The Book of Aarav – 3

Who are you?

A policeman sat at a desk near the doorway, flipping through a file. The station wasn’t crowded, a rare calm for a city office—walls painted in warm cream, polished floors reflecting the sunlight streaming through the high windows, and neatly trimmed plants lining the entrance. The air smelled faintly of disinfectant, and the soft hum of a ceiling fan added a quiet rhythm to the otherwise orderly space.

Aarav approached the desk.

“Sir, I was asked to come in and give a statement,” he said.

“Who called you?” the policeman asked.

“Ms. Leela Kumari,” Aarav replied.

The officer picked up the landline and dialled a single digit. “Ma’am, someone has come to meet you. His name…” He looked at Aarav.

“Aarav, sir,” he added respectfully.

“…Aarav. Should I let him in?” The policeman paused, listening. “Okay, ma’am.” He ended the call. “You can go in,” he said, pointing at a swing-door without looking up again.

Aarav thanked him and walked toward the door.

“Thank you, Mr. Aarav, for coming in. Please take a seat,” a tall, composed, confidently commanding woman said as soon as Aarav stepped into the room. She gestured toward the chair opposite her sturdy wooden desk.

The desk was half-buried under case files and scribbled reports. A district map hung on the wall, its surface marked with pins from past operations. Soft light filtered through half-drawn blinds, falling across a framed portrait of the President and a neat board of commendation certificates. A well-maintained steel almirah stood in the corner, spotless and labelled with crisp tags. The air carried a faint mix of fresh paper and floor disinfectant, while the ceiling fan hummed steadily above, adding a quiet calm to the disciplined order of the room.

“Thank you,” Aarav said, taking the seat. “I’m sorry, but is it okay if we hurry the process a bit? My manager is waiting outside, and we have to get back to work soon.”

Leela smiled peacefully. “This won’t take long. I just need you to identify the faces of the goons you saw this morning. You saw—”

“Goons? I thought you wanted me to talk about the guy who beat them up and flew away with the old man,” Aarav interrupted, curiosity sharpening his voice.

Leela’s expression turned serious. “We’ve received information about him from other witnesses too. But the higher-ups want to keep that investigation low-profile. They’re yet to decide the next steps. If they need you, they’ll contact you later. For now, I’ll show you a few photos. Just tell me which of these men you saw today morning.”

“Couldn’t you have checked this with other witnesses?” Aarav asked.

“The other witnesses said they saw nothing. Only your statement mentioned these goons. That’s why I had to call you in,” Leela replied, a faint irritation slipping into her tone.

She held out her phone and slowly swiped through a series of photos—rough-looking men with hardened expressions. After each image, she paused, watching Aarav closely before moving to the next.

“Stop,” Aarav said as the phone displayed a clean-shaven, bold-looking man in his thirties. He leaned closer, studying the face for a moment before speaking again. “This guy was there among them,” he said, looking at Leela.

Leela brought the phone closer and examined the photo in silence.

“I don’t want to be part of any legal proceedings related to this… if that’s okay,” Aarav said hesitantly, watching her expression as she assessed the image.

“Don’t worry. We already have an idea who did this. This was just to confirm it,” Leela replied, still focused on the screen. “It was an attempt to intimidate the witness by this person. You won’t be called in again.”

Then she finally looked at him. “Unless,” she added, her eyes widening slightly, “you’re just trying to get back to your office quickly by pointing at a random guy.”

“No, no—I’m telling the truth,” Aarav said quickly. “I saw him among the goons this morning. He and four others were beating up that old man. He even warned the old man not to go to court, or his daughter would end up in a worse condition than him.” His voice trembled with urgency, anxious to avoid any misunderstanding.

Leela’s phone rang. “Hello” She picked up the call. “What??” she yelled as soon as the speaker in the phone said something to her. “Ok, thank you. I will do as needed”

Leela watched him for a long moment, suspicion flickering across her face before softening into trust. “Okay, then. Thank you. You may leave now,” she said, turning her gaze back to the phone.

“Thank you,” Aarav replied. He stood up to leave.

Leela’s phone rang.
“Hello?” she answered. A second later her expression froze. “What?” Her voice rose sharply, echoing through the quiet room.

Aarav stopped mid-step and turned toward her.

“Okay… thank you. I’ll handle it,” she said quickly, and cut the call.

He started to walk away again when her voice halted him.

“Wait.”

Aarav paused. Leela stared at him for a moment, torn between urgency and irritation. Then she muttered, “Or else leave” er eyes already dropping back to her phone as she scrolled for another number.

“All okay, ma’am?” Aarav asked, uneasy.

“That man you mentioned—the guy in the mask.” Her thumb flicked over the screen as she spoke. “Just a few minutes ago, he killed the head of the group that I just told you about. And the goon you identified was also found dead. Now—”

“I’m sorry, ma’am,” Aarav cut in gently but firmly, “but I don’t want to be part of this anymore. You brought me here only to identify the goon. I saw the same thing everyone else saw this morning. My statement won’t be any different. And I’m sure the others aren’t afraid to speak about the masked man. So… if it’s okay, could you please not involve me further in this investigation?”

Leela looked up at him, studying him for a long moment before exhaling.

“Alright. I understand.” Her voice softened. “You may go.”

She returned her attention to the glowing screen in her hand as Aarav quietly stepped away.

Outside, the same policeman from earlier sat exactly as before, scribbling something into the file without the slightest change in posture or expression. Aarav took out his hand-kerchief out of his pocket from the trousers and wiped the sweat from his face before slowly making his way out of the station.

Aarav exited the police station through the same doorway he had entered twenty minutes earlier, a faint trace of curiosity still lingering on his face. He walked back toward Indresh’s car in the parking lot. When he was just a few feet away, the doors unlocked with a soft click.

“How did it go?” Indresh asked as Aarav slipped into the passenger seat.

“It went well. I don’t think they’ll need me again,” Aarav replied, though his eyes held a distant, unsettled look—one Indresh didn’t catch.

“Good. Let’s get back to the office,” Indresh said, starting the car and pulling out of the parking lot.

“Were they harsh while questioning?” he asked as he shifted gears.

“No,” Aarav said. “The sub-inspector was very kind. She only needed me to identify someone. She assured me I wouldn’t be involved any further.”

Aarav turned toward the window, watching the city blur past as the car merged into traffic.

“Do you remember the masked guy I told you about this morning?” Aarav asked, his gaze fixed on a distant multi-storey building.

“Yes—the reason you were late, right?” Indresh scoffed lightly.

Aarav nodded. “He killed two people just a few minutes ago.”

“What?” Indresh’s voice shot up in disbelief. “So everything you said was true? Did the officer tell you this?”

“Yes. Just before I left,” Aarav said quietly, his tone unchanged.

“Did they catch the guy?” Indresh asked.

“I don’t think so. He’s a superhuman… not some thug.”

Indresh finally looked over, concern flickering across his face. “Are you okay after hearing all that?”

Aarav let out a slow breath. “Yeah. I mean, I was mind-blown this morning. The whole thing—it looked straight out of a comic book. I’ve only seen things like that in movies. But now he’s killing people. I don’t know if he’s a good guy or a bad guy.”

“You don’t have to break your head over it,” Indresh said, eyes fixed on the road as they inched through thick traffic. “The police and the law officials will deal with it.”

“Yeah” Aarav continued to look aimlessly outside the car window with his mind occupied with something.

Indresh parked the car in the office parking lot and unlocked the doors.

“Now, forget all about it and let’s get back to your first day at the office,” Indresh said, patting Aarav’s shoulder. Aarav still looked a bit down.

“You finish installing the remaining applications and leave for the day. Come back with a fresh mind, and I will walk you through the front-end of our product on your system tomorrow,” Indresh continued as they exited the car and walked through the parking lot toward the office.

“Hey, where did you guys go?” a voice called from near the entrance.

They turned to see Karan.

“Hey Karan, we just went out for lunch,” Indresh replied, looking at him. “Today is this guy’s first day, right? So I thought we’d get to know each other more.”

“Oh, you guys ate from outside too? You could’ve called me. I had to eat alone at the restaurant,” Karan said, slightly disappointed.

They took the elevator up to the office.

“So, did you hear about the masked vigilante? A video of this guy producing some kind of blasting energy wave—projecting out of his body and shredding someone into pieces—is circulating on X. He’s trending. Apparently, the guy he killed is a gang leader in this area and kingpin of one of the biggest land mafias in Bangalore.”

Aarav glanced at Indresh, who kept his eyes on the elevator doors.

The doors opened. They walked to the office and entered after swiping their key cards.

“Aarav, complete what I told you and leave for the day, okay? I have a project meeting to attend now,” Indresh said, turning left.

“Sure, Indresh. Will do,” Aarav confirmed.

“You’re coming too, right?” Indresh asked Karan.

“Yeah,” Karan replied. Then he looked at Aarav. “See you later.”

“Sure,” Aarav said, smiling, and returned to his desk.

He unlocked his laptop and closed the success window of a few installers. He ran the next installer, then picked up his phone and unlocked it. He opened the X application, searched for Bangalore, and checked the recent updates.

A video of the masked person, reposted by a user moments ago, played on his screen. Aarav’s eyes narrowed as he watched it. Who are you? he thought to himself.

(To be continued)