The Tale of the Tommy!

-Sreeju

Episode 1: Taking duty.

The gate of the prison was heavily guarded than usual for an evening. Even though Muthukumaran hasn’t worked at one before, he knew the place from his brief visits during his service. He noticed there was a huge crowd of cameras and mics across the barrier. ‘It might be some sensational case.’ He thought.

At the gate, he introduced himself and handed over an envelope. He was welcomed inside suddenly but the reaction of the constable upon reading the letter made him curious. The young officer was surprised for some reason, but he concealed it quickly before escorting the newcomer to his superior.

Muthukumaran had just retired from the Kerala Police force last week and he had been called in for an eleventh-hour job in a nearby prison. Since the warden at that place was a close friend of his, the retired officer didn’t hesitate to comply.

Besides, he knew how hard it is to find a temporary replacement within a short time at that hill range. People hardly came there and that too was a reason why he thought the crowd outside was unusual than normal. He wasn’t given any details of the job till now.

The walk from the gate to the warden’s office was short which gave him no chance to take a guess or get something out of the young constable who escorted him there. He hadn’t thought about it on the ride to prison as the reaction at the gate was what filled his heart with doubts.

“Come, Kumar, it has been so long. And thanks for being here at such short notice. You do know how hard it is to find a replacement here, right?” a grey-haired man in his 50’s sipping coffee welcomed him into the cabin. “Yes, I know. How can I say no to you, sir? You have done so much help in those early years. How could I forget?” Muthukumaran made himself humble.

“Oh, you can call me Rajeev. You are out of the service. I’m not your superior, just a friend.” The warden replied shaking the former’s hands at the same time. “You know, Akhil” he turned to the junior “Muthu and I have worked in Chennai, the old Madras, for a brief time in a sting operation. Ah, what a time it was, and then later he transferred from there to Kerala and has been here, ever since.”

The young constable smiled respectfully and nodded his head. “You can leave. And tell Subramaniam to come here.” Rajeev ordered the subordinate politely. It was just the two of them then in that office. They rattled about their times together as the sun began to take a dip in the cold ocean bed.

It wasn’t that late when Subramaniam cut off the reminiscing colleagues in the cabin. He was also a middle-aged officer but had long black hair with tiny patches of white here and there. Again, Muthu was introduced and the party moved into a nearby room for dinner.

As they moved, Subbu said it was going to be a long night. His superior wasn’t happy with that remark and he rolled his eyes over his shoulder without the retired man noticing it. From that reaction, the constable knew the job hasn’t been discussed yet. He fell silent quickly. However, it was worse for Muthu whose doubts and curiosity got worse with each second that passed in that prison.

After the dinner, the three men settled over a lawn in front of the office. Muthu was struggling hard to put the topic of the job’s nature politely. But the silence in that creeping night was something he never imagined amidst all those criminals. Each and every nook and corner of the building was lit heavily, but the sky above them lacked any source of light.

“You have to understand that you are not forced to do this. You can leave anytime now. But once that gate opens for the inmate we are bringing in, you are in this until the end. Are you clear?” Rajeev broke the silence in a heavy tone. Subramaniam lit up a cigarette and offered the others a part of his pack to share the stress.

Muthu hesitated as he had quit smoking for some time now. Rajeev lit up a new one and the lawn was soon filled with the fog of death. “Sir, sorry, Rajeev” the retired cop corrected himself “What is the job? And why me?”

Rajeev looked around making sure no one was near and Subbu even moved around the corners to check for any eavesdroppers. “Muthu, you saw the press outside, right? They are waiting for one of the most wanted criminals, one named Ranga. He will be here any minute.” The superior sounded serious.

“But I haven’t heard of him in the news lately” Muthukumar sounded confused. “He is a fucking ghost, that scoundrel.” Subbu was agitated “You might have known him by some other name. And no one would have known him now too if it wasn’t for some wannabee yellow-pages reporters who leaked about this operation to the whole media.”

Rajeev took over from the furious constable “He has been involved in murders, kidnappings, and all for the last 10 years that we know of. Many political parties are interested in him for his discrete works in crime. He was supposed to move to Kannur but the tension there has risen after his details were leaked into the press. So, now we have to keep him here…”

“And you want me to escort him here? That’s all?” Muthu cut off the officer in a hurry. There was a tone of comfort and relief in his voice. “Yes, we need your assistance in that too. But the thing is that,there is something else you have to commit. It is…” Rajeev sounded chained to his thoughts.

“What is it?” Muthukumar became curious again. Rajeev talked back slowly that the retired officer could understand it clearly “Muthu, it’s that...” he paused again and glanced at Subbu and turned the gaze back to the outsider “you have to kill him, unofficially.”

There was a chill in his spine. One that he had forgotten for a long time. His eyes didn’t hide his fears and it reflected in Rajeev’s too. He stood up and paced a little around the lawn. He came near Subramaniam this time and with a trembling voice, he asked “Can I have that cigarette now?”

The cigar burned abruptly between his lips as the ashes touched the ground like his heart dropped to the same. The silence crept in again, into the night, into the three men.

to be continued...