"The case is closed. Hopefully", Arjun said as we had a cup of coffee.
"What about the file ?", I asked.
"It contains a hefty amount of motive and evidence we need to convict. Vaishnav or I may say Vajra ?", He said. "You've helped so much during the investigation. I owe you", he added.
"Could I just take a look at the file ?", I asked.
At first, he hesitated. But then, "Here you go."
I opened the file.
THE SCF FIRE ACCIDENT.
Inspecting officer : Srivastav Mone.
Time : 5:00 am.
Accused : Swaroop Goswami (current president of SCF Hospitals Trust )
"So that's why he killed Srivastav ?", I asked.
Arjun nodded. "And Goswami... the first murder... Vinita Goswami, the President's
wife."
"Exactly", Nilima said.
"And the skeleton we found is supposedly of Mr. Swaroop Goswami",
Arjun smiled. "The case is as clear as crystal from here."
"Then why did he kill my Sarita ? What did she have to do with all of this ?", I questioned.
"Maybe he was going to target you, but killed your wife in the given circumstances. We'll have thorough investigation done before the trial", Arjun replied.
"There's one more thing... This done reports death of a wardboy. Sahil Tarmale."
"Ya even we are stuck there. He has a 4_72 on his wrist", Nilima added.
"He's a subject too !", I objected.
"This incident was a cover-up you see. And maybe that's why Vajra thought he had to kill him", Arjun put forth his probability.
"I don't think so. There's something other than just Vaishnav here. I don't think this boy here is Sahil", I continued. "Sahil used to be Vajra's best friend during the cell years."
"How do you know that ?", Arjun said as he suspected me.
"It was in the diary", I said instantly.
"Ok but is that relevant here ?", Nilima asked.
"It is, we know that Vaishnav has been caught. But we don't know who he is.. Vajra or Sahil", Arjun said abruptly.
"But does it matter ?", I asked.
"Yes it does, if he's here by his own will. This is a trap. A full fledged hell trap...
I'm going to the new SCF. They may have some info related to this Sahil", Arjun rushed out of the HQ, leaving me and Nilima in the cabin.
That's when, Nilima neared me.
"What are you doing Nilima ?", I struggled to let my words out.
"JOIN FORCES WITH THE SAVIOUR", I heard her cold voice.
She kept on repeating it in my face till I pushed her away and opened the door. I saw the other team members looking at me suspiciously.
There was compete silence as I passed between their stares. But it was soon broken down by their collective voices....
"JOIN FORCES WITH THE SAVIOUR"
JOIN FORCES WITH THE SAVIOUR....
I ran out of there, but the watchman restricted the exit. He too chanted, JOIN FORCES WITH THE SAVIOUR. JOIN FORCES WITH THE SAVIOUR...
I ran through the parking lot as everyone around me chased after me like a zombie apocalypse. JOIN FORCES WITH THE SAVIOUR...
AAARRRRGHHHHHHHH, I cried out as I raced my car out of the lot to the highway. The words felt like thousands of dagger pierced deep into my brain. But then some traffic police tried to stop me.
"What's the matter now ?", I asked. The words JOIN FORCES WITH THE SAVIOUR repeating in my mind.
"One request sir... JOIN FORCES WITH THE SAVIOUR."
I rammed into the barricades in front of me to escape, "JUST FREAKINGG STOPPPPP IT"
WHAT THE HELL IS HAPPENING HERE ??
I tried to call Arjun, but his phone was busy.
Suddenly, I got another call. Samantha ?!
"JOIN FORCES WITH THE SAVIOUR", her voice echoed throughout the car.
That's when, I noticed a notification pop up.
'SAVIOUR INCOMING. 00:21:00', another countdown had started in the Revolution app. Attached was a photo, but I didn't wait for it to load. I rushed through the highway and somehow, I got to my home, with surrounding people and neighbours staring at me. JOIN FORCES WITH THE SAVIOUR. HAIL THE SAVIOUR... they kept on shouting.
My head was aching so much that I thought it would explode any second. I clutched my head as I got in.
I closed the door behind me, and opened my eyes. It was a complete silence once again.
That's when I noticed Varad with his bow and arrow in front of me. Behind him, a masked face. The mask of the 4th person.
"Varad, come here", I ordered. But he didn't listen.
Instead he aimed for me.
"THEY DESERVE NO MERCY. Ignite the Flames of Revolution", the 4th person grinned. The voice sounded masculine. Who was he ?
"No. Varad. Don't do this", I said as I noticed that the bow and arrow weren't plastic this time, they were wood and metal.
"No. Varad. Noooo", I took a leap of faith towards Varad, in order to catch him and kick off that masked guy.
But instead, someone hit me yet again, in the head from behind. Something metallic, yet again.
I was losing consciousness again. But I felt something being injected into me, this time.
"We told you, join our forces", were the last words I ever heard.
***
My head hurt. I woke up hearing a call. The landline. I stumbled on my way to it, but managed to pick it up.
"Hello, it's Sagar... I told them everything. About you and your accident. I know I shouldn't have. They... They won't kill me na ?... Say something...", Sagar sounded disturbed.
"Wait, someone's here. No. Don't kill me. I didn't do it purposefully. They recorded it forcefully. Atleast, you tell them something.
NOOOOOO."
Sagar went silent after that. He didn't speak anything. Maybe he won't again, forever...
I switched on my mobile. Opened the Revolution app. I tapped on voice
command verification. "Activate admin controls", I snarled.
"Activation completed. Welcome, Mr. Vajra", it hummed.
"Set a new countdown to 5 minutes 30 seconds."
YOU ARE READING
IGNOMINY
Short Story[ Completed ~ around 12k words ] Raghav, a rookie surgeon goes against his seniors to save an old lady from an odd illness. But he soon regrets doing so as this starts a vicious cycle of events affecting the life of his own and that of his loved one...
