Vijay was suspicious as to why the ADG (Additional Director General of Police), Raghuram, had invited him over for lunch. He seemed to be a nice person but that didn’t explain why he would be treating a three-month-old police constable to lunch. Maybe that is what he does to all his new employees, but it seemed a bit too true that he would offer private lunch to every lower constable that arrives at his station. Nevertheless, he accepted with slight hesitation.

When he arrived at Raghuram’s home, he was greeted by the fifty-three-year-old man with a wrinkled face and grey hair. He had built himself a nice little home in middle of the thriving city. Vijay could only dream of living such a luxurious life. His own home sat in the part of city cluttered with small houses. Narrow roadways and zig-zag footpath cut through houses occupied by low-income people. His house was just a hall, a bathroom, and a kitchen. Even he couldn’t deny that he felt a bit jealous of Raghuram home which had a room for every person in the family and their needs.

Raghuram’s wife was a gentle woman. She seemed to be of the same age as Raghuram. She wore a soft smile throughout lunch and made sure to serve him herself, making him feel home. Never in his short life had Vijay ate such good food. It had everything, the aroma, the complex taste, and the large quantity. He felt a little bad leaving out his wife but couldn't stop himself even so. This was another reason why he was suspicious. Why only him and not his family? Maybe Raghuram wasn’t aware, maybe.

‘So, any plans of marriage?’ Raghuram asked.

‘So, he didn’t know,’ Vijay thought. ‘I am actually married, sir,’ he replied,

Raghuram looked him surprised. ‘Really? You should have told me. Now I feel bad not inviting her.’

Vijay gripped his heart. He should have been courteous.

‘It is okay. Don’t bombard him with questions. Let him eat peacefully,’ his wife told her husband.

Raghuram snorted and replied, ‘fine.’

By the time he was finished, Vijay felt like his stomach was going to explode. He tried to keep his behaviour as formal as possible. Thus, he remained stiff and steady despite his desire to just sink into his seat.

Raghuram’s wife and the maid cleaned up the table and disappeared into the kitchen. ‘I hope the food was to your liking,’ Raghuram commented.

‘The food was great, sir,’ Vijay replied with a smile.

Raghuram, likewise, replied with a soft smile. ‘Good. I would like to discuss some work with you,’ he began.

‘Here it is. I knew he called me for a reason. It was wise to not bring my wife,’ he thought to himself.

‘We shall continue this in my study,’ Raghuram said.

 

The study was a small room nested between two bedrooms. It had a bookshelf lining the wall to the right and a table set on the other side. A cabin full of files sat behind the table, next to an office chair. Raghuram fell back onto the chair and said to Vijay, ‘can please close the door and take a seat.’

He did as instructed, nervously sitting down across the table from Raghuram, wondering what kind of trouble he was going to get dragged into.

‘Before we begin, I have a few questions for you. Answer them honestly,’ Raghuram said.

Vijay nodded and said, ‘yes sir.’

‘Are you willing to follow orders without defying or asking questions?’ Raghuram asked.

‘Dammit. He started of the hardest one,’ Vijay thought as he cursed under his breath. There was only one answer, but it would have been nice to know what he was planning first. ‘Yes sir,’ he replied.

‘That is what everyone will say. But when the time comes, will you actually do it?’

Vijay didn’t answer, instead chose to remain silent.

‘I have some work for you. This work is going to be between just the two of us. When I asked a close friend of mine for someone to do the job, he recommended you. Do you know why?’

Vijay shook his head and said, ‘no sir.’

‘He said you had a good knack for sleuthing. Something I am in desperate need of right now. You have a reputation for digging up dirt and I want you to do the same for me.’

This reputation was from a very secretive incident that happened during his time in the academy. In short, he needed dirt on his supervisor to save a friend. Not only did he find dirt, but he also managed to uncover a conspiracy effectively saving the academy from embarrassment. His name was never revealed in the case, but the higher-ups knew that they needed to remember him.

Vijay perked up and nodded slightly.

‘Do this for me and I will make sure you are compensated handsomely. In the ranks and privately. But whatever you are asked to do, will be just between the two of us.’

‘What is the job?’ Vijay asked.

‘I need you to track someone down. But before we get down to the details. You must agree to the terms. You will speak of this to no one, not even your wife. You will do this only off duty and when you are not in uniform. Exchange of information will happen on a private line I will setup. Got it?’

Vijay nodded once again, though this time, his throat had run dry. He was curious and afraid of what he was going to learn.

‘Good,’ Raghuram said. He got up from his chair and walked to the bookshelf. Shifting a few books around, revealed a small vault etched into the shelf. He unlocked it and pulled out a thin file which he bought over and set before Vijay.

Vijay looked at the blue file with eager eyes but didn’t touch it until Raghuram returned to his seat. There were no markings on the cover, just blank blue face.

‘It is a bit light on details, which is why I need your expertise,’ Raghuram said.

Vijay proceeded to open the file and look through its contents. Sir was right, there was barely anything here. Just a few witness testimonies, all of whom had very few details to share. His eyes shifted to Raghuram in front of him who appeared to be slightly embarrassed by the size of the file.

‘Like I said, light on details,’ Raghuram repeated. ‘Coming to the point. Your point of interest is a woman. Her name or any details of use is non-existent.’

Vijay desperately wanted to ask who this woman was to him or why he was looking for her, he knew better than to ask such questions. The first testimony is of an incident involving a traffic accident where the victim was pulled off his bike that was heading into a crashed truck at full speed. The rider only remembered his saviour to be a woman with short hair and nothing else.

The second was that of a couple, saved from getting robbed by a person in a mask. Only identifier, blue eyes.

Third and final testimony was that of an old man. He tried to kill a young man before being talked out of it by a stranger. The old man turned himself, refusing to give up any details of the stranger and died in prison of a heart attack. While the hostage, who was blindfolded, only remember his saviour having the voice of a woman.

‘What makes you think all three are talking about the same person?’ Vijay asked.

‘You don’t think so?’

Vijay looked back the testimonies once again before saying, ‘no. I don’t think so.’

Raghuram did not wear any expression. He simply nodded and remained silent for a good few seconds. Vijay knew he was hiding more information but couldn’t understand why withhold it. Was this a test of some kind? If not, this was never going to work.

‘Well, I can trust you to be honest at least. But I hoped you would have filled in the gaps yourself,’ Raghuram said.

Vijay was confused for a moment. He tried to think through the testimonies once again. He got a vague idea of what Raghuram wanted but wasn’t entirely sure. ‘All these testimonies are of one person?’

‘A normal male weigh at least seventy kilos. It takes a great amount if strength to drag someone who is travelling at almost a hundred kilometres per hour. But the individual, by the rider’s own account, yanked him off his bike. If you ask me that is something impossible for a normal human being. Then there is the case of the couple. Assaulted by a thief at night but saved by a masked individual. The only identification? Blue eyes that glowed. I doubt normal humans are capable of that,” Raghuram explained.

Vijay knew what he was speaking off. ‘Sir, are you saying she is still alive?’

‘That is for you to confirm.’

‘What about the old man? How does he connect to this?’ Vijay asked.

‘Before I get to him, I want you to tell me if you are in?’ Raghuram asked with a rigid expression.

‘I will do it,’ Vijay said without a second thought.

Raghuram wanted to smile but didn’t. He kept his face expressionless and began, ‘A suicidal manic. Tried to kill the conman who robbed him of his savings. The police tried desperately to make him speak but the old man refused for some odd reason. Only, he did speak. Told us about a young woman with scars all over her face. Short hair and faint glow in her eyes. The similarities were undeniable, so we kept his testimony a secret. This goes for you too. You will not speak of this to anyone. Even to anyone in the department. Understood?’

‘Yes sir,’ Vijay replied with a nod. ‘But there are more cases, aren’t there?’

‘Sharp. You start by getting more information from them. I will get you more cases as I see fit.’

Vijay quietly nodded.

***

‘It is a faint memory right now. To be honest, even back then I was partly unconscious, so the details are very fuzzy,’ said the man in a black t-shirt. Vijay examined him more closely. He had fair skin and thick black hair. He was at least six feet tall with a well-built frame.

‘It’s alright. Tell me what you remember. We shall proceed from there,’ Vijay said calmly.

He took a moment to respond. His eyes constantly avoided looking at Vijay directly and he kept pressing his palm against his mouth. He finally turns and looked at Vijay and asked, ‘sir, if I may ask. What is this really about?’

‘I just want to verify the details of the incident once more. That is all,’ Vijay replied.

‘But this was months ago. Why now?’

‘Please answer. I will ask you only once,’ Vijay said calmly.

His calmness frightened the witness rather than comforting him. ‘Alright,’ the man said and began, ‘much of what happened that day was a blur. I don’t remember much of the attack itself. I remember an argument breaking out between the shopkeeper and a customer. I tried to make a run for it immediately but was swept up instead. I felt something hit my head hard and after that I blanked out. When I woke up again, I remembered being carried on the back of someone. A woman to be more precise. I think I was in shock at that moment, none of my gabbling made any sense. But the woman didn’t seem to mind. She calmed me down immediately. She had a soft voice and on hearing it, I felt like everything would be okay. She carried me for a long time, or that is how I felt before arriving at a hospital… or was it a clinic? I lost consciousness and by the time I woke up again, I found the police waiting for me. From there, you must know the rest.’

Vijay remained silent. He had a notepad in front of him and a pen in his hand. he stared into the notepad for some time, leaving the witness to patiently wait for him. They were the only ones in the café. Each had a cup of tea in front of them and neither had touched their cup. The witness slowly reached out for his cup before picking it and taking a sip with great caution. His eyes were fixed on to Vijay, observing his poker face for any signs of danger.

Vijay tapped on his notepad hard, before setting the pen down on to the table. He too proceeded to take a sip out of his now cold tea. ‘Right then,’ Vijay said as he set down the cup, ‘let’s speak the truth.’

‘Truth?’ the witness asked nervously.

‘Yes. Let’s start with the fact that the mysterious customer was you.’

The witnesses’ eyes widened, giving away what his expression and his words tried to hide. ‘What?’ he responded.

‘And… the fact that this mysterious customer’s friends were both your friends and the shopkeeper’s associates,’ Vijay continued.

‘I don’t understand what you are saying?’ the witness replied as he set down his cup. His hands were shivering.

‘Don’t bullshit me. I don’t know how or why you and shopkeeper came to terms, especially after the bloody fight, but I know that there was no mysterious gang who started the fight. It was you who fought with the shopkeeper and both of you had people who escalated the whole thing into a bloody mess,’ Vijay explained.

‘No. You are wrong. I did not fight with the shopkeeper. The shopkeeper confirmed this.’

‘Yes. That is what surprised me. How in the world did he and you make up the same story when neither of you met after the fight?’

‘Because it is the truth!’ the witness swore.

‘No, it is not, and I feel like the truth has something to do with the woman who saved you.’

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