Monday, 22-02-2021 10 : 00

"BAM! BAM!" the courtroom was brought to order by the judge's gavel. The room is filled with murmurs and whispers. After all, the crowd is going to witness the judgement for one of the most heinous crimes ever seen by humanity.

The judge had a stern face, probably hiding his absolute disgust for the accused. "Bring him in!" he signalled the informant. The court went to pin drop silence on his words. The police brought a young man, probably in his rear twenties, through the aisle. With a dead face he entered the court podium, with a cut across his left eye till his nose, as if someone grazed his face with a sharp object. He was rather unkempt. He had yolk all over his head as a result of egging outside the court. There were hundreds of people protesting against the crime he committed, demanding severe punishment.

"Vikram Kumar, S/O Jitendra Kumar" called out the judge.

"Yes, Your honour!" he replied with a tired voice. It felt smooth yet authoritative. Yet helpless, as if he's trying to plead his innocence.

"Were you able to procure any of your so-called evidence on your side ?" asked the judge.

"Can't procure it from a jail cell, can I, Your Honour ?" he answered with anguish.

"At least give me a chance looking at my history!" he added, getting strength from within. "Doesn't someone who has helped many families reunite with their lost kids deserve it ?"
"Your history, Mr. Vikram, is what makes the matters worse" replied the judge firmly. "You, being in such a responsible role, acted like a monster. You sexually assaulted your colleague and brutally murdered her beyond recognition."

Vikram closed his eyes in disgust.

"The evidences are all against you, Mr. Vikram. You are held responsible for the rape and murder of Ms. Meghana Krishnan, 24 after abducting her from her house on the night of February 13th, 2021. You ..." the judge started stating the charges against him.

Vikram faded out. He could not listen to any of it. His ears went completely silent. His face remained expressionless. He slowly started thinking how he ended up in such a situation. From being the dynamic homicide investigator part of Police department to a monster abandoned by family and friends. In a position where he is not even given a chance to prove his innocence. He knew something was getting cooked around him for the past week. But, he didn't expect the sudden turn of the events.

Sunday, 14-02-2021 2 : 00

Vikram jolted from his sleep by his ringtone. For a second, he expected his wife to take care of it, later realizing that he got divorced last week. It has been a rough week for him, with the divorce and the missing case of Anita Pandey has been like rubbing salt in his wounds. He woke up grumpily to get his phone and answered it.

"Vicky! Vicky! I found it!" whispered Maggie. Maggie, Meghana, has been his colleague for quite a while now. An aspiring analyst dying to get on the field now and then. "It's in your blood!", Vikram used to tease her about being in the force. After all, her dad Mr. Krishnan and her brother, his close friend Rohit are well known among the force. But, everyone knew she is the best analyst the team has had.

"Find what !? Where are you, Maggie !?" he asked with a worrisome tone. He knew that she was up to something risky.

"The van you were tracking since yesterday" she whispered back with dread in her voice as if she saw something terrifying. "It is in the old paper factory, by the outer ring road! I am right there! Make your way here ASAP!"

She cut the call abruptly, as if trying to be dead silent. Vikram's face was filled with dread. He realized what was happening. He forgot to call for backup or informing Rohit. Furthermore, he just took off at once, packing his Colt M1911 sidearm in his holster.

Finally, he reached the factory. It is an abandoned factory, completely secluded. He tried calling Maggie but couldn't reach her. He could sense the malice in the air. There were few vehicles blocking the main entrance. He decided to jump across the back wall.

He jumped across the 10 feet high wall and ended up in the backyard. It was filled with used conveyor belts, paper boards as if no one has been there since years. He unlocked his weapon, loaded it, and slowly he made his way inside the factory and leaned over a Fourdrinier machine to get a better view. He could see half a dozen guys searching the area.

The factory is a three-storey building with a huge centre hall filled with assembly lines in the ground floor. A corridor surrounded the hall. Across the hall, there were stairs to access the upper floors of the factory. Over the railing, he saw bits of clothing, probably stuck when moving swiftly. He realized it was Maggie's. He had to act fast before anything worse happens.

"Make sure she does not leave this place alive!" one of the guys shouted, "Come out, bitch!". He covered his face with a mask and was carrying some serious heat. Vikram knew he had to be silent. He slowly moved across the machine and saw one of the goon separated from others. He quickly got hold of him and brought him down to the ground. Furthermore, he locked the goon's legs and started strangling his neck. "1 down, 5 to go" he thought to himself with the unconscious goon still on him. He made his way along the stairs and ended up in the long corridor.

There were 1 feet wide pillars on the side of the balcony. He took cover behind a pillar and peeked across the corridor to get a clear look. His face has turned blue. He saw Maggie lying in a puddle of blood at the corner of the corridor. She was shot in the leg. She was holding a gun and trying to drag herself to safety. Her hands were trembling due to loss of blood. Looking at her condition, Vikram made the biggest mistake of the night. He raced across the corridor towards her. From the other side of the corridor, bullets started raining towards him. Before he could make it, bullets started raining from the opposite corridor. A bullet grazed his shoulder and he had to get behind a pillar for cover. He gasped furiously for air and got back on his feet. "An ambush, huh?", he thought to himself.

Just then, he saw an armoured goon approaching Maggie from the other end. He had very less time to react. He decided to go for it and manoeuvred towards the next pillar. Just when he moved away from the cover, a grenade landed right next to him. It exploded, filling the room with dense smoke.

"BAM!", the judge's gavel sounded.

Vikram was still in a daze. He was back at the factory, he got dragged to the back of the hall in the ground floor and got his limbs tied with chains to a heavy machine facing the wall. There was a chain strangling his neck every time he tried to move. The room echoed with Maggie's screams. "Let her go! Please!", he screamed. But, in vain. After what could have been a lifetime of struggle, he heard a cold voice. "Kill her once you are done", it said. He tried to fiddle with the chains, which he knew is of no use. He begged to let her go. Just then, he heard the bullet sound.

"BAM!", the judge's gavel sounded. "Mr. Vikram, are you listening ?" the judge asked. Vikram was still at the old factory.

The entire hall went horrifically silent after that. He couldn't do anything. He heard heavy footsteps approaching him. In moments, he saw a goon with a blood covered spade in his hands. The goon took a swing of it and hit Vikram on his face, knocking him out.

"BAM!", the judge's gavel sounded, but in vain.

Vikram woke up in the hospital bed the next day. His hands were cuffed to the bed. His left eye was covered in plaster. Rohit was standing right in front of him. His eyes were burning with anger and hatred.

"How could you?", he asked. "What ? What do you mean?", mumbled Vikram. Rohit furiously came over to Vikram and punched him in the face.

Vikram jolted out of his thoughts when a cop kicked him in the back of the knees and brought him to his knees. His face was pushed hard in to the podium, resulting his cut across his eye to bleed. "I didn't do it, Rohit! I didn't do it!", he screamed with pain and shock.

"Enjoy your non-pardonable triple life sentence, Mr. Vikram", the judge said calmly while signing the judgement.