DG Prakash fought hard to keep Monica in his station, but Raghuram refused to let her stay any minute longer. It was going to be nightfall soon and they made up reasons of security, but Raghuram fought back saying the road was safer than in a city where police were attacked in broad daylight.

In the end, Prakash knew this was over. Sandhanam, who was up until then, walking around the headquarters like he owned, had vanished without a trance. Even Prakash had no idea what he was planning.

In less than an hour, Raghuram managed to secure himself a vehicle and three more patrol cars for his journey. When Monica was escorted to the car, she felt like she was the most important person in the country. Even she couldn’t deny how good the VIP treatment felt.

They rode through the streets of the city very cautiously, hoping to not fall into another trap. But in just twenty minutes, they safely left the city behind. Raghuram breathed easy but he observed how tensed Monica looked. She appeared to have handled the stress of a shootout much better than the anxiety of sitting in a car with a stranger.

‘I think we have quite a bit of explaining to do to each other,’ Raghuram said. ‘Don’t worry. No one can hear us in here.’

Monica uncomfortably adjusted herself in her seat before saying, ‘actually. There are two microphones hidden in your car. One underneath the dashboard, behind the steering wheel, and other under my seat.’

Raghuram shot a surprised look at her and said, ‘what? How do you know that?’

‘My powers let me see things that are hidden,’ she replied.

He fell silent for a moment before saying, ‘what more can you do…? Wait. Before you answer that, we need to get rid of them.’

‘I have shut them down. Better not touch them. I will reactivate them once we reach the station.’

‘So, you can do that too?’ he asked.

Monica held her hand up and a blue mist formed around it. Raghuram looked at it in awe. ‘This is my aura. Anything it touches, I can sense it, feel it, and even control it. With matter, it is limited to moving with my mind. But with people, I can look inside their minds if I want to.’

Raghuram gasped. A sarcastic smile appeared on his face. ‘And here I was thinking you just punched people hard.’

‘Most of the time, that is all I do.’

‘You can look into people’s mind, but you don’t use it?’

‘Let me put it this way. I would never want anyone to look through my mind and so, I will not subject others to the same.’

‘Even for those who don’t deserve such treatment?’

‘Who am I to judge? Then again, I have broken the rule multiple times.’

Raghuram smiled softly and said, ‘I get it. It is hard to play by the rules in this world. Been a policeman for close to forty years. Even I can’t say what is the right thing to do always.’

The ice wall that had built up between them slowly melted as their conversation continued. ‘Now then. I think you owe me some answers,’ Monica said.

‘Of course. Now, where do we begin?’ Raghuram said.

‘Let’s start with how you know about me?’

‘Right. Several months ago, I had asked one of my subordinates to look for you. Despite what others thought, I always knew the woman behind the mask was still alive.’

Monica felt a little betrayed. She knew he could not have known about her without a little snooping around, but she hoped it was by an accident. ‘Why? Why would you look for me?’

Raghuram didn’t answer immediately. He took a second to reflect on the question before saying, ‘because I believed we needed you. Everyone remembers those watchful blue eyes.’

‘After everything I had caused, you still believe you needed me?’

‘Considering that you came back, I doubt it is that big of a surprise.’

‘Still, self-belief is different from other’s believing in your actions,’ Monica said.

‘That is true... The world hates change. It will react to it… sometimes very violently. That doesn’t mean it is a bad thing. Even medicine takes time to work. I believed if you stayed longer, things would have… corrected itself. So, I wanted to talk to you. Wished to… convince you to come back.’

Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

Monica wasn’t sure how to feel about it. On one hand, she found someone who truly believed in her. On the other, she wasn’t so sure she could live up to those expectations.

She shook off these feelings and said, ‘right. Did your subordinate find out? Or rather, how did he figure it out.’

Raghuram’s expression changed. A deep frown appeared on his face as he spoke, ‘I don’t know. After you made your comeback, I saw no reason to continue. And so, I asked him to drop the case. Gave him the promotion I had promised too. But I do not know what happened, he went missing a few days ago. A day or so later, I received the file he was working on. That is when I learned of your identity.’

‘This subordinate of yours. I think we both know who has him,’ Monica replied.

‘I am sorry to say this, but we found his body at home yesterday. I took his wife into custody immediately after he went missing. Yesterday, his neighbours informed that his body was dropped on the steps of his house by someone in a van.’

Monica’s chest grew cold. She shut her eyes and squeezed her face, trying to contain her anger and frustration. ‘This subordinate…’

‘His name is Vijay. Would have completed three years in the academy,’ Raghuram said.

‘And his family?’

‘Just a wife. Malvika. I can’t even imagine what would be going through her right now.’

‘How? How did he get caught?’

‘I do not know. Like I said, I did not know that he was looking for you until a few days ago. Told him to destroy what he had found. He must have crossed paths with those bastards at some point. Considering what you told me, they must have been looking for you as well.’

Monica remained silent.

He glanced at her, noticing her drooping expression. ‘There is not much you could have done…’

‘He saved me,’ Monica interrupted. ‘God knows what would have happened had he not told you.’

Raghuram kept a straight face and nodded. ‘Not just that. I don’t think he spilled your secret, either. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have had to get fake witnesses,’ Raghuram said.

‘And I can’t even pay him back,’ she said.

The two fell silent, letting Monica mourn for a moment.

‘Where does his wife stay?’ she finally asked.

‘Why?’

‘She is the only one I can thank now.’

‘Alright… I will give you her address… also. I have something else I would like you to give her,’ he said.

‘What is that?’

‘Something to make up for my mistake,’ he said.

Monica did not reply. She could see the grief he felt in his saddened eyes. Instead, she decided to change the subject. ‘I am guessing then that you were the one who faked the video of me as Arora?’ she asked, wiping away her tears.

‘Arora? Is that your name?’ Raghuram asked.

‘Oh… yes. But I never got to use it though.’

‘Arora… unique name… well yeah. It wasn’t that hard. There were plenty of people dressing up as you. Knew one personally. She even did acrobatics. I saw an opportunity and got a close associate to ask them to record a clip performing some stunts. It worked better than I expected.’

‘And those testimonies? If you knew the truth, you must have thought of them to be real,’ Monica said.

‘Indeed. I believed they were telling the truth. But then it was always wise to find out for yourself. If the DG was working with Sandhanam, they wouldn’t have even bothered with an interrogation.’

‘How did you get them to confess?’

‘I did not do any magic. They folded like paper and confessed to getting paid. Looks like you did a good job hiding your identity.’

‘But it seems it wasn’t good enough. The subordinate did manage to find out in the end.’

‘It was just a name and I suspect that is all Sandhanam has got on you as well. But how did they come this far? Does it have something to do with what happened at Kasipuram?’

Monica felt her bile rise up her throat as those memories began to flood in. She took her time to explain what had happened, not skipping on any details, while Raghuram patiently listened.

‘It was reckless, but I can’t blame you. I doubt I would have done any different,’ Raghuram commented.

Monica nodded and replied, ‘thank you.’

He could see her holding back her tears, so he let her breathe for some time.

‘So, what is going to happen now?’ she asked, wiping away the tears.

‘Now… I believe it is you who will need to tell me what you want to do.’

Monica shot a surprised look at him. ‘And you are just going to let me?’

‘I told you I trust you and that has not changed.’

She was left speechless. After spending an entire day dealing with people who seemingly wanted Arora buried, she finally felt relieved to be talking to someone who was supportive of her. ‘Thank you… I don’t know how to react that…’ she said.

‘Don’t worry about it. Now then. What do you intend to do?’

‘Go for the head. I am not giving that man anymore chances.’ Her voice cracked in anger.

Raghuram saw the rage in her eyes. ‘What are going to do to him?’

‘Nothing that I wouldn’t do a street thug. I am just going to package him and send your way.’

‘I am sorry but…’ Raghuram began as he tried to explain his helplessness.

‘I know,’ Monica interrupted, ‘you will also get a detailed list of his crimes… and with him out of picture, you should have enough time to deal with them.’

‘And you can do that?’

‘I can read his mind and break a few of his bones. Like I said, I am willing to break my rules, when necessary,’ Monica replied with a stern voice.

‘Well, you have my permission,’ Raghuram replied with a smirk on his face. ‘But… that is not all, you are going to wipe his memory, aren’t you?’

Monica took a moment to answer. ‘It depends on how much he knows.’

‘But you can do it. I want you to do it to me too,’ Raghuram asked.

Monica was taken aback by his request. She looked back at him with a pair of wide eyes and dropped jaw and asked, ‘What!? Why would you me to do that?’

Raghuram sighed dully and said, ‘I am getting old. I will be retiring anytime now. Sometimes, it is safer in this world to not know certain things.’

‘But... but won’t you just get curious again and start the cycle?’

‘Not if you leave behind the memory that I found out.’

‘So, kill the memory but keep the satisfaction?’

‘I guess… yes. Can you do that?’ Raghuram asked.

‘Never tried it,’ Monica replied.

‘Willing to try it now?’ he asked again.

Monica fell silent. She seemed to have disappeared into deep thought. Raghuram didn’t say anything, instead, waited for her to respond on her own.

After a good amount of thought she finally said, ‘If that is what you want. I can do it.’

He nodded in response and replied, ‘we wait until we put him behind bars, only then will I be ready to truly retire.’