‘Sir, could you please tell why I am being taken to the station?’ Monica asked kindly.
‘You will know once you get there,’ he replied.
‘I understand but you too need to understand that I am not being told why I am being taken and this is making me very uncomfortable,’ she asked again.
‘Sorry but I can’t say more. It is for your sake that you remain quiet,’ he said. With that, they had effectively shut her mouth.
Something was very wrong, and Monica felt it eat away at her brain. This was by all accounts an arrest, the only thing they didn’t do is put the handcuffs on her arms before taking her in. But police aren’t allowed to do that without stating a reason. She knew this, the others knew this. Yet she allowed herself to be taken away without stating a reason. Monica understood that she made a grave mistake and now had locked herself in an inescapable scenario.
They arrived at the police station shortly. She watched as they drove through a gigantic gate that sat flush in middle of a two-meter-high stone wall. Inside was a large front yard where a row of police jeeps was parked on either side. Policemen, all dressed in khaki, were littered about the place, entering and exiting a sprawling tan coloured building. Monica had no doubt that this was no ordinary police station. She was being taken straight to the police headquarters.
The car stopped right before the building, following which the policemen had her exit the car. She felt like she was being treated like a very important person. All the policemen who were with her wore very serious expressions on their faces, yet they were very calm and patient with her. They did not use handcuffs, nor did they even try to touch her for any reason.
‘Please follow me,’ said the policeman.
She did as she was told. They walked through a maze of corridors filled with people of all departments going about their business. All their eyes were focused on her and looked at her with an equal mixture of fascination and surprise.
Soon they got down a fleet of stairs, entering into the basement. There she was taken through a long hallway whose walls were painted in dull grey. The place gave off an ominous feeling that was home to something evil. This made her wonder what purpose it served.
They stopped at the fourth door on their right. The policeman opened the door and made way for Monica. She stepped into the room with caution, expecting the worst.
‘Please be seated. They will be coming any minute now,’ the policeman said.
‘Who will be coming?’ she asked.
‘The detectives,’ he replied and proceeded to close the door.
Monica’s heart skipped a beat hearing the word, detective. She felt her nerves shiver and her skin burn with sweat beading on her skin. The room itself wasn’t half bad. Its walls were painted in two shades of grey split right at the horizontal centre of all four walls. At the centre was a wooden table with one chair one side and two chairs across the table from it. Monica knew which chair was for her.
The desk itself was devoid of any items. As she sat down at her place, she could see metal rings pinned onto the desk before her. She knew where her handcuffs would have gone if they had used them. She took a good look at the walls and found two cameras sitting in the opposite corners of the room. There was no doubt in her mind that she was being watched and so, she behaved like a good citizen should.
It didn’t take long for the detectives to arrive but when they did, Monica’s anxiety hit the roof. Two gentlemen walked into the room. One was dressed in a regular policeman uniform, while the other was dressed in a neat office outfit with a black overcoat. Both appeared in tiptop shape with a clean shave and well-maintained hair. They sat across the table from Monica. The man in formals set the binder he had bought with him on the desk and began to unpack it, spreading it on the table.
‘Good morning, Monica,’ said the man in formals. He wore a big smile on his face. ‘Before we begin, I would like to introduce ourselves first. My name is Vikas, and this gentleman is Kamal.’
‘Nice meeting you sir,’ Monica replied hurriedly, ‘but please, can you tell me what I am being held for?’
The two men looked at each other’s face before throwing a confused look at her. ‘Wait. You do not know what you are being arrested for?’ Vikas asked.
She quietly shook her head.
‘Ma’am, you are under the suspicion of being the vigilante, the Lady in White,’ he replied.
Ever since Monica took up the mantle, she knew one day she would have to face the reality that her identity might be exposed. However, no amount of preparation could prepare her when that hypothetical situation became a reality.
She felt her chest grow cold, but her skin burnt like under the sun on a hot day. Her eyes widened and lips quivered. ‘No way…’ she said innocently as she grabbed her chest and lowered her gaze to the table.
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The detectives felt a sharp arrow of sympathy cut their hearts as they watched their suspect seemingly crumble before their eyes. Yet, they knew they cannot fold to such display of reactions.
‘Right,’ Kamal replied as he adjusted himself in his seat.
‘Yes,’ Vikas said as he began looking through the case file. ‘Name… Monica. Born and bought up in the town of Kollum. Both your parents are deceased and… well! You don’t really have much in terms of family do you miss Monica?’
‘Let’s not prude on that shall we?’ Kamal said with a straight face.
‘We are deeply sorry for your losses, but I must point out that your life hasn’t exactly been a quiet one, has it?’ Vikas asked.
‘No. But how is that related to my accusations?’ Monica asked in a broken voice.
‘We have four witnesses who have testified against you. Two of them claimed to have seen you while you were in suit. But the other two have claimed to have seen you display… rather exceptional abilities. Looking through your file, we believe you have met the two of them before,’ Vikas said.
‘But that is not proof of any kind, right?’ Monica asked.
‘No. But let’s start with the facts that we can agree on. You did have a fight with these individuals, didn’t you?’ Vikas asked as he turned the file around and pushed it before Monica.
She looked down at the file to see the photos of two individuals. Both appeared to be pretty bulky, and she did recognize both of them. One was at a café in Night Street and the other was in the slums of Prayamver. She felt somewhat relieved looking their faces as she was certain she did not display any of her powers but just merely her strength.
She nodded in response to his question.
‘Let you ask you this,’ Vikas began as he withdrew the file, ‘how is it that woman of your stature able to takedown a man almost double your size? One of them claimed you took on multiple men on an occasion.’
‘I… I was always known for being freakishly strong…’ Monica replied.
‘Yes… I guess some of your associates did point that out… well let us assume that is true. That your natural strength is remarkable, that only adds to your suspicion,’ Vikas said.
‘However, it is the other two that we would like to talk to you about. Their names will be held back for security reasons but please tell us Monica…’ Kamal said and proceeded to name a town and a city with specific dates.
In the last few months, Monica had been masquerading as Arora or the Lady in White. But she had been careful to make sure Monica and Arora did not appear in the same city or town. The names mentioned by Kamal was where she had been as Monica. Knowing well that she cannot lie here, she nodded and said, ‘yes, I was at the company office during those days.’
The detectives paused for a second. Vikas then said, ‘two witnesses claimed to have witnessed you change into the outfit in the mentioned city and during the same date.’
Monica’s head spun for a moment. She began to wonder if the witnesses had really seen her switch her outfit or if they were just lying. Nevertheless, she shook her head and said, ‘no way. That is not possible.’
‘Ma’am, these are regular citizens. They have no reason to lie,’ Vikas added.
She knew that was true. But at the same time, she felt that need not be true as well. It dawned on her that this might be staged. Was it possible that she had walked into a trap?
***
In a room, right above the one Monica was being interrogated, several men watched the entire interrogation play out on several monitors. Among them was an elder man, DG Prakash (Director General of Police), a man who appeared to be in his late sixties. He watched the scene play out with keen eyes.
‘Come on. Spill something,’ he told himself.
Several minutes pass but the girl didn’t reveal any new or damning information. Prakash said to the technician, ‘why are they going soft on her? Tell them to make sure they get the information we asked out of her.’
‘Yes sir,’ the technician replied and picked up the communicator. As he began to relay the order, there was knocking at the door to the room.
Prakash looked back to see a young officer walk in with a folder in his hands. He walked up to his senior and did a salute. ‘Sir. You requested for me?’ he asked.
‘Ah yes! Keshav. You know this girl?’ Prakash asked.
Keshav was already briefed on the situation but still confirmed, ‘yes sir. It is as in the report.’
‘Yes. Yes. I read the report. But I want to know what was not on it.’
‘What do you mean sir?’ Keshav asked looking a little confused.
‘What I mean is the incident in Kasipuram.’
‘We looked into it, sir. We interrogated the driver and restaurant owner. Both versions of the incident matched what the girl told us. The two men are well known troublemakers…,’ Keshav replied.
‘Forget about the two men. Get the details from her on what happened.’
‘You suspect there is more?’
‘That is for you to find out,’ Prakash replied.
Keshav fell quiet. He looked at the folder in his hand for a moment before asking, ‘sir? If I may. I have taken a look at her file…’ he held up the file in his hand, ‘she hasn’t really had a good life. Are we sure we want to grill her with questions just because of suspicions?’
‘She killed a man and went to prison,’ Prakash said.
‘But it has been confirmed that it was in self-defence.’
‘That is what witnesses claim. Now go do your job,’ Prakash replied.
‘Aren’t we going off witnesses now?’ Keshav thought but didn’t say out loud.
‘Sir. They are done,’ the technician said.
‘Dammit,’ Prakash cursed, ‘Nothing? Useless, wasting the government’s money.’ He turned back to Keshav, ‘get in there and get me something.’
Keshav felt something was off with his senior’s behaviour. However, he made no retort. Instead, he saluted and walked out of the room.
As he made his way to the interrogation room, he felt irritated by the circumstances. He always had heard of what happens behind the scenes in the police force but wished they were rumours rather than the real deal. But with each case he attends to, the reality looked to be much dire.
Just as he was about to turn towards a fleet of stairs, a familiar face showed up in front of him. ‘Raghu sir?’ he said.
A senior officer, the ADG (Additional Director General of Police), walked up to him with a smile and said, ‘Keshav? How have you been?’
‘I… I am doing great. How come you are here today?’
‘Probably for the same reason as you. You are headed to interrogate her?’ he asked.
Keshav nodded.
‘Keshav. Don’t be afraid to go for the truth,’ Raghuram said.
Keshav was left a little confused by his senior’s wise words. He looked at him with a puzzled look but nodded in agreement.
Raghuram looked ahead when a peculiar person caught his attention. It was a face he had seen several times, but it was one that should not have been walking about the headquarters as freely as he was now. Keshav looked back to see who his senior was looking at.
‘What is he doing here?’ Keshav said having caught a glimpse of the fish out of water.
‘Don’t worry about him. Go now,’ Raghuram said.
Keshav nodded and walked down the stairs. Raghuram grunted dully in irritation before continuing to walk through the corridor.