Episode 15

Death at Midnight

Episode 15: The Last Safe Haven

The city of Mumbai had turned against him.

ACP Aryan Mehta was no longer a cop. He was a fugitive.

His face was everywhere—on news channels, police bulletins, and even WhatsApp forwards. Every street, every alley, every checkpoint had orders to shoot on sight.

But Aryan wasn’t running anymore.

He was planning his counterattack.

A Plan in Motion

Inside a dimly lit warehouse near the docks, Aryan stood over a stolen police radio, listening.

“…No sign of the suspect. Proceeding to next location.”

He exhaled. They hadn’t found him yet.

Across from him, Meera Sharma sat against a wooden crate, the USB drive still clutched in her hand.

“This is insane,” she muttered. “You want to take down the Commissioner himself? With what army?”

Aryan met her gaze. “With the truth.”

Meera scoffed. “Truth doesn’t work against men like him. He owns the system.”

Aryan’s voice was cold. “Then we burn the system down.”

Ritika Malhotra – The Wild Card

Their best bet was Ritika Malhotra.

The widow of Karan Malhotra. The woman framed for his murder.

She had been in jail for weeks, fighting a hopeless legal battle. But with the evidence on the USB, she could become their greatest weapon.

The plan was simple: break her out before Khanna had her silenced.

But there was a problem.

Khanna had tripled security at the women’s prison.

If Aryan made a wrong move, he wouldn’t just fail—he’d die.

The Rescue Mission

It was 2 AM when Aryan and Meera approached the prison. The streets were empty, the night alive with the sound of distant sirens.

Meera, dressed as a police officer, walked up to the security gate.

“I have transfer orders for Prisoner 289,” she said, handing over forged documents.

The guard frowned. “I wasn’t informed about this.”

Meera forced a confident smile. “Commissioner’s direct orders. We’re moving her to a high-security location before the media catches wind.”

The guard hesitated. Then—he nodded.

The gate buzzed open.

Aryan, hiding in the shadows, moved in.

All Hell Breaks Loose

The plan was to be silent.

It lasted exactly thirty seconds.

Inside the prison, one of the guards recognized Aryan. “Hey! That’s him! ACP Aryan—”

BANG!

Aryan fired first. The guard collapsed.

The alarms screamed.

“Move, move, move!” Aryan yelled as they ran toward Ritika’s cell.

Inside, Ritika Malhotra stood up, confused and exhausted. “What the hell—”

“No time to explain,” Aryan snapped, unlocking the door. “You want revenge for your husband? Come with me.”

Ritika stared at him for half a second—then nodded.

She wanted revenge.

The Great Escape

Guards swarmed the hallways.

Aryan and Meera fought their way through, taking down anyone in their path.

Outside, police jeeps were pulling up. The entire city would be on them in minutes.

They ran to the getaway car, jumped in, and RITIKA—who had spent weeks in a cell, accused of murder—looked at Aryan and asked:

“What’s the plan?”

Aryan’s grip tightened on the steering wheel.

“We’re going to bring the Commissioner down.”

The Hunt Begins

As dawn broke, Commissioner Khanna stood in his office, staring at his phone.

The news was everywhere.

“Ritika Malhotra – Escapes from Police Custody. ACP Aryan Mehta Still At Large.”

His jaw clenched.

Aryan was becoming a problem.

A problem that needed to be eliminated.

Khanna picked up the phone. “Find him. Kill him. And make sure the body is never found.”

The war had officially begun.

To Be Continued…

(Next Episode: Episode 16: The Shadow War—where Aryan and Ritika go on the offensive, and Khanna makes his deadliest move yet.)

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