The Stalker

Monday, 9:00 PM: The wintry evening grew even chillier with the breeze. Nikitha started walking fast toward her home. It was just another 250 meters before she felt she could shake off the person following her. As she turned left near the grocery store, with the last four blocks of houses to cover, she felt alone. When she reached her gate, she turned back and saw no one in the lane.

 

Had there been a man following her? Was she imagining things? Had he turned back after she entered her lane? These thoughts kept her busy until she showered and sat at the dinner table. The streetlight flickered, casting long shadows on the pavement. A gust of wind carried the faint scent of tobacco, making her frown. The unease didn’t leave her, but she dismissed it. She had bigger concerns. The next day was going to be quite busy. She went through the case files and prepared notes on what to expect at the rendezvous with the corporate honcho on Tuesday. This was going to be a major assignment, one that could make or break her career—and, more importantly, the reputation of her organization. Well past midnight, she shut her laptop and the reading light on the table and crashed into bed.

 

Tuesday, 7:00 AM: With a hot coffee mug in hand, she stepped onto the balcony facing the street and looked down to the end of the lane. There was someone standing and puffing a cigarette near the corner grocery store. Was he the same guy? She let the thought drift away, enjoyed the morning breeze, and finished her coffee.

 

After a quick shower and a grilled sandwich for breakfast, Nikitha dressed in formals, walked down to the garage, and opened the gate. She tucked her laptop bag into the rear seat and drove the car onto the main road, looking out for a tail. There seemed to be none—or so she thought. She drove straight to the headquarters.

 

YH Raskar was a multi-billionaire politician with numerous alleged nefarious activities to his name. A former legislator with the then-ruling party, currently with the party in power after switching sides, Raskar wielded significant clout with the police. A self-proclaimed man of the masses, Raskar had friends and foes in the media and kept the police under his grip. The foul-mouthed businessman-politician had an army of followers—a gang that was as much a pain to the cops as to the general public. In recent times, his money-laundering activities and business deals had not only skyrocketed but also caught the eye of the national financial investigation agency. For a long time, he had evaded law enforcement due to his extreme connections.

 

The Enforcement Directorate had assigned the case of investigating YHR and his activities to Sethi and his team. Chief Sethi entrusted Nikitha with bringing the goon to justice. Today was the big day for closure.

 

Working overtime for the past fortnight, Nikitha and her team of two lieutenants had secured enough evidence to nail the financial frauds of YH Raskar. However, there were hurdles. Raskar’s tentacles spread across all strata of society, and the ED team knew they had to wriggle through a maze of deceit to apprehend the kingpin. To make things worse, Raskar’s men had infiltrated every department, and their eyes were on the vigil all the time. He had over half a dozen criminal cases pending against him, yet no charges had ever been framed.

 

9:00 AM: The first thing Nikitha did upon arrival at Chief Sethi’s office was to narrate the mysterious man tailing her since the previous week. Sethi listened quietly and asked her not to worry, as she was being guarded and would remain safe. The local police could not be trusted, so members of the Industrial Security Force in plain clothes were assigned to back up Nikitha and her team during the raid.

 

Noon: Unlike the early morning surprise swoops, this was planned as a mid-day entry—not really an ambush. Nikitha and her two young colleagues walked into the main gate of YH Raskar’s palatial bungalow. The security force waited outside in nondescript cars. Four men stopped them at the first periphery and let them in after verifying their credentials. In the patio, groups of musclemen were engaged in small talk. Two of them approached Nikitha with stern looks. With a bold face, she asked to see Mr. Raskar.

 

“Anna is busy,” was the curt response she received as they were ushered to sit on the sofas in the portico. They sat there for a while. Murmurs reached the man inside. Nikitha turned her head around the place, not sure what she was looking for. Her eyes fell on a man in a black suit on the balcony of the building across the road, watching through what seemed like binoculars. Was he the mysterious stalker? Before she could respond to the thought, two henchmen stood right in front of them and questioned them on the purpose of their visit. They seemed to be armed, and one of them had his hand reaching toward his back pocket. Nikitha was taken aback.

 

The ED team told them they had come to question Mr. Raskar and had enough evidence and a warrant for a search. Nikitha felt uneasy with the number of eyes around them, especially the one from a long distance. After half an hour of waiting, YH Raskar invited Nikitha and her colleagues inside the house. The team engaged him in discussion and laid the documents they had brought on his table. Raskar wore a beaming smile.

 

After three hours of intense questioning, Raskar and the ED team walked out of the house. The henchmen were anxious—was their ‘Anna’ being arrested? Raskar was surrounded by the paramilitary force, while Nikitha and her team were huddled into a bulletproof car and driven to headquarters. Raskar’s lawyers reached the HQ before the entourage brought him in.

 

4:00 PM: The court granted YHR bail. His lawyers had presented forged documents and coerced testimonies, creating just enough doubt to set him free. Nikitha clenched her fists in frustration. As she analyzed the failed operation, something nagged at her. Witnesses had backed out, and crucial evidence had been destroyed before her team arrived. It wasn’t just bad luck—someone had tipped YHR off. Raskar and his men were jubilantly driving back home.

 

Unbeknownst to her, a man in the shadows had been tracking these movements closely. He had witnessed YHR’s men tampering with evidence and discreetly gathered proof. He had seen the mole pass information to YHR’s men outside the courthouse but had to remain silent to protect his cover. This was his chance to tip the scales.

As the eventful day ended, the official car took her back home. At the turn into her lane, she caught a fleeting glance of a man in a dark suit puffing on a cigarette behind the pillar at the corner store. So, he sure wasn’t following her—or was he waiting for her there already? Nikitha didn’t give him much thought and entered her home, shutting the door behind her.

 

Why was bail granted to YHR? Was there something missing in their files? They surely had an airtight case with the evidence, and the court couldn’t have been in cahoots with the criminal. Questions crossed her mind. Then again, the silhouette of the mystery man appeared in front of her shut eyes. She was worried but also smiled, for she believed the department knew better how to handle her safety and security.

 

That night, an anonymous tip landed in her inbox. It contained grainy yet damning images—YHR’s henchmen burning ledgers, bribing key witnesses, and a name she hadn’t expected, someone from her own team. A mole. Her gut twisted. The message ended with: “Trust no one inside. Strike fast.”

 

Wednesday, 6:00 AM: Nikitha wasted no time. By dawn, she had confronted the mole with the evidence. His confession led them to a hidden ledger detailing illegal financial transactions. With the case reinvigorated, she coordinated a more aggressive raid on YHR’s premises, this time backed by an elite paramilitary team.

 

9:00 AM: Sethi, Nikitha, and the team were again present at YHR’s residence. This time, they had a dozen uniformed cops in tow. Word spread across the constituency of an impending arrest of their ‘beloved’ leader. People turned up in hordes, only to be pushed back by the barricades put up across all entry and exit points to Raskar’s house.

 

As the raid unfolded, chaos erupted. The ED team spent over six and a half hours inside, while the crowds surged outside the residence, clogging all paths in the colony. YHR’s guards resisted, trying to buy him time. A shot rang out from above. One of YHR’s most trusted enforcers, about to set fire to a key stash of documents, dropped his gun, wounded. The sudden turn stunned the rest of YHR’s men, giving Nikitha’s team the opening they needed. Within minutes, they had secured the entire premises, including financial records, offshore account details, and digital evidence YHR couldn’t erase in time.

 

4:00 PM Finally, the sirens started blaring as a special grilled vehicle entered the palatial compound. YH Raskar was whisked in, and as the vehicle exited from the rear gate, the followers began chanting slogans. As the officers hauled YHR away, Nikitha’s heart pounded. Something about that precise, well-timed shot stayed with her. She scanned the area, catching a fleeting glimpse of a familiar silhouette disappearing into the distance. That same scent of tobacco lingered.

 

A riot-like situation ensued, with the ED team members leaving the premises in different cars. Nikitha was the last to leave, accompanied by a security guard. Their car was stuck in the melee. The driver turned inside the compound and headed for the north-side main exit. The police pushed back the crowd, and the vehicle slowly made its way onto the by-lane leading to the main road.

 

A group of young men who had been present from the previous day inside YHR’s compound spotted Nikitha and gestured to the others toward the car. Sticks and stones were pelted at the car, even as the driver avoided most of them and drove cautiously away from the scene. They had hardly traveled a kilometer in half an hour from the politician’s residence when a gang of goons blocked their way. The windshield was cracked, and the driver stopped the car as it was completely surrounded by angry, screaming men.

 

The guard sitting beside the driver gestured to Nikitha to exit through the door behind the driver. Just as she opened the door, a tall man in a dark hoodie, his face covered by a mask, grabbed Nikitha, wrapped her in a black shawl covering her head, face, and torso, and whisked her away across the road into a waiting minivan with a sliding door. As she was shoved into the vehicle, a large stone was thrown toward the van, aimed at Nikitha. The ‘abductor’ turned back to look and was hit on the forehead. He hurriedly shut the door and got in beside the waiting hooded, masked driver, who took off at high speed.

 

“Are you okay, buddy?” asked the driver.

“I’m fine,” said the man in a coarse tone, wiping the blood trickling down his face mask.

 

“Where am I?” screamed Nikitha, still covered and lying on the back seat. There was silence for over an hour before the van came to a halt. The two men got down and helped Nikitha out of the car, leading her into a dilapidated building.

 

She found herself bound and blindfolded, her head throbbing from the ambush. Her captor hadn’t spoken a word, but the tension in the air was unmistakable. As she struggled, she heard footsteps approaching. Her restraints loosened, and the hood-like shawl covering her slipped off. Nikitha looked at the bleeding face of her abductor-saviour. She pulled the mask from his face and slapped the ‘stalker’ on his cheek.

 

“Good shot from the balcony, my dear stalker. And bloody hell, stop smoking on duty near my house,” she chided him. Special Service Agent Vikram Singh was her partner in crime and fiancé, who had been entrusted with the undercover assignment of shadowing the dynamic investigator.

 

Chief Sethi walked in with a smile and said, “YHR is out of the picture for good.”

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Pic: Freepik