The night had teeth.
Rain tore through the streets of Jaipur like liquid glass, hammering against windshields and tin rooftops, drowning out sirens and whispers alike. Central Jaipur High stood in the distance — dark, silent, and surrounded by the shimmering reflections of streetlights on wet asphalt.
Inside, Lucy adjusted the strap of her vest and leaned over the table, where holographic maps flickered with blue and red points of light. The school's layout glowed in the dim light — classrooms, corridors, ventilation shafts, emergency exits. Every detail was mapped, every contingency planned.
> "Entry teams are set," Siya said through her earpiece, voice steady despite the static. "All cameras online. Perimeter sensors synced."
Lucy's gaze swept across the feeds. "He's going to test us first. Small moves, soft entries — to watch how we react. Stay sharp."
The tension was thick enough to choke on. Rain hammered against the windows, and thunder rumbled above them like the city itself was holding its breath.
---
At the edge of the school grounds, Nick Verma crouched under the shadow of an abandoned bus stop, watching the lights shimmer through the storm. His eyes were calm, calculating.
He slipped a small earpiece into place.
> "Team Alpha, positions."
Three figures emerged from the dark, moving like phantoms.
> "Target in sight," one whispered. "No external patrols. Entry in 30 seconds."
Nick's lips twitched into something that wasn't quite a smile. "Make it clean. They need to feel us before they see us."
He glanced down at the watch on his wrist — an old relic Sid once wore during their missions. The irony wasn't lost on him. "For you, brother," he murmured. "For what they did."
---
Inside, Lucy felt it before it happened — the faint shift in pressure, the subtle hum of the building's sensors flickering.
> "Siya," she whispered, "I've got movement — west corridor, lower floor."
Siya's fingers flew across the console. "Confirmed. Two signals breached through the back service door. One more — roof access."
Lucy's eyes snapped to the security feed — a figure in black, moving fast through the stairwell. "They're splitting up."
She grabbed her sidearm and moved out, the storm's distant rumble echoing her heartbeat. The corridors were dimly lit, water dripping from ceiling leaks, every sound magnified by silence.
---
The first explosion was small — a diversionary flash bang thrown into the gymnasium. Alarms blared instantly, red lights spinning across the walls. Students screamed from the upper floors, and confusion spread like wildfire.
Lucy sprinted down the hall, shouting orders into her comm.
> "Evac routes C and D! Get them out!"
Doors slammed, footsteps thundered, and the air thickened with fear.
Then came the second breach — a side window shattered near the science wing. One of Nick's men rolled in, armed but precise, not shooting — just scanning. Lucy dove behind a pillar, aimed, and fired. The man dropped instantly.
> "Not today," she muttered.
---
Meanwhile, Nick stood outside the east wall, drenched but unmoving, watching through a thermal scope. The chaos inside was unfolding exactly as he'd predicted.
> "She's fast," he murmured. "Smarter than before."
He raised his radio. "Pull back. Phase one complete."
His men vanished as quickly as they had appeared. The storm swallowed their tracks.
Inside, Lucy panted, leaning against the wall. Her hands were steady, but her mind wasn't. Something about the attack felt off — too short, too clean.
> "Siya, status?"
> "Intruders gone," Siya replied, voice uneven. "Feeds are back online. But Lucy… they didn't take anything."
Lucy's eyes darkened. "They weren't here for data. They were here to test us."
Thunder cracked above, shaking the windows. In its echo, Lucy heard Nick's voice in her head — calm, taunting, and familiar:
> This is only the beginning.
She swallowed hard, staring at the flickering monitor where a single line of code blinked red: "HELIX – REACTIVATED."
> "He's sending a message," she whispered. "The first strike wasn't about winning. It was about warning."
Outside, the city thundered with rain and silence — the calm before something much worse.
---