Rainwater seeped through the cracked concrete walls of Cell 47, tracing silver veins down to the floor. The night inside Jaipur Central Prison was colder than usual — thick with silence, anticipation, and the metallic scent of rust and blood.
Nick Verma lay awake on his narrow cot, staring at the ceiling. His eyes reflected the dim orange light of the corridor outside. For months, he had played the obedient prisoner — quiet, compliant, invisible. But in his mind, every second had been a calculation.
> "Freedom isn't leaving these walls," he whispered. "Freedom is returning to finish what they started."
The rhythmic clank of boots echoed outside — the night guard's rounds. Nick's hand brushed lightly over the edge of the metal bed frame. Hidden beneath it was a small blade, smuggled in through the laundry cart two weeks ago.
Raghav, his cellmate, shifted under the thin blanket. "You've been awake every night for weeks," he muttered. "You really think you can beat the system?"
Nick smiled faintly. "You don't beat the system, Raghav. You use it until it turns on itself."
His eyes hardened. "And then you burn it."
He stood and moved to the small barred window, peering out at the rain-soaked yard. He'd memorized every movement out there — guard rotations, camera blind spots, electric fence intervals. Sid's death had made him patient. Purposeful.
He'd been accused of treason, framed for crimes he never committed. But tonight, he'd reclaim his truth — with fire and blood if needed.
> "Sid," he murmured, glancing at the lightning flashing beyond the prison walls, "I'm coming. And so is justice."
---
Meanwhile, on the other side of Jaipur, Lucy hadn't slept in three nights. Her apartment had transformed into a war zone — walls covered with maps, coded symbols, and photo strings connecting Sid, Nick, and the Agency.
She sat hunched over her laptop, typing rapidly, decrypting fragments of Project Helix — the same classified project Nick had stolen. Every time the system flashed "Access Denied," she pushed harder, sweat running down her temples.
> "I have to anticipate him," she muttered. "Nick doesn't make mistakes twice."
On her desk, three phones buzzed intermittently — one for Agency channels, one for decoys, and one secure line directly linked to Siya. But she hadn't used that one since the night of the breach. She couldn't drag Siya into this.
A framed photo of Sid sat beside her keyboard, its glass cracked from when she'd knocked it over earlier. His smile — calm, genuine, fearless — pierced through her like a blade.
> "You trusted me," she whispered. "And I let you die."
The guilt drove her harder. She began marking escape zones across the map — old warehouses, safehouses, exits through the metro system. If Nick was coming, she'd be ready.
---
Back inside the prison, the storm reached its peak. Thunder rolled like gunfire as lights flickered along the corridor. The guard outside Nick's cell cursed, hitting the power panel — the exact panel Nick had tampered with during laundry duty a week ago.
Sparks flew.
The alarms stayed silent.
The cameras blinked — and died.
Nick moved. Fast. Silent. Precise.
A small explosion echoed down the hall — enough distraction to mask his escape through the service shaft. Within minutes, he was gone, swallowed by the rain.
Outside, under the cover of thunder, he melted into the darkness — reborn.
> "Time's up," he whispered to himself. "Helix begins tonight."
---
By dawn, the Agency's central server room flashed red again — another breach. Director Rana stormed in, shouting for lockdown. The digital fingerprints matched the impossible: Nick Verma, active and alive.
And among the incoming reports, one field name reappeared in the system logs — Raven. Lucy's old alias.
Rana clenched his jaw. "They're both moving. God help us all."
---
Lucy's phone buzzed — a single text.
> "HELIX REACTIVATED. MOVE NOW."
Her pulse quickened. She grabbed her backpack, stuffed the cracked photo of Sid inside, and stepped out into the storm.
The streets of Jaipur shimmered under the pale dawn — wet, silent, alive.
In one corner of the city, Nick was already moving through the shadows.
In another, Lucy prepared to face him.
And far away, Siya woke to a message that would change everything:
> "They're coming for her."
The storm had officially begun — and this time, no one was just a spectator.
---