FIRE

Early Dawn, almost half past four in the morning. The birds chirped outside the windows and the slightest glow of the morning light colored the sky. The room was as messy as it could get with shoes on the table and unfinished pizzas on the bed. He was fast asleep curling himself with the bed and suddenly the phone buzzed.

“Hello?” He muttered in a sleepy voice picking up the phone call.

“Steve! Hello?” Shrieked a voice from the phone.

“Mm. Ugh?” he sighed.

“Is he talking? Talk to him!” said a voice in a group of voices on the phone. “No, he isn’t talking. Gosh, Stevey, this is Vikki. C’mon, talk to me!” She cried. “Hello, he..llo? Guys, GUYS , this is of no use. I think he slept again. Let’s go there NOW!”

It was Steve’s friends Vikki, Jon, Riz and Eric. They were tense. They all started to Steve's Apartment. Half an hour whizzed by, they arrived at the apartment. They rushed inside and started to scale up the stairs, but they were stopped by the security guard of the apartment.

“Whoa, whoa, Slow down there! Where the hell do you think you guys are rushin’ , Huh?” Said the Guard.

“Room No:104. Steve! STEVE MARTIN!” Someone clamored.

“This is really urgent! Please don’t stop us now.” Vikki pleaded.

“A’ight then! Off you go!” nodded the guard.

They arrived at Steve’s room and banged the door, pressed the bell and did whatever it took to wake him up.

“GEEEEZZUS!” Steve jerked and tripped down the bed. “Who the heck is that?”

“STEVE! OPEN THE GODDAMN DOOR MAN!” They shouted.

“Wait, whoever the fuck It is, I’m coming” Steve Sighed. He advanced to the door and yawned as he slowly opened it and found his friends terrified. “Oh, hey guys! Thanks for the awful morning.” He mumbled, rubbing his eyes.

“Guys, this isn’t how you should wake a person. And, the look on your faces is freaking me out now”.

“SHE’S DEAD, STEVE!” Riz shrugged.

“The fuck, guys? What? You guys had a similar nightmare or somethin’? He yelled. “Enough! Come on in now!”

“Sasha” Vikki mumbled, eyeing him.

“Sasha who? Wait, what the..?” They grabbed him while he began to totter to the floor and made him sit on the bed. Steve stared at everybody in a state of shock.

“Say somethin’ Buddy! The more silent you’re, the more you freak us out!” yelled Vikki.

“I..I Don’t know what to say, Vik! You know what, I don’t believe this. No effin way! Stop Bullshittin’ me”

“Dead Serious, Steve. Her apartment was on fire late last night. I think you should come with us now!”.

“Oh god, No, Please no!” Steve cried. “You show up and tell me that my girlfriend is dead as the first thing in the morning and now you want me to come with you to look at her burnt body?”.

“Heck no! I can’t imagine seeing her like that. What is happening? She was fine last night. It’s been like 5 hours since I spoke to her”.

He shivered and cried profusely. Jon rushed for water and after a lot of coaxing, Steve drank plentiful and sighed. He stopped crying but was still tear eyed and remained silent.

“You’ve got to come with us now, buddy! There’s literally nothing’ we could do about it now. She’s gone.” Said Eric, approaching him.

Steve remained silent and was staring outside the window. It seemed like he had lost his mind. He looked so lifeless and was teary eyed.

“STEVE! Please, Stop this! C’mon man! STEVE?” Vikki shook Steve, quickly grabbing him with a firm hold.

He coughed. “What do you want me to do now?” said Steve, looking at Vikki.

“Her dad’s a cop. You know it, right?” She mumbled.

“Yeah! So?” questioned Steve.

“He needs to talk to you. Now, please come with us! A’ight, get up now!” said Vikki.

They literally pull him outside the room while Jon takes a shirt in his hand. He was stuffed inside the car and they started to go to Sasha's apartment. He remained silent the whole time and looked so lifeless. The only difference was that he was still breathing. Sometime later, they arrived at her apartment which had a room that looked blacker than the night’s sky. There was a big crowd near the building which was accompanied by a lot of police cars and a firetruck. They looked around and slowly got down the car one by one and suddenly, A police official approached them.

“Victoria? Right?” asked the official.

“Yes! That’s me!” Vikki said, advancing ahead.

“I’ve been told to ask for Mr. Martin. Is he with you?”

“Absolutely!”

“Good! Follow me!” answered the Official.

The officer went inside a small building near the apartment. Vikki held Steve tightly as they followed the officer slowly looking around. They were literally surprised as they stepped inside the building because the building was converted into a small police station. People were busy walking here and there with someone shouting and the occasional sound of thud on the desk.

“Uhm, MR. RICHARDSON!!” yelled the official.

“Yeah? What is it?” roared a muffled voice behind the door which appeared like an interrogation room.

“Steve Martin is here!” chirped the official.

“STEVE, YOU SAY?” the voice roared back.

A dark skinned angry middle aged guy banged the door open which riveted to the wall as he came walking in a rush. The way he walked looked like he had inhuman speed.

“STEVE? WHERE THE HELL IS STEVE?” He yelled looking around.

An ice cold chill went down Vikki’s spine as she held Steve as firmly as she could. She was hoping that the guy could never find them.

“Ah. Here you’re! YOU’RE COMING IN WITH ME!!” shouted Richardson, dragging Steve by his shirt inside the Interrogation room.

“Wait! What the..?” yelled Steve’s friends. “Sir, I think there’s something wrong.” They cried.

Before they could do anything, Steve was inside the room. The loud yelling and thuds made them shiver every time they heard it. They were frozen and could not think of anything to do. Vikki started to run up and down the building confused. She met every single official and pleaded that there’s something wrong

“EXCUSE ME! I..I think THERE’S SOMETHING WRONG HERE!” she cried aloud with tears. “Mr. Lee, Sasha’s father, had asked me to come with him here. MR.LEE!”

The official looked at their eyes calmly, listening to everything they said.

“Mr. Lee, You say? Well, he was the one who had asked Richard to take Martin inside!” whispered the official.

“THE HELL? I need to meet him now. RIGHT NOW!”

“Oh, No! I’m afraid you won’t be able to do that!”

“Damn it! Then lemme find him myself” Jon marched ahead, while Vikki followed him in tears.

As Jon opened the door, He saw Mr. Lee standing behind the glass of the interrogation room looking at the “Bad‐Cop” Interrogation of Steve.

“THERE! There he is” yelled Riz.

They rushed towards him while the official tried to stop them from behind. Lee waved his hand at the official, acknowledging Steve’s friends.

“Mr. Lee, please! This isn’t his fault! I am sorry for your loss, but please!” pleaded Vikki.

“Yes, Sir! He is her boyfriend. She loved him. He is already broken. Please tell them to leave him.! “cried Eric.

“Sigh. I know everything, guys! Calm down, will ya? I know what I’m doing now! Just wait inside my room.” Reassured Mr. Lee.

Steve sat silently while Mr. Richardson was constantly questioning him. He jerked every time Richardson slammed the table but still remained quiet.

“STEVE? Just so you know, I've got permission to be a lot meaner, Bud!”

Steve was teary eyed. He exhaled quite a bit and slammed the table.

“Look, Mr. Officer! What the heck do you want me to tell you?”

“Now, You open up. Good! Keep going!”

“Keep fuckin’ going? Eh? SHE WAS MY GIRLFRIEND! Got it? I loved her and she did too. We were together for over a year now. ALRIGHT?”

“Whoa. Big mouth eh?”

“GOODNESS ME? This is it! There’s a limit for everything. I've already lost my girlfriend. Can you gimme a break now?” He cried.

Richardson walked outside the room and started to talk to Mr. Lee. They talked for quite a bit of time while all Vikki could hear was muffled murmurs.

“I think he’s clear mate. Whatcha’ say?” said Mr. Richardson.

“Precisely! I think he’s clear!” assured Mr. Lee.

“So, then? WHY THE HELL ARE YOU WASTING MY TIME?”

Mr. Lee nodded with frustration and stared at him.

“The heck you yell all of a sudden?” questioned Mr. Lee.

“HABIT! Ah, Gotten used to it. I’ll see ya later mate” answered Mr. Richardson.

Mr. Lee gets back to the gang whilst signaling to a guard to get Steve outside. Steve is brought outside and Vikki leaped forward to grab him. He gave one hard gaze at Steve and sighed.

“Steve! She is my lil’ girl. My Sasha. I’m just doing what is expected from a dad who also works for the department.”

Steve looks at him but remains silent while Lee expects reassurance. Vikki intervenes.

“Mr.Lee, It’s just that he is totally..”

“Yeah.. yeah. I can get that. ”

“Aaand, is that all here?”

“Oh. Yep! You guys can..”

A female intern, Zoey, who also assisted in the case came rushing and cut through as Lee was talking.

“Mr. LEE? I have something to tell.” said Zoey.

“Can’t you see I’m talking here?"

"I’m sorry, sir.” pleaded Zoey.

“Yeah, guys! What was I saying? Yeah. You are totally free to go now. Don’t mind what I did, there”

“Oh, that’s okay, Mr.Lee!” said Vikki, smiling sarcastically.

“Uh, Zoey!” Shouted Lee.

“Yes, Sir?”

“Club stre..”

“Yes sir! There was a theft this morning in 205 A, Clubstreet. The forensics are on their way!” she answered.

“Sweet! Assist them now. They’re waiting outside.”

“But, Sir?”

“You should be running now. Isn’t it, Zoey?”

“Yes, Sir.” she assured and turned to run.

Steve and his gang exited the building. They all gazed at Steve while walking outside cautiously looking at his actions. As they slowly came near the car, Steve suddenly turned to them.

“Guys, Now what? What more should I go through? Huh?”

Riz embraced him while Vikki broke down seeing him. They all got into the car while she sighed.

“Nothing any more, Stevey. Nothing at all. Let’s go home.” she said, smiling and hugging him.

“I don’t know how you are taking all these, man. You know what? Now it’s on us. We’ll make sure that you come out of this as soon as possible. Lemme tell you, We hate seeing you like this” said Jon.

Steve just smiled looking at him. Days passed on but it wasn’t the Old Steve. They felt like he was missing an important element that made him the Steve they knew. The Steve they know was a lot of fun but now he wasn’t even talking. He stayed silent most of the time and always looked so gloomy.

“Stevey? What’s the problem?” whispered Eric. “Why so gloomy these days? You’re just not yourself.”

“Yeah, bud. You’ve to just move on with life. I know it’s said easier. But, Just push, man!” added Riz.

Steve just gaped at everybody with a big face. He sighed and smiled at everyone.

“Guys, maybe we’ll send him somewhere. A change of place will definitely change his mood. Huh? Anyone up with me? asked Vikki.

Suddenly everybody looked at Vikki. She looked back at them in surprise and in a way of questioning them.

“Yeah, Vik. Wonderful. I’m up. C’mon guys” Eric joined.

Vikki sat near Steve and held him firmly. “So Steve? You’re okay with a little change of place?”

“Uh? Where?”

“Anywhere you wanna go? How about Arizona? It’s pretty good. Lovely weather. Are you okay with it?”

“Uh..oh.! I..i.. don’t”

“Shh! You’ll be alright there. Guys, get him a ticket there, will you? said Vikki looking at others.

They all started packing his things while Eric and Jon got him a ticket. And soon, They were all ready. They really pushed Steve and he got ready. They stuffed all his backpacks in the car and within minutes, the airport greeted them. They got him all his stuff and started to walk in while Eric advanced to get the ticket formalities done.

“You’ll be better with time mate. Here’s your ticket and pass.” said Jon handing his papers.

“Yeah. Time is a great healer. We’ll see you soon. Alright?” said Riz.

“Gosh! Stevey, I’m gonna miss you badly.” said Vikki, hugging him in tears.

Steve smiled at them and started walking off to the waiting lounge waving a bye to them. They all turned and started to walk to the parking lot convincing Vikki who was weeping.

Months flew by. It was a busy day in Arizona with a lotta people walking and a guy walked into a coffee shop to grab a drink. He held a newspaper in his hand.

“I’ll get a mocha” said the guy to the billing person.

“Sure! That’ll be 20”

“Ah, sweet! Here’s 20. I’ll be sitting there. Can you guys...?”

“Sure! Your mocha will be right there!”

He got his refreshing drink and was sipping every bit of it with a wide grin on his face. His face showed how good the coffee tasted. As he was sipping his mocha, he started to read the newspaper. He turned a couple of pages but in the corner of the first page, there was a small news item which read “Man found dead in the waters of Lake Mary. He is identified as Steve Martin. Sources say that He is from Pennsylvania”.

In the busy city of Armadale, New South Wales, Australia, it was 9:20 am in the morning and the day could not get any sunnier. The sun shone bright and it was an amazing day for the city to start its work. People whizzed here and there, the city indeed showed commotion. Suddenly a person’s phone buzzed. He got a text which read “The Park in Rusten st. at 11am."

Hours passed like minutes and the person was in Rusten St. He was searching for the park and suddenly saw a passer‐by.

“Excuse me? Can you please tell.”

“You’re looking for the park? Aren’t you?”

“That’s right! But hey, wait a minute..how did..”

“Shh. Shh. Stop wasting my time. You’re here for me.”

“So..so you’re..”

“Yep! You bet. So Tell me where it is to be done?”

“Queens”

“Hmm. Good food. Not bad. Go on.”

“Mark Rorretto. Italian background and “

“Cut the history. Picture?”

“Emailed.”

“Good. How much is the offer?”

“50 grands.”

“That’ll be okay for now.” said the passer‐by and started to walk.

“Heyy! Hold on. How trustworthy are you? I don’t know anything about you and yet, you now know everything about me.” questioned the person.

“That’s just how we do things here!”

“Make sure that my name doesn’t come outside! And, I heard that you’re the best at framing accidents?

“Yeah. That’s why the price!”

“What’s your best?”

“Uh. Framed a fire accident and even faked my own death. Need I say more?? A’ight, get going now. I don’t have a lot of time!” said the passer‐by.

Meanwhile back in Pennsylvania, Mr. Lee was grabbing his breakfast. Zoey, who is now a permanent, approached him.

“Sir, I do have something to tell you. I’ve been wanting to tell you this for months.”

“Yeah, Zoey. What is it?”

“Remember Sasha’s fire accident?”“Yep, It’s been 4 months now right? What about it?”

“It doesn’t look like an accident, Sir”

“The fuck, Zoey?” yelled Mr. Lee, startled. “Murder?”

“Maybe. Maybe not. It may also be a suicide. I’m not sure, sir.”

“Z..Zoey! You should have…should have told me this earlier.”

“I tried, Sir. In every possible way.”

“What’s the use now? The apartment is cleaned and there’ll be no evidence.”

“Don’t worry sir. I've got all the evidence that we need to look into right now.”

“I NEED IT ON MY TABLE! NOW!! RUN!”

“SIR!” assured Zoey starting to run.

A week later, In the office of Mercedes Benz, Queens, There’s a new joinee. He filled all his paperwork on the joining day and he was told to meet the manager.

“Nice to have you here,” said the manager.

“My Pleasure” said the joinee.

“This is Mark, Mark Roretto. He’ll help you around here.”

“Hey, man.” said Mark waving at him.

“Hey, Mark!” “And, You’re?” asked Mark.

“Oh, Sorry! I’m Ryan, Ryan Ronald...” said the joinee smiling at him.