GONE WITH THE GUN

EPISODE 20

4th January, 1995.
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Three weeks had passed since Gram went to Edinburgh city. Last time he was there, he had gotten an urgent call from the office. He left from the hotel room back to his office in Phanta city and then stayed for the Christmas holidays. He had called the detective a couple of times since then. He hadn't remembered any new thing relating to the accident. He however sought to know how the boy was doing.

Detective Frudo had told Gram all about the boy. He was okay though still in the hospital. He hasn't said anything else since after the accident. The doctors say he has amnesia due to the trauma from the accident. All he seemed to be able to remember was his name. When asked for an address, or the names of his parents or relatives, he said he couldn't remember. 

The police had announced and put up the boy's picture as a missing child, but nobody came to claim him. Detective Frudo had alerted the cops in neighboring cities and announcements had been made in those cities about the boy, yet no one seemed to care. The boy was now going to be taken to an orphanage home. That is where the state of Edinburgh will take care of him. 
Gram had asked Detective Frudo to delay the move to the orphanage so that he may come to Edinburgh and see the boy before he is taken to the orphanage.

Early that Wednesday morning, Gram drove to Edinburgh city police station. He was met by Detective Frudo just by the door. After an exchange of pleasantries, detective Frudo asked Gram that they should walk to the coffee shop across the street and talk. 

There, both men ordered there coffee and sipped in silence. After about three minutes, Gram spoke.

"When will he be taken to the orphanage?"

"This Friday. The child services were here yesterday after haven gone to the hospital. They came to get all reports about the boy. Medical and otherwise."

"That's good. Though i know that him being with his parents is the best" Gram said

Detective Frudo nodded.
 
"I agree with you. I have this little fear that maybe his parents had already been killed before his kidnap. Nobody has come up for the boy"

Gram was quite.

Detective Frudo continued.
 
"The boy's case is complicated. This was definitely a professional job. The whole scheme was well planned. We still haven't found the second man who had escaped from the scene. We have made arrests but nothing to put any of the suspects at the scene. We can't just jail an innocent person for want of the real culprit."

Gram nodded, He remembered the big bearded man in the stand then. He had almost said that it was the same man he saw in the car. What if he wasn't, he may have put an innocent man in jail.

"You are right" he said to detective Frudo.

"You are absolutely right."

Detective Frudo leaned closer to Gram and said

"I know I shouldn't discuss cases with a civilian but I have to tell you this. There was a device we found on the boy. Its a high tech device. I had it checked for what exactly it does."

He sighed and stretched.

"The device absorbs bullets. I tested it. If a bullet gets about 2 meters close to it, it immediately attracts the bullet to itself. The device was strapped on the boy when he was brought to the hospital. And hear this; the device had a bullet already absorbed in it. This means that..."

Gram cut in

"Someone knew that the boy was going to be shot, and planted the device to absorb the bullet.

"Yes, exactly." said detective Frudo.

"Someone saved the boy before you did. Now another thing is this. No one had ever seen the device before. Those in the Secret Service had not either. Apparently, its a never before seen device. My guess is that whoever planted the device on the boy was the one that invented it. Yet like i said before, no one has seen it before. Or better still no one i asked has seen it before."

Gram was very interested in the story. This was more complicated than he had earlier thought.

Both men had finished their coffee and were now walking back to the station.

Gram said

"I can't help but feel for the boy. I wish there was something i could do to help"

"Its alright, you don't have to worry. The state will take care of him. At first i was against publicizing the boy's missing, because of his safety, but then i had to see if there was a chance his parents would come for him. No one did, for now. That's when the state came in. Its true he would be taken to a child services home but i insisted that my team will watch the home for the boy's security. We can never be too sure. Those who wanted him dead may try again. The state agreed but on the condition that the boy should not know that he is being watched, that it may take away his life knowing that people are watching. According to their psychologist, the boy should be made to live his life like any normal teenager. And be left to mingle with kids without the notice of the watchful eyes of the law. Well, i agreed that my men would be discreet. Hidden. We had that deal."

Both men walked into the station and into the Detective's office. They sat down.

Detective Frudo took a file off his desk. He read it and put it down on the desk again.
 
He spoke to Gram

"The only problem i have is finding the man that escaped. Last week i had the boy come over to the station to see if he could recognize any of the suspects, but he still couldn't remember anything. He just stared at them and then at the ceiling. I would have called him today to try again but the doctors insist i let the boy be, that he would remember in his own time."
Gram swayed his head sideways.
 
Detective Frudo continued.
 
"Well, let's go and see him in the hospital. I know that's why you came."

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