“There are six coats,” said Raima. “Why?”
“For us, the security staff,” replied Manish Bhasin, his tone relatively much less belligerent. Raima had that effect on people. And Sid opening the exit door helped as well.
“Yes, so there should be five. For your four security guards and you. Not six,” said Raima.
Wow, that was some observation, Raima. I had missed that. Why six clean room coats when there should be five?
For the first time since we had entered the Lab, Manish Bhasin had an expression other than breathing fire. He stared blankly at Raima. A second later he was back to normal. “Because one is an extra,” he growled, standing up and walking towards us. Alligator was a monster, at least six feet tall, raised in a gym, with Frisbee-sized arm muscles.
“But they are different sizes,” persisted Raima. Manish Bhasin rumbled, sounding like the start of an Earth-destroying volcano. He pushed us out of the door.
How dare he?
I stood rooted, one foot in the Lab and other outside. Raima tugged at my hand. “Come Kavya.”
Manish Bhasin expression suddenly changed – surprise and something else I couldn’t make out. “Kavya? Your name is Kavya?” he said, more than asked.
A moment later he banged the door in our faces.
“Kavya, you’ve got to be careful. Somehow that horrible Manish Bhasin knows your name. Something is wrong.”
Not wrong. Very, very wrong. And I couldn’t figure out what.
20:30:52:33 Bangalore, 23 June 2017 - Today
17:00:52:33 Barcelona, 23 June 2017 - Today
Bang, bang.
The four of us were lounging around and chilling, after dinner, in the room Raima and I shared, discussing our harrowing experience at the Lab. Harrowing enough for Varun to ignore his PSP and Sid to put aside his lifeblood (a book, not the mystery kind I read but the super-serious English teacher variety).
Bang, bang.
At this hour? Everyone in ISIC was usually asleep by this time! And no one bangs on the door here; there would be a soft, almost embarrassed knock. Varun was elected to open the door, much against his will. He unlatched it.
Brute force from outside slammed open the door.
Four vampires barged into our room.
Chapter Five
I am abducted by vampires
Full-length black capes, buttoned from neck to floor, white gloves, whites faces, blood-stained fangs on either side of the mouth, terrifying blood-red eyes.
Right in front of us, barely a metre away.
My mouth went dry. I screamed and screamed – soundless screams. Blood drained from my body even before a vampire grabbed me.
The next few minutes passed in a daze. Except for my bursting heart. A smelly, disgusting-tasting rag was stuffed in my throat. Mouth taped. Hands yanked behind my back and tied with a rough rope. Legs bound together with the same thick coarse rope. I was hauled off somewhere.
A vampire yelled at me. I couldn’t hear. This angered the vampire and it yelled again. Gradually, a little of the blankness started fading away. The four of us had been gagged, bound and brought into a large hall. The conference facility, behind our rooms, I realised.
The vampires were wearing masks. The fact that they were human and not real vampires should have lessened the terror – at least slightly. But it didn’t.
“Where is the vaccine?” the vampire near Sid asked. Unlike the one near me, this vampire didn’t yell. But his icy, even tone was way more frightening. He peeled the left-half of the masking tape on Sid’s mouth and pulled out the rag.
Sid spluttered and spit. “Vaccine?” he asked between bouts of coughing. Sid realised, like the rest of us, that there was no use screaming for help. Our guest-house block had no other occupants. And we were too far out for anyone else to hear us. Vampire #2 stuffed the gag back and resealed Sid’s mouth.
Vampire #3 was recording all this. Sick. Profoundly sick devils.
Vampire #2 pulled a knife from his pocket. “Maybe you need gentle persuasion to sharpen your memory,” he said, cackling at his own joke. He held the knife, vertically, for us to see. Only one floor light had been turned on in the heavily curtained room. Vampire #2 slowly rotated the knife for effect. Behind the mask, I could sense a menacing smile spread over his face.
The sharp metal glistened in the nearly dark room.
“Let’s see if little Miss Smarty here is smart enough to stop this by telling us what we want.” Vampire #2 brought his forefinger near the tip of the knife. “Ouch,” he said, dramatically. A sadist from hell. He brought the blade very close to Raima’s neck. “I’ll be gentle, don’t worry.”
I raged with anger and fear. God, give me superhuman strength, I begged. To rip the ropes binding my hands and take on these vampires.
“Where are you hiding the vaccine?” Vampire #2 asked, pulling off part of the tape from Raima’s mouth and extracting the rag slowly, thoroughly relishing his actions.
“What vaccine are you talking about? We know nothing about it. Believe me, we…”
Vampire #2 stuffed the gag back in. “Wrong answer. You’re not so smart after all.”
“Are you getting all this?” Vampire #3, that perverted man, was not only recording us being taunted. He was also forwarding the video to someone. “What? Are you crazy?” he said into the phone.
“Oh,” Vampire #3 guffawed. Whatever the person at the other end of the phone had said delighted him. Newer, crueler ways to torture us. Obviously.
Vampire #3 gestured and the other three followed him out of the room.
The four of us had been dumped on the floor, tied to legs of permanently-fixed chairs and tables. We couldn’t speak, but our expressions said it all. What was going on? And how would we get out of here?
The vampires strolled back in. “Who’s next?” drawled vampire #2 - the most terrifying drawl ever.
He picked Varun. “This untaping and taping is getting tiring. I’m going to ask you a question. Nod if you’re willing to answer it. Are you going to tell me where you have hidden the vaccine?”
Varun couldn’t even if he wanted to, because neither he nor the rest of us had any idea what the vampires were talking about. Vampire #2 shook his head, “Stupid boy. This is getting boring. Let’s start chopping off parts of them.”
“About time,” vampire #4, the silent one, suddenly piped up. “I was falling asleep. I’m stepping out for a smoke. Wait for me before you start.”
Chopping off parts? My eyes darted about wildly and hysterically, trying to tell them that we truly, truly did not know.
“Wait, I want to smoke too,” said vampire #2. He put his right palm on Raima’s head and bent low, near her ear. “Don’t worry, we’ll be back soon. Try not to miss us.” Sick, perverted creep.
The other two vampires followed to get their smokes.
I looked frantically at the other three. What are we going to do? Varun and Sid had the same look. Sid was trying to say something through his expression – or so I thought. Hopelessness caged us.
Raima had clenched her eyes shut tightly. I, too, was petrified. They would slice finger by finger, maybe hands first, then feet, or the other way around. Who would they pick first? Me?…but wait, that wasn’t Raima’s expression when she was scared.
I looked closely at her, around her. My breathing stopped. An ultra-tiny sliver of hope. Would it work? While bending low, Vampire #2’s knife had accidentally slipped out of his pocket.
The thick and broad hilt made it difficult for Raima to grasp the knife with her fingers. She finally managed to hold it with the fingers of both hands. Carefully, she turned the knife so that the blade pointed to her back. She started to saw the ropes.
Drops of blood oozed out as the knife grazed her skin. Raima winced in pain, dropping the knife.
“Careful Raima,” I could see Sid trying to say. Yes, careful, but quickly Raima because the vampires will be back, I was thinking.
Raima clutched the knife and
started sawing on the rope again. Strand after strand snapped. Slowly and tediously. My heart lurched as Raima began severing the last few strands. Varun glanced at the door and then at me. I nodded in agreement. How long did it take to have a smoke? The men would be back anytime now.
The last strand of rope ripped apart.
Raima sliced the rope across her feet and rushed to untie me. Within seconds, the four of us were on our feet, unsteady after having our feet and hands tied.
We gingerly pushed open the door of the conference room, by a few inches. I couldn’t see anyone outside.
“There are two exits out of this building on the right and one on the left. The one on the left directly opens onto the path that leads home,” whispered Sid.
“How will we know where those nasty men are?” asked Raima.
Sid shrugged. “We don’t, but let’s try the exit on the left. It’s also much further down the corridor so if you wanted to get out quickly, you would go right.”
We ran towards the exit on the left. Sid gently pushed open the door, barely an inch or so. We peered through the crack. No vampires; seemed clear. “I can’t see all around, so they could still be outside. Should we go?” asked Sid.
We were undecided. After having escaped, almost miraculously, would we be walking right back into our captors’ hands?
Raima glanced behind. “Guys, either way, let’s decide soon.” True. Even if luck was with us, and the vampires had used the exit on the right, they would be back any second now.
Varun took a deep breath. “Let’s go. Once outside, run towards Sid’s house.” We nodded.
The door opened noiselessly. Sid went first. Then Raima.
I was next. I dared not look around. Eyes peeled on the path ahead, blind to all else, I sprinted the sprint of my life. As quietly as I could, and as fast as I could.
Panting, and with tremendous relief, we reached the safety of Sid’s house.
Holding a mug of hot cocoa between my hands, warm steam brushing against my face and Venky sir’s presence calmed me down. I had expected him to blow up at us for having visited the Lab, but he listened calmly as Sid narrated the incident, with the three of us interjecting with details. Venky sir was easily the coolest professor I had ever met. Then again, anyone who lets Sid be the way he is has got to be cool.
“Appa, why did they keep asking us about the vaccine?” asked Sid.
Venky sir took a slow sip of his coffee and explained. ISIC and the PharmaGlobal had collaborated to set up a Microbiology (“a specialised branch of Biology,” said Venky sir) lab in ISIC. In addition to the huge investment that PharmaGlobal made, the Lab also added to ISIC’s reputation. Apparently, PhramaGlobal was a mega US-based pharmaceuticals company – one of the largest in the world, Venky sir informed us – particularly famed for its cutting-edge research. “The tie-up is like getting a wild card entry straight into the World Cup T-20 finals, for a non-cricketing country,” added Venky sir. Which is why ISIC eagerly inked the deal with PharmaGlobal and opened the Lab three months ago. PharmaGlobal imposed only one condition: full privacy to the Lab. ISIC readily agreed. In any case, none of these genius types were particularly curious about anything outside their own research.
“That implies we’re not allowed to enter the Lab. As an exception, they’ve given me an access card, to be used only in case of an emergency,” said Venky sir.
Develop a new vaccine against swine flu, which could be produced easily and cheaply – that was the aim of the Lab. Or, at least, that’s all Venky sir knew. “Every year, so many people in our country die of swine flu. If the Lab finds a cheap vaccine, it would be a boon for India. Not to mention, a golden goose for PharmaGlobal.”
Venky sir took another sip of his coffee. “The nearly developed vaccine was stolen.”
“What?” exclaimed the four of us simultaneously. That was what the vampires were after. But why did they think we had stolen it? Nothing made sense.
A small portion of the vaccine had been stolen, but that was sufficient for anyone to reproduce it easily. Once someone else lays their hands on it, PharmaGlobal would lose exclusivity and its value for the company would be very low. “From what I hear, the PharmaGlobal researchers are close to finding a solution. So it’s possible that, from this stage on, any mediocre researcher would also be able to develop the vaccine.”
Yet another theft – first the jewels, then this. What was happening to ISIC? From a geeky den to a pirates’ den.
“When was it stolen?” I asked. Okay, I admit, one tiny part of me relished the thrill of the mystery.
“Either yesterday or this morning.”
The PharmaGlobal researchers had been in a marathon conference all day yesterday, ending before lunch today. “Since no one was going to be in the Lab, the security staff had been granted leave.”
The theft was discovered after lunch today, when the researchers returned to the Lab.
“Who stole it?” asked Raima.
Venky sir shook his head. “We don’t know.” PharmaGlobal wanted to handle the theft through their own internal security. They didn’t want the police involved. Venky sir, though, had been keen to call in the police, despite realising that public knowledge of the theft would be super disastrous for the institute’s reputation. After all, this was a major burglary with tremendous impact on the country, but he had no power to overturn PharmaGlobal’s decision.
“Why didn’t they want to call in the police?” I asked.
“I suspect they want to try to discreetly recover the near-ready vaccine.”
“Discreetly recover it? Like bash up the baddies?” asked Varun.
Venky sir smiled slightly. “No Varun, not bash up the baddies. Buying it off them – money is usually a stronger and more effective motivator. Anyway, regardless of what PharmaGlobal wants, I am calling in the police right now. Unimaginable what happened to you today. And to think this occurred at ISIC. This is certainly not the ISIC I run.”
Venky sir reached for his mobile, scrolling through the phone numbers. “A friend of mine is in the police.”
Venky sir’s friend was in Mysore. “I’ll leave early morning from Mysore and come straight to ISIC as soon as I reach Bangalore to investigate this personally,” I could hear him say over the phone. “Meanwhile, tell your institute security to keep a sharp look out for any intruders.”
“I’ll instruct them to do so, Murli, although these chaps really can’t deal with anything beyond screening visitors at the gate. See you tomorrow morning.”
“The three of you will sleep here tonight.” Venky sir stood up, turning off the phone.
Ten minutes later, with the spare pillows and sheets brought out, we were ready for bed: Varun in Sid’s room and Raima and I in the guest bedroom.
“Now sleep tight and don’t worry,” said Venky sir, turning off the lights. Sleep tight? Not unless I had a perverse desire to have nightmares.
Raima and I promptly crept into the boys’ room.
“We haven’t answered the big question yet. Who kidnapped us?” asked Sid. I shuddered. I had actually survived the incident without going completely batty.
“Horrible men who deserve to be shot,” responded Raima vehemently. Dragged by horses and then hung, I thought.
“Let’s call Anna. We have to tell someone,” said Raima.
“We’ll tell her first thing tomorrow, Raima. Nothing’s going to happen to us now. We’re in Venky sir’s house,” said Varun.
Sid nodded. “We’ll be safe here.”
“It was Manish Bhasin and his security guards,” said Varun.
“Likely, but we don’t know for sure,” said Raima.
I agreed with Varun. Who else could it be? There was no way to prove it, but I knew it was them.
“It could be anyone behind those masks,” said Sid “Because of their voices, we know they were men. But not much else.” Sid did have a point. Even Sarla – why do I always think of her? – had once told me that a good detective doesn�
�t get carried away by either emotions or the obvious.
“I have it,” I cried excitedly. Raima pulled me down and shh-ed me, “Venky sir told us to go to bed.”
“Remember, one of them called Raima a smarty. That must be because Manish Bhasin told them about Raima spotting six clean-room coats.”
“Absolutely Kavya. You’re super-smart,” said Varun. I tried insanely to stop myself from blushing. And failed miserably. I think I spied Sid giving me a fleeting mischievous smile.
“Kavya, if you are right, you do know what that means. Those horrible men are on this very campus right now. And will come back to kidnap us again, once they figure out where we are. Let’s wake up Venky sir,” panicked Raima.
“Calm down, Raima. We’ll be safe here,” said Varun.
“A good night’s sleep is what we need,” said Sid yawning. A soft pillow, fluffy razai – what paradise. I, too, yawned.
Suddenly, my body tensed. A thought struck me. But it disappeared before I could register it. All I could remember was that it was ultra-important. You’re missing the obvious, boomed a voice within me. Again and again.
It’ll come back tomorrow, I said to myself, tucking myself in next to Raima. My eyelids were heavy, but they wouldn’t close. Something was staring straight at me. I clenched my fist. Why couldn’t I figure it out? It’s like being given a Grade 1 Maths problem that you can’t solve. I tossed and turned. Sleep disappeared. What a day it had been. From being shot at to nearly being diced with a knife. Thank God it had ended.
I sat up with a start. Yanking awake a fast asleep Raima, I dragged her into the boys’ room. I literally sat on them to wake them up.
Chapter Six
I enter the pirates’ den
“Rescue Sarla? Kavya, you’ve lost it. Till an hour ago you were insisting that Sarla was trying to murder you. Now you want us to rescue her?” Sid didn’t hide the how-retarded-can-you-get look on his face.
The Case of the Vicious Vampires Page 3