The Consultant

4 | Defeated

~ FIONA ~

We were still in the hospital room.

There was an awkward silence threatening to settle between us, after the last sentence Kevin had said.

I was astonished at his defeated expression.

"You must have the files archived on the NYPD servers, right? What about the FBI? Am sure they must be having some backup?" I asked, breaking the silence. "Then, how can you say that everything is lost?"

"You don't understand! Just before you entered I was on the phone with our IT guy, to tell him to maybe check the traffic cameras near your place for some leads, as to who attacked me and stole the files. But instead I was in for a surprise. Exactly 45 minutes before I called, the servers of the NYPD, FBI, NSA and every major security agency in the U.S had been hacked into. And every single detail that they had had on that bloody lizard has been deleted. We barely had any evidence against him, and now its all gone. They also managed to steal all the physical files related to the case from all these agencies too!" he answered in an angry tone.

"What?!" I gasped. "This is impossible! How did someone manage to get away with a hack this big? How come no one realized all of this was happening? I mean you cannot just waltz into the offices of these agencies! Weren't there any officers on duty?"

"Even I couldn't believe this, but it's true. We had underestimated 'The Chameleon'," Kevin replied, staring at the blue-tiled floor. I was in a daze.

"It's the same everywhere," Kevin answered. "Smoke bombs were used to gain entrance into the agencies and to incapacitate the officers that were on duty. The security cams of the agencies and surrounding areas are useless, all the footage has been erased."

"This was not some random incident but a calculated and planned move on 'The Chameleons' part. All these break-ins are a message. He wants us to drop his case. He is willing to take any risk to ensure that," Kevin continued, when I remained silent.

After taking all this in, I spoke, "Like that will ever happen. Maybe, my people can help! Since we had a lot of files on 'The Chameleon', they were supposed to courier it here to you guys. Let me just check with them."

"As you wish," was all Kevin said.

I called up my colleague at the Bureau, back home.

After talking to him for just a few minutes it was crystal clear, that the same things had happened back at the C.I.D bureau too.

We were now back to square one.

"So? Did you get anything?" Kevin asked sarcastically.

"No. Someone had broken into the bureau in the exact same way and managed to get away with all the information that we had so meticulously collected. All our hard works gone down the f*****g drain! Ahh!" I hissed banging both my palms on the examination table. A slight throbbing pain was growing in my palms; but that was nothing compared to the rage that I was feeling.

Seeing the expression on Kevin's face just irked me more. "But you know what, I am not gonna sit and mope around like you! They were just files, pieces of papers! I know it is embarrassing and that the media with make us look like a bunch of fools, but that doesn't mean that he has managed to defeat us! I know it's something more than that. So, what's with the attitude?" I practically yelled.

"I am not moping around, okay!!" Kevin yelled. "You have no idea of the dangers associated with this case!! This guy 'The Chameleon', he is a freaking psycho! Do you know about the bomb blast that took place in Times Square last year?"

"Yes, I read about it. The blast took place during a concert. Around 1000 people lost their lives. It was suspected to be the work of 'The Chameleon' and that an investigation committee of FBI special agents was formed to look into it," I answered bluntly.

"You don't know the whole story. What you know, is just the half-truth," Kevin said in a sad voice.

I gave him a confused look.

"There was an old rundown hotel just 15 minutes from Times Square. Since it was close to the blast site, it was the most convenient and inconspicuous place for the FBI to work without having to worry about the media or any other interference. They had even managed to collect some evidence against 'The Chameleon'. All the agents were working in the conference room of that hotel, when a second bomb blast destroyed everything. There were no survivors. This country lost twenty-nine of it's best agents that day," as Kevin said this, he had tears forming in his eyes.

"I am sorry Kevin, I had no idea!" I said softly. I was shocked.

"Many of the agents were friends, in fact they were family. I had had the privilege of working with some of the best FBI agents. This incident was a big blow to all of us. The investigation was later transferred to the NYPD, so that it could be kept under wraps and away from the limelight. To prevent mass panic, this explosion was declared to be the result of a gas leak. A gas leak, can you believe it! The real number of people killed was never made public," Kevin said in frustration.

"I can't imagine, what you must've gone through. So, this is why you are so upset about what happened today?" I asked with sympathy.

"Look, I'm no coward, okay! I am not afraid of death. I knew what I was signing up for, when I became a cop. But this guy.... this Chameleon, it's just so easy for him to kill people. It's like child's play for him! Today it was me, but it could have easily been someone I love. He just doesn't think about the families he destroys in his quest for whatever it is, he aims to achieve! Even after one year, I am nowhere even close to catching this guy. And after today I am really starting to doubt myself," Kevin was sounding low.

I went up and stood in front of him and said softly, "Kevin, look at me."

He slowly raised his head and looked at me. All I could see was pain in his eyes.

I continued, "I know how frustrated you are feeling, on not being close to catching him even after a year. Trust me, I've been there! For five years, I had chased that guy. When I started working his case, I had nothing, no name, no photo. He was like a ghost. But I did not let that deter me. It was much later that I was even able to develop a profile for him. And as for his photo, I got that after our encounter with him. But by then we were successful in driving him out of Mumbai, so his photo was useless. I have seen first-hand what this guy is capable of. I had nothing, but you at least had some information on him. But I never, let it deter me. And I also know that you are very good at your job. So, what if everything that we had collected so far is gone, we have each other. We will start from the beginning. Together, we are going to catch that bloody lizard! You with me?"

"Yes," he answered, his voice returning to normal.

As Kevin said this, there was a knock on the ER door. It was the doctor that had treated him.

"Hello, Detectives! I am Dr. Rodriguez! So how do you feel, Kevin?" the doctor asked, giving a big toothy smile to the both of us.

Dr. Rodriguez was a balding, stout guy of about fifty.

"I'm good, Dr. Rodriguez. And, I'm also ready to get back to work," Kevin replied.

"Woah! You've got to be kidding me. I think you should take it easy for a couple of days. You were banged up pretty bad. And.... seeing as one wack to the head made you so emotional, I seriously recommend you take a break," I winked at him.

For the first time today since we met, he smiled and the mischievous look in his eyes, had also returned.

~

In spite of the doctor's and my protests, we were standing at the hospital reception about to get Kevin discharged.

After finishing all the formalities at the hospital, we were seated in a cab on our way to the 14th precinct.

As I was gazing out of the window thinking about today's events, Kevin suddenly said, "Hey, thanks for today. I just needed to get everything out of my system. I'm feeling much better, after talking to you."

"I'm glad, I could help. And, I have a way by which we can retrieve some of the information we lost on 'The Chameleon' today," I smiled.

"What?! How?!" was all Kevin managed to ask, a bewildered look on his face.