Swindon, England — Intelligence Directorate HQ
The cold corridors of the intelligence headquarters echoed under Kiaan Verma's boots as he marched toward the Director's Office. A thick folder gripped tightly in his hand, his knuckles pale with the weight of what it carried—not just evidence, but justice clawing to break out.He knocked once.
"Come in," a calm voice answered.
The heavy door creaked open and inside sat Joint Director Raghav Kapoor, sharp-eyed and always measuring, and beside him, the stoic and veteran Director Arvind Bansal, known across continents for never blinking in front of war or murder.Kiaan walked in without hesitation, dropping the folder on the table with a heavy thud. "All confirmed. We found him." His voice was steel.Raghav raised a brow, glancing at the top of the file. "You're sure?""I don't submit unless I am," Kiaan replied.Director Bansal opened the folder, scanning the contents with the sharp attention of a warhound. Photographs, testimonies, locations, timestamps—it was all airtight."Dr. Darian Voigt," Raghav read aloud, expression hardening. "Suspended quietly, disappeared silently. No noise, no footprints… until now."
Kiaan nodded. "He used his position as a medical officer to commit repeated sexual assaults against young male cadets. When Lt. Maya Bishop discovered it, she reported him. And within a week, she was dead."
Bansal's jaw tightened. "And the boys?"
"Assaulted. Some raped—post mortem confirmed. He chose his victims from weekend release groups, lured them outside the base. But he never left a fingerprint… until one victim mentioned the scar below his left eye."Raghav leaned back, folding his arms. "That's a dangerous man, Kiaan. You know that, right?"Kiaan's eyes narrowed. "I'm counting on it."The room fell into silence for a beat.Director Bansal looked up slowly. "What's your plan?"Kiaan straightened, voice unwavering. "Tomorrow night, I'll be outside the base perimeter. Alone. Unarmed. I've selected a second bait—one of the boys from the cadet group Voigt's been keeping eyes on. We've fitted him with a hidden tracker and an open channel mic. I'll stay close, but not too close. This time, we bait him on his terms. And this time—he doesn't walk away."Raghav frowned. "You're putting your life on the line. Again." ."This isn't just another assignment," Kiaan said quietly, his voice dark. "This case… it doesn't end in a courtroom. It ends with him either behind bars for life—or buried." He took a deep breath. "I'm not giving him a chance to vanish again. Not after what he's done."
Director Bansal looked at Raghav, then back at Kiaan."Permission granted," he said, after a moment of charged silence. "But you'll report every move. I want your comms active throughout. You don't disappear on us, understood?"
Kiaan offered a subtle smirk. "I don't disappear. I hunt."As he turned to leave, Raghav called out, "Kiaan."Kiaan paused at the door.Raghav's voice was quieter now, more human. "Don't let this one mark you again."Kiaan's gaze dropped for a fraction of a second to his wrist—the faint ink of Rehaan Malhotra's name still burned there.
He looked up. "This time, I'll leave a mark he won't survive."And with that, he walked out, fire in his veins, vengeance in his breath.
Tomorrow night, the predator would return to feed.And this time, the prey had teeth.