by Aman Gupta
“All I know is I asked you to get her to skip town on the night of 19th December. On 20th December, she was murdered,” said Vik.
“I didn’t murder her. I gave her the message. What did you want me to do? Drag her away to safety?” questioned Olivia.
“I asked you to my friend,” said Vik.
“And I told you I didn’t want to be just a friend,” said Olivia.
“They were my family,” said Vik.
“As was I,” remarked Olivia, as she held Vik’s hand.
“What was Anthony Arnold’s plan?” asked Vik.
“I don’t know what you are talking about,” said Olivia, as she pulled her hand away.
“I saw it,” said Vik.
“Saw what?” asked Olivia.
“Your work,” said Vik. “Pretty cool.”
“You know, there’s one thing you are forgetting,” said Olivia.
“What’s that?” asked Vik.
“That unlike you, I can just get up and leave,” said Olivia as she got up.
“Your thoughts always were cute,” said Vik.
“Good bye, Jay,” said Olivia.
Vik grabbed her by her jacket and hugged her. He whispered, “Thank you for seeing me today.”
Vik looked at her as she was leaving. This time she didn’t turn around.
“How did it go?” asked Brandon.
“Splendid,” said Vik. “The sexual tension was unbearable.” Brandon laughed.
“You want to meet her again? I can arrange that. But when do I get to meet the redhead?” said Brandon.
“Soon. I think we should go on a double date soon,” said Vik, as they bumped fists.
“I feel you’re my best friend,” said Brandon.
“You know what, maybe I am. Tell that to everyone you meet,” said Vik.
◆◆◆
While Emma was leaving, Office Mortan approached her.
“Detective, I want to tell you something,” said Officer Mortan.
“What is it, officer?” said Emma.
“Sheriff had asked me to follow Natalie, the reporter,” said Mortan.
“Found anything?” asked Emma.
“She has been scouting the apartment and Nucleus these past two days. Looks like she is searching for something,” said Officer Mortan.
“Did she find anything?” asked Emma.
“I couldn’t tell,” said Officer Mortan.
“Where’s she now?” asked Emma.
“Gone,” said Officer Mortan.
“What do you mean, gone?” asked Emma.
“She went across the bridge to TS – 19. We can’t go there,” said Officer Mortan.
“Where was she staying?” asked Emma.
“A hotel, down the road,” replied the officer.
“Head over there. See if she left any stuff behind. Camp in the building across the street and see if she shows up to get her stuff,” said Emma.
“Okay.”
The next day, Eric got a call from the Mayor inquiring about the progress.
“We are still looking for leads,” said Eric.
“Well, hurry up,” said Pete.
“Sir, we don’t have the manpower to cover much ground. We are doing the best we can,” said Eric.
“I know but that’s all we have for now,” said Pete.
“That’s not true,” said Eric.
“What do you mean?” asked Pete.
“We can use an intelligent guy like Vik,” said Eric.
“I cannot order the warden to release a criminal,” said Pete.
“His crimes haven’t been proven. And the last thing you should want, is being responsible for detaining an innocent person,” said Eric.
“Do you believe he’s innocent?” asked Pete.
“I don’t have any solid evidence for the contrary,” said Eric.
“Alright, I’ll see what I can do,” said Pete.
“Thank you, sir. I appreciate it,” said Eric, as he disconnected the call.
He looked at Joey and nodded, while Kate looked confused.
Few hours later, Vik was ordered to be released.
“Sir, he attacked my men on the first night here, right after being told that such aggression could guarantee that he could be transferred to the general holding as well as be detained for an indefinite time,” said the warden.
“Do your job, warden, or I’ll talk to my powerful friends and get someone to do it for you. Regarding his aggression, I’m sure I won’t mind if you rough him up a little bit,” said the mayor.
“Alright, sir. We’ll send him to Morrow today,” said the warden.
Vik was sent back with a few broken ribs and his second trip to the infirmary. Fate wasn’t kind to his friend, Brandon, who was placed in solitary confinement to protect him from further attacks by unknown assailants.
One of the guards dropped Vik in the middle of nowhere outside the prison, and told him to walk the rest.
Emma was asked to report to New Bay. She decided to drive overnight to reach early in the morning. She took the route of Morrow – Old River – New Bay.
In the wee hours, her car broke down, when she had barely reached half way, near Old River.
“Damn it,” she said as she opened the bonnet. Out of network range in the middle of nowhere, she decided to wait in the car until her car cooled down before she could fix it.
Few minutes later, she heard interference on the radio. She picked it up hoping that someone might be able to assist her.
“Hello, can you hear me?” said Emma.
After a lot of noise, all she could make out was the word ‘help’.
“Yes, I need help,” said Emma.
“Hello?” she echoed again. “Can you hear me?”
“Hello,” the voice replied back.
“Could you speak up a little bit? I can barely hear you,” said Emma.
“Mommy! Daddy!” said the voice.
“I can’t hear you. What about your Mommy and Daddy? Are you looking for them?” asked Emma.
“I have to go. They are coming back,” said the voice.
“Wait. What’s your name?” asked Emma.
“Hello!!” shouted Emma as the line went dead.
With forest on either side of the road spreading across thousands of acres, Emma decided not to pursue it any further since she couldn’t identify it as a distress call, and the priority was the missing 12 year old in New Bay.
She reached New Bay in the morning.
“You reek of oil, detective,” said an amused Eric.
“Not funny, sir,” said Emma.
“Why don’t you take some rest and we’ll handle it for now?” said Kate.
“I don’t take orders from you, Jenna,” said Emma.
Joey took Emma away and tried to calm her down.
“No one likes what’s happening, but we have to work together, okay?” said Joey.
“I’m not working with her,” said Emma.
Emma told Eric about hearing some weird girl voice around Old River. But Eric brushed it aside as a kid playing a prank.
Eric received a call from Vik, which he decided not to tell anyone about.
“What’s wrong?” asked Joey.
“Nothing,” said Eric.
“We have been searching the forest for almost a day or two. We haven’t been able to pick any clues or footmarks. Perhaps we should think some other strategy,” said Kate.
“Okay, what do you have in mind?” asked Eric.
“We should focus why instead of where? Why is she missing? Has she been kidnapped or if she or her family had any enemies?” said Kate.
“Okay, you and Joey do that, while Emma and I will try to cover more ground,” said Eric.
Joey looked at Eric, but decided not to say anything.
“Vik is out,” said Eric to Emma.
“What? When?” asked Emma.
“Yesterday,” said Eric.
“Where’s he?” asked Emma.
“Said he h
as some business to take care of,” said Eric.
“What business?” asked Emma.
“Didn’t say. I’ll appreciate if you kept this to yourself,” said Eric.
“Sure,” said a confused Emma.
“Do you know where he could be going?” asked Emma.
Eric shook his head.
“Let’s go,” said Eric.
“Where?” asked Emma.
“He told me we might be looking for the wrong thing at the wrong place,” said Eric.
“This is near the last spot where that electric fuel station employee told the cops that he saw her, a mile up the road,” said Emma.
“But how did she get here? It’s almost ten miles from her house,” said Eric.
“But her file says she was alone,” said Emma. “What does Vik say that we should be looking for?”
“He said he once found someone when he stopped searching for footprints but rather searched for tracks,” said Eric.
“You mean car? Or like a bicycle?” asked Emma.
“Both. Her parents claimed they don’t have a car or a bicycle. But there’s no way an 11 year old can go this far without a ride,” said Eric.
“Who was Vik looking for?” asked Emma.
“I don’t know if you know the guy. But he doesn’t say much about himself,” said Eric.
Emma smiled.
CHAPTER 5: ENGAGEMENT
Jay went to his seat after his meeting with Olivia. It had a placard with his name on it. The place was rather down in morale, he thought. There were almost 200 IT guys working on something on their desktops. Most of the screens were darker than the center of a black hole. It was almost as if they were trying to send commands to a remote console which wasn’t working to their expectations. Some were sweating, some were absorbed, but all were scared.
Jay turned on his desktop, which started to glitch. He looked around but couldn’t get anyone’s attention. Suddenly, the screen froze to a dark blue program which read:
Hi, what’s your name?
Jay tapped on the monitor which projected the keyboard on its front, and he typed his name.
Program: Hi, Jay Miller. Want to play a game?
Jay: Do I have a choice?
Program: Yes
Jay: What do I win?
Program: Nothing
Jay: What can I lose?
Program: Everything
Jay: Let’s play.
The chair created a suction which pinned Jay to it. He couldn’t move. He tried getting up but it was like chair was bolted to the floor. An observer couldn’t suspect a thing. Just a normal chair on a normal floor. Perhaps a powerful magnetic field underneath the floor, he thought.
Program: Answer the Riddles – You cannot touch me, but I can touch you. Who am I?
Jay: How many guesses do I have? There can be so many answers.
Program: 1, every time.
Jay: Wind
Jay received a shock from the chair, though a minor one. It wasn’t just electric, which scared Jay.
Program: You cannot hear me but I can hear you.
Jay: Microphone
Jay received another shock, stronger than earlier.
Program: You can’t see me, yet I’m there.
Jay: Gravity
The third shock numbed Jay’s legs. He couldn’t feel his toes.
Program: Some people like me, some people don’t. Some say I can fly, some say I can’t die.
Jay: Time
A second later, Jay couldn’t breathe. His vision was blurry, his hands were shaking. He felt like he was being sucked into the chair.
Program: The next one might end you. See the bigger picture. Here’s your final clue.
Program: I created you, then you created me. Who am I?
Jay looked at the screen for a few seconds and typed in his answer.
Jay: God
Jay could finally move. He fell off his chair, lying on the floor in agonizing pain. Breathing heavily, he slowly helped himself up as he kicked the chair away. The program was gone and the OS had already loaded.
“What the hell is this place!” mumbled Jay, in pain.
A floor worker came to him and delivered him his first assignment of transferring data from old servers to new ones.
He walked a few paces towards his chair, examining it from afar. He touched it with his finger and quickly moved his hand away. But it didn’t hurt anymore. It was just a chair.
He rolled it to his seat and went on to his first task. The day went by.
In the evening, he went to the elevators. He was the last one to leave so he, unknowingly, pressed the button to the wrong elevator.
The elevator stopped and there was already someone inside it.
A man in a black suit. Jay couldn’t tell what was more expensive – his clothes or his watch. Probably the shoes, he thought. Jay recognized him from the time he was a guest of honor few months ago at Daulton University. It was set up by Victor Daulton for under-privileged kids. There wasn’t any tuition fees and was one of the most sought after, by students across the world. They felt it was the best way to enter Verati which had essentially taken over the corporate world in every industry. They had even invented some new ones.
Jay knew only a fool would get in the elevator with Victor Daulton. He was admired by politicians, industry leaders and everyone else who didn’t know him. The others dreaded his presence.
“Are you going to get in or make me wait?” said Victor.
“Sorry, I think I pressed the wrong button,” said Jay.
“You did,” said Victor.
Jay stopped looking at him and started backing away.
“Did you just excuse yourself?” asked Victor, sizing up Jay.
“No, I mean. I didn’t want to interrupt. I know you have to keep up with a busy schedule,” said Jay.
“I hope you don’t know that. Otherwise I would have to fire my secretary,” said Victor, as he observed Jay.
“I haven’t seen you here before,” said Victor.
“Yeah, I just started today,” said Jay.
“In the Tech department?” asked Victor.
“Yeah, how do you know?” asked Jay.
Victor looked at the floor number printed on the wall behind Jay. Jay didn’t have to look behind. He knew it wasn’t a smart question.
“We are at 13th,” said Victor.
Jay looked at Victor and nodded.
“How was your first day?” asked Victor.
“Shockingly adventurous,” said Jay.
“How so?” said Victor.
“Ran into a beautiful girl today,” said Jay, as he looked at Victor’s expressions.
“Yeah, we hire the prettiest ones, don’t we?” smirked Victor.
“She doesn’t work here exactly,” said Jay.
“Tell me her name. I’ll make her your secretary tomorrow,” said Victor. “How? I’m affable.”
“Don’t know it,” lied Jay.
Jay’s legs were still twitching a bit from his morning game with the mystery program.
“Something wrong with your leg?” asked Victor.
“The body couldn’t handle much shocks today,” said Jay.
“Why hide the pain,” said Victor.
“People like me can’t appear to be weak,” said Jay, looking straight at Victor.
“Well put. What’s your name?” asked Victor.
“Jay,” said Jay.
“Want to ask me for mine?” said Victor.
“Only if I’m allowed to say it out loud,” replied Jay.
Victor smirked and said, “See you around, Jay.”
As the elevator doors were about to close, Jay said, “Nice to meet you, Mr. Daulton.”
Jay decided to take the stairs for the entire week. He didn’t want another meeting with Victor Daulton, lest it would deviate him from his cause for being at Verati.
Jay mostly kept to himself, and it wasn’t exactly new to the entire Tech floor. No one talked apart from th
e occasional greeting while taking a piss. The employee could only talk with their team members, a practice put in place unofficially by their bosses who had their own problems.
Jay, most days, could only leave when the entire floor had gone since the workaholic in him decided to back up each day’s files on the same day before leaving.
Victor Daulton was retiring that year, and the rumor in the building was that he was moving to a senior position in the president’s cabinet. Anthony Arnold, who was earlier handling the Weapons and Sciences Department, was being groomed to be the new Chairman and CEO of Verati.
As Jay was leaving from work on Friday, he noticed Sarah Daulton exiting the ground floor elevator. He didn’t want to make an eye contact, especially if it could lead to another meeting with Victor Daulton in front of Sarah. Being the only person apart from couple of security guards didn’t help Jay’s chances of moving incognito.
“Hey, you,” shouted Sarah, ten yards away.
“Damn,” murmured Jay. He didn’t turn around and kept moving forward at a snail’s pace.
“Stop,” said Sarah.
He didn’t have a choice. Sarah came up to him from his right, and walked over to his front.
“It’s you,” said Sarah.
“Hi,” said Jay.
“I see you’re working here,” said Sarah.
“I see you were right about being CEO’s daughter,” replied Jay.
“Yeah,” said Sarah, with an exasperated expression.
“Parent’s love can be tough sometimes,” said Jay.
“Excuse me?” said Sarah.
“Sorry, I shouldn’t have said that,” said Jay.
“It’s okay,” said Sarah after looking at Jay, as he looked back.
“Do I bother to come tomorrow?” asked Jay.
“You work on weekends?” asked Sarah.
“It’s the first weekend. Thought it would help me in my goal here,” said Jay.
“And what’s your goal?” asked Sarah.
“Change lives,” said Jay.
“And you believe your work here will do that? Change lives?” asked Sarah.
“That’s what it said in the brochure,” said Jay.
“I think an idiot gave away wrong brochures,” joked Sarah.
“You don’t look like an idiot to me,” said Jay.
Sarah thought about it for a second and said, “You’re from Daulton?” Jay nodded.
“And that’s how you knew my name, because I’m a Daulton,” said Sarah.
