---
A Line Drawn in Fire
The air outside the principal's office was still thick with the remnants of whispers and judgment. But Shristi no longer felt the sting of shame. No longer felt like the girl who had flinched under the weight of words that weren't hers to carry.
Now she was furious.
Shristi raised her hand and knocked on the door. Not timidly. Not with hesitation. But like someone with a purpose. She didn't wait for permission. She pushed the door open and walked in with steady steps.
Principal Sinha looked up from a file, his eyes narrowing when he saw her.
"What are you doing here?" he asked, voice laced with annoyance, perhaps even mild surprise.
Shristi closed the door behind her without answering. She took a breath, then faced him with a calmness she didn't feel-but had learned to wear like armor.
"I'm here to remind you of something," she said evenly.
Sinha folded his arms, leaning back in his chair with a scoff. "And what might that be?"
Shristi stepped closer. "That there's a difference between authority and abuse."
The principal gave a dry chuckle. "Are you accusing me of something, Ms. Pandey? Because what happened earlier was discipline. Your friend needed to be shown his place."
"No," she replied sharply. "You didn't show him his place. You revealed yours."
That made him sit forward slightly, face tightening.
She continued, voice firm but rising with emotion, "I stayed quiet when it was about me. I let it slide because I thought, maybe... maybe I could take it. That no one needed to step in for my sake. But today-today you humiliated someone who didn't deserve it. Someone who, despite everything this college throws at him, still puts himself on the line for it."
Sinha's face darkened. "That boy is arrogant, violent, and dangerous. And from what I've seen, he's dragging you down with him."
Shristi's jaw clenched. "He has more integrity in one moment of silence than you've shown in this entire term. You say he's dangerous? You made him that way."
She stepped forward, placing both hands on the edge of his desk, eyes locked onto his.
"You think you're powerful because you sit in this office. Because you can yell. Because you have politicians on speed dial. But don't confuse noise for power."
Principal Sinha leaned forward, tone lower, trying to regain control. "I'd be very careful if I were you, Ms. Sharma. You're threatening a man who can make your academic life very difficult."
Shristi straightened, voice growing quiet but sharper than any scream.
"I'm not threatening. I'm reminding."
Her eyes gleamed with the fury of someone who had reached her breaking point. "You know my father. You've shaken hands with him at every fundraiser. Smiled for cameras beside him at every press event. You know exactly who he is-and what he's capable of."
A flicker of discomfort passed through the principal's eyes.
"If this ever happens again," she continued, her tone colder now, "if you lay a hand on my friends, or drag their names through your petty displays of power... I won't need to raise my voice."
She stepped away from the desk.
"My father doesn't yell either. But when he moves, people notice."
She turned and walked toward the door, then paused, her hand on the handle.
"One more thing," she said, glancing back at the stunned man behind the desk. "You made a mistake thinking I'll tolerate everything you do."
Her voice softened-low and dangerous.
"I fight for them. And if you thought We scared you... you haven't seen me angry yet. Do try doing something again and I wouldn't be responsible for the consequences"
Then she opened the door and walked out.
And as the heavy click of the closing door echoed through the office, Principal Sinha sat alone-finally realizing the storm he had unknowingly provoked.
---
Chapter: The Calm Before the Fire
The hallway outside the Shield's temporary hideout was dim, lit only by the flickering fluorescent light overhead. Wick leaned against the cracked wall, his fingers stained with dried blood, eyes sharp with the kind of focus that preceded chaos. His voice, low and commanding, cut through the tension like a blade.
"Vivaan. Robin."
Both turned to him. Robin-Shristi's childhood friend-looked tense but composed. Vivaan looked more conflicted, already anticipating what was coming.
Wick stepped forward, his tone final. "She stays in her hostel. No matter what happens tonight, she doesn't leave that room. If she tries, you stop her."
Robin raised a brow, folding his arms. "She's not going to like that."
"I don't care," Wick snapped, then paused, softening just slightly. "She's not a target. Yet. But once I move on Hamza's family, all hell's going to break loose. I need her safe."
Vivaan stepped closer, concern evident in his voice. "You're planning something, aren't you?"
Wick didn't answer directly. He simply looked out the narrow window into the moonlit street. "The politician's son has played too many games. Humiliated Shristi. Sent people after our team. Threatened my people."
He turned back to them. His eyes burned with conviction.
"This ends now."
Robin exchanged a glance with Vivaan. "Wick... you really think killing him is the answer?"
Wick shook his head slowly. "No. Killing him is easy. It's making him beg to disappear that I'm after."
Vivaan stepped forward, uneasy. "And what about Shristi? She has the right to know what you're getting into."
Wick's jaw tightened. "That girl already carries too much weight on her shoulders. The circumstances, her choices... she doesn't need this added to it. She needs peace. And right now, that peace starts with me finishing this war."
He looked them both in the eye. "If anything happens to her... if even a hair on her head is harmed while I'm gone... I'll come back from hell and drag you both there with me."
Robin let out a breath. "Understood."
Wick nodded, then turned his back to them, walking toward the door where Nick waited, already prepped for their mission.
Behind him, Vivaan murmured, "She's going to hate us for this."
Robin replied quietly, "Yeah... but at least she'll be alive to hate us."
And with that, they both turned and walked toward the hostel-toward the girl they were now responsible for. Toward a storm they knew was coming... but could do nothing to stop.
---
Chapter: Choices in the Dark
The sun had long set, blanketing the world in a heavy, suffocating darkness. But the real shadow loomed inside the walls of an isolated farmhouse, where Wick and Nick stood in eerie silence, the stench of betrayal heavier than the air around them.
They had come with a mission-to kidnap Hamza's younger brother, Yuka, and force a peace agreement. What they didn't know was that the hunter had become the hunted.
The plan had been perfect on paper. Nick had disabled the cameras. Wick had traced the guard rotations. They'd both moved like ghosts through the shadows of Yuka's farmhouse... until the locks clicked shut behind them.
Sam appeared at the top of the staircase, a cruel smirk cutting across his face like a blade.
"Well, well," he chuckled, clapping slowly. "You two really thought you could outplay me in my own home?"
Wick clenched his jaw. Nick's eyes scanned the room instinctively for a way out.
"This place?" Yuka gestured around. "It's a tomb. Could blow up in a few hours. Or maybe you'll suffocate from the gas. Or maybe... I'll just let my lovely collection of snakes find you first." He gave a mocking salute. "Good luck, gentlemen."
With that, he disappeared, locking them inside.
---
Meanwhile...
Robin's car sped down the highway. In the passenger seat, Shristi sat stiffly, her arms crossed, eyes narrowed in frustration.
"I'm not going anywhere until you tell me what's happening," she demanded.
Robin sighed. "Vivaan told me to get you out of the city. Somewhere safe. You being in the hostel is no longer enough."
Shristi snapped her head toward him. "Safe from what, Robin?"
He hesitated. "Wick. Nick. The politician's son. Things are spiraling."
Shristi stared at the passing trees outside the window. Her heart pounded louder than the engine.
She gave in-but only after a heated argument.
Thirty minutes later, her phone buzzed.
It was Dipanshu.
Her heart dropped.
"Vivaan's been taken. And... Wick and Nick... they're trapped. It was a setup. Sam played them. They might not make it."
Shristi's world tilted. "What?"
Before Robin could react, she grabbed the wheel. "Turn around."
But Robin refused, citing Vivaan's last orders.
A car pulled up beside them. Robin.
Shristi switched cars, breath ragged, eyes wild.
Inside, Robin drove silently as she tried to piece things together.
"I can take you back to the hostel," he said after a pause. "Or I can keep going-to the farmhouse. It's not in town like they said. They lied to you, Shristi."
She gripped her phone tightly, then dialed a number she wasn't sure would connect.
It rang.
And then-he answered.
---
Wick's voice crackled through the line.
"Lemme guess," he said, a bitter smile in his voice. "Calling to check if the Grim Reaper's dropped by?"
Shristi's voice trembled, but she kept her tone steady. "Heard any ticking sounds yet? Or maybe footsteps?"
"Not yet," Wick replied. "But we'll laugh about this later. Either when we walk out... or when we realize Yuka's just a pathological liar."
"I'm sure you'll walk out," she said, though her voice shook at the end.
Wick paused. "Where are you?"
Shristi glanced at Robin. "Robin's taking me back to the hostel."
Wick's silence spoke volumes.
"To Vivaan?" he asked softly.
Shristi hesitated. "Not just him. Hazel, Annu, Subha... everyone."
Another pause. Wick took a slow breath. "I get it."
His tone changed-quieter, rawer. "Since I might not be around much longer... Can I ask you something?"
"Of course," Shristi replied instantly.
"If it came down to it... if it was just me and him... and you had to say goodbye to one of us. Who would it be?"
The question was a dagger.
Shristi swallowed hard. Her voice came out strained. "I love him, Wick."
He didn't respond.
"He came into my life when I needed someone. I fell for him before I even knew what love really was. No matter what I feel for you... I never stopped loving him."
Wick exhaled slowly. "So... Vivaan. It's always gonna be Vivaan."
"I don't know about always," she whispered. "All I know is right now. And right now, I care about you, Wick. Deeply. Which is why I have to let you go."
She closed her eyes, voice cracking. "Maybe... maybe if you and I had met first-"
"Yeah," Wick said softly. "Maybe."
There was a silence between them that stretched beyond seconds-filled with everything they never said.
Shristi finally spoke. "You're going to be fine. I believe that. And I'll see you again."
"Real soon," Wick said, his voice almost a whisper. "Goodbye, Shristi."
"Goodbye, Vikram."
The call ended.
But the storm inside both of them had just begun.
To be continued...