Suriya was speechless on hearing the exact same voice that spoke to him earlier. He halted his motorcycle and fully concentrated on the phone call.

He wanted to extract maximum information from that call and so he patiently waited for the caller to reveal valuable information.

"What is it this time? " he asked.

"You don't seem pleased to hear my voice! Why is it, doctor? " the person on the other end asked him.

"First up, stop calling me that! And next I don't want to talk to fake people like you!" said Suriya.

"Not surprised to hear that! But that won't stop me from talking to you! It is the duty of yours to listen to me. After all you are a police, right? You might-" the voice was interrupted by Suriya.

"Look mister! I'm in no mood to have a professional conversation with you. Just because you call me from a new number every time and destroy the SIM after the call, doesn't make you a smart ass. In fact, I don't even take you seriously! " rushed Suriya through the phone.

"Woah! Easy doc! Calm down! Do you think I'll be stupid enough to believe you? Well.... as a reply to your appraisal of me I would like to say this : I don't give a f**k! Pardon my language! " came the treply from the other end.

Not letting Suriya to utter a word, the voice went on.
"All you have to do in this case is stand aside and watch the murders because you cannot stop them! Hahaha! Did the murders I told you about happened as per my saying? Did one die right under your nose?
Then for the icing on the cake, the fourth murder! Ah! That young cop! "

Suriya couldn't muster a word on hearing it. All his thoughts were immediately directed towards the station and Sathya.

Sensing a pause, the voice continued.
"I get that you are completely devastated on hearing this. But don't freak out yet! You still have some more to hear. The one that died inside the station was your then prime suspect James, wasn't it? And the cop who was the fourth victim happened to be your close aide or rather your protege called Sathya, right? "

"Do you want me to believe that? Honestly?" Asked Suriya.

"Quit playing doc! I know it all! This was a double blow right? And I think some part of you is shivering right now. But I guess the loss of someone as close as Sathya might have a toll on you. It's all natural! " said the voice.

Suriya was out of words to reply. He couldn't pretend like he doesn't believe the voice. His thoughts were on Sathya. He tried to start his bike but in vain. He then began striding towards the station with his bike in tow. He wanted to keep the conversation flowing till he reached the station to confirm whether Kumaresan was the one talking to him.

"Wha-what do you mean? Sathya is-
Is he dead? Now you- you are the one playing! " said Suriya.

"Why are you stammering if you don't believe me? Stop acting. But if you really didn't know about it, You'll get the confirmation sooner. That's all finished. And now for the reason I called you. I am going to let you in on a little bit of secret. You know, there is going to be some more murders. " revealed the voice.

"WHAT? " asked Suriya.

"You heard it! And it is going to be a long night for you. Like before I'll tell you about the next bout of action. It is going to be the ones who talked to you regarding this case about an hour ago. Those two boys. As a matter of fact this very moment they are waiting to be attacked. Good luck saving them! Ciao! " the voice finished and the call was disconnected.

Suriya felt heavy. He didn't know what to do. A part of him wanted to go to the station and the rest wanted him to protect the boys.

He immediately called Ilanchezhiyan.

"Hello? " asked Chezhiyan from the other end.

"Hey Ilanchezhiyan.. are you- are you alright? Where are you now? " asked Suriya.

"I'm in my room sir. I'm fine. Is there any problem? " Chezhiyan calmly replied.

"Phew! Thank god! Yes there is a problem. But I'm in a hurry now so I can't brief you. " said Suriya.

"Oh alright sir. No problem. Do you want me to do something? " Chezhiyan asked.

"Huh... why don't you call your friend and check whether he is safe. Once you're done with it, text me about it. Okay? " came the reply from Suriya.

"Sure will do sir! " said Chezhiyan.

"Okay then good night. Just ensure that both of you are safe. " said Suriya and he disconnected the call.

Suriya then went as fast as he could to the station.
Just as he was about to cross the Prakasam salai, the sight of two human bodies lying on the road caught his attention.

A few people had gathered nearby. He felt his chest thumping and his face was drenched in sweat due to the anxiety.
With every step he took towards the bodies he prepared himself to face the worse.

From within the gathering, came Kumaresan with tears down his cheeks. He broke down on seeing his superior.
Suriya went with him without uttering a single word to see the bodies.

A gruesome scene awaited him. His good friend and junior, Sathya was dead. He had a bullet wound in his left eye socket.
Suriya felt a sense of guilt. He cursed himself for his inability to save Sathya.

After spending some minutes there, he went to see the other corpse. It was a man with dark skin tone and well built body. He had a bullet wound right under its chin. The man apparently had committed suicide as a pistol lay near his hand.

Suriya didn't want to stand there but his gut told him to put aside his emotions and start to work.

He gave instructions to the policemen standing there including Kumaresan and went to his cabin inside the station.

The ever calm head of Suriya was raging with fire due to the fact that he could not catch the culprit even after all this.

He couldn't think properly. Every time he tried to clear his mind, the taunts of the voice flashed across him.
He battled very hard with his mind to pacify it.
After he achieved it, all his rage was converted into raw grit and determination to nab the culprit.

-------

"What might have happened? What is wrong over there? " Chezhiyan talked to himself.

He was completely awake after the call from Suriya.
He then pondered himself to find out the reason that made Suirya to warn him at that hour.

He was calling Ameer all the while after talking to Suriya but he was not reachable.

The thought of visiting him in person vanished as soon as it came because of the time. It was slightly past mid night.

He then tried to call Suriya but he resisted from doing so, thinking he might be a disturbance to him at that time.

After what felt like a million attempts, he managed to contact Ameer.

"What is it now? " asked a sleepy Ameer from the other end.

"Hey! You're safe right? Did Suriya sir call you? " asked Chezhiyan.

"Do I look like a jerk to you? " asked Ameer.

"Ugh.. stop playing man! I'm dead serious. Did he call you? " Chezhiyan asked again.

"No. But why? " Ameer didn't understand what was all this about.

"Listen. There is something happening over there. He just now called me and asked me to stay safe. Are you sure you are okay? " asked Chezhiyan.

"Yes Ila, I'm cent percent sure! Don't panic. " assured Ameer.

"Alright then. Don't go anywhere no matter what! I'll text Suriya that you're safe. " said Chezhiyan.

"Okay. Once you are done, call me. " said Ameer.

"Sure! Bye! " finished Chezhiyan and he disconnected the call.

He then began to text Suriya the whereabouts of Ameer.

After some five minutes or so, Suriya acknowledged the text with a thumbs up and message that read I'll be in touch.

Just as Chezhiyan went to bed again his phone began to ring.

He picked up the call lying in his bed.
"Hello? "

"Is this Ilanchezhiyan? " asked a coarse voice from the other end.

"Yes it is. And you are? " asked Chezhiyan in reply.

"I'm known as DOT" replied the voice.

To Be Continued!...