The job...concluding part

part 1 

part 2

part 3 

part 4

part 5
part 6

Shocked, Abhijeet opened his eyes to see Chandrakanth and Vasan standing next to him. His first instinct was to run away. But to where he wondered?

Abhijeet saw the two closing in on him. He looked for ways to escape, but he knew there was none. The place had neither doors nor windows nor staircases. Just a lift. And entry to it was now completely blocked by the two towering men who stood menacingly around him. He felt trapped.

“So what have you managed to find out?” Chandrakanth demanded to know.

“Mr.Chandrakanth, what you are doing is very wrong,” Abhijeet managed to find his voice; “you cannot do this to these people.”

“Oh, shut up!” said his boss, waving his hand in the air, “you don’t be the judge of that. We pay them enough.”

“Money can never be the substitute for the risk you are putting them through. You cannot justify your inhumanity and…”

Angered, Chandrakanth tried to land a hard slap across his face even before he could complete his sentence. But Abhijeet turned in the nick of time and his boss’s hand hit his protective head gear instead, making him yelp in pain.

“Ahh…you swine, this will show you your rightful place.” Undoubtedly the bigger of the two, Chandrakanth caught his hands and pinned him down. He was trying to choke Abhijeet.

As he struggled to break free, he thought of Sahana and his parents, he thought of the hard way he had come up in life, and now when things had just started looking up, he could not afford to die like this.

Mustering every ounce of strength in his legs he pulled his knee in and keeping his head in alignment with his knee, he moved his head and straightened out all in one swift movement. He put his foot in between Chandrakanth’s knees, and pulled him in. Chandrakanth was on the ground, as Abhijeet got up and kicked him on his groin leaving the man crying in pain.

Vasan was taken aback by the quickness of the confrontation and lunged forward to help his collegue. He swiftly attacked Abhijeet from behind winding his arms tightly around his target. Abhijeet held onto his attacker’s arms, and stepped on his foot and bowing down, head butted him using the back of his head. Next he used his elbow to attack the abdomen. Vasan fell down and Abhijeet struck his back with hands joined together and using the edge of his hand as a weapon.

As both men struggled to get up, he found a fire extinguisher on the wall nearby, and pulled it out and aimed it at Chandrakanth’s face. The extinguisher failed to spray, and seeing Chandrakanth stand up, he threw the heavy metal cylinder at the man.

He ran to the lift, with both men chasing him and closing in quickly. His body felt heavy and he could not run as fast he wanted to. He suddenly realised he was still wearing the heavy disinfectant spray pipe and canister around his waist that he had taken from the staffer in unit 2. Before the two men could catch up, he took a deep breath and tightened his grip around the pipe and aiming directly at the eyes of both of them, he let out a continuous spurt of the liquid, unheeding of the cries of pain let out by his victims.

 Both of them were completely blinded for the moment. As Vasan cowered, Chandrakanth tried to grab him but missed. Abhijeet threw the empty canister on him landing it on his boss’s head.  As both tried hard to regain their composure, Abhijeet seized the opportunity and ran to the lift and emerged out of it moments later, beads of perspiration dripping down his forehead.

                                                     ***************

He knew there would be car waiting behind the building with keys in it and as he ran his mind tried to form the route of escape. He was agast to see guards running towards him in the direction of the lift. He felt virtually trapped. He did not even have the spray with him anymore.

He suddenly realized that though the guards were running they failed to see him as he was still dressed in the gear of the sanitization crew, head gear included. They must have had orders to stop Abhijeet from leaving the building and in all probability the two must have forgotten to mention that he was in the crew clothing. He thanked his stars and walked out under the very nose of the security into the streets outside to the parked car behind the building. He drove straight to the discotheque where Sanjog had promised to meet him.

                                 

                                                      *****************

As soon as the Vasan and Chandrakanth were able to see they sent an emergency message to HQ and to Samuel, their hit man.

“I want a clean job, no evidence. But before that find out what he has been able to collect from here and bring it to me. Use your entire team if needed, but he must not get away. Send someone to search his house and deploy people at all exit routes from here, mainly the route to Noida. Catch hold of his wife or his family.”

                                                 **********

Sanjog had been receiving the data all along, as soon as he realised Abhijeet was in danger, he sent a copy of the data, recordings and pictures to the commissioner, and to his boss. He called them up and begged for their support. This time his efforts bore fruit and a large contingent of cops was dispatched to the firm.

The basement floors were searched and the whole city was shocked at what the cops had unearthed. The place was sealed off and the staff arrested. They would need no better witnesses than the inmates themselves.

As soon as Samuel realized his bosses had been arrested, he called off the search and went underground.

                                             *************

Kalra was gleaming with happiness. Their paper was the first to come out with the biggest scoop of recent times! They would be the number one selling paper! He could not stop praising Sanjog, his star reporter, and Sanjog could not stop smiling!

Sonia had visited the inmates at the hospital where they had been shifted for further treatment and when she met Sanjog, her eyes were brimming with tears. Tears of shock at the plight of the inmates and tears of gratitude for Sanjog and Abhijeet, and for Alok and Debashis.Luckily both of them were alive but looked like ghosts. It would be a long time before they were cured.

They knew more skeletons would eventually tumble out of the closet. The trustees of the charitable home were now under the scanner too and the police were probing their role in the crime..

“How can I ever thank you enough, Abhijeet,” she asked still teary eyed.

“How about letting me take you to Shimla for a holiday?” he winked.

“Hello..?” Sanjog butted in. “She’s already taken. You stay away from her, ok?”

“Then you join in too,” he mocked, “Sahana’s already there, and before she gets worried sick hearing all the news, let’s all go and surprise her” he said as the other two let out screams of delight.

                                                *******the end*********

(Disclaimer: The series is purely a work of fiction and bears no resemblance to any person/s or organisation. Any resemblance to anyone or anything would be completely co-incidental and unintentional.)

The job...part 6

read part 1   part 2,  part 3,  part 4 ,part 5

“I don’t know how much time it will take, but it will have to be very quick. If the CCTV captures me I will have no way out. I have to complete the work before anyone has any clue of what I am up to” said Abhijeet as he spoke to Sanjog at the hotel’s discotheque. The jarring sounds made talking and listening difficult.

Sanjog had been aghast at the details Abhijeet had managed to get. He looked at the photos in Abhijeet’s mobile, and listened to the recording. The quality of the photos was okay but the recording was not too good. He also worried that if Abhijeet were to be caught; all the data would be lost. He searched his pockets and took out what looked like a pen and slid the tiny but powerful camera into Abhijeet’s hand.

“Use this. This will transmit whatever data you scan, directly to my computer. Promise me you’ll be very careful. I’ll have a car waiting for you at the back of the building with the keys in the dashboard. Meet you at Blue Moon discotheque after the job is over.”

He was also worried for the safety of Abhijeet’s wife and parents. Debashis's parents had miraculously disappeared few days after he went absconding. This time they would have to be extra careful.

“Abhijeet, till all this is over I think you should send your wife and parents to a safe place.”

Abhijeet nodded in agreement. He was also concerned about the safety of his family. He would talk to Sahana about it.

                                                        ************

“Sahana, it’s been long since we planned a holiday. Why don’t you go to Noida and pick up Ma and Baba and reach Shimla? I’ll join you guys by tomorrow.”

“That’s a fantastic idea!”

Sanjog had the hotel bookings ready, for Sahana and Abhijeet's parents. Sahana could not stop beaming as Abhijeet hugged her as he sent her off, barely noticing the worry behind his smile.

“See you soon, love.”

                                                                 ************

As the day passed, Abhijeet was increasingly anxious and tried replaying the plan over and over in his head. He wondered whether he should carry any weapons on him, but he neither had any nor could he meet Sanjog and ask him for it now. He had learnt a little bit of self defense while in college, but he realised none of the strategies came to his mind now. 'Let me not worry too much, or it will take my mind off the job,' he thought.

As per the plan, Abhijeet had to get in along with the sanitization crew. It would be the safest bet, Sanjog had said. He was carrying a handkerchief soaked in chloroform in his coat pocket. It was 9.55pm. The staff would be in any time. He hid in the unit 2 lab near the changing room. Almost 10 minutes had passed before he sensed any movement.

A maintenance staffer entered with a spray into unit 2. Abhijeet quickly grabbed him from behind and covered his nose with the handkerchief dipped in chloroform. The staffer tried to resist but soon fell down unconscious. Abhijeet changed into the man’s gear and set out to the lift. He used his card and was soon in the basement.

He entered the cells one by one swiftly, clicking photos of the inmates, using Sanjog’s pen camera. He photographed the room, opening the files and clicking the contents. He had successfully finished about 30 cells and decided it would be better if he used video mode to scan all other files. The more the better. He wondered what was in the basement no.2 and whether he would have time to go there.

He was at the far end of the corridor and he could just about see the lift door. He saw the two staffers waiting for the lift. The door opened and he saw them get in and away. ‘Looks like half an hour is already up,’ he thought. A few more clicks and he would run off too.

                                                           ****************

“Chandrakanth, I need you urgently in the 7th floor. Emergency.”

As soon as he received the message from Vasan, he knew it had to very urgent. He rushed to the 7th floor, where he saw Vasan looking at the CCTV cameras.

Chandrakanth was furious when he saw the footage.

“I always suspected the boy, we should have been more careful. I always saw him working late in the office. How did you know?”

“I went to the 2nd unit some time ago and found a man unconscious! From the ID his pocket I realised he was from the sanitization crew. I immediately came to the 7th floor  to see if anything was amiss. Imagine my horror when I saw three staffers in the basement against the regular two. Everything else seemed ok. So I checked the footage of the previous day to see if there was any change there.

The CCTV footage from yesterday showed our boy gaining access to the basement, and he was there, clicking pictures on his mobile! In fact you and Ranjeet were around when he cleverly hid himself in the nursing table.

“Where is he now?” thundered Chandrakanth.

“Subject no 32, Chandrakanth, he must be still in, we’ll get him. I have asked security to sound the emergency alarm. Hurry up. Let’s meet our hero in the basement.”

                                                                    ***********

Abhijeet was busy scanning the files with his recorder when the alarm rang. His blood froze! Had he been caught? How would he escape now? Was there an escape route? His breathing grew heavier. Was there a fire or something? Either something had gone wrong or he had been detected. He closed his eyes and prayed. He wondered if he should try running to the lift but he was at the far end.

“Snooping around my boy?”

                                                           ************
 read concluding part here

The job ....part 5

read part 1 part 2 part 3 part 4 

Shortly the lift stopped and the doors opened. He scanned the place and saw a long corridor. He tried to see where the CCTV cameras were installed. They were indeed in place as Sanjog had described. He avoided the lights and stuck to the darker areas and quietly moved down the corridor. He could start to smell ether or chloroform all around; perhaps there was a lab here too, he thought. Then the smells became stronger.

As he turned at the corner, he saw something that he could have never anticipated in a thousand years! The corridor was filled with rows and rows of cells just big enough to hold one bed and monitoring equipment each. On most beds lay a man writhing in pain or passed out or screaming to be let out. Some of them showed aggressive behavior and were shackled. It was almost like a prison. He felt nauseous and weak.

Every word that Sanjog had said seemed to be true! There were some deadly secrets here!

He wondered if they were indeed the missing inmates. Was Alok trapped here too? Where would he find him? His head reeled and he held the wall for support.

He gathered himself  still feeling weak in the knees, but this was no time to ponder. He used his mobile to click photographs, as many as he could.

Suddenly he heard footsteps behind him!

                                                          *************

He found a nursing table nearby and for the moment it looked like a good place to hide. He quickly ran to it and hid under it just in the nick of time. He held his breath as he heard voices nearby. He put his mobile in recording mode.

“How is the subject no 16 responding to TYC1654?” asked a voice.

He thought he had heard that voice before. Who could it be?

“I had given him a dose of 4mg on day 1 and put him on increasing dose. Today is day 6 and when I administered 14 ml, he suffered a heart attack. So 12ml would be the optimum dose. The results are also better at 12 ml because he was beginning to show improvement by day 5” said the other.

“I suggest that you try out 12 ml from day 1 to 5 on 3 more subjects and monitor the results. Have them injected with the strain of staphylococcus 24A and wait for 15 days then start the treatment. If we are successful, try it on a larger group say 20 or 25. I will ask production to give us few more vials of TYC1654. Then we will file for NDI and go ahead with the official trials. Our drug will make us the undisputed number one in the world. We will have a drug more potent than Vancomycin and Rifampin!” the voice announced, quivering with excitement as he spoke the last line..

Abhijeet felt breathless. He wanted to scream.

The inmates were being used for human trials!

These poor people were being treated worse than guinea pigs! They did not deserve to be treated like that!

Any new drug had to be first tried in the lab, in vitro and then on animals like rats, monkeys etc, in vivo. When all results were satisfactory and had passed all toxicology tests, only then permission for human trial is given.

But the trials had to be carried out in controlled conditions and with volunteers only. This took a very long time. There was always a risk that some other company that is doing a similar trial finishes first and gets the patent.

So Life Biotech had been secretly conducting human trials directly without completing the mandatory animal trials. The inmates were the easiest bait; no one would look for them. So whenever they need subjects, they picked up the poor souls from the charitable home as they would do anything for money.

The voices slowly drifted away and when he could hear them no more, he quickly emerged from his hiding and ran to the lift. He didn’t need the access card to go up. He pressed G and was soon out of the building. He had been lucky this time but he wondered if he would be next time.

                                                     *************

He sat in his car for a very long time with tears rolling down his cheeks. They had made him accomplice without even letting him know. He had been testing and analyzing samples from not volunteers but from forcefully held people. The samples were from people who were forcefully injected with the bacteria and then treated for the same! It was all so horribly wrong!

                                                       ******************        

read part 6 

 

The job.....part 4

read    part 1  ,part 2,   part 3

Abhijeet looked like he had been hit by lightening. He did not pause once and started wading through the tunnel, immersed in deep thoughts. Was Sanjog right? Was his organization really into such a murky racket? If it were indeed true, what would he do? Should he help his friend? Should he tell his boss, or maybe Sahana? Should he stay away from it all?

As Abhijeet emerged from the other end still immersed in thought, he saw Sahana was already there and jumping jubilantly.

“I won!! Yippee! What took you so long?” she looked so child-like in her victory!

He could barely let out a smile.

“What’s the matter? You look tense. Is something wrong?”

“Yes, my love, but I’ll tell you later. I’ll be fine.”

                                                   *************

Abhijeet looked serious when he arrived at work and his boss Narayan asked him if everything was ok. Yes, Abhijeet had replied, he was just tired after the hectic weekend.

He tried to appear more cheerful and continued with his work. Few weeks had passed and he suspected nothing unusual.

He had started staying in late on the pretext of completing his work and tried to keep an eye on the employees and ear on the conversations. He had almost convinced himself that Sanjog had been mistaken. He decided to drop his guard and go home on time that day. It was a Saturday so they could go to Noida for the weekend and meet his family.

As he entered the lift, Mr.Vasan, his superboss was already there. They exchanged greetings and rode together to the ground floor. Abhijeet got out but Vasan stayed on. Abhijeet had walked a few meters and suddenly realized Vasan was still in the lift. He went back and pressed the button and it took a while for the lift to open and when it opened there was no one there.

He was certain; Vasan had not got out with him. So where did he go? Was there a really a basement beneath, to which he had access? How many of the employees knew about the basement? How many of them had access cards? If it was true, than Sanjog had been right! He must find out.

                                                                ************

He quitely made up his mind to help Sanjog. If not for Sanjog's cause, atleast for his own peace of mind. Since it was Saturday, he drove to Hotel Blue Moon and waited for Sanjog to show up. Sanjog walked in and  a look of gratitude spread on his face as he saw Abhijeet. He sat on a table adjacent to his friend and motioned for him to follow. He disappeared into the washroom and Abhijeet followed.

Abhijeet told him of his chance encounter at the lift and his desire to find out more.

“I am glad you agreed to help,” Sanjog looked relieved, “Thank you.”

He handed over the access card to the basement floors, and other details Debashis had managed to pass on to him. The plan was discussed and they left their separate ways.

“If you get any information, we’ll meet at the hotel’s discotheque on Monday night.”

                                       ***************

The following Monday, Abhijeet stayed late in the office again on the pretext of completing his thesis and waited for the staff to clear off. When he was sure there was no one left, he entered the lift to find out what deadly secrets it held. He searched the lift for a slit to insert the access card, and realized there was no slit. But there was a red light below the symbol for ground floor.

‘Maybe the card has to be read not swiped’, he thought.

He kept the card on it so that it would be read. Miraculously the lift began its downward descent and did not stop at ‘G’ the ground floor, it went further down and for the first time Abhijeet felt a panic wave sweeping through his body! He was about to enter into unknown territory!

read part 5 

The job..part 3

read part 1 ,   part 2

“What a pleasant surprise! Where were you? I have been trying to contact you for the past six months, Sanjog…”

“Hush…don’t call out my name,” Sanjog cut him short, “ I’ll tell you the details later, but let me tell you something important before time runs out” he was almost whispering.

“What’s the matter Sanjog? You are scaring me.”

“I need your help. I am investigating a case. Some months ago, some inmates disappeared from Baba Gurudebji’s charitable home in Panchkula. No one took it seriously because, on the outlook it seemed like they had left on their own. But then it started happening on a frequent basis. More people started leaving. Just like that. Today they were here, tomorrow there were not.

It seemed like suddenly long lost relatives were finding their kin or companies had suddenly started hiring these guys! No one thought anything was amiss. But my friend Sonia who is a volunteer at the home felt something amiss. All investigations drew a blank and that is when I planted my bait at the home.”

“A Bait?”

 “Yes, do you remember Alok?”

“Alok? Our classmate from school? He’s here?”

“He dropped out of school after 9^th class and came here looking for a job. I helped him get a placement with a newspaper distribution office. Well, he agreed to act as an inmate and keep a watch for me.”

“What did you find out?” Sanjog was curious to know.

“After a couple of weeks he told me how some men had approached him with a job offer and the trustees had encouraged him to join. He agreed to the offer. They refused to divulge the details of employment and said they will come for him. A couple of days later they came to take him. It was weird, because who has ever heard of an employee being escorted to work? So I followed them from a distance. It brought me to Life Biotech…” he paused.

“You mean to the organization I work for?”

“Yes.”

“So what’s the catch?”

“He never returned. I tried meeting him casually as a friend, but there was no one by that name on the payroll. I waited three entire days outside the building, hoping he’d come out but he never did. I wondered what trouble I had put him into.”

“Then?”

“I was sure all other inmates had disappeared likewise so I tipped off the police. They promptly raided the place. But even a thorough search of the place did not yield any results. There was no one inside, not one inmate, not even my bait. They had just vanished overnight! I took a beating from the cops and my boss alike for what they thought was false alarm.

I realized that this kind of bait would lead me nowhere. I needed concrete proof. I needed to enter the place. I befriended a new recruit from Life Biotech, a certain Mr. Debashis Roy. He agreed to find out the inside story for me. What he told me was shocking.

I was right that the inmates were indeed being lured to Life Biotech.

Why the police did not find anything was because the eight floor tower was completely clean. The actually activities were being carried over in the two basement floors! But the existence of the two basement floors is not known to the outside world. In fact only the top and middle management knows about the existence and had entry to the two floors.

The lifts do not go beyond the ground floor and there are no staircases to lead down. Those who have permission to enter have a special access card that has to be swiped in the lift and that takes you down.

Between 10pm and 10.30, everyone including the security are out of the building, only three people from the disinfection and sanitization company are let in to sanitize the research labs in the  1st, 2nd and 3^rd floor and two persons are allowed into the basements. Debashis had managed to find out this and steal an access card He had tried to sneak in. But his bosses were in the basement that fateful day, and unfortunately they saw him before he could even step out of the lift or any evidence could be collected. He managed to get out and drop the access card with a detailed note in my post box. But I have never been able to locate him thereafter. God knows what they have done with him. Wonder if they have  kidnapped him or maybe even bumped him off."

He paused for breath.

“You are meeting me to warn me off this supposedly dangerous place?” asked Abhijeet cautiously.

“Not exactly….I need you to help me find what goes on there. A lot of lives including Alok’s are at stake. Will you help me get to the root of the matter?”

“Why don’t you go to the cops?”

“Neither the cops nor my boss will believe me again. I have enlisted their help twice and they were convinced I was on a wild goose chase. I cannot approach them again, atleast not till I have concrete evidence. Will you help me Abhijeet?”

“And be killed like Debashis?”

“No this time we’ll be more careful, and not repeat mistakes. I was publicly in touch with him, and knowing my interest in the case, Debu got identified.  I have gone underground since he disappeared, trying to piece the puzzle together, trying to work out a plan. I had to fake a serious accident and go off work for almost 5 months now. That is why the secret meeting with you. I have the access card to the basement floors, I have the plan; you need to help me execute it.”

“I have to think about it” said Abhijeet, not sure whether to get involved with such a dangerous mission.

“I understand," said Sanjog, placing an understanding hand over his friend's shoulder. "But please do not discuss this with anyone. I think you should leave now. You have been here too long. I hope Sahana doesn’t raise an alarm, not finding you on the other side. I’ll contact you again. I am usually at Hotel Blue moon around 8 every Saturday.. ”

                     

                                                      ************

read part 4 

The job......part 2

read part 1 here

Abhijeet had made up his mind to join Life Biotech, and this time as he walked into the Life Biotech tower, his stride was more confident. He had been contemplating joining the organization weighing out other job prospects. He originally hailed from a village near Noida and shifting to Panchkula had looked difficult.

But the salary package was good enough to outweigh every other offer he had at hand. He had spoken to his school buddy Sanjog, who lived here and was convinced that it would be a good organization to work with. That the city smelled and looked great would be an added advantage.

He finished his joining formalities and walked out feeling rather proud of his decision and couldn’t wait to let his wife Sahana in on the good news. He couldn’t wait to enter the research lab and do what he had always dreamt of doing. He would have a discovery of his own one day and have an exclusive patent in his name. The world famous scientist Abhijeet Sharma!

                                                        ***********

For the first time in 28 years, Abhijeet felt like a free man. His mother had worked at a garment factory and his father was a taxi driver. He was fortunate enough to be sent to the government school at Rampur village near Greater Noida. Abhijeet had been a bright boy, always topping his class. Studying in a government school had never been a setback for a boy of his caliber, and he had been quick to learn the subjects. There was a fire that raged within him, a hunger to achieve, to free himself of his humble background.

His teachers had been proud of him. The local MLA had magnanimously offered to finance Abhijeet’s higher education if he wanted to study further. Step by step, Abhijeet had climbed the ladder of education and had completed his B.Pharma degree and his M.Pharma in pharmacology.

He walked into his office wearing starched new clothes and a white lab coat, looking every inch the scientist he had come here to be. He was ushered into Mr. Narayan’s chamber and they got busy with the various work related technicalities.

He was taken for a tour of the whole building upto the 4th floor. He wondered what was beyond it, the tower seemed to be eight floors tall. The research units had a 3 door entry where they got sanitized and disinfected and changed clothes and wore protective gear to avoid any contamination and infection. He did not even have enough time to have lunch, not that he minded.

                                               ************

It was almost 6 months since his joining and Sahana had been complaining that he had been so busy with his work that he not even bothered to go on an outing with her.

“I know of a lovely place,” she said animatedly, “Morni hills. Shall we go there for the weekend?”

They drove to Morni hills in their brand new car and spent the day loafing around the place. Among the spurs of the hills were two lakes and a hill divided the lakes, but locals said there was a hidden channel or tunnel as the level of waters in the two lakes remained the same.

Abhijeet and Sahana had reached one end of the hidden tunnel, and Abhijeet suggested that they venture in and swim across to the other end. Sahana was not as enterprising and suggested they race instead, she over the hill and he through the tunnel.

“Let’s see who reaches the other side first,” she winked.

“Ok then, let’s start.”

Sahana climbed up the hill slowly and steadily and Abhijeet entered the tunnel. There were very few people inside, hardly 4 or 5. It got darker as he waded through the waters and that is when he felt a gentle tap on his shoulder. He couldn’t see who it was and he felt a stranger tap him gently on his shoulders.

“Hello Abhijeet.”

                                          ***********

read part 3 here 

The job....part 1

“Arre babu, no one is missing, ok?  Why are you cracking your head over a non- existent case?” Kalra threw up his hands resignedly and visibly upset with Sanjog pestering him. “There will be no investigation in this matter, do you get me Sanju? The police have said there is no reason for a suspicion. On your insistence, I have spent close to two precious days looking for non existent clues in a non existent case. And now I refuse to take any more of this crap.”

“Boss, trust me, I have a gut feeling…”

“Your ‘gut’? My foot!” Kalra cut him short. He seemed to be on the verge of bursting out into one of his famous ‘volcanic’ moods.

“I will not have my star reporter waste any more of my time talking about this nonsense. There is plenty of actual…” pausing at the word for dramitised effect and making a little quote-unquote action with his fingers in the air, he continued, “news to cover. Collect your tickets for Mumbai from Sheetal, you will be leaving tomorrow to cover the economic forum meet for the next few days. And make sure you get sound bites from every one who is co-chairing this forum. Can you please excuse me now?”

With droopy shoulders and heavy feet, Sanjog dragged himself away from his boss’ cubicle. Kalra was indeed ‘the impregnable Kalra’. No one could argue with him, much less win an argument with him. How would he convince his boss that he was onto something big, something fishy?

                                                    *************

Baba Gurudebji’s charitable home on the outskirts of Panchkula was home to many homeless people. His childhood sweetheart, Sonia was a volunteer at the home and over lunch one day, she had confided how people were constantly disappearing from the shelter.

“Maybe they are moving to a better place”, he had teased.

“What rubbish! You know, this place is more a home than any charitable trust ever could be.”

She was convinced that all the people who had left Baba Gurudebji’s charitable home were actually missing. There was a mystery somewhere. She had hoped, Sanjog could investigate being associated with the city’s leading newspaper.

“Why don’t you tell the police?”

“”People have been leaving voluntarily; some claimed by a lost relative, some getting a job offer somewhere…”

“So, what’s so suspicious?”

“Don’t you see? All this is happening suddenly. I have been working here for the past five years; nothing as dramatic as ever happened.”

“Then, you have all the more reason to go to the police.”

“The trust doesn’t want to. I have spoken to them. They say, they do not want unnecessary attention! Besides, these people have decided to leave on their own so we cannot do anything.”

“Which trust doesn’t want attention? That sounds suspicious to me too! So you think they are hiding something?”

“Exactly.”

“But why bother?”

“I am not here for fun. I have been serving these guys for five years. Suddenly, if people just start disappearing, it leaves me flustered. Do I make sense?”

                                                      ************

As Sanjog boarded the hopper flight to Mumbai, he wondered what he would tell Sonia. He had tried his best, talking to the inmates and the trustees. The inmates seemed happy their friends had found new direction in life. No one suspected anything fishy.

The trustees had the signed documents in their files proving that the ‘missing’ people were not actually missing but had left for the better. Some of them had been claimed by their long lost relatives, they had documented the letters of appreciation from the grateful kin, some had got job offers, and everything looked in order.

He had convinced Kalra to use his contacts in the police for a deeper probe. Kalra was hesitant at first, but persistence finally paid. He managed to get the police on the job but they had drawn a blank too. Little wonder that Kalra who could tell you precisely how much a minute of his was worth, was fuming at the two wasted days that yielded nothing.

Sanjog now tried to concentrate on the job at hand, the economic forum meet, the chief ministers and their entourage, the CEO’s and MD’s of big companies, virtually the who’s who of the economic world. His colleagues Ravi Shankar Pasricha and Tarun Bhatia would be joining him shortly. He wondered whether he should discuss the case with them but eventually decided against it. Both were confidants of Kalra, and he didn’t want to draw daggers with his boss atleast during this time of the year. This year’s appraisal was crucial for a much needed salary hike. No, he could not afford to mess with it. He would have to find another way to help out Sonia.

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read part 2   part 3