Vijay finally awoke after being knocked out for close to three hours. The second the light hit his eyeballs, the pain that put him to sleep kicked back in. He gritted his teeth hard to try and bear it, but it was of no use. He let out a pleading cry for help as he hunched over the chair he was tied to. Blood oozed from wounds all over his body. Each and every part of his body had either been cut, gashed, beaten, or torn.

Time seemed to have stopped in the tiny room he was being held in. It felt like he had spent an eternity between the decaying white walls which were lit yellow by the hard light of a tungsten bulb, which hung from the ceiling above him. He had been floating in and out of consciousness too many times to count and he had no idea how much longer he can take it.

Several questions loomed in his mind at the moment and with each passing moment, more and more questions popped up in his head. Of all the questions, only two really mattered to him.

The door creaked as it opened wide. Vijay looked up to see two burly men walk through it. He knew these two men very well, long before they were spectators and sometimes even participants in his torture.

The first one to enter was someone who shouldn’t even be here in the first place. He spends much of his time in the north of the country. He had a short hair that was neatly combed and a long well-trimmed moustache to accompany it. His sharply angled eyes and his nasty smile instilled fear in Vijay. The other one was someone he had been warned to stay out of sight from. Everyone knew him, everyone feared him. His unruly dense hair and an overgrown beard was a sore sight to the eyes. His sunburnt skin gave the impression of a hard worker, but everyone knew his hard work involved others blood and sweat more often than his own.

The man from the north, who went by the name Ponram, pulled a stool that sat in the corner of the room and set it before Vijay. Meanwhile the other man, also known as Sethu, slowly closed the door behind them.

Vijay lowered his gaze, avoiding looking at Ponram directly. Ponram, however, threw a nasty smile at him and said, ‘do you know how long you have been sitting here?’

Vijay did not answer. His silence irked Ponram but Sethu kept his calm.

‘If you still believe someone will come to save you, kill that idea. Give us what we ask for and we will let you go. We will also make sure you can walk… at least limp,’ Ponram added.

Vijay cursed under his breath. He shut his eyes to stop himself from tearing up, but it did not help. Drops of his tears mixed with the blood on his nose and dropped on to his thighs.

They caught the attention of Ponram who proceeded to lift Vijay’s head by holding up his chin. ‘Feeling sad? Do you want to cry? Shall we get your wife?’

‘Malvika…’ Vijay thought. ‘I am sorry. I screwed up.’

If there was one thing Vijay wished he could have changed, it would be to turn down his senior officer’s offer. Ever since he said yes, his life has been a tale of misery. Whether it was trying to follow on witnesses who tried their hardest to dodge him or making sure the people he was interrogating wouldn’t bite him back, or be constantly on the edge, dodging questions from colleagues and seniors, or think about his dilemma twenty-four seven. The four months of gruelling work had been nothing but physical and mental torture. All this effort for a small hope that his boss would keep his word and pay him back.

However, two months ago something changed, and his boss asked him to drop the case without any explanation. Though he wasn’t given any reason, he understood why for the timing of his boss’s order coincided with the reappearance of the Lady. He had mixed feelings about this situation. On one end he felt frustrated that his four months of work went to waste but at the same time, he was happy to have not discovered the Lady’s identity.

Malvika was overjoyed. Things could have not been more perfect. But even in the best of times, one can do something that can ruin it all. It always nagged him, for how close he felt he was to the truth. He should have let it go but his curiosity got the better of him. He wanted to unmask the living legend, but he did not know at the time what price he would be paying.

‘Come on. Don’t you care about your wife?’ Ponram asked.

Vijay knew they did not get their hands on her. They tried all means to get his mouth speaking, including chopping off four of his fingers. But when that didn’t work, they slowly began to show him pieces from his wife’s jewellery. However, Vijay knew if they had her, she would be in front of him. He kept silent, refusing to retort in any manner to stop himself from provoking them.

‘I don’t know. I don’t know who she is…’ Vijay said. His voice had become feeble and was barely audible.

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Ponram sighed. ‘That again. We know that you know! I am telling you. Your boss had told us. So, cut the act and tell us. Make all our lives easier.’

‘Liars,’ Vijay thought. His boss did not know. But he would have known by now. Would it have made a difference? Vijay did not know.

‘No… I really don’t…’ Vijay replied, trembling.

Ponram stood and straightened his shirt. He turned around to face Sethu and said, ‘I am done man. I don’t have any more patience.’

‘Look at him. Do you think he has any gas left?’ Sethu asked.

‘Doesn’t matter. It’s now or never,’ Ponram replied.

‘I am not getting involved,’ Sethu replied.

‘Fine by me,’ Ponram said before turning back to Vijay. He bent down and looked at Vijay’s face and said, ’last chance.’

Vijay looked back at him with terrified eyes but didn’t say anything.

‘So be it,’ Ponram said. He tightened his fist and delivered a powerful blow right into Vijay’s face. ‘Who is she?’ he shouted.

Vijay, however, remained quiet. Unbeknownst to Ponram, Vijay had lost consciousness already. But Ponram did not stop. He screamed out his question again and again as he proceeded to pummel Vijay’s face with his fist.

The skin on his knuckles cracked and blood spattered all over the room and on Ponram’s clothes, but he did not stop. That was until he felt an iron grip grasp his elbow mid motion. He looked back to see Sethu looking at him with a tired expression.

‘I think he is done,’ Sethu said.

Ponram looked back to see Vijay slumping on the chair. There was no sign of any motion. He pulled up his finger against Vijay’s nose to see that there was no sign of breathing. He let out a dull sigh and said, ‘oh well. Not much lost.’

‘Really?’ Sethu asked in a sarcastic tone.

‘Your boys have already confirmed, right?’ Ponram said.

‘Still. Our one good source of confirmation is now dead.’

‘Whatever. If she is dead and that Lady doesn’t show up, we know she is her.’

Sethu rolled his eyes.

‘When are they taking her in?’ Ponram asked.

‘In two days’ time. You must leave by tonight,’ Sethu replied.

‘Sure. What are we going to do with his body?’ Ponram asked.

‘We will parcel it back to his home. Maybe his wife will have some use for it,’ Sethu replied without remorse.

***

The sweet aroma of coffee filled the air of the small yet packed office. It was no larger than an average homestead and was lined from end to end with desks and paper. There was no trucks or vehicles of any sort rolling in with cargo, for this was a small office tucked into a busy corner of the city of Sampur. It had four employees who worked from nine in the morning to five in the evening, crunching numbers for the company. As the years have gone by, the quantity of numbers to crunch has been steadily increasing, a good sign for the company but not so for the team. Which is why Monica was invited, to take a look at the numbers and sign off on any special requirements.

Her first steps into the office were met with a blast of the sweet scent of aroma. It quickly turned her normal day into a good day. Two of the employees, namely Karthik and Jai, were already at their places, each with a hot mug of coffee.

‘Good morning!’ Karthik greeted her.

‘Does your office smell this good every morning?’ she asked.

‘Morning, afternoon, evening… basically all day,’ Jai replied.

‘Yeah… we are coffee fanatics,’ Karthik added with a smile.

Monica felt a sudden surge of disgust flood her, but it dissipated quickly, ‘okay. I can see how it can quickly get overwhelming.’

‘Why don’t you take a seat? I will get you a cup,’ Jai said as he got up.

Monica humbly thanked him as he disappeared into a small room in the corner of the office. She took a seat beside Karthik and set her carry bag onto the desk behind her. ‘Where are the others?’ she asked.

Karthik took a glance at the clock that read nine and said, ‘the two ladies will be here in an hour.’

‘An hour? That is quite late, isn’t it?’ Monica asked.

‘Sure… but who do you complaint to about the boss and her lackey?’ he replied.

Monica grimaced and fell quiet.

‘But we get to do what we want till they come,’ Karthik said.

‘What do you do so early in the morning?’ Monica asked.

‘There are plenty of ways to vile away time,’ Karthik replied.

‘What were you planning on doing today?’ she asked.

‘There was TV series I wanted to finish...’ Karthik said.

The aroma of coffee grew stronger. Jai walked out of the small room with a mug of hot coffee before scampering over to Monica. ‘Here you go,’ he said as he held out the mug.

The scent put a broad smile on Monica’s face. She reached for the mug and said, ‘thank…’

Before she could complete, two men dressed in deep brown uniform marched into the office. It caught the immediate attention of all three occupants, who looked at the men with a mix of surprise and fear. The two of them stood up in unison as Jai placed the mug onto the desk.

‘Are you Monica?’ asked one of the men.

It was clear that they both were policemen, but Monica did not know why they were here for her. ‘Yes,’ she replied.

‘Would you please come with us to the station?’ he asked politely.

‘Is there a problem sir?’ Karthik asked.

‘All will be explained at the station,’ he replied calmly.

The three of them exchanged looks before Monica turned to the police and nodded. Just as she lunged forward, Karthik stopped her and asked, ‘can we at least accompany her?’

‘Sorry but if you wish, you can come on your own means. We are here just for her,’ the policeman said.

‘But…’ Karthik began but was quickly interrupted.

‘Karthik,’ Monica said looking at him, ‘it is fine. I will go.’

He quietly nodded while Jai said, ‘we will follow.’

Monica didn’t respond, instead quietly walked towards the policemen. The two men proceeded to escort her to the vehicle that was parked a few feet away from the office. The usually bustling street was light on pedestrians which made it a little easier for Monica as she got into the car followed by the policemen.

Karthik and Jai stood by the entrance and watched the car disappear into the morning traffic. ‘We need to go,’ Karthik said.

‘I will get my bike. Also, we should let the others know,’ Jai replied.