"What the?" I squirmed.
And then I saw it, a basement compartment, underneath the floor. I opened the hatch and entered a secret room. When I found a whole new hospital like set up, computers and hard drive and USB dives and some random files.
"This is it then." I whispered.
With these leads I walked out of the place.
Back Home
"Found anything?" Trisha asked.
"The files don't add up, as some pages are damaged and torn and the USB is encrypted and the hard drive is corrupted. We hit a dead end." I lost hope.
"Only one guy can help us. Ayan Rabha." Trisha suggested.
"The hacker who surrendered and now helps the cops?" I know the kid; he tried to expose some political conspiracy back in 2019 or so.
I guess it's worth a shot.
"So, where exactly can we find the guy?" I asked.
"Hard to say, as the saying goes, you don't find the Ghost, the Ghost finds you." The Ghost, that's what they call him these days I suppose.
"Everything has to be a challenge with these Gen Z kids these days huh?" I squirmed.
Moments later.
Caption: - [You need answers? Then come find me at this place.]
Some back alley in Chandmari was mentioned, and so, I decided to show up.
"Okay, I am here. So, what's exactly going on?" I shouted.
"Keep it down, will you? You need help with exposing the Spyder and I would be more than happy to help. Oh, where's my manners? Aayan Rabha aka the Ghost." The kid introduced himself.
"And your price?" I asked.
"Charming but I'd to it for free, for her sake." Nodding towards Trisha of course.
Suddenly
Caption: - Blam. [gunshot sound.]
"I knew that this would happen. The decrypter, take it." The kid was shot by an unseen assailant.
"No, you can't die. Hey, hey?" and then he collapsed.
"Fuck!" I squirmed.
Well, I got the decrypter. And now back to the business then.
Back home
"What happened?" She asked.
"Someone shot him and he died, but I got the decrypter and a crack to fix the hard drive." I spoke.
Several hours later
"What the hell? How? And why?" I saw the person who saved my brother.
"Who is it, Aaron?" She asked.
It was none other than my uncle. So, he came to save his beloved nephew, also why not? Unlike dad, my uncle was always defending him and saw him like a son he never had.
"So, what now?" She asked.
"Looks like I am going to Tezpur to find some more answers."
A day later at Tezpur
As much as I hate to admit it, I have a dark history in this place. Maya, my first love, the love whom I had lost and I still blame myself for not able to save her.
TEZPUR, 2011.
"Just tell her already, Aaron! Aaron! Aaron?" Everyone at the place was cheering for me, it was valentine's day and I was about to propose her.
But suddenly that day our fate changed. The so, called protectors of culture started causing a ruckus and vandalizing the place. She, Maya protested and then to make an example they shot her, right in front of me. And, till this day, I fear I might stir up trouble again if I ever come back here.
As I was walking around a random stranger bumped into me.
"Pardon me." He spoke.
And after that I saw a paper being slipped into my palm with an address.
"I guess someone want's me to go to the old apartment I used to stay in back in 2011, but what for?" I whispered.
And so, I went there. To find someone unexpected. Suraj himself all in the flesh.
"You've got some big cojones showing up like this and taunting me asshole." Yeah, I was pissed to see him again but I needed answers.
"Calm down, will you?" He was too chill for all this.
"Is this some kind of joke? How are you back and more importantly, why are you back all of a sudden after all these years? And why join Magna Carta?" I asked.
"You see? The order is just a joke. Control through chaos, they want to cleans the lost ones blah blah blah….. so, boring. I don't want power, for me the order is just a tool to get back what I had lost and to bring you down. And when I am done, I will destroy the order anyway." Yes, he was that twisted.
"You want to finish it? Well, I am right here. Pull out the gun and end it already." I yelled.
"And deprive me off all the fun? Nuh, too easy. I want to see you suffer and I want to take away everything from you including your fiancé, what was her name? Trisha, was it?" He was gloating at this point.
"If you dare to touch her, I swear." I hissed.
"Woah, calm down brother. I am not going to do anything to her, yet. It's those 4 friends of yours whom I want." He spoke.
"What they had got to do with all these?" I asked.
"You'll know soon. See you later brother." And then he left.
"My lunatic brother, all in the flesh." I muttered to myself.
Whatever he was planning, I had to put an end to this. And I was already running out of time.
But I had to return to them and to her to warn them.
Back in Guwahati
"You saw him? Are you serious?" They asked.
"Yes Zayne. He is planning to hurt us all and he is planning to do something more dangerous." I told them everything.
"But what does it got to do with us man?" Yugal asked.
"That's what confusing me too." I spoke.
"So, what's the plan now?" Lohit asked.
"I cannot put everyone in danger; I need to face him alone." I spoke.
"I will need allies and some major help and I need some inside information on the cult itself. And which I why I am heading to Sivsagar to learn about its history." I spoke.
"What are you hoping to find there?" Riyan asked.
"First of, I need to tell something. I guess I know why Suraj wants to see me fall, it's because of Maya." And that left everyone in the room confused.
"Who are you talking about?" Trisha asked.
"Trisha, year ago that night when you saw my scars you asked me about my past. Today, I am going to tell a part of my past life which I have not share with you all." I paused for a while.
"I was a new guy at Tezpur university back in 2010 along with my brother and then I saw her, Maya, the most beautiful girl in the university and it was like the love at first sight." I continued to narrate the story.
"And then the ill-fated day came, 14th February, 2011 when I lost her and for that Suraj blames me till this day as he considered her to be his best friend." And with that I made the big revelation.
"So, it's a revenge he seeks then." They spoke.
"It seems like that. And I suppose the bastard loved her too secretly." I paused.
"He never admitted but I sensed it back then." I spoke.
"So, is this what made him go insane?" Zayne asked.
"Actually, he believes that his entire life was a mess because of me. Including the time he was at the rehab." I spoke.
"What did he do?" Zayne asked.
"Not just him. But we both. Although, he took the blame and I escaped. And then in like 2014, At Uzanbazar a fight erupted and I though he died that day. But now he is back for a payback." I revealed everything.
"So, how do you plan to take him down?" Trisha asked.
"I already told you where I need to go next." I spoke.
And so, I made a trip to Sivsagar, hoping to find answers. Legend has it that the cult goes way back to the freedom fight period, when men of merely 20 formed this order with the vision to free Assam from external forces but soon the ideologies began to change.
With new leaders each time as successors, the cult lost its true purpose and became an extremist outfit.
Bombing, extortions, kidnaps, murders, arsons and what not. And in the middle of all these, I and my brother grew up.
I wanted no part of all these but I suppose my brother wanted to join them to find his "true purpose" as he used to say.
Till this day I regret that I couldn't stop him from going too far and never coming back.
The cult influenced him but I never knew when did he joined and which unit. We only destroyed one half of it last year by defeating Vikram.
But the cult has many units all over the State, all over the country and more importantly all over the world, Magna Carta is just a small division while THE ORDER OF CHAOS, operates like the illuminati themselves.
Secret but doesn't remain a secret for long it seems as some lunatic like my brother shows up and cause a ruckus once in a while.
Which is why I needed to put the cult down from its roots and for that I met with the oldest veteran of the cult itself who later walked out because of too much blood on his hands.
Mr. Reuben Langthasa, the surrendered leader of the cult who tried to expose and destroy them but the cult emerged again and again and there was no way to destroy them it seemed.
"Aaron Kashyap, the infamous brother of Suraj Kashyap, all away from home looking for answers. Either you are a fool to go against the cult and you are just too desperate to die and put others in danger." He was mocking my gut.
"Try capable." I squirmed.
You think you can simply take them down? Walk away while you still can kid." He told it like a warning.
"Well sorry to say old timer but I just cannot let it slip." I spoke.
"And you think you can just stop him. With what exactly kid? Face it, you are powerless." He was mocking me.
"So, you are saying that I just simply let him hurt those close to me? The order will go down one way or the other." I squirmed.
"Do as you please then. But if you ask me, I'd start looking for strong allies, alibies and evidences to put that fucker down." He spoke.
"Come again?" I asked.
"The order was started for a greater purpose but later it became something else, something which we never wanted it to be. I will let you have all the intel and would even give you tools to efficiently defeat your brother." He spoke.
"Go on." I let him continue.
And then he showed me everything, it was like he was schooling me on the ancient history and about the whole origins of the cult itself.
Shit was like Assassin's Creed level. Only difference is that I was no assassin, but I knew what I was walking into.
I was about to become an Assassin myself it seems.
"Are you offering to train me and give me weapons to take an entire organization down?" I asked.
"You have other ideas?" He mocked me.
"No." I spoke.
"Then stop asking questions and start acting up." He spoke.
And so, for months I learnt the ways of the cult, the way they move and executes the plans, I was never myself again. I forgot whom I was.
Although I came back home, I had to keep these who "Assassin" thing a secret, and that I couldn't reveal much about my plans and what I had learnt.
But for how long I could keep the secret? One day it was going to come out anyway. And when they find out, it would raise some serious questions in their minds.
I couldn't sleep and I was haunted by PTSD again; the memories of the last year began flashing in my head.
I had defeated the demon called Vikram, but I can't even defeat the demons living inside me now.