Page 258 of The Redemption
My grin widens. “Oh, you’re insane.”
Still no response. Trisha continues moving crate after crate into the aircraft. The remaining GLEN operatives quickly catch on to her plan and immediately start helping. Within minutes, the jet is packed with enough ammunition to turn it into a flying bomb.
I lean back in my seat, completely mesmerised. Because while I’ve been sitting here, trying to disable the aircraft, Trisha has simply decided to erase its existence. Absolutely classic.
It’s one of the reasons she and Raghav are besties. Neither of them believes in fixing a problem when they can eliminate it permanently. Both of them are absolute nightmares for people like me, who spend hours planning and plotting.
While people like Ayaan and me spend hours putting together a carefully constructed strategy, Raghav and Trisha will create an entirely new one in ten seconds and somehow make it work. Every damn time.
A few moments later, Trisha walks out of the aircraft, looking completely calm and casual, like she hasn’t just planned to turn the multimillion-dollar jet into a pile of ashes. The night wind blows through her hair as she reaches into her pocket and pulls out a small remote detonator.
I immediately start laughing. “You’re seriously doing this?”
Her voice crackles through my headset. “You have a better idea?”
Fair point.
She doesn’t even look back at the aircraft. She simply keeps walking away confidently, like an action-movie hero. And then,presses the button. The explosion tears through the night like a missile strike.
BOOM.
The entire aircraft erupts into a massive fireball. Within seconds, Samarjeet’s escape route is reduced to nothing more than burning wreckage.
I whistle softly. “Remind me never to make you angry.”
“Too late.”
I laugh again. The operation is complete. No aircraft. No escape. No backup plan. Samarjeet is officially trapped inside Shivtara Valley, exactly where we want him.
A few minutes later, Trisha starts walking back towards the surveillance van. I’m still watching the burning wreckage when my secure phone suddenly rings.
It’s Ayaan.
“Object neutralised,” I report automatically. “Airstrip secured.”
Ayaan’s voice comes through urgently. “Get back to RK Estate, Krish. Siya’s been shot, and her mother has been taken by Samarjeet.”
“What?” I shoot to my feet. “We… we’re coming.”
And the call disconnects.
RAGHAV
RK Estate (Two hours later)
It’s been two damn hours since Siya was rushed to the hospital, but somehow it feels longer. I end the call with Haider and force myself to breathe. The bullet hit her shoulder, and she needs surgery to have it removed. Although she’s out of danger, she’s still weak and in pain. Haider is at the hospital with her,and so is Esha. Half a dozen of my best men are stationed around the entire hospital. If Samarjeet is stupid enough to go near Siya again, he’ll be signing his own death warrant.
But right now, another question haunts all of us. How the f*ck did Rukmini Vardhaan disappear from the most heavily guarded estate without anyone noticing? How did she cross the security perimeter without triggering a single alarm?
My eyes automatically shift towards the far side of the room, where Krish hasn’t moved from his laptop for nearly an hour. Half of the estate’s digital infrastructure is open across the screens in front of him. The man looks like he’s preparing to hack a government.
“Raghav,” Krish calls me out, his tone instantly telling me he’s found something. Ayaan is already moving beside me as I walk towards Krish. Trisha follows close behind.
Krish points at one of the surveillance screens. “Who is this woman?”
He freezes the footage, and my blood runs cold.
Kriti?
