Dubai in December was warm. Surreal after Delhi's winter.
The team arrived separately. Different flights. Different hotels. Avoiding patterns.
They met at a rented apartment in Jumeirah. Paid in cash. No records.
"Status?" Rudra asked as everyone assembled.
Priya pulled up her laptop. "Found three properties linked to Rathore's shell companies. All registered within the last two months. All listed as 'educational research facilities.'"
She displayed addresses on screen.
"Which one?" Anvi asked.
"That's the problem. Could be any of them. Or all of them. She's smart enough to create decoys."
"Then we scout all three," Maya decided. "Tonight. Before she knows we're here."
"Split teams?" Bhairav suggested.
"Too risky. We stay together. Check each location methodically."
They prepared. Casual clothes. Tourist cameras. Looking like exactly what they were supposed to be: young people exploring Dubai.
First Location
Property one was in Dubai Marina. High-rise. Luxury apartments.
They entered the lobby as visitors. Smiled at security. Took the elevator to the correct floor.
The apartment was empty. Lights off. No movement.
"Could be a front," Arjun said. "Property purchased just to create paper trail."
"Or a safe house she hasn't activated yet," Karan suggested through their earpieces.
They moved on.
Second Location
Property two was in Business Bay. Commercial building. Office space.
Harder to access. But Zara talked their way in. Delivery excuse. Misdirection.
The office was furnished. Computers. Equipment. But powered down. Inactive.
"Recent activity though," Maya noted, touching a desk. "No dust. Someone's been here in the last day or two."
"Maintenance staff?" Anvi asked.
"Or Rathore's people. Preparing."
They documented everything. Photos. Video. Evidence.
Then left before security noticed.
Third Location
Property three was different. Industrial area. Near Jebel Ali.
Warehouse complex. Isolated. Fenced.
And active. Lights on. Vehicles parked outside. People moving inside.
"That's it," Rudra said. "That's the facility."
They parked a block away. Observed through binoculars.
At least fifteen people visible. Some in lab coats. Some in security uniforms.
And in the center of the complex: a woman. Mid-sixties. Gray hair. Authoritative posture.
"Dr. Rathore," Maya confirmed, comparing to photos.
Rudra felt cold satisfaction. They'd found her.
"Now what?" Bhairav asked. "Call Dubai police?"
"And say what? We're Indian citizens accusing a respected researcher of crimes? They'd laugh us out."
"Interpol?" Priya suggested.
"Too slow. By the time they coordinate, Rathore could move again."
"So what do we do?" Anvi pressed.
Rudra thought. Calculated. Planned.
"We do what we did in Delhi. We gather evidence. Document everything. Then we expose it. Simultaneously to multiple authorities. Make it too big to ignore or cover up."
"How do we gather evidence from inside a secured facility?" Zara asked.
"Same way we did in Mumbai. We infiltrate."
"That went badly," Arjun reminded him.
"Because it was a trap. This isn't. Rathore doesn't know we're here yet. We have the element of surprise."
"For how long?" Maya asked.
"Until we use it. So we move tonight."
They returned to the apartment. Planned. Prepared.
The infiltration would be small team. Rudra, Maya, Karan (remote support), and Anvi.
Everyone else: external support. Ready for extraction or escalation.
At 2 AM, they approached the facility.
Security was present but not overwhelming. Two guards at the gate. Cameras on perimeter.
"Karan, can you loop the feeds?" Rudra asked.
"Working... done. You have twelve minutes."
They scaled the fence. Moved through shadows. Reached the main building.
Door was locked. Electronic keypad.
"Priya's magic," Anvi whispered, using a cloned device to bypass the lock.
Click. Open.
Inside was clinical. White corridors. Laboratory equipment. Exam rooms.
And at the end of the hall: voices. Conversation.
They moved closer. Staying silent.
Through a window, they saw a conference room. Rathore at the head of a table. Fifteen people seated. Listening.
A presentation. About Phase Two.
Rudra activated his phone camera. Started recording.
Rathore's voice: "—fifty subjects selected. Ages twelve to fifteen. All demonstrating exceptional cognitive abilities. All from vulnerable backgrounds. Perfect candidates."
Someone asked a question. Rudra couldn't hear clearly.
Rathore responded: "Conditioning begins next week. Initial trauma induction. Followed by resilience training. Estimated timeline: six months to create operational assets."
Assets. She was talking about children like they were tools.
Rudra kept recording.
"What about the APEX failures?" another voice asked. "The survivors who resisted? The international exposure?"
"Lessons learned," Rathore said calmly. "Phase Two incorporates improved isolation protocols. Better psychological screening. And most importantly: no documentation. Everything verbal. Nothing written. Nothing that can be leaked."
She was learning. Adapting.
"And funding?"
"Secured. Through private benefactors. No government connections this time. Completely independent."
"Location?"
"Multiple sites. UAE. Singapore. Brazil. Distributed operations. If one is discovered, others continue."
A hydra. Exactly as Rudra feared.
"What about the Directorate replacements?" someone asked. "With Kumar, Malhotra, and the others captured, who leads?"
"I lead," Rathore said simply. "Alone this time. No partners. No collaborators. Just me and operational staff. Cleaner. More secure."
She'd learned too well.
Rudra had enough. Hours of recording. Detailed admissions. Proof that couldn't be denied.
He signaled to retreat.
They backed away from the window. Moved toward the exit.
Then: alarm. Blaring. Lights flashing.
"They detected us," Karan said urgently. "Motion sensors. Security is responding."
"Run!" Rudra ordered.
They sprinted. Through corridors. Toward the exit.
Behind them: guards. Armed. Pursuing.
They burst outside. Into the compound.
More guards converging.
"This way!" Maya directed, leading them toward a side fence.
Gunfire. Bullets impacting nearby.
They dove behind equipment. Returned fire. Suppressing.
"Extraction team!" Rudra called into radio. "We need pickup! Now!"
"On our way!" Bhairav responded. "Sixty seconds!"
They held position. Fighting. Surviving.
Then: vehicles screeching to a stop outside the fence. Their team. Providing covering fire.
"Go!" Maya shouted.
They ran. Scaled the fence. Into the waiting vehicles.
Accelerated away as more guards emerged from the facility.
But they were clear. Safe.
For now.
The Release
Back at the apartment, they reviewed the footage.
Perfect. Detailed. Incriminating.
"This is everything," Anvi said. "Rathore admitting to Phase Two. Planning to abduct fifty children. Creating a distributed network."
"And we have her on video," Priya added. "Clear image. Clear voice. Undeniable."
"So we release it," Bhairav said. "Right now. Before she can run again."
"To who?" Zara asked.
"To everyone," Rudra said. "Media. Law enforcement. Human rights organizations. International authorities. We flood every channel simultaneously."
"Rathore said no documentation," Maya pointed out. "But we documented everything. Her own words. Her own face."
"Checkmate," Anvi said quietly.
They spent three hours preparing the release. Editing for clarity. Adding context. Creating press packets.
At 8 AM Dubai time, they hit send.
The video went to fifty different organizations. Simultaneously. Impossible to suppress.
By 10 AM, it was trending globally.
NEXUS FOUNDER EXPOSED PLANNING NEW OPERATION
DR. KAVITA RATHORE ADMITS TO CHILD ABDUCTION PROGRAM
PHASE TWO: THE HORROR CONTINUES
UAE authorities responded within hours. Raid on the facility. Arrest warrants issued.
But when police arrived at the warehouse, it was empty.
Rathore had fled. Again.
"How?" Anvi demanded. "We released this two hours ago. How did she evacuate an entire facility in two hours?"
"Because she had an escape plan," Rudra realized. "Multiple escape plans. For every scenario. Every exposure."
"So she's in the wind. Again," Bhairav said, frustrated.
"Yes. But this time, she's exposed. Undeniably. Internationally. No country will harbor her. No ally will protect her. She's radioactive."
"Unless she goes completely dark," Maya said. "Underground. No digital footprint. No public presence. Just... vanishes."
"Then we find her anyway," Rudra said. "However long it takes. We have her face. Her voice. Her network. Eventually, she'll surface. And when she does, we'll be waiting."
It wasn't the clean victory they'd wanted.
But it was a victory nonetheless.
Phase Two was disrupted. Fifty children were safe. Rathore was exposed and hunted.
Not perfect. But progress.
And sometimes, progress was enough.
For now.