Crime Control Squad

Chapter 20

Slamming the door of his SUV harder than necessary, Vedant tramped across the muddy and slippery crime scene with a tight face. He was a furious man. He was trying hard to squeeze his mind shut from the fiery rage he was feeling inside. He could feel the burning heat waving across his body. He clamped his fist and mouth rigid, so as to not give away his inner emotions. He could hear the media screaming out his name for juicy comments. But the truthful fact was, he didn't really have anything to say to them. They actually knew more about the situation than he knew. He forced his gaze to the surroundings around him. It was a complete mayhem. There were dozens of police officers handling the chaos. Barricades were erected around the crime scene to prevent public from breaching the crime scene. Public were working their best to get a glimpse of anything at the scene. Standing against the barricades, peeping from the windows, perching from the terraces and standing on top of tanks- the initial tension had been converted into excitement for them. Few were trying their luck in getting into the frames of the media camera to have their face on the TV no matter what the reason was.

One of the policeman rushed towards Vedant on seeing him. After the initial disciplined greeting, he pointed the direction of the building where the shooting began. He showed the path where the chase happened, through where the suspects and the officers had run firing their guns. Forensics were on the ground picking up all the evidences they can. The policeman escorted Vedant to the building.

The building was an usual apartment building with three floors. The outside walls were painted in ivory which had worn out due to the attack of sun and the rain in their respective seasons. Cracks and dirty patches painted itself on the wall alongside. Taking the concrete rough stairs upstairs, the policeman led the way to the room where the suspects were initially found by the operation team. Another team of forensics were crawling on the ground and on the wall. Vedant nodded at the policeman to release him from his escort duty.

Vedant began imagining how the incident could have happened. There were two open windows to the left side of the door, probably the route the suspects might have taken for their escape. He observed the door being knocked down. The team of police who carried out the operation, the black operation, must have broken it down to surprise the suspects, assumed the chief. Chairs and other furniture laid strewn across the living room. Shattered glass pieces decorated the floor. Holes were etched on the walls because of the firing. Vedant took his steps carefully using the corners of the room without disturbing the forensics. He made his way slowly to the room inside where he was informed the man he was looking for was present.

Vikram stood by the window looking at the proceedings outside. He looked grim. He could feel the guilt slicing his thoughts. He knew he had played a huge role in the massive disarray of events. He pushed away the consequences that might result of his actions when he decided to go ahead with the operation. But he never ever thought the consequences would be so disastrous.

"Give me one reason why I shouldn't fire you?" asked Vedant as soon as his eyes landed on Vikram. He couldn't keep his voice calm. He knew his agitation was displayed in clarity. But he didn't care.

Vikram turned at the sound of his boss. His voice was low and regretful. "I didn't expect things to turn this way..."

"You acted without orders! You didn't think it was important to inform me about the operation? Why didn't you inform me?!!"

"I thought you wouldn't permit the operation..."

"OF COURSE! I wouldn't have permitted the operation because it sounds catastrophic from the letter A. What were you trying to do Vikram? Shooting down people..."

"We didn't start the firing," reasoned Vikram aimlessly.

"And you want me to believe you, after what you have done," asked Vedant, his voice booming dangerously.