The engines behind him grew louder.
Rudra didn't look back.
Looking back wastes time.
He turned left at the first intersection, cutting into a narrow residential lane. The streetlights were dim. Most windows were dark.
The system pulsed faintly.
Continue Straight — Interception (Activation: 90 Seconds)
Hide Between Buildings — Thermal Detection (Activation: 3 Minutes)
Enter Moving Vehicle — Civilian Casualty Probability Increased
Civilian casualty.
He clenched his jaw.
Janus did not care about damage control.
He sprinted.
A black SUV turned the corner behind him. No sirens. No shouting.
Disciplined.
Another vehicle appeared ahead, blocking the wider road.
They had predicted his path.
The system flared red.
Reverse Direction — Flank Capture
Climb Fire Escape — Sniper Risk
Break Into Open House (Gate Unlocked) — Temporary Shelter (Activation: 4 Minutes)
He veered toward the open gate.
Jumped over it.
Landed inside a small courtyard.
Lights inside the house turned on instantly.
Not coincidence.
A trap.
The front door opened.
Two men stepped out.
Not masked this time.
Plain clothes.
Calm eyes.
One of them spoke quietly.
"Rudra Malhotra."
So this was no longer shadow surveillance.
This was confirmation.
The system pulsed violently.
Fight Directly — Subdual in 12 Seconds
Attempt Escape Over Wall — Taser Impact (Activation: 3 Seconds)
Throw Notebook — Retrieval Priority Shift (Unknown Outcome)
Unknown outcome.
Rare.
His mind moved quickly.
The notebook was what they wanted.
He pulled it out and threw it toward the dark corner of the courtyard, over the side fence.
Both men's eyes shifted instinctively.
Half a second.
That was enough.
Rudra rushed forward, not to fight—
But to close the distance and create chaos.
He slammed his shoulder into the first man's chest. Pain shot through his injured arm, but momentum carried them both sideways.
The second man reached for something at his belt.
The system flashed.
Metallic Sound — Restraint Device (Activation: Immediate)
Not a gun.
Capture equipment.
They still wanted him alive.
Rudra kicked the second man's knee and dove toward the side fence.
A sharp sting hit his back.
Taser.
Electricity exploded through his muscles.
His body convulsed.
He collapsed to one knee.
Vision blurring.
The system flickered erratically.
Remain Down — Full Restraint (Activation: 5 Seconds)
Roll Left — Secondary Shock
Charge Forward — 38% Breakthrough
Thirty-eight percent.
Low.
But not zero.
He forced his muscles to move before the second shock hit.
He lunged forward blindly, crashing into the gate instead of the fence.
Pain flared through his shoulder.
The first man recovered faster than expected.
Too trained.
A gloved hand grabbed Rudra's collar.
Cold metal pressed against the back of his neck.
Not a weapon.
A device.
The system screamed.
Neural Suppression Implant — Cognitive Limitation (Permanent Risk)
Permanent.
That word cut through the haze.
Rudra twisted violently.
His fingers scraped across the device just as it neared his skin.
He grabbed it and slammed his head backward into the man's face.
Bone cracked.
The grip loosened.
He shoved forward, stumbling through the open gate and into the alley beyond.
Footsteps followed immediately.
No shouting.
No anger.
Just precision.
They were adjusting.
The system pulsed again.
Continue Alley — Dead End (Activation: 60 Seconds)
Turn Right — Roadblock
Climb Drainpipe — Rooftop Escape (52% Success)
He grabbed the drainpipe.
Pulled himself upward despite the trembling in his arms.
The taser effect was fading, but weakness lingered.
Below him, one of the Janus operatives spoke into a small device.
"Subject resistant. Elevated response pattern."
Elevated response pattern.
They were studying him.
Rudra reached the rooftop and rolled over the edge.
He didn't pause.
He ran across the uneven surface toward the next building.
The gap between them was narrow.
The system flashed red.
Jump — 71% Success
Hesitate — Leg Shot
He jumped.
Landed hard.
Pain radiated up his leg.
Behind him, one operative followed without hesitation.
Disciplined.
Fast.
Not normal.
Rudra's breathing grew heavier.
Blood from his earlier wound began soaking through his shirt again.
The system flickered weaker this time.
Energy Drain Detected.
So it had limits.
"Wrong outcome if I keep running," he muttered.
Physical Collapse (Activation: 4 Minutes)
Four minutes.
He had four minutes before his body gave out.
Ahead, he saw a busier street with late-night traffic.
The system has been updated.
Drop to Street — Temporary Civilian Shield
Stay Rooftop — Coordinated Surround
He dropped.
Hit the pavement hard and rolled toward the edge of the sidewalk.
Cars honked as he stumbled into the road.
The Janus operative stopped at the rooftop edge.
Watching.
Calculating.
They would not fire into traffic.
Too visible.
But they would adapt.
Rudra blended into the small crowd near a night food stall.
Breathing shallow.
Heart pounding.
The system flickered one last time.
Immediate Capture Risk Reduced
Long-Term Containment Escalating
Long-term.
They were patient hunters.
He leaned against a wall, pretending to check his phone.
Across the street, he saw it.
Another black vehicle.
Engine idling.
They had not retreated.
They had repositioned.
This was not about tonight.
This was about pressure.
Slow suffocation.
Janus did not chase recklessly.
They closed space methodically.
He understood something in that moment.
The truck had been a test.
Tonight was confirmation.
They now knew he was worth containing.
His father had not simply discovered something.
He had become something inconvenient.
And now—
So had Rudra.
A familiar shift in temperature brushed against his skin.
Subtle.
Cold.
He did not turn.
He already knew.
Mira's voice reached him from the darkness behind.
"You lasted longer than expected."
He kept his eyes forward.
"They wanted to implant something in my neck."
"Yes."
"What would it have done?"
"Reduced you."
The word settled heavily.
"Why didn't they just kill me?"
"Because they still believe you can be corrected."
He laughed quietly.
"I'm not something you fix."
"No," she replied calmly. "You're something that breaks structures."
Across the street, the black vehicle's headlights turned off.
The operatives were withdrawing.
For now.
Mira stepped beside him, hands folded behind her back.
"You have officially been noticed," she said.
"By Janus."
He tightened his jaw.
"Then we stop running."
Her eyes shifted toward him.
"You're not ready to attack."
"Then I get ready."
Silence stretched between them.
The system pulsed faintly.
Host Psychological State Shifting.
He could feel it too.
Fear was fading.
Not disappearing.
Transforming.
Into something sharper.
"Three days," Mira said quietly.
"What happens in three days?"
"They decide whether to erase you or recruit you."
Rudra finally looked at her.
"And if I refuse both?"
She met his gaze without hesitation.
"Then the real chase begins."