My Secret Mission
Surender was enjoying the breeze hitting his face on the window seat of the bus when he was shaken by the unusual behaviour of the gentleman next to him. Surender saw a piece of paper fall from his pocket. Before Surender could say anything, the person vanished.
The gentleman seemed to be in his early twenties, wearing torn jeans and a t-shirt with a stylish cap. He had tucked cords in his ear while listening to songs. Suddenly, after receiving a call, he rose from his seat and exited the bus.
Surender did not bother much until he saw the same guy running behind to catch the bus and shouting something. This action instigated doubts in the mind of Surender. "Be an alert citizen; report unusual activities immediately," the regular announcement reminded him.
He picked up the chit hesitantly. A few drops of sweat formed on his forehead, revealing his state of mind. It was asking thousands of questions in those few seconds. Surender unfolded the chit to read it. A futile effort!!!
A few numbers scribbled across the page made no sense to him. He believed that some message was secretly scripted, though he did not understand. He looked into the chit more carefully. Nothing!!!
There was anxiety, fear, and confusion. Surender was thinking hard when he noticed a bike rushing towards the bus with the same boy riding the pillion. This confirmed Surender's worst fears.
"I must do something," alerted his mind.
The bus came to a screeching stop as the driver applied sudden brakes. Surender rose and escaped through the rear door of the bus. The 'youngster' boarded and hurriedly reached his seat, only to find that the person at the window seat and the chit were missing.
"Let us find that person," he announced to his accomplice, and both fled on their bike.
In the meantime, Surender managed to sneak through the by-lanes. Without using too much of his mind, he rushed to the nearest police station and narrated the entire incident. They took cognizance of the case and asked for further details. Surender shared the details patiently.
Finally, after a lot of deliberations and the involvement of seniors, the chit hinted at a potential anti-social activity planned as the random numbers formed the pin code of that area. The police swung into action in search of the youngster based on the sketch prepared by the sketch artist.
"Good job," praised the senior police officer.
Everyone applauded Surender for his presence of mind and proactive role.
"Come, let's go to the place where the bus halted," said the senior police officer to Surender.
As soon as Surender got up, a bucket full of water was thrown at his face.
He could not understand the treatment that was meted out to him. As he rubbed his eyes, "Wake up, you moron; you are late for the office even today," his mother yelled at him.
The mission remained a secret until another day, or another night, dawned.
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