MARTIN AND LUIS

Martin and Luis

Martin was a well-known police officer. His way of handling cases was unique and different from everyone else. His assistant was Officer Gustin.

One day, Martin took leave from work and went on a long drive. While driving through a lonely road, he met a young man named George, whose bike had broken down. George asked Martin for help, so Martin offered him a ride in his car.

During the journey, they talked for hours and got to know each other well. By the time they reached the city, they had become quite friendly.

Martin stopped the car near a tea stall.

"I'm going to have some tea. Do you want some?" Martin asked.

George replied, "No, thank you."

Martin stepped out of the car, accidentally leaving his phone inside.

George was actually a skilled hacker and a dangerous criminal. While Martin was away, George unlocked Martin's phone, hacked it, and secretly sent a malicious link to one of his associates before placing the phone back exactly where it was.

After Martin returned, they continued driving.

Suddenly Martin asked,

"By the way... how was the DP on my phone?"

George froze for a second.

Without saying another word, he suddenly pulled out a knife and lunged at Martin.

Martin quickly dodged the attack, and a violent fight broke out inside the moving car. During the struggle, Martin lost control of the vehicle, and it crashed into a huge rock.

George died instantly.

Martin suffered a severe head injury and fell into a coma.

Fortunately, he remained unconscious for only one week.

When Martin finally opened his eyes in the hospital, he saw Officer Gustin and his wife standing beside him.

Both of them were relieved.

Martin slowly asked,

"What happened?"

Gustin replied,

"The killer died in the accident."

Martin immediately asked,

"My phone?"

Gustin handed the phone back to him.

Martin carefully checked it, but everything looked completely normal. There was no sign that it had ever been hacked.

A few weeks later, Martin returned to duty.

His entire staff welcomed him back.

However, there was one strange thing.

No matter how hard he tried, Martin could no longer remember George's face.

A few days after returning to duty, Martin was sitting alone in the police station.

A young man entered the office.

"Sir, I'm here for the Cyber Cell interview."

Martin looked at him and replied,

"The interview panel is on leave today. Come back next month."

The young man folded his hands.

"Sir, please. It's my last chance."

Martin thought for a moment.

"Alright. I'll hire you, but first you have to do one task for me."

"Yes, sir."

Martin pointed towards the CCTV camera above the entrance.

"Can you check whether that CCTV camera is working?"

"Sure, sir."

The young man opened his laptop and checked the system.

After a few moments, he smiled.

"Yes, sir. It's working perfectly."

Martin said,

"Make it inactive."

The young man looked confused.

"Why, sir?"

"Just do it."

"Okay, sir."

He typed on his laptop for a few seconds.

"Done, sir. The CCTV is inactive."

Martin smiled.

"Thank God. You're hired. I'll make sure you get a good salary."

The young man laughed.

"Thank you, sir. But why did you ask me to do that?"

Martin smiled back.

"Because I want to drink here."

The young man burst into laughter.

"No way, sir. You're too smart."

Martin laughed too.

"By the way, what's your name?"

"I'm Luis... Luis Parker."

Martin had a habit of making friends very easily. Within a short time, he and Luis became close friends.

Luis soon started helping Martin with cyber investigations. Whenever Martin needed to trace a phone, recover deleted files, or gather digital evidence, Luis always completed the work quickly.

After some time, they received a murder case.

Martin immediately reached the crime scene with his team.

After examining the evidence, he identified three suspects.

He looked at Luis and said,

"Track all three of their phones and let me know."

"Yes, sir."

With Luis's help, Martin solved the case.

His brilliant investigation earned him a promotion.

A few weeks later, another case arrived.

This time, they had to capture a dangerous criminal who was hiding on the top floor of an apartment building in an unknown area.

Martin, Officer Gustin, and a large police force quietly surrounded the building.

Armed with weapons and grenades, they slowly entered the apartment and began clearing each floor.

After an intense gunfight, Martin finally reached the top floor.

He carefully entered the last room.

A man was standing near the window, silently looking outside.

Martin pointed his gun.

"Turn around."

The man slowly turned and smiled.

"Martin Ruffallo... how are you?"

"I heard you had an accident."

"You were in a coma for one week."

"Are you alright now, dear?"

Martin replied angrily,

"Shut up. You're under arrest. We've tracked you."

The criminal laughed.

"Sometimes our dreams come true..."

"...and sometimes they don't."

"But you know what?"

"You're lucky."

"Your dream came true."

Martin frowned.

"What are you talking about?"

The criminal slowly walked closer.

"Oh... pity."

"Do you really think I'm the target?"

"You know what your biggest weakness is?"

"You trust people too easily."

He leaned close and whispered,

"Martin..."

"You're here because I wanted you to be here."

Martin's eyes widened.

"What?"

At that exact moment, Martin heard the sound of a gun being cocked behind him.

He slowly turned around...

Officer Gustin was standing there with his pistol aimed directly at Martin.

Gustin smiled.

"Surprise, surprise, Officer."

The criminal laughed loudly.

"Oh no..."

"Gustin..."

"Bad boy."

Then he looked back at Martin.

"Let's go back to the past."

"Remember the day you took leave from work..."

"...and went on that long drive?"

Martin suddenly froze.

Fragments of memories started flashing before his eyes.

The criminal smiled.

"Remember that boy?"

Martin desperately tried to remember George's face.

Suddenly...

A clear image appeared in his mind.

The face he saw was...

Luis.

Martin stepped back in shock.

"What...?"

The criminal smiled.

"Now you remember."

"The truth is... George was the real person you met that day."

"After the accident, your head injury damaged your memory."

"Your mind changed George's face and identity."

"You created a new person..."

"Luis."

Martin's breathing became heavy.

"No..."

The criminal continued,

"George was the real hacker."

"He hacked your phone while you were drinking tea."

"But after the accident, your brain could no longer remember him correctly."

"So your mind created Luis."

"Luis Parker never existed."

"He was only inside your head."

Martin's eyes widened.

Everything suddenly started making sense.

The Cyber Cell interview...

The CCTV...

The conversations...

The investigations...

The jokes...

None of them had ever happened.

Martin had been talking to someone who never existed.

The criminal laughed.

"It was Gustin who took your phone after the accident."

"He checked everything and returned it."

"There was never any hacking after that."

"There was never any Luis."

Martin slowly looked around.

His hands started shaking.

He fell to his knees.

Gustin lowered his gun slightly and smiled.

The criminal looked at Martin.

"We planned everything."

"We knew your memory was broken."

"We only had to bring you here."

"So I could finally take my revenge."

Martin closed his eyes.

Everything around him became silent.

Then...

A familiar voice echoed inside his mind.

"Officer..."

Martin slowly opened his eyes.

It was Luis.

Luis smiled.

"Officer..."

"Wake up."

"You're not dead."

"You have only sixty seconds."

"Move."

"The criminal has a gun in his left pocket."

"Grab it."

Martin looked at the criminal.

Without wasting another second, he rushed forward.

He grabbed the gun from the criminal's left pocket before anyone could react.

Bang!

He fired.

The bullet struck Gustin in the head.

Gustin collapsed to the floor.

Martin then fought the criminal in a brutal hand-to-hand fight.

After a long struggle, Martin finally overpowered him.

Just then, the police team entered the room.

They saw the criminal lying on the ground, Martin covered in blood, and Gustin's body on the floor.

The officers immediately arrested the criminal.

One officer looked at Martin and asked,

"Sir..."

"How did Officer Gustin die?"

Martin remained silent.

He didn't know what to say.

Then, once again, Luis's voice echoed inside his mind.

"Don't worry, Officer."

"Tell them..."

"He became a martyr while fighting the criminal."

Martin took a deep breath.

"He died bravely while fighting the criminal."

The officers saluted Gustin's body.

The case was finally over.

A few days later, Martin returned home.

Everything had gone back to normal.

But the trauma never left him.

Every night, he remembered the accident...

George...

The crash...

The imaginary Luis...

And everything that had happened.

As Martin sat quietly in his room, he heard one last familiar voice.

Luis smiled from inside his mind.

"Officer..."

"No tension."

"Just stay tension-free."

Martin smiled faintly.

The End

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