
Being tired of the case he was working on, He turned towards the coffee machine for his everyday coffee; same bitter same strong and equally important for his functioning.It was clear he was sleep deprived, the case was near to a dead end, and he was hoping for a miracle, for a lead to appear. He moved from his chair to cross examine the pictures of the victim and his phone rings
682Please respect copyright.PENANAYSzsprR1Mg
682Please respect copyright.PENANAt4nJWD1lmn
Annoyingly he answers it since he had to get up from his chair and move to the table across the room,"Hello, Inspector Nakuul Shetty speaking."
A long silence follows,but no one responds for a whole minute, Nakuul suddenly feels a dryness in his throat.
"Hello inspector Nakuul, I have a surprise for you".
Nakuul really knew who it was, this voice had haunted him for months, this voice was the reason he could barely get some sleep. But he was just afraid of getting the information, afraid if there was any new mutilated dead body, afterall this call only meant death.
"DID YOU MISS ME?" the voice said,in a childish tone interupting Nakuul's thoughts
Nakuul was lost for words, h682Please respect copyright.PENANAAfPt1NVD1h
682Please respect copyright.PENANANSlgn5scZ8
is fears were coming true, What was it he thought again, 'A new Victim?'
"Did you find your partner lately? Yes, I'm talking about Viraj, Where is he?'
A haunted silence follows.
Nakuul froze. He went out of his office back to the adjacent floor of building, eyes scanning quickly across the room but in vain, he decided to ask
"Has anyone heard from Viraj? Where is he?"He shouted right after pressing the mute button on his phone.
Other officers exchanged silent, puzzled looks and Nakuul knew the answer even before it came.
"NO!" followed by "We din't see him since yesterday"
Nakuul still kept running on every floor, opening the doors of every office, every room,hoping for this to be a joke, hoping to see Inspector Viraj in his cabin or in Canteen having his 17th cup of tea, and cracking a joke which everybody laughed on expect for Nakuul, Furiously he unmutes and gets back to his phone,
"Tell me where is he? What have you done to him?" Nakuul demanded in a firm voice
The voice spoke" Oh that's not optimistic of you my dear. And now that I have your attention"
A long pause follows
"But it's a surprise, Nakuul." and a laughter followed.
"But I'll give you a chance to make a difference. Maybe this time you'll put more effort into it. Be at the place where it all started, to the laundry room. If you bring back-up he dies. If you don't make it within an hour, he dies. And trust me, Nakuul, it'll be a very slow and painful death."
"No, Don't do anything to Viraj , I will.... " the line went dead even before he could complete.
Nakuul rushed out of his office grabbed his keys and ran towards his car, he started driving the fastest he could, to the hotel, the famous one in Mumbai- The Taj, he reached and enquired people around showing Viraj's picture hoping someone would know where he might be. He found a pathway right on the same lane which looked like it was not discovered by the locals.
The deeper he went, the darker and hotter it got. His shirt was covered in sweat, his tight shoes crushing his feet.
"Where the hell is this laundry room?" he whispered as he reached much further.
A glimmer of light was coming from underneath a closed door at the end of a dark corridor, it looked completely deserted. He ran towards it calling his partner's name.
"HELLO, Anybody there? Viraj?"
Silence.
He moved slowly and entered still expecting someone to answer. A muffled thud came from inside a room. He cocked his gun and took a deep breath.
"FUCK IT!"
With his back still against the outside wall, he pushed the door open with his right hand.An unbearable smell of urine and vomit forced him to take a step back coughing violently.
"Viraj..." he called again from the door
Silence.
From outside he couldn't see much. The light hung from the ceiling above a small wooden chair in the center, which was too weak to illuminate.
682Please respect copyright.PENANAnTFIJZorP7
682Please respect copyright.PENANAFyp2xPiBg5
682Please respect copyright.PENANArbZXhZPc4T
He drew another breath and took a step forward, What he saw made his stomach churn.
"HOLY SHIT"
Viraj was pinned to wooden structure which was diagonal to each other in a cage. He was naked only with his underwear on.His hands and feet were stitched with pins and he had few needles embedded in his body,his head was tucked with bare wire with sharp pointed ends on them which was placed on his head piercing his flesh Blood oozing all around his body and face. It looked too painful.
I'm too late, Nakuul thought.
Approaching the cage he was surprised to see a heart monitor inside. It's line peaking slightly yet steady.Viraj was still Alive.
"Hang on buddy, I will get you out of here"said Nakuul.
He surveyed the room. It was large, the floor was littered with rags, used syringes, crack pipes and glasses. In a corner to the right of the entrance door he could see an old and rusty chair. On the wooden table besides it sat a small tape recorder and a single note that read PLAY ME FIRST' in large Red letters
He pressed the button and the familiar voice came blasting out of the tiny speaker.
" WELCOME INSPECTOR, I guess you've made it in time."
Pause.
"You've no doubt realised that your friend needs your help, but for you to be able to help him you have to play by certain rules.... My rules.This is simple game Nakuul. Your friend is locked inside a bullet proof cage, so shooting it won't help you. On it's door you'll find four coloured buttons. One of them opens the cage, the other three- don't. Your task is quite simple- PICK A BUTTON. If you press the correct one, the door will open. Free your partner and walk out. Simple"
One chance in four to save Viraj- definitely not great odds, Nakuul thought
" Now here comes the fun part" the recorder played on.
"If you press any of the other three buttons an uninterrupted high- voltage current will be sent directly to wire crown on your partners head. Have you ever seen what happens to a human being while being electrocuted?" the voice said with a chilling laugh.
"Eyes burst, skin crinkles like meat, tongue recoils into their mouth choking them to death, blood boils, bursting vessels and arteries open. It's an exquisite scene, Nakuul.."
Nakuul's heart went into overdrive. He could see the line on the monitor peaking faster.
"And now for the really fun part..."
Nakuul knew that the electric trick wouldn't be the only twist in that room.
"Behind the cage I've placed enough explosives to obliterate the room you're in. The explosives are attached to the heart monitor and if it gets to read a flatline...' a longer pause this time.
Nakuul exactly knew what the voice on the recorder was going to say
"Boom.... The Room blows. So See you Nakuul, if you press the wrong button not only will you watch your friend die knowing that you've killed him, you'll get to die soon after."
Nakuul's heart was now beating viciously against his chest, sweat dripping from his forehead and stinging his eyes, hands shaky and clammy.
"But you have a choice Nakuul. You don't have to save your partner, just save yourself. Walk away now and leave him alone to die. No one will know. Can you live with that? Can you gamble your life for his? Oh and I forgot to inform- You've got 60 seconds." A loud beep came from the tape before it went silent.
Dead silence
"We are not dying today", comes the most optimistic statement Nakuul could make before dying breaking thr silence682Please respect copyright.PENANAXCvP4cYz5r
Nakuul saw a blue digital display above Viraj's head light up
682Please respect copyright.PENANAbXWqk2c69t
682Please respect copyright.PENANAYfOizGwJVs
682Please respect copyright.PENANARWUHHL1eaX
682Please respect copyright.PENANAYomVJb2HPx
682Please respect copyright.PENANANhZeKMP1UQ
59....
58.........
57.............
56....................
55..........................682Please respect copyright.PENANANvCfCbittJ
682Please respect copyright.PENANAJjb3cz8GXC
682Please respect copyright.PENANAgyPtC26NYq
682Please respect copyright.PENANA4DvwPApwEv
682Please respect copyright.PENANA9qXAlg9GAD
682Please respect copyright.PENANAwnMJDBznaz
682Please respect copyright.PENANA5edb77IdzP
682Please respect copyright.PENANAUJE0UhqGbJ
682Please respect copyright.PENANA16W5KbuYY2
682Please respect copyright.PENANAm7x27Xie1J
682Please respect copyright.PENANAQXri5qtc0u
682Please respect copyright.PENANAnZB1L8Msqq
682Please respect copyright.PENANA0IvMyr2QyH
682Please respect copyright.PENANAUXmeG8rOab
682Please respect copyright.PENANAAHzbCfyK12
682Please respect copyright.PENANApUb2QbFUkr
682Please respect copyright.PENANA33Q7D2bRdW
682Please respect copyright.PENANAc6XInCdZ6y
682Please respect copyright.PENANAQkRTG0m7gx
682Please respect copyright.PENANAcT0pANxe6w
682Please respect copyright.PENANAO78p7Oednr
682Please respect copyright.PENANANYlVtDzvhW
682Please respect copyright.PENANAjKI9xo9E5l
682Please respect copyright.PENANAI8L3Fh3RzK
682Please respect copyright.PENANARlEKNUegZh
682Please respect copyright.PENANAfWy3Uq7wfc
682Please respect copyright.PENANAZIlTX5ouyk
682Please respect copyright.PENANAGljbKMW1Lk
682Please respect copyright.PENANAugpWZGJPym
682Please respect copyright.PENANAOz5Kk7B1yt
682Please respect copyright.PENANAri5wRHGnNL
682Please respect copyright.PENANA2lFrOgFw9d
682Please respect copyright.PENANAfSNgo7wH0Z
682Please respect copyright.PENANArTEojwgffg
682Please respect copyright.PENANAxNGE8GJDWh
682Please respect copyright.PENANAWe1lTdmTuX
682Please respect copyright.PENANA5DXEgl2R7j
682Please respect copyright.PENANA8PAYH3X1rg
682Please respect copyright.PENANAsBOYDm8xFM
682Please respect copyright.PENANAiARJRdsHxe
682Please respect copyright.PENANAVZ7VLAbBG8
682Please respect copyright.PENANALpg93Xq6Qn
682Please respect copyright.PENANAJ08l8bM6AM
682Please respect copyright.PENANAXkFBkyQqmE
682Please respect copyright.PENANAYU2Kjdu47m
682Please respect copyright.PENANA4rq61yIZt9
682Please respect copyright.PENANAicZcdCqFQS
682Please respect copyright.PENANA1xcVku65aL
682Please respect copyright.PENANALIatnEP8bg
682Please respect copyright.PENANAkC0bMgd99G
682Please respect copyright.PENANA4oLHKwat30
682Please respect copyright.PENANAcqnYvEKf99
682Please respect copyright.PENANA1m0IGxrVtL
682Please respect copyright.PENANAH0hubYfTh6
682Please respect copyright.PENANAzj7CUbPIAF
682Please respect copyright.PENANAorSdHTwKoM
682Please respect copyright.PENANAeE60pGt6Rr
682Please respect copyright.PENANASMqT6oTKU4
682Please respect copyright.PENANAqqXwjTok3X
682Please respect copyright.PENANALDraPWXE6M
682Please respect copyright.PENANAAMWukACycm
682Please respect copyright.PENANABBmZDHs5Ys
682Please respect copyright.PENANAvmPUfvyBnX
682Please respect copyright.PENANAhfBVDGVuUO
682Please respect copyright.PENANAt3EemGrJpD
682Please respect copyright.PENANAmNJGVufUWM
Keep Reading, Critics are welcome!
ns216.73.217.1da2