Swindon, England – Intelligence HQ, Briefing Room
The night before the trap.
The room was dim, filled with silence and tension. Maps pinned to boards, digital monitors pulsing with satellite overlays of the military base and its outer zones. The atmosphere hung heavy like storm clouds ready to burst.Kiaan stood at the front, arms crossed, his jaw clenched with focus. The pale hospital band still wrapped around his wrist, his head bandaged from the recent blow. But he didn't show pain—he wore purpose like armor.Around the table, Tara, Zid, Dev, and Rehaan listened, eyes fixed on him."Tomorrow night," Kiaan began, "we draw him out. And this time, he won't vanish. This time…"—his eyes narrowed—"…he bleeds."He tapped the table where the victim pattern was displayed. "We know he doesn't strike on base, but outside—isolated, vulnerable cadets who sneak out. And we know he's watching. Always watching."
Zid leaned forward, concerned. "You're sure about using the boy as bait?""I'm not sending him in alone," Kiaan replied without hesitation. "I'll be with him the entire time."
Tara raised a brow. "You're going undercover?"
Kiaan nodded. "I'm young. Twenty-one. Still look like a cadet. No one there suspects me as an agent. That's my advantage—and I'm going to use it."Rehaan's jaw ticked, visibly tense. "Kiaan…"But Kiaan cut in, sharp and low, "I already carry one mark." He lifted his wrist slowly, showing the inked name 'Rehaan Malhotra' etched like a ghost over his skin. "I won't carry another. Especially not from some sadistic bastard hiding behind military walls and fake medals."The room went silent. Kiaan's voice cracked through it with renewed resolve."No one moves unless I say. No one goes near the cadet. Not even for a second. We can't spook him. If this killer smells anything off, he'll disappear into the wind again, and we'll have another body on our hands."Zid nodded reluctantly. "Tracker and open mic ready. Audio's clean. The boy's briefed?""He knows he's helping, but he doesn't know the real risk," Dev added.
Kiaan looked at them all. "Good. Keep it that way. I don't want him scared. I want him normal. Real."Tara turned to the screen. "So what's the setup?"
Kiaan walked over and pointed to a quiet alleyway near the cadet's weekend flat. "Right here. Low traffic. No CCTV. Perfect spot for him to strike—he's used similar ones before. I'll stay within ten feet of the cadet. He thinks I'm just another trainee bunkmate heading back from a pub. When he appears…"
"…we'll be in position," Rehaan finished grimly. Kiaan looked at each of them, slowly. "This guy took Maya's life. Took innocence from boys who never spoke because of shame. Tomorrow, we don't just trap a killer… we bury a demon."Tara stared at him, brows drawing together. "You sure you're ready for this? After everything he did to you—"
"I'm not doing it for me," Kiaan interrupted, voice cold. "I'm doing it for them."He turned, the shadows from the fluorescent light catching the edge of his face—the pain, the memory, and the fire that refused to dim.
As he walked out of the room, Rehaan finally exhaled, rubbing a hand across his face.
Zid leaned toward Tara and whispered, "He's already marked. But that's what's keeping him from ever letting someone else be."
Outside the door, Kiaan's voice rang down the hallway into the dark—"No more bodies. No more marks. Tomorrow night—we end it."