Chapter 59: The Asset Goes to War
The bus ride from the ACA complex was a long, pressurized journey to the regional hub. Raghav sat by the window, his head leaning against the cool glass, his presence a silent challenge to the entire team.
His body, having just endured the structural upgrade, felt dense, heavy, and unnaturally quiet—the deceptive calm before a seismic event.
He was the Controlled Asset, and the bus was the containment unit.
The low hum of nervous chatter filled the air. Rajat, the hostile fast bowler, was directly across the aisle, his taped ankle rubbing impatiently against the seat frame. Rohan Sharma, the captain, sat near the front, his head buried in the opposition binder.
Raghav was running constant diagnostics. His right arm was a functional lie. The structural integrity was compromised, but the Pace 60 and Power 65 were real.
He just couldn't deploy them simultaneously for more than a few deliveries without risking catastrophic failure.
