CHAPTER 45 #3
I stare at him in disbelief as he continues, “The people getting shot inside the resort tonight aren’t mine.” His eyes harden as he holds my gaze. “They are yours.”
For one horrific second, all I can hear is my own heartbeat.
“And Michael is already dead as we speak.” His gaze drifts towards the few of my men still standing. “My man, Haider, killed him the moment he entered the resort.”
No. Michael is dead? How the f*ck did that happen?
Before I can even process it, Raghav glances around. “I think you arrived with what… hundred armed men?”
I don’t answer.
“Unfortunately, it looks like only a handful of them are still breathing.”
He’s right. I don’t even need to look around to know it. The rest are gone. How the hell did this happen? But I refuse to show my fear. I straighten despite the gun at my head and meet his gaze.
“You still underestimate me.” I seethe.
Raghav raises an eyebrow.
“Oh, right.” That same infuriating smile returns to his face, the one that tells me he knows something I don’t. “Parag and Singhal. The mighty reinforcements. You’ve been wondering where they are, haven’t you?”
The question lands like a bullet. I’ve been wondering that since the first call failed. They should have attacked by now. They should have been here. Where the hell are they?
“They’re not coming.” The b*stard’s smile only widens.
And this time, the shock hits me harder. What the f*ck did he do to them?
PARAG REDDY
Forty Minutes Ago
We are barely three miles from the southern approach to RK Estate when everything goes wrong. One second, our convoy is moving through the winding mountain road. The next, every vehicle screeches to a halt.
I shove open the door of my jeep and step out. In front of us, the road is gone. A massive wall of mud, uprooted trees, shattered rocks, and debris blocks the entire path.
“What the f*ck is this?”
I walk a few steps closer, my eyes moving over the destruction.
This wasn’t here yesterday. I had men scout every route leading to RK Estate.
Every road, every blind spot, every possible choke point.
They had reported there was no obstruction, no reason we wouldn’t be able to reach the estate from this side.
At first glance, it looks like a landslide. But it’s too perfect, like it was staged. Almost as though someone wanted this road blocked.
Singhal jumps out from the passenger side and joins me, his eyes sweeping over the blocked road. Behind us, dozens of armed men begin stepping out of the convoy with rifles and shotguns in hand.
I grind my teeth. “We leave the vehicles here.” Several heads snap towards me. “We move on foot.”
The men immediately begin preparing themselves. If the road is blocked, we walk. Nothing changes. Raghav dies tonight. I’m about to issue the next order when I notice Singhal suddenly stiffen beside me. His head tilts slightly, and his eyes narrow as if he has heard something.
And that’s when I hear it too. The faint sound of boots moving through the rubble. Not one man. Not a few. But an entire army.
My entire body goes rigid. It’s a trap.
“TAKE COVER!”
My roar explodes through the valley. And then all hell breaks loose.
Gunfire erupts from the darkness as bullets come at us from every direction, ripping into our convoy before half our men even realise what is happening.
The windows explode, glass shatters, and our men drop beside the vehicles, some without even getting the chance to raise their weapons.
“CONTACT!” “CONTACT!”
In less than a second, the entire valley transforms into a battlefield.
I dive behind my jeep as bullets hammer into the vehicle, and my entire body shakes from the force of the impact.
Around me, our men scramble desperately for cover.
Some make it. Many don’t. The attackers are everywhere.
Hidden behind the rocks. Buried within the tree line.
Positioned along the elevated ridges overlooking the road.
They have perfect kill zones and firing angles. These are not random gunmen or hired shooters. These b*stards know exactly what they’re doing. I raise my weapon and return fire. But for every man we hit, three more seem to appear.
What the f*ck? How was Raghav ready for this? He shouldn’t have known we were coming. Nobody outside the three of us knew the plan. Yet somehow, it feels as if these men have been waiting here for us all night.
The gunfire only grows more intense. Bodies begin dropping everywhere.
My men and Singhal’s men fall one after another.
And still the bullets keep coming. I look towards Singhal, who is hiding behind a thick tree trunk, firing back relentlessly.
Even from here, I can see the disbelief on his face, because he’s thinking exactly what I’m thinking. We’re getting slaughtered.
“CALL FOR BACKUP!” I bark.
One of my men immediately reaches for the satellite phone, but he never gets the chance to use it. A single shot cracks through the valley, and the bullet punches straight through his forehead. He collapses before the phone even leaves his hand.
My blood runs cold. No. This isn’t a fight. This is an execution. And somehow... we’re the targets.
The gunfire dies as suddenly as it began. One second, the valley is drowning in bullets. The next, there’s only terrifying silence. I slowly lift my head from behind the jeep. Bodies of our men are everywhere, scattered across the rocky terrain.
This wasn’t a firefight. This was a slaughter.
My eyes immediately find Singhal still crouched behind the thick tree trunk.
Alive, unhurt, and looking as confused as I am.
Almost everyone else is dead except us. Then my gaze lands on the satellite phone lying beside one of the fallen men.
I need backup. I move towards it quickly and reach down, but just as my fingers come within inches of the phone, I hear it.
A click. The unmistakable sound of a weapon being cocked behind me.
Every muscle in my body freezes. My heartbeat pounds against my ribs as I slowly straighten and turn around.
A gun is pointed directly at my head, and the man holding it looks eerily familiar.
For one insane second, I think I’m looking at Raghav Khurana.
Same height. Same build. Same commanding presence.
But no. He’s not Raghav. There are subtle differences once I look more closely.
Nearly a dozen armed men stand behind him. And from the way they hold their positions, they don’t look like mafia or hired gunmen. They look like soldiers trained to work as one unit. I narrow my eyes.
“Who the f*ck are you people?”
“We’re GLEN. Your worst nightmare,” he replies without lowering his weapon.
GLEN. An organisation that needs no introduction. They have been hunting men like me for years, dismantling entire criminal networks across countries and wiping out entire mafia empires. And now they’re standing right in front of me, here, in Shivtara Valley.
I stare at him, and a faint smile appears on his face.
“I’m Ayaan Shergill,” he says calmly before adding, “And judging by that expression, you’ve already noticed the resemblance. I’m Raghav’s twin brother.”
My heartbeat stutters. No f*cking way. Raghav has a twin brother? And he’s with GLEN?
Now it all makes sense… the face, the eyes, the aura. Of course he looks so much like Raghav. They’re twins.
“How?” I grit out. “How the hell did you know we were coming here? No one knew about this operation. Nobody knew when we would attack or which routes we would take. We maintained radio silence. So how the f*ck did GLEN know?”
Ayaan actually chuckles. Then, he lowers the gun, pulls a cigarette from his pocket and lights it. He takes a slow drag as though we’re discussing the weather instead of standing in the middle of a massacre.
“That’s a long story.” Smoke curls from his lips as that infuriating smirk returns. “A story you’d probably enjoy hearing.”
I want to punch that smirk off his face. Instead, I wait. Because right now, I need answers more than I need revenge.
“But before that...” Ayaan glances at me again as he pulls out his phone. “I think my brother deserves some good news. That Parag Reddy and Hemant Singhal are exactly where he wants them.”
The moment he presses the button to make the call, the truth finally hits me. I realise that the war was already lost long before we even arrived.