The sterile scent of antiseptic still hung heavy in the hospital room, but inside, it wasn't a place of rest—it was a war room. Kiaan Verma, his left shoulder heavily bandaged and stiff, sat propped up against the pillows, laptop on his thighs, his sharp eyes scanning document after document. The heart monitor beeped steadily beside him, but his focus never wavered. On a tray table next to his bed lay folders marked "CONFIDENTIAL – RED VORTEX RAID", his pen racing through notes, cross-checking names, floor maps, and shipment manifests. His injured hand trembled slightly, but he gritted his teeth and pushed through. Sweat dotted his brow, but his mind was razor-sharp.
Dev Malik leaned against the wall with his arms crossed, watching silently. Tara Iyer walked in with two coffees, only to pause at the sight of Kiaan typing furiously despite the IV still in his vein. Rehaan Sethi stood near the window, letting the morning sun hit his face, before turning back.
> "He's going to kill himself before Rex gets the chance," Tara muttered softly, handing a coffee to Dev.
> "He doesn't even know who Rex is yet," Dev replied, his eyes narrowing, "but he can feel the war coming."
Kiaan suddenly paused, his brows furrowing, eyes glued to a document—an import manifest from two years ago buried in the seized files. His voice was low, gravelly.
> "I want a copy of every document we seized from the mall. Every log, every shipment, every damn electronic trace."
"We already have them stored in the system, Kiaan," Rehaan said.
"No, not just the system. I want it in a separate secured pendrive. Not tracked. Not synced. Burn a copy and keep it locked where even hell can't touch it," Kiaan instructed firmly, clicking open a coded folder.
"I'm not risking all this work just for it to get deleted when some higher-up gets scared."
Tara walked closer, glancing at the opened files.
> "You still don't know who owns the mall, do you?"
Kiaan didn't answer right away. His jaw clenched, his eyes burning with quiet frustration.
> "Whoever it is… they're smart. Powerful. The kind that doesn't leave footprints. But we've shaken something… and now, it's watching us back."
There was a brief silence. Even the monitor seemed to slow for a second.
> "Tell the doctors I'm getting discharged tomorrow," Kiaan added suddenly.
"What?!" Tara exclaimed, stepping forward.
"Kiaan, you got shot—"
"Yeah, and I'm still breathing. We don't have time for healing," Kiaan cut her off, voice cold but resolute.
"Prepare my discharge. We're going back to HQ. This isn't over."
He leaned back against the pillows, eyes closed, but the pendrive he'd just copied rested safely beneath his pillow—the key to secrets that could burn cities.
Outside the room, storm clouds began to gather. And somewhere across the sea in England, Rex Malhotra had already begun his next move.