THE PLAN

The underground chamber felt smaller, suffocating under the weight of everything unsaid. The dim glow of the flickering computer screen illuminated Arjun Roy’s face, his sharp gaze locked on the coordinates displayed before him. His breath was steady, controlled, but there was no mistaking the tension in his frame. This was it. The airstrip. The place where Rakesh and Kailas were making their move.

But when?

Agent 1 exhaled sharply, his fists clenched at his sides. The frustration in his voice was evident. “We have the location, but no time. We could be too late already.”

Agent 3, standing beside him, crossed her arms, her eyes narrowed. “We can’t just storm in blind. If we move too soon, they’ll scatter. Too late, and they’re ghosts.”

Arjun’s jaw tightened. The uncertainty gnawed at him. Time was their greatest enemy, and right now, they were fighting a battle in the dark. But there was one person who might have the answer they needed.

His voice was firm, decisive. “There’s one person who might know.”

Before Agent 1 or Agent 3 could question him, Captain Singh stepped forward, his face unreadable. His eyes carried something heavy.

“You need to see this.”

Silence fell over the room as the door creaked open. The sound of wheels rolling against the floor echoed like a distant storm. An officer pushed a wheelchair into the chamber, and the moment its occupant came into view, the air changed.

A sharp inhale from Agent 1.

A sudden, staggered step back from Agent 3, her breath hitching.

Arjun’s hands curled into fists at his sides.

Because the man sitting in that wheelchair, scarred, battered, and supposed to be dead, was their Chief.

For a long moment, no one spoke. It was as if the room itself held its breath.

Then Agent 3’s voice broke the silence, barely above a whisper. “No… you’re dead.”

The Chief smirked, though there was no real amusement in his eyes. “I guess I’m bad at staying that way.”

Agent 1’s face darkened. “Rakesh shot you in the head. No one survives that.”

The Chief’s hand moved to his temple, where a jagged scar stretched from his forehead down to his cheek. His voice was calm, measured, but beneath the surface was a storm raging. “Bullet missed my brain. Hit a nerve. Took my legs.” His gaze sharpened. “I should be dead.” He turned to Arjun. “But he didn’t let me go.”

Agent 3’s gaze snapped to Arjun, disbelief flashing in her eyes. “You knew?”

Arjun met her stare, unwavering. “If Rakesh knew he survived, he wouldn’t have stopped hunting him. I did what I had to.”

The Chief held Arjun’s gaze for a long moment before nodding. Then his expression hardened. “But I’m not here to talk about the past. I came because I have the answer you need.”

Agent 1 stepped forward. His voice was sharp, urgent. “The time?”

The Chief’s voice was cold, precise.

“Tomorrow. 0400 hours.”

The room tensed, the weight of those words settling over them like a crushing force.

Agent 3 clenched her fists. “Then we have less than twenty hours to prepare.”

Captain Singh exhaled, his expression grim. “If we’re not ready, they’ll be out of the country before sunrise.”

Arjun turned back to the map, his mind already assembling the pieces, constructing a strategy. Every second counted. There was no room for error.

“We don’t just set a trap,” he murmured. “We make them think they’re winning—right until we take everything from them.”

His voice was low, calculated, laced with quiet intensity. “We don’t just catch them. We make them walk right into our hands.”

Agent 1 folded his arms, intrigued. “I’m listening.”

Arjun’s gaze flickered with something sharp, something ruthless. “Rakesh is careful, but he’s arrogant. If he even suspects we’re onto him, he’ll change the plan. We make sure he doesn’t.”

Agent 3 frowned, skepticism in her tone. “How?”

Arjun smirked. “We feed him false information.”

The Chief’s eyes flickered with interest. “Go on.”

“We plant a leak. Make it seem like we’re focused on another location. That way, he thinks the airstrip is still safe.”

Agent 1 nodded. “That keeps him from accelerating his timeline.”

“Exactly.” Arjun pointed at the map. “But we don’t stop there.”

“The airstrip has two viable escape routes—by air and by road. We need to seal both without alerting them.”

Captain Singh spoke up. “Roadblocks will make them suspicious.”

“That’s why we don’t block the road. We control it.”

Agent 3’s eyes narrowed. “You want to reroute them?”

“Exactly.” Arjun pointed to an old service route leading to the airstrip. “We create a minor ‘accident’ on their original path. Just enough for their driver to take the secondary route—which leads straight into our ambush.”

Agent 1 smirked. “They’ll think they’re making a smart detour when really, they’re walking into a chokehold.”

“Correct. Now for the airfield.”

Arjun turned to the Chief. “You said 0400 hours. They’ll likely arrive early to inspect the plane.”

The Chief nodded. “Rakesh is paranoid. He’ll want to check everything before committing to takeoff.”

Agent 3 leaned in. “That’s when we strike?”

“No. That’s when we let him think he’s still in control.”

Everyone exchanged glances.

Agent 1 raised an eyebrow. “You want them to get on the plane?”

Arjun smirked. “I want them to try.”

He pointed at the hangar. “We plant controlled explosives—not to destroy anything, but to disable the plane just as they board. A small silent blast. Enough to make them think the plane is sabotaged, but not a full attack.”

Agent 3’s eyes widened. “So they stay put, thinking they need time to fix it.”

“Exactly. And while they’re distracted…”

Arjun’s gaze hardened. “That’s when we move. No loud gunfights. No chaos. Just precision.”

Agent 1 cracked his knuckles. “And if they fight back?”

Arjun’s smirk turned cold. “They won’t get the chance.”

He turned to Captain Singh. “Your team surrounds the perimeter. Once the plane is down, we cut the power to the hangar. Pitch black. No alarms, no outside communication.”

Agent 3’s smirk matched his. “They’ll be blind. Trapped.”

The Chief finally spoke. “And the final move?”

Arjun met his gaze. “We go in silent. We take them out before they even know they’ve lost.”

Agent 1 exhaled, shaking his head. “It’s bold. Risky.” Then a slow smirk spread across his face. “I like it.”

Agent 3 rolled her shoulders, ready for the fight ahead. “If we pull this off, Rakesh and Kailas will never see daylight again.”

The Chief’s expression was unreadable. “And if you fail?”

Arjun’s voice was steel. “We won’t.”

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