Moksh leaned against his desk, eyes flicking between Aarav, Meera, and the tall, silver-bearded figure of M. Chakraborty. The faint hum of wards and distant city noise framed the room, making it feel both alive and tense.
"You'll have plenty more cases in the PCID," Moksh said, voice smooth, almost teasing. "So… what are you doing here, sir?"
Chakraborty's eyes crinkled with faint amusement. He tilted his head, hands clasped behind his back. "Moksh, you know I'm so smart that I can solve cases without even stepping foot on the location. Every single case that came to my hands—I solved it. 82 out of 82. Perfect record." He paused, letting the claim hang like a badge of pride. "That's why… I'm totally free now. Completely free. And I want to help you."
Aarav's posture stiffened slightly, Meera's gaze sharpened, but Moksh just smiled faintly, eyes glinting with amusement. He glanced at Meera, who raised an eyebrow knowingly.
"Do you have any… problem with this?" Chakraborty asked, a hint of sarcasm in his tone, almost as if daring them to challenge him.
Moksh's smile widened imperceptibly. He leaned back against the desk, voice calm but warm. "Okay, sir. Welcome aboard, then."
Chakraborty allowed himself a small, satisfied grin. "Good. Let's see if your famous Northern anomalies are as tricky as they say. Or maybe… they are just waiting for me to read the patterns from my office, ha!"
Meera couldn't help a small, exasperated sigh. "Sir, sometimes patterns don't just sit in charts—they hide in shadows, in the smallest human gestures. You really think you can see everything from here?"
Chakraborty gave a faint shrug, a mix of pride and melancholy. "Perhaps not everything… but enough to make a difference. Enough to guide you. Moksh, your students… your allies… I've seen worse in my days. Trust me—they'll hold together. And I'll make sure the mistakes don't repeat."
Aarav's hands loosened slightly at his sides. Moksh's gaze softened, just a fraction, as he nodded. There was a quiet, unspoken understanding: the mentor's presence, sarcastic as it was, carried both experience and protection.
Moksh's mind already flicked to the Northern anomalies—the Malhotra house, the delivery man, the strange events that defied normal investigation. And yet… for a brief moment, with Chakraborty here, he allowed himself a slight smile of relief.
"Alright," Moksh said finally, voice steady. "Let's start. Malhotra property. First observation. You sit tight, sir. Let's see if your brain can really solve this one before the feet hit the ground."
Chakraborty's grin widened. "Moksh… challenge accepted."
And with that, the dance of observation, intellect, and mentorship began, the first step toward unraveling one of the most confounding anomalies the IPC had ever faced.
Moksh's Office: A Quiet Game Before the Storm
Moksh leaned back slightly in his chair, eyes glinting with a mixture of mischief and calculation. "Before we start the Malhotra investigation, sir," he said, voice calm but teasing, "let's see who can find the first lead."
Chakraborty arched an eyebrow, the faintest smirk crossing his lips. "Moksh… you're setting a challenge against your own mentor?"
Moksh shrugged, pretending nonchalance. "Competition sharpens the mind. And I've seen how clever you can be. Let's put it to the test."
Aarav exchanged a glance with Meera. Both suppressed quiet smiles. To the untrained eye, the two men were discussing anomalies and leads, but to them, it looked like a pair of children racing for first place.
Chakraborty leaned over the maps on Moksh's desk, fingers tracing lines of reported sightings. "Ah, clever. You start here," he said, pointing to a small cluster of anomalies in the Northern sector.
Moksh countered immediately, sliding a sheet of intelligence notes toward him. "No, look here. Patterns repeat here first—see the timestamps? You're ignoring a rhythm."
"Ah," Chakraborty said, feigning surprise, "so you're teaching your old teacher tricks now. Dangerous, Moksh. Dangerous indeed."
Moksh smiled faintly, eyes sharp. "You always said observation was the key. But sometimes, the trick is in seeing what others don't—like a hidden shadow."
They bent over the desk, two minds moving in sync but also in quiet rivalry—eyes darting, notes flying, pens scratching, maps and leads shifting as they argued, countered, and adjusted.
From their vantage point near the doorway, Aarav whispered to Meera, barely containing his amusement. "They're like… like kids at a schoolyard game. And we're standing guard over them."
Meera's lips twitched, almost a smirk. "Yet they'll solve it faster than we could alone. That's the thing—chaos and childishness sometimes make the best combination."
Chakraborty glanced up suddenly, voice soft but pointed: "Moksh, don't think I'm letting you win just because you've grown taller than me. I still know the tricks of the trade."
Moksh chuckled, leaning closer. "And I still know how to annoy my teacher just enough to make him think he's winning."
The room filled with a quiet energy—not tension, not authority, but anticipation, a playful storm of intellect before the real darkness outside would demand their full seriousness.
And beneath their apparent game, Aarav and Meera noted the synergy, the subtle respect, and yes—the childish delight of two brilliant minds working together as if the world outside didn't exist.