Naveen sat leaned back at his desk, balancing his pen between his fingers and tapping it occasionally on the hard table top. He hummed to himself, the tune of which was unknown to him as well. His juniors maintained their distance from him and kept to themselves, not even wanting to be visible to him. They knew he was tensed and the best thing to do right now was to be invisible.
The revolving doors opened and the clerk from downstairs came up, carrying with him a bunch of papers and packages. Naveen almost broke the aluminium partition door of his office as he rushed out.
"Anything for me? " he asked eagerly.
The clerk nonchalantly browsed through the entire set in his hands, slowly. Naveen wanted to grab the entire thing out of his hand but waited patiently.
"Ah , Naveen sir, here is a package for you." he said as he handed out a thin packet to him.
Naveen grabbed it and left to his room without a word.
He settled down in his chair noisily and cut open the packet.
A CD was inside.
He picked up his phone and dialed the number without having to go to the contacts page.
"Sir, It has come" he told grimly and disconnected the call.
The revolving doors opened and the clerk from downstairs came up, carrying with him a bunch of papers and packages. Naveen almost broke the aluminium partition door of his office as he rushed out.
"Anything for me? " he asked eagerly.
The clerk nonchalantly browsed through the entire set in his hands, slowly. Naveen wanted to grab the entire thing out of his hand but waited patiently.
"Ah , Naveen sir, here is a package for you." he said as he handed out a thin packet to him.
Naveen grabbed it and left to his room without a word.
He settled down in his chair noisily and cut open the packet.
A CD was inside.
He picked up his phone and dialed the number without having to go to the contacts page.
"Sir, It has come" he told grimly and disconnected the call.
.....................................
The room was crowded with people, visibly the top brass of the department. There were a few faces that were new. Rumors was that top officials from other departments and from the center have also turned up.
Naveen entered the room, followed by his boss. They moved to the front of the room. The hushed whispers became louder and more unclear as they proceeded to the front.
"Some of you know why you are here. Some of you have been asked to be here by your superiors. Thanks for waiting so long. As all of you know, we had a spate of killings in the city over the last few weeks. Some of you were involved in the investigation and you know the helpless state we were caught up in"
Naveen's boss cleared his throat as though to talk but clearly a bit uncomfortable with the way Naveen had phrased his opening statement.
Naveen continued.
"Things reached a pinnacle. The killer had killed a total of six people. Common public as far as we know and he was telling that he would be doing the seventh killing on 13th. Yes , on election day. We were in a state of high alert, more than what was decided for the elections. We were confident that we would be able to stop any incidents with the heightened security but there were some concerns because of his style of operation. All the previous killings were high-profile and used hi-tech weaponry and methods, so there was a little bit of doubt if we were prepared enough for this."
He paused, took a gulp from the water bottle on the table, took a look around the room. The whole room was poised on his every word. He kept the bottle down and continued.
"The whole day we were monitoring all the radio traffic from all the stations in the city and the outskirts and also the special centres setup near the booths. But luckily nothing happened that day. Or so we thought. I got a call on my mobile around two in the afternoon. It was from Epanastasi. "
"What did he say"
"Did you trace the call"
"What was his demands"
He threw up his hands and asked them to quiet down and continued.
" I am coming to that. First of all he didn't have any demands. Second, he didn't have much to say. He just told that he has couriered a package to me and everything will be on it. The call was for barely 20 seconds. Too little time to trace it effectively. Since the call was not through the normal telecom. We suspect it might have been a voip connection. We will trace it soon to its origin. But it becomes redundant now.The package arrived yesterday to our office marked to me. It contained one CD"
"Whats on that? Have the IT people traced the line?"
" The CD had a video file in it. I think its better that all of you see it for yourself."
He took a glass CD case from inside a folder and placed it in the open CD tray in the DVD player. He fiddled with the controls for a couple of minutes before moving to a side of the room to allow a clear view of the TV screen, which suddenly looked too small for an audience of this size. The room hushed itself to silence as the images on the screen appeared.
The image was a bit shaky and looked as though someone was setting up the camera. It gained focus and showed a room with just a chair in it. The wall behind it had been covered with some kind of cloth. A man appeared on the screen, having moved into the focus area from the side. Although the image was clear, the man was not distinguishable and was surrounded by a dark shadow which didnt allow any recognition.
"Good afternoon, Naveen. And to the other officers who must be gathered around by now. My name is..well..for the sake of this video, lets continue with the name Epanastasi. By now, I hope your department has woken up to the fact of the murders that have been committed. I had sent in mail to your police department and also one letter to the C K Nagar police station much before any of the killings happened. But I guess it was as usual lost in the bureaucratic mess that your department is."
Looks exchanged across the room. Everyone knew that heads were going to roll or atleast get chewed off by the end of this session.
"I had told you Naveen, that I shall be confessing to everything on the video.The reason I am doing this...let me come to that later. Let us first talk about how it was executed. All the murders were planned and executed by me. The choice of my victims. Well, thats a silly part. All their names, first letters form the word ENFORCE. I had to have some criteria, right? I decided to use that as a selection criteria. "
The officers in the room, frantically turned the pages of the folder that they were all given, detailing each of the murders and started mouthing of the letters one by one.
"No need to check. It is correct only. I should know. I only chose them all, right? ha ha. Anyway that was how i selected the victims. What is that? Why these people? why not anybody else? hmmm, good question. My answer why not? Why not these people? These people were perfect. Perfect in the sense they fitted the profile i was after. Common people. Who said any revolutionary statement or political assassination has to be about prominent people or celebrities. My main reason for this entire thing is i wanted a revolution. I am sure your lingual experts would have told you what Epanastasi means already. It means revolution. I want a revolution and the revolution had to happen where it is most wanted. Amongst the people. Who better to sacrifice than the common people who need to get empowered with a revolution. "
With a pause, the man in the screen continued.
"Where is the point in murdering a political figure or a celebrity. They come and go at a dime a dozen. There will be 10 days of mourning, a statue in a prominent place, a new toilet for the crows of the city and every year all the politicos will come and garland the freshly cleaned stone. That's why I decided to sacrifice the common man to make this issue public. Aah. I know. What's the big deal? Thousands of common people die every single day. A thousand faceless commoners die without getting so much as a two line obituary in the newspapers. Did you know the bloody newspapers charge 2000 rupees to run a single line obituary for a commoner. If it was the case of a celebrity, even if that person suffers for diarrhea, its the headlines for the next day. Thousand of well wishers, prominent politicos go running to wish good health. Where is the same apathy for the commoner. "
There was a pause as though he was expecting us to answer his question.Then as though he knew that there will be none coming, he continued.
"Why am I doing this? I am a commoner. A mere commoner. One among the millions of people around the country. I was tired of being that. I had a good job that allowed me to buy a piece of land outside the city, a second hand car, a monthly outing to a good restaurant, a yearly visit to a temple city somewhere in the country. I had it all. Yet I had nothing. I was tired of being a commoner. Being treated like a commoner. The total disrespect given to the commoner by all of you. By you, I dont mean your department alone, your government, your politicians, your officers, your bureaucracy. All of you. For all of you I was a non-existent. Not any more. Not any longer. I am some one now. I am something to be reckoned with now. And you know what? I am not stopping."
The threat in his last statement took some time to sink in all of the people present. But they were all mesmerized by the voice so far that they didnt jerk out of the trance-like state.
"Ten years. It took me ten long years to plan everything. But it wasnt in vain. This is just the common man's reply to the years of being treated like s**t by all of you. This is a wakeup call. Not for the whole society. I am not doing a bad remake of the movie where naseerudin shah takes revenge against the terrorists. This is just me, showing to the world and to me, that I am not just another commoner. I am not that big on social change. I believe change has to come internally first. I have changed. For me that is a good start. But as I said I am not stopping at this. I am continuing. Not now. Definitely not next week or month. I have a couple of places to visit. But things are definitely on. If you recall, I had ten years to plan. Dont think ten years was required for just six murders. No no no...There is plenty coming. "
"I know that you will try to catch me. I wish you all the best. In fact it would be great if you would catch me. It would give me the recognition and fame that any commoner yearns for. But I am also sure you will not be able to. Someday when I feel tired or bored, maybe then I shall come in. But not until then. I am not sure what will be the statement you will issue to the press. Anyway, heads up. I have sent a similar package to a couple of news channels too. Not to our reporter friend though. I know that you have your tabs on her. So this story will break out somehow or the other. Let the common people fear. Let them be aware of the basic non-existence of their lives. Their non-significance. Let them atleast yearn to be something more than what they are. Let them atleast be scared and pray that they are not next on my list. "
Naveen shook his head and muttered something to himself.
"Hey hey one more thing. I almost forgot. I promised you seven murders right. The seventh one. It's me. As of 13th I am not alive. Atleast not in this paper world of yours. There is no trace of me existing anywhere in your world.It took some years to plan and do but I got it right. That's why I am even more confident that you will never get me. How do you catch someone who doesnt exist? You can't. The seventh killing was of my own. Of my life in this world. Of my pitiful non-existing life. Now I exist only as Epanastasi. So long, farewell. I hate to say goodbye."
With that, the screen went blank.
Nobody spoke for some time. Then the chief turned to Naveen.
"So what do you plan to do , Mr Naveen?"
"You heard him. How do you catch a ghost? "
"We shall meet in my room after this and discuss the next steps"
Naveen turned and left the room.He smiled to himself, happy that someone had the guts to change their life. Someone made his life significant to himself. At the cost of six other lives, nevertheless. He waited for the next round to start.
"What did he say"
"Did you trace the call"
"What was his demands"
He threw up his hands and asked them to quiet down and continued.
" I am coming to that. First of all he didn't have any demands. Second, he didn't have much to say. He just told that he has couriered a package to me and everything will be on it. The call was for barely 20 seconds. Too little time to trace it effectively. Since the call was not through the normal telecom. We suspect it might have been a voip connection. We will trace it soon to its origin. But it becomes redundant now.The package arrived yesterday to our office marked to me. It contained one CD"
"Whats on that? Have the IT people traced the line?"
" The CD had a video file in it. I think its better that all of you see it for yourself."
He took a glass CD case from inside a folder and placed it in the open CD tray in the DVD player. He fiddled with the controls for a couple of minutes before moving to a side of the room to allow a clear view of the TV screen, which suddenly looked too small for an audience of this size. The room hushed itself to silence as the images on the screen appeared.
The image was a bit shaky and looked as though someone was setting up the camera. It gained focus and showed a room with just a chair in it. The wall behind it had been covered with some kind of cloth. A man appeared on the screen, having moved into the focus area from the side. Although the image was clear, the man was not distinguishable and was surrounded by a dark shadow which didnt allow any recognition.
"Good afternoon, Naveen. And to the other officers who must be gathered around by now. My name is..well..for the sake of this video, lets continue with the name Epanastasi. By now, I hope your department has woken up to the fact of the murders that have been committed. I had sent in mail to your police department and also one letter to the C K Nagar police station much before any of the killings happened. But I guess it was as usual lost in the bureaucratic mess that your department is."
Looks exchanged across the room. Everyone knew that heads were going to roll or atleast get chewed off by the end of this session.
"I had told you Naveen, that I shall be confessing to everything on the video.The reason I am doing this...let me come to that later. Let us first talk about how it was executed. All the murders were planned and executed by me. The choice of my victims. Well, thats a silly part. All their names, first letters form the word ENFORCE. I had to have some criteria, right? I decided to use that as a selection criteria. "
The officers in the room, frantically turned the pages of the folder that they were all given, detailing each of the murders and started mouthing of the letters one by one.
"No need to check. It is correct only. I should know. I only chose them all, right? ha ha. Anyway that was how i selected the victims. What is that? Why these people? why not anybody else? hmmm, good question. My answer why not? Why not these people? These people were perfect. Perfect in the sense they fitted the profile i was after. Common people. Who said any revolutionary statement or political assassination has to be about prominent people or celebrities. My main reason for this entire thing is i wanted a revolution. I am sure your lingual experts would have told you what Epanastasi means already. It means revolution. I want a revolution and the revolution had to happen where it is most wanted. Amongst the people. Who better to sacrifice than the common people who need to get empowered with a revolution. "
With a pause, the man in the screen continued.
"Where is the point in murdering a political figure or a celebrity. They come and go at a dime a dozen. There will be 10 days of mourning, a statue in a prominent place, a new toilet for the crows of the city and every year all the politicos will come and garland the freshly cleaned stone. That's why I decided to sacrifice the common man to make this issue public. Aah. I know. What's the big deal? Thousands of common people die every single day. A thousand faceless commoners die without getting so much as a two line obituary in the newspapers. Did you know the bloody newspapers charge 2000 rupees to run a single line obituary for a commoner. If it was the case of a celebrity, even if that person suffers for diarrhea, its the headlines for the next day. Thousand of well wishers, prominent politicos go running to wish good health. Where is the same apathy for the commoner. "
There was a pause as though he was expecting us to answer his question.Then as though he knew that there will be none coming, he continued.
"Why am I doing this? I am a commoner. A mere commoner. One among the millions of people around the country. I was tired of being that. I had a good job that allowed me to buy a piece of land outside the city, a second hand car, a monthly outing to a good restaurant, a yearly visit to a temple city somewhere in the country. I had it all. Yet I had nothing. I was tired of being a commoner. Being treated like a commoner. The total disrespect given to the commoner by all of you. By you, I dont mean your department alone, your government, your politicians, your officers, your bureaucracy. All of you. For all of you I was a non-existent. Not any more. Not any longer. I am some one now. I am something to be reckoned with now. And you know what? I am not stopping."
The threat in his last statement took some time to sink in all of the people present. But they were all mesmerized by the voice so far that they didnt jerk out of the trance-like state.
"Ten years. It took me ten long years to plan everything. But it wasnt in vain. This is just the common man's reply to the years of being treated like s**t by all of you. This is a wakeup call. Not for the whole society. I am not doing a bad remake of the movie where naseerudin shah takes revenge against the terrorists. This is just me, showing to the world and to me, that I am not just another commoner. I am not that big on social change. I believe change has to come internally first. I have changed. For me that is a good start. But as I said I am not stopping at this. I am continuing. Not now. Definitely not next week or month. I have a couple of places to visit. But things are definitely on. If you recall, I had ten years to plan. Dont think ten years was required for just six murders. No no no...There is plenty coming. "
"I know that you will try to catch me. I wish you all the best. In fact it would be great if you would catch me. It would give me the recognition and fame that any commoner yearns for. But I am also sure you will not be able to. Someday when I feel tired or bored, maybe then I shall come in. But not until then. I am not sure what will be the statement you will issue to the press. Anyway, heads up. I have sent a similar package to a couple of news channels too. Not to our reporter friend though. I know that you have your tabs on her. So this story will break out somehow or the other. Let the common people fear. Let them be aware of the basic non-existence of their lives. Their non-significance. Let them atleast yearn to be something more than what they are. Let them atleast be scared and pray that they are not next on my list. "
Naveen shook his head and muttered something to himself.
"Hey hey one more thing. I almost forgot. I promised you seven murders right. The seventh one. It's me. As of 13th I am not alive. Atleast not in this paper world of yours. There is no trace of me existing anywhere in your world.It took some years to plan and do but I got it right. That's why I am even more confident that you will never get me. How do you catch someone who doesnt exist? You can't. The seventh killing was of my own. Of my life in this world. Of my pitiful non-existing life. Now I exist only as Epanastasi. So long, farewell. I hate to say goodbye."
With that, the screen went blank.
Nobody spoke for some time. Then the chief turned to Naveen.
"So what do you plan to do , Mr Naveen?"
"You heard him. How do you catch a ghost? "
"We shall meet in my room after this and discuss the next steps"
Naveen turned and left the room.He smiled to himself, happy that someone had the guts to change their life. Someone made his life significant to himself. At the cost of six other lives, nevertheless. He waited for the next round to start.
5 comments:
wow... liked it.. very different approach... you are as good as a seasoned writer. waiting to read more manoj...find a publisher soon :)
Very unexpected ending :-) Very different... I liked it !
Is there any "Like" button :-)
@ viji Thanks a lot...publishing still a long way off....lets see
@kiruthika Thanks a lot...hope it sounds realistic...and the like button should be somewhere on the page , Ha Ha
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