Priya disappeared on a Tuesday.
She'd been working on the financial analysis. Tracing shell companies. Following money trails.
She was supposed to report her findings at the evening meeting.
She never showed up.
At first, Rudra thought she was running late. Traffic. Technical issues. Normal delays.
But when she didn't respond to messages, he knew something was wrong.
"Check her location," Rudra ordered.
Karan pulled up the tracking app they all used. For safety. For coordination.
Priya's phone was offline.
Last known location: a coffee shop in Connaught Place. Two hours ago.
"Get the team," Rudra said. "Now."
Within thirty minutes, they were assembled. The warehouse felt emptier without Priya.
"When did anyone last see her?" Rudra asked.
"This morning," Zara said. "She was working on the financial data. Said she'd found something. A pattern in the transactions."
"What pattern?"
"She didn't say. Said she wanted to verify it first."
Rudra felt ice in his stomach. "Did she take the physical files with her?"
"Yes," Anvi confirmed. "She was going to cross-reference them with public records. At the National Archives library."
"Karan, check security footage. Coffee shop. Library. Anywhere along her route."
"On it."
While Karan worked, the team prepared. Weapons checked. Routes planned.
"This could be a trap," Maya warned. "Nexus grabs Priya. Waits for us to come after her. Ambush."
"Probably," Rudra agreed. "But we're going anyway."
"I know. Just making sure you know."
Karan's voice came through the speakers. "Found her. Security footage from the coffee shop."
The screen displayed grainy footage. Priya sitting alone. Laptop open. Working.
Then three people approached. Casual. Non-threatening.
They spoke to her. Brief conversation.
Priya's body language changed. From focused to defensive.
Then one of the people—a woman—showed her something on a phone.
Priya's expression shifted. From defensive to shocked.
She packed up quickly. Left with them. Voluntarily.
"She wasn't grabbed," Anvi observed. "She went willingly."
"Why?" Bhairav asked.
"I enhanced the audio," Karan said. "Listen."
He played back the conversation. Filtered. Cleaned.
The woman's voice: "—your sister. We have information about what really happened to her."
Priya's voice: "What information?"
"Not here. Come with us. We'll show you."
Priya: "How do I know you're telling the truth?"
The woman: "Because we're the ones who saved her."
The video ended.
"Her sister," Anvi said quietly. "Priya told me once. Her sister disappeared three years ago. During a college trip. Never found."
"Nexus bait," Maya said flatly. "Classic manipulation. Promise information about a loved one. Get the target to follow willingly."
"Can we track where they went?" Rudra asked.
"Working on it," Karan said. "Checking traffic cameras. Facial recognition."
They waited. Tense. Worried.
Then Karan: "Got them. Black SUV. Heading north. Toward... wait."
"What?"
"They're going to the old Kupam compound."
Silence.
"The field institute?" Anvi asked. "But it's been shut down. Investigated."
"Officially yes," Karan said. "But I'm detecting active power usage. Computer systems. Climate control. Someone's using the facility."
"Nexus," Rudra said. "They never left. They just went underground."
"So it's definitely a trap," Arjun said.
"Yes," Rudra agreed. "But Priya doesn't know that. She thinks she's getting information about her sister."
"We have to go after her," Bhairav said.
"Agreed. But smart. Careful." Rudra looked at the team. "This is what they want. Us running in emotional. Disorganized."
"So we don't give them that," Anvi said. "We plan. We prepare. We hit them tactical."
"How much time do we have?" Maya asked.
Karan calculated. "Seven hours drive to Kupam. They left two hours ago. So five hours before they arrive. Plus setup time. Call it six hours total."
"We can make it in five if we push," Arjun said.
Rudra shook his head. "We don't push. We plan. Karan, can you get us updated facility schematics? Show us what's active?"
"Already pulling them."
"Good. Maya, you know the layout. Help us plan entry points. Escape routes."
"On it."
"Anvi, Bhairav—inventory our equipment. See what we have for a facility breach."
They moved with purpose. Fear channeled into preparation.
The Plan
The schematics showed significant changes. The old wing—where the sublevel facility had been—was now expanded.
New chambers. New corridors. New security systems.
"They rebuilt," Maya said. "After the raid. After the exposure. They rebuilt bigger."
"How is that possible?" Bhairav demanded. "The place was swarming with investigators."
"Money," Anvi said simply. "Bribes. Political pressure. Nexus has resources. They covered it up."
"Look at this," Karan highlighted a section. "New addition. Sublevel 3. Wasn't there before."
"What's on Sublevel 3?" Rudra asked.
"According to power consumption patterns? Massive computer systems. Server farms. And something else. High energy usage. Could be medical equipment. Or..."
"Or what?"
"Neural interface technology. Like what they used on me."
The implications sank in.
"They're not just holding Priya," Anvi said. "They're going to process her. Turn her into one of them."
"Or kill her," Maya added. "Depending on her resilience scores."
"Then we move fast," Rudra decided. "We leave in one hour. Arrive before dawn. Hit them during shift change. Minimal personnel."
"What about backup?" Zara asked. "Should we contact authorities?"
"Who?" Rudra asked. "Local police who've been bribed? Federal investigators who've been blocked? There is no authority we can trust."
"So we're alone."
"We've always been alone."
They prepared in silence. Loading equipment. Checking weapons. Making peace with what might come.
Before they left, Rudra gathered them one last time.
"This is different from the safe house raid," he said. "This is their territory. Their facility. They'll have home advantage."
"Understood," the team replied.
"If anyone wants to sit this out, now's the time. No judgment."
No one moved.
"Okay then. Let's go get Priya."
They piled into two vehicles. Driving through the night.
As Delhi faded behind them, Rudra felt the weight of leadership.
These people trusted him. Followed him.
And he was leading them into a trap.
But what choice did they have?
Leave Priya to Nexus? Abandon her?
No.
They'd lost enough already.
No more.
Approaching Kupam
They arrived at 4 AM. Dark. Quiet.
The institute looked abandoned. Dormant.
But Karan's thermal scans showed otherwise. Heat signatures. Movement. Activity underground.
"I count twelve signatures," Karan reported. "Sublevel 2 and 3. Plus three on ground level. Probably security."
"Fifteen people," Maya calculated. "Against seven of us. Not great odds."
"We're not fighting fifteen," Rudra said. "We're extracting one. Different objective."
"Still risky."
"Everything is risky."
They parked a kilometer away. Approached on foot. Through the forest. The same paths Rudra had walked months ago.
It felt like a lifetime.
The facility loomed ahead. Dark. Waiting.
"Entry point?" Anvi asked.
"Same as before," Maya said. "Broken window. Old biology lab. It's still unsecured."
They moved silently. Reached the window. Climbed through.
Inside was exactly as Rudra remembered. Dust. Decay. But beneath it, something new.
Fresh footprints in the dust.
"They use this route," Rudra whispered. "Which means they know about it."
"Trap?" Bhairav asked.
"Probably. But still our best option."
They descended. Down the stairs. Into the basement.
The corridor was different now. Cleaner. Newer. Lights working.
And cameras.
"We're being watched," Karan confirmed. "Multiple surveillance systems. Active monitoring."
"Can you loop the feeds?" Rudra asked.
"Working on it. Give me thirty seconds."
They waited. Exposed. Vulnerable.
Then: "Done. You have a five-minute window before they notice the loop."
"Move."
They ran. Following Maya's lead. Through corridors. Past locked doors.
To the elevator that led to Sublevel 3.
It required a keycard.
"Zara, you're up," Rudra said.
She pulled out a cloned card—made from data they'd stolen in the previous raid.
It worked.
The elevator descended.
Into whatever new hell Nexus had created.
And Rudra knew, with absolute certainty, that this was exactly where they wanted him.
But he went anyway.
Because Priya was down there.
And he'd promised not to leave anyone behind.
Even if it meant walking into a trap.
Even if it meant facing what he'd been running from all along.
Himself.