The Naroda Massacre

Confrontation II

23 September 2012, PANM Headquarters
Flashback to the events from Chapter 8

Detective Vikram leaned forward, asking, "So, Arjun, have you planned our next moves?"

With a calm confidence, Arjun replied, "Yes. Our first step will be to share partial information with the media, which should settle the public chaos. We need to organize this immediately."

Detective Vikram quickly turned to one of the PANM officers. "Inform the media to set up a special interview where Detective Arjun will reveal the major lead—"

But Arjun interrupted, a sly smile on his face. "Not so fast. There's a twist. The one who will share the information won't be me. I won't appear in front of the media at all. Instead, Karan will take center stage, and he'll claim that he discovered the lead. No one should know I'm involved in this case."

Karan Malhotra, narrowing his eyes, asked, "You don't mean to tell me you're letting your critic steal the spotlight? What's the real angle here, Arjun?"

Arjun's tone sharpened, but his expression remained controlled. "Don't flatter yourself. I'm not doing you any favors. There are two key advantages to this move. First, we put immense pressure on the people behind this tragedy by publicly throwing their whole plan in their faces. Second, it keeps my involvement in the shadows, giving me the freedom to investigate without them knowing their real enemy. For them, the main threat will be you, Karan. They can never suspect there's a third party pulling PANM's strings from behind the scenes."

Karan, now deep in thought, nodded slowly. "I have to admit, you're not wrong. We'll gain an edge that way."

Detective Vikram, still processing the plan, asked, "Alright, but what about the two boys? What's our next move with them?"

Arjun's face darkened. "We confront them. A direct encounter will tell us everything we need. I'll be able to read them by how they react to me personally."

Vikram nodded. "Understood. Take as many team members as you need."

Arjun waved off the offer. "No need. I'll handle this alone. You all just make sure the media plan proceeds smoothly."

The meeting was adjourned.

Present Day (24 September)
Continuation from Chapter 11

Arjun collected his thoughts, smiling slightly as he addressed Raj. "So, you've figured it all out already. Impressive. Glad to meet you, Raj. I am Detective Arjun."

Divyesh's eyes widened in awe. "Whoa! That's incredible. How did you figure it all out?"

Arjun chuckled. "It's simple, really. Raj is sharp. He realized that me showing up here at the exact time you're here couldn't just be a coincidence. A person like me, who knows more about him than he knows about me, arriving at the right place and time can only mean one thing—I've been watching you both for at least a couple of weeks, gathering information."

Raj's smirk deepened as Divyesh and Raj's eyes glared with newfound realization. Arjun continued, "Since I've been following you ever since the incident at your school, it wasn't hard for Raj to suspect I was involved. When he threw that statement at me about 'pulling the strings of PANM,' he was testing me. Only someone deep inside the PANM, or the one manipulating them, would know there's a third party behind it all."

Raj's grin widened as Arjun added, "It's natural that a person from PANM would be shocked to hear someone else knows about the secret mastermind. If I hadn't reacted, Raj would've known I wasn't part of PANM at all. But I confirmed his suspicion the moment I acknowledged the truth. And since he's probably already familiar with all the thirty official members of PANM, thanks to some research in the library or online, it left only one option—I'm the one pulling the strings behind PANM's operations."

Raj mumbled, "Incredible."

Then he spoke up, clearly impressed. "That's exactly what I thought. As expected from the greatest detective."

Arjun smiled again but asked, "There's just one thing I can't figure out. How did you know I was me—Arjun?"

Raj's face softened, a hint of pride in his voice. "Because, Detective, you've been my idol since childhood. I've studied everything about you." But his tone then shifted as his face grew serious. "But there's one problem."

Divyesh, curious, jumped in. "What is it?"

Raj hesitated before saying, "He's going to arrest us... or worse."

A heavy, deafening silence fell over the room. Arjun's calm expression remained unreadable, but his gaze held a chilling intensity.