Chapter 8

September 2009, Gurgaon

“Now can you tell me how you did this?” asked Tanishk’s mother inquisitively.

“Ohh, it was simple really. This is an awesome thing if humans learn to use it.” Tanishk said, while pointing towards his head.

“Don’t keep me in suspense. Tell me!” said his mother, even more eagerly.

“Ok. So I was shattered emotionally when I got that phone call. I don’t know how, but this triggered my thinking skills. I vowed that I would kill that guy. I vowed that I would kill all the people responsible. For that, I had to formulate a plan. I had to think straight. So I formulated a plan so perfect that the chances of failing were very less. I had to first know where your kidnappers were. So I created a tracker only from the parts of a CPU. It tracked the kidnappers’ location by the transmissions of the wireless cameras that were installed in our home. They had to transmit to the place where you were held captive. It would only be convenient for them. Next, I had to render their cameras and bugs useless. There was only one way I could do so, through the parts of the CPU. I created a similar machine, which cut the transmissions of the bugs and the cameras. It is simple to do that. Education does pay off. I was sure that the kidnappers would send someone to check what had happened. And I was right. They sent a guy, named Zafar. He was big and had a strong built, but nothing can survive when objected to high voltage of current. Don’t ask me how I made that machine. Before killing him, I had to talk to him as this was an essential part of the plan. After killing him I took his gun, phone and then buried him in the graveyard nearby. I had plenty of time for that. What a lovely burial! I put some flowers on top of his grave too! I got a call from the person who kidnapped you then. He was impatient. Very Impatient. As I had listened to Zafar speaking, I could mimic his tone and voice. I misled him. I made him to believe that I was at my home and Zafar, who was me again, was fixing the problem. Now I had to rush to Islampur, where you were held captive. This is the part of the plan which I like best. I hid near the warehouse. I then manipulated the software in Zafar’s phone to stop displaying the number when I called someone. Then I called the police, telling them that a bomb was going to set off in a large warehouse, in Islampur, which was of course, the place where you were held captive. I anticipated that the authorities would take this very seriously and reply as fast as possible. So I would have the full support of the police, with them being unaware of this situation. It would prove to be a good backup to. Then I called Mohan, the mastermind of this kidnapping, through Zafar’s phone. I anticipated that he would pick the phone up as no number would be displayed on the screen. Seriously, it isn’t every day that you see such a thing happen! I then impersonated the NBCI and threatened to arrest him in suspicion of drug possession. This certainly intimidated him, and he even tried to run away! I anticipated that as soon as the guards would see the police, they would start firing! I took advantage of this melee and entered the warehouse and took you to safety. I then had to kill Mohan. So I rushed back inside, with a gun in my hand. I killed him using only one bullet as he was caught unawares. I then had to clear all the evidence, to make sure that no one would know of my involvement in these affairs. So I planted a bomb which I had stolen from the arms room of the warehouse itself, in the main room. And then, I ran away, and BOOM! And now, I am here.” Tanishk said, being confident as ever.

Her mother was stunned. She couldn’t speak for a while.

“You killed so many people only for me.” Said Tanishk’s Mother.

“Yes. You are the only person who I truly am attached to. I actually enjoyed this.” Said Tanishk.

“Thank you, my son. But promise me that you will not kill any person again. Promise me that!” said her mother.

“Okay. I promise but I don’t understand something. If the kidnappers knew that we were poor, then why did he kidnap you? And then ask me to pay the ransom! Something is fishy about that. I think that maybe my father has something to do with this. He may have made enemies. ” said Tanishk, with a serious tone.

“Maybe your father had something to do with this after all! I don’t feel safe knowing that he had enemies.” Replied his mother.

“His enemies live even now. I don’t think it is safe for you to live here anymore. So you have to go far away, where they can’t touch you.” Said Tanishk.

“I can’t leave you! You have to come with me!” said Tanishk’s Mother.

“No. I am going to send you to Europe. Don’t ask me how I am going to do that. I have enough money now from Mohan’s bank account to assure you a visa and buy an air ticket.” Said Tanishk, hiding a tear from his eye.

“If that is what you wish, then I’ll go. But promise me that you will come to meet me.” Said Tanishk’s mother, making no attempt to hide her tears and emotions.

“Ok. Your plane is going to Sweden tomorrow, at 5:30 pm. Here is your air ticket. Here is your passport. Take it.” Tanishk said, giving the air ticket and passport to his mother.

This was actually Tanishk’s first robbery. It was normal. It only involved hacking Mohan’s bank account and transferring lacks of rupees to his account.

His mother hugged him tightly, wishing that this moment would never end. She didn’t want to go but she also didn’t want to disobey her son’s orders.

Tanishk assured his mother that he would come to meet her one day and take her back with him.

Now, Tanishk had to explore his father’s robberies and dealings. He now had no weak point, in case it got ugly. He had enjoyed rescuing his mother, and hoped that he would enjoy doing this also.

Chapter 7

Back to Gurgaon. . . . . .

“As I had planned, the kidnappers didn’t get to know that I was tracking them. I am a genius.” Thought Tanishk.

“Still, I shouldn’t be overconfident. Not at this stage. The kidnappers may have a trick up their sleeve. You never know these people.”

Tanishk entered his house and slowly closed the door. He ate some fruits that were left in the basket and then fell on his bed, which wasn’t very comfortable. He soon fell asleep.

The next day . . . .

Sunlight fell on Tanishk’s eyes which made him wake up immediately. He stood beside his bed for a while, till he remembered how important the present day was for him. He quickly changed his clothes.

“Now I am ready.” He spoke, giving his smug smile.

Back to Islampur . . . . . .

“Sir, Sir! All the cameras have blacked out! All the bugs have been cut!  I don’t know how this happened! Should we suspect the boy?” Ali blurted out.

“Hmm, how did this happen? We checked the cameras before installing them. The bugs were in perfect condition! The kid can’t possibly know that we installed the cameras and bugs. Or can he? I will tell Zafar to go and check what is happening.” Said Mohan, the mastermind behind this kidnapping.

“Ok sir. The boy can’t possibly do this. He is an idiot! He is an emotional fool.” Said Ali.

Somewhere near, Tanishk’s mother grinned.

Mohan picked up his phone and dialled a number.

“Zafar, I need you to check what is going on in the kid’s house. All the cameras have blacked out. All the bugs have been cut! Proceed with caution!” said Mohan.

“Don’t worry sir. I will check this problem. Tanishk cannot have done this. Anyways, I will call you when I have solved this problem.” Replied a voice on the phone.

Mohan felt reassured as he trusted Zafar. Zafar was one of the most able guys to do the job. Still, he couldn’t understand how this had happened. Something was strange.

Mohan waited for the screens to lighten up. Ten minutes had passed, still nothing had happened. He picked up his phone and called Zafar.

“Everything is fine, sir. The boy is here. I am trying to fix the cameras. No problem.”  Said Zafar.

“Ok! Speed up a little bit!” replied an impatient Mohan.

“Everything is fine, sir. Let me concentrate, would you?” said Zafar.

“Ok! Speed up!” said Mohan angrily. He banged his phone on the table then.

“I can’t believe this! This wasn’t supposed to happen! Has Tanishk planned this? I wouldn’t hesitate to kill his mother right now. No, I have to wait. I haven’t gotten any orders from my master yet. Let us consider this as a temporary problem then.” Thought Mohan.

Suddenly his phone rang. He glanced at his phone screen. The number was not displayed; it simply said ‘Private Number’. He picked his phone up and put it against his ear after hitting the receive button.

“Hello Mr. Mohan. How are you?”

“I am fine. Who is this?”

Suddenly, the tone became more serious.

“This is the NBCI speaking. We are coming to arrest you for your involvement in a drugs case.”

“Wait! WH…what? I can’t believe this! You don’t have the authorization of doing this.” Mohan stuttered.

“We’ll meet you in a while. We are coming for you! So run!” said the voice on the phone.

The call was then disconnected. “Something is certainly fishy.” Said Mohan.

“We have to run! Everyone, move out!” It was too late! The police sirens could be heard. Suddenly cross firing began.

“I can’t believe this! Zafar also hasn’t called yet! What has happened? Now I can say with utmost certainty that Tanishk has something to do with this! I am going to kill his mother!”

In between this melee, he headed towards the room where he had held Tanishk’s mother captive.

The thing that happened next made Mohan drop his mouth and widen his eyes, at the same time.

The room was empty. A note had been attached to the chair. Mohan picked it up. It said –“I am coming for you.”

He knew who had written this. He ran frantically towards his workers to aid him in this confusion. From somewhere, Tanishk appeared with a gun in his hand.

Mohan was awestruck. “How has this happened? My workers are probably trying to kill the policemen, so they are busy. What a nice time to show up!” He thought.

“I had pledged that I would kill you! So, bye-bye!” said Tanishk without showing any remorse.

Before Mohan could utter another word, the gun fired and the bullet went straight through his head. He fell and hit the ground hard. That didn’t matter because he was dead anyway.

Now, Tanishk had to run out of this place. He had planted a bomb in the main room, and it would blast anytime. He ran with all his might, and succeeded in escaping from this unlucky place. After a while, he heard the sound of an explosion. He smiled. He had succeeded in clearing all the evidence. Now, No one would suspect him of this. He had struck hard at Mohan with such vengeance that it resulted in his death. “At least I properly cremated his body.” He joked.

 He headed towards his home, with a gleam in his eye. He had saved his mother. This ignited a smile on his face, although for a short while.

He was sure that his mother would ask how all this had happened. This night, his mother would be thrilled to hear how she was saved from the clutches of Mohan. 

Chapter 6

   Meanwhile In Islampur . . . . .

Tanishk’s mother was held as hostage in a large warehouse. In all, there were 25 people guarding the warehouse. Tanishk’s mother was in a pitiful state. Her dupatta had lost its colour because of the dirty ground.  Her clothes were wrinkled. Her shoes had been confiscated. Her eyes were full of tears. She was in a state of despair. She wanted to be in her house, with her son by her side. Tanishk. Thinking of him made her sadder. “How would he have reacted to the phone call? What will he do now? Can he possibly collect 50 lakh rupees?” were the things that were floating in her mind.

“Take this old woman. This maybe your last meal!” said a man.

“I’d prefer to eat when my son takes me home, and believe me, he will.” Replied Tanishk’s mother.

“Ha-ha! You’re funny! Your son can’t do anything! He’s a moron.” Replied another man.

“We’ll see.” Tanishk’s mother thought.

She could now see the sun setting. Another day was gone. Most probably, she only had a few days left to live. She believed in her son. She believed that he will come and save her. Of course, this was the irrational and emotional part of her mind speaking.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a tall and strong man. He was probably the mastermind behind all this. He suddenly picked up his phone and dialled a number.

“Tanishk. You know how much time you have left. Have you gathered all the money?”

He paused then as he was listening to the reply.

“Ohh, really? You say that you have collected 25 lakh rupees! Is that true or just a lie to save your mother?”

He listened to the reply and answered “OK. So how was the day at Mr Sharma’s cyber café? At first he was reluctant to tell anything, but you know how much man values his life. He told everything after my men pointed guns on him. So you like repairing CPUs, eh? It won’t give you the required money anyways.”

He disconnected the phone.

Tanishk’s mother was awestruck. “How could he have gathered 25 lakh rupees? It was very much possible that he was lying. And why was he at Mr Sharma’s cyber café?  Peculiar.” Thought Tanishk’s mother.

Chapter 5

September 2009, Gurgaon

“Why is this seeming to be so easy? I feel as if I am missing something. What is it? The thing I haven’t pondered upon is the reason why they kidnapped my mother. There has to be a motive. Every criminal has a motive. I can tell one thing for sure, that they intend to kill my mother. It is simple why- They know that we are poor, and asking poor people for money is as good as trying to talk to a deaf person. So what do they want? There may be a high probability that it has nothing to do of me. So did mother do something? Nope. I don’t think so. My mother never supported my father or my brother in their activities. Then, it seems my late brother or father has something to do with this. But why wait for such a long time? And firstly, what did my father or brother do? This is getting more and more complicated. Let me focus on the problem at hand first- Saving my mother.” Tanishk thought.

Tanishk needed to see where his mother was being held as hostage. He had to know how many people were guarding the building. He had guessed that there were around 25 people who would be guarding the place, after all they were professionals.

Tanishk had one disadvantage- He couldn’t see them. The place where their mother was held as hostage was completely isolated. It seemed to have no shop or mall nearby; this meant that Tanishk couldn’t hack into any of the cameras nearby, as there weren’t any. This all meant that Tanishk couldn’t track the doings of his kidnappers.

“This is not good.” he muttered.

He looked out through the small window, and could see the sun setting. It created an illumination of the sky being yellowish orange. The birds were seeking their nests. The children were going back to their homes. The farmers were appreciating themselves for their hard work. It looked as if the darkness was taking over the light of the sun. The clouds of the night soon took over the sky. And shortly after, the moon and the stars illuminated the sky. 

This all made Tanishk want to be in his home, with his mother cooking his favourite dish- Paneer. He wanted his mother to come back.

These thoughts made him hate the kidnappers even more, which further triggered determination in him.

This was what was different in Tanishk. His emotions triggered his brain to work more effectively. This is quite the opposite of what happens to the normal human brain. When someone normal experiences emotions, he often takes impulsive and imprudent decisions. This is why a man should always think before he acts, whatever the situation maybe.

He had now decided what he had to do- he would go to Islampur the next day. He had all this worked out in his brain. He had calculated all the risks involved with this feat, but this was the only option.

He would have an advantage over the kidnappers- The element of surprise. He had already figured out that his stalkers would consider him going to Islampur as a mere coincidence. But still, he had to make sure that his stalkers never thought otherwise.

Mr. Sharma soon approached him.

“Son, don’t you want to go home?”

“I do. Just a minute.” Tanishk quickly deleted all his work on the computer, and reassembled the CPU to its normal state. He didn’t need any of that information now. His mind had stored all those things well. After all, he possessed an eidetic memory. He also had Hyperthymesia. This worked for the better of him.

Too many good qualities in one person, the world is just unfair, isn’t it?

He then left the cyber café and slowly headed towards his home. He could see his stalkers clearly. It was as if they weren’t even trying to be stealthy. Tanishk had planned everything now. He was almost confident in his plan. Little did he know that things rarely go as planned.

Chapter 4

September 2009, Gurgaon

The room is silent. Tanishk is lying on the ground thinking.

“I just need to find a blind spot. Just one. If I buy an RF detector, the cameras will simply show that. It looks like going out wouldn't be bad thing after all. But there is a risk associated with it. I would be followed. On the other hand, if I act as if I am working, the people who are spying on me wouldn’t suspect anything. Plus, they probably wouldn’t have any surveillance outside! I could set up my cover in a cyber café! I could manipulate the computer’s hardware to make a device that could detect wireless cameras! To any outsider, I would seem to be fixing the computer! Once I make such a device, it wouldn’t be long for me to detect all the cameras and find the blind spots. And once I do so, I would use those spots to hide things.”

After thinking all this, Tanishk pretended to cry. He then headed towards the main door of the house and opened it. He then scanned his surroundings. He saw 2 cyber cafes in the vicinity. He headed towards “Sharma Cyber Café”. Mr Sharma was a very kind and generous man, and besides, he was always fond of Tanishk.

“Ahh, Tanishk, How are you?” asked Mr Sharma.

“I’m fine. Do you have anything you need to fix? I could use some extra money.”

“Ah, yes I do have a little task for you to do Tanishk. You need to fix one of the CPU I have. I don’t know what has happened to it.” Replied Mr Sharma.

“OK, I’ll see it. And you can count on me; I’ll fix it for sure. And while I am at it, Could I use one of your computers?”

“Yeah, you sure can.” Replied Mr Sharma.

Tanishk entered the small cyber café and glanced behind. He could see some people watching him.

“Huh! Fools! They think I don’t know that they’re watching me.” Tanishk Thought.

“So this is the CPU I wanted you to look at.” Said Mr Sharma.

Tanishk glanced at it, and started to think of the best machine he could make out of this CPU. His mind was no less than an Intel Processor. He had an IQ of 215, and this was when he was only 9 years old.

He started dismantling the CPU and moved aside all the necessary components needed to build the detector. The trick was that generally all cameras’ sensors reflect back light, regardless of whether they are on or off. This helps the detector in finding the hidden cameras. Tanishk further thought of making a detector which could detect audio bugs too, just in case.

With the help of his knowledge and skills, he finished making a Bug Detector. He then connected the bug detector he made to a computer via USB Port and then started tracking all the cameras and microphones in a radius of 1 km. In one spot, he could see an enormous number of cameras and microphones. He assumed this to be his house, as there wasn’t any mall or bank nearby. The computer counted the number of cameras- 65 and microphones- 90. All of this was spread over a house which was less than 250 sq. ft.

“I have taken the first step now.” He said.

“Wait a minute, as these bugs are wireless, there must be a place they are transmitting to. By the looks of it, it looks as if they’ve considered me a complete fool. So my guess is, all those bugs transmit the data over to the place, where my mother is held hostage.”  He thought.

Tears started coming out of Tanishk’s eyes, and this wasn’t acting.

He immediately tracked the place to where these cameras were transmitting to- Islampur.

“So near, yet so far.” He said.

“Just wait. This I just the beginning. I am going to kill all of you. And you won’t even see it coming."

Chapter 3

September 2009, Gurgaon

“Hmm…. So they have kidnapped my mother? I am going to make sure that they die. A very painful death. I don’t care about the law! What was the police doing when my mother and I went to them some years ago? They humiliated us.” Tanishk spoke quietly to himself.

He had now wiped the tears off his face. He knew that crying couldn’t do anything. He had 2 days to save his mother…..or to watch her die. He headed out of the restroom and rushed out of the restaurant, without explaining anything to his friend. He knew where he had to go – back to his home, where all this had started. He made his way out of the crowded mall and headed towards the auto-rickshaw stand.

“Where do you want to go?” asked the auto-driver.

“Badshahpur.” Replied Tanishk.

“200 Rupees.”

“If you make me reach there within 30 minutes, I would give you double of what you are asking me.” He said. Although he was poor, but he still offered this much money because money was the least thing that mattered to him right now.

Tanishk entered the little yellow auto rickshaw and seated himself. Before he could even say something, the driver started the auto rickshaw and sped it up as if it was a Ferrari.

Now Tanishk fell into deep thought. This was one of his specialities. He could take off his mind from the surroundings at any time and start thinking, whatever the conditions be, because to think deeply in an auto, you need a lot of concentration, and patience.

“What can I do to avert such a disaster? I can’t possibly gather so much money in such a short period of time. Well, even if I had more time, I still couldn’t earn that much money! I have to formulate a plan now. I have to think of a plan fast.” Thought Tanishk.

He peeked outside and saw businessmen, who were wearing suits, holding briefcases. He smiled, as he noticed something. He then pondered over the issue of money, and figured out that he didn’t need to bring real money. He did think of that as a risk because the kidnappers could have figured that out.

“Hey! Wait a minute! If these kidnappers are as smart as I am thinking them to be, then in that case, why kidnap someone they know is poor? Even if they threaten a poor family, they wouldn’t get anything! There is more to this kidnapping.” Thought Tanishk.

Soon, the auto-rickshaw stopped. As promised, Tanishk awarded the driver with 400 rupees and rushed towards his little home. By the time he reached his home, he had already formulated a plan that would save his mother as well as kill the kidnappers.

As he was entering his room, his phone rang. He now knew who was calling. He received the phone and listened.

“47 hours remaining. Amount is 50 Lakh Rupees. No tricks. No police. Your mother will be safe if you give us the money. Or else…”

“I know…. I know” Tanishk shuddered.

“And by the way, how was the auto ride?”

After this moment, the phone was disconnected.

“How did they know? Now that I know who I am dealing with, I have to be careful. I can’t afford any unnecessary risks. They are monitoring me, eh? I’ll make sure that they don’t get to know what I’m up to. For that, I would have to be very discreet, and minimise my going out for these 2 days. You don’t scare me with all your big guns.” Thought Tanishk.

“All I need to do know is close the doors and windows.” Said Tanishk to himself.

“Wait! If they tell me that they’re monitoring me, then it would only be obvious for me to make sure that no one can peek in my house, but the question is, why tell me that at all? Ahh! They expected me to do so. Then in that case….”

Tanishk eyes gazed upon a small dot in the wall and he now knew what was going on. He was surrounded by cameras. There was a possibility of microphones lying around too.

“So they want to make sure that I don’t play any tricks? Who are these guys? From the way they operate, they aren’t amateurs. They’re professionals. But who would spend so much money on a kidnapping they know is going to be unsuccessful? There is certainly more to this kidnapping. Now I have confirmed that. Now I need to act as if I am gathering money and crying, while in reality, I am thinking of every possible way to save my mother, and kill those kidnappers.” Thought Tanishk.

“I will always have the upper hand. You were giving me the countdown? Well, guess what? Start the countdown for your life!”

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