Three days later, Rudra received an encrypted message.
From an unknown sender.
We need to talk. Forest outside Kupam. Midnight. Come alone. - A Friend from the Inside
It was obviously a trap.
Rudra went anyway.
But not alone. Not really.
The team positioned themselves throughout the forest. Hidden. Watching. Ready to intervene.
Rudra walked to the designated coordinates. A clearing. Moonlight filtering through trees.
And waiting there: a woman. Maybe thirty. Nexus tactical gear. But unarmed.
"You came," she said.
"Who are you?"
"Cell Seven. Operative designation: Sierra-4. Real name doesn't matter anymore."
"Why are you here?"
"Because of what your friend showed us. The financial records. The Directorate names." Sierra-4 stepped closer. "I joined Nexus because I believed. I thought we were creating stronger people. Better people. I thought the pain was necessary. Temporary."
"It's not," Rudra said.
"I know that now." Her voice was bitter. "I've been an operative for four years. I've done... terrible things. Justified them. Told myself it was for a greater purpose."
"And now?"
"Now I know I was just a tool. Being used by people who don't care about anything except power and control."
Rudra studied her. Trying to determine if this was genuine or manipulation.
"What do you want?" he asked.
"To help. To make things right. Or at least... less wrong."
"Why should I trust you?"
"You shouldn't." Sierra-4 pulled out a tablet. "But maybe you'll trust this."
She showed him files. Operational schedules. Safe house locations. Personnel rosters.
"Everything I have access to," she said. "Cell Seven operations. Plus contacts in other cells who are also questioning. Not many. Maybe ten total. But it's a start."
"You're offering to be a mole."
"I'm offering to be a defector. I'm done with Nexus. But I can't just disappear. They'll find me. Hunt me. Unless..."
"Unless what?"
"Unless I stay in place. Feed you information. Help you from the inside while I plan my exit."
It made sense. Strategically. But it was also incredibly risky.
"How do I know this isn't a setup?" Rudra asked. "That you're not just baiting us? Learning our methods?"
"You don't. But consider this: if Nexus wanted to trap you, they have easier ways. You walked into Kupam twice. They could have grabbed you anytime."
"Then why didn't they?"
"Because you're still part of the experiment. Project Rekha isn't just about creating operatives. It's about creating leaders. People who can organize. Strategize. Build movements. You're doing exactly what they trained you to do."
The words hit like ice water.
"So this is all still a game to them," Rudra said.
"To the Directorate? Yes. But not to the operatives. Not to people like me who were lied to. Used. We're waking up. And we're angry."
She meant it. Rudra could hear the genuine rage in her voice.
"If I agree to work with you," he said carefully, "there are rules. Conditions."
"Name them."
"First: You never contact us directly. Only through dead drops. Encrypted. Karan will set up the protocol."
"Agreed."
"Second: You provide information. Nothing else. No operations. No planning. You're an intelligence source. Not a team member."
"Understood."
"Third: If you're compromised, you run. You don't lead them to us. You disappear."
"Of course."
"And fourth: If this is a trap, if you betray us, I will make sure every operative in Nexus knows you're the leak. You'll never be safe. Ever."
Sierra-4 smiled coldly. "Fair."
They established protocols. Communication methods. Emergency signals.
As they finished, Sierra-4 said, "There's something else you should know. Operation APEX."
Rudra's attention sharpened. "What about it?"
"It's accelerating. Originally scheduled for three months. Now it's six weeks."
"Why the rush?"
"Because of you. Because of what your team is doing. The exposures. The raids. The fractures. The Directorate is worried. They want APEX complete before you can do more damage."
"What is APEX?" Rudra demanded.
"I don't have full details. Need-to-know basis. But it involves the subjects. All of them. Everyone who's been through Project Rekha. Every survivor."
"How many people?"
"Across all programs, all years? Maybe three hundred. Globally."
Rudra felt sick. Three hundred survivors. All being targeted.
"Targeted how?"
"I don't know. But the operational codename is 'Harvest.' Make of that what you will."
Harvest. The word conjured terrible images.
"I'll find out more," Sierra-4 promised. "Get you details. But you need to move fast. Six weeks isn't much time."
She turned to leave.
"Wait," Rudra said. "Why are you really doing this? The truth."
Sierra-4 stopped. Didn't turn around.
"Because I have a sister. Younger than me. She's twelve. And last month, Nexus flagged her. For recruitment. For Project Rekha." Her voice cracked. "I won't let them do to her what they did to me. What they did to all of us."
She disappeared into the forest.
Rudra stood alone in the clearing.
The team emerged from hiding.
"Did you get all that?" Rudra asked.
"Every word," Karan confirmed through the earpiece. "Audio recorded. I'll analyze for authenticity markers."
"What do you think?" Anvi asked.
"I think she's genuine," Rudra said. "But we verify everything she gives us. Trust but verify."
"And Operation APEX?" Bhairav asked.
"We have six weeks to stop it. Whatever it is."
They walked back through the forest together.
Three hundred survivors. All potential targets.
And six weeks to save them.
The clock was ticking.