SILENT AS THE DEAD: A Deadly Cyber Chase Begins

by Sanjib Sinha

  PG took a perfunctory look at the cab driver before calling back to Vicky. The cab driver was an old man singing a VOJPURI song. He was not in the mood to give ear to their conversation.

  This line was a hot-line – encrypted and secured.

  Vicky replied without delay, “Yes PG, I tried to contact you. You were busy. Any problem?”

  “Yah, I had to stick around a bad situation.”

  “I see, what’s that? May I help you?”

  “Yes, definitely; I need your help Vicky. I'll tell you everything. Now, tell me why you called me?”

  Vicky said, “It was an SOS from Mumbai. They need your help in a social engineering case. A hacker murdered a lady and as usual the police were clueless.” Vicky briefed him the whole situation – how from Mumbai Udit Kashyap had contacted Rakesh Chowdhury and after that Rakesh called him up and sought his help.

  PG thought for a moment and said, “Can you come to the Hotel Day-Night at China Town? Actually I’m on my way to that place. I’ll tell you everything there. We could also decide about the Mumbai-problem.”

  Vicky said, “Okay; see you there.”

  PG took a look at the sky, it started raining again. A dark shadow covered the whole city. Now it was perfect time to call Jacky and let him know the address of Rahela.

  PG looked at his watch – by this time Rahela should have left the house. He converted his phone mode to ‘anonymous’ and called Jacky.

  Jacky said at once, “Yes.”

  “I am PG.”

  Jacky was delighted. His voice undulated, “Oh Mr. PG, how are you?”

  PG said curtly, “I am fine. Please note down the address.”

  “What address?”

  “The address you have been searching for some time. Address of the other girl who is still alive.”

  There was an eerie silence for a moment.

  Jacky sighed, “So you know everything.”

  PG didn’t feel to reply and just said the address and disconnected.

  He murmured, “Bloody fucking bastard.”

  The old taxi driver turned around and asked, “SUB, KUCH BOLA? (Sir, did you tell me anything?)”

  PG said, “Oh, yes, please move faster.”

  23. Sunday, 3.50 PM, Calcutta

  Rahela left in hurry.

  She wasted no time as she knew that she had to move quickly than ever. She came out from her hiding place in a hasty manner. She took no time to get prepared. She had an intuition that this man could be helpful. If he had really wanted to kill her he would not have warned him in advance. The caller knew her location. He could have come here and shot her down.

  She took her five ATM cards. In a middle-sized-handbag she dumped her all belongings into it. Suddenly an emotion overtook her. She thought about her sister’s face. Peter’s last call in the morning. Peter didn’t call after that. Probably he was killed too. She felt lonely; restless.Tears guttered down her face.

  The smell of cooked food peeped through the window. It turned her stomach. She hadn’t taken any food since morning. She didn’t feel like eating once she got the news from Peter.

  She discarded her mobile SIM as she was told by the anonymous caller. She had no time and had to dress very quickly. She wrapped her face loosely with a scarf. It was raining outside otherwise she could have hid her face with goggles.

  It was difficult to get a taxi in the time of rain. She was lucky to get one. In the steady drizzle the yellow taxi stood like a water colour painting.

  When she was about to get on, two motorbikes screeched to stop near her. One youth got down and hurriedly ran towards a betel shop in the corner. When he was asking for her address Rahela overheard it. The shop owner was not sure so that he waved his hand tentatively towards the narrow lane from where Rahela came out walking few minutes ago.

  Rahela took a deep breath. They were searching for her.

  They had got her address. They came here to kill her.

  The taxi driver asked her destination. She tried to be cool and said, “China Town.” She got in and closed her eyes. The taxi started and moved a few metres when she heard gun shots behind her.

  The taxi driver was a middle-aged Bengali man. He grumbled, “KOLKAT AR AGER MOTO NEI DIDI. (Calcutta is no longer like before.)” He explained why he always avoided by-lanes. There could be broil at any time. He continued talking to himself, “They are always fighting with each other.”

  Rahela didn’t know that Mustafa’s men reached the spot from the opposite side at the same time and recognized three young men as they were trying to enter the house. As they were challenged, one youth opened the fire in the rain.

  The sudden impact of firing shook the sleepy locality. It was good that it had been raining since morning and people were inside.

  The bullet crashed the wind-shield of their car. It missed the target because of the low visibility. Mustafa’s men took no chance and retaliated. They started firing from the inside of the car. In headcount they were larger having more heavy ammunitions in their stocks.

  One youth got the shot on his belly and fell on the wet road instantly. The other two somehow managed to escape.

  It was the fourth dead body and it was counting. The secret sex video took four lives till now.

  It might have been fifth, had Rahela stayed back few minutes more.

  24. Sunday, 3.55 PM, Calcutta

  Two friends met after some time and they were happy.

  Vicky reached before and waited outside the hotel in China Town for PG to come. After the initial hugging-and-patting was over they entered the hotel Day-Night together. The owner of this hotel – Tang Chi was an old friend of PG. He helped Tang in a cyber fraud and saved him from being sentenced. It was a distant past but Tang Chi had never forgotten his man Friday.

  They took a seat in the corner so that they could watch the entrance.

  Vicky smiled, “You’re looking too thin PG. Are you eating properly?”

  “Yah, definitely.”

  “What did you take for lunch today?”

  “A cappuccino.”

  They laughed together.

  Vicky said, “It’s not good for your health PG. You must eat properly. Let me order for you something.” Vicky looked serious. He always looked serious.

  He was an ex-commando and looked in perfect shape maintaining his daily schedule in a perfect manner. His muscular broad shoulder was not the only souvenir of his military past. He was trim and full of elegance. He walked as PG had seen no man walk.

  PG was about to say something but stopped. A beautiful girl burst in hurriedly and looked out for someone. She glanced around the room. There was something in her appearance that made the difference. She came in with an air of confidence that usually a well dressed, good-looking woman had. Male heads turned to watch her as she was searching for them. She was around twenty eight or thirty. Slightly taller than average. She was fair and nice to look at. She wore a black dress that merely hinted her well shaped body.

  Vicky said, “This is the girl I suppose.”

  PG had seen her in the video; he whispered, “Yah. That's right. I saw her in the video.”

  He got to his feet and moved forward.

  Rahela watched him in fearful eyes. The man was smiling. There was an assurance in his smiling eyes. He was tall and lean. His well shaped broad upper and thin waist made him look like a swimmer. What really struck PG were her large attractive eyes; they were slate blue, intelligent and remote. They cast a glance at each other.

  He said to Rahela, “Hi, my name is PG, I gave you a call. Please come this way.”

  A strange name, she thought and she followed him.

  In the corner there was another man sitting still. Was he from police or army? His crew cut hair and broad shoulder along with steely eyes made him look like an army man. He didn’t smile at her. The look was not friendly at all. It was suspecting everything all the time.

  Her puff and pant was evident with her heavy breathing. Her fearful eyes ma
de things appear worse although she tried to maintain her well groomed elegance. She took a minute or two to compose herself.

  “Don’t worry, you’re safe now.” PG assured her and asked, “You’re Rahela I suppose.”

  Rahela was shocked. How did he know her name?

  PG introduced the other man, “This is Vicky. My friend and partner. He runs a detective agency. And I try to help him doing some computer jobs.”

  Rahela smiled faintly. She was trying to judge the atmosphere. Why these people had taken interest in this matter? How they got involved? She thought, “These people know everything. But why they want to save me? Was there any special interest?”

  Rahela in her twenty nine years of life saw many types of men, women and trans-gender. She had never seen any detective. She heard about them. She read about them in books.

  Usually people had come to her always with some interests. Mostly her body. Beautiful curvy body. Sometime money. There were people who wanted only her body. There were people who tried to play act as lover and actually wanted her money.

  Now somebody wanted her dead body! And somebody wanted to save her life. It was very confusing. She had never expected such things happen to her life.

  She tried to guess their intention. For a time being she forgot the recent past. Her sister’s death. She forgot about the dangerous game where she had been drawn into reluctantly. She had lived her life in her terms. She didn’t choose her life. She had never had a dream to have become a sex worker. She had to be. She had thought about withdrawing form this dangerous trade and discarded. Why she should? She was forced to invest her fifteen years of time into it. When she was only fourteen, her step mother forced her to sleep with a rich old man.

  At that time she had no idea about her body. Her inner-sexuality. She loved reading books. She had been a good student in a reputed English medium school. She was appalled by the series of events that took place after her mother’s death. After that her father married a bitch and she changed the course of twin sister’s lives.

  Now she had become a woman of her own without any attachment. Few minutes ago she might have been dead.

  She drew a chair and sat down. Apparently it appeared these people were trying to save her life. But why? How did these people come into this grim picture? She would like to know it first from them.

  The tough looking army man didn’t utter a single word since she had come. His steely eyes were constantly observing her. His square stony face was indifferent. It was probably trying to read her mind. Rahela didn’t look at him.

  The other man – very handsome and friendly; started talking, “You know everything Rahela. So I don’t want to waste your time by repeating things. Do you know why your life is in danger now?”

  Rahela was in dilemma. Should she tell them about those three young men she had just seen while climbing into the taxi? She heard the gun shots behind her.

  PG noticed it and smiled, “You can tell us what is in your mind now.”

  She somehow said, “They came to kill me. Three people. They looked young. They were in two motorbikes.”

  “How did you know they had come to kill you?” the army man asked in cold voice.

  “They were enquiring about my address. They asked a shop owner and I just overheard. They didn’t notice me standing on the roadside for a taxi. When I started I heard gun shots behind me.”

  The two men shared glances and PG told something to Vicky that Rahela didn’t listen to. Vicky scooped up his mobile and called up someone and gave some quick instructions.

  He said to PG, “I have a good source there. Let me check it first.”

  His mobile rang in a minute. He listened to it silently and asked, “An old customer?” He nodded and all along he had no smile or any smile on his face.

  Finally he announced without looking at her, “One dead. There was an exchange of fire between two groups.”

  For the first time his face wore a human look when he said to PG, “Your calculation was correct PG. Jacky sent his men and they collided head on. The bastards exchanged fire”.

  Rahela didn’t understand their intentions still now. Did they know it in advance? By watching them silently she came to understand another important thing: these two people had a very special bond between them. They had stark contrast in nature. One was friendly and smiling and the other was laconic, stony without any expression.

  A very strange pair! Rahela thought.

  PG said to her, “You saw three. One of them is dead now. Look, you must know the real facts. Some people wanted to blackmail Jacky. They sent you and your sister with hidden cameras. They had planned to kill you after everything was over. We still don’t know how many people were involved in this plot but one thing is certain. These people are very special type of criminals. Do you have any idea about hackers?”

  Rahela said, “I read about them in newspapers.”

  “That is enough. The blackmailer planted a man called Grass to organize everything and later he hacked his laptop and deleted data.”

  Rahela was confused, “Sorry I can’t follow you. I know Grass. He sent people and murdered my sister in the morning. Peter told me in the morning and alerted me not to go that flat again. They have probably killed Peter too.” She was almost in tears.

  PG raised his right hand in an assuring manner, “Okay, we’ll listen to your story from the beginning but what you must understand from now on is this blackmailer is a different type of criminal. He can detect your location any time once you switch on your mobile. I hope you have discarded your SIM?”

  Rahela nodded. PG said, “Good. For a time being you could not work using your mobile. You must keep it switched off till we solve this crisis. You couldn’t keep in touch with people you know. Once you get in touch with your friends the hacker will immediately track you and he’ll send people again to kill you. It’s because he has to kill you. You thought Grass had sent people and murdered your sister. It was partly true. Actually the man behind the attack is the hacker who is trying to blackmail Jacky with the help of Grass. He used Grass to make that video. For that reason he has also killed Grass and deleted evidences from his laptop.”

  “Grass is dead?” Rahela was astounded.

  “Yes, the blackmailer has been able to delete evidences with only one major exception – you are still alive. He wants to kill you for that reason and Jacky wants to save you for the opposite reason. You are the only witness and Jacky wants to produce you in the court and prove that everything was implanted. He is innocent, a victim of conspiracy.”

  There was pin drop silence for a few minutes.

  PG broke the silence and said to her, “Now you have three options left.”

  He stopped for a second and continued, “I respect your freedom and can’t dictate your terms. The first option is you go your own and you may get killed. If you decide to go on your own, we won’t interfere in your life.”

  He stopped again and Rahela noticed a faint smile crossed the stony face of the army man. She was angry and started hating the army-man. There was nothing to enjoy if she got killed.

  PG didn’t smile. On the contrary there was sadness in his voice as he continued, “We don’t definitely want you to get killed. The second option is you can take help from Jacky. He wants you to live and why he wants that I’ve just told you. If you accept his help from now on, you have to live according to his terms. You’ll lose your freedom. Another problem is: Jacky may want you to be dead when everything is over. You can’t guarantee that. He is as poisonous as a snake. And finally there is a third and final option left to you.”

  Now he was smiling and Rahela felt he was really handsome when he smiled. She lowered down her eyes and said, “Third option is: I stay with you till this crisis is over. Isn’t it?”

  PG was still smiling when he said, “That’s it. You’ve guessed it right. You may stay with us temporarily. We’re trying our best to solve this problem. It may take two to three days to trace out that crac
ker who had been responsible for this massacre. We’ll punish him for that with the help of police.”

  “But I don’t know you.” Rahela quipped.

  The stony face army man intervened for the first time and said, “You are free to go on your own. You don’t know the other two. Isn’t it?”

  Rahela stared him hard and saw two expressionless eyes, “What do you mean?”

  PG smiled and said, “My friend Vicky wants to say: you neither know the death nor you know Jacky properly. The other two are equally unknown entities. Isn’t it?”

  Rahela said and this time she sounded helpless and appeared on the verge of tears, “I really don’t understand why you want to save me? I understand them – their intentions. It’s clear. I didn’t want to participate, you believe me, I told my sister and Peter, repeatedly – not once but for many times; they didn’t listen to me.”

  The stony face army man Vicky retorted, “Everyone says that sister.”

  Rahela got angry and started crying, “I know there are reasons why you don’t believe people like us. We are trash of this society. You think we never speak the truth.”

  PG raised his hand and stopped her, “You have no time to be emotional Rahela. You have every right to know who we are and why we want to save you. Don’t misunderstand my friend. He is the only man I know in this country who can save you. I mean physically and mentally he has got that power. I’m telling you. We are not bad guys as we look like.” He smiled again, “We want three things. Number one: we want you to stay alive. Number two: we want to expose people like Jacky Sen. He is actual trash; not people like you. Time has come; we need to dispose people like Jacky. Number three: we want the murderer hacker gets arrested soon. For that reason we want you to be alive. I think you could help us.”