Blind Fire

Part 1: A Sinister Start

Author's Note: This story will be a three-part series. Initially, I had planned to make it one whole story with 24 chapters, but due to certain reasons, I wouldn't be able to post so many chapters at a go. So, I am splitting this into 3 parts each having 8 chapters. I know it is rather short, but I really can't help it.

In this story, Vijay Patel will feature a little more prominently than he usually ever does. He is a little different from the books version. For anybody who might not know him, he is an ATAC agent who usually looked into the technical aspect of a case.

I hope you enjoy the story! It is a little different from what I have written prior to this, and quite a bit more challenging to write.

Chapter 1: A Click

She leaned back in her chair in the dark room. The old chair creaked under the weight but the occupant didn't seem to mind. She procured a glass and poured herself one of the finest wines in her stock. Keeping them on the table in front of her, she smiled. She was anticipating the upcoming days.

Bringing the glass to her lips, she stood up. Taking a deep sip, she made her way to the other end of the room.

There was a glass cabinet in the corner. The girl looked at the display. Rows upon rows of medals. Medals which she had won owing to her skills. Her skills in technology. The last thing in the world left with her.

But the time to win prizes with her academic excellence was long gone. It was the time to channel her learning in a more practical line of action. That was what she had been working for years. She had a job. A self- assigned job to accomplish. And she would not rest till it was done.

The unmistakeable glint in her eyes was that of determination. She had to see to the end of this. She walked back to her table and took another sip sitting down at her favourite spot in the dim room, she turned her attention to the screen in front of her.

She read over the draft one last time. It was perfect. Perfection was an art. An art she had mastered over years. Everything in her upcoming job had to have her perfect touch.

She typed the final few letters with a well-practised hand. With a final glance, she brought the mouse pointer to the send button.

A dry gulp. A single click. She leaned back in her chair crossing her fingers under her head and closing her eyes.

Somewhere in the small state of Goa, six notifications made their way to six mobile phones.

That single, irreversible click was going to affect a lot of lives in the next days.

The satisfaction of this thought made the sender smile in peace.

"Pass the cookies Bess," George said in between sips of her lemonade.

Bess wrinkled her nose. "You have been eating cookies and drinking lemonade for the last half an hour," she said while handing her cousin the plate.

"Well, Hannah's homemade choco-cookies are the best you can find in the whole town. It will be a crime not to do justice to them ," George bit into half of the cookie, "And since you are still on a diet, I think it is my responsibility to help myself to your share as well."

Bess pointedly rolled her eyes.

Nancy smirked and tilted her head to dry her hair in the sunshine. The three of them were sitting in the balcony attached to Nancy's bedroom.

Their vacations had just started and the trio had spent their morning in the local swimming pool. It was late morning when they had finally returned and after being stuffed with the delicious lunch, they were lazing in the balcony where the late afternoon sunlight drifted in falling on Nancy's wet hair and George's face. Bess was a little busy protecting her face from tan and had finally found a position to her liking.

The three girls were talking about things they usually did, studies especially. Studies and assignments. The things which normally made up their lives. But there was another topic of discussion not very common in other's conversations: mysteries.

Nancy's pet topic and George and Bess's favourite form of recreation.

Currently, they were narrating what mysteries they would ideally like.

George said, "I think the best mystery would be one taking place in a dense forest with dangers on every other step. If those deadly pirates and some of their hidden treasures were to be involved, it would be equally nice," she smiled, "Then imagine, one of us would have to dress like a pirate and mingle with them while secretly sneaking out information for the help of the rest of the group," George revelled in her land of fantasies, " On the other hand, the rest of the investigation team are driven crazy by poisonous insects and dangerous animals and plan to desert the 'pirate' for the lack of useful information." She paused and suddenly thought of something, " The fake pirate attracts suspicion and has to run away. She then finds the hidden treasure on her own crossing many hurdles and goes on to be a billionaire."

"Hmm...it is interesting," Bess pretended to be absorbed in thought, " But I hope that the treasure includes an emerald necklace. Only then it will be worth the efforts."

"Yeah it is a fictitious mystery, you can expect an emerald or diamond necklace as per your wishes," Nancy said, " But I agree, pirates will be interesting to work with."

"Let's rate it on 10," Bess suggested, " I give it an eight."

"Ok, I give it eight and a...," Nancy pondered, "...a quarter."

Bess and George laughed at the rating convention and Nancy joined in.

"Ok, now it's my turn," Bess said, " The ideal situation would be if I were an actress, the best actress actually," she put on a look as if to tell us that she was not to be interrupted, "Then one day I would wake up to hear the news that my 200 million worth of jewellery was stolen. One of my attendants was seriously injured while the other one was nowhere to be found.

Also, I would add in two bribed guards, a corrupt airport official, a dumb police department and a murdered pet. I would be the one to solve the mystery obviously, and , " She trailed off in thought, " Oh yes, the attendant who had disappeared would be the one who was actually loyal to me, unlike the other one who had betrayed me. And also..."

" OMG Bess! That would be too much for anybody. This is basically a combination of ten or so crimes you have heard from me," Nancy exclaimed in mock astonishment.

" Ah well, what is crime without complexities ?" Bess said " Ratings, Ratings."

Nancy chuckled, " Your fantasy lacks in originality. So...as 7."

" Aww Nancy, you disappoint me. I thought you would have said 9.999," Bess giggled.

The small group once again burst into laughter.

George said, " I would rate it 6. It was too glossy, but that's you, right," she shrugged.

" Ok," Bess pouted and then turned towards Nancy, " Now it's your turn Nance."

Nancy smiled a little sadly. Then said, " I will pass, thanks."

" Hey c'mon," Bess said, " One fantasy never hurt anybody," she insisted to her reluctant friend.

Nancy shook her head, " I come across enough mysteries in my daily life as it is. I should better not start making them up of my own accord."

" Something doesn't seem right with our girl detective," George said looking up from her phone to pick up a biscuit from the plate. " What's wrong ?"

" I am bored of doing nothing," Nancy huffed, " It has been months since my last case and at times things get too melancholic." Nancy looked really irritated, something that was rare for her.

Bess and George exchanged a glance. George suggested, " Shall we go for a trip nearby ?"

Nancy didn't look too excited or interested. " Guys, what if we go for a not so- nearby ?" She seemed to have something specific on her mind. " Are you suggesting something in the mountains or something near the sea ?" George asked.

" No, I think mountains will be a little more tiring. I was thinking about the sea which offered relaxation," Nancy said. " Actually I was thinking about- just a second, pass my phone," She stretched out her hand for the phone. " Remember Stacy?"

" Stacy Chopra ?" Bess asked, " Our classmate till two years ago her father is Indian, right ?"

" Yeah, I was texting her last night, she told me about this place in India with beautiful beaches, called Goa. She says that the place is so calming that one can spend hours just staring at the sea without getting bored," Nancy showed Bess and George a few images of the beaches. They did seem nice enough and were certainly perfect for the very kind of relaxation Nancy wanted.

" I'm in," George said, sipping the last of her lemonade, " I have heard of this place. We can also go parasailing here."

"Oh, it would be lovely to have some fun these holidays," Bess said agreeing instantly.

Nancy finally smiled. " I am glad you too like the idea. I wasn't so sure about you," she eyed Bess.

" Don't worry I will be armed with sunglasses and sun-screen lotion," Bess said.

The three of them started discussing what they would like to do there. They had no foreboding about the days which were to follow...

" Joe," Frank called. Joe killed the next dragon barely escaping being burnt.

"Joe!" Frank called louder this time. Joe ducked evading a bunch of darts.

"JOE!" Frank called out loudest causing Joe to remove his headphones and return to planet Earth. He seemed to be annoyed on having to pause the game. Frank, however, wasn't bothered by his brother's glares.

"What is it Kaser Frank ?" Joe was still half in the game 'Planet of Kasers.'

Frank glanced at the wall-clock. It was 4:52pm. " Unless you have absolutely forgotten Joe, we are supposed to meet Vijay at 5."

Joe glanced at the time but did not really register it and stared blankly at Frank. Frank threw a cushion at Joe which proved to be much more effective in calling him back to reality.

Joe looked at the clock again and this time he realised that he should be getting a move-on. Frank shook his head at his gamer brother.

It was a quarter past five when the two brothers reached their neighbourhood park where Vijay was supposed to be. A few boys were playing soccer. Some toddlers, accompanied by their mothers, were making full use of the swings and the merry-go-round. Frank smiled on seeing the scene. There were so many memories associated with this place.

He looked in front and saw Vijay Patel, their fellow ATAC agent. Vijay usually looked into the technical side of things and he was always fun to work with while on a case.

Not to mention, he managed to procure hot pizzas anytime, anywhere. And sometimes he would treat Frank and Joe to some his hometown delicacies. Vijay was from India and one thing the Hardy brothers always admitted was that Indian cuisine was delicious.

Though the three of them had worked on numerous cases together, they didn't meet up very often. But Vijay had insisted on this meeting as early as possible.

As Frank and Joe neared Vijay, they realised that he was on a call. He wasn't speaking in English, though. Frank frowned for a second before recalling that it was Hindi.

Though Frank couldn't understand it, he presumed that someone was confirming some information. Vijay ended the call with a 'Shukriya' which, much to Frank's surprise Joe pointed out to mean 'Thank you.'

"Hey Vijay!" Joe greeted. A reason both of them were so great buddies was the fact that Vijay was also an avid gamer, though not as obsessed as Joe. Frank often felt like an alien whenever Joe and Vijay started discussing game strategies.

"Hi guys," Vijay said slipping his phone in his pocket, "I was hoping to get this call before you two arrived." He seemed to be in a jolly mood and was smiling mischievously.

"So, what's up Vij ?" Frank asked as they walked along the perimeter of the park, "what was the super-great news you wanted to share with us ?"

"Yeah mate. I had to stop 'Planet of Kasers' half—way through the last level," Joe added.

"Arre yaar, just wait till you get to know the news," Vijay teased. Being friends with Vijay for years, both Joe and Frank know that 'Arre yaar' meant 'hey guys.' " you won't feel sorry for your game Joe, but first, lets buy some ice-cream."

When they finally got their ice-creams, Vijay started speaking, "Last week I got a case through my dad." He bit into his scoop of black-current before continuing, " I informally handled it and wrapped up the situation two days ago. This man, who was a friend of my father in India was impressed with the success." He paused taking in Joe's and Frank's eager looks and added, " he has a nice offer."

" Oh come on! Tell us already," Joe said impatiently biting off the cone of his vanilla ice-cream.

" You have a habit of making a suspense out of everything," Frank said brushing off a drop of chocolate ice-cream from his t-shirt.

Frank was right. Vijay presented everything with a hint of mystique as if writing a crime thriller. He knew how to drive people nuts.

However, this news must have been too exciting even for Vijay to hold in much longer, " This man owns a chain of hotels. He invited me to stay in one of his hotels free of cost. This particular hotel is in Goa, remember the beaches I told you about ? And..." he paused dramatically, " I am allowed to bring any friends I want. You get it ? You two are joining me in Goa. The flights have been arranged already and I told your father about it yesterday. He gave both of you permission and agreed to keep it a surprise."

Frank and Joe took a moment to register the news. Then they jumped up in joy. They were going on a trip. With their fellow ATAC agent. Could anything get better ?

Author's Note: As is evident, the rest of the story will be taking place in India. I know it is a bit of stretch, but I have always wanted to see Nancy in India, so I figured that I would make her come to India.

The reason I chose Goa of all places is that I (along with my twin sister Anjuna) was born in Goa. We don't live there anymore and I don't remember anything about the place but it always has a special importance to me. (PS: Anjuna, my sister, was named after a beach in Goa)

Also, the typing courtesy for this chapter goes solely to Anjuna.

I hope you liked the first chapter!