Promises are meant to be broken

Chapter 17

July 19, Wednesday
6:30pm

The sun had already went down by the time all the nine hostel mates of Rohan reached the internet cafe, after receiving a frantic call from him.

Shivaay was standing, with his lips set in a straight line and hands stuffed inside his pant pockets, in that corner of the cafe, where there was no light. The only thing that was visible in that darkness was his fired up eyes. Even in that darkness, Annika managed to see his eagle like watch on the boys.

There were ten boys, including Rohan, the students of Computer Science in Mumbai University who were giving their statements to the Narcotics unit Inspector. All of them were stealing scared glances at Shivaay and Annika in between.

When the Narcotics Inspector had came in and shook hands with Shivaay, the students were left gaping at them in bafflement, internally thinking that they were done for. All of them had presumed that he was going to get them arrested. But Shivaay surprised them by commanding them to tell the inspector everything that happened on that party night ten days ago and about the drug racket in the university CS hostel.

He even warned them not to try spouting a single lie or else he won't spare them.

Annika had finished her basic interrogation before the inspector arrived. They told her that they'd received a mail from a bogus ID seventeen hours ago with few videos attached. Those videos were of them abusing drugs on that party night, with many other surrounding students who seemed to be already high cheering them.

Shivaay's blood was boiling watching that video and she had to keep her hand on his and slowly tap on it twice, indicating him to think and act. It didn't look like the boys were being forced into doing that, but they gave Annika their side clear justification.

There was a message sent along with video, which had a list of their parents phone numbers. In the text, they were asked to hack the security system of Oberoi Hotel, Mumbai Branch and to delete three minutes video from 5:00 to 5:03am and then again of 5:30 to 5:33am. They were threatened at the end that if they fail to fulfill his demand then their videos would reach to their parents and education committee.

The boys said that they at first thought one of their seniors was messing with them and took the mail as a bluff. But half an hour later, one of the student's mother called Jim exasperatedly after watching those videos and then they realized that the matter and the mailer both were too much serious.

They told Annika they tried whole night to find out who created that account but couldn't.

After listening their explanation, she'd secretly contacted few professors and the hostel warden, who agreed with their side of the story. This confirmed that the case belonged to Narcotics unit so she had no rights to meddle in.

The only connection of those students with her case was hacking, and Shivaay wasn't interested in lodging any complaint against them. Plus, the hackers were the only thing he'd asked for, so he won't be poking his nose between her investigation too.

As soon as the Narcotics Inspector took his leave after finishing his work, pin drop silence dispersed in the surrounding. Now there were just those ten boys and Shivaay Annika in that single room filled with computer systems.

Shivaay's heavy footsteps echoed throughout the room as he made his way out of the darkness. He settled on the chair besides where Annika was standing with her arms crossed. Few students shifted uncomfortably as he sat facing them.

Annika could've taken the charge, but she thought it would be better to let Shivaay do the threatening work and till then, her brain could do some other thinking work.