Crime Control Squad

Chapter 26

The entire night passed with no remembrance of how it flew. The Special Branch officers had no thoughts of anything apart from their case. The rains had ceased but the howling of the wind and the freezing chillness in the air continued but with little impact on the team. A queer enthusiasm and an eccentric energy had emerged within the team- unsaid, but clearly visible. Every case had been a bumpy ride for them- ups and downs- pits and potholes- but they had learned slowly how to travel through those paths, dodging the hurdles, undeterred and unhurt. They were a proud little team with confidence touching the sky. They trusted their superior instincts. They trusted their fellow mates- comrades. Above all, they trusted their leader of reverent power. Before they had entered the team, they were officers of position in some unseen team, who did what they were asked to with no space for their own opinions. After entering the Special Branch under the efficient leadership of Vedant, they were asked what they wanted to do. Their opinions were considered. Each one of the officers had understood their strengths better and all the work allotted to them were considering their strengths. There was the occasional work which was completely out of their comfort zone, but they had learned to enjoy those moments, learnt to turn the uncomfortable zone into a comfort one. They loved working in the team in spite of the varied differences in the style of working and their own individual views, behaviour and attitude. Every case had been a challenge for them, and every time they had solved the case successfully, they were presented with a even more difficult case. Their team turned out to be the go-to team for complicated cases. Their journey and success rate in the past 6 months had taken them to the position of being one of the best teams in the city and state. They were considered to have some magic in them to have the vision and passion to solve every case.

Heera was at her seat in the squad room, cupping her face with her elbows on the table. She looked blankly at the empty screen of her monitor. Her mind was racing through all the cases she and her team had solved in the past few months. Life hadn't been easy for her at the time she entered the team. Life had been tormenting. She had never imagined her life would turn so dark and nightmarish. She had always been the best in whatever she did right from her childhood. She was the topper in school and college. In spite of being studious, she never shied away from having fun. She was popular for being great in studies as well as being an unruly youngster. She had met her husband on one of the inter-collegiate meets where he was her competitor. Charan Chaturvedi had seemed a quiet and serious boy, and an expert in quizzing. From that particular competition when Heera first met him to the many other subsequent competitions where both of them participated representing their respective colleges, they began enjoying the time they spent together on stage- the competitive spirit getting better as time passed. Those competitions provided them the opportunity to sit down and discuss varied issues and in every passing discussion, she was impressed by him. Charan wasn't a show off. He genuinely had interest in current affairs and enjoyed quizzing. He loved the challenges thrown at him in the form of questions. He had won majority of the competitions where she was the runner up, but she didn't mind. To put it in clichéd words, he had won her heart gradually. She had liked his simplicity and of course his intelligence. She didn't chew the gum for long and conveyed her feelings to him, very openly. To her surprise, he had felt the same and reciprocated her love. Her love story was very straight forward- she had told her kids. Both of them had decided to take a couple of years' break, to settle their careers before they tied the knot. Just as they had planned, Charan had got himself into a software company while she had passed her IPS exams. Both then decided to get married with their parents' assent and they didn't have problems even there. Their parents had readily agreed and they were married eventually. She was 24 when she was married. In the next five years, her two sons were born. Life couldn't have been better. She had always taken pride in her life being a smooth one. She had considered herself lucky. She had told herself that she should have been a great person in her previous birth to have gathered so much goodness in her current life. But a year back, she was struck with probably the worst calamity. Nothing changed except she had lost her husband in a terrible road accident. She remembered how both had been planning to celebrate their 10th marriage anniversary, which never happened. From that incident, though the sun raised everyday bringing light to the world, her life had been a dark one.