PASS THE BUCK, SAVE THE.........

PASS THE BUCK AND SAVE THE..…

    Roger Milroy , an investigative journalist poured over the news paper, sipping coffee early morning sitting in the veranda as was his routine , with his Rottweiler dog  'Ben',   by his  side when the bell chimed and he heard a knock on the door. He got up and sauntered to the door. He opened it and saw a middle aged man wearing a hat.  The man  informed him  he had come to check his TV. Then he remembered he  had made the request to the company, as the TV was under repair.  In no time the man repaired it and left.

    Roger was a great critic of the government exposing their misdeeds as requested by the Chief Editor and had earned a good reputation  among his journalistic circle , receiving  many awards to his credit. He had also earned several enemies,bend on finishing him. As much as he was honest and trustworthy, he was also the most feared for his ability and persistence in   publishing a news scoop which he believed  in and was not amenable to any  pressure or coercion.

     As Roger was concentrating  on a write up which his Editor wanted him to edit ,at the same time hearing the news, the lights in the Hall dimmed and the TV screen went blank and dark.  After  a few minutes of diversion, he was back to reality with the news as clear as ever. Then again the same routine. After several such recurrence, Roger called the service centre. He was shocked to hear that they had send no one to repair the TV. “Who was the one who came to repair it”? The service center  promised to send a person to look into it. The man came in no time, checked and found nothing wrong. But to Rogers chagrin, it repeated again. Roger took a photo of the dark TV screen and send it the chief service Engineer to convince him about the problem as staying without news and its frequent obliteration  was irritating him. Then he saw the what’s app message from the chief engineer who had encircled a text in the corner. It read 786 – I GO- R.

       Roger could not make head or tail out of it . He opened the internet and typed the text. It opened to show a restaurant in town. Roger motored to the restaurant as his instinst told him that someone was conveying an indirect message, as they do often as he was an investigative  journalist.

    The restaurant with the bar was full and he sat in a corner sipping his cognac, unable to discern where to start. After some time a bearer arrived and passed him a note. An address was written on it  with a big ‘NOW'. The bearer turned to point the source and looked surprised .“She was here as she handed the note. She is gone now.” Roger nodded, handed him the tip and left.  He will have to rush to the new address which was half an hour on the outskirts of town. The house looked like an old English Manor with lawns, garden and an high walled compound with security.

     The security send him inside as he was perhaps briefed already. The door opened and he was led to an inner office room, by the same man with the hat who had repaired his TV. He saw a stately middle aged lady and she motioned to the chair. He sat down. She handed him a file and asked him to open it. As he  read it, shivers ran down his spine with sweat  poring down his neck. It was loaded with pictures, texts and financial transaction and all the crimes one could possibly imagine: the biggest scoop in his career.

He got up with the file. “Sit down” the voice was ominous, loud and clear. He slid back into the chair.  “ You can have the  file, read it thoroughly and report to me before it is published. Promise you will protect the source. If not, it is death for me and my family. For record, I have not met you and I shall call you. You don’t call me under any circumstances. Are we clear”? . She handed him a large envelope stacked with money.   “ This is a retainer now. You will get more when you finish.   ” Roger slid the money back.  “I don’t do this for money nor can you force me. I will read it and decide how to proceed and will inform you. If you agree, I will proceed Or you can have the file yourself.” He got up, placing the file on the table. “Proceed and get back to me.” She got up and left. He scooped the file and was led outside to his car by the man wearing the hat. “ You better set right my TV”he admonished. “ I shall do it today, sir” he retorted

   Roger burnt the mid night oil and found that all sorts of misdemeanour was done under  one roof and it was an exortion racket, financing terrorist activities. There were several kidnapping of women ;using  and killing them. Several complaints were made by the victim's parents; and none saw the day of light. Almost all the high level bureaucrats and politician and police officials were involved . The list was exhaustive and scary.  Without definite proof to back up, publishing would be too risky  and would certainly  ruin his career. No publishing house would employ him after he is expelled from the present one.   “ Who was her source  who provided her such exhaustive details”? Was it fake? Was it done to get at him or set him up?  

So, after two days of intense consideration, he decided to accost the lady who provided him the material. Her profile indicated that she was the widow of  a wealthy man, who had a daughter. Her only daughter had died in suspicious circumstances a year  and these materials in the file  was tied up with her death. Roger reached her house and her personal Assistant informed that she had left for an unknown destination, but had left a sealed cover for him. Roger opened it to see several addresses and names that tallied with the file she had provided him. She had rounded one address with a red pen; perhaps important to begin with. It was apparent she was using him to seek her personal vendetta through the media against those who had murdered her daughter,as they were all high profile.  He knew that his enquiry  at all the address given, would yield the same. He did not want to reveal himself as the person responsible for the exposé and then face the repurcursions and wrath,as he had already several up his sleeve.

Roger decided to act fast, to do something with the vast data. Discreet enquiries  reaveled many to be true. Several media houses were already threatened severe action if exposed. He would not be able to  prove them all. He neither had the resources himself . He would have to rely on others and eventually he would be exposed. This  was not his job; he was a media man, not a police personnel.

He made almost several copies of it in his   copier at home  and decided to act fast. He would make all the media persons to open the Pandora’s box simultaneously each vying with the other to increase their rating.  The  news would be flashed simultaneously in all TV channels  that  none could be held accountable, nor was the source evident or could be pinpointed. The CM  office would act  fast and order an SIT probe into the scam. Several arrests would be made  and many will run to escape . None could take any retaliatory  steps as the source of such a massive leak was difficult to discover and the rumors would make a field day.

  Roger would be saved of a massive embarrassment and risk if he had done it on his own.

 He quietly became a post man and left the copies  of the file in the post box of all the media personal, who grabbed it to make it the first breaking news of their channel before anyone else could  ;without knowing that everyone did the same. He had left one file in the post box of his rival in his own channel.   The resultant reaction was the same as he had envisioned earlier. The scam became the main issue and plank for the next election; due in three months. Roger knew he had timed it well. The present ruling dispensation could not protect anyone as it would embrass them before the electorate. There were several opposition members involved so they played the card close  to their chest; expelling all  those who were involved to gain credibility among the people . Everyone wanted to save their ass and pass the buck to the other. Roger saved his ass  by passing the buck to all so that they need not save theirs.

The court suo moto ordered the SIT to complete the investigation within three months and submit the report. Roger smiled to himself 'Pass the buck and save your ass'.

Roger did it successfully and exposed the biggest ever scam in his career and brought justice to all those effected by it. It was a masterstroke but there was none to pinpoint him nor acknowledge  and shower accolades on  him.