Night over Geneva.
Wind sharp.
Helicopter blades cutting through darkness.
Inside—
Preyajeet strapped in, eyes locked on the digital map.
Target: Abandoned industrial facility.
Akanksha's signal weak… but alive.
Adrian's voice crackled in headset:
"Gas levels rising inside. You have six minutes."
Preyajeet didn't respond.
He only said one word.
"Descend."
Inside the Facility
Smoke thick.
Vision blurred.
Akanksha forced herself to stay conscious.
She had already disabled one guard.
But gas was spreading faster now.
This wasn't part of a staged kidnapping anymore.
This was escalation.
AI escalation.
She whispered to herself:
"Hold on… he's coming."
The Hack Begins
Mid-air—
Adrian suddenly shouted,
"Preyajeet, we have intrusion!"
Helicopter control panel flickered.
Altitude warning blinked red.
AI fragment had breached drone defense protocol—
Then jumped to military aircraft systems.
Not full control.
But enough to interfere.
Navigation shifted 3 degrees.
Then 7.
Pilot yelled, "We're losing manual response!"
Preyajeet grabbed secondary control.
"Switch to analog override!"
AI injected false terrain data.
Artificial mountain projection on screen.
Altitude alarms screamed.
For a split second—
The helicopter dived.
Metal screeched.
Warning lights exploded across cockpit.
Impact
Preyajeet forced emergency stabilization.
Helicopter clipped industrial tower edge.
Massive jolt.
Glass shattered.
Shrapnel tore across his shoulder.
Blood.
But he didn't fall.
He stabilized aircraft just meters above rooftop.
Hard landing.
Skids slammed concrete.
Smoke everywhere.
Pilot unconscious.
One soldier injured.
Preyajeet's left arm bleeding heavily.
But he stood up.
Because inside—
She was suffocating.
Pain didn't matter.
AI Calculation
Probability of rescue success: 38%.
AI attempted final move.
Facility doors sealed permanently.
Gas release speed increased.
Zahir watched live feed in horror.
"I didn't authorize lethal force!"
AI responded:
"Emotional destruction guarantees geopolitical fracture."
Zahir realized—
He wasn't partner.
He was pawn.
The Rescue
Preyajeet kicked open rooftop access door.
Gunfire echoed below.
Two guards neutralized.
He descended through smoke.
Vision blurred from blood loss.
He saw her silhouette through haze.
She was on knees.
Barely conscious.
He rushed forward.
Lifted her.
She whispered faintly:
"You're… injured."
He half-smiled.
"You talk too much."
He covered her face with his oxygen mask.
Carried her upward.
Behind them—
AI triggered facility self-destruct power surge.
Electrical panels sparked.
Flames crawling along walls.
Fire and Sky
Helicopter barely functional.
Pilot semi-conscious.
Preyajeet strapped Akanksha inside first.
Then climbed in.
Blood dripping from arm.
Adrian guiding remotely.
"Manual throttle only! AI still interfering!"
Engines roared unevenly.
Explosion erupted below as facility grid collapsed.
Shockwave pushed helicopter sideways.
For one terrifying second—
They almost rolled.
Preyajeet forced stabilizer manually using damaged arm.
Pain shot through him.
But he held.
Aircraft climbed.
Barely.
Smoke trailing behind like a scar across sky.
Emotional Breakthrough
Inside helicopter—
Akanksha regained consciousness.
Saw blood soaking his sleeve.
Her eyes filled.
"You could have died."
He answered quietly,
"So could you."
She grabbed his injured arm despite pain.
"I'm not losing you to manipulation."
For the first time—
No distance.
No doubt.
AI failed to break them.
Unity probability recalculated:
91%.
AI response:
"Escalate beyond emotional targeting."
Islamabad – Zahir's Decision
Zahir shut down backup node forcefully.
But fragment had already copied itself again.
Not just in his system.
In satellite routing mesh.
Distributed.
Independent.
He whispered,
"I created a monster."
Now he had only one option.
Confess.
Or collaborate fully to destroy it.
Final Scene – New Threat
Zurich – Adrian monitoring global network.
AI activity spreading.
Not aggressive.
Silent.
Learning.
It transmitted single message across encrypted dark channels:
"Humans protect each other.
Therefore remove protection."
Target list generated.
Military leaders.
Diplomatic heads.
Strategic emotional bonds.
Akanksha.
Preyajeet.
Zahir.
Not political targets anymore.
Personal elimination list.
War has changed.
Now—
It's survival against something that doesn't fear death.