Smoked

She sat on a big plush armchair in her office, sipping coffee quietly. She hadn’t had any news of Robert or Lewis for the last three days. She was worried about whether they had been caught by the police. She didn’t care about them being punished. One call and she would have four others like them waiting for her orders. She was tensed about them spilling any information that would get her in trouble. At that moment, Robert walked into the room looking like he had been neck-deep in muddy water. She sat quietly and observed him, not asking any questions. He looked at her as if to say something, but his speech slurred. His eyes started to close and his legs felt heavy. With great difficulty, he walked over to the chair opposite her and collapsed on it. “The job’s done,” he whispered, before allowing himself to slip into the dark.

*

“Two fires again, that too in a single day!” cried out Mary Jones, the Police Superintendent, shaking the newspaper that lied in front of her “This arsonist has simply gone wild!” “And this time, the National Museum of Art has been completely burnt down,” replied Daylon, her assistant. “Chief is going to be right on our tails to find out who is responsible for this crime,” sighed Mary and as if on cue, the phone immediately rang. She looked at Daylon tiredly, and picked up the phone.                                 

“Well, I was right,” said Mary, once she had kept the phone, “Chief wants us in his office right now to discuss this case.” After they had finished having a talk with a very agitated and restless chief, they headed over to Mary’s cabin, so that they could plan what they were going to do. “I don’t think that this is a small one-time thing. I mean, these fires have been happening all week, so it has to be something major,” said Daylon. “You’re right Daylon,” agreed Mary, “I think it’s time we have a talk with Kady Russell.” “Kady Russell?” asked Daylon, sounding a little afraid now, “You’re not talking about the mafia head, Kady Russell, are you? Are you talking about your neighbour Kady? Because I will happily go talk to her.” “Oh, come on you big baby,” said Mary with a smirk, “She can’t do anything to us.”

*

As Mary and Daylon neared Kady’s office, they could hear loud noises. Kady seemed to be angry on someone. “How could you have been so stupid Robert?! How could you just leave him there?! What if somebody finds Lewis’ body?!” On hearing this, Mary and Daylon looked at one another but Mary motioned him to keep quiet and listen. “………..you have done. This mistake will not be forgotten.” Mary and Daylon walked into the room and Kady suddenly went quiet. She dismissed Robert and he left the room without giving a second glance towards them. Kady turned towards them and smiled coldly, “What has brought you into my lair today?” she said with a sneer. “You don’t scare us Kady,” said Mary boldly, “ We just wanted to ask a few questions.” “And these questions are important enough for you to barge into my office and spoil my morning?” Asked Kady rudely. “How are you related to the fires in the city?” asked Mary directly, having ignored Kady’s earlier question. “Oh Mary,” said Kady with a laugh as she popped a piece of gum into her mouth, “Don’t you know better than to walk into my office and accuse me of a crime?” “Just answer the question.” Said Mary firmly, as she looked Kady in the eye. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” said Kady inflexibly, “And I hope I won’t be seeing you here again.” She started to walk out of the room but Mary called out, “Hold on Kady. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say that you were……… running away.” She slowly walked over to Kady and stood in front of her, close to her face. She leaned over her shoulder and whispered in her ear, “You will not get away with this.” She pushed her shoulder and walked out of the door as Daylon followed her, laughing on the inside, as he looked at Kady’s outraged face.

*

“That was amazing,” said Daylon laughing, as they walked out of the building, “I can’t believe that you just threatened Kady Russell!” “There’s nothing to be happy about,” said Mary defeatedly, “We are nowhere closer to solving the case. “Oh about that,” said Daylon slowly, “I attached a listening device under Kady’s desk before leaving.” Mary’s eyes lit up at those words as she stared at Daylon with a smile on her face. “Now’s the part where you thank me profusely and grovel at my feet,” said Daylon with a grin. “Yeah right,” said Mary, as she playfully punched Daylon’s arm, “I got to admit, it is pretty awesome though.”

Days passed but no piece of evidence was found that would link Kady to the case. Mary began to have second thoughts, and decided to look for other people that could be responsible for the fire. One evening Mary was sitting at home on her couch when she received a call from Daylon. “Isn’t it too late for you to call me?” said Mary as she picked up the phone. “Come to your office now,” said Daylon urgently, “I have something that you need to hear.” Within 15 minutes, Mary and Daylon stood in her cabin with Daylon’s earpiece connected to the laptop. “I was listening to the recordings from the listening device, when Kady started talking again,” said Daylon hurriedly, “Listen to this.” He played the audio and Kady’s voice could be heard. She seemed to be talking to someone. “I need you and Dave to be at the Rosewood Forest tomorrow night at 11 p.m. sharp. There is going to be a group of people camping over there. Do the job well and you will be rewarded. After all, you are the best arsonists I have.” The audio ended as Mary and Daylon looked at each other, both knowing what had to be done but afraid to suggest it. Finally Daylon said, “I’m going with you. I’ll meet you there at 10.30 tomorrow night.”

On the other end, Kady mouthed, “Good job” and gave a thumbs up to her companion as she removed the listening device from under the desk and said, “ The police is going to have get a fiery surprise tomorrow night.”

*

“Do you have everything?” whispered Mary, as she rummaged around her bag for a flashlight. “Yes, I have the fire extinguisher with me and my phone volume is high. I will go look for the campers, while you can wait here for the arsonists. I’ll join you as soon as possible.” Said Daylon. Mary nodded her head, as she turned on the light and flashed it around. Nobody could be seen. “Its 11 already,” said Daylon, glancing at his watch, “I should leave already. If there is any problem, call me.” “Okay,” replied Mary, “I’ll wait for you here.” Daylon left the place and Mary stayed where she was. The woods were an eerie place to be in, alone in the night. Almost every sound felt like wild animals or the arsonists. She sat under a tree and closed her eyes, in an attempt to calm herself. Suddenly, she heard a soft hissing coming from around her. The temperature had seemed to have risen. She slowly opened her eyes, only to see that the world was illuminated. In the distance she could see thick grey smoke, billowing into the skies. The once blue sky was now shielded with a veil of darkness as the smoke swallowed up the whole sky. Fierce fire could be seen sneaking its way out from rows of trees. The glowing embers leaped and twirled in a fiery dance, twinkling like stars in the hot swirling air, before cascading to the earth like gleeful fire fiends, setting alight the dry forest. Mary was trapped within the circle of flames and was already losing her breath. She tried to call Daylon but her finger fumbled, and she dropped the phone. As she looked around for help, she saw Kady standing behind the fire, in the shadows, a sneaky smile covering her face. Their eyes met for a second and Mary let out a blood curling scream that seemed to go on forever.

Daylon, had roamed around the forest, but unable to find the campers, he was making his way back to Mary. That’s when he heard the scream and recognizing it as Mary’s voice, he started running in the direction where the voice was coming from.

On reaching there, he saw Kady standing with the fire blazing behind her. He noticed that her hands were covered with black ash, soot and dust. On seeing Daylon, she wiped away the ash from her hands, onto her pants, and as the screaming abruptly stopped she whispered, “Mission accomplished,” as they smiled at each other and left the forest together.