Timeline: At her job [early 2000's]

Maya's POV:

It had been a month since I joined at QuanDatum and it had been nothing short of exceptional. Everyone told me that work life was going to be very serious and I couldn't cause pranks around the office as I did at my college but their expectations of me were flipped over as I continued to cause chaos at my office – all while trying to stay on the good side of HR and the management.

Sure, there were enough visits to the HR office for the occasional inconveniences I caused them like misplacing the office stapler or placing their lunchboxes in the storage room which, upon retrieval had totally different food than they brought – everyone deserved good food, after all.

Some of my co-workers like Abbas and Dev joined me in my pranks but some others like Suraj, Ajith and Meena steered clear of me like a storm of chaos. Yet, they couldn't escape the clutches of my chaos or might I say, care.

I once put jaljeera in Meena's bottle, it was cold and well made too. She later came to my cabin and confronted me about it and I just gave her my convincing story of how it could be anyone in the office since I sat so far from her department. I relished in the satisfaction of her finished water bottle that day. She looked more fresh the day later too. Alas, some people don't see the good in what I do, but that's not going to stop me from being myself.

Currently I was jolted out of my thoughts as my co-worker Mihir nudged me. I looked at him and saw his disapproving smile. I knew I was in trouble. I pulled my best convincing smile and asked him what was wrong.

"Where did you place my Project-A files? I have been searching for them for more than an hour! I swear if its you who hid my files aga-"

"Now, now don't get so mad at me. I didn't hide it. I was just out for a tea break with everyone else. How could you be so sure it was me?" I winked.

"There's no one else in the office who can pull up such pranks except you. I don't even know how you got hired! If you don't tell me where my files are now, I am going to-"

In the midst of his rant, I turned his PC towards my direction, ran some keystrokes and presented the file to him.

"There you are. You must've forgotten where it was." I grinned.

"But I just checked and it wasn't there!" he scratched his head, "You're a menace." he huffed before getting back to work.

"I could make you coffee, if you want," I suggested playfully.

He looked at me in disbelief. I could see the wheels of his mind whirring and considering the pros and cons of this deal.

"Fine. If that'd make you leave me for a while." he finally grunted.

"Just don't tell the HR and we'll have a deal. I can't promise to not cause ruckus yet again, but, don't worry for now. Your turn is.." I looked up into the calendar on my desktop. "Until three weeks from now. Enjoy your peace till then."

"I hate you." he huffed.

"Aww how sweet! I am the villainess after all. Don't worry, I am used to this." I gave him my cheshire smile before returning back to work.

"Maya Ramesh!"

Someone called across the room. I gazed up from my PC where I was downloading data achieves in the direction of the call.

"You, you're in a lot of trouble, girl. You can't escape this time." Ajith announced as he walked towards my seat, his nostrils flaring from frustration.

I tried to remember if there was something I had done to him. My memory held no recollection of causing him trouble the whole month long. The last time I paused his downloads when I saw it was a movie. Safe to say, his PC crashed and took a two-day repair because of the glitch. I compensated by preparing him his favorite meal for the week and yet, I didn't break a sweat.

"Listen up, buddy," I started cautiously, "I haven't troubled you for the whole month. What seems to be the issue now? Are you missing my brand of chaos?" I teased.

"No, its something else entirely." he sighed, "You didn't tell us it was your birthday today!"

I gulped in hesitation. Birthdays had become just another celebration for me. Turning 24 didn't feel too grand of an occasion to me.

"I didn't want to make a huge deal out of it." I replied. My co-workers paused their work to see the unfolding situation.

"Well, now you do. Everyone, get to the first floor, we're having a party."

"But—" I protested but it fell on deaf ears.

I looked down at my hands and then my PC. The download was yet not finished. I had still two more sheets of data extraction to finish and yet, my co-workers weren't budging to give me a break. Sounds about fair, I have never quite given them a break from my chaos too.

I decided to pause my work got up from my seat and invited everyone downstairs for the party.

I was greeted by a grand decoration in the first floor where usually all the cultural celebrations happened. I approached the are cautiously, taking in the details, and soaking in the mesmerizing beauty of it all. The efforts of my co-workers really shined through it all, even when I had always troubled them. But, I think they have come to accept their resident office chaos a little more with this. I couldn't be happier.

Memories of my childhood flashed in front of my eyes. My grandma, mom and dad working together to make the perfect party for me and also treat my friends. I missed them, but in this moment, even more – if only they were here to see this and be by my side as this whole event unfolded. It'd have made this event even more memorable.

I wanted to go home and spend rest of the day with them but I remembered I was in a different city and that, I didn't have many leave days. Perhaps because we were still in training period but I wondered if our seniors got more leave days.

From my conversations with them, they always collected leaves and took a long break at the end of the year which was about two weeks. I would've to talk with the HR team, probably bribe them a little with the promise of delicious meals if they gave me that much time even on my probation period but that was a stress for another time.

"There you are!" Ajith said as he walked towards me.

I was so caught up in my thoughts that I didn't realize he had came and tapped me on my shoulders. Seeing him stand near me threw me off guard. When did this guy appear? Did he materialize out of thin air?

"Yeah, I was here since long. Did I finally pull off my invisibility prank on you?" I teased to which he winced and let out a chuckle.

"Maya, maya maya.. You're always up to something wild, aren't you? HR and the management is here too, including the boss. Be sure to not cause too much troubles to them." he warned me.

"I thought it was only supposed to be a acquaintances gathering? Ah, don't worry. I won't pull wool over their eyes. Gotta maintain my image as the heroic co-worker, after all." I winked at him causing him to roll his eyes in exasperation. He knew fully well that I was still going to do something.

The dark forest cake stood in the middle of the room with a radio box sort of design and I loved it as soon as I saw it.

Around the room all co-workers had gathered around for the celebration, waiting for the birthday girl, which was me, the one and only Notorious V to cut her cake and add a dash of humor to their otherwise mundane lives.

After all of them finished singing the usual Happy Birthday song, I signaled Abbas to start with our plan.

We had created our own version of radio by placing the music box in a metal can. He pushed the play button making everyone around us laugh at the choice of song.

❛Yaad piya ki aane lagi, haaye bheegi bheegi raaton mein.❜

We exchanged a mischievous smile as the next one played along. The songs weren't full length, just a few lines from every one of them to keep the vigor until it changes yet again.

❛Vo chali, vo chali dekho pyaar ki gali..
Usse roke na koi.. vo chali vo chali..❜

This was followed by my favorite one of all times.

❛Sawan ka mahina, pawan kare sor..
Sawan ka mahina, pawan kare shor..
Arre Shor nahi baba Sor❜

Everyone around the room was silently bobbing their heads, enjoying the music but trying to keep it professional. This had to change.

I started dancing a bit and Abbas joined me too from the distance. This created a chain of events where everyone was dancing and letting themselves loose a little.

Dev's breakdance in the middle of the show was a classic move and all of us were impressed at his skills. Mr. Patel was dancing too, just moving slightly and shaking his hands a bit to keep the momentum.

The party went fairly well where everyone had a bit of fun and dance. Meera must've finally let go off of her pride cause she was too impressed at my tactics and asked if she could learn how to be like me.

I offered her to share my secrets if she was willing to cover my shift while I was going to be away. She initially refused but after a bit of teasing, she grudgingly accepted the offer.

"The secret, Meera to be the life of the party and have fun, is to never take yourself too seriously, despite what the world tells you," I explained, "Especially when they say no. Prove them wrong, not because you know you're better than them, but because you're having fun breaking their expectations. And hey, its okay if you aren't able to do that always. You can still relish in the fact that you tried."

"Is that really it?" Meera asked in shock, "You seem to be good at everything you do. And your cooking – thanks for the jaljeera the other day, I really needed it. Sure, I was initially mad that I didn't have water.. but that did help me get through the rough patch."

"See? That wasn't bad after all. Besides, that's all there is to life, have fun doing what you do. How I got interested in cooking is quite a questionable journey.. but, it at least had a good outcome. You could always swing by my PG to stay and try my dishes. I won't promise to have a clean pristine kitchen and it certainly won't be without a few burnt veggies here and there, but I promise to keep the deal." I offered with a smile.

"Sure, sounds like a plan."

After we had our cakes and chips at the first floor, everyone was returning to work when my phone buzzed in my pocket.

My family members had already wished me early in the morning before work. Suresh had messaged me his wishes too. Who could it be now?

The caller id displayed a familiar name: Riddhi Shrivastava.

'Oh, Riddhi, my partner in crime. I missed you so much' I thought to myself before hitting the receive button.

"Happy birthday crime partner!! May this day bring the light in your life and joy in your eyes because on this day, heavens decided they were going to send a ruckus of chaos in human form that was endearing to the extent that killed you and unpredictable to the extent that always kept you dancing on your toes!"

"Ahhh," I was overwhelmed by her wishes, "You always flatter me, partner in crime. I can still remember those pranks we pulled in college. Ah, good old days."

"Like the time Ramya cut into her cake and it popped cause it was just a balloon with icing around it."

I chuckled at the memory. Those were some good old days.

"Oh yeah, definitely" I said, "So, how are you doing? How's work for you?"

"There seems to be a problem with your computer. Did you try turning the power off and then turning it back on again?" she said monotonously rephrasing her practiced line.

"What?" I asked her curiously.

"That's the line!" she exclaimed, "That's the line that I have to keep repeating over and over again to customers who call up with issues and glitches. More than half of them get solved this way. Though, the other half requires a RAM replacement by our special technician who happens to vanish into thin air at the time we need him the most."

"Sounds like trouble." I reasoned.

"Exactly! But, I am paid fairly enough, so its good. I was supposed to get into testing part, but my co-worker took that project and now I am stuck with a telephone to talk to all day, giving the same advice over and over again."

"Aw, don't worry, you'll get a project soon."

"I hope I will. How was your special day?'

"You could've never expected it. It was so grand, all my co-workers hosted a party for me. I wish you were here to celebrate it with me though."

"It'd have been great. You always seem to get the better half of things while I am stuck at this role. My jaws hurt from talking the same line over and over again all day." she complained.

"Don't feel too depressed now. Why sad when Notorious V is there!" I cheered her up.

"Right," she cleared her thought, "I am sorry, I got carried away in my frustration. I am just having a tough day at work."

"I wish I could cook something for you," I said, "I will come to our home town soon. We can meet up soon!"

"Really? When? God, I miss your food! Please come soon, I am hungry!" She pleaded.

"It'll take time. I usually don't get many leaves but, for you, my love. I will find a way out." I grinned.

I was playing with my employee ID card when it fell.

I bent down to pick up the card.

Present Timeline [2008]

Karan's POV:

I bent down to pick up the card.

We were currently standing at the ruins of the old factory but this one was different from the last we had been exploring.

It seemed to be a business card of sorts. The details weren't much clear.

Jay and Arav were searching on the other side of the rubble.

"Jay, Arav! Look what I found." I called out to them.

The remains of the building glowed golden in the light of the new day, its' stones finding their way to join the dawn chorus.

The paint over the soft wood was deep like the way mother spreads her cream cheese. The flakes peeling at random depths showing different sun-baked hues underneath.

The windows didn't beckon light inside, as if it had given up on lifting the gloom that the walls imposed. Instead they added to the growing sense of damp and dark and permit the chill wind to penetrate.

"This is definitely an important clue. But, which company was here?" Jay said as he scratched the back of his head.

"Arav, have you ever seen such familiar cards?" I asked him as I tried to read the front and back of the card.

Arav shook his head as he tried to think of his interactions and past events. He still had some breakdowns from time to time when things got too overwhelming with the search. He wanted us to give up sometimes, but we refused to sit quietly when such horrors had passed over our dear friend.

"You're okay there, Arav?" Jay asked and he nodded. He continued, "I can see a faint Q on the card but that's really about it."

"Hold it against the sunlight. It'll help you with the details." I suggested.

"Good idea, Kan" he said and held it up to read its contents clearly.

A faint text was visible: QD

shadowy—shadowy—yet unbroken, is a symbol and a token,
—how it hangs upon the trees, a mystery of mysteries!
— Edgar Allan Poe

•• ━━━━━ ••●•• ━━━━━ ••

Songs included in the chapter:

🎵 Yaad Piya Ki Aane Lagi by Divya Khosla Kumar

🎵 Woh Chali Woh Chali by Bombay Vikings

🎵 Sawan Ka Mahina Pawan Kare Shor by Mukesh and Lata Mangeshkar

•• ━━━━━ ••●•• ━━━━━ ••

HAPPIEST BIRTHDAY MAYA!! Today, May 7th, a tornado of chaos was born into this world with the sole purpose of creating havoc with a wink of care sprinkled for a good measure.

On this fateful day, the world was graced with a force of nature unlike any other - a whirlwind of mischief, humor, and unexpected surprises. With a heart as big as her pranks and a spirit as wild as her imagination, Maya is the embodiment of chaos and joy, leaving a trail of laughter and bewilderment wherever she goes.

So let us raise a toast to our beloved prankster, the one and only Notorious V, and celebrate the day the universe decided to gift us with her boundless energy and infectious laughter. Here's to many more years of chaos, humor, and unforgettable memories! 🎉

AND AND LET'S NOT FORGET! We finally have our trio!! I am excited to see how they uncover the case and bring things together.

Does the QD ring a bell? Think you've heard it? Think again 😉

Anywho- I will take my leave for the while and get back with another when i have some amazing updates on the situation, things are definitely going to come to light, but, the ride in itself isn't as easy.

Hope you're enjoying the chapters and hope you're doing well!

Cheers,
Sara <3