Chapter 1

July 2014, New Delhi

The door of the conference room banged as the last person entered inside. All the people sighed as they entered the air conditioned, cold room. They comforted themselves and loosened their ties. Outside, people were facing the scorching heat of summers. If temperature was accounted for, India wasn't a very friendly place.



All these people had been assembled for the ’Annual Police - NBCI discussion'. The grimness on the faces of the people present clearly signified that something serious had to be discussed upon.

"Let us start our discussion." The Superintendent of Delhi stated, without hinting any emotion in his voice.
"Yes. I would like to start this morning by notifying everyone that according to our stats, there has been a significant decrease in the number of criminal activities in this year as compared to the last five years. Robbery is down by 5%, Murder is down by 18% and piracy is down by 4%."  Stated Venkat Reddy (Head of Andhra Pradesh Police Department).
" That is good. Are there any cases the police can't handle? The NBCI (National Bureau of Crime Investigation) would be proud to take up that case. “Said Manoj Kumar (Head of the NBCI), with a slight grin on his face. It was clear that he underestimated the police and its capabilities. Well, but there are things the police just cannot handle. The NBCI was about to find out.
" Sir, there is a very big nuisance. I hope that you can track and arrest him but I hardly doubt anything of that sort could happen. “Said the Superintendent of Haryana.

“You dare to question the abilities of the NBCI? I can't believe it! We are better than you guys. We are more capable than your police department." The head of the NBCI snapped. He had a punch-you-in-the-face expression, which probably wasn't good for the S.P. Of Haryana. Well, this was a very formal meeting and that is what stopped Manoj from actually hitting Haryana’s S.P. Good for the S.P.

" OK, if you really want a challenge, then listen up. The guy's name is Tanishk. He is a perfect thief. And by perfect I mean he is a perfectionist in this job. He steals lakhs of rupees from banks and leaves no trace of his presence. He walks away unharmed every time. It can't be anything else, it is him. We can confirm that because he leaves a message almost every time! He is that perfect. We have failed to catch him till now. He once even called us and said that he would rob a bank. We set up all our police in the bank and it turned out that he robbed the bank in front of it. But that wasn't it! He then robbed the bank he originally planned to. The funny thing was that no one had seen him! He didn't even turn out on the CCTV footage! If this isn't perfect, then you tell me what is!"  The S.P. exclaimed quickly. He then sighed, and realized that he spoken enough. Men his age didn't even speak sentences, so it was pretty good for him. He then shortly wiped the sweat from his head and then looked directly at all the faces that were staring at him.
 This speech was followed by silence.  Of course, no one had the guts to speak anymore, but the NBCI's head Manoj Kumar didn't want to look like a coward so he spoke- “This fact clearly shows me the incompetence of the police to catch an amateur. I mean the NBCI is capable of catching this thief. No sweat for the NBCI! "
This was followed by applause from the other NBCI members. It is always easy to say.  This statement deeply offended the police department. It was a pity that only a few had the courage to express their disregard.
"So you say that the NBCI will certainly catch this thief? Huh? You regard the police as incompetent? But according to our sources you already have started investigation. And plus, the NBCI started it around 1 year ago! Can I call the NBCI incompetent? What do you have to say about this?"  Said the S.P. of Punjab confidently, eyeing Manoj.

This infuriated Manoj to such extent that he literally  started shaking. He then sighed and cooled off his anger. He adjusted his tie and then fell into deep thought. He then understood that no one liked to be questioned on their abilities.

 The thing he hadn’t mentioned in this meeting, that their team in fact had already started investigating this guy. And not one year, but three years ago, from the first robbery of this Tanishk guy .The unprecedented way of his robbery had puzzled them.  This robbery had made it to the headlines. The complexity of this robbery was that, no one had been able to figure how it had been done. 5:45pm- The bank manager receives a call. 6:35pm- The bank manager receives another call, but this time it was on his cell phone. 6:40pm – The manager leaves the bank.  6:45pm- the bank is robbed.

The only thing the NBCI could figure out was that the phone calls were probably made by the thief. They couldn’t figure out why he had done so. They couldn’t even figure out the method. So much for their superiority!

Manoj Kumar pursed his lips, but couldn’t speak anything. Suddenly a surge of energy came in him and he spoke. ‘I would like to apologise to the Police for any harsh comment I made earlier. Now, I have decided something. I have decided to form a team, which will have NBCI as well as police members. There is only one objective for this team- to capture Tanishk. If the Police and NBCI work together, I assure you that we will catch this thief!”

This time there was a greater applause, both from the police and the members of the NBCI. This happy moment continued till a voice came from somewhere-

“Ha-ha! You guys seem cute. Talking of catching me! You guys can’t do anything, even if you team up!”

Heads were turned here and there, until everyone realized that the voice was coming from the speakers. How was this was happening? No one knew. The people inside the room stayed silent.

“OK, so you guys are saying that you are going to catch me? Catch me! Come on! I will give you five seconds.”

1…2….3…4…5. Nothing happened. No one had the audacity to rise up and speak now. They were now awestruck.

“Well, nothing happened. Then listen up. I am going to do the following. I am going to demonstrate a live theft in front of you all. You wouldn’t be able to do anything to stop it. And one more thing - If anyone tries to contact anyone outside this room, then I am going to bomb up the whole room. I am not bluffing. Just wait 5 seconds. Your wallets are going to be snatched from you in 5…4...3...”

Tension had escalated in the room. They all looked towards each other. Manoj Kumar was now sweating. Everyone was holding their wallets tightly. No one wanted to be humiliated. “Who is this guy? What does he think he can do?” thought a newly joined officer.

“2…1. Ha-ha! Time is up!”

For a second, everyone smiled. They thought he was bluffing. Then Poof!  Almost everyone in the room screamed. They checked to see where their wallets where but they couldn’t find it. The people present in the room exchanged faces with each other.

“Now that I have taken your wallets, I feel that my work is done here. But before I go, I would feel free to explain how I snatched all of your wallets. We all know that some genius introduced some kind of security device, and made it mandatory for all of you to keep it in your wallet for tracking purposes! Well, guess what? That security device is magnetic. A very strong electromagnet is located very close to your room. What happened next is pretty much understandable to all of you now. Before I leave you all to your plan to capture me, I would like to give you all a gift!”

Everyone exchanged faces. They had been puzzled a lot in the past few minutes. They didn’t want anything else. What gift would they get?

“I guess it would probably be food.” Thought the fattest person in the room.

A second afterwards, a voice was heard – Bang! This was followed by the voice of breaking glass. Everyone looked here and there, and it took them a while to figure out what had happened.  The glass table that was lying in front of them was now smashed by small metallic pieces, which were their security devices. A note was afloat, which was quickly grabbed by one police officer. It said- ‘Stop blaming others for your incompetence.’

Anyone in that room could’ve figured out for who that message had been written.