Suriya couldn't recognize the voice no matter how hard he tried.
For some reason he could believe the person and this made him to obey to the instructions provided by that person.

He was asked to come to the Reserve bank near the Fort St. George.
For some apparent reason, Suriya couldn't believe that there is a hideout near the mentioned place.

He took less than ten minutes to reach the fort and was waiting just opposite the Reserve bank.

-------

Somewhere high above, Arul was watching the road that housed a few iconic buildings of Chennai including the Reserve bank and the Fort St. George.

Just a couple of minutes ago, he saw a man driving a motorcycle arriving at the place. Without any doubt, Arul confirmed that it was Suriya.

From the balcony of his apartment in the Harbour quarters, he could watch the movements of Suriya through his binocular lenses.

He was not in the mood to toy with the sub-inspector and so he called him to instruct him about the next set of actions.

Inside his bedroom, Ameer and Chezhiyan were seated anxiously  waiting to know about Arul's next move.
Though Chezhiyan was skeptical about Arul, the things he had told them after he brought them to his apartment had made him a trustworthy person.

Moreover the pair wanted to know who this DOT was and what is the motive behind the murders.

-------

"Listen boys, I am going to let you in on a little secret now" said Arul pouring himself a glass of coffee.

The boys shared a glance.

"After I told you guys to get in the apartment, I received a phone call from someone " said Arul in confident tone.

"And that person is going to be here soon. He will accompany me in confronting the DOT. But here's the catch - if either of you panic and do something out of order...  " Arul stopped mid sentence.

Chezhiyan was so nervous that he could feel his brain throbbing inside his skull. He felt his end is near on hearing Arul speak.

"Don't worry though, you two are of little threat to me after I get to DOT and so I won't kill you. I've found another way around to keep me safe. The guy coming here is of more significance to this issue than you might think. Once he comes up here you are free to talk to him.  " said Arul as he finished his cup of coffee and he came close to the boys.

He placed his hand on Ameer's shoulder and said "Once I get my questions answered, I'll leave you both free! ".

After what seemed like a session of mental torture, those final words brought a new lease of hope for the boys.

Just soon after Arul finished his talk, the doorbell rang and the boys were anxious as hell to find out  who the significant man was as Arul opened the door to reveal Suriya.

The boys' faces lit up on seeing him. One could say that Suriya was so relieved to see the teens alive and active.

"I'm Arul. Nice to meet you in person." said Arul extending his right hand towards Suriya.

"Suriya. " came the reply from the cop as he shook the extended hand.

Both of them were looking each other right in the eye. They were staring each other for over a minute before the silence was broken by Chezhiyan.

"Sir! It is... so good to see you! I mean.. I never expected to see you here! "

"Thank god that you both are safe. A honest thug, huh? " Suriya asked looking at Arul.

"It isn't my habit to lie. I believe we had a pact? " asked Arul.

"Yes and about that.. how are planning to lure DOT out of his hiding? " asked Suriya.

"Well,  it's anyone's guess! Don't say that you couldn't figure it out! " finished Arul and he sat down.

"I think you might use the boys for it, won't you? " suggested Suriya.

"Not that simple sir! First up, I was instructed by the DOT to report to him after I kill the first boy, only then he'd send me the whereabouts  of the next target. So.. " Arul laid the discussion open for Suriya to participate.

".. you told him that you have killed Ameer but in reality you haven't. You just used this act of killing Ameer to get the whereabouts of Chezhiyan so you can take him as a hostage too. " Suriya finished the sentence.

"But why would he need to kidnap Chezhiyan when he could've just demanded to meet DOT with me held  as hostage? Isn't it sufficient to have just done that? " Ameer shouted out for the first time. Apparently he didn't trust Arul so much as the others.

"That's where you are going wrong. If I had just taken you as hostage and demanded to meet him it'd seem suspicious and so out of character from my side. He even would've gone on and killed Chezhiyan before turning his focus to finish all his other obstacles including me. " explained Arul leisurely leaning on his couch.

"But then too, what's there to believe you this time? " asked Chezhiyan.

"Ah! Finally! Someone came to that point! That's where our sub inspector comes into play my friend. " he said a bit elated looking at Suriya.

"Yeah, I would confirm the death of Ameer to DOT prompting him to send the whereabouts of Chezhiyan to Arul. And then he kidnaps you instead of killing you. Then he calls DOT out to meet him in person with you as bait. That's how things are going to unfold. " said Suriya.

"But he didn't kidnap me! He called me here from Ameer's phone and told me that he'd leave us once the DOT accepts his invite to meet him! " argued Chezhiyan.

"But the DOT doesn't know that! According to him, Ameer is dead and you are held hostage. If he doesn't meet me in person, I'd turn him in and ruin his plan. " said a thoughtful Arul.

"The DOT might meet you in person but I don't think he will be affected by this scare. " suggested Chezhiyan.

"No. This will be a key interaction. If there's anything at all the DOT is vulnerable at, it is his huge ego. That's where we are planning to hit him. If his masterpiece and image are at stake he'd do anything to prevent that from happening. " Suriya sounded very confident.

"Yes and fortunately he won't know what's going to hit him until it actually hits him. " said Arul.

"All this is because of Arul friend's death. " said Suriya.

"Yeah. That pathetic idiot. " spewed out Arul.

"Even then at the end, what if DOT isn't responsible for the death of your friend? " asked Chezhiyan.

" He'll get arrested for all other murders. Simple. " said Suriya.

"I don't think DOT is not involved in the suicide of Subbu. He will definitely be behind this. I'm sure of it! " said Arul.

"So what are we waiting for then? " asked Chezhiyan.

"For DOT to call me and tease me with your impending death. I have already been told by him about Ameer's death and now if he calls me I have to react accordingly so that he believes Ameer is dead. That's how he is using me to confirm the deaths of everyone " said Suriya.

"So now the ball is in DOT's court? For him to dig his own grave? " asked Ameer skeptically.

"Apparently yes! " came the reply from Chezhiyan.

-------

Somewhere inside a room lit only by a small bulb and the glow of a laptop, a man was sitting idle.

He was frantically solving the sudoku puzzle in the laptop.

As always he aced it within his average time. He then took a sip of his coffee. He liked his coffee extra strong.  Higher the caffeine, the more he felt alive.

Sleep wasn't his best friend while his laptop and books were.

Long ago he had planned a mega event wherein he gets to toy with all of his enemies in a single go. And there he was, executing it to perfection.

He went on to anoint himself as DOT,  The way in which he wanted others to identify him.

He was ready to execute the next big event of his play.

He then said to himself " The longer you get to see the pain of your haters, the more satisfied you get!
What a puny life is this? Anyways, who cares? After all karma is not so bitchy! Ha ha ha! "

To be continued!