James and Mandy gave a surprised look.
‘How’s this possible? I read the files. There were human ashes, Captain—’ said James.
David cut him off. ‘Something really fishy is going on. Either it’s somebody from the inside who messed up the files or this woman has played a big game. We have so many questions and finally the source for our answers. We need another warrant.’
‘I am going to Hayley’s, and the rest of you got to Anne’s. Be careful. She’s dangerous,’ said David as he hurriedly walked out.
Within moments, the squad was bustling with activity—paperwork, phone calls, and people heading for their cruisers. Mandy, James, and Robert drove in the one direction and David in the other. The three were driving through thick traffic. Twenty minutes later, they reached a quiet countryside. It was a pretty isolated place surrounded by low hills. There were a few pedestrians here and there.
James called on the radio and said, ‘You sure this is the place?’
‘Positive,’ replied Mandy.
They drove ahead for another ten minutes when they noticed a small settlement—a few houses, big ones here and there, like black spots on an uneven green sheet. They stopped outside the third house. The three of them walked up to the front door, and James rang the doorbell. The intercom buzzed, and Anne’s voice could be heard. She asked, ‘Who is it?’
‘WPD. Open the door,’ said James.
‘What is it?’ she asked.
‘Open the door,’ repeated James in a raised tone.
There was a slight bustle at the other side of the door and a little bit of commotion. There was a thirty-second pause, and then the intercom buzzed again. ‘Who is it?’
James turned to the two and said, ‘Damn! She switched to a bloody recorder.’
Just then, a loud engine roar could be heard from the backside of the house. All three of them ran towards the side to see. They spotted a Land Rover leaving on the mud tracks from the backside towards the hills.
‘What is it?’ The intercom buzzed again.
‘There’s no point going inside the house. It’s empty. We need to follow that vehicle,’ said Robert as all three sprinted for their cruisers.
‘You guys follow them. I’ll be right behind,’ said Mandy as she got inside her cruiser.
Robert and James raced it on to the mud tracks. The land rover was already way ahead and almost becoming a speck in the distance. James slammed his foot on the gas pedal and drove at the maximum possible speed. Robert followed suit, but the speed was way out of his comfort zone. Their cruisers were running head to toe. They were covering up the distance between them and the getaway vehicle really fast. Specks of dust, stone, and loose debris flew by from their tyres and hit them on the windows; they carried on. For maintaining a safe distance, James drove his car towards left on to the ground, straying from the dirt road, while Robert behind him did the same.
‘Damn it,’ muttered James.
The dirt road was becoming narrower and narrower to the point where only one vehicle could be accommodated. The Land Rover was gaining speed, and being made for that terrain, it raced ahead easily. The cruisers’ tyres skipped and slipped and were struggling at that speed. Robert and James were finding it hard to keep up and losing the chase.
‘Should we call for backup?’ James asked over the static.
‘Yes, I think—’ but before Robert could complete his sentence, the Land Rover suddenly stopped. James stopped his cruiser and sprinted ahead with his gun pointed towards the occupants. Robert did the same from the opposite end. Two gunshots were heard. James and Robert ducked down, but clearly the shots were not even aimed their way. They got back into their positions cautiously, backing one another. When they reached the vehicle, they saw that Mandy’s cruiser was blocking the way and the causative agent for stopping the Land Rover. The gunshots were from her gun fired at the two front tyres to ensure no getaway. The people inside had not yet vacated the vehicle. Mandy was standing exactly at the front, aiming her gun at the driver.
‘There is no way out and you know it. Drop your weapons and get out,’ Mandy shouted.
James and Robert were still in position. While they were chasing their lead, Mandy had predicted their route and found an alternative. Clever.
The door of the rover finally clicked. The officers tensed as crossfire could happen. The occupants were still armed. Amelia came out first.
‘Drop your weapon and put your hands behind your back where we can see them,’ said Robert.
Amelia held a handgun in her left hand that she dropped to the ground. The way she handled it clearly suggested that it was an alien object to her, and had situation demanded, she wouldn’t have been the one to fire it. She looked helpless, shattered, and destroyed. She said nothing and showed no signs of struggle as James handcuffed her. Mandy kept her aim at the driver. Amelia looked inside the vehicle, and a look of absolute pain covered her facial features. The other door finally opened. A man stepped out, unarmed, towards Robert’s side. He was a lean man covered in a black jacket and trousers. But his most distinctive feature was the brown mask he was wearing on his face. His body language also portrayed helplessness. Their rights were read to them. The two of them did not say a word throughout the journey. All three officers heaved a sigh of relief. They were positive that the case was solved one way or the other.
At the department, they were seated in the concrete room adjacent to another room where the detectives were standing, separated by a one-way looking glass. They were still surprised over the fact that Amelia Hustle was alive. The masked man was still a mystery. They had been seated in the room for three hours straight without any interaction. Captain David had returned an hour ago with Hayley and Nicolas Ford, who were seated in another room of the same kind. After another hour, James finally went inside the room to interrogate them. He sat opposite to them and switched on a recorder. After basic formalities, he motioned for Amelia to announce her name. She bent down and said, ‘Anne—’
James cut her short and said, ‘Your real name.’
A tear ran down her cheek as she also gave a surprised look. ‘Amelia Hustle,’ she said.
James then turned towards the lean man and said, ‘Remove your mask and name yourself.’
The man made eye contact with Amelia as she nodded in a way that pained her. He placed his hand on the mask and slowly removed it downwards. James was shocked but made a good effort of hiding it, unlike the people on the other side of the glass. The face of that man was completely burned, his eyes were fairly non-existent, and the only sign of a nose was a hole. There were no lips but only a thin stretch of skin through which teeth could not be hidden. He looked at James in the eye and said, ‘I am George Hustle.’