The Hunt for Truth

by Sury Patru Viswam

  “Haunted and abandoned,” Arya added. “Look at the driveway; we can’t drive… the tires would be flat in seconds.”

  “Why are the Bergs holding this property? Obviously, they don’t need it. They should fix this place up and sell it. Look at the size of the property; I bet they can get a good price on it,” Edgar remarked.

  Arya glanced towards Edgar. “Didn’t know that you are taking up real estate courses on the side.”

  “Wiseass.” Edgar playfully pushed her, prompting a smile on Arya’s face.

  “I thought the gates would be locked,” Arya said, noticing no locks on the gate.

  “Maybe Eli is here… with Sania,” Edgar wondered out aloud.

  “I don’t see any cars,” Arya remarked as they entered the driveway.

  “I bet there is a garage,” Edgar made a point that Arya agreed with.

  They both turned on their flashlights and slowly walked on the driveway. Just as they expected, the driveway was uneven and rocky. It took them less than a minute to get to the front door. They both felt uncomfortable; it felt like they were on a hike without wearing the right shoes.

  “It is locked,” Arya said, after checking the front door.

  Edgar did a quick search for a ringer, and, failing to spot it, he knocked on the door a couple of times.

  There was no answer.

  Arya followed him and knocked a little harder on the door.

  There was no answer.

  “I guess there is no one,” Edgar said. “Maybe we are wrong. Eli didn’t drive up here.”

  Arya pointed to Edgar’s left and gestured for him to check the windows on his side. Taking the cue, Edgar proceeded to his left to check for any signs that Eli or someone else was on the property. Arya did the same, moving to her right.

  For the next five minutes, both of them surveyed the property and came up empty. There seemed to be no signs of life.

  “I wish Julia had the keys to the property handy,” Edgar said.

  Julia had earlier mentioned that she didn’t hold on to the keys to the Stoneridge property as she didn’t find the property to her liking. In fact, during the summer, she finally convinced her father to sell the Stoneridge property. Eli Berg was then tasked by her father to make the property presentable to attract buyers. That was the only reason why Eli even had keys to the property.

  “Okay, what is our plan?” Edgar asked as they both stood facing the front side of the house. “It is getting dark; we should probably find the state trooper.”

  “You are probably right.” Arya agreed with Edgar, and they both started walking towards the car.

  At that moment, a sudden thought flashed across Arya’s mind. Why hasn’t the trooper called? Maybe we are still out of the signal range.

  Arya flipped open the phone to find two signal bars on her cellphone.

  “What?” Edgar asked, feeling curious at Arya’s sudden change of expression.

  “I was just wondering why the state trooper hasn’t called. I thought maybe we don’t have a signal, but we do.” She motioned her phone towards Edgar.

  “Maybe he doesn’t.” Edgar shrugged. “Anyway, we should find out soon. Let us get out of here.”

  As Edgar approached the car, he realized that Arya had stopped walking beside him. He turned around to find her staring back at the house.

  “What is it, Arya?” Edgar asked, walking back to her.

  “Did you notice the second-floor windows?” There were three double-hung twelve-over-twelve windows on the second floor, and Arya was pointing towards the middle one.

  “No, why?” Edgar was confounded with Arya’s question.

  “Do you notice any difference between the three windows?”

  Edgar narrowed his eyes as he tried to focus his eyes on the window. It was getting dark, and it was getting harder to spot the difference.

  “It looks identical to me.” Edgar glanced towards Arya.

  “Jesus! I am not asking you to look at the architecture; look at the curtains.”

  Edgar focused his eyes back at the house and was now able to spot the difference. The two corner windows seemed to be closed with a curtain, but not the middle one.

  “Are you talking about the middle one?” Edgar asked as the curtain was partially drawn.

  Arya glanced towards Edgar. “Did you notice them when we walked in?”

  Edgar shook his head, wondering where Arya was going with this discussion.

  “I did. I could swear that the middle one was also closed.” Arya’s voice echoed the firmness in her belief.

  Edgar glanced back towards the curtain. “That would be weird. Are you saying what I think you are saying?”

  Arya nodded, gesturing that she now believes that someone was watching them from the top floor.

  “Who do you think? Eli?”

  Arya sighed. “I am not sure….”

  Arya was interrupted by a sudden sound that erupted from behind. It was the sound of the police dispatcher asking them to respond.

  Edgar motioned his hand to gesture that he would take the dispatch call. As Edgar walked towards the car, Arya turned her attention back to the window.

  “Car 54,” Edgar responded to the dispatcher.

  “Shooting reported. Officer hit near Stoneridge and Waverly. All units respond. Suspect considered armed and dangerous.”

  “This is Car 54 responding. We are near the Stoneridge property. Where is the shooting?”

  The dispatcher came back on. “State trooper was hit near….”

  That was all Edgar heard before he noticed the approaching white Ford Transit van. It was driving right towards him at a very high speed.

  “Arya!” Edgar called out as he dropped the radio and pulled the gun that was holstered on his hip.

  Edgar realized that he hardly had any time left before the van would slam into him, jumped to his left, and fired a couple of bullets at the van.

  Hearing Edgar’s high-pitched yelling, Arya turned around to catch a glimpse of the van approaching the vehicle.

  Most people, when they are confronted with a ‘flight or fight’ dangerous situation, end up choosing the ‘flight’ option. Evolution had taught us to pick the ‘flight’ option as that maximizes the survival rate. However, cops are different – they choose the ‘fight’ option. They are trained to go against the basic instinct.

  In one action, Arya pulled her Glock 22 and sprayed an array of bullets at the van’s driver. Arya’s position gave her a perfect angle to aim for the driver’s head as the van came to a standstill slamming into the parked police cruiser. The van driver did not anticipate that another officer was standing at a 180-degree angle, making him a sitting duck for a sideways shot.

  The driver was completely blindsided and had no chance of escaping an array of bullets fired by Arya. One of the shots hit him on his hand, making him lose control of the van, and before he had time to react, another bullet grazed his right shoulder and hit him on the side of his neck. The blood started to ooze out of his neck as the third fateful bullet exploded on his right temple. The Glock 22 is one excellent firearm that carries superior firepower. In essence, it combines the power of a .45 caliber weapon with the flexibility of a .99 caliber gun. The driver had no chance of surviving the shootout. He was deader than a doornail.

  “You okay?” Arya shouted towards Edgar, who was getting up from the ditch.

  “Yeah….” Edgar flashed a thumbs-up sign and yelled, “I think he is dead.”

  “You bet your ass; he is cooked.” Arya walked towards the van.

  The blaring sounds from the van’s horn were going off as the driver collapsed on the steering wheel.

  “Jesus,” Edgar said, as he stood next to Arya.

  There was blood everywhere, and the driver’s brain matter was scattered all over the seats.

  “That was one hell of a shot.” Edgar punched Arya’s shoulders.

  “We should have police cars rolling in any minute,” Edgar said, as Arya walked towa
rds the driver’s side.

  “Let us take a look at what was left of his face.”

  Edgar drew his weapon and nodded towards Arya as a gesture that he was ready to act.

  Arya gently pulled the driver’s head from the steering wheel so that they could see the assailant’s face. Her eyes widened in shock, and there was an audible gasp from Edgar as they recognized the assailant.

  It was Omar Al-Farooq, who pretended to be Omar Raqqa.

  “Omar was after the van; why?” Edgar wondered aloud.

  “Samir must have had something that was of value to Omar…,” Arya thought for a moment and replied.

  “What should be….” Edgar was abruptly interrupted as a bullet hit the van, barely missing Arya to the right.

  The training kicked in; Arya and Edgar dived to their sides and took cover as the sprayed bullets ricocheted everywhere.

  Edgar and Arya glanced at each other from their position.

  “Who is shooting?”

  “Whoever it is… they are not that good,” Edgar said, as the bullets seemed to be fired at random.

  “It is coming from the house,” Arya said, pointing towards the second-floor windows. “Second-floor middle window.”

  “It is a woman… looks like Nafisa.” Edgar peeked, trying to spot the shooter.

  “We should attack the premises. I think she might be holding Sania and Eli.”

  Just as they were about to break out of their positions, they heard a loud ‘thud’ sound. It sounded as if something fell out of the sky.

  Arya and Edgar rushed from their positions and hurried towards the house, with their guns raised and ready to shoot. Arya signaled for Edgar to cover her side as they moved towards the front yard. Edgar, taking the cue from Arya, covered the side in case there was a third shooter.

  As they neared the house, they could now clearly see that there were two bodies sprawled across the front yard. Arya signaled to Edgar – who was to her left – towards the bodies at the front of the house.

  Just as they approached the bodies, they saw a movement in the middle window.

  Edgar and Arya pointed their weapons towards that direction, ready to shoot. Arya was the first to make out the figure and recognize the person standing in the window. It was a woman. She had blood dripping from her face and was yelling loudly. Reza!

  The woman in the window was Sania.

  39

  “Sania,” Edgar gasped.

  “Sania, are you alright?” Arya yelled, holding her gaze at the window.

  “Reza…,” Sania repeated the name as she motioned her hand to point downwards.

  Sania was pointing towards the motionless bodies on the ground. The implication was quite clear. One of the people who fell to the floor was Reza Tariq, also known as Eli Berg.

  “Is anyone else up there with you?” Arya yelled, holding her gaze at Sania.

  Sania stood still and didn’t respond, as if she didn’t hear Arya’s question.

  Edgar cautiously moved towards the bodies, still holding his weapon in a position to readily fire. There were two bodies on the ground that were separated by a few feet – a male and a female.

  “Sania?” Arya yelled, a little louder.

  Sania shifted her gaze towards Arya, but, still, she didn’t respond.

  “Sania, is anyone up there? Is it safe?”

  This time Sania nodded.

  A small smile, almost from relief, escaped from Arya’s face. “Thank God,” she muttered under her breath.

  At that moment, Sania’s eyes widened, and her expressions switched from sorrow to hope. “Reza…,” she called.

  Arya followed Sania’s gaze to catch Eli’s body wriggling on the ground, almost like a worm.

  “Eli, can you hear me?” Edgar crouched next to Eli.

  When Eli tried to speak, all he could do was to cough up blood.

  “Don’t move,” Arya said. “Can you breathe?”

  Eli nodded.

  “Good. Don’t move – you might have fractured a lot of bones. It is better not to move. Help is on the way,” Edgar said.

  Hearing a moaning sound, Arya shifted her attention towards the woman lying on the ground.

  “Nafisa,” Sania mouthed, pointing towards the woman’s body on the ground.

  Arya cautiously moved towards Nafisa with her firearm squarely pointed at her. She was ready to shoot if Nafisa took any offensive action.

  “Nafisa? Can you hear me?” Arya asked, standing above Nafisa.

  Nafisa coughed. Similarly to Eli, she was spitting blood.

  “I am a detective with the Philly PD. I have a gun trained on you. If you make any sudden moves, I might have to shoot you. Do you understand?” Arya said firmly.

  Nafisa moaned, coughing up blood.

  “Shoot her!” Sania cried with anger. “She is the devil. Shoot her, Arya,” Sania yelled, urging Arya to kill Nafisa.

  Arya understood the raw emotions of Sania and could empathize with her. However, there was no way she could follow through with Sania’s intentions. She is a cop, and that’s not how they roll —shooting unarmed suspects.

  “Is anyone else with you?”

  Arya exchanged a quick glance with Edgar and motioned her head to the left, gesturing him to check the perimeter.

  Nafisa mumbled as if she was trying to say something.

  Arya cautiously moved closer to her, with her gun trained on Nafisa. “Is anyone?”

  Nafisa muffled, coughing up more blood.

  As Arya moved closer to Nafisa, she could now tell the severity of Nafisa’s wounds. Nafisa certainly seemed to have gotten the worst of the fall when compared with Eli. Nafisa was lying amid a pool of blood; she was bleeding profusely.

  “Nafisa,” Arya called out, seeing Nafisa’s eyes close. It looked like she was going in and out, barely being able to keep her eyes open.

  Nafisa muttered something that sounded garbled.

  Arya crouched down, next to Nafisa. It was quite apparent that Nafisa was now in no position to attack or harm anyone. She could barely keep herself conscious. Arya could sense that time was running out for Nafisa. If Nafisa didn’t get medical attention immediately, she could be gone forever. There was a side of Arya, as Sania’s friend, that wanted to let Nafisa die. But the other side of Arya, a cop, wanted Nafisa to be alive. There were a lot of questions that need to be answered, and, with Omar Al-Farooq being dead, she knew Nafisa could be the key to get those answers.

  Arya motioned her hand to signal Edgar. “Radio in for medical. If we don’t get assistance soon, Nafisa is toast.”

  Edgar, who was attending Eli, understood immediately that time is of the essence. He gently placed Eli’s head on the ground and asked, “You okay?”

  Eli nodded to gesture that he was fine. Edgar smiled, knowing Eli was fine and hurried towards the cruiser to radio in for assistance.

  “Why are you helping her? She should die,” Sania said, as she approached Arya.

  Upon hearing Sania’s voice, Arya turned around and rushed towards Sania. Arya didn’t know that she was emotional until she realized tears were rolling down her face. She quickly wiped them down with her right hand; she was not comfortable with showing that side of her – the emotional side – even with her friend, Sania.

  “Are you okay?” Arya asked, gazing straight into Sania’s eyes.

  Sania nodded before turning towards Nafisa. “Why are you helping her? She should die.”

  40

  Some people deserve to die.

  That was the overwhelming feeling in Sania’s heart when she saw Nafisa being attended by the first responders. She glared at Arya, radioing her emotions, her true feelings. Stop them from saving Nafisa; she deserved to die. Monsters deserve to die, and Nafisa was undoubtedly a monster.

  “Can you follow my index finger?” a woman’s voice sounded, breaking the swirling thoughts in Sania’s head.

  Sania tilted her head to face one of the first responders who had a smile on her face and w
as holding up her index finger.

  Sania nodded. “Yes.”

  The first responder followed up by motioning her hand from her right to her left, slowly. Sania knows this drill. She had a concussion when she was in college, and she knew exactly what the first responder was trying to do. The part she couldn’t understand was why the first responder was checking her for head injuries. It was Reza, not her, who fell from the top floor. The moment Reza entered her thoughts, Sania couldn’t resist herself from turning her head to catch a glimpse of Reza. Reza was sitting to her right and was getting attended by a couple of first responders.

  “I shouldn’t say this, but he looks okay.” The first responder understood the feelings circling Sania and tried to reassure her. “Your husband should be okay; his injuries don’t look too serious.”

  “Oh, no! He is not my husband,” Sania responded, shifting her gaze back at the first responder. “He is my boyfriend.”

  The first responder was taken aback by Sania’s response, and she was not sure how to respond. She looked confused.

  Sania, sensing how her response sounded, smiled awkwardly and said, “It didn’t come off right. What I meant was — he is my ex-boyfriend.”

  “Does he know that he is your ex?” the first responder asked, seeing the way Reza was looking at Sania.

  Sania, hearing the first responder’s observation, shifted her glance towards Reza. Their eyes locked for a moment. There was no denying what was on Reza’s mind. He wanted to go back in time.

  “You okay?” Arya’s voice brought Sania back from the past, and she turned towards the voice to spot Arya walking towards her.

  “Is she dead?” Sania asked, gesturing towards Nafisa.

  Arya shook her head. “She is going to live.”

  “Damn it, Arya,” Sania expressed her frustration and anger. “She deserved to die. She is a terrorist.”

  The word ‘terrorist’ froze the first responder who was treating Sania. The images of the plane crashing into the towers played in the first responder’s head.

  “Do you mean 9/11?” Arya asked, searching Sania’s face.

  Sania hesitated with her words. “I meant… I don’t know. I don’t know if they were involved in 9/11, but….” She paused, sensing the gravity of the words that she was about to say next. “I know they are all terrorists.”