The Case of Known-Unknown

"The Monopolists"

Twenty

Tihar Jail, Delhi

22nd March 2003

7:54 P.M.

Mark scoffed and relaxed his head. Syna and Akash gazed at him expectantly, the biggest mystery of history was about to be revealed from the only source available.

   'Who knows?' Mark said. This arched Syna's brow. Akash lost his temper and grabbed Mark's neck.

   'What do you mean, who knows?' He grunted. 'Your life events are crystal clear to you; you remember all of it. Now you're telling me you don't know the identity of the person you worked for?'

   'That's because he never revealed his identity.' Mark scowled back. 'We called him by the name, The Stalker. That's it.' Akash withdrew his hand and punched the wall, cursing.

   'You never found out who he was? No backstory? No weaknesses or reasons?' Syna asked softly, to cover the heat.

   'He never shared anything about himself.' Mark answered. 'Do you think the man sly enough to fool the world and remain untouched, would risk sharing his secrets to his subordinates? Of course, not. All he talked about was murders and plans.'

   'What do you mean "to fool the world"?' Akash was enraged.

   'Skip that. Tell me, how exactly did he find out and kill those other killers? The ones who tried to copy his methods?' Syna asked. Mark chuckled again.

   'Well, in the beginning when he started earning fame, a local rapist did try to copy his method. The Stalker found him and killed him with ease. He then sent a letter to the cops, about how someone had tried to imitate him and had ended up losing his head. But, you see, this was an opportunity for him.'

   'What sort of opportunity?'

   'Remember when I told you how he believed that Fear was the attribute that would draw to his organization the fame that it lacked?'

They nodded in response.

   'Well, keeping that in mind, he faked some of the killers and the murders. The ones in Rank 1, they were the sacrifices. The Stalker would connivingly commit a murder in a street, different than usual, and then kill one of his own men, i.e. The Rank 1. He would leave that body in the house, and then send a letter to the cops describing how he murdered another imitator. To avoid further suspicion, instead of killing them, he would sometimes hand over some of the Rank 1s to the cops by tipping off the address, where he would have them placed as bait. That's how he fooled everyone and was successful in spreading the dreaded fear. He made sure there was no competition. The guy wanted to make a monopoly even in crime, something which no one had ever done. That was the basic agenda of his organization. He named it, 'The Monopolists'.'

Syna and Akash were facing a hard time digesting all of this information. The guy was far beyond perfection.

   'The CBI did state that it was all a play. An applauding performance though.' Syna said, shaking her head in dejection.

   'Was he a terrorist? An outsider seeking revenge?' Akash asked. Mark shook his head in the negative.

   'I joined him to take revenge on my colleagues. One by one, I killed them all. It was fun in the beginning, I won't deny that. Later, however, it all seemed like a puddle. And now, it's me who is suffering, not him. Looking back now I've realized one thing, never be the one who knows secrets, always be the one who makes them.'