An Agreement With Destiny

By Abdul Sathar P

A medal is narrating an extraordinary adventurous story about how his owner achieved him. The story happens in two time periods and tells about the important incidents that happened in the life of two police officers. Initially, the story begins with Sharma the sincere police officer when Rahul was just a child. In the later part, the story travels through the professional and personal life of the policeman Rahul. It deals with solving a mystery associated with an unusual murder case, the suspense element and unpredictability – making this story unique. This story shows the personal life of the police officers which has a lot of emotional elements in it along with a good love story happening in Rahul’s life. There are a lot of action sequences in this story that will keep the readers engaged. There is an extremely powerful character in this story who has a vital role to play in this story apart from Sharma and Rahul and saying more about that character would be a spoiler.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Ukiyoto
• Release date: Jul 31, 2021
• ISBN: 9780463318577

Book preview

An Agreement

With Destiny

Abdul Sathar P

Ukiyoto Publishing

All global publishing rights are held by

Ukiyoto Publishing

Published in 2021

Content Copyright © Abdul Sathar P

ISBN 9789354900075

All rights reserved.

No part of this publication may be reproduced, transmitted, or stored in a retrieval system, in any form by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher.

The moral rights of the author have been asserted.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, locales, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

This book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, resold, hired out or otherwise circulated, without the publisher’s prior consent, in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published.

www.ukiyoto.com

This book is dedicated to my daughter Eva Maryam, my little angel.

Acknowledgements

Several factors helped me to come up with this unique tale. My mother Subaida, used to tell me a lot of bedtime stories when I was a child which had planted the seeds of creative thinking inside me. The criticisms by my wife Remeesa, brought forward when I was developing the plot helped me to improve the story. I would like to thank my dreams which gave me the basic plot of this story like a gift from the almighty. The observations and the hundreds of questions I asked myself later developed as a story. The urge for writing a story had been inside me as a desire for more than ten years, but I had purposefully waited for this long only because I was not ready, and now I know it is the right time. I enjoy writing not only because it is a passion for me but it is like relaxation for me like meditation. I focus on writing a story that should interest me and satisfy me first, then only that story can satisfy another person. It is the failures, pain, desperation, neglect, teasing, mocking concerns I had to face in my life that helped me to come up with stories having a life, something raw, which has a lot of emotions.

I want to repeat the same words I once passionately told my wife, this story is a part of me like my flesh, which has everything that I had undergone in my life and everything I want to concur in my life, the deep-rooted pain, the unsatisfied dreams and desires, desperation, helplessness, happiness, joy, sorrow, the identity I want to earn, and every other thing associated with me have knowingly and unknowingly affected the outcome of my story in a positive way. I have shown utmost sincerity and passion while writing this story. The prime reason why I want to write stories is to live a long life through my creation. The thinking process for this story had consumed me more time than actually writing it as I wanted it to be a perfect plot. Another motivating factor for this story is that I wanted to inspire others like me. My sincere thanks to Ukiyoto publishers for making my dream come true.

Sincerity

Let me introduce myself. I am the shining medal who is framed inside the glass hanging on the faded wall which was once painted white. Other framed photos with smiling faces hanging on the same wall gives me a company to make me feel that I am not alone. But still, I feel so lonely as they can’t speak like I do as they were already dead in the past. I have a story to tell, a story which was never told before and it is going to be narrated many times from here forth because of its uniqueness. It is the only story that I know. As I am metal, I have peculiar characteristics, that I can only say the truth, so anything I am about to say is nothing but the truth. It is extremely hard for an officer to achieve me which only happens for the chosen ones who had excelled in their job, excelling in one's job is not just enough to achieve me, they should also be lucky. This story is linked to me like an unbreakable bond, the story of the person who has achieved me. The adventurous story of how he achieved me which you may feel as unbelievable but as you know being a metal, I am bound to only say the truth, nothing but the reality.

He was the only son of a couple which may be the reason why he was stubborn, his name is Rahul, the ten-year-old boy. It was a fashion to name their children Rahul during that time. That trend started when a movie came out in which the hero's name was Rahul and the movie became a huge hit. It was accepted mostly by the family audiences. They received it wholeheartedly to the extent that they started feeling Rahul, the hero was a part of their family which triggered a fashion to name their new-born child with that name. He looked like any other normal child of his age with an innocent face, shaggy hairstyle. Most of the time he wore half khaki trousers probably made from the waste cloths from his father's uniform along with a white half sleeve shirt which was most probably his old school uniform which had got old due to its prolonged usage and in the verge of wearing off. He only had two payers of it.

He was naughty, the kind of naughtiness which does not irritate others and the kind of naughtiness that makes him adorable. He always plays around not ready to settle down anywhere. There was something different about him, something special which was extremely hard to explain. He was not like any other normal child of his age, he was one in a thousand, like the chosen one. But only time and the situations in which his life is going place him in could only prove his worthiness. There was something so deep in his eyes beyond that glitter in it, which felt magical containing a clue of a man he was going to be. Only a person having enough life experience having keen observation skills could only say that there is something special about this child but they also don’t have the answer for that question, what was special about him.? When his time comes he will prove his worthiness which relies entirely on the probability of that situation to happen or not to happen but still if that situation happens which may, till that time that uncertainty should exist like an untold fortune.

He always wanted to be a police officer like his father Sharma. He would even dress up like his father wearing his fathers' hat which would not fit him. He drew a moustache with his mothers' kajal, it made his parents proud when they saw him that way imitating the gestures and postures of his father mimicking him. Rahul loved that occupation even though he will have to lead the life of a middle-class family man like his father who never took a bribe. Sharma was hated by the people in his department for that reason. He was always sincere towards his profession, financial constraints only motivated Rahul to be a person like his father who could only earn respect and a good name in his life. He never had any high desires as he was always tuned to a life with struggles and constraints.

The police quarters, the yellow pained two stories old buildings which stood next to each other, looked identical except for the unique numbers assigned to each flat. Some of them were unlucky like Sharma who got the room on the top floor which experienced leakages and water deficiency due to plumbing issues or because the old pipes had worn out. Not all rooms in the upstairs were bad like Sharma's, he was just the victim of the dirty politics which was believed to be non-existing but it existed like a living soul.

His flat had not seen paint for a long time. It needed many repairs to be done but deliberately ignored including the cracked ceiling through which the water-dipped, and the green algae started to form from there. Most of the things in that apartment were for their daily usage, the table, and chairs which had been repaired multiple times. The table cloth with stains of the foods they had enjoyed eating had not left it even after multiple washes. The torn bed sheets through which the old mattress popped out. The usual dresses they wore inside their homes had been faded and sewed many times. The utensils were mostly made of steel which was bought to use for many years, it was the smoke, the damages caused on it over the time which suggested the same. All those items in that apartment had been with them for a long time. They had grown emotionally attached to them. The wear and tear in them suggested that they only replaced anything if it was no more of any use to them. The only things kept in that house for decoration were some cups and shields which Sharma had earned over the years which he displayed at his home not as decorative pieces but as his priced processions, their good condition even though they dated back to many years strengthened that opinion.

Whenever he saw his father in his official attire a dream started haunting him which compelled him to work towards that goal, he was determined to be a police officer like his father. That man's profession had made him tough and he always behaved seriously towards them. He never cared to show the love he had in his heart with any kind of affections, but that didn’t stop Rahul from loving and respecting his father even a bit. That man had taught him to be what he should be in his life by being an example to him, by leading a life which was hard for a person in the middle of many opportunities to earn some serious money through the wrong ways. He still remembered some people visiting their home with evil intentions gifting him expensive toys and chocolates which his father forced him to reject cold-heartedly even though he knew it would hurt his tiny heart. Instead, that man gifted the small boy some chocolates and toys. He could only afford that with his small salary. He still remembered his father's words while he gifted it to him ‘My boy, they are bad people and their intentions were evil. They are trying to influence me through you as they know that you are my weakness, something I cannot resist and something I cannot say no to. This may be small and this may not be even close to what you have desired but this is bought from money earned the right way and this doesn’t come with any other obligations for which we may have to pay a price which will make us fall our self in front of our consciousness.’ As a child, he may not understand what his father meant by those words but he will when the right time comes.

There was only one time in his life being a policeman when he was obliged to someone, even though he had nothing to do with it. As if that came like an unexpected thing like an accident which he would not have allowed it if he had even a vague idea about it. It was night, there was a small drizzle making the night cold. Rithwik the chubby womanizer who spent a lot of his time partying and doing drugs with his friends who were also the sons of rich and highly influential people. He was the son of the powerful businessman Govindan who was a very influential person, Rithwik was caught for causing the accident who was drunk. He had killed two people in that accident. When Sharma who was on duty that night, came to know about the accident only because he was vigilantly listening to the walkie-talkie. He arrived at the spot, he doubted that there was something more than just alcohol that made the boy do something so cruel that what he did never deserved forgiveness.

During the primary investigation Sharma found him with the possession of drugs, and his medical test results also clearly proved that he was under the influence of those forbidden chemicals, which had spread through his veins by a needle. It was Sharma who was handling the case, by the time the highly influential people could replace him from that case he already had enough shreds of evidence against the boy with which he had already filed the case. The case had already attained a lot of media attention by this time as the person involved in the case was the son of a high-profile person and removing a sincere officer like Sharma from the case would invite a lot of suspicion and unwanted troubles. Sharma got calls from his higher officials and even from politicians for the immediate release of the boy, but he was not ready to satisfy their demand even though he was offered a ransom for it, or even when he was threatened to be transferred and to dismiss him. He was hated by his superior officers and politicians as he was always a headache for them, he never did any kind of adjustments for them whatsoever it may be, even though it was told by whom so ever.

They tried to buy him out but when they failed in that they tried other things. They were the ones who visited Rahul with chocolates and costly gifts which Sharma had rejected without any second thoughts. Sharma went ahead with the case even though they tried everything to stop him. They had to save Rithwik, after a lot of efforts which included using their influences, money, legal support from top lawyers who took fees in lakhs for a single appearance, appeared for this case shutting the mouth of the truth with their strong lies using the loopholes in the law in their favour, creating false shreds of evidence, forging the most vital things upon which the existence of the case was based on. They were successful in letting the boy loose from the shackles of the law and order, but their family name was sacrificed in this case which had attained a lot of media attention. That didn’t stop that spoilt brat Rithwik from doing those bad things at which he was good. Sharma had made a lot of enemies by this time. What he did was right in his eyes, which was never personal for him was personal for some powerful people, who were powerful enough to do things which he could not even imagine. The kind of people who were not much aware of the word called kindness, humanity, mercy, and forgiveness.

They all were looking for a perfect opportunity to eradicate him once and for all without creating any doubts. They wanted to do it without getting directly involved in it, which could attach the traces of their names and their doings in it. They wanted to get it done even without thinking about the fact that he had a small family depending on him. They were the kind of people who would not just take out the thorn stuck up under their foot but also destroy it forever without any mercy. Finally, a perfect opportunity turned up, like a case which came in front of them. There was a famous outlaw Sukumaran, who had made himself a place in the headlines of the dailies with his evil deeds. The negative publicity he had gained made him famous. He was feared and hated by people at the same time. He looked and dressed like a normal villager, but his thoughts and his personality had only little to do with the way he looked or how he dressed. The way he looked or dressed only projected the man who he once was, it only reminded him of his roots but in actual he was more. He was unpredictable, he was a person who can never be taken lightly by the way he looked or by the way he dressed. In his name there were multiple cases registered, there was an old photograph of him that was displayed on the notice board of every police station among the wanted list. It was bigger than the other photographs and secured a position above the others. The long time it served there made it feel like it was kept there to cherish an old memory.

He had a network of similar criminals like himself on his side for his support and protection, like a criminal gang. The place from where he came from was even worse than hell. It was in the middle of nowhere. An isolated village away from the other world which was purposefully kept a secret. Outsiders were not welcome in there, if anyone who dared to sneak into that place was finished off mercilessly and set as an example to the others who dared to mess up with that place. Lankeshwaram located in the outskirts is a rural village bestowed with the beauty of nature. It was guarded by a small mountain which gave them access to encroachers. Lankeshwaram that word itself brought fear in the minds of people. That place was famous for criminals, thieves, and bandits. They were unique in their ways, they had their laws. They were purposefully ignored by the authorities like they never existed, that place was heavily guarded by the outlaws where no police, law, and order could not reach. Lankeshwaram was the biggest supplier of marijuana and other drugs to other parts of the nation. Narcotics was always the most profitable business which always involved the most powerful peoples.

That business brought enough money into the village which helped them to fund many elections, it helped them to pay huge amounts of money as bribes to the politicians, police, and other higher officials. This was the sole reason why the village still existed on the face of this earth even after the kinds of crimes the people of this place committed. There were no signs of that money they earned from the way they lead their lives which had not changed much from how they used to live when they had nothing. They enjoyed what they did and it was sure that money was not the prime reason for doing what they did. It was the fear in the hearts of the others, the control it gave which they enjoyed the most. Directly or indirectly that place became one of the main suppliers of money which were always black but something which was always inevitable in this corrupted system for its survival.

That money was cursed as it had spoiled the lives of many before it reached the hands of the evil kinds. Behind most of the small and big crimes from small thefts to man missing, threatening, killings that happened in the various parts of the nation the names of the criminals from Lankeshwaram were connected most of the time. The crimes were their main source of income, in their society, the skilled criminals earned more respect and stood out in their society like the upper class. The man who could generate more income from the crimes, the ones who always avoided getting caught, the most skilled ones among them were considered as the eligible bachelor who could marry the most beautiful girl in that village. Every society needed a leader without which it couldn’t survive. Someone powerful enough to lead them. Someone having the power to make critical decisions for them, Sukumaran was more than that for Lankeshwaram. He had taken that place and those people to the level in which they always wanted to be. He was like the poisonous tooth of the snake, stopping him would reduce the troubles for the authorities. He was getting out of their control, to the extent that he had started to control them. For the superior powers, even though he was an essential evil, but that essential evil had become like a thorn that was stuck in their leg, making it difficult for them to move properly. His name became so popular that it brought chaos among the common people to the extent that they started questioning the inability of the system for the reason that he still lived freely even after committing the most superior crimes.

The system involving those superior people could never sacrifice the kind of money they received from there, so they came up with an alternate solution. To remove the poisonous tooth from the snake after which they could tame the snake and make it dance with their flute the way they wished. They decided to contain Sukumaran because they knew killing him would only worsen their problems. All they wanted was to stop their headache which would be a solution to the questions raised by the media and the common man. They could reason with his people once they got total control over him. They used every means possible to contain him, but he let himself lose every single time they tried to catch him as he was the eligible bachelor of that village in terms of his skills in committing crimes. He was like a devil who ruled that hell, he was ferocious, ruthless, daring, and went to any extent as he never knew what fear was. But bad luck was something which was written on the fate of every living creature which they have to face at some point of time, he too had to.

The kind of business in which he was involved didn’t allow him to always hide inside his den. Occasionally he had to set his foot outside to finalize some most important deals which only he was capable to deal. He was caught once when he set his foot outside his den where he had less immunity while he went out to meet a very important person for a business proposal which was a trap set up for him. In that secret police operation, they shot him in his leg even though they had orders to shoot him at sight which gave them the power to encounter him. They knew that it was their only chance which only came once in a blue moon. This time the police had utilized the opportunity very wisely to trap him. Even though he tried everything possible to come out free in all the possible ways he could. He tried to reason with them and threaten those people who were sitting in the chairs that gave them the ultimate power. The people who controlled the system were determined not to let him walk out freely and they put him behind the bars for a long time.

His trial was conducted in isolation, the officials never allowed him to appear in front of the media or public out of fear that he may come up with their names. Which could put them in a difficult situation, his basic nature and the fact that the jail had many inmates from Lankeshwaram by this time, most of whom purposefully came there to protect and help their leader allowed Sukumaran to rule over the place, gave him a lot of advantages there. He was in a cell with all the luxury he could get in a place like that. He had his most trusted men by both his sides to serve and protect him which he could demand as he still possessed the bargaining power until he controlled the drugs and the mafia. He made the drugs to be easily available inside those jail compounds, which helped him to gain more control in that place. Other criminals there feared and obeyed him as going against him only invited death. Even the jail authorities never dared to cross his path even by mistake. He grew powerful inside that compound to the extent that, breaking and escaping the jail was no more an impossible task for him. Which he did successfully even though he had to sacrifice some of his most trusted men while doing it. Now they had to catch him at any cost to regain and to retain the name which they had lost when he managed to escape under their nose taking the lives of some officers also while he escaped. That was not expected from the system and the people in power knew that the next thing he would be doing would be coming after them for what they did to him. The government and the police department were answerable to the public for their negligence and for their failure to perform their duty, something which was never expected from them.

Sukumaran was sure to cause more trouble if he walks as a freeman, the bad luck of getting caught only made him more vigilant, to be more cautious which had made it even more difficult. But keeping silent was not an option for them even after knowing there was nothing much they could do but they had to frame something to shut the mouths of the public. At the same time keep Sukumaran engaged so that he does not cause any trouble for them. They were ready to sacrifice five soldiers to save the king, only to engage with the powerful enemy keeping him engaged so that he won't attack the king. So they formulated a mission that was suicidal as there was no hope of returning from the place where they were planning to go. No police officer would wholeheartedly agree to assist in that mission unless that was an order.

So the police department chose five officers not because they were the bravest among them or they were fit for that mission but these five police officers were always a pain in their asses. The kind of people whom they wanted out of their department forever, out of that list Sharma's name came on the top. When Sharma was called by his superior officer Kabir to his room, which had a lot of old files piled up in the cupboards which displayed the pile of unfinished works they had with them. Kabir hesitated a little before he passed him the order to assist in the mission, maybe somewhere in his heart, he had a soft corner for the sincere officer Sharma. When Sharma got the order from his superior Kabir, it was the old creaking fan that was revolving around slowly and not his head out of nausea. Sharma who was a courageous officer agreed to the mission without even a second thought even after knowing there was no surety of him coming back to his family. Optimism was another quality he had, which along with some hope was enough to make a man do wonders and sometimes the most stupid things. The next name was Shinde the policeman with a trimmed head, who wore a lot of talismans to keep away evil spirits and bad luck. Poor Shinde didn’t know that those talismans were not going to help him this time. He was a routine visitor of temples the evidence of which stood in the form of the bindi he wore on his forehead. Then there was Tharpade the policeman who always chewed tobacco, who littered all the window panes, grills by constantly spitting outside. He was broken from inside when he knew that he was among the chosen ones. People always tried to maintain a distance from him because he was unhygienic. Sudhev with long moustache, one which brought fear into the minds of criminals. When he heard of this news he became doubtful giving a black mark on the famous courage which was praised by his colleagues and feared by his enemies, even though both of them were the same in a way. Kheshav the weakest policeman among them came on that list only because he was a coward. He was scared to be a part of bribery, unlawful activities which made him on the list. He was lean, tall, but soft-spoken, a lot of the people around him inside and outside the department believed that he didn’t deserve to be a policeman. There were common characteristics those men shared among them which had become an invisible string tying them together. The common characteristics they shared were sincerity, dedication, hard work which had brought them together.

They all met for the first time when they were called upon to the head office. That building that had survived the hard weather conditions over the many years served as evidence, which made people believe the facts they read in the history textbooks to be true. They all met at the meeting hall to discuss