The soft chirping of the birds engulfed the morning air with its melody. Niranjan was fast asleep. The day before, he had come home very late. It had been a tiring day at the office. 

In a display of utmost trust, the Chief Commissioner summoned Niranjan, Shena, and Rithvik, his most faithful and capable teammates, the previous day. The urgency in the Commissioner's voice was palpable, hinting at the gravity of the situation. Their responsibility was heavy, but they were ready to bear it. 

Rithvik, a relative newcomer, had worked with the income-tax department for only two years. In contrast, with his eight years of service, Niranjan was a seasoned professional. His experience was not just a strength for the team but a beacon of hope in the face of the upcoming challenge. 

As the income tax officer, Niranjan was entrusted with many crucial raids. His dedication to his work was unwavering, and his spotless record was a testament to his commitment and responsibility.

"Tomorrow, we must carry on an all-important raid at this address." The Chief Commissioner briefed the three on the nature of the raid.
"We have information that there are electrical and computer devices amounting to crores in this place. The men involved are devising a plan to send the materials abroad at a high price. This raid operation is shrouded in secrecy; only we four know about it. You three conduct the raid at 4 p.m. tomorrow." The tension in the room was thick, hanging in the air like a heavy fog, adding to the suspense of the situation.
The three nodded in full affirmation. 

The Commissioner asked Niranjan to stay back for more discussion while the other two left for home. 

Shena was three years younger than Niranjan in age and experience at the income tax office. After working together, they liked each other and tied the knot only last year. Everyone in the income tax department knew them as the ideal couple.

"Niranjan, aren't you getting up? It is already 7.30; you have to get ready for office." She pulled his quilt. "As I told you, I will leave for my friend's baby shower shortly. Will join you and Rithvik for the raid." Shena ruffled Niranjan's hair and took leave.

"I am not attending the office today. The Commissioner has allowed me to do some important documentation work. Have fun at the function, and meet me at 4 p.m." Niranjan pulled over his quilt again.

It was nine when Niranjan sat with a steaming cup of coffee. As he was sipping the coffee, he suddenly got one of those terrible bouts of headache that had been appearing lately. 
"Shena," he shouted, asking for his medicines only to realize his wife had already left for her friend's place. 
Niranjan felt drained after having the medicines the doctor had prescribed for such bouts of headache. 
It suddenly dawned on him that he was supposed to collect some test and MRI reports from the doctor the day before. 
'Shena was also busy; it must have missed her memory,'  he muttered, for he knew that his wife had been too particular about his tests and check-ups since he had had this weird headache.
Niranjan sat back, his head on the sofa cushion. He was sweating profusely. He had to start the work assigned to him at some point. 

Suddenly, an obnoxious smell emanated from the ground-floor residence. 

Niranja and Shena lived on the first floor of a two-storey home. Very recently, after the earlier tenants shifted, a self-acclaimed scientist named Prasanna rented the ground-floor house.
In the name of inventing something new,  Prasanna performed experiments that either filled the air with smoke or created an obnoxious smell. A couple of emails were sent to the house owner, updating him about the difficulties faced due to the downstairs tenant, but no favorable response was found. The owner was visiting his children abroad, and there was little that he could do to alleviate the distress of Niranjan and Shena. He had, however, promised to look into the matter upon his return. But there was yet three months for that.
When the stench became unbearable, Niranjan decided to go downstairs to speak with Prasanna.

Niranjan was worried because his parents were visiting them soon. His father was an asthma patient. Niranjan's concern for his father's health was evident, and he knew it would be disastrous for his father to have such smoke and stench around.

The door of Prasanna's house was ajar. As Niranjan stepped in, he saw the home engulfed in thick fog. 
He could spot a silhouette of Prasanna coming towards him.

When he neared, Niranjan found him grinning from ear to ear.
"My experiment is a success. You see that bottle," Prasanna said, pointing to one lying on the ground. Niranjan could see it with much difficulty. "If one steps on that, he can become invisible to the world for four hours and go anywhere he chooses without being spotted.        At the end of four hours, he will automatically be transported to the same place where he stepped on the bottle. The bottle can be used again by the same person or another person only after that four hours."  Prasanna was beaming at the success of his experiment. 
"I am going to apply for patency now, and soon, this will be sensational news. Mostly, the police department will benefit from it. Anyway, acclamation is yet a long way." Prasanna sighed, hinting at the potential ethical implications of his invention.

The smoke had thinned out, and Niranjan could now spot the bottle correctly. A wave of excitement went through his body as Niranjan thought how helpful it would be to become invisible to others and go to where the raid was planned for the evening. He could find out where all the stuff was hidden, and the raid could be successful without wasting much time. But Niranjan was afraid to try it. What if he would be invisible forever? The thought sent a chill down his spine, and Niranjan shook his head as if trying to remove the horrendous thought of remaining invisible for the rest of his life.
Niranjan doubted Prasanna's credentials. 

Suddenly, the precipitated smoke choked Niranjan, and he desperately gestured to Prasanna for a glass of water.
Prasanna went to fetch the water. At that moment, Niranjan's head almost swirled, making him lose his balance. Before he realized it, Niranjan had tumbled and stepped over the bottle. 
'Oh, God, if Prasanna's words had even a tinge of truth, I would become invisible to the world for four hours. Can I be transported to the venue of  today's raid?' 

When Prasanna returned with the glass of water, Niranjan was gone. Prasanna's eyes fell on the bottle, and he was stunned to realise that Niranjan had stepped on it. He could quickly understand that, as the green bulb he had fitted inside would turn red when someone stepped on it and become invisible. It would turn green again after four hours. He had tried it at 5 in the morning, aimlessly loitered in the quiet lanes of the city, and returned at 9 to resume his other experiments.
Prasanna beamed at the thought of consolidating his new invention, citing an authentic instance when Niranjan would return at 2:30 p.m.

Initially, Niranjan was apprehensive about Prasanna's comments about the experiment. But suddenly, he felt light and did not know how he was moving. In a few minutes, he found himself in front of a big blue door that was the gateway to the venue of the raid scheduled for the day.
'It has happened just as I had wished for,' Niranjan said excitedly. Prasanna has had a big break with his perennial experiments. Imagine going invisible and getting to the place one wishes for!

 However, Niranjan also weighed the cons of this invention.

 'What if it fell into the hands of miscreants?' The very thought made him shudder, thinking of the amount of theft and crime that would rule the city. Niranjan shook his head in disapproval. 'No, this invention will not be allowed to see the light of the day by any authority. It is dangerous.'

Leaving all the apprehensions behind but with a slight fear of whether he would become visible in four hours, Niranjan entered into the venue. It was a massive godown with many small storerooms.

He noticed some frenzied activities going on. People were frantically moving all the boxes from the storehouses. It dawned on Niranjan that someone had tipped them off about the raid, and the concerned people were shifting everything elsewhere to absolve themselves from the blame of having hoarded expensive electronic items and planning to sell them at exorbitant prices.

Who could be behind this treacherous act? The Chief Commissioner can never be brought into the frame of suspicion. He was a gentleman with a speckless record. Could Rithvik have blurted out the raid schedule to someone in the office? That possibility sounded unlikely, and then Shena would not do such an act of cheating.
Niranjan could not come to a solid conclusion about who might be behind the act.

"Move fast; the goods have to go from here. The raid is scheduled for 4 p.m.,"  one bearded man instructed the men, placing the boxes in a truck. 
"When they come here, the officers would find nothing." One of the men guffawed. 
"Someone from within the income tax office is the traitor," yet another man smiled, exhibiting a set of tobacco-stained teeth. 
"Money can make the mare go. Our boss is rewarding the informer with 20 Lakhs; what more does a commoner want? " Niranjan's heart twisted upon hearing one of the men say this.

Niranjan, unnoticed by anyone, sat on the truck transporting the boxes. His mind raced fast as he ran it through the list of staff who could have been behind this betrayal. But the news could never have leaked without any of the four who knew about this raid discussing it with someone else. Niranjan could not pinpoint any of the other three. It was perplexing indeed.

Three men accompanied the truck driver to transport the goods to a new venue. 
From what they all discussed, it became evident that someone had given a prior intimation to save the accused from being caught in this web of the income tax raid. 

Niranjan was worried that the time limit for his invisibility status might expire before he could find out where the men were taking the goods. 

He will have to discuss this with the Chief Commissioner soon.

Fortunately for Niranjan, the truck screeched into what looked like a godown in a remote area when 15 minutes were left for him to regain his visible form. He made a mental note of the place, keenly observing nearby regions. 

Niranjan sneaked into the godown and ascertained that the goods were stored in three rooms. As he moved in further to take note of everything, Niranjan was shell-shocked to see Shena and Rithvik seated opposite the main accused to be nabbed during the raid. Another man removed wads of currency notes from a cupboard and placed them before Shena and Rithvik, who gathered the bundles and stuffed them into a bag.
Niranjan could not believe his eyes. Shena and Rithvik! How could they do this? He fumbled in his pocket for his phone and clicked photographs, ensuring the money and the two were captured in the frame. Niranjan was cautious as he wasn't sure if the phone would also be invisible. Fortunately, no one saw the handset being used to click the pictures.

"Thank you for your timely information." The man who gave the money shook hands with the duo. They nodded and left with the bag. 
Niranjan wished he had more time with him to follow them. He was sure they would keep the bag somewhere and proceed to the earlier scheduled venue for the raid as if they were clueless about what had happened.
'What has been cooking between the two behind my back?' Niranjan was aghast. How much ever he racked his brain he failed to understand the reason behind their treacherous act. Even in his wildest dreams he had never realised that some chemistry was brewing between his wife and Rithvik. 

'Where do they plan to go with such a huge amount, escaping from the keen eyes of the law?'

Niranjan had no time to form postulates and theories that might throw some light on the evil act of the duo. Booking the two for this unpardonable crime, reigned high on his mind.

In his eight years of service with the income tax department, Niranjan had never accepted monetary favours from anyone. It was incredibly disheartening to notice his wife treading the path of betrayal.

It was 2.30 by then. Niranjan stood in front of Prasanna's door. As premeditated by the scientist, Niranjan returned to the same spot where he had stumbled on the bottle and became visible. 

Prasanna was eager to learn about Niranjan's experience, but Niranjan asked to be excused for the time being. He promised he would get back to Prasanna by late evening or the following day with the pros and cons of the invention.
Now, Niranjan had plenty of work to do.
The paperwork the Commissioner had asked him to complete was pending. 'That can wait,' Niranjan muttered as he quickly changed and kicked his motorbike to reach his office.

"What are you doing here? Aren't you expected to be at the raid venue by 4 p.m.? Rithvik unexpectedly asked for a holiday this morning but assured me he would reach the place on time for the raid. And where are the papers I asked you to work on?" the Commissioner inquired. 
However, the Commissioner was surprised to hear what Niranjan had to say. 
The officer, who had always praised Shena and Rithvik's straightforwardness, found it hard to believe that the two had made insincere efforts to sabotage the raid and had accepted a tremendous amount as a bribe. Only after Niranjan showed him the picture of the two stuffing the money into the bag did the Commissioner realise the truth.

"Sir, if we arrest the men at the new venue and interrogate them, they, too, will testify against Shena and Rithvik." Niranjan seemed determined to punish the two for this unscrupulous deed of cheating the department. 
"Please arrest the two from the first venue. I am sure they must be reaching there, donning innocent looks. And please give me a fresh order to raid the new venue where the goods have been shifted. I will take Mohan from our department with me for the raid."

The Commissioner still needed clarification about how Niranjan had the insight to land there and learn about the betrayal. Time was running out, so he issued a fresh order for the raid with the changed venue and sent for someone to arrest Shena and Rithvik.

"We will talk in detail later. Based on the authentic photographs you showed, I am arranging to arrest the two. I hope you are aware that this act will blacklist Shena and Rithvik from the income tax office staff forever." The Commissioner averred.
Niranjan nodded sadly. "They deserve it, Sir." He saluted the Commissioner and left for the raid with Mohan.

The following day, Niranjan's name was all over the news, and the media praised him for the daring raid. His wife and colleague were also in the limelight, but for negative reasons. The press praised Niranjan for boldly bringing his wife and colleague's betrayal to light without bothering about straining his relationship with them. His forthrightness was the most discussed topic everywhere.

Little did Niranjan know when the operation of recovering the money from Shena and Rithvik starts will the truth behind their act of betrayal surface. 

If only Niranjan had followed Shena and Rithvik the previous day!

The previous day at the Cancer Hospital, Shena and Rithvik sat facing the chief doctor.
"Doctor, we have arranged for the money. When can we get Niranjan admitted for the operation?" Shena wiped her moist eyes.
"Doctor, will this surgery cure Niranjan sir's brain tumour entirely? Our department needs the service of a sincere and diligent officer like him."  Rithvik looked at the doctor expectantly.
"Of course, I can tell you with certainty that the tumour would be removed and necessary treatment given to ensure that there is no recurrence anytime later. Please get Mr. Niranjan admitted tomorrow morning by 8 a.m." 
The duo walked out, relieved they had made arrangements for the surgery. 
"The guilt of betraying the department is gnawing me, but what do I do? I found no other way to amass such a huge amount to save my Niranjan." Shena cried. "I also lied to Niranjan in the morning that I am taking the day off to attend a friend's baby shower, and he believed me without batting an eyelid."
Consoling her, Rithvik, a perfect friend of the couple, kicked the motorbike, and the two proceeded to the raid's scheduled venue, not knowing what awaited them!