The Spirits (Ch-10; The Interrogation)

The Spirits And The Devastating War

Chapter-10

The Interrogation

The friends had decided to start the investigation with the interrogation of the parents of those children. Meanwhile, David and Ramesh didn't work on this topic as they knew it was out of their plots and plans. Indeed, they worked where they should. Ramesh was busy building his body while David worked in his admirable field of concentration. On the other hand, the couple of friends (Harry and Peter) were occupied to keep an eye on Valencia; her whereabouts and all. When one thought about the case, the other one kept an eye to see if she was eligible for the observatory demeanour. It was mostly Harry who kept an eye on her. She, surely, was suspecting some obnoxious behaviours but then left just as to stay as calm as possible.

Peter was sure that he will get a clue from the interrogation and decided to take Harry with him, as he always did. Harry was in a mood to give some speech before leaving and therefore, started establishing a plan and decreeing it to all, "Ramesh and David, you both keep an eye on Valencia and Charlotte while Peter and I are away. I assume Valencia to have that observatory demeanour. I leave this task on you. We, both, are going to interrogate the Maniac Problem and wish we get a clue. If we did, we are going to party."

"Party? In what deeds?", asked Ramesh wildly.

"I am retrieving my memory back as every day passes.", said Harry.

"Literally?"

"Yeah! I see dreams every day of my past. Saw my father yesterday, Ralph...Ralph Fimes Dunken Osborn... Was exhilarating..."

"How'd you know its real?", Peter cross-questioned.

"How'd you know it's not? They match with what Rogers told us five years ago..."

"Okay! I see..."

"Harry, I wanted to ask some questions if you can tell me?", Ramesh broke in...

"Surely...No obligations..."

"When I read the Mesoteph Mythology, I was just astonished after seeing Hyra Robnors and Revilo Norbos... Then I realised, it was you... The next page seemed to have been written in Cygnian Language but if that is a prediction, I want to read it. Because David was a translator on Cygnus, I might ask it from him..."

"Well, that's not written in Cygnian language...", David stated, "It is believed to be written in a coded form. When I tried to decode it, I understood that it was something about time. What did that mean, I don't know? Mesoteph Mythology is just a secret. Half of the book is in the English language, somewhat is in Cygnus and that page is coded. Why is it not found on Cygnus, no one knows that... I mean, there may be, a few."

"David, last month, when before I got stuck up in Cygnus", said Harry, "I saw a dream. About wishes. Rogers told me that we were given some wishes but how and why is it that everything can be fulfilled in those wishes. And to what extensions?"

"Wishes... These three are given to the princes or princesses on Cygnus. Cygnus' ministry can play with life's longings. If the wishes are made, they have to be fulfilled and that responsibility remains with the Ministry itself... The heir or heirs of the king are said to have the genes passed by their parents and because the king is the supreme legitimacy, he is believed to be good and in general cases, the rulers of Cygnus are extraordinary and lavish. Therefore, his children, who are said to have their genes are considered to be good. Wishes, therefore, are given on just a trust that a child is as good as his parents are. Even if the wishes are wrathful, they have to be fulfilled and this is the biggest limitation... They can be fulfilled to any extent... Like to retrieve something you lost, make someone die or bring someone from death. Even, I should say, it allows you to travel back and forth in time. There are complications, Harry... In this case, too, Ralph was a brilliant king but Oliver was different... It is believed that his wishes were disastrous and should not have been fulfilled. Because he spoke the wishes very secretly, no one knows about them except the minister. And you heard them, too. But today your memory is lost.."

"Where's the Minister?"

"Dead!"

"Cygnus' current year is around 205565 as I saw in the poster. Why is it that there is still a hierarchical form of government and not democracy?"

"No one ever opposed. Well, my basic protests were based to develop democracy on the planet."

"Are there any countries on Cygnus?", asked Peter.

"No... Cygnus is a united movement..."

The friends had enough talk about Cygnus. They went for breakfast, Harry's jocose nature made everyone in the team laugh. He remained just as playful as he was earlier.

After breakfast, Peter and Harry left the hotel for their journey ahead.

While the friends sat in the car, Harry had assumed that Peter would order the driver to take them to the child's parents who was kidnapped for the first time. But Peter, unassumingly, ordered the driver to take them to the bank which was stolen for the first time. Harry was confused a bit but understood later. 

Peter took him to the bank. He clicked a photo of the sign of Maniac as it was written from his mobile phone.

"See Harry, is the photo clear? We're gonna need it...", said Peter.

"Yeah, it is clear", Harry remarked...

From there, the friends followed the journey to where the first boy was kidnapped.

The friends arrived in the colony where his parents lived. The colony was well developed and security was too tight in there. It was a society of bungalows and not flats. Harry and Peter reached the boy's home. It was all filthy and not maintained properly. It was obvious, too. The family had lost their child. Still, the situation now was much better because it had been four months. The family had considered their child to be dead for long. But that pain was immeasurable. Harry and Peter didn't want to show some official sympathy. They knew it was political. They entered the house and then started interrogating...

Peter said to a very tensed woman, "We're not here to show artificial or political sympathy. I am also a person who was bereaved at a very young age. But I will not let that happen with you and will identify who seeks to take the peace from you. I know  the camouflage and secrecy of espionage"

"Do you?", countered that woman.

"As I said, I am not here to sympathize.", Peter took a sigh, "Just answer one thing. What happened that night? The night your boy got missing and then the 'Maniac' sign showed up in front of your house? You know about it."

"I think I have crammed this story up. Have to tell a lot of officials.", the woman stated, "That night. We were in a ceremony. The engagement ceremony of my brother. We were returning back in the car. Everything was good. Everyone was thrilled and felicitous. But suddenly in the car, we missed one laugh. I was in the front while my daughter in the back seat screamed that our boy was missing. He just vanished and none of us knows where he'd go. The car door wasn't open and no sounds of a kidnapper. What happened is still a mystery to us."

Peter was astonished and just ran from the home in a hurry. He went to the car to examine it. It was in their courtyard. He searched the back seat. There was a sign. A very familiar sign. He clicked a photo, thanked the woman and went with Harry to interrogate some other.

The same questions were asked to each and every one. One answer was common, "My child just vanished out of nowhere. Where the passages were closed, the child got missing."

That's why this was called an unusual threat. Peter searched everywhere and that sign was also common. The sign was an irregular shaped closed figure. Some sign that depicted some threat or mystery and so was it depicting the behaviours (threat and mystery). Peter had got a clue and just brought Harry nearer to him. He murmured in his ear...

"I know who is Maniac...It's Robert Brooke..."

Harry just stared at him strangely and suspected from his perspective but he didn't understand on what grounds was this said.

-To Be Continued

(Abhinav Srivastava)