The Mind Hunter

by Mir Quadri

  “Yeah. So we set a trap for him at the hospital, you know with sniffer dogs, snipers, guards, you know the drill. According to Sarah, he was suppose to break into the hospital using an ambulance. Now, he did break into the hospital using an ambulance but we believe he figured out that it was a trap and fled” said Harry.

  “Fled?” asked Evelyn, smiling.

  “Yes, fled. Why are you smiling?” asked Harry.

  “If you think he fled and this is all over, then why you are telling me all this?” asked Evelyn.

  “We think he fled, but we are not sure. The ambulance vehicle he came into the hospital with was equipped with 150 ton of electro-magnet, that pulled every metal to it, including the electricity” said Harry.

  “And your guns too?” asked Evelyn, who at this time was amused by the whole story.

  “Yes. Considering that Ms White is still at the hospital, what do you make of all this?” asked Harry as Evelyn started laughing loudly.

  “What’s so funny about this, Evelyn?” asked Cas who was fuming for being ridiculed by her laughter.

  “Well, it is funny. First, you bug me and my team without letting me know. Then you lock up my team member and deny me access to her. Now, after blowing me off, you come all the way here hoping that I will help you?” asked Evelyn.

  “Well, let’s not forget that we are a team here” said Cas.

  “Really? Now we are a team?” asked Evelyn sarcastically.

  “Listen Evelyn, are you going to help us or not?” asked Harry, irritated by her arrogance.

  “Okay, I will help you on three conditions. First, you never bug me and my team, ever” said Evelyn.

  “Okay, that’s fair” replied Cas.

  “Second, if we are a team, then we act like a team. No more secrets about Will’s case. I want to know everything” said Evelyn.

  “Fine. What else?” asked Cas.

  “Lastly, I want Sarah released immediately” said Evelyn.

  “You got to be kidding me! She committed a felony by showing Will the blueprints” interrupted Harry.

  “She was trying to help a friend who is trying to prove his innocence. We need her on this case. You know very well that her intent was not criminal” explained Evelyn.

  “This is ridiculous, Chief” complained Harry.

  “Fine, Evelyn. I will release her. But you’re on a very tight leash” said Cas as Harry frowned disappointingly.

  “Now tell me, what do you think is going on here?” continued Cas.

  “I don’t know what’s going on but I know for a fact what you think happened is wrong” said Evelyn.

  “Which part?” asked Harry.

  “All of it” replied Evelyn.

  “How do you know?” asked Harry.

  “Let me tell you a story. About four years ago, we got a case about a rapist, Jim Payne. Jim, was in the prison for ten years for having brutally raped his daughter. Two days after he got released, he got convicted again — this time on charges of killing the same daughter he was accused of raping years ago. We all thought that it was revenge. We found his prints on the murder weapon and all the other evidence was pointing towards him being the killer. Inspite of that, when we visited the crime scene of this poor girl, Will, in the first thirty seconds, told me that it was not a murder, but a suicide committed by the daughter herself. Of course I didn’t believe him. But later on, the blood spatter analysis confirmed the inward trajectory of the knife into the chest that happens only when self inflicted. The postmortem reveled that they were impressions made into the girl’s hands that happened because she was wearing a pair of gloves when she did it, which the father removed before calling the police to self incriminate himself because he wanted to go back to prison, as he had nothing else left outside of the prison. She was his only daughter. The position of the body indicated the sudden jilt that the girl probably felt, after puncturing her lungs from the knife. Because she pushed the knife into her chest, she slipped and fell backwards, resulting in her skull getting bruised. The backward fall created an impression in the grass, by her high heal shoes which could not have happened if someone would have killed her, as she would have probably be running from the killer” said Evelyn as the room looked at her in silence.

  “Now, we eventually found all this out, but it took all the lab geeks two months to put this together. Will, figured this out in thirty seconds, without performing any ‘Hunting Session’ on her father” she said, paused for a bit and continued “you have no idea who you’re dealing with here. You said to me that my closeness with Will is your liability. I think that’s your biggest asset. I know Will better than any of you. He never flees. He is never unprepared. You’re chasing your worst nightmare. So if you tell me that he fled because he was surprised, I know you’re wrong” said Evelyn.

  “Well, what do you make of all this then. He came in with intentions to break Ms White out, but then he just ran away” said Harry.

  “If he came in to break Ms White out, then Ms White is gone” she said.

  “Well, that’s my point. Ms White is still at the hospital” said Harry.

  “It’s hard to believe. If Will want her out, she is out” said Evelyn.

  “Again, I told you just now -- she is still in the hospital” said Harry.

  “Are you sure?” asked Evelyn.

  “Of course, I am sure. I have seen her myself” said Harry.

  “Did you actually see her?” asked Evelyn.

  “Yeah, she was lying in her bed and had an oxygen mask on her….” it suddenly occurred to him that he actually did not see her face. He just saw a masked lady on the bed.

  “Damn it!” he said as he immediately took his cell phone out and called Ron, who was in the garage at the hospital.

  “Ron, please go and check on Ms White. See if she is still there” said Harry. On getting the call from Harry, Ron ran upstairs to the second floor where the two guards were standing inside the room and the room was exactly the same way as Harry saw it the last time.

  “She is still here, sir” confirmed Ron.

  “Can you take out her mask off and see if that’s really her?” asked Harry.

  Ron slowly removed the mask and realized that this was not Ms White, but her nurse, who was lying unconscious all this while on the bed.

  “Shit! This isn’t her. He’s got her, sir” screamed Ron on the phone.

  “FIFTY MUD POTS”

  A few years ago…

  “I would like poached eggs with bacon, plain potatoes on the side and another round of coffee, please” said a mid forties woman. She was sitting in a diner. Though this place wasn’t jam packed, there were a healthy number of people drinking coffee around her.

  “Right away, miss. Can I have your name to write on the order please?” asked the waitress, holding a jug of coffee in her hands.

  “Sure, Emily Ross.”

  “Thank you, miss. We will get right on it then” confirmed the waitress and left.

  Emily took out her eye glasses from a grey colored leather bag. She wore them gently and took out a novel from the same bag. She then flipped the pages over and started reading it while drinking her coffee. She seemed to have lost herself in the novel when suddenly a girl’s voice interrupted her.

  “Excuse me, is this seat taken?”

  Emily peeked over her book and saw a young, White, green eyed, blonde curly haired, slim teenage girl, wearing brown framed thick eye glasses, resembling a typical nerd.

  “Is this seat taken?” asked the girl jabbing a finger to the seat opposite to Emily’s.

  “Sorry honey, I am just waiting on my son. He should be here any moment from school” said Emily.

  “Is he going to be here soon?” asked the girl.

  Emily looked around and saw a lot of empty chairs in the diner. “There are plenty of seats in the diner if you’d like to sit” replied Emily.

  “No, that’s okay” said the girl and sat opposite to Emily anyways.

  “Huh..I just
said this seat is taken, sweety” said Emily firmly.

  “Sure, you did” answered the girl swiftly and continued “I just wanted your opinion on something as long as you have five minutes, please?” requested the girl.

  “My advise?” chuckled Emily, who was clearly surprised by the odd behavior of this girl she did not even know.

  “Yes. Could you please take a look at these and tell me which one you like” said the girl as she took out a picture book. The book had some pictures of mud pots of different sizes and colors. Emily scanned through the pots as she caressed the paper, almost trying to feel the pots in the picture.

  “Wow, these are beautiful. Did you make these?” asked Emily.

  “No, I just have a habit of collecting mud pots pictures” replied the girl.

  “That’s odd. I have never heard of such a hobby” pointed Emily as she continued to scan through the book. She stopped at one of the pictures of the pot — “this one” she said.

  “That’s a great choice, miss. Thank you very much” said the girl as she flipped closed the book.

  “Very well then. I am glad I could help” said Emily and continued “is this some kind of a school project or something?”

  “Yes miss, something like that” replied the girl as she put the book into her bag.

  “Very well then” said Emily assuming the conversation was over.

  “Which school did you go to, miss?” asked the girl.

  “I am not from this State, I went to Burlingham School, in Utah. That’s where I grew up” replied Emily.

  “Utah, I like Utah very much” said the girl.

  “Well, then you’re nothing like my son!” chucked Emily.

  “You clearly are very fond of your son, miss. Aren’t you? What’s his name?” asked the girl.

  “William...I call him Willie. Every mother is fond of their kid…I am sure your mother is fond of you too” replied Emily with a smile.

  “Do you really love your son, miss?” asked the girl.

  Emily was surprised by this question. She took her glasses out and looked closely at the girl “of course, I do honey”

  “Yes. I suppose you do. Would you agree that you would do anything to ensure your son is safe?” asked the girl.

  Emily was clearly getting upset with all the questioning at this time. She irritatingly replied “what is this all about? Of course I would do anything, so would your mom.”

  “And, would you also agree miss that not hiding the truth from your loved ones sometimes helps?”

  “Sure. I think you should never hide anything from your loved ones. Listen sweetheart, I sense someone broke your heart? Maybe if you can tell me what really happened, I can help?” offered Emily.

  “When you know you should not hide the truth, then why don’t you tell your son the whole truth, miss?” said the girl with a serious look in her face.

  “What? You’re really getting on my nerves now. Please go and trouble someone else” retorted Emily.

  “Why don’t you tell him what lies behind the subconscious Memory Palace, miss?” asked the girl. Emily’s face suddenly turned pale like someone had sucked all the blood out of it. She was flabbergasted!

  “What? What the hell are you talking about?” she reacted.

  “You know what I am talking about, miss. You need to understand, you can’t hide the truth for long. He needs to see what lies behind” said the girl.

  “You don’t know what you’re talking about. Is this some kind of a prank? You’re done young lady. Get lost now” shouted Emily in anger.

  “You don’t understand, miss. If you don’t tell him about what lies behind, he may get into trouble someday. He has to know. You have to tell him. If you love him then please tell him” pleaded the girl.

  “What trouble? What are you talking about. Who are you?” asked Emily.

  “Please, miss. This is for his own benefit” answered the girl.

  “This is ridiculous. Either you tell me who you are and how the hell you know about all this or I am leaving” said Emily as she put the book in her bag and started preparing to leave.

  “Well, I warned you miss. His fate is in your hands” said the girl as she got up from the couch and placed the bag on her shoulders.

  “Please make sure you tell him the truth in time, miss. I know it’s your hobby to make mud pots and collect them. If you don’t tell him the truth by the time you finish making fifty mud pots, something bad will happen and that is the day you will realize that it’s already too late” she said as she moved to the corner of the table.

  “Who are you?” screamed Emily in anger.

  Just as she was about to leave, the girl turned around, looked at Emily and said “my name is… Mary…Mary White” and walked out of the diner.

  “THIS IS WILL”

  Present day

  “Are you sure?” asked Evelyn.

  “Of course, I am sure. I have seen her myself” said Harry.

  “Did you actually see her?” asked Evelyn.

  “Yeah, she was lying in her bed and had an oxygen mask on her….” it suddenly occurred to him that he actually did not see her face. He just saw a masked lady on the bed.

  “Damn it!” he said as he immediately took his cell phone out and called Ron, who was in the garage at the hospital.

  “Ron, please go and check on Ms White. See if she is still there” said Harry. On getting the call from Harry, Ron ran upstairs to the second floor where the two guards were standing inside the room and the room was exactly the same way as Harry saw it the last time.

  “She is still here, sir” confirmed Ron.

  “Can you take out her mask off and see if that’s really her?” asked Harry.

  Ron slowly removed the mask and realized that this was not Ms White, but her nurse, who was lying unconscious all this while on the bed.

  “Shit! This isn’t her. He’s got her, sir” screamed Ron on the phone.

  24 hrs ago…

  “But how are you planning to even get into the hospital. Did you not hear what I said before? There is a warrant on your name. They will arrest you the moment they see you” said Sarah.

  “Well, then I better make sure that they don’t see me” replied Will.

  “But how you going to do that?” asked Sarah.

  “Sarah, you have been of great help. I won’t put you in any more trouble. It’s best if you don’t know any more details. You know - plausible deniability” said Will as he walked around the tree and pulled a motorbike from the other side of the tree which Sarah never knew was there.

  “Okay, so this was your ride?” asked Sarah. Will sat on his bike, turned the bike on and came closer to Sarah.

  ‘Thanks again Sarah for all your help” said Will.

  “There is one more problem with your plan — your Hunting Sessions take anywhere between two to three hours at a stretch. Dan was in the hospital all night yesterday and he said that the nurses check all the patients every hour. They do a manual count. So, even by some magic you get to her room, which is nearly impossible, but say you do it, you can’t perform a successful Hunting Session on her because of these hourly checks. What are you going to do about that?” grinned Sarah.

  “Who said anything about performing a Hunting Session in the hospital?” asked Will.

  “Then what?” asked Sarah as it suddenly occurred to her. “Are you going to …”

  “Yes. I am going to break into the hospital and break her out, tomorrow night” interrupted Will and rode off on the bike.

  Will was riding his bike at full speed. It was as if the gravity had no impact on the tires - it seemed to him that he was flying. As he started cutting through the traffic, he realized that everyone else around him is living their lives to the fullest. Everyone else’s life is working the same way as it should be, but not his. His life was ruined. His life had changed. Not just now, not when he Hunted Ms White. His life had changed much before that - his life had changed when his family was murdered. It
had been ten years. He still hadn’t found who killed them. He still did not know what were his wife’s dying words. What were the kids playing just before they were slaughtered. Life changed. It changed for him. That day, it was all over.

  Will went straight to the City Center hospital. He saw a big police van parked right across the entrance. He watched the hospital from a distance and realized that this was a pretty busy hospital — busy with people constantly flowing in and out of this hospital building. There were a few ambulance vehicles parked on the opposite side of the entrance, ready to throttle out for any emergencies. The entrance doors had all metal detectors so people don’t carry anything metal, like weapons etc inside the hospital. There were four police officers guarding the entrance door. A group of civilians, dressed casually, were hanging out at the other end of the street. It did not take Will a lot of time to figure out that there were working for the police as well, just discreetly. Beyond the hospital, after a few buildings was a public garden where couples often hung out at this time of the night. This hospital was located on one of the busiest streets of the city, surrounded by corporate buildings and a public park.

  Will slowly rode past the hospital entrance towards the posterior side of this building. With his helmet on, it was obvious that the cops could not recognize him. He noticed a string of cameras, lined exactly in the middle of the building, facing the street. These were placed to trace any unlawful activities around the building. This hospital was located in the center of the city, elevated at around six hundred feet. There was also a big hotel right opposite to this side of hospital, almost with the same elevation. There was a busy street in between these two building. Will watched the traffic carefully and noticed that there was a ten seconds window when there were no cars on this street, possibly because of a traffic signal located about five hundred yards from this hospital. This signal turned red every five minutes.