Kartik Khandelwal

I was disgusted by the blood on the video, and it was easily seen through my face expressions. “Tsk! How cruel.”

“Indeed,” Prakash replied. “But how many times are you gonna see the video anyways.” We were sitting in the cafeteria of the HQ and I was watching the video on repeat.

“… Because I can’t think of something.”

“What something?”

“I-It like… It’s like I can guess of something, but it’s just not on my mind.”

“Oh,” I replied. “By the way, I’ve to go to the jail to complete your assignment.” He stood up and held his bag which was kept beside us on a chair. He hung its straps on his shoulders and replied, “Tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow,” I replied back, too busy on the phone to see him go.

“There must be something…” I banged my fist on the table. “I… It’s about my case, because there are moles in the police, and they all are connected to The Suiciders.” The video started again--the bulgy man in a hoodie, smoking a cigarette in the dark. Suddenly, a white paper blurred my vision. It somehow flew into my face through wind. I held it and moved it away from my face on the table. A bulgy man, wearing a pair of spectacles with a brown striped shirt upon a black pair of trousers, came running towards me and said, “I-I’m sorry, sir. The wind came in from the window and the-the letter just flew…”

“It’s okay, sir,” I replied and raised the paper towards him. Suddenly, my eyes fell on the ‘Subject’ part of the letter. It said ‘Pistol Lost’. Then I understood it. “Sir, is your pistol lost?”

“What? Yes, yes,” He replied. “I was asked to write a letter to the authority. We even suspect that the same pistol would be used in the murder of that viral video.”

“Oh,” I nodded and gave him the letter. He took it, turned back towards his seat and left off. I saw him going as something stuck my mind. “Wait… That man in the video looks exactly like this man who has lost his pistol. W-What if this man is the murderer in the video, and-and he’s now hidden the pistol somewhere, and he’s writing the letter to keep himself on the safer side so no one suspects him of the murder…?” At that time, I stood up from my seat and ran outside the café. I ran up the stairway like a child, and on the first floor, turned left from the stairway. I walked at the corridor with glass windows on right and rooms on the left. I entered the room saying ‘Chief of Police’. Ms. Yashika sat in front of me on the desk. I ran towards them and then took up the glass of water kept on the table in advance for visitors. Seeing such hurry in my behavior, she said in surprise, “Well, Mr. Khandelwal, you seem to be in a hurry.”

I put the glass of water down on the table with a bang and replied seriously, “I need spies.”

“Why?”

“To keep a watch on that policeman.”

There was an uncanny silence between us two as I said that sentence. “A policeman?” She confirmed sarcastically.

I nodded. “Yes. I just met a man who was writing a letter to inform you about his lost pistol. Moreover, a pistol used only by Delhi Police is recently spotted as the prime weapon for a murder. But, that investigator looks exactly like the murderer in the video.”

“You even know that policeman who lost his pistol? Mr. Vivek Virohan is his name, who’s been serving us for over twenty-eight years, and never let us down. Do you think he’d back-bite us?”

“It’s not like policemen can be bought, right?” I completed her sentence sarcastically. “See, he’s a suspect for now.”

“But, if he’s a suspect, use your police, keep him in jail and interrogate him. Why need a spy?”

“Because if we catch him up, the Suiciders would get to know that we’re suspecting a mole in DPHQ. And if they’d know about the mole in DPHQ, I don’t know what steps they may take.”

“Oof. Then go ask the police forces. Why the hell are you here?”

I smiled a bit at her approval. “T-Thanks a lot, ma’am.” I got up, turned at the door and left her.

I walked down the stairway at the basement and walked inside the corridor. I walked inside the Security Room and saw a group of three-four men walking here and there while two were having a watch on the screen. Ayush Kumble, the Security Head, walked towards me and said, “Sir, just after minutes you left, there was an old man with a white beard here to get the footages again. But, we refused him. We, uh, were unable to follow him because we were low on staff that night. He even threatened me that he and his organization would kill my family, an-and…” He spoke no more, just had his head down.

I patted his shoulder and replied, “Mr. Ayush, you’ve done a good job. Moreover, I assure you that nothing will happen to you and your family. You’re a brave guy who willingly is ready to sacrifice your life to a case which doesn’t even belong to you. I’m grateful.”

“Thanks a lot, sir,” He replied.

“Now, I got another job for you. You have access to all the database and files on your fingertips, right?” I asked him. “So, become a ghost-investigator for the team, will you?”

“Y-Yes, sir. Sure.”

“So,” I noticed that he was still down, but I continued, “I want you to get me all the data and files of Mr. Vivek Virohan, and also get me information about his friends and companions in the HQ. Got it?”