August Prompts

Prompt one:

I was feeling a little nervous as I opened the gate. I've never interviewed a Police officer before and I thought that this may become my worst one ever. I found him inside tickling (really!!) his baby son. I stood there quite still, watching famous Grunt playing with his child. He might have seen me just seconds after I entered because he said-

"Hi, welcome. Do we have to start immediately? If no,  I'll have my breakfast first. Would you like to join us?"

Forty-five minutes later, I couldn't believe myself saying to the recorder "Interview with Officer Grunt, at his cottage in Jersey. Time....10.15 am....on March 21st...by Kevin Melone"

"Well, Lets start with something interesting. Tell us about Red Avengers"

" Ah, well....Red Avengers, as everyone knows them, is a smuggling community. They have smuggled some pretty valuable stuff in the past years. It was only in November that I was entrusted upon the case. Well...you know...I had to take it seriously. We had a few leads but eventually we were successful in getting hold of their leader..."

"Which lead to their arrest?"

"Yes, it had been sheer luck actually. But I'm glad it's all over. I really thank my colleagues for their excellent cooperation"

"Well, some newspapers use your name flagrantly, what do you say about it?"

"I really don't care about that. I never mind whether they write 'HE GRUNTS AGAIN' or something like "THE GRUNT OF GRUNT" [he laughs]

"Okay, lets switch to your personal life now. Where were you born?"

"Canada. Mom's french and dad's english. I studied at the Royal Holloway in London. I always dreamed about becoming a police officer one day and here I am!!"

"That's fine. Could you give us some personal details?"

"Yes of course, I don't think I've mentioned it too often that my full name is Marcus Adolfus Grunt. My wife Cassy......I fell in love with her when I was dealing with a murder case in California. She's very supportive and loving. And you saw my younger son Dennis. I spend a lot of time with him. My elder son is doing his higher education in London.  We settled down here, on the outskirts, just to have a serene surrounding. I love a quiet life actually...."

"Before I forget, What are your hobbies?"

"I'm glad you asked that. I like playing snooker with my wife. I also love bowling though I hardly find time to play. But most of the times, I just listen to music. It really soothes me"

"Well, I think that'll do. Thanks Officer Grunt for your time with us"

"Thanks too, my pleasure"

                                                                                  ********************         

Prompt 2:

Wilfred Bond is my best friend. He lives adjacent to our house with his parents. He is seventeen, the same as I am. We both attended the same school and college. He is a very good companion. His most striking feature is his eyes. They are soulful and green, sparkling behind his spectacles. He is quite plump. That probably explains why he does not seem to have any neck. His long jet black hair keeps falling on his face too often. For some reason, he only wears formal dresses. I've never seen him in a T-shirt yet. We both share same thoughts. He likes playing chess and tennis. And when it comes to food, he loves everything from fast food to spicy heavy dishes.

Coming to his personal side, he is a subtle kind of person. He always tries to enjoy every moment of life. He is also very studious and has slowly turned into a bookworm now. He bores me sometimes with his ridiculous descriptions of books.  Anyway, I personally trust him a lot. He is a person to whom you can share your secrets without a second thought. He is a good listener and a good observer. Well...there's lot more about him but now I all I want to say is that he always stood behind me in times of difficulty. I am happy to say that he is a great friend.

Prompt 3:

Marcus Grunt had been sleeping when his mobile rang. He believed it be a part of the dream first but later came out of it. He got up and sat on the bed, yawning. The phone had stopped ringing. He looked at the clock. It was 4:25 am. He wondered who'd be calling him at this time. The phone started ringing again. He pressed the button and put it near his ear. A loud voice boomed through the speaker.

"HELLO! OFFICER GRUNT, IS THAT YOU?"

"Yes, it's me, Roger. Could you please stop shouting?"

"Sorry sir, the situation is tense here. We need your presence immediately. This is urgent"

"Why....what happened?"

"A boy has been kidnapped, sir. We don't know who did it but a troop had surrounded us and opened rounds on us."

Grunt isn't sleepy anymore. He wanted to know more.

"Who's the boy? Does he have a background?"

"I don't know sir. He doesn't seem the type, though. His name is Wilfred Bond"

"WHAT!!", whimpered Grunt "Wilfred? He's Alfred's friend, isn't he?" He was thinking fast. "Where actually are you now?"

"Just outside your house sir. I'm exactly beneath your hallway window"

"Just hold on for a second. I'm coming"

"Thanks sir and oh- I think they have surrounded your house too. Be on your-"

A thunderous sound filled his ear. Roger Shrieked and Grunt heard a distant thud.

"ROGER..ROGER....ARE YOU THERE?"

There was no reply. But he heard odd scratchy sounds. He was about to run to the hallway when a voice spoke into the phone.

"Bad morning, Grunt. I never thought I'd be talking to you like this"

"WHO ARE YOU? ANSWER...WHAT DID YOU DO TO ROGER?"

"Calm down. There's nothing you could do. I've shot him", said the voice coldly.

"What!! - YOU SCUM!! What do you want? Where's the boy?"

"Forget the boy, you'll never get him", he paused, " Well, of course, if you accept my demands then we'll think of returning him"

"I know who you are!! And I already know your demands"

"That simplifies matters then. I'll be waiting down the lane for you. Come alone and we can discuss matters. Tell anyone and the boy's dead"

The line went dead abruptly echoing what would happen to Wilfred. Grunt's heart was pounding. Wilfred kidnapped and Roger dead. But he knew that he shouldn't lose this war. This is very crucial to him. For the next fifteen minutes, he thought of a plan. His mind was working instinctively. All the time, he never tried to look out of the hallway window. He didn't want to see anything yet.

He put on his uniform and loaded his revolver. Wishing himself luck, he dialed the control room number. After three rings, someone lifted the phone.

"Officer Bartony here. Who's speaking?"

Grunt was relieved. Fred Bartony is one of his best friends in the police department.

"Fred, It's me Marcus. Do you know everything that's going on?"

"Yes of course, I'm very glad you called. What's the situation?"

Grunt took a deep breath. "It's worser than what I have expected. These are Red Avengers, Fred"

"How do you know?"

"Mucclegum called me half an hour before. I recognized his voice. He didn't actually call me......I'll tell you later, but for now I want your help"

"Always ready. What am I supposed to do?"

"Well, firstly, Mucclegum's a fool. He said he'd kill Wilfred if I tell anyone. But how will he know what I am doing? He's just scaring me. And as long as I stay in my house, he'll be waiting down the lane. His troop is there of course, if what Rog.....never mind. As I said, I want a quite a number of police here. Take time, that's okay, but be cautious. I don't know how will he react but I want him alive and also the boy. He should not escape from us this time. And when you have taken them down, let me know. I will speak to him face to face. Got it?

"Firing away, Marcus. You don't worry", said Bartony and kept the receiver down.

Grunt cooled down a bit after that. He quietly walked to his sons' room and opened the door. Dennis and Alfred were sleeping peacefully, safe and sound. He, then tiptoed to the hallway window and looked out. A police jeep was parked in front of Wilfred's house. He could see a woman weeping and a constable trying to console her. The he remembered something and looked directly down. He saw the torso of Roger with his back against the ground. He felt sorry for him. The bullet had directly hit him on the forehead.

He retracted back to this bedroom and waited. He could count the seconds. Then, after what felt like a century, he heard the sound of vehicles. The firing started immediately. He longed to go out of his house but he knew it'll only worsen situations. Again and again, the bullets roared and finally after fifteen minutes they stopped. Grunt's mobile rang.

He didn't answer it. He rushed out into the open air. He could see police everywhere and more than that, the dead bodies. He found Fred Bartony holding Mucclegum off his throat surrounded by a group of people. He recognized Mrs. Bond first. Her face was red. Mucclegum was struggling to break free.

"They're bringing the boy", said Bartony seeing Grunt.

"Great, I hope everything went well"

"YOU CHEATED ME", shouted Mucclegum, "YOU SAID YOU'D COME ALONE"

"I never said that, thank you"

Just then, an old van came and stopped before them. A young constable jumped out followed by Wilfred. Mrs.Bond ran towards him and hugged him tightly.

"I don't understand", said Mucclegum, "Why is SHE hugging him? Where's your wife, Grunt?"

"Why would my wife hug him?", he said apprehensively.

"He is YOUR son, Grunt. Coming to think of it, why didn't you hug him first?"

Grunt understood the whole situation. "He's not my son, you idiot. My son is sleeping peacefully in my house"

"Wait a second", Mucclegum turned to Wilfred, "What did you say your name was when I asked you in the evening?"

"Alfred", said Wilfred cooly.

"Look, don't try to-"

"But I lied. My real name is Wilfred. You really annoyed me then. So, I thought I'd lie and you, like a fool, believed me".

                                          The End