The mystery of the Mountains

The name of the small town surrounded by mountains was Rupagiri. Although it was called a city, it was actually a quiet hill town. Green forests all around, winding roads, foggy mornings and cool air at night. Everyone knew everyone here. Crime was rare except for minor quarrels.

But one day, everything changed suddenly. Sudhangshu Babu, the old bookseller of the town, disappeared one afternoon on his way home after closing his shop. At first, everyone thought he might have gone somewhere. But even after nightfall, he did not return.

The police started searching. They searched everywhere, including the mountain roads, markets, and forests. But no trace was found.

Four days later, his body was found hidden in a bush outside the town. As soon as the news spread, panic descended on Rupagiri. Sudhangshu Babu had a look of fear on his face. There was no major injury on his body. Only a black mark on his neck. The doctor said that he had been strangled to death.

 Inspector Arindam Sen was in charge of the police. He was an experienced officer, but he seemed to sense something strange about this case from the very beginning. He examined the scene and saw that there was a kind of shoe print in the mud next to the bush. But strangely, the print had suddenly disappeared.

It was as if the man had vanished into thin air. A week after Sudhanshu Babu's death, another incident occurred. This time, a beggar from the city, whose name no one knew, was found hiding under a large banyan tree outside the police station. He too was dead. People began to whisper in fear.
“This is not the work of humans.”
“The old curse of the mountains has returned.”
“Shadows can be seen in the forest at night...”
Inspector Arindam did not believe in these superstitions. But the incidents were truly strange.

A piece of paper was found in the beggar's pocket. Written in shaky handwriting...
“He has returned... from the bottom of the mountain...”
Nothing else. Then, one by one, three more people disappeared. A woodcutter. A schoolteacher. And a taxi driver. Each time, their bodies were found a few days later in different secluded places in the city. And the same look of terror on everyone's face. The people of Rupagiri stopped going out after dusk. The shops closed early.  The mountain roads were empty.
The pressure on the police was increasing.

One night, Arindam was sitting at the police station, looking at the files. Suddenly, he saw an old newspaper.
The incident happened about fifteen years ago. An old mine collapsed near the Rupagiri hills. Several workers died there. But the real truth of the incident never came to light.

Arindam was shocked to read the paper. One of the dead workers was named Raghu Barman. And surprisingly, all those who had died recently were somehow connected to that mine. Sudhanshu Babu was the accountant of that mine. The school teacher was an employee of the local administration at the time. The taxi driver once carried goods there. Arindam's suspicions deepened. The next day, he started talking to the old people of the town.

An old man said, 
“That mining incident was not an accident, Babu.”
“You mean?”
 “The workers allegedly found valuable minerals inside the mine. The owners wanted to suppress the news. Then one night there was an explosion. Everyone says it was planned.”
“Did anyone survive?”
The old man was silent for a while and said, 
“I heard someone came out… Raghu.”
Arindam’s heart trembled.
“But everything written in the government report is dead.”
The old man said slowly, “Government reports don’t always tell the truth.”

That night, Arindam set off alone in a car towards the old mine. The mountain road was covered in fog. The air was strangely cold. When he reached the mine, he saw that the place was completely abandoned. Broken structures, rusty iron doors and silence all around. Suddenly, a torch light was seen in the distance. Arindam shouted, 
“Who’s there?”
The light quickly moved towards the forest. He ran with a gun in hand. A shadowy figure was visible through the gap in the trees.

Suddenly, someone’s voice came from behind.
“Go back, Inspector… otherwise you will die too.”
Arindam turned around. But no one was seen.
Then, suddenly, he was plunged into darkness as he hit his head. When he opened his eyes, he saw that he was lying tied up in a dark room.
A kerosene lamp was burning in the room. Standing in front was a man with a long beard. His face was deeply scarred.
 The man said slowly, 

“They wanted to kill me fifteen years ago.”
Arindam understood that this was Raghu Barman.
“You killed all these people?”
Raghu’s eyes lit up with a terrible fire.
“Murder? Do you know what they did? My brother, my friend, they locked everyone inside the mine and burned them to death. Just for money.”
“So you’re going to kill everyone?”
“They’ve just been punished.”
Arindam said, 

“Not everyone was guilty.”
Raghu laughed. 
“Everyone in this town knew. No one opened their mouths.”
Just then, the sound of a car was heard outside.
Raghu looked at the window and said, 
“The police have arrived.”
Arindam was surprised. He hadn’t told anyone anything.
Raghu smiled softly and said, 
“I sent the location from your phone.”
Screams could be heard outside.

Raghu slowly picked up the gun.
“It will all end today.”
 Suddenly, gunshots started outside. As Raghu looked towards the door, Arindam seized the opportunity and hit him with a chair. A scuffle broke out between the two. At one point, the gun fell out. Raghu shouted, 
“They deserved to be punished!”
Arindam roared, 
“You have no right to take the law into your own hands!”
Then suddenly the floor collapsed. The old wooden house was above the mine. Raghu lost his balance and fell down.
His last scream came from the dark hole.
Then all was quiet. After a few days, Rupagiri slowly started to return to normal.

The police investigation found out that the mining accident was indeed planned. Some influential people had set off explosions and killed the workers so that the news of the secret mineral would not get out. Raghu survived, but he hid in a cave in the mountain for years. The fire of revenge had made him inhuman. The people of the city knew the truth. But still, a fear remains about the Roopgiri hills. Because sometimes, late at night, a voice still comes from the direction of the old mine...
"Everyone will be punished..."

Almost a month has passed since Raghu's death.
Roopgiri has started to become as calm as before. The market is getting crowded, schools are opening, and people are even chatting in tea shops after dusk. Everyone thought the nightmare was over. But Inspector Arindam's unease would not go away. Because Raghu's body was never found.
The police searched the deep shaft of the mine many times. But there was nothing but darkness and piles of stones below.
 One night, Arindam was sitting at the police station, looking at old reports. Suddenly, Constable Vikas came running and said, “Sir… another body has been found!”

Arindam was startled.
“Where?”
“Behind the old church.”
He immediately left.
The church was in a secluded place on the hill. When Arindam reached there, he saw a crowd gathered around.
The body of the city businessman Madhusudan Roy was lying on the ground.
The man’s eyes were wide. There was a look of panic on his face.
Arindam looked down and saw a sign drawn in blood next to the body…

A cross in a circle. The exact same sign had been found in the mining records from fifteen years ago. Arindam’s body went cold.
“Impossible…”
Vikas said in a trembling voice, 
“Sir… then is Raghu alive?”
Arindam did not answer.
 That night, he started looking for the old mine documents again. After an hour, he stopped when he found a piece of information. The real planners of the mine explosion were three people. Two were already dead. But the name of the third person was never revealed. The last page of the file was torn. Just then, the police station phone rang.
As Arindam picked up the phone, an unfamiliar voice came through...

“If you want to know the truth, come to the old mine... alone.”
The phone hung up. Midnight. Thick fog all around.
Arindam headed towards the cursed mine again with a torch and a gun. As he reached the broken door of the mine, a faint light appeared from inside. He slowly entered. Suddenly, a voice came out of the darkness...
“You are late, Inspector.”
Arindam was stunned as the torch light was turned on.

Raghu was standing in front. Alive.  His body was covered in wounds, his eyes even more terrifying. Arindam said slowly, 
“You are not dead…”
Raghu smiled coldly, 
“Death is not that easy.”
“You have started killing again?”
Raghu’s eyes flashed with hatred.
“The last person is still alive.”
“Who is he?”
Raghu was silent for a while and said, 
“The most respected person in this city…”
Just then, another voice was heard from behind...
“Because he is me.”
Arindam turned around and was shocked. Standing in front of him was the popular mayor of the city, Debabrata Chowdhury. He had a gun in his hand. Debabrata slowly approached and said, 

“If the news of the mine had come out fifteen years ago, we would have been finished. That’s why we had to explode it.”
Arindam roared in anger, 
“You have killed so many people!”
Debabrata said coldly, 
“Sometimes you have to make difficult decisions to maintain power.”
 Raghu shouted, 
“Today is your last day!”
Suddenly, the mine shook with the sound of gunfire. Arindam jumped to the ground. A gunfight began between Raghu and Devabrata. At one point, Devabrata’s bullet hit Raghu in the chest. But Raghu did not stop even at the moment of death.

With his last strength, he grabbed Devabrata and threw him next to the explosives. The entire mine shook with a loud explosion.
Rocks started falling all around.
Arindam somehow ran out.
The entire mine collapsed behind him.
Raghu and Devabrata, both were buried under that darkness. The next day, the news spread. The truth of Rupagiri’s many years of secrecy came to light. People came to know how many terrible crimes were hidden behind the respected faces of the city. Inspector Arindam left the city a few days later.  But before leaving, he looked at the mountain one last time and felt...
Someone was standing in the fog. A shadow figure.
And a familiar voice was floating in the cold air..
"Mysteries never die..."

  The End 


Comedy Story






Revenge

Kolkata's night is a city of light and sound. But that night was different. The sky was covered in thick black clouds, the street lamps were half-visible in the fog. It was almost one in the morning. The hustle and bustle of Park Street had long ceased. Suddenly, a terrible scream came from inside a narrow alley.

The news spread throughout the city the next morning.
A businessman's body had been found. The man's name was Soumen Dutta. There were no major injuries anywhere on his body. But his eyes were wide with fear. And on his right hand was a strange mark drawn with black ink. An upside-down triangle inside a circle.

The police initially thought it was a simple murder. But during the investigation, it was learned that two more people had died in the same way two days earlier. All three had the same mark on their hands. Panic spread through the city.
The media named him "The Symbol Killer."

This case was assigned to Detective Officer Arnab Sen. Arnab spoke very little. There was always a kind of stillness in his eyes. He had solved many complicated cases in the city. But as soon as he opened the file of this case, he felt that the case was completely different.

He put together the information about the three dead. The first was a businessman. The second was a college professor. The third was a real estate agent. Their lives, professions, families—all were different. But Arnab found a common ground at one place.
Twelve years ago, they all lived in the “Navarun Hostel.”

Arnab slowly leaned back in his chair.
“The murderer is looking for someone from the past.”
That afternoon, he went to the Navarun Hostel.
The place was almost abandoned now. The old walls were cracked, the corridors were covered in cobwebs. The wind was making strange sounds through the broken windows.

Haripada, the old caretaker of the hostel, trembled with fear as he opened the door.
“Are you a policeman?”
“Yes. I have some questions.”
Haripada didn’t want to say anything at first. But in the face of Arnab’s stern gaze, he finally gave in.
“Sir… this place is not good.”
“Why?”
The old man whispered, 
“A death occurred here.”

Arnab listened silently. Twelve years ago, a student, Ritwik Ghosh, lived here. A very talented, calm boy. He came from a poor family. He was always immersed in his studies. But some seniors of the hostel tortured him terribly. They insulted, beat him, and mentally tortured him in the name of ragging.

One night, news came that Ritwik had committed suicide by jumping from the roof. The case ended there.
Arnab asked, 
“Who were those seniors?”
 Haripada took out an old register with trembling hands.
Arnav paused as he read the names.
The list contained the names of three dead people.
That same night, another murder took place.
This time, it was Aniruddha Pal, a renowned doctor in the city.
He had the same mark on his hand.
And on the wall of the room, written in blood...
“Four are gone. One more left.”

A suppressed excitement built up inside Arnab about this testing. There were five of them in total. He quickly searched for the old records. There were five seniors in that room of the Navarun hostel. Four of them had died.
Now only one is alive, his name is Abhijit Roy.
Abhijit is now a popular politician. Huge house, tight security.

When Arnab reached his house, Abhijit was almost sick with fear after hearing the news of his friends' murder. He found Arnab and said...
“Officer, save me!”
“Who are you afraid of?”
Abhijit said in a trembling voice, 
“Hrithik is back!”
Arnab said in a cold voice, 
“Dead people don't come back.”
Abhijit shook his head.
Then he slowly started talking.
Twelve years ago, they all used to torture Rithik unbearably. 

One night, in a state of intoxication, they made him stand on the edge of the roof and scared him.  Ritwik fell down while backing away in fear. They thought he was dead. Everyone 
fearfully made the incident a suicide. Arnav listened with a serious face. Then he asked, 
“But who is killing now?”

Before Abhijit could answer, the lights in the entire house went out. It was dark all around. Footsteps could be heard inside the house.
Knock… knock… knock…
Abhijit shouted.
Who's there? 
Arnav took out his gun.
Just then, a black shadow appeared in the corridor.
His face was covered in a black hood.
He said slowly, 
"The trial of sin has begun..."
Suddenly, there was the sound of gunfire. Arnav ran away.
But by then, Abhijit had fallen to the floor. His chest was covered in blood. And the killer had disappeared into the darkness.

The next day, panic spread throughout the city. People stopped going out at night. TV channels were only showing news about this serial killer. Arnav started analyzing every little detail of the case. In a CCTV footage, he saw the killer's face for a few seconds. Old scars on his face. Terrible anger in his eyes.

Arnav froze. His face was exactly like Ritwik's. But this was impossible.  Ritwik is dead! Arnav went to Haripada again.
Old Haripada did not want to say anything. But Arnav forced him to say everything...
Ritvik did not actually die. He was seriously injured after falling from the roof. But after a few hours he was not found in the hospital. He ran away from the hospital.

The hostel owner had paid the police to cover up the incident. Arnav took a deep breath. Everything was starting to become clear. Ritwik was alive. And he had been burning with the fire of revenge for so many years. After that, there were no murders for a few days. But Arnav felt that it was not over. One night, the police station suddenly received a call.

A suspicious person had been seen in an old house outside the city. Arnav immediately reached there with the police. The house was dark and deserted. A damp smell filled the surroundings.

Suddenly, a voice came over the speaker,
“Officer Arnav… you have come close to me.”

Arnav shouted, 
“Ritvik! Come out!”

A painful smile came out. Then a man slowly stepped out of the shadows. His eyes were red as blood.

Scars on his face.

Ritwik said in a calm voice, 
“They ended my life.”

 Arnav said, 
“So you killed them, is it wrong to take the law into your own hands?”
Ritwik’s eyes suddenly lit up with fire.
“When I was dying, no one came to save me. Not even your law.”
Then he pointed around,
Look around,
Arnav was surprised to see bombs planted in different parts of the house.
Ritwik said, 
“Today Ritwik will end everything.”

He picked up a small remote in his hand. Arnav jumped in. A fierce fight began between the two. Firing began. The house was shaking with the sound of gunfire.
At one point, the remote fell to the ground. Just then,
Drop!
A bullet hit Ritwik in the chest. He stopped.
Slowly he knelt down. A strange peace was in his eyes.
 He whispered, 
“This time I have been punished…”
Then Ritwik's breathing stopped.
Ritwik's case was over.

The newspaper wrote....
“A series of murders in revenge for a twelve-year-old injustice.”
Everyone gradually forgot about the incident. The city became as busy as before. But Arnab’s mind remained with one question. If the truth had not been suppressed that day… if Ritwik had gotten justice…
then would so many lives have been lost?

Outside, it had started raining again tonight. Water was dripping on the window panes. Arnab stared at the dark city.
Because he knew—
In every city’s light, there is some darkness hidden… and in that darkness, all the most terrible crimes are born.

                                                                The End 





Comedy Story





Thief trap


The name of the city is Blackridge. From the outside, it looks calm, modern, and well-lit. But as night falls, another world awakens in the dark alleys of this city. And the biggest terror in that darkness is... "Shadow."

No one knew his real name. No one could describe him properly even if they saw him. All they knew was that he was an extraordinary thief. He stole in places where it seemed impossible to break into security.

In three months, there were five major thefts in the city. There were no fingerprints anywhere, no clear images on the CCTV. It was as if shadows, not people, had come and taken everything. But the situation changed on the night of the sixth theft.

That night, Shadow was caught stealing from the house of Harvey Lawrence, a wealthy businessman in Blackridge. The old guard of the house saw him. While fleeing, Shadow stabbed the man to death in cold blood.

The next morning, the city was shaken as the news spread.

Theft is one thing, but murder?

 Police Commissioner Richard said angrily, 

“This is not just a theft case now. It could be the work of a serial killer.”

The case was assigned to Detective Ariane Cole. Ariane was one of the smartest officers in the city. Tall, cold-eyed, and quiet. Everyone feared him for his patience and planning in catching criminals.

From the first day, he understood that this criminal was no ordinary person. He stood at the scene and looked around. The door lock was perfectly opened. The CCTV wire was cut. The room was spotless. Ariane bent down and picked up a small piece of black cloth from the floor.

“The guy made a mistake in a hurry,” he said.

Assistant David asked, 

“What will happen with this?”

Ariane said calmly, 

“Even the most clever criminal makes mistakes one day or another.”

But Shadow did not stop. Two weeks later, a terrible robbery occurred at the city museum. Ancient diamonds were kept there.  The police thought that Shadow would just steal again. But a security guard inside saw him.

His body was found the next day. His neck was slashed, his eyes bulging. A second murder.

Panic spread through the city. People locked their doors and windows as night fell. The media began to call the police incompetent.

Commissioner Richard shouted, 

“Arian! If you can’t catch this guy in a week, the Central Bureau will take over the whole case!”

Ariane didn’t answer. He just stared at the pictures spread out on the table.

Something caught his eye. Near each of the thefts, there was an old drain line. He suddenly stood up.

“David, get a map of the city’s old sewers.”

Two hours later, they realized that Shadow didn’t flee by road after stealing. He used the old underground drains.

That was why no one could catch him.

 David said excitedly, 

“So now we know his route!”

Ariyan shook his head. 

“No. We only know how he escapes. But we still don’t know where he hides.”

Then the surveillance began. The police secretly installed cameras in the old city drains. Nothing was found for a few days. Then late one night, a camera caught a man wearing a black hood. He was walking very quickly. His face was not visible. But one thing was clear. The man had a slight limp in his right leg.

Ariyan watched the video several times.

Then he said, 

“The man had been injured before.”

David said, 

“Thousands of people walk on their hind legs in the city!”

Ariyan smiled slightly. 

“Yes. But not everyone steals diamonds worth millions.”

The investigation progressed. One day, news came that a suspicious person had been seen in an old warehouse on the outskirts of the city. Ariyan and David immediately arrived there.

The warehouse was dark.  The air smelled of dust and rotting wood.

Suddenly, there was a noise upstairs. As they ran upstairs, they saw a man dressed in black.

“Police! Stop!”

The man immediately broke the window and jumped out.

Aryan chased after him.

In the darkness of the night, they started to catch the man in black. The man crossed the alley and climbed onto the roof. Aryan didn't stop either. At one point, Shadow stood on the edge of the roof and looked back. For the first time, part of his face was visible. His eyes were very cruel.

He smiled and said, 

"You're getting close, Detective."

Then he jumped down.

Aryan looked down and saw that he had run away after falling on top of a moving truck.

David gasped and said, 

"Damn! Just a little more!"

But there was a different expression in Aryan's eyes.

He whispered, 

"I saw his face."

From the next day, they started searching for information about all the hospitals, clinics, and criminals in the city. Because Aryan thought that there were scars from old surgeries on Shadow's legs.

Three days later, they found a piece of information.

A former mechanic named Michael Crowe had been shot a few years ago. Since then, he has been walking with a limp.

There was more shocking information. He used to work in a locksmith factory.

Seeing the picture, Aryan said, 

“We’ve got Shadow.”

But the problem was, Michael had no permanent address.

He seemed to have vanished into thin air.

Just then, it was announced in the city that the priceless “Blue Star Diamond” would be brought to the Royal Bank for an international exhibition. The diamond was worth several hundred crores of taka.

Aryan understood that Shadow would not miss this opportunity.

He told the commissioner, 

“This is our chance. We will trap him.”

The plan began.

Snipers were secretly placed around the bank. Plainclothes police were deployed inside. Officers were also stationed along the drain. Everyone was waiting.

It was midnight. The bank was silent. Suddenly the power went out. One second. Two seconds. As soon as the backup power was turned on, the glass was broken. And the diamond was gone.

Immediately the alarm went off.

“He’s in!” David shouted.

The police surrounded him.

At that moment, a shadow-like figure was seen running towards the roof.

Aryan followed.

It had started to rain. The roof was slippery.

Shadow was jumping from one building to another. Suddenly he stopped. There was no road ahead. The police were behind him.

Shadow slowly turned around. He had a gun in his hand.

“Take another step forward and I’ll shoot you,” he said.

Aryan said quietly, 

“You’re caught, Michael.”

Shadow laughed. “I’m not caught? Do you know how many times I’ve escaped?”

“Yes. But you can’t escape this time.”

Michael looked around.

Just then he saw...

The police were hiding on all the rooftops nearby.

The sniper’s red light fell on his body. This was a trap. Michael’s face changed. He suddenly opened fire.

 Dham!

Aryan dodged and saved himself.

The police also fired back.

The roof shook with the darkness, the rain, and the sound of gunfire.

Michael tried to escape by climbing down the edge of the roof. But his hand slipped on the wet railing.

He hung on with one hand.

A multi-story building below, a street many floors below.

Aryan ran and grabbed his hand.

Michael gasped, 

“Pull me up!”

Aryan gritted his teeth.

“You killed two innocent people.”

Michael’s eyes were filled with terror. 

“I don’t want to die!”

A few seconds of silence.

Then Aryan pulled him up.

The police rushed in and handcuffed Michael.

The next day, all the newspapers in the city had the same news...

“Shadow finally caught.”

Commissioner Richard told reporters, “Detective Aryan Cole’s extraordinary plan has caught this dangerous criminal.”

David said with a laugh, 

“Fake things worked in the end.”

Aryan stared out the window.

The dawn was rising in the city sky.

He said slowly, 

“Even the most hardened criminals make mistakes somewhere or another. You just have to be patient and wait.”

After Michael Crowe was arrested, the town of Blackridge seemed to start to calm down again. People gradually stopped being afraid of the darkness of the night. Detective Aryan was being praised in the media every day.

But Aryan’s mind was not at peace.

Because one question was eating away at him.

Why did Michael fall into the trap so easily that night at the bank?

The man was so intelligent, so calculating. He knew the police would be at the bank. Why did he come anyway?

One night, Aryan was sitting in his office looking at the case files. Suddenly, his eyes stopped as he looked at the pictures spread out on the table.

 There was a strange sign next to the broken glass of the bank.

He hadn’t paid attention to it before.

A small red painted sign “V”

Arian frowned, 

“Where have I seen this before?”

He started to rummage through the old files.

Suddenly, a case from five years ago came to light.

A group of international smugglers were active in the city. Their group’s symbol was this same “V” sign.

The group’s name was… “Viper Syndicate.”

But that group had been destroyed many years ago!

Arian immediately went to meet Michael in prison.

Michael sat quietly in the dark room.

Arian placed the picture on the table and said, 

“Why was this sign in the bank?”

Michael didn’t say anything at first. Then he slowly smiled.

“You’re late, Detective.”

Arian’s eyes narrowed. 

“You mean?”

 Michael leaned forward and whispered, 

“I was just a thief. The real game is being played by someone else.”

“Who?”

Michael smiled faintly. 

“The Viper is back.”

Hearing that, the air in the room seemed to become heavy.

Aryan said coldly, 

“There’s no point in lying.”

Michael became serious now. 

“Do you think I did such a big theft alone? The weapons, the information, the escape route, everything was given to me. I just did the job.”

“Who would?”

Michael didn’t answer.

Just then, an alarm suddenly rang inside the prison.

A policeman ran in and shouted, 

“Fire in Cell Block-C!”

Chaos began all around.

Aryan looked at the door for a moment.

And at that moment...

Dham!

Michael suddenly hit the policeman in front of him with a sharp metal object hidden under the table.

Then he pushed the door open with lightning speed and walked out.

“Michael is escaping!” David shouted.

A chase began in the prison corridor.

The smoke from the fire filled all around. The prisoners were screaming.  Michael seemed to know everything in advance. He ran straight for the emergency exit. A black van was waiting outside. As soon as the van door opened, two masked men pulled him inside.

The car disappeared into the dark street in an instant.

Ariane came out and gritted his teeth, 

“It was planned.”

David gasped, 

“So the Viper is really back?”

Ariane didn’t answer.

There was a different fire in his eyes. He understood that now the real game was starting. For two weeks, a strange silence fell on the town of Blackridge. No major thefts. No murders.

But Ariane knew that this silence was the silence before the storm. The Viper Syndicate never hides for no reason. The police set up surveillance at every port, train station, and warehouse in the city. Still, there was no clue. It was as if the entire group had vanished into thin air.

Late one night, an envelope arrived at Ariane’s office. Inside was just a picture.

 The picture shows the city's old clock tower.

A red "V" sign on the back.

And below it...

"Tonight. Last game."

Aryan immediately realized that this was a trap. Still, he had to go. Because Viper had come forward on his own.

At midnight, Aryan, David, and the special team surrounded the clock tower. The old tower stood in the darkness like a dead monster.

Cold air was coming in through the broken window. Aryan slowly entered. There was a metallic sound somewhere above.

They started climbing the narrow stairs of the tower.

Suddenly,

Dham!

There was an explosion below.

A part of the stairs collapsed.

David shouted, 

“Watch out! The whole place is trapped!”

Just then, a few masked men started shooting from the darkness. A fierce fight began inside the tower. The sound of gunfire from the police and Viper members shook the surrounding area.

Aryan took cover and started moving forward.

Suddenly, a familiar voice came from the room above.

“Come up, Detective!”

Michael.

Aryan ran up.

At the very top of the tower stood Michael Crow.

Beside him was another man in a black coat.

His face was covered in darkness.

Michael smiled.

“You wanted to know who the Viper was?”

The man slowly came forward.

 Aryan's eyes widened in surprise.

The man was none other than...

The mayor of the city, Stephen Sir.

David said in shock, 

"Sir... you?"

Stephen smiled coldly and said, 

"I created the crime in this city. When people are afraid, power grows. And power means money."

Aryan's eyes flashed with anger. "And you put the people of your own city in danger too!"

Stephen said in a quiet voice, 

"The weak will always die."

Then he raised the gun.

But just then, Michael suddenly grabbed his hand.

Stephen was startled. 

"What are you doing!"

Michael said slowly, 

"I was a thief... but I didn't want to be a murderer."

Stephen roared, 

"Traitor!"

A bullet rang out in the scuffle.

Bang!

Michael was shot in the chest.

He fell back.

Aryan seized the opportunity and threw Stephen to the ground. A fierce fight broke out between the two.

Finally, Aryan snatched the gun from his hand and caught him. The police came down.

Stephen was handcuffed. Michael, who was lying on the ground, was breathing hard.

Aryan knelt down next to him.

Michael said weakly, 

“I… wanted to escape… but Viper spares no one…”

His eyes slowly closed.

Outside, the light of dawn was beginning to break.

A new morning dawned over the town of Blackridge.

A few days later, the news spread through the media…

“Viper Syndicate destroyed.”

The people of the town regained peace again.

David said one day in the office, 

“In the end, the net caught the whole group.”

Aryan looked out the window and smiled softly.

“No matter how clever the crime is… the truth will come to light one day or another.”

Then he slowly turned off the office light and went out.  The town of Blackridge is finally free.



                                                                      * The End *


Comedy Story



2. Incognito




Henry, a renowned officer of the Crime Branch, was sitting in SP Sir's room waiting. It was raining heavily outside. Water was slowly trickling down the window pane. The entire headquarters was unusually quiet.

SP Sir picked up a thick file kept on the table and extended it towards Henry. He said in a serious voice,

“We have to find this polymorphous person at any cost.”

Henry took the file. Written in red ink on the cover...

“Code name: Incognito”

Another line below...

“No real identity.”

Henry frowned and opened the file. Inside were pictures one after another. But the strange thing was, each picture showed a different person. Some were old, some were middle-aged businessmen, some were taxi drivers, some were hospital ward boys.

Henry said,

“These are all different people.”

SP slowly shook his head.

“No. They are all one person.”

 The room suddenly felt cold.

The SP said,

“This man has been behind some of the most perfect crimes in the city in the last seven years. But no one has been able to catch him. No fingerprints, no real photo, no real name. Just a name. An impostor.”

Henry listened quietly.

“He never appears twice with the same face. He changes his makeup, his voice, his mannerisms. He even went undercover for three months once inside the police.”

Henry’s eyes fell on a page of the file.

Under one picture, it was written...

“Officer Kenny... dead”

On another...

“Inspector Maria... missing”

The SP said in a low voice,

“They got lost while looking for him.”

A few seconds of silence.

Henry took out a cigarette, but did not light it.

“What is the target?”

The SP opened the last page of the file. There was a picture of a large building.

One of the most secure places in the city

“National Reserve Bank Data Vault.”

“Secret information has come, the undercover will enter this place. Within the next seven days.”

Henry smiled slowly.

 “So he’s in this city now.”

“Maybe he’s somewhere around us.”

Hearing this, Henry was silent for a moment. Then he closed the file and stood up.

“I’m taking the case.”

That night, Henry formed his own team.

With him were..

Rob, the cyber expert.

Stella, the undercover officer.

And the old but experienced sub-inspector Stephen.

Everyone was sitting in the secret war room of the Crime Branch. Various pictures of undercover officers were hanging on the walls.

Stella was surprised,

“So many faces! Which one is real?”

Stephen said slowly,

“Maybe none of them are real.”

Rob said while searching through the information on the computer,

“There is one thing in common.”

Everyone looked.

“Before every incident, a new person appears in the city. Some are tea sellers, some are delivery boys, some are security guards. Then after the crime, he disappears.”

Henry said,

“That means the impostor creates his own character before committing the crime.”

Just then, Rob turned on a CCTV footage.

The video showed an old man selling nuts in front of the bank. An ordinary man. But after a few seconds, he looked at the camera and smiled strangely.

Henry stopped the video.

How uncomfortable he felt in his chest.

The old man’s eyes were unusually calm. As if he knew someone was watching him.

Henry said,

“Find this man.”

The next morning. 

Stella was undercover, keeping watch around the bank.

Rob was hacking into traffic cameras and watching the footage.

Henry himself was walking around the area in plain clothes.

Suddenly, a message came to Henry's phone.

"Are you looking for me?"

Number unknown.

Then another message...

"I'm very close to you."

Henry looked around. The people on the street were walking normally. Some were drinking tea, some were catching the bus.

But who among them was the impostor?

Suddenly, a beggar on the other side of the street looked up and laughed.

Henry ran.

But when he got closer, he saw that the man was really a crazy beggar.

A voice came from behind...

“The officer is catching the wrong person.”

Henry turned around.

A delivery boy was sitting on a bike. He had a helmet on.

“Who are you?”

The delivery boy smiled slowly and said,

“If you want to catch an impostor, first identify yourself.”

Then the bike sped away in an instant.

Henry did not fire.

Because he felt...

This was not just a game of catching criminals.

It was as if the impostor was playing with all of them.

That night, a big incident happened.

The bank’s chief security officer was found dead in his flat.

 Written in blood on the wall of the house....

“You can’t recognize people by their faces.”

Panic spread throughout the city.

The media began to spread the name of the impostor.

People began to suspect each other.

Because no one knew.

What the impostor looked like.

As the investigation progressed, Henry realized that the impostor was no ordinary criminal.

He played with people’s minds.

He had already understood the police's move.

One night, Stephen secretly told Henry,

“Sir… I suspect the impersonator is getting information from within the police.”

Henry was startled.

“You mean?”

“Someone among us is his man.”

The room fell silent.

Now no one could be trusted.

Three days later, an international conference was to be held in the bank's data vault. The country's important digital information would be stored there.

That day, thousands of people were gathered.

Tight security.

Police at every gate.

Henry himself was keeping watch.

Suddenly, Rob shouted...

“The system has been hacked!”

All the monitors turned off at once.

The entire building was dark.

People started screaming.

As the emergency lights came on, it was seen...

A police officer was standing there with a gun pointed at him.

Henry looked at him in surprise.

That officer was none other than...

Stephen!

Stephen smiled slowly.

 Then he started to remove a mask that looked like the skin of his own face.

Another face emerged from underneath. Cold eyes. A light smile.

The disguised one. Henry was stunned.

“You… have you been pretending to be Stephen all this time?”

The disguised one said,

“I become what people want to see.”

He had a data drive in his hand.

“I now have the biggest secret information in this city.”

Henry raised his gun.

“Your game is over, disguised one.”

The disguised one smiled softly.

“No, officer. The real game begins now.”

Just then there was a sound of explosions all around. The whole hall was filled with smoke. Henry ran forward. But when the smoke went away...there was no disguise. Only a mask was lying on the floor. And a small paper under it was written... 

"Next time I will bring your face." 

Henry stood with the paper in his hand. It started raining outside. And somewhere in the city, in the dark, a disguised new face is walking. The rain-soaked night city became more unfamiliar. Everyone is sitting quietly in the headquarters of the crime branch. The disguised has fled again. 

Not only did he escape, he insulted the entire department. Henry was sitting in his cabin looking at the mask. Not an ordinary silicone mask. Very perfect work. Like real human skin. Rob opened the door and entered. 

"Sir... there's a news." "Say." "Stephen sir's real body has been found.

" Henry was startled. "Where?" "In an old cold storage outside the city." 

For a few seconds Henry did not say anything. Means the disguise had long since removed Stephen. Then he stayed in the same office with them for months. Sitting at the same table. ate tea at the same time. Henry said slowly, 

"He's not just a criminal... he steals people's lives." 

The next morning Henry and Stella reached the cold storage. It was snowy darkness inside. Old spots on the walls. An iron box in the middle. Stella turned her face as she opened the box. Stephen's frozen body. But the things that were on the side were more dangerous.

Different types of fake hair. Fake beards. Eye lenses. And many identity cards. Each with a different name. Henry picked up an ID card. The picture showed a doctor.

Another showed a journalist. Another showed a security guard for ministers. Stella said in a trembling voice,

"How many people has he survived?"

Henry didn't answer. Suddenly his eyes fell on the wall. There was a picture nailed there.

Henry's chest went cold when he saw the picture. It was his own picture. Under the picture was written...

"Next identity?"

From that night on, Henry felt someone following him. The tea vendor standing on the side of the road.

The liftman. The hotel waiter. Anyone he saw was suspicious. One night, while returning home late at night, he saw the door of his flat open. A gun slowly entered.

 The room was dark. Suddenly, a sound came from the kitchen. Henry ran in. No one was there. Only a cup of hot tea on the table.

And a piece of paper underneath.

“You are very tired, officer.”

A cold current ran through Henry’s body. The impostor had come into his house. He could have killed him if he wanted to. But he didn’t. Because he was enjoying the game.

The next day, Rob brought new information.

“Sir, there’s a commonality among the people who have disappeared in the last ten years.”

“What’s the commonality?”

“They’re all people with professions whose identities can be easily used.”

Henry said quickly,

“Doctors, police, drivers, security…”

“Yes. And within a few days of each disappearance, someone has been seen somewhere with that identity.”

Stella said slowly,

“So Zento doesn’t just take over… he takes over his whole life.”

Rob showed another picture on the computer.

An old school group photo.

Standing in one corner of the picture is a teenage Zento.

Henry was surprised.

“Where did you get this?”

“In the records of an orphanage.”

The name on the back of the picture was written...

“James”

That was probably the impersonator’s real name. They quickly went to the orphanage. The place had closed down many years ago.

 Broken walls. Dusty rooms. An old caretaker still lives there.

Henry showed the picture and asked,

“Do you know this boy?”

The old man’s hand shook.

“James…”

“What was he like?”

The old man was silent for a moment. Then he said,

“He was a very quiet boy. But he had a strange habit.”

“What?”

“He copied everyone. Someone’s way of talking, someone’s walk, someone’s smile… everything.”

Stella whispered,

“He’s been training since he was a child…”

The old man said again,

“One day, there was a fire in the monastery. Everyone thought James was dead. But his body was never found.”

Henry felt as if a face was slowly forming in the darkness.

A boy… who had lost his identity.

Then he learned to live with someone else’s identity. That night, a big explosion occurred in the city. A famous businessman was shot in public. The murderer was seen on CCTV. A woman was the killer. But when Henry arrived at the scene, he found out... this was also an undercover job.

Because a piece of paper was found in the dead businessman’s hand. It read...

“The face changes, but the game doesn’t change.”

Now Henry was angry.

He understood that the undercover was leaving a mark on purpose.

He didn’t want to be caught. He wanted everyone to be afraid of him.

 Henry punched the table and said,

“I’ll finish you off, impostor.”

Just then, his phone rang. Unknown number.

As Henry picked up the phone, a familiar voice came from the other end.

But that was impossible. It was SP Sir’s voice.

“Henry… are you sure I’m the real SP?”

The line went dead. Henry’s chest heaved. Only one question started to swirl in his head…

What if the impostor hadn’t been just Stephen all this time?

What if it was someone else…or…had he been trusting the wrong people all this time?

Henry didn't delay a moment. He quickly set off towards the headquarters. It was two in the morning. The city streets were almost empty. But there was a storm raging inside his head. Only one thing kept going on as he drove.

"Are you sure I'm the real SP?"

If the undercover SP was really in Sir's disguise?

Then the entire investigation was under his control.

Henry was surprised when he reached the Crime Branch building.

The entire office was dark. The emergency lights were also off. Only one guard was standing at the main gate. As Henry approached, the man said in a low voice,

"Sir... Sir is in the conference room upstairs."

Henry stopped. Looking into the guard's eyes, he suddenly felt uneasy. But he went inside without saying anything.

The elevator was closed. So he started climbing the stairs. Each floor was unusually quiet. As he reached the fourth floor, he heard a sound. The sound of someone slowly clapping. 

Tap… tap… tap…

Henry took out his gun. The door to the conference room was slightly open. He pushed the door open and stopped as he entered.

The real SP sir is sitting tied to a chair in the middle of the room. There are scars on his face. And another SP is standing by the window. Same face. Same voice. Same smile. Disguised.

He slowly began to clap his hands.

“Congratulations, officer. You’ve finally reached me.”

Henry pointed his gun.

“Your game is over.”

The impostor laughed.

“You don’t understand yet. This was never just a game of crime.”

He slowly began to peel off the fake skin of his face. Henry saw the impostor’s real face for the first time.

An ordinary face. Like a thousand people in a crowd.

This ordinary face is the most terrifying.

The impostor said,

“People trust their faces. I broke that trust.”

Henry stepped forward.

“You killed so many people just to enjoy your perverted game?”

The impostor was silent for a few seconds.

 Then he said in a low voice,

“I was nobody to anyone, nobody of any value when I was a child. Everyone in the orphanage taught me to be like everyone else. Some would say talk like this boy, some would say walk like that boy. One day I forgot my own face.”

The air in the room became heavy.

“Then I realized… people don’t see real people. They only see faces. They see uniforms. They see identities. So I put everyone’s faces on my own and saw… everyone believed me.”

Henry said in a harsh voice,

“Still, your crime cannot be forgiven.”

The undercover smiled lightly.

“You didn’t apologize.”

Just then, the sound of sirens was heard outside.

The entire building was surrounded by police.

The undercover looked at the window.

Then at Henry.

“You know, officer… you and I are not very different.”

Henry shouted...

“Shut up, you’ve killed many people behind your mask!”

The undercover said...

“You wear a mask every day too. The mask of a tough officer.”

Henry tightened his finger on the trigger.

“For the last time, surrender.”

The undercover slowly raised his hands.

It seemed like he had truly accepted defeat.

But the next moment, the lights in the room went out.

One second.

Two seconds. As soon as the lights came on again... the undercover was gone.

The window glass was broken.

Henry ran to the window.  The police were all over the street below. But there were no undercover officers anywhere. Only one person stood in the crowd. An ordinary tea vendor. The man looked at Henry from a distance and smiled lightly. Then he disappeared into the crowd of people.

Three months later. The city has started to return to normal.

But the case of the undercover officer is still open. No one knows if he is alive or dead. Henry was sitting in his cabin writing the last report. Just then, a new peon came to the office to serve tea. Ordinary appearance. A quiet person.

The man left a small paper on Henry's table as he left.

Henry opened it and saw...

"The face has changed. The game is still going on."

Henry immediately ran outside.

But there were only countless ordinary faces in the corridor.

And somewhere among those faces, the undercover officer might be walking around again... with someone else's face.....


                                          * The End *


Comedy Story

  




Story -1


The Killer





The town was called Riverdale. It was a small, quiet town.

There was hardly any major crime here. People knew each other, and the streets were almost empty after the shops closed in the evening.

But a murder that happened three weeks ago changed the whole town. The girl's name was Ellie.

She was twenty-six years old. She had a small dry fruit shop on the corner of the old market in the city.

"Ellie's Nuts and Spices."

Everyone knew her. A quiet, polite, cheerful girl.

No enmity with anyone. No boyfriend.

She would close the shop by eight at night and return home.

Then one night she was found dead on the kitchen floor of her own house.

The door was locked from the inside.

The police initially thought it was suicide.

But the postmortem report said that a very slow poison was found in his body.

And from then on, James's battle began.

James Richard is an officer in the Crime Branch.

It was almost 2:30 a.m. under the cover of darkness. A heavy fog had descended on the city. The street lights were dimly lit. A dog could be heard barking in the distance.

James Richard was sitting with his hands on the steering wheel. His eyes were red. He hadn't slept properly in three weeks. The only question in his head was, "Why was Ellie killed?"

James investigated day after day.

Went to Eli's store.

Questioned every employee.

Spoke to the shopkeepers next door.

Checked his phone, bank statements, social media. Everything. Nothing.

One evening James went to Eli's house again.

The house was quiet.

The old wooden stairs.

The ticking of the old clock on the wall.

Only the old maid, Aunt Martha, was at home.

Martha said in a trembling voice,

“Madam was a very good person, sir… she never harmed anyone.”

James looked around silently.

Suddenly his eyes fell on a small tin box placed next to the kitchen window. Looking at the tin box, he realized that Ellie had been killed in a very planned manner.

James stopped the car in front of the old market in the city.

Across the street, in the darkness, stands the small shop

“ELI’S NUTS & SPICES”

The shop is closed now. There is a police seal on the door. The signboard, hanging in the wind, makes a rattling sound.

James slowly got out of the car.

He felt like the truth was hidden somewhere inside this shop.

Three weeks ago...

That night was a heavy rain.

Around 10:30 p.m., the police station received a call.

A woman was found dead in her home.

James arrived at the scene and saw Ellie lying on the kitchen floor. Her face was pale. Her eyes were half-open. There was a broken glass of water next to her.

The door of the house was locked from the inside.

The windows were also closed.

There was no sign of forced entry anywhere in the house.

At first, everyone thought it was suicide.

But the postmortem report changes everything.

A rare, slow-acting poison is found in Ellie's body.

I mean, it's murder.

And from that moment on, James is immersed in the case.

Ellie's life was very ordinary.

The shop would open at eight in the morning.

They would sell dry fruits, spices and herbal tea all day long.

They would return home by eight at night.

There was only one old maid, Martha, at home.

Martha had been with Eli for about fifteen years. After Eli's parents died, she raised him almost like a mother.

James had asked Martha the first day...

“Did Eli have any enemies?”

Martha was surprised...

“Why would he have enemies, sir? He never raised his voice to anyone.”

“A lover?”

“No, sir.”

“Any trouble?”

“No.”

Everything was so perfect that James felt annoyed.

No one gets killed without a reason.

Over the next few days, James began to delve into Ellie's entire life.

Bank statements.

Phone calls.

Social media.

Emails.

Nothing out of the ordinary.

But one thing caught his eye.

Every Thursday night, Eli would go somewhere.

From nine to eleven at night.

The location was always outside the city.

But where?

Why?

No one had any answers.

One evening James went back to Eli's shop.

The smell of dried almonds and cinnamon still lingered in the shop.

He was examining the shelves.

Suddenly, he saw a small notebook under the counter.

Delivery account.

At first, everything was normal.

But on the last few pages, something strange was written—

“Blackwood – Thursday – 9:30 PM”

The same thing written over and over again.

Blackwood.

An old warehouse area outside the city.

Closed down many years ago.

A pent-up excitement rose in James's chest.

He went there that night.

The Blackwood warehouse area is far from the city.

Broken factories all around. Rusty iron gates. The smell of dampness in the air.

James stopped the car and lit a torch.

The warehouse door was half open.

A cold wind blew in as soon as he entered.

Dust was gathering on the floor.

But James suddenly knelt down.

New tire tracks on the dust.

It means someone comes here.

Recently.

Suddenly—

Tak...

Tak...

Tak...

Someone's footsteps.

James immediately pulled out his gun.

“Who’s there?!”

No answer.

The next moment, a shadow ran away.

James also ran after it.

As soon as he walked out of the dark corridor, the man got into a black car and fled.

James stopped even before he could shoot.

Because he couldn't see the man's face clearly.

But there was one thing lying on the ground.

A silver lighter.

Engraved on it—

“R.M.”

The next morning, James searched through all the records.

R.M.

There are many people with those initials in town.

But one name kept coming up.

Richard Miles.

The most respected businessman in the city.

Charitable.

Cheerful.

Social worker.

It's hard to doubt such a man.

But James' experience was telling. The human face is the biggest mask.

James began to secretly keep an eye on Richard.

Three days later, at night, he saw Richard entering the old factory outside the city.

James followed from a distance.

He was stunned as he entered the factory.

There were large boxes all around.

Some people are working.

Small white packets are being stuffed into packets of dried fruits.

Drugs.

A large smuggling ring.

James quickly took a picture.

Just then, a voice was heard from behind.

“Officer James... has come a long way.”

James turned around.

Richard Miles.

A cold smile on his lips.

“Ellie asked too many questions,” Richard said quietly. “You’re making the same mistake.”

James raised the gun.

“Why did you kill Ellie?”

Richard was silent for a moment.

Then he said slowly...

“Because he knew the truth.”

For two years, Richard had been using small businesses to smuggle drugs.

No one suspected.

Eli's shop was the safest place.

Drugs were sent out of town under the guise of special delivery.

At first, Eli didn't know anything.

But one day, he opened a packet by mistake.

And that's when he realized everything.

He tells Richard. He will go to the police.

That day his death was decided.

But one question still remained.

How did the door lock from the inside?

This mystery was what was bothering James the most.

The next day John went to Martha again.

The old woman sat quietly.

James placed the pictures in front of her.

The picture of the factory.

The picture of Richard.

Martha's hands began to shake.

"You knew," James said slowly.

Tears welled up in Martha's eyes.

"I didn't want him to die..."

"So?

Martha broke down. She cried and said...

"They would have killed my son, sir..."

Many years ago, Martha's son had borrowed money from Richard.

He could not repay the loan.

Richard threatened him.

Then one day he called Martha. Eli's food should be mixed with poison. Otherwise his son will die. Martha is obliged. That night, Martha went out when Ellie fell ill and fell into the kitchen.

Before leaving, the door is locked with a special key. So that it feels like suicide. Everything went clear inside James's head. But evidence is needed to catch Richard. And Richard is very clever.

Two days later James got the news. Richard would leave the city. That night, James raided the factory with the police. It was raining heavily outside. There is less light inside the factory. People are running around.

Suddenly the sound of gunshots. James hid behind the wall. Richard stood with guns. His eyes no longer have the mask of that gentle man. just violence.

“Officer,” Richard shouted, “everyone in this town respects me! No one will believe I’m a murderer!”

James stepped forward slowly.

“There’s evidence.”

“Where is it?”

James pulled a small recorder from his pocket.

Richard's confession was recorded.

Richard's face changed color.

The next moment he fired.

James dodged and fired back.

The glass of the factory shattered.

The rain started to pour in.

After a while, the police surrounded the area.

Richard was caught while trying to escape.

A few days later, the city became quiet again.

The news on TV and in the newspapers was the same...

"The respected businessman was the head of the drug ring."

Martha was arrested.

But James knew that even if Martha was a murderer, she wasn't a complete monster.

She was a helpless person trapped in fear.

One afternoon, James was standing in front of Eli's shop.

The shop was still closed.

Dust had gathered on the glass.

It was dark inside.

James slowly placed his hand on the sign.

He remembered the image of Ellie's smiling face.

An innocent girl.

Who had only just learned the truth.

And that had truly brought about her death.

James looked up at the sky.

The sun is setting.

The streetlights are turning on one by one.

He has learned one thing in ten years of experience.

Not all murderers hide in the dark.

Some murderers stand in the spotlight and smile in front of people.

People respect them.

Trust them.

And behind that trust, they commit the most terrible crimes.

The wind rustled dry leaves.

James slowly walked toward the car.

The case was over.

But Eli's eyes still seemed to ask him,

"Does truth always win?"

James didn't know the answer.

But he knows...

As long as he lives, he will unmask the people hiding behind the darkness.


                                           * The End *


Comedy Story