Far away across the city, Roy stood in front of a glass wall, charts floating on a screen.
Pullwater/Elixir output. Distribution lines. Profits climbing like nothing could touch them.
Behind him, Gaurav paced with a phone pressed to his ear. Sweat on his temples.
"What do you mean he's gone?" Gaurav snapped. "Explain slowly."
Pause. His face darkened.
He ended the call and turned. "Samir's kidnapped."
Roy raised an eyebrow. Just one.
"Kidnapped?"
"He went to the restroom. Never came back.
Two bodyguards were found unconscious.
Lights went out for a few seconds, there was commotion in the bar."
Roy turned, arms crossed. "CCTV."
"Nothing useful. Blind spots. Like someone planned it."
Roy's face shifted. "The guards?"
"Still out."
"Wake them. Check every exit. Surrounding cameras too." Roy grabbed his jacket. "Don't call the police. Not yet."
Gaurav swallowed. "John?"
"Send him." Roy headed for the door. "You stay. If anything else happens, I want to know before the city does.
--
Samir stared at the helmet again, eyes sharper now.
"Let me guess," he said. " Ransom you picked a really wrong guy for that ?"
DJ didn't answer. He dragged a chair closer and sat. Calm. Too calm.
Somewhere unseen, a camera light blinked red.
Rony watched from a monitor, surrounded by screens. Bar footage. Maps. Timelines. An AI interface flickered, lines of text forming.
A question appeared.
DJ tilted his head, read it out loud.
"Why did you kill Sakshi Mehra?"
Samir's eyes flickered. Just a crack. Gone fast.
"What?" He laughed again, louder. "What are you talking about?"
DJ leaned forward. "Why did you kill Sakshi Mehra?"
Samir shook his head. "I don't know who that is. You got the wrong guy."
"Daughter of Dr. Rohit Mehra," DJ said. "She was investigating you. She died in your mine."
"Bullshit," Samir snapped. "And you're not police. So who are you?"
DJ didn't move. The helmet's eyes shifted.
"You know who I am."
The devil emoji formed fully.
Recognition hit Samir hard. His breath caught. "You." A pause. "The devil emoji guy." the one who steal the elixir.
DJ stood.
Samir went on fast, nerves slipping. "They blamed you. Aren't you the one who killed her? Why kidnap me?"
DJ kicked the chair.
Samir and metal went down together. His head smacked concrete. A curse tore out of him.
DJ hauled him back upright by the ropes. The chair slammed down again.
"You know I didn't do it," DJ said. "Tell me the truth. Or you're dead."
Samir spat blood, laughed through it. "You think this scares me? You gonna regret this."
"We'll see," DJ said.
The red light hummed.
Roy reached the place without hurry. That alone made the guards uneasy.
The bar was half-lit now, chairs pushed aside, music dead. A group of bodyguards sat near the wall. Two of them held ice packs to their heads, faces pale, eyes sharp with embarrassment more than pain.
Roy stopped in front of them. One hand in his pocket.
"Where's John?"
All of them straightened at once.
"He hasn't reached yet, sir."
Roy didn't nod. Didn't react. Just tilted his head a little.
"Who hit you?"
One of the injured guards swallowed. "A guy… weird helmet. Glowing eyes."
Roy's fingers tapped once against his thigh. He snapped them.
"Clear the bar," he said calmly. "Tablet."
His assistant, the new one, was already moving. The tablet landed in Roy's hand. He swiped. A blurry still frame came up. A figure mid-motion. Helmet. LED eyes. Devil grin.
Roy turned the screen toward them. "Does he look like this?"
They leaned in. Looked longer this time.
"…Yes," one said. "Similar."
Roy exhaled through his nose. Almost a smile. Almost.
John arrived a minute later with his people. Heavy boots. No noise wasted.
Roy pointed. "CCTV. Search the building."
They moved. Efficient. Silent.
Roy sat in the lounge, poured himself whisky. Didn't drink it yet.
His assistant returned. "Nothing, sir. No entry. No exit. No suspicious movement."
Roy finally lifted the glass. "Where's John?"
"CCTV room."
Roy stared into the whisky. "If there's no entry or exit," he said softly, "where did he come from?"
He looked up at the camera dome in the corner. "Check for a hacker. Maybe he's watching us."
Rony flinched.
He stared at the feed of Roy looking straight at the lens.
"…Okay," he muttered. "That's not great."
He switched channels fast and tapped his mic. "DJ. Problem."
DJ paused mid-step, still gripping Samir's chair. "What."
"They're in the building."
DJ turned his head slightly. Samir heard it too.
The mic was still live.
DJ punched him. Clean. Sharp.
Rony swore. "Not digitally. Physically. You're on the eighth floor. Same building. Ground floor's the bar."
DJ didn't ask how. "Plan B?"
A beat. "Do it fast."
DJ dragged the chair to the edge of the floor. Concrete dust fell into darkness below.
"I'm done asking," DJ said. "Talk."
Samir's breathing sped up.
—
Roy entered the CCTV room. Screens
everywhere. John stood stiff, arms crossed.
"No sign," John said. "He covered it well."
Roy leaned closer to the screens. Watched patterns loop. Traffic cams glitch. Lights flicker.
"He didn't leave," Roy said.
John frowned. "How can you be sure?"
Roy pointed. "Traffic lights jam. If the guy is who I think he is, he use replays old footage, glitch or a technical fault. Never the same pattern twice. Clever." A pause. "Still flawed.
" There is a sign of entering, but not the exit." And he snapped his fingers.
"He's inside this building."
Rony's hands shook. " Well. They kinda know."
Footsteps echoed faintly through stairwells.
"Guards moving. Now."
DJ flexed his fingers. His new glove whirred. A small turret slid out, locking in place.
"You remember Pullwater?" DJ said. "The energy you sold to terrorists."
He fired.
The pillar cracked. Concrete split like paper.
Samir stared, mouth open.
"Why did you kill her?" DJ demanded. "Who was with you?"
"I don't know!" Samir screamed. "I swear!"
"Stairs," Rony snapped. "They're coming up."
DJ's jaw clenched. "Say it."
"I didn't—"
"Too late," DJ said. "Plan C."
A drone buzzed. Dropped gas.
Samir slumped. DJ staggered but stayed upright.
Roy watched guards cough through feeds.
"Got it," he said. "Seal the exits. Eighth floor. Call the cops."
"Police en route," Rony said, voice tight. "Leave. Now."
DJ raised the turret again. Fired beside
Samir's head. Concrete exploded.
"I'll kill you—"
Samir heard boots. Guns. He screamed, "I'm here!"
The door slammed open.
Gunfire.
Everything slowed.
Rony yelling. Guns roaring. Samir shouting.
DJ's breath hitching.
His arm twitched.
His blast went off, hitting Samir's shoulder.
Bullets slammed into DJ's back. Blue ripples spread across his armor. One hit the helmet. Sparks. A high-pitched whine. Glass cracked but didn't break.
DJ covered his head. Dropped to one knee, his hands shaking, the bullets had no effect over him.
Silence. A half-second.
Guards stared. Shocked.
Rony saw DJ's vitals spike, all symptoms showing he was having a panic attack in the middle of a gunfight."Oh no. No no no."
He shoved his chair back and grabbed the mounted controller. "Game mode on."
The screen shifted. DJ's POV.
Targets lit up.
"Taser," Rony muttered, a mechanism on his hand shifted, changing the firing mode. "Go."
DJ's arm moved on its own.
Electric arcs. One guard down. Then another. Bodies hit the floor, legs still twitching.
"It works," Rony breathed, and made Dj stand up. But one of his leg mechanics didn't work. He fell face first, his legs still moving forward, creating an awkward moment.
"What the- Why is that one still moving—" he looked at the suit's layout and found the leg part was missing and sitting right next to his table, a very important part that he forgot to install. He swore, jolted DJ with a feedback shock, ready to wake the guy in person.
It worked.
DJ gasped. Came back.
He looked around. Fallen guards. Smoke.
Samir on the floor.
He checked vitals.
Flat.
DJ froze.
"DJ!" Rony shouted. "Police are seconds out. Move!"
DJ nodded slowly. Eyes shaky.
He turned. Looked down the dark edge of the floor.
And stepped forward.