The next night brought no relief — only heavier rain, darker skies, and silence that hummed with unease. Central Jaipur High was sealed off, but for Lucy, it felt like a prison.
Every corridor had been checked, every camera recalibrated, but still, something felt wrong — the kind of wrong that hides in corners and breathes softly when you turn your back.
Lucy walked down the corridor, her boots splashing faintly in the puddles forming on the floor. The emergency lights flickered weakly, turning every shadow into a phantom.
> "Siya, report."
> "Cameras stable. No signs of infiltration. But…" Siya hesitated. "You should see this."
Lucy turned toward a monitor nearby. The footage showed a lone figure on the rooftop two hours ago. The resolution was grainy, but unmistakable — a tall man with a black coat, standing under the rain, looking straight at the camera before the feed cut out.
Lucy's pulse skipped. "Nick."
> "He wanted you to see him," Siya said softly.
Lucy clenched her jaw. "Then let's give him what he wants."
---
Meanwhile, Nick moved through the darkened hallways of the west wing, his reflection ghosting across glass displays and old student photos. He wasn't in a rush. Every step was deliberate, measured, controlled.
He remembered these halls differently — laughter, chaos, Lucy smiling over a cup of chai during stakeouts near the same school when they were both still Agency field operatives. Now, only the echo of that warmth remained.
> "You always had a soft spot for innocence," he muttered to himself. "Let's see how much of it's left."
He placed a small black cube under the auditorium stage — an EMP pulse device. Non-lethal, but enough to blind the entire building's surveillance for twenty minutes.
---
Lucy reached the second floor, the air thick with humidity and tension. A faint sound reached her — footsteps, slow and steady. She turned off her flashlight, blending into the darkness.
The sound came closer. One of Nick's men — moving silently, scanning the rooms. Lucy waited until he was close enough to see his shadow stretch across the wall. Then she moved.
A blur of motion — a strike to the wrist, a twist, a quiet gasp — and the man dropped. Lucy caught him before his body hit the ground.
> "You picked the wrong night," she whispered, lowering him to the floor.
But as she turned, something caught her eye — a flickering light from the far end of the hall. The main auditorium doors were open.
> "Siya, he's here. I'm heading in."
> "Be careful," Siya replied. "I'm patching into the main feed."
---
The auditorium was vast and eerily still, chairs stacked in rows, the stage curtains half drawn. Rain pounded against the skylight above, sending rivers of water cascading down the glass.
Lucy stepped forward slowly, every sense alert. The sound of a piano key — a single, haunting note — echoed from the shadows.
Nick emerged from behind the curtain, his expression unreadable.
> "You found me," he said quietly.
> "You wanted to be found," Lucy replied.
He smirked faintly. "Still quick. Still brave. Still blind."
> "You killed agents. You nearly caused a massacre."
> "No, Lucy. I exposed the rot. You just didn't want to see it."
Their eyes locked — two ghosts bound by betrayal. Lightning flashed above, illuminating their faces for a split second: her eyes sharp, his haunted.
> "You think you're fighting for justice," Lucy said, voice trembling between anger and pain. "But all you're doing is becoming the monster they made you fear."
Nick stepped closer, the distance between them closing like a tightening noose.
> "Maybe monsters are all that's left," he whispered.
Then — the sound of sirens outside. The Agency reinforcements had arrived.
Nick's smirk returned. "We'll continue this another night."
He threw a smoke charge, the hall exploding into chaos. By the time the smoke cleared, he was gone — only his voice lingered, distorted through the speakers.
> "You can't protect them, Raven. Not from me. Not from the truth."
Lucy stared at the empty stage, the sound of the rain swallowing everything else.
> "Then I'll find the truth first," she whispered. "Before you destroy what's left of it."
---
The storm raged outside, and in the flickering light of broken lamps, the hall stood silent — a battleground of memory, betrayal, and ghosts.
The "Hall of Shadows" had lived up to its name — and the game between Lucy and Nick had just begun.
---