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Chapter 156 - EPISODE 156 — “THE IVORY NEEDLE”

🔥 EPISODE 156 — "THE IVORY NEEDLE"

🎬 LOCATION: MUMBAI — MULTIPLE DISTRICTS

⏱️ TIME: 4:22 A.M. — PRE-DAWN

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🔥 SCENE 1 — INT. MUMBAI MORGUE — EARLY MORNING

💨 Fluorescent lights buzz overhead. A body lies on the slab—female, mid-30s, eyes open, mouth sewn shut.

📜 Dr. R.P. Gupta stands over the corpse, surgical mask on, scalpel in hand.

🔥 DR. GUPTA (to recorder):

"Victim number four. Same signature—no external trauma, no sexual assault, no theft. Cause of death: cardiac arrest induced by a precise injection of potassium chloride… delivered through the ear canal."

📜 He lifts a small object from the tray—an ivory sewing needle.

🔥 DR. GUPTA (quietly):

"He's not killing them. He's preserving them."

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🔥 SCENE 2 — INT. BLACK SQUAD HQ — WAR ROOM — MORNING

📜 The board shows four victims. All women. All killed in different parts of the city.

🔥 SHREYA:

"No connection between them. Different ages, professions, neighborhoods. The only link is the needle."

🔥 IMRAN:

"Then we're dealing with a ghost. A ghost with surgical hands."

🔥 QAZI:

"No. We're dealing with a collector."

📜 Arjun pins a new photo to the board. A fifth woman—reported missing last night.

🔥 ARJUN:

"If he's following a pattern, she's already dead. We just haven't found her yet."

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🔥 SCENE 3 — INT. DR. GUPTA'S LAB — LATER

📜 Gupta examines the needle under magnification.

🔥 DR. GUPTA:

"Hand-carved. Not mass-produced. The ivory is old—pre-ban. This isn't just a weapon. It's a signature."

📜 He opens a file—an old case from 1997. A similar needle. A similar death.

🔥 DR. GUPTA:

"He's not new. He's resurfaced."

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🔥 SCENE 4 — INT. VICTIM #5'S FLAT — NIGHT

📜 The team finds the fifth victim. Same M.O.

📜 On the wall, written in lipstick:

> "She didn't scream. She listened."

🔥 IMRAN (furious):

"He's mocking us."

🔥 QAZI:

"No. He's inviting us."

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🔥 SCENE 5 — INT. BLACK SQUAD HQ — NIGHT

📜 Shreya traces the lipstick brand—custom, imported, sold to only 12 clients in Mumbai.

📜 One name stands out: Dr. Mahesh Vaidya — retired pathologist. Lives alone.

🔥 ARJUN:

"Let's pay him a visit."

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🔥 SCENE 6 — INT. DR. VAIDYA'S HOUSE — NIGHT

📜 The house is pristine. Books on anatomy. Taxidermy. A locked basement.

📜 Vaidya is calm. Polite. Offers tea.

🔥 DR. VAIDYA:

"I've read about your team. You're very efficient. But you're too late."

📜 Imran finds a hidden door. Inside: a cold room. Five mannequins. Dressed. Posed.

📜 One of them isn't a mannequin.

🔥 SHREYA (whispers):

"Oh my god… she's still warm."

📜 Vaidya smiles.

🔥 DR. VAIDYA:

"They were never victims. They were silence. And silence… is beautiful."

📜 He lunges. Qazi fires. One shot. Clean.

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🔥 SCENE 7 — INT. BLACK SQUAD HQ — DAWN

📜 The case is closed. But the weight lingers.

🔥 DR. GUPTA (to Qazi):

"He wasn't insane. He was meticulous. He didn't kill out of rage. He killed out of design."

🔥 QAZI:

"And we broke the pattern."

📜 Arjun stares at the board. One needle remains.

🔥 ARJUN (quietly):

"Six mannequins. We only found five."

🚔 FADE TO BLACK — END OF EPISODE 156

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