know, Holl. Neither of us is wrong; we did that we thought was good. The only difference was the way we were looking at. I don’t blame you for paying the money to a poor man to kill me. Maybe your feelings for the country intervened in the judgement. I don’t know. But why Coal?”
Holl swallowed. “We believed he had the documents that you stole from the Department. It was a wrong conclusion, I guess.”
“‘We’?”
“So many people are there.”
“They know I am alive?”
“I don’t think so.”
“So you didn’t tell them?”
“No.”
“Why?”
&n
bsp; “Maybe I realized it was wrong to have a plan to ... I should have told the cops.”
“They paid you more than enough to shut your mouth and do your work.”
“I am sorry. Money blinded me.”
Rose sighed and looked outside. The stop was few minutes away and she was sure that they would be captured as soon as the train stopped. “What is the plan now? Leaving the country?”
“Something like that.”
“They won’t let you go out.”
“What are you proposing?”
“Help me to take those people down who are ready to fill their pockets with money by killing innocents and spreading hate.”
“They are very powerful people, Rose. I will still say to leave the documents. If they find out about you, they will come to you. And there are not many chances of you surviving again.”
“I will take the chances. I won’t fear death because it makes you weak.”
Holl looked into the eyes of his sister, not blinking. Concerned. “You are a strong person, Rose.”
“We both are. You remember sneaking out of the house for partying? We were good at that. Hiding each other’s secrets from parents. Changing names in the childhood. Fighting with each other. Those were good days.”
“Yes.” Holl sniggered.
“We were the best brother and sister. Time changed both of us, and now we are standing at the opposite ends of the sea, waiting for a boat to connect us with each other.”
Holl said nothing.
“Consider it again, Holl. You can help me.”
“Why you need help when you have the documents? You didn’t check them?”
“Not yet.”
“So you don’t know about those people?”
Rose shook her head. “I am sure of one thing that those who paid you wouldn’t have their names on the list.”
“What made you say that?”
“People, who would have a direct link with this conspiracy to invade the country by selling the weapons to the government and the rebellions, would be behind the curtains. I believe you have met few of them.”
“All of them actually.”
“So you knew I was right when I told you before you tried to kill me?”
“I am sorry.”
“You are going to meet them?”
“No. I am done with the killing. Money didn’t let me decide what was right or wrong. And I had the patriotism card to show to people to blind their views. The causality was so wrong to hide the crimes that I was committing. Collateral damage we can call and make profit out of it.”