Location: Safehouse X-91 — Emergency Exit Wing
Time: 2:03 AM
The alarms pierced the night like sirens from hell.
Shabd yanked open the closet beside the cot—hidden weapons, smoke bombs, medical kits.
"Arya, how many?" he called over the wail.
Arya's hands trembled as she tapped furiously on the emergency control panel. "Too many. At least eight thermal signatures. They've locked the surface exit."
Vashti grabbed her jacket. "They're trying to trap us underground."
A loud clang shook the metal hallway.
They were already inside.
---
Underground Hallway – 2:07 AM
Vashti led the way.
Shabd watched her from behind—focused, fierce, a controlled storm.
But her hand… was clenched. Bloody. Shaking.
She was scared.
And when Vashti Dhiman was scared, people bled.
They reached the control bridge to the underground tunnel. The metal door had been welded shut from the outside.
"They knew this was the only way out," Arya muttered, panic rising. "We're boxed in like lab rats."
Shabd slammed his fist against the wall. "There's a reason they want us alive."
Vashti turned sharply. "What are you saying?"
"I'm saying—this isn't just a raid. It's a retrieval."
---
FLASHBACK – Shabd's POV – 3 Years Ago
A white room. No windows. Just him and the Mirage Director.
"You have a choice, Dr. Heer," the woman said coldly. "Walk away from the girl and become one of us… or fight us—and lose her forever."
He didn't respond. He just stared at the folder in her hand labeled "Subject Helix – Vashti Dhiman (Priority Alpha)."
"I won't be your puppet," he said.
She smiled. "You already are."
---
Back to Present
The walls groaned. Footsteps neared.
Vashti stood in front of Arya, eyes locked on Shabd.
"You knew," she whispered.
He swallowed.
"You knew they were after me… years ago."
"Yes."
"You left me to protect me?"
"Yes."
She stepped closer. Voice shaking with anger and hurt.
"Then why the hell did you come back?"
He didn't blink. "Because I couldn't breathe without you anymore."
A bang echoed.
The final door burst open.
They were out of time.
---
Fight or Die
Shabd launched the first attack—slamming a stun baton into the first guard's helmet. Sparks flew.
Arya, despite her limp, slid beneath a table and activated a pulse trap. Electricity zapped three soldiers instantly.
Vashti—
Vashti fought like she wasn't afraid to die.
She grabbed a fallen guard's weapon and fired at the surveillance drone in the ceiling.
BOOM.
Darkness.
She turned to Shabd in the red emergency light.
> "When we get out of here—if we get out of here—you don't walk away again."
He grabbed her hand.
> "Not unless you tell me to."
---