HE SAW ME

West Fort was darker than usual. The streetlights flickered, their glow barely piercing the dense shadows that stretched across the old alleys. A damp breeze carried the salty scent of the nearby sea, rustling the abandoned newspaper pages scattered on the ground. The once-busy marketplace was silent, its shops closed, metal shutters locked in place.

Sathya moved like a whisper through the gloom, her steps light, precise. She stuck to the darker edges of the fort’s perimeter, avoiding direct sightlines of the security cameras. Reaching for her Bluetooth earpiece, she tapped it gently.

“Hey, Chakra. It’s Code Black,” she murmured.

“Got it, Yoda 7,” a raspy voice responded.

A few seconds later, the red indicator lights on the security cameras dimmed. Chakra had done his job.

“Thanks. Now, complete the mission,” he ordered.

“On it.”

Sathya pressed her back against the cold stone wall, glancing at the time on her watch—9:00 PM. The deal was set for 11:00 PM.

“Too early,” she muttered under her breath.

Finding a concealed spot on an abandoned rooftop, she settled in, retrieving her binoculars. The cityscape of Vardhanapuram sprawled before her—its neon lights reflecting off the waters, the occasional honk of a distant vehicle breaking the silence. Near the coastline, she noticed a couple laughing, their hands intertwined as they strolled along the pier.

She exhaled sharply. Damn it... I wish my life was that normal.

Pushing away the thought, she refocused.

Location: West Fort, Vardhanapuram.

Target: Aravind Roy.

Status: Eliminate.

Aravind Roy—the right-hand man of Minister Rana, a name that resonated with corruption and deceit. He was the gatekeeper to illicit deals that had torn through Vardhanapuram’s slums, leaving misery in their wake. Tonight, that chain of destruction would be severed.

But another name lingered in her mind. Serpent.

The gang had been accelerating their movements lately, their objectives unclear. Were they planning something bigger? Does Aravind have clues about Serpent?

Then a face flashed in her mind—Aryan Varma.

Was he connected to Serpent? The so-called crown prince of the Varma dynasty had always been a shadowy figure, but lately, his presence in these underground dealings had become too frequent to ignore.

If I’m lucky, I’ll find him here tonight.

Her lips curled into a smirk. Maybe I’ll finish him, too.

A small chime from her earpiece pulled her back to the moment.

“Target approaching at 7 o’clock,” Chakra reported.

Sathya’s gaze snapped toward the movement. A man dressed in crisp white stepped out of a car parked near the fort’s entrance. His anxious stance, the way he checked his watch every few seconds, confirmed he was expecting someone. Two guards flanked him.

Just a piece of cake.

She maneuvered swiftly through the shadows, positioning herself behind them.

“Why hasn’t he arrived yet?” Aravind Roy barked, irritation lacing his voice.

Sathya’s grip tightened on her pistol. Expecting someone, huh? Who?

No time to wonder. She launched forward with calculated speed. The guards barely registered her presence before she incapacitated them—one struck in the throat, the other silenced with a swift blow to the temple.

Roy’s eyes widened in shock as he fumbled for his gun. “Who the hell are you?”

Sathya smiled. A slow, deliberate smirk.

“Your death.”

The gunshot rang out, muffled by the silencer. A clean headshot. Aravind Roy collapsed, lifeless.

Eye for an eye. Tooth for a tooth. Evil for evil.

Her earpiece crackled to life. “Withdraw. Uninvited guests incoming.”

Sathya ducked into the shadows, her heartbeat steady but alert. Peering through the gaps in the abandoned structures, she saw them—tall figures moving with authority. And among them, one stood out.

A familiar build. A familiar aura.

Aryan Varma.

Her eyes glimmered unconsciously, her pulse quickening. What the hell? Why am I seeing him everywhere?

Sathya flattened herself against the damp stone, her breath shallow as she watched Aryan Varma stride into the frame—clad in all black, like the night had swallowed him and made him its own. His walk was confident, calculated, every movement radiating command. He wasn’t alone—five men surrounded him, their steps echoing through the empty fort like the prelude to a storm.

But it was Aryan who held her attention, who unsettled her.

Not because he was dangerous—she had faced far worse.

It was the way he carried danger. Like it was laced into his blood.

She zoomed in with her binoculars. He stopped near Roy’s body, crouched beside it, and examined the kill. His fingers brushed the dead man’s collar, then he stood slowly, eyes scanning the surroundings like a predator sniffing out the last trail of its prey.

He looked straight in her direction.

Sathya didn’t flinch, but her fingers moved subtly to her holster.

“Chakra,” she whispered. “Aryan Varma just walked into the kill zone. He’s scanning.”

Chakra’s tone sharpened. “Fall back. He’s not supposed to be there. You’re compromised.”

“Negative. I want to see what he does.”

There was a long pause before Chakra replied, “You’ve got sixty seconds, Yoda 7. Then I cut your feed.”

She stayed crouched, watching Aryan.

He turned to one of his men, said something inaudible, and then—he did something strange.

He smiled.

Not the kind of smile one wore at a dinner party. This was slow, unsettling… almost amused.

And then he looked up.

Right at her.

Sathya froze. That same burning gaze. Not questioning. Not confused.

Knowing.

“He saw me,” she muttered.

Chakra’s voice turned urgent. “Fall. Back. Now.”

Sathya didn’t argue this time. She backed away from the ledge, disappearing into the fort’s maze-like ruins. Her steps quickened, boots silent against the stone floor. Behind her, she could already hear movements—his men fanning out.

They were going to search. Hunt.

The hunter had become the hunted.

But Sathya wasn’t afraid. Her mind was racing—not with fear, but with intrigue. She reached the far side of the ruins, where a forgotten tunnel led into the underbelly of West Fort. The place was riddled with smugglers’ routes and hidden exits. She knew them all.

As she slipped inside, the damp air wrapped around her. Moss clung to the old bricks, and the scent of salt grew stronger. She pressed deeper until she emerged into a small dock hidden behind the fort, where her bike was stashed under tarp.

Sliding on the helmet, she muttered, “You saw me tonight, Aryan Varma. But next time… we talk.”

With a quiet roar, the bike sped off into the darkness.

Back at The Lost Verse, long past midnight, Sathya stood by her window, arms crossed.

The city looked deceptively calm.

She replayed the scene over and over. Aryan’s timing. His presence. His smile.

He wasn’t just a Varma heir. He was involved.

But the question was—how deep?

The Serpent. The Varmas. The death of Govind Raj.

It was all converging. And she was right in the center of it.

Her phone lit up. A message from Chakra.

New directive: Do not engage Aryan Varma again without clearance. He’s been flagged as Tier One.

Sathya stared at the message, lips curling.