Neeti was back at her desk for another emergency news broadcast. She was waiting for the counter to hit zero to start.

The news she had to share had not gotten any better in the time since her last one. She took a deep breath and calmed herself. This exercise helped her handle the situation better.

“Welcome back everyone. We have some important updates on the earlier news. An organization has come forward claiming responsibility for the attack that happened earlier. The King Group has claimed full responsibility for the attack. Though we still don’t have any details around the reason or motive behind the attack yet.”

“This claim has now confirmed the incident was indeed a terrorist attack. The Government of India has come out strongly condemning the attack. The King Group has been assigned as the most wanted terrorist organization in the country. Many countries of the world have expressed solidarity with the Government of India, expressing strong outrage and blacklisting The Kings Group as the most wanted organization across the world.”

“A joint task force is being prepared by the Government which will be headed by the Chennai branch of the NIA (National Investigation Agency). A special force put together by multiple countries across Europe and the US will also join the Indian task force in this investigation.”

“The King Group is a recently formed organization, which started to appear in public in the past decade or so. Not much is still known about them. But we expect more details to emerge soon.”

“On the positive side of the things, no cases have been reported outside of the initial 20 targeted villages. But to be on the safer side, the state-wide lockdown will continue for the next 5 days. Also, expect stringent checking at all places across the state for public safety.”

“We at Metro News will continue to cover this incident and will strive to bring the latest news to the people.”

I wrapped up the announcement with lesser details than I hoped for.

There was a reason Ajith was not happy when The King Group had come forward to claim responsibility for the attack.

Because this was not a much-known organization, unlike other known terrorist organizations. Very little was known about the organization, with some even doubting whether they truly existed. And also, there was the added fact that now there was a new group of crazy people out there who had no problem performing mass killings.

I soon went to the Chief s cabin to join him and Ajith in further discussions.

“Good job Neeti. You did well.”

The Chief started discussing with Ajith and me about the case.

“So what do we know so far about this organization? Anyone?”

Ajith had his reports ready and started giving his latest findings.

“Sir. This is a relatively new organization compared to the other known terrorist groups. The reports around them started to surface around a decade ago. But there were only a few whispers back then with no major reports. They started making themselves known more in the past 5 years."

I continued after a pause

"They are a global organization with a presence mainly in the US, Europe, and other developed countries. Not much detail is known about them. It is reported that they have been known to be in frequent clashes with other established criminal organizations worldwide. And more often than not, coming out victorious in those clashes.”

“Ok. Not much. But something for us to get started. What about their presence in India? And any prior known terror activities?”

“They don’t have a major presence in India, at least nothing we are aware of. Another major thing to highlight is that they were classified as a criminal organization till yesterday, with their businesses mainly in Gold and weapons smuggling. They have not been known to be involved in any prior terrorist activities.”

“Great. So a global weapons criminal organization plans to step into the terror field, and they had to choose our state as their launching pad. But that doesn’t make much sense. If it was global recognition they were after, they could have done the same in any other major cities.”

We were all lost in our thought. I couldn’t help but raise a concern.

“A small doubt. Are we sure it is The King Group? Before you guys say anything, I know they claimed responsibility. But are we sure the person who communicated the same in from that organization itself. I looked up something and realized that King Group have never made any media or public comment before, so they don’t have an established communication channel.”

Chief spent a moment thinking about it and replied.

“A very valid point Neeti. But unfortunately not much important in this case. No organization which was not involved would ever try to stake a claim for an attack of this scale. And also, we need to remember that no other group has come forward to claim responsibility. Whoever did this did it to make their presence known. And they definitely would never remain silent after the act.”

Chief continued after a brief pause.

“Also another lesser-known fact is that King group is not only involved in Weapons smuggling but weapons research and manufacturing as well. So this could be them advertising their power and merchandise to the world as well. Overall its makes sense unless someone else comes forward or the King Group refuses the claim. Considering the time, I don’t expect any changes to the current situation.

I guess what the Chief said made a lot of sense. Maybe this was what they were after all along. The fame and name of their organization.

“Ok. What else. Any other developments?”

“Yes. We have more updates from the Government. As communicated, the Chennai branch of NIA will be running point on the case. Also, the international community has assigned a Special Team spearheaded by Interpol to be working on this case. We can expect them to be in Chennai soon.”

“Ok. Also, what about the weapon itself? Do we have any more details on that yet?”

“It has been confirmed to be a biochemical weapon which is transmitted via air. Scientists still have not been able to identify its composition or a counter to it. It seems to be a complete mystery to them so far.”

“Ok. Let’s get back to our sources and try to see if we can get more details on the case.”

I was about to head back when I noticed Ajith had something more to add. Though he seemed not sure whether to say or not.

Noticing the same Chief asked him about it.

“Ok. This is an unconfirmed report. Something I got from one of my sources. It seems there is word out that the King Group is planning something big. Something they plan to carry out within a year. And Tamil Nadu State seems critical for whatever they have planned.”

I couldn’t but help stare at Ajith with my mouth agape. Something big? But then, what was this incident supposed to be? And why Tamil Nadu again? What the hell was happening?